Michael Dexter @dexter@bsd.network
Dexter's Law: Only proprietary software vendors want proprietary software and only fascists want fascism. Toots are my own. Self-employed. Father of three.
I aim to keep this to technical topics relating to bhyve and OpenZFS, and the occasional humor and Latvia.
Joined Apr 2018
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Dexter’s second law: The pendulum that swings twice as high lasts half as long.
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Having spent days making PkgBase easy on #FreeBSD…
The (highly opinionated) Sum Total of computer history:
0. BSD Unix
1. Macintosh
2. Packaged Base in Red Hat 5.2
3. Squiggly underline spell check
4. FreeBSD Jail to manage the fustercluck that are RPMs on Red Hat
5. Two-finger scrolling
6. Hardware-assisted virtualization
7. ZFS v28
8. NVMe
TCP/IP is taken for granted, as it is not vendor/platform-specific.
Flat screen displays are a TV crossover technology, as are WiFi, GPS, and fancy batteries.
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Call For Testing: Major #OccamBSD updates
occambsd.sh - More-consistent syntax
propagate.sh - Propagate PkgBase installs
imagine.sh - Image boot images from the others and upstream
sideload.sh - Push (much of) a #FreeBSD configuration to a new installation
rc.local.sh - Semi-idempotently configure basic aspects of a system
They’re never done, never perfect, but they do exactly what I have envisioned in various ways and given talks about for 20+ years.
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Emerging observations on how lockdown was great for #opensource:
Work from home was blessed as a valid thing
Sci-fi-like casual video conferencing without hesitation around the world is now the norm for some of us, only limited by time zones and languages.
Group video chat is equally familiar and commonplace, with excellent self-policing of audio quality and behavior.
Events are focusing on quality over quantity, complimenting the above.
Basically, the “open source seems to be where drunk guys pinch your butt while mansplaining you” factors were globally nipped in the bud.
Good work everyone!
These are delightful times!
❤️❤️❤️
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Repost: It took time, but #bhyve #hypervisor development is back to a robust pace on both #FreeBSD and #illumos with a good balance of new features and subtle refinement.
I have begun posting recordings of the weekly Jails/Zones, #OpenZFS, and bhyve Production Users calls:
https://youtube.com/@callfortesting
The running minutes documents are linked from https://callfortesting.org
Heads-up: There are many ways to participate and lots to do!
Michael Dexter
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..counting the seconds until I have to explain to some random weirdo on the interwebs, that the Espressigo was a legitimate product sold by SGI in Germany ☕
Michael Dexter
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You can now also enjoy all the #EuroBSDCon 2026 videos directly from the schedule.
https://events.eurobsdcon.org/2026/schedule/
Thank you @pretalx for the YT plugin, and @jmlich for the PT version!
#LazySunday #EuroBSDCon #EuroBSDCon2026 #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD #RUNBSD
Yes, “Windows XP”.
Michael Dexter
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Is this diagram / table correct and logical ? #agplv3 #epl20 #mitlicense #reticulum
Michael Dexter
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Demonstration for Lithuanian independence from the USSR, 1989.
Michael Dexter
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OPB: Oregon data centers by the numbers: 111 facilities consume nearly one-quarter of state’s power, according to new report
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/17/oregon-data-centers-consume-quarter-state-power-report/
The recording of the September 17th, 2026 #bhyve Production User Call is up:
We discussed Eurobhyvecon, CSMWrap and older guest operating systems such as Windows XP, dynamic MAC allocation with SR-IOV, the Apiary VM management system, the bhyve test suite, continuous integration, and more!
"Don't forget to slam those Like and Subscribe buttons."
You can support all Call For Testing efforts via BSD Fund: https://bsdfund.org
This content is not AI generated
Michael Dexter
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Michael Dexter
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The secret is Bernstein chainloading. As long as there is Bernstein chainloading tooling that does the requisite process state manipulation, then systems like #s6, #nosh, and even #runit and #daemontools-encore have what they need.
jexec does that.
Which is why our way is better. If there's something that only one platform has, then as long as that platform has a chainloading tool for it, that tool can be mixed in.
e.g. ionice and chrt on Linux, and rtprio on FreeBSD.
So yeah. Fires out. @bhyvecon videos partially ready…
#EuroBSDcon was great, with very high OpenBSD and NetBSD participation, balancing out the familiar FreeBSD participation.
So many good people and open discussions, plus perhaps the most diversity I’ve seen at Euro.
Excellent work @kp and the whole @EuroBSDCon team, minus the things that were out of your control.
❤️
Michael Dexter
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@mwl @bsdtv @suetanvil @bsdcan @dexter at BSDCan2026 (my first!), @riastradh and the NetBSD crowd invited me out to dinner. They made sure to ask about my meal and refreshment preferences and dietary restrictions before they asked my *name*! That's how I knew I was in the right group.
Michael Dexter
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EuroBSDCon 2026 talks online https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20260916093106
To state the obvious, we are transparently discussing features and all are welcome to join.
I’m tempted to discuss LLM policies that way.
Michael Dexter
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The country may be relatively flat and picturesque, but Latvia's bicycle infrastructure is often a bit of a disappointment to visitors from bike-friendly countries such as the Netherlands. https://eng.lsm.lv/article/economy/transport/16.09.2026-ventspils-can-lay-claim-to-being-latvias-bicycle-capital.a663462/?utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=rss&utm_medium=links
Michael Dexter
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Michael Dexter
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President Edgars Rinkēvičs will pay a working visit to the United States from September 17th to 28th to participate in the opening of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York and the 75th anniversary congress of the Latvian Association of America in Washington. https://eng.lsm.lv/article/politics/president/16.09.2026-president-rinkevics-packs-his-bags-for-lengthy-trip-to-america.a663041/?utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=rss&utm_medium=links
Michael Dexter
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⏳ CFP DEADLINE: September 25th!
Got a talk, breakdown, or project you want to share with the community? Don't wait until the final hour. First-time and experienced speakers are equally welcome.
Submit your proposal here: https://cfp.bsidespdx.org/bsidespdx-2026
If you use #FreeBSD jails, the feature described on this call is HUGE.
It adds support for init at PID 1, allowing for more host-like behavior and should allow systemd to work in a Linux compatibility jail.
Consider it a request for comments on the architecture with many, “how should this behave” questions.
Dexter's Law: Only proprietary software vendors want proprietary software and only fascists want fascism. Toots are my own. Self-employed. Father of three.
I aim to keep this to technical topics relating to bhyve and OpenZFS, and the occasional humor and Latvia.
Joined Apr 2018
