John's Junk Drawer

List of Australian news sources with links

2021-02-18T20:56:00Z

Elizabeth Heng commercial blocked by facebook

2018-08-06T20:23:13Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUJXqJ4f_to

Just a thought

2017-08-08T03:22:43Z

Eye doctors should give people prescriptions that make whatever vision problem they have slightly worse. In this case, people would take their glasses off when they need to see better (for reading, for example). Most importantly, as their eyes acclimate to the lenses (as they always do), it would cause their eyesight to get better instead of worse.

My DNC List

2017-02-13T20:41:00Z

Originally dated: 2016-10-24 12:42

The Problem

Somewhere along the line, a lot of easy-money lenders and extended warranty providers have gotten my cell-phone number. They all use robo-callers to begin the "conversation." Worse, the predicative-dialed robo-calls are running nuisance rates of around 30-50% (there used to be laws against this).

Unfortunately, my reject list only holds 20 numbers.

So I'm doing a round-robin (FIFO ring buffer, for fellow programers) as new numbers come in.

I use a simple number scheme. When I get back to the top I change the name from DNC01 to DNC21 and count from 21. This lets me know where the head and the tail of the ring-buffer are on the list, so I know where to add new numbers.

But I want to save the old numbers too

Just in case they start using them again after having been on the reject-list for a while.

So here's the list of all numbers on my reject list
(except for the first few that I threw out before deciding to do this)

(newest numbers are added to the top) n=nuisance, d=dinner-time5-7pm, y=yes-scam

302 570-8948 [y] "would you like to speak with a warranty specialist?" (about your car)
601 228-8218 [y] "important message from the motor vehicle protection agency. Would you like to learn more"
502 617-1009 [n]
830 490-0103 [y]
831 353-2012 [n]
858 951-1750 [d]
407 530-0051 [n]
-------
530 744 2131 [n]
228 325-1202
385 218-3054
669 257-7018 [n]
321 234-5678
239 580-6026
239 541-6799
908 888-0277
361 317-3211
213 210-2506
609 759-2791
518 417-1707
717 724-9599
682 628-4628
786 209-0861
603 637-1878
657 202-5151
541 948-8494
570 491-8294
-------
801 742-5022
970 236-9187
832 241-3030
234 815-8186
323 593-7774
321 421-1092
817 363-5736
305 900-5941
954 826-1234
813 355-9252
281 410-8984
323 609-6006
540 628-8915
347 991-0619
609 456-7425
209 220-4187
928 224-7454
209 220-4187

= = = = = = =
[n] = nuisance
[y] = 'Yes' scam.
[d] = dinner-time 5-7pm

We Remember

2017-01-27T16:20:19Z

#WeRemember

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajHb-UE2Mm0

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2017-01-16T15:19:59Z

Did they think they could kill his dream?

No.

His dream lives on.

The xterm 256-color table (set colors in xterm or PuTTY)

2017-01-15T16:28:00Z

Updated: 2017-01-15 08:28 (Originally Created: 2015-03-32 19:12)
Updated: 2016-07-15 18:02 (Originally Created: 2015-03-32 19:12)
Updated: 2015-09-26 9:51 (Originally Created: 2015-03-32 19:12)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting background and foreground colors in an xterm terminal

The xterm terminal (and PuTTY) permit you to programmatically set the foreground and background colors of your terminal using VT styled escape sequenced (e.g., vt200). These are region-based, and can be used to change the color on a character-by-character basis. There are a variety of different sequences for setting these colors, but, for now at least, if you want to use PuTTY as well as X-Window you should use the following sequences. These sequences take an index into a table of colors (see The Chart below) defined and specified by xterm.

Set the Background Color

To set the background color by index hand this escape sequence to the terminal:

[48;5;m

Where is the index (from the chart below) for the color you want to make the background.

You can send the sequence to the terminal with the echo command. Give it the -n option so that it wont echo a new-line at the end of the sequence. Here are some examples:

Set background

echo -n "\033[48;5;16m"
Sets the background to black (index 16 from the chart). Note that \033 is the escape character.
printf "\033[48;5;16m"
Same as the echo statement above, but using the more portable printf command.
printf "\033[48;5;17m"
Sets the background to dim blue for text editing. (index 17 from the chart).

Set the Foreground Color

To set the foreground color by index, use the following escape sequence:

[38;5;m

Note the '48' has been changed to a '38'. The remains the index from the chart (below) for the color you want to use.

Use the echo command to send the sequence. As always, the -n option is used to prevent echo from sending a new-line at the end of the sequence.

Set foreground

printf "\033[38;5;16m"
Sets the foreground (text color) to black (index 16 from the chart). Again, \033 (octal) = 27 (dec) = Esc
printf "\033[38;5;17m"
Sets the foreground (text) to dim blue. (index 17 from the chart).

. . . . . . . . . . .
The Most Rationally Formatted Chart

216 regular colors, indexed
That's a lot of factors:
216 factors: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,18,24,27,36,54,72,108,216

Format: 6x36

The first six rows of this table hold the entire range of Blue across the X-axis, and the complete range of Green down the Y-axis. The remaining five, six-line charts are the entire range of RED overlaid onto the first chart. Said another way, each six-line chart represents one data point on the (RED) Z-axis, with X=BLUE, and Y=GREEN. Essentially it is BGR instead of RGB . Both index, and rgb-value orders, are preserved.

b=x, g=y, r=0
016 000000	017 00005f	018 000087	019 0000af	020 0000d7	021 0000ff
022 005f00	023 0005f5f	024 005f87	025 005faf	026 005fd7	027 005fff
028 008700	029 00875f	030 008787	031 0087af	032 0087d7	033 0087ff
034 00af00	035 000af5f	036 00af87	037 00afaf	038 00afd7	039 00afff
040 00d700	041 00d75f	042 00d787	043 00d7af	044 00d7d7	045 00d7ff
046 00ff00	047 000ff5f	048 00ff87	049 00ffaf	050 00ffd7	051 00ffff
b=x, g=y, r=0x5f
052 5f0000	053 5f005f	054 5f0087	055 5f00af	056 5f00d7	057 5f00ff
058 5f5f00	059 5f05f5f	060 5f5f87	061 5f5faf	062 5f5fd7	063 5f5fff
064 5f8700	065 5f875f	066 5f8787	067 5f87af	068 5f87d7	069 5f87ff
070 5faf00	071 5f0af5f	072 5faf87	073 5fafaf	074 5fafd7	075 5fafff
076 5fd700	077 5fd75f	078 5fd787	079 5fd7af	080 5fd7d7	081 5fd7ff
082 5fff00	083 5f0ff5f	084 5fff87	085 5fffaf	086 5fffd7	087 5fffff
b=x, g=y, r=0x87
088 870000	089 87005f	090 870087	091 8700af	092 8700d7	093 8700ff
094 875f00	095 8705f5f	096 875f87	097 875faf	098 875fd7	099 875fff
100 878700	101 87875f	102 878787	103 8787af	104 8787d7	105 8787ff
106 87af00	107 870af5f	108 87af87	109 87afaf	110 87afd7	111 87afff
112 87d700	113 87d75f	114 87d787	115 87d7af	116 87d7d7	117 87d7ff
118 87ff00	119 870ff5f	120 87ff87	121 87ffaf	122 87ffd7	123 87ffff
b=x, g=y, r=0xaf
124 af0000	125 af005f	126 af0087	127 af00af	128 af00d7	129 af00ff
130 af5f00	131 af05f5f	132 af5f87	133 af5faf	134 af5fd7	135 af5fff
136 af8700	137 af875f	138 af8787	139 af87af	140 af87d7	141 af87ff
142 afaf00	143 af0af5f	144 afaf87	145 afafaf	146 afafd7	147 afafff
148 afd700	149 afd75f	150 afd787	151 afd7af	152 afd7d7	153 afd7ff
154 afff00	155 af0ff5f	156 afff87	157 afffaf	158 afffd7	159 afffff
b=x, g=y, r=0xd7
160 d70000	161 d7005f	162 d70087	163 d700af	164 d700d7	165 d700ff
166 d75f00	167 d705f5f	168 d75f87	169 d75faf	170 d75fd7	171 d75fff
172 d78700	173 d7875f	174 d78787	175 d787af	176 d787d7	177 d787ff
178 d7af00	179 d70af5f	180 d7af87	181 d7afaf	182 d7afd7	183 d7afff
184 d7d700	185 d7d75f	186 d7d787	187 d7d7af	188 d7d7d7	189 d7d7ff
190 d7ff00	191 d70ff5f	192 d7ff87	193 d7ffaf	194 d7ffd7	195 d7ffff
b=x, g=y, r=0xff
196 ff0000	197 ff005f	198 ff0087	199 ff00af	200 ff00d7	201 ff00ff
202 ff5f00	203 ff05f5f	204 ff5f87	205 ff5faf	206 ff5fd7	207 ff5fff
208 ff8700	209 ff875f	210 ff8787	211 ff87af	212 ff87d7	213 ff87ff
214 ffaf00	215 ff0af5f	216 ffaf87	217 ffafaf	218 ffafd7	219 ffafff
220 ffd700	221 ffd75f	222 ffd787	223 ffd7af	224 ffd7d7	225 ffd7ff
226 ffff00	227 ff0ff5f	228 ffff87	229 ffffaf	230 ffffd7	231 ffffff

. . . . . . . . . . .
The Missing Slots

There are 16 missing color-indexes (0-15) at the beginning, and 24 missing color-indexes (232-255) at the end.

. . . . . . . . . . .
The Original ANSI 8 (16)

The 16 color-indexes missing at the beginning of the above chart hold the generic set of eight colors you see (for example) in ansi, or curses, as named colors. It contains another eight colors which are —sort-of— the same colors repeated, but duller (more dull?).

Note that these already exist in the above chart. The reason you see them repeated again here is because these were preserved in order to be compatible with the old xterm, which only had the first 16 color-indexes. Old software that references these indexes will not be broken. Here's their chart:

000 000000	001 800000	002 008000	003 808000	004 000080	005 800080	006 008080	007 c0c0c0
008 808080	009 ff0000	010 00ff00	011 ffff00	012 0000ff	013 ff00ff	014 00ffff	015 ffffff

. . . . . . . . . . .
The Extra Gray Scale

The 24 color-indexes missing at the end of the above chart are a set of gray scale colors. I'm not sure what their purpose is. They are slightly different than the grays available in the main chart. Perhaps a continuously indexed gray scale permits some simple math to be used when shading/ray-tracing? Anyway. Here's that chart.

232 080808	233 121212	234 1c1c1c	235 262626	236 303030	237 3a3a3a	238 444444	239 4e4e4e
240 585858	241 626262	242 6c6c6c	243 767676	244 808080	245 8a8a8a	246 949494	247 9e9e9e
248 a8a8a8	249 b2b2b2	250 bcbcbc	251 c6c6c6	252 d0d0d0	253 dadada	254 e4e4e4	255 eeeeee

More about how to set these colors (foreground and background) from applications running in xterm and PuTTY follows. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Terminal Sequences for Setting Colors with RGB designators

There are two different sets of sequences for setting colors using rgb codes. These usually work in X11, but if you intend to use PuTTY to access your server, you should use the index-setting sequences (PuTTY doesn't currently support these rgb sequences). For the time being, at least, using indexes will allow your applications to work consistently along with the xterms in X11. Never hurts to do an echo command from the command line to test if a newer version does.

Using three (rgb) decimal numbers:

This control sequence takes three parameters (r,g,b), which are decimal numbers from 0 .. 255. Each decimal number represents the intensity of its respective color.

To set the background color:
[48;2;;;m

echo it from a the command line:
printf "\033[48;2;0;0;100m"
(dark blue)

And from a script:
printf "\033[48;2;$r;$g;${b}m"

To set the foreground color:
[38;2;;;m
(change the 48 to 38)

Using an HTML-Entity styled rgb parameter

To set the background:
]11;#53186f

To echo that:
printf "\033]11;#53186f\007"
(dark purple background)

To set the foreground:
]13;#53186f
(dark purple text)

. . . . . . . . . . .
The Coffee Mug Format

format: 12x18

016
000000 017
00005f 018
000087 019
0000af 020
0000d7 021
0000ff 022
005f00 023
0005f5f 024
005f87 025
005f87 026
005fd7 027
005fff

028
008700 029
00875f 030
008787 031
0087af 032
0087d7 033
0087ff 034
00af00 035
000af5f 036
00af87 037
00af87 038
00afd7 039
00afff

040
00d700 041
00d75f 042
00d787 043
00d7af 044
00d7d7 045
00d7ff 046
00ff00 047
000ff5f 048
00ff87 049
00ff87 050
00ffd7 051
00ffff

052
5f0000 053
5f005f 054
5f0087 055
5f00af 056
5f00d7 057
5f00ff 058
5f5f00 059
5f05f5f 060
5f5f87 061
5f5f87 062
5f5fd7 063
5f5fff

064
5f8700 065
5f875f 066
5f8787 067
5f87af 068
5f87d7 069
5f87ff 070
5faf00 071
5f0af5f 072
5faf87 073
5faf87 074
5fafd7 075
5fafff

076
5fd700 077
5fd75f 078
5fd787 079
5fd7af 080
5fd7d7 081
5fd7ff 082
5fff00 083
5f0ff5f 084
5fff87 085
5fff87 086
5fffd7 087
5fffff

088
870000 089
87005f 090
870087 091
8700af 092
8700d7 093
8700ff 094
875f00 095
8705f5f 096
875f87 097
875f87 098
875fd7 099
875fff

100
878700 101
87875f 102
878787 103
8787af 104
8787d7 105
8787ff 106
87af00 107
870af5f 108
87af87 109
87af87 110
87afd7 111
87afff

112
87d700 113
87d75f 114
87d787 115
87d7af 116
87d7d7 117
87d7ff 118
87ff00 119
870ff5f 120
87ff87 121
87ff87 122
87ffd7 123
87ffff

124
af0000 125
af005f 126
af0087 127
af00af 128
af00d7 129
af00ff 130
af5f00 131
af05f5f 132
af5f87 133
af5f87 134
af5fd7 135
af5fff

136
af8700 137
af875f 138
af8787 139
af87af 140
af87d7 141
af87ff 142
afaf00 143
af0af5f 144
afaf87 145
afaf87 146
afafd7 147
afafff

148
afd700 149
afd75f 150
afd787 151
afd7af 152
afd7d7 153
afd7ff 154
afff00 155
af0ff5f 156
afff87 157
afff87 158
afffd7 159
afffff

160
d70000 161
d7005f 162
d70087 163
d700af 164
d700d7 165
d700ff 166
d75f00 167
d705f5f 168
d75f87 169
d75f87 170
d75fd7 171
d75fff

172
d78700 173
d7875f 174
d78787 175
d787af 176
d787d7 177
d787ff 178
d7af00 179
d70af5f 180
d7af87 181
d7af87 182
d7afd7 183
d7afff

184
d7d700 185
d7d75f 186
d7d787 187
d7d7af 188
d7d7d7 189
d7d7ff 190
d7ff00 191
d70ff5f 192
d7ff87 193
d7ff87 194
d7ffd7 195
d7ffff

196
ff0000 197
ff005f 198
ff0087 199
ff00af 200
ff00d7 201
ff00ff 202
ff5f00 203
ff05f5f 204
ff5f87 205
ff5f87 206
ff5fd7 207
ff5fff

208
ff8700 209
ff875f 210
ff8787 211
ff87af 212
ff87d7 213
ff87ff 214
ffaf00 215
ff0af5f 216
ffaf87 217
ffaf87 218
ffafd7 219
ffafff

220
ffd700 221
ffd75f 222
ffd787 223
ffd7af 224
ffd7d7 225
ffd7ff 226
ffff00 227
ff0ff5f 228
ffff87 229
ffff87 230
ffffd7 231
ffffff

I display this in index-order, which also puts the colors in rgb-logical order. Many display this as a cube without concern for index order. I personally think it would make more sense to display it as a cylinder, with the right half of the above chart flipped, before being rolled up horizontally (i.e., make the left and right edges meet after flipping the right half).

The American Declaration of Independence

2016-07-04T07:10:00Z

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

------------------------------
Signatories

Column 1
. . . .. . .
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
. . . .. . .
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
. . . .. . .
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
. . . .. . .
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
. . . .. . .
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
. . . .. . .
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
. . . .. . .
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5
. . . .. . .
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
. . . .. . .
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
. . . .. . .
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
. . . .. . .
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
. . . .. . .
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
. . . .. . .
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
. . . .. . .
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

Three Song Salad

2016-06-09T12:54:00Z

Three songs:
1. What's it all about, Alphie?
2. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me
3. Moon River

You can sing them as one song:

. . . What's it all about, Alphie?
. . . Let it begin with me.
. . . Oh dream maker, you heart breaker
wherever you're going I'm going your way

Obviously, that's my amateur attempt at best, when you see something like this. . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OYkWSW7u4k

Christmas: Little Drummer Boy

2015-12-01T14:37:53Z

A cappella version of Little Drummer Boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc

Let's Play: Science / NOT Science

2015-09-26T16:35:16Z

Science: — Proposing a theory, which makes predictions that can be validated, or invalidated by future observations.

NOT Science: — Trying to associate those who disagree with your theory with Holocaust deniers.

To the People of Brandon, Mississippi, With Love

2015-08-23T15:50:51Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GKhDCsLrUg

. . .

. . . when will we have had enough of living under this tyranny of nine corrupt kings?

Recycle Poster

2015-05-24T00:34:36Z
Here's a pdf of my county's recycle info poster. . .

Riverside Recycling (pdf)

Open vs FreeBSD -- Night and Day

2015-03-19T16:36:00Z

I have switched to FreeBSD after spending a few months banging my head against OpenBSD. OpenBSD is a nice O.S., and I really didn't want to switch, but now that I'm trying FreeBSD, here are some first impressions of the differences.

Reasons to Choose FreeBSD

Would you like clear, well-written user documentation, instead of curt citations of man pages, and faq entries? You want FreeBSD.

Would you like to experiment with hosting MS-Windows (or Linux, or another BSD, etc.) as a guest O.S. in a virtual machine, right out of the box? You probably want FreeBSD.

You have an older machine with only 1/2 gig of ram, and you think you should be able to run firefox without hitting the swap file? Free is the O.S. for you.

You have an older computer that runs at just under 1 gighz, and you think it's reasonable to expect an O.S. to deliver decent performance from that? You need FreeBSD

You've invested a lot of time switching from MS-Office to OpenOffice and you don't want to have to now learn the latest other OTHER office suite? Definitely, you want FreeBSD.

You're an experimenter who wants to install BSD on your Raspberry Pi? Most seem to agree, FreeBSD is a better fit for you.

Reasons to Choose OpenBSD

You think PF (Packet Filter) is a really cool piece of software and you want to run it? OpenBSD is for you.

And Now, for Something Completely Different

Are you a masochist who is excited by the idea of being beaten to a pulp, and left naked in the middle of the ethical, legal, and financial mine-field that is the GPL?. . . You want linux.

Garden 2014

2014-12-30T06:58:00Z

A close-up of a Brussels Sprout plant.

All the garden entries from the 2014 growing season have been placed here.

All in all it was a good growing season. Tomatoes, as usual, were amazing and produced unexpectedly large harvests. That said there was a bout of bacterial speck to be dealt with about midway through the season.

First time growing Brussels Sprouts seemed to go well. They are so much tastier when ripened on the plant (less bitterness, but more flavor). Also grew Italian Choice Red Bell Peppers, and String Beans. All delicious, though it took a bit of time to figure out how to properly prepare them.

. . . . . . .
While the blog entries are organized most recent entries first, the log will be listed from the start of the season in the spring, to the end of the season in October.

CAUTION: This entry contains many pictures.

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Here We Go, 17-May-2014.

Same size as last year, buried soaker hose irrigation.
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Garden Overview — 2014 garden begins. Foreground: Brussels Sprouts. . . . . Behind them (where the stakes are): String beans. . . . . . Back-right: four tomato plants, . . . . . . . . Back-left: Italian Choice, red, Bell Peppers. . . Notice the fixtures at the front-left: I'm trying all underground irrigation this year, using soaker hoses.

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Soaker Hose Lessons, 29-May-2014.
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Ooops. . . Learning — I broke my garden yesterday. Latest Gardening Lesson: When using buried soaker hoses to irrigate, you must exercise care when you add trellises or stakes.

Use Pressure Regulators With Soaker-Hoses (30-May) — For four years I've tried all different brands of sprinkler- and soaker-hoses. They all spewed tons of water out in the last few feet, and almost no water for most of the length. Thought it was bad brands of soaker hose. This year I learned that soaker-hoses aren't made to deal with full municipality water pressure (50-60 psi). If you don't want to blow out your soaker-hoses the first time you turn them on, you need to add pressure regulators. These (the two black things you see here) are less than $10 each, and seem to work fine. They reduce city water (50-60 psi) down to 10-20 psi pressure. So far, this has proven to work for me.

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Off to a Great Start, 30-May-2014.
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Garden Overview — Front: Brussels Sprouts. . . Behind them: String Beans. . . Behind them: Place where the "Italian Choice" red peppers will be planted (they are currently being grown from seed inside). . . On the right: Four tomato plants.

Tomatoes — The two in the back are Better Boys, which are indeterminate. This (indeterminate) means they will keep right on producing until something (like a frost) stops them. . . . The two in the foreground are determinate (Better Bush). That (determinate) means they have a specific set of life-phases they grow through, which terminates in fruit production. When they are done, they are done, regardless of whether there is still more season left. In general, I don't like determinates for this reason, but was absent-minded on the day I purchased these two. . .

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State of the Garden, 07-June-2014.
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The Garden — Left to right: Brussels Sprouts, String Beans, Tomatoes. The egg crate hangin' with the tomatoes is red-pepper sprouts that were germinated indoors. They are almost ready for planting in the space behind the tomatoes (another inch or two of growth needed).

18-June:

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Peppers In, 18-June-2014.
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Red Bell Peppers (Italian Choice): — This is the first time I was able to germinate the seeds indoors. This is an important step to master, before you can start doing heirloom seeds. There are nine plants here, though I have had to replant a couple of them because the birds think my garden is their playground.

The white plastic stakes mark where the soaker hose is buried.

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Garden 23-June-2014.
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Garden Overviews — (left to right): Brussels Sprouts, String Beans, Tomatoes (Better Bush in Front, Better Boy in back). Behind the tomatoes, there are nine, newly planted, red bell pepper plants (Italian choice, red).

Tomatoes Gone Wild: — I left four feet between plants this year. The most so far. Still, it looks like they will combine into a single large bush before the season is out.

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Brussels Sprouts, 01-July-2014.
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When Our Soccer Team is About to Play Belgium — The Brussels Sprouts are a bit wilted in the heat today. Maybe it's a good sign.

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Garden With Tomatoes, 06-July-2014.
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Into Every Life — The tomatoes sustained quite a bit of wind damage in last week's storms, but, with a few well-placed stakes, and lots of ties, they're back upright. Looks like lots of tomatoes are on the way. . . God willing.

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Second String-Bean Harvest, 09-July-2014.
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They're good for your heart — 2nd string-bean harvest just over 2 pounds. Looks like there is at least another harvest on the vines that is almost ready. Incidentally, wasps really are the a**holes of the gardening world. I take solace in the notion that some people think their stings lower MS activity.

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Garden 11-July-2014.
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Brussels Sprout Close Up — This is a closeup of one of the Brussels Sprouts. It shows how each branch has one Brussels Sprout in its crux. They start out as a little tiny speck, and grow bigger with time, looking like little dark green blobs. This picture is a nice one because it shows them in various stages of development. There's one near the top (left) that is starting to show the normal appearance of a leafy sprout.

Heavy Duty Stakes — Another tomato basket fell over. This is a six foot, 1x2 stake that I drove about 2.5 feet into the ground with a sledge hammer. It surely did some root damage. These are the heaviest-duty cages I have found, and they still aren't up to the task. I need to find a better solution. Perhaps next year I will drive the stakes in when I set up the cages.

Place of Peace — (Accidental Feng Shui)

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First Tomato Harvest, 14-July-2014.
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First Tomatoes — They're a lot like the first pancake on the grill. A little raggedy and imperfect. You can't see it here, but many of the tops are split. That means I've been over-watering a little, and will correct course.

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The Garden, 16-July-2014.
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Thank goodness for poop in a bag — Serious compost shortage this year.

Rooting at a break — A branch broke almost completely off. I left it alone because it had flowers on the end, but then it started growing roots just after the break. I did what any self respecting gardener would do. Cut it off and plant it in the ground. We'll see how it does. --- UPDATE: It's doing nicely. See 2014/07/24.

Third string bean harvest. — Just under two pounds.

2nd tomato harvest — They're still coming from the bottom branches, so there are a lot of uglies, but there are also quite a few nice ones. And, just so you know, the uglies are just as tasty as the pretties.

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Garden, 19-22, July, 2014.
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Garden 2014.07.19 — You can see the root damage showing up from where the 6 foot post had to be driven. These leaves are turning yellow. If it was one of the blights, they would be turning more of a beige color (i think). You can also see where I've started the planned expansion for next year. Unlike NATO, this expansion is entirely within my own back yard.

Single serving string-bean harvest — I didn't get any until the third harvest, so did not have any feedback on what I was doing wrong in harvesting and preparation. The first three harvests were not so good. Now I'm starting to learn, though. The only ones with any flavor are the green ones (greener the better). The white and yellow ones taste like the beans in pork-and-beans if you were to rinse off the sauce. Cut off 1/4 to 1/2 inch from each end and boil for 10 minutes or so. I have not been able to make saute preparation work yet.

Tomatoes — Harvests are averaging about 6-12 per day with about 80-90% of them pretties. In the beginning of the harvest season most of them were uglies.

More — Last year I was harvesting once a week so it was easy to keep tallies of the yields. This year it is every morning or afternoon, so it doesn't make sense to keep a count.

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Ongoing Garden, 24-July-2014.
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From a Branch to a Plant — This is the tomato plant that was started from a broken branch (see 2014/07/16). You can see that it is really coming back nicely here.

Garden Expansion — The expansion is coming along. I put the birdbath in the middle of the newly scraped area.

— View of the garden from the kitchen window

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Tomatoes Peaking, 01-12, August, 2014
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Oops — Did I say 6-12 per day? I'd like to revise that. It looks like, for a while anyway, it will be 2-3 dozen per day.

2014.08.05 - Garden overview — L to R: Brussels Sprouts, String Beans, Tomatoes. You can't see the peppers behind the tomatoes, but they're there and doing fine.

Perfect! —Nicest tomato I've grown, to date.

Recognize this guy? — t was planted from a branch that had broken off one of the plants and started to sprout roots (see 2014.07.16). It is doing well and now has flowers. Should be producing tomatoes before you know it. Lesson? If this produces good tomatoes, next year I'll buy one of each variety and start extras from clippings.

Tomatoes Galore — Today's tomato harvest had much nicer pretties, in much greater numbers, than usual.

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Bacterial Speck, 26-August to 5-September, 2014.
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Bacterial Speck — The tomatoes contracted something called "bacterial speck" about three weeks ago, which I was not able to treat. I was lopping off yellow branches every day and not keeping up. Finally was able to treat them with copper, which stopped --or at least slowed-- the dying branches. I've still been lopping off foliage, but now, most of it is left over from before the treatment.

Close-up — This is leaf speck (aka bacterial speck). Note the yellow hallos around dark brown specks. - - You should treat it with copper at the very first sign. I waited three weeks before starting treatment, which has probably doomed my tomatoes to an early end-of-season.

Bacterial Speck — I've been out every day pruning dead and dying branches. The existing tomatoes, which are normally hidden in the foliage, are completely exposed. While they still have that amazing garden-ripened taste, the lack of shelter from sun and wind causes them to have tougher-than-usual skin.

Overview — Here's the garden as of 2014.08.26 In the foreground (near the bird-bath), you can see the tomato plant that was started from a branch. It now has flowers and should be good for some late fruit. Unlike the mature plants, it only just started to show signs of leaf speck when I was finally able to apply the copper treatment, so it cleared right up. The cinder block you see there was discovered during the garden expansion effort.

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Peppers, 8-September-2014
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Peppers are doing great ! — Multiple peppers on each plant and new flowers too!

The peppers are Italian Choice Red. — I was worried they went in too late, but here we are with plenty of season left, and peppers starting to turn red.

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State of the Garden, 04-07, October-2014.
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Second pepper harvest. — I like the red ones because you can tell when they're ripe. Few things are more disappointing to eat than a pepper that ain't ripe.

— Still more peppers to harvest.

—
The tomato plant started from a branch is doing well. Lots of tomatoes and flowers.

— The sick tomatoes are recovering nicely. it has taken a lot of pruning, and copper treatments.

Brussels Sprouts after two harvests — The way their stalks grow makes them look a little like palm trees.

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Visitor, 14-October-2014.
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A visitor to the garden —

Close-Up — Just hangin' out under the palm trees that smell like cabbage.

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Aphids, 16-October-2014.
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Aphids on the Brussels Sprouts — Aphids LOVE plants from the cabbage family (like the brussels sprouts). They seem to prefer the leaves and leave (sorry) the sprouts alone. Dusting the plants with Sevin does nothing noticeable to rid them. I'll have to research some better solutions for next year.

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Pepper Harvest, 20-October-2014.
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— Peppers are producing well. The deeper the red, the sweeter the pepper.

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Frost/Freeze Reports, 06-November-2014.
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The saddest day of the growing season — Lots of green tomatoes. I have been ripening them as needed by placing a bunch in a brown-paper-bag and closing it up. This produced fairly good ripe tomatoes that I thought would be on par with store bought tomatoes. Boy was I wrong. I had forgotten just how bad store-bought tomatoes are.

Post script: Why Do Store-bought Tomatoes Taste So Bad?

At this writing (24-December) I just purchased my first store-bought tomatoes of the season. They were AWFUL. They were nearly perfect to look at, and bright red, but they had a texture like a raw potato, but with less flavor.

I used to think store-bought tomatoes were bad because they picked them bright-green and then let them ripen in transit. I can no longer support that thesis, since, the home-grown tomatoes I have been ripening from a bright-green state, were WAY better than the store-bought tomatoes.

So I went back and learned a thing or two about how "big-food" does tomatoes. It turns out they pick them bright green, but then they gas them with ethylene to turn them red. The industry marketing effort is quite insistent that this is the same thing as if the fruit had ripened naturally, but judging by the taste, I'd say that may be a (big) stretch.

My guess. The ethylene hormone causes them to ripen (turn red) but does little or nothing to promote the normal process of breaking down the starches, which turn into sugars. Again, starches are the things that have a taste and texture reminiscent of potatoes but with less flavor.

Well, that's my theory. I've read the big-food releases that blame it on other stuff (like the varieties of tomato selected), but those theories just don't pass the smell test (sorry).