My wife Mia and I spend the weekend of November 11-13 in Chicagoland at Windycon, a science fiction convention that we have frequently attended since the 1970s, and which we went to last year.
Windycon 2022
1 Reply
Author Archives: gmcdavid
Firefox problem with Ubuntu
Following up on Jammy Jellyfish and System Updates I have been using Tyrone, my newer Ubuntu 22.04 system, for my daily work. In doing so I found an issue with Firefox: The “Save page as” “Print/Save to PDF” commands were not working on that machine under Ubuntu. I tried various Firefox troubleshooting options, but they did not help. The commands work fine with Firefox under Windows, and also with Firefox under Ubuntu 22.04 on another system (Donegal), which, however is an upgrade from 20.04 rather than a clean install. I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox
System Updates
Back in August “I upgraded my Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa) systems to 22.04.1 (jammy jellyfish).” At that time I noted:
Rang Gaeilge, 25ú lá Mí na mí Dheireadh Fómhair, 2022
Duinnín in Áth na Lachan
Dineen in Duckford
leannán, áin, pl id, m., a lover, paramour, concubine, favourite, leman ; also fig. a chronic ailment or infirmity . . . L. peacaidh, an habitual sin… L. sidhe, an endearing phantom, a phantom lover, al. fig. of a delicate person: an bás, death, is a L. sidhe for all (SR): L. sidhe is used smt. like musa as a source of poet. inspiration.
| peaca | sin | m |
| peacach | sinner | m gs npl peacaigh |
- ‘Mo nia, Bill,’ arsa Penelope de Brún leis an Athair Padraig, ‘tá sé cráite. bhí air a chara, Fayley Toole, a ghabháil, é a chúisiú i ndúnmharú, ar orduithe óna Sháirsint.
‘Do nia, Bill de Brún atá san R.I.C.?’ arsa an Duinníneach agus amhras an Náisiúintóra ina ghlor.
‘My nephew, Bill,’ said Penelope de Brún to Father Patrick, ‘he is tormented. He had to arrest his friend, Fayley Toole, who is accused of murder, on the orders of his Sergeant.’
‘Your nephew, Bill de Brún is in the R.I.C.?’ said Dineen with the suspicion of the Nationalist in his voice.
nia nephew m cráite Agonized, tormented, grieved cúisigh Accuse; charge, prosecute
Mining Our Biblical Matriarchs
A workshop on Friday, September 2, 2022 at Chicon 8, presented by Sally Wiener Grotta
The women of the Bible (Eve, Esther, Miriam, etc.) have been amongst the West’s most enduring female archetypes. As lush and varied as any mythology, their stories have been reinterpreted by every generation’s artists, clerics, and political leaders, according to how they expected women to be. However, these archetypes have been largely overlooked by modern spec fic authors. In this workshop, we’ll have fun challenging and toppling common preconceptions about various women of the Bible, as we mine this rich mother lode for SF&F story ideas.
The following are my notes and amplifications. I am solely responsible for their content and any mistakes.
Continue reading
Environmental Destruction in Ancient Israel, and a note on King David
In March 2021 I wrote about A Copper Mine in Ancient Israel, which seems to data from the time of David or Solomon. It now seems that Wood cut to fuel King Solomon’s ancient mines caused environmental collapse – study.
Rang Gaeilge, 27ú lá na mí Mheán Fómhair 2022
Duinnín agus Professor Moriarty (tuilleadh)
Dineen and Professor Moriarty (continued)
‘The book you asked the librarian for is still unopened and you are preparing to leave. You are wearing two half-pairs of white, knitted socks. It is not the same woman who knitted both because the stitches in the new sock on your left foot are more regular than the stitches in the other which are full of missed stitches. You wouldn’t wear odd socks unless you were odd. My friend, Dr. Watson, would say that you have worn odd socks without knowing it to draw attention to a problem that is worrying you.’
| greim | Grip, grasp, hold; stitch | m pl greamanna |
| iomrall | Aberration, error | m |
| rialta | regular | |
| corr | odd | |
| corraigh | Move, stir | |
| díriú | Direction; aiming, guidance | m |
| síceolaíocht | síceolaíocht | f |
Rang Gaeilge, 8ú lá na mí Mheán Fómhair 2022
Duinnín agus Professor Moriarty
Dineen and Professor Moriarty
fuaduighim… I take by force, abduct; I carry off (as the fairies a child); put to flight, drive away, blow away; Is amhlaidh do fuaduigheadh í, hers was a case of abduction, al. she was carried off by the fairies.
| fuadaigh | Take away by force; abduct, kidnap | |
- Bhí ceathrar fear cruinnithe in uimhir 122b Sráid an Bhéicéara i Londain. Bhí an lá go breá amuigh, cuid éigin aeir agus gile sa chathair arís ón uair go raibh deireadh leis an ngeimhreadh agus laghdú ar líon na dtinte guail. Bhí coiscéim níos airde faoi na capaill agus ní raibh croíthe lucht díolta pósaetha chomh trom agus a bhíodh ar laethanta fliucha éadóchasacha.
Istigh sna seomraí mar ar mhair[indirect relative clause] Searbhlach de Hoilm agus a chara an Dochtúir Bhatson, bhí an t-aer trom le deatach, ámh, deatach píopaí agus an deatach áirithe sin a éirionn ó bhaithisí na bhfear nuair a bhíonn cruacheist á plé agus gan réiteach acu uirthi.There were four men meeting at number 122b Baker Street in London. It was a fine day outside, some air and brightness in the city again since the end of winter and a decrease in the number of coal fires. There was a higher step about the horses and the hearts of posy sellers were not as heavy as they used to be on desperate wet days.
Inside the rooms where Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson lived the air was heavy with smoke, however, pipe smoke and that particular smoke that rises from the heads of men when they are discussing a difficult issue and have not settled it
gile Whiteness, brightness f laghdú Decrease, diminution; reduction m tint tent f gual coal m coiscéim Footstep; pace f croí heart m pl croíthe lucht Content, charge; fill, capacity; cargo, load; (Class, category, of) people m pósae Posy, flower m pl pósaetha trom Weight; burden, oppression m éadéchasach Despairing, hopeless ámh Indeed, truly; However baithis Top, crown (of head) f cruacheist Difficult question; conundrum f
Chicon 8
Thursday
On Thursday, Sept. 1, Mia McDavid and I drove to Chicago for Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention at the Hyatt Regency Chicago . This was our 5th Chicon. Previously we had attended:
- Chicon 7 (2012)
- Chicon 2000 (2000)
- Chicon V (1991)
- Chicon IV (1982)
Despite some glitches, we really enjoyed the Con, and visiting downtown Chicago again.
Jammy Jellyfish
I upgraded my Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa) to 22.04.1 (jammy jellyfish), the current LTS release, last week. I simply followed the prompts from the Software Upgrader. The updates succeeded and the systems are completely useable, but there were a couple glitches.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 