obligatory obscure reference

Well, not open source as much as legal clone.

I’m not naming names until I test it, but for less than half of the cost of replacing the cartridges for my Epson R2400, aka “the big ass printer”, I got:

• A new set of “never empty” cartridges that never go to %0 and can’t be re-used
• An insultingly huge amount of UV dye. I got less hair dye than this in a bottle of Manic Panic, and now I have nine bottles of dye.
• Refill syringes so I can not make a huge mess refilling things

The problem we R2400 owners have is tiny cartridges that cost $20 each and that dry out, die, or get eaten by grues when they’re not used. I’ve spent over $80 on ink in the past month and made only a couple dozen prints. My studio is too dry or my printer is broken or I dunno, but I’m ready to jump ship if this ebay purchase works out.

I think it’s been 10, maybe 15 years since I’ve actually worked on open source software as an author. I’ve helped fix bugs in things like Arduino and ReplicatorG, but I haven’t done anything major on my own.

Until Friday, when my frustration with a certain class of software got the perspective and skill of my being a professional engineer. Instead of complaining, instead of getting frustrated with how someone else managers their project, instead of not being able to pull rank and make them do it my way, I can just go write my own and hand it out.

It’s a nice feeling. I don’t think I’d have gotten here without writing it-cannot-fail code for security and privacy projects as a day job. That sort of rigor is like daily exercise for the brain, like daily exercise or workouts only for the brain.