I installed Debian 12 on a laptop. This was the same ThinkPad X130e on which I had installed Debian 11 nearly two years ago, but subsequently deleted. Installing Debian 12 was a lot easier. I had no trouble with the wifi. At one point the installation gave me an error during the actual software installation phase, but it offered the option to retry, which I took and then everything worked fine. Afterwards I had no trouble with my configuration process.
Author Archives: gmcdavid
More 21st Century DOS
It is the third decade of the 21st century and I found Running DOS on 64-bit Windows and Linux: Just because you can
I have experimented with FreeDOS. To conveniently have any networking you have to install it in a virtual machine. I have done this and it works. The problem is getting files in and out of the VM. This is doable, but it is certainly not convenient. I also installed it native on an old (2011) laptop, and then afterwards installed Xubuntu as a dual boot system. Xubuntu can see the FreeDOS disk partition, so I can copy files into it, then reboot into FreeDOS. There I can do whatever I had in mind, then reboot into Xubuntu to extract my output files. Even more hassle than using a VM. The only reason to do it is to experience DOS natively on (sort of) modern hardware. So I looked for other options.
Computer Boot Repair
I have used Boot-Repair-Disk a lot. It has saved my computer systems many times, since I do a lot of experimenting on them. The title program, boot-repair, can often fix the boot procedure on Linux systems if that has been messed up. This happens to me more than it should since my computers typically can boot Windows and one or more flavors of Linux. Altering one OS sometimes causes one of the others to be unbootable.
Other programs on the disk are also useful. For example, OS-Uninstaller does exactly what the name suggests. GParted lets you add, move, delete, and resize disk partitions, which I often need to do in preparation for adding a new OS (You need to be careful with this, especially for bootable partitions). The whole disk is actually a standalone Linux system, so with its Linux terminal you can access and work with any of the drives on your system.
Rang Gaeilge, 20ú lá Mí na Iúil 2023
Duinnín i Lios Dúin Bhearna
Dineen in Lisdoonvarna
Neamhan … a royston crow, a raven; fury, madness; Nemetona, Neid’s wife Dé Néid,a war-goddess, one of the Mór-ríoghna; cf. badhbh, macha … neamhain deagh, sparks of fire …
| deagh = dea | good, well | |
| ríogha(i)n = ríon | Queen; queenly, noble, lady; fair maiden | f pl ríonacha |
| macha | Cattle-field, -yard; Herd | m |
- Londain
Thaitin sé riamh leis an Duinnineach dul go Londain ag tabhairt léachta do cheann éigin de chraobhacha Chonradh na Gaeilge sa chathair sin, D’íocadh an Conradh fiacha taistil. Bhíodh deis aige cúpla lá a chaitheamh ag taighdeadh lámhscríbhinní na Gaeilge i leabharlann Mhúsaem na Breataine agus d’fhaigheadh sé deis, ina léacht, a raibh le rá aige, pé ní é, a rá go neamhbhalbh. Bhiodh rud éigin le rá aige, go neamhbhalbh, i gcónai. An oíche seo, ach go háirithe, i gCraobh Putney de Chonradh na Gaeilge, bhí sé chun a raibh i láthair a chur ar an eolas i dtaobh chúrsai canúna.
London
Dineen always liked to go to London to give lectures to one of the branches of the Gaelic League in that city. The league paid the travel expenses. He would have the opportunity to spend a few days researching Irish language manuscripts in the library of the British Museum and he would get an opportunity, in his lecture, to say bluntly whatever he had to say. He would always have something to say, frankly. This night, but in particular, in the Putney branch of the Gaelic League, he was to inform those present about matters of dialect.léacht lecture f gs léachta craobh branch f pl craobhacha íoc pay fiach debt(s) m npl fiacha taisteal travel m gs taistil taighd Poke, probe, root, dig; Research, investigate taighde research m gs taighde lámhscríbhinn manuscript f neamhbhalbh Outspoken, forthright, blunt canúint Speech, expression; Vernacular, dialect; Accent, mode of pronunciation f gs canúna cúrsa course; matter. circumstance m
Debian 12 Upgrade on a desktop system
I had a Debian 11 system on an HP desktop. I followed How to Upgrade to Debian 12 from Debian 11 to upgrade it. This worked well, though there were a few glitches.
Phosphine on Venus again
Phosphine on Venus: Another Look
Back in 2020 there was a report that Phosphine had been found in the atmosphere of Venus. Since Phosphine can be a sign of life that caused some excitement. I posted about this three times:
The last of these was in reference to Re-analysis of the 267-GHz ALMA observations of Venus: No statistically significant detection of phosphine? At the time that seemed like the end of the story.
However, there have been a lot more observations since then and some re-re-analysis of the earlier work, leading to Phosphine Confirmed Deep Within Venus’ Atmosphere, A Possible Sign Of Life. I am looking forward to seeing the technical details.
Fixed a Workmate
Some years ago I found a Workmate 225 at a garage sale. It was unassembled and still in its original box. The price was right, so I bought it. Not needing it immediatedly, I put it in our back yard shed. Looking back on the event, that was a mistake.
Rang Gaeilge, 23ú lá Mí na Bealtaine 2023
Duinnín in Áth na Lachan (tuilleadh)
Dineen in Duckford (continued)
- “Tháinig tú ar an tuiscint sin uait féin, gan leid ó chara léi?”
‘Sceith an bhean bhocht uirthi féin go rialta agus go minic, an té a thuigfeadh. De réir mhuintir Ath na Lachan, Bhíodh sí ag ceartú a mbéasa boird agus a gcuid foghraíochta mar a bheadh bean dá sórt. Ach ní raibh aon dealramh in aon chor leis na nodanna a thugadh sí uaithi. Delias, ambaist, seachas /i>Dahlias! Ar ndóigh is dócha gur thug bean ti éigin uirthi fadó “Tea is served” a rá, seachas “Tay, Missus”, agus gur shíl sí ó shin nar den ghalántacht an ‘a’ leathan. Bhíodh sí ag caoineadh laethanta rachmais, ach is é an siopa a luadh sí, ní hé an teach ná a seoda. Nuair a dheineadh sí tagairt do “Mr. Prunty, my husband”, bhíodh daoine ag magadh faoi aistíl chainte na nDuibhlinneach. Tá’s againn gur nós le daoine bochta i mBaile Atha Cliath an leagan san a úsáid, ach níor den chosmhuintir [d.l. 185] Bella Prunty.’
‘You came to that understanding by yourself, without a hint from a friend?’
‘The poor woman informed on herself regularly and often, to whom would understand. According to the people of Duckford, she would be correcting their table manners and their pronunciation like a woman of her sort. But her appearance did not match at all the hints she gave. Delias indeed, rather than Dahlias. Of course probably some lady told her a long time ago to say “Tea is served”, rather than “Tay, Missus”, and that she had since thought that the broad ‘a’ was elegant. She would be lamenting the days of prosperity, but it is the shop she mentioned, not the house or its jewels/treasures. When she referred to “Mr. Prunty, my husband”, people used to mock the strange speech of the Dubliners. We know that poor people in Dublin used that version, but not the followers of Bella Prunty.leid Hint, inkling; prompt; pointer, clue f sceith vomit, burst forth béas custom, habit, manners m dealramh Sheen, splendour, radiance; Look, appearance; likeness, resemblance m nod hint; abbreviation m ambaist = ambaiste Indeed! Really! seachas Besides, other than, rather than; compared to rachmas Wealth, abundance m luaigh mention, cite v cosmhuintir Hangers-on; followers, dependants; Poor people, proletariat f
Wheels that are not circles
Triangle-Wheeled Bike Gives New Meaning to ‘Tricycle’. The inventors
… went back to the drawing board to see if they could come up with a bike design featuring triangular wheels. They succeeded, and unlike the square-wheeled bike, these triangular wheels actually roll like round ones.
This is known as the Reuleaux triangle. I first ran across it in Poul Anderson’s 1963 SF story The Three Cornered Wheel, which I read sometime in high school (1964-68). A stranded spaceship crew needs to transport a heavy object over land. Unfortunately, the use of anything circular for mundane purposes is forbidden by the religion of the natives. However, the use of a curve of up to 1/3 of a circle is allowed for a sufficiently important cause. The young hero figures out that using such a “three cornered wheel” will solve the crew’s problem without offending the religious authorities.
The Bermuda Triangle
Why Do You Never Hear About The Bermuda Triangle Anymore? Because The Mystery Of The Bermuda Triangle Has Been Solved Yet Again. In fact, there never was a real mystery, as Larry Kusche showed in his book Bermuda Triangle Mystery – Solved, originally published in 1975. From the Amazon blurb:
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