@dan@danq.me
@dan@danq.me avatar

dan

@dan@danq.me

Magician Automattician on a Geoposition Mission. Blogs at https://danq.me. Founded https://threerings.org.uk. Based between Oxford and Witney, UK. Queerer than the average bear.

Blog auto-syndicates to @blog.

:heart_pride: :bisexual_flag: :polyamory_flag: :europe: :automattic: :wordpress: :firefoxnew:

#IndieWeb #WordPress #InfoSec #Magic #Geohashing #Geocaching #DnD #Pizza #WebDev #IndieWeb #Queer #Polyamory #Bisexual #Automattic #Volunteer #Volunteering #Oxford #Witney #UK

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dan, (edited ) to random
@dan@danq.me avatar

British Gas's programmers don't believe that a surname can be only a single character.

Their customer service agents worked around this by adding a parenthetical note to my record.

The result is hilarious postal mail that tries to reassure me that my surname really is what it is:

EDIT: Well this blew up. FAQ etc. at https://danq.me/it-is-only-q

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@simonzerafa Linked directly to that list (which I love!) in the version of this note on my blog: https://danq.me/it-is-only-q

b0rk, (edited ) to random
@b0rk@jvns.ca avatar

every git command I use

permalink: https://wizardzines.com/comics/every-git-command/

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@b0rk Frankly amazed that git bisect appears in so few people's history! It's such a useful command that's saved my bacon so many times!

Sure, it's not an everyday command, but I'd have thought that it ought to appear in most people's history somewhere! And it's not an obvious candidate for aliasing.)

dan, to security
@dan@danq.me avatar

Finally fully grok hash length extension/padding attacks. So I wrote a play-along guide, in case it helps others get their head around this gnarly cybersecurity concept:

https://danq.me/2023/11/30/length-extension-attack/

#cyber #security #hash #hacking

dan, to random
@dan@danq.me avatar

Almost the very-first question in this year's Community Life Survey has the option to say I "don't have any friends". 😭

dan, to random
@dan@danq.me avatar

How did I never think of accessing Gemini (the protocol) on my Gemini (portable computer) before today?

Of course, I recently rehomed my Gemini so instead I had to access Gemini on my Cosmo (Gemini's successor), which isn't nearly as cool.*

  • Still pretty cool though. Reminds me of using Lynx on my Psion 5mx last millenium...

dan, to wordpress
@dan@danq.me avatar

There are lots of guides to "making WordPress fast the easy way". So I wrote a guide to making WordPress fast the HARD way: https://danq.me/2023/11/04/fast-wordpress-the-hard-way/

Key takeaway: WordPress can be at least as fast as a static site generator (but still retain the value-added features of a CMS), so long as you're willing to put the work in.

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@davidbisset Ooh: that's interesting! Here's how it looks to me. Very interested what browser etc. combination you're using to see that: could be a mis-application of a dark mode filter or something?

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@tomw Yes indeed! Caching gives the single biggest improvement that any reasonable person would need (unless they're running a React front-end on headless WordPress or something!).

My guide is not for reasonable people. 🤣

Edent, to random
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

Just booked a holiday 😃
But it isn't until December 😐
I need to stock up on books to read 📚

If you have recently read a book which is UPLIFTING or ✨FUN✨ please let me know.

I don't mind if it is fiction or not. Modern or old. I want to read books which will make me feel happy and invigorated.

What have you got?

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@Edent Just finished re-reading To Be Taught, If Fortunate. But honestly everything by Becky Chambers is awe-inspiring, uplifting, and beautiful.

Edent, (edited ) to webdev
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

🆕 blog! “How to check something isn't an email address?”

In web-development circles, it is a well-known fact that trying to validate an email using a regular expression is… complex. The full set of modern email standards allows for such wonderful addresses as: chief.o'brien+ds9@spásárthach.भारत So determining whether or not your user has entered a valid …

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/09/how-to-check-something-isnt-an-email-address/
⸻

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@Edent I once volunteered with a helpline organisation whose email software didn't believe it was legitimate to have an apostrophe in an email address, and refused to let me reply to a person in need on account of them having such a thing!

(The email address wasn't even their choice. They were using an email address assigned by their employer, who allocated firstname.surname@ email addresses, and their surname used the anglicised O' version of traditional Irish patronymic "Ó" surnames. Not that that makes a difference.)

ZachWeinersmith, to comics
@ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social avatar

Time
http://smbc-comics.com/comic/time-5 (click for bonus panel)

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@ZachWeinersmith Hopefully this time-traveller's art will eventually find its true home at the @vagina_museum.

tomw, to random
@tomw@mastodon.social avatar

Deciding between "is" and "are" for collective nouns has become an unwinnable situation.

The natural-sounding answer is usually "are" but you get a lot of upset pedants.

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@tomw I think you mean 'The natural-sounding answer ARE usually "are"...' 😂

dan, to opensource
@dan@danq.me avatar

Finally got around to consolidiating, tidying, and slapping an license on my to / / gateway: CapsulePress!

Naturally, you can read more over your choice of protocol:

ZachWeinersmith, to random
@ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social avatar

I realized all my French stereotypes are vintage 1940s. I'd like to remain xenophobic, but could y'all recommend some more up to date prejudiced generalizations?

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@ZachWeinersmith

Updating your French stereotypes from the 1940s to 2020s, a guide:

  • Less striped shirts and strings of onions.
  • Same amount of ennui and cigarettes.
  • More rioting in response to the hint that you might have to retire 12 months later that you planned.

You're welcome.

pfefferle, to fediverse
@pfefferle@mastodon.social avatar

I felt inspired by some recent articles of @dan https://danq.me/tag/rss/ and made some small RSS-Plugins for last night. (I needed a break from )

❤️

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@pfefferle This is amazing! Thanks for doing what I didn't have time to!

(Looks like your well-known-feeds implementation is still waiting for a code commit though!)

Edent, to php
@Edent@mastodon.social avatar

🆕 blog! “Should the WordPress scheduler use datetime-local?”

There's a brilliant post by WordPress about how they've optimised some of the backend code to make it more efficient. So here's a suggestion for something else which can be optimised. If you want to schedule a blog post to be published later, you have to use this WordPress control: I find it mildly an…

👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/09/should-the-wordpress-publish-scheduler-use-datetime-local/
⸻

dan,
@dan@danq.me avatar

@Edent Speaking as an Automattician: I don't think you necessarily need Automattic's input on this one. It's always nice to have their blessing, as the biggest WordPress contributor, but WordPress is bigger and broader than Automattic and you can bring about change from outside it.

(Every major contribution I made to WordPress itself - i.e. not related to WP-CLI or WooCommerce or whatever - was made outside of my role with Automattic!)

But speaking as a WordPress user, I love this idea, and if I get a moment I might do an experiment or two...

ElleGray, to random
@ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @LicensedToKilt @ElleGray Who's got time for that? I'mma just stay here on my Sofa of Procrastination.

    Edent, to random
    @Edent@mastodon.social avatar

    Any other get nervous if they don't have several blog posts scheduled for future publication?

    I've currently got enough posts to last a week. So I'm doing OK.

    I also have a bunch scheduled for 2025, and 9 for 2030!

    Anyone else doing the same thing?

    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @Edent I used to, many years ago. Nowadays I've embraced the fact that sometimes I'll just go weeks (or ocassionally even months) without a post. It's fine.

    dan, to Geocaching
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    Are log entries getting shorter? It feels like they are.

    So naturally, I extracted 134,000 of them and made Excel cry/drew some graphs: https://danq.me/short-cache-logs

    Turns out - yes, yes they are. Now I'm wondering why?

    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @ravetracer_22 Yeah, I've seen that around here too. I don't go for FTFs any more: I wait to see an FP or two appear on a new cache before I consider visiting it.

    repeattofade, to random
    @repeattofade@tootr.co avatar

    the B in LGBTQIA+ does NOT stand for buses

    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @repeattofade I made it into a motivational poster [https://danq.me/inclusivity]

    dan, to random
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    Idea: .well-known/feeds should provide an OPML file containing a list of some of the feeds associated with a website, as a lightweight, centralised, and "doesn't need to appear on every page" alternative/supplement to <link> tags. Convenient for both publishers and feed readers.

    More: https://danq.me/well-known-feeds
    Example: https://danq.me/.well-known/feeds
    Draft spec: https://github.com/Dan-Q/well-known-feeds

    What do you think, @davew?

    ZachWeinersmith, to random
    @ZachWeinersmith@mastodon.social avatar

    For about 20 years I've been "the SMBC guy," but during the last week I've had 2 different people online shocked to realize "the bea wolf guy" is also "the smbc guy" - something I've never had with any other project.

    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @ZachWeinersmith Wait, you did both those things? I thought you were just some guy on Mastodon!

    Edent, to fediverse
    @Edent@mastodon.social avatar

    My provider seems to have died. Amy recommendations for a new one?

    I picked https://lemmy.one/ at random. Probably should have done some more research!

    dan,
    @dan@danq.me avatar

    @Edent I'm not disputing that what that service did was some real sloppy amateur hour stuff, and I'm sorry you got caught up in it - that sucks!

    I'm just sarcastically countering that while centralised social media may well (as you say) understand basic privacy, they use that understanding to undermine it in ways that specifically benefit them. They might be more competent, yes, but also more likely to use that competence for evil, as far as privacy is concerned.

    It still sucks to be the victim of a leak, regardless of the cause, and feels particularly icky when it's as in-your-face as a CC misuse. Sorry that happened to you. ☹️

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