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, 11 Apr 2026 13:11:22 +0000
Colonial Britain still exists.
It is being reported that a plan to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been shelved. The problem, as many things, is the Trump administration. The UK & US share a military base on Diego Garcia (Chagos Islands). Apparently, Trump was annoyed when Starmer's government was minded to refuse US use of UK bases for pre-emptive strikes on Iran. US support to return Chagos was removed.
The forcibly removed Chagos people will remain homeless.
Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:38:11 +0000
RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@ColinTheMathmo/116385976987626078
See, I told you...
2026 may not necessarily be the Year of Linux on the Desktop, but, the tectonic plates are moving.
Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:04:45 +0000
RE: https://mstdn.io/@fitheach/101992283199701916
I do love it when people find, and favourite/boost, my posts from years ago. For some reason my post from 2019 about the "ultimate cheat sheet" suddenly got some love.
As far as I can tell, the cheat sheet has been continuously updated, and is still relevant.
Check it out!
#Linux #UNIX #CheatSheet #FOSS #FLOSS #SysAdmin
Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:17:14 +0000
The thought about "Monarch of the Glen" came about because I found my first discarded Red Deer antler of the season. I'm hoping to find lots more in the coming weeks. I cut the antlers into shorter sections to make dog chews for #Gruoch. She loves chewing antlers, and they are great for her teeth.
#Highlands #Scotland #dogs #DogsOfMastodon
Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:34:37 +0000
Edwin Landseer missed a trick when he painted his famous portrait of a Highland stag, in 1851. The painting is named "The Monarch of the Glen".
Antlers with 12 points are called Royals, 14 points are Imperials, and 16+ points are Monarchs. Landseer should have painted the stag with 16 points. 😃
#Highlands #Scotland #painting
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:54:04 +0000
I heard someone using Siri on their Apple 'phone. yesterday. After completing her request, she ended the interaction by saying "Thank you, Siri".
Was she treating Siri as if it was human, or is this a way to end the interaction?
As you might have guessed, I am neither a user of Siri or Apple products in general.