Saw this on X today today. User Marshall Richards shows Minecraft server running off of a cheap $30 Straight Talk android phone.
This was just too cool not to bookmark. This gave me the idea to pull out some of my old android phones and find a Linux distro to throw on them.
Also, I want to drop this link to Marshall’s GitHub. He reverse engineered the API for those “toy” drones.
My wife bought me one last year, but I hated the proprietary controller app it used.
I’ve been trying to change how I consume online content, so I went back to RSS feeds.
I started by looking for blogs to follow, and had some success. Rediscovering old anime blogs was a nostalgia trip, and I added a few that are still active to my RSS reader. But things really started to click when I began adding news sites.
X has been my main news hub for the last six months, and I don’t like it. It’s great at delivering news quickly, but it also forces everyone’s opinions into the mix. Being able to see a headline and read it without commentary felt… freeing.
Just browsing headlines aggregated by my RSS reader was a game changer: no ads, no calls to action, just the articles. I can open what interests me and then move on.
A couple of my favorite feeds right now come from Polygon, GamingOnLinux, and EcommerceBytes for work.
Right now, I’m still collecting feeds using QuiteRSS. Once I get more situated, I’d like to check out some self-hosted options.
Donald Trump officially signs the bill to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III.
I had a weird feeling since Trumps first term he’d be the one to legalize weed. I feel like I was pretty close.
It isn’t total legalization, but it is a step forward. I’m curious to see how new change plays out across the states.
I would love to see cannabis be treated like alcohol and available at local gas station for legal adults. But, we have to start somewhere.
The United States has announced a $11.5 billion arms deal with Taiwan. The deal would include medium range missiles, howitzers, and drones.
The Taiwan government has pledged to raise defense spending 3.3% of the gross domestic product next year and reach 5% by 2030.
Trump requested they spend 10%, but the demand was pushed back by Taiwan’s KMT party and some of the population.
I think its important to note that Taiwan is home to the largest chip manufacturer TSMC. (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company)
TSMC is responsible for over 60% of chips in the entire world and is one of the sole providers for chips in the AI field.
My interpretation here is that not only are we bolstering Taiwan’s defense against China, we are also trying to secure the chip supply chain.
The Magnificent 7 is made up of the following stocks all within the tech sector
These stocks made up 33% of the S&P 500 total market cap in 2024 and that continues to grow.
The secondary concern is the heavy investment in AI these companies will be doing in 2026. If AI doesn’t bring in a big return we could be in for a huge market correction.
##References
I loved the first Zootopia movie. I finally got to see the sequel on the last day of showing in theaters. And, just to get it out of the way. I loved it! I could easily talk about all the scenes and jokes I enjoyed, but instead I’d like to talk about some observations I made with the plot. Extreme spoilers ahead.
Like the original Zootopia, it was no stranger to making a political statement. The one here is obviously colonialism. There was another less on the nose one that I think flys under the radar which is whitewashing.
Gary De’ Snake’s grandmother the inventor of the weather wall system represented in my opinion not only female inventors but, African American female inventors.
There was a moment in plot explanation monologue where they were describing how the Reptiles town was literally buried under “snow”. Of course, we are talking about a family of Lynx and obviously they are tundra dwelling predatory animals. But, I didn’t think that reference was on accident.
I felt it was some pretty clever writing. Historically there were inventions that were ignored or not properly credited to African American females like the case of Ellen F. Elgin, inventor of the clothes wringer.
I’m looking forward to watching it again in the future. Maybe with a re-watch I can try picking up on other details.
I think one of the reasons I created this blog is interact with the Web differently. It is an attempt to get away from the social media feeds and constant stream of news and ads.
At some point I realized that the main 2 sites I visited multiple times a day were X and YouTube. Instagram was high on that list until I deleted it off my phone a few weeks ago. But, the act of trying to avoid these platforms made me ask “where the hell do I go online now?”
The question felt silly. The Internet is HUGE!….but where is it?
The fact of the matter is that now most communication happens in the digital gates of major sites and social media platforms.
These last few days I’ve been scanning through old blogrolls, forums, and more to find the old Internet I grew up on. Real people running real websites.
This video made some interesting comparisons between the middle ages and current times. Particularly on the way we fight wars, social punishment, and national sovereignty.
It also suggested a book that I’d like to check out:
The Anarcical Society A Study Of Order In World Politics by Hedley Bull
Alright, so I know it isn’t much but here we are. I started using Linux again a few months ago and WOW!
It has gotten much better! My previous experience with Linux something like 15 years ago. I was in high school and thought I’d give that cool Ubuntu operating system a try.
I couldn’t play most of my PC games then, so it didn’t last long.
This is probably the most lackluster rice you’ve ever seen, but I’m happy with it for the moment.
I’m running Pop OS since it plays better with my Nvidia GPU with the default GNOME DE.
GNOME Tweaks and Extensions is a must.
The GNOME extension “Open Bar” is the big hero here. It gets rid of that big ugly GNOME top bar and turns into little bubble islands with a custom color shadow.
For window appearance I’m using the Dracula w/ Pink accent theme.
I moved the dock over on the left because it just felt better that way and done.
Most of the apps are default Pop OS stuff except my file manager Thunar.
I’m definitely going to change this setup soon, but wanted to share my first.
Just a footnote post for the rest of the blog. Normally I’d delete this post and create something else, but nah.
