Spanning Tree Protocol(s) Explained

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the BPDUs.

Spanning Tree Protocol, as mentioned previously, is a protocol used by switches to build out a loop-free logical topology of an Ethernet network. The protocol itself is built off of a concept called, well, a spanning tree.

How does this work? Well, that’s what I’m here to explain.

BorgBackup: (TODO: Insert Borg Joke Here)

I was really fighting with my inner self to have a straightforward title for this one, but alas, resistance is futile.

BorgBackup, or, for short, just “Borg”, is a relatively fast (more on that later), efficient, secure, and authenticated way of backing up multiple devices either on a single network, or even across networks (you’ll see, again, later). This is currently what I use for backing up my stuff, and, well, it’s just cool, and definitely something you should take a look at.

MacOS Bundles (and Packages) Explained

When is a file more than just a file? When it’s actually a folder that Finder is lying to you about. Every program, every kernel extension, and everything Time Machine creates on a network share is.. a bundle. Even the Photos Library file in ~/Photos… well you get the point. Let’s unpack these things, shall we?

How Time Machine Works

For those unaware, Time Machine is the built-in backup application within macOS that will take incremental backups of your system to an Apple Time Capsule, or another local disk. Simple premise, almost as simple in execution. Let’s take it apart, shall we?

Ah Yes, the SIMPLE Network Management Protocol

If that title isn’t a dead giveaway, I’m not happy. But yet I will somehow manage to vent my frustrations and explain something at the same time. Today: SNMP, or, “How to gather lots of stats on remote machines,” or, “Because you thought CVS was hard to wrap your head around.”

CVS Is Dumb

So I was going back through my list of version control systems, and something hit me. CVS isn’t just kinda old and worn out, it’s downright backwards and dumb. Heck, CVS over the network is something that, in all seriousness, should not exist.

You Don't Need a VPN

Really, you don’t. Actually, the entire concept of a “VPN” that most people know of isn’t even close to the actual definition. I refuse to call this one a rant, but know that this is me adding some facts.

Fountain Pen Nib Types

Here’s the thing about fountain pens, and fountain pen people… we like choice, we like there being enough options to cover basically any potential use-case or look that we want. (See also: the number of ways we have to fill our pens. As such, there’s a variety of ways to actually produce the nib on a fountain pen, also giving a variety of different results. And that is what I’m going to lightly explain today.

Fountain Pen Filling Mechanisms Explained

If you’re going to be around fountain pen people, you’re going to realize something real quick: there are a variety of way that pens can obtain and then store ink. Just as a quick little reference, I’m going to list off the most common ones for modern fountain pens.