Fun with the command line

A series of blog posts from Jason Baker on opensource.com has motivated me to try to do more on the command line. I'm already keeping a journal using Nano and just saving the updated text file every few days. I'm not trying to work out any serious issues with the journal, it's more than I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it once was. I think it'll be useful to have a text file of short blog like updates of what was going on in my life, because I'm probably not going to remember a lot of it without some help. Why Nano and a text file? Why not? I do need to get into the habit of encrypting the file though. And I need a back up strategy. Right now the file only exists on my server. I need to set up a cron to rsync it with my local desktop. Then I can symlink it to my Google Drive directory and have the file synced in three places.

I've also been using a nifty todo list script to maintain my todo list at the terminal.

I've learned that typing cal at the CL prompt to see a monthly calendar is much quicker than loading Google Calendar when I need to know the date of the last Saturday of the month, or whatever.

I've learned typing sl at the command line prompt will cause a train to roll across by screen.

I've learned typing fortune at the prompt gets me, wait for it, a fortune.

The command line is fun, which I already knew, and often quicker than a point and click operation, also something I already knew. What was missing motivation to spend more time with it, and the blog post series on command line "toys" has been the kick in ass I needed.

This is entry #14 in my attempt at 31 days of blogging for December 2018. I've haven't posted here daily since about 2007, so this should be interesting.