#now i'm just messing around with settings and customization and figuring out how to install things etc

[moonxq]

my computer transitioned successfully <3

[sl33py-g4m3r]

Debian 12 w KDE Plasma let's go~~~

I've got no idea why I didn't like KDE before tbh.... cause trying it now, its kinda nice~~~ last time I tried it was idk how long ago.... when I started messing around with linux to begin with.

It, unlike xfce, has a software updater so I don't need to use the terminal on debian~~~ it looks really snazzy tbh.

last time I used it was idk how long ago..... a decade ago? and I guess now it's just Plasma and not KDE anymore? ??

annoying problem that I fixed~~~~ also for some reason the icons and stuff on my second hard drive have reverted back to dev/sda for my main OS partition and dev/sdb for where all the rest of my data is... and idk why~~~ but the lock icons on everything in that drive is gone~~ and idk what fixed it......

also time.... the date and time was incorrect and i had no idea why given I've selected the proper time zone.... I was just really confused and idk why.... but now I did and it's fixed~~ I had to change the BIOS time to UTC

and since there's no "sync w internet" and you need EXACT SECONDS now the time is slightly off cause I didn't time it down to the second.... but putting my BIOS time into UTC instead of local time fixed it~~~

also still don't know exactly why I can and could get debian to boot and install perfectly fine on my machine even with secure boot and the like from a windows install still on. when linux mint debian edition just.... wouldn't......

stupidly simple fix but I'm happy to have figured it out myself~~~ hope I like KDE more than I did a decade ago. idk why I didn't like it that far back... maybe it was worse? or there was too many customize options and it paralyzed me?

but now I like it so far~~~~ wonder if I can do it up like windows xp/95? lol. throw myself into customize options of KDE and be lost here forever :)

slowly figuring stuff out and my preferences in the linux world~~ idk why I liked xfce..... the KDE log in screen is nicer and more sleek and modern~~~

will gnome stuff work with kde? if I install gnome games? I always install gnome games and then never play any of them lol I mean I'd assume they would but idk~~

idk why I'm documenting my journey with trying different distributions or desktop environments here..... cause I feel no one really cares..... but I got no one around me to talk linux to... even if I am still (in my own eyes) a newbie at it....

welp~~~ back to system config~~ :) hope that's fun~~ and to find accessibility settings~~

what was up with the clock tho? why did I have to set my BIOS time to UTC to get it to be local time? how does linux configure time? never noticed that before~~~

I distro hop a lot I think~~~~

and would ya believe it my function keys STILL WORK~~~~ WOOOO~~

edit: there are swipe gestures to go back on browser?? gonna like KDE I think~~~

yet another edit: double check bios cause I'm a doofus sometimes~~ secure boot is still on but now greyed out and can't toggle it off, fast boot and something below fast boot are disabled~~

still have no idea why pure debian is able to load with secure boot on (permanently now I guess) and linux mint wasn't able to despite it being debian as well.... but debian 12 works so neat~~~~

bad thing tho about the "swipe to go back" is that I keep almost doing that while trying to scroll down~~ could just use the arrow keys but got so used to using the touchpad to scroll ...

[ronracer]

Yo,

I have never doubted my feelings towards anyone I have told I love them. And outside of going a little beyond my means to make them smile I've never had to prove how much I truly love them....

But I've been dealing with this company BasicInvite.com

Screwing up our Save the Dates... And watching my fiancee tear up enraged me to a level I never knew... Like I love her so much and on such a primal level that just half tears in her eyes

Let's back up a bit.

Wedding Planning Pt2: invitations

I'm kinda jumping ahead of a bit but im pissed rn so we'll circle back around to the cute fun stuff of this topic. I'm sure by now you all have seen our bomb ass engagement photos. We loved them so much we wanted to use them as our save the dates!

We ordered our save the dates through this company. Being the life-long procrastinators we have chosen to be admittedly we sat on this longer than need be. So we Paid extra for the faster shipping. We get all giddy and excited because it's just one more step towards our new lives. Of course she goes to check on it first ... But the tracking number we received was not working. Called customer service and TREVOR explained that somehow our save the dates were lost!!

Some shit about the post office not scanning the box or something. Now they are a small business, probably have one person taking mail. Part of me felt like they just forgot to put the box in the mail. None of that mattered though. We NEED these save the dates ASAP.

He assured us he was print us new ones and they would be shipped out immediately and they would refund me The extra shipping cost. I lightheartedly tell him The misses will kill me cuz The was my task so don't worried about refunding the money and if we have to pay more to get same day shipping we'll do that. Apparently they can't do same day shipping which makes no damn sense but whateva. The next morning the original package mysteriously  gets an update on the tracking number. Interesting... But regardless Trevor said he would send us a new set. Then we get an email. They TOO have noticed movement on the package and now will WAIT and see before they send a new set.

Um..

..No. We explain to them that we could not afford to wait, which is why we paid extra for the shipping anyway. I asked again for Trevor. He said they understood and would go ahead making the second batch. They were just "letting me know"... Ok... A day goes by and we reach out again because we havent got a tracking number for the second batch. They tell us that the second batch did not pass its quality control inspection and now they have to print a THIRD batch which would take another 3 days!!! They said the good news was that it looked like the original batch would be there the next day anyways. Upon hearing this my sweet little future wife begins tear up off pure frustration. Because honestly, and tell us if we wrong, but it really felt like our original assumptions about them just forgetting to mail the first box was correct. And now they are dragging us along until it shows up so they don't have to make a new box...

Am I wrong?

At this moment my patience had worn out.

I demanded to have this new batch made and shipped the same day because at this point we had wasted too much time to get a refund and go anywhere else. They gave me some b.s. about having a contract with USPS and can't do same day. I demanded to speak to a higher up which i was denied.

Fuck that.

You see the unseen problem small businesses have is that They rely too much on their own social media. So finding the CEO was only a click away.

And I sent him a lengthy FB msg

After that They assured me I would be getting my package that day and give me a full refund. Of course I had heard this three times already. I told them I would NOT get off the phone until my packing is literally in the hands of the postman and I get an email SAYING it was shipped. I'm not kidding you guise. I put the phone on speaker at work at say there with them for 5hours.

They actually sent a picture of the box on the truck and then tried to hang up on me! Hold up. No. I said I needed both the picture AND update on the tracking. Not just being a dick about the situation but if we all remember in the beginning how this all started was them saying "the mail man must have forgotten to scan it..." So you will WAIT with me as I refresh until it says on the way. But I felt bad for the poor girl on the phone, syd I think her name was. So I said this is Trevors fault put his ass on the phone.

There was a strange silence then she says he's out of the office... I really hate when people try and play you like we haven't all worked customer service and managers have given us the I'm not here face

I asked when he would be back and she says she can't give me his schedule. I then tell her if I have to call back for him the civility of this interaction, which was already at a low point, will be null. Further more I have enough sky miles to fly to Utah in the morning if I have to.... By this time the tracking has updated... She tries again to get off the phone. I say where's Trevor.. Oh he has magically reappeared.

Sounding annoyed by having to talk he immediately goes into this bland ingenuine corporate apology. BUT instead of apologizing on behalf of BasicInvite.com this foo says he stands by the quality and service of BasicInvite.com and he apologizes for USPS!?

Bruh...

How you gonna be so self absorbed you gonna blame the Untied States government.

Even if it's true they messed up the first box, which I still don't think they did. What about the 2nd box? Why did I have to curse two poor customer service reps out for you to figure out how to do same day shipping? He then tells me he thought maybe we were trying to get something for free

I went ALL the way off.

I said several times I didn't care about the money for these cheap ass save the dates I wanted the save the dates! I even suggested paying extra. So where in the fuck you get the idea I'm trying to get over?.. He hung up. I called back and got poor syd answers. I say put Trevor on the phone she again says he's not taking calls. I told her I will call everyday for the rest of this year until Trevor or Brock takes my call and gives me a real apology.

They truly had no idea who They just crossed.

I called everyday And only saying hello can I speak to Trevor til They blocked me. I then used the website chat. They blocked my IP from going to their website, then gave me a refund. I went to Starbucks used two pcs and vpns til they had to install a new chat service that could block instantly. Still all I said was hello I need to speak to Trevor. Finally getting a formal cease and desist email I stopped.Trevor you should thank your god that my god put a woman in my life with some sense because I was really prepared to torture you for the rest of my living days.

So now I have double the save the dates and nothing to do with them. If It were up to me I'd burn the whole lot of them post the video on IG and tag BasicInvite.com

Anyone out there listening please do not use these people. I should have known from the name they some basic bitches.

[dollarpuppet]

Page skeleton

I decided to make an in-browser video game; it will be some kind of simulator, like those "tycoon" games, but with an emphasis on economics.

I still haven't picked a game engine but I know I want to use React and Bootstrap for the front-end, and that I will host the static assets on S3/CloudFront. I'm not sure yet where I will host the backend API.

I don't need to make additional decisions before creating the skeleton of the web page. I already suspect I'll have some kind of canvas in the center, and some charts around.

About mockups

There are many great wireframing tools out there (such as balsamiq, my favorite), and in typical projects, those can help flush out requirements. In general, I think that when building an app for a client, wireframes are better than mockups because they avoid endless discussions about UI styling (which tends to lead to bikeshedding), and they also are less likely to confuse clients about what actually works and what is fake.

In my experience, mockups are a form of vaporware because people who see the fake application make all kinds of assumptions, and those assumptions are not tested since the product doesn't exist yet. Untested assumptions lead to disappointment, disappointment leads to pressure on engineering, and pressure on engineering leads to garbage products.

Wireframes are a lesser evil but they also can open the door to untested assumptions.

Mockups vs prototypes

What's the best way to build an app when requirements are unclear? Prototypes. Pick the one thing that everyone agrees the app should do, and build that. Then assumptions about that single feature can be tested thoroughly and no confusion remains. Once that first prototype makes everyone happy, pick one or more additional features, and build another prototype. And keep going until the latest prototype is good enough for users to get value out of using it.

Building prototypes is not the same thing as being Agile. For instance, it's perfectly fine to use a prototype approach following a traditional waterfall methodology, which is usually not the best way to utilize engineering resources but has the advantage of making it crystal clear for the business stakeholders as to who is doing what, and how much it cost, and what will they get out of it.

I think one day I'll write a whole book about this, but for now I mostly want to figure out the best way to build this game, and therefore I want the answer to a simple question: what is the fastest path to release? And it's using prototypes.

When working with a team, I like Agile, especially if done right, because not only does it maximize productivity, it also lead to an increasingly more effective team. But as a lone wolf, I don't need all this stuff, so I'll just use a good old "todo.txt" file.

In this prototype

For this first prototype, I want to achieve the following:

a page skeleton that has a bunch of charts and a central canvas

some interaction with a remote API that gives numbers to be displayed in the chart

some kind of animation in the canvas that react to the same data as the charts

I'm not a huge fan of client-side frameworks; more specifically, it irks me to "build" JavaScript or CSS code, so whenever I have to write React stuff I tend to cut corners and use the babel tags in the browser rather than use yarn to build the code properly. There are merits to that approach but it does make it more difficult to leverage tools like Visual Studio Code properly.

So this time, I'll give the proper method a try.

Setting things up for rapid development

Using S3 as a web server is great - in production. During development, it makes things a bit more difficult, for three reasons:

it doesn't support SSL, which means some kind of reverse proxy is needed

every update means a transaction that is billed; it costs roughly $0.01 per 2,000 updates. This is dirt cheap but given the absurdly high number of tiny files in modern JavaScript frameworks, this can add up.

I'm not kidding when I say that there's an absurd number of files. After creating a vanilla react app, here's what I see:

With zero custom code and no dependency added manually, this thing starts with over 35,000 files! Copying that one time to S3 will cost me $0.18. I don't know exactly what yarn run do and what ungodly number of files will get created as I add libraries, but I suspect that any kind of active development will take me out of the AWS free tier and (OMG) cost me money.

I could work around this by doing builds and concatenating all the JavaScript stuff in one big file, but this will slow down the development process.

Cheating

I still want to use S3/CloudFront for prod, but for now I need something more agile (and cheap) so I'll do the following:

spin up a tiny EC2 instance, like a t4g.nano or something

I will install nginx to be used as a web server and reverse proxy

I will use the "yarn run" thing to spin up a dev server, and I will proxy traffic via nginx

I will sync code between my desktop and that EC2 instance via a plugin in Visual Studio Code (upload on save)

I'm not completely sure how the React dev server works. From what I've seen, on top of a tiny web server it spins up some kind of WebSocket listener so the browser is told to reload stuff whenever files changes on the server-side. This means I'll have to mess around with nginx configuration to get that WebSocket thing working over TLS, but that's not a showstopper.

Having nginx in the picture is also great because it will allow me to fake the back-end API more easily.

So that's my task: set up the dev environment, then make a first prototype of the client-side app. Fun stuff.