TIL: Oct 2024

Classy Ubuntu's snap

Snaps were invented to break down the system and annoy users make software easy to upgrade, mitigate dependency hell, and add some sort of placebo security layer.

github comment explaining that snap isn't supported

This comment in the geth repo highlights one of the reasons why I hate Ubuntu Snap and why I switched from Ubuntu to Pop!OS and never looked back. Unfortunately, I'm still using Ubuntu at work, and these Snap issues persist, though to a lesser degree.

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TIL: Apr 2024

I'm starting a new regular monthly postly theme - TIL ${MONTH}. Although I've mostly disappeared from the social networks I still have a strong urge to share some curous discovery throughout the month.

Google Workspace admin can restore data removed by user

Google Workspace admin can restore data removed by user

It was switched on by default, I guess it won't be very suprising that admin has these level of intervention but still, huh.

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Wrapping Up 2023

It's been a long time since I shared something from my personal life, and generally, not much has been written on the blog in the last few years. Changes in lifestyle, health, and priorities have had a significant impact on how I process things and what I want to share.

Health

The health state is worrying me more than before, which is gradually worsening.

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DeFi: your tokens aren’t in your wallet

Crypto and in particular DeFi can be technically very complex, and the general audience often might oversee the importance of understanding the technical implementation.

In colloquial language, people often say something like "I've got 10 USDT in my wallet" or "my wallet has 1M Shibu Dogs". It sounds normal and assuring; we all have experience of having money in our pocket. As usual, it's not that simple after looking into the details.

Without the fundamental understanding of where tokens are actually stored there is increasing risk of losing money. It's a DeFi 101.

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That was a long gap

Whoa, that's been a long 1.5 years without me creating any content. That's how much MacBook burned me out[pun intended].
Jokes aside - I do need to restart blogging at least occationally. These days I've got so much to share from my day work observations and even more from my personal projects.

The suspect is usual - "I have no time for that", and I don't have it indeed. Newborn baby, failing projects with money involved, personal challanges and of course the Putin's war.

That all makes me think it's not the best time to put something out and I'd rather focus on small projects just to keep myselves away from the outter world. Post-COVID world along with bustle caused by first time parenting makes it very easy to do so.

Fix for noisy and overheated MacBook Pro 16″

If you're reading this is because you're in the struggle. Your $$$$ computer is hot, literally hot, as the oven and as loud as saw chain cutting metal right next to you. At the same time, your computer performance degrading down to the ZX Spectrum levels. If it sounds familiar, keep reading; I have a "solution" for you.

Disclaimer before we continue. This blog post is not a joke, and I actually have gone through all these steps and attempts to calm down this piece of metal, the so-called "Apple computer for professionals". I've learnt a lot about MacBook & MacOS, but it's a topic for another post. I'll try to keep my sarcasm minimal and sincerely try to help because I understand how disturbing this experience could be.

One can be satisfied with the minimal tweaks; the other - will have to go for more extreme ways to make this computer work. As for an Android / Backend developer, this experience was unbearable and caused many suffering and mental distress. It all made me feel miserable.

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Goodbye Endomondo

In April 2014, I recorded my first activity with Endomondo. Back then, I was the chubby thing, mostly neckless, with the large hanging stomach. I had Subway and sweet soda for lunch at best, but the preferred option always was KFC deep-fried chicken.

Back then, I still didn't care much about my health, but I started to suspect that something is not entirely right. Two other passions met each other and actually enabled a log way to change things for the better. First was Location-Based Services, I like the idea of recording and mapping my activities, see my moves and squeeze intersting insights out of it. The second passion is long walks, it's the only physical activity I used to accept. Long walks help to clear mind, give me a reason to dial friends and family, and a good excuse to listen to the hours of podcast daily.

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