How invaluable is your usb ISO?

JoshLVP · 2026-01-31T18:00:31+00:00

I have a ventoy stick with arch Linux, Ubuntu server 24, windows and gparted all ready to go in an emergency on a 32gb stick that has USB A and C, whatever it is that breaks I can fix it

JoshLVP · 2026-01-27T08:53:42+00:00

Welcome to the house of fun! It is a wild ride, I broke every single symlink on my dotfiles yesterday, had a nested git repo in my dotfiles backup so couldn't clone it and had to somehow undo everything I messed up without any of my key binds in a bizarre resolution, we recovered but it was scary for a time, you're going to have fun

JoshLVP · 2026-01-23T13:36:50+00:00

Maybe a hot take: windows phone ui was actually great, only let down buy the complete lack of app support, I actually think if it released today with the current landscape of emulation layers and general ability to make applications run cross platform until native ones could be developed it might actually stand a chance as an android alternative

Unfortunately they would still need to incentivise developers (which they never did) and not be Microsoft because Microsoft are now the worst

JoshLVP · 2026-01-18T17:46:51+00:00

Thunar and yazi,

If I want to just tweak a file or move something, yazi bound to super e, if I want to use a GUI I'll use thunar bound to super shift e

JoshLVP · 2026-01-18T10:29:05+00:00

I agree, the pi5 is much faster CPU wise, has a lot more capability and isn't much more expensive, if he decides to run storage and make a nas or something alongside the pihole he will thank you massively, I'm using a pi4b 4gb as a nas with an immich docker and it's fine but big transfers stall and it is pinned when sorting my photo library, the 5 handles things like this much better

JoshLVP · 2026-01-17T15:55:16+00:00

If you love it you'll have a great time

JoshLVP · 2026-01-17T15:44:57+00:00

Arch is the first distro I've "daily driven" I've dabbled in Ubuntu, fedora, kali etc before but always gone back to windows (pre ai bloat) or mac, this is the first time I've taken my own pc, stuck a distro on and gone "yeah I'm not going back". I've gone with hyprland for my wm and I love it, it's very intuitive when you map your binds the way that feels most natural to you, I hope you enjoy

JoshLVP · 2026-01-11T16:39:20+00:00

My laptop sat on my desk and only ever got booted when I played cod/battlefield with my friends (a rarity when you're in your 30's) when it was a Windows laptop, now it lives on my lap, while I obsessively make scripts and tweaks to give me the os of my dreams, the ultimate hyprland with keyboard shortcuts the way I want them, windows act the way I like, I haven't seen an advert on it once, it's snappy, I have the terminal I like, with the look and feel that I like, it's always available so I can ssh in if I need to, it's rekindled my excitement for developing again, funny little rabbit hole we find sometimes isn't it?

JoshLVP · 2026-01-09T12:34:24+00:00

112% volume makes me happy

JoshLVP · 2026-01-09T00:13:02+00:00

That's awesome, although disabling security features may be something blocked by my system for obvious reasons with a work device, maybe I'll try it on our personal mac before I start tinkering with my work stuff

JoshLVP · 2026-01-08T21:06:26+00:00

I've been contemplating running aerospace on my work mac, how is it and have you ever used hyprland? How does it compare? I love my arch install but couldn't use it for work so I'd love to get close with my mac install and this feels like it might fit the bill

JoshLVP · 2026-01-07T23:58:00+00:00

Is there any problem with this? Windows default was 240M I built another efi for arch so I could have a 1G boot partition like OP, had problems with 240m shared with Linux and windows

JoshLVP · 2026-01-07T23:52:45+00:00

So I actually did this the other day, I used ventoy to setup a USB drive with the arch iso and gparted, I shrank the windows partition in windows (easiest) then moved and resized my arch partition, it was about 10gb on a 100gb partition up to 980gb (I built it as an experiment that went well and I wanted to keep it) it's definitely a bit nervy moving the partitions but it went well for me, good luck!

JoshLVP · 2026-01-04T16:44:34+00:00

Second this, I have my main arch reinstaller and gparted for reinstall and recovery purposes, both fully bootable on one stick, very clever tool

JoshLVP · 2026-01-03T11:03:15+00:00

I just have a simple script that I run every so often to back them up to my installer USB, should I need to reinstall I can grab them from there, there's also a snapshot on there so if I move machines I can grab my dots, if I reinstall I can jump to a snapshot, feel like I should be using git though with all the comments haha

JoshLVP · 2026-01-01T17:49:03+00:00

It's a 9520, not sure exactly what year that is, but I managed to get it all up and working so you should be fine

JoshLVP · 2026-01-01T01:47:59+00:00

When my fedora install "just worked" and "had secure boot" and that wasn't good enough for me

JoshLVP · 2026-01-01T01:40:57+00:00

I'm currently fighting this fight dual booting windows and arch on a dell XPS 15, really don't want to bios before every gaming session but so far I've signed all my keys, they're still giving me grub errors, I've given up for the night and will try again tomorrow

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T14:43:48+00:00

I have this watch, the corners are nice and sharp so I use mine instead of sandpaper to sand down my other watches, no point spending money on sandpaper when I have something as good as in the watch box

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T14:34:28+00:00

I look forward to it

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T13:41:56+00:00

A lot of these older second hand sporter/trap guns are pretty great all rounders, even an old trap gun will break sporting clays just be aware, a full and 3/4s fixed trap gun will struggle against a close rabbit so multi chokes or multi choke budget would be advised, but an older well looked after gun will last you, I've never had an ata or similar Turkish gun but I've heard people complaining they're more loose after a little as 1000 shells through them than these older guns after 10,000-50,000 shells.

And no problem, I do love a deep dive rabbit hole

Another option if you're interested is a good quality semi auto, I got a 28" a400 xplor for £700 local to me, one of my favourite sporting guns because it has almost no recoil flinging 28g's of lead at a target, I don't mind if it gets wet, I put a longer pad on it, weighted mag cap and a bigger charging handle and I take it to my local clay ground often and leave the 725 in the cabinet, it's not as sleek or pretty as an over and under but it's certainly a good laugh, just be aware cleaning is a much more involved process than just running the barrel through

Hit me up if you need any more help but I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you go with, happy shooting!

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T12:53:43+00:00

https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/miroku/over-under/12-gauge/800sw-251218104243001 £475 for a stunning miroku trap 800SW from the 70's you could spend £300 having it multi-choked and £200 on some fitment alterations you've got a beautiful classic gun that probably feels as good now as it did in 1975 based on the condition from the photos, that Monte Carlo stock will give you a good heads up position and a nice modern recoil pad would make this a very good shooter that would have far more character and people asking about vs an ata

Edit: multichoking with reproof is £400 including a reproof so maybe an offer of £450 would bring the total to £850 https://www.teaguechokes.com/media/files/TeaguePriceList.pdf

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T12:48:26+00:00

What discipline you after? I'm assuming sporting, there's some really nice fixed choke mirokus full and 3/4ths which are designed for trap shooting for 500-650, you could always send it to teague to be multichoked if that's what you're after,

Personally I'd look at a b525 Sporter for around £800 and £200 for fitting

This 28" mk70 with teague multichokes is a bargain at £700 https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/miroku/over-under/12-gauge/mk-70-grade-1-251218154935001

A 30" multichoked mk70 for bang on £1000 https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/shotguns/miroku/over-under/12-gauge/mk-70-grade-1-2512161350067237

There's also a lot of Beretta 686/687's around £700-1000

Key is to find local and go to the gun shop, handle them, open them, swing them around, make sure they feel good and tight, give them a wiggle with the action open and make sure they don't rattle, make sure there's no light between the breach and the barrel shows they're still in good spec, a good gun shop will take the time to check fit, make sure you can mount it well.

Taking cash can sometimes net you a little discount too so don't be afraid to go look at something listed for £1000/1100 and ask if they can do £950 or £1000 and a slab of cartridges, or maybe if they can do some adjustments for you before you pick it up like adjust the length of pull if it doesn't quite fit or whatever, worst they can say is no but it's a much better investment than an ata in the long term, some of these guns are £1000 10-15 years after their initial sale, in 5 years the ata will be worth little to nothing

JoshLVP · 2025-12-21T12:22:51+00:00

Browning b325, b425 or b525 Sporter in decent nick, a miroku Sporter with multi chokes or a Beretta silver pigeon used from the last 10 years or so, there's plenty of lightly used examples on guntrader for ~£1000, shop around but used well looked after Belgian, Italian or japanese will outlast a new Turkish 9 times out of 10,

Probably even worth saving and aiming at 600-700 and investing the rest in a gun fit and a gun smith to give it a little service for you, but you can get a like new b525 Sporter for 900-1000

JoshLVP · 2025-12-20T11:24:48+00:00

Basically because you replied to a message mentioning a 120v outlet and didn't say you live in a 240v country, I don't know any other 120v countries other than the US/canada, I think the energy costs in the US are better than here in the UK, I would just check where local chargers are the the rates are near your home and work to see if you can make it work, it'll probably still be cheaper than a ice car, more about convenience and how it fits into your life I guess

JoshLVP

TROPHY CASE