If you are old enough, you will get the backwards humor
Posted By RichC on January 8, 2016
Not a promising 2016 start for investors
Posted By RichC on January 8, 2016
January 2016 has not given investors an optimistic start as stocks sold off for another day on Thursday. The slide gives the Dow its worst start to begin a year since the 30-stock index was created in 1928. Fingers are pointing to economic woes and government financial manipulation in China as well as world oil prices hitting 12-year lows due to slowing demand and excess supply.
China allowed the biggest fall in the yuan currency in five months, adding to investor fears about the health of its economy, while Shanghai stocks .SSEC were halted for the second time this week after another steep selloff.
Oil prices fell to 12-year lows and copper prices touched their lowest since 2009, weighing on energy and materials shares. Shares of Freeport McMoran (FCX.N) dropped 9.1 percent to $5.61. All 10 S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, though, and the Nasdaq Biotech index .NBI fell 4.1 percent.
“People see the weakness in China and in the overall equity market and think there’s going to be an impact on corporations here in the United States,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth in New York.
“When you have a market that begins a year with weakness, people are sort of suspect anyway. The economy isn’t moving all that well, the outlook is modest at best, and they don’t want to wait for the long term. China creates more uncertainty.”
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed down 392.41 points, or 2.32 percent, to 16,514.1, the S&P 500 .SPX had lost 47.17 points, or 2.37 percent, to 1,943.09 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC had dropped 146.34 points, or 3.03 percent, to 4,689.43.
Choosing pressure treated lumber by reading tree rings
Posted By RichC on January 7, 2016
Pressure-treated wood is a delightful product. It’s chemically protected to ward off insects and fungal decay. This protection increases the lifespan of the wood and makes it ideal for outdoor projects like decks. But here’s an important thing to keep in mind when picking pressure-treated 4x4s.
The chemical treatment process in question isn’t as effective on wood that is closer to the core of the tree. This is important because 4×4 posts are made as a by-product of plywood production and are often the center of a log, which is called the peeler core. This section of wood does not accept chemical treatment as well as the outer areas of the log and therefore is more susceptible to termites and other damage. You want to avoid pressure-treated posts that were in peeler core, and thankfully, you can do so by learning to read the wood.
When selecting 4×4 posts, check the end grain for wood that has been cut away from the peeler core. The growth rings will help identify these pieces. In the photo above, the post on the left is more desirable than the peeler core on the right, as the rings indicate that the post on the right was in the middle of the tree.
Check both 8-foot and 10-foot lengths of wood and choose accordingly. A few years down the line, you’ll be glad you did.
Source: Family Handyman and Popular Mechanics
LiveWriter for blogging is alive and hopefully being revitalized
Posted By RichC on January 6, 2016
This past December, after hearing in July that one of my favorite applications would be givng new life as open source software, Open Live Writer was released. The parent application was retired by Microsoft a few year ago but has remained available. Unfortunately after my move to Windows 10 and issues with sFTP support, it first required a work-around and then unfortunately stopped working — most likely due to it being part of the “report back to Mom” Live Essentials?
Thankfully the committed group of programmers, users and Microsoft people continued to push to have the source code opened under MIT licensing and it is now being supported voluntarily. After losing LiveWriter, I installed Open Live Writer on my iMac Win10 Parallels install and am giving it a try (keeping the old Microsoft LiveWriter on my 2007 Gateway notebook and still have it on my even older Gateway that still runs in a pinch).
This is the first post with it, so we’ll see how it goes?
PS. I’m already missing the spelling check module but a big thanks Microsoft and to the volunteers working on this project.
Authors and Contributors
Below are some of the people who have helped to bring you Open Live Writer.
- Alex Kolisnychenko
- Asish Varghese
- Ben Pham
- Daniel Feies
- Dariusz Parys
- Eilon Lipton
- Harsh
- John Gardner
- Jon Gallant
- Jon Galloway
- Jose Angel Fernandez Rodriguez
- Kamran Saeed
- Kirill Osenkov
- Luis Guerrero
- M3 Sweatt
- Martin Woodward
- Michael Cummings
- Rob Dolin
- Robert Standefer
- Robin Ginn
- Sanil Singh Tomar
- Scott Hanselman
- Scott Lovegrove
- Tim Heuer
- Will Duff
Archive: Backing up Raspberry Pi SD img using Mac Terminal
Posted By RichC on January 5, 2016
After tweaking the 64GB micro SD card to get a few things set up on the Raspberry Pi,
it sounded like a good idea to backup an image. The best option sounds like using the Terminal and command line instructions … but be aware, even with rdisk, it take a while.
An example from raspberrypi.stackexchange.com below:
On the Mac you don’t want to be using /dev/diskn. You should use /dev/rdiskn instead, where n is the number the OS uses to identify your SD card. This decreases the time required to copy by a huge amount.
So for the optimal backup process on a Mac, I would recommend doing the following:
Run diskutil list, and find the disk corresponding to your Raspberry Pi’s SD card:
Clearly /dev/disk1 is my 8GB SD card, the Linux partition name is also a bit of a clue.
However, instead of using /dev/disk1 with dd, you should use /dev/rdisk1, like so:
sudo dd if=/dev/rdisk1 of=/path/to/backup.img bs=1m
And to restore it, just swap the if (input file), and of (output file) parameters:
sudo dd if=/path/to/backup.img of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m
Or, with gzip, to save a substantial amount of space:
sudo dd if=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m | gzip > /path/to/backup.gz
And, to copy the image back onto the SD:
gzip -dc /path/to/backup.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=1m
For more information, see this wiki page.
Banished words, phrases and slang from 2015
Posted By RichC on January 5, 2016
It has been an annual tradition to look at the overused terms, words and slang at the end of a year … this years Lake Superior State University’s list wasn’t that impressive in my opinion, but tradition continues:
BAE
One of the top nominees.
“Meaning ‘before anyone else.’ How stupid! Stop calling your boyfriend ‘bae’.” — Evie Dunagan, Manheim, Penn.
“It’s overused. I heard someone refer to their ramen noodles as ‘bae’! If I was putting someone ‘before anything else,’ I would respect them enough to use their name.” — S. Thoms, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
“The most annoying term of affection to show up in years. Also, the concept ‘before anybody else,’ developed AFTER the word became popular. Reason enough for it to be banned. – Blan Wright, Sugar Hill, Ga.
“A dumb, annoying word.” — James Becker, Holly, Mich.
“I’d rather be called ‘babe’ than ‘bae’ any day.” — Alexsis Outwater, Bronson, Mich.
POLAR VORTEX
LSSU got a head start on this one last spring, when it burned a snowman named Mr. Polar Vortex during its 44th annual Snowman Burning.
“Wasn’t it called ‘winter’ just a few years ago? — Dawn Farrell, Kanata, Ont., Canada
“Enough with the over-sensationalized words to describe weather!” — A. Prescott, Oshawa, Ont., Canada
“I think most, if not all can agree that we would prefer to avoid the polar vortex in the future, both in name and in embodiment.” — Christine Brace, Westminster, Md.
“What happened to ‘cold snap’? Not descriptive enough?” –Trevor Fenton, Edinburgh, U.K.
Kenneth Ross of Glastonbury, Conn., and Bob Priddy of Jefferson City, Mo., were among many who saw this storming in last January.
“Less than a week into the new year and it’s the most overused, meaningless word in the media,” said Ross.
Priddy noted that it quickly jumped from the weather forecast to other areas, as he said he knew it would: “Today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorializes about a ‘political vortex.'”
HACK
Banished for over-use and mis-use.
“Suddenly things that once would have been called ‘tips’ are now being called ‘hacks.’ It can’t be because the one word is shorter or easier to say; and the actual accepted meanings of ‘hack’ have nothing to do with suggestions for doing tasks better or more efficiently — quite the opposite, really.” – Sharla Hulsey, Sac City, Iowa.
“This word is totally over-used and mis-used. What they really mean is ‘tip’ or ‘short cut,’ but clearly it is not a ‘hack,’ as it involves no legal or ethical impropriety or breach of security.” – Peter P. Nieckarz Jr., Sylva, N.C.
“I just received an e-mail for a book called ‘Marriage Hacks.’ I have seen articles about life hacks, home improvement hacks, car hacks, furniture hacks, painting hacks, work hacks and pretty much any other hack you can think of. There are probably even hacking hacks.” – Chellsea Mastroine, Canton, Ohio.
“Life hack, this hack, that hack…stop with the hacks!” — Tim Jackson, Crystal Lake, Ill.
SKILL SET
“Why use two words when one will do? We already have a perfectly good word in ‘skills’ (ending with an s, not a z).” – Chip Lupo, Columbia, S.C.
“A skill is a skill — that is it. Phrases such as ‘I have the skill set to do that properly’ or anything resembling that phrase, shows the speaker is seriously lacking skills in the art of conversation. Please try this, ‘I have the skill… do you have the skills… this requires certain skills… he is very skilled… that was a skillful maneuver… See? No need for a skill set.” – Stephanie Hamm-Wieczkiewicz, Litfield Park, Ariz.
SWAG
Many nominations over the years.
“The word ‘swag’ has become a shapeless, meaningless word used in various forms (such as ‘swaggy’) but with no real depth.” – Bailey Anderson, Washington, Iowa.
“Whether it’s a ‘free gift’ (banished in 1988) or droopy clothing, this word is neither useful nor fancy.” – Jeff Drake, Saint Albans, West Va.
“The word has become so overused that it is not ‘swag’ to not use the word ‘swag.'” – Devin, Farwell, Mich.
“Because I am tired of hearing swag to describe anything on the face of the planet. By the way, your website is so ‘swag.'” – Alex, Roanoke, Va.
FOODIE
Many nominations over the past several years. Is it a Michigan thing?
“It’s ridiculous. Do we call people who like wine ‘winies’ or beer lovers ‘beeries’?” – Randall Chamberlain, Traverse City, Mich.
“‘Someone who enjoys food’ applies to everyone on Earth. What’s next? ‘Oh, I’m an airie; I just love to breathe.’ ‘Could we do it at 11, instead? I’m kind of a sleepie.'” – Andy Poe, Marquette, Mich.
“I crave good sleep, too, but that does not make me a sleepie. News flash: We ALL like food.” – Graydeon DeCamp, Elk Rapids, Mich.
“I’ve heard of cooks and chefs, and gourmets and gourmands, but what the heck is a ‘foodie’? A person who likes food? A person who eats food? A person who knows what food is? Sounds like ‘foodie’ is a synonym for ‘everybody.’ Foodies around the world agree; let’s banish this term.” – Steve Szilagyi, Mason, Mich.
CURATE / CURATED
“It used to have a special significance reserved mainly for fine art and museums. Now everything is curated. Monthly food and clothing subscription boxes claim to be finely ‘curated.’ Instead of abusing curated, why don’t they say what they really mean: ‘We did an online search and posted the first 25 items we found’ or the ‘curated selection of items in your box this month are a mix of paid placements and products that have failed to sell elsewhere.'” – Samantha McCormick, Kirkland, Wash.
“Example on the ‘Net today: ‘Get a curated box of high-end treats and toys (all tailored to the size of your pup) shipped right to your doggie door.’ – I have heard and read the word ‘curated’ far too many times this year.” – Deb, Portland, Ore.
“A pretentious way of saying ‘selected.’ It’s enormously overused.” – Kristi Hoerauf, San Francisco, Calif.
FRIEND-RAISING
“A horrible word that conflates the real meaning of friendship with usually hidden motivations to get at the other person’s pockets.” – Mary Been, Sidnaw, Mich.
“The word suggests that we develop relationships not for the simple value of the person we call ‘friend,’ for the pleasure of being in a community of people and for the simple joys of sharing bonds of affection and common care, but that we instead develop these relationships out of some sort of expectation of a monetary reward.” – Collette Coullard, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
CRA-CRA
That’s just crazy.
Early in 2014, Steve Kaufman of Houston, Tex., could be heard screaming, “I’ve only heard it twice and already know by the end of the year I’ll want to scream.”
“Short-form for ‘crazy’ and sometimes just one ‘cra.’ I hear kids (including my 6 yr. old) saying it all the time, e.g. ‘That snowstorm yesterday was ‘cra-cra.'” – Esther Proulx, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
“I’m sick of hearing myself say this! Must be banned!” – Roxanne Werly, Traverse City, Mich.
ENHANCED INTERROGATION
“A shameful euphemism for torture.” – David Bristol, Byron Center, Mich..
TAKEAWAY
“It’s used all too frequently on news programs, as in, ‘What is your ‘takeaway’ on (a given situation.’ ‘What is our ‘takeaway’ on Congress’ vote?’ ‘Is there any ‘takeaway’ on the recent riots?’ I have heard Jon Stewart use it. I’ve heard Charlie Rose use it, as well as countless numbers of news talking heads, usually for all the wrong reasons. For me, a takeaway is a sports term, where one team is controlling the ball (or puck) and the other steals it, or took it away – a ‘takeaway.’ In the U.K., ‘takeaway’ food is known as ‘to go’ here in the Colonies. – John Prokop, Oakland, Calif.
-NATION
A suffering sports suffix.
“Purely with reference to a specific teams’ fans, this word needs to go. It’s the following of a sports franchise, not a group seeking independence, recognition and legitimacy; Not even if it’s the Cubs.” – Tim Wilcox, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Canada
“Although a devout Wisconsin sports fan, I do not belong to Packer-Nation, Badger-Nation, Phoenix-Nation, or Brewer-Nation. Further, I am not aware of any team or mascot that has the carrying capacity to be a nation.” – Kelly Frawley, Waunakee, Wisc.
“Nothing more self-aggrandizing than sport team fans referring to themselves as a nation! What’s next? My team – Continent, World, Galaxy, Universe!” – Curt Chambers, Seattle, Wash.
“Both politics and sports teams have overused this n-word to describe their fans or viewers.” – Ken Hornack, Ormond Beach, Fla.
The Chimney repairs continue while I play with the RPi
Posted By RichC on January 4, 2016
This post is more to test a “borrowed” wireless keypad that is set up on the Raspberry Pi — I’m not fond of the Logitech K400r.
The photo to the left is part of the ongoing roof project and continuing chimney repair. In order test the Raspberry Pi’s image serving ability, I uploaded it from my iPhone, resized with the opensource Mirage and linked put it in a web serving directory while running nginx as the web server (temporarily). I’ve been playing with the nginx web server instead of the more familiar Apache that I run for work to see how a lightweight Raspberry Pi webserver works in a low power and lightweight computing situation.
It is fun, but not necessarily useful but I do enjoy playing with this inexpensive “toy” computer.
How many times did our dog go in and out?
Posted By RichC on January 3, 2016
The long holiday weekend with decent weather gave me a chance to knock out a few chores. One was to clean and close up Tootsie‘s dog door. I realized that over her 17 year life that she was in and out of this Plexidor opening a couple dozen times a day … at least! It’s amazing just how well it held up … if you need a doggie door, check them out.
The 1958 Packard Hawk passes from father to son
Posted By RichC on January 2, 2016
Guess what arrived for my new “old” car? Yup … the historical plates after last weeks title transfer. The registration has finally been updated for my late father’s 1958 Packard Hawk (you’ll need to think Studebaker Hawk if you haven’t seen the last Packard badge car).
I’ve posted previously from a couple car shows with my dad … but now its my turn to carry on the family tradition.
The 1958 Packard Hawk was the sportiest of the four Packard-badged Studebakers produced in the final year of Packard production. The Packard plant in Detroit, Michigan had been leased to Curtiss-Wright (and would be soon sold to them), and Packard models in this dying-gasp year were all rebadged and retrimmed Studebaker products. The 1958 Packard Hawk was essentially a Studebaker Golden Hawk 400 with a fiberglass front end and a modified deck lid.
Instead of the Studebaker Hawk’s upright Mercedes-style grille, the Packard Hawk had a wide, low opening just above the front bumper and covering the whole width of the car. Above this, a smoothly sloping nose, and hood—reminiscent of the 1953 Studebakers, but with a bulge as on the Golden Hawk—accommodated the engine’s McCulloch supercharger that gave the Studebaker 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8 a total of 275 bhp (205 kW). At the rear, the sides of the fins were coated in metallized PET film, giving them a shiny metallic gold appearance. A fake spare-tire bulge adorned the 1953-style Studebaker deck lid. ‘PACKARD’ was spelled out in capitals across the nose, with a gold ‘Packard’ emblem in script—along with a Hawk badge—on the trunk lid and fins.
The interior was full leather, with full instrumentation in an engine-turned dash. As on early aircraft and custom boats, padded armrests were mounted outside the windows, a rare touch.
The styling was definitely controversial, often described as ‘vacuum-cleaner’ or ‘catfish’ by detractors. The styling has come to be appreciated more today than in its debut. Only 588 were sold, with Packard’s impending demise a likely contributing factor. Most were equipped with the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. Approximately 28 were produced with the B-W T85 3-speed w/overdrive manual transmission. Studebaker-Packard was the first manufacturer to popularize the limited-slip differential, which they termed Twin-Traction. Most Packard Hawks came with TT. It was certainly the fastest Packard ever sold, since it shared the majority of its components with Studebaker’s Golden Hawk. The price was $3995, about $700 higher than the Studebaker model, but with a more luxurious interior. Electric window-lifts and power seats were optional extras.
Its rarity and status as the best-regarded of the ‘Packardbaker’ final-year cars have made the Packard Hawk quite collectible. Values are roughly double those of the equivalent Studebaker, although they are still low by comparison with Corvettes and Thunderbirds. Because a Studebaker drivetrain was used, mechanical parts are more readily available, although body and trim parts are more difficult-to-impossible to find. While it is a unique car, current restoration costs almost always exceed the selling price.
Specifications at LINK
EDIT: Adding a “squawks” found in my dad’s notes.
TechFriday: I like the RaspberryPi, but next is the PINE A64
Posted By RichC on January 1, 2016
If you enjoy playing with inexpensive computer gadgets and perhaps getting them a LinuxOS Raspberry Pi … or maybe a PINE A64??? Check out the inexpensive Single board Super Computer … and under $100 computer set-up and top of the line smartphone might be all the tech many of us need?
PINE A64 compared with Raspberry Pi
PINE A64 compared with C.H.I.P and Arduino
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.