Sunday Bits 7/30/2023

Dispatches from @ultrviolet@gts.endgameviable.com:

08:22 # A new microblogging problem to solve: How to capture the picture attachments that go with notes? Do I just provide a link or do I actually try to embed them somehow? I don’t think the images served by GoToSocial are accessible without an authenticated connection, which is annoying. (The json for public notes and/or their resources should not require any authentication, imo, but GoToSocial and indeed most ActivityPub implementations run every request through a generic authenticator regardless of what it’s accessing. That’s why my script to get my public posts has to stoop to querying the database instead of querying the GoToSocial api.) #blog #development

10:58 # After spending way too much time trying to figure out how to crop DALL-E images while retaining the little logo in the corner (I failed), I’m heading outside to put assemble a little Agrifab cart I can pull behind the riding mower so I can finally pick up random debris around the yard like a normal person. #homeowner

11:58 # I should add that I was trying to figure out how to write an imagemagick script to crop the images automatically, I know how to do it in like a paint program. :) Also it’s not as hot as yesterday, but it’s still rather hot for the manual labor of putting together a steel cart.

13:28 # Lunch break is over and the work to assemble a steel cart continues. I guess I’m about half done. I’m not especially speedy at mechanical construction, being generally old and decrepit. I’ve moved the work area from the hot sun to a shady area so I can actually touch the steel parts without burning my skin. Working on things like this also gives me a rare opportunity to listen to podcasts I’d otherwise never get to listen to, in this case NADDPod campaign 3 episodes. #homeowner

14:46 # Putting together this cart has sufficiently annoyed me that I don’t want to continue any more today. For one thing, the frickin steel parts don’t bend enough for the holes to line up to screw them together. The sliding back door piece is never going to get attached in a million years without the assistance of a machine shop. For another thing, I can’t contort my body enough to reach around the entire circumference of the cart with both hands to screw the axle mounting piece on the bottom. The yard debris is going to have to wait a while longer. I still have to mow at least the front yard today. #homeowner

22:22 # I added a new shortcode to make “asides” in the post text. That is, a block of text that’s only tangentially related to the rest of the section. Sentences that might begin with, “as an aside…” Distractions that don’t really belong there, that break up the flow of the narrative, but I can’t quite bring myself to delete. In books, you might see them in little boxes to the side of the main text. Of course, it only shows up as a shaded section on the HTML page, and won’t show up in RSS feeds, except as a rambling aside. #blog

22:24 # In the end I put together most of the cart, enough that it rolls around at least, instead of mowing. Now I’m pooped. The forecast isn’t calling for significant rain for a few days, so I can try to mow during the week. #homeowner

22:27 # I’ve managed to go the entire weekend without playing even a single moment of any games. Spent an excessive amount of time editing a blog post. Worked on some code for the site. Went to the store. Did some cooking. Worked on building a cart. Watched some television. Not really sure where all the time went. #weekend