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Ubuntu and User Directory Perms

I use Multipass as my VM orchestrator, which means that when I spin up a VM for any project, I’m generally getting some version of Ubuntu. There was a major change between Ubuntu 20.04 and 21.04: starting with 21.04, the user directory is set by default to 750 – where in 20.04 it is 755. This means that by default other users can no longer browse the files in your user directory. But it also means that if you symlink a directory under /var/www/ to a directory in your home folder (a thing I do while I’m doing development of web applications that would normally live somewhere under /var/www), the webserver won’t be able to access the symlinked directory unless it can access the containing home directory, regardless of how many ways you specify FollowSymLinks in the config. TIL. (this is as much of a reminder for me as for anyone else)

I Would Like to Subscribe…

I’d like to subscribe to a newsletter. This news appears on a single page, with individual articles listed in order from most recent to least. You know the kind I mean. Alas, this news page does not appear to have an RSS endpoint. And so, I have sent a message: I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. It is accompanied by a description of what the problem is and a polite request to respond back with the RSS url (in the event that my reader just couldn’t find it). I don’t want to resort to building a Python script that uses BeautifulSoup to scrape the page for new items, but I will if I have to.

Preserved Sekanjabin

Sekanjabin – a beverage syrup of Persian origin – is one of my favorite ways to hydrate. It’s made from water, vinegar, sugar or honey, and (traditionally) fresh mint. I like to make up a big batch and portion it into either half-pint or pint jars, then pressure-can them. Sekanjabin syrup is already somewhat shelf-stable due to the high concentration of sugar. Heat-sealing it in jars adds more time. I choose half-pint or pint jars and not larger jars for a reason: my preferred ratio of syrup to water is 1:7. One half-pint of syrup and 7 half-pints of water makes 64oz – a half-gallon, which fits nicely in most medium pitchers. A pint does the same but makes a gallon. So I can bring jars of syrup, bottled water (2-gal or 5-gal dispenser, not individual servings), and a pitcher to any outdoor event and keep a pitcher of prepared sekanjabin close by. The syrup jar can also double asContinue readingPreserved Sekanjabin

Achievement Unlocked: Docker

It occurred to me several months ago that I could build a Docker image for Mobiliaire to make it easy to grab and evaluate or use. Problem was, I was very unfamiliar with Docker and struggled to grok how it works. Got frustrated and put it aside. I picked it back up today and got a dev environment running w00t! I still need to work on a prod or close-to-prod build, but hey, progress!

ActivityPub Fixed

I’m running this tumblelog on a WordPress Multisite instance, so plug-ins work a little differently. TIL that you don’t have to Network activate plugins. You can just install them in the network plug-ins manager and leave them deactivated, then activate them individually in each site. Do it that way and the plugin will behave as it would on a single WP site. Therefore, ActivityPub can be available for all blogs that are part of Cordelya.net!

Improvements

Today was a day of small improvements. Newly-acquired power strip put into service powering my computer. Ran dishwasher and clothes washer loads. Started advertising my new project. Updated my Linux machines. Figured out why some of my endpoints for Charmbracelet’s Wishlist app wouldn’t work. Figured out some work-arounds for things. Took trash out. I don’t think I touched the things I’d planned to do, though.

Yard Sale and More Python

Went and helped set up for an indoor fundraiser yard sale thing that is happening this weekend. A benefit is that you get first pick of the sale items. I came home with a decent amount of things. On the Python front, I got an emailer script running via Gmail SMTP, so now I can haz automated emails.

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