Little John @littlejohn@mastodon.sdf.org

A million billion apologies to all of you who have @-ed me about Smog, and I didn't get back to you!

For some weird reason I didn't get any notifications here and I only saw them earlier when I clicked Notifications completely by mistake.

If you ever want to reach me and seem to ignore you here, my email is always open! Things that run in web browsers may lie and malfunction, but mutt doesn't!

Words I haven't uttered in 20 years: I started an e-zine.

No, no, really!

https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2020/004135.html

#introduction time!

About @littlejohn: programming, electronics and engineering enthusiast. Unix programmer and user since the late '90s/early 00s.

My "following" list is an eclectic mix of #pixelart, #retrocomputing, #unix, #foss, #security, #cryptography, #fpga, #history, #philosophy, #mythology, #chiptune, #gemini and #gopher enthusiasts. Yeah, I'm a curious person. Curiosity *allegedly* killed the cat but if it did, at least it didn't die stupid.

while playing Desert Strike. Desert Strike was already really old at the time, but my computer didn't run recent games, so I found fun wherever I could.

So I guess I'm playing Desert Strike tonight!

(Desert Strike is right out of some Bush-era dystopian past. I encourage the young people in the audience to take it with a grain of salt...)

(n/n)

I wanted to learn Unix and Linux, but all I had was a C64 emulator and a copy of LUnix ( http://lng.sourceforge.net ) to try out a few basic things.

I'd occasionally got access to Linux and Unices before but never on a reasonably constant basis. SDF was the first time I could log in pretty much at any time and learn a few simple things.

I'd play with whatever was available for a while, then log out (dial-up was... not exactly cheap, either, long story) and daydream about a real computer (2/n)

SDF is 35 this month, and I found the right blend of nostalgia to celebrate!

This is not my SDF account. A long time ago, I had a basic account. I was 13 (or 14?). I probably couldn't afford the lifetime ARPA membership (if that even was a thing back then, I no longer recall) -- it wasn't a factor because this was back when sending and receiving money internationally was still pretty hard so...

I definitely couldn't afford a fast computer. I didn't even have *my own* computer (1/n)

There is more to Europe than bickering, cowardly politicians and sheltered, pink-faced armchair generals. Sometimes it's hard to believe it these days, because they are the loudest, but I know we're more than that because I've seen it over and over again. Whether the people you see on TV are willing to help or not, those of us who understand history and kindness will help Ukraine, and Ukrainians, in whatever way each of us knows, and whichever way they can.

The memes are only the first tranche!

Now that the Cold War is a thing again, can we also have Cold War-era music again pls?

Today, Aaron Swartz would've been 35. #aaronswartz died too early, and even in death, he was the Internet's child: his tragic, anguished end not only reminded us of things we already knew about the state and private enterprises, but also revealed things many of us did not yet have the strength of mind to fathom: the magnitude of academic institutions' hypocrisy and how lonely we are against foes that shouldn't even be our foes in the first place.

Rest in peace, Aaron. We won't forget you.