Puzzle corner 45

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

QGZ PJ KML QXRKM XS
LUDLEKGKPXR, KML QXRKM
XS FPJMLJ, KML QXRKM XS
MXDL. -- LQPWZ VOXRKL

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May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope.
Emily Bronte

Solving: quick; Solving: the, May is the month of

I read the first part of EB's wp article. It was a strong reminder of
the significant health risks of living in the early 19th century, w/
EB's mother and 2 older sisters dying in her childhood, cancer, typhoid,
& TB.

The three remaining sisters and their brother Branwell were
thereafter educated at home by their father and aunt Elizabeth
Branwell.

Her father also has his own article

Patrick Brontë ... was an Irish Anglican minister and author who
spent most of his adult life in England. He was the father of the
writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, and of Branwell Brontë,
his only son. Patrick outlived his wife, the former Maria Branwell,
by forty years, by which time all of their six children had died as
well.

[Mike Easter]

In a.c.f, a poster D (via dizum/mixmin) has been calling attention to
the death of GG, as if anyone cared. But his attention is also
'privacy' oriented as you might guess from his posting strategy. Today
he posted an interesting msg which I found worth exploring:

http://al.howardknight.net/?ID=171466635000
Subject: free news servers - testing
Message-Id: <***@mixmin.net>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware

testing free news servers (using Tor Browser 13.0.14 on put.hk)

It turns out that the site put.hk enables reading and posting online,
besides being able to be used to 'view' the receptiveness of a server to
anonymous access.

The other reference in the same msg is of interest and has an
interesting forum
https://sybershock.com/

Rocksolid Light is a web based forum using nntp as a backend. It may
be run as a standalone server, or may synchronize with other nntp
servers and other instances of Rocksolid Light.

[Apd]

Post by Mike Easter
http://al.howardknight.net/?ID=171466635000
Subject: free news servers - testing
Newsgroups: alt.comp.freeware

testing free news servers (using Tor Browser 13.0.14 on put.hk)

It turns out that the site put.hk enables reading and posting online,
besides being able to be used to 'view' the receptiveness of a server to
anonymous access.

Would be useful as an archive reference but appears to retrieve only
up to the last 15000 articles from a group.

Post by Mike Easter
The other reference in the same msg is of interest and has an
interesting forum
https://sybershock.com/

I'm aware of some of the free Usenet servers listed.

Post by Mike Easter

Rocksolid Light is a web based forum using nntp as a backend. It may
be run as a standalone server, or may synchronize with other nntp
servers and other instances of Rocksolid Light.

Ray B has set one up for ES so people can access via the web. It's not
available yet as he's currently testing.


(today's puzzle is a pig)

[Mike Easter]

Post by Apd
(today's puzzle is a pig)

I've seen that repeater 'always' before, so that was a big help. Rare E
generally causes me a problem, but I was thinking about 'you' so
'always' clinched it.

[Apd]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by Apd
(today's puzzle is a pig)

I've seen that repeater 'always' before, so that was a big help. Rare E
generally causes me a problem, but I was thinking about 'you' so 'always'
clinched it.

I did get the 'a' but am really bad at seeing repeaters and in finding
letters in short phrases. Regarding DHL, My dad had a stack of classic
books, mostly Penguin paperbacks, including Lady Chat. When kids
talked about it at school, I picked it out of the bookcase to see what
the fuss was about. He found me browsing it, smiled, and said "I see
you've heard about that". I felt a little embarrassed.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

NFZ BZUS OGCONU XP
O-COEEGP CKSV GFRP.
-- Q.V. GOCIPMAP

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You must always be a-waggle with love.
D.H.Lawrence

Solving: always, you must always be

I'm unfamiliar w/ the term a-waggle. I didn't know what to do w/
A-WAxxLE w/ the remaining letters FGJKPQUXZ. Beside waggle there was
waffle which made just about as much sense to me.

Several of his novels, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love,
and Lady Chatterley's Lover, were the subject of censorship trials
for their radical portrayals of sexuality and use of explicit
language.

Back to the health issues of the past, DHL died at 44 y of complications
of TB. Doc Holiday didn't live that long; he died at 36 y.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

BFGN FR NMT NVFXUST HE
NMT OFVSI HG AJXGTI UZ
QTFQST OJENHED NF UT
HBQFVNJEN. - N.G. TSHFN

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Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be
important.
T.S.Eliot

Solving: the, to, most, people, trouble

I skimmed some of TSE's wp article, interesting background. Very long
discussion of his significance.

On 29 June 1927, Eliot converted from Unitarianism to Anglicanism,
and in November that year he took British citizenship, thereby
renouncing his United States citizenship in the event he had not
officially done so previously.[42] He became a churchwarden of his
parish church, St Stephen's, Gloucester Road, London, and a life
member of the Society of King Charles the Martyr.[43][44] He
specifically identified as Anglo-Catholic, proclaiming himself
"classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and anglo-catholic
[sic] in religion".[45][46]
About 30 years later Eliot commented on his religious views that he
combined "a Catholic cast of mind, a Calvinist heritage, and a
Puritanical temperament".

I would have to do more reading than I care to do today to be able to
distinguish Anglicanism from Anglo-Catholic.

They do have separate wp articles.

[Mike Easter]

Early Kentucky Derby notes:

- in the last 2 days, I've read 2 great 'human interest' stories
related to this year's contenders both written by Bryce Miller, sports
columnist
- how about this tidbit; on Sunday Martha Stewart will be the Grand
Marshal of the event; last year it was Patrick Mahomes

MS is certainly a comeback woman.

[T i m]

 - in the last 2 days, I've read 2 great 'human interest' stories
related to this year's contenders both written by Bryce Miller, sports
columnist
 - how about this tidbit; on Sunday Martha Stewart will be the Grand
Marshal of the event; last year it was Patrick Mahomes
MS is certainly a comeback woman.

It's yet another example of disgusting animal exploitation and like all
other such events, *will* be banned in the future.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/may/03/twelve-horses-died-around-the-kentucky-derby-last-year-little-has-changed-since

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Post by T i m
It's yet another example of disgusting animal exploitation and like all
other such events, *will* be banned in the future.

I can tell that you don't know the differences between animal cruelty,
animal respect, and animal worship.

The people involved in the horse racing 'industry' from breeding to
training to racing are extremely respectful of horses, as opposed to you
outsiders who are not in the industry who seem to worship animals and
want to interfere w/ substantial and meaningful human relationships w/
them which you don't even understand.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
It's yet another example of disgusting animal exploitation and like
all other such events, *will* be banned in the future.

I can tell that you don't know the differences between animal cruelty,
animal respect, and animal worship.

And I can tell you don't understand the idea of animal rights and animal
exploitation.

Post by Mike Easter
The people involved in the horse racing 'industry' from breeding to
training to racing are extremely respectful of horses,

And doing it for what in most cases? Answer, *MONEY*.

Post by Mike Easter
as opposed to you
outsiders

Not outsiders to the idea of animals having rights and not exploiting them.

Post by Mike Easter
who are not in the industry who seem to worship animals and
want to interfere w/ substantial and meaningful human relationships w/
them which you don't even understand.

Sure, *we* don't understand animals because we don't exploit them ...!

You are really indoctrinated aren't you ... and ignorant and arrogant in
your false suggestion that people who don't exploit and abuse animals
don't 'understand' the process or the animals.

You support the artificial breeding of other species, genetic
manipulation of them and determining how they live and when they die and
you say you do that out of love and respect.

Just like the slave traders loved and respected *their* chattels ... 'in
their opinion' of course.

Just look at the direction of many of the 'sports' that used to be
allowed involving animals that are now banned or highly restricted. I'm
sure (you believe) that *everyone* in the circus or animal theme parks
or aquariums really loved and cared for their animals, but only when
viewed from the POV of an exploiter, not the animals themselves.

But this is coming from someone who had admitted to wanting to kill wild
animals simply because they 'annoyed them' so I wouldn't expect anything
else.

https://ibb.co/pbfDrRT

Cheers, T i m

[Snit]

Post by T i m

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
It's yet another example of disgusting animal exploitation and like
all other such events, *will* be banned in the future.

I can tell that you don't know the differences between animal cruelty,
animal respect, and animal worship.

And I can tell you don't understand the idea of animal rights and animal
exploitation.

His understanding is different than yours.

Post by T i m

Post by Mike Easter
The people involved in the horse racing 'industry' from breeding to
training to racing are extremely respectful of horses,

And doing it for what in most cases? Answer, *MONEY*.

Interesting you don’t dispute the premise.

Post by T i m

Post by Mike Easter
as opposed to you
outsiders

Not outsiders to the idea of animals having rights and not exploiting them.

Post by Mike Easter
who are not in the industry who seem to worship animals and
want to interfere w/ substantial and meaningful human relationships w/
them which you don't even understand.

Sure, *we* don't understand animals because we don't exploit them ...!
You are really indoctrinated aren't you ... and ignorant and arrogant in
your false suggestion that people who don't exploit and abuse animals
don't 'understand' the process or the animals.
You support the artificial breeding of other species, genetic
manipulation of them and determining how they live and when they die and
you say you do that out of love and respect.
Just like the slave traders loved and respected *their* chattels ... 'in
their opinion' of course.
Just look at the direction of many of the 'sports' that used to be
allowed involving animals that are now banned or highly restricted. I'm
sure (you believe) that *everyone* in the circus or animal theme parks
or aquariums really loved and cared for their animals, but only when
viewed from the POV of an exploiter, not the animals themselves.
But this is coming from someone who had admitted to wanting to kill wild
animals simply because they 'annoyed them' so I wouldn't expect anything
else.
https://ibb.co/pbfDrRT
Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
It's yet another example of disgusting animal exploitation and like
all other such events, *will* be banned in the future.

I can tell that you don't know the differences between animal cruelty,
animal respect, and animal worship.
The people involved in the horse racing 'industry' from breeding to
training to racing are extremely respectful of horses, as opposed to you
outsiders who are not in the industry who seem to worship animals and
want to interfere w/ substantial and meaningful human relationships w/
them which you don't even understand.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/how-us-racehorses-end-up-on-dinner-plates

"Poor welfare: ‘No one does much about it’

Unwanted horses are brought to auctions in the U.S., where so-called
“kill buyers” are present. The horse-meat industry depends on a
“stealthy, predatory network” of these buyers, who purchase discarded
horses and sell them at a profit to foreign slaughterhouses, the report
says.

Once these buyers purchase horses, they take them to holding pens or
feedlots, where their conditions deteriorate. It’s common to see horses
with their bones protruding, suffering from broken legs, festering
wounds, and disease, Meadows says. Veterinary care is minimal or
nonexistent. "

Yeah, that's how you show your respect towards these innocent creatures.

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Post by T i m
Yeah, that's how you show your respect towards these innocent creatures.

Tim lies about the behavior of non-vegans.

Tim reminds me of men telling/ trying to tell/ women what their
reproductive rights are. Tim reminds me of a jihadist who believes his
religion is the only one allowed for mankind.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
Yeah, that's how you show your respect towards these innocent creatures.

Tim lies about the behavior of non-vegans.

Except I did not write the information in all the links I have ever
cited confirming unnecessary animal cruelty in this case under the guise
of 'human entertainment'.

https://www.horsedeathwatch.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/business/horse-racing-deaths-kentucky-derby.html

https://horseracingkills.com/issues/deathwatch/

Mike seems to be very indoctrinated to both accept and be happy to be
party in unnecessary animal abuse and death (and has admitted to that
here in person).

Post by Mike Easter
Tim reminds me of men telling/ trying to tell/ women what their
reproductive rights are.

Nice strawman. There are more women who are vegan than men so your
sexist comparison says even more about you than you intended.

Mike reminds me of men denying women any voting rights and telling them
how they should dress for fear of being stoned to death.

T Tim reminds me of a jihadist who believes his

Post by Mike Easter
religion is the only one allowed for mankind.

Mike reminds me of a witch-finder who thinks they have the (moral) right
to be judge, jury and executioner, just because they can.

Mike reminds me of the slave traders who can see *NOTHING WRONG* with
owning other sentient beings and treating them how they like. People
like that think giving their slave water twice a day rather than one is
'higher welfare'.

Mike thinks that because you have been brought up to accept unnecessary
animals exploitation, suffering and death, that therefore such is
perfectly acceptable.

Mikes seems totally oblivious to the millions of people around the world
working to stop such unnecessary exploitation, suffering and abuse. Not
only is this better for the beings concerned but often also better for
the planet as well.

Mike DGAF about any of that.

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Great Derby race today; thrilling photo finish winning by a 'flared
nostril'.

Most of the horses in the race had long odds in the 40s, the winner was
18:1 Mystik Dan, beating a 5:1 Sierra Leone and Forever Young 6:1. The
fave Fierceness 9:2 (great performances up to the Derby) did not place,
coming in 17th. There were some 'bunchups' during the race that may
have gotten in the way.


Today my UI on LM Cinnamon went whacky. My 'task bar' (panel) which
contains a number of necessary items including menu access
*disappeared*. I couldn't figure out anything to do to bring anything
back, and finally found successful advice in the past Mint forum comments.

I was able to open a terminal using a R click context menu (which tho't
it was being R clicked from the desktop instead of the panel area) and
command:

dconf reset /org/cinnamon/panels-enabled

Everything came back normally. Weird. I've never seen or heard of that
before or what kind of mistaken keystrokes may have caused it to occur.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter
Great Derby race today; thrilling photo finish winning by a 'flared
nostril'.

Yeah, 'thrilling', seeing animals being exploited, often to death in the
name of human entertainment.

https://www.si.com/horse-racing/2024/05/04/drugs-deaths-venom-horse-racing-saftey-issues-hover-over-kentucky-derby

https://www.lpm.org/news/2024-05-02/horse-death-investigations-prompt-new-safety-measures-ahead-of-kentucky-derby

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/kentucky-derby-organizers-implement-more-safety-measures-after-last-years-string-of-deaths-at-historic-track

"The 149th edition of the Kentucky Derby was overshadowed by the deaths
of 12 horses in the days surrounding the race at the historic track. Two
horses died on May 6, 2023 — the same day as last year's race."

I didn't write any of those so I think anyone questioning their validity
would need to consider their own blinkers rather than the allegation of
me lying.

As I said, if you want to find the source of most abuse of others in
this world just follow the money.

In the case of horse racing there is no question it's mostly about
gambling and so explains why these majestic creatures are commodified
and treated as expendable.

https://www.sundayworld.com/sport/trainer-gordon-elliott-breaks-silence-after-being-pictured-sitting-on-dead-horse/40818550.html

Solution, stop exploiting animals.

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

XES QSRU WTOGJ UE DT RUHWW
HJ ULT QHPRU EA OKUHMHUX
OJP UE DT MHDGOJUWX OWHMT
HJ GTNERT. - HJPHGO FOJPLH

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You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly
alive in repose.
Indira Gandhi

Solving; pretty quick; the, you must, learn to be, still

I tend to be 'confused' about who was kin to who in this Nehru/Gandhi
biz. Just for the record if anyone else is; IG was the *daughter* of
'the' Nehru. She was the *wife* of a Gandhi (wherein her married name)
who was NOT kin to 'the' Mahatma G. BUT, here is a pic of young IG w/
MG, AND both IG and MG were assassinated.

Loading Image...

IG was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in '84; MG was assassinated
in '48 by a right wing Hindu militant. The assassin of MG had been
trying to kill him several times since '44. He is an example of someone
who was permitted his freedom and activism and criminal activities when
he should have been managed some other way. In any case, he was
ultimately hanged, along w/ 1 collaborator after MG's murder, gunshot
instead of knife of his earlier plans.

There are several interesting wp articles on IG, MG, and the
assassinations and the backstories and significance.

[Mike Easter]

Sunday cryptoquip:

YHFTRKH S KPVHIPX VSKNTEHBUJ UHGN PRN NIH
KXSKK FITDA SB VJ KNSUU-USGH WTSBNSBZ, VJ
TDN KESWWHA T YHHN.

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Because I somehow mistakenly left out the Swiss chard in my still-life
painting, my art skipped a beet.

Solving: usually I try to ignore the quip clue, but I saw K=S, so I
figured 'Swiss' and 'still-life', and a, I, next because and mistakenly.

Then, next, I didn't understand. My concept of chard is that it is 'a
lettuce' (-like veggie) -- what does that have to do w/ beet? So I had
to look up its relationships to a beet. So, I learned something.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chard

because it is the same species as beetroot, the common names that
cooks and cultures have used for chard may be confusing;[3] it has
many common names, such as silver beet, perpetual spinach, beet
spinach, seakale beet, or leaf beet.

I used the jumble solver for the Jumble today; for those who think using
the solver is a 'gimme', that is far from true. There were 16 letters
in the 'solution' and hundreds of possible 5 letter words to be made
from them. In the final analysis, I didn't /really/ solve it from the
words I saw; more like I finally 'saw' it.

[Mike Easter]

I had to look up its relationships to a beet.

... and then learn something about cultivars; that is I knew

A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected
for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated.
Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem
cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, or carefully controlled
seed production. Most cultivars arise from deliberate human
manipulation, but some originate from wild plants that have
distinctive characteristics.

I suppose some people think that is 'interfering' w/ God's 'plant
creations'.

Since the 1990s there has been an increasing use of legal protection
for newly produced cultivars. Plant breeders expect legal protection
for the cultivars they produce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_breeders%27_rights

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

I had to look up its relationships to a beet.

... and then learn something about cultivars; that is I knew

A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for
desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods
used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings,
offsets, grafting, tissue culture, or carefully controlled seed
production. Most cultivars arise from deliberate human manipulation,
but some originate from wild plants that have distinctive
characteristics.

I suppose some people think that is 'interfering' w/ God's 'plant
creations'.

Religious people might, I certainly wouldn't.

I would however be very careful about manipulating the genetics of any
plant in case it impacts those animals (inc insects) that may feed on it
and that we in turn rely on for other pollination etc.

When humans try to fix things the consequences often spill over into
something else, making the initial problem even worse.

We fell a tree that falls into a river that floods an area upstream. We
dig a deeper channel upstream that when it floods the waters spread even
wider than previously.

We kill all the wolves in Yellowstone and their prey do more damage to
the ecosystem than nature can manage.

Cheers, T i m

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Post by T i m
We kill all the wolves in Yellowstone and their prey do more damage to
the ecosystem than nature can manage.

The wolf populations in Yellowstone (and surroundings) is very
complicated; the 'extirpation' long ago has been resolved since the
wolves were declared endangered; then they were killing 'too many' elk
and adversely affecting the flora which elk infuenced favorably. Wolves
are still protected in Yellowstone, but too many wolves also adversely
affects the coyote population which is another prey for them.

And then there are the foxes which is another which is impacted by
wolves & coyotes.

Beavers are very valuable to ecology, and wolves vs elk affects the
availability of beaver willows.

Things can get 'bad' when people intervene badly; things can also get
bad when people *fail* to intervene, just because of natural forces such
as mange and distemper and other wolf 'strife'.

People have made mistakes earlier in the history of Yellowstone, but
currently most of the intervention in and around Yellowstone is 'good'
including the hunting of wolves outside Yellowstone.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
We kill all the wolves in Yellowstone and their prey do more damage to
the ecosystem than nature can manage.

The wolf populations in Yellowstone (and surroundings) is very
complicated; the 'extirpation' long ago has been resolved since the
wolves were declared endangered; then they were killing 'too many' elk
and adversely affecting the flora which elk infuenced favorably.  Wolves
are still protected in Yellowstone, but too many wolves also adversely
affects the coyote population which is another prey for them.
And then there are the foxes which is another which is impacted by
wolves & coyotes.
Beavers are very valuable to ecology, and wolves vs elk affects the
availability of beaver willows.
Things can get 'bad' when people intervene badly; things can also get
bad when people *fail* to intervene, just because of natural forces such
as mange and distemper and other wolf 'strife'.

Funny how they have managed to last millions of years without our help eh?

Post by Mike Easter
People have made mistakes earlier in the history of Yellowstone, but
currently most of the intervention in and around Yellowstone is 'good'
including the hunting of wolves outside Yellowstone.

Yes, it's become 'good' again because we have put it back as it was
before we fucked it up.

Shame it won't be that easy with all the ancient forests (esp in the
Amazon) that have been slashed and burned to graze and grow feed for
livestock (to quickly become unsuitable for those roles as the soil
isn't appropriate).

Shame it won't be that easy to recover all the rivers, estuaries and
seas that are polluted with animal waste run-off.

Shame it won't be that east to fix the atmosphere > climate from all the
(unnecessary) livestock based methane.

Cheers, T i m

[Snit]

Post by T i m

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
We kill all the wolves in Yellowstone and their prey do more damage to
the ecosystem than nature can manage.

The wolf populations in Yellowstone (and surroundings) is very
complicated; the 'extirpation' long ago has been resolved since the
wolves were declared endangered; then they were killing 'too many' elk
and adversely affecting the flora which elk infuenced favorably. Wolves
are still protected in Yellowstone, but too many wolves also adversely
affects the coyote population which is another prey for them.
And then there are the foxes which is another which is impacted by
wolves & coyotes.
Beavers are very valuable to ecology, and wolves vs elk affects the
availability of beaver willows.
Things can get 'bad' when people intervene badly; things can also get
bad when people *fail* to intervene, just because of natural forces such
as mange and distemper and other wolf 'strife'.

Funny how they have managed to last millions of years without our help eh?

Post by Mike Easter
People have made mistakes earlier in the history of Yellowstone, but
currently most of the intervention in and around Yellowstone is 'good'
including the hunting of wolves outside Yellowstone.

Yes, it's become 'good' again because we have put it back as it was
before we fucked it up.
Shame it won't be that easy with all the ancient forests (esp in the
Amazon) that have been slashed and burned to graze and grow feed for
livestock (to quickly become unsuitable for those roles as the soil
isn't appropriate).
Shame it won't be that easy to recover all the rivers, estuaries and
seas that are polluted with animal waste run-off.
Shame it won't be that east to fix the atmosphere > climate from all the
(unnecessary) livestock based methane.
Cheers, T i m

Why focus on the methane and not CO2? Just curious.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

AJQ, AUMH ZDJT JTQ UZDHM
AUTZD UK ZDH QHJM. LJTZF
RF ZU KHHB AUFZ JBYIH.
-- KHTTHB DRCFUT

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May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.
Fennel Hudson

Solving: Quick. May, more than any other month of the year

FH doesn't have a wp page, 'tho' his name appears in an article about
something else. He does have a bio at Amazon and a website which is an
interesting place and provides a detailed bio, including catching his
first fish at 6 y.

https://www.fennelspriory.com/about/fennels-priory/priory-timeline

dob '74

1998: Fennel is loving life but is declared financially insolvent by
his bank manager. Responds by getting a job in a garden centre and
going back to college. Declines an offer to write a regular column in
Waterlog, the traditional anglers' magazine. Instead writes over 100
articles in secret, storing them for future use.

I like the way he has divided his life into chapters in that personal bio.

[Mike Easter]

Today's wp feature article was about the .jp Take Ichi convoy during WW
II which was severely devastated by .us Navy subs which impaired .jp
island defenses the remainder of the war, but I got more interested in
the code breaking story.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(cryptography)

Of particular interest to me was the section about Pearl Harbor.

The PURPLE machine itself was first used by Japan in 1940. U.S. and
British cryptographers had broken some PURPLE traffic well before the
attack on Pearl Harbor. However, the PURPLE machines were used only
by the Foreign Office to carry diplomatic traffic to its embassies.
The Japanese Navy used a completely different crypto-system, known as
JN-25.

wp has a separate article on .jp naval codes incl 25 and before & after.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_naval_codes

[Mike Easter]

The subject of 'high speed rail' is rather complex, w/ various
definitions and a lot of 'fits and starts' around the world,
particularly in the .us. I tho't I had traveled on a .jp 'bullet train'
from a train station near a hotel in Narita to Tokyo, but that turned
out to be untrue. That train only went 80 mph and took an hour. Part
of a great 1 day in .jp.

CA .us has had a VERY contentious history of 'high speed rail' w/ a very
misleading ballot measure having passed in 2008 ($9 bil in bonds), and
which 'features' of the measure have been completely ignored.
Realistically, the 'proposed' project is far too expensive (hundreds and
hundreds of billions), much less money could be spent on much more
useful public transportation projects, and the suggested route is 'not
favored' by 'most people'. In other words, it is a mess.

Now, a much much smaller project to link a station in the LA area to Las
Vegas by an outfit which already has a track record in FL, Brightline
BLFX. BLFX runs a *private* intercity train between Miami & Orlando 235
mi at 125 mph.

There is an interstate hwy 15 on the route from the massive blob that is
the LA metro area; and the 'right of way' idea would be the 'median' of
I-15, which CA has done a lot of public things w/ interstate medians for
other projects.

In this case, the start-end terminals would be at Rancho Cucamonga and
Las Vegas Valley; the distance 218 mi. The top speed 180-200 mph; avg
speed 101.

The sections between Rancho Cucamonga and Barstow, California and from Primm, Nevada to Las Vegas will be primarily in the median strip of the highway, while between Barstow and Primm the line will run along one side of the highway.

Some construction has begun and people being hired. Funding is complex.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

L JXYXK AXXB GCKX IBCJX
POIJ ROXJ L'G PKMLJU PC SVP
EVJEQKXXJ CJ GM WIQH.
-- TLGGM HLGGXB

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I never feel more alone than when I'm trying to put sunscreen on my back.
Jimmy Kimmel

Solving: I never, trying to, more alone

I don't watch JK, but I found his wp bio interesting, particularly his
early 'years in the trenches' before working his way into big time TV.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
I don't watch JK, but I found his wp bio interesting, particularly
his early 'years in the trenches' before working his way into big
time TV.

For those who /do/ watch latenite TV, a related article of interest is
the story of ABC's attempts before JK.

Post by Mike Easter
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is ABC's first attempt at a traditional late-night
talk show since its attempt to revive The Dick Cavett Show in the
1980s.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been repeatedly dominating late night talk
shows among adults 18-49.
On January 26, 2023, the program celebrated Kimmel becoming the
longest-serving late night talk show host at that time.

JK's contract is $15 mil/y. That doesn't hold a candle to Judge Judy
who gets $47 mil/y and has the highest worth of any of the TV hosts $440
mil. I /do/ watch JJ Sheindlin often.

The earlier Jay Leno also amassed a nice fortune in his tenure.

[Mike Easter]

Rocket science

Recently scrubbed, Boeing Starliner crew capsule launch because of
buzzing valve in the ('ancient') Atlas V launch vehicle.

You may be 'saddened' to acknowledge that the ULA's Atlas V *STILL* is
using a .ru engine (RD-180). They may /say/ the Atlas V is 'retired'
but it still has 17 more launches sold before ULA will 'shift' to their
Vulcan Centaur.

There has been one successful launch of that VC rocket in Jan. for a
'quaint' dual purpose mission, an enterprise 'space burial' and the
Peregrine moon lander, the latter of which lander mission failed,
unrelated to the launch vehicle.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
Recently scrubbed, Boeing Starliner crew capsule launch because of
buzzing valve in the ('ancient') Atlas V launch vehicle.
You may be 'saddened' to acknowledge that the ULA's Atlas V *STILL*
is using a .ru engine (RD-180).

And for you Boeing fans (I guess I would consider myself that, 'tho' B

Post by Mike Easter
Starliner's first crewed flight has been delayed for years from
technical problems that required Boeing to rework aspects of the
craft and conduct additional uncrewed test flights.
The program setbacks have added up to at least $1.5 billion in
overrun costs for Boeing.

Boeing's 'setbacks' are hard to calculate in the billions.

I'm not a stock trader, but presumably Boeing's 'stupidity' over the
last number of years has depressed the value of its stock so much that
if I check to see if the 'analysts' call it a buy or sell, they say that
it has recently shifted from a 'hold/accumulate' to a 'buy'; but those
analysts are all about 'chart reading' rather than what is actually
going on in the company.

Sites which DO evaluate what is going on in the company are so much
focused on BA's finances as to be 'practically' over my head. I say
practically because I don't like to read and understand all that crap;
it reminds me of reading about 'economics' which is *definitely* not
only over my head but beside my head and under my head; I don't like the
subject and have no desire to become more knowledgeable.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/fitch-revises-boeing-outlook-to-negative-26-04-2024#:~:text=Aircraft%20Deliveries%20Update%3A%20Fitch%20forecasts,the%20end%20of%20the%20year.

Post by Mike Easter
Fitch Revises Boeing's Outlook to Negative
Fri 26 Apr, 2024

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

 KFHV EN MFYXFNVA FS C
 NEQWKV NFLK EQJCIEGEQW
 GDF IFAEVN. - CTENGFGKV

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Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
Aristotle

Solving: V>E, C>A, love is, of a, composed, single soul

A's wp article is quite informative. Lotsa interesting stuff in there.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
A's wp article is quite informative. Lotsa interesting stuff in there.

Following the A 'trail' landed me in a place I'd never heard of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Islamic_philosophies_(800%E2%80%931400)

Post by Mike Easter
This article covers the conversations between Islamic philosophy and
Jewish philosophy, and mutual influence on each other in response to
questions and challenges brought into wide circulation through
Aristotelianism, Neo-platonism, and the Kalam, focusing especially on
the period from 800–1400 CE.

That article is going to take some time; I'm falling behind in my
'intended' reading.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judeo-Islamic_philosophies_(800%E2%80%931400)

Post by Mike Easter
This article covers the conversations between Islamic philosophy
and Jewish philosophy, and mutual influence on each other in
response to questions and challenges brought into wide circulation
through Aristotelianism, Neo-platonism, and the Kalam, focusing
especially on the period from 800–1400 CE.

Ohhh. I see how to get a grip on this 'Judeo-Islamic philosophy' biz.

You have to read the separate article on Jewish philosophies, which is
scholarly Jews philosophically trying to 'evolve' ancient Rabbinic
Judaism into 'modern' Judaism; while a separate one on Islamic
philosophies somewhat similarly (but different) tries to express what
might be considered 'Arabic philosophy' (not necessarily Muslim).

And it is 'good' that Aristotle brought me here, as 'Aristotelian'
philosophy is certainly at the heart of anything philosophical.

Post by Mike Easter
In early Islamic thought, which refers to philosophy during the
"Islamic Golden Age", traditionally dated between the 8th and 12th
centuries, two main currents may be distinguished. The first is
Kalam, which mainly dealt with Islamic theological questions, and the
other is Falsafa, which was founded on interpretations of
Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism.
Rabbinic Judaism had limited philosophical activity until it was
challenged by Islam, Karaite Judaism, and Christianity—
From an economic viewpoint, Radhanite trade dominance was being
usurped by coordinated Christian and Islamic forced-conversions, and
torture, compelling Jewish scholars to understand nascent economic
threats. These investigations triggered new ideas and intellectual
exchange among Jewish and Islamic scholars in the areas of
jurisprudence, mathematics, astronomy, logic and philosophy. Jewish
scholars influenced Islamic scholars and Islamic scholars influenced
Jewish scholars.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter
And it is 'good' that Aristotle brought me here, as 'Aristotelian'
philosophy is certainly at the heart of anything philosophical.

It sounds like he was a bit of a twat ...

"What Did Greek Philosophers Think about Vegetarianism?

Most of us associate the Ancient world with battles, myths and kingdoms,
right? However, there are also interesting stories behind the
vegetarianism for example. Aren’t you curious to learn how old this
‘tradition’ actually is?! To begin with, Greeks used to eat lots of
cereals, fruits and veggies mainly because this food was cheap and
natural. If you think about it, though, today most people from the
Mediterranean countries can afford to eat meat but yet stick to the
Mediterranean diet. So, it turns out things haven’t changed too much,
huh?! In case you don’t remember, the Med regimen is mostly a
plant-based diet that’s popular as ‘the goddess of gastronomy”. Learn
more about it here. OK, here’s what Greek philosophers used to think
about vegetarianism:


Pythagoras

Take it easy, we’re not going to talk about math! Everybody knows
Pythagoras was also a famous philosopher. He taught that all animals
have souls and that’s why killing and eating their flesh is destructive.
What’s more, according to his beliefs “as long as men massacre animals,
they will kill each other”.

Plato

Plato’s theory says that only people own “psyche” (the Greek term for
‘soul’) and yet we should all be humane and quit meat. He used to say
that carnivorousness leads to decay and battle. His philosophic dreams
were all about peace and less wastefulness.

Aristotle

As Plato’s student, Aristotle shared some of his teacher’s beliefs.
However, he also claimed that he doesn’t have moral duty towards animals
because they are all irrational. In addition, according his
understandings animals wouldn’t be able to survive without people’s help.

Theophrastus

On the contrary, Theophrastus, who is Aristotle’s student, was against
animal killing and meat consumption. To his mind battles are the most
probable reason why people eat meat because thus the sown fields are
heavily destroyed. What’s more, according to him the animal victims were
the ones to enrage the Gods, so he was definitely against eating flesh.

https://hellenicgrocery.co.uk/blogs/blog/greek-philosophers-think-vegetarianism

https://ibb.co/x3v4SWy

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

CZMHZKZ HB GEJDRZMP. TBEO
USNU USZDZ HR REAZUSHBX
HBRHQZ GEJ USNU HR
XDZNUZD USNB NBG
ECRUNIMZ. -- ISDHRUHNB Q.
MNDREB

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Believe in yourself. Know that there is something inside you that is
greater than any obstacle.
Christian D. Larson

CDL was significant in the New Thought movement in .us & .uk. Never
heard of it, but it was significant and some important personalities, eg
Mary Baker Eddy; Ralph Waldo Emerson.

A sidebar in CDL's wp article is a series of articles on New Thought,
which expands into a lot of articles. A really *LOT*.

Back when I did all of my encyclopedia reading in the deadtree
Britannica, I really liked the structure of the set, Propedia,
Micropedia, Macropedia; so that I could choose how I wanted to wander
from whatever took me to the books in the first place. The wp does that
differently, but in spades.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
Believe in yourself. Know that there is something inside you that is
greater than any obstacle.
Christian D. Larson

Solving: that, there, H>I, believe, something

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
A sidebar in CDL's wp article is a series of articles on New
Thought, which expands into a lot of articles.

An amusing trip; I forked from the New Thought sidebar to the religious
portal, which strangely enough, took me to a /featured/ article, of all
things, a Simpson's episode, which was great.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joy_of_Sect

Post by Mike Easter
In the episode, a cult takes over Springfield, and the Simpson
family become members.
"The Joy of Sect" was later analyzed from religious, philosophical,
and psychological perspectives; books on The Simpsons compared the
Movementarians to many of the same groups from which the writers had
drawn influence.
The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but
were principally influenced by Scientology, Heaven's Gate, the
Unification Church ("Moonies"), the Rajneesh movement, and Peoples
Temple.

[Apd]

Post by Mike Easter
An amusing trip; I forked from the New Thought sidebar to the religious
portal, which strangely enough, took me to a /featured/ article, of all
things, a Simpson's episode, which was great.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joy_of_Sect

Post by Mike Easter
In the episode, a cult takes over Springfield, and the Simpson
family become members.
"The Joy of Sect" was later analyzed from religious, philosophical, and
psychological perspectives;

Analysis of a comedy cartoon taking the piss out of cults, really?
Sounds like a good episode. I'm disappointed to learn the voice of
Bart, Nancy Cartwright, is a cult member herself. How can anyone be
so gullible as to be taken in by Scientology, a sinister cult based
on a science fiction concept created by a science fiction writer.

Simpson's "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage" is currently showing
on TV. Opening sequence or "couch gag" (I didn't know it had a name)
is a version of Bill Plympton's "Your Face" animation with Homer's
morphing head as the subject.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

LDNN FD, BQZL HE HL AJP
XNZT LJ VJ BHLQ AJPS JTD
BHNV ZTV XSDMHJPE NHUD?
-- FZSA JNHIDS

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Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver

Solving: tell me, what is it, to do,

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. She published several poetry collections, including Dog Songs: Poems (Penguin Books, 2015).

Context for quote; Poem 133: The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
—Mary Oliver

So, it was a grasshopper's wild and precious life, not the reader's.
Or not?

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. She
published several poetry collections, including Dog Songs: Poems
(Penguin Books, 2015).

Context for quote; Poem 133: The Summer Day

One of my fave poets was Billy Collins and I have a book of his poetry.
Well, 'is' not 'was' as he lives at 83 y. The previous Poem 133 paste
was taken from the Lib'y of Congress site, probably because of the Poet
Laureate biz, which includes BC; I went to its front page from the #133
and it was a BC poem.

Post by Mike Easter
Poem 001: Introduction to Poetry
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
—Billy Collins

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
One of my fave poets was Billy Collins and I have a book of his poetry.
Billy Collins (1941- ) served as Poet Laureate of the United States
from 2001 to 2003. He is one of America’s best-selling poets. His
books include Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems
in 2001, Picnic, Lightning in 1998, and The Art of Drowning in 1995.
In October 2004, Collins was the inaugural recipient of the Poetry
Foundation’s Mark Twain Award for humorous poetry. He has served as a
Literary Lion of the New York Public Library and he is a
distinguished professor of English at Lehman College, City University
of New York, where he has taught for the past 30 years.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by Mike Easter

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. She
published several poetry collections, including Dog Songs: Poems
(Penguin Books, 2015).

Context for quote; Poem 133: The Summer Day

One of my fave poets was Billy Collins and I have a book of his poetry.
Well, 'is' not 'was' as he lives at 83 y.  The previous Poem 133 paste
was taken from the Lib'y of Congress site, probably because of the Poet
Laureate biz, which includes BC; I went to its front page from the #133
and it was a BC poem.

Post by Mike Easter
Poem 001: Introduction to Poetry
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

That's not a poem to me, it's just a word salad of self-indulgent nonsense.

And IDGAF what it's supposed to mean, finding that out shouldn't need
any interrogation or explanation. It should paint a picture, not encrypt
one [1] and certainly should need explaining.

Cheers, T i m

[1] That's probably why you like it.

[Mike Easter]

Post by T i m
That's not a poem to me, it's just a word salad of self-indulgent nonsense.

See what you think about this one, apparently inspired by a sentence

Post by T i m
Picnic, Lightning
By Billy Collins
July/August 2000
"My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I was three."
Lolita
It is possible to be struck by a meteor
or a single-engine plane
while reading in a chair at home.
Safes drop from rooftops
and flatten the odd pedestrian
mostly within the panels of the comics,
but still, we know it is possible,
as well as the flash of summer lightning,
the thermos toppling over,
spilling out onto the grass.
And we know the message
can be delivered from within.
The heart, no valentine,
decides to quit after lunch,
the power shut off like a switch,
or a tiny dark ship is unmoored
into the flow of the body's rivers,
the brain a monastery,
defenseless on the shore.
This is what I think about
when I shovel compost
into a wheelbarrow,
and when I fill the long flower boxes,
then press into rows
the limp roots of red impatiens--
the instant hand of Death
always ready to burst forth
from the sleeve of his voluminous cloak.
Then the soil is full of marvels,
bits of leaf like flakes off a fresco,
red-brown pine needles, a beetle quick
to burrow back under the loam.
Then the wheelbarrow is a wilder blue,
the clouds a brighter white,
and all I hear is the rasp of the steel edge
against a round stone,
the small plants singing
with lifted faces, and the click
of the sundial
as one hour sweeps into the next.
Billy Collins writes free verse poetry without rhyme or meter. His poetry employs figurative language such as metaphors, personification, and imagery.

[T i m]

Post by Mike Easter

Post by T i m
That's not a poem to me, it's just a word salad of self-indulgent nonsense.

See what you think about this one, apparently inspired by a sentence

<snip>

Another word salad. ;-(

Ignoring the poets right to puke out whatever they want, knowing there
will be some people that will lap it up (and pay good money etc), I
don't like that it is often a lot of pretentious / precocious / classist
snobbery and bs that exists in the 'arts' world.

Like, they hung a painting by a 'new artist' in a gallery and invited a
load of 'art critics' to come and give their opinion.

The critics were going on about the 'feelings of the artist' and 'oh the
expression' and the 'boldness of the brushstrokes' ... when I'm pretty
sure the 'artist ' in this case was just wondering WTF they were doing
and when they were going to get that next banana.

Amazing how they were able to hold that paintbrush in their trunk and
get paint onto the canvas.

But then as a utilitarian I am likely to be more impressed how well
someone has painted a bridge or a ship than an image that could be more
accurately reprooduced using a camera.

But I can appreciate 'decoration', like the art you often see on buckets
and name panels on Narrow boats.

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Sunday cryptoquip:

  PUDV PAGTF RMARTM ZDTT VUM MCCAHV VA
  UDEM RMYYNMO HMQAEMF CHAQ ZNHZGTDVNAY?
          D ZMYVO-TMOO MYFMDEAH.

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What would people call the effort to have pennies removed from
circulation? A cents-less endeavor.

Solving: what would people call the

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

U EUGYMVRMQP JUYRAS
AZUFP KM CGMPCZGRKS RV
ZHZGSKERVO. -- BERVZPZ
CGMHZGI

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A harmonious family leads to prosperity in everything.
Chinese proverb

Solving: a, Z>E, R>I, everything, harmonious family

[Mike Easter]

Two unhappy writers to Dear Abby today.

#1 - middle-aged gay guy totally infatuated and 'lovesick' for much
younger gay guy who has no use for him after using him for financial benefit

#2 - woman who is married to a disabled alcoholic and is also caregiver
to her elderly mother and spends all of time not being entirely well
herself and doing all of the work.

Furrfu.

No sympathy from DA/JP for either; some advice.

For those who say, "Whatever, it is all bogus." I say/sorta concur:
"Could be."

I'm reminded of the radio drama (from the 70s) I listen to regularly,
then it could just be 'creative writing' that DA readers read.

I find it interesting that the 'players' on the radio drama include some
well known actors such as E.G.Marshall (host), Mercedes McCambridge, and
others.

She frequently performed feature roles on the CBS Radio Mystery Theater,

... which has its own wp article. I receive it as a 'radio station' on
a bedroom TV which has a Roku to get wifi content from the internet.

The wp article lists many of the 'well known' veteran and future stars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS_Radio_Mystery_Theater

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

QWU YRRPT SGU NRXUNK,
PSGJ SMP PUUC. ABQ H WSXU
CGRDHTUT QR JUUC, SMP
DHNUT QR ER AUVRGU H
TNUUC. - GRAUGQ VGRTQ


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The woods are lonely, dark and deep, but I have promises to eep, and
miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost

Solving: the, are, to, woods; then I recognized the poem and it was just
a matter of remembering the words I had read recently.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

BZOTLP LPDPLNPD DQUP QA
KPL IKQHIP LPJZLFD AQL
FZXD JKPB KPL UQQF UZX
ZYYPZL OQ RP DQURPL.
-- LZIKPG IZLDQB

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Nature reserves some of her choice rewards for days when her mood may
appear to be somber.
Rachel Carson

Solving: P>E, Q>O, reserves, to, nature

Of some interest to me was the take on RC by the ACS, American Chemical
Society, being as how she was 'scientifically' inclined and
'anti-chemicals in the environment'.

https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-carson-silent-spring.html#:~:text=Carson's%20scientific%20perspective%20and%20rigor,pesticides%20on%20the%20natural%20world.

Legacy of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

UNBKB RM X MRSVCB CRVNU DT
MWRBSWB. XSG UD FKRVNUBS
RU XSZQNBKB RM UD FKRVNUBS
RU BPBKZQNBKB. -- RMXXW
XMREDP


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There is a single light of science, and to brighten in anywhere is to
brighten it everywhere.
Isaac Asimov

I'm not a science fiction reader (usually) but I've read a lot of 'other
stuff' (non-SF) by IA. He's written so /much/ that the wp has 5
different bibliography articles for him, by different 'arrangements'.
Here's his description of his writing (in wpd)

Over a space of 40 years, I published an average of 1,000 words a
day. Over the space of the second 20 years, I published an average
of 1,700 words a day.
Depending on the counting convention used,[285] and including all
titles, charts, and edited collections, there may be currently over
500 books in Asimov's bibliography—as well as his individual short
stories, individual essays, and criticism.

[Mike Easter]

AT&T Addresses Recent Data Set Released on the Dark Web
AT&T has launched a robust investigation supported by internal and
external cybersecurity experts. Based on our preliminary analysis,
the data set appears to be from 2019 or earlier, impacting
approximately 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and
approximately 65.4 million former account holders.

Quite some decades ago, I had ATT landline telephone service. More
recently I still subscribe to DirecTV sat TV service, which TVsatsvc co
was acquired by ATT in 2015 for $67bilUS.

The letter is about a free Experian IdentityWorks account (for one year
only). If I try to figure out what that EIW account /actually/ is and
compared to other similars, EIW has different kinds of accounts, Basic
(free), Premium ($25/mo), & Family ($35/mo).

As well as I can tell w/o dissecting every item in a long list, ATT is
giving me something pretty similar to the Premium for a year, which does
include $1mil identity theft insurance along w/ a lot of monitoring and
tracking and such, incl dark web surveillance.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/experian-identityworks-identity-theft-protection-review/
Experian IdentityWorks 2024 Review

If I had to guess at what the dark web might have based on what info
ATT/DTV has, it would be my name, address, and 1 current CC
number/security code.

At first I wasn't going to bother 'signing up', just thinking about my
very ancient ATT telco accounts; but then I remembered about ATT buying
DTV (67 bil is a chunk of change).

[Mike Easter]

1 current CC number/security code.

And, I'm not actually very worried about that being on the loose,
because I *always* monitor/correlate/verify every charge every month w/
saved receipts and would be able to 'immediately' deny any bogus charges
to the card.

(However) In my observation of other humans' behaviors, I see that there
are some people who do NOT save CC receipts, so presumably either -1-
they do not even /examine/ the charges every mo on their CC or, if they
DO so examine, they must believe that they can always ID charges and
'catch' bogus charges by simply 'eyeballing' the charges. I severely
doubt that; I wouldn't be able to.

I use my CC *very* frequently; rarely pay for anything w/ cash, unless
it is 'trivial'; less than a hamburger. I pay for a hamburger & fries
w/ a CC, so typically there are 'scores' of CC charges/mo, how many
score depends on the mo.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

IE SKXY BEO WXT, SAYK
SKXY BEO'HU CEY. SKUPU
BEO XPU. -- YUIIB PEEZUHUMY

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Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are.
Teddy Roosevelt

Solving: ?here you are, I was first thinking 'there you are' but that T
wasn't working until it became a W.

TR has a great bio in the wp; curious how he became 'obsessed' w/ the
naval aspects of the War of 1812 and wrote a significant text on it
while at Harvard, which he dropped out in favor of politics and being of
the 'ruling class'.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
TR has a great bio in the wp; curious how he became 'obsessed' w/ the
naval aspects of the War of 1812 and wrote a significant text on it
while at Harvard,

This pub on naval history dev/s the 'navalism' of TR and its
significance in US history very thoroughly.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2021/february/roots-roosevelts-navalism

Post by Mike Easter
The Roots of Roosevelt’s Navalism -- Historians long have credited
Alfred Thayer Mahan with shaping Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas about sea
power. In fact, the future President’s fascination with ships dated
back to his childhood and his opinions on naval expansion to his
college years.

[Mike Easter]

I watched another YT vid. I don't do many.

https://newatlas.com/robotics/sony-microsurgery-robot-corn/

Watch: Sony's new microsurgery robot stitches up a corn kernel

It is just over a minute long 1:18; the last few seconds also show the
'remoteness' of the kernel repairman from the corn.

"I was able to operate this robot with the same sense of handling
forceps and scissors as in regular surgery," says Dr. Hisako Hara in
the video below.

[T i m]

I watched another YT vid.  I don't do many.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/sony-microsurgery-robot-corn/

Watch: Sony's new microsurgery robot stitches up a corn kernel

It is just over a minute long 1:18; the last few seconds also show the
'remoteness' of the kernel repairman from the corn.

"I was able to operate this robot with the same sense of handling
forceps and scissors as in regular surgery," says Dr. Hisako Hara in
the video below.

I was due to be under a da Vinci machine for my PC last year till I
opted for RT.

It wasn't so much the procedure that bothered me (I'd be out for the 3
hours) but the 5 holes they would have to make into me that would need
to repair and the impact of that on me as a carer.

Cheers, T i m

[David Brooks]

I watched another YT vid.  I don't do many.
https://newatlas.com/robotics/sony-microsurgery-robot-corn/

Watch: Sony's new microsurgery robot stitches up a corn kernel

It is just over a minute long 1:18; the last few seconds also show the
'remoteness' of the kernel repairman from the corn.

"I was able to operate this robot with the same sense of handling
forceps and scissors as in regular surgery," says Dr. Hisako Hara in
the video below.

Thanks for sharing.

Absolutely amazing.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

H OARCZAO OAMO UBVHKZ
GCUO NMUO YRVTLTVGRVT;
YRV H SMU JRCKZ MKX
NRLTX, MKX HO SMU GMJ.
-- LTVM WVHOOMHK

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I thought that spring must last forevermore; for I was young and loved,
and it was May.
Vera Brittain

Solving: I thought that, (pause until I found the Es).

The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians
providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom
and various other countries in the British Empire. The most
important periods of operation for these units were during World War
I and World War II. Although VADs were intimately bound up in the
war effort, they were not military nurses, as they were not under
the control of the military, unlike the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army
Nursing Corps, the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service,
and the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service. The VAD
nurses worked in field hospitals, i.e., close to the battlefield, and
in longer-term places of recuperation back in Britain.

VB was a V.A.D. and her poetry book was Verses of a V.A.D. She became a

Vera Brittain, British author of the best-selling 1933 memoir
Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I
Agatha Christie, British author who briefly details her VAD
experiences in her posthumously published Autobiography

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

KUNM XUN MNTYUFGLC UNOP B RGMXNCX XG CNN
KUG RGEOP CUGEX XUN OGEPNCX. XLNI RBOONP
           TX B INOOTMY FNN.

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When the neighbors held a contest to see who could shout the loudest,
they called it a yelling bee.

Solving: when the, to see who, contest

[Mike Easter]

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 booster on a record-breaking 21st flight
Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft launch is delayed again

Starliner is a crew capsule, its dev started in 2010 (!?). It was
Boeing's intention for it to be operational by 2015, yeah, right. In
2014 NASA said the two co/s/crafts competing would be the Starliner &
SpaceX's CrewDragon, projects involving billions.

Starliners wp article occupies many many words talking about its long
dev history.

This currently delayed flight test -- of significance to be launched by
the obsolete (by some metric of that word) Atlas V rocket of the ULA --
is the 'last possible' use of that rocket, as it is no longer produced
in favor of the ULA's Vulcan Centaur, and all 'other' Atlas Vs are
'committed'.

That is why the 'obsolete' term, or alternatively, 'discontinued' seems
appropriate to me.

Altho' Starliner was dev/d to be 'compatible' w/ other launch vehicles,
eg Falcon 9 (Ha!) I would think Boeing might have trouble getting a
'ride' there.

[Mike Easter]

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Falcon 9 booster on a record-breaking 21st flight
Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft launch is delayed again

I should've mentioned Blue Origin, who is approaching the space
'competition' differently.

Bezos' BO 'competes' by dev/ing rockets, heavy launch vehicles,
spacecraft, and a lunar lander. Their New Shepard is in the news. It
is a reusable 'booster rocket' (called a propulsion module) and a
reusable crew capsule. The reusability of the booster/module is based
on its ability to land vertically; the reusability/recovery of the crew
capsule is based on a 3 parachute + little solid rocket motor soft landing.

Their 'strategy' is a commercial operation to just fly to sub-orbital
level, which of course is lower than LEO low-earth orbit. There is an
arbitrary definition here called the Karman 'line', more correctly
spelled Kármán using the acute diacritic on the As, 100 km (330,000')
above earth. Most of the sats in LEO, which can vary depending on how
fast you are going, are below 2000 km; way back in Sputnik days, it was
at 215 km.

So back to the strategy, you only have to get the crew capsule to the
'edge of space' below LEO. The recent crewed success of New Shepard
went to 106 km, above the Karman line, it carried 6 people, the
booster/module and capsule separated near the apogee and the module
continued propulsion before it started back down autonomously. The
landing site is close to the launch site in TX.

The rocket engine for NS is the BE-3 juiced by liquid hydrogen/ liquid
oxygen LH2/LOX. Its dev goes back to 2010, even earlier for the BE-1 &
-2. The other BO engine dev is the BE-4 which is oxygen/natural gas
LOX/LNG, which work was for ULA to replace the .ru engine and which was
also for the BO heavy launch New Glenn.

These BO launch vehicles, like SpaceX are designed to be reusable; NS
being single stage, NG being 2 stage, the 1st being reusable.
Reusability of the 2nd stage under consideration.

There have been a lot of delays for New Glenn. If it can continue to
progress, which has been slow, it is 'hoped' that it will be able to be
the launch vehicle for a NASA job to Mars.

The NASA job is /supposed to be/ a 'low cost' Mars mission called
EscaPADE. The idea is to put twin small spacecraft into orbit around
Mars mainly for purposes of studying its magnetosphere.

If you recall Mars history, the reason it became a dead planet was
because it mostly lost its atmosphere, and the reason it mostly lost its
atmosphere was because of a combination of the solar wind and the
absence of a decent magnetosphere.

The two twin sats, if NG ever gets off the ground to deliver to a Mars
orbital situation are called Blue and Gold; there are some pictures and
weights if you look around.

In any case, besides BO's rocket science, they are currently drawing
attention/press and some experience with these suborbital joy rides w/ 6
pax.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
The NASA job is /supposed to be/ a 'low cost' Mars mission called
EscaPADE. The idea is to put twin small spacecraft into orbit around
Mars mainly for purposes of studying its magnetosphere.

Another interesting operation turned up in this peek at EscaPADE, which
is part of NASA's SIMPLEx Small Innovative Missions for Planetary
Exploration

Post by Mike Easter
The program funds small, low-cost spacecraft for stand-alone
planetary exploration missions. These spacecraft are intended to
launch as secondary payloads on other missions and are riskier

An excellent example of 'small low-cost spacecraft' are cubesats, which
are really tiny, but there are a lot of other 'rather small' craft which
are significantly larger than the form factor for cube sats.

An operation which decided to be a niche player in the spacecraft biz is
RocketLab.

Post by Mike Easter
The company aims to develop low-mass, cost-effective commercial
rocket launch services. The Electron Program was founded on the
premise that small payloads such as CubeSats require dedicated small
launch vehicles and flexibility not currently offered by traditional
rocket systems.

They say that larger projects aren't as 'purpose built' for the small
craft as their launcher; rather 'kick stage'.

So... RL Photon is a sat /bus/ based on RL's kickstage. Their company
plan was all about small sats in LEO, but you can imagine that they
jumped at a project to deliver a couple of small sats to *MARS* orbit
aboard a big operation like BO's NG.

RL also devs a rocket for earth orbital jobs, but only their kickstage
and bus are involved in this one.

wp has extensive articles on sat buses and their comparisons. An
extreme example IMO of a sat bus is that of the JWST supporting the scope.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_bus_(James_Webb_Space_Telescope)

... whereas the EscaPADE job is a small Photon bus for the twin sats

Post by Mike Easter
The EscaPADE spacecraft are based on a sub-90 kg Rocket Lab Photon
bus. Fixed solar arrays will provide 260 W of power, and Rocket Lab
bi-propellant HyperCurie engines will propel the spacecraft.

[Mike Easter]

The idea is to put twin small spacecraft into orbit around Mars
mainly for purposes of studying its magnetosphere.

Speaking of Mars, did you know how much water is on Mars?

The volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would
be enough to cover the entire surface of the planet with a depth of
11 metres (36 ft).

and...

Radar data from Mars Express and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
(MRO) show large quantities of ice at both poles,[145][146] and at
middle latitudes.[147] The Phoenix lander directly sampled water ice
in shallow Martian soil on 31 July 2008.

There is a rather fun section of the wp article of Mars' water about
'Development of Mars' water inventory' which one might also correlate w/
the stripping of its atmosphere.

The business about the short duration of its magnetosphere seems
somewhat paradoxical to me, seeing as how earth's is still going on very
well.

[Mike Easter]

Of course that was a Sunday cryptoquip.

Today's CQ:

W FYEZ DYV TYG KZHPVXZ
YM NJY DYV PAZ, KVG
KZHPVXZ YM NJY W PU NJZT
W PU NWGJ DYV. -- UPAD
HPAYFDT SPEWZX


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I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am
with you.
Mary Carolyn Davies

Solving: I love you, because of,

There are a couple of 'curiosities' about MCD; her wp bio is incomplete
in that 'nothing' is known about her later life or death, not even the
year (or close to the year); and a Brit Poetry Society created an award
named for her, but she never lived or wrote there.

The latter tidbit was uncovered in a 1991 Chicago Tribune article about
the award being given to someone for their poem about a mole rat.

The Oregon Encyclopedia has a better article about her than the wp,
which wp attempted to include some of the OE's data, but didn't do as
good a job.

https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/davies_mary_carolyn_ca_1890_/

Mary Carolyn Davies was a prolific Oregon writer whose promising
literary career dissolved in something of a mystery after she moved
to New York in the late 1930s. Best known for her lyric poems and
children’s verse, Davies also wrote a novel, short stories, and
several one-act plays. Reviewers compared her poetry favorably to
that of Edna St. Vincent Millay and Elinor Wylie.

That article sounds like she starved to death after sinking into a
withdrawn state. I've personally known a relative to behave that way.

In 1940, the Oregonian reported that Davies was destitute, sick, and
emaciated, living in a bleak hallway room packed with “manuscripts
and little else.” Doctors reportedly diagnosed her as anemic, and
neighbors said she had little food. Ethel Romig Fuller, a Portland
poet and Oregonian poetry editor visited her in New York and said
that Davies had been in a “deplorable state” for at least two years.
She did not explain how Davies had reached such a state.

[Mike Easter]

Davies was destitute, sick, and
emaciated, living in a bleak hallway room packed with “manuscripts
and little else.”

I haven't been able to figure out what is a 'hallway room' that one can
live in.

A hallway is a hallway, not a room in the conventional sense. A hallway
serves as a 'passage' to other rooms. I can see 'bleak' and
'windowless' but it seems that someone living in a 'hallway' even if it
is wide by hallway 'standards' would serve as an 'obstruction' to
whatever the hallway was trying to be a passage for.

I can accept that people can 'live' in all kinds of crazy spaces, but I
don't have a mental picture of a livable hallway that is still a
hallway. If you are living in it, it isn't a hallway anymore; maybe it
still doesn't have windows or such, only doors, but it isn't a hallway
anymore.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

GCRG'B GCZ GCHUY RAJLG
  AJJWB.  GCZM QZG MJL
GPRTZQ VHGCJLG SJTHUY
MJLP IZZG -- XCLSOR
QRCHPH, "GCZ URSZBRWZ"

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That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.
"The Namesake", Jhumpa Lahiri

Solving: that's the thing about books. I was missing two letters in the
first name xHUMxA LAHIRI and couldn't guess them from the ones missing
CDJPQXZ

The wp has articles on JL, the novel, and its movie. Neverheardof anyof'em.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

JBZ PNHE EHKZGEB DRJ
IRBBZBB; ENZ PRRVB PRJKV
QZ UZSD BAKZGE AT GR
QASVB BHGO ENZSZ ZWMZIE
ENRBZ ENHE BHGO QZBE.
-- NZGSD UHG VDFZ

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Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds
sang there except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke

Solving: that, there, what, use, possess

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

 OG XYT FJOYJOEOMD XYTJWDBG,
 XYT UJD ZYOSZ EY WUAD
 XYTJWDBG. -- ZUVJODBBD
 TSOYS

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If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself.
Gabrielle Union

Solving: if you, yourself, prioritize

GU is an actress I never heard of.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

FNGAG'U WD KAGYFGA KORF
FNYW FNOWBOWK FNYF TDE
NYJ UDLG OLQYVF DW FNG
MDAZJ, RDA FNG HGFFGA.
-- KZDAOY UFGOWGL

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There's no greater gift than thinking that you had some impact on the
world, for the better.
Gloria Steinem

Solving: there's no, greater gift, than thinking

American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a
nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United
States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

GS is 90 now.

Steinem lives alone in New York's Upper East Side, where she owns the
first three floors of her historic brownstone apartment building. In
2021, on her 87th birthday, Google Arts & Culture launched a virtual
tour of her home, where she has lived since 1966.

[Mike Easter]

Google Arts & Culture launched a virtual
tour of her home, where she has lived since 1966.

Smithsonian mag did an article on that GA&C tour, which article had a
/number/ of links in it, but none of them really served /my/ purpose to
see what the tour was like; so I used conventional google search to
arrive at the GA&C site and its search function to find the tour.

How GA&C does that is interesting, by using a variety of techniques
mixing stills and navigation and sound in a way that you don't have to
be 'stuck' on one long sound track; as you move to a different part of
the tour, that sound goes away. Good idea.

I haven't toured the tour site, so I'll just put the GS link.
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/oQUh1197UxiDIA

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

H AUY'V RLMD LYS CLA
RLCHVZ. VRDS FHWRV CD CLA
RLCHVZ BUK UVRDK JDUJQD.
CTV VRDS'KD LQQ KHWRV BUK
FD. -- DTCHD CQLID

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I don't have any bad habits. They might be bad habits for other people,
but they're all right for me.
Eubie Blake

American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music.

EB has an interesting article in wp, some tidbits

His parents were/had been/ both slaves; they had 'many' children, but EB
was the only one to have survived (?!)

He did all kinds of things developing his musical career

Blake's musical training began when he was four or five. While out
shopping with his mother, he wandered into a music store, climbed
onto the bench of an organ, and started "foolin’ around". When his
mother found him, the store manager told her: "The child is a genius!
It would be criminal to deprive him of the chance to make use of such
a sublime, God-given talent."
At age 15, without his parents' knowledge, he began playing piano at
Aggie Shelton's Baltimore bordello.

... and so on.

According to Blake, he also worked the medicine show circuit and was
employed by a Quaker doctor. He played a melodeon strapped to the
back of the medicine wagon.
Blake said he composed the melody of "Charleston Rag" in 1899, when
he would have been only 12 years old. He did not commit it to paper
until 1915, when he learned musical notation.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
I don't have any bad habits. They might be bad habits for other people,
but they're all right for me.
Eubie Blake

Solving: people, I don't have any, they might be bad

[Mike Easter]

American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music.

I'm dev/ing a little side track here and learning something about music
by chasing the story of ragtime and the insight it provides to 'race
relations' in the .us vis the music world.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
I'm dev/ing a little side track here and learning something about music
by chasing the story of ragtime and the insight it provides to 'race
relations' in the .us vis the music world.

In my school days, I took piano lessons for years and piano teachers
always had recitals in which their piano students would use the piano on
the stage in the school gymnasium (small rural town auditorium) and the
gym floor would have chairs and an audience.

BUT... nobody played ragtime, nor was it part of the sheet music we
learned to play.

In my piano playing, I had zero propensity or inclination for 'by ear';
I could only play what I could read or memorize. It is somewhat
'inconceivable' to me how people can just do that ear thing on the piano
including creating stuff.

[T i m]

On 25/05/2024 18:11, Mike Easter wrote:

<snip>

Post by Mike Easter
In my piano playing, I had zero propensity or inclination for 'by ear';
I could only play what I could read or memorize.  It is somewhat
'inconceivable' to me how people can just do that ear thing on the piano
including creating stuff.

Our daughter id one of those ... hand her an instrument, give her a few
moments to get used to it and she'll play a tune on it.

When she was about 12 we went to a Yamaha 'Open day' where you could
have a go on any of their instrument range. We came to the Clavinovas
and there was a guy there who was about to go home and we asked if we
could hear a quick demo. He said he couldn't because he's put the music
away and daughter was very confused.

I bought her a Fender P bass and 5 minutes later she was playing the
intro to 'The Chain'.

A few months later she stood in with a local band during practice and
after listening to them for a bit, they invited her to take over the
bass. They asked her what she knew and they landed on some Greenday.
They played about 4 GD tunes and I think it's amazing how they segue
from one tune to the next without any verbal clues.

(2.42 for obvious reasons)

They offered her the role as they said she was 'better' than their
regular bassist (which was very kind). ;-)

She plays all the recorders, oboe (G5), guitar / bass, piano (G5) /
keyboard, tenor Sax ...

Cheers, T i m

[Mike Easter]

Sunday cryptoquip:

 XL BDWRA NCOURV NBO ZCADNBUIO B DCWWXVE
 WRRK, HRC JXENW XJBEXVT ZIRZKI BUTXVE "ARDT
            ZBH LRA UDXUURAU?"

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If actor Hudson had purchased a cutting tool, you might imagine people
asking "Rock pay for scissors?"

Solving: a, people, if, you might imagine, asking

[Mike Easter]

Get your binoculars out, kids; or even better if you are an amateur
astronomer and have a telescope of some kind.

There's going to be a big planet lineup June 3, so you can see 6 planets
in a line, 4 visible w/ the naked eye, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, & Saturn;
which 2 more need the binocs, Uranus and Neptune.

This is a nice 'imaginary' pic that shows the enhanced 6 little bright
dots, the moon and some constellations for orientation.

Loading Image...

More at the associated story in USA Today w/ the above pic annotated.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/05/26/6-planet-parade-align-june-3-guide/73816386007/

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

EV EY XHC QY VGB KESELJ .
VH AB RBREZPVBR VH VGB
QLXELEYGBR OHCD OGEZG VGBT
OGH XHQJGV GBCB GPSB YH LHAKT
PRSPLZBR.-- PACPGPF KELZHKL

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It is for us the living ... to be dedicated to the unfinished work which
they who fought here have so nobly advanced.
Abraham Lincoln

Solving: the, it is, us, living, to be dedicated

That of course is extracted from the great speech of AL the Gettysburg
Address; there are some perspectives of that speech that I knew and some
others that I didn't. The situation was of course the dead Confederate
and Union soldiers from the Battle of Gettysburg, 50,000 casualties over
3 days and considered a major turning point in the ultimate victory of
the Union forces, but at the time of the GA, the Civil War was still
going on.

Lincoln was sick, before, during, and after the speech. He was NOT the
'main' speaker at the dedication event.

it was Everett's oration that was slated to be the "Gettysburg
address" that day. His now seldom-read oration was 13,607 words
long[16] and lasted two hours.
Shortly after Everett's well-received remarks, Lincoln spoke for only
a few minutes.[19] His speech was ten sentences long.

Altho' there is a little controversy or at least discussion of exactly
what the 'unfinished business' in that part of the speech; when put
together w/ the closing words of greatness, the work to be done was
about the union of the US.

Historians consider AL's illness to have been the prodrome of a mild
case of smallpox (and later a vesicular phase).

In 18th-century Europe, it is estimated that 400,000 people died
from the disease per year, and that one-third of all cases of
blindness were due to smallpox.[10][18] Smallpox is estimated to have
killed up to 300 million people in the 20th century[19][20] and
around 500 million people in the last 100 years of its existence.[21]
Earlier deaths included six European monarchs, including Louis XV of
France in 1774.[10][18] As recently as 1967, 15 million cases
occurred a year.
From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a
global vaccination campaign that eradicated smallpox, making it the
only human disease to be eradicated. Although routine smallpox
vaccination is no longer performed on the general public,

I was of a generation which still got smallpox vaccinations.

[Mike Easter]

Hmmm. Recent what we call '2nd amendment' issue outcome.

I'm in favor of being able to 'take the gun/s out of a person's hands'
but I think that should be done 'judiciously'. While I'm in favor of
the outcome of this situation, I don't know that I would consider the
perp 'dangerous' and I think that 'in the long run' he should or might
get his 'gun ownership' privilege back.

The cops were called to a neighborhood because neighbors heard gunshots.
When they showed up, they surrounded the house and ordered its
evacuation of a woman and 2 kids. The alleged 22 y/o 'shooter' did not
have a gun on him and subsequently denied owning one.

The jurisdiction has a law about 'gun violence restraining orders' GVRO
which says that a person's gun can be taken away from them.

The cops on the scene telephoned a judge to get a 'hand written' GVRO.
Because the man wouldn't give up the gun, the cops called the judge back
and got a search warrant and found the gun, which was some kind of 22
cal modified 'rifle' to be considered 'assault' style under CA law.
That 'assault' business is very complicated in CA; there needs to be a
better word.

Other evidence suggested that he had done some kind of 'target practice'
in his yard.

So, they took his gun away under the GVRO. If for no other reasons than
not being 'setup' to secure a weapon properly and the 'illegality' of
the weapon, which is another legal debate point.

It is hard to say whether the guy was 'dangerous' under conventional
consideration in terms of shootings, but he *certainly* wasn't acting or
owning responsibly and should have the gun taken away. Whether he ever
gets any gun privileges back is another matter.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

K'M LZDYJL LJULJD DYJ LKEHE
DYZD MKMB'D ISLH SND DYZB
DYJ FYZBFJE K MKMB'D DZHJ
ZD ZPP. - EKGSBJ RKPJE


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I'd rather regret the risks that didn't work out than the chances I
didn't take at all.
Simone Biles

Solving: that didn't, than the chances, Simone

I hadn't heard of SB, but she has an interesting story.

I wanted a little more of the backstory of her childhood that preceded
her greatness and I found that in a Houston Chronicle article from 2016
in the Wayback

https://web.archive.org/web/20190930234935/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/olympics/article/Spring-s-Biles-poised-for-perfection-in-Rio-Games-8382471.php

Ron Biles daughter Shanon had 4 kids and substance abuse problems which
caused all of her kids to end up in foster care. By the time Ron retired
from the USAF his other kids were graduating from hs, CPS contacted him,
and he said, "Send them to us."

In spite of a sketchy background SB started practicing gymnastics by age 8.

Then she became a world class gymnast and can do things that no one else
can do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Biles

With a total of 37 Olympic and World Championship medals, she is the
most decorated gymnast in history,[6] and she is widely considered
one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
Ron Biles daughter Shanon had 4 kids and substance abuse problems
which caused all of her kids to end up in foster care. By the time
Ron retired from the USAF his other kids were graduating from hs,
CPS contacted him, and he said, "Send them to us."

I'm still working on the Ron Biles (and his wife Nellie) story. Ron was
trying to be in the USAF and be a single father of Shanon.

Post by Mike Easter
They met while Nellie was in college in San Antonio and Ron was in
the Air Force and raising daughter Shanon as a single father. Shanon
eventually moved to Cleveland with her mother. Nellie became a nurse
and used to co-own a chain of Texas nursing homes. Ron was an air
traffic controller. (He’s now retired.) They married and had two
sons.

Shanon didn't do so well in Ohio, bred 4 kids, a drug habit, and
inability to parent.

Post by Mike Easter
Nellie Biles was born in Belize before moving to the United States in
1973. She would eventually move to Spring, Texas with her husband Ron
Biles, who she met in San Antonio when he was in the Air Force and
she was in college.
Nellie worked for years as a nurse before eventually co-owning 14 nursing homes throughout Texas.

Wha-a-a-at?!

It seems to me the first big step, from working as a nurse to co-owning
*ONE* nursing home is a pretty big step.

Co-owning w/ who?

[Mike Easter]

MX Linux, for whatever reason, the #1 pagehits distro by far and for
many years at DistroWatch. While DW disclaims any efforts to use that
stat as any symbol of 'popularity' of a distro, it has to be /some/ kind
of reflection of that.

In any case, IMO and that of many others, it is a great distro with an
interesting history. It is based on the stable version of Debian, and
some of the dev/s came from a now extinct distro Mepis and some from antiX.

Mepis came from Warren Woodford, was based on Debian (or later Ubuntu)
back in 2003 until 2013. antiX was 'derived' from Mepis and aimed to be
leaner, so it eschewed the default KDE of Mepis in favor of window
managers ICE and Fluxbox. It also eschewed the controversial powerful
agent for initialization and service configuration systemd which Debian
accepted.

antiX still lives and dev/s as a separate but related distro to MX;
personally I like both of them, I like 'lighter weight' distro/s which
is best accomplished via a window manager rather than a DE, but I also
like the convenience of features that the ongoing dev of DEs bring to
the table, and I like MX just fine 'over' antiX.

MX provides a choice of desktops, considering XFCE to be its 'flagship',
but also has a KDE and a Fluxbox to be heavier and lighter options and
still 'avoids' systemd by default, but keeps a 'shim' relationship w/ it
so that users who want systemd can have it. Very smart.

I recently discovered a 'new' (to me, it has been around several years)
version of MX which is considered a 'spin' which they call MX--Workbench.

It’s a custom Live-USB Linux build made with MX tools is that is
meant to be a Swiss Army kind of tool for sysadmins, containing a lot
of useful programs that can be used for cloning disks and partitions,
recovering files, searching for viruses and rootkits, hardware
benchmarking, wiping drives, resetting Windows password, updating
firmware, ftp, remoting, and so on (similar to Parted Magic for
example — but much more flexible in my view).
anybody can run this live, customize it, take a snapshot and have
their own tools and settings ready to use for their own purposes.

This page shows how many handy tools it has:
https://mxlinux.org/blog/mx-workbench-2020-released/

Altho' that page is dated and from 2020, the distro spin itself is
regularly updated to the current 23.3 rel May 18. It uses the flagship
XFCE over Deb stable, no systemd unless optioned at boot and is
chock-full of handy tools accessible from a launcher it holds.

A wonderful feature of both antiX & MX is the convenience of the 'tools'
they make simpler to use than the conventional command line approach by
wrapping a common command line tool into something with a simple
graphical interface.

Somehow this MX Workbench reminds me of the 'iterations' of Hiren's
which was chock full of tools mostly based on ms-dos or windows but also
including some linux. Over the years Hirens evolved from an XP + dos &
linux to a PE version of W11.

Both the older 15.2 'conventional' Hirens and the newer PE versions are
still available, but the webpages have been 'taken over' by promotional
materials. As well as I can tell, the .iso/s are still accessible, but
not by using the 'big buttons' to continue.

A big fan of MX who visits here sometimes is Dustin Cook or Gremlin.

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
Somehow this MX Workbench reminds me of the 'iterations' of Hiren's
which was chock full of tools mostly based on ms-dos or windows but
also including some linux. Over the years Hirens evolved from an XP +
dos & linux to a PE version of W11.

Posted from the MX Workbench w/ Claws.

System:
Host: mx1 Kernel: 6.1.0-21-amd64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Xfce
v: 4.18.1 Distro: MX-23.3_Workbench_x64 Libretto May 19 2024

Its firefox is 126, much newer than what I've been using on my LM.

[pothead]

Post by Mike Easter
MX Linux, for whatever reason, the #1 pagehits distro by far and for
many years at DistroWatch. While DW disclaims any efforts to use that
stat as any symbol of 'popularity' of a distro, it has to be /some/ kind
of reflection of that.
In any case, IMO and that of many others, it is a great distro with an
interesting history. It is based on the stable version of Debian, and
some of the dev/s came from a now extinct distro Mepis and some from antiX.
Mepis came from Warren Woodford, was based on Debian (or later Ubuntu)
back in 2003 until 2013. antiX was 'derived' from Mepis and aimed to be
leaner, so it eschewed the default KDE of Mepis in favor of window
managers ICE and Fluxbox. It also eschewed the controversial powerful
agent for initialization and service configuration systemd which Debian
accepted.
antiX still lives and dev/s as a separate but related distro to MX;
personally I like both of them, I like 'lighter weight' distro/s which
is best accomplished via a window manager rather than a DE, but I also
like the convenience of features that the ongoing dev of DEs bring to
the table, and I like MX just fine 'over' antiX.
MX provides a choice of desktops, considering XFCE to be its 'flagship',
but also has a KDE and a Fluxbox to be heavier and lighter options and
still 'avoids' systemd by default, but keeps a 'shim' relationship w/ it
so that users who want systemd can have it. Very smart.
I recently discovered a 'new' (to me, it has been around several years)
version of MX which is considered a 'spin' which they call MX--Workbench.

It’s a custom Live-USB Linux build made with MX tools is that is
meant to be a Swiss Army kind of tool for sysadmins, containing a lot
of useful programs that can be used for cloning disks and partitions,
recovering files, searching for viruses and rootkits, hardware
benchmarking, wiping drives, resetting Windows password, updating
firmware, ftp, remoting, and so on (similar to Parted Magic for
example — but much more flexible in my view).
anybody can run this live, customize it, take a snapshot and have
their own tools and settings ready to use for their own purposes.

https://mxlinux.org/blog/mx-workbench-2020-released/
Altho' that page is dated and from 2020, the distro spin itself is
regularly updated to the current 23.3 rel May 18. It uses the flagship
XFCE over Deb stable, no systemd unless optioned at boot and is
chock-full of handy tools accessible from a launcher it holds.
A wonderful feature of both antiX & MX is the convenience of the 'tools'
they make simpler to use than the conventional command line approach by
wrapping a common command line tool into something with a simple
graphical interface.
Somehow this MX Workbench reminds me of the 'iterations' of Hiren's
which was chock full of tools mostly based on ms-dos or windows but also
including some linux. Over the years Hirens evolved from an XP + dos &
linux to a PE version of W11.
Both the older 15.2 'conventional' Hirens and the newer PE versions are
still available, but the webpages have been 'taken over' by promotional
materials. As well as I can tell, the .iso/s are still accessible, but
not by using the 'big buttons' to continue.
A big fan of MX who visits here sometimes is Dustin Cook or Gremlin.

I've been using MX Linux for a long time now and while I have nowhere near the technical expertise
that Gremlin or the rest of you have, for me, as an end user, it works very well and looks good too.
There is also a very good and friendly support network.

I used to use LinuxMint but had various random issues with it, especially updating, so I moved to
MS and have been here ever since.

[Charlie Glock]

Post by pothead

Post by Mike Easter
MX Linux, for whatever reason, the #1 pagehits distro by far and for
many years at DistroWatch. While DW disclaims any efforts to use that
stat as any symbol of 'popularity' of a distro, it has to be /some/ kind
of reflection of that.
In any case, IMO and that of many others, it is a great distro with an
interesting history. It is based on the stable version of Debian, and
some of the dev/s came from a now extinct distro Mepis and some from antiX.
Mepis came from Warren Woodford, was based on Debian (or later Ubuntu)
back in 2003 until 2013. antiX was 'derived' from Mepis and aimed to be
leaner, so it eschewed the default KDE of Mepis in favor of window
managers ICE and Fluxbox. It also eschewed the controversial powerful
agent for initialization and service configuration systemd which Debian
accepted.
antiX still lives and dev/s as a separate but related distro to MX;
personally I like both of them, I like 'lighter weight' distro/s which
is best accomplished via a window manager rather than a DE, but I also
like the convenience of features that the ongoing dev of DEs bring to
the table, and I like MX just fine 'over' antiX.
MX provides a choice of desktops, considering XFCE to be its 'flagship',
but also has a KDE and a Fluxbox to be heavier and lighter options and
still 'avoids' systemd by default, but keeps a 'shim' relationship w/ it
so that users who want systemd can have it. Very smart.
I recently discovered a 'new' (to me, it has been around several years)
version of MX which is considered a 'spin' which they call MX--Workbench.

It’s a custom Live-USB Linux build made with MX tools is that is
meant to be a Swiss Army kind of tool for sysadmins, containing a lot
of useful programs that can be used for cloning disks and partitions,
recovering files, searching for viruses and rootkits, hardware
benchmarking, wiping drives, resetting Windows password, updating
firmware, ftp, remoting, and so on (similar to Parted Magic for
example — but much more flexible in my view).
anybody can run this live, customize it, take a snapshot and have
their own tools and settings ready to use for their own purposes.

https://mxlinux.org/blog/mx-workbench-2020-released/
Altho' that page is dated and from 2020, the distro spin itself is
regularly updated to the current 23.3 rel May 18. It uses the flagship
XFCE over Deb stable, no systemd unless optioned at boot and is
chock-full of handy tools accessible from a launcher it holds.
A wonderful feature of both antiX & MX is the convenience of the 'tools'
they make simpler to use than the conventional command line approach by
wrapping a common command line tool into something with a simple
graphical interface.
Somehow this MX Workbench reminds me of the 'iterations' of Hiren's
which was chock full of tools mostly based on ms-dos or windows but also
including some linux. Over the years Hirens evolved from an XP + dos &
linux to a PE version of W11.
Both the older 15.2 'conventional' Hirens and the newer PE versions are
still available, but the webpages have been 'taken over' by promotional
materials. As well as I can tell, the .iso/s are still accessible, but
not by using the 'big buttons' to continue.
A big fan of MX who visits here sometimes is Dustin Cook or Gremlin.

I've been using MX Linux for a long time now and while I have nowhere near the technical expertise
that Gremlin or the rest of you have, for me, as an end user, it works very well and looks good too.
There is also a very good and friendly support network.
I used to use LinuxMint but had various random issues with it, especially updating, so I moved to
MS and have been here ever since.

I'm new to MXLinux but used to use OpenSuSe in the past.
OpensuSe became bloated and the package management kind of sucked.
I'm still learning MxLinux but I like it.

[Mike Easter]

I'm new to MXLinux but used to use OpenSuSe in the past. OpensuSe
became bloated and the package management kind of sucked. I'm still
learning MxLinux but I like it.

In another thread I was talking about the .de influence on KDE projects.
SUSE and OpenSUSE are very 'de-ic' in their background and evolution.

One of the big divides in linux is the biz about the .deb vs .rpm
package management. I'm more familiar w/ .deb, but I'm also 'impressed'
w/ the strengths of yast for management of suse & opensuse's .rpm packages.

But, I confess that I don't use it 'a lot' because much more of the time
I'm in various .deb systems.

SUSE includes an installation and administration program called YaST
("Yet another Setup Tool") which handles hard disk partitioning,
system setup, RPM package management, online updates, network, and
firewall configuration, user administration and more in an
integrated interface. By 2010, many more YaST modules were added,
including one for Bluetooth support.[42] It also controls all
software applications.

Like RedHat, SUSE has an enterprise operation,

IBM's Watson was built on IBM's POWER7 systems using SLES.[6] Hewlett
Packard Enterprise's Frontier, world's first and fastest exascale
supercomputer runs on SUSE's SLES 15 (HPE Cray OS).[7]

The SLES has stayed at 15 for years, but the upgrades are called Service
Packs SP1-5, '19-'24.

[Mike Easter]

For the first time since 2015 a 13-year brood will emerge in the same year as a 17-year brood.
For the first time since 1998 adjacent 13-and 17-year broods will emerge in the same year.
For the first time since 1803 Brood XIX and XIII will co-emerge.
You will be able to see all seven named periodical cicada species as adults in the same year, which will not happen again until 2037. You will not see all seven named species emerge in the state of Illinois again until 2041.

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

YFNDN'W P TSY SG OW SOY
FNDN YFPY PDN JCDHW. APV.
ZN PTT VNNH YS LOWY GTM.
-- YDPICW WKSYY

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There's a lot of us out here that are birds, man. We all seek to just fly.
Travis Scott

American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

[Steve Carroll]

Post by Mike Easter
YFNDN'W P TSY SG OW SOY
FNDN YFPY PDN JCDHW. APV.
ZN PTT VNNH YS LOWY GTM.
-- YDPICW WKSYY
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There's a lot of us out here that are birds, man. We all seek to just fly.
Travis Scott

American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

No, Rick, you're not an idiot.

[Mike Easter]

Re Beatles vs Taylor Swift...

... back when Beatlemania hit the .us, I didn't really care for them for
a significant time.

Later, after a few albums, I began to appreciate Beatles more. Some;
not like my favorite music at the time.

I still don't know anything/much about TS except that she likes to watch
T. Kelce play football.

Trivial coincidences viz today's CQ: TS = TravisScott & TaylorSwift
Travis = Scott & Kelce

[Mike Easter]

Post by Mike Easter
... back when Beatlemania hit the .us, I didn't really care for them for
a significant time.

And, realize that Beatles in the .us didn't happen until '64. There was
a lot of 'non-Beatles' music I was listening to in the 50s and 60s
before those 'late-comers' started causing Beatle-crazy teenage girls to
start listening to music.

Two examples; Jimmy Reed and Elvis Presley. That is, when the Beatles
arrived, I would rather listen to Jimmy Reed, which so many Beatles fans
have never even heard of.

And I still don't listen to TS.

[Mike Easter]

Wednesday's CQ:

V NXSZ JD DZPXZYX HNZ
MYCXSDRVYCD RNX
SXDLZYDJFJUJRG RNVR QZPXD
HJRN NJD OSXXCZP. -- FZF
CGUVY


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A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his
freedom.
Bob Dylan

Solving: that, the, a, someone who, is,

BD is 83 now. He received the Nobel Prize in literature

"for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."

AND...

Since 1994, Dylan has published nine books of paintings and drawings.

Extensive section of his visual art in his wp article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan#Visual_art

[Mike Easter]

Today's CQ:

XHCG FNFPS IPKZ KD XTCFP
SKL IPHOR, FNFPS APFTCG SKL
CTRF, SKL'PF JKOOFJCCFI CK
CGF VFT. - VSYNHT FTPYF

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With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you're
connected to the sea. Sylvia Earle

Solving: every, you're, the, Earle, with

SE is now 88; great career.

Sylvia Earle life work has been shaped directly by Rachel Carson,