a little update might be in order: quite a few years ago i first mentioned that i do like mdev and that hasn't changed. actually i like it much more nowadays, because i utterly detest systemd & co, its perpetrators and the mindset behind that pile of crap.

so here's what i have to share in the way of mdev-related, hopefully useful, stuff:

• my main mdev.conf config file
• a proper init script for mdev and for mdev as coldplugger once /usr is ready
• a tiny tool that reports just enough of a cdrom device's state to make automation pleasant
• a small cdrom automount agent
• a small bluetooth agent which starts the bluetooth stack if and when a BT device is added
• a small helper for accessing disks by label or id,
• a small rfkill agent which reacts to rf kill switch changes,
• and my old usb device automount helper

Recently I've experimented a little with twitter, but so far I'm not a big fan.

I really don't grok people claiming the 140 char limit to be 'liberating'; to me it's just one big annoyance: if I don't have to say anything then I tend to shut up - and if there is something noteworthy that I would indeed like to share, then it's quite unlikely to fit into that dinky straightjacket format. (It's pretty obvious that I'm not a big SMS user either.)

Most of what I've seen of twitter feels like looking at JPEGs with quality level 1; sure, you can recognize that there's something on that picture but its nowhere near intelligible and and it hurts my eyes.

On the other hand, I do see uses for this kind of sparrowy chirping; for example, as a platform for quick updates about local speed cameras and the like I think it's very good.

Ambivalence, thy name is az...

nope, not for me. my twitter account is gone and i'm going back to literate communication.

i've been asked to extend kuvert a little, so that it optionally completely rejects emails unless it can encrypt it for all recipients.

that's done now; version 2.1.0 includes that new option, and a variety of minor fixes and code cleanup.

kuvert's source is downloadable here or on github. the updated manpage is available here.

...but wait, there's more.

recently i've been getting more feedback/patches via kuvert's github presence and kuvert has gained a few minor features and improvements: optional custom config file, you can configure your gpg path (welcome back, gpg1...) better starttls support (and debugging) if you're using a recentish perl and thus a modern net::smtp, better compat with weird clients if you use kuvert as msp and so on.

we're at version 2.2.1 now and as always kuvert is downloadable here or from github; naturally it's in debian unstable and will hit testing in a few days.

the EFF is much too nice in wording their farewell letter; the register has an overview.

conny had her uni graduation ceremony yesterday.

very well done, dear daughter, "with distinction" despite working a fulltime job! you should be proud - but don't take this as an excuse to slack off totally now ;-)

both my place's front and back doors have extra insect screen doors, a vital feature in this part of the world.

but almost every time i open it, the screen door flies open and bangs against the bricks. noise, scratches, ugly torquing of the flimsy hinges, clearly undesirable, and i was getting very sick of this.

(aside: when i bought the place it had automatic door closers on the screen doors, but these were far worse than the problem they attempted to solve so i took them off.)

so, what would az do? as usual i found a simple, quick, workable and cheap solution that makes creative use of stuff i had around.

cut 3cm of leftover pipe insulation foam (which i had bought for a purpose entirely unlike the official one...), slice longitudinally, contact-glue to the bricks, done.

now the door has an unobtrusiveand spongy 'soft' limiter and if and when it gets too gungy i'll just scrape off the glue and glue on a fresh bit of foam.

/me likes.

the area: quite beautiful (the town: hopelessly overcrowded with tourists)

the occasion: conny and andrew getting married

the funniest thing: what the kiwis call their shopping carts