Kev QuirkModify

2026-05-02 00:01:00

I've read a few posts about people leaving GitHub recently, and following my short note to the Fediverse a number of people have piped up saying they're not fans of GitHub, either.

From the reading I've done, these frustrations are usually threefold:

1. Microsoft ownership
2. Microsoft training Copilot on open source software
3. Large amounts of downtime

In all honesty, none of the factors above really bother me that much. I think that's because I don't rely on GitHub for anything significant. I'm not a professional software developer, so my livelihood doesn't depend on it.

As for Copilot being trained on open source software, and them repeatedly ignoring the GPL to do so, it does irk me, but I kind of expect shit like this from Microsoft at this point. I went into using GitHub assuming that any code I upload there can (and probably will) be used for shitty stuff.

But even that isn't enough in isolation to put me off GitHub. The way I see it is that public code is for the public, and if Microsoft want to use my code in that way, while not ideal, doesn't piss me off that much.

So why think about moving at all?

Well, for me it's about reliance on big tech. I'm trying to reduce it where possible, but the social and "centre of mass" aspects of GitHub are giving me pause.

For example, the Simple.css repo has a whopping 5,000 stars! Do I really want to lose that visibility?

Buuuuuuuuuut, I can always redirect any popular repos to another platform, just like I did with 512KB Club when I handed that to Brad.

Plus, let's be honest, it's all just popularity bullshit. It doesn't really mean anything. What's important is that the code is readily available for people to use.

It's like leaving Facebook - when I was thinking about it, I was worried if I'd miss my friends or be out the loop. It's been over a decade at this point and I don't miss it one bit - no regrets whatsoever. I think moving off of GitHub would be the same.

So what am I doing?

I plan to slowly start migrating public repositories over to Codeberg so that all my projects are hosted there. I'll also use it as an opportunity to archive off any old repos that I no longer need.

Codeberg also supports logging in with GitHub and Gitea, so anyone who contributes to my projects on GitHub, should be able to do so easily in Codeberg too.

Then, for my private repos (of which there are many that host personal projects) I've installed Synology's Git server on my Synology, and have been playing with that for a few days. It works extremely well, so all my private repos will live there, safe and sound, away from Microsoft's greasy mitts.

Final thoughts

Ultimately it's personal choice. For me it's about reducing my reliance on big tech, but also making my private repos more private.

I won't be deleting my GitHub account though, as I think it will be important to use as a marker for anyone who wants to find my source code when it moves.

Have you thought about leaving GitHub?

2026-05-01 16:56:00

I was recently reading The Long Ride Home by Nathan Millward and at one point in the book he talks about having to get on a plane, and his fear of flying:

This was something I would have loved to have avoided [getting on a plane], my fear of flying (I think) born out of the absence of control you have up there.

Everything in the hands of someone else, just sit there, hoping nothing bad happens because if it does I couldn't imagine anything worse than in that moment of free-fall thinking of all the things you should and could have done in life, as now it's too late to put things right or learn from your mistakes. Your time has come, and now it's gone. Though I suppose this is a fear of regret, as much as it is of flying.

-- Nathan Millward

This really resonated me, and for someone who flies semi-regularly for work, it often surprises people when I tell them I have a fear of flying.

I dunno, maybe fear is too strong of a word, but it definitely makes me feel very uncomfortable. Especially if there's turbulence.

Like Nathan, I think it's a loss of control. Yes yes, I know, I'm far more likely to hurt myself on my motorbikes, or in a car crash. But the difference is, if I have an accident in the car, or on a bike, I'm somewhat in control and there's a fair chance (especially in the car) that I will come out of it with only minor injuries.

On the other hand, if I'm in a plane crash, I'm very likely to die in the most horrific way possible, and that absolutely terrifies me. This is often compounded by the fact that a lot of the travel I do is transatlantic, so I'm over a huge body of water. Brilliant.

Overcoming it?

God knows I've tried! I've done the British Airways flying with confidence course, which gave me more knowledge, but hasn't really helped with my anxiety.

I've tried sleeping pills, but all the over-the-counter ones in the UK are shite and do absolutely nothing for me. They don't even make me drowsy. A couple of people have recommended sedatives, but that gives me the ick. Not only would it be illegal, I have no idea what they would do to me. No thanks.

I think I'm destined to be an uneasy flyer and just have to get on with it.

I'm due to go to the States again in a few weeks, and as per usual, the anxiety is starting to bubble in my gut.

If any of you have tips, I'd love to hear them!

2026-04-29 19:27:00

I saw this post in my RSS reader this morning, followed by a reply from Alex, so I thought I'd add my own opinion to the mix.

I'm similar to David and Alex - I'm not forthcoming with the fact that I have a blog, but I don't hide it either. I think that's mainly because most of my friends and family won't really care about what I write here, so it's a pointless exercise.

I know there are a couple of friends who read what I write regularly, and I'm not sure how they came across my blog - like I said, I don't advertise it. Having said that, my real name is Kev Quirk, so if anyone who knows me searches for my name, I imagine this blog would be close to, if not the, top hit.

When people ask me about my hobbies, I tend to say "I enjoy writing" rather than "I have a blog." And I think that's because of the negative connotations blogging has with the general public.

I think some people tend to put "bloggers" in the same bucket as influencers, or podcasters. Which isn't the case - many of us bloggers have no aspirations of influencing anything, we just like to share out thoughts on a medium we control. If it comes up in conversation though, I'll nonchalantly say that I have a blog.

Anyway, that's my response. Who knows that you blog?

2026-04-28 21:55:00

The Papirus icon theme is my favourite - I've used it for years and it continues to work beautifully. So while I've been rebuilding my Framework 13, it was one of the first things I installed.

But there's a problem, dear reader. You see, I'm a proud light mode person, but I regularly switch to dark mode when working in the evening. However, Ubuntu has this silly bug where it switches back to the default Yaru icon theme whenever one switches between light and dark mode.

Annoying.

On my previous machine I had a cronjob running every minute that simply checked the theme and switched it to Papirus if it was Yaru. That worked fine, but wasn't the most elegant solution.

So, this time I did more research and came up with a slightly more elegant fix workaround.

How to "fix" it

Ok, it's pretty simple. It consists of a small script that runs whenever Ubuntu flips between light/dark mode, then 0.2 seconds later, switches the icon theme back.

Far from perfect, but it's better than a script that runs every minute the machine is running.

To do this, create a new script at ~/.local/bin/watch-darkmode.sh with the following contents:

gsettings monitor org.gnome.desktop.interface color-scheme | while read -r line; do
    if echo "$line" | grep -q "prefer-dark"; then
        sleep 0.2
        gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme 'Papirus-Dark'
    elif echo "$line" | grep -q "default"; then
        sleep 0.2
        gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface icon-theme 'Papirus'
    fi
done

You need to make the script executable, so run this next:

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/watch-darkmode.sh

Next thing is create a .desktop file that tells GNOME to automatically start the script when we log in:

# Create the file
nano ~/.config/autostart/watch-darkmode.desktop

# Paste this into the nano window
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Watch Dark Mode
Exec=/home/YOUR-USERNAME/.local/bin/watch-darkmode.sh
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true

Remember to change YOUR-USERNAME on the Exec= line to whatever your Ubuntu username is.

That's it! Log out, and back in again, and the script should be doing it's thing in the background. So the next time you switch between light and dark mode, your fancy-pants icon theme should persist.

2026-04-27 21:41:00

In case you hadn't heard (it's all I've been going on about for a couple weeks, so you probably have heard - sorry) I spilled coffee on my Framework 13, then after lots of testing and cleaning, I confirmed that the main board was dead.

The new main board was delivered this morning, so I went ahead and got it fitted to the chassis. Problem is, I'd pissed about the partitions on the 2TB NVMe so I could dump my install on the 1TB NVMe in my new ThinkPad T480. I tried booting up and fixing the 2TB NVMe, but it was screwed, so I cut my losses and went for a re-install of Ubuntu 24.04 instead.

I'm aware that Ubuntu 26.04 LTS has been released, but I prefer to wait for the first point release before upgrading.

After 10 minutes or so, the plucky little Framework was alive!

So I spent most of the day (on my day off) configuring the fresh Ubuntu install back to how I had it before. Luckily the ThinkPad is working great, so I could use that as a reference to get everything pretty much exactly the same. After 3 or so hours work, we're back up and running with all my apps, data, and config restored.

Another issue

While setting up the laptop, I noticed that there was an issue with the screen. At first I thought it was just some residue from coffee-gate, but on closer inspection it looks like the bottom corner has somehow de-laminated.

I know this wasn't caused by the coffee spillage, as the stain would be brown. Plus the laptop would smell. I'm wondering if it's some isopropyl alcohol, or contact cleaner, from when I cleaned it out.

The only other explanation is that it has de-laminated due to the heat in the conservatory, but I doubt it. It doesn't get that hot in there, and it's only April.

This is the second problem I've had with screens on the Framework. The bottom of the screen de-laminated just a week after I got the laptop. I thought it was a fluke, and Framework support sent me a replacement immediately, but this has me thinking that the screens just aren't that good.

Can anyone else who has a Framework 13 confirm if they've had issues with the 2880x1920 display?

Final thoughts

Anyway, this is the last update in the saga. For all intents and purposes the Framework is now repaired. I'm waiting to hear back from Framework support to see if they have any recommendations, but if not, I'll probably have to buy a new screen too.

It's lovely to be back typing this post on the Framework. I've really missed this laptop, and the typing experience.

Geez this has been one expensive mistake! Take note, people - if you drink coffee around your computers, keep a lid on the cup!

2026-04-27 03:21:00

After 10 years of loyal service, the motorbike jacket that I wear most often gave up the ghost recently and ripped. Being a piece of protective clothing, a rip isn't a good thing, so I've been shopping around for a replacement.

But you see, motorbike jackets are complex, heavy garments that are littered with protective pads. They used to come with back protectors too, but it was later decided that these were too expensive, so you had to buy one separately.

No problem, they're standardised so you buy a good one and it can last you decades. There's just a big void in the back of the jacket with a number of velcro patches that any back protector will cling to.

That's what I have in my old jacket, and I assumed it was still the same now.

So today I bought myself a new jacket. It cost me £380 (on sale!) but you can't put a price on safety, right? I also have protective trousers that zip to my jacket all the way around my waist.

But the zip on my new jacket isn't compatible with the zip on my old trousers (how the fuck can a ZIP be incompatible??) so I bought the matching trousers for the new jacket, costing another £300.

So now I'm £650 lighter in the bank, but I have good quality motorbike clothing that should last me another decade.

This evening I went to swap the back protector from my old jacket to the new, only to find that many manufacturers now have brand-specific pads for their clothing that sit in perfectly sculpted pockets.

The specific back protector (which is a bit of rubber with some holes in it) for my jacket is fifty fucking pounds. So now I'm at £700.

Fifty quid's worth of rubber, apparently

Fuck that. I've bought a generic (but good quality) one, and I'll cut it to size.

Vendor lock-in

Whether it's phones, social networks, communication platforms, printer ink, laptop chargers, smart home systems, games consoles, coffee machines, electric toothbrush heads, camera batteries, or fucking motorbike jacket back protectors. Nothing is interchangeable.

It seems that every day another piece of standardisation is being washed away, and we as consumers need to make our choices, invest, and stick to a brand. You can switch, but it's gonna cost ya!

It's fucking ridiculous.

Over and over again we get shafted, and there's not a single thing we can do about it. I'm so tempted to take the jacket back for a refund, but what do I do then? I need a jacket for riding. I'd be screwed.

Fuck bike jacket manufacturers that do this. Fuck vendor lock-in. Fuck. This.

</rant>