Aigars

A software developer with a passion for everything

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Last Notes

2026-08-25 18:40:24 CEST

It's close to impossible to do these days, but I got my hands on some nice incandescent light bulbs.
https://files.aigars.digital/4a56d62068d67e01751d106a48d979ef690aaeab9187e276284b7532a848c0a2.webp

2026-08-24 21:54:21 CEST

People need to be reminded that not every technological advancement is a net positive for the world. Despite the new possibilities they bring, not all of them are worthy of being called progress.

2026-08-20 13:04:46 CEST

A healthy perspective on AI on the latest episode of Cool Worlds Podcast: https://youtu.be/xavckvuszzU?t=2204.

2026-08-14 19:28:34 CEST

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I would gladly contribute my thoughts. I discovered Nostr last year, and I'm still learning about it, including the development side.

2026-08-02 12:37:54 CEST

When did people start using fancy terms like “misinformation” and “disinformation” instead of simply saying “lies”? Also, why?

2026-07-28 12:13:52 CEST

Sadly, there appears to be a lack of monitor light bars with a red light option, so I had to get creative. It works surprisingly well. Almost as if these Quntis light bars were designed to hold custom filters because you don't need anything to secure them in place. Just slide a 9 mm wide strip in, and it stays there.
https://files.aigars.digital/715e2aee4689b3b9ea4f5ab06df30aefdc7fc494313088c6f460ca9b70bb53ae.webp

2026-07-27 16:22:25 CEST

I've been using Harper for about a week now. It's definitely not as good as LanguageTool, but for a free, completely offline grammar checker that doesn't rely on AI, it's probably as good as you can get. I am a paying LanguageTool customer, but once my subscription ends, I intend to compare Harper with LT's free tier.
If you are serious about writing, Harper is not going to cut it, but for everybody else, it seems like the way to go.

2026-07-27 12:40:43 CEST

I might have hoarded too much tea.
https://files.aigars.digital/e17632a1564b84249810397239bfa977e9c5c7bdf8bde380d15b27eb6b9b9b84.webp

2026-07-26 15:07:09 CEST

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Perfect timing. I was about to set up my own Blossom server and as wondering which software to use.

2026-07-25 10:32:48 CEST

Nostr has genuinely reignited my passion for tinkering with tech and software.

2026-07-24 06:42:46 CEST

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Phoenix. I picked it based on reviews and recommendations, and it's been a great experience so far. I like its minimal style.

2026-07-23 18:55:06 CEST

I don't know what crazy stuff Spotify is doing on its website, but it was causing my monitor to periodically go black whenever I had it open. Disabling NVIDIA High Definition Audio helped.

2026-07-22 17:53:32 CEST

I hope Keet messenger gets more attention. Especially from security researchers. It's a very well-made app, and the technology behind it seems very cool, but being relatively new in this space, it requires more scrutiny.

2026-07-14 12:31:21 CEST

A good article about AI and productivity: https://joshcollinsworth.com/blog/productivity

2026-07-08 16:48:24 CEST

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That is precisely because they're building things using AI.

2026-07-08 13:24:40 CEST

I've been surprisingly motivated to work on my personal website lately. No AI agents, no slopcoding, no wasted money, just pure craft ❤

2026-07-06 10:15:31 CEST

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An update on my experience with Minimal Firewall. Overall it does work great, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to allow connections from apps on a VeraCrypt volume. If you don't need that, Minimal Firewall is definitely the way to go, but until I find a way to resolve this issue, I'll be sticking to TinyWall.

2026-07-01 20:25:55 CEST

I don't have much experience building and upgrading PCs, but there is one thing I know for sure—you can never go wrong with Noctua coolers and fans. Every time I try something else, I end up coming back to them.

2026-06-28 11:54:47 CEST

Why does everything related to gaming have to have RGB lights? Most gamers are regular folks who prefer sleek, minimal aesthetics. I don't want to install additional software just to get rid of the silly rainbow on my GPU.

2026-06-22 11:30:18 CEST

A good firewall app is a must regardless of what desktop OS you use. For years I've been a big fan of TinyWall, but a few days ago I decided to see what other options are out there. Everyone in the privacy and security community seems to be recommending Portmaster, but even as a tech-savvy person I find it overly complicated. I decided to give Minimal Firewall a shot, and I think it's going to be my main recommendation going forward. It provides more granular control than TinyWall and it has very handy notifications, which I missed after switching from GlassWire. I also love that it's a single binary without an additional installation process.

2026-06-21 16:45:06 CEST

I've heard some people say they couldn't get it working, but in my experience, Ventoy is the best tool for creating bootable USB drives. You create a bootable partition once and then just put multiple ISO files on the drive. No need to recreate the whole thing every time.

2026-06-09 14:05:43 CEST

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The whole point of Nostr is to not be governed by anyone.

2026-06-07 16:36:20 CEST

Fun fact: despite Japan being the origin of matcha, most chasen are made in China. After my old one became too worn down to keep using it, I've come to realize that it's quite difficult to find a good chasen that matches your needs. This one genuinely impressed me. It's made from black bamboo, which is already a rare find. It has a shin-style shape and only 64 pins, which makes it perfect for smaller bowls. And the most surprising part—it's handmade in Finland. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/d9229cefb00c623f42114ad1cde7b78ff80f90af8ee217ded0a1c37bf83331e3.webp

2026-05-21 11:47:33 CEST

It's nice to see people do fun new things with relatively boring products. I've been using the Slate 7 Pro travel router from GL.iNet for the past few days, and the experience has been great.
The compact form factor and USB charging are beneficial even for home use. Quick configuration options through a touchscreen are super handy. And the OpenWrt-based software provides many niceties that you usually don't find on mainstream routers. My favorite parts are built-in support for NextDNS and Mullvad VPN.

2026-05-11 16:19:50 CEST

Out of all the third-party Android keyboards I've tried, FUTO Keyboard is by far the best.

2026-05-09 09:40:10 CEST

I have a sudden urge to learn Zig.

2026-04-29 20:45:24 CEST

I'm sick and tired of games that have an extremely capable (lore-wise) main character with memory loss who doesn't add anything substantial to the story, but apart from this annoying issue, the newly released NTE is fun. I love the occasional creepy vibes. https://nte.perfectworld.com/en/

2026-04-29 16:53:38 CEST

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A custom ROM focused on improving Android privacy and security.

2026-04-29 16:28:41 CEST

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I couldn't find them talking about it on Nostr, but here's a Twitter thread from December last year. https://x.com/GrapheneOS/status/1998916448710983881

2026-04-29 06:18:15 CEST

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I first learned about them a long time ago when they were first trying to break into the mobile consumer space together with Canonical and Mozilla. There hasn't been any news until recently, when the GrapheneOS folks were posting some harsh criticism about the project. It's probably not worth putting much hope in it.

2026-04-22 11:15:43 CEST

Framework once again proves that they are making the best laptops in the world. You can take any generation of their Laptop 13 that you own and upgrade it to a Pro equivalent by buying a few components instead of paying full price for the new model. This is how all laptops should be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSxgCEpkiKM

2026-04-21 08:21:38 CEST

As much as I would like for it to happen, I don't think Apple's policies will change for the better with the new CEO. He might not be in charge anymore, but Tim Cook is still on the Board of Directors, making and influencing decisions.

2026-04-15 08:13:23 CEST

I see people saying that RAM prices have gone down, but I don't really see it. They might have decreased a little bit, but they are still nowhere near a reasonable amount.

2026-04-02 19:24:39 CEST

How come nobody's talking about NASA’s Artemis II mission? They might not be landing on the moon just yet, but even a round trip seems to me like one of the most exciting and, more importantly, positive things that people have done in decades. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

2026-03-20 17:36:47 CET

I've been playing StarSavior for the last couple of days, and the early impression is great. I haven't explored everything yet, but it has fairly unique gameplay, impressive visuals, some of the best character designs in this genre, and particularly lively character expressions. Can't comment much about the story yet.
Some people have reported performance issues, but it runs smoothly on a 2-year-old midrange phone and a 9-year-old PC.
I'm surprised it didn't become more popular during its initial release in Japan and Korea. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/ac5fd873f429d2c094050978fdf7eae5e434b9b0a75c6c1a9d6306aecbfb07bd.webp

2026-03-12 10:47:16 CET

Upscayl is a precious gem in the sea of cheap and largely useless AI tools.

2026-03-04 18:51:09 CET

Apple really loves to sell bad-value products by fooling people with attractive prices. $600 for a laptop with a worse CPU and less memory than a $600 iPad Air is scummy. You can definitely do more things on macOS, but MacBook Neo performance will put a significant limitation on them. Additionally, the target audience for this product doesn't even need anything more than what the iPad provides.

2026-03-04 11:12:15 CET

Every single website in 2026. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/688bc93cad15d4b9c9bcd2c0eab11b6adc558ca2dc45a8d10b9eb15def7b41dd.jpeg

2026-02-21 16:51:01 CET

Now that Helium has vertical tabs, I was going to test it out as my default browser, but the LanguageTool extension doesn't seem to work on it, so I'm forced to postpone this idea yet again.

2026-02-18 09:46:05 CET

A fundamental truth of life. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/46a28893e417f156f27deabda304201289b4e6c8f729c279d3bb7638350d8cbd.webp

2026-02-15 22:30:48 CET

Ever since I started keeping my notes in Obsidian, I've been struggling to decide whether to copy and paste some content I want to reference later in a note or save only the link to the online resource. People always say that whatever you put on the internet stays there forever, but it really doesn't. The internet is quite bad at preserving things.

2026-02-15 20:35:51 CET

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That's the problem. AI can be fun and sometimes useful for individuals, but it's one of the few things ever created that, on a larger scale, has only negatives.

2026-02-07 23:15:04 CET

Once in a while I stumble upon a largely unknown anime that no one ever mentions, and it ends up among my all-time favorites. Super Cub is one such example. If you like wholesome and melancholic stories with a focus on mundane details, give it a watch!

2026-02-03 09:16:28 CET

A Japanese oolong tea is a rare find. This one has a very dominant floral note. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/bcba6b9c39867199c6321b4e1ab1711f985f91aa074ac961f4d3dffab74a3fa1.webp

2026-01-29 09:57:16 CET

Opening a news site without an ad blocker is terrifying.

2026-01-28 18:20:14 CET

I've started to appreciate backpacks made from lightweight materials. A bag that weighs you down before you even put a laptop in it should not be considered a well-designed product.

2026-01-24 20:30:53 CET

One unexpected thing that slop coding has exposed is that a large number of developers never actually enjoyed writing code.

2026-01-22 09:55:26 CET

Arknights: Endfield has been on my radar for over two years. It feels a bit weird to finally be able to play it. https://endfield.gryphline.com/en-us#home

2026-01-20 16:19:10 CET

The biggest problem with bitchat is its excessive battery consumption when running in the background. For comparison, Conversations is another chat app running in the background 24/7. https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/fc0dd356c874480a52682e09f1b15ba4d7ed49aec8ef31db1f752aedbce41d29.png

2026-01-19 13:28:43 CET

It's insane how difficult it is to find clothing that is not made from synthetics. Even among more expensive items.

2026-01-15 21:34:43 CET

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Tor is not a tool for privacy protection. It's meant to anonymize the traffic for rather niche operations. A person who's accessing his online accounts through Tor is not getting any benefits from it unless the accounts have been created anonymously and can't be tied to the person to begin with.

2026-01-12 21:26:50 CET

A great take on slop coding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgbmGG-xlHI

2026-01-11 15:17:53 CET

The amount of snow this year is very pleasing.

2026-01-06 15:42:02 CET

Since Google is trying so hard to prevent Android users from sideloading apps, I've been wondering if it's still a good idea to buy an Android device now.

2025-12-29 13:00:25 CET

I love HTML and CSS. https://blog.sturdystatistics.com/posts/html/

2025-12-19 16:37:57 CET

The developers of my favorite game, Blue Archive, are working on a new title that is currently known only as Project RX. It was announced about a year ago, and now we have a small teaser. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFT4JxSEvu0

2025-12-17 22:47:06 CET

I always say Obsidian is my favorite app of all time, but my vault is a complete and utter chaos. I badly need to figure out a good organizational system for it.

2025-12-15 16:07:34 CET

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Nostr needs all kinds of people from all kinds of communities. That's what helps platforms grow.

2025-12-13 13:10:43 CET

I genuinely enjoy reading about products, services, or software that other people use, but none of the social media offerings seem to be well designed for this kind of content. It's mainly reserved for personal websites. I would love to see an evergreen personal page support on Nostr where we could share these things or anything else that requires a permanent and easily accessible place with a nice presentation of long-form (Markdown-based) content.

2025-12-12 14:51:33 CET

Proton has finally introduced their spreadsheet app, so I have no reason to use Google's office suite anymore.
https://proton.me/blog/sheets-proton-drive

2025-12-11 09:00:38 CET

I hate when people use the words “biweekly,” “bimonthly,” or “biannual” because there is no consensus on what they actually mean, and the context usually doesn't help. It can mean either twice per week/month/year or every two weeks/months/years.

2025-12-10 15:02:57 CET

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True, but at the same time iOS and Android are much more closed and tightly controlled systems.

2025-12-09 13:11:25 CET

Are AI coders the new script kiddies?

2025-12-08 10:58:56 CET

If you desperately need to buy RAM in this crazy economy but don't want to sell a kidney for it, forget about Amazon and all other big marketplaces! Browse through your local shops! I just snagged 32 GB for the same price it used to be a few months ago. It might not be the best deal ever, but at least it's reasonable.

2025-12-03 12:05:12 CET

I have been on a hunt for the best static site generator for months, reimplementing the same project in Jekyll, 11ty, Nuxt, Next, and Zola. For some inexplicable reason, I steered away from Astro despite everyone praising it, but all other options were so lacking that I finally caved in and gave it a shot. The project is not finished yet, but Astro might indeed be the best.

2025-12-01 11:35:50 CET

Regarding the recent announcement from Microsoft about their plan to “fix” File Explorer's performance, there is actually an upside to their incompetence. It opens up business opportunities for people who can make outstanding products like File Pilot.

2025-11-30 10:39:28 CET

Not many people in the health sphere are talking about the importance of proper footwear. This is great to see. #nevent1q…3jn3

2025-11-28 13:49:21 CET

My favorite kyusu suffered a fatal accident not long ago, but I finally got myself this little beauty as a replacement.
https://file.nostrmedia.com/p/72d0078452755b913a6a2b9179647ee15cbe3e3e56840b3593ce3c535166e650/c2a1c0367cce25690a4e55cd5f9f1d6d0bfdf72fa30f516a1c6b7e359bf84d40.webp

2025-11-22 17:49:05 CET

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You might also want to look into Sevalla. I'm yet to try it myself, but I've heard good things about it.

2025-11-17 15:37:09 CET

This pretty much matches all other testing results I've seen. A very useful salt selection guide for people who care about food quality. https://abnrf.org/blog/salt-study-results

2025-11-12 19:40:25 CET

A month-old news, but if you own a Framework computer, make sure its BIOS is up to date! https://eclypsium.com/blog/bombshell-the-signed-backdoor-hiding-in-plain-sight-on-framework-devices/

2025-11-09 12:20:28 CET

How did I not know about scrcpy for so long? 🤦 If you ever need to mirror your Android screen to Windows, Linux, or macOS, this is the best way to do it. https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy

2025-11-05 18:11:09 CET

Every year I search for alternatives to Skritter right before my subscription renews, and every year I end up disappointed because there are no alternatives.

2025-11-01 18:01:37 CET

Out of all the Android app stores, I find myself using Zapstore the most.

2025-10-31 19:00:22 CET

I have been using Affinity products for years, so this is a very pleasant development: https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/all-new-affinity/. If they released a Linux version, it would be the best graphic editing software ever made.

2025-10-28 17:03:21 CET

I don't like the idea of AI meddling with my code, but I'll gladly offload test writing to it.

2025-10-22 11:16:03 CEST

Two new game releases in the same week in addition to two big updates for the games I'm already playing cut a bit too much into my spare time.
Chaos Zero Nightmare has launched. I am generally not a big fan of turn-based games, but I like the theme of this one, so I'll be trying it out. https://chaoszeronightmare.onstove.com/en

2025-10-20 10:52:06 CEST

Stella Sora, my most anticipated game of this year, has been released. Go check it out if you haven't already! It's very fun. https://stellasora.global/

2025-10-18 22:45:55 CEST

Time zones are one of the dumbest things humans have invented.

2025-10-17 13:09:00 CEST

External hard drives are a bit of a scam. You get more options with better performance and even modularity by using a regular SSD in an external enclosure.

2025-10-16 10:07:15 CEST

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I made this post while on Zed Nightly for Windows. The newly released stable version seems to start just as quickly as Sublime Text, so I'm about to give it a second try.

2025-10-11 18:20:18 CEST

I have heard the song Scatman so many times, but only today, after watching the first episode of Wandace, have I learned that it has an inspiring story behind it.

2025-10-11 14:16:04 CEST

The main thing that prevents me from using Zed as my main code editor is the noticeably slow startup time. Especially in comparison to Sublime Text.

2025-10-07 18:31:25 CEST

What happened to the YakiHonne web app? It used to work perfectly, but now I can't refresh my feed until I go into settings and clear the cache.

2025-10-06 16:21:35 CEST

If you are looking for a fun new manga to read, I highly recommend Someone Hertz by Ei Yamano.

2025-10-04 21:11:43 CEST

Being superstitious and believing in ghost stories isn't silly; it's fun. Just because everything can be explained by logic and science doesn't mean that everything should be explained by it. Having mysteries around us makes life quite a bit more enjoyable.

2025-09-30 18:42:26 CEST

I'm still new to Nostr. If I repost something accidentally and then unrepost it, does my repost actually disappear?

2025-09-30 16:12:02 CEST

I love Native Union accessories. The only drawback is their exclusive focus on Apple products. I wish they offered options designed specifically for Android users. At least the major models like the Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy lineups.

2025-09-26 14:21:17 CEST

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I spoke too soon. The issue is back 😩

2025-09-24 14:47:30 CEST

As a software developer, I've had similar thoughts for several years now.
“Don’t let the world tell you what you should be doing, what you should be building, what you should be using, no matter how ambitious or dumb or idiotic it may seem to others, make it because you want to, because it makes you happy, because it makes you feel alive.”
https://dayvster.com/blog/dev-culture-is-dying-the-curious-developer-is-gone.

2025-09-23 10:39:29 CEST

Did Reddit stop blocking VPNs? It used to be a major pain, but I haven't had this issue for at least a month.

2025-09-16 21:37:04 CEST

If you have the option, always use a virtual card when making payments online! I almost got charged a significant amount of money for a subscription I didn't even know I had.

2025-09-12 10:06:00 CEST

Regarding the recent Node package hack, I've seen several people suggest copying small packages directly into your codebase to minimize the amount of dependencies. I strongly support that, and I've been doing it for years.
One of my packages, skice, is designed to be completely dependency-free. I have implemented relatively simple things like a colorful console output, file watching, and even a WebSocket connection myself. It doesn't take much time and serves as a very useful learning experience.
For small pieces of functionality, I use code snippets, but for larger files and in case of multiple files, I also have a tool called Pastries (available on GitHub) that I use to simplify the copy-pasting process between projects.

2025-09-11 17:04:02 CEST

The global matcha shortage is wild. It's a great tea, don't get me wrong, but there are other Japanese tea types that are equally enjoyable. My personal recommendation is gyokuro.

2025-09-10 17:19:40 CEST

I have many complaints regarding the futile quest for maximum thinness in tech, but Apple proudly saying that their engineering advancements gave iPhone Air all-day battery life when it could have been several days with a reasonably thick design is just laughable. Do they even hear themselves when they rehearse these events?

2025-09-07 15:06:31 CEST

Girls Frontline 2 is known for having the best character models among gacha games, but I think even more impressive than that is the quality of their textures. I've been amazed by them ever since I started playing the game. Fabrics actually look like they are made of fibers. https://image.nostr.build/282d2d08ec4b8dddefa8be3c7fdbe7c828cab8a38ff431df8eabbece68e81439.png

2025-09-06 09:51:30 CEST

Do we like Rust because it's a good language or because it has a good compiler?

2025-09-03 17:47:37 CEST

Can we use AI to make phones smart enough to not react to butt touches?

2025-08-31 17:44:58 CEST

What do players expect to achieve by review-bombing games they're upset about? Do they think people casually browse app stores and install random apps based on their ratings and reviews? That's not a thing. The only time you open an app store is when you know exactly what you are going to install, and ratings will not affect that.

2025-08-30 10:24:29 CEST

PWAs are great, but you can actually install any web page as an app using a Chromium-based browser.