1---
 2template: text.html
 3title: Status update
 4subtitle: A brief on what happened last week
 5date: 2019-09-17
 6slug: 2019-09-17
 7---
 8
 9This is something new I'm trying out, in an effort to write more frequently
10and to serve as a log of how I'm using my time. In theory, I will write this post
11every week. I'll need someone to hold me accountable if I don't. I have yet to decide on
12a format for this, but it will probably include a quick summary of the work I did,
13things I read, IRL stuff, etc.
14
15With the meta stuff out of the way, here's what went down last week!
16
17## My discovery of the XXIIVV webring
18
19Did you notice the new fidget-spinner-like logo at the bottom? Click it! It's a link to
20the [XXIIVV webring](https://webring.xxiivv.com). I really like the idea of webrings.
21It creates a small community of sites and enables sharing of traffic among these sites.
22The XXIIVV webring consists mostly of artists, designers and developers and gosh, some
23of those sites are beautiful. Mine pales in comparison.
24
25The webring also has a [twtxt](https://github.com/buckket/twtxt) echo chamber aptly
26called [The Hallway](https://webring.xxiivv.com/hallway.html). twtxt is a fantastic project
27and its complexity-to-usefulness ratio greatly impresses me. You can find my personal
28twtxt feed at `/twtxt.txt` (root of this site).
29
30Which brings me to the next thing I did this/last week.
31
32## `twsh`: a twtxt client written in Bash
33
34I'm not a fan of the official Python client, because you know, Python is bloat.
35As an advocate of _mnmlsm_, I can't use it in good conscience. Thus, began my
36authorship of a truly mnml client in pure Bash. You can find it [here](https://github.com/icyphox/twsh).
37It's not entirely useable as of yet, but it's definitely getting there, with the help
38of [@nerdypepper](https://nerdypepper.me).
39
40## Other
41
42I have been listening to my usual podcasts: Crime Junkie, True Crime Garage,
43Darknet Diaries & Off the Pill. To add to this list, I've begun binging Vice's CYBER.
44It's pretty good -- each episode is only about 30 mins and it hits the sweet spot,
45delvering both interesting security content and news.
46
47My reading needs a ton of catching up. Hopefully I'll get around to finishing up
48"The Unending Game" this week. And then go back to "Terrorism and Counterintelligence".
49
50I've begun learning Russian! I'm really liking it so far, and it's been surprisingly
51easy to pick up. Learning the Cyrillic script will require some relearning, especially
52with letters like в, н, р, с, etc. that look like English but sound entirely different.
53I think I'm pretty serious about learning this language -- I've added the Russian keyboard
54to my Google Keyboard to aid in my familiarization of the alphabet. I've added the `RU`
55layout to my keyboard map too:
56
57```
58setxkbmap -option 'grp:alt_shift_toggle' -layout us,ru
59```
60
61With that ends my weekly update, and I'll see you next week!