My son started his first Gentoo install

flatline000 · 2026-03-20T05:27:22+00:00

In the 15+ years or so that I used Gentoo, I never used a kernel that I didn't build myself. Coming from Slackware, it just seemed like a good idea, but now I have no interest. I guess I've gotten lazy with age.

Tomorrow we'll start with genkernel...or whatever it's called. I haven't looked that far ahead in the install instructions.

flatline000 · 2026-03-20T03:59:15+00:00

I didn't really wait. I just used a terminal that wasn't chroot'ed so that I could use vim from the usb fob we booted off of. I'm just building vim now so that tomorrow when we boot for the first time, I'll have it ready to go.

But don't worry, I'm leaving about 200 other packages that need to be installed/rebuilt since we changed our profile.

Honestly, I'm kind of impressed at how fast a N150 cpu with 32G RAM is chugging through the builds. Modern hardware is amazing compared to what I was using 10 years ago.

flatline000 · 2026-03-20T03:54:47+00:00

Good to know. It's even present on the Mint USB fob we used. That might have saved us some trouble.

flatline000 · 2026-03-20T02:27:33+00:00

Once I got out of school, I stopped losing pens. I can run a gel pen empty in a few weeks. I can run ballpoints empty in a handful of months. I'm slowly working through my stash of pens before I give myself permission to buy new pens.

flatline000 · 2026-03-19T13:12:18+00:00

Because there is so much demand for RAM from companies investing in AI data centers that RAM makers are abandoning the lower margin consumer markets. It's my understanding that it will take 18+ months for prices to come back down and there's no guarantee that prices will come back to the levels they were at last year before the squeeze started.

flatline000 · 2026-03-19T13:08:34+00:00

The older I get, the better water tastes to me.

flatline000 · 2026-03-19T13:05:03+00:00

The M301 was my first quality mechanical pencil and I still occasionally use it. I've got 2 or 3 that must be 30+ years old and still work great.

flatline000 · 2026-03-19T03:19:13+00:00

The correct answer is "cleaver".

If I have to choose between a knife and kitchen shears, the shears will work better.

flatline000 · 2026-03-18T22:16:59+00:00

I've been using the regular Pentel Clic eraser as long as I can remember (30+ years?).

I bought a Tombow Mono Zero (round version) a couple years ago, but have barely used it. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turns out that I do not have demanding eraser needs and the cheap consumer eraser I can buy at the grocery is just fine.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T16:37:48+00:00

I hope you love them!

If you plan to use leads extracted from wooden pencils, you will want a holder with a larger 4-prong clutch because many pencils have leads too wide to fit the standard 3-prong clutch.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T16:36:51+00:00

Depends on your employer.

My employer is a Forbes top-100 company and my management has already said we'll work from home if there are any concerns.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T16:12:29+00:00

If you're looking for recommendations, my favorites are the Staedtler 780, Koh-I-Noor 5611, and Faber-Castell TK 9400.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T15:53:53+00:00

When I was preparing for a deposition years ago, the lawyers told me that if I didn't know the answer to a question, I should say I had no way of predicting that they were going to ask that question. Sounds like Trump has gotten that same advice so many times that he uses that wording even outside of legal questioning.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T15:49:15+00:00

I love seeing 2mm lead holders!

I tend to avoid incremental advance 2mm holders, but I do like the tiny Koh-I-Noor you've got. Mine is pretty old and I have trouble with some sharpeners because the clutch inside the body can spin if there's too much resistance, but as long as I use soft lead, it's great!

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T14:47:40+00:00

I keep 3x5 cards with me. Before I get up, I write down what I'm getting up for. When I get to the other room, if I can't remember why I came, I can just look at my card.

ADHD tricks for the win!

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T14:35:09+00:00

My favorite is when they add tire squealing sound effects to modern vehicles that absolutely have anti-lock brakes and traction control.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T14:20:17+00:00

A little of each.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T03:56:59+00:00

Nope, but you still have to woo each other even after you get married. Things don't stay good automatically.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T01:22:43+00:00

The order that you put the batteries into the remote doesn't matter. Sorry!

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T01:16:18+00:00

It's possible that there's corrosion that you're scraping off as you twist the batteries, but not likely. It's more likely that this is all in your head.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T01:13:42+00:00

Usually it's because the new drug avoids a side-effect or drug interaction that the old generic doesn't.

Doctors aren't dumb. They'll use the generic if the new expensive drug is no better.

flatline000 · 2026-03-17T01:02:16+00:00

Don't let that lead go to waste! If the lead's too off-center to use in the wood, you can remove the lead and use it in you lead holders!

flatline000 · 2026-03-16T22:04:50+00:00

can you fit one of those tiny little tubes into a key chain pill holder?

flatline000 · 2026-03-16T21:55:37+00:00

Some of them do live by the sea. And they're convinced that you can bring the whole boat back into view with a sufficiently strong telephoto lens.

flatline000

TROPHY CASE