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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. 🤣

Neither are being built to be a big commercial success. Both are just passion projects. Just for fun. Nothing big and professional. šŸ˜‰ 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". 🤣

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Torvalds on Vizio Ruling: Software Freedom Conservancy Looks Like "a Bunch of Incompetent Aholes"

Regarding a recent ruling, in SFC v. Vizio, Karen Sandler (SFC Director, former GNOME Director), responds to the Linux creator by saying "maybe you didn't read".

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

00:20:10
December 26, 2025
Microsoft's Goal: Replace "Every Line of C" with Rust by 2030?

A Microsoft rep made the statement, saying the company would use Al to hit a target of "1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code". Then quickly went into damage control.

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

00:26:05
December 23, 2025
Linux Foundation Makes $300 Million in 2025, Spends 2.6% on Linux, Says "AI is the Future"

In the Linux Foundation's 2025 annual report, AI is mentioned 150 times. Linux is only mentioned 40 times. Also: Linux Foundation boasts about scholarships to Trans & DEI orgs.

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

00:10:57
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! 🤣

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

After 20 years together (18 years married), I was finally able to get my lovely wife to watch Die Hard. She never had any interest because of how violent it was, but for whatever reason she was open to it this Christmas. I’m happy to report that she loved it! Yippee-ki-yay everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a happy New Year.

December 26, 2025

Hey guys! It's been great hanging out with you all here on Locals, but I am going to switch over to the Lifetime Subscription offer, but on Substack so i can consolidate the sources I follow. I wish the best for you all here. Have a great New Year!

Update on my Amazon score

  • Some of it went to essentials; not fun, but important (well, except for Tim Horton's - not technically "essential" but both fun and important šŸ˜†).
  • Some of it went to birthday gifts - I have 2 family members with birthdays coming up shortly. So, nice to have that done and not have paid anything out of pocket for it.
  • I got a portable charger with an outlet - as in, I can plug stuff into it like it's a wall! It's designed for camping, and that reminded me it would also come in handy during hurricane season. But that mess aside, this is gonna be a game-changer for my Linux laptop - it's actually portable again! :-)
  • And I got an M1 Mac Mini. Looking forward to learning how to use it, eventually how to code for macOS and iOS, and (if AI is to be believed, which is unlikely) load apps I create onto my phone. Not to mention usefulness for work; I have a project that we want to port to macOS, so I kinda need to learn it anyway. Of course, I'm just as ...
December 21, 2025
Lunduke's Nerdy Q&A, Lifetime Sub for $89

Two quick tidbits on this glorious Sunday:

Reminder: $89 Lifetime Subscriptions

Lifetime Subscriptions to The Lunduke Journal are currently discounted to $89. For life. Which is… insane. That’s less than 1/3rd of the regular price.

Monthly and Yearly subscriptions are 50% off. Which is also pretty darned snazzy.

Submit Questions for Lunduke’s Nerdy Q&A!

On Tuesday I will be recording a long-overdue episode of ā€œLunduke’s Nerdy Q&Aā€.

Got questions you’d like asked in the show? No guarantees, but I’ll get to as many as I can!

Retro computing. Current computer news. Ridiculous hypotheticals. Any question is fair game... just make sure it’s good and nerdy.

To make it simple for me, there are two ways you can submit questions for this week’s Q&A:

  1. Add a comment to this thread on Forum.Lunduke.com.

  2. Reply to this thread over on X.

  3. Ok. I lied.Ā  There are three ways.Ā  You can also reply to this post, right here, on Locals.

Note: Only Lunduke Journal subscribers can access to Forum.Lunduke.com. All of the details on how to gain access are on the Lunduke Journal Subscriber Perks page.

-Lunduke

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December 17, 2025
The FOMO of not having a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal

Time for some Fun Lunduke Journal Facts of Fact-ly-ness!

  1. The ā€œper-monthā€ cost of a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal is an asymptotic line. The longer you have that subscription, the closer it gets to $0.00.

  2. The Lifetime Subscription was first introduced 3 1/2 years ago… and is still going strong.

  3. The price of a Lifetime Subscription is currently discounted to $89. For life. That’s less than 1/3rd the normal price.

The earlier you pick one up, the quicker that asymptotic line begins approaching zero. Which is fun.

We Don’t Have Time Machines

If you think you might ever want a Lifetime Subscription, now is the time.

Imagine missing this discounted price and missing out on months of, mathematically certain, asymptotic line fun. This is one of those scenarios where Future You (tm) would want to travel back in time to tell Present You (tm) to snag a Lifetime Subscription.

Go. Grab the Lifetime Subscription for $89. That deal is good all December long.

There’s a video of me yammering about it too. Just for good measure.

You’re welcome.

-Lunduke

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December 13, 2025
Lunduke Journal Lifetime Wall 2 almost full, plus Lifetime Sub as a gift

Two quick tidbits!

First: Lifetime Wall 2 Almost Full

The 2nd Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Wall of Shame… err… I mean ā€œWall of Awesomenessā€ (which shows at the end of each video) is almost full! Holy cow! So many people have signed up over the last few days and asked to be added! Awesome!

There’s room for maybe 3 or 4 more names on there before I need to start Wall Number 3. So if you want to be on the 2nd wall, grab a Lifetime Sub quickly. (Though, really, being on the 3rd wall will be cool too.)

Plus, hey! You can snag one for $89 this month. Which is pretty sweet.

Second: Sending a Lifetime Sub as a Gift

Several of you have asked if it’s possible to send someone a Lifetime Subscription as a gift (at the discounted $89 / $99 price).

The answer is yes! And, instead of sending instructions to each of you, individually, I am including a Step-by-Step rundown on how to send someone a Lunduke Journal Lifetime Sub as a gift.

There are two options — Locals & Bitcoin — and both work equally well.

(Note: A gifted Lifetime subscription can also be applied to Substack accounts… it just can’t be purchased via Substack because of the way the system works for gifting it to another person.)

How to give a gift Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

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

  2. Select ā€œGive Onceā€œ.

  3. Enter ā€œ99ā€œ (or more) into the amount field.

  4. Email ā€œbryan at lunduke.comā€. Include the following in that email:

    1. Have the words ā€œGift Subā€ somewhere in the subject line.

    2. Include the email you used to make the purchase and the email address of gift recipient.

    3. Include any special instructions or requests, such as: A special message you would like included, when you would like an email sent to the recipient, or if you would prefer to let the recipient know yourself.

  5. Lunduke will send you a confirmation email after that. This usually happens within a few hours.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

You can also send a gift Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.Ā  (And it's $10 cheaper thanks to the lower processing fees of Bitcoin.)

  • Send $89 worth of Bitcoin (or more) to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email ā€œbryan at lunduke.comā€. Include the following in that email:

    1. What time you made the transaction, & how much was sent (in Bitcoin).

    2. Have the words ā€œGift Subā€ somewhere in the subject line.

    3. Include the email address of gift recipient.

    4. Include any special instructions or requests, such as: A special message you would like included, when you would like an email sent to the recipient, or if you would prefer to let the recipient know yourself.

  • Lunduke will send you a confirmation email after that. This usually happens within a few hours.

Note: The Lifetime Subscription only applies to Substack, Locals, and the Lunduke Journal Forum. Other platforms (such as X, Patreon, & YouTube) do not provide the functionality necessary to create Lifetime Subscriptions.

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