Fall updates
2021-10-01/cpj

Salutem dicit,

It's been a few months since my last update. Time flies when you're Coviding.

Progress is progressing with our general recovery from the pandemic, 
including my return (along with my staff) to working from the Office 
full-time as of the beginning of September. The Corporation has issued a 
decree that all staff will also be fully vaccinated, which bodes well for 
safety, amongst other things. The city is over 80% double-vaxxed, so the 
outside world is not as Mad Max it was this same time last year. We shall 
overcome.

My iMac is no longer supported for OS updates. Consequently, I recently 
purchased a shiny new M1 Mac mini. I will be configuring this in place, then 
swapping in to production. It's been over a decade since my last fresh 
install, however I think this may be needed, in this instance, due to the 
processor change. I expect my MacBook to remain serviceable for a few more 
years.

I also picked up a PineBook Pro -- I'm getting used to Mandrake OS, however 
I have come to realize that I've spent too many years in Debian for it to be 
a seamless transition. I do recommend the PineBook as a portable Linux -- 
perhaps not a daily driver -- but useful when travelling. I am watching OS 
developments for the RK3399 SOC that powers the PineBook, and may eventually 
fail my flexibility test and re-flash to a Debian derivative once its 
hardware compatibility reaches that of Mandrake.

I'm looking seriously at WiFi6, especially with the topology of my house -- 
speeds (given orthogonal frequency division multiple access) will improve my 
overall network efficiency.

Lastly, the server supporting kaun.ca may be upgraded soon. The model 3 
boards are more power-efficient, and boast an 80% performance gain in 
parallel tasks over the current model 2.

Flight log commentary to come.