Search found 37 matches

by admin
Mon Jun 10, 2024 12:38 am
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: The Black Box Project
Replies: 0
Views: 381

The Black Box Project

On the heels of Dana Mattioli's The Everything War I recently had a look at The Black Box Project by Frank Pasquale. Woah!
by admin
Thu May 02, 2024 11:58 pm
Forum: Computers
Topic: History of USENET
Replies: 0
Views: 448

History of USENET

Wow! Over the BBS years I have found this to be an elusive topic. The issue being discussed now is the origin(s) of the word cisgender which is a sort of corollary to "transgender" https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/may-2017/tracing-terminology-res...
by admin
Sun Mar 10, 2024 2:45 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: Steele dossier
Replies: 0
Views: 624

Steele dossier

Wow, the Christopher Steele story still had legs in early March! Tr--p kept saying "there was no collusion, no collusion" with the former Soviet Union but quite separately he sued the company of the former M16 officer. A British court dismissed the lawsuit, with costs to Steele's group!!
by admin
Sun Feb 18, 2024 8:06 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: What's on your reading list?
Replies: 1
Views: 10466

Re: What's on your reading list?

I haven't finished "Teardown", but I did read "109 East Palace" which is based a memoir of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project in New Mexico. I also picked up a memoir called "Dead On Time" by Jean Claude Guiet who was a junior OSS operative in WW2. Pretty good! Especi...
by admin
Mon Jul 03, 2023 9:52 pm
Forum: California Dreaming
Topic: California wildfires
Replies: 1
Views: 8140

Re: California wildfires

Summer 2023 and the grayed-out skies in TORONTO and the eastern U.S. - what a difference a few years makes. Straight out of Cormac McCathy and "The Road".

I actually had a dear friend pass away, in California and asthma/the wildfires were a factor in her death.
by admin
Wed Feb 22, 2023 7:47 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: The Ugly Truth about Facebook
Replies: 0
Views: 8104

The Ugly Truth about Facebook

The Ugly Truth by Sheera Fenkel and Cecilia Kang. Scary! Reviewed a couple of years ago in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/books/review/the-ugly-truth-sheera-frenkel-and-cecilia-kang.html . authors-frenkel-kang.jpg . See also Zucked by Roger McNamee. Woah! Author says he cont...
by admin
Sun Feb 12, 2023 11:05 am
Forum: California Dreaming
Topic: Joshua Tree - item about a park ranger
Replies: 0
Views: 7526

Joshua Tree - item about a park ranger

Here's a nice item about Joshua Tree National Monument in southern California, that was shared on "Pocket" in late January 2023
by admin
Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:29 pm
Forum: Politics
Topic: V3 super-cannon in WW2
Replies: 0
Views: 8189

V3 super-cannon in WW2

Funny how the territorial disputes of the early 1900's eventually led to this stuff. Technology on the scale of the pyramids! Like the original jet engine, it seems to be based, at least in part, on English research. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Sprenggranate4481.jpg https://e...
by admin
Sat Jan 29, 2022 10:00 pm
Forum: Assorted topics
Topic: (Aging society and death) excellent item about death doulas in TIME magazine
Replies: 0
Views: 9834

(Aging society and death) excellent item about death doulas in TIME magazine

I was very impressed with this item which was highlighted for me by "Pocket".

https://time.com/6128469/death-doulas-c ... ket-newtab

Roman Kowalczuk - SYSOP
by admin
Mon Aug 09, 2021 2:41 am
Forum: Computers
Topic: Oldest computer?
Replies: 1
Views: 6436

Re: Oldest computer?

I had never heard of this guy prior to the summer of 2021!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Zuse
by admin
Sat May 29, 2021 3:18 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: R.I.P. Eric Carle
Replies: 0
Views: 10791

R.I.P. Eric Carle

"As It Happens" had a poignant send-off for Eric Carle this week. The author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar apparently passed away in Massachusetts, where a number of authors of children's books live? The much-celebrated Carle was 91. https://www.cbc.ca/aih . eric carle hungry caterpillar....
by admin
Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:28 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: "Forbidden Area"
Replies: 0
Views: 10141

"Forbidden Area"

Just finished Pat Frank's 1956 "Forbidden Area" . Woah, scary. Way ahead of its time! I thought it was better in many ways than "Red Alert" by Peter Bryant - which spawned the movies Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove Quibbles: my copy from Google Books (in the Play Store) was badly s...
by admin
Fri Sep 18, 2020 9:33 pm
Forum: California Dreaming
Topic: California wildfires
Replies: 1
Views: 8140

California wildfires

The last few weeks saw tremendous damage from fires in California and further up the coast in the U.S. northwest.

I think I read somewhere that said the largest "forest" of Joshua Trees took a hit.
by admin
Mon Jan 27, 2020 12:35 am
Forum: Computer graphics and photography
Topic: Rare mention of 70mm as "a vanishing film format"
Replies: 0
Views: 10442

Rare mention of 70mm as "a vanishing film format"

You don't see too much about photo and film preservation in the mainstream media... this item from 2018 is about a guy who bumped into a film preservation executive in a lab, and from there he ended up working on archival copies of "2001: A Space Odyssey" to bring the film up to speed for ...
by admin
Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:56 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: "The Rock From Mars"
Replies: 1
Views: 8219

Re: "The Rock From Mars"

Minor update, mid-October 2019: I noticed that the rock from Mars was covered in several articles in the New York Times. However casual browsers will not see this material as only subscribers get to see the "Times Machine" digital archives.
by admin
Thu Aug 22, 2019 12:53 am
Forum: Computers
Topic: Oldest computer?
Replies: 1
Views: 6436

Oldest computer?

Wow, I came across this link while looking at web pages about British tech companies that were active in the early 1950's: English Electric and Marconi, that sort of thing. This one has got to be a keeper! https://www.leo-computers.org.uk/reports.html They also link to newer stuff like the Pinkerton...
by admin
Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:06 pm
Forum: Book club / reading list
Topic: "The Rock From Mars"
Replies: 1
Views: 8219

"The Rock From Mars"

I'm currently reading "The Rock From Mars" by Kathy Sawyer. Wow. One of the guys involved was a senior geologist during NASA's Apollo program; he spent time with Neil Armstrong before the first moon landing, coaching Armstrong on what to pick up. The book also touches on the problem of the...
by admin
Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:40 pm
Forum: Social justice issues
Topic: Marc: category links?
Replies: 3
Views: 10456

Re: Marc: category links?

Riiiighhht... and maybe the HTML could force a smaller font, like perhaps a " RELATED LINKS " sort of thing. So it would almost be like a little icon or sticky note.
by admin
Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:18 pm
Forum: Social justice issues
Topic: Marc: category links?
Replies: 3
Views: 10456

Marc: category links?

I wonder if a static page of related links, or a similar device, might make a good adjunct or accessory for each forum. For example I believe I deleted the "Water issues" forum but then I came across URLs like Waterkeeper and The Thirst Project . The latter's logo needs work but anyway.
by admin
Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:46 pm
Forum: California Dreaming
Topic: Olivera St.
Replies: 0
Views: 9352

Olivera St.

I've been to this "famous" restaurant near the souvenir shops... I was amazed that you could find the exact place in Google by searching for "Olvera Street", "Union Station" and other keywords. Also, a stock photo site offers pictures of the market! I have never been ab...
by admin
Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:33 am
Forum: Computer graphics and photography
Topic: Remote controls - cheap?!
Replies: 3
Views: 8327

Re: Remote controls - cheap?!

MM> Like this? Hard to say... it was a two part, techie or "transistor radio" looking deal. I went by the screenshot just now on my cell phone but it got away from me. Anyway the price was something like $27. I have never really had anything other than a cable release for my Pentax, and a ...
by admin
Fri Jun 14, 2019 3:46 pm
Forum: Computer graphics and photography
Topic: Remote controls - cheap?!
Replies: 3
Views: 8327

Remote controls - cheap?!

I saw a remote control on Amazon for like $30! Supposedly fits many different cameras so definitely a good sign.

I'm still glowing from that little tripod/selfie stick that I scored, that has a Bluetooth remote.
by admin
Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:10 pm
Forum: Assorted topics
Topic: Computer history on video
Replies: 0
Views: 10295

Computer history on video

A sysop's diary: I streamed a fascinating documentary over the weekend. " 8-bit Generation " is currently available on Kanopy. This one has actual video of Jack Tramiel reminiscing about the U.S. army, calculators, MOS Tech and the early days of Commodore. Steve Wozniak and Chuck Peddle pr...
by admin
Thu Jun 06, 2019 12:11 am
Forum: Assorted topics
Topic: Here kitty... POUNCE!
Replies: 0
Views: 9657

Here kitty... POUNCE!

Feral cats item in PEOPLE magazine the other day.
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feral-cats-item.jpg
by admin
Thu May 23, 2019 11:00 pm
Forum: Other Boards Section
Topic: Remember Seth Hamilton?
Replies: 0
Views: 11146

Remember Seth Hamilton?

One of the last BBS's we looked at, RoboBOARD by Seth Hamilton still has a couple of mentions in "informercial" style web pages it seems. One of these is stored at the Presidio in northern California. Not sure what sort of attempt at "branding" this is; the spotty nature of the I...
by admin
Tue May 21, 2019 10:10 pm
Forum: Animation
Topic: Related links
Replies: 0
Views: 11197

Related links

Of possible interest. Most of these are taken from a tutorial book that I picked up at the library. They were discarding it! https://www.animationmagazine.net/ https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony http://animex.tees.ac.uk/ http://hiroanim.org/index_en.php https://www.siggraph.org https://www.re...