Comments (1) Been one of those days. Got a bit done on the computer but nothing else accomplished. Haven’t even finished going through the pile of books from yesterday and getting the rest of the stickers off and books sorted. Oh, well tomorrow is another day. Till then…
Whining, White Smoke & the Mechanics of Getting Unstuck | 43 Folders
Hack your way out of writer’s block – “Literally. Put five completley random words on a piece of paper. Write five more words. Try a sentence. Could be about anything. A block ends when you start making words on a page.â€
Several good ideas here. Well worth the read. Going to have to spend some time at the site and see what there is to see.
Bob’s Red Mill – V2 – Whole Grain and Gluten Free Products and Recipes
Nice range of products and from what I have looked at the prices are good too. Suppose to be carried at Rainbow Food Marts in the Gadsden area as well as several other places within a reasonable distance. Had planned on checking the Rainbow Food Marts out yesterday but things happened, so will see what they carry next trip that way.
EU forced to release list of objects you’re not allowed to take on planes – Boing Boing
The European Court of Justice is forcing the EU into publishing its top-s33kr1t list of things you’re not allowed to take on airplanes. Oh noes! Now the terrists will have the complete, exhaustive list of all the devices it is possible to crash an airplane with. We are doomed.
Now if the US courts would do the same to TSA, though I’m not sure they have a list from the way they change the rules from airport to airport.
solecist.net
The differences between Las Vegas slot machines and voting machines.
Yea, the slots are a much safer way to gamble. Pity that… 😯 👿
Steampunk Unboxing: Difference Engine Arrives in Silicon Valley
I can’t help but wonder just how different the world today would be if this had been built back then. Amazing bit of work!
Brass Goggles » Blog Archive » Steampunk Magazine Issue #4 and the Gaslamp Bazaar
And now the rest of the day is just gonna have to wait. Later, y’all… 😉
Slashdot | Robot Rebellion Quelled in Iraq
And who didn’t expect this to happen? Too much, too soon, too little independent testing…
Take Your Music Open-Source With Ogg Vorbis – Wired How-To Wiki
Now with iTunes support, kinda. Going to have to look at Ogg again. Looks like it has grown up a bit since the last time I tried it out.
London teen orders ‘cab, innit’ | The Register
Too funny! 😆 😆 😆 Thanks to Steve for the link.
DIY Organic Fly Trap – Ecobites.com
They posted drawings to go with the article! NOW it makes sense! And is also what I thought it was on first quick read through, but not what I got on further reading, which I posted about in the previous article which can be found here.
Just received two comments from supposedly two different people, who’s posts have the same tone and are posted from the same IP address, so I’m assuming that I have stepped on some toes with my post about not understanding the article and the subsequent remark about the the author. I feel these comments have such literary merit that they should be granted a place where everyone who ventures to this blog can see them so instead of condemning them to the spam pile or just deleting them, I’m going to answer them here. need to be addressed in a manner other than simply deleting them or trying to discuss them in the comments section of the blog. The above section that I struck out was written prior to coffee and in the heat of my first anger at the tone of the comments. I started to remove it completely but decided to leave it as an example (to myself if no one else) of how not to reply to this type of comment.
First comment:
The first one came in from xxxxxxxxx@bigpond.com | 121.222.14.110 on 2008/04/12 at 1:26 AM local time (CDT USA) and is as follows:
Hey guys, I only had to read this once and have the idea. Very simple and easy to do. I thought it was us females who are supposed to have trouble reading descriptions.
Although, I must admit, my Dad had fly traps made from bottles around his organic fruit farm. They sure do work and a great way of avoiding chemical poisons. A photo of a cut bottle with tape ???, the dead fly photo tells the story. 🙂
Glad you understood it that quickly without a drawing to assist you or without seeing one in person before. Though from what you say in the comment you have seen these on your Dad’s farm before 😉 so you already had the idea while reading the article, which allowed your mind to fill in the blanks, which the article by its self didn’t do for me, or Steve, and I am sure quite a few other folks out here on the internet who read the article sans pictures/drawings. And NO the dead fly didn’t tell the story at all, it merely emphasized the idea that this device would kill flies.
The second comment came in from xxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com | 121.222.14.110 on 2008/04/12 at 3:20 AM and is as follows:
Wow, this site or Steve must be so dense. I don’t normally respond to stupidity, but here goes.
Firstly, I visited the link to ecobites.com. The article is so informative, that blind freddy could understand it.
Secondly, a quick surf of the website, indicates to poor dumb me that the site is photo intensive. More than most websites so what is the issue here. Didn’t you guys go to school. It pays to read to understand.
It is one thing to be critical or sensational in the hope it will attract surfers, but please be accurate or you just look stupid.
As I said earlier I guess I stepped on some toes with the earlier post 🙁 but I call it as I see it and when something doesn’t make sense I WILL say so. So lets take this comment one section at a time.
First – The IP adress is the same as the earlier comment so either it came from the same person or at least the same place. I had 3 folks sign up for accounts on the site last night, all from the same IP address but so far only 2 of them have tried to comment.
NOTE – No one gets to comment here without having their first comment approved by the site owner, which is me. Steve gets to comment since I have known him for 40 + years now. He can also write posts. I trust him. New signups have to earn that trust. But I digress. On to the second bit.
Second – Wow, this site or Steve must be so dense. I don’t normally respond to stupidity, but here goes. Firstly, I visited the link to ecobites.com. The article is so informative, that blind freddy could understand it.
Let’s see, you start off calling us dense and then stupid. Then go on to advertise the site the article came from and then to plug the article as being so informative that even blind freddy could understand it. Well not being from Oz I had to look up the reference to Blind Freddy and I found:
Blind Freddy
1. (Australia, informal) Imaginary incapacitated person. Used as a standard or archetype of incapacity, in the sense that if Blind Freddy can see or know something then it must be obvious.
Sorry, but as I said in the original post and have reiterated above the wording of the article in question was NOT obvious without either drawings or pictures or having seen the device in question and saying that I and Steve are dense and stupid is NOT going to change that FACT.
Third – Secondly, a quick surf of the website, indicates to poor dumb me that the site is photo intensive. More than most websites so what is the issue here. Didn’t you guys go to school. It pays to read to understand.
The site may be photo intensive (and in fact IS. Which is not always a good thing but I’m not here to critique the designers ideas of a “good” website) but the article WAS NOT. The one picture of the dead fly didn’t help me to visualize the device in question at all. Sorry.
And yes, as a matter of fact, Steve and I did both go to school (graduated from two of the same ones in fact, both high school and college), can read, write, and even count to 20 if we take our shoes off. 🙄 We also know how to both read to understand and ALSO how to write to be understood, which is something that I am not sure you and/or the author of the article have quite learned as of yet. It pays to reread any article or post you write with the idea in mind that someone in a culture different from yours may read it and want to duplicate it. So you need to try to use words in such a way as to paint pictures of the device in the persons mind. The article in question did not do that for me, and I am usually pretty good at visualizing things from words in print or verbal descriptions and attacking me is NOT the way to achieve understanding. Oh, well, onward and upward as it were.
And last – It is one thing to be critical or sensational in the hope it will attract surfers, but please be accurate or you just look stupid.
Excuse me? I should be accurate? Or I look stupid?
I’m truely sorry that you feel that me trying to understand the article in question and posting my attempts at visualizing the device was an attempt to attract surfers. About that I could care less. What I did (and still do) want to do was build some of the flytraps for use here on my farm, so I don’t have to use poison, but the written description without aid of drawings or pictures was not enough for my stupid dense mind to follow.
Please, next time you want to comment on my site (or any other) attempt to be constructive. If you had commented in such a way to help me understand what the article was getting at OR commented to tell me that the author of the DIY Flytrap had posted drawings, I would have welcomed you and your comments. As it is I am going to delete your comments from the original post though I will leave your user name(s) should you wish to reply to my post here.
Best,
Dave AKA Techno
Started out at Goodwill in Gadsden where we got a few. They have had their books on sale lately but the selection is rather limited and the largest number of paperbacks are in a large bin where it’s impossible to get to more than the top 3 or 4 layers. Doesn’t do much for the condition of the books either. They have plenty of room to expand but it seems that they had rather have junk piled on the shelves than put the books on them. Their loss.
Went from there to Americas Thrift Store in Rainbow Plaza and got more than I had planned on and spent more too. They use colored stickers on the outside of the books that are a real pain to remove, but better than the grease pencil that they used at the Pell City store on the flyleaf that ruined the book for collecting purposes. The colors are on sale at different times. They use a total of 5 colors and 3 of them are on sale at all times, just a different 3 each time we go it seems. The sale percentages vary too. Kind of a pain to figure out how much everything costs but sometimes you get REAL good deals. Other times not so hot. But their selection is improving as more folks donate so we’ll keep going back. Haven’t been in there yet that we didn’t find something. 🙄
From there went on to Eagle Rock Thrift Store which is only a couple of blocks away. Didn’t get as many as we have in the past, but still got a fair number of decent titles, both hard and soft backs.
Left there and headed toward Asheville to hit 231 to go to the Pell City Americas Thrift Store but saw a sign in front of the Rainbow City Library that they were having a book sale so looped back and got several titles. They didn’t have a lot but what they did was in good condition and didn’t have pages torn out like a lot of the other libraries are doing now. Will have to check with them next time we go over and see if this is a regular thing or just a one time deal as they have several shelves devoted to the sale.
Back on the road toward Asheville and over half way there the wind picked up and the rear wheel bearing started making bad noises and vibrating through the frame when I’d get over 45 so once we got to 231 we hit 26 (I think) and came back through Ragland and home with a stop at the grocery store in Alexandria.
Just as well we cut the trip to Pell City short cause the nasty weather sirens went off while in the grocery. Got home just before the storms and got the plunder inside and safe. Guess tomorrow will be spent fixing the bearings and checking the rear brakes and such on the van. Been needing to be done just kept putting it off but tis telling me that the time has come so will do the deed weather permitting.
Guess I will spend some time unsacking books and start peeling stickers off till the eyelid movies call gets too loud. Till tomorrow… 😎
Went to pay bills today and to check out the books and other stuff at a few of the local thrift stores. Got a few good books, a tie (Italian silk Christien Dior) for $0.50 and pair of worsted (?) wool hand tailored trousers ($2.25) at the Salvation Army.
Headed on south and took a look at the stuff at the Salvage Store on Greenbriar, just west of 21. They have a lot of stuff but it’s mostly junk IMHO.
Then back down Noble to check out a new thrift store by Lott Cabinet shop that we had seen on the way south. No parking in front so since the parking lot at Lott was empty but for one truck we parked there. Got to the door of the thrift store and they had a sign saying if you had parked in Lott’s parking area, to move you car before coming in the store. We moved, right on down the road. I’m sure they have had problems with the cabinet shop owners or something but they need to be in a location that has some kind of parking instead of saying park across Noble in the grass by the train tracks. I don’t like crossing that street at a cross walk and there are none in that section of town… 👿
Went to Jacksonville and had a rather uninspiring meal at the China Starr. Will most likely be our last visit. Food was mediocre with limited quantities available and we were both dizzy by the time we left with the MSG. And have been all afternoon and evening. They must use it by the gallon now. Course with rubber chicken you need something to add flavor. 👿
Left and went to Center of Hope thrift store, looked at the posted prices on the books, turned and looked at each other, Cat said they are out of their minds, as I said they are f*&^%$# crazy, turned and left. 👿
Headed toward Anniston again to look at a couple of other places we had passed up wanting to get to lunch, but got to feeling worse so came home.
Will go out again tomorrow if the storms don’t keep us in. Guess we will head toward Gadsden, Attalla, and Rainbow City if we do go out. Several places over there that we like to browse around in.
Tis getting late and I am still uncomfortable from lunch, so think I’ll hit the sack and hope for a better day tomorrow. Till then… 😉
“Green Gasoline”: Like Gasoline, But Made from Cellulose : TreeHugger
Though they may share many of the same compounds and properties, “green gasoline,” the creation of UMass chemical engineer George Huber, differs from regular gasoline in one important respect: it can be produced from biomass sources. And, unlike the various forms of ethanol that have been bandied around, green gasoline can take advantage of the existing gas infrastructure and be pumped into cars as is.
To produce this biofuel variant, Huber and his students heated plant cellulose in the presence of solid catalysts and then rapidly cooled the products – leaving behind a liquid that already contained many of the compounds typically found in gasoline, such as naphthalene and toluene. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes to accomplish and needs only moderate heat; the final liquid can be further refined or immediately used as an alternative to a high octane gas blend.
I guess the big questions are: what is the cost of the catalysts and are they a reusable or expendable agent? This sounds wonderful, but if it’s this simple why is it gonna take them 5 years at a minimum to get it to the pumps? I realize that scaling up is gonna make a difference and building the infrastructure will take a while but still sounds like there are things about this process or the resultant fuel that they don’t bring up.
That said I hope this works out and results in a viable fuel making process using biomass. 😎
Slashdot | Mediasentry Violates Cease & Desist Order
Opps! Guess the RIAA and it’s thugs doesn’t have to worry about little things like abiding by the law. Till they get caught (again) with their pants down. Arsehats!
DIY Organic Fly Trap – Ecobites.com
Update – They have posted drawings and rewritten the original article so that it is MUCH clearer now! Thanks folks, it makes a LOT more sense than what I was getting from the text the first time around!
Looks like what I was visualizing was upside down which I wondered about at the time, which is why I kept going back and rereading and trying to get some picture in my head of what they were doing.
Please note that I was NOT attacking the article or author but simply trying to understand how to build this device and having trouble understanding the original textual instructions without having some visual aid to assist me.
Thanks again for taking the time to clear up the text and for adding the drawings of the construction of this inexpensive and easy to construct fly trap. I’ll be building several of these asap.
———
Had a couple of comments on this article since the one of Steve’s, that I am moving to another post all their own so I can discuss some of the points they bring up in more detail than is possible in the comments section of this blog. The new post is located at – Update on Organic DIY Flytrap – Ecobites.com
Original post follows –
Okay, I’ve read this article about half a dozen times now and without pictures or drawings I only vaguely understand what they are talking about and what I do get isn’t making sense.
What I seem to be getting is that the bottle bottom is now the top with the wire Y piercing it to hang by and the top of the bottle being inside the bottom with the cut off neck facing the round bottom. Then the seam where the two meet is taped together and the water and bait is supposed to be held in by the taped seam.
Do we cut off the screw neck so they don’t have a place to land? Yellow tape? What kind of yellow tape is gonna make a water tight seal? I’d think some kind of glue or caulk would work better. That is if I am visualizing this correctly.
Guess I am just being dense tonight. Will reread it tomorrow and see it there is a light bulb lit then. Of course if the author had bothered to include pictures or even a basic drawing I (and all the other really dense folk out here in reader land) wouldn’t be having to try to figure out what the hell they are talking about.
Have this Crispy Tofu Dish for Dinner Tonight : Planet Green
Crispy Tofu With Shiitakes and Chorizo
Serves 2
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and sliced crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slabs
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 1/2 cups (4 ounces) thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
3 ounces cured chorizo (1 1/2 small links), diced (or substitute cured Chinese sausage)
2 scallions, thinly sliced, dark green parts reserved for garnish
1/4 cup chicken broth
3 to 4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons mirin or dry sherry.
1. Using paper towels, pat tofu dry. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Place tofu slabs in pan and cook, peeking as little as possible, until golden on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain slabs on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Increase heat to high. Add mushrooms, chorizo and white and light green parts of scallion. Cook, tossing occasionally, until mushrooms are softened and light golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth, soy sauce and mirin or sherry. Cook until sauce reduces and thickens slightly, about 1 minute more.
4. If tofu is no longer hot, push vegetables in pan to one side; add tofu and cook until heated through. Transfer hot tofu to serving plates and top with mushroom mixture and pan sauce. Sprinkle with dark green scallions.
Sounds quite good. Been years since I’ve fixed tofu as the ex didn’t like it (claimed she was allergic, and maybe she was but she ate many other soy bean products with no problem so???) and I just got in the habit of not using it. Also need to pick up some peanut oil, keep forgetting it for some reason. 🙄 Will have to pick some up some of both and try this. 😎
Computerworld > Open source 3D printer copies itself
Once again life imitates science fiction. Don’t remember when it was that I first ran across the concept of the universal replicator or in what story/book but I do remember that at the time I was in awe of the concept. And here are a gropu of folks that are working to make an open source device that can be used to make the parts to reproduce it’s self. The overused “cool” is just to mild for this, fantastic and wonderful both apply but there again just not right. What/which ever, this is great! And I want one!
Was a bit tired and sore from the day yesterday so didn’t do any more out and about the farm today but managed to spend the day doing stuff inside instead. Got an email from the Nero Wolfe mail list the content of which reminded me that I hadn’t updated WordPress on my Nero Wolfe site yet. So I go and do that. While there I realize that it’s been months and I STILL haven’t finished scanning the rest of the book covers and getting them uploaded nor all the other housekeeping things that have needed doing on that site. One of the problems with the scanning is that the computer that I use for that is in the wrong building. (See where this is going yet?) So I figure where in this already over crowded room I can put a computer desk and everything that goes with it. Move several boxes of books and shift several dozen others and a large coffee table and finally clear an area large enough to move in the computer desk. Once I clear it off. 🙄 Clean it off and get it moved, and the computer, monitor, scanner, and ups. Get it all hooked up and then realize that the ethernet is gonna have to be moved too. Duh. 🙄 No biggie as it turns out as I had already put another line in that was much too long and had coiled the extra up, just have to unhook it all as the coil is at the wrong end of the line. Gotta love the little challenges that life throws at you from time to time. Anyhow, that’s where most of the day went.
Ate supper then got out and stirred the fire from yesterday back into life and added some more scrap wood and broken limbs to it so maybe it will finish burning. Twas dark by then so came back in and scanned one book and figured out how to use the command line OCR program on the linux box. And learned a bit more about Gimp in the process of getting the pnm file to a true black and white so the ocr software will actually find the text instead of giving me a page of i’s and l’s and j’s. But now I can scan a page and only spend a few minutes correcting the mistakes 😀 instead of having to type it all in by hand. Bit by bit I think I’m getting closer. And I only have another 70 or 80 covers to scan in in the Wolfe series. 😯
It’s late and I am beat. Will see what the morrow brings when it gets here. Till then… 😎
Blog 365, Daily Grind
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Blog 365, Daily Grind, GIMP, Linux, Nero Wolfe, OCR
The Society for Librarians* Who Say “MoFo”
Warning – Profanity… 😮 A lot of the posts are humorous but also show what a bunch of total arsehats a large number of people are to the good folks that work at libraries. If it were I in quite a few of these situations there would be blood spilled and it wouldn’t be mine…
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