Ceud Mìle Fàilte
Thank you for dropping-by, I hope you enjoy your visit. The main content is to be found in the blog, where I discuss everything and anything, but, topics including: photography, nature, technology, food, movies, music, politics, and life in the Highlands of Scotland, make regular appearances.
I commonly write reviews of movies (or films, if you prefer). Some movie reviews are short, others will be discussed in more detail. The scope covered will be mainly mainstream English language movies from the 1930s until the present day.
About me
My name is Iain MacDonald, and I live in the Highlands of Scotland (although I have lived elsewhere in the past). I use Fitheach as my online pseudonym, on this website, on Mastodon, and on Matrix. I am a big fan of Free & Open Source Software, which I use both professionally and at home.
Computing and technology tend to infuse themselves into my other interests, as once you learn some skills in one area it is convenient to use them to solve problems in other spheres.
When not tinkering with computers, I am likely to be found repairing things because living in the countryside you learn to be resourceful.
Of course, man doesn't live by SSH tunnels and kerosene vapour burners alone, so, food, as a subject, makes regular appearances, too.
My latest Life articles
My most recent ramblings can be found in the Life section.
My latest Mastodon posts
Mastodon is a microblogging app that is part of the decentralised web known as The Fediverse. See this article for more details.
Fitheach
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:25:22 +0000
<<<
After all those configuration battles I was more than a little disappointed to find that the printer still didn't work. I think I'll need to compile from source.
Honestly, buying a new printer would be so much easier.
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:22:33 +0000
Some things are just destined to go wrong. 😃
I've been trying to get a thermal receipt printer (Star Micronics TSP700) working on my homeserver. The printer used to work fine, for years. Along the way, something changed, and the manufacturer provided filter and PPD stopped woking in CUPS.
I decided upgrading to Devuan Excalibur might help. I then got caught in a loop caused by the usrmerge change. Next, I battled (for the rest of the night) with the major changes to Exim and Dovecot.
>>>
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:48:23 +0000
#RIP Anthony Head
1954 - 2026
The Gold Blend couple will never be together now. 
Best known internationally for his role in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". In the UK, he will probably be best remembered for the *long-running* Gold Blend adverts. Anthony was the brother of Murray, of "One Night in Bangkok" fame.
Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:36:06 +0000
Yup!
These Dachshunds can be vicious wee monsters. They can make a real mess of your ankles.
Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:08:00 +0000
Does anyone else find that Wifi Calling is untimely and unreliable?
My personal 'phone is on EE, and I get perfect reception at home, and at work. Wifi Calling isn't used.
My work 'phone is on Vodafone, and I get no reception at home or at work. Wifi Calling would be useful, IF it worked. Outbound calls routed over Wifi fail about 50% of the time. Sending and receiving text messages over Wifi either get delayed for hours or don't arrive at all.
Both home & work have full-fibre broadband.
Tue, 02 Jun 2026 21:55:20 +0000
Do you use Vim?
Do you distrust generative AI?
If yes to either or both of these questions, you will find this an interesting read:
https://drewdevault.com/blog/Forking-vim/