rly0nheart

You're welcome! Spanish is the closest I could get to properly explain it. At least it's the only language I know of that has a soft "b" sound in some instances.

started working on Cerium back in 2025. I was just using it locally on my laptop then. After some time working on it and getting ideas from lsd and eza, I decided to push it to GitHub. Cerium supports searching for files with the --find option which allows blog patterns, and also filemagic with the --magic option (enabled with the magic feature). I would like to hear some what people think about it.

Also, Cerium mimics how the ls command lists a directory that has entries with quotes. Something that lsd and eza dont really do. E.g.,:

eza and lsd: foobar.txt 'foo bar.txt'

cerium: foobar.txt 'foo bar.txt'

Another thing, my mentor told me about how I should also try my best to focus on separation of concern in the code, so i tried my best to apply that. Hope someone enjoys using this. If you see a problem in the code and can fix it, please open a pull request on Codeberg. Have fun! :)

Maybe you're a variant from somewhere in the multiverse? :D

I relate to the burnout. Some days the rejection emails make me wonder if it's worth it. But I still love building things. I just wish the industry valued that more than credentials.

Hope you find what works for you, whatever that ends up being.

All of a sudden, becoming a goose farmer is starting to sound pretty appealing to me :D

You're right that I'm looking for remote positions from Zambia, and that distance adds complexity. But I don't think the issue is legal liability or risk of fraud. I worked remotely for Bellingcat for 8 months. They're an internationally recognised investigative journalism organisation. If they could verify me and manage the "legal liability," I don't see why tech companies can't. The risk assesment you're describing assumes that being from Africa without a degree makes someone inherently risky. But I have verifiable work history, public code, and people who can vouch for me. That should count as verification. I understand market realities. I'm not expecting to walk into a senior role at a FAANG company. But entry or mid-level positions shouldn't require "rockstar credentials" just because of geography. That's not about risk managment, it's about gatekeeping. The advice to "be in the same region/country" isn't practical when there are very few tech opportunities locally that pay a living wage. Remote work was supposed to democratise access to these jobs. If it only works for people in certain countries, that's a problem worth pointing out.

I appreciate the passport analogy, but I think the comparison to North Korean developers is misplaced. My work is entirely public and verifiable. I have years of commit history on GitHub. Ben Boyter, who shared this post, has worked with me directly. The people I've worked with can vouch for me without any problems at all.

The "provenance" exists. Companies just don't look at it because they filter on credentials first. As for working locally, there are very few tech opportunities in Zambia that pay a living wage. That's part of why remote work seemed like the solution, but it requires getting past the same filters

I understand the concern about verification. I just wish the bar for verification was "look at their public work" rather than "do they have a degree from a recognisd institution."

Also, you didn't have to make it sound like I'm/might be a security risk. That kind of sentiment isn't helpful when the evidence to verify me is already public.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and for forwarding my post to recruiters. That means more than you know. Your path resonates with me, especially the part about molding positions into programming adjacent roles. I've been trying to get "in the door" for months now, but the ATS filters seem to catch me before anyone human sees my work. The depression struggle is too real!! I've dealt with similar challenges while doing contract work. Some days the rejection emails pile up, and it's hard to keep going. I really appreciate you taking the time to help. The "non traditional lead" framing is interesting, though I've honestly never thought about positioning myself that way :). At this point, I'd just be grateful to get in the door anywhere.

Hoping something comes from those recruiter connections. Thank you again for believing in me enough to vouch for me to them.

Someone is impersonating me. If you try to contact me, please use the links on my blog.

These aren't mine:

https://xcancel.com/rly0nheart https://about.me/rly0nheart

Unfortunately, I don't think I can report impersonation on X without having an account, and X is a no go for me.

Hello, I'm the author of that article. I will reply to everyone properly. For now, I want to raise some awareness of someone impersonating me online using my handle:

https://xcancel.com/rly0nheart

https://about.me/rly0nheart

These aren't me. I'm no longer on X or about.me.