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Michael Gurski

@emag@strangeplace.me

mastodon 4.2.10

Just a SysAdmin/SRE/Dev(Sec)Ops/ISSO guy, tech lover, sometimes photographer, rescue dog parent, sous vide & grilling fan. I like whisky & bourbon & rye. Expect relevant pics, especially pets & food.

Assume that I know nothing, and will inadvertently offend. I'm trying, learning, deprogramming. If I offend, call me out, since I probably need it.

If you need me, I'm there for you. No qualifiers. You need, I'm there. Period. End of story.

I want to be the change I want to see in the world.

278 Followers

378 Following

21 Posts

Joined November 29, 2022

Blog:

https://blog.gurski.org/

Where to find me:

https://wheretofind.me/@emag

Pronouns:

He/Him, They/Them, whatever is easier for you. I'm easy that way.

Politics:

Everyone deserves to exist, and I will fight tooth and nail for that. I'm a safe space.

Posts

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Aug 04, 2026

I take a single day of PTO, pre-approved, and when I log into the VPN the night before I start back, I see multiple Teams and Outlook requests directed at me. Unread until tomorrow, but it's telling that I can't even take a day off once in a while, while others can take *weeks*... Kinda explains why I'm constantly at use-or-lose, and tend to cash out 8-9 weeks when I switch jobs...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Jul 31, 2026

Every time I see a reference someone makes to something like "the Fauci ouchie", I wanna give the person a fist to the face ouchie. Maybe a baseball bat or tire iron ouchie. Just to get the message across of what an actual ouchie is...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Jul 25, 2026

I'll admit I'm not really 100% sure what actually constitutes a "passkey", as nothing I've read really seems to explain it. Worse, I'm unconvinced most sites mandating them seem to understand them, nor why I want to make sure I have N > 1 of them to secure my account. Between 2 desktops, a laptop, a phone, a Chromebook, and 3 yubikeys, I don't know how many I can actually register per account, which makes me stick with passwords. Even worse, some conflate "passkey" with TOTP or FIDO2...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 31, 2026

From a certain standpoint, a certain musical seed for Alexa and Google Music diverge rather greatly.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 31, 2026

We were playing a random stream of music based on "You got it" which inspired "Venus" by Bananarama, and "Never Gonna Give You Up" came on shortly after I excused myself for a bathroom break. I was accused of deep-seated Rick Rolling. 😄

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 30, 2026

I kinda feel like if you're within driving distance, moving out of a neighborhood should still allow visitation for all the neighbors' pets you've left behind that you've gotten to know over the years...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 30, 2026

At a retirement party for the lead of my group Wednesday, I was talking with a coworker about my dogs. She said she & her late husband had talked about getting a dog after retirement, and asked if I'd be willing to give her advice. Of course, yes!

Thinking about it, I may suggest she "soft launch" and do weekend fostering until she's ready for more commitment. Gets a dog out of a shelter for a few days, and she can slowly learn what she can handle or wants. I see it as win/win.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 29, 2026

I'm trying to be a lot less "fertilizers and pesticides", but I have to draw a hard line at ticks when I feel one crawling up my leg...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 27, 2026

While I didn't exactly have the best relationship with the head of the group I'm in at this job, I am genuinely sorry to see her retiring. I bucked my usual trend of "nope, not gonna participate" in these work-social events, and even made a from scratch pasta dish (without mayo! So it's safe to sit at room temps). I'm a little surprised how few others have signed up for dishes or beverages or anything, though.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 25, 2026

As much as I didn't want to jinx this union, I should have pushed harder for NIN's "We're In This Together" for our wedding song, because apparently I'm going to fight tooth and nail for it to work, and so far have been successful through rough patches.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 25, 2026

No parades. No fireworks. No ostentatious celebrations. No parties. No cookouts. Just remembering.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 23, 2026

When I hear someone who's paid (likely more than me) for their technical skills say, "so I asked AI to write a script for me", I die a little inside. I hear "I don't possess the skills to do this on my own, I don't understand the problem domain, and I can't be bothered to learn to do it myself, and likely lack the knowledge to know if what I asked for returns the correct results"...

I'm not opposed, necessarily, to using the current crop of "AI" for validation, just thinking out the problem.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 23, 2026

This past evening, we were in the kitchen, the dogs sleeping in the living room, as we approached doggy dinnertime.

Me: "shall we summon the demons?"

She: "minions! minions!"

*silence*

Me: "Demons!"

*frantic scurrying*

#DogsOfMastodon

strangeplace.me

Mastodon

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · May 23, 2026

At this point, I have .rc files & scripts old enough to legally drink and rent a car without huge service charges. I even have some that could likely have high school or college aged kids... Maybe I even grand-.rc/script files if I squint a little... There's also the distinct possibility some are old enough to run for President.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Apr 08, 2026

Replying to @dramypsyd@ohai.social

@dramypsyd@ohai.social between growing up in the Cold War, the Berlin Wall fall, living through 2 Gulf Wars & 9/11... I guess I'm just your typical fatalistic Gen-X person. When you add in Tom Lehrer (and a little Weird Al), I'm not sure I can muster up more than "do I have to call in sick if I'm dying from radiation?" Don't get me wrong, I'm glad TACO, but "The Day After" was a strong possibility. And I'm close enough to DC that only possible geography would save me from the initial blasts, so...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Nov 09, 2024

Replying to @evacide@hachyderm.io

@evacide@hachyderm.io even before this past week, I've been having to point out that things like "disconnecting all electronics I'm not using, especially when I leave the house" and "read only VMs for all financial transactions" are so far outside any reasonable home-based threat model that it's basically play acting at being a super spy.

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Oct 21, 2024

Replying to @JessTheUnstill__dup_3370@infosec.exchange

@JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange this a million times. When I was laid off from a tech job in 2006/2007, when I managed to get a job with a gov contractor, I took a double digit percentage cut. I've slowly worked my way back up, but were it not for amassing a decent buffer of savings...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Sep 07, 2023

Replying to @thatkatharine@ohai.social

@thatkatharine@ohai.social I hate needles, and I'd get a COVID booster every 6 months if I could...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Aug 26, 2023

Replying to @aparrish@friend.camp

@aparrish when I have to wake up at all without my body forcing me...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Jul 15, 2023

Replying to @feditips@mstdn.social

@feditips@mstdn.social sadly, very few people younger than me know why the "one choice" is called a "radio button"...

Michael Gurski @emag@strangeplace.me · Mar 28, 2023

Replying to @angiebaby@mas.to

@angiebaby@mas.to where I worked, we couldn't smile for our official photos because the facial recognition couldn't handle smiling... Take that how you will...

Michael Gurski

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