https://gregdonald.com/ 2026-10-03T00:00:00Z https://gregdonald.com/pages/loose-leaf-is-not-coming-back 2026-10-03T00:00:00Z

No one has to like the paperclip factory, but pretending the world is going back to loose-leaf isn’t a strategy.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/serve-a-home-server-through-a-vps-with-wireguard-and-nginx 2026-08-24T00:00:00Z

I have a server rack full of servers in my garage. Renting CPU, memory, and disk space from a hosting provider means paying for hardware I already own. Instead, I run the sites on my own machines…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-is-the-most-advanced-scripting-language 2026-08-10T00:00:00Z

A while back I wrote about why Raku has yet to catch on in the mainstream. Nothing in that post was about the language itself, and I want to be clear about what I think of the language itself: Raku…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/learnraku-dev-is-live 2026-07-21T00:00:00Z

I just released LearnRaku.dev into production. It is an interactive, browser-based trainer for learning Raku. You get an exercise, a failing spec, and an editor. You write code until the spec…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/dogfooding-my-own-raku-mvc-web-framework 2026-07-11T00:00:00Z

A few weeks ago I blog'd about shipping behave.dev, the first Raku app I ever put into production. This blog post is an even bigger deal to me personally. The site you are reading right now,…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/shipping-my-first-raku-app 2026-05-25T00:00:00Z

Shipping My First Raku App: behave.dev

https://gregdonald.com/pages/flying-at-peeler-park-may-2nd-2026 2026-05-02T00:00:00Z

Flying at Peeler Park, May 2nd, 2026

https://gregdonald.com/pages/blackjack-in-clojure 2026-04-18T00:00:00Z

I wrote Blackjack in Clojure.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/the-anti-ai-people-are-angry-again 2026-01-11T00:00:00Z

I’m seeing a hilarious new time-wasting trend emerging: software engineers are making "naughty lists" of software "tainted" by AI/LLM involvement, seemingly to shame authors who use AI-assisted…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/blackjack-for-vscode 2025-12-27T00:00:00Z

I wrote an extension to play the classic game of Blackjack inside VS Code.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-java 2025-01-27T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Java:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-gnu-smalltalk 2024-12-25T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in GNU Smalltalk:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/the-rise-of-autonomous-code 2024-11-23T00:00:00Z

The idea of code that can fix itself represents a monumental advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) and software development. However, this innovation has a dark counterpart: autonomous…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/a-tribute-to-my-friend-john 2024-11-17T00:00:00Z

John was usually a man of few words and even fewer visitors. He'd kept to himself for as long as I'd known him - a grumpy, stubbornly solitary guy whose real passion was the hobby of remote control…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/assessing-the-environmental-and-human-cost-of-ai 2024-11-14T00:00:00Z

The advent of large language models (LLMs) has revolutionized the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. LLMs, which include tools like OpenAI's…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/sam-harris-robert-sapolsky-dan-dennett-and-rush-walk-into-a-bar 2024-11-10T00:00:00Z

Do We Really Have Free Will?

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-zig 2024-10-19T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Zig:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/the-7-stages-of-accepting-that-you-probably-do-not-have-free-will 2024-10-15T00:00:00Z

1. Shock / Disbelief "Wait, what do you mean I don’t have free will?" Encountering the idea for the first time can be unsettling. Many people are startled, as the belief in personal freedom feels…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/i-passed-the-cissp-exam 2024-08-27T00:00:00Z

Today, I finally conquered the CISSP exam—a milestone I’ve been working toward recently. It’s been a long journey filled with lots of late-night study, some anxiety near the end, and a whole lot of…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/the-pentester-blueprint 2024-07-31T00:00:00Z

“The Pentester Blueprint” is a great guide for anyone interested in pursuing a career in penetration testing or cybersecurity. The book, co-authored by Kim Crawley and Phillip L. Wylie, provides a…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-why-it-hasnt-caught-on 2024-07-28T00:00:00Z

I've been watching Raku since it was still Perl 6, back when Larry Wall gave his State of the Onion talk in 2000. Fifteen years from announcement to 1.0. You can defend the timeline; they were…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/do-not-switch-to-linux 2024-07-13T00:00:00Z

Using Linux for your first time can be very exciting. You suddenly gain access to a wealth of customization options, all the free and open-source software you could ever want or need, and access to…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/subsequent-data-breaches 2024-07-08T00:00:00Z

The perspective that once personal identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) has been leaked, subsequent leaks are less significant is a common one. However, there are…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/note-taking-applications 2024-06-14T00:00:00Z

As I delve deeper into the field of cybersecurity and penetration testing I’ve discovered that if you search Google or Youtube for “penetration testing note-taking applications” you’ll see there are…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/why-use-strong-passwords 2024-05-13T00:00:00Z

During my penetration testing studies I’ve come to realize the need for strong passwords is now more important than ever. I only realized recently just how easy it is to crack a weak password.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/automate-linux-kernel-builds 2024-02-25T00:00:00Z

I wrote a small shell script™ to automate building new Linux kernels. I use this to build new kernels on my Debian systems:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/hand-on-test-driven-development-book 2023-12-17T00:00:00Z

My new book Hand-on Test-Driven Development Book has been published: https://tddbook.com/.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/reorder-rails-database-migrations-files 2023-11-26T00:00:00Z

On new Rails apps, that are not in production yet, I sometimes like to reorder my database migrations. I wrote a small Ruby script to automate things.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/meta-programming-a-dynamic-method-inside-a-dynamic-class-in-raku-and-ruby 2023-08-02T00:00:00Z

I wanted to learn to create a dynamically-named method inside a dynamically-named class in Raku. This is what I ended up with:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/blackjack-written-in-elisp 2023-04-28T00:00:00Z

I wrote Blackjack in Elisp. It allows you to play Blackjack in your Emacs editor.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/marten-the-crystal-web-framework 2022-12-25T00:00:00Z

Wow, if Django and Rails had a baby it would be Marten, the web framework written in Crystal, https://martenframework.com/.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/current-state-of-the-hanami-web-framework 2022-11-27T00:00:00Z

About two days ago I built the “bookshelf” app described in the Hanami guide. Hanami is currently missing any sort of “model” layer, as well as any sort of “view” layer, as you might expect to be…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/mp3-player-written-in-ruby-using-ruby-on-rails 2022-10-10T00:00:00Z

I wrote a simple MP3 player:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/debug-a-linux-kernel-in-qemu 2021-09-15T00:00:00Z

mkinitramfs -o ../ramdisk.img 5.11.0-34-generic

https://gregdonald.com/pages/customize-new-zsh 2021-09-12T00:00:00Z

Install packages:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/postgresql-backup-script 2021-03-28T00:00:00Z

#!/bin/sh

https://gregdonald.com/pages/ipv4-subnet-calculator 2021-02-14T00:00:00Z

I built an IPv4 subnet calculator:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-raku 2021-01-23T00:00:00Z

Console Blackjack for Raku.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/retropie-arcade 2021-01-19T00:00:00Z

I built a RetroPie arcade machine. I didn't record video, but I did take a few pictures along the way.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/apache-bench-load-testing 2021-01-17T00:00:00Z

Apache Bench (ab) is a popular command-line tool used for benchmarking the performance of HTTP web servers. Here's a basic guide on how to use it:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/factorio-on-systemd 2021-01-17T00:00:00Z

# adduser factorio

https://gregdonald.com/pages/generate-new-factorio-map 2021-01-17T00:00:00Z

su -

https://gregdonald.com/pages/cisco-ccna-study-home-lab-notes 2020-12-20T00:00:00Z

####################################################################

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-rust 2020-07-12T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Rust:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/install-and-setup-snmpd-on-redhat-enterprise-linux 2020-06-06T00:00:00Z

I wanted to access a RHEL machine from Cacti, so I needed to install and configure net-snmp on there first.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/install-and-setup-irssi-and-oidentd-on-debian 2020-06-01T00:00:00Z

Install irssi and oidentd:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/install-xfce4-on-debian 2020-05-31T00:00:00Z

This is how I install xfce4 on a new Debian:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/orm-activerecord 2020-05-25T00:00:00Z

ORM::ActiveRecord is an object-relational mapping module for Raku that mostly follows the Active Record Pattern.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-perl 2020-05-24T00:00:00Z

I wrote a Console version of Blackjack in Perl:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/bdd-behave 2020-05-05T00:00:00Z

A behavior driven development framework for Raku.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/template-haml 2020-05-05T00:00:00Z

HTML Abstraction Markup Language for Raku. A shameless rip-off of Ruby HAML.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/selenium-web-driver-error-unknown-error 2020-01-20T00:00:00Z

I forget this every time I run Rspec on a new Debian. Maybe if I write it down it will help me in the future.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/game-of-life-in-c++-using-the-sdl2 2020-01-10T00:00:00Z

I wrote a GUI version of Game of Life in C++ using the SDL2 graphics library:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/pigpen-dots-and-boxes-in-c++-using-the-sdl2 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z

I wrote a GUI version of Pig Pen (dots and boxes) in C++ using the SDL2 graphics library:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/gui-tictactoe-in-c++-using-the-sdl2 2019-12-21T00:00:00Z

I wrote a GUI version of TicTacToe in C++ using the SDL2 graphics library:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-ruby 2019-11-09T00:00:00Z

I wrote a Console version of Blackjack in Ruby:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-fizz-buzz 2019-11-08T00:00:00Z

for (1..100) {

https://gregdonald.com/pages/build-raku-from-source 2019-10-26T00:00:00Z

Here's my shell script for building MoarVM, Not Quite Perl, and Rakudo from source.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/orm-activerecord-has-many-through 2019-10-24T00:00:00Z

ORM::ActiveRecord now has support for has-many through relationships.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-split-delimiter-can-be-a-list 2019-10-20T00:00:00Z

Raku's string split routine accepts a scalar as well as a list for its delimiter.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/the-perl-6-to-raku-rename 2019-10-15T00:00:00Z

It has been decided that Perl 6 will be renamed to Raku.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/custom-operator-basic-object-identity 2019-10-12T00:00:00Z

It is often the case in object oriented programming you need to compare two objects to see if they are the same. Usually it just means doing a deeper comparison of the attributes on each object.…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-perl-6-books-fixed 2019-10-10T00:00:00Z

I fixed my Raku (Perl 6) book titles:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/roles-an-alternate-form-of-class-inheritance 2019-10-08T00:00:00Z

Roles are collections of methods and attributes that can be mixed into classes. A role provides an alternate form of code reuse from inheritance. Roles are typically mixed in using "does".

https://gregdonald.com/pages/meta-programming-capabilities-using-fallback 2019-10-04T00:00:00Z

Being a long time Ruby user and Lisp dabbler, Rakudo Perl 6 meta-programming capabilities ranked high on my list of curiosities.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raku-spiral-matrix 2019-08-28T00:00:00Z

# Given a matrix of m x n elements (m rows, n columns),

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-elixir 2019-07-14T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Elixir:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/tictactoe-in-reactjs-using-typescript 2019-05-17T00:00:00Z

I wrote a web version of TicTacToe in ReactJS using Typescript:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/git-commands-for-pair-programming 2019-05-02T00:00:00Z

At my work I'm on an agile team and we do pair programming. Here are some git commands I find useful and use almost every day:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/change-default-ssh-port-on-fedora 2019-03-24T00:00:00Z

I wanted to change my default SSH port to something else. Here are the commands I used:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-crystal 2019-01-27T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Crystal:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/nautical-war 2019-01-12T00:00:00Z

I reworked my old Battleship game for Android:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/web-blackjack-in-reactjs 2018-12-02T00:00:00Z

I wrote a web version of Blackjack in ReactJS/Typescript:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-python-3 2018-03-09T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Python 3:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/gui-blackjack-in-c-using-the-sdl2 2018-01-05T00:00:00Z

I wrote a GUI version of Blackjack in C using the SDL2 graphics library:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/crm12-customer-relationship-management-software 2017-04-13T00:00:00Z

I wrote a customer relationship management tool in Ruby on Rails:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/how-to-build-latest-linux-kernel-from-linus-git-repo-on-debian 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Here's a how-to for building a recent Linux kernel on your Debian GNU/Linux box:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-c 2016-11-11T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in C:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/ignore-latin1-problem-via-psql 2016-10-20T00:00:00Z

CREATE DATABASE _

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-c++ 2016-08-11T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in C++:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-raku 2016-01-17T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Rakudo Raku:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/convert-one-m4a-file-to-many-mp3s 2015-09-22T00:00:00Z

#!/bin/bash

https://gregdonald.com/pages/how-to-guide-for-beginner-level-linux-kernel-patch-submissions 2015-06-20T00:00:00Z

Every day I see new Linux Kernel hackers fail at their first patch submission. I'm not an expert, but I've learned how the process works and most importantly I've learned how to avoid irritating…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/console-blackjack-in-go 2015-04-25T00:00:00Z

I wrote a console version of Blackjack in Go:

https://gregdonald.com/pages/raspberry-pi-leds-test 2015-01-20T00:00:00Z

#!/usr/bin/env python3

https://gregdonald.com/pages/shell-script-to-automate-go-lang-pkg-test-coverage 2015-01-13T00:00:00Z

#!/bin/sh

https://gregdonald.com/pages/go-log-function 2015-01-08T00:00:00Z

func log(s ...interface{}) {

https://gregdonald.com/pages/linux-kernel-powerball-module 2014-09-28T00:00:00Z

I don't play the lottery but I find random number generators and the Linux Kernel interesting so I wrote a simple Linux Kernel module that does a PowerballTM "quick pick".

https://gregdonald.com/pages/how-to-filter-out-bash-arguments 2014-09-22T00:00:00Z

Ever want to know how to drop an argument (and value), --dir in this case, from a Bash script?

https://gregdonald.com/pages/mongodb-data-durability 2014-01-31T00:00:00Z

It doesn't seem you can lose data even when you might otherwise expect to ;)

https://gregdonald.com/pages/my-bashrc-file 2012-05-20T00:00:00Z

alias ll='ls -lavh --color=always'

https://gregdonald.com/pages/postgresql-sequence-updates 2012-01-07T00:00:00Z

I had a problem with PostgreSQL pgdump recently. My setval() calls were all set to '1'.

https://gregdonald.com/pages/mutt-configuration 2011-04-03T00:00:00Z

I use Mutt :)

https://gregdonald.com/pages/debian-rc-local-howto 2010-01-26T00:00:00Z

If you're using a flavor of *nix that has an rc.local file, and then you start using Debian GNU/Linux, you might be wondering where your rc.local file is. Quite simply, it's not there. Here's how to…

https://gregdonald.com/pages/debian-games 2006-01-14T00:00:00Z

Here's a command to install lots of games on your Debian box: