A Roman emperor grovelling to a Persian king: the message behind a new statue in Tehran
A new statue in Tehran
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Author Archives: gmcdavid
A church in Operation Midway Blitz
Mia and I left Windycon before 9AM on the morning of November 9. As we now regularly do, we went to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, where we had been members from 1977 to 1997. I immediately saw that the church was very full for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost. The worship was as lovely as ever.
Windycon 51
Mia and I enjoyed Windycon 51. Once again, it was it was at the Doubletree Oak Brook, like last year and the year before. As at our previous Chicagoland conventions, it was good to catch up with old friends.
Rang Gaeilge, 28ú lá na Mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2025
Dúil
Desire
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Bhí naíonán fireann ag imirt le gligín ar an mbrat urláir, in aice le cathaoir ina raibh a mháthair suite agus í ag léamh leabhair. Chuir sé scairt mheidhreach as féin, gach uile uair a chuala sé an torann binn a tháinig as an deis tar éis a craite. Ansin thit an gligín as a lámha. Tugadh scathamh beag ar siúl é, trasna an urláir, ag sciorradh agus ag iompó. Thit an naíonán ar a bholg nuair a shin sé é féin amach roimhe, le breith ar an rud beag gleoite.
A baby boy was playing with a little bell/rattle on the carpet, next to a chair where his mother was sitting and reading a book. He made a merry shout every time he heard the sweet noise that came from the right[deis??? hand] after its shaking. Then the bell fell from his hands. It was given a little while to walk, across the floor, slipping and turning. The baby fell onto his stomach as he reached out to grab the pretty little thing.
Dúil desire, expectation, hope; element (of creation), created thing, creature f naíonán infant m fireann Male; Manly, virile; Real, thorough gligín Little bell, tinkler, rattle(r); Tinkle; Rattle-brained person n scairt Shout; call, summons; … f meidhreach Mirthful, merry, gay; frisky, sportive torann noise m binn weet, melodious deis Right hand; right-hand side; Suitable, convenient, position;
facility; Proper conditionf croite shaken scaitheamh Space of time, while, spell m sciorradh Slip, slide, skid m iompó = iompú Turning, turn gleoite Neat, pretty; lovely, charming, delightful
Removing Windows 10
Microsoft support for Window 10 ended on October 14, except for those who are willing to jump through some additional hoops, which I am not. I found relatively cheap Windows 11 systems to replace the Windows 10 boxes my wife and oldest son had been using. My own two Windows 10 systems also had Ubuntu and Debian Linux installed, so I deleted Windows 10 from them. They are perfectly useable with Linux. I am writing this on one of them now.
Cory Doctorow on Apple, Big Tech, and Smaller Tech
Following up on Cory Doctorow on Apple, Doctorow has written again about Apple in Plenty of room at the bottom (of the tech stack), the key point being:
Apple’s security model works well. To the extent that Apple is both benevolent and competent, it makes products that are safe and reliable. But this model fails horribly, because any time Apple decides to trade off its customers’ privacy, safety, or utility for its own priorities, those customers are rendered defenseless by Apple’s total control:
Rang Gaeilge, 23ú lá na Mí Mheán Fómhair 2025
Faoi Dheireadh Thiar Faoi Dheireadh Thiar – gníomh a do (tuilleadh)
At Long Last (continued)
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MEAIG: Tá mé ag iarraidh a dhul in éineacht le Coilmin.
MÁIRÍN: Seo i do leaba anois, a Mheaig, nó go socróidh tú sios, is ná cloisim focal eile as ceachtar agaibh.
MEAIG: Ara muise, a bhundúin, ní thabharfaidh tú mo dhúshlánsa. Ach fan go dtiocfaidh Darach ar ais. Bainfidh sé sin fuil as na polláirí agat. (Cuireann sí an phluid ar a ceann.)
MÁIRÍN: By dad, ach meas tú cén sórt folach bhíog í seo?
JACKIE: (Ag cur a dhá lámh timpeall ar Mháirín): O,a Mháirín. (deep emotion)
MÁIRÍN: Ná bí ag caoineadh, a Jackie
JACKIE: D’inis mé an fhirinne dhó.
MÁIRÍN: Oh Lord, is céard a tharla?
MEAIG: I want to go with together with Coilmin.
MÁIRÍN: This is your bed now, Meag, until you settle down, and I won’t hear another word from either of you.
MEAIG: Ah indeed, you ass, you won’t challenge me. But wait until Darach comes back. He will get blood out of your nostrils. (She puts the blanket on her head.)
MÁIRÍN: My dad, but what kind of hid-and-seek do you think this is?
JACKIE: (Putting her arms around Máirín): Oh, Máirín
MÁIRÍN: Don’t cry, Jackie.
JACKIE: I told him the truth.
MÁIRÍN: Oh Lord, what happened?ceachtar Either, one or other of two; (with neg.) neither bundún Fundament; bottom. m dúshlán Challenge, defiance m polláire Nostril; Button-hole m pluid blanket f folach Hiding, covering, concealment m folach bíog hide-and-seek
The Shroud of Turin and an Infinite Series
Having a somewhat skeptical bent and a long interest in pseudo-science An article on Medium about the Shroud of Turin caught my eye. For some background see Unraveling the Myths Surrounding the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud first appeared about 1355 A.D.:
A note about Otis Adelbert Kline
Long ago, perhaps before high school (1964-1968) I read a novel by Otis Adelbert Kline. It was set on Mars, a Mars similar to that of Edgar Rice Burroughs (Barsoom). The villain was Sarkis the Torturer and there was a particular scene that stuck in my mind over all the intervening decades. I recently tracked it down. The novel was The Outlaws of Mars. From Chapter XII:
Rang Gaeilge, 28ú lá Mí na Lúnasa 2025
Faoi Dheireadh Thiar Faoi Dheireadh Thiar – gníomh a do (tuilleadh)
At Long Last (continued)
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TAIMÍN: Thug tú do dheargéitheach.
COILMÍN: Nach tú fhéin a dhíbir é, ag ceapadh gur cheart dhó aithris a dhéanamh ort, dhá choinneail ag sclábhaiocht ó dhubh go dubh is ó bhliain go bliain. Nach bhfeicinn an flashlamp leagtha ar an iomaire agat is tú ag iarraidh a bheith ag cur cupla iomaire fataí théis do lá oibre.
TAIMÍN: Ní raibh lá ar bith sách fada dhomsa, ní hé fearacht go leor eile é.
COILMÍN: Rófhada atá siad anois dhuit. Róbharainneach a bhí tú, a Taimin. Chuile phunt brúite síos i sparán agat agus ruóg air a bhí chomh fáiscthe le tóin lachan.
TAIMÍN: Ba é mo chuid fhéin é.
COILMÍN: Cén mhaith an deabhail dhuit é anois? Rinne tú éagóir ar do mhac dhá fhágáil ar phócaí folamh. Is minic a thug mise luach deoch do do mhac.
TAIMÍN: You gave an utter falsehood.
COILMÍN: Didn’t you yourself drive him out, thinking he should imitate you, two detained in slavery from dawn to dusk and from year to year. Don’t you see the flashlight placed on the ridge you have when you are tryimg to plant a ridges of potatoes after your work day.
TAIMÍN: No day was long enough for me, unlike so many others.
COILMÍN: They are too long now. You were too thrifty, Taimín. Every pound pressed down in your purse and the purse-string on in as tight as a duck’s butt.
TAIMÍN: It was my own.
COILMÍN: What the devil good is it to you now? You did your son wrong leaving him with empty pockets. I often gave your son the price of a drink.
deargéitheach
Utter falsehood
m
díbir
Drive out, banish, expel
aithris
Narrate, recite; imitate
coinneáil
maintenance; retention; detention
f
iomaire
ridge
sách
Full, sated, satisfied; Sufficiently, enough
fearacht
Like, as, in the manner of
barainneach
Thrifty; careful, parsimonious
brúite
Pressed, crushed
ruóg
Waxed cord; Tanned cord
fáiscthe
Squeezed, compressed; Tightened, tight; Well-knit; compact; Trim, tidy; neatly dressed
éagóir
Injustice, wrong; unfairness, inequity
f
TAIMÍN: Thug tú do dheargéitheach.
COILMÍN: Nach tú fhéin a dhíbir é, ag ceapadh gur cheart dhó aithris a dhéanamh ort, dhá choinneail ag sclábhaiocht ó dhubh go dubh is ó bhliain go bliain. Nach bhfeicinn an flashlamp leagtha ar an iomaire agat is tú ag iarraidh a bheith ag cur cupla iomaire fataí théis do lá oibre.
TAIMÍN: Ní raibh lá ar bith sách fada dhomsa, ní hé fearacht go leor eile é.
COILMÍN: Rófhada atá siad anois dhuit. Róbharainneach a bhí tú, a Taimin. Chuile phunt brúite síos i sparán agat agus ruóg air a bhí chomh fáiscthe le tóin lachan.
TAIMÍN: Ba é mo chuid fhéin é.
COILMÍN: Cén mhaith an deabhail dhuit é anois? Rinne tú éagóir ar do mhac dhá fhágáil ar phócaí folamh. Is minic a thug mise luach deoch do do mhac.
TAIMÍN: You gave an utter falsehood.
COILMÍN: Didn’t you yourself drive him out, thinking he should imitate you, two detained in slavery from dawn to dusk and from year to year. Don’t you see the flashlight placed on the ridge you have when you are tryimg to plant a ridges of potatoes after your work day.
TAIMÍN: No day was long enough for me, unlike so many others.
COILMÍN: They are too long now. You were too thrifty, Taimín. Every pound pressed down in your purse and the purse-string on in as tight as a duck’s butt.
TAIMÍN: It was my own.
COILMÍN: What the devil good is it to you now? You did your son wrong leaving him with empty pockets. I often gave your son the price of a drink.
| deargéitheach | Utter falsehood | m |
| díbir | Drive out, banish, expel | |
| aithris | Narrate, recite; imitate | |
| coinneáil | f | |
| iomaire | ridge | |
| sách | Full, sated, satisfied; Sufficiently, enough | |
| fearacht | Like, as, in the manner of | |
| barainneach | Thrifty; careful, parsimonious | |
| brúite | Pressed, crushed | |
| ruóg | Waxed cord; Tanned cord | |
| fáiscthe | Squeezed, compressed; Tightened, tight; Well-knit; compact; Trim, tidy; neatly dressed | |
| éagóir | Injustice, wrong; unfairness, inequity | f |
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 