Victoria Drake @victoria@mastodon.technology

Better webcam: Plug it in Ensure software compatibility Put on makeup Fix hair Turn it on Select camera output Have video call
Potato integrated camera: Have video call (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/video-calls/)

If you’re the smartest person in the room, go to a new room. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/new-room/)

Life is one big randomized hill climbing algorithm. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/hills/)

My paper to-do strategy: https://victoria.dev/blog/my-paper-to-do-strategy/

You have “fewer” things that you can count, and “less” of things you describe with a noun.

If you write fewer functions without docstrings, you get less confusion to deal with later. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/less-or-fewer/)

Explain what you do without using your job title.

I help people solve puzzles made out of software, and to become more efficient and happier about doing it over and over again. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/your-job/)

I no longer feel comfortable recommending third-party VPNs.

Instead, here’s how you can create your own for a few bucks a month. Bonus: it’s a Pi-hole!

https://victoria.dev/blog/set-up-a-pi-hole-vpn-on-an-aws-lightsail-instance/ (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/vpn-update/)

Set up a Pi-hole VPN on an AWS Lightsail instance: https://victoria.dev/blog/set-up-a-pi-hole-vpn-on-an-aws-lightsail-instance/

9 out of 10 software bugs are reading comprehension. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/docbugs/)

FYI for iPhone users…

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28711421 (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/for-iphone-users/)

Lessons from the recent ProtonMail news: No, they don’t read your email. If you’re concerned about your privacy, use a VPN. If you’re breaking the law, you’ll get caught. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/email-use-reminders/)

If you rely on a service that stubbornly only offers SMS codes as multifactor authentication, don’t use your real cell number (the one attached to your SIM) which is typically secured from account takeover with not much more than a short PIN.

Instead, use a VOIP option like a Google Voice number that is attached to an account where you can enable MFA with an app or security key. (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/sms-2fa/)

Here’s some welcome GitHub Actions news for organizations already using AWS!

https://awsteele.com/blog/2021/09/15/aws-federation-comes-to-github-actions.html (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/iam-via-actions/)

The newest hydra link checker features improved validation and tag handling at the cost of a small change if you use a configuration file. Please update your commands to pass the configuration file name with the –config parameter.

https://github.com/victoriadrake/hydra-link-checker/ (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/hydra-v2/)

When you look at a project you haven’t laid eyes on in months and immediately spot a bunch of things you could fix…

That’s a good thing! You’ve improved! 😃 (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/improving/)

If you’re a reader of mine, which of my articles stands out as being the most helpful to you? (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/f668927e-587c-4416-b2f5-45184e6d09ca/)

In order of preference:
@GrapheneOS on a new Pixel
@LineageOS on almost any other Android, including older models
A Linux phone (not everything will work)
I would be skeptical of the bevy of new “pre-made privacy phones” that are going to pop up in the wake of current events. At best, it’s just an Android phone that someone bought and installed Graphene or Lineage on before selling it to you. (Installation isn’t very hard, and there are step-by-step instructions you can… https://victoria.dev/neofeed/new-phone-in-order-of-preference/

Anyone know of a FOSS reader app (epub, pdf, mobi) for iOS? (https://victoria.dev/neofeed/foss-reader/)