Recent content on Mordecai Kipng'etich
Welcome back to Dispatch , a personal roundup of videos, records, and anything that I found interesting this month. Think of Dispatch as my monthly mixtape from the internet with no real theme except “this was neat.” Videos I read Ghost In The Wire by Kevin Mitnick a long long time ago but that is easily the most borrowed book in my “home library " among my techie friends. Kevin is famous…
As many frequent readers of this site might know, I jumped ship to Apple Music from Spotify . Even so, I often keep up with changes to the app and even fire it up from time to time. A few weeks back, I noticed Spotify was celebrating its 20th anniversary with a version of Wrapped available. That piqued my curiosity enough that I wanted to write about my data but never got around to it. I simply…
Welcome back to Dispatch , a personal roundup of videos, records, and anything that I found interesting this month. Think of Dispatch as my monthly mixtape from the internet with no real theme except “this was neat.” Last month I nearly didn’t post my now monthly links roundup and this month was a struggle too, but for different reasons. I consumed (I hate the word but bare with me) a lot of…
TL;DR This is my backstory on the Game of Thrones franchise but more like a nudge and a validation that one can get into the franchise through House of The Dragon without prior knowledge and simply get hooked. By the end of this, I will answer the title question and shed light on whether one should do so or not. For a long time I was a huge Game of Thrones snob. My experience of the show was…
With it being Pride month in certain parts of the world, I’ve found myself, at times, discussing the LGBTQ+ community with some friends. Earlier today, my mind couldn’t help but wander. I pondered the semantics of the word “homosexual”. I barely use that word but I’ve never bothered to question myself until today. To me, the term feels quite derogatory. In Kenya,…
In the past few days, Microsoft announced that it would end the support of Office for Mac . That seems all fine and dandy but there is a huge problem if you look deeper into this. Beyond 13th July 2026, folks who bought Office 2019 for Mac will have the entire suite of applications enter reduced functionality mode limiting their capability to only viewing documents. At what point is corporate…
Welcome back to Dispatch , a personal roundup of videos, records, and anything that I found interesting this month. Think of Dispatch as my monthly mixtape from the internet with no real theme except “this was neat.” For a moment I considered skipping this Dispatch. I had only saved most of these links but not described them which seemed like a tedious task. This meant I had to quickly skim some…
For most of this year, I’ve travelled every Thursday to and fro Nanyuki for work. That is exciting on it’s own. But… on our first trip there, we had about an hour to spare before the business of the day and so we stopped by a mall for a quick snack and chill. That was the best idea cause we soon spotted that the mall has a bookshop and the readers among us had their interest…
Welcome back to Dispatch , a personal roundup of videos, records, and anything that I found interesting this month. Think of Dispatch as my hopefully monthly mixtape from the internet with no real theme except “this was neat.” Videos This School Is Now our Family Home… Come Inside! - Renovation videos scratch my home design itch and this does that very well. The house has a charm that most modern…
TLDR First of all, check out if you have the official Google Photos to iCloud Photos option available in Google Takeout . If not, then try out google-photos-migrate for a simple way to merge your Takeout metadata files and the images. After years and years of Apple bugging me to upgrade to iCloud+, I finally jumped ship. The logical next step was to migrate from Google Photos to iCloud Photos. But…
A lot of individuals on the “indie web” have a periodic dump of links and I always find them cool, so why shouldn’t I give it a try? Hopefully this series won’t be the only thing I post on this website. So… welcome to Dispatch , a personal roundup of videos, records, and anything that I found interesting this month. Think of Dispatch as my hopefully monthly mixtape…
Watching Linus Tech Tips’ latest Linux challenge video , especially Linus’ sections, is a genuinely painful experience. I might not be a Linux pro, but I sure am seasoned enough to know my way around. And a few things immediately stood out. So here’s a quick rundown of do’s and don’ts when picking a Linux distro: Don’t bother with niche distros. What I mean is…
After getting my media stack stable as shown in my previous post , the next question was remote access. As a side note, since I’ll be changing my homelab setup, I’m thinking of adding Tailscale as a VPN to securely connect to certain services. Anyway, I already manage my domains on Cloudflare, so using Cloudflare Tunnel would always the cleanest option. I had used it before in Fedora…
I originally built this media stack as a complete beginner to homelabbing. It started as a way to learn Docker while automating my setup and slowly turned into something I rely on daily. Over time I refined it to the point where it runs quietly and flawlessly in the background. I’m planning to migrate everything to Proxmox soon, so I’m posting my internal documentation before I tear it…
Cloudflare has been gently (and not so gently) nudging folks away from Pages for a while now. Their new option, Workers, promised to be bigger and better but I didn’t need it since I run a simple static site. Nonetheless, I tried deleting my Pages project to switch over, but it turns out you can’t do that with a single click if you have a lot of deployments. Their guide didn’t…
Like every previous year, Goodreads prompted me to set how many books I wanted to read as the year began. I had read 28 books in 2024 and you’d think this would have been the bare minimum for 2025, but no, I went a different route. 20 books seemed like a more reasonable target, with a twist: reading thiccc books. So… I typed out my reading goals in my notes app: Read 20 books Read at…
All I want for Christmas is to find that darn movie I’ve been meaning to watch. What was it called again? I could have sworn I bookmarked it somewhere… – Janko Roettgers on Streaming wish lists are broken. Federation could fix them. Like many of you, I have a list that endlessly grows and that is a list of shows and films I want to watch. The process is always the same. I find something I…
Marques Brownlee sometimes mentions on his podcast that TV viewership of YouTube videos is on the rise. I have to say I fall squarely within this camp. The bigger screen makes everything, especially cinematic videos, so much more enjoyable. Using the remote also feels far more seamless than using a phone. A kid recently told me that’s the reason they watch Shorts on TV. I refuse to go down…
Besides Mariah Carey having fully thawed, it’s that time when we all realise how much we repeat the same tunes over and over while pretending we’ve discovered something new. Just kidding. Additionally, for the second year running, I’m prioritising posting my music recap on here. Overall, when it comes to the big number everyone likes to share, I had 57,645 total listening minutes…
Guess what? I use Arch btw 😂. Kinda. I got the Omarchy bug recently and migrated from vanilla Arch Linux — if you can call it that. For context, I’ve been a serious Linux dual-booter for nearly ten years but went full-time about four years ago. I wouldn’t say I’m a Linux sage or a Penguin whisperer, but neither am I a noob. I wouldn’t recommend Arch as a first Linux flavour for…
Perhaps the universe willed me on after writing the previous article , or maybe it was just sheer luck. After expressing my regret about deleting old pieces and media, I decided to dig through some things in storage, and what a surprise lay before me. I found a few old novels and novellas I’d completely forgotten about, and even better, a couple of notebooks were mixed in there too. All my early…
I pride myself on having old photos backed up somewhere, and I also cheekily threaten some friends with posting their old photos but the irony never escapes me. It always seems much easier to laugh at others’ old stuff than face your own. So, my younger self went on an innocent purging spree of any photo I found somewhat embarrassing. I even tore up some old writing from notebooks and…
The loss of a dear pet is one of the hardest things to bear. I’ve lost pets before, in different ways, but nothing truly prepares you for the slow, painful anticipation of a loss you see coming. It all started when my guard dog, Odie, missed his rabies shot. If only he could talk to remind us, nudge us. I was oblivious, until a few nights back when the signs began to show. The vet confirmed it,…
Someone shared this photo recently as a status update and it had me intrigued. I didn’t want to repost it because I thought it had an air of uncoolness but the statement is grounded in truth. We all have a unique relationship with music. We scour different sources to discover new music. Some of us go deep, digging through obscure corners of the internet for new gems. Others stick to radio hits or…
Guess what? Email is not dead! And this is yet another post about emails 😬 Of course email is not dead and might not die any time soon but it might as well be declared a relic of the past in regards to informal communication and that’s quite sad. I feel like it should not be used purely for work, newsletters, scams, receiving codes when we sign up for yet another account and such. i have a quest…
After 8 years on Sweden’s finest app, 4000+ liked songs, a bunch of playlists and 100+ albums, I made the switch to Cupertino just over a month ago. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. It took a couple of months, and this time it might be for real. I still love Spotify and it’s hard to hate on it. So… Why the Switch? I know Spotify are trying to be profitable and being the everything audio app…
I refreshed Unread a few moments ago only to find three posts with the same title as this. And guess what? They all coincidentally reference each other. I started with Kev’s post , then Manu’s and finally Dalton’s . Upon reading those, I thought why not give this a go, after all, I’ve never participated in any blogging challenge. Why did you start blogging in the first place? This all started…
This was meant to be posted end of last year but as a result of the festivities and perhaps procrastination, here we are. I wrapped up the year having read 28 books surpassing my reading goal of 20 books. That may sound impressive but my 2024 reads were filled with small and medium sized books with my average page count being 192 pages proving that my fear of chunky books remains present. Overview…
James from James’ Coffee Blog wrote The Joy of Bookshops and just the title sparked something within me inspiring this piece. I barely frequent bookshops or libraries. Actually, I don’t think I remember the last time I was in one despite being an avid reader but when I try to recall them, I get pleasant memories. It’s a fact that they were becoming less popular worldwide but perhaps the only good…
I thought I’d post my Spotify Wrapped on this corner of the internet this year and not just on social media. It’s not Christmas, but it’s that time of the year to unwrap our music taste, discover how basic it is and have our egos crushed. Being a Wednesday, I expected Wrapped to drop any time soon but nothing came while I jealously watched Apple Music users share their Replay. As I drove back…
While relaxing with a freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand, I got this wave of inspiration. The thought was always around but I could never find a way to put it in writing. This time I was enthralled in a flow state, the words were floating around, spilling onto my keyboard and within no time I was done with the draft of my previous post . I gave it a quick read and for the first time I knew I had…
I struggle with the pronouns ‘they/them’ but let’s get things straight, I do not hate or discriminate against people who use these pronouns or the queer community at large. Quite contrary so please approach this with an open mind. Genuine relationships are hard to come by, so you do you. You may not feel comfortable in your own skin or fit a certain mould, and to each their own. I’ll say goodbye…
There are some songs that just feel grand and Iron Sky is absolutely one of them. The songs starts off with a slow and deep string. You almost get the feeling something heavy is lingering which is foreshadowing the message that Paolo will deliver. Some piano chords join in with the drums for percussion. 27 seconds into the song is when Paolo soulfully comes in. With his raspy yet powerful voice,…
Years ago, I left comments on people’s blogs which led to interesting discussions and even friendships. I’d like to return to that habit because it encourages interactions, and learning. A few months back, I responded to a post by Niq via email and I found the interaction quite pleasant albeit short. He even shared with me extra details on my latest post at that point. Through this…
Recently, I find myself watching and reading materials on single-use devices. My YouTube home page is filled with videos about iPods, e-readers, dumbphones, and other similar devices. Why do I gravitate towards content about dedicated devices? Why are more people creating content around this topic? I’ve also noticed more content about physical media and ownership. While going through my bags in my…
Recently, Google ‘killed’ Chromecast and launched a new product. As expected, media outlets ran with titles in the vein of ‘Yet another Google product is killed’. It’s odd, but not surprising, that Google keeps ‘killing’ beloved products that are recognisable in favour of the sometimes bland ones, with added complexity and a touch of confusion for the end-customer. They also have an identity…
Apple is working on bringing watchOS 11 in a few weeks, and one of the features that got people excited is the ability to have rest days on the Apple Watch . It’s amazing how that wasn’t possible before, but I’m glad it’s here. The human body needs to rest, and as such you wouldn’t expect someone to work out every day just to close their ring. A lot of apps employ similar gamification strategies,…
Recently, The Verge had this headline about the EU imposing more tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). This mirrors similar actions by the US and to me, it screams of hypocrisy. On one hand, Western countries preach free trade yet these tariffs clearly contradict that. I know this might be to protect their local markets/companies but what irks me the most is this is particularly something…
We all have those items that linger in our Amazon baskets. For over a year, the Kindle Paperwhite sat patiently on my wish list, awaiting the moment when I could muster enough willpower (and perhaps some extra cash under my mattress) to check out. Finally, I stumbled upon someone with a Kindle device, but it was the Basic version. Everything about it appealed to me, including the smaller size that…
Some of you might have noticed that I’m gradually shifting the tone and style of my writings on this blog. I’m moving away from more technical articles to focus on personal opinion pieces. While still centred around tech, these posts will lean less on ‘how-to’ and more on ‘here’s why.’ I may include a few technical articles occasionally but not too often.…
Roundabout 100 people from the streets, ask them about subscriptions, and you’ll find that nearly everyone is familiar with the concept, unlike a few years ago - at least here in Kenya. Most likely, the majority among them have an active subscription. Do I like subscriptions? Not really, but I don’t have a strong opposition to them, especially when done right. What I definitely…
For about a month, this website was not sending data to GoatCounter . I managed to resolve this but the rabbit hole led me to rediscover Cloudflare Pages . I still love and recommend GitHub Pages , with a simple GitHub Action you can deploy your project and even make use of custom domains . Anyway, for my use case, the top alternatives were Cloudflare Pages and Netlify . I currently manage domains…
On 7th October 2022, Elon Musk concluded his purchase of Twitter and it has been quite a journey since then. A journey Reddit took a liking to. Let’s take it back: the year is 2012, and behind my parent’s back, I joined Facebook and revelled in this new world, all the while trying to be discreet. This did not last long, but surprisingly, I was not scolded. We had a talk of how I should…
For the love of God, please stop installing bloatware on your computer. I have noticed that people have a tendency to install every software they stumble upon, despite the fact that modern operating systems have a lot of features built-in. I’ll use Windows as an example, as it has the largest market share and a lot of people have this tendency. For example, if all you do with zip files is…
This article was done in fulfillment of an assignment for a Software Engineering course. Billions of people on earth open their browsers everyday and type their favourite website’s URL - be it a social media site or some news outlet. Depending on your internet speed, this might be a matter of milliseconds but have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes? I’ll get into that,…
My journey has been one where I find a text editor I like and I settle with that. I learnt programming around 2015 but nothing too serious, heck, I used Notepad on Windows. By 2016, I got more into it, discovered Atom and immediately fell in love with it. It was marketed towards the kind of person who would tinker with things to suite their needs. Superficially though, I also liked the default…
GitHub Pages publishes your site on a domain that looks like USERNAME.github.io . This is all fine and good but you can make it yours by adding a custom domain and still benefit from the free hosting. Prerequisites The only prerequisites are: Own a domain or have access to one. Have a site making use of GitHub Pages. Have a look at how I created this site for free with Hugo and GitHub pages to get…
If you are like me, then you’ve probably wanted to create a personal site but the available options were either expensive or simply not good enough. That was until I learnt of static site generators and their simplicity. This blog you are reading is made using Hugo and hosted on GitHub. Here is the process: Installing Hugo Creating your new hugo site Building the site Hosting with GitHub…
This is exactly as the title suggest - setting up Fedora Workstation , feel free to follow my guide tweaking where necessary. DNF Configuration By default DNF is slow (maybe DNF5 might change that in the future), to fix that we shall add a DNF flag to allow more than one download at a time and set yes as the default option for future DNF commands. echo 'max_parallel_downloads=10' | sudo tee -a…
Thank you for passing by. This is just a short introduction piece to mention what I intend to do with this website. Very much like how printing “Hello world” is usually the first thing one learns when they begin programming. I plan on this being more like a frankenstein of a blog and a portfolio - blogfolio, is that even a word? It will host articles on things I find interesting around…