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teachPress Enhancements for Publication Management (Updated)
TeachPress is a WordPress plugin for managing courses (which I do not need here) and publications with support for BibTeX and referencing publications from posts. The teachPress BibTeX database already contains most of the information about the publications in a structured format. So instead of manually replicating the information in a post, I decided to…
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NFTs are unethical
As an avid reader, you know my arguments that neither NFT nor smart contracts live up to their promises, and that the blockchain underneath is also more fragile and has a worse cost-benefit ratio than most believe. Similarly, I also claim the same for the metaverses built on top of them all. And that the…
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Public NTS Server List
NTS (Network Time Security) is to NTP (Network Time Protocol) essentially what HTTPS is to HTTP: It provides authenticity of the information. Unlike HTTPS, NTS does not provide any confidentiality, as the current time is public information. Want to learn more about NTS? Here is an overview over my NTS articles. NTS Servers Currently, the…
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Inefficiency is bliss (sometimes)
Bureaucracy and inefficiency are frowned upon, often rightly so. But they also have their good sides: Properly applied, they ensure reliability and legal certainty. Blockchain disciples want to “improve” bureaucracy-ridden processes, but achieve the opposite. Two examples:
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Web3 for data preservation? (Or is it just another expensive P2P?)
Drew Austin raises an important question in Wired: How should we deal with our accumulated personal data? How can we get from randomly hoarding to selection and preservation? And why does his proposed solution of Web3 not work out? A few analytical thoughts.
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Array Thickening: More can be less
When turning flexible file formats into data structures, the consensus seems to be to avoid using arrays whenever possible. However, more arrays may reduce code and coding errors. A plea against the extinction of arrays.
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Simple versioned TimeMachine-like backup using rsync
Over many years, I have dealt with scripts that do backup versioning, i.e., maintain multiple backups. Due to their flexibility, they have been complex to understand and configure. Here is a simple rsync-based tool with a different focus: The experienced systems administrator who wants to keep his system’s complexity down.