1---
 2template: text.html
 3title: Weekly status update, 09/08–09/17
 4subtitle: A brief on what happened last week
 5date: 2019-09-17
 6---
 7
 8This is something new I'm trying out, in an effort to write more frequently
 9and to serve as a log of how I'm using my time. In theory, I will write this post
10every week. I'll need someone to hold me accountable if I don't. I have yet to decide on
11a format for this, but it will probably include a quick summary of the work I did,
12things I read, IRL stuff, etc.
13
14With the meta stuff out of the way, here's what went down last week!
15
16## My discovery of the XXIIVV webring
17
18Did you notice the new fidget-spinner-like logo at the bottom? Click it! It's a link to
19the [XXIIVV webring](https://webring.xxiivv.com). I really like the idea of webrings.
20It creates a small community of sites and enables sharing of traffic among these sites.
21The XXIIVV webring consists mostly of artists, designers and developers and gosh, some
22of those sites are beautiful. Mine pales in comparison.
23
24The webring also has a [twtxt](https://github.com/buckket/twtxt) echo chamber aptly
25called [The Hallway](https://webring.xxiivv.com/hallway.html). twtxt is a fantastic project
26and its complexity-to-usefulness ratio greatly impresses me. You can find my personal
27twtxt feed at `/twtxt.txt` (root of this site).
28
29Which brings me to the next thing I did this/last week.
30
31## `twsh`: a twtxt client written in Bash
32
33I'm not a fan of the official Python client, because you know, Python is bloat.
34As an advocate of _mnmlsm_, I can't use it in good conscience. Thus, began my
35authorship of a truly mnml client in pure Bash. You can find it [here](https://github.com/icyphox/twsh).
36It's not entirely useable as of yet, but it's definitely getting there, with the help
37of [@nerdypepper](https://nerdypepper.me).
38
39## Other
40
41I have been listening to my usual podcasts: Crime Junkie, True Crime Garage,
42Darknet Diaries & Off the Pill. To add to this list, I've begun binging Vice's CYBER.
43It's pretty good -- each episode is only about 30 mins and it hits the sweet spot,
44delvering both interesting security content and news.
45
46My reading needs a ton of catching up. Hopefully I'll get around to finishing up
47"The Unending Game" this week. And then go back to "Terrorism and Counterintelligence".
48
49I've begun learning Russian! I'm really liking it so far, and it's been surprisingly
50easy to pick up. Learning the Cyrillic script will require some relearning, especially
51with letters like в, н, р, с, etc. that look like English but sound entirely different.
52I think I'm pretty serious about learning this language -- I've added the Russian keyboard
53to my Google Keyboard to aid in my familiarization of the alphabet. I've added the `RU`
54layout to my keyboard map too:
55
56```
57setxkbmap -option 'grp:alt_shift_toggle' -layout us,ru
58```
59
60With that ends my weekly update, and I'll see you next week!