About Thran

This question fills me with the same existential dread as mandatory personal introductions at work, or online dating profiles. Without disclosing too much, I'll give a brief bio.

Short description

Programmer & Linux User. Attempted guitarist. Enjoy imaginative music and films. Striving to make the Web personal again, in my own small way.

Contact Me

Write me letters@<THIS_DOMAIN>.uk. Letters to the editor are appreciated but replies aren't guaranteed.

BTC wallet: bc1qmdkn09q6u4h6mpd7qedpwj7j6lckzuun0mqqht

Around the web

• ThranFeed@Twitter
• Thran@Mastodon.me.uk
• FecklessListener@RateYourMusic
• FecklessListener@SoundCloud
• LordFeck@GitHub

Likes & Dislikes

likes:

obscure music, linux, bsd, fluxbox, vim, perl, ground coffee, filled bookcases, mechanical things, primus, trains, ale, tankards, freedom, old buildings, fireplaces, forests, ancient history, bicycles, south park, brass eye, wired headphones, pedestrianised streets, trams, vintage macintoshes

dislikes:

tomatoes, windows >=8, 'single page' websites, nano (the editor), python, lazy songwriting, capeshit movies, advertisements (especially "targeted" ones), statism, primus, hubris, political parties, bureaucracy, profiling, censorship, modern shallow keyboards, "login to see more", the British government's internet policy, one way traffic systems, buses

loathes

REM (the band)

Programming parlance

I program in Perl when I want to have fun, C when I wish to show off, and anything else if I am paid enough.

Decent Websites

Websites I mostly like may be found here - linklist.

Causes I support with money

Free software is necessary for privacy in computing. Privacy is foremost in the digital age, with everyone trying to abuse your data. Both of these organisations do much to fight for your freedom in the digital realm:

• Free Software Foundation - Development and defence of free software. I have been an associate member since November 2021.
• Big Brother Watch - Contending for privacy online and offline in the UK.

Naturally, I would encourage your financial generosity to these worthy causes, if possible.

Woeful Websites

How not to do it.

• Facesbook
• Medium
• New Reddit
• Any page that takes >100Kb to load (excepting images)
• Sites with intrusive cookie notifications
• Websites that require javascript just to display text
• Websites that require so much scrolling your index finger muscle gets ripped
• Anything to do with tracking, profiling and advertising (beyond text links)

Stickers and Userbars

If these look old it is because they aren't making them anymore! At least, nowhere I can find...

Computers I own

A photograph of two is here.

Thinklad (ThinkPad T450 Laptop)

• OS: Debian 10 (Buster)
• CPU: Intel i5-5300U (4) @ 2.900GHz
• RAM: 16GB DDR-something
• Storage: 256 GB SSD
• DE: KDE Plasma 5

OS2DAMAX (MacBook Air, 2017 7,2)

• OS: Mac OS 12 Monterey
• CPU: Intel i5 (2) @ 1.8+Ghz
• RAM: 8GB DDR3
• Storage: 256 GB SSD

Orcrist (Big Desktop)

Hand built from components.

• OS: Void Linux
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core @ 3.6Ghz (x86)
• GPU: Nvidia 750 Ti (Scrounged)
• Mobo: Gigabyte x570
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: 256 GB eMMC SSD + 2TB 7200 RPM HDD
• WM: Fluxbox

Other systems include: Multiple Raspberry Pis, a Pine Rock64, A heap of Dell R200 servers, a useless HP Pavilion box, an old Dell laptop or two, more I have certainly forgotten.

What can I say? I am a programmer. Computers just appear in my house overnight.

For the desktops, some screenshots I've taken may be seen here: August 2021 Screenshot Showcase

More?

For more 'about me' babble, you may read the Never Asked Questions.