Communick News

Here's the source if you need it. (Inkscape SVG)

That's a lot of near Mrs...

Regardless of the distribution, would it be possible to have a phone that can be simplified to include only the features you want? For example, I would only want a calendar, notes, a calculator, calls and messages. I wouldn’t want a browser, an app store or any other way to easily install them. Is this possible on a Linux mobile distro? Does it require a lot of work, like making a specific distro for it?

Linux feels like a great option for this because it can leave enough freedom to dumb down what you don't need while also keeping a big level of customization, not everyone needs are the same regarding to dumbphones

I'm getting back to a project I started in 2024 but got to pause it (couldn't find anyone to help me). It's called SuperTux Smasher (formerly SuperTuxBattleMelee), a platform fighter featuring Tux and other mascots in the open source community

So far, we are three people working on it (the other two just joined very recently) and they even get to do a logo for the game. There's also a sample design of the main screen, and we're working on the menu and a stage

We're also looking for other potential people interested. Just note that it's likely going to be a pixel art game, so if you know how to use Aseprite or Libresprite, that would be awesome. Otherwise, you can go as composer or programmer. You'll just need to know how to use C++ and Squirrel (it's like Lua, but with a true object-oriented paradigm), the latter will be used for modding support

If you're interested, the source code is here on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/SuperTuxSmasher/sts-game

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/44631802

Fujitsu are motherfuckers.

What I recall from the warez scene decades past was that the latest games and apps were traded all over the place and always easy to get. But the sort of media where protectionism is the least justified (e.g. proprietary but gratis) was rare and hard to find, as it was generally less interesting.

When it comes to things like hardware drivers, these things should be more openly pirated. Would Fujitsu sue someone who pirates their hardware drivers? Unlikely, because the negative publicity would backfire and the embarrassment would cost them more.

Ironically, I cannot find the software of the OEM CD for a Fujitsu NAS.

Linux drivers generally

Targus makes an unofficial linux driver for their docking station. The driver is very much needed because the docking station embeds a graphics card that linux does not normally find. At the moment there is not much problem because Targus still distributes the driver. But what happens when they decide to stop? The Targus driver also has shitty packaging (a bash script with a blob embedded inside the script). WTF. In principle, this thing should be repackaged more properly for a distro like Debian (in a non-free repo). And it should be done before Targus decides to pull the plug on everyone.

There already is a non-free Debian repo for drivers. They have non-free licensing but the producers of them apparently permit distribution. What about drivers that need distribution without permission?

cross-posted from: https://awful.systems/post/8068330

This is a 50sqm balcony/terrace on the 2nd (3rd American) floor of a rental apartment building. I immediately knew we had to take the apartment, because having a balcony garden was my number 1 wish. In that sense, we definitely got super lucky.

This is year 4 of the garden, and it feels like we've reached "routine" with it. In the first year, we lugged about 2.5 cubic meters of soil up there to fill all the pots. From June-October, this space is enough to fill 100% of our (two people) vegetable needs.

Unsurprisingly, this is way too much to water by hand every day, not to mention when we're not home for some days/weeks. The balcony is also south-facing, and it gets hot in the summer (seriously, I have burnt my feet on the stones before).

Unfortunately, there's also no water outlet on the terrace itself, and the landlord said "no" to putting one there (which was expected, the way the house/apartment is built is not really suitable for that).

Our solution has been to put two 300l rain tanks on the balcony (atop of load bearing walls). They get filled by a hose from the kitchen tap whenever required. The barrels are connected by a second hose. In the one in the greenhouse, a rain barrel pump sucks water out, into a watering computer and optionally to a hose for manual watering.

From the watering computer, two watering circuits start; originally the plan was to distinguish between plants that constantly needed a bit of water, and ones that preferred a lot of water occasionally (e.g. the citrus plants); in practice, it turned out to be easier to just always water everything a bit. Oh well.

The watering computer itself it pretty dumb / not connected to an app or the like; it just opens the valves every 8 hours for (in the summer) 3 minutes each time. That's mostly OK. On super hot days, I sometimes start a fourth round of watering in the early afternoon.

The pump is however plugged into a Zigbee-enabled smart socket, which is controlled by an automation via HomeAssistant (so, all-locally, thankfully). The main purpose of this is an automation that disables the pump when there has been a lot of rain in the past 24hrs, or a moderate amount of rain in the past 8 hours. Not that important when we are home, but usually extends the number of days we can be away from home by 2-3 days for a full filling of the tanks.

Finally, here's some pictures and a video from the past couple of years. I think this year is the first year where no new pots were added, and we needed to buy hardly any new soil (the compost bin has really been worth it in that regard, as well!)

Happy to answer any questions!!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/67700053

Supposedly, apparently, pros use metal pistol attachments for nozzle-less expansion foam canisters. Does anyone know why?

AFAICT, the pistols are a bit costly. The pistols themselves can get clogged and add a maintenance burden. You need to then buy a can of special cleaning solution (is it acetone?), to spray through the pistol after every use.

I have always used the foam for DiYers: a canister with a nozzle and long plastic straw. The straws are trivial to work with: you twist a screw into the end of the straw when done to seal it off. The stuff in the straw still dries out but it’s easily cleared by plunging it. A coat hanger can push it all out in one piece.

Twice those things have fucked me. I buy a huge can of the stuff and use it for one small squirt somewhere. Then the stuff cures inside the can near the outlet, thus sealing it off. There is no recourse because label even tells you that you’re going to get fucked. The label says “one time use”. Indeed, they expect you to blow the whole load in a single giant ejaculation. WTF? Now I have cans of barely used expansion foam with lots of liquid trapped inside the can. I don’t recall if I tried the spraying it upside down trick to clear the nozzle.

So I have to wonder, is the pro stuff any different? Wouldn’t the pro canister outlet self-seal just the same? A hardware store near me is going out of business and I have a chance to buy a pistol at ½ price. Not sure it’s worth it.

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/59051926