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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' ?>
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  6.  
  7. <channel>
  8. <title>Greg's diary</title>
  9. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary.php</link>
  10. <atom:link href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary.xml.php"
  11. rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
  12. <description>Greg Lehey's online diary</description>
  13. <dc:creator />
  14. <dc:date>2024-03-19T13:40:28+11:00</dc:date>
  15. <dc:rights>Copyright 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Greg Lehey</dc:rights>
  16. <!-- for Emacs, this is a -*- mode: fundamental; coding: utf-8 -*- document -->
  17. <!-- temporary file, entries for last 7 days of previous month, used for RSS version -->
  18.  
  19.                  
  20. <item>
  21. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-011845</guid>
  22. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-011845</link>
  23. <category>food</category>
  24. <category>and</category>
  25. <category>drink</category>
  26. <category>opinion</category>
  27. <title>How much lard?</title>
  28.  <description>
  29.    <![CDATA[
  30.    <div align="justify">
  31.      <p>
  32. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/KL-Hokkien-Mee.php">KL Hokkien Mee</a> for breakfast today.  But
  33. the pork I had was extremely fat.  OK, cook it until the fat melts.  But that produced a
  34. whole lot more lard, of course, so much that I was concerned it might spoil the dish:
  35.      </p>
  36.  
  37.        <a id="Photo-0" name="Photo-0"
  38.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=2#Photo-0">
  39.          <img alt="This should be Fat-mee.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_0"
  40.               title="Photo Fat-mee.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  41.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Fat-mee.jpeg"
  42.               width="300" height="225"
  43.           /></a>
  44.  
  45.      <p>
  46. But no, in fact it wasn't too bad.  Maybe a little more lard wouldn't be a bad idea.
  47.      </p>
  48.      </div>
  49.    ]]>
  50.  </description>
  51.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  52.  <dc:date>2024-02-24T01:18:45+00:00</dc:date>
  53. </item>
  54.  
  55.            
  56. <item>
  57. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-012715</guid>
  58. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-012715</link>
  59. <category>animals</category>
  60. <title>Keeping Bruno out</title>
  61.  <description>
  62.    <![CDATA[
  63.    <div align="justify">
  64.      <p>
  65. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Bruno.php">Bruno</a> is quite like <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Rani.php">Rani</a> in that he likes heights.  And that proves to
  66. be one of the main concerns when he's in my office, like here:
  67.      </p>
  68.  
  69.        <a id="Photo-1" name="Photo-1"
  70.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=12#Photo-1">
  71.          <img alt="This should be Bruno.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_1"
  72.               title="Photo Bruno.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  73.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Bruno.jpeg"
  74.               width="300" height="225"
  75.           /></a>
  76.  
  77.      <p>
  78. Will that plastic container stop him from jumping to the next bookcase?  If he lands on it,
  79. it will tip, and he will land on the floor.  He didn't try this time; I'll see if he does in
  80. the future.
  81.      </p>
  82.      </div>
  83.    ]]>
  84.  </description>
  85.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  86.  <dc:date>2024-02-24T01:27:15+00:00</dc:date>
  87. </item>
  88.  
  89.            
  90. <item>
  91. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-012921</guid>
  92. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-012921</link>
  93. <category>general</category>
  94. <category>technology</category>
  95. <category>opinion</category>
  96. <title>Quora revisited</title>
  97.  <description>
  98.    <![CDATA[
  99.    <div align="justify">
  100.      <p>
  101. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quora">Quora</a> seems to be on the way out.
  102. I haven't received any mail this year, and I have barely looked in.  But it's still there.
  103. Today I found a search result pointing to a Quora reply, and while I was there I found a
  104. whole lot of mainly particularly silly questions addressed to me.  The good news is that
  105. there is now a “downvote” selector arrow on all of them, so I can easily downvote questions
  106. like <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-quarter-past-4-on-time">“What is the
  107. quarter past 4 on time?”</a>.
  108.      </p>
  109.  
  110.      <p>
  111. And of course there are the old stupid time questions like <a href="https://www.quora.com/It-is-4-30-PM-in-a-place-whose-longitude-is-40%E2%81%B0E-What-is-the-longitude-of-the-place-Where-is-the-local-time-8-AM">It is 4:30 PM in a place whose longitude is 40⁰E. What is the longitude of the place? Where
  112. is the local time 8 AM?</a>.  Should I answer it?  I have better things to do.
  113.      </p>
  114.  
  115.      <p>
  116. But there were 6 answers to the question, <b><i>all</i></b> wrong.  And the interesting
  117. thing is that there is no such place.  So I answered it, and Quora decided that my reply
  118. would look better with this stupid image, which at least I was able to remove:
  119.      </p>
  120.  
  121.        <a id="Photo-2" name="Photo-2"
  122.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=112#Photo-2">
  123.          <img alt="This should be Quora-nonsense.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_2"
  124.               title="Photo Quora-nonsense.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  125.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Quora-nonsense.jpeg"
  126.               width="346" height="195"
  127.           /></a>
  128.  
  129.      <p>
  130. Somehow they're trying to be silly.  What is the purpose of that blob in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean">Caribbean</a>?
  131.      </p>
  132.      </div>
  133.    ]]>
  134.  </description>
  135.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  136.  <dc:date>2024-02-24T01:29:21+00:00</dc:date>
  137. </item>
  138.  
  139.            
  140. <item>
  141. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-014219</guid>
  142. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-014219</link>
  143. <category>general</category>
  144. <title>Tidying up fallen tree</title>
  145.  <description>
  146.    <![CDATA[
  147.    <div align="justify">
  148.      <p>
  149. Walked past the site of <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?subtitle=Tree%20down!&amp;article=D-20240222-023832#D-20240222-023832">Wednesday's</a> fallen tree today.  They really didn't go to too much trouble:
  150.      </p>
  151.  
  152.      <div align="left">
  153.  <a id="Photo-3" name="Photo-3"
  154.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=1112#Photo-3">
  155.          <img alt="This should be Fallen-tree-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_3"
  156.               title="Photo Fallen-tree-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  157.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Fallen-tree-2.jpeg"
  158.               width="305" height="221"
  159.           /></a>
  160.  <a id="Photo-4" name="Photo-4"
  161.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=11112#Photo-4">
  162.          <img alt="This should be Fallen-tree-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_4"
  163.               title="Photo Fallen-tree-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  164.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Fallen-tree-1.jpeg"
  165.               width="225" height="300"
  166.           /></a>
  167.  <a id="Photo-5" name="Photo-5"
  168.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240223&amp;imagesizes=111112#Photo-5">
  169.          <img alt="This should be Fallen-tree-3.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_5"
  170.               title="Photo Fallen-tree-3.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  171.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240223/small/Fallen-tree-3.jpeg"
  172.               width="300" height="225"
  173.           /></a>
  174.      </div>
  175.  
  176.      <p>
  177. I particularly like the way they wedged a fallen branch between the remaining trunks.
  178. Presumably they had better things to do; they don't normally leave things like that.
  179.      </p>
  180.      </div>
  181.    ]]>
  182.  </description>
  183.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  184.  <dc:date>2024-02-24T01:42:19+00:00</dc:date>
  185. </item>
  186.  
  187.            
  188. <item>
  189. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-015352</guid>
  190. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240224-015352</link>
  191. <category>history</category>
  192. <category>opinion</category>
  193. <title>Nakba: the other side</title>
  194.  <description>
  195.    <![CDATA[
  196.    <div align="justify">
  197.      <p>
  198. As <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?subtitle=Joining%20video%20files&amp;article=D-20240220-012131#D-20240220-012131">planned</a>, after watching the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_Media_Network">Al Jazeera</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/16/ten-films-to-watch-about-the-history-of-the-israel-palestine-conflict">video series</a> about <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/5/23/the-nakba-did-not-start-or-end-in-1948">Al
  199. Nakba</a> <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jan2024.php?subtitle=US-sanctioned%20genocide&amp;article=D-20240121-233903#D-20240121-233903">last month</a>, I've been looking at videos from a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera">Coursera</a> series on the recent history of
  200. the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East">Middle East</a>.  I only
  201. have the videos, and so far I know neither the name of the presenter nor the institution,
  202. but I believe that it's from Israel.  It's very interesting, and of course the viewpoint is
  203. very different from the Al Jazeera series.
  204.      </p>
  205.  
  206.      <p>
  207. So far I have only got to about 1940.  But it's <i>very</i> interesting.  No outright
  208. contradictions (yet), but insights that are interesting.  In particular, by 1930 it seemed
  209. that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist">Zionist</a> dream of a
  210. state in Palestine was failing: immigration levels were far lower than expected, and the
  211. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passfield_white_paper">Passfield white paper</a> showed a much more balanced view of things (and was thus condemned by the Zionists who
  212. claimed that it contradicted the intention of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration">Balfour Declaration</a>, carefully
  213. ignoring the clause “it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may
  214. prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”).
  215.      </p>
  216.  
  217.      <p>
  218. But it wasn't implemented, and a couple of years later a strong impetus for increased
  219. immigration appeared: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler">Adolf
  220. Hitler</a> became the leader of Germany.
  221.      </p>
  222.  
  223.      <p>
  224. The other part of interest was that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_for_Palestine">British Mandate</a> covered what by this time was called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine_(region)">Palestine</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transjordan_(region)">Transjordan</a>.  Why the
  225. division?  According to this series of lectures, to ensure that the Jewish national home was
  226. restricted to Palestine.  This was before any talk of partitioning, but it's worth thinking
  227. about
  228.      </p>
  229.      </div>
  230.    ]]>
  231.  </description>
  232.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  233.  <dc:date>2024-02-24T01:53:52+00:00</dc:date>
  234. </item>
  235.  
  236.                  
  237. <item>
  238. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-004405</guid>
  239. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-004405</link>
  240. <category>technology</category>
  241. <category>health</category>
  242. <category>photography</category>
  243. <category>opinion</category>
  244. <title>More Hugin strangenesses</title>
  245.  <description>
  246.    <![CDATA[
  247.    <div align="justify">
  248.      <p>
  249. It's been <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-oct2023.php?subtitle=The%20new%20hydra&amp;article=D-20231018-033635#D-20231018-033635">four months</a> since I got the new <i>hydra</i>, and I still haven't completed the
  250. transition from <i>eureka</i>.  A surprising number of things have slowed me down, in
  251. particular the number of programs that work on <i>eureka</i> and not on <i>hydra</i>.
  252. notably <a href="http://www.mediathekview.de/">MediathekView</a> and <a href="http://hugin.sourceforge.net"><i>Hugin</i></a>.  MediathekView in particular is
  253. irritating.  It can send URLs to a web browser, but now that they have further broken
  254. <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox"><i>firefox</i></a>, it has to be on the
  255. same system.
  256.      </p>
  257.  
  258.      <p>
  259. In addition, what resolution do I need for my monitors?  <i>hydra:0.1</i> is running at
  260. 3849×2160 (“<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution">4K</a>”), and many
  261. things are hard to read.  But that also relates to my eyes, which I'm planning to have
  262. overhauled Real Soon Now.  So should I wait until I have the new eyes before I do anything?
  263. Maybe.
  264.      </p>
  265.  
  266.      <p>
  267. And <i>Hugin</i>?  Today was my <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/stones-road/exterior.php">house
  268. photo</a> day, and once again I ran <i>Hugin</i> on <i>hydra</i>.  And once again it
  269. produced bad stitching results.  Here the output from <i>hydra</i> and <i>eureka</i> based
  270. on identical inputs, including the project files:
  271.      </p>
  272.  
  273.        <a id="Photo-6" name="Photo-6"
  274.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240224&amp;imagesizes=1111112#Photo-6">
  275.          <img alt="This should be e-from-house-broken.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_6"
  276.               title="Photo e-from-house-broken.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  277.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240224/small/e-from-house-broken.jpeg"
  278.               width="473" height="143"
  279.           /></a>
  280.        <a id="Photo-7" name="Photo-7"
  281.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240224&amp;imagesizes=11111112#Photo-7">
  282.          <img alt="This should be e-from-house.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_7"
  283.               title="Photo e-from-house.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  284.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240224/small/e-from-house.jpeg"
  285.               width="473" height="143"
  286.           /></a>
  287.  
  288.      <p>
  289. I've traced the difference to this one invocation:
  290.      </p>
  291.  
  292.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  293. <div style="text-align:left">
  294.  <tt>
  295. <code><font color="blue">=== grog@hydra (/dev/pts/20)</font> <font color="red">~/Photos/20240224</font> <font color="blue">75</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>hugin_executor &#45;&#45;stitching e&#45;from&#45;house.pto</tt></b></code>
  296.  </tt>
  297. </div>
  298. </blockquote>
  299.  
  300.      <p>
  301. Are there invisible knobs that cause the difference?  And why is it always this view?
  302.      </p>
  303.      </div>
  304.    ]]>
  305.  </description>
  306.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  307.  <dc:date>2024-02-25T00:44:05+00:00</dc:date>
  308. </item>
  309.  
  310.            
  311. <item>
  312. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-005738</guid>
  313. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-005738</link>
  314. <category>technology</category>
  315. <category>opinion</category>
  316. <title>www hangs investigated</title>
  317.  <description>
  318.    <![CDATA[
  319.    <div align="justify">
  320.      <p>
  321. Once again the web server on <i>www.lemis.com</i> hung, round 8:54 this morning.  I've been
  322. keeping output of <i>w(1)</i>, which shows:
  323.      </p>
  324.  
  325.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  326. <div style="text-align:left">
  327.  <tt>
  328. &nbsp;9:44PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:32, 5 users, load averages: 139.65, 71.45, 34.21
  329. <br />&nbsp;9:49PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:37, 5 users, load averages: 2.89, 35.55, 29.94
  330. <br />&nbsp;9:54PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:42, 5 users, load averages: 0.69, 13.46, 21.24
  331. <br />&nbsp;9:59PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:47, 5 users, load averages: 0.30, 5.09, 14.95
  332. <br />10:04PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:52, 5 users, load averages: 0.22, 2.09, 10.66
  333. <br />10:09PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 13:57, 5 users, load averages: 0.24, 0.93, 7.56
  334. <br />10:14PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 14:02, 5 users, load averages: 0.32, 0.56, 5.38
  335. <br />10:19PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 14:07, 5 users, load averages: 0.43, 0.47, 3.88
  336. <br />10:24PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 14:12, 5 users, load averages: 0.44, 0.52, 2.87
  337. <br />10:29PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 14:17, 5 users, load averages: 0.32, 0.43, 2.15
  338. <br />10:34PM &nbsp;up 331 days, 14:22, 5 users, load averages: 19.31, 5.76, 3.63
  339. <br />
  340.  </tt>
  341. </div>
  342. </blockquote>
  343.  
  344.      <p>
  345. Times are in UTC, tastefully in 12 hour clock yesterday evening.  So the load average hit
  346. 140 and then quickly fell back to 0.69—<i>if</i> I look at the 1 minute average.  But the
  347. other two columns are purportedly 5 and 15 minute averages.  So at 22:09 the 5 minute
  348. average would have been from 22:04 to 22:09, where the 1 minute average was way below 1.
  349. But it was still 2.09.  And at the same time the 15 minute average should have been between
  350. 21:54 and 22:09, also way below 1, but I get a value of 7.56.  Is this a bug?
  351.      </p>
  352.  
  353.      <p>
  354. In any case, I found out at 22:34, and once again the load average shot up.
  355.      </p>
  356.  
  357.      <p>
  358. What do I do?  I can change the parameter passing from <tt>GET</tt> to <tt>POST</tt>, but
  359. I'm not sure it would make any difference.  Looking at old diary entries, in this case
  360. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-may2008.php">May 2008</a>, I see things like:
  361.      </p>
  362.  
  363.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  364. <div style="text-align:left">
  365.  <tt>
  366. .222.197.200 &#45; &#45; [20/Feb/2024:22:50:45 +0000] "GET /grog/diary&#45;may2008.php?topics=popccopccopcaopccopchopcpopccopccopcc HTTP/1.1" 200 192543 "&#45;" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/116.0.0.0 Safari/537.36"
  367. <br />8.219.206.182 &#45; &#45; [20/Feb/2024:22:52:44 +0000] "GET /grog/diary&#45;may2008.php?topics=copccopccopcpopchopchopcpopcaopcpopcaopccopchopccopccopccopcc HTTP/1.1" 200 194803 "&#45;" "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/116.0.0.0 Safari/537.36"
  368. <br />
  369.  </tt>
  370. </div>
  371. </blockquote>
  372.  
  373.      <p>
  374. But they're all from different systems.  Changing parameter passing won't help there.  And
  375. there are a ridiculous number of them.  Just for this month I get, over a 24 hour period,
  376.      </p>
  377.  
  378.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  379. <div style="text-align:left">
  380.  <tt>
  381. <code><font color="blue">=== grog@lax (/dev/pts/3)</font> <font color="red">~</font> <font color="blue">3</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>grep may2008 /var/log/www/www.lemis.com.log | wc &#45;l</tt></b></code>
  382. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; 10980
  383.  </tt>
  384. </div>
  385. </blockquote>
  386.  
  387.      <p>
  388. That's one request every 8 seconds—for a diary entry that is 16 years old!  And there are
  389. something like 380 different diary entries.  No wonder the server is overloaded.
  390.      </p>
  391.      </div>
  392.    ]]>
  393.  </description>
  394.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  395.  <dc:date>2024-02-25T00:57:38+00:00</dc:date>
  396. </item>
  397.  
  398.            
  399. <item>
  400. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-011209</guid>
  401. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-011209</link>
  402. <category>food</category>
  403. <category>and</category>
  404. <category>drink</category>
  405. <title>Raclette quantities</title>
  406.  <description>
  407.    <![CDATA[
  408.    <div align="justify">
  409.      <p>
  410. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raclette">Raclette</a> for dinner this
  411. evening.  How much do we eat?  How do we prepare the right quantities?
  412.      </p>
  413.  
  414.      <p>
  415. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> cooked 3 potatoes.  She's too polite to weigh them,
  416. but my guess would be 450 g (coincidentally an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoirdupois">avoirdupois</a> pound).  Far too little!
  417. And how much cheese?  How much ham?
  418.      </p>
  419.  
  420.      <p>
  421. More to the point, how many trays do we fill?  This time I counted: I ate 6.  And Yvonne ate
  422. three.  Half with tomato, half with ham, of which we had ample leftovers.  And we had just a
  423. little potato left over, so at least that quantity was correct.
  424.      </p>
  425.      </div>
  426.    ]]>
  427.  </description>
  428.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  429.  <dc:date>2024-02-25T01:12:09+00:00</dc:date>
  430. </item>
  431.  
  432.                  
  433. <item>
  434. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-234554</guid>
  435. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240225-234554</link>
  436. <category>general</category>
  437. <category>opinion</category>
  438. <title>Bushfire?</title>
  439.  <description>
  440.    <![CDATA[
  441.    <div align="justify">
  442.      <p>
  443. At breakfast the sun was shining, but there was a certain amount of haze.  Dust?  It's been
  444. dry lately.  Or bushfire?  Fired up this horrible <a href="https://emergency.vic.gov.au/">VicEmergency</a> app.  “There is one incident in your
  445. watch zone”.  OK, select, wait for it to drop to 0.  But no, there <i>was</i> an incident:
  446.      </p>
  447.  
  448.        <a id="Photo-8" name="Photo-8"
  449.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=111111112#Photo-8">
  450.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_8"
  451.               title="Photo Bushfire-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  452.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Bushfire-1.jpeg"
  453.               width="177" height="384"
  454.           /></a>
  455.        <a id="Photo-9" name="Photo-9"
  456.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=1111111112#Photo-9">
  457.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-1-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_9"
  458.               title="Photo Bushfire-1-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  459.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Bushfire-1-detail.jpeg"
  460.               width="320" height="211"
  461.           /></a>
  462.  
  463.      <p>
  464. As the magpie flies that's only about 850 m from where we are (tastefully indicated by the
  465. binocular symbol).  But we've <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-dec2015.php?subtitle=Bushfire!&amp;article=D-20151219-234353#D-20151219-234353">seen that before</a>, a little to the north.  And it proved to be a false alarm.  But
  466. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> was worried, so after breakfast (I was able to hold
  467. her back that long) we set off to take a look.  No, it wasn't Wendy Mclelland's house (here
  468. on the left), but further up the road:
  469.      </p>
  470.  
  471.        <a id="Photo-10" name="Photo-10"
  472.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=11111111112#Photo-10">
  473.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-4.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_10"
  474.               title="Photo Bushfire-4.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  475.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Bushfire-4.jpeg"
  476.               width="340" height="198"
  477.           /></a>
  478.        <a id="Photo-11" name="Photo-11"
  479.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=111111111112#Photo-11">
  480.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-6.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_11"
  481.               title="Photo Bushfire-6.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  482.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Bushfire-6.jpeg"
  483.               width="300" height="225"
  484.           /></a>
  485.  
  486.      <p>
  487. Clearly they were already finished.  Yvonne got out and talked to the driver:
  488.      </p>
  489.  
  490.        <a id="Photo-12" name="Photo-12"
  491.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=1111111111112#Photo-12">
  492.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-7.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_12"
  493.               title="Photo Bushfire-7.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  494.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Bushfire-7.jpeg"
  495.               width="300" height="225"
  496.           /></a>
  497.  
  498.      <p>
  499. False alarm, like 8 years ago.  And within 30 minutes VicEmergency deleted the report.  No
  500. follow-up: it was as if it had never happened.  What are the people to think who saw the
  501. report and couldn't find it any more?
  502.      </p>
  503.  
  504.      <p>
  505. As if to make that point, there was another incident later in the evening, in Melaleuca Road
  506. in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield,_Victoria">Enfield</a>.  That's
  507. further away, about 12 km, but still “local”.  Where on Melaleuca Road?  Nowhere!  This
  508. incident also disappeared.
  509.      </p>
  510.  
  511.      <p>
  512. Later still, I received email:
  513.      </p>
  514.  
  515.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  516. <div style="text-align:left">
  517.  <tt>
  518. Community Update for Air Quality in your watch zone: Heres
  519. <br />This Community Information message is being issued for smoke across Central and Southern Victoria.
  520. <br />
  521. <br />You will see or smell smoke across parts of Southern and Central Victoria.
  522. <br />This smoke is a result of the large bushfire at Mount Buangor National Park.
  523. <br />The intensity of smoke from the fire has reduced since the peak on Thursday, likely indicating that temperatures of the fire has reduced, however the lower temperature may mean that smoke may not be travelling high and could have a greater ground level impact and be smoky or hazy in your area.
  524. <br />
  525.  </tt>
  526. </div>
  527. </blockquote>
  528.  
  529.      <p>
  530. Clearly they're talking about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Buangor_State_Park">Mount Buangor State Park</a>,
  531. which is what they have been calling “Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst,
  532. Eversley, Glenlogie, Glenpatrick, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, and 2 more...”.  With some
  533. difficulty it's possible that the “2 more...” are called “Raglan”, a text that would have
  534. fitted without that obfuscation.
  535.      </p>
  536.  
  537.      <p>
  538. And yes, the first sentence was truncated.  <b><i>Sigh</i></b>.
  539.      </p>
  540.      </div>
  541.    ]]>
  542.  </description>
  543.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  544.  <dc:date>2024-02-25T23:45:54+00:00</dc:date>
  545. </item>
  546.  
  547.            
  548. <item>
  549. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-004148</guid>
  550. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-004148</link>
  551. <category>technology</category>
  552. <title>www overload: increasing?</title>
  553.  <description>
  554.    <![CDATA[
  555.    <div align="justify">
  556.      <p>
  557. Unexpected mail today:
  558.      </p>
  559.  
  560.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  561. <div style="text-align:left">
  562.  <tt>
  563. Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2024 10:08:48 GMT
  564. <br />From: Mail Delivery Subsystem &lt;MAILER&#45;DAEMON@lax.lemis.com&gt;
  565. <br />To: groggyhimself@lax.lemis.com
  566. <br />Subject: Warning: could not send message for past 4 hours
  567.  </tt>
  568. </div>
  569. </blockquote>
  570.  
  571.      <p>
  572. <i>lax.lemis.com</i> is the overloaded web server.  And the message to which it referred
  573. didn't finally get sent until nearly 12 hours after it was submitted:
  574.      </p>
  575.  
  576.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  577. <div style="text-align:left">
  578.  <tt>
  579. Received: from lax.lemis.com (localhost [127.0.0.1])
  580. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;by lax.lemis.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3D3B3280BF
  581. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;for &lt;groggyhimself@lax.lemis.com&gt;; Sun, 25 Feb 2024 12:49:50 +0000 (UTC)
  582. <br />Received: (from groggyhimself@localhost)
  583. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;by lax.lemis.com (8.15.2/8.15.2/Submit) id 41P0wvpZ054217;
  584. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:58:57 GMT
  585. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;(envelope&#45;from groggyhimself)
  586. <br />
  587.  </tt>
  588. </div>
  589. </blockquote>
  590.  
  591.      <p>
  592. So why did the second one get through first?  But clearly I need to do something about the
  593. system.
  594.      </p>
  595.      </div>
  596.    ]]>
  597.  </description>
  598.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  599.  <dc:date>2024-02-26T00:41:48+00:00</dc:date>
  600. </item>
  601.  
  602.            
  603. <item>
  604. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-004814</guid>
  605. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-004814</link>
  606. <category>food</category>
  607. <category>and</category>
  608. <category>drink</category>
  609. <category>opinion</category>
  610. <title>Still more cooking</title>
  611.  <description>
  612.    <![CDATA[
  613.    <div align="justify">
  614.      <p>
  615. Chinese <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/beef-with-orange.php">beef with broccoli and orange</a> for dinner tonight.  And since it was there, also asparagus.
  616.      </p>
  617.  
  618.      <p>
  619. How do you prepare asparagus Chinese style?  I've never had it.  In fact, it's pretty much
  620. what you might expect, modulo the very short cooking times.  I looked and found a number of
  621. recipes that were all pretty much in agreement, and ultimately found this recipe:
  622.      </p>
  623.  
  624.      <iframe width="300"
  625.            height="225"
  626.            src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OJsaFKTkl5A"
  627. allowfullscreen
  628.            frameborder="0" >
  629.     </iframe>
  630.  
  631.      <p>
  632. The quantities are hard to convert, but what she calls “shrimps” are clearly prawns, pretty
  633. much the size of the 10 g ones that I use.  And there was very little asparagus, only 115 g
  634. (which sounds like 4 oz <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoirdupois">avoirdupois</a> masquerading as metric).  So I came up with the following <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/asparagus-and-prawns.php">recipe</a>:
  635.      </p>
  636.  
  637.      <h2>Ingredients</h2>
  638.  
  639.          <table summary="Ingredients">
  640.        <tr>
  641.          <td align="right"><b>quantity</b></td>
  642.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  643.          <td><b>ingredient</b> </td>
  644.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  645.          <td><b>step</b> </td>
  646.        </tr>
  647.  
  648.       <tr>
  649.          <td valign="top" align="right">110 g</td>
  650.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  651.          <td valign="top" align="left">asparagus</td>
  652.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  653.          <td valign="top" align="right">1</td>
  654.       </tr>
  655.  
  656.       <tr>
  657.          <td valign="top" align="right">55 g</td>
  658.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  659.          <td valign="top" align="left">prawns (11 g per piece)</td>
  660.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  661.          <td valign="top" align="right">1</td>
  662.       </tr>
  663.       <tr>
  664.         <td>
  665.         </td>
  666.       </tr>
  667.  
  668.       <tr>
  669.          <td valign="top" align="right">5 g</td>
  670.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  671.          <td valign="top" align="left">cooking wine</td>
  672.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  673.          <td valign="top" align="right">2</td>
  674.       </tr>
  675.  
  676.       <tr>
  677.          <td valign="top" align="right">5 g</td>
  678.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  679.          <td valign="top" align="left">soya sauce</td>
  680.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  681.          <td valign="top" align="right">2</td>
  682.       </tr>
  683.  
  684.       <tr>
  685.          <td valign="top" align="right">3 g</td>
  686.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  687.          <td valign="top" align="left">cornflour</td>
  688.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  689.          <td valign="top" align="right">2</td>
  690.       </tr>
  691.       <tr>
  692.         <td>
  693.         </td>
  694.       </tr>
  695.  
  696.       <tr>
  697.          <td valign="top" align="right">5 g</td>
  698.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  699.          <td valign="top" align="left">ginger</td>
  700.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  701.          <td valign="top" align="right">3</td>
  702.       </tr>
  703.  
  704.       <tr>
  705.          <td valign="top" align="right">5 g</td>
  706.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  707.          <td valign="top" align="left">garlic</td>
  708.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  709.          <td valign="top" align="right">3</td>
  710.       </tr>
  711.  
  712.       <tr>
  713.          <td valign="top" align="right"></td>
  714.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  715.          <td valign="top" align="left">oil for frying</td>
  716.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  717.          <td valign="top" align="right">3</td>
  718.       </tr>
  719.       <tr>
  720.         <td>
  721.         </td>
  722.       </tr>
  723.  
  724.       <tr>
  725.          <td valign="top" align="right">5 g</td>
  726.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  727.          <td valign="top" align="left">garlic</td>
  728.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  729.          <td valign="top" align="right">4</td>
  730.       </tr>
  731.       <tr>
  732.         <td>
  733.         </td>
  734.       </tr>
  735.  
  736.       <tr>
  737.          <td valign="top" align="right">10 g</td>
  738.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  739.          <td valign="top" align="left">oyster sauce</td>
  740.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  741.          <td valign="top" align="right">5</td>
  742.       </tr>
  743.  
  744.       <tr>
  745.          <td valign="top" align="right">3 g</td>
  746.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  747.          <td valign="top" align="left">sesame oil</td>
  748.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  749.          <td valign="top" align="right">5</td>
  750.       </tr>
  751.  
  752.       <tr>
  753.          <td valign="top" align="right">2 g</td>
  754.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  755.          <td valign="top" align="left">cornflour</td>
  756.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  757.          <td valign="top" align="right">5</td>
  758.       </tr>
  759.  
  760.       <tr>
  761.          <td valign="top" align="right">30 g</td>
  762.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  763.          <td valign="top" align="left">water</td>
  764.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  765.          <td valign="top" align="right">5</td>
  766.       </tr>
  767.       <tr>
  768.         <td>
  769.         </td>
  770.       </tr>
  771.      </table>
  772.  
  773.      <h2>
  774. Preparation
  775.      </h2>
  776.  
  777.      <ol>
  778.        <li class="fullwidth">
  779.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  780.            Peel and prepare asparagus and prawns.  Cut each piece of asparagus into 3.
  781.          </div>
  782.        </li>
  783.  
  784.        <li class="fullwidth">
  785.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  786.            Mix wine, soya sauce and cornflour and marinate prawns in it.
  787.          </div>
  788.        </li>
  789.  
  790.        <li class="fullwidth">
  791.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  792.            Fry prawns with ginger, garlic until cooked.  Reserve.
  793.          </div>
  794.        </li>
  795.  
  796.        <li class="fullwidth">
  797.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  798.            Fry asparagus with garlic until bright green.
  799.          </div>
  800.        </li>
  801.  
  802.        <li class="fullwidth">
  803.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  804.            Add sauce and cook, covered, for 2 minutes.
  805.          </div>
  806.        </li>
  807.  
  808.        <li class="fullwidth">
  809.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  810.            Add prawns and stir until hot.  Serve.
  811.          </div>
  812.        </li>
  813.      </ol>
  814.  
  815.        <a id="Photo-13" name="Photo-13"
  816.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240225&amp;imagesizes=11111111111112#Photo-13">
  817.          <img alt="This should be Asparagus-with-prawns.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_13"
  818.               title="Photo Asparagus-with-prawns.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  819.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240225/small/Asparagus-with-prawns.jpeg"
  820.               width="313" height="216"
  821.           /></a>
  822.  
  823.      <p>
  824.      </p>
  825.      </div>
  826.    ]]>
  827.  </description>
  828.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  829.  <dc:date>2024-02-26T00:48:14+00:00</dc:date>
  830. </item>
  831.  
  832.            
  833. <item>
  834. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-011859</guid>
  835. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240226-011859</link>
  836. <category>food</category>
  837. <category>and</category>
  838. <category>drink</category>
  839. <category>opinion</category>
  840. <title>Beef, broccoli and orange insights</title>
  841.  <description>
  842.    <![CDATA[
  843.    <div align="justify">
  844.      <p>
  845. The other dish was <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/beef-with-orange.php">beef with orange and
  846. broccoli</a>, which we've eaten before.  The biggest problem is frying the beef.  It
  847. requires cutting into small pieces and rolling in flour.  That's particularly fiddly.  Today
  848. I tried deep frying, which helped in part.  Next time I'll try frying first and cutting
  849. later.  I also doubled the amount of orange peel, which was a definite improvement.
  850.      </p>
  851.      </div>
  852.    ]]>
  853.  </description>
  854.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  855.  <dc:date>2024-02-26T01:18:59+00:00</dc:date>
  856. </item>
  857.  
  858.                  
  859. <item>
  860. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005100</guid>
  861. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005100</link>
  862. <category>animals</category>
  863. <title>Bruno vomits</title>
  864.  <description>
  865.    <![CDATA[
  866.    <div align="justify">
  867.      <p>
  868. While working in the kitchen this morning, heard the tell-tale sound of a cat vomiting.  The
  869. result:
  870.      </p>
  871.  
  872.        <a id="Photo-14" name="Photo-14"
  873.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240226&amp;imagesizes=111111111111112#Photo-14">
  874.          <img alt="This should be Bruno-vomits.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_14"
  875.               title="Photo Bruno-vomits.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  876.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240226/small/Bruno-vomits.jpeg"
  877.               width="375" height="180"
  878.           /></a>
  879.  
  880.      <p>
  881. We've seen that before, but I can't recall anything that clear.  And it didn't seem to worry
  882. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Bruno.php">Bruno</a> at all.
  883.      </p>
  884.      </div>
  885.    ]]>
  886.  </description>
  887.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  888.  <dc:date>2024-02-27T00:51:00+00:00</dc:date>
  889. </item>
  890.  
  891.            
  892. <item>
  893. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005229</guid>
  894. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005229</link>
  895. <category>gardening</category>
  896. <title>Another approach to the weeds</title>
  897.  <description>
  898.    <![CDATA[
  899.    <div align="justify">
  900.      <p>
  901. Despite weeks of weeding, the weeds in the garden are healthier than ever.  Today <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> took to them with a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate">glyphosate</a> spray.  It'll be interesting
  902. to see how many survive that.
  903.      </p>
  904.      </div>
  905.    ]]>
  906.  </description>
  907.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  908.  <dc:date>2024-02-27T00:52:29+00:00</dc:date>
  909. </item>
  910.  
  911.            
  912. <item>
  913. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005334</guid>
  914. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240227-005334</link>
  915. <category>history</category>
  916. <category>opinion</category>
  917. <title>More Israel-Palestine insights</title>
  918.  <description>
  919.    <![CDATA[
  920.    <div align="justify">
  921.      <p>
  922. I'm continuing my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera">Coursera</a> videos of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Finally I have confirmation of the origin:
  923. they're by <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Asher%2bSusser%22&amp;btnG=Groogle%2bSearch">Asher Susser</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv_University">Tel Aviv
  924. University</a>, and thus, as I had assumed, from the “other side”.  And though there are
  925. still no contradictions, once again the emphasis seems different.  Palestine was a British
  926. mandate, but after the war the British had better things to do, and there are many Jews in
  927. the USA.  So the USA took over the lead in promoting the Jewish state, something that they
  928. have maintained until today.
  929.      </p>
  930.      </div>
  931.    ]]>
  932.  </description>
  933.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  934.  <dc:date>2024-02-27T00:53:34+00:00</dc:date>
  935. </item>
  936.  
  937.                  
  938. <item>
  939. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-010451</guid>
  940. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-010451</link>
  941. <category>food</category>
  942. <category>and</category>
  943. <category>drink</category>
  944. <title>Another attempt at Hokkien Mee</title>
  945.  <description>
  946.    <![CDATA[
  947.    <div align="justify">
  948.      <p>
  949. My <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?subtitle=Fake%20Hokkien%20Mee&amp;article=D-20240214-010221#D-20240214-010221">last attempt</a> at <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/Hokkien-Mee.php">Hokkien Mee</a> was less
  950. than perfect: I had used a prawn paste that was more like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belacan">belacan</a> than fresh prawns:
  951.      </p>
  952.  
  953.        <a id="Photo-15" name="Photo-15"
  954.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240116&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111112#Photo-15">
  955.          <img alt="This should be Prawn-paste-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_15"
  956.               title="Photo Prawn-paste-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  957.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240116/small/Prawn-paste-2.jpeg"
  958.               width="254" height="266"
  959.           /></a>
  960.  
  961.      <p>
  962. But I have another kind:
  963.      </p>
  964.  
  965.        <a id="Photo-16" name="Photo-16"
  966.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111112#Photo-16">
  967.          <img alt="This should be Prawn-paste-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_16"
  968.               title="Photo Prawn-paste-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  969.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Prawn-paste-1.jpeg"
  970.               width="212" height="320"
  971.           /></a>
  972.  
  973.      <p>
  974. How does that stack up?  Tried it again, in the process discovering that my recipe was
  975. significantly inaccurate.  The result:
  976.      </p>
  977.  
  978.        <a id="Photo-17" name="Photo-17"
  979.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111112#Photo-17">
  980.          <img alt="This should be Hokkien-Mee-6.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_17"
  981.               title="Photo Hokkien-Mee-6.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  982.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/Hokkien-Mee-6.jpeg"
  983.               width="304" height="222"
  984.           /></a>
  985.  
  986.      <p>
  987. Is it good enough?  I don't think so.  I need to rethink things.  At least I had an
  988. opportunity to update <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/Hokkien-Mee.php">the recipe</a>.
  989.      </p>
  990.      </div>
  991.    ]]>
  992.  </description>
  993.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  994.  <dc:date>2024-02-28T01:04:51+00:00</dc:date>
  995. </item>
  996.  
  997.            
  998. <item>
  999. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-012759</guid>
  1000. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-012759</link>
  1001. <category>general</category>
  1002. <category>technology</category>
  1003. <category>opinion</category>
  1004. <title>Emergency?  Catastrophic!</title>
  1005.  <description>
  1006.    <![CDATA[
  1007.    <div align="justify">
  1008.      <p>
  1009. Today and (especially) tomorrow are slated to be some of the most dangerous fire days in the
  1010. year.  How do the emergency services help?  No better than they have done for the <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jan2009.php?subtitle=Bushfire%20info:%20beware%20clever%20web%20programmers&amp;article=D22-12#D22-12">past 15 years</a>.  Fortunately the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat_Courier">Ballarat Courier</a> sends email
  1011. notifications, so I get the information that I should have got from <a href="https://emergency.vic.gov.au/">VicEmergency</a>.
  1012.      </p>
  1013.  
  1014.      <p>
  1015. But I still monitor what VicEmergency has to say, which at least has amusement value.  And
  1016. today, for the first time ever, I received a notification saying something like
  1017. “Catastrophe”.  <i>That's</i> worth looking at, so I selected it and was taken to the app.
  1018.      </p>
  1019.  
  1020.      <p>
  1021. Ha, ha, only joking.  No catastrophe.  No way to find out what it had tried to tell me in
  1022. the notification.  Maybe a bushfire at the Smythes... pony club?  Or maybe not:
  1023.      </p>
  1024.  
  1025.        <a id="Photo-18" name="Photo-18"
  1026.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111112#Photo-18">
  1027.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-1-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_18"
  1028.               title="Photo VicEmergency-1-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1029.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-1-detail.jpeg"
  1030.               width="440" height="153"
  1031.           /></a>
  1032.        <a id="Photo-19" name="Photo-19"
  1033.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111112#Photo-19">
  1034.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_19"
  1035.               title="Photo VicEmergency-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1036.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-2-detail.jpeg"
  1037.               width="355" height="190"
  1038.           /></a>
  1039.  
  1040.      <p>
  1041. Dangerous (dead) animals only 450 km away?
  1042.      </p>
  1043.  
  1044.        <a id="Photo-20" name="Photo-20"
  1045.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111112#Photo-20">
  1046.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-11.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_20"
  1047.               title="Photo VicEmergency-11.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1048.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-11.png"
  1049.               width="276" height="245"
  1050.           /></a>
  1051.  
  1052.      <a name="map-settings" id="map-settings"></a>
  1053.      <p>
  1054. One thing I did find was how to colour my display.  Select the “Filter” lines from pages
  1055. that have a header like this (which explicitly excludes the home page and the “Help” tab,
  1056. which offers no help whatsoever):
  1057.      </p>
  1058.  
  1059.        <a id="Photo-21" name="Photo-21"
  1060.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111112#Photo-21">
  1061.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-7.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_21"
  1062.               title="Photo VicEmergency-7.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1063.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-7.jpeg"
  1064.               width="177" height="384"
  1065.           /></a>
  1066.        <a id="Photo-22" name="Photo-22"
  1067.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111112#Photo-22">
  1068.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_22"
  1069.               title="Photo VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1070.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg"
  1071.               width="502" height="134"
  1072.           /></a>
  1073.  
  1074.      <p>
  1075. Then you can select one, and only one, of the following “filters”:
  1076.      </p>
  1077.  
  1078.        <a id="Photo-23" name="Photo-23"
  1079.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111112#Photo-23">
  1080.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-5.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_23"
  1081.               title="Photo VicEmergency-5.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1082.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-5.jpeg"
  1083.               width="177" height="384"
  1084.           /></a>
  1085.  
  1086.      <p>
  1087. After setting that and finding a suitable date (tomorrow), I was able to show my map in
  1088. tasteful orange:
  1089.      </p>
  1090.  
  1091.        <a id="Photo-24" name="Photo-24"
  1092.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111112#Photo-24">
  1093.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-8.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_24"
  1094.               title="Photo VicEmergency-8.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1095.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/VicEmergency-8.jpeg"
  1096.               width="177" height="384"
  1097.           /></a>
  1098.  
  1099.      <p>
  1100. I suppose that's almost acceptable if people have been through training to understand the
  1101. app.  As a primary method of communication with Joe Blow it's completely unacceptable.
  1102.      </p>
  1103.      </div>
  1104.    ]]>
  1105.  </description>
  1106.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1107.  <dc:date>2024-02-28T01:27:59+00:00</dc:date>
  1108. </item>
  1109.  
  1110.            
  1111. <item>
  1112. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-015608</guid>
  1113. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-015608</link>
  1114. <category>photography</category>
  1115. <category>opinion</category>
  1116. <title>Mobile phone image quality</title>
  1117.  <description>
  1118.    <![CDATA[
  1119.    <div align="justify">
  1120.      <p>
  1121. I've been playing around with a script to make downloading image files from mobile phones
  1122. less painful.  It almost works.  And to test it, I took a forgettable photo in my office:
  1123.      </p>
  1124.  
  1125.        <a id="Photo-25" name="Photo-25"
  1126.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111112#Photo-25">
  1127.          <img alt="This should be Office.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_25"
  1128.               title="Photo Office.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1129.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/Office.jpeg"
  1130.               width="300" height="225"
  1131.           /></a>
  1132.  
  1133.      <p>
  1134. Well, almost forgettable Look at that noise!
  1135.      </p>
  1136.  
  1137.        <a id="Photo-26" name="Photo-26"
  1138.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111112#Photo-26">
  1139.          <img alt="This should be Office-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_26"
  1140.               title="Photo Office-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1141.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/Office-detail.jpeg"
  1142.               width="260" height="261"
  1143.           /></a>
  1144.  
  1145.      <p>
  1146. And to my surprise, the background showed a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh">bokeh</a> that I thought was impossible to
  1147. achieve with a mobile phone:
  1148.      </p>
  1149.  
  1150.        <a id="Photo-27" name="Photo-27"
  1151.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240227&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111112#Photo-27">
  1152.          <img alt="This should be Office-detail-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_27"
  1153.               title="Photo Office-detail-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1154.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240227/small/Office-detail-2.jpeg"
  1155.               width="323" height="209"
  1156.           /></a>
  1157.  
  1158.      <p>
  1159. “Everything serves a purpose, even if it's just as a bad example”.
  1160.      </p>
  1161.      </div>
  1162.    ]]>
  1163.  </description>
  1164.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1165.  <dc:date>2024-02-28T01:56:08+00:00</dc:date>
  1166. </item>
  1167.  
  1168.            
  1169. <item>
  1170. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-023203</guid>
  1171. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240228-023203</link>
  1172. <category>technology</category>
  1173. <category>photography</category>
  1174. <category>opinion</category>
  1175. <title>Gmail: now I accept you, now I don't</title>
  1176.  <description>
  1177.    <![CDATA[
  1178.    <div align="justify">
  1179.      <p>
  1180. Sent a <a href="https://groups.google.com/g/hugin-ptx/c/09TgJC8Lj_s/m/9yegkXfpAAAJ?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=footer">reply</a> to the <a href="https://groups.google.com/g/hugin-ptx/c/09TgJC8Lj_s/m/9yegkXfpAAAJ?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=footer">Google Hugin user group</a> today.  It was both accepted and rejected by Google:
  1181.      </p>
  1182.  
  1183.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  1184. <div style="text-align:left">
  1185.  <tt>
  1186.  
  1187. <br />&lt;grahammjantz@gmail.com&gt;: host gmail&#45;smtp&#45;in.l.google.com[142.251.2.26] said:
  1188. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 This mail has been blocked because the sender is
  1189. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;unauthenticated. 550&#45;5.7.26 Gmail requires all senders to authenticate with
  1190. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;either SPF or DKIM. 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;Authentication results:
  1191. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;DKIM = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;SPF [hydra.lemis.com] with ip:
  1192. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;[45.32.70.18] = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;For instructions on
  1193. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;setting up authentication, go to 550 5.7.26
  1194. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126#authentication
  1195. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;bw11&#45;20020a056a00408b00b006e5306d0ff1si2541353pfb.248 &#45; gsmtp (in reply to
  1196. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;end of DATA command)
  1197. <br />
  1198. <br />Your message was successfully delivered to the destination(s)
  1199. <br />listed below. If the message was delivered to mailbox you will
  1200. <br />receive no further notifications. Otherwise you may still receive
  1201. <br />notifications of mail delivery errors from other systems.
  1202. <br />The mail system
  1203. <br />&lt;hugin&#45;ptx@googlegroups.com&gt;: delivery via
  1204. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gmr&#45;smtp&#45;in.l.google.com[142.251.2.14]:25: 250 2.0.0 OK &nbsp;1709004304
  1205. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;ed8&#45;20020ad44ea8000000b0068ee65b011fsi396992qvb.4 &#45; gsmtp
  1206. <br />
  1207.  </tt>
  1208. </div>
  1209. </blockquote>
  1210.  
  1211.      <p>
  1212. And yes, the second message ended up in the archive.  So what is Google thinking?  It was
  1213. the same MTA in each case.
  1214.      </p>
  1215.      </div>
  1216.    ]]>
  1217.  </description>
  1218.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1219.  <dc:date>2024-02-28T02:32:03+00:00</dc:date>
  1220. </item>
  1221.  
  1222.                  
  1223. <item>
  1224. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010403</guid>
  1225. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010403</link>
  1226. <category>animals</category>
  1227. <category>technology</category>
  1228. <title>Cat danger</title>
  1229.  <description>
  1230.    <![CDATA[
  1231.    <div align="justify">
  1232.      <p>
  1233. I have now secured the disks behind my monitors so that <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Bruno.php">Bruno</a> can't dislodge them.  But somehow the danger
  1234. isn't over:
  1235.      </p>
  1236.  
  1237.        <a id="Photo-28" name="Photo-28"
  1238.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111112#Photo-28">
  1239.          <img alt="This should be Bruno-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_28"
  1240.               title="Photo Bruno-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1241.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Bruno-2.jpeg"
  1242.               width="302" height="224"
  1243.           /></a>
  1244.  
  1245.      <p>
  1246. That's <i>eureka</i>.  Should I cover it?
  1247.      </p>
  1248.      </div>
  1249.    ]]>
  1250.  </description>
  1251.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1252.  <dc:date>2024-02-29T01:04:03+00:00</dc:date>
  1253. </item>
  1254.  
  1255.            
  1256. <item>
  1257. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010516</guid>
  1258. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010516</link>
  1259. <category>general</category>
  1260. <category>gardening</category>
  1261. <title>Suddenly summer</title>
  1262.  <description>
  1263.    <![CDATA[
  1264.    <div align="justify">
  1265.      <p>
  1266. It's been a relatively mild summer, though today the temperatures hit 37°.  But almost
  1267. overnight the lawn has gone brown:
  1268.      </p>
  1269.  
  1270.        <a id="Photo-29" name="Photo-29"
  1271.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-29">
  1272.          <img alt="This should be House-entrance.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_29"
  1273.               title="Photo House-entrance.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1274.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/House-entrance.jpeg"
  1275.               width="305" height="221"
  1276.           /></a>
  1277.  
  1278.      <p>
  1279. And on Friday autumn starts, at least according to the calendar.
  1280.      </p>
  1281.      </div>
  1282.    ]]>
  1283.  </description>
  1284.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1285.  <dc:date>2024-02-29T01:05:16+00:00</dc:date>
  1286. </item>
  1287.  
  1288.      
  1289.      
  1290. <item>
  1291. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010615</guid>
  1292. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010615</link>
  1293. <category>food</category>
  1294. <category>and</category>
  1295. <category>drink</category>
  1296. <category>opinion</category>
  1297. <title>Curry pastes revisited</title>
  1298.  <description>
  1299.    <![CDATA[
  1300.    <div align="justify">
  1301.      <p>
  1302. We found ourselves in the position to get rid of some cooked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basmati">Basmati</a> rice today.  OK, no problem, thaw
  1303. out a couple of curries.
  1304.      </p>
  1305.  
  1306.      <p>
  1307. Oh.  They're in the database, but not in the freezer.  There are others, but nothing that
  1308. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> is still prepared to eat (too <i>pedas</i>).  Nothing
  1309. for it: cook some more.
  1310.      </p>
  1311.  
  1312.      <p>
  1313. And somehow I've lost my desire to cook curries from scratch.  The various Malaysian spice
  1314. pastes that I've been using are, in general, better than what I make myself.  But that's not
  1315. what I need.  All I found were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_curry">Madras curry</a> mixes from <a href="http://www.pataks.com/">Pataks</a> and
  1316. Marion, the latter a relatively obscure Australian maker.  The instructions didn't look
  1317. encouraging, and in the end I cooked some chicken in each of them.
  1318.      </p>
  1319.  
  1320.      <p>
  1321. Not a success.  Once again I find that the instructions are incorrect: the Marions paste has
  1322. so much salt in it that it's clearly intended to be diluted much more than specified.  Maybe
  1323. I do need to cook things from scratch again.
  1324.      </p>
  1325.      </div>
  1326.    ]]>
  1327.  </description>
  1328.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1329.  <dc:date>2024-02-29T01:06:15+00:00</dc:date>
  1330. </item>
  1331.  
  1332.      
  1333.      
  1334. <item>
  1335. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010624</guid>
  1336. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240229-010624</link>
  1337. <category>general</category>
  1338. <category>technology</category>
  1339. <category>opinion</category>
  1340. <title>Bushfire?  Bushfire!</title>
  1341.  <description>
  1342.    <![CDATA[
  1343.    <div align="justify">
  1344.      <p>
  1345. Bushfire danger today was... extreme?  catastrophic?  Spent much of the day following this
  1346. emetic <a href="https://emergency.vic.gov.au/">VicEmergency</a> service, without
  1347. gaining much in the way of insights.
  1348.      </p>
  1349.  
  1350.      <p>
  1351. And then after dinner I heard lots of vehicles going past.  But I didn't see them, and at
  1352. this time of year I should at least have seen their cloud of dust.  Outside, where it was
  1353. clear that they were some kind of flying vehicle.  Bushfire?  Yes!
  1354.      </p>
  1355.  
  1356.        <a id="Photo-30" name="Photo-30"
  1357.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-30">
  1358.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-2-detail.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_30"
  1359.               title="Photo Kleins-2-detail.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1360.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Kleins-2-detail.png"
  1361.               width="338" height="199"
  1362.           /></a>
  1363.  
  1364.      <p>
  1365. I know that address.  <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/kleins-road/">47 Kleins Road</a>, where we
  1366. lived from <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jul2007.php#10">10 July 2007</a> to <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-may2015.php#8">8 May 2015</a>.  And
  1367. the fire went down where we used to take the dogs for a walk.
  1368.      </p>
  1369.  
  1370.      <p>
  1371. More to the point, did it endanger us?  No.  If I can believe the map (which I do more than
  1372. a lot of what they have on the site), clearly the fire was going away from us.  That's
  1373. typical: fires start with a north wind, and typically the wind changes to west.  And that's
  1374. what the exclusion zone showed: to the south of where the fire started.  Our danger would
  1375. come from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_State_Park">Enfield State
  1376. Park</a>, to the north.
  1377.      </p>
  1378.  
  1379.      <p>
  1380. Out to take a look.  Yes, smoke clearly visible:
  1381.      </p>
  1382.  
  1383.        <a id="Photo-31" name="Photo-31"
  1384.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-31">
  1385.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_31"
  1386.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1387.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-1.jpeg"
  1388.               width="306" height="221"
  1389.           /></a>
  1390.  
  1391.      <p>
  1392. Back inside, and the exclusion zone had changed:
  1393.      </p>
  1394.  
  1395.        <a id="Photo-32" name="Photo-32"
  1396.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-32">
  1397.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-9.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_32"
  1398.               title="Photo Kleins-9.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1399.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Kleins-9.png"
  1400.               width="346" height="195"
  1401.           /></a>
  1402.        <a id="Photo-33" name="Photo-33"
  1403.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-33">
  1404.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-9-detail.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_33"
  1405.               title="Photo Kleins-9-detail.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1406.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Kleins-9-detail.png"
  1407.               width="210" height="322"
  1408.           /></a>
  1409.  
  1410.      <p>
  1411. Oh.  More information, partially for entertainment value:
  1412.      </p>
  1413.  
  1414.        <a id="Photo-34" name="Photo-34"
  1415.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-34">
  1416.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-10-detail.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_34"
  1417.               title="Photo Kleins-10-detail.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1418.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Kleins-10-detail.png"
  1419.               width="600" height="256.92695214106"
  1420.           /></a>
  1421.  
  1422.      <p>
  1423. Westerly towards <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mercer,_Victoria">Mount
  1424. Mercer</a>?  Mount Mercer is to the east, and thus the extension of the danger zone.  But
  1425. the important thing is that the north-west corner of this zone now included our property.
  1426. What danger is there really?  None, I thought.  But <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> was very nervous, and I'd hate to be wrong.  So how about going to the “CFA Safer Place”
  1427. that they made so much noise about <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jul2015.php?subtitle=More%20thoughts%20on%20CFA%20safer%20place&amp;article=D-20150712-023137#D-20150712-023137">9 years ago</a>?  Packed the cat and dogs into the car and off to see what was going on.
  1428.      </p>
  1429.  
  1430.      <p>
  1431. Lots of people stopped at junctions, like here at the junction of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat">Ballarat</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colac,_Victoria">Colac</a> Road and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokewood_Junction">Rokewood Junction</a> Road:
  1432.      </p>
  1433.  
  1434.      <p>
  1435. What were they doing there?  I don't know.
  1436.      </p>
  1437.  
  1438.        <a id="Photo-35" name="Photo-35"
  1439.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-35">
  1440.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-40.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_35"
  1441.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-40.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1442.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-40.jpeg"
  1443.               width="300" height="225"
  1444.           /></a>
  1445.  
  1446.      <p>
  1447. The Safer Place wasn't deserted.  There were a number of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Emergency_Service">SES</a> trucks there, but
  1448. nothing else.
  1449.      </p>
  1450.  
  1451.        <a id="Photo-36" name="Photo-36"
  1452.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-36">
  1453.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-12.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_36"
  1454.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-12.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1455.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-12.jpeg"
  1456.               width="301" height="225"
  1457.           /></a>
  1458.  
  1459.      <p>
  1460. In particular, nobody who was able or even interested in giving us any information.  They
  1461. didn't have any more than VicEmergency.  But it was interesting to be there.  It's really
  1462. just around the corner from Kleins Road, about 700 m to the south-west.  And we saw no smoke
  1463. at all from that direction, nor from the south, suggesting that the water bombers had done
  1464. their job:
  1465.      </p>
  1466.  
  1467.      <div align="left">
  1468.  <a id="Photo-37" name="Photo-37"
  1469.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-37">
  1470.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-26.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_37"
  1471.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-26.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1472.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-26.jpeg"
  1473.               width="300" height="225"
  1474.           /></a>
  1475.  <a id="Photo-38" name="Photo-38"
  1476.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-38">
  1477.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-33.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_38"
  1478.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-33.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1479.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-33.jpeg"
  1480.               width="300" height="225"
  1481.           /></a>
  1482.  <a id="Photo-39" name="Photo-39"
  1483.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-39">
  1484.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-41.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_39"
  1485.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-41.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1486.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-41.jpeg"
  1487.               width="300" height="225"
  1488.           /></a>
  1489.  <a id="Photo-40" name="Photo-40"
  1490.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-40">
  1491.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-42.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_40"
  1492.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-42.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1493.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-42.jpeg"
  1494.               width="300" height="225"
  1495.           /></a>
  1496.  <a id="Photo-41" name="Photo-41"
  1497.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-41">
  1498.          <img alt="This should be Dereel-bushfire-43.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_41"
  1499.               title="Photo Dereel-bushfire-43.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1500.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Dereel-bushfire-43.jpeg"
  1501.               width="300" height="225"
  1502.           /></a>
  1503.      </div>
  1504.  
  1505.      <p>
  1506. Instead, it was clear that the fire was moving towards the town centre (well, Hall and CFA
  1507. shed), and this was confirmed by later maps of the extent:
  1508.      </p>
  1509.  
  1510.        <a id="Photo-42" name="Photo-42"
  1511.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240228&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-42">
  1512.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-16-detail.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_42"
  1513.               title="Photo Kleins-16-detail.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1514.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240228/small/Kleins-16-detail.png"
  1515.               width="251" height="269"
  1516.           /></a>
  1517.  
  1518.      <p>
  1519. That white <b>F</b> on the red background at the east of the extent is the CFA shed.  Was it
  1520. really involved?  That seems hard to believe.  Most of the area is grassland or trees, with
  1521. no buildings except at the east, so it would be relatively easy to defend.  But we'll see
  1522. that when the smoke has died down.
  1523.      </p>
  1524.  
  1525.      <p>
  1526. And at no time did I see any mention of this "Safer Place”.  I asked a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFA">CFA</a> truck stopped on Rokewood Junction Road,
  1527. about 450 m away, and they didn't know about it.  Admittedly, it was probably not the best
  1528. choice in this particular case, but it really suggests that it has been forgotten.
  1529.      </p>
  1530.  
  1531.      <p>
  1532. Stayed up until 23:00, well past our normal bedtime, but the latest report was from 19:30 or
  1533. so.  For the first time ever, went to bed with mobile phones next to us.
  1534.      </p>
  1535.      </div>
  1536.    ]]>
  1537.  </description>
  1538.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1539.  <dc:date>2024-02-29T01:06:24+00:00</dc:date>
  1540. </item>
  1541.  
  1542.                        
  1543. <item>
  1544. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-015610</guid>
  1545. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-015610</link>
  1546. <category>general</category>
  1547. <category>opinion</category>
  1548. <title>Bushfire: the day after</title>
  1549.  <description>
  1550.    <![CDATA[
  1551.    <div align="justify">
  1552.      <p>
  1553. Woke up to confirm that, as I expected, our bushfire was under control.  Again the
  1554. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat_Courier">Ballarat Courier</a> was
  1555. the only source that told me of a meeting at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a> Hall at 14:00.  Clearly that was
  1556. beneath the dignity of <a href="https://emergency.vic.gov.au/">VicEmergency</a>.
  1557.      </p>
  1558.  
  1559.      <p>
  1560. In the meantime Petra Gietz showed up, with her own complaints.  She had heard from her
  1561. friend Amber, whose husband is in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Fire_Authority">CFA</a>, at 20:17: they had
  1562. pulled aerial support because things were getting back under control.  That matches my
  1563. expectations at that time.  She also complained about VicEmergency, which had apparently
  1564. posted an evacuation recommendation for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield,_Victoria">Enfield</a>, over 10 km away in a
  1565. safe direction.
  1566.      </p>
  1567.  
  1568.      <p>
  1569. Off to the Hall, which was packed:
  1570.      </p>
  1571.  
  1572.        <a id="Photo-43" name="Photo-43"
  1573.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-43">
  1574.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-meeting-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_43"
  1575.               title="Photo Bushfire-meeting-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1576.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Bushfire-meeting-2.jpeg"
  1577.               width="300" height="225"
  1578.           /></a>
  1579.        <a id="Photo-44" name="Photo-44"
  1580.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-44">
  1581.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-meeting-3.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_44"
  1582.               title="Photo Bushfire-meeting-3.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1583.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Bushfire-meeting-3.jpeg"
  1584.               width="300" height="225"
  1585.           /></a>
  1586.  
  1587.      <p>
  1588. I think that there were more people there than <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2013.php?subtitle=Bushfire!&amp;article=D-20130327-235330#D-20130327-235330">11 years ago</a> after the last devastating bushfire:
  1589.      </p>
  1590.  
  1591.        <a id="Photo-45" name="Photo-45"
  1592.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20130328&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-45">
  1593.          <img alt="This should be Bushfire-meeting-12.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_45"
  1594.               title="Photo Bushfire-meeting-12.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1595.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20130328/small/Bushfire-meeting-12.jpeg"
  1596.               width="300" height="225"
  1597.           /></a>
  1598.  
  1599.      <p>
  1600. There wasn't much information, and the question and answer session was made almost pointless
  1601. by the acoustics.  But what I established was:
  1602.      </p>
  1603.  
  1604.      <ul>
  1605.        <li class="fullwidth">
  1606.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  1607.            The fire was brought under control round 23:00 yesterday evening,
  1608.          </div>
  1609.        </li>
  1610.  
  1611.        <li class="fullwidth">
  1612.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  1613.            No houses were lost, a big difference from <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2013.php?subtitle=Bushfire:%20the%20day%20after&amp;article=D-20130328-222326#D-20130328-222326">last time</a>          </div>
  1614.        </li>
  1615.  
  1616.        <li class="fullwidth">
  1617.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  1618.            They don't know what caused it.  It wasn't lightning, maybe a faulty electric fence.
  1619.            But until proof of the contrary, it's “suspicious”, and the police have established a
  1620.            <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_scene">crime scene</a>,
  1621.          </div>
  1622.        </li>
  1623.  
  1624.        <li class="fullwidth">
  1625.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  1626.    Over 100 vehicles were involved, including from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales">New South Wales</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_Rural_Fire_Service">Rural Fire
  1627.    Service</a>—over 500 km away.
  1628.          </div>
  1629.        </li>
  1630.      </ul>
  1631.  
  1632.      <p>
  1633. There were a number of questions, only some of which I understood.  One person was from
  1634. Enfield and reflected Petra's comments.  He had really evacuated, to Garibaldi (a place so
  1635. small that not even Wikipedia knows about it) where he had spent 5 hours completely alone
  1636. before giving up and going back home.  That brings home how plausible these instructions
  1637. are.  A number of other people also complained about VicEmergency, though I didn't
  1638. understand them very well.  The people on the stage said that it was decided at a different
  1639. level, but that they would take the questions “on board”—in other words, presumably nothing.
  1640.      </p>
  1641.  
  1642.      <p>
  1643. In passing, looking at the maps, a number of things are of interest:
  1644.      </p>
  1645.  
  1646.        <a id="Photo-46" name="Photo-46"
  1647.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-46">
  1648.          <img alt="This should be Burning-Dereel.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_46"
  1649.               title="Photo Burning-Dereel.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1650.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Burning-Dereel.png"
  1651.               width="337" height="200"
  1652.           /></a>
  1653.  
  1654.      <p>
  1655. That's a “satellite view” from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps">Google Maps</a>, clearly taken a long time ago.  The lagoon is clearly visible at top
  1656. left.  The smoke is coincidental and may be completely harmless.  But the wind direction
  1657. (from the north) isn't.
  1658.      </p>
  1659.  
  1660.      <p>
  1661. I left the meeting early.  They seemed to want to wrap up, and I could barely understand the
  1662. questions, just their predictable answers.  First off south to Swansons Road, where I saw:
  1663.      </p>
  1664.  
  1665.        <a id="Photo-47" name="Photo-47"
  1666.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-47">
  1667.          <img alt="This should be Swansons-Road-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_47"
  1668.               title="Photo Swansons-Road-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1669.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Swansons-Road-2.jpeg"
  1670.               width="543" height="124"
  1671.           /></a>
  1672.  
  1673.      <p>
  1674. That's where we went taking orchid photos <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-nov2016.php?subtitle=Orchids%20in%20Dereel&amp;article=D-20161112-234021#D-20161112-234021">7 years ago</a>.  In particular, I haven't seen any <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleana_major">Caleana major</a> anywhere else:
  1675.      </p>
  1676.  
  1677.        <a id="Photo-48" name="Photo-48"
  1678.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20161112&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-48">
  1679.          <img alt="This should be Caleana-major-11.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_48"
  1680.               title="Photo Caleana-major-11.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1681.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20161112/small/Caleana-major-11.jpeg"
  1682.               width="225" height="300"
  1683.           /></a>
  1684.  
  1685.      <p>
  1686. I hope they will survive.
  1687.      </p>
  1688.  
  1689.      <p>
  1690. Back north, fighting my way through the smoke:
  1691.      </p>
  1692.  
  1693.        <a id="Photo-49" name="Photo-49"
  1694.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-49">
  1695.          <img alt="This should be Smoke-hazard-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_49"
  1696.               title="Photo Smoke-hazard-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1697.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Smoke-hazard-1.jpeg"
  1698.               width="300" height="225"
  1699.           /></a>
  1700.        <a id="Photo-50" name="Photo-50"
  1701.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-50">
  1702.          <img alt="This should be Smoke-hazard-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_50"
  1703.               title="Photo Smoke-hazard-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1704.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Smoke-hazard-2-detail.jpeg"
  1705.               width="227" height="298"
  1706.           /></a>
  1707.  
  1708.      <p>
  1709. There's some burning that came almost up to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat">Ballarat</a>-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colac,_Victoria">Colac</a> Road:
  1710.      </p>
  1711.  
  1712.      <p>
  1713. Down Swamp Road, things look worse, and on the other side of the swamp, just outside our old
  1714. property, there were open flames:
  1715.      </p>
  1716.  
  1717.        <a id="Photo-51" name="Photo-51"
  1718.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-51">
  1719.          <img alt="This should be Swamp-Road.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_51"
  1720.               title="Photo Swamp-Road.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1721.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Swamp-Road.jpeg"
  1722.               width="504" height="134"
  1723.           /></a>
  1724.        <a id="Photo-52" name="Photo-52"
  1725.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-52">
  1726.          <img alt="This should be Swamp-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_52"
  1727.               title="Photo Swamp-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1728.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Swamp-detail.jpeg"
  1729.               width="375" height="180"
  1730.           /></a>
  1731.  
  1732.      <p>
  1733. The flame retardant spray was evident:
  1734.      </p>
  1735.  
  1736.        <a id="Photo-53" name="Photo-53"
  1737.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-53">
  1738.          <img alt="This should be Swamp-Road-4.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_53"
  1739.               title="Photo Swamp-Road-4.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1740.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Swamp-Road-4.jpeg"
  1741.               width="300" height="225"
  1742.           /></a>
  1743.  
  1744.      <p>
  1745. Down Kleins Road, there wasn't much to see except for emergency vehicles:
  1746.      </p>
  1747.  
  1748.        <a id="Photo-54" name="Photo-54"
  1749.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-54">
  1750.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-Road-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_54"
  1751.               title="Photo Kleins-Road-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1752.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Kleins-Road-2.jpeg"
  1753.               width="301" height="224"
  1754.           /></a>
  1755.  
  1756.      <p>
  1757. That's our old house on the left, unscathed:
  1758.      </p>
  1759.  
  1760.        <a id="Photo-55" name="Photo-55"
  1761.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-55">
  1762.          <img alt="This should be Kleins-Road-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_55"
  1763.               title="Photo Kleins-Road-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1764.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/Kleins-Road-2-detail.jpeg"
  1765.               width="385" height="175"
  1766.           /></a>
  1767.  
  1768.      <p>
  1769. We'll have to wait a day or two to see what it looks like down Swamp Road.
  1770.      </p>
  1771.      </div>
  1772.    ]]>
  1773.  </description>
  1774.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1775.  <dc:date>2024-03-01T01:56:10+00:00</dc:date>
  1776. </item>
  1777.  
  1778.            
  1779. <item>
  1780. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-015642</guid>
  1781. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-015642</link>
  1782. <category>technology</category>
  1783. <title>NBN upgrades?</title>
  1784.  <description>
  1785.    <![CDATA[
  1786.    <div align="justify">
  1787.      <p>
  1788. The first thing that struck me when I arrived at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a> Hall was this truck:
  1789.      </p>
  1790.  
  1791.        <a id="Photo-56" name="Photo-56"
  1792.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-56">
  1793.          <img alt="This should be NBN.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_56"
  1794.               title="Photo NBN.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1795.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/NBN.jpeg"
  1796.               width="301" height="224"
  1797.           /></a>
  1798.  
  1799.      <p>
  1800. Is that the <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/">National Broadband Network</a> that
  1801. we know and love?  Yes.  What was it doing there?  Providing network connectivity.  But we
  1802. have NBN coverage already.  Yes?  What kind?  Fixed Wireless.  Ah, but <i>mumble</i>.  Maybe
  1803. there isn't any fixed wireless here.  I expressed my doubt, and just by chance there's a FW
  1804. antenna at the extreme left of the photo above:
  1805.      </p>
  1806.  
  1807.        <a id="Photo-57" name="Photo-57"
  1808.          href="diary-feb2024.php?dirdate=20240229&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-57">
  1809.          <img alt="This should be NBN-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_57"
  1810.               title="Photo NBN-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1811.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240229/small/NBN-detail.jpeg"
  1812.               width="201" height="337"
  1813.           /></a>
  1814.  
  1815.      <p>
  1816. The person I spoke to didn't seem very well informed.  My guess is that they brought the van
  1817. along for guaranteed bandwidth for the video feed they had planned—and doesn't that say
  1818. something?  But it seems that we're in for (another?) upgrade, which will give us higher
  1819. speeds.  He gave me a brochure that said almost nothing concrete: “Faster, more reliable
  1820. download speeds in the busy periods...with less buffering”.  In other words, more bandwidth,
  1821. possibly no change in download speed.  “More devices at the same time”.  That makes no sense
  1822. at all, except maybe to confirm that the brochure writers don't understand networking or
  1823. communication in general.
  1824.      </p>
  1825.  
  1826.      <p>
  1827. But they continue with ”two new higher speed plans available through participating
  1828. providers”.  So maybe this really is faster; we'll see.  The back page suggests that these
  1829. options will come from mid-2024.  Hardware upgrades?  Not mentioned.  They've updated the
  1830. hardware at least once already.  And I didn't have time to ask about changes in latency to
  1831. get a look at his face.
  1832.      </p>
  1833.      </div>
  1834.    ]]>
  1835.  </description>
  1836.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1837.  <dc:date>2024-03-01T01:56:42+00:00</dc:date>
  1838. </item>
  1839.  
  1840.            
  1841. <item>
  1842. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-034800</guid>
  1843. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php#D-20240301-034800</link>
  1844. <category>photography</category>
  1845. <category>opinion</category>
  1846. <title>Bloody carabiner clips</title>
  1847.  <description>
  1848.    <![CDATA[
  1849.    <div align="justify">
  1850.      <p>
  1851. I took along my <a href="https://asia.olympus-imaging.com/product/dslr/em1mk2/">Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II</a> to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a> Hall.  Normally I don't have a strap on it, but clearly today was a good day.
  1852.      </p>
  1853.  
  1854.      <p>
  1855. But not a good strap.  On the way into the hall one of the hooks came unhooked, and I was
  1856. only just able to stop the camera from falling onto the concrete path.  And inside the Hall
  1857. (well, as close as I came, the entrance), it came undone again, and the camera fell,
  1858. fortunately onto the carpet, doing no evident harm.
  1859.      </p>
  1860.  
  1861.      <p>
  1862. This isn't the first time.  <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2023.php?subtitle=Camera%20strap%20pain&amp;article=D-20230217-011324#D-20230217-011324">A year ago</a> I had exactly the same problem, and always just with the left-hand hook.
  1863. Why?  I should try swapping straps and see what happens.
  1864.      </p>
  1865.      </div>
  1866.    ]]>
  1867.  </description>
  1868.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1869.  <dc:date>2024-03-01T03:48:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1870. </item>
  1871.  
  1872.                  
  1873. <item>
  1874. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-013104</guid>
  1875. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-013104</link>
  1876. <category>general</category>
  1877. <category>technology</category>
  1878. <category>opinion</category>
  1879. <title>More VicEmergency insights</title>
  1880.  <description>
  1881.    <![CDATA[
  1882.    <div align="justify">
  1883.      <p>
  1884. Following up on the bushfire today didn't bring much in the way of new insights.  <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> drove down Kleins Road further than I had been able to do
  1885. yesterday, but around the corner the road was closed, and there still wasn't very much to
  1886. see on the 47 Kleins Road property.  We'll have to wait a few days more.
  1887.      </p>
  1888.  
  1889.      <p>
  1890. But Petra Gietz has found another trick with the VicEmergency app.  I had discoved the
  1891. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?subtitle=Emergency?%20%20Catastrophic!&amp;article=D-20240228-012759#map-settings">map settings</a> (or was that “Filter”?) page and noted that I could only select one
  1892. setting.  But she had another: one that showed the wind direction.  Currently:
  1893.      </p>
  1894.  
  1895.        <a id="Photo-58" name="Photo-58"
  1896.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240301&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-58">
  1897.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-app-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_58"
  1898.               title="Photo VicEmergency-app-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1899.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240301/small/VicEmergency-app-2-detail.jpeg"
  1900.               width="236" height="287"
  1901.           /></a>
  1902.  
  1903.      <p>
  1904. That's useful, but there seem to be a number of issues with the function.  First, as I had
  1905. already mentioned, There Can Only Be One.  Select this “filter” and the others are
  1906. deselected.  And the arrows don't scale.  If I enlarge the display, the arrows stay as they
  1907. are, and maybe disappear outside the display area:
  1908.      </p>
  1909.  
  1910.        <a id="Photo-59" name="Photo-59"
  1911.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240301&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-59">
  1912.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-app-4.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_59"
  1913.               title="Photo VicEmergency-app-4.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1914.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240301/small/VicEmergency-app-4.jpeg"
  1915.               width="177" height="384"
  1916.           /></a>
  1917.  
  1918.      <p>
  1919. And at some point, the setting just disappears.  I haven't yet established why or when.
  1920.      </p>
  1921.  
  1922.      <p>
  1923. And then there's a big difference between the mobile display (first image) and the web
  1924. browser display:
  1925.      </p>
  1926.  
  1927.        <a id="Photo-60" name="Photo-60"
  1928.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240301&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-60">
  1929.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-app-5-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_60"
  1930.               title="Photo VicEmergency-app-5-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1931.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240301/small/VicEmergency-app-5-detail.jpeg"
  1932.               width="262" height="257"
  1933.           /></a>
  1934.        <a id="Photo-61" name="Photo-61"
  1935.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240301&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-61">
  1936.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-1.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_61"
  1937.               title="Photo VicEmergency-1.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  1938.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240301/small/VicEmergency-1.png"
  1939.               width="256" height="265"
  1940.           /></a>
  1941.  
  1942.      <p>
  1943. Apart from the poor contrast, the burnt area (if that's what it is) is missing in the mobile
  1944. phone display.  Why?
  1945.      </p>
  1946.      </div>
  1947.    ]]>
  1948.  </description>
  1949.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1950.  <dc:date>2024-03-02T01:31:04+00:00</dc:date>
  1951. </item>
  1952.  
  1953.            
  1954. <item>
  1955. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-014622</guid>
  1956. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-014622</link>
  1957. <category>health</category>
  1958. <category>opinion</category>
  1959. <title>Finally cataract surgery?</title>
  1960.  <description>
  1961.    <![CDATA[
  1962.    <div align="justify">
  1963.      <p>
  1964. I've been dragging my heels on my cataract surgery.  I'm not afraid of the procedure, but I
  1965. don't like the idea of having only partially functional vision for a week, and that for each
  1966. eye.  But it does have to happen.  <a href="https://www.davidfabinyi.com.au/">David
  1967. Fabinyi</a> wants to do my primary (left) eye first, but that doesn't seem a good idea.
  1968. What if the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrectomy">vitrectomy</a> shows
  1969. up problems that we couldn't expect?  I can get by with just cataract surgery on the left
  1970. eye if it proves to be an issue.  And should I really go home in the evening, or stay
  1971. overnight in hospital?  In principle I want to go home, but if there's a question of
  1972. monitoring, it might be better to stay overnight.
  1973.      </p>
  1974.  
  1975.      <p>
  1976. Called up his surgery on 5221 3098 and spoke to Estelle, who told me that he wasn't
  1977. available today, took notes and said that she would call back.  Potentially the first eye
  1978. could be done later this month.
  1979.      </p>
  1980.      </div>
  1981.    ]]>
  1982.  </description>
  1983.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  1984.  <dc:date>2024-03-02T01:46:22+00:00</dc:date>
  1985. </item>
  1986.  
  1987.            
  1988. <item>
  1989. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-015234</guid>
  1990. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-015234</link>
  1991. <category>technology</category>
  1992. <category>general</category>
  1993. <category>opinion</category>
  1994. <title>Phone smart, again</title>
  1995.  <description>
  1996.    <![CDATA[
  1997.    <div align="justify">
  1998.      <p>
  1999. One of the things that really annoys me about my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)">Android</a> mobile phone is
  2000. that it's so difficult to keep apps running.  In particular, basic functionality like an
  2001. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTP">FTP</a> server keeps stopping, though I
  2002. have set it in some obscure place (not the app configuration) to stay running at all times.
  2003.      </p>
  2004.  
  2005.      <p>
  2006. It was all the more surprising that I recently found that it had been running for 4 or 5
  2007. days.  But then it stopped, and now it keeps stopping every few hours.  That can't be
  2008. intended.  How I hate these things!
  2009.      </p>
  2010.      </div>
  2011.    ]]>
  2012.  </description>
  2013.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2014.  <dc:date>2024-03-02T01:52:34+00:00</dc:date>
  2015. </item>
  2016.  
  2017.            
  2018. <item>
  2019. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-020645</guid>
  2020. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240302-020645</link>
  2021. <category>technology</category>
  2022. <category>opinion</category>
  2023. <title>Real uptime</title>
  2024.  <description>
  2025.    <![CDATA[
  2026.    <div align="justify">
  2027.      <p>
  2028. Seen recently:
  2029.      </p>
  2030.  
  2031.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2032. <div style="text-align:left">
  2033.  <tt>
  2034. Current time: 2024&#45;02&#45;29 16:11:21 UTC
  2035. <br />System booted: 2013&#45;10&#45;22 02:22:24 UTC (540w2d 13:48 ago)
  2036. <br />Protocols started: 2020&#45;10&#45;26 16:08:37 UTC (174w3d 00:02 ago)
  2037. <br />Last configured: 2024&#45;01&#45;07 01:40:54 UTC (7w4d 14:30 ago) by root
  2038. <br />&nbsp;4:11PM &nbsp;up 3782 days, 13:49, 2 users, load averages: 0.00, 0.01, 0.00
  2039. <br />
  2040.  </tt>
  2041. </div>
  2042. </blockquote>
  2043.  
  2044.      <p>
  2045. That's a router somewhere in the <a href="https://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a> complex.  Yes, not a real computer, but still worthwhile.  I'm told, though, that while the
  2046. software is running fine, the hardware is worn out, so it's not likely to stay there much
  2047. longer.
  2048.      </p>
  2049.      </div>
  2050.    ]]>
  2051.  </description>
  2052.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2053.  <dc:date>2024-03-02T02:06:45+00:00</dc:date>
  2054. </item>
  2055.  
  2056.                  
  2057. <item>
  2058. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-010408</guid>
  2059. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-010408</link>
  2060. <category>technology</category>
  2061. <category>opinion</category>
  2062. <title>Out, foul bot!</title>
  2063.  <description>
  2064.    <![CDATA[
  2065.    <div align="justify">
  2066.      <p>
  2067. My web server continues to suffer from extreme overload:
  2068.      </p>
  2069.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2070. <div style="text-align:left">
  2071.  <tt>
  2072. 2:09AM &nbsp;up 338 days, 17:57, 8 users, load averages: 177.41, 158.34, 121.08
  2073.  </tt>
  2074. </div>
  2075. </blockquote>
  2076.  
  2077.      <p>
  2078. And since it's the beginning of the month, I got my web server bill, round double what it
  2079. has been in the past.  And the server continues to hang.  Clearly I need to do something.
  2080.      </p>
  2081.  
  2082.      <p>
  2083. Most of the traffic seems to come from web crawlers.  OK, how about excluding them for a
  2084. while?  Put this in <i>robots.txt</i>:
  2085.      </p>
  2086.  
  2087.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2088. <div style="text-align:left">
  2089.  <tt>
  2090. User&#45;agent: *
  2091. <br />Disallow: /
  2092. <br />
  2093.  </tt>
  2094. </div>
  2095. </blockquote>
  2096.  
  2097.      <p>
  2098. That effectively tells new crawlers to stay away.  What about ones that already have their
  2099. tendrils in the system?  Watching the server load and access times to <i>robots.txt</i>
  2100. showed a correlation; after some hours, the load average gradually dropped to round 15,
  2101. still not exactly idle (the system has 2 CPUs).  But it looks as if things are under control
  2102. for the moment.  I'll keep an eye on it for a couple of days before allowing the bots back
  2103. in a more limited manner.
  2104.      </p>
  2105.      </div>
  2106.    ]]>
  2107.  </description>
  2108.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2109.  <dc:date>2024-03-03T01:04:08+00:00</dc:date>
  2110. </item>
  2111.  
  2112.            
  2113. <item>
  2114. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-011909</guid>
  2115. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-011909</link>
  2116. <category>technology</category>
  2117. <category>photography</category>
  2118. <category>opinion</category>
  2119. <title>Chasing down the Hugin stitch problem</title>
  2120.  <description>
  2121.    <![CDATA[
  2122.    <div align="justify">
  2123.      <p>
  2124. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/stones-road/exterior.php">House photo</a> day again today, and once
  2125. again I had fun with <a href="http://hugin.sourceforge.net"><i>Hugin</i></a>,
  2126. particularly with this panorama, stitched with <i>hydra</i> (<i>Hugin</i> version
  2127. 2023.0.0.d88dc56ded0e) and with <i>eureka</i> (<i>Hugin</i> version
  2128. 2018.0.0.5abfb4de7961):
  2129.      </p>
  2130.  
  2131.        <a id="Photo-62" name="Photo-62"
  2132.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240302&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-62">
  2133.          <img alt="This should be e-from-house-hydra.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_62"
  2134.               title="Photo e-from-house-hydra.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  2135.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240302/small/e-from-house-hydra.jpeg"
  2136.               width="457" height="148"
  2137.           /></a>
  2138.        <a id="Photo-63" name="Photo-63"
  2139.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240302&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-63">
  2140.          <img alt="This should be e-from-house.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_63"
  2141.               title="Photo e-from-house.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  2142.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240302/small/e-from-house.jpeg"
  2143.               width="457" height="148"
  2144.           /></a>
  2145.  
  2146.      <p>
  2147. What's causing that?  There's nothing obvious, and they're both stitched from exactly the
  2148. same <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Day/20240302/e-from-house.pto">project file</a> using exactly the same
  2149. command:
  2150.      </p>
  2151.  
  2152.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2153. <div style="text-align:left">
  2154.  <tt>
  2155. hugin_executor &#45;&#45;stitching e&#45;from&#45;house.pto
  2156.  </tt>
  2157. </div>
  2158. </blockquote>
  2159.  
  2160.      <p>
  2161. What does <i>hugin_executor</i> do behind the scenes?  Ah, that would be telling.  The man
  2162. page says:
  2163.      </p>
  2164.  
  2165.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2166. <div style="text-align:left">
  2167.  <tt>
  2168. <b>DESCRIPTION</b>
  2169. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <b>hugin_executor</b> is a command line tool, useful for stitching projects in
  2170. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; shell scripts
  2171. <br />
  2172.  </tt>
  2173. </div>
  2174. </blockquote>
  2175.  
  2176.      <p>
  2177. And that's really everything except the options, which aren't very interesting.  But clearly
  2178. it invokes <i>nona</i> and <i>enfuse</i>.  Ah!  There's a non-standard <tt>-d</tt> option
  2179. for just printing the commands that it executes, along with an undescribed requirement to
  2180. use either the <b>-s</b> (stitch) or <b>-a</b> (execute assistant, whatever that means in
  2181. this context).  Try that and get:
  2182.      </p>
  2183.  
  2184.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2185. <div style="text-align:left">
  2186.  <tt>
  2187. <code><font color="blue">=== grog@eureka (/dev/pts/39)</font> <font color="red">~/Photos/20240302</font> <font color="blue">147</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>hugin_executor &#45;s &#45;d C/e&#45;from&#45;house.pto</tt></b></code>
  2188. <br />/usr/local/bin/nona &#45;v &#45;z LZW &#45;r ldr &#45;m TIFF_m &#45;o e&#45;from&#45;house /Photos/grog/20240302/C/e&#45;from&#45;house.pto
  2189. <br />/Photos/Tools/Enblend &nbsp;&#45;w &#45;f15158x4900+0+931 &nbsp;&#45;&#45;compression=LZW &nbsp;&#45;o e&#45;from&#45;house.tif &#45;&#45; &nbsp;e&#45;from&#45;house0000.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0001.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0002.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0003.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0004.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0005.tif
  2190. <br />exiftool &#45;overwrite_original &#45;TagsFromFile /Photos/grog/20240302/C/e&#45;from&#45;house&#45;0.tiff &#45;WhitePoint &#45;ColorSpace &#45;@ /usr/local/share/hugin/data/hugin_exiftool_copy.arg &nbsp;&#45;@ /var/tmp/he1Zxy10 e&#45;from&#45;house.tif
  2191. <br />rm /var/tmp/he1Zxy10 e&#45;from&#45;house0000.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0001.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0002.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0003.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0004.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0005.tif
  2192. <br />
  2193. <br /><code><font color="blue">=== grog@hydra (/dev/pts/28)</font> <font color="red">~/Photos/20240302</font> <font color="blue">89</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>hugin_executor &#45;s &#45;d C/e&#45;from&#45;house.pto</tt></b></code>
  2194. <br />/usr/local/bin/nona &#45;v &#45;z LZW &#45;r ldr &#45;m TIFF_m &#45;o e&#45;from&#45;house /Photos/grog/20240302/C/e&#45;from&#45;house.pto
  2195. <br />/Photos/Tools/Enblend &nbsp;&#45;w &#45;f15158x4900+0+931 &nbsp;&#45;&#45;compression=LZW &nbsp;&#45;o e&#45;from&#45;house.tif &#45;&#45; &nbsp;e&#45;from&#45;house0000.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0001.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0002.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0003.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0004.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0005.tif
  2196. <br />exiftool &#45;overwrite_original &#45;TagsFromFile /Photos/grog/20240302/C/e&#45;from&#45;house&#45;0.tiff &#45;WhitePoint &#45;ColorSpace &#45;@ /usr/local/share/hugin/data/hugin_exiftool_copy.arg &nbsp;&#45;@ /var/tmp/heQauSlR e&#45;from&#45;house.tif
  2197. <br />rm /var/tmp/heQauSlR e&#45;from&#45;house0000.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0001.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0002.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0003.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0004.tif e&#45;from&#45;house0005.tif
  2198. <br />
  2199.  </tt>
  2200. </div>
  2201. </blockquote>
  2202.  
  2203.      <p>
  2204. Yes, there is a difference between the two command outputs, but it's not important: the name
  2205. of the temporary output file from <i>exiftool</i> is different.  Apart from that, it's
  2206. identical.  So what <i>is</i> the problem?  And why does it almost always happen in the same
  2207. place in this particular panorama?  One clue is in the invocation of <i>enblend</i>:
  2208. it's <i>/Photos/Tools/Enblend</i>, a script that I wrote.  In itself it's uninteresting:
  2209.      </p>
  2210.  
  2211.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2212. <div style="text-align:left">
  2213.  <tt>
  2214. #!/bin/sh
  2215. <br /># $%39d: Enblend,v 1.1 2018/07/01 01:32:35 grog Exp grog $
  2216. <br /># Wrap enblend to be able to report finish.
  2217. <br />echo enblend $* &gt; myenblend
  2218. <br />enblend $*
  2219. <br /># espeak "enblended"
  2220. <br />
  2221.  </tt>
  2222. </div>
  2223. </blockquote>
  2224.  
  2225.      <p>
  2226. But it makes clear that <i>something</i> is going on in the background, presumably to read
  2227. some configuration information.  And not surprisingly the problem occurs when
  2228. running <i>enblend</i>.  Changing horses in mid-stream shows that I can use <i>enblend</i>
  2229. on <i>eureka</i> to stitch the output from <i>nona</i> and get good results.
  2230.      </p>
  2231.      </div>
  2232.    ]]>
  2233.  </description>
  2234.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2235.  <dc:date>2024-03-03T01:19:09+00:00</dc:date>
  2236. </item>
  2237.  
  2238.                  
  2239. <item>
  2240. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-235130</guid>
  2241. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240303-235130</link>
  2242. <category>technology</category>
  2243. <category>opinion</category>
  2244. <title>Web server calmer</title>
  2245.  <description>
  2246.    <![CDATA[
  2247.    <div align="justify">
  2248.      <p>
  2249. Watched the web server load all day today.  And yes, the load average stayed relatively
  2250. constant in the 8 to 20 range.
  2251.      </p>
  2252.  
  2253.      <p>
  2254. Fixed?  Hardly.  I do like to appear on Google search results, especially for things for
  2255. which there are few hits, for example (surprisingly) <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22swine%20bismarck%22">Swine Bismarck</a>, which we
  2256. ate last night.  And my <i>robots.txt</i> has only excluded the well-behaved crawlers, as my
  2257. log file shows:
  2258.      </p>
  2259.  
  2260.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2261. <div style="text-align:left">
  2262.  <tt>
  2263. 47.76.35.19 &#45; &#45; [03/Mar/2024:01:04:46 +0000] "GET /grog/diary&#45;mar2020.php?dirdate=20190323&amp;imagesizes=1223021022213223222222223221021222221221322220222222320232401232222212202311232012222221323212323222222222222231022223222332221222340222221122212222312202222202232232222203221222122222220212222222222220221&amp;size=2 HTTP/1.1" 200 1340527 "&#45;" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.2; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/77.0.2827.33 Safari/537.36"
  2264. <br />47.76.35.19 &#45; &#45; [03/Mar/2024:01:04:47 +0000] "GET /grog/diary&#45;mar2020.php?dirdate=19960415&amp;imagesizes=02022210022102222202022222223212200110223113101223213223221412320222204022211322120202212032233232032202012022021221201002022021203122212022222322223122222322032013332421022211221023222211121221222222102221&amp;size=2 HTTP/1.1" 200 1225067 "&#45;" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/75.0.3234.7 Safari/537.36"
  2265. <br />47.76.35.19 &#45; &#45; [03/Mar/2024:01:04:47 +0000] "GET /grog/diary&#45;mar2020.php?dirdate=20191206&amp;imagesizes=20222220022222221222222223222112222222224222222221223203332111322232212222210320202222212223222032022222221222222210221222022222202222222221012222222222232212022002220202022212221022112231102222221112202223&amp;size=2 HTTP/1.1" 200 1308264 "&#45;" "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/67.0.2023.7 Safari/537.36"
  2266. <br />
  2267.  </tt>
  2268. </div>
  2269. </blockquote>
  2270.  
  2271.      <p>
  2272. At the very least I still need to look at replacing <tt>GET</tt> with <tt>POST</tt>.
  2273.      </p>
  2274.      </div>
  2275.    ]]>
  2276.  </description>
  2277.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2278.  <dc:date>2024-03-03T23:51:30+00:00</dc:date>
  2279. </item>
  2280.  
  2281.            
  2282. <item>
  2283. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240304-003247</guid>
  2284. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240304-003247</link>
  2285. <category>general</category>
  2286. <category>technology</category>
  2287. <category>opinion</category>
  2288. <title>CAPTCHAs on the rise!</title>
  2289.  <description>
  2290.    <![CDATA[
  2291.    <div align="justify">
  2292.      <p>
  2293. I had hoped that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHAs</a> were
  2294. finally going away, but today I was confronted with two particularly virulent ones, from
  2295. <a href="https://www.vultr.com/">Vultr</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise">Wise</a>, the vaguely named money transfer
  2296. service.  Not only multiple CAPTCHAs, but ones that change when you click things, and some
  2297. which are so vague that I can't recognize them, apart from the use of US American
  2298. terminology like “crosswalk”.
  2299.      </p>
  2300.  
  2301.      <p>
  2302. Will they never go away?  Can't somebody use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence">Artificial Intelligence</a> to
  2303. make a CAPTCHA-solving browser plugin?  Please?
  2304.      </p>
  2305.      </div>
  2306.    ]]>
  2307.  </description>
  2308.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2309.  <dc:date>2024-03-04T00:32:47+00:00</dc:date>
  2310. </item>
  2311.  
  2312.            
  2313. <item>
  2314. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240304-003913</guid>
  2315. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240304-003913</link>
  2316. <category>general</category>
  2317. <category>technology</category>
  2318. <category>opinion</category>
  2319. <title>UnWise</title>
  2320.  <description>
  2321.    <![CDATA[
  2322.    <div align="justify">
  2323.      <p>
  2324. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> wants to transfer money to Austria again.  OK, that's
  2325. a case for this stupidly renamed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_(company)">Wise</a> funds transfer service.  They used to be called Transferwise, but clearly that
  2326. name was too descriptive.
  2327.      </p>
  2328.  
  2329.      <p>
  2330. OK, the transfer is for round € 1000.  I don't have that much in my account, so I needed to
  2331. transfer it from a real bank account.  But first I had to solve these <i>really horrible</i>
  2332. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHAs</a>.  And though normal
  2333. bank transfers in Australia are performed in real time, Wise told me that it would take a
  2334. day.  Wise told me that it would take two days.  Clearly they couldn't decide.  And my bank
  2335. also said that it would take two days.
  2336.      </p>
  2337.  
  2338.      <p>
  2339. Why?  Are they trying to annoy me?  No, I don't think so.  It's more likely that they're
  2340. trying to profit on the infinitesimal interest on the money for one or two days.  Is it
  2341. worth annoying your customers for that?  It's time to look for alternatives.
  2342.      </p>
  2343.      </div>
  2344.    ]]>
  2345.  </description>
  2346.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2347.  <dc:date>2024-03-04T00:39:13+00:00</dc:date>
  2348. </item>
  2349.  
  2350.                  
  2351. <item>
  2352. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-010120</guid>
  2353. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-010120</link>
  2354. <category>history</category>
  2355. <category>politics</category>
  2356. <category>opinion</category>
  2357. <title>Will the genocide never end?</title>
  2358.  <description>
  2359.    <![CDATA[
  2360.    <div align="justify">
  2361.      <p>
  2362. It's been nearly 5 months since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Hamas-led_attack_on_Israel">2023 Hamas-led attack on
  2363. Israel</a>, in which 2,752 people were killed, 1,143 of them Israeli civilians.  A further
  2364. 242 civilians were taken hostage.  If I read the Wikipedia page correctly, most of the
  2365. casualties were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas">Hamas</a> fighters,
  2366. something that people seldom mention.
  2367.      </p>
  2368.  
  2369.      <p>
  2370. That's horrible, of course.  If the Palestinians want justice, there are other ways.  Or are
  2371. they?  They've been under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_the_Gaza_Strip">siege</a> for 16 years, and
  2372. all attempts to get out from under the Israeli yoke seem to have failed.  The Israelis, who
  2373. were maintaining the siege, should have expected that they wouldn't just sit back and take
  2374. it.  Still, murdering innocent civilians is Just Plain Wrong.
  2375.      </p>
  2376.  
  2377.      <p>
  2378. So what do the Israelis so?  They fight back with their US-backed weaponry.  So far they
  2379. have killed over 30,000 people (“Palestinians”), most of them innocent civilians, mainly
  2380. women and children.  Sorry, Israel, if it's wrong to kill Israeli civilians (and of course
  2381. it is), it's wrong to kill other civilians.  But they haven't stopped, and they are
  2382. systematically destroying <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_strip">Gaza</a> and starving the remaining population.
  2383.      </p>
  2384.  
  2385.      <p>
  2386. Words fail me.  How can they continue doing this?  How could they <i>start</i> doing this?
  2387. Why is the USA supporting the genocide?  Both countries have completely lost any legitimacy.
  2388. The USA, claiming to hold the moral high ground, is complicit in some of the worst
  2389. atrocities I have ever experienced.  By comparison, the Russian invasion of Ukraine seems
  2390. like nothing.
  2391.      </p>
  2392.  
  2393.      <p>
  2394. Somehow many Israelis have a mental block.  I've been gradually watching <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Asher%2bSusser%22&amp;btnG=Groogle%2bSearch">Asher
  2395. Susser's</a> lectures about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Nakba">Al
  2396. Nakba</a>.  But that's not a word that he likes to use: it suggests a natural catastrophe,
  2397. one that absolves the Palestinians of the blame.  And the information that he presents,
  2398. though undoubtedly correct, seems to be biased towards the Israeli viewpoint.  It's hard to
  2399. be sure if there are any inaccuracies, but round 1948 the story strongly differs in emphasis
  2400. from the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/16/ten-films-to-watch-about-the-history-of-the-israel-palestine-conflict">Al Jazeera videos</a>.
  2401.      </p>
  2402.  
  2403.      <p>
  2404. And that seems to pervade Israeli society.  For some years I have been reading the
  2405. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_of_Israel">Times of Israel</a> and
  2406. considered it relatively neutral.  But here, too, the emphasis is off-centre.  Return the
  2407. remaining hostages, many of whom were killed by Israeli fire.  Who cares about the Gazans?
  2408. Was anybody shot while trying to get food?  No, they stampeded and accidentally got bullets
  2409. in their skulls.
  2410.      </p>
  2411.  
  2412.      <p>
  2413. When will this nightmare end?  What would have happened in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_World_War">Second World War</a> if the news media
  2414. had had the coverage that they do now?  Would that have changed the behaviour of the Nazis?
  2415.      </p>
  2416.  
  2417.      <p>
  2418. But then, is news free?  Look any day on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English">Al Jazeera News</a> to see the
  2419. conditions.  Or look on any US news site to see an expurgated version, or on an Israeli site
  2420. to see nothing at all.
  2421.      </p>
  2422.      </div>
  2423.    ]]>
  2424.  </description>
  2425.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2426.  <dc:date>2024-03-05T01:01:20+00:00</dc:date>
  2427. </item>
  2428.  
  2429.            
  2430. <item>
  2431. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-012758</guid>
  2432. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-012758</link>
  2433. <category>gardening</category>
  2434. <category>general</category>
  2435. <title>More gardening and bushfire insights</title>
  2436.  <description>
  2437.    <![CDATA[
  2438.    <div align="justify">
  2439.      <p>
  2440. Paul Donaghy along to trim the grass today.  He brought the news that his property suffered
  2441. only minor damage, just the back fence (west) damaged.  Not by the fire, but by the fire
  2442. crews, who tore it down to create a fire break.
  2443.      </p>
  2444.  
  2445.      <p>
  2446. And it seems that the fire was caused by a defective electric fence device (“actuator”),
  2447. though the reports I have seen seem a little confusing.  But clearly that's a thing to think
  2448. of on days of total fire bans.
  2449.      </p>
  2450.      </div>
  2451.    ]]>
  2452.  </description>
  2453.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2454.  <dc:date>2024-03-05T01:27:58+00:00</dc:date>
  2455. </item>
  2456.  
  2457.            
  2458. <item>
  2459. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-013410</guid>
  2460. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-013410</link>
  2461. <category>health</category>
  2462. <title>Another migraine</title>
  2463.  <description>
  2464.    <![CDATA[
  2465.    <div align="justify">
  2466.      <p>
  2467. I don't know if the Israeli situation has something to do with it, but this afternoon I had
  2468. yet another minor migraine.
  2469.      </p>
  2470.      </div>
  2471.    ]]>
  2472.  </description>
  2473.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2474.  <dc:date>2024-03-05T01:34:10+00:00</dc:date>
  2475. </item>
  2476.  
  2477.            
  2478. <item>
  2479. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-023410</guid>
  2480. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240305-023410</link>
  2481. <category>technology</category>
  2482. <category>opinion</category>
  2483. <title>Evil passwords again</title>
  2484.  <description>
  2485.    <![CDATA[
  2486.    <div align="justify">
  2487.      <p>
  2488. The <a href="https://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a> is using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(protocol)">Matrix</a> for internal
  2489. communications.  And that requires a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos">Kerberos</a> password.  How do you do that?  Ah, yes, from <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jun2022.php?subtitle=Still%20more%20mail%20pain&amp;article=D-20220603-004846#D-20220603-004846">this diary</a>.  OK, generate a password.  This silly “<i>evil</i> random passwords”
  2490. again!
  2491.      </p>
  2492.  
  2493.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2494. <div style="text-align:left">
  2495.  <tt>
  2496. ===================================================================
  2497. <br />Generating strong, evil random passwords...
  2498. <br />===================================================================
  2499. <br />Your new, ready to forget, password: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ung...
  2500. <br />Your new, ready to forget, mail password: &nbsp; &nbsp;ahXoog...
  2501. <br />
  2502.  </tt>
  2503. </div>
  2504. </blockquote>
  2505.  
  2506.      <p>
  2507.  
  2508. But it worked.
  2509. Only mail doesn't work any more.  It always creates a new password.  More pain.  Maybe
  2510. that's why they're evil.
  2511.      </p>
  2512.      </div>
  2513.    ]]>
  2514.  </description>
  2515.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2516.  <dc:date>2024-03-05T02:34:10+00:00</dc:date>
  2517. </item>
  2518.  
  2519.                  
  2520. <item>
  2521. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-020713</guid>
  2522. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-020713</link>
  2523. <category>technology</category>
  2524. <category>opinion</category>
  2525. <title>CJ's pain again</title>
  2526.  <description>
  2527.    <![CDATA[
  2528.    <div align="justify">
  2529.      <p>
  2530. CJ Ellis round this morning with his computer and most of the stuff I asked to bring with
  2531. him.  He has been locked out of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">Facebook</a>!  Oh horror!  Hard to say what caused that, and I don't really want to know,
  2532. but they sent him instructions on how to reset it, requiring email with a code being sent to
  2533. his mail server (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmail">Gmail</a>).  But the
  2534. code was only valid for 30 seconds, and he didn't know how to open two tabs on his web
  2535. browser.  By the time he had written down the code and re-entered <i>firefox</i>, the code
  2536. had expired.
  2537.      </p>
  2538.  
  2539.      <p>
  2540. OK, I have access to his Gmail system, so for this exceptional case I'll connect to the mail
  2541. system.  CJ solicits the code, I read it out to him, and all is well.  Except that I can't
  2542. log in.  The password must have changed.
  2543.      </p>
  2544.  
  2545.      <p>
  2546. So for all that he brought his machine over here.  Off looking for the missing cables, and
  2547. got the thing up and running.  Yes, no problem.  Fire up <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome"><i>Chrome</i></a>.  No go, wrong
  2548. password.
  2549.      </p>
  2550.  
  2551.      <p>
  2552. Ah, says CJ, I don't know that.  Fires up <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox"><i>firefox</i></a> and logs in.  No problem.  Same password.
  2553.      </p>
  2554.  
  2555.      <p>
  2556. So why did I have difficulty?  Why did <i>his</i> machine have difficulty
  2557. with <i>Chrome</i>?  That's the Google browser, after all.  My only guess is that it must be
  2558. some misguided security measure posing as a different problem.
  2559.      </p>
  2560.  
  2561.      <p>
  2562. On with Facebook recovery.  Yes, got the code.  Now please upload your “ID”.  Take a photo
  2563. of it and send it to us.
  2564.      </p>
  2565.  
  2566.      <p>
  2567. Problem: CJ doesn't have a mobile phone, doesn't have a computer with a camera, doesn't have
  2568. a camera.  So one way or the other he <i>had</i> to come to me so that I could scan his
  2569. driver license and send it to him.
  2570.      </p>
  2571.  
  2572.      <p>
  2573. But how?  On a real computer I would just fight my way past <i>firefox</i> breakage, load
  2574. the image and send it.  But this is Microsoft.  How do I do it?  Send it round the world to
  2575. Gmail and back?  Did that.  Now use this famous Microsoft “drag” to drag the image
  2576. to <i>firefox</i>.  No, it didn't want to know, politely overlaying it with an “end of
  2577. limit” symbol to allow me to guess that this was a limitation, that dragging didn't work.
  2578. Why not?  Again, too polite to say, but presumably because the image is really on the Gmail
  2579. server at the other end of the world.  OK, save the image to disk.  Sorry, can only save the
  2580. entire message.
  2581.      </p>
  2582.  
  2583.      <p>
  2584. Did that anyway, and of course <i>firefox</i> didn't want to know.
  2585.      </p>
  2586.  
  2587.      <p>
  2588. Dammit, how <i>do</i> these things work?  <i>Do</i> these things even work?  But deep down
  2589. in <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Rant/windows.php">“Windows”</a>, struggling to get out, is a program
  2590. called <i>FTP.EXE</i>.  Fire that up, <i>ftp</i> to <i>eureka</i>, and pull it across.  Just
  2591. be careful to get it in <tt>BIN</tt> format, which for some reason requires two attempts.
  2592. And then go tree-climbing with <i>firefox</i> and pull it up, send it off.
  2593.      </p>
  2594.  
  2595.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2596.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  2597.          We will examine what you sent us and respond within 48 hours.
  2598.        </div>
  2599.      </blockquote>
  2600.  
  2601.      <p>
  2602. Well, that's CJ's problem, not mine.  The whole thing took about an hour, and at the end it
  2603. was all I could do not to have a fit of screaming.  I wonder whom I can get to solve CJ's
  2604. next problem.
  2605.      </p>
  2606.      </div>
  2607.    ]]>
  2608.  </description>
  2609.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2610.  <dc:date>2024-03-06T02:07:13+00:00</dc:date>
  2611. </item>
  2612.  
  2613.            
  2614. <item>
  2615. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-021918</guid>
  2616. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-021918</link>
  2617. <category>technology</category>
  2618. <category>opinion</category>
  2619. <title>Gmail annoyances</title>
  2620.  <description>
  2621.    <![CDATA[
  2622.    <div align="justify">
  2623.      <p>
  2624. Part of the ordeal with CJ's computer was complicated by another issue with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmail">Gmail</a>:
  2625.      </p>
  2626.  
  2627.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2628. <div style="text-align:left">
  2629.  <tt>
  2630. &lt;cjellis@gmail.com&gt;: host gmail&#45;smtp&#45;in.l.google.com[142.251.2.26] said:
  2631. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 This mail has been blocked because the sender is
  2632. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;unauthenticated. 550&#45;5.7.26 Gmail requires all senders to authenticate with
  2633. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;either SPF or DKIM. 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;Authentication results:
  2634. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;DKIM = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;SPF [hydra.lemis.com] with ip:
  2635. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;[45.32.70.18] = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;For instructions on
  2636. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;setting up authentication, go to 550 5.7.26
  2637. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126#authentication
  2638. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;x2&#45;20020a1709027c0200b001dca8522501si8881415pll.276 &#45; gsmtp (in reply to
  2639. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;end of DATA command)
  2640. <br />
  2641.  </tt>
  2642. </div>
  2643. </blockquote>
  2644.  
  2645.      <p>
  2646. I've seen this <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?topics=c&amp;subtitle=Gmail:%20now%20I%20accept%20you,%20now%20I%20don%27t&amp;article=D-20240228-023203#D-20240228-023203">before</a>.  On that occasion, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrödinger's_cat">Schrödinger's cat</a>, it both got
  2647. delivered and got rejected.  Since then I had discovered that if I sent a message
  2648. from <i>hydra</i>, it got rejected, but bouncing exactly the same message from <i>eureka</i>
  2649. worked.
  2650.      </p>
  2651.  
  2652.      <p>
  2653. Today I tried it differently: bounce from <i>hydra</i>.  Works!  So what's wrong with this
  2654. system?  Breakage of a new kind?  Everything seems to be breaking lately.
  2655.      </p>
  2656.      </div>
  2657.    ]]>
  2658.  </description>
  2659.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2660.  <dc:date>2024-03-06T02:19:18+00:00</dc:date>
  2661. </item>
  2662.  
  2663.            
  2664. <item>
  2665. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-025305</guid>
  2666. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240306-025305</link>
  2667. <category>technology</category>
  2668. <category>general</category>
  2669. <category>opinion</category>
  2670. <title>Updating NBN</title>
  2671.  <description>
  2672.    <![CDATA[
  2673.    <div align="justify">
  2674.      <p>
  2675. It seems that the <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/">NBN</a> truck that I saw
  2676. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?topics=c&amp;subtitle=NBN%20upgrades?&amp;article=D-20240301-015642#D-20240301-015642">last week</a> was ahead of its time.  Today I received <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-nbns-new-plan-to-turbo-charge-internet-speeds-could-cost-you-more/goh3rgu3h?dlbl=[2024/03/05]%20del_newspm_bau&amp;did=DM34421&amp;cid=sbsnews:edm:acnewspm:relation:news:na:na">mail</a> with more verbiage.  But it seems that it only applies to fibre: upgrade data
  2677. rates from 100 Mb/s to 500 Mb/s, or up to 1 Gb/s for faster connections.  And somehow this
  2678. will end up costing more money, not because the links are any more expensive, but because
  2679. people will use more data:
  2680.      </p>
  2681.  
  2682.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2683.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  2684.          “The average household now consumes 443 gigabytes per month across 22 internet-connected
  2685.          devices," she said. "We predict that average will grow to 33 connected devices by 2026 and
  2686.          40 by the end of the decade."
  2687.        </div>
  2688.      </blockquote>
  2689.  
  2690.      <p>
  2691. That sounds remarkably high.  I don't consider my household to be “average”, but I think
  2692. that I have more “devices” than most people.  Counting them, including the ones that I don't
  2693. really use, I have about 7 computers, 3 mobile phones, a TV and a PV inverter, a total of
  2694. 12.  What do other people have that I don't?  And though I've been downloading lots of
  2695. videos this month, my usage will only reach about 870 GB.  And at 100 Mb/s, I could transfer
  2696. that in about 20 hours.  But even if it's correct, it seems unlikely that the use will
  2697. increase significantly due to higher link speeds, especially for people with a traffic cap.
  2698. It may, however, serve as an excuse to increase the pricing.
  2699.      </p>
  2700.  
  2701.      <p>
  2702. And what does this say about the NBN truck in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a>?  I had noted at the time that the
  2703. person there didn't seem to be very well-informed.  Will there in fact be an upgrade of the
  2704. Fixed Wireless service?  I wouldn't be surprised if there were not.
  2705.      </p>
  2706.      </div>
  2707.    ]]>
  2708.  </description>
  2709.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2710.  <dc:date>2024-03-06T02:53:05+00:00</dc:date>
  2711. </item>
  2712.  
  2713.                  
  2714. <item>
  2715. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-004804</guid>
  2716. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-004804</link>
  2717. <category>history</category>
  2718. <category>technology</category>
  2719. <category>opinion</category>
  2720. <title>10 more years of Internet</title>
  2721.  <description>
  2722.    <![CDATA[
  2723.    <div align="justify">
  2724.      <p>
  2725. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2014.php?subtitle=Internet%20in%2020%20years?&amp;article=D-20140306-230542#D-20140306-230542">Ten years ago</a> I was doing a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera">Coursera</a> course on the history of the Internet, and one of the assignments was:
  2726. “Write an essay that imagines how the Internet will be different 20 years from now”.  And
  2727. that in 1000 words.
  2728.      </p>
  2729.  
  2730.      <p>
  2731. I did make the 1000 word maximum, but I also wrote a <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Papers/Internet-future.php">slightly longer version</a> that said what I wanted to
  2732. say.
  2733.      </p>
  2734.  
  2735.      <p>
  2736. So: now we have the halfway point.  I've been keeping my eye on proof or disproof of my
  2737. claims, and I'll continue to do so.  Here the biggest takeaways so far:
  2738.      </p>
  2739.  
  2740.      <ul>
  2741.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2742.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2743.    <i>Most purchases will occur on-line, and the few remaining shops will mainly exist to
  2744.    order and supply goods available on the Internet.</i>
  2745.  </p>
  2746.  
  2747.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2748.    This seems to be well on its way.
  2749.  </p>
  2750.        </li>
  2751.  
  2752.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2753.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  2754.            <i>In 2034, society will be centred around the Internet.  People who don't use the
  2755.            Internet for significant parts of their daily life will be looked at like people today
  2756.            look at those who don't read newspapers or watch TV.</i>
  2757.          </div>
  2758.  
  2759.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2760.    I think this has largely happened already.
  2761.  </p>
  2762.        </li>
  2763.  
  2764.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2765.          <p class="listitemwidth">
  2766.    <i>Radio and TV broadcasts will gradually cease.</i>
  2767.          </p>
  2768.  
  2769.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2770.    Not yet, for sure.  I can't see any evidence that there has even been a drop in
  2771.    terrestrial broadcasts, though it could be happening.  Some programmes, though, are only
  2772.    available by networks.
  2773.  </p>
  2774.        </li>
  2775.  
  2776.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2777.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2778.    <i>Traditional publication will mainly cease.</i>
  2779.  </p>
  2780.  
  2781.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2782.    There's a lot of evidence of that.  I read news“papers” mainly online, and it seems that
  2783.    that's a common practice.
  2784.  </p>
  2785.        </li>
  2786.  
  2787.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2788.          <p class="listitemwidth">
  2789.            <i>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_switched_telephone_network">public
  2790.    switched telephone network</a> will cease to exist.</i>
  2791.          </p>
  2792.  
  2793.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2794.    Yes, there's a lot of evidence of this, but not the way I thought.  Most people now use
  2795.    mobile phones, and while they <i>can</i> use the Internet, there's a dichotomy between
  2796.    the traditional mobile phone networks and the Internet.  It'll be interesting to see
  2797.    whether they can get their act together in the next 10 years.
  2798.  </p>
  2799.        </li>
  2800.  
  2801.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2802.          <p class="listitemwidth">
  2803.            <i>Internet privacy will gradually become less powerful.</i>
  2804.          </p>
  2805.  
  2806.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2807.    Maybe less powerful, but more obnoxious.  I can't decide on this one.
  2808.  </p>
  2809.        </li>
  2810.  
  2811.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2812.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2813.    <i>Pornography will not go away.</i>
  2814.  </p>
  2815.  
  2816.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2817.    This is clearly the case.  Porn seems to account for a large portion of Internet
  2818.    traffic, and it may provide the impetus for its expansion (why does the <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/">National Broadband Network</a> really think that people
  2819.    require a 1 Gb/s link?).
  2820.  </p>
  2821.        </li>
  2822.  
  2823.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2824.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2825.    <i>Software and media licensing will continue to be a contentious issue.</i>
  2826.  </p>
  2827.  
  2828.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2829.    Surprisingly, this seems to be becoming less of a problem, at least from my viewpoint.
  2830.  </p>
  2831.        </li>
  2832.      </ul>
  2833.  
  2834.      <p>
  2835. And then there were two things that I didn't want to predict:
  2836.      </p>
  2837.  
  2838.      <ul>
  2839. <li class="fullwidth">
  2840.          <p class="listitemwidth">
  2841.    <i>How important will social networks be?  Will they reach a plateau or even
  2842.    decline?</i>
  2843.          </p>
  2844.  
  2845.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2846.    I still don't know the answer to this one.  I don't follow social networks (well,
  2847.    hardly), but I have seen some evidence of decline.  But maybe that will just be to a
  2848.    plateau.  Certainly they seem to have taken over messaging such as email, breaking
  2849.    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interoperability">interoperability</a>    into incompatible, ugly proprietary formats.
  2850.  </p>
  2851.        </li>
  2852.  
  2853.        <li class="fullwidth">
  2854.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2855.    <i>Will the ideal
  2856.            of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting">telecommuting</a> become a
  2857.            reality?</i>
  2858.  </p>
  2859.  
  2860.  <p class="listitemwidth">
  2861.    I haven't seen much evidence.  The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19">COVID-19</a> pandemic gave a good reason to do so, but after it has quietened down,
  2862.    things seem to be reverting to on-site work.
  2863.  </p>
  2864.        </li>
  2865.      </ul>
  2866.  
  2867.      <p>
  2868. So: what do the next 10 years hold?  More of the same, I would think.
  2869.      </p>
  2870.      </div>
  2871.    ]]>
  2872.  </description>
  2873.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2874.  <dc:date>2024-03-07T00:48:04+00:00</dc:date>
  2875. </item>
  2876.  
  2877.            
  2878. <item>
  2879. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-011424</guid>
  2880. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-011424</link>
  2881. <category>technology</category>
  2882. <category>opinion</category>
  2883. <title>Keeping up to date</title>
  2884.  <description>
  2885.    <![CDATA[
  2886.    <div align="justify">
  2887.      <p>
  2888. Various sites are telling me that my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome"><i>Chrome</i></a> is out of date.  And
  2889. that only 5 months after installing the then latest and greatest!
  2890.      </p>
  2891.  
  2892.      <p>
  2893. OK, <i>pkg upgrade</i>.  “I will remove all the unrelated packages that are dear to your
  2894. heart, this time with the exception of <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/"><i>Emacs</i></a>”.  No thanks.  Build from scratch, trying not to get too annoyed at the
  2895. continual resizing of the screen.  Fail:
  2896.      </p>
  2897.  
  2898.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2899. <div style="text-align:left">
  2900.  <tt>
  2901. ===&gt; &nbsp;node&#45;20.10.0_1 has known vulnerabilities:
  2902. <br />node&#45;20.10.0_1 is vulnerable:
  2903. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;WWW: https://vuxml.FreeBSD.org/freebsd/77a6f1c9&#45;d7d2&#45;11ee&#45;bb12&#45;001b217b3468.html
  2904. <br />
  2905. <br />1 problem(s) in 1 installed package(s) found.
  2906. <br />=&gt; Please update your ports tree and try again.
  2907. <br />=&gt; Note: Vulnerable ports are marked as such even if there is no update available.
  2908. <br />=&gt; If you wish to ignore this vulnerability rebuild with 'make DISABLE_VULNERABILITIES=yes'
  2909. <br />
  2910.  </tt>
  2911. </div>
  2912. </blockquote>
  2913.  
  2914.      <p>
  2915. What kind of nonsense is that?  This is a ports tree updated this morning, and it seems that
  2916. <i>node</i> is required for one of
  2917. the most important ports.  How do they build it?  OK, try again,
  2918. with <tt>DISABLE_VULNERABILITIES</tt> set to an offensive comment.
  2919.      </p>
  2920.  
  2921.      <p>
  2922. That worked, then
  2923.      </p>
  2924.  
  2925.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  2926. <div style="text-align:left">
  2927.  <tt>
  2928. ===&gt; &nbsp;Installing for gmake&#45;4.4.1
  2929. <br />===&gt; &nbsp;Checking if gmake is already installed
  2930. <br />===&gt; &nbsp; An older version of gmake is already installed (gmake&#45;4.3_2)
  2931. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;You may wish to ``make deinstall'' and install this port again
  2932. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;by ``make reinstall'' to upgrade it properly.
  2933. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;If you really wish to overwrite the old port of gmake
  2934. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;without deleting it first, set the variable "FORCE_PKG_REGISTER"
  2935. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;in your environment or the "make install" command line.
  2936. <br />
  2937.  </tt>
  2938. </div>
  2939. </blockquote>
  2940.  
  2941.      <p>
  2942. So <i>Chrome</i> is so finicky that it really requires the latest and greatest <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/make/">GNU make</a>?  I don't believe a word of it.  But
  2943. once again I had to restart the build.
  2944.      </p>
  2945.  
  2946.      <p>
  2947. After that, <i>Chrome</i> built and installed.  But why is this <i>almost always</i> such a
  2948. pain?  Looking back through this diary, I have been having this problem every few weeks for
  2949. the last 25 years.
  2950.      </p>
  2951.  
  2952.      <p>
  2953. I wasn't done yet.  Stop the <i>Chrome</i> on <i>hydra:0.3</i> and restart it.  It displayed
  2954. on <i>hydra:0.1</i>!  Google breakage?  Doubtless, but not the way it seems.
  2955. The <i>Chrome</i> on <i>hydra:0.3</i> was running from <i>eureka</i>, something that I
  2956. thought no longer worked.  Stop the instance on <i>hydra:0.1</i> and I was able to start it
  2957. as I wanted.  How I hate broken software!
  2958.      </p>
  2959.  
  2960.      <p>
  2961. And, of course, was my flood of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHAs</a> recently related to this down-rev <i>Chrome</i>?  Potentially in part, but
  2962. it also happened with a recent version of <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox"><i>firefox</i></a>.
  2963.      </p>
  2964.      </div>
  2965.    ]]>
  2966.  </description>
  2967.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  2968.  <dc:date>2024-03-07T01:14:24+00:00</dc:date>
  2969. </item>
  2970.  
  2971.            
  2972. <item>
  2973. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-012951</guid>
  2974. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240307-012951</link>
  2975. <category>technology</category>
  2976. <category>opinion</category>
  2977. <title>Security above all</title>
  2978.  <description>
  2979.    <![CDATA[
  2980.    <div align="justify">
  2981.      <p>
  2982. CJ's and my pain <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=CJ%27s%20pain%20again&amp;article=D-20240306-020713#D-20240306-020713">yesterday</a> had a justification, at least from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">Facebook's</a> point of view.  Somebody had
  2983. compromised CJ's account, and they wanted to confirm that it was really he.  So they sent a
  2984. 6 digit code to his email system, which ultimately I read and typed into the Facebook
  2985. screen.  Then they wanted a photo of his driver licence, which I scanned in for him.  CJ
  2986. wasn't involved <i>at all</i> in verifying his identity!  And of course, they would by far
  2987. have preferred to send him a code to his mobile phone, if he had one.
  2988.      </p>
  2989.  
  2990.      <p>
  2991. When will people realize that this is a completely useless way to confirm identity?
  2992.      </p>
  2993.  
  2994.      <p>
  2995. A related issue is my <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=UnWise&amp;article=D-20240304-003913#D-20240304-003913">pain</a> with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_(company)">Wise</a>.
  2996. These <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHAs</a> drive me mad.
  2997. OK, try the workaround: Microsoft.  And it worked.  Yes, I had to fill out a CAPTCHA, but at
  2998. the end it was happy enough to tell me that I wouldn't have to do so again.  And finally I
  2999. was able to send my money, with only two messages sent to my mobile phone.  People, what's
  3000. secure about a mobile phone?  What if I had been stupid enough to enter the transfer details
  3001. on the phone?  Then a message to the same phone would be of no use at all.
  3002.      </p>
  3003.  
  3004.      <p>
  3005. In passing, the login on Microsoft also sent me an email message, asking me to confirm that
  3006. the following information was correct:
  3007.      </p>
  3008.  
  3009.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3010. <div style="text-align:left">
  3011.  <tt>
  3012. Was this you?
  3013. <br />Device &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Firefox, Windows 10
  3014. <br />Location &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Germany
  3015. <br />Date and Time &nbsp;5 March 2024, 04:54 (GMT)
  3016. <br />
  3017.  </tt>
  3018. </div>
  3019. </blockquote>
  3020.  
  3021.      <p>
  3022. It's been over a year since my network was registered as being in Australia.  What kind of
  3023. out-of-date data is telling them that I'm in Germany?  They could at least have used last
  3024. year's exchange rates, which would have given me an advantage of between 5% and 10%.
  3025.      </p>
  3026.      </div>
  3027.    ]]>
  3028.  </description>
  3029.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3030.  <dc:date>2024-03-07T01:29:51+00:00</dc:date>
  3031. </item>
  3032.  
  3033.                  
  3034. <item>
  3035. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-004955</guid>
  3036. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-004955</link>
  3037. <category>technology</category>
  3038. <title>Crash!</title>
  3039.  <description>
  3040.    <![CDATA[
  3041.    <div align="justify">
  3042.      <p>
  3043. One of the first things I do in the morning is check the load on <i>www.lemis.com</i>,
  3044. canonically named <i>lax.lemis.com</i>.  But the <i>top</i> program had stopped.  And so had
  3045. all the other windows to <i>lax</i>.
  3046.      </p>
  3047.  
  3048.      <p>
  3049. Oh:
  3050.      </p>
  3051.  
  3052.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3053. <div style="text-align:left">
  3054.  <tt>
  3055. <code><font color="blue">=== grog@lax (/dev/pts/4)</font> <font color="red">~</font> <font color="blue">1</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>uptime</tt></b></code>
  3056. <br />11:16PM &nbsp;up &nbsp;3:38, 8 users, load averages: 2.78, 3.14, 2.91
  3057. <br />
  3058.  </tt>
  3059. </div>
  3060. </blockquote>
  3061.  
  3062.      <p>
  3063. The system rebooted!  And yes, <i>/var/log/messages</i> confirmed:
  3064.      </p>
  3065.  
  3066.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3067. <div style="text-align:left">
  3068.  <tt>
  3069. Mar &nbsp;6 19:35:23 lax qpopper[19872]: Stats: ...
  3070. <br />Mar &nbsp;6 19:38:41 lax syslogd: kernel boot file is /boot/kernel/kernel
  3071. <br />Mar &nbsp;6 19:38:41 lax kernel: &#45;&#45;&#45;&lt;&lt;BOOT&gt;&gt;&#45;&#45;&#45;
  3072. <br />
  3073.  </tt>
  3074. </div>
  3075. </blockquote>
  3076.  
  3077.      <p>
  3078. What caused that?  The only other clues were:
  3079.      </p>
  3080.  
  3081.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3082. <div style="text-align:left">
  3083.  <tt>
  3084. Mar &nbsp;6 19:38:41 lax kernel: Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/rootfs [rw]...
  3085. <br />Mar &nbsp;6 19:38:41 lax kernel: WARNING: / was not properly dismounted
  3086. <br />
  3087.  </tt>
  3088. </div>
  3089. </blockquote>
  3090.  
  3091.      <p>
  3092. And that was all.  The second clue was that there was no dump or panic message, though
  3093. arguably that's because I don't have a <tt>dumpdev</tt> on <i>lax</i>.  So it looks like a
  3094. <a href="https://www.vultr.com/">Vultr</a> problem.  The good news was that
  3095. everything seems to have come up normally.
  3096.      </p>
  3097.      </div>
  3098.    ]]>
  3099.  </description>
  3100.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3101.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T00:49:55+00:00</dc:date>
  3102. </item>
  3103.  
  3104.            
  3105. <item>
  3106. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-010608</guid>
  3107. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-010608</link>
  3108. <category>technology</category>
  3109. <category>opinion</category>
  3110. <title>Aussie: support me!</title>
  3111.  <description>
  3112.    <![CDATA[
  3113.    <div align="justify">
  3114.      <p>
  3115. In the afternoon, my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC">IRC</a> proxy
  3116. failed again.  It's on <i>lax</i>, so off to check.  Can't reach system!  Has it gone down
  3117. again?  It didn't come back.  Can I access it via <i>ffm.lemis.com</i> (in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt/Main">Frankfurt/Main</a>, obviously)?  Yes!
  3118. So it's a routing problem.
  3119.      </p>
  3120.  
  3121.      <p>
  3122. A quick <i>traceroute showed:</i>
  3123.      </p>
  3124.  
  3125.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3126. <div style="text-align:left">
  3127.  <tt>
  3128. <code><font color="blue">=== grog@hydra (/dev/pts/45)</font> <font color="red">~/FreeBSD</font> <font color="blue">57</font> &#45;&gt; <b><tt>traceroute lax</tt></b></code>
  3129. <br />...
  3130. <br />&nbsp;5 &nbsp;be400.lsr1.nextdc&#45;s2.syd.aussiebb.net (180.150.0.172) &nbsp;174.822 ms &nbsp;174.776 ms *
  3131. <br />&nbsp;6 &nbsp;be30.bdr1.coresite&#45;la1.lax.aussiebb.net (202.142.143.199) &nbsp;182.125 ms &nbsp;179.557 ms &nbsp;180.318 ms
  3132. <br />&nbsp;7 &nbsp;* * *
  3133. <br />
  3134.  </tt>
  3135. </div>
  3136. </blockquote>
  3137.  
  3138.      <p>
  3139. Close, but no cigar?  It's reasonable to assume that <i>lax.aussibb.net</i>,
  3140. like <i>lax.lemis.com</i>, is located in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles">Los Angeles</a>.  Does Aussie have routing
  3141. problems?  Braved the expected response from “support”, called Aussie support on 1300 880
  3142. 905 and explained my problem.  Or at least, I thought I did.  I explained where
  3143. the <i>traceroute</i> stopped, and got the astounding question: “does it come up or go in
  3144. circles?”.  “Was the page loading?”, she meant.
  3145.      </p>
  3146.  
  3147.      <p>
  3148. My best guess is that she thought I was using a web browser to access the site, and that
  3149. “going in circles” is what some browser or another does while it's waiting.  After 4½
  3150. minutes on the phone it was clear that she thought that a router was a box on your desk that
  3151. connected to the wall.  I explained the very basics of Internet routing and that the buck
  3152. stopped in lax.  She said that routing was nothing to do with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aussie_Broadband">Aussie Broadband</a>.  I asked for
  3153. somebody more knowledgeable, but that didn't help much.
  3154.      </p>
  3155.  
  3156.      <p>
  3157. In the meantime, the system came back online, but I still wanted to follow up.
  3158. How <i>do</i> I report a routing problem?  I asked to be connected to a supervisor, and
  3159. after about 25 minutes I was connected to Mark, who at least sounded as he understood the
  3160. concepts.  No, there's no way to contact the networking people.  His suggestion: send email
  3161. and then call support 30 minutes later.  I pointed out that they claim to answer email in a
  3162. time frame of days, but he says that if I follow up with a call, it will get done in a
  3163. timely fashion (if 30 minutes can fall into that category).  I suppose it's better than
  3164. nothing.
  3165.      </p>
  3166.  
  3167.      <p>
  3168. And when I was done, I found that I had received an email:
  3169.      </p>
  3170.  
  3171.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3172. <div style="text-align:left">
  3173.  <tt>
  3174. Subject: Fault #27960640 created
  3175. <br />
  3176.  </tt>
  3177. </div>
  3178. </blockquote>
  3179.  
  3180.      <p>
  3181. Now what good is that going to do?  Will it get looked at?  Their "my aussie" web site
  3182. doesn't want to know about it.
  3183.      </p>
  3184.  
  3185.      <p>
  3186. Later Daniel O'Connor told me that I could get a business connection for the same price,
  3187. with a free static IP address, and with better service personnel.  Now that LEMIS has closed
  3188. down, can I still do that?
  3189.      </p>
  3190.      </div>
  3191.    ]]>
  3192.  </description>
  3193.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3194.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:06:08+00:00</dc:date>
  3195. </item>
  3196.  
  3197.            
  3198. <item>
  3199. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-014807</guid>
  3200. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-014807</link>
  3201. <category>technology</category>
  3202. <category>opinion</category>
  3203. <title>Working round Gmail breakage</title>
  3204.  <description>
  3205.    <![CDATA[
  3206.    <div align="justify">
  3207.      <p>
  3208. Once again I sent a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrödinger's_cat">Schrödinger's cat</a> email today.  The recipient was rejected, the Cc: address worked.
  3209.      </p>
  3210.  
  3211.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3212. <div style="text-align:left">
  3213.  <tt>
  3214. From MAILER&#45;DAEMON &nbsp;Fri Mar &nbsp;8 09:44:52 2024
  3215. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;jeffrab@gmail.com&gt;: host gmail&#45;smtp&#45;in.l.google.com[142.251.2.26]
  3216. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;said: 550&#45;5.7.26 This mail has been blocked because the sender is
  3217. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;unauthenticated. 550&#45;5.7.26 Gmail requires all senders to authenticate with
  3218. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;either SPF or DKIM. 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;Authentication results:
  3219. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;DKIM = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;SPF [hydra.lemis.com] with ip:
  3220. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;[45.32.70.18] = did not pass 550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;550&#45;5.7.26 &nbsp;For instructions on
  3221. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;setting up authentication, go to 550 5.7.26
  3222. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126#authentication
  3223. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;s31&#45;20020a63451f000000b005dc493c9496si14163290pga.507 &#45; gsmtp (in reply to
  3224. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;end of DATA command)
  3225. <br />
  3226.  </tt>
  3227. </div>
  3228. </blockquote>
  3229.  
  3230.      <p>
  3231. OK, we know that.  Just bounce it to him:
  3232.      </p>
  3233.  
  3234.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3235. <div style="text-align:left">
  3236.  <tt>
  3237. From MAILER&#45;DAEMON &nbsp;Fri Mar &nbsp;8 09:46:23 2024
  3238. <br />&lt;jeffrab@gmail.com&gt;: delivery via
  3239. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;gmail&#45;smtp&#45;in.l.google.com[142.251.2.27]:25: 250 2.0.0 OK &nbsp;1709851582
  3240. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;m12&#45;20020a633f0c000000b005e438e96ae6si14850286pga.601 &#45; gsmtp
  3241. <br />
  3242.  </tt>
  3243. </div>
  3244. </blockquote>
  3245.  
  3246.      <p>
  3247. On this occasion the IP address of the receiving MTA was different, but that doesn't seem to
  3248. be relevant.
  3249.      </p>
  3250.      </div>
  3251.    ]]>
  3252.  </description>
  3253.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3254.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:48:07+00:00</dc:date>
  3255. </item>
  3256.  
  3257.            
  3258. <item>
  3259. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015005</guid>
  3260. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015005</link>
  3261. <category>health</category>
  3262. <title>Cataract surgery date</title>
  3263.  <description>
  3264.    <![CDATA[
  3265.    <div align="justify">
  3266.      <p>
  3267. Call from Estelle from <a href="https://www.davidfabinyi.com.au/">David Fabinyi</a>:
  3268. yes, we can do my right eye first, I don't need to stay overnight in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geelong">Geelong</a>, and the two operations can be done
  3269. on 21 March and (pending success of the first) 11 April.  It should all be over by
  3270. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZAC_Day">ANZAC Day</a>.
  3271.      </p>
  3272.      </div>
  3273.    ]]>
  3274.  </description>
  3275.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3276.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:50:05+00:00</dc:date>
  3277. </item>
  3278.  
  3279.            
  3280. <item>
  3281. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015105</guid>
  3282. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015105</link>
  3283. <category>general</category>
  3284. <category>animals</category>
  3285. <title>Visit for next Anke clinic</title>
  3286.  <description>
  3287.    <![CDATA[
  3288.    <div align="justify">
  3289.      <p>
  3290. Anke Hawke is coming for the weekend for another clinic.  Not a good time, as it turns out:
  3291. the daytime temperatures will be round 38° for the whole time, and already 3 of 8
  3292. participants have canceled.  But one, Ainslie Kimber, is already here and staying with us.
  3293. She and <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> have plenty of things planned that don't rely
  3294. on the clinic.
  3295.      </p>
  3296.      </div>
  3297.    ]]>
  3298.  </description>
  3299.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3300.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:51:05+00:00</dc:date>
  3301. </item>
  3302.  
  3303.            
  3304. <item>
  3305. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015106</guid>
  3306. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015106</link>
  3307. <category>technology</category>
  3308. <category>opinion</category>
  3309. <title>Google: so nice, so nice, we do it twics</title>
  3310.  <description>
  3311.    <![CDATA[
  3312.    <div align="justify">
  3313.      <p>
  3314. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> and Ainslie over to Chris Bahlo's place today, despite
  3315. relatively tight timing.  I kept an eye on their location, and indeed they made it back in
  3316. time, apparently one by one:
  3317.      </p>
  3318.  
  3319.        <a id="Photo-64" name="Photo-64"
  3320.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240307&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-64">
  3321.          <img alt="This should be Google-Maps-detail.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_64"
  3322.               title="Photo Google-Maps-detail.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3323.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240307/small/Google-Maps-detail.png"
  3324.               width="477" height="142"
  3325.           /></a>
  3326.  
  3327.      <p>
  3328. Now how did that happen?
  3329.      </p>
  3330.      </div>
  3331.    ]]>
  3332.  </description>
  3333.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3334.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:51:06+00:00</dc:date>
  3335. </item>
  3336.  
  3337.            
  3338. <item>
  3339. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015452</guid>
  3340. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-015452</link>
  3341. <category>technology</category>
  3342. <category>opinion</category>
  3343. <title>IP address location: still broken</title>
  3344.  <description>
  3345.    <![CDATA[
  3346.    <div align="justify">
  3347.      <p>
  3348. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-sep2020.php?subtitle=Where%20am%20I?&amp;article=D-20200919-021307#D-20200919-021307">A few years ago</a> I noted how inaccurate IP location services are.  Now I have
  3349. officially moved my address block to Australia.  Have they improved?  Tried again today and
  3350. got:
  3351.      </p>
  3352.  
  3353.      <table summary="Automatically generated table">
  3354.       <tr>
  3355.          <td valign="top" align="left">Site</td>
  3356.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3357.          <td valign="top" align="left">Groggy</td>
  3358.       </tr>
  3359.  
  3360.       <tr>
  3361.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://iplocation.io/ip/192.109.197.129">iplocation.io</a></td>
  3362.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3363.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/50%C2%B040'01.6%22N+9%C2%B008'59.6%22E/@50.6670727,9.1487169,17.85z/data=!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d50.6671!4d9.1499?entry=ttu">Schellnhausen</a></td>
  3364.       </tr>
  3365.  
  3366.       <tr>
  3367.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://db-ip.com/192.109.197.129">db-ip</a></td>
  3368.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3369.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/50%C2%B006'39.2%22N+8%C2%B040'55.7%22E/@50.1109,8.6795497,17z">Frankfurt, Braubachstrasse</a></td>
  3370.       </tr>
  3371.  
  3372.       <tr>
  3373.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.criminalip.io/asset/report/192.109.197.129">criminalip</a></td>
  3374.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3375.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/33%C2%B029'38.4%22S+143%C2%B012'37.4%22E/@-33.494,143.2078197,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d-33.494!4d143.2104?entry=ttu">NSW, Garnpung lake</a></td>
  3376.       </tr>
  3377.  
  3378.       <tr>
  3379.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://ipinfo.io">ipinfo ipinfo</a></td>
  3380.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3381.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/37%C2%B048'50.4%22S+144%C2%B057'47.9%22E/@-37.814,144.9607197,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d-37.814!4d144.9633?entry=ttu">Melbourne GPO</a></td>
  3382.       </tr>
  3383.  
  3384.       <tr>
  3385.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/192.109.197.129">(ip2location)</a></td>
  3386.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3387.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/50%C2%B040'01.6%22N+9%C2%B008'59.6%22E/@50.6670727,9.1487169,17.85z/data=!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d50.6671!4d9.1499?entry=ttu">Schellnhausen</a></td>
  3388.       </tr>
  3389.  
  3390.       <tr>
  3391.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://nordvpn.com/ip-lookup/">nordvpn</a></td>
  3392.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3393.          <td valign="top" align="left">fail</td>
  3394.       </tr>
  3395.  
  3396.       <tr>
  3397.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://tools.keycdn.com/geo?host=192.109.197.129">keycdn</a></td>
  3398.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3399.          <td valign="top" align="left"><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/33%C2%B029'38.4%22S+143%C2%B012'37.4%22E/@-35.4328827,140.0648566,6.52z/data=!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d-33.494!4d143.2104?entry=ttu">NSW, Garnpung lake</a></td>
  3400.       </tr>
  3401.  
  3402.       <tr>
  3403.          <td valign="top" align="left"></td>
  3404.       </tr>
  3405.    </table>
  3406.  
  3407.      <p>
  3408. <a href="https://www.iplocation.net/ip-lookup">iplocation.net</a> offers multiple
  3409. lookups, some conflicting.  It claims that <a href="https://www.ipinfo.io/">ipinfo</a> has me in <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/51%C2%B009'36.7%22N%2b10%C2%B026'53.5%22E/@51.1602,10.4456197,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d51.1602!4d10.4482?entry=ttu">Niederdorla</a>, but ongoing there I'm suddenly in Melbourne again.
  3410.      </p>
  3411.  
  3412.      <p>
  3413. So what's wrong with this picture?  We have 5 different locations, all wrong:
  3414.      </p>
  3415.  
  3416.      <ul>
  3417.        <li class="fullwidth">
  3418.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  3419.            Schellnhausen: I lived there until 27 years ago, so the address is not completely
  3420.            fictive.  But that was 27 years ago!
  3421.          </div>
  3422.        </li>
  3423.  
  3424.        <li class="fullwidth">
  3425.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  3426.            Frankfurt am Main.  I have no idea where this came from.  Yes, it's a place I have been
  3427.            to, and maybe my German server is nearby, but that's in a completely different address
  3428.            range.
  3429.          </div>
  3430.        </li>
  3431.  
  3432.        <li class="fullwidth">
  3433.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  3434.    Garnpung Lake is presumably one of these deliberately obfuscated addresses.  It's just
  3435.            so far from the truth that it's not clear how they got there.
  3436.          </div>
  3437.        </li>
  3438.  
  3439.        <li class="fullwidth">
  3440.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  3441.            <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niederdorla">Niederdorla</a> is nowhere
  3442.            near anything I have had to do with.  And unlike Garnpung Lake, it's in the middle of a
  3443.            village.  But looking at the Wikipedia page, it's also in the middle of Germany, though
  3444.            the exact location is marginally different.  So maybe this is their way of saying “in
  3445.            Germany”.
  3446.          </div>
  3447.        </li>
  3448.  
  3449.        <li class="fullwidth">
  3450.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  3451.            Finally, Melbourne.  Arguably that's the best they can do with the information at hand.
  3452.            It's only about 130 km from here.
  3453.          </div>
  3454.        </li>
  3455.      </ul>
  3456.  
  3457.      <p>
  3458. The bottom line, though: although I have registered the net block in Australia a year ago,
  3459. the <i>majority</i> of the lookups put me in Germany, a couple even in a location that
  3460. disappeared over a quarter of a century ago, or three-quarters of the Internet history.
  3461. There's really no excuse for such completely inaccurate reporting.
  3462.      </p>
  3463.      </div>
  3464.    ]]>
  3465.  </description>
  3466.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3467.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T01:54:52+00:00</dc:date>
  3468. </item>
  3469.  
  3470.            
  3471. <item>
  3472. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-020837</guid>
  3473. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240308-020837</link>
  3474. <category>language</category>
  3475. <category>multimedia</category>
  3476. <category>opinion</category>
  3477. <title>Ladyhawke?  Werewolf?</title>
  3478.  <description>
  3479.    <![CDATA[
  3480.    <div align="justify">
  3481.      <p>
  3482. Watching <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089457/">Ladyhawke</a> on TV
  3483. tonight.  Somehow I didn't like it as much as on previous occasions.  But a question arose:
  3484. the heroes were the man who turned into a wolf by night, and the woman who turned into a
  3485. hawk by day.  For the latter they coined the term “Ladyhawke” (no explanation for the
  3486. terminal <b>e</b>).  What do you call a half man, half wolf?  There's a word for that:
  3487. “were” (an old word for “man”) and “wolf".  But that was probably not the impression they
  3488. wanted to create.
  3489.      </p>
  3490.      </div>
  3491.    ]]>
  3492.  </description>
  3493.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3494.  <dc:date>2024-03-08T02:08:37+00:00</dc:date>
  3495. </item>
  3496.  
  3497.                  
  3498. <item>
  3499. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-004001</guid>
  3500. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-004001</link>
  3501. <category>rant</category>
  3502. <category>general</category>
  3503. <category>technology</category>
  3504. <category>opinion</category>
  3505. <title>Is it a total fire ban today?</title>
  3506.  <description>
  3507.    <![CDATA[
  3508.    <div align="justify">
  3509.      <p>
  3510. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-dec2006.php#11">Seventeen years ago</a>, even before we
  3511. moved to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a>, I checked the
  3512. Victorian emergency services and discovered, as I put it at the time, that they “... think
  3513. of the web sites more as a geek sport than a way to disseminate information”.  You had to
  3514. search to find that kind of information.
  3515.      </p>
  3516.  
  3517.      <p>
  3518. It's looking like being a really hot weekend, again potential fire danger.  Times have
  3519. changed, and now I get informed when there's a total fire ban—by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat_Courier">Ballarat Courier</a>, who make the
  3520. <a href="https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/8547438/ballarat-heatwave-safety-tips-labour-day-weekend-precautions/">content</a> available without a subscription.  Today I received such a notification at
  3521. 15:00.  The emergency services web sites have learnt something in the last 17 years, right?
  3522.      </p>
  3523.  
  3524.      <p>
  3525. Wrong.  At 16:47:42 they issued a weather warning, but no mention of a fire ban.  And of
  3526. course a notification was sent to my mobile phone:
  3527.      </p>
  3528.  
  3529.        <a id="Photo-65" name="Photo-65"
  3530.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-65">
  3531.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_65"
  3532.               title="Photo VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3533.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/VicEmergency-7-detail.jpeg"
  3534.               width="443" height="152"
  3535.           /></a>
  3536.  
  3537.      <p>
  3538. Looking further at my phone, I saw:
  3539.      </p>
  3540.  
  3541.        <a id="Photo-66" name="Photo-66"
  3542.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-66">
  3543.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_66"
  3544.               title="Photo VicEmergency-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3545.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/VicEmergency-1.jpeg"
  3546.               width="177" height="384"
  3547.           /></a>
  3548.  
  3549.      <p>
  3550. That was after waiting many seconds for the page to update.  Before, which I unfortunately
  3551. missed capturing, it showed data for “2/28/24”, presumably a US American format.  What are
  3552. they thinking by displaying that information at all, and in that format?
  3553.      </p>
  3554.  
  3555.      <p>
  3556. No mention of a fire ban.  But with a bit of coaxing it was prepared to give a clue:
  3557.      </p>
  3558.  
  3559.        <a id="Photo-67" name="Photo-67"
  3560.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-67">
  3561.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-3.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_67"
  3562.               title="Photo VicEmergency-3.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3563.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/VicEmergency-3.jpeg"
  3564.               width="177" height="384"
  3565.           /></a>
  3566.        <a id="Photo-68" name="Photo-68"
  3567.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-68">
  3568.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-5.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_68"
  3569.               title="Photo VicEmergency-5.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3570.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/VicEmergency-5.jpeg"
  3571.               width="177" height="384"
  3572.           /></a>
  3573.  
  3574.      <p>
  3575. Where's the information?  In the colour of the map background.  Any fool (well, those at
  3576. VicEmergency, anyway) knows that orange means “total fire ban”.  If you have to, select
  3577. “Incidents” (which it isn't), and get:
  3578.      </p>
  3579.  
  3580.        <a id="Photo-69" name="Photo-69"
  3581.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-69">
  3582.          <img alt="This should be VicEmergency-6.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_69"
  3583.               title="Photo VicEmergency-6.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3584.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/VicEmergency-6.jpeg"
  3585.               width="177" height="384"
  3586.           /></a>
  3587.  
  3588.      <p>
  3589. People, this is literally a matter of life and death!  Why can't you get your act together?
  3590.      </p>
  3591.      </div>
  3592.    ]]>
  3593.  </description>
  3594.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3595.  <dc:date>2024-03-09T00:40:01+00:00</dc:date>
  3596. </item>
  3597.  
  3598.            
  3599. <item>
  3600. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-005517</guid>
  3601. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-005517</link>
  3602. <category>technology</category>
  3603. <category>opinion</category>
  3604. <title>What is “feels like” temperature?</title>
  3605.  <description>
  3606.    <![CDATA[
  3607.    <div align="justify">
  3608.      <p>
  3609. The other half of the fire danger is the weather, of course.  I've already established that
  3610. the Australian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Meteorology">Bureau of
  3611. Meteorology</a> has two competing weather forecasts, which can differ by a degree or two.
  3612. So when Ainslie mentioned her favourite mobile phone app, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accuweather.android&amp;referrer=af_tranid%3Di5-oVQfYUm1Hhiqqu5iNig%26pid%3DAWX%20Footer%20Link">AccuWeather</a>, I tried it out.
  3613.      </p>
  3614.  
  3615.      <p>
  3616. It didn't start well.  I needed the “AccuWeather Australia” app, which made sense.  And it
  3617. came up telling me that the outside temperature was 70°.
  3618.      </p>
  3619.  
  3620.        <a id="Photo-70" name="Photo-70"
  3621.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-70">
  3622.          <img alt="This should be AccuWeather-1-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_70"
  3623.               title="Photo AccuWeather-1-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3624.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/AccuWeather-1-detail.jpeg"
  3625.               width="254" height="266"
  3626.           /></a>
  3627.  
  3628.      <p>
  3629. No way!  This silly thing doesn't understand modern units!  Well, it does if you insist, but
  3630. why should you need to?  It should display in the units of the country for which it was
  3631. prepared.  Following “See 4 Hours” suggested that its biggest concern was rainfall, not
  3632. temperature.  Could it be that it comes from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>?  That would at least
  3633. explain the offer of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units">Imperial
  3634. units</a>, where they don't even mention <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Customary_units">US Customary</a>.
  3635.      </p>
  3636.  
  3637.      <p>
  3638. But the most interesting thing, and one that Ainslie particularly likes, is the “feels like”
  3639. temperature.  I'm obviously not clever enough to find it in the app, but in the image above
  3640. it claims that “RealFeel®” is 75° F (24° C)”, 3° higher than the actual temperature.  And in
  3641. general “RealFeel®” is higher.  But the BoM also has a “feels like” temperature:
  3642.      </p>
  3643.  
  3644.        <a id="Photo-71" name="Photo-71"
  3645.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-71">
  3646.          <img alt="This should be BOM-weather-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_71"
  3647.               title="Photo BOM-weather-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3648.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/BOM-weather-2-detail.jpeg"
  3649.               width="324" height="209"
  3650.           /></a>
  3651.  
  3652.      <p>
  3653. And here it's <i>lower</i> than the real temperature.  So what does it mean?  Ainslie
  3654. considers the “RealFeel®” temperature more important than the real temperature.  Should she?
  3655.      </p>
  3656.      </div>
  3657.    ]]>
  3658.  </description>
  3659.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3660.  <dc:date>2024-03-09T00:55:17+00:00</dc:date>
  3661. </item>
  3662.  
  3663.            
  3664. <item>
  3665. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-011522</guid>
  3666. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-011522</link>
  3667. <category>technology</category>
  3668. <category>opinion</category>
  3669. <title>CJ exploited?</title>
  3670.  <description>
  3671.    <![CDATA[
  3672.    <div align="justify">
  3673.      <p>
  3674. Mail from Eddie Purcell, who suggested that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">Facebook</a> would never ask for the kind of
  3675. information that CJ Ellis had to provide on <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=CJ%27s%20pain%20again&amp;article=D-20240306-020713#D-20240306-020713">Tuesday</a>.  Is he right?  Certainly it looked strange, but as I have been commenting
  3676. lately, lots of things look strange.
  3677.      </p>
  3678.  
  3679.      <p>
  3680. But then today <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> got a message from CJ via Facebook,
  3681. asking her to confirm who he was; she should have received a code on her phone.  He needed
  3682. her confirmation to be able to set up his mobile phone.
  3683.      </p>
  3684.  
  3685.      <p>
  3686. What, CJ and mobile phone?  Called him, no reply.  Sent him email, which Gmail refused until
  3687. I bounced it, and he called back in the evening.  No, still no Facebook access.  So somebody
  3688. has stolen his identity, and I helped them!  That's what comes of getting mixed up in things
  3689. you don't understand.
  3690.      </p>
  3691.  
  3692.      <p>
  3693. What do we do now?  Cancel what we can, maybe including his driver license, and report it.
  3694. But how?  These social networks should make it easier to freeze accounts.
  3695.      </p>
  3696.      </div>
  3697.    ]]>
  3698.  </description>
  3699.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3700.  <dc:date>2024-03-09T01:15:22+00:00</dc:date>
  3701. </item>
  3702.  
  3703.            
  3704. <item>
  3705. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-011622</guid>
  3706. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-011622</link>
  3707. <category>animals</category>
  3708. <title>Bruno stuck</title>
  3709.  <description>
  3710.    <![CDATA[
  3711.    <div align="justify">
  3712.      <p>
  3713. During dinner, we heard a bang, followed by a plaintive “meow”.  <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Bruno.php">Bruno</a> had fallen behind the washing machine:
  3714.      </p>
  3715.  
  3716.        <a id="Photo-72" name="Photo-72"
  3717.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-72">
  3718.          <img alt="This should be Bruno-3.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_72"
  3719.               title="Photo Bruno-3.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3720.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/Bruno-3.jpeg"
  3721.               width="302" height="223"
  3722.           /></a>
  3723.        <a id="Photo-73" name="Photo-73"
  3724.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240308&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-73">
  3725.          <img alt="This should be Bruno-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_73"
  3726.               title="Photo Bruno-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  3727.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240308/small/Bruno-1.jpeg"
  3728.               width="300" height="225"
  3729.           /></a>
  3730.  
  3731.      <p>
  3732. That's still better than last time, where <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> found him in
  3733. the machine with the dirty linen just before she started the wash cycle.
  3734.      </p>
  3735.      </div>
  3736.    ]]>
  3737.  </description>
  3738.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3739.  <dc:date>2024-03-09T01:16:22+00:00</dc:date>
  3740. </item>
  3741.  
  3742.            
  3743. <item>
  3744. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-013606</guid>
  3745. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240309-013606</link>
  3746. <category>language</category>
  3747. <category>opinion</category>
  3748. <title>Werwolf or Werewolf?</title>
  3749.  <description>
  3750.    <![CDATA[
  3751.    <div align="justify">
  3752.      <p>
  3753. After writing <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=Ladyhawke?%20%20Werewolf?&amp;article=D-20240308-020837#D-20240308-020837">yesterday's article</a> on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladyhawke_(film)">Ladyhawke</a> and werewolves, I checked my dictionaries.  The <a href="https://www.oed.com/">OED</a> disagrees with me about the etymology of the word
  3754. “werewolf”:
  3755.      </p>
  3756.  
  3757.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3758.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  3759.          Old English werewulf (once), = Middle Dutch and Dutch weerwolf, Middle High German werwolf
  3760.          (German wer-, wehrwolf), Low German werwulf; also West Frisian waerûl, warûle (and
  3761.          waerwolf after Dutch), ...
  3762.        </div>
  3763.  
  3764. <p class="listitemwidth">
  3765.  The first element has usually been identified with Old English wer man were n.1, but the
  3766.  form were- in place of wer- (compare however were- and wergild wergild n.), and the
  3767.  variants in war-, var-, makes this somewhat doubtful.
  3768. </p>
  3769.      </blockquote>
  3770.  
  3771.      <p>
  3772. So we have the rather strange claim that the derivation is doubtful, though it exists in all
  3773. West Germanic languages.  What do the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Grimm">Brothers Grimm</a> <a href="https://woerterbuchnetz.de/?sigle=DWB&amp;lemid=W18182">say</a>?
  3774.      </p>
  3775.  
  3776.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3777.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  3778.  werwolf, m. , mythologische bezeichnung für einen menschen, der auch in wolfsgestalt
  3779.  auftreten kann, mannwolf (wer 'mann, mensch', s.  1DWb wergeld). das wort ist im
  3780.  ahd. lediglich als eigenname bezeugt (Weriuuolf, s. zs. f. dt. altert. 12, 252) und in
  3781.  späterer zeit dann bei Burchard v. Worms und Berthold v. Regensburg (werwolf, s. u.) als
  3782.  gattungsbezeichnung nachweisbar. mhd. dichter haben werwolf offenbar nicht verwendet; erst
  3783.  seit dem 15. jh. erscheint das wort häufiger, teilweise in volksetymologischer umdeutung:
  3784.  bärwolf (so z. b. bei Luther; vgl. teil 1, 1146, beerwolf teil 1,
  3785.  1244). german. parallelen finden sich im ae. wer(e)wulf, im mnd. warwulf, im
  3786.  mndl.-ndl. weerwolf;...
  3787.        </div>
  3788.      </blockquote>
  3789.  
  3790.      <p>
  3791. Despite the archaic presentation, it seems that that was written in 1959.  And the OED
  3792. article?
  3793.      </p>
  3794.  
  3795.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  3796.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  3797.          First published 1926; not yet revised
  3798.        </div>
  3799.      </blockquote>
  3800.  
  3801.      <p>
  3802. Presumably it could do with revision.  My guess is that they would find another explanation
  3803. for the medial <b>e</b>.
  3804.      </p>
  3805.      </div>
  3806.    ]]>
  3807.  </description>
  3808.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3809.  <dc:date>2024-03-09T01:36:06+00:00</dc:date>
  3810. </item>
  3811.  
  3812.                  
  3813. <item>
  3814. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-031815</guid>
  3815. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-031815</link>
  3816. <category>technology</category>
  3817. <category>general</category>
  3818. <category>opinion</category>
  3819. <title>Weather forecasts</title>
  3820.  <description>
  3821.    <![CDATA[
  3822.    <div align="justify">
  3823.      <p>
  3824. Very hot day today, with a top of 40°, only 0.2° less than the maximum all summer:
  3825.      </p>
  3826.  
  3827.      <a href="Day/20240309/temperatures-2024-03-09-raw-big.png">
  3828.        <img alt="Click to see larger image" title="Click to see larger image"
  3829.             src="Day/20240309/temperatures-2024-03-09-raw-small.png"
  3830.             height="250" width="375" /></a>
  3831.  
  3832.      <p>
  3833. How did
  3834. the various weather apps predict the temperatures?
  3835.      </p>
  3836.  
  3837.      <table summary="Automatically generated table">
  3838.       <tr>
  3839.          <td valign="top" align="left">Time</td>
  3840.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3841.          <td valign="top" align="right">AccuWeather</td>
  3842.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3843.          <td valign="top" align="right">BoM</td>
  3844.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3845.          <td valign="top" align="right">Measured</td>
  3846.       </tr>
  3847.  
  3848.       <tr>
  3849.          <td valign="top" align="left">12:00</td>
  3850.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3851.          <td valign="top" align="right"></td>
  3852.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3853.          <td valign="top" align="right">32°</td>
  3854.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3855.          <td valign="top" align="right">33.1°</td>
  3856.       </tr>
  3857.  
  3858.       <tr>
  3859.          <td valign="top" align="left">13:00</td>
  3860.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3861.          <td valign="top" align="right">34°</td>
  3862.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3863.          <td valign="top" align="right">34°</td>
  3864.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3865.          <td valign="top" align="right">36.0°</td>
  3866.       </tr>
  3867.  
  3868.       <tr>
  3869.          <td valign="top" align="left">14:00</td>
  3870.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3871.          <td valign="top" align="right">36°</td>
  3872.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3873.          <td valign="top" align="right">36°</td>
  3874.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3875.          <td valign="top" align="right">36.5°</td>
  3876.       </tr>
  3877.  
  3878.       <tr>
  3879.          <td valign="top" align="left">15:00</td>
  3880.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3881.          <td valign="top" align="right">38°</td>
  3882.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3883.          <td valign="top" align="right">37°</td>
  3884.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3885.          <td valign="top" align="right">38.2°</td>
  3886.       </tr>
  3887.  
  3888.       <tr>
  3889.          <td valign="top" align="left">16:00</td>
  3890.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3891.          <td valign="top" align="right">40°</td>
  3892.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3893.          <td valign="top" align="right">37°</td>
  3894.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3895.          <td valign="top" align="right">38.0°</td>
  3896.       </tr>
  3897.  
  3898.       <tr>
  3899.          <td valign="top" align="left">17:00</td>
  3900.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3901.          <td valign="top" align="right">39°</td>
  3902.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3903.          <td valign="top" align="right">37°</td>
  3904.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3905.          <td valign="top" align="right">38.3°</td>
  3906.       </tr>
  3907.  
  3908.       <tr>
  3909.          <td valign="top" align="left">18:00</td>
  3910.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3911.          <td valign="top" align="right">37°</td>
  3912.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3913.          <td valign="top" align="right">36°</td>
  3914.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3915.          <td valign="top" align="right">39.5°</td>
  3916.       </tr>
  3917.  
  3918.       <tr>
  3919.          <td valign="top" align="left">19:00</td>
  3920.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3921.          <td valign="top" align="right">36°</td>
  3922.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3923.          <td valign="top" align="right">33°</td>
  3924.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3925.          <td valign="top" align="right">37.6°</td>
  3926.       </tr>
  3927.  
  3928.       <tr>
  3929.          <td valign="top" align="left">20:00</td>
  3930.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3931.          <td valign="top" align="right">33°</td>
  3932.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3933.          <td valign="top" align="right">30°</td>
  3934.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3935.          <td valign="top" align="right">32.3°</td>
  3936.       </tr>
  3937.  
  3938.       <tr>
  3939.          <td valign="top" align="left">21:00</td>
  3940.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3941.          <td valign="top" align="right">31°</td>
  3942.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3943.          <td valign="top" align="right"></td>
  3944.          <td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
  3945.          <td valign="top" align="right">26.6°</td>
  3946.       </tr>
  3947.    </table>
  3948.  
  3949.      <p>
  3950. What should I make of that?  Both are incorrect, but that was to be expected.  In general
  3951. AccuWeather shows higher temperatures than the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Meteorology">Bureau of Meteorology</a>, but
  3952. the relationship to reality is no better.
  3953.      </p>
  3954.      </div>
  3955.    ]]>
  3956.  </description>
  3957.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  3958.  <dc:date>2024-03-10T03:18:15+00:00</dc:date>
  3959. </item>
  3960.  
  3961.            
  3962. <item>
  3963. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-032632</guid>
  3964. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-032632</link>
  3965. <category>food</category>
  3966. <category>and</category>
  3967. <category>drink</category>
  3968. <category>animals</category>
  3969. <category>opinion</category>
  3970. <title>Clinic dinner fail</title>
  3971.  <description>
  3972.    <![CDATA[
  3973.    <div align="justify">
  3974.      <p>
  3975. First  day of the Anke Hawke clinic today.  In the past  the majority of the participants
  3976. came to dinner with us, but it seems that those days are over.  Apart from <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a>, Ainslie and Anke herself
  3977. (whom I saw briefly in the morning), the only other participants were Chris Bahlo and Julie
  3978. Donaghy, both of whom were too busy.  In the end, it was only Ainslie who joined us, and she
  3979. would have anyway.
  3980.      </p>
  3981.  
  3982.      <p>
  3983. A good thing too.  The dinner was a catastrophe.  Ainslie's “vegetarian”, though she also
  3984. eats fish, so we had <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/ikan-goreng.php"><i>ikan goreng</i></a>, <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/alu-masala.php"><i>alu masala</i></a> and <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/mixed-dal.php"><i>dal</i></a>.
  3985.      </p>
  3986.  
  3987.      <p>
  3988. But there were problems.  We usually make the <i>ikan goreng</i> with <i>tenggiri</i>
  3989. (Spanish mackerel) steaks, but we couldn't find any, so Yvonne bought swordfish instead.
  3990. The <i>alu masala</i> needs black mustard seeds, but we were out of them, so I had to use
  3991. yellow mustard seeds instead.  And our new blender wasn't able to puree the onions.
  3992.      </p>
  3993.  
  3994.      <p>
  3995. On serving, the fish was partially tough.  I thought that that was probably my fault, but it
  3996. was only in one place, so maybe it was just a problem with the fish itself.  And the <i>alu
  3997. masala</i> wasn't properly cooked!  It's potato cubes, and it had been cooking slowly
  3998. (clearly too slowly) for nearly an hour!  In addition, both of them weren't flavoursome
  3999. enough.  It seems that the tamarind paste that we used for both dishes was much weaker than
  4000. what we used to use.  I've seldom had such a poor result from considerable effort.
  4001.      </p>
  4002.      </div>
  4003.    ]]>
  4004.  </description>
  4005.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4006.  <dc:date>2024-03-10T03:26:32+00:00</dc:date>
  4007. </item>
  4008.  
  4009.                  
  4010. <item>
  4011. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-233704</guid>
  4012. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240310-233704</link>
  4013. <category>general</category>
  4014. <category>technology</category>
  4015. <category>photography</category>
  4016. <title>Relax!</title>
  4017.  <description>
  4018.    <![CDATA[
  4019.    <div align="justify">
  4020.      <p>
  4021. Somehow I didn't do very much today.  The continuing hot weather didn't help, but it seems
  4022. that I was just catching up with my mail; the <a href="https://www.tuhs.org/">Unix
  4023. Heritage Society</a> seems to be particularly active lately.  And I've been given for
  4024. review the draft of a book on running email servers, something very close to my heart.  And
  4025. then <a href="http://hugin.sourceforge.net"><i>Hugin</i></a> came up with some
  4026. problems that took me a while to fix.
  4027.      </p>
  4028.  
  4029.      <p>
  4030. But is that enough to keep me going all day?  It seems so.  Somehow I'm slowing down.
  4031.      </p>
  4032.      </div>
  4033.    ]]>
  4034.  </description>
  4035.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4036.  <dc:date>2024-03-10T23:37:04+00:00</dc:date>
  4037. </item>
  4038.  
  4039.                  
  4040. <item>
  4041. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-005416</guid>
  4042. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-005416</link>
  4043. <category>general</category>
  4044. <category>history</category>
  4045. <title>RIP Baron Louis Binos de Pombarat</title>
  4046.  <description>
  4047.    <![CDATA[
  4048.    <div align="justify">
  4049.      <p>
  4050. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> received sad news by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">Facebook</a> today: Baron Louis Binos de
  4051. Pombarat died yesterday at the age of 82.
  4052.      </p>
  4053.  
  4054.      <p>
  4055. Who?  I never met him.  But Yvonne did: she was married to him for about 10 years.  And that
  4056. was over half a lifetime ago.  How time flies!  Here's the first we have seen of him since
  4057. he was 40, with his nephew Jules:
  4058.      </p>
  4059.  
  4060.        <a id="Photo-74" name="Photo-74"
  4061.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240311&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-74">
  4062.          <img alt="This should be Louis-Jules.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_74"
  4063.               title="Photo Louis-Jules.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4064.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240311/small/Louis-Jules.jpeg"
  4065.               width="225" height="300"
  4066.           /></a>
  4067.  
  4068.      <p>
  4069.      </p>
  4070.      </div>
  4071.    ]]>
  4072.  </description>
  4073.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4074.  <dc:date>2024-03-12T00:54:16+00:00</dc:date>
  4075. </item>
  4076.  
  4077.            
  4078. <item>
  4079. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-010010</guid>
  4080. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-010010</link>
  4081. <category>food</category>
  4082. <category>and</category>
  4083. <category>drink</category>
  4084. <category>opinion</category>
  4085. <title>Alu masala wraps</title>
  4086.  <description>
  4087.    <![CDATA[
  4088.    <div align="justify">
  4089.      <p>
  4090. What do I eat for breakfast today?  I had decided on something different, <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/alu-lap-chong.php"><i>alu lap chong</i></a>.  But looking at the recipe, it
  4091. was almost the same as the <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/alu-masala.php"><i>alu masala</i></a> that failed so spectacularly on <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=Clinic%20dinner%20fail&amp;article=D-20240310-032632#D-20240310-032632">Saturday</a>.  How about using some of that?  And while I was at it, how about the couple
  4092. of <del>roti</del> “wraps” that were also left over?
  4093.      </p>
  4094.  
  4095.        <a id="Photo-75" name="Photo-75"
  4096.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240311&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-75">
  4097.          <img alt="This should be Alu-lap-chong-rolls.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_75"
  4098.               title="Photo Alu-lap-chong-rolls.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4099.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240311/small/Alu-lap-chong-rolls.jpeg"
  4100.               width="306" height="221"
  4101.           /></a>
  4102.  
  4103.      <p>
  4104. The rest was: cut the cubes more finely, add more tamarind (25 g!), lap chong and peas.  And
  4105. it wasn't that bad.  The 25 g of tamarind were a slip of the hand, but they proved not to be
  4106. too much.
  4107.      </p>
  4108.      </div>
  4109.    ]]>
  4110.  </description>
  4111.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4112.  <dc:date>2024-03-12T01:00:10+00:00</dc:date>
  4113. </item>
  4114.  
  4115.            
  4116. <item>
  4117. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-010407</guid>
  4118. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240312-010407</link>
  4119. <category>technology</category>
  4120. <category>history</category>
  4121. <category>opinion</category>
  4122. <title>Learning about email</title>
  4123.  <description>
  4124.    <![CDATA[
  4125.    <div align="justify">
  4126.      <p>
  4127. More reading of “Roll your own mail server”, the book I have to review.  Normally a review
  4128. takes me a couple of hours, but in this case I'm particularly interested, so I'm going
  4129. through it with a fine-tooth comb, and it looks like taking days.  I've been running my own
  4130. mail server for <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar1992.php#6">well over 30 years</a>, but I'm amazed how
  4131. much I have learnt.
  4132.      </p>
  4133.      </div>
  4134.    ]]>
  4135.  </description>
  4136.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4137.  <dc:date>2024-03-12T01:04:07+00:00</dc:date>
  4138. </item>
  4139.  
  4140.                  
  4141. <item>
  4142. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-002645</guid>
  4143. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-002645</link>
  4144. <category>photography</category>
  4145. <category>opinion</category>
  4146. <title>Film from Ukraine?</title>
  4147.  <description>
  4148.    <![CDATA[
  4149.    <div align="justify">
  4150.      <p>
  4151. Watching a forgettable <a href="https://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> clip “20
  4152. CAMERAS I'll NEVER Sell” (his capitalization) today:
  4153.      </p>
  4154.  
  4155.      <iframe width="300"
  4156.            height="225"
  4157.            src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QnaLx4NTm28"
  4158. allowfullscreen
  4159.            frameborder="0" >
  4160.     </iframe>
  4161.  
  4162.      <p>
  4163. None were exactly like mine, of course, but he had a <a href="https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kiev_rangefinder#Kiev-4">Kiev 4</a>, fully 20
  4164. years newer than my Kiev 3a, and also a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_FM3A">Nikon FM3A</a>, coincidentally 20 years
  4165. newer than my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_FM2">Nikon FM2</a>.  And
  4166. strangely no Asahi camera at all.  And for some reason, he fired the shutter of each to hear
  4167. the sound.
  4168.      </p>
  4169.  
  4170.      <p>
  4171. Firing the shutter on a film camera is an issue, of course.  What if there's a film in the
  4172. camera?  So he first turned the rewind knob to check that there wasn't: if there's no film,
  4173. it will turn freely.  If there it, there will be resistance.  But with his favourite, number
  4174. 1 camera, a pre-rangefinder Leica, he didn't.  And how about that, there <i>was</i> a film
  4175. in the camera: when he wound the advance knob, the rewind knob moved too.  I couldn't decide
  4176. whether that was deliberate or not.
  4177.      </p>
  4178.  
  4179.      <p>
  4180. How similar is the old Leica to my <a href="https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/FED_(Original)_(_FED_NKVD,_FED-S,_FED-1)">FED 1</a>?  Brought it out and compared.  Yes, definitely similarities.  My camera has a 50 mm
  4181. f/3.5 FED lens, a copy of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmar_(lens)">Elmar</a>, while his has some cheap aftermarket lens.  Cocked the shutter.  The rewind
  4182. knob turned!  There's a <i>film</i> in the camera!  And I had never noticed.  I have had the
  4183. camera for <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jun2022.php?topics=p&amp;subtitle=A%20camera%20from%20Ukraine!&amp;article=D-20220611-004250#D-20220611-004250">nearly 2 years</a>, but because of this horrible early Leica loading method (from below),
  4184. I hadn't even checked.
  4185.      </p>
  4186.  
  4187.      <p>
  4188. OK, I should take some photos with it, though I'd be much more interested to know if there
  4189. are already some photos on the film.  What kind of film?  In particular, what sensitivity?
  4190. I'd assume somewhere between 50/18° and 400/27°.  I'll have to bracket them to be on the
  4191. safe side.
  4192.      </p>
  4193.  
  4194.      <p>
  4195. But there's a problem: the aperture selector is stuck at f/4:
  4196.      </p>
  4197.  
  4198.      <div align="left">
  4199.  <a id="Photo-76" name="Photo-76"
  4200.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240313&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-76">
  4201.          <img alt="This should be Fed-Elmar-copy-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_76"
  4202.               title="Photo Fed-Elmar-copy-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4203.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240313/small/Fed-Elmar-copy-1.jpeg"
  4204.               width="300" height="225"
  4205.           /></a>
  4206.  <a id="Photo-77" name="Photo-77"
  4207.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240313&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-77">
  4208.          <img alt="This should be Fed-Elmar-copy-2.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_77"
  4209.               title="Photo Fed-Elmar-copy-2.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4210.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240313/small/Fed-Elmar-copy-2.jpeg"
  4211.               width="300" height="225"
  4212.           /></a>
  4213.  <a id="Photo-78" name="Photo-78"
  4214.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240313&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-78">
  4215.          <img alt="This should be Fed-Elmar-copy-2-detail.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_78"
  4216.               title="Photo Fed-Elmar-copy-2-detail.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4217.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240313/small/Fed-Elmar-copy-2-detail.jpeg"
  4218.               width="259" height="260"
  4219.           /></a>
  4220.      </div>
  4221.  
  4222.      <p>
  4223. I could have sworn that I had turned it when I got it, and that it was very (too) light in
  4224. operation, but looking at the photos I took when I got it, it was always set at f/4.  What
  4225. do I do?  Clearly I shouldn't force it, and the new photos show that there's quite a bit of
  4226. dirt in there, so possibly it just needs cleaning.  Or I could try to borrow a lens, just
  4227. for the one film.
  4228.      </p>
  4229.  
  4230.      <p>
  4231. And the old Leica as his favourite film camera?  No, just joking.  His favourite is the
  4232. Nikon FM3A.
  4233.      </p>
  4234.      </div>
  4235.    ]]>
  4236.  </description>
  4237.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4238.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T00:26:45+00:00</dc:date>
  4239. </item>
  4240.  
  4241.            
  4242. <item>
  4243. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-004659</guid>
  4244. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-004659</link>
  4245. <category>technology</category>
  4246. <category>opinion</category>
  4247. <title>More email review</title>
  4248.  <description>
  4249.    <![CDATA[
  4250.    <div align="justify">
  4251.      <p>
  4252. Spent a lot more time today reviewing “Roll your own mail server”.  It's getting a lot more
  4253. nitty-gritty now, but I still don't have a good feel about exactly what I should do.  It's
  4254. too early to criticize; for that I need to find my way through the book.  Maybe I should
  4255. write a <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/HOWTO/ryoms-cookbook.php">cookbook</a>.
  4256.      </p>
  4257.      </div>
  4258.    ]]>
  4259.  </description>
  4260.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4261.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T00:46:59+00:00</dc:date>
  4262. </item>
  4263.  
  4264.                  
  4265. <item>
  4266. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-224844</guid>
  4267. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-224844</link>
  4268. <category>photography</category>
  4269. <category>opinion</category>
  4270. <title>FED 50/3.5: Bug compatible</title>
  4271.  <description>
  4272.    <![CDATA[
  4273.    <div align="justify">
  4274.      <p>
  4275. Am I the only person who has had problems with the aperture setting on his FED 50/3.5 lens?
  4276. It's a copy of a Leitz <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmar_(lens)">Elmar</a>, so how about looking for issues with that lens?
  4277.      </p>
  4278.  
  4279.      <p>
  4280. Yes!  Many reports, though generally they were just stiff, not jammed, like <a href="https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/391621-leitz-elmar-f35cm-135-aperture-sticking/">this
  4281.        one</a>.  Suggestions that oiling would to the trick.  Tried that, with no immediate
  4282.        effect, and then found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> clip:
  4283.      </p>
  4284.  
  4285.      <iframe width="300"
  4286.            height="225"
  4287.            src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mQf01iHqf-I"
  4288. allowfullscreen
  4289.            frameborder="0" >
  4290.     </iframe>
  4291.  
  4292.      <p>
  4293. It's not very good.  No sound at all, and the explanations are marginal.  Also, I probably
  4294. need tools that I don't have.  Still, it's worth thinking about.
  4295.      </p>
  4296.      </div>
  4297.    ]]>
  4298.  </description>
  4299.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4300.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T22:48:44+00:00</dc:date>
  4301. </item>
  4302.  
  4303.            
  4304. <item>
  4305. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-224942</guid>
  4306. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-224942</link>
  4307. <category>technology</category>
  4308. <title>More ryoms</title>
  4309.  <description>
  4310.    <![CDATA[
  4311.    <div align="justify">
  4312.      <p>
  4313. Once again spent a lot of time reviewing “Run Your Own Mail Server” (which I keep feeling
  4314. should be called “Roll Your Own Mail Server”).  I'm making good progress, less so with my
  4315. accompanying cookbook.
  4316.      </p>
  4317.      </div>
  4318.    ]]>
  4319.  </description>
  4320.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4321.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T22:49:42+00:00</dc:date>
  4322. </item>
  4323.  
  4324.            
  4325. <item>
  4326. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-225048</guid>
  4327. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-225048</link>
  4328. <category>technology</category>
  4329. <category>health</category>
  4330. <category>opinion</category>
  4331. <title>More bloody CAPTCHAs!</title>
  4332.  <description>
  4333.    <![CDATA[
  4334.    <div align="justify">
  4335.      <p>
  4336. I've been bombarded with a lot of things to do for next week's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract">cataract</a> operation, and even more
  4337. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS">SMSs</a> reminding me to fill things
  4338. out.  Some of them make no sense at all:
  4339.      </p>
  4340.  
  4341.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4342.        <div class="listitemwidth">
  4343.          Please take a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_antigen_test">RAT</a>  test on the previous day, take a photo of the negative result along with your driver
  4344.  license, and then a screen shot to confirm the time.
  4345.        </div>
  4346.      </blockquote>
  4347.  
  4348.      <p>
  4349. What's wrong with this?
  4350.      </p>
  4351.  
  4352.      <ul>
  4353.        <li class="fullwidth">
  4354.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  4355.            It implies that you would rather lie about the results, potentially endangering
  4356.    yourself, than postpone the surgery.
  4357.          </div>
  4358.        </li>
  4359.  
  4360.        <li class="fullwidth">
  4361.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  4362.            It assumes that you haven't lied about the result.  What's the difference between a
  4363.            negative RAT test and an unused RAT test?  If there is one, how about somebody else's
  4364.            result?
  4365.          </div>
  4366.        </li>
  4367.  
  4368.        <li class="fullwidth">
  4369.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  4370.            It assumes that you have a camera.
  4371.          </div>
  4372.        </li>
  4373.  
  4374.        <li class="fullwidth">
  4375.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  4376.            It assumes that you can transfer the photo to a computer.  What if I take the photo with
  4377.            my FED and then send the film in for development?
  4378.          </div>
  4379.        </li>
  4380.  
  4381.        <li class="fullwidth">
  4382.          <div class="listitemwidth">
  4383.            It assumes that the screen shot will give some evidence of the time that it was taken.
  4384.          </div>
  4385.        </li>
  4386.      </ul>
  4387.  
  4388.      <p>
  4389. Particularly the time is a problem.  The target audience would presumably take a photo with
  4390. their mobile phone, which includes the time in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif">Exif</a> data.  Of course, many people can
  4391. manipulate the time.  But screen shots on my computer don't have any relationship to the
  4392. time they were taken.  And even if you take a screen shot of a photo on your mobile phone
  4393. (why?), you can change the name.  This whole thing makes no sense at all to me.
  4394.      </p>
  4395.  
  4396.      <p>
  4397. Of course, it also assumes that you have access to a RAT test kit, but that's reasonable.
  4398.      </p>
  4399.  
  4400.      <p>
  4401. And then there's <i>yet another</i> online form to fill out, 45 minutes they say.  Sign up
  4402. with their usual password restrictions.  Are you human?  Please fill out this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHA</a>!
  4403.      </p>
  4404.  
  4405.      <p>
  4406. <b><i>SCREAM!</i></b>  What earthly use would it make for a bot to fill out the form?  And
  4407. why do they submit people with visual problems to this insult?  Sent off an email to the
  4408. reception saying that I don't do CAPTCHAs, and asking for an alternative.  Yes, call this
  4409. help line...
  4410.      </p>
  4411.  
  4412.      <p>
  4413. Why do people do this?
  4414.      </p>
  4415.      </div>
  4416.    ]]>
  4417.  </description>
  4418.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4419.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T22:50:48+00:00</dc:date>
  4420. </item>
  4421.  
  4422.            
  4423. <item>
  4424. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-231632</guid>
  4425. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240313-231632</link>
  4426. <category>technology</category>
  4427. <title>autocutsel</title>
  4428.  <description>
  4429.    <![CDATA[
  4430.    <div align="justify">
  4431.      <p>
  4432. Callum Gibson came up with a new (to me, anyway) program today: <a href="https://www.nongnu.org/autocutsel/"><i>autocutsel</i></a>.  I haven't investigated in
  4433. detail, but it claims to keep the cut buffer and clipboard in sync.  It's not quite clear
  4434. whether this is a good idea, but until I understand the alternatives, it could be a good
  4435. approach.
  4436.      </p>
  4437.      </div>
  4438.    ]]>
  4439.  </description>
  4440.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4441.  <dc:date>2024-03-13T23:16:32+00:00</dc:date>
  4442. </item>
  4443.  
  4444.                  
  4445. <item>
  4446. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-005655</guid>
  4447. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-005655</link>
  4448. <category>health</category>
  4449. <category>technology</category>
  4450. <category>opinion</category>
  4451. <title>Registering for operation: the pain</title>
  4452.  <description>
  4453.    <![CDATA[
  4454.    <div align="justify">
  4455.      <p>
  4456. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=More%20bloody%20CAPTCHAs!&amp;article=D-20240313-225048#D-20240313-225048">Yesterday</a> I vented my spleen (which on the face of it was not involved) about the
  4457. appalling requirements to register for next week's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract">cataract</a> operation.  But there was nothing
  4458. for it: it had to be done.
  4459.      </p>
  4460.  
  4461.      <p>
  4462. Are they less obnoxious towards Microsoft users?  Tried it on <i>distress</i>.  Yes, they
  4463. still have a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHA</a>, but it's
  4464. just a matter of ticking the “I am not a robot” box—twice on different occasions.  On the
  4465. first occasion it sent me a 6 digit <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_identification_number">PIN</a>, not to prove
  4466. that I had entered the mobile phone number correctly, but to “authenticate” me!  And to give
  4467. me time to think, it waited up to 20 seconds before responding to every input.
  4468.      </p>
  4469.  
  4470.      <p>
  4471. And what a pain these forms are!  They ask all sorts of questions to which they already know
  4472. the answers, and I have to answer them in the format that they decide.  It took me 4
  4473. attempts to enter my address.  The first time it simply cleared the field again.  The second
  4474. time I ticked the “can't enter address” box.  Ha ha, only joking, you have to enter it.
  4475. Third time it came up with clever alternatives to “Stones Road”, all starting with “St
  4476. Albans”.  But on the fourth attempt it got bored and allowed me to enter the correct
  4477. address.
  4478.      </p>
  4479.  
  4480.      <p>
  4481. After about 40 minutes, I was finally done!  Ha, ha, no, that's just the first half of the
  4482. questionnaire.  Now your medical history, please.  When did you stop smoking?  August
  4483. 1975?  <i>Wrong!</i>.  You need to give the exact date!
  4484.      </p>
  4485.  
  4486.      <p>
  4487. Finally I was done, and I had to digitally sign the document.  OK, I'll bite, how?  It sent
  4488. another PIN to my mobile phone (number provided earlier in the ordeal), which I had to
  4489. enter.  What kind of children are they to think that that proves anything at all?
  4490.      </p>
  4491.  
  4492.      <p>
  4493. Why do people still do this?  I had a very positive impression of the facility up until now,
  4494. but these forms have raised bureaucracy to a new level.  An obvious example would be my
  4495. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19">COVID-19</a> vaccination status,
  4496. which should be available at <a href="https://service.vic.gov.au/">Services
  4497. Victoria</a>.  But the pandemic is over, so they're making it really difficult to access
  4498. that information.
  4499.      </p>
  4500.  
  4501.      <p>
  4502. Still, finally done.  Oh.
  4503.      </p>
  4504.  
  4505.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4506. <div style="text-align:left">
  4507.  <tt>
  4508. Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2024 05:21:10 +0000
  4509. <br />From: myadmission@sjog.org.au
  4510. <br />Subject: Online admission &#45; next step is ready
  4511. <br />
  4512.  </tt>
  4513. </div>
  4514. </blockquote>
  4515.  
  4516.      <p>
  4517. That's enough pain for one day.  Mañana.  As it is, it took all afternoon, and I had no time
  4518. to look at “Roll Your Own Mail Server”.
  4519.      </p>
  4520.      </div>
  4521.    ]]>
  4522.  </description>
  4523.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4524.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T00:56:55+00:00</dc:date>
  4525. </item>
  4526.  
  4527.            
  4528. <item>
  4529. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-011838</guid>
  4530. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-011838</link>
  4531. <category>politics</category>
  4532. <category>multimedia</category>
  4533. <category>opinion</category>
  4534. <title>Gaza Genocide: the other view</title>
  4535.  <description>
  4536.    <![CDATA[
  4537.    <div align="justify">
  4538.      <p>
  4539. After watching the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_Media_Network">Al
  4540. Jazeera</a> <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/16/ten-films-to-watch-about-the-history-of-the-israel-palestine-conflict">video series</a> about <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/5/23/the-nakba-did-not-start-or-end-in-1948">Al
  4541. Nakba</a> in <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-jan2024.php?topics=P&amp;subtitle=US-sanctioned%20genocide&amp;article=D-20240121-233903#D-20240121-233903">January</a>, I went looking for something that described the situation from the other
  4542. side.  I was only partially successful with some videos by <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Asher%2bSusser%22&amp;btnG=Groogle%2bSearch">Asher Susser</a> <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-feb2024.php?topics=HP&amp;subtitle=Nakba:%20the%20other%20side&amp;article=D-20240224-015352#D-20240224-015352">late last month</a>.
  4543.      </p>
  4544.  
  4545.      <p>
  4546. But now the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation">ABC</a> has produced a programme titled <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NC2403H004S00">The Forever War</a>, an interview with a
  4547. number of Israeli politicians and activists, most prominently <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehud_Barak">Ehud Barak</a>.  The usual Western gloss
  4548. over the problems?  By no means.  The fascinating thing is that many of the people agree
  4549. with me: <a href="https://justvision.org/portrait/yehuda-shaul">Yehuda Shaul</a>, a
  4550. former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces">IDF</a> commander, states “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu">Bibi</a> is a terrorist, and that it's not possible to destroy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas">Hamas</a>.  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Thrall">Nathan Thrall</a>, an “author and
  4551. essayist”, states that if the USA were to stop delivering arms, the “war” would be over.
  4552. But most interesting was what Barak said: “Bibi deliberately strengthened Hamas to keep them
  4553. in conflict with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority">Palestinian Authority</a>”.
  4554.      </p>
  4555.  
  4556.      <p>
  4557. The programme has a few rough edges, but I'm amazed about how the content matches my own
  4558. assessment.  Now when will the rest of the world sit up and pay attention?
  4559.      </p>
  4560.      </div>
  4561.    ]]>
  4562.  </description>
  4563.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4564.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T01:18:38+00:00</dc:date>
  4565. </item>
  4566.  
  4567.            
  4568. <item>
  4569. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-014039</guid>
  4570. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-014039</link>
  4571. <category>technology</category>
  4572. <category>opinion</category>
  4573. <title>CAPTCHAs: Not the site's fault?</title>
  4574.  <description>
  4575.    <![CDATA[
  4576.    <div align="justify">
  4577.      <p>
  4578. I've had a remarkable number of particularly irritating <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">CAPTCHAs</a> lately, and I've expressed my
  4579. displeasure in no uncertain terms.  But am I maybe pointing the blame in the wrong
  4580. direction?  In every case, it happened with a modern browser running on <i>hydra</i>,
  4581. usually <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/firefox"><i>firefox</i></a>.  I'm not sure
  4582. if it happened with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_%28web_browser%29">chromium</a> as well.  But with <i>firefox</i> on Microsoft, things worked with minimal
  4583. annoyance.  Can it be that there's something about the behaviour under <a href="https://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a> that rings alarm bells somewhere in the innards
  4584. of <i>something</i>?
  4585.      </p>
  4586.      </div>
  4587.    ]]>
  4588.  </description>
  4589.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4590.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T01:40:39+00:00</dc:date>
  4591. </item>
  4592.  
  4593.                  
  4594. <item>
  4595. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235327</guid>
  4596. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235327</link>
  4597. <category>general</category>
  4598. <category>technology</category>
  4599. <category>opinion</category>
  4600. <title>Fire recovery by Facebook</title>
  4601.  <description>
  4602.    <![CDATA[
  4603.    <div align="justify">
  4604.      <p>
  4605. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> told me today that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Fire_Authority">CFA</a> was holding a “fire
  4606. recovery day” today, 4 hours at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dereel">Dereel</a> Hall.  I can do without that, but why wasn't I informed?  Ah, only on
  4607. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook">Facebook</a>, assuming you're
  4608. subscribed to the right group.
  4609.      </p>
  4610.  
  4611.                  </div>
  4612.    ]]>
  4613.  </description>
  4614.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4615.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T23:53:27+00:00</dc:date>
  4616. </item>
  4617.  
  4618.            
  4619. <item>
  4620. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235417</guid>
  4621. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235417</link>
  4622. <category>technology</category>
  4623. <title>Configuring daily cron jobs</title>
  4624.  <description>
  4625.    <![CDATA[
  4626.    <div align="justify">
  4627.      <p>
  4628. <a href="https://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a> runs a number of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron"><i>cron</i></a> jobs every night to check for
  4629. things that could be problematic.  The jobs themselves are in the <i>/etc/periodic/</i>
  4630. hierarchy.  One of them (<i>/etc/periodic/security/110.neggrpperm</i>) produces this output:
  4631.      </p>
  4632.  
  4633.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4634. <div style="text-align:left">
  4635.  <tt>
  4636. Checking negative group permissions:
  4637. <br />find: /VB3/oldbackups/eureka&#45;FreeBSD/Downloads: No such file or directory
  4638. <br />141107070 &#45;rw&#45;&#45;&#45;&#45;rwx &nbsp;1 grog &nbsp;lemis &nbsp; &nbsp;313303 Oct 11 09:03:38 2017 /home/grog&#45;eureka/DxO/Modules/C14933a_000.caf
  4639. <br />141107071 &#45;rw&#45;&#45;&#45;&#45;rwx &nbsp;1 grog &nbsp;lemis &nbsp; 4713293 Aug 23 14:48:40 2017 /home/grog&#45;eureka/DxO/Modules/C15101a_000.caf
  4640. <br />141107087 &#45;rw&#45;&#45;&#45;&#45;rwx &nbsp;1 grog &nbsp;lemis &nbsp; 4745060 Aug 23 14:48:48 2017 /home/grog&#45;eureka/DxO/Modules/C19627a_000.caf
  4641. <br />...
  4642.  </tt>
  4643. </div>
  4644. </blockquote>
  4645.  
  4646.      <p>
  4647. What's that?  The issue, if there is one, is that the “other” permissions, the last three
  4648. letters in the mode output and here “<tt>rwx</tt>”, are more permissive than the previous 3
  4649. “(<tt>---</tt>)”.
  4650.      </p>
  4651.  
  4652.      <p>
  4653. That doesn't make any sense, but is it a security threat?  Not that I can see.  In this
  4654. case, it's <a href="https://www.dxo.com/dxo-photolab/">DxO PhotoLab</a> lens
  4655. correction modules, firmly entrenched in the Microsoft space, and for some reason <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_(software)">Samba</a> maps the permissions like
  4656. that.  The worst thing about them is that they get in the way of potential real error
  4657. messages.  Yes, I can just remove the file, but it turns out that there's a
  4658. file <i>/etc/periodic.conf</i> that allows you to configure the jobs:
  4659.      </p>
  4660.  
  4661.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4662. <div style="text-align:left">
  4663.  <tt>
  4664. &#45;&#45;&#45; periodic.conf 2022/05/12 08:31:23 1.1
  4665. <br />+++ periodic.conf 2024/03/14 23:13:09
  4666. <br />@@ &#45;268,7 +268,7 @@
  4667. <br />&nbsp;security_status_chksetuid_period="daily"
  4668. <br />
  4669. <br />&nbsp;# 110.neggrpperm
  4670. <br />&#45;security_status_neggrpperm_enable="YES"
  4671. <br />+security_status_neggrpperm_enable="NO"
  4672. <br />
  4673.  </tt>
  4674. </div>
  4675. </blockquote>
  4676.  
  4677.      <p>
  4678. Aaaah, that's better.
  4679.      </p>
  4680.      </div>
  4681.    ]]>
  4682.  </description>
  4683.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4684.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T23:54:17+00:00</dc:date>
  4685. </item>
  4686.  
  4687.            
  4688. <item>
  4689. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235427</guid>
  4690. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240315-235427</link>
  4691. <category>health</category>
  4692. <category>technology</category>
  4693. <category>opinion</category>
  4694. <title>Surgery: the other shoe</title>
  4695.  <description>
  4696.    <![CDATA[
  4697.    <div align="justify">
  4698.      <p>
  4699. I'm still not done with my webwork (virtual paperwork) for my cataract operation next week.
  4700. When I thought it was done, I got a mail asking me to perform the next step.
  4701.      </p>
  4702.  
  4703.      <p>
  4704. OK, dammit, get it over and done with.  “Please enter a credit card number for the gap
  4705. payment”.  That's unusual, but OK.  And it went relatively quickly.
  4706.      </p>
  4707.  
  4708.      <p>
  4709. And they deducted the money immediately!
  4710.      </p>
  4711.  
  4712.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4713. <div style="text-align:left">
  4714.  <tt>
  4715. Your payment was successful, a payment confirmation will be sent via email.
  4716. <br />
  4717. <br />Please complete your credit card details. If you selected 'Allow Automatic Charging of Incidentals’ your Credit Card details will be stored securely and only accessed if you have further incidentals payments after your hospital stay.
  4718. <br />
  4719. <br />Please do not refresh this page, it may result in a duplicate transaction.
  4720. <br />
  4721.  </tt>
  4722. </div>
  4723. </blockquote>
  4724.  
  4725.      <p>
  4726. Savour that “please do not refresh”.  Their software is so bad that they can't recognize
  4727. duplicates!  That was a basic tenet of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_Computers">Tandem</a> Operating System 50 years
  4728. ago, even before they changed its name to “Guardian”.
  4729.      </p>
  4730.      </div>
  4731.    ]]>
  4732.  </description>
  4733.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4734.  <dc:date>2024-03-15T23:54:27+00:00</dc:date>
  4735. </item>
  4736.  
  4737.            
  4738. <item>
  4739. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240316-011910</guid>
  4740. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240316-011910</link>
  4741. <category>animals</category>
  4742. <title>Larissa in pain again?</title>
  4743.  <description>
  4744.    <![CDATA[
  4745.    <div align="justify">
  4746.      <p>
  4747. This evening, we called <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/Albums/Animals/Larissa.php">Larissa</a> for
  4748. her daily meal.  She didn't get up.  She moved a little, and then apparently gave up.  It
  4749. wasn't until we lifted her into position that she finally walked off and ate her food.
  4750.      </p>
  4751.  
  4752.      <p>
  4753. Why?  It's not the first time that something like this has happened.  Is she having difficulty coordinating her legs?  <a href="http://www.lemis.com/yvonne/">Yvonne</a> thinks that it might be related to her being on the tiles, where she slips when she tries to
  4754. get up.  We need to keep an eye on that, maybe a video of it next time it happens.
  4755.      </p>
  4756.      </div>
  4757.    ]]>
  4758.  </description>
  4759.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4760.  <dc:date>2024-03-16T01:19:10+00:00</dc:date>
  4761. </item>
  4762.  
  4763.                  
  4764. <item>
  4765. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-013402</guid>
  4766. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-013402</link>
  4767. <category>gardening</category>
  4768. <title>More garden work</title>
  4769.  <description>
  4770.    <![CDATA[
  4771.    <div align="justify">
  4772.      <p>
  4773. Jesse Walsh along today again, this time with different tasks, notably pruning the bushes,
  4774. notably the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja_×_weyeriana">Buddleja ×
  4775. weyeriana</a> that has grown out of all proportion.
  4776.      </p>
  4777.      </div>
  4778.    ]]>
  4779.  </description>
  4780.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4781.  <dc:date>2024-03-17T01:34:02+00:00</dc:date>
  4782. </item>
  4783.  
  4784.            
  4785. <item>
  4786. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-013629</guid>
  4787. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-013629</link>
  4788. <category>technology</category>
  4789. <category>opinion</category>
  4790. <title>Putting ryoms to the test</title>
  4791.  <description>
  4792.    <![CDATA[
  4793.    <div align="justify">
  4794.      <p>
  4795. I'm about half way through my review of “Roll your own mail server”, and I'm running into
  4796. trouble.  So far I've been reviewing with my own knowledge of the material, but how he's
  4797. moving into areas that I don't know.  That's good, of course: that's why I'm interested in
  4798. the book.  But how can I review this content?  I had thought of moving through more quickly,
  4799. but I really need to try this stuff out for myself.
  4800.      </p>
  4801.  
  4802.      <p>
  4803. OK, what do I need?  As the author recommends, two systems that initially talk only to each
  4804. other.  Fine, revive <i>tweedledum.lemis.com</i> and <i>tweedledee.lemis.com</i>.  Set up
  4805. virtual machines.
  4806.      </p>
  4807.  
  4808.      <p>
  4809. OK, where?  <i>hydra</i> is the new machine, of course, but I haven't configured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox">VirtualBox</a> for it so far.  It proves
  4810. that I had already installed the software.  How hard can it be?
  4811.      </p>
  4812.  
  4813.      <p>
  4814. Oh.  The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUI">GUI</a> has changed, of course.
  4815. After working my way through that, I discovered that I needed at least to tell <i>VBox</i>
  4816. where the files are.  Did that, but it didn't find anything.
  4817.      </p>
  4818.  
  4819.      <p>
  4820. Oh, of course, I have to <tt>add</tt> the machines.  Why?  No idea.  And not much help.  Go
  4821. to <b>Tools</b>, click on the green <font color="green"><b>+</b></font> symbol, climb down
  4822. the directory tree to find a file with a name like <i>eureso/eureso.vbox</i>.
  4823.      </p>
  4824.  
  4825.        <a id="Photo-79" name="Photo-79"
  4826.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240316&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-79">
  4827.          <img alt="This should be VBox-2.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_79"
  4828.               title="Photo VBox-2.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4829.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240316/small/VBox-2.png"
  4830.               width="338" height="200"
  4831.           /></a>
  4832.  
  4833.      <p>
  4834. Click <b>Start</b>.  Oh:
  4835.      </p>
  4836.  
  4837.        <a id="Photo-80" name="Photo-80"
  4838.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240316&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-80">
  4839.          <img alt="This should be VBox-1.png.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_80"
  4840.               title="Photo VBox-1.png.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4841.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240316/small/VBox-1.png"
  4842.               width="340" height="199"
  4843.           /></a>
  4844.  
  4845.      <p>
  4846. Clearly it's too polite to complain, but if I ask for <b>Details</b>, I get:
  4847.      </p>
  4848.  
  4849.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4850. <div style="text-align:left">
  4851.  <tt>
  4852. Result Code: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
  4853. <br />Component: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; SessionMachine
  4854. <br />Interface: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; ISession {c0447716&#45;ff5a&#45;4795&#45;b57a&#45;ecd5fffa18a4}
  4855. <br />
  4856.  </tt>
  4857. </div>
  4858. </blockquote>
  4859.  
  4860.      <p>
  4861. What does that mean?  The web knows, lots of conflicting reasons.  The one that matches is
  4862. that I wasn't in the <tt>vboxusers</tt> group.  OK, add that and try again.  Same message,
  4863. but with different details:
  4864.      </p>
  4865.  
  4866.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  4867. <div style="text-align:left">
  4868.  <tt>
  4869. Could not launch the VM process for the machine 'eureso' (VERR_ACCESS_DENIED).
  4870. <br />
  4871. <br />Result Code: VBOX_E_IPRT_ERROR (0x80BB0005)
  4872. <br />Component: &nbsp; MachineWrap
  4873. <br />Interface: &nbsp; IMachine {85632c68&#45;b5bb&#45;4316&#45;a900&#45;5eb28d3413df}
  4874. <br />
  4875.  </tt>
  4876. </div>
  4877. </blockquote>
  4878.  
  4879.      <p>
  4880. What does that mean?  Maybe the web knows that too, but what I found suggested that I had a
  4881. VM that was too old, and that's possible.
  4882.      </p>
  4883.  
  4884.      <p>
  4885. OK, why am I using <i>VirtualBox</i> anyway?  That's an old, worn-out virtual environment,
  4886. I'm told.  The new one is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhyve">Bhyve</a>.
  4887. Read up on how to install that at <a href="https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/virtualization/#virtualization-host-bhyve">FreeBSD as a Host with bhyve</a> (just below <a href="https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/virtualization/#virtualization-host-virtualbox">FreeBSD as a Host with VirtualBox</a>), both well hidden in the <a href="https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/virtualization/">Virtualization</a> chapter, and not helped by the web, which didn't include that link, just the <a href="https://wiki.freebsd.org/bhyve">Wiki page</a> with mainly FAQs, the first of which is
  4888. <a href="https://wiki.freebsd.org/bhyve#Q:_Is_it_.22bhyve.22.2C_.22Bhyve.22.2C_.22BHyVe.22_or_BHyve.3F">Is it "bhyve", "Bhyve", "BHyVe" or BHyve?</a>.
  4889.      </p>
  4890.  
  4891.      <p>
  4892. Oh.  It's non-trivial, and it leaves me wondering whether I shouldn't stick
  4893. with <i>VirtualBox</i> on <i>eureka</i>, at least for current purposes.  The trouble is that
  4894. I have migrated all the VM files from <i>eureka</i> to <i>hydra</i>.  Once again logistics
  4895. are getting in the way of doing anything.
  4896.      </p>
  4897.      </div>
  4898.    ]]>
  4899.  </description>
  4900.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4901.  <dc:date>2024-03-17T01:36:29+00:00</dc:date>
  4902. </item>
  4903.  
  4904.            
  4905. <item>
  4906. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-020847</guid>
  4907. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-020847</link>
  4908. <category>technology</category>
  4909. <category>opinion</category>
  4910. <title>Microsoft does it again</title>
  4911.  <description>
  4912.    <![CDATA[
  4913.    <div align="justify">
  4914.      <p>
  4915. It's middle of the month, past the time where Microsoft crashes and restarts <i>distress</i>
  4916. and somehow manages to stop my <i>rwhod</i> from running.  They're getting more cunning all
  4917. the time.  In the past I have had to reinstall the program, but recently I haven't even been
  4918. able to do that: the file was marked <i>immutable</i> or whatever Microsoft calls it, and I
  4919. couldn't delete the old one.  I had to start as “Administrator” and manually remove it
  4920. before I could reinstall it.
  4921.      </p>
  4922.  
  4923.      <p>
  4924. But even that doesn't work any more.  First, I can no longer start
  4925. a <del>shell</del> <i>COMMAND.EXE</i> as Administrator.  Have they changed something, or
  4926. have I forgotten something?  Something about “right click”, but not the way I remember it.
  4927. A quick web search came up with <a href="https://www.digitalcitizen.life/run-as-admin/">13 ways to use "Run as administrator" in Windows 10</a>.  Thirteen!  Is that an unlucky
  4928. number?
  4929.      </p>
  4930.  
  4931.      <p>
  4932. But even as “Administrator”, I can't delete it!  But I <i>can</i> rename it to an
  4933. appropriate expletive.  What a pain this Microsoft is!
  4934.      </p>
  4935.      </div>
  4936.    ]]>
  4937.  </description>
  4938.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4939.  <dc:date>2024-03-17T02:08:47+00:00</dc:date>
  4940. </item>
  4941.  
  4942.            
  4943. <item>
  4944. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-023712</guid>
  4945. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-023712</link>
  4946. <category>animals</category>
  4947. <title>Kangaroo visit</title>
  4948.  <description>
  4949.    <![CDATA[
  4950.    <div align="justify">
  4951.      <p>
  4952. It's been a while since we've had a kangaroo come visit:
  4953.      </p>
  4954.  
  4955.        <a id="Photo-81" name="Photo-81"
  4956.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240316&amp;imagesizes=1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-81">
  4957.          <img alt="This should be Kangaroo-4.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_81"
  4958.               title="Photo Kangaroo-4.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4959.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240316/small/Kangaroo-4.jpeg"
  4960.               width="300" height="225"
  4961.           /></a>
  4962.        <a id="Photo-82" name="Photo-82"
  4963.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240316&amp;imagesizes=11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-82">
  4964.          <img alt="This should be Kangaroo-3.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_82"
  4965.               title="Photo Kangaroo-3.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4966.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240316/small/Kangaroo-3.jpeg"
  4967.               width="300" height="225"
  4968.           /></a>
  4969.  
  4970.      <p>
  4971.      </p>
  4972.      </div>
  4973.    ]]>
  4974.  </description>
  4975.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  4976.  <dc:date>2024-03-17T02:37:12+00:00</dc:date>
  4977. </item>
  4978.  
  4979.                  
  4980. <item>
  4981. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-235852</guid>
  4982. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240317-235852</link>
  4983. <category>food</category>
  4984. <category>and</category>
  4985. <category>drink</category>
  4986. <title>New “Laksa” noodles</title>
  4987.  <description>
  4988.    <![CDATA[
  4989.    <div align="justify">
  4990.      <p>
  4991. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/penang-laksa.php">Penang laksa</a> for breakfast today, but no
  4992. noodles in the freezer.  Where are the fresh ones?  I didn't find them, only this kind:
  4993.      </p>
  4994.  
  4995.        <a id="Photo-83" name="Photo-83"
  4996.          href="diary-mar2024.php?dirdate=20240317&amp;imagesizes=111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112#Photo-83">
  4997.          <img alt="This should be Chilli-laksa-noodles-1.jpeg.  Is it missing?" border="0" id="Photo_83"
  4998.               title="Photo Chilli-laksa-noodles-1.jpeg.  Click to redisplay larger version of image."
  4999.               src="https://lemis.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/grog/Photos/20240317/small/Chilli-laksa-noodles-1.jpeg"
  5000.               width="225" height="300"
  5001.           /></a>
  5002.  
  5003.      <p>
  5004. OK, the eternal question with a new kind of noodle: how long do you cook them?  These
  5005. instructions were interesting: soak for 15 minutes, <i>then</i> boil them for 5 minutes.
  5006. That makes more sense in light of other noodles that just want to be soaked, like the
  5007. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/recipes/noodle-cooking-times.php#twenty-twenty">Twenty-twenty</a> noodles
  5008. that I had actually been looking for.  OK, try it out.  Yes, for once it works.  But somehow
  5009. they don't seem to be laksa noodles, just ordinary rice noodles.  That's probably because
  5010. they're from Singapore, which already has a very different kind of laksa.
  5011.      </p>
  5012.      </div>
  5013.    ]]>
  5014.  </description>
  5015.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  5016.  <dc:date>2024-03-17T23:58:52+00:00</dc:date>
  5017. </item>
  5018.  
  5019.            
  5020. <item>
  5021. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240318-000759</guid>
  5022. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240318-000759</link>
  5023. <category>technology</category>
  5024. <category>photography</category>
  5025. <category>history</category>
  5026. <category>general</category>
  5027. <title>Reprocessing old photos</title>
  5028.  <description>
  5029.    <![CDATA[
  5030.    <div align="justify">
  5031.      <p>
  5032. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2014.php?subtitle=Great%20Ocean%20Road%20again&amp;article=D-20140318-013457#D-20140318-013457">Ten years ago today</a> I drove along the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ocean_Road">Great Ocean Road</a> with Jörg Micheel
  5033.        and his son Richard.  Lots of <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/photos/Photos.php?dirdate=20140317">photos</a>, of course, which I processed with the means at my disposal in those days.
  5034.      </p>
  5035.  
  5036.      <p>
  5037. Can I improve on things?  The biggest difference is the “optimizer”.  In those days I used
  5038. the <a href="https://www.ashampoo.com/en-us/photo-optimizer/">Ashampoo optimizer</a>, which frequently improved things, but left something to be desired.  In <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-nov2021.php?subtitle=Am%20I%20perfectly%20clear?&amp;article=D-20211124-013047#D-20211124-013047">November 2021</a> I switched to <a href="https://eyeq.photos/">“Perfectly Clear”</a>, which, though discontinued, seems to be better.
  5039.      </p>
  5040.  
  5041.      <p>
  5042. OK, I already have a script for reprocessing old photos, and it works most of the time (very
  5043. old directories have different structures).  Part of the script generates a web page that
  5044. compares the images before and after optimization.  But what about the difference between
  5045. Ashampoo and Perfectly Clear?  Today spent a surprisingly short period of time modifying the
  5046. script for a three-way comparison.  And it seems that this reprocessing was a particularly
  5047. good example.  I had noted at the time that the extreme lighting had caused problems,
  5048. particularly with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala">koalas</a>.
  5049. Here the original, the results with Perfectly Clear, and the results with Ashampoo:
  5050.      </p>
  5051.  
  5052.      <img alt="Image" border="0"
  5053.           id="image_70"
  5054.           onmouseover="setimage('image_70', 'Day/20140317/after-Koalas-110.jpeg');"
  5055.           onmouseout="setimage('image_70', 'Day/20140317/before-Koalas-110.jpeg');"
  5056.           title="Before image"
  5057.           src="Day/20140317/before-Koalas-110.jpeg" />
  5058.      <img alt="Image" border="0"
  5059.            title="After image"
  5060.            src="Day/20140317/after-Koalas-110.jpeg" />
  5061.      <img alt="Image" border="0"
  5062.           id="older_70"
  5063.           onmouseover="setimage('older_70', 'Day/20140317/after-Koalas-110.jpeg');"
  5064.           onmouseout="setimage('older_70', 'Day/20140317/older-Koalas-110.jpeg');"
  5065.           title="Older image"
  5066.           src="Day/20140317/older-Koalas-110.jpeg" />
  5067.  
  5068.      <p>
  5069. That's a particularly clear example for the improvement.
  5070.      </p>
  5071.      </div>
  5072.    ]]>
  5073.  </description>
  5074.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  5075.  <dc:date>2024-03-18T00:07:59+00:00</dc:date>
  5076. </item>
  5077.  
  5078.            
  5079. <item>
  5080. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240318-005338</guid>
  5081. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240318-005338</link>
  5082. <category>technology</category>
  5083. <title>More VirtualBox setup</title>
  5084.  <description>
  5085.    <![CDATA[
  5086.    <div align="justify">
  5087.      <p>
  5088. <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php?subtitle=Putting%20ryoms%20to%20the%20test&amp;article=D-20240317-013629#D-20240317-013629">Yesterday</a> I established that I couldn't run my old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox">VirtualBox</a> VMs on <i>hydra</i>, at least
  5089. not without changes that I didn't want to make.  What about <i>tweedledum</i>?  No, it
  5090. didn't want to know about that either.
  5091.      </p>
  5092.  
  5093.      <p>
  5094. OK, run on <i>eureka</i>.  Install a standard <a href="https://www.freebsd.org/">FreeBSD</a> 14.0-RELEASE system, even with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZFS">ZFS</a>, and as close to default as made sense.
  5095. The only changes were to enable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Time_Protocol">NTP</a>.
  5096. Everything went well, but of course the network interface didn't work: the default network
  5097. is NAT, and what I want is a bridged network.  I've <a href="http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2016.php?subtitle=VirtualBox%20again&amp;article=D-20160324-221205#D-20160324-221205">seen this before</a>, but I now wonder why these defaults just don't work.
  5098.      </p>
  5099.  
  5100.      <p>
  5101. OK, shut down the VM, set the network parameters.  Oh.  It only offered me the “choice” of
  5102. interface <i>re0</i>.  But <i>eureka</i> doesn't have an <i>re0</i>, just <i>xl0</i> (which
  5103. I don't want, and which in the past has been its preference) and <i>em0</i> (which I do).
  5104. Where did <i>re0</i> come from?  That's on <i>hydra</i>!  But the VirtualBox is running
  5105. on <i>eureka</i>!  And I couldn't start it again, with a meaningless error message that
  5106. looked like the one I had seen before.
  5107.      </p>
  5108.  
  5109.      <p>
  5110. Dammit, does nothing work?  Yes, I had started VirtualBox to <i>display</i> on <i>hydra</i>,
  5111. but that's no reason for it to look at anything else on <i>hydra</i>.  So I need to go back
  5112. to <i>eureka</i> and see if I can get it to work there.
  5113.      </p>
  5114.      </div>
  5115.    ]]>
  5116.  </description>
  5117.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  5118.  <dc:date>2024-03-18T00:53:38+00:00</dc:date>
  5119. </item>
  5120.  
  5121.                        
  5122. <item>
  5123. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240319-011347</guid>
  5124. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240319-011347</link>
  5125. <category>technology</category>
  5126. <title>Virtual machines for ryoms</title>
  5127.  <description>
  5128.    <![CDATA[
  5129.    <div align="justify">
  5130.      <p>
  5131. More playing around with virtual machines for “Roll Your Own Mail Server” today.  Strange
  5132. things happened when I ran <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox">VirtualBox</a> on <i>eureka</i> but displayed on <i>hydra</i>.  What about displaying
  5133. on <i>eureka</i>?
  5134.      </p>
  5135.  
  5136.      <p>
  5137. Yes, almost.  Still this issue with the kernel modules.  There are three of them,
  5138. but <i>vboxnetadp</i> was missing.  In the past I've had issues with the sequence of
  5139. loading, but today I found the solution: load <i>only</i> <i>vboxnetadp</i>, and it will
  5140. load the other two, and, it seems, also <i>ng_ether</i>.
  5141.      </p>
  5142.  
  5143.      <p>
  5144. And, to my surprise, things mainly worked, modulo a couple of surprises.  The network wasn't
  5145. set up correctly, presumably because of the issues getting it to work when I installed it,
  5146. so I had to set up <i>/etc/resolv.conf</i> and the host IP address and default router
  5147. in <i>/etc/rc.conf</i>.  But after that I was able to install <i>bash</i>, <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/"><i>Emacs</i></a> and <i>xterm</i>, allowing me to
  5148. access the machine relatively easily.
  5149.      </p>
  5150.  
  5151.      <p>
  5152. Next, install the packages that the author wants:
  5153.      </p>
  5154.  
  5155.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  5156. <div style="text-align:left">
  5157.  <tt>
  5158. [root@tweedledum /home/grog/ryoms/Logs]# <b>Log pkg install postfix mutt dovecot rspamd mariadb apache</b>
  5159. <br />pkg: No packages available to install matching 'mariadb' have been found in the repositories
  5160. <br />pkg: No packages available to install matching 'apache' have been found in the repositories
  5161. <br />
  5162.  </tt>
  5163. </div>
  5164. </blockquote>
  5165.  
  5166.      <p>
  5167. Ah, of course, it's <i>apache<b>24</b></i> and <i>mariadb<b>106-server</b></i>
  5168. and <i>mariadb<b>106-client</b></i>.  Another of my favourite gripes about the Ports
  5169. Collection.
  5170.      </p>
  5171.  
  5172.      <p>
  5173. But then it installed, and quickly.  What a surprise!  Now I need to find out how to set up
  5174. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X.509">X.509</a> certificates and I can set
  5175. up my test servers.
  5176.      </p>
  5177.      </div>
  5178.    ]]>
  5179.  </description>
  5180.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  5181.  <dc:date>2024-03-19T01:13:47+00:00</dc:date>
  5182. </item>
  5183.  
  5184.            
  5185. <item>
  5186. <guid isPermaLink='true'>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240319-012416</guid>
  5187. <link>http://www.lemis.com/grog/diary-mar2024.php#D-20240319-012416</link>
  5188. <category>technology</category>
  5189. <category>opinion</category>
  5190. <title>If it's broke, don't fix it</title>
  5191.  <description>
  5192.    <![CDATA[
  5193.    <div align="justify">
  5194.      <p>
  5195. <i>tweedledum</i> is my first “machine” with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZFS">ZFS</a>.  It installed a default set of file
  5196. systems:
  5197.      </p>
  5198.  
  5199.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  5200. <div style="text-align:left">
  5201.  <tt>
  5202. [root@tweedledum /home/grog/ryoms/Logs]# &lt;b&gt;df &#45;c&lt;/b&gt;
  5203. <br />Filesystem &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 1K&#45;blocks &nbsp; &nbsp;Used &nbsp; &nbsp;Avail Capacity &nbsp;Mounted on
  5204. <br />zroot/ROOT/default &nbsp;61665232 1852404 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 3% &nbsp; &nbsp;/
  5205. <br />zroot/tmp &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812932 &nbsp; &nbsp; 104 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/tmp
  5206. <br />zroot/home &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;59812964 &nbsp; &nbsp; 136 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/home
  5207. <br />zroot/var/audit &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812924 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;96 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/var/audit
  5208. <br />zroot &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812924 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;96 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/zroot
  5209. <br />zroot/var/log &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59813004 &nbsp; &nbsp; 176 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/var/log
  5210. <br />zroot/var/crash &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812924 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;96 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/var/crash
  5211. <br />zroot/usr/ports &nbsp; &nbsp; 60633592 &nbsp;820764 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 1% &nbsp; &nbsp;/usr/ports
  5212. <br />zroot/var/mail &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;59812952 &nbsp; &nbsp; 124 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/var/mail
  5213. <br />zroot/usr/src &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812924 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;96 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/usr/src
  5214. <br />zroot/var/tmp &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 59812924 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;96 59812828 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/var/tmp
  5215. <br />total &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;660615165 2674188 657940977 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0%
  5216. <br />
  5217.  </tt>
  5218. </div>
  5219. </blockquote>
  5220.  
  5221.      <p>
  5222. OK, I'll bite.  I assigned 64 GB of disk (<i>tweedledum.vdi</i>), which correspond to 2 GB
  5223. on disk.  But <i>df</i> is telling me that I have 660 GB!
  5224.      </p>
  5225.  
  5226.      <p>
  5227. Clearly it's lying.  The <tt>Used</tt> column is probably correct; the total size
  5228. and <tt>Avail</tt> are clearly wrong.  So I mentioned it on IRC, and once again I got
  5229. responses that blow my mind.
  5230.      </p>
  5231.  
  5232.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  5233. <div style="text-align:left">
  5234.  <tt>
  5235. Naysayer: Unix/POSIX doesn't have the concept of file system(s) sharing a pool of storage
  5236. <br />Naysayer: it would also fail if you use (say) PEFS
  5237. <br />Naysayer: or probably any other layered file system
  5238. <br />Groggy: If it fails, then it's broke.
  5239. <br />Naysayer: what about other overlay file systems?
  5240. <br />Naysayer: seems like you just want ZFS to not exist with the weak excuse they didn't magically fix POSIX brain damage
  5241. <br />Naysayer: one I use: PEFS
  5242. <br />Groggy: Where's the brain damage?
  5243. <br />Naysayer: &nbsp;/local0/crypt on /local0/crypt (pefs, local, nosuid, mounted by radar)
  5244. <br />Naysayer: [patest 4:48] ~ &gt;df &#45;c /local0 /local0/crypt
  5245. <br />Naysayer: Filesystem &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1K&#45;blocks &nbsp; &nbsp;Used &nbsp; &nbsp; Avail Capacity &nbsp;Mounted on
  5246. <br />Naysayer: /dev/gptid/523c6d2b&#45;ca8f&#45;11ec&#45;b6c5&#45;94de8081be56 395648196 1290052 362706292 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/local0
  5247. <br />Naysayer: /local0/crypt &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 395648196 1290052 362706292 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0% &nbsp; &nbsp;/local0/crypt
  5248. <br />Naysayer: total &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 791296392 2580104 725412584 &nbsp; &nbsp; 0%
  5249. <br />Groggy: Right, that looks broke too.
  5250. <br />Naysayer: but I'm not taking on responsibility for fixing kernel interfaces so du can learn what file systems are backed by others
  5251. <br />Groggy: So: looking at a ZFS collection of file systems.
  5252. <br />Groggy: In any case, presumably these pools, or whatever they're called, belong to a single group or a small number of groups.
  5253. <br />Groggy: So if I allocate something out of one of them, there's less left for the rest.
  5254. <br />Naysayer: "hey I wrote an encrypted overlay file system, isn't it neat?" "Go away because it breaks df &#45;c"
  5255. <br />Groggy: No, "df &#45;c can't handle it. &nbsp;It needs to be fixed before we can put it in the tree".
  5256. <br />Naysayer: but in saying that you are pushing extra work on the submitter
  5257. <br />Naysayer: and in this case, a _lot_ of work
  5258. <br />Naysayer: then you have some non standard API
  5259. <br />Groggy: PEFS and ZFS are the non&#45;standad API.
  5260. <br />Naysayer: it is a question the POSIX committee should solve
  5261. <br />Groggy: POSIX isn't the issue.
  5262. <br />Groggy: We don't stick to it now, and never have.
  5263. <br />Naysayer: it _IS_
  5264. <br />
  5265.  </tt>
  5266. </div>
  5267. </blockquote>
  5268.  
  5269.      <p>
  5270. Somehow I'm not getting across that to import a component into a system, it needs to be
  5271. compatible.  And here it clearly isn't.  The silly thing, of course, is that this really has
  5272. nothing to do with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POSIX">POSIX</a>, which
  5273. <a href="https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009604599/utilities/df.html">doesn't
  5274. define</a> the <b>-c</b> option.  But nobody seems to think that it's necessary to fix
  5275. anything.  And that's sad.
  5276.      </p>
  5277.  
  5278.      <p>
  5279. What's needed?  Clearly <i>df</i> is getting the wrong information, which might be ZFS'
  5280. fault, or (as Naysayer implies) it might be a kernel interface restriction.
  5281. The <tt>Avail</tt> seems to show the real size of the pool available to the file system,
  5282. including the space already used by any member of the pool.  The <tt>Used</tt> seems to be
  5283. correct.  And the first column, the “1K-blocks" below, seems to be the <i>sum</i> of the
  5284. two, so <tt>Used</tt> gets counted twice.
  5285.      </p>
  5286.  
  5287.      <p>
  5288. That's ridiculous, of course, and it needs to be fixed.  It also has nothing to do with
  5289. the <b>-c</b> option.  But it's not half as ridiculous as “it's too hard, let's forget it”.
  5290. Or, as Callum Gibson said,
  5291.      </p>
  5292.  
  5293.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  5294. <div style="text-align:left">
  5295.  <tt>
  5296. Groggy: would have us remove all offending filesystems
  5297. <br />
  5298.  </tt>
  5299. </div>
  5300. </blockquote>
  5301.  
  5302.      <p>
  5303. Is that really so hard to explain?  He did, though, point to another issue: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_File_System">NFS</a>-exported ZFS file systems
  5304. have the same issue, so it's not as simple as having <i>df</i> look at the file system type
  5305. and acting accordingly.
  5306.      </p>
  5307.  
  5308.      <p>
  5309. And, of course, this isn't the only place where it's possible to count storage more than
  5310. once.  One of my favourites is this:
  5311.      </p>
  5312.  
  5313.      <blockquote class="fullwidth">
  5314. <div style="text-align:left">
  5315.  <tt>
  5316. $ <b>du &#45;sc D/ DL/</b>
  5317. <br />66306 &nbsp; D
  5318. <br />38473 &nbsp; DL
  5319. <br />104779 &nbsp;total
  5320. <br /># <b>du &#45;sc DL/ D/</b>
  5321. <br />104779 &nbsp;DL
  5322. <br />1 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; D
  5323. <br />104779 &nbsp;total
  5324. <br />
  5325.  </tt>
  5326. </div>
  5327. </blockquote>
  5328.  
  5329.      <p>
  5330. I asked for an explanation, but Naysayer carefully avoided the question.
  5331.      </p>
  5332.      </div>
  5333.    ]]>
  5334.  </description>
  5335.  <dc:creator>Greg Lehey</dc:creator>
  5336.  <dc:date>2024-03-19T01:24:16+00:00</dc:date>
  5337. </item>
  5338.  
  5339.      </channel>
  5340. </rss>
  5341.  

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