From joe at begriffs.com  Mon Apr  1 22:34:04 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2019 17:34:04 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
Message-ID: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>

The first Weds of each month the Livefront company runs a hack night
with food and drink provided. How about we go there this week rather
than our usual Hack Factory? It's a little earlier: 6-8 pm.

https://tchacknight.com

From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Mon Apr  1 23:23:06 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2019 18:23:06 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <20190401232306.y5ccdvsevpm23hys@19a6.tech>

On Mon, Apr 01, 2019 at 05:34:04PM -0500, Joe Nelson wrote:
> The first Weds of each month the Livefront company runs a hack night
> with food and drink provided. How about we go there this week rather
> than our usual Hack Factory? It's a little earlier: 6-8 pm.
> 
> https://tchacknight.com

Sounds great to me. I'm down.

From louis at goessling.com  Tue Apr  2 00:24:10 2019
From: louis at goessling.com (Louis)
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2019 19:24:10 -0500
Subject: How to bind a key to unicode character?
In-Reply-To: <27AF1E45-E0BC-4945-862B-2AE46DBE6225@gmail.com>
References: <20190330213048.GA46536@begriffs.com>
 <CABSwF4z4ZGGQrnYjk8XVcBUtQ8OJ6mP3W8itPkpg2XNzN9un8A@mail.gmail.com>
 <20190331055028.GB46536@begriffs.com>
 <27AF1E45-E0BC-4945-862B-2AE46DBE6225@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAL-xF7WwGBoRMqCMVJC7g5tSqMzDNEkzvyapnWsG_OnyF63RXQ@mail.gmail.com>

Wow... XCompose is a very useful tool I should have looked at a while ago!

My current but not for long setup is in two parts... one part is a set
of scripts that invoke `xmodmap` to remap most of the keyboard. For
example, < https://github.com/602p/dotfiles/blob/master/files/i3/set_fullwidth.sh
> and unset later by restoring the saved xmodmap-produced file. This has the advantage of not requiring a program restart.

They other set are single characters like ? that I might want to type
from my normal keyboard mode, which are done very inelegantly via
`xdotool`, e.g. <
https://github.com/602p/dotfiles/blob/master/files/i3/qmark.sh >. I
invoke all of these little scripts from my window manager.

Now that Sam has posted his XCompose config, I will probably wipe out
the majority of my bindings of the second variety and replace them
with XCompose bindings, which are much neater. I was just playing
around with this, and to get the compose bindings to work in
Firefox/Sublime Text/Electron apps I needed to add the following to
my ~/.xinitrc:

```
xmodmap -e "keycode 108 = Multi_key"
export GTK_IM_MODULE=xim
export QT_IM_MODULE=xim
```

Louis Goessling





On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 8:50 AM Sam Stuewe <samuel.stuewe at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Joe,
>
> Happy to be helpful!
> All the best,
>
> -Sam

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Tue Apr  2 02:06:44 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2019 02:06:44 +0000
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190401232306.y5ccdvsevpm23hys@19a6.tech>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190401232306.y5ccdvsevpm23hys@19a6.tech>
Message-ID: <20190402020644.GA19921@nobelware.com>

The location is so close to my place that I have no excuse to skip, and so
I will be there.


From erikbpanderson at gmail.com  Wed Apr  3 03:55:20 2019
From: erikbpanderson at gmail.com (Erik Anderson)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2019 22:55:20 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190402020644.GA19921@nobelware.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190401232306.y5ccdvsevpm23hys@19a6.tech>
 <20190402020644.GA19921@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <CAAFf7azwBj0MeRFpXZC5zcJoo+VUDRbfDsRMCKNVXCF4atd1SA@mail.gmail.com>

I'm game!  See you all at 6!

On Mon, Apr 1, 2019 at 9:06 PM Ioannis Nompelis <nompelis at nobelware.com> wrote:
>
> The location is so close to my place that I have no excuse to skip, and so
> I will be there.
>

From joe at begriffs.com  Thu Apr  4 02:51:03 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2019 21:51:03 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>

Hmm, I thought tonight was a mixed success. On one hand we got to
see a new place and meet some people. On the other I didn't feel a
strong hacking energy. Maybe it's not realistic to think it'll be
productive every time, but I do look forward to jumping into something
and learning.

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Thu Apr  4 13:50:47 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 13:50:47 +0000
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>

Yes, the spirit was more "get to know eachother" and "I am working on this
on my own" for the most part. This is not bad at all, and not surprising,
given that we jumped into another group's open meetup.

I got to meet "harv" who showed up to meet us. I had a chat with the retired
gentleman who told us a lot about networking in the 70s among military
contractors. I got to glance at the $5 UUCP book that Dave bought. And I
saw a robot that was balancing itself with two PID controllers running on
an Arduino and using stepper motors, all commanded to walk around from the
tilting of an Android phone that was somehow connected to the robot. Sweet!

Dave was noticing that our UUCP node had hiccups, which he is trying to resolve.

Erik, what were you hacking on that phone?

When we have our own meetup, the agenda will be more focused.


From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Thu Apr  4 19:12:01 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 14:12:01 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>
 <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>

On Thu, Apr 04, 2019 at 01:50:47PM +0000, Ioannis Nompelis wrote:
> When we have our own meetup, the agenda will be more focused.

I'd love to do something informal Saturday afternoon. I dont have a good
suggestion for a location, but downtown will be bad with Final Four
stuff. 

From erikbpanderson at gmail.com  Fri Apr  5 04:28:31 2019
From: erikbpanderson at gmail.com (Erik Anderson)
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 23:28:31 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>
 <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>
 <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>
Message-ID: <CAAFf7awVg1d6rWzrGyebheqy2Gt3S1GkENBq7L5Lg6KMn00swg@mail.gmail.com>

> Erik, what were you hacking on that phone?

I was working a little on an elisp wrapper for the Termux API
functions (https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Termux:API).  Termux makes it
trivial to, for example, send an SMS message or use text-to-speech
from the shell.  I find that functionality in android applications to
generally be quite siloed and inaccessible, so it's an effort to build
some infrastructure for implementing reusable mobile app -type logic
directly in Emacs.

> Hmm, I thought tonight was a mixed success.

Maybe we could try next time to pull our projects out early and direct
conversation towards problem-solving with respect to "next steps" and
blockers.

> I'd love to do something informal Saturday afternoon. I dont have a good suggestion for a location, but downtown will be bad with Final Four stuff.

Nick and I generally meet up in St. Paul on Sunday at Black Dog Cafe
in St. Paul.  I'd be up for meeting up Saturday, but I'd need to duck
out by early afternoon.

-Erik.

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Fri Apr  5 15:10:40 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2019 15:10:40 +0000
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <CAAFf7awVg1d6rWzrGyebheqy2Gt3S1GkENBq7L5Lg6KMn00swg@mail.gmail.com>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com> <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>
 <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>
 <CAAFf7awVg1d6rWzrGyebheqy2Gt3S1GkENBq7L5Lg6KMn00swg@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <20190405151040.GC18656@nobelware.com>

> 
> I was working a little on an elisp wrapper for the Termux API
> functions (https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Termux:API).  Termux makes it
> trivial to, for example, send an SMS message or use text-to-speech
> from the shell.  I find that functionality in android applications to
> generally be quite siloed and inaccessible, so it's an effort to build
> some infrastructure for implementing reusable mobile app -type logic
> directly in Emacs.
>

Cool. I still have a soft spot for Emacs (because of the Amige), but I never
use it. We need a weblog post for your work when it matures.

I cannot meet anytime this weekend; way too may things to do at home.


From joe at begriffs.com  Fri Apr  5 16:58:55 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2019 11:58:55 -0500
Subject: New place this Wednesday?
In-Reply-To: <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>
References: <20190401223404.GA80215@begriffs.com>
 <20190404025103.GA98067@begriffs.com>
 <20190404135047.GA27134@nobelware.com>
 <20190404191201.fcyg2kjabjqvt5xg@19a6.tech>
Message-ID: <20190405165855.GA5443@begriffs.com>

> I'd love to do something informal Saturday afternoon.

I would too, except this Saturday I have some family stuff.

From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Sun Apr  7 03:28:24 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2019 22:28:24 -0500
Subject: MPLS Digital Makers
Message-ID: <20190407032824.nhbfht5mkqvkshp2@19a6.tech>

I'm keeping my eye on this group. If they ever hold a meeting, I might
go drop some hints about "hacking" at "night".

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Sun Apr  7 05:53:18 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2019 00:53:18 -0500
Subject: MPLS Digital Makers
In-Reply-To: <20190407032824.nhbfht5mkqvkshp2@19a6.tech>
References: <20190407032824.nhbfht5mkqvkshp2@19a6.tech>
Message-ID: <20190407055318.GA1901@nobelware.com>

I looked them up on Meetup. Sounds like the right kind of group. I liked the
1,000 unfinished ideas part... That is me.


From nompelis at nobelware.com  Tue Apr  9 13:00:08 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2019 13:00:08 +0000
Subject: Hacking iOS SDK versions in Xcode
Message-ID: <20190409130008.GA4410@nobelware.com>

I know some of you use an iPhone, like I do. Maybe some of you actually
try to hack that thing too. For those of you with an interest, I did some
learning last Friday, on forcing specific SDK versions (for the iOS but
also in general) when compiling with Xcode from the command-line.

I used a build-script from Github that does the build work. But there was
still the SDK selection beyond the defaults. The hackwork is here:

https://nobelware.com/Weblog/weblog.php?entry=20190406

Turns out it pays to have an underlying OS that is a Unix variant.

From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Wed Apr 10 19:04:07 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:04:07 -0500
Subject: Meetup tonight?
Message-ID: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>

Anyone planning to go to Hack Factory? Unfortunately, I need to stay home and do my taxes. I'm planning to set up INN2 on the UUCP machine. If you know about setting up a news server, or would like to learn, get in touch. 

From samuel.stuewe at gmail.com  Wed Apr 10 19:16:51 2019
From: samuel.stuewe at gmail.com (Sam Stuewe)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:16:51 -0500
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>

I was actually really hoping to come tonight as I've been unable to
join the last few times, but the weather is not looking terribly
amenable? ):

If several other folks are planning to show, I may try to brave it.

All the best,

-Sam

From erikbpanderson at gmail.com  Wed Apr 10 19:44:14 2019
From: erikbpanderson at gmail.com (Erik Anderson)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:44:14 -0500
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAAFf7azH0JqD5AYMkzDHa0ATiQL32r_bVE8gfoD8X4XNJFTr9w@mail.gmail.com>

> Anyone planning to go to Hack Factory? Unfortunately, I need to stay home and do my taxes. I'm planning to set up INN2 on the UUCP machine. If you know about setting up a news server, or would like to learn, get in touch.

I'm not going to be making the trek either tonight.  Stay safe everyone!

-Erik.

From joe at begriffs.com  Wed Apr 10 22:23:52 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 17:23:52 -0500
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
 <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <20190410222352.GA85492@begriffs.com>

> If several other folks are planning to show, I may try to brave it.

I'll be there, but yeah it may be pretty sparse tonight. :)

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Wed Apr 10 22:44:46 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 22:44:46 +0000
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <20190410222352.GA85492@begriffs.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
 <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>
 <20190410222352.GA85492@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <20190410224446.GA16924@nobelware.com>

"Sparse" can mean more focused work.

I will skip, because I am going to go check out some books.

It does not look terribly slippery out there on the bike (famous last words).


From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Thu Apr 11 00:26:36 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:26:36 -0500
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
Message-ID: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>

https://why-openbsd.rocks/fact/

-Your friendly neighborhood Reddit gateway

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Thu Apr 11 16:42:37 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:42:37 +0000
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <20190410224446.GA16924@nobelware.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
 <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>
 <20190410222352.GA85492@begriffs.com> <20190410224446.GA16924@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <20190411164237.GA25531@nobelware.com>

How was the meetup?


From nompelis at nobelware.com  Thu Apr 11 16:47:33 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:47:33 +0000
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <20190411164733.GC25531@nobelware.com>

Some of these are _significant_ differences from Linux -- which I use. And
some of them may require that some of us do some research and present to the
group, like non-root X server, stack registers, ping randomization...


From joe at begriffs.com  Fri Apr 12 03:58:18 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 22:58:18 -0500
Subject: Meetup tonight?
In-Reply-To: <20190411164237.GA25531@nobelware.com>
References: <B27254C0-6CB7-4E79-9012-59E799B4DDBA@gmail.com>
 <CABSwF4wEZnnEMBCofrirdA45p9GLvwS6j8XHuuy8T6eW6EpeUg@mail.gmail.com>
 <20190410222352.GA85492@begriffs.com>
 <20190410224446.GA16924@nobelware.com>
 <20190411164237.GA25531@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <20190412035818.GA11593@begriffs.com>

Ioannis Nompelis wrote:
> How was the meetup?

It was just me, nobody else went.

I worked on more Unicode experiments. Created these:

* https://github.com/begriffs/libicu-examples/blob/master/fuzz.c
* https://github.com/begriffs/libicu-examples/blob/master/helpers.c

From joe at begriffs.com  Fri Apr 12 04:08:15 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 23:08:15 -0500
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <20190411164733.GC25531@nobelware.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
 <20190411164733.GC25531@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <20190412040815.GB11593@begriffs.com>

> Some of these are _significant_ differences from Linux

One thing about OpenBSD that doesn't rock is that Valgrind no longer
works. Well, I guess it's due to a security thing that kind of does rock
called Retguard https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=15282440793191

There is a port of Valgrind to obsd http://ports.su/devel/valgrind but
when I run the program it dies and I see this in my system dmesg log:

trap [memcheck-amd64-o]93343/358695 type 6: sp 39d8f050 not inside 7f7fffbcb000-7f7ffffca000

That "sp" you see refers to the stack pointer. The kernel detected that
Valgrind messed with sp, and put a stop to it.

The #openbsd channel on freenode suggested I run Valgrind in Alpine
Linux inside a virtual machine for now. If I recall correctly, our
shared server doesn't support vmm so I'd have to do that on my obsd
laptop. Or just use my mac.

From salo at saloits.com  Fri Apr 12 06:55:19 2019
From: salo at saloits.com (Timothy J. Salo)
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2019 01:55:19 -0500
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <1bd68988-7cd2-e8ae-12b6-0ee80de9d97b@saloits.com>

On 4/10/2019 7:26 PM, Dave Bucklin wrote:
> https://why-openbsd.rocks/fact/

As far as I can tell, this is simply a list Open BSD features, not
a list of reasons to run Open BSD rather than Linux.

I ran FreeBSD for a number of years, perhaps 20-25 years ago.  And,
it was rock solid - I don't think I ever needed to reboot it between
power outages.  It was much more stable that Linux was at the time.

But, the world has changed in the last quarter-century.

I ran FreeBSD because that is were researchers generally implemented
new networking features.  But, over time, FreeBSD began to lag behind
Linux in implementing new networking technologies.  It appeared that
the FreeBSD developer community simply wasn't large enough to keep
up with those developing Linux.

So, why in 2019 should I consider running Open BSD or FreeBSD, rather
than Linux?

-tjs

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Fri Apr 12 14:41:53 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:41:53 +0000
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <20190412040815.GB11593@begriffs.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
 <20190411164733.GC25531@nobelware.com> <20190412040815.GB11593@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <20190412144153.GA8328@nobelware.com>

> 
> One thing about OpenBSD that doesn't rock is that Valgrind no longer
> works. Well, I guess it's due to a security thing that kind of does rock
> called Retguard https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&m=15282440793191
> 

I think I will need to know more on the subject. As in, can somebody give us
a short presentation or make a weblog post on the function of modifying the
stack (utility), the perils to go with it (from a security perspective in
particular), and educate me? Is this a potential subject of discussion and
demonstration at a meetup?

I have used Valgrind on several occasions. The umbrella subject of monitored
execution interets me (I spoke to Dave about something like this), and it is
a dman shame I do not have the time to go down that rabbithole right now.


> The #openbsd channel on freenode suggested I run Valgrind in Alpine
> Linux inside a virtual machine for now. If I recall correctly, our
> shared server doesn't support vmm so I'd have to do that on my obsd
> laptop. Or just use my mac.

Our OpenBSD does not like over-virtualization (probably by design of the VPS
hosting entity, but I could be wrong). Our UUCP node is Linux Debian, and you
can hack on that thing all you want. (Note to self to see if that one allows
for over-virtualization.)


From nompelis at nobelware.com  Fri Apr 12 14:49:58 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2019 14:49:58 +0000
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <1bd68988-7cd2-e8ae-12b6-0ee80de9d97b@saloits.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
 <1bd68988-7cd2-e8ae-12b6-0ee80de9d97b@saloits.com>
Message-ID: <20190412144958.GB8328@nobelware.com>

Tim, I am completely with you on this, and as you know, I am a 25+ year
fanatic of Linux.

> 
> So, why in 2019 should I consider running Open BSD or FreeBSD, rather
> than Linux?
>
 
In 1998, a graduate of the UMN CS department was telling me (over several
bottles of wine and some Scotch) how FreeBSD's greatest advantage, and the
reason why he liked it so much, was that there was a sole distribution point
for it. I believe this is still the case.

I found that having run NetBSD/FreeBSD and Linux on several platforms (even
on the Amiga) and now having experienced OpenBSD, I have a broader view of
the proper function and utility, as well as the problems, that come with
choices made in designing an operating system. And lastly, I have a much much
better appreciation for standardization and an eye for what sticks to a POSIX
standard, etc.

Final thought: use multiple OSs because you will learn a lot.


From hello at robertdherb.com  Fri Apr 12 21:52:10 2019
From: hello at robertdherb.com (Robbie D.)
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2019 16:52:10 -0500
Subject: Why Open BSD Rocks
In-Reply-To: <20190412144958.GB8328@nobelware.com>
References: <81D3E519-C47A-44B9-8D85-219E212D125D@gmail.com>
 <1bd68988-7cd2-e8ae-12b6-0ee80de9d97b@saloits.com>
 <20190412144958.GB8328@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <506E2B93-4DAC-4F6A-BAD0-CD37D6C93AA3@robertdherb.com>

I like OBSD because it's simple and stable. Things don't change much, unlike the constantly evolving world of Linux. This can be a negative, and there are plenty of times I have had to use Linux because what I wanted to do just wasn't an option in the BSD world.

But for the most part, I can configure something, and leave it sitting for years, continuing to get security updates without worrying too much about something breaking. Additionally, there have been some security issues that have popped up lately (like Spectre) that the OpenBSD devs saw years in advance. Watching the OpenBSD mailing lists has been very interesting for me.

Why should YOU use Open/FreeBSD, though? Well, only you can answer that. If you don't already have a good reason, you should probably just keep using Linux, because Linux is good, too. BSD is just a different OS. It doesn't have to necessarily be better.


On April 12, 2019 9:49:58 AM CDT, Ioannis Nompelis <nompelis at nobelware.com> wrote:
>Tim, I am completely with you on this, and as you know, I am a 25+ year
>fanatic of Linux.
>
>> 
>> So, why in 2019 should I consider running Open BSD or FreeBSD, rather
>> than Linux?
>>
> 
>In 1998, a graduate of the UMN CS department was telling me (over
>several
>bottles of wine and some Scotch) how FreeBSD's greatest advantage, and
>the
>reason why he liked it so much, was that there was a sole distribution
>point
>for it. I believe this is still the case.
>
>I found that having run NetBSD/FreeBSD and Linux on several platforms
>(even
>on the Amiga) and now having experienced OpenBSD, I have a broader view
>of
>the proper function and utility, as well as the problems, that come
>with
>choices made in designing an operating system. And lastly, I have a
>much much
>better appreciation for standardization and an eye for what sticks to a
>POSIX
>standard, etc.
>
>Final thought: use multiple OSs because you will learn a lot.

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Thu Apr 18 15:49:02 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2019 15:49:02 +0000
Subject: IGDA event this Wednesday (4/24)
Message-ID: <20190418154902.GA13380@nobelware.com>

I know Wednesdays are hack-nights at the hack Factory or similar venue.
I wanted to offer an alternative for those who want to see something a
little different from our (thriving) local scene. I will be attending the
IGDA meeting at Space150 (downtown Mpls). It tends to be less technical,
"lightning" like for the most part, and it is a good place to find out who
is doing what in town -- and I made some good connections there.


This time the MN VR and HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) groups have:

HP Reverb - Dan Schneider | HPThe new HP Reverb headset features upgraded lenses, ergonomics, FOV, and 2160 x 2160 per eye (full RGB stripe) for great clarity on text and detailed objects.  Try it ahead of the 4/26 launch.

Vapor Run VR - Pixel Farm VRVapor Run is a car-drifting, alien-blasting homage to the retro-futuristic video games and synthwave music scene of the 1980s. Demoing on a Playseat racing seat setup and a Rift.

FireZone - RJ WhiteClassic team-based FPS gameplay on 6 or 8 Oculus Go's.

New demos - Team Zero | Ingersoll RandTry our latest VR trade show experiences, featuring an upgraded 3rd-person view for spectators. Demoing on Vive Pro.

Ravenclaw Common Room VR - Colin Cody-WatersA fan-made demo project that lets you cast an assortment of spells (using your voice), interact with magical objects, and relax in the high tower of Hogwarts castle. 

Automaza - Nate Yourchuck Automaza is a logic-based puzzle game for VR. Demoing on Pimax 8K.

Grandmother's Porch - Luke PiersonAfter moving in to assisted living, my grandma said she missed her porch in Brooklyn Park. So, I rebuilt it for her - in VR!  I used Oculus Go and LWRP-VR.  


https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mn-vr-and-hci-apr-2019-vr-demos-tickets-60316199376?ref=enivtefor001&invite=MTYzMTk5MjAvbm9tcGVsaXNAdW1uLmVkdS8w%0A&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=eventpage

It is "SOLD OUT" but I will try to go there and stand around.


From nompelis at nobelware.com  Mon Apr 22 15:37:52 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 15:37:52 +0000
Subject: PBS piece on "Chinese Hacking"
Message-ID: <20190422153752.GB27576@nobelware.com>

I was sent this link by a friend:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/chinese-hacking-steals-billions-u-s-businesses-turn-a-blind-eye/

(I think any hacker group with the slightest inclination on network security
would like to read this piece.)

My VPS has being getting probed from China ever since I was setup, over a
decade ago. I do not know what people do to have a coordinated effort in
banning IPs that come from mallicious places (like "Spamhaus" does for email),
but if anyone has any info to ofrer, I welcome it. I am sure tools do exist.
Perhaps we can test them out.


From salo at saloits.com  Mon Apr 22 18:39:45 2019
From: salo at saloits.com (Timothy J. Salo)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 13:39:45 -0500
Subject: PBS piece on "Chinese Hacking"
In-Reply-To: <20190422153752.GB27576@nobelware.com>
References: <20190422153752.GB27576@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <547bd3c2-ee21-cfec-b392-0dcdeaf58c93@saloits.com>

On 4/22/2019 10:37 AM, Ioannis Nompelis wrote:
> I was sent this link by a friend:
> 
> https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/chinese-hacking-steals-billions-u-s-businesses-turn-a-blind-eye/

It is an interesting story.

China has been particularly aggressive in this arena, but they certainly
haven't been alone.

In my view, some of their biggest wins have been enabled by gross
incompetence on the part of the victim.  How on earth could the U.S.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) let the Chinese (apparently)
walk off with the personnel records for 21.5 million government
employees, contractors and retirees?  Hint: political appointees
and chronic under-funding of cybersecurity.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Personnel_Management_data_breach>

> (I think any hacker group with the slightest inclination on network security
> would like to read this piece.)

This is a good article.  But, there are probably better ones.  I would
start with:

o The Snowden papers, which offer insight into the sophistication of
   modern state-level hacking efforts

o The OPM hack, to emphasize the cost of not taking cypersecurity
   seriously

o The Sony hack, for an example of the damage a technologically fairly
   backwards country can do to an organization that doesn't take
   cybersecurity seriously.

o The Target hack, again an example of an organization that didn't
   take IT or cybersecurity very seriously (at the time, the Target
   CIO was a marketing person).  I used Target for lots of examples
   when I was teaching a networking class, and later when I taught
   a operating system class.  By the way, the key technology for the
   Target hack was some software that could be purchased off the dark net
   for a few thousand dollars.

o Brian Krebs, <https://krebsonsecurity.com/>.  By the way, Brian
   Krebs first publicized the Target hack.  His blog posts on the
   Target hack, and some of the comments, are very good.  As are
   the rest of his blog entries.

o Bruce Schneier, <https://www.schneier.com/>.  If you ever have
   a chance, go listen to him.  By the way, I think he might live
   in the area, or at least used to.

o Ars Technica, <https://arstechnica.com/>.  I think this may be
   the best online tech publication.  And, it has the best online
   comments (except maybe for the New York Times).  I often
   avoid reading Ars Technica, because it takes too long to read
   all of the comments.

> My VPS has being getting probed from China ever since I was setup, over a
> decade ago. I do not know what people do to have a coordinated effort in
> banning IPs that come from mallicious places (like "Spamhaus" does for email),
> but if anyone has any info to ofrer, I welcome it. I am sure tools do exist.
> Perhaps we can test them out.

The idea of a black hole list for malicious activity gets proposed now
and then.  The problem is that many, (probably most), of the machines
that are doing the hacking are controlled by hackers, not the
owners.  This is one of the reasons that attribution is hard.

SANS has a list of the most active malicious IP addresses.

 From time to time, someone proposes that ISPs ought to be responsible
identifying and correcting and/or isolating hacked machines on their
networks.  This idea has never gone anywhere.

Be sure and read the SANS Survival Time webpage,
<https://isc.sans.org/survivaltime.html>.  Every IP address in the
universe is subject to continuous attacks.  Most of us don't see
these attacks, because our hosts are typically behind firewalls, and
because we don't religiously read our log files.

According to the SANS webpage, an unpatched host would last less than
a minute, connected directly to the Internet.  (Actually, the details
are somewhat more nuanced: read the Survival Time webpage for details.)

-tjs

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Mon Apr 22 18:51:14 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 18:51:14 +0000
Subject: PBS piece on "Chinese Hacking"
In-Reply-To: <547bd3c2-ee21-cfec-b392-0dcdeaf58c93@saloits.com>
References: <20190422153752.GB27576@nobelware.com>
 <547bd3c2-ee21-cfec-b392-0dcdeaf58c93@saloits.com>
Message-ID: <20190422185114.GA3154@nobelware.com>

Thanks Tim. Great links and insight.

I follow Schneier.

In all honesty, I would rather not have my ISP filter much, for obvious
reasons. That is where a centralized, concensous-bsaed database would be
very handy.


From nompelis at nobelware.com  Tue Apr 23 16:54:33 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:54:33 +0000
Subject: PBS piece on "Chinese Hacking"
In-Reply-To: <20190422185114.GA3154@nobelware.com>
References: <20190422153752.GB27576@nobelware.com>
 <547bd3c2-ee21-cfec-b392-0dcdeaf58c93@saloits.com>
 <20190422185114.GA3154@nobelware.com>
Message-ID: <20190423165433.GA25876@nobelware.com>

One link I received that is mildly related to the topic here:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ic3-releases-2018-internet-crime-report-042219

The trend is beyond alarming. #MeThinks


From joe at begriffs.com  Wed Apr 24 19:43:19 2019
From: joe at begriffs.com (Joe Nelson)
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2019 14:43:19 -0500
Subject: Skipping the meeting tonight; notes about C meetup group
Message-ID: <20190424194319.GA81228@begriffs.com>

Hey I'm coming up on a deadline at work and I think I better skip our
meeting tonight. Also next week Weds I'll be out of town. Have fun
without me, wish I could be there.

Also, I stepped up to organize the local C meetup [0]. Any ideas where
to host it? The group has been meeting in a library in the suburbs,
but I'd like to line up space at a business downtown to make it more
convenient. Also, any ideas for talks? Topics you're curious about or
would like to present?

0: https://www.meetup.com/TwinCities-C-Meetup/

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Thu Apr 25 12:47:19 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2019 12:47:19 +0000
Subject: Stack Overflow 2019 survey results
Message-ID: <20190425124719.GA2858@nobelware.com>

I had not seen their survey until now. I love data, and this is good stuff.
Not sure on the bias there, but I visit Stack Overflow often, and it is very
popular.

https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019


From eric at faehnri.ch  Sun Apr 28 12:55:36 2019
From: eric at faehnri.ch (Eric Faehnrich)
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2019 08:55:36 -0400
Subject: Skipping the meeting tonight; notes about C meetup group
In-Reply-To: <20190424194319.GA81228@begriffs.com>
References: <20190424194319.GA81228@begriffs.com>
Message-ID: <9c86b17b-3d98-21a8-03f4-755d0d537518@faehnri.ch>

I'd love to come to these hack nights and C meetups, but I am not a local.

Any tips on starting these? I'm a member of a small hackerspace, I could
just post I'm working on some C project, see if others join.

I did start a low-level programming meetup some time ago, that just
didn't work out.

-Eric


From dave.bucklin at gmail.com  Sun Apr 28 22:24:32 2019
From: dave.bucklin at gmail.com (Dave Bucklin)
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2019 17:24:32 -0500
Subject: Skipping the meeting tonight; notes about C meetup group
In-Reply-To: <9c86b17b-3d98-21a8-03f4-755d0d537518@faehnri.ch>
References: <20190424194319.GA81228@begriffs.com>
 <9c86b17b-3d98-21a8-03f4-755d0d537518@faehnri.ch>
Message-ID: <20190428222432.rowux4neql23edrg@19a6.tech>

On Sun, Apr 28, 2019 at 08:55:36AM -0400, Eric Faehnrich wrote:
> I'd love to come to these hack nights and C meetups, but I am not a local.
> 
> Any tips on starting these? I'm a member of a small hackerspace, I could
> just post I'm working on some C project, see if others join.
> 
> I did start a low-level programming meetup some time ago, that just
> didn't work out.

I think it's really hard to get something like that going. I think you
need to identify why people go to these things and address as many of
those needs as you can. Maybe some people go to make new friends, or to
find a job, or to actually learn about the topic. I think you need to
show how you will address all of those needs. Asking someone to change
their schedule to come to a meetup is not a small thing. You're
competing with all the other things they could be doing, like going home
and watching TV or spending time with their family.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. You should, but just understand what
you are up against and don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out.

The reason I'm on this list is that Joe sent me an email out of the
blue one day. He found my blog and thought I would be interested in
the meetup. I can't be the only person that got an email from Joe.
He did a lot of research and, as we say in the biz, targeted marketing.
I'm glad he did. 

From nompelis at nobelware.com  Mon Apr 29 19:16:38 2019
From: nompelis at nobelware.com (Ioannis Nompelis)
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:16:38 +0000
Subject: Skipping the meeting tonight; notes about C meetup group
In-Reply-To: <20190428222432.rowux4neql23edrg@19a6.tech>
References: <20190424194319.GA81228@begriffs.com>
 <9c86b17b-3d98-21a8-03f4-755d0d537518@faehnri.ch>
 <20190428222432.rowux4neql23edrg@19a6.tech>
Message-ID: <20190429191638.GA12297@nobelware.com>

What Dave said, exactly.

I know the urge to build something up, like a _local_ community with similar
interests, seems very appealing at first thought. But all of what dave has
mentioned starts to thin out the initial pack, enthusiasm slows, and you can
easily get discouraged. I also think you should not get discouraged. But in
2019, there are clever ways to participate in such things from a distance.

We have a VPS, to which we allow access via SSH keys for people that we have
met in person (for obvious reasons). We collaborate and do paired programming
using that. We also run a mumble server so that we can even do voice chatting
while pair-programming with "tmux" or similar. We also chat on IRC. And it
turns out this is fun.

My advise is to let us knwo in advance that you will be "mumbling" with us at
our meetup, and let the rest take its natural path.

Which reminds me, chances are very good I will be able to do shack-stuff on
Wednesday night. Maybe we can check on our UUCP server, check out the Unicode
tools Joe has been building (i have an interest), work on our website (overdue),
or just chat.