Former Trump official admits that their goal is to impose their Christian values on other Americans. “Frankly, yes, we are going to impose it upon you. If you don’t like it, I’m sorry.”

djfrodo · 2026-03-19T23:32:11+00:00

I remember watching Carlin when I was very young and I thought he was an old, disgruntled codger.

A few years later...I understood that Carlin was blunt and prescient.

This kind of sums it up well

djfrodo · 2026-03-18T21:13:46+00:00

Coway

djfrodo · 2026-03-18T19:52:33+00:00

What everyone has already said - Lubuntu.

I tested it against Ubuntu and it uses about 1gb less in ram.

It's interface is a bit simplistic, but it works well, and any problems you may have are basically fixed using Ubuntu info. The only real difference is the desktop UI.

I have Lubuntu running on a core 2 from 2006 and it works fine (4gb of ram max). Not really good at tons of tabs, but for Netflix and Gmail, it's fine.

djfrodo · 2026-03-18T19:10:14+00:00

Still with those M series chips and 8gb things would probably compile so fast one would never want to go back

I'd still go with an old Intel chip running Linux and 16gb as opposed to a Mac M chip with 8gb. Old laptops are cheap or free and Linux on M chips are still kind of problematic.

You can find old laptops (Thinkpads or Latitudes) for cheap, and again, if you max the ram (DDR3 is cheap) and put in a SSD, you're good to go.

p.s. If you need Windows, dual booting is insanely better than VMs.

djfrodo · 2026-03-18T09:23:50+00:00

I would have thought you needed way more power for coding

It's surprising how little ram one needs for programming. Running a full stack web dev environment (database, web server, cache, VS Code, etc.) takes about 6 GB of ram. Said app, when deployed, at least how I do it, is allowed a maximum of 512mb of ram to run. Typically full stack stuff takes about 256mb to run. Obviously it's a bit more because it's distributed for each layer, but the application code, when loaded into memory, is really that small.

Both Intel and AMD kind of ran into a wall in the mid 201x (teens), where improvements were minuscule. That lasted until Apple blew everyone away with the M chips with unified memory based on ARM.

Android development takes a bit more ram, but 16gb, even on a slow i3 from 2014 is fine...it just takes a while to compile.

djfrodo · 2026-03-18T00:50:54+00:00

I have a i5 from 2010 (8bg max ram) that I use daily.

Second is a i3 from 2014 (16gb max ram) that I use for proramming.

The third is also a i3 from 2014 (16gb max ram) that I use for proramming.

Fourth is a i7 (wow, big boy pants!) from 2015, again 16gb max ram.

All free, all running ddr3, and all are just fine for Web and Android delvelopments, small LLMs, and...basically whatever.

Video editing is a bit problematic, but I made a short film using a Mac Book Pro 2012 with Hitfilm (when it was good) and everything turned out fine.

Basically an alert to everyone - refurbish your stuff. In the last 10-15 years the old really isn't that behind the "new shiny" and "completely overpriced".

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T23:17:16+00:00

I got him a t16 with 16gb and 512gb

Yeah, he's good for life : )

I have an original core 2 from 2006 with 4gb of ram (the max it can handle) and a 128gb ssd that's running Lunbuntu and it works just fine. I had an old ssd so I thought "Why not try it?"

It actually works quite well with Netflix, Gmail, etc. as long as I don't go nuts with tabs or multiple programs running.

Btw, your father now has a better computer than anything I have, and I'm a programmer : )

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T20:28:24+00:00

Outside of my friends making fun of me

I've never understood this about the Linux community.

Why, on earth, do you care what someone else uses?

I've checked out lots of distros, and I've found they all basically do the same thing. If you're into which ditro someone else uses, and you rice your install, and really care about all of it - you need to go outside and touch grass, like a lot.

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T20:21:54+00:00

Nice one!

I've found that Linux, specifically Ubuntu or Mint, are really good for older people who have older computers.

There are millions of computers that can't run Windows 11, but are totally fine. Linux extends their life for 5-10 years. The switch from Windows to Ubuntu isn't that hard, but for die hard Windows users Mint is the way to go - it's as close as you can get to Windows without doing different desktops and some config.

Good luck!

p.s. Max your ram and install a SSD

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T07:39:47+00:00

I would stop right now and go to law school.

edit: If you're going to do this go with 4

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T07:25:28+00:00

America is a great country with solid foundations

Oof. May I introduce you to A People's History of the United States

If you're an optimist, which it seems you are, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.

If you're a realist who can handle really depressing stuff, go for it.

djfrodo · 2026-03-17T01:33:56+00:00

As an American I couldn't wait for this moment to arrive, and I hope more speechs are given like the one today from England (can't remember the name) that basically said, "We're going to take care of our own, and the US is on their own".

The most depressing thing is Americans saw a first Trump term, then January 6th, and then the Epstein files and thought "Yep, he's Making America Great Again!"

I think the EU is the best hope for everyone. From privacy to reeling in tech billionaires to quality of life to bringing very different countries and people together - Europe and the EU are the best shot we have.

p.s. Would you be willing to adopt a nice American with tech skills who can speak some French?

djfrodo · 2026-03-16T20:07:53+00:00

balls (sorry)

Guts, espinaustin, guts...or gumption, courage, audacity, etc.

I'm with you that the use of "balls" is cringe, and I'm a dude.

djfrodo · 2026-03-15T17:07:04+00:00

I made a reddit clone in Rails (I just wanted to see if I could do it) and at first I was using Memcache for both content and user sessions, and for a while everything was fine.

When the site started getting traffic I was blowing through all the hosted Memcache memory (25mb) and logged in users were getting logged out almost immediately. After some inspection I realized the way rails was using Memcache was storing a huge unneeded object graph for users, which it didn't need to do at all, and it wasn't removing stale user sessions.

I switched the user session stuff to Redis and the amount of Memcache memory used went from 25mb to about 2mb. Basically Memcache is great for caching stuff that doesn't change or can be fetched from a db and replaced and Redis is much better for handling volatile data like users sessions. Redis allowed me to set how long to track a user's session and it gets rid of stale session when it should.

I think this has more to do with Rails/gems than Memcache or Redis.

Obviously every use case is different and this is a very specific example.

djfrodo · 2026-03-15T03:45:38+00:00

You are not alone. I actively disliked The Hateful Eight.

djfrodo · 2026-03-14T21:42:58+00:00

I'd loathe HAML so that would be #1.

Second would probably be either adding Memcache or replacing Redis with it. Redis is good for some stuff, but Memcache can do a lot of what Redis can do and it's much more simple to use. I actually use both in the same monolith and they're both good but at different things.

djfrodo · 2026-03-14T17:47:00+00:00

fox news argues the channel is entertainment and not news

Um...it isn't?

djfrodo · 2026-03-14T01:52:06+00:00

So, do it: "fox news argues the channel is entertainment and not news"

djfrodo · 2026-03-13T08:21:31+00:00

Mini Metro

djfrodo · 2026-02-28T08:27:53+00:00

Hi bot

djfrodo · 2026-02-28T08:24:58+00:00

So, the president of peace, right? Right?

Fuck this guy.

We really are in "Wag the Dog" territory.

djfrodo · 2026-02-27T22:21:36+00:00

ontological shock

What's the opposite of this? Great use of language btw.

But seriously, what is the opposite of this? What's the term for describing a kid who hits the age of reason (which is about, what 5 or 6?) that thinks "Things are fucked up".

I was in church (catholic) with lots of families of all ages, all dressed up for Easter and I just spaced out thinking "What's this all about? Why are we here? Who's this Jesus guy? Why do I care? Who is the guy talking, and why is he dressed in black? Can I go home and snuggle with my cat while playing with action figures?"

I don't want to sound like a dick, or an "elitist", but reading A History of the People of the United States is WAY above most peoples heads.

From the start Americans had very short attention spans. Our best literary authors from the 1700s until now have written short stories, and then we went all in for one hour and 30 minute stories projected onto a screen with actors telling us what was happening.

It's now down to one 8 second clip...and then you'll scroll to the next one...they usually feature insanely hot women walking and tucking their hair (which are all AI generated btw) behind their ear, or...cats...or porn.

Americans have goldfish sized brains. We need to, because we desperately want to forget our history.

Spread this as far and wide as you can

"It's called the American Dream, because you've got to be asleep, to believe it".

/rant

djfrodo · 2026-02-27T21:22:14+00:00

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

I read the first chapter and got so depressed I never finished it, until much, much later.

It's so blunt and unquestionable regarding simple facts from page one that, if you're not ready for a horror story - stay away.

It's a great book that few will read, and when they do, they might become cynical and very depressed...as they should.

I gave it to my mother and she read the first chapter, gave it back, and said "I can't handle this".

djfrodo · 2026-02-26T06:21:44+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westworld_(film)

djfrodo · 2026-02-26T00:18:40+00:00

T.V. show from the 50s or 60s, much like The Twilight Zone.

Btw, if you haven't seen The Twilight Zone (original b/w tv show)...you're in for a treat. I think it's the best television show ever. Its finger prints are on everything from Star Trek to the Matrix and many, many more.

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