Monday Morning Grab Bag

1# Drop #622 (2025-03-17): Monday Morning Grab Bag2Might As Well Plonk; Notetaking Just Comes Nash-ually For Some; The Arc Of The Universe Bends Towards Ad Blocking34I _really_ wanted to post all this yesterday since we need all the good news/distractions we can get these days.56---78### TL;DR910_(This is an AI-generated summary of today’s Drop using Ollama + llama 3.2 and a custom prompt.)_1112* Plonk.li is a new gist/pastebin service built on the ATproto network, storing pastes directly in a Personal Data Server (PDS) as records discoverable through ATproto collection queries. ([https://plonk.li/](https://plonk.li/))1314* Nash is a portable, web-based note-taking application that runs entirely in your browser, allowing you to create, edit, and save notes as HTML files with no server dependencies. ([https://keepworking.github.io/nash/](https://keepworking.github.io/nash/))1516* Arc Browser has integrated an ad blocker that bypasses Manifest V3 restrictions and aligns with its clean interface philosophy, though it currently lacks features like an allow list and quick disable option.1718--- 1920### Might As Well Plonk2122So much is happening in ATproto land!2324The folks that brought us [Tangled](https://dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev/2025/03/09/bonus-drop-78-2025-03-09-knot-your-parents-social-enabled-git-collaboration-platform/) are back with [Plonk.li](https://plonk.li/) ([knot](https://tangled.sh/@oppili.bsky.social/plonkli)) — a gist/pastebin service built on the ATproto network, the same protocol that powers Bluesky. Unlike traditional pastebins that store content on their own servers, Plonk leverages the distributed nature of ATProto by storing pastes directly in a Personal Data Server (PDS). By default, it uses Bluesky's PDS.2526The service is available at https://plonk.li/ and was developed by @oppili.bsky.social as detailed on their Tangled profile. What makes this particularly interesting is that it's written using [Pug](https://pugjs.org/api/getting-started.html), a template engine for Node.js that offers a cleaner, more concise syntax for generating HTML.2728When you create a paste on Plonk, it's stored as a record in the ATproto network using a custom record type: `li.plonk.paste`. This means your pastes become part of your ATproto identity and can be discovered through ATproto collection queries.2930Looking at[ my own ATProto collections](https://pdsls.dev/at://did:plc:hgyzg2hn6zxpqokmp5c2xrdo) (at `did:plc:hgyzg2hn6zxpqokmp5c2xrdo`), you can see various record types including the standard Bluesky ones like `app.bsky.feed.post` and custom ones like `li.plonk.paste`.3132[Drilling down into a specific paste record](https://pdsls.dev/at://did:plc:hgyzg2hn6zxpqokmp5c2xrdo/li.plonk.paste/3lkizorpev22s) reveals its structure:3334```json35{36  "code": "Pastebin on ATproto",37  "lang": "plaintext",38  "$type": "li.plonk.paste",39  "title": "First Post!",40  "shortUrl": "Hc",41  "createdAt": "2025-03-16T16:10:36.637Z"42}43```4445The record contains the paste content, language for syntax highlighting, title, a short URL for easy sharing, and creation timestamp. This data is stored in the Bluesky PDS at `porcini.us-east.host.bsky.network` for my account.4647If you want to run your own Plonk.li instance, the process is straightforward:48491. Clone the repository:50   ```bash51   git clone https://tangled.sh/@oppili.bsky.social/plonkli52   cd plonkli53   ```54552. Install dependencies:56   ```bash57   npm install58   npm install -g tsx pino-pretty59   npm run build60   ```61623. Create a systemd service file at `~/.config/systemd/user/plonk.service`:63   ```64   [Unit]65   Description=Plonkli Pastebin Service66   After=network.target6768   [Service]69   Type=simple70   WorkingDirectory=/home/YOU/apps/plonkli71   Environment="PLONK_PORT=SOME PORT"72   Environment="PLONK_NODE_ENV=production"73   Environment="PLONK_HOST=localhost"74   Environment="PLONK_PUBLIC_URL=https://YOUR-PASTE-DOMAIN"75   Environment="PLONK_DB_PATH=plonk.db"76   Environment="PLONK_COOKIE_SECRET=config.services.plonk.cookie_secret"77   ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'source $HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh && npm run start'78   Restart=on-failure79   RestartSec=5s8081   [Install]82   WantedBy=default.target83   ```84854. Set up a reverse proxy with Caddy to expose your service to the internet.8687Note that the example service file uses `nvm` for Node.js version management. In a production environment, make better life choices than I have. And, you can try out my Plonk instance at `https://paste.hrbrmstr.app/`. I should note that _some_ state/session and paste metadata for anyone that OAuthed to Blusky via a hosted Plonk instance _is_ stored on said Plonk instance.8889The integration of a gist/pastebin service with ATproto demonstrates the protocol's flexibility beyond social networking. By storing pastes as ATproto records, Plonk creates a persistent, us-owned archive of code snippets and text that lives alongside your social content. And, with both Tangled and Plonk, we do indeed have the makings for a legit GitHub/GitLab replacment in the works.9091This approach also means your pastes inherit the same data portability benefits as other ATproto content — they're part of your digital identity that you can take with you across compatible services.9293As the ATproto ecosystem continues to grow, we'll likely see more creative applications like Plonk that extend the protocol's utility beyond its initial social networking focus. The decentralized nature of ATproto makes it an excellent foundation for building us-owned content services of all kinds.9495---9697### Notetaking Just Comes Nash-ually For Some9899[Nash](https://keepworking.github.io/nash/) ([GH](https://github.com/keepworking/nash)) is a web-based note-taking application that runs entirely in your browser. It is both simple and highly portabile—create, edit, and save notes as HTML files without any server dependencies.100101The interface is refreshingly straightforward: a title field and content area where the magic happens. Despite its minimalist appearance, Nash offers a surprisingly robust set of formatting tools.102103Text formatting options range from size adjustments (XL, L, M, S) to the classics—bold, italic, and underline. You can easily insert links and upload images, plus add some visual flair with text coloring and highlighting.104When you've finished crafting your note, Nash gives you several saving options. Save locally as an HTML file, share it directly (if your browser supports the share API), or create read-only versions for distribution.105106Technically speaking, Nash uses `contentEditable` `div`s for both the title and editor components. The developmer has implemented custom JavaScript functions that handle everything from text formatting through DOM manipulation to selection and range handling for applying styles.107108The editor supports block-level formatting like headings and paragraphs, image insertion via the FileReader API, and color application using CSS variables for consistent theming. Perhaps most impressively, its export functionality packages everything into a self-contained HTML document.109110Nash includes several thoughtful quality-of-life features. Dark mode support via CSS media queries means your eyes won't burn during late-night writing sessions. The application automatically normalizes content structure, confirms before opening links (no accidental navigation!), and warns you about unsaved changes.111112Since all processing happens client-side with zero server requirements, Nash is a truly portable solution for note-taking. Take it anywhere, use it anytime, without worrying about connectivity or account management.113114---115116### The Arc Of The Universe Bends Towards Ad Blocking117118I'm on the bleeding edge releases of Arc and they recently added advert/tracker/cookie-consent blocking to this spiffy Chromium-based browser alternative.119120IMG121122Google's Manifest V3 update severely limits extension capabilities, particularly for ad blocking. Arc's integrated ad blocker bypasses these restrictions, aiming for a "cleaner internet" with fewer ads and distractions. It appears to just be using the same lists that uBlock Origin uses:123124IMG125126It does ask you to use only one blocker, so I'm giving this a go for a while. It frustratingly does not yet support an "allow" list, and does not have a quick way to temporarily disable the built-in blocker.127128This move aligns with Arc's clean interface philosophy while directly challenging Google and Microsoft's ad revenue models. By addressing the limitations of Manifest V3, Arc targets privacy-conscious folks dissatisfied with Chrome's direction. I should further reiterate that I use a total of ZERO of Arc's AI features, have Kagi as my browser search ending, and run Arc every two weeks from my PCAP logging VLAN to make sure it's not being naughty and shunting my browser sessions to their AI servers. So, all of said privacy claims have that in mind.129130Unfortunately — for now — both Arc and Vivaldi faile the "[protect me from sociopaths](https://rud.is/sandbox-check/)" test quite miserably, as Chromium Canary (which they both use as a baseline) nuked our ability to turn off all the new Google spying settings. I was afraid Google might have co-mingled the evil advert code too deeply into the browser core ops, and I suspect that is the case, here.131132---133134### FIN135136Remember, you can follow and interact with the full text of The Daily Drop’s free posts on:137138- 🐘 Mastodon via `@dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev@dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev`139- 🦋 Bluesky via `https://bsky.app/profile/dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev.web.brid.gy`140141Also, refer to:142143- [this post](https://dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev/2024/12/04/drop-565-2024-12-04-all-strings-attached/), and144- [this post](https://dailydrop.hrbrmstr.dev/2024/12/08/bonus-drop-68-2024-12-08-all-strings-attached-cli-version/)145146to see how to access a regularly updated database of all the Drops with extracted links, and full-text search capability. ☮️