User:Rena

Hi, I'm Rena. I've been using Linux since 2004, but I'm new to Arch, so please bear with me and don't be afraid to tell me off if I step on your toes.

About Me

Lifestyle

I live in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
- Time zone: UTC-5 (Toronto)
- I prefer to use 24-hour time even though it's not Canada's official standard
I write a lot of my own software
- Mostly for fun and because existing software doesn't do quite what I want/how I want it
- I'm particularly skilled with:
  - Lua (my personal favourite)
  - Python
  - C and C++
  - bash scripting
  - HTML5, Javascript and CSS
  - English
- I know some other languages well, but rarely use them:
  - PHP
  - Visual Basic 6 (gross, but it gets the job done when I need to hack together a quick Windows app)
  - Various assembly languages:
    - MIPS R4000 series
    - Nintendo Game Boy (Z80 with some minor modifications)
    - 6502/65816
    - some ARM chips
  - Windows Batch scripting
- I know just a little of some other languages:
  - Java
  - Japanese
I'm a big fan of free, open-source software and feel it needs to be a lot more prevalent
- I'm willing to use closed-source software if necessary, but only as a last resort if no decent free alternative exists
- I despise advertising in general
- I look forward to a future where open-source hardware is common and more people realize the importance of openness
I was a huge fan of Nintendo as a kid; nowadays I don't play a lot of video games, but enjoy making and modding them
- I do still enjoy Pokémon and Mario Kart; it's a good pastime when having to wait somewhere
- My favourite consoles still are the Nintendo 64, Gamecube, and Game Boy
  - I like the Playstation and Xbox line from a console standpoint, but dislike the companies behind them
    - I own a PS2 and a PSP, both used and modded
      - The PSP is mainly used for Nintendo console emulation
      - I rarely pirate games, but like to mod my consoles to load the games from internal storage for convenience, speed, and flexibility
        This allows backup copies, mods/hacks/translations, homebrew, etc
        
        It also tremendously improves the PSP's battery life
    - I might get a used PS3 and Vita someday as well
    - I own an Xbox 360 but never use it
I don't smoke, drink, or use drugs
- I'm not against the idea of marijuana, but just don't use it myself
- Unless you consider caffeine a drug
  - You should, it's addictive as hell

History

I first started breathing in 1987
I first started tinkering with machines in about 1990
I first started programming computers in about 1997
- I initially learned by playing with QBASIC on library computers, and playing with Gameshark hacking tools on my N64 and Game Boy
I first owned a computer in about 1994
- It was a secondhand Commodore 64 that didn't work right (or we just didn't know how to use it)
- We didn't keep it for long
I first owned a working computer in about 1998
- It was a 486-DX2 running Windows 3.1 on 16MB of RAM at ~66mhz
- It was used, I don't remember how much it cost (if anything)
I first owned a 32-bit computer in about 2000
- It was an HP Pavillion (eugh!) running Windows ME (eugh!) on 128MB of RAM at ~800mhz
- It cost $2000 (monitor, printer, keyboard, mouse, and various software included)
- It was a piece of crap, but I was young and we didn't know any better
  - During normal use, it overheated to the point of beginning to melt some of the IDE cables before finally rebooting (not even shutting down); this required the installation of an extra fan, which required cutting a hole in the case
  - It ran on a whopping 100 watt power supply (don't ask me how)
  - It pretty much just physically fell apart after a while
I first switched to Linux (Ubuntu) in 2004
- ...because I was sick of WinXP's many little issues and limitations, didn't want to be stuck with an obsolete OS, and was definitely not going to use Vista with its DRM and general awfulness
I first switched to Arch in 2015
- ...because I wanted a highly configurable rolling-release distribution with little cruft
I've visited every province from Quebec to BC
- However, I've never been outside of Canada
  - I don't particularly want to be, especially if it means going through USA border control
- I've lived in Ontario (1987-2007, 2013-present) and Alberta (2007-2013)
  - Alberta is beautiful in the summer (no bugs!) but Day After Tomorrow in the winter (-30°C for days at a time)
  - Ontario is humid, has mosquitoes, and has quite high taxes, but I enjoy the population density of the cities

Notable Events

I've travelled from Alberta to Ontario by car (as a passenger) and by bus
- The country is beautiful, but trying to sleep on a bus is not fun
- The bus trip took 3 days (the bus drives 24 hours per day, only stopping for rest stops and to swap drivers)
  - I bought a tablet computer to keep me occupied during the bus trip. It inexplicably died one hour in. (Thanks Acer!)
I was once in an ATV accident, in about summer 2008
- The ATV was a rental; I was getting a feel for how it handled
- The speed difference from 3rd to 4th gear was huge and unexpected
  - I don't even want to imagine 5th
- I wasn't able to slow down in time to turn a corner, and rolled over
- Both arms, plus a collarbone, were broken
- I suffered a minor concussion which erased a lot of my memories of the event
- I was hospitalized for several weeks but ultimately made a full recovery
I won a plaque for my computer skills when graduating 6th grade
- I got suspended for my computer skills during 10th grade
  - I was a dumb kid and thought net send * YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED was a hilarious idea
    - I thought that would send to every computer in the room, not every computer in the district, oops
  - I wasn't logged in to my own account, but they still knew it was me, because who else could it be
    - I was logged in to the network administrator's account, because they'd neglected to log out after leaving the machine. This probably didn't help matters.

My Computers

guilmon (main system)

Desktop PC, custom built
Runs Arch x86_64
Mainboard: M5A99FX PRO R2.0
CPU: AMD FX-8320: 64-bit, 8 cores, up to 3300mhz (dynamic clock)
- L1 cache: 384KiB
- L2 cache: 8MiB
- L3 cache: 8MiB
RAM: 24GiB (3x DDR3 DIMMs at 667MHz)
- Was 32GiB (max) but one of the DIMMs stopped working
GPU: GeForce GTX 950 driving 3 displays
Network:
- start.ca (cable)
  - Download: ~60Mbps
  - Upload: ~10Mbps
  - Uptime: ~99%
  - Bandwidth cap: none
Disks:
- 64GB SATA SSD (most of /), btrfs
- 2TB SATA HDD (/home), btrfs
- 2TB SATA HDD connected by SATA-to-USB3 adapter (backup)
- All using full-disk encryption (because why not)
Window manager: awesome (with heavy customization) plus xcompmgr
Login manager: lxdm
Other software:
- bash
- lxterminal
- PulseAudio
- mpd (with Sonata and mpc frontends)
- Synergy
- VLC
- RedShift
- Web browser: GNU Waterfox (fork of Firefox)
  - Notable extensions:
    - Adobe Tr^H^HFlash not installed
    - Disable Ctrl-Q Shortcut
    - DOM Inspector
    - Favicon Restorer
    - Greasemonkey
    - NoScript
    - Nuke Anything Enhanced
    - Open in Browser
    - Reddit Enhancement Suite
    - RefControl
    - Save File to
    - Stylus
    - Tree Style Tab
    - uBlock Origin
    - User Agent Switcher
    - Youtube Center
    - Heavily customized userChrome.css
- Atom

gabumon (laptop)

Thinkpad T430s
Runs Arch i686
Window manager: openbox plus xcompmgr
Login manager: lxdm
Other software:
- bash
- lxterminal
- waterfox
- atom