Sometimes, especially at night, I can't help but I feel the need to hunt down a topic and explore any link in my way til I reach an answer or a dead end.
Sometimes I publish those findings in Shaarli.
This time it was about researching a minimalist tool for blogging, something like bashblog or mkws.
It's not always a victory. Maybe next time. After a good rest.
I'm following Joy of Tech comic via RSS in Miniflux but the image was never loading.
I found half a solution on this blog post of Jan-Lukas Else, unfortunately the proposed solution fails probably as a consequence of some changes in the format of Joy of Tech pages.
The fix is quite simple actually. Edit the feed settings, set the scraper rules to the following:
p.Maintext > img[src$=".png"]
And of course enable "Fetch original content" in the feed options.
And voilΓ , simple and beautiful.
I'm avid of content curation using RSS feeds. Let me share some of my tips here and some code. This is a living document so please come back for new tips π and explore my other articles on this topic.
Some of those tips rely on Userscripts which are snippets of code executed automatically on web pages, and usually it's very handy to customize your navigation. I'm using the Custom JavaScript block in Miniflux Settings. But some scripts won't work because of reliance on external resources, and in that case I'm using Tampermonkey for special cases that require loading external resources (think CSP & co).
There is by default no distinction between categories with or without content, and it can be annoying. I made a user script to remove categories with no content to read.
https://gitea.zoemp.be/sansguidon/snippets/raw/branch/main/miniflux_scripts/filter_categories.js
Before applying the script, we have some categories, including one with (0) unread entries.
The category with (0) unread entries is hidden.
This one is for grouping together all feed entries by feed/author in the main on unread, read, and starred pages. I needed this one because by default, in unread tab, the feed entries are mixed all together and I often wanna consume content per feed/author and not in chronological order.
https://gitea.zoemp.be/sansguidon/snippets/raw/branch/main/miniflux_scripts/feed_organizer.js
When opening the "Show all entries" view of a feed, this trick will show you if you shall keep this feed or not. The classification is based on the ratio of starred entries vs total. In this case, clearly, my assistant tells me it's quite π₯± boring. Other values are: Thinking π (in case we lack data), Interesting π (we star a lot of items), Thinking π€ (in case we stared at least some entries). Feel free to make it yours and customize the behavior!
https://gitea.zoemp.be/sansguidon/snippets/raw/branch/main/miniflux_scripts/feed_classifier.js
This is a trick that works well with the majority of feeds so you can fetch the whole article content in your reader instead of just the excerpt.
I've customize the feed settings to exclude specific keywords, and on top of this I've also global rules which apply to all feeds, for excluding feed entries when keywords are found in their content or title. This makes it easy to exclude clickbait uninteresting or depressing content π
My current setting is here as an example https://gitea.zoemp.be/sansguidon/snippets/raw/branch/main/miniflux/block.rules (RSS)
In this case I follow news with heavy metal album releases and I'm excluding specific genre like Death Metal. I'm also abusing the feature to avoid being spammed with recurrent news like Olympic games (Paris 2024). Finally there are already many reasons for me to be anxious, and I do not need more. The last rule saves me from the useless negative news. I keep fine tuning the list and I could improve this by including terms from public blacklists, like this.
This is a setting that helps well to decrease the FOMO-scrolling, by ensuring the top of your unread list stays the same. So it is very simple, sort by Older entries first! Easy.
You can override Miniflux behavior with some environment variables. See https://miniflux.app/docs/configuration.html for more configuration options.
Those are mine and make Miniflux more indulgent to unstable RSS feeds.
export HTTP_CLIENT_TIMEOUT=60
export POLLING_PARSING_ERROR_LIMIT=6Yesterday (Aug 4, 2024), on a Sunday, I went on a trip in my loved Brussels, to complete my CD collection. Here are the spots I have explored and what you can expect about them. Disclaimer : I'm trying to get most value for money I'm often looking for second hands records π and also I don't buy only Heavy Metal... but I get a lot of energy from listening to Thrash Metal π€π» !
Let's start the tour π
πΊοΈ Go to: Bd Anspach 101, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/WyRSa8svEJH5nEWPA
π Notes
π Site: http://www.carolinemusic-bxl.be/
Purchases
I've almost bought Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin, 1969) but it was pricey compared to Discogs, so I refrained myself. I've expanded my collection with XX (The XX, 2009) and Psycho Tropical Berlin (La Femme, 2013).
πΊοΈ Go to: Bd Maurice Lemonnier 59, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/juEnX4gQPjScHtPB9
π Notes
π Site: https://pele-mele.be/bruxelles/
Purchases
Thanks to the profusion of choices and the low prices, I've expanded my collection with Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin, 1969), Master of Puppets (Metallica, 1986), also Souljacker (Eels, 2001), and Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen, 2018) which is a compilation made of the Movie original Soundtrack. They also buy your CDs except on Sunday. So I'll go there and try to get some money and make room in my closet π ... until I buy more π ...
Lot of the addresses are close from each other π , around Rue du Midi !
πΊοΈ Go to: Rue du Midi 72, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/3CYu4bAETqx5e1Yt5
π Note: Awesome for Vinyls. Not a single CD unfortunately.
π Site: https://www.facebook.com/72-Records-444396545598944/
πΊοΈ Go to: Rue du Midi 67, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Qor7aYYQszDyvmTg8
π Note: Not so many CD, but they have Vinyls and many other items, very cool for collectors.
π Site: https://www.facebook.com/horsserieshop/
πΊοΈ Go to: Rue des Grands Carmes 8A, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/CPeq7rbwKbnngTar7
π Note: Some nice CDs, but their Heavy Metal section is very tight and they have some Metal titles mixed within the Pop & Rock section. They have lot of Vinyls which makes sense.
π Site: http://vealsandgeeks.com/
πΊοΈGo to: Rue du Midi 89, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/xwPtYLoYdDDe8si48
π Note: A general second hand store, awesome for books and collectors, with CDs and Vinyls on 2nd floor.
πΊοΈ Go to: Rue du ChΓͺne 7, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/ExjDCWQBpJMg3wAz6
π Notes
πΊοΈ Go to: 1000, Rue des Pierres 37, 1000 Bruxelles - https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ef7NiWpX4d1RoaHo7
π Note: This place has been recommended by the guy from Hors-sΓ©rie but it was closed.
A Frustrating Journey with Death Angel Merch
TLDR; I ordered a t-shirt from Death Angel's online store (https://shop.deathangel.us/), but it turned into a frustrating two-month saga involving poor communication, customs issues, and ultimately, a returned package. Here are some lessons and tips for online shoppers and businesses to improve customer experience.
It all started with a simple desire: to own an album tee of my favorite Thrash Metal band, Death Angel's "Killing Season." Living in Brussels, Belgium, I ordered the shirt from their official store in the U.S. Despite some initial reservations about carbon impact and international shipping, the excitement of owning my first music-related clothing overrode my concerns. Also, none of the local stores I had contacted could help me.
In April 10, I've passed order. The confirmation came with tracking links, and after a few days of printing, the item was on its way to Brussels. UPS updates kept me informed until the package landed in Belgium (April 23) and reached customs. That's where the trouble began.
Once at customs, the tracking status stagnated until the end of April. After multiple contacts with both Death Angel's store and UPS, it became clear that the package was stuck in a bureaucratic loop. UPS and customs both directed me to the other for information, while the store could only offer apologies and told me to wait.
Further communications with UPS and Death Angel's store continued in a frustrating cycle. UPS informed me they needed the MRN (Movement Reference Number) from the sender, which the sender didnβt have. The package was returned to international carrier. with the status "refused by addressee," despite me never being contacted. The package is currently in Switzerland Β―_(γ)_/Β―.
Throughout this process, several additional issues made the experience even worse:
This experience was a test of patience and highlighted significant gaps in the customer service process for international orders. By sharing this story, I hope to raise awareness and encourage both shoppers and businesses to improve their practices. While I eventually ordered a similar tee from another store (https://albumcoverstickers.com/), the disappointment with the official store remains. However that new store seems a bit cheaper and I'm hopeful the same experience won't repeat
Have you had similar experiences with online orders? How did you handle it? Share your thoughts and tips below. Let's make online shopping a better experience for everyone.