Category: technology
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LibreOffice – Create Custom Color Palette
(This is for LibreOffice version 24.2.7.2 on Kubuntu 24.04.) I know I’m weird in a lot of ways (I mean, who still blogs in 2025?!?), but here’s a new one. I create lots of charts and graphs as well as presentations for classes. I tend to prefer a minimalist approach – white background with black…
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AppImage, Snap, and Flatpak on Kubuntu
I’m guessing most people who don’t use Linux have no idea how convenient repositories are. I’m a huge fan of how Linux has managed (and mostly continues to manage) software for quite a while: you open a console or the software manager on your computer, search for the software you want, and install it. The…
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Kubuntu 25.04 – KRunner and iBus issues
Over the last month, I have updated the three computers I use to Kubuntu 25.04. On my laptop, I ran into an issue where Wayland would just periodically freeze. I figured out a solution to that and detailed it here. I finally installed Kubuntu 25.04 on my home desktop, which is the machine I use…
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Convert Text to Audio on Linux – Coqui TTS
In a separate post on my blog, I documented a simple way to convert text to audio using Google’s Text-To-Speech service. This works for small projects. But, during a recent conversion, I ran into an error where my requests were getting blocked by Google for using the service too much. I didn’t realize they capped…
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VTT Editing – Simple Editors for Removing and Adding Content
I have a podcast I run with one of my brothers and a friend. We record the podcast via Zoom, which generates a transcript in VTT format with timestamps. Occasionally, we have an issue with the recording where we have some banter at the beginning of the podcast or something goes funky in the middle…
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Best 3D Printed Sunglasses Clip for Car Visor
I’ve needed a place to put sunglasses in my car for years. My sunglasses have typically ended up in one of the cup holders. Recently, it dawned on me that I could print a clip or holder that would attach to my sun visor to hold my sunglasses. I looked at the various 3D design…
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Redacting PDFs on Linux
I had an odd situation pop up where I needed to redact a PDF. It wasn’t anything nefarious or super exciting, but it did involve a complicated PDF that included images and tables in addition to text. In figuring out how to redact the PDF, I ended up learning a few things and thought it…
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Fixing Zotero Corrupt Database Issue on Linux
I use Zotero to manage my references and have for decades since it was first developed. I’m a huge fan and teach all my students how to use it. But I also don’t follow one of the programmers’ recommendations on where to store my Zotero database. As soon as I install Zotero, I change the…
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Kubuntu 25.04 – Reset Wayland
I just installed Kubuntu 25.04 on my laptop and started running into an issue. It started when I tried to load Spectacle to take a screenshot. Spectacle froze and so did my panel, but I could still hit Alt+F2 to open new programs. I could also use Alt+Tab to switch between non-frozen programs. I couldn’t…
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Changing Default Browser for Links in Thunderbird
I just reformatted my computer (I try to do that about once a year) to Kubuntu 25.04. That meant setting up Thunderbird (version 128.10.0esr) with my email again. I use Firefox as my default browser (because it respects privacy), but install Chromium as a backup for the occasional website that doesn’t work very well with…