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Oh, the delight of having so many programming side projects!

When I got out of the programming-as-a-job game -- and became a full time "whatever the heck I do now" -- I told myself that I would now have time to finish all of those fun little side projects that I'd been wanting to program for so many years.

And, to a certain extent, that happened. Sorta. Almost.

While I definitely got some good programming time in, over the last few years, I kept getting distracted by different projects. So I only finished a couple projects. The perennial problem of the software developer, am I right? As soon as you get heads-down on a projects... OH LOOK OVER THERE A SHINY NEW IDEA... and off you go on that new project.

Over the last year or so -- give or take -- the number of projects that distract me has rapidly dwindled. Down to just two projects that I now tend to hop between in my spare time

Not sure if that narrowed field of projects that excite me is because of age... or maybe just a focusing of my interests. But, regardless, it's nice to be able to not be distracted by TOO many programming projects at this point.

Like earlier this week: I did a podcast episode where I fantasized about a theoretical Linux distribution. It was fun to dream about... but it wasn't really a project that grabbed me and pulled me away from the two core projects that seem to hold my attention nowadays. In my younger years... such a dream of a Linux distro would totally have distracted me from just about any other programming project.

But not at this point.

Nowadays I have two projects that get at least 90% of my "hobby programming" time:

  • My Lunduke OS project (which is basically just a whole smattering of TUI tools built on top of FreeDOS).
  • And a (very) small little office suite. (I spent so many years working on MS Office that I ended up with some STRONG opinions about how such apps should be designed.)

Both are long term projects. Shoot. Think I started the office suite... 5 years ago? Maybe more? And Lunduke OS is a few years old now too.

I'm trying to convince myself to ignore one of the projects so I can focus on just one. Hopefully, if I can keep from getting distracted, I can get to a "release-worthy" point for one of them.

Sometimes I think I'll focus on the office suite. Then Lunduke OS distracts me.

Then the opposite happens. đŸ€Ł

Neither are being built to be a big commercial success. Both are just passion projects. Just for fun. Nothing big and professional. 😉 Which makes it 10x harder to focus on just one.

I know so many of you have similar projects you bounce between. I just felt like rambling about mine a bit this evening. When I probably should be working on finishing writing the things that are my actual "job". đŸ€Ł

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September 03, 2026
BlueSky Users Bully Paint.NET Dev Into Dropping AI Coded Feature

Harass. Attack. Vilify. Bully. That is the tactic of the Leftist Activists of Open Source. Now they're using it to abuse and manipulate Al users.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:15:58
September 02, 2026
Omarchy Linux is "Ethnic Cleansing" Says Trans Elementary OS Founder

Plus: Leftist Activist publishes hit list of "weird" guys in Open Source, and it's a who's who of people worth following.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:15:54
September 02, 2026
Even The Daily Wire is Covering Omarchy Linux

The Daily Wire (and Lunduke) label Omarchy as "Anti-Woke". DHH says Omarchy "isn't anti anything"... but he's wrong.

Daily Wire article:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-anti-woke-operating-system-takes-a-bite-out-of-apple

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:17:01
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! đŸ€Ł

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
59 minutes ago

Local Model Qwen 3.8 Places But Doesn't Win Benchmark

If you work developing with AI you'll be familiar with this pain - what's the best model to use? More importantly, for a given task, what is the most cost effective model to use that can successfully meet the needs of the task?

In a world where new models appear almost every week - the ability to answer this question with data - your data - is vital. Companies making years long commitments to a particular LLM vendor should reconsider to unlock most cost savings than a signing discount may give.

I break my work into three roles: planner, reviewer and coder. Pulled from my actual work, scenarios were created to exercise models AND their harnesses. A lot of material is out there that the same model performs quite differently in intelligence and cost depending on the harness.

I'm at the beginning of this effort. So far GLM 5.3 Flash is the coding model to use based on it's OpenRouter.ai price. Luna Max, Gemini 3.8 Flash, and Qwen 3.8 27B also...

13 hours ago

Tesla automated Cybercabs are now on the road in Austin. Should I take one just for the LOLs?

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cybercab-robotaxi-launch-event-austin-self-driving-car-2026-9

23 hours ago

I Was Stupid with AI Subscriptions

I just wrote up my model thinking yesterday and already I'm revising it.

OpenAI has released Astra and it's getting all the raves as a generational leap. But we normies don't have it yet, coming "real soon". The rest of the analysis behind my choice isn't based on Astra, but token arbitrage.

I currently have $100 subs each for OpenAI and Anthropic. I have more, but let's focus on these two. Right now I'm hitting the limits on both, so much that I upgraded to $100/mo Google Ultra to get LOTS of Gemini 3.8 Flash. It's a nice model, but I'd rather be using OpenAI and Anthropic.

One cool new thing and one long oversight on my part. The cool new thing is that OpenAI is handing out daily resets every day that Astra isn't generally available. So I have 1 of those and I already had one. I thought - I'll do a one time upgrade to $200/mo OpenAI and those resets will be worth DOUBLE.

I have a lot of work I want to be doing that I'm having to pace myself because I ...

Lunduke Lifetime Discount Ends in 1 Day; Zelda, Larry, SQ, & Keen Walls Available

TL;DR: Lifetime Subscription discount ends in one day. There are currently 4 “Lifetime Walls” with space available for more names (the Oregon Trail Wall is now full).

We’ve been running a massive discount on Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriptions for the entire months of June and July. And it has been an absolute blast. There are now 21 (twenty-one!) retro computer walls overflowing with your names.

Pure insanity. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported The Lunduke Journal.

But the discounted price only runs through July 31st
 and that moment is just about here.

When the calendar ticks over into August (just a hair over 24 hours from now), the Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription price goes back to normal.

  • If the calendar still says it’s July, the Lifetime price is still discounted to $125.

  • If the calendar says August
 the price returns to $300.

There are, as of this exact moment, 4 retro game themed “Lifetime Walls” which still have some space for more names (check Lunduke.com for the full list):

  1. Legend of Zelda

  2. Commander Keen 4

  3. Space Quest 4

  4. Leisure Suit Larry

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (scroll down for the details), then email Lunduke (bryan at lunduke.com) with which Wall you’d like to appear on.

 

First come, first served. Once a Wall is full, it’s full. So if there’s a specific Wall you’d like to be on, don’t dilly dally.

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub. All of them work great. Choose whichever works best for you!

Remember: These discounted prices go back up to normal ($300) on August 1st.

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

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Oregon Trail, Keen, & Leisure Suit Larry Lifetime Walls

Holy frijoles! There are now 20 (twenty!) Lifetime Subscriber Walls, filled with the names of roughly one bazillion Lunduke Journal supporters.

Just amazing.

Two super quick updates:

  1. The “Desqview/X”, “NeXTSetp”, & “TRS-80 Model 100” Walls are now full! (Check them out on Lunduke.com and at the end of new shows.)

  2. There are 3 new Walls available to put your John Hancock on
 and, just for kicks, these ones aren’t from Classic Operating Systems
 they’re Classic Games:

    1. Oregon Trail

    2. Commander Keen 4

    3. Leisure Suit Larry

 

I don’t expect space on these Walls to last long. First come first served.

A huge thank you to all of The Lunduke Journal subscribers. Your support is deeply appreciated. You make this possible.

-Lunduke

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TRS-80 Model 100 joins The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Wall party!

Buckle up, Buttercup. Because The Lunduke Journal is about to blow your mind.

  1. The “BeOS” Wall Lifetime Subscriber Wall is now full (see all of them on Lunduke.com)!

  2. We’ve added a new “TRS-80 Model 100” Wall (because we can)! That’s the 19th Lifetime Subscriber Wall! 19!

  3. The discounted Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions are still available through to the end of this month (July).

Which means there are, as of this exact moment, 4 Walls with space available (see Lunduke.com for the full list of Walls). But these fill up wicked fast.

  1. Emacs (only a few spots left)

  2. Desqview/X (a little less than 2/3rd’s full)

  3. NeXTStep (still plenty of space)

  4. TRS-80 Model 100 (just launched)

 

Nice, right?

Worth noting: The “TRS-80 Model 100” has very limited screen resolution (240 x 64), which means only a small number of names can fit on that wall. If you want on it, I’d let me know right away.

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (if you don’t already have one), then let me know (email “bryan at lunduke.com”) which Wall you’d like to see your name on.

Huge high five to everyone who has already added their name to a Wall. At the current rate, we’ll have over 20 retro computer themed walls, filled with all of your names, by the end of the month.

And, doggone it, that’s amazing.

-Lunduke

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