Post AUsVRrLujLO5SVMEuu by triantares@fosstodon.org
(DIR) More posts by triantares@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #AUoPbEMPBET147phse by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-19T14:08:02Z
1 likes, 3 repeats
The Best of Hack and /: Linux Admin Crash Course is published!This book doesn't aim to be an exhaustive guide to everything you need to know to be a system administrator. Instead, this book allows me to act as a remote mentor to someone starting out in IT or system administration whether as a full-time job or as a full stack developer.It's available in premium hardcover, paperback, and ebook forms here:https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/kyle_rankin#writing #SelfPublishing #linux #publishing
(DIR) Post #AUqvpTAcV2Yftw4dpg by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-20T19:18:39Z
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If you have questions about my new book, bought it and wants to send me feedback, or if you are a tech book reviewer and want to see about a review copy, please email me at bohs@kylerank.in.
(DIR) Post #AUsUp57FclFAqs0aIq by triantares@fosstodon.org
2023-04-21T13:25:28Z
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@kyle Renaming the downloaded pdf (which comes with an unhelpful number name) does pose some difficulties on the commandline: Do I 'escape' the slash with a backslash or should I call it fully using 'slash'? 😂
(DIR) Post #AUsV80OrNlIzjAGi6S by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-21T13:28:56Z
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@triantares Hah! I ran into the same issue when writing this book! I ended up settling on "best_of_hack_and_slash" for the directory name.
(DIR) Post #AUsVRrLujLO5SVMEuu by triantares@fosstodon.org
2023-04-21T13:32:28Z
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@kyle I did the same. It's the most logical thing to do but does sort of degrade the wittiness of the title.
(DIR) Post #AUupjlTtgWijrSpKWe by agx@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T16:29:11Z
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@kyle 🎉 to getting this out! Is there a "sample chapter" for people to peek at? So one can get a feel about the text to example ratio, typeface, how distro agnostic it is, etc.
(DIR) Post #AUupl45ZzGOhrV4YMq by agx@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T16:29:33Z
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@kyle 🎉 Congratulations to getting this out! Is there a "sample chapter" for people to peek at? So one can get a feel about the text to example ratio, typeface, how distro agnostic it is, etc.
(DIR) Post #AUuqwKPpj1NLdbTrWa by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T16:42:42Z
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@agx Thank you. That's a great point about the sample chapter. I will get one together and update my timeline here when it's ready (shouldn't take too long).
(DIR) Post #AUuqx2lIqYh3Avrd68 by cavaughan@mastodon.arch-linux.cz
2023-04-22T16:42:46Z
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@kyle buying now!
(DIR) Post #AUuqxWId1ja8mgg9ZI by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T16:43:01Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@cavaughan Thank you!
(DIR) Post #AUutTciosr1xsVMj2G by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T17:11:09Z
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Thanks to the excellent suggestion from @agx, I have created a sample chapter for the book. A link is available on the product page for each version of the book, or you can check it out directly here:https://kylerank.in/bohs_lacc_sample_chapter.pdf#writing #linux #publishing #SelfPublishing
(DIR) Post #AUuvDXcoGYtlLT0u6y by jebba@jebba.moe
2023-04-22T17:30:39Z
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@kyle What software did you use for layout?
(DIR) Post #AUuvODaD7cAUN6tAy8 by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T17:32:37Z
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@jebba I used vim and LaTeX.
(DIR) Post #AUuw7KZXyyZ9515dku by ljs@social.kernel.org
2023-04-22T17:34:03.407916Z
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@kyle @jebba nice, my book is using emacs (ooh err editor wars) and LaTeX.You really cannot go wrong with just how beautifully LaTeX can lay things out.
(DIR) Post #AUuw7LJHEx95MqUA2C by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T17:40:45Z
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@ljs @jebba With the help of a few macros (which I'm sure you also set up in EMACS), it is *very* fast to format a book compared to GUI tools or Word/LibreOffice templates. Most of the text for this book was already written other than some front material and chapter intros. Learning LaTex, iterating through formatting, editing, indexing, and waiting for page proofs to arrive took less than 4 weeks from start to book launch.
(DIR) Post #AUuxacCtb1WI7o1TFo by ljs@social.kernel.org
2023-04-22T17:47:51.438774Z
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@kyle @jebba oh yeah it's massively better than trying to fiddle with a WYSIWYG setup.My only issue is that if a chapter drags on in size build times get silly, but I split the chapters up and just \input them.Oh and TikZ is fab. Have a bunch of diagrams that look nice and you can represent basically anything.I have set things up so it has links to code throughout but also generates a list of source code at the end for a possible print edition.At ~660 pages now and no signs of any issues (though FULL BOOK build times long lol)
(DIR) Post #AUuxackDb8Atn9c5C4 by ljs@social.kernel.org
2023-04-22T17:50:55.088159Z
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@kyle @jebba God I hate pasting stuff here because I instantly see things that could be tweaked 🤣 The editing phase of this is going to be fun... another year of writing first though pretty much.
(DIR) Post #AUuxadDdpji7GPNa3U by jebba@jebba.moe
2023-04-22T17:52:37Z
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@ljs @kyle Heh, I go to different computers in different rooms and use different viewers (and different colored glasses!) to check things. Pasting it in a browser does that too. ;)
(DIR) Post #AUuxadhQ31WuklJMTA by ljs@social.kernel.org
2023-04-22T17:54:20.347672Z
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@jebba @kyle key (and hardest) thing is just writing the damn thing. Tweaks can come later.Ultimately by its nature a lonely process
(DIR) Post #AUuxae9QMtvo9cPj7Y by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T17:57:15Z
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@ljs @jebba This is why I like the LaTeX workflow. If you are using a publisher's Word/LibreOffice template, the temptation is to write the book directly in the formatting tool, so your writing ends up being interrupted by formatting.With $text_editor + LaTeX, I can focus on the writing first (I do basic formatting hints in markdown). This lets me write the full draft and keep my focus on the writing before I worry about layout and formatting.
(DIR) Post #AUuxjrrok3ihIeZk5g by ljs@social.kernel.org
2023-04-22T17:58:11.437568Z
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@kyle @jebba exactly.And there's a thousands ways to procrastinate anyway, you don't need more.
(DIR) Post #AUuxjsTOULmHBC9kf2 by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T17:58:55Z
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@ljs @jebba Tell me about it. I'm chatting here instead of working on my new book right now!
(DIR) Post #AUvRuBbdCmAw2WqC92 by cavaughan@mastodon.arch-linux.cz
2023-04-22T23:36:53Z
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@kyle All the thanks go to you, Kyle. Not just the years at LJ, but then all the help you gave me at Librem, as well. Speaking of which. Although my Librem 13v4 just sits in an office, the hinges are completely shot. With great trepidation do I dare move, open and close it. I have been in touch with customer support, but alas it seems there aren't any spare shells.
(DIR) Post #AUvSzDfv2V1lrKoIpE by kyle@social.librem.one
2023-04-22T23:49:03Z
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@cavaughan Hmmm, if it's been awhile since you checked, check in with support again. We recently went through a lot of old stock of parts that couldn't be used for refurbs and it's possible we might have something.
(DIR) Post #AUwHh71q6iD1hBBdJI by agx@social.librem.one
2023-04-23T09:17:12Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@kyle A great read. Thanks!
(DIR) Post #AV99zlo0xrZSnUaKIq by hehemrin@social.librem.one
2023-04-29T14:22:16Z
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@kyle On Lulu, for some reason, the hardcover does not have ISBN, while e and softcover have. Mostly an observation, only a bit curious of reason.