steven deobald
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deobald.bsky.social
steven deobald
@deobald.bsky.social
3rd wave open source, vipassana, chai, fixies, other stuff.
off to a 30-day vipassana course tomorrow. goodnight, internet. see you all on november 20th.

in the meantime, i am still looking for f/oss work — preferably in or around the linux desktop. if you liked the changes i made to the @gnomefoundation.bsky.social in the few months i was there, email me.
October 15, 2025 at 1:07 AM
as someone who has to build for ios (volunteer project, platform not my decision) wow do i hear this
kenney.nl Kenney @kenney.nl · Oct 13
Support for macOS is ending for Asset Forge, 2.5.2 is unfortunately the final release. Supporting that specific platform slows down all my other projects and progress in general. None of my new products will release for macOS or other Apple devices, it's simply not worth it.
October 13, 2025 at 11:46 AM
i've been thinking about code of conduct committees a lot recently, and i'm increasingly of the opinion that nick has the right idea here:

youtu.be/iMqpm2Ahmt0?...
The end of F Droid? Red Hat hacked, Leap 16 & more Linux Weekly News
YouTube video by The Linux Experiment
youtu.be
October 5, 2025 at 6:07 AM
#localfirst doesn't have to be about collaboration.

you can 100% have a #lofi app that stores data on your laptop, desktop, and phone without ever engaging a second human being.

multiplayer is cool — but you don't have to solve the hardest problems first.
October 4, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by steven deobald
It's that time again: ✨we’re hiring✨

We're looking for a @godotengine.org IDE Engineer to help us build the next generation of collaboration tools inside the engine itself! More detail here: inkandswitch.com/jobs/godot-ide-engineer

(Remote role 🌍🌎🌏)
Godot IDE Engineer
Help build native, visual version control for collaborative game development in Godot
inkandswitch.com
October 3, 2025 at 7:22 PM
the new shower setup at the cabin is obnoxiously loud but it's a small price to pay to actually shower once or twice a week. de-luxe.

or... it would be. if this drought wasn't keeping the well completely dry. :/
October 4, 2025 at 1:28 AM
list 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep.

1. vipassana
2. digital sovereignty built on 3rd-wave open source
3. hacker villages
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep.

1. Public libraries in the US
2. Vermont's 251 Club (for its 252 towns, don't @ me)
3. Wikipedia
List 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep

1. The history of science fiction
2. Star Wars, specifically Andor
3. The Expanse
September 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
any time i pass a car parked in the bicycle lane, i'm careful to knock loudly on the body of the vehicle with my knuckles. i find your average motorist is very receptive to this. they appreciate being alerted to their error.

if concerned about your fingers, use a large metal object instead.
September 25, 2025 at 11:37 PM
i spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about this tweet:

glammr.us/@jessamyn/11...

like, every day. i want my job to be whatever it takes to accomplish this goal.
Jessamyn (@jessamyn@glammr.us)
@koronkebitch@types.pl @theluddite@assemblag.es Yes, there is enough software, let's spend the rest of the time we have left making it accessible and better.
glammr.us
September 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
even if (especially if?) you don't care that much about "ai", machine learning, or llms ... this newsletter is worth adding to your rss reader.

glad it's back. ❤️
lu.is Luis Villa @lu.is · Sep 24
Still early, and unfortunately the source material is skimpier so far than it was last time I was writing, but I’m Back.
www.openml.fyi/back-in-the-...
Back in the Saddle / 2025-09-24
Vocabulary, ethics, and disclosures, and some news and links from The Week That Was in AI + Open.
www.openml.fyi
September 24, 2025 at 3:13 PM
35 years on, we have decided to reinvent corba but in typescript this time:

blog.cloudflare.com/capnweb-java...

somehow, i don't hate it? i kinda wish they'd gone with standard-ish rich types for json... a minor complaint if you don't touch internals:

> Arrays are treated as "escape sequences"
Cap'n Web: A new RPC system for browsers and web servers
Cap'n Web is a new open source, JavaScript-native RPC protocol for use in browsers and web servers. It provides the expressive power of Cap'n Proto, but with no schemas and no boilerplate.
blog.cloudflare.com
September 23, 2025 at 2:21 PM
the most 1990s thing ever said about the effort to rejuvenate the 1990s web ❤️
weird general offer: if you've got some personal web infrastructure tech questions that you want to talk through with somebody, i'm basically always happy to, no matter how well we know each other. I love helping people feel like they've got a home on the web
September 23, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by steven deobald
Nintendo re-releasing the Virtual Boy wasn't on anyone's list, I assume. 🥲
September 12, 2025 at 1:59 PM
"we don't like your fake plastic money or your free healthcare, so we're going to pay you less as punishment."

cute that the numbers are lower _in canadian dollars_ like they're going to sneak the 32% paycut in there unnoticed 😂
September 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
yeah, i feel this. (not just in jobs, but in life)
The easiest part of my job is being fighty and mean to powerful people when they are wrong. The hardest part of my job is being constructive and kind to people with less power than me when they are wrong.
September 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by steven deobald
It's a bit long (17 minutes), but this is a thoughtful look at a stellar career in journalism and its psychological costs.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgeh...
What covering the world’s crises cost Brian Stewart
YouTube video by CBC News: The National
www.youtube.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:45 PM
that michael dell, thoughtfully doing @endof10.floss.social.ap.brid.gy marketing for them. what a guy.
September 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by steven deobald
Sometimes you'll need to mix and match #gameassets by different artists. Even small tweaks like adjusting outlines or colors can help them feel more unified! Having a consistent art style goes a long way ✨

(Featuring art by GrafxKid & my Pixel Platformer pack)
September 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
i'm off-grid until sept 22. thanks to all the #gnome hackers for your support. you folks are very sweet. ❤️
September 4, 2025 at 11:41 AM
yes, this was a real thing in my home province.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=alm4...
Cult leader Romana Didulo arrested by RCMP on livestream
YouTube video by CBC News: The National
www.youtube.com
September 4, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Reposted by steven deobald
So when you're cooking that's good, but if you're cooked that's bad. Never stop cooking?
September 2, 2025 at 1:41 PM
just dropped p off at school for her first day of her second masters degree. we still need a lunchbox for this purpose: tiffin or american construction worker style?

it'll be neat to have an epidemiologist in the house when the next pandemic hits.
September 2, 2025 at 2:20 PM
watching golden girls episode "cheaters", where sophia is up late "having a maalox moment" and ends the scene complaining about the lack of brand name q-tips in the house.

p: "omg. it's... it's you! you are sophia petrillo!"

i WISH
September 1, 2025 at 8:02 PM
same
Fascinating, Emacs now has M-g M-g as "Go-to-line".

For years I had a manual binding for "C-x g" in my .emacs, and when I stop carrying all the legacy, I kept doing the recommended thing at the time which was "Go to the top of the file, then type C-u LINENUMBER c-n" like a beast.
September 1, 2025 at 1:47 AM
thanks antonio! i can’t really speak to what happened but (to allay the concerns of others) it has nothing to do with my privacy.

i’m doing alright and i’ll stay on as a gnome foundation member and volunteer.
I have no idea what happened but I can't help but feel disappointed. I liked your style, transparency, and direction you were setting. Wishing you the best!
August 31, 2025 at 8:18 PM