Like Mucas

When They say that the death of AI will "kill the Internet," they're wrong. It'll cut off the flow of algorithmic sewage. It'll cripple Meta, X, Google, and so on. Those of us who have our own web sites, who communicate independently? We'll be fine. Welcome to 1995. Here's your modem. Can't wait!

The annoying thing about IPv6? Doing the math. My static subnet was 2603:3015:2a05:d600::/59, and suddenly 2603:3015:2a05:d6c0 is appearing on my network. Is that part of my /59, or did comcast fubar me? I don't know, let's do MATH!

Respect goes to people's labor, never their products. I like BSD, but I respect the developers because they have done the work to develop the expertise that merits the respect. There is no reason to offer that respect to people who haven't done the work. I have more respect for people who spent a Saturday evening failing to get code to compile, or trying to write a story that doesn't work, or struggling to get perspective right on a watercolor, than to anyone prompting an LLM.

@cstross@wandering.shop I write books on self-hosting. The overwhelming majority of people shouldn't self-host. (I do think that sysadmins hosting as mutual aid is viable, so long as the sysadmin understands their limits and doesn't overload themselves.)

#Raturday Ratstack! #petRats #rats

When passkeys first came out, I saw that they were tied to a particular device. I have many computing devices. I could use my password manager to store them but then, what advantage do they offer over my password manager? None. Based on that, I decided against using them. The post linked above goes into the technical details of how passkeys aren't for us. For real world use, for someone who isn't a techie? Use a different password for each site. Either use a password manager or, if that's too complex, write it down in a book. On paper.

In Ann Arbor on 15 November? Want to see me talk #writing and #selfpubhttps://aadl.org/node/673512

The #twistedPresents #kickstarter backer survey is out! If you were kind enough to support this book, please fill it out so I can send your rewards.

Writing about containers and jails today for #openzfsmastery. Language management is a big part of writing a tech book. Techies are both notoriously bad at language, and notoriously picky about it. Containers and jails are types of lightweight virtual machines. I don't want to keep repeating "lightweight virtual machines" multiple times in a paragraph, so I need a good short punchy word. I could abbreviate and call them LVMs, but Linux folks have different associations for that abbreviation. The current attempt is to call them "lightweight virtual machine instances" 2-3 times to build an association in the reader's brain, then call them "instances" for the remainder of the chapter. It wouldn't work for a longer piece, but I think I can get away with it for half a chapter.

@sirwumpus@tilde.zone A /64 is the smallest IPv6 subnet. Seriously. (It's a plot point in "git sync murder.") A /59 gives your business 32 /64 subnets. I needed 3 (office, test, IoT), but okay.

My Gumroad stores are now shut down. https://mwl.io/archives/24995 Time to investigate alternatives that support EU VAT, sigh.

IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE The new @zzclaybourne@wandering.shop has arrived! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidiansky/khumalo-tales

"Don't worry, brudder. We're here to bust ya out of the joint." #petRats #rats

I got egg for breakfast, so I naturally paid my tithe. #petRats #rats

Look. We both know you're doing social media at work. That's what you do. You'll take the weekend off. Which means today is your last day to back #twistedPresents. Grab it now, or lament missing your chance when you come back Monday. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/twisted-presents

Got the #openzfsmastery section on privilege delegation completed. Tomorrow, I figure out delegating datasets to containers. Seems there's little integration, everything gets delegated by hand? Sponsorships are still open on this silly thing: https://mwl.io/sponsor

#bhyve with #ZFS rollback makes testing boot environments for #openzfsmastery sooo much easier. Snapshots on the hypervisor. Snapshots in the VM. Snapshots EVERYWHERE. #sysadmin

Amazing how a post on passkeys brought swearing jerks to my feed. Technical discussion? Fine. Cursing me? Block.

The #TwistedPresents #kickstarter ends TONIGHT. If you've been thinking you'll back it later, there is no later. https://mwl.io/ks Another $178 and all backers will get THREE books! Unsure? Read a sample story at https://mwl.io/archives/24991

I am so sick of promoting this Kickstarter. Time to gird my loins and do it again. Mute me now.

Working on #openzfsmastery, trying to fake boot environments with Proxmox. Because Proxmox integrates ZFS as a first-class filesystem. It's going swimmingly. You can donate to extend my suffering. https://mwl.io/sponsor

It's official: #twistedPresents launches next Tuesday! If your Christmas means trouble, these tales of holiday crime and magic are for you. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/twisted-presents/ I'd appreciate your support.

The #twistedPresents #Kickstarter starts tomorrow! I also take Quercy to the vet for surgery tomorrow so when I say I'd really appreciate support, I mean that my sweet little goober is gonna have vet bills. https://mwl.io/ks

Truffle at the Treat Puzzle #petRats #rats

@oxy@social.bsdlab.au SO YAWN

Three days left until I can shut up about my Christmas story collection on #kickstarter! Until then, I gotta keep shouting "look at my book!" So, uh... please look at my book? It comes with bonuses? https://mwl.io/ks

Four days left on the #TwistedPresents #Kickstarter! #Christmas stories for folks who don't like Christmas. Backers get two books and a bonus story. If it hits the next stretch goal, there'll be a third book. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/twisted-presents

My Christmas collection #TwistedPresents is on #Kickstarter. I'd like your support, so here's one of the stories as a taste. https://mwl.io/archives/24991 If you like it, please consider backing the collection.

My collection of #Christmas stories #TwistedPresents is live on #Kickstarter right now. Here's one of the stories: "The Last Hour of Hogswatch." https://mwl.io/archives/24991 If you like it, please consider backing! (boosts appreciated.)

@nuintari@mastodon.bsd.cafe this would be why I wrote the netflow book. I hate saying I wrote something for the lulz, but the look on the sysadmin's face when you present them with data is precious.

Asking folks to back fiction on #Kickstarter is weird. How are you supposed to know if you'd like it? So here's my story "The Last Hour of Hogswatch" on my blog. If you like it, I hope you'll consider backing #TwistedPresentshttps://mwl.io/archives/24991 (boosts appreciated!)

okay, I got the #openzfsmastery boot loader chapter fixed. Definitely done now. Calling it for the day. Take a few hours off this evening to read to the rodents.

I also took @cstross@wandering.shop' advice and listed the marked-up #twistedPresents proof in a reverse auction. Quercy gets surgery today. Vets are expensive, so I've priced it at $600 but will drop the price $50/day. Really curious to see how this goes.

only a year and a half late, sheesh.

that's the Boot Environment chapter of #openzfsmastery done! Covers FreeBSD and Proxmox. I think my Saturday's done. It's pajama time.

Me, working a straight job and #writing on the side, with a free Saturday: "I'm going to spend the day writing, yay!" Me as a full-time writer with a free Saturday: "I'm going to spend the day writing, yay!" Some people can't be helped.

"We stand out like caroling at an orgy. Or an orgy at caroling, either way." #TwistedPresents is on Kickstarter! Eight bent #Christmas tales of crime and fantasy. I'd appreciate your support. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/twisted-presents

@oxy@social.bsdlab.au thank you!

Quercy is doing well after surgery, but has to remain separate from his brothers for a while. Here's Fermi, visiting the inmate. #petRats #rats

RE: https://mastodon.social/@emaste/117366006994694048 A vital lesson. One day I hope to internalize it.

"Magic and Stupidity are the exact same thing viewed from opposite directions." My new #FreeBSDJournal column is out! "Choice of Agonies." If you need a splash of righteous vitriol to get your blood flowing, here you go. https://freebsdfoundation.org/our-work/journal/browser-based-edition/production-deployments/

The new @zzclaybourne@wandering.shop book is at 68 backers? You know what to do. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidiansky/khumalo-tales

@miniBill@mastodon.uno WELL THEY HAVE!!! The cowards.

Me, this morning: Yay, I finished the #openzfsmastery boot environment chapter yesterday, I can move on. Me, getting to desk and seeing the boot environment chapter: oh no.

The #TwistedPresents #Kickstarter broke another stretch goal! All backers get my book of Christmas tales, another story, and another whole bonus book. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwlucas/twisted-presents It's passing the point where I can publish the book and turning into a good deal for backers, which is always cool.

"Self-Publishing Success Stories" panel, 15 October 2026, 2PM, Ann Arbor Public Library https://mwl.io/archives/25000

Today's #60SecondsOfWIP is out! From #OpenZFSMastery: "Lucas is Incompetent or Evil." At https://mwl.io/archives/24997 or wherever mediocre podcasts are sold.