There are two types of people – those who refuse to classify people, and those who put everyone into some sort of category.
Here, we are going to strip everyone of their individualism and insist that they place themselves into one of eight ranked groups. These rankings reflect the degree to which an individual is engaged in do-it-yourself activities.
Sometimes, literary sources can be just as schizophrenic as the authors writing about them. Such is the case here. Reading http://www.dictionary.com/browse/do-it-yourself one finds that the phase do-it-yourself is “has its origins in 1950 – 1955”, at the same time that it is used “asamodifier,attestedby1941.Theexpressionismucholder.” Depending on what “much older” means, one might be able to call it a mid-20th century term. It relates to amateurs, and is defined as “the practice or hobby of building or repairing things for oneself, usually in one’s own home.”
Class 0. User
This class of person has no role in the acquisition of an object, but in some manner of speaking has that object thrust upon them for their use.
Class 1. Shopper
There are two operative words that distinguish a shopper from a user. The first is that the shopper selects the object. The second that she pays for it.
Class 2. Assembler
Here one is entering the “flat-pack” universe. Ideally, an assembler can follow instructions, so that the object ends up looking and functioning as intended.
Class 3. Hacker
The primary characteristic of a hacker is her ability to modify an object, especially in terms of appearance or operation.
Class 4. Constructor
It is at this level that fabrication skills become important. Craftsmanship is a term often used to describe the necessary skill sets. Since the start of the new millennium, many have seen computer programming as a new form of craftsmanship. For further details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_craftsmanship
Class 5. Prototyper
Experimentation is a key word to describe the activities of someone in this class. Engineering is not an activity that leads instantly to nirvana. Vague ideas ha ve to be fleshed out. Proposed solutions have to be tweaked, teased and tinkered with. The results are not always beautiful.
Class 6. Designer
Once engineering is complete, product design can begin. While many think of aesthetics, ergonomics is also an important consideration. With design work completed, batch and other forms of small-scale production can be used to make a limited series of objects.
Class 7. Manufacturer
The preliminary step before large-scale manufacturing involves real-world testing. Not everyone will treat an object as delicately as its designer. Thus, it is important that insights be gained into how an object will be used, and misused. There will be few amateurs at this level but new opportunities are arising through programs such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
An inspiring real world example
Cedar Anderson’s work over a decade developing a revolutionary bee hive shows just what can be done. World class innovation, performed by amateurs. See: https://www.honeyflow.com.au/ especially the Flow Story.
Three generations of the Andersons, with their revolutionary bee hive (Photo: https://www.honeyflow.com.au)
Rather than sticking with Raspberry Pi, the innovators at Cliff Cottage are using Asus Tinker Boards. The Tinker Board is simply a better machine. Not perfect, perhaps not even good, but better. A similar sea change may be happening with the Arduino.
The Fishino Uno is yet another Arduino Uno board, in term of connectivity and size. However, it is more than that. It has many features that the Arduino lacks: internet connectivity, large storage capacity using a micro-SD card and an on-board RTC (real-time clock) with battery backup. There is a minimal change to the Arduino form factor, caused by a 7mm wifi antenna overhang.
The Fishino – more than another pretty face in the sea of microprocessors. (Photo: www.open-electronics.org)
These improvements make Fishino better suited for home automation systems, than the original Arduino. The WiFi module allows the Fishino to be used as a WiFi station and/or access point, and allows smartphone control even without a WiFi connection.
In summary, some of the characteristics of the Fishino that make it better than the Arduino.
Fully compatible with Arduino Uno
WiFi module on board, that can be uses in station mode, access point mode or both
MicroSD slot on board
RTC (Real Time Clock) with backup lithium battery on board
Increased current capacity on 3.3V supply section
Connectors compatible with breadboards
Fishino is the same size as an Arduino except for the 7mm wifi antenna overhang. (Photo: www.open-electronics.org)
For further information see: https://www.open-electronics.org/fishino-arduino-become-wireless/
Shield
A shield is a printed circuit board that fits on top of the main Arduino (or Fishino) board, offering additional attributes to the system. Here we will mention two that can be used in home automation.
Fishino Octopus
PWM – For the next few minutes please don’t ask what PWM means. Pretend that it refers to Portland International Jetport, or Peter Wallace Myrick or anything else … Just accept that there is something called PWM, and that it can be important.
Some motors, including those on sewing machines, require variable speed. In the past, a rheostat was used to adjust the electrical current flowing through it. This wastes power because it uses the same amount of energy regardless of the motor speed. What isn’t used to power the motor is released as heat.
What was needed was an efficient power adjusting tool. PWM solved this problem. On an Arduino / Fishino Uno there are only six PWM outputs. Many times this is far too few.
The Octopus expansion shield allows 16 PWM outputs and 16 additional digital inputs or outputs. Up to 8 of these can overlap, allowing a system to manage 128 PWM outputs and 128 digital inputs or outputs.
A Fishino Octopus powering 16 servo motors. (Photo: www.open-electronics.org)
Fishino Colibri
Engineers do not always have the greatest understanding of how the natural world functions. Colibri means hummingbird, and surprisingly, it is not a fish. An octopus isn’t a fish either, but we won’t force the issue.
The Colibri is used to provide power to RGB LED lighting. These use 4 channels to provide a full range of colours using PWM control signals.
The Fishini Colibri – a RGB LED light controller. (Photo: www.open-electronics.org)
By the way, PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation.
La trahison des images by René Magritte, 1928-9, Oil on Canvas, 635 × 939.8 mm
In an attempt to explain my own artworks to Arild, an inmate at another institution, I have been forced to rely upon another frequently misunderstood artist, René Magritte, and his painting – shown above – The Treachery of Images. In the work he writes, in French, “This is not a pipe.” It is a true statement because what he is trying to say is “This is an image of a pipe.”
In the Billi metaphysical language, there are an infinite varieties of realities. Because it is so difficult for me to keep such a large number of these in my brain, I have codified them into several different levels, and one special instance.
I use the letter R to represent a reality level. In my work, I am particularly concerned about five levels of abstraction, including the one level where I work exclusively.
R is the day to day reality that people experience in their day to day existence. There is absolutely nothing remarkable about it, if one excludes the fact that life, in itself, is totally remarkable.
R* represents my own personal life, the only life I understand as an insider. This is the special instance of life from which I view other lives, the other Rs moving about me.
R+n is my way of representing aggregated realities, such as families. However, nothing further will be said about these in this post.
R-n is my way of representing abstraction.
R-1 (theatre) is a three dimensional art form that unfolds in time. From my perspective it is the artform that is closest to reality.
R-2 (film) is a three dimensional art form that has been compressed to two dimensions. However, like theatre it also has a time dimension.
R-3 (photography) removes the flow of time from an artwork. Yes, there is a temporal element in that all photographs are taken at a precise moment in time.
R-4 (painting) is the level at which I work at. In my own particular work I consciously avoid the use of shadows, and gradiations of colour in order to avoid giving my works “depth”.
R-5 (drawing) provides an almost perfect level of abstraction for the artist. Here, the line is paramount.
These levels work for me, a visual artist working in two dimensions. Sam, a fellow inmate and sculptor, has a totally different perspective on reality. She codes every artwork A in terms of dimensions (3 or 2) and time with c = continuous, d = discrete, i = instantaneous, n = not relevant. Using her system A3c codes theatre while A3n codes sculpture. In contrast, A2d codes film, A2i codes photography, while A2n codes painting and drawing.
In my next post, I will try to explain to Arild why these different levels of abstraction mean that an image of a naked person is very different from a naked person.
A former pupil, Lars, suggested that I use Bunsenlabs Linux, I took his suggestion seriously, and investigated it. It is an impressive distro, especially for people with older and slower equipment. Its windows manager, Openbox, was developed in Canada. Even the release names, Hydrogen followed by Deuterium, appeal. Yet, I have not used Bunsenlabs, or even installed a test version. This post explains why I will probably never use Bunsenlabs, but also why new Linux users should still consider using it, and other distributions.
Asus Tinker Board (left) and Asus VivoMini (behind ruler) both with their own versions of Linux.
Relationships
Relationships between people influence many (if not most) of our decisions. This is particularly so regarding computers. The relationship one has with his or her employer, can have a significant impact on one’s choice of equipment, as can the relationship of students with their schools. For a retired person, like myself, impact is personified in just one individual, code name Fluffy, who counts on me to solve most of her serious computing challenges. I could say to her, “Fluffy, this is your computer – fix it yourself!” If I did so, she might feel less enthusiastic about about feeding me, washing my laundry, etc. So, I lovingly look after her computer problems, and change her winter tires.
Relationships are often symbiotic, although not according to the biological definition of the term. Most often they involve mutualism, a relationship where both parties benefit. If you are involved in a commensal or parasitic relationship that benefits only the other person, please seek competent help!
In my web of relationships, I have one person I consult with on computer problems, code name Uncle Al. Sometimes, he will even ask me questions, so it is not fully a one-way street. In addition, there are two other denizens of this web who are dedicated Apple users, who have each other and an Apple infrastructure to help them. Because of our relationship, I can ask them questions about Apple products, of which I still have one, and they more or less feel obliged to help.
Because computing problems often require consultation to produce meaningful answers, one needs someone to talk about these problems. If Uncle Al went over to using another distribution, I would definitely have to consider using it.
In addition, I have at least five and a half other people in my web who use me when computing emergencies strike. These are listed as “external” in the table below. Often, they have no one else around who can offer them advice, who does not have a vested interest in having them spend money. I can use up to several hours a year working on their computing problems. I have code named these users: Ann, Axel, Ella, Eve, Henry and Kate. The person needing the most help, code named John, is no longer among the living. However, he was the most fun to help, if only because his insights into computing were so limited that one learned how such people think.
Typically these people have a cell phone, a laptop or desktop computer and possibly some other device. They are connected in some way to the internet, and may have a printer. I do not normally work with phone problems, except for those involving Fluffy or myself.
There is a third category, casuals, who may ask me questions, but who are not in any way dependent on me to solve their computing challenges. Sometimes, I may have even worked on a computing problem requiring several hours of work, but it is normally a one-off situation without ongoing commitments. Sometimes, I take on their challenges just to learn something. Casuals are not discussed further, except to say that I enjoy the
One way in which I try to simplify my work is to standardize the products I work with, but this does not apply to externals. John, if I remember correctly, managed to buy a Swedish language, Windows Vista machine produced from some obscure manufacturer, possibly Dell. At the time of this purchase, everyone else was using Windows XP.
Asus is my primary computer supplier because I can count on each machine behaving in much the same way. I have bought a large number of Western Digital hard drives. There are exceptions. I am still wondering why I purchased two Seagate 4 TB external drives.
Installations
During the past six months, I have installed Linux on six different computers, four of them with Linux Mint (two desktops and two laptops), and two Tinker Boards with Tinker Linux. Before each Mint installation, I seriously considered using Bunsenlabs Linux. Why didn’t I try Bunsenlabs? The main reason has to do with the complex variety of equipment that I have to relate to. I just could not bring myself to work on yet another OS distro.
Here is an overview of what I have to relate to in terms of equipment, with projections for 2018.
Fjellheim
Fjellheim
Fjellheim
Externals
Externals
Externals
OS
2016
2017
2018
2016
2017
2018
ADM
1
1
1
0
0
0
Mint
1
3 + 1 ret.
4
0
1
2
Tinker
0
1
1
0
0
0
Windows 7
1
0
0
1
0
0
Windows 8
2
0
0
2
1
0
Windows 10
1
1
0
2
3
3 or 0
MacOS
1
0
0
0
0
0
iOS
1
1
0
0
0
0
Android
1
1
2
0
0
0
Kobo
2
2
2
1
1
1
Arduino
1
1
1
0
0
0
Total machines
12
11
11
6
6
6 or 3
Total OS types
10
8
6
4
4
3 or 2
The number of systems was reduced between 2016 and 2017 by returning two Windows 8 laptops to Nord-Trøndelag county (our previous employer), and by replacing Windows 7 with Mint on an Acer Aspire and then giving it away. Similarly, we gave away a Mac laptop (along with a spare iPhone). In addition, there has been migration to Windows 10 by external users, eliminated Windows 7 machines and reducing the number of Windows 8 machines in use.
One of the Asus laptops running Mint has reached its end of life, late in May 2017. Its replacement is the second Asus laptop. Soon the iPhone will be replaced by an Android phone. Fluffy is even considering “upgrading” her Windows 10 OS to Linux Mint. This will require a migration of our Windows based BookCAT library system to Koha, and a solution to our BankID identification system that doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about Linux. In addition, Fluffy is looking philosophically at the NOK 100 she spent buying Microsoft Office 2016, with updates guaranteed for the next 10 years. In the midterm there may be a need for a dual boot (Linux Mint + Windows 10) system.
Without having Windows systems in the house it will be a lot easier for me to offer “externals” a solution to their problems. They can either choose to install Linux Mint, and get some help, or they can keep Windows installed and find someone else to help them, a Windows expert
Ideal systems
There is no ideal systems because the uses made of systems are changing all the time. The needs of users vary, and there is absolutely no reason why anybody should imitate the choices of an old man!
A NAS (Network attached server) is a very different machine from a laptop or desktop machine. It performs a limited number of processes, but these have to be done well. A NAS needs an OS that responds to its server functions. ADM, is regarded as a good COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) OS, but possibly not as good as QNAP and Synology. People without ties to Asus would probably be better off buying a QNAP NAS – TS-451, for example, housing 4 Western Digital 8TB Red hard disks, or even their smaller TS-251 that houses 2 hard disks.
An Asustor 1004T NAS (Network Attached Server) with 4 x 6 TB Western Digital Red hard disks, running the latest version of ADM.
Lars may be quite correct that Bunsenlabs is a better system for laptops and desktops than Mint. However, I will probably be staying with Mint. Andrew Williams at Tech Radar has looked at seven distros in an article titled “The best Linux distros 2017: 7 versions of Linux we recommend” (despite the link’s name) dated 23 May 2017: http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/best-linux-distro-five-we-recommend-1090058 These seven are: Elementary OS (Loki), Linux Mint (18), Arch Linux and its alterego Antergo, Ubuntu (17.04 LTS), Tails – claiming to be the best Linux distro for privacy, CentOS (7), and Ubuntu Studio – for home music recording or video production.
One of the main reasons I bought an Asus Tinker Board, was to work on home automation projects. I will be restricting myself to Tinker OS, at least for the moment. Since the Tinker Board is a superclone of a Raspberry Pi, people have the option of using 11 different systems that have originated on the Pi: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/pi-operating-systems/
That more or less wraps up the comments I have about Linux operating systems. Readers will be spared reading my prejudicial comments about Android on smart phones, Kobo on e-readers, and Arduino on Arduino boards.
As an immigrant, I know something of the trauma and stress that other migrants experience in their dealings with authorities. Thus, I am very concerned about the fate of many “undocumented” Mexican and other migrants to USA. Not only do many of these people have education and skills needed in USA. Through their productivity and work, as well as consumption, they make contributions to the American economy.
In the Guardian, there are warnings that the expulsion of migrants may also threaten the real-estate market.
The employment related skills and knowledge these migrants have are important, but they also have an additional ability – they understand Americans, and the American market. Thus, each of them could make and sell products and/ or services to the American market, either from within or outside of USA.
From an outsider’s perspective, one of the challenge at the moment is the lack of a collective. It appears that each individual and family is addressing their own personal challenges. Much like the American immigrants of a century ago, they may find that by banding together they will be able to improve their lives.
Over 111 years ago, in 1905 the Wobblies banded together, forming the Industrial Workers of the World. Twentieth-century capitalists were no more benign than twenty-first-century capitalists. Joe Hill was an important organizer throughout Western North America. However, In British Columbia, Ginger Goodwin is probably better remembered. Their lives – and deaths – show that unionizing is a risky business. Both Hill and Goodwin were killed under dubious circumstances.
The funeral procession of “Ginger” Goodwin, shot by a police officer in Cumberland on Vancouver Island, in 1918. There were no witnesses to the shooting. (Photo: Cumberland Museum & Archive)
While it is not my place to tell anyone what to do, I believe that immigrants need to organize themselves in something akin to “One Big Union”, inside USA, but more importantly, outside USA, if they are expelled. Once expelled, these former immigrants could be more successful if they organized themselves physically into “barrios” (neighbourhoods) that provide for community needs including schools, and medical clinics. By living and working together, they can work more effectively. These neighbourhoods do not have to be adjacent to the USA, as the Internet offers excellent means of communicating across borders.
Since I lived most of my formative years close to the banks of the Fraser River, I will close this post with Where the Fraser River Flows by Joe Hill:
Fellow workers pay attention to what I’m going to mention, For it is the fixed intention of the Workers of the World. And I hope you’ll all be ready, true-hearted, brave and steady, To gather ’round our standard when the red flag is unfurled.
Chorus: Where the Fraser river flows, each fellow worker knows, They have bullied and oppressed us, but still our union grows. And we’re going to find a way, boys, for shorter hours and better pay, boys And we’re going to win the day, boys, where the Fraser river flows.
For these gunny-sack contractors have all been dirty actors, And they’re not our benefactors, each fellow worker knows. So we’ve got to stick together in fine or dirty weather, And we will show no white feather, where the Fraser river flows.
Now the boss the law is stretching, bulls and pimps he’s fetching, And they are a fine collection, as Jesus only knows. But why their mothers reared them, and why the devil spared them, Are questions we can’t answer, where the Fraser river flows.
Currently Unit One has two divisions (or unities, as we prefer to call them): The English language Unit One Cascadia, and the Norwegian language Enhet En Trønderland. Thus the need has arisen for an overarching organization that can handle units in Prince Rupert, and other places were we have friends.
But why should one stop at the boundaries of the atmosphere? If Elon Musk and Space X has his way, soon there will be humans once again on the moon, not to mention Mars. But stopping at the edge of the solar system, seems a bit short sighted. Should we not be open to humans to be associated with other stars? Proxima Centauri, for example. Why should we exclude other sentient beings, just because they lack human DNA?
Does anyone have any comments on the proposed name, “Ignited Aggregates Intergalactic Cultural Cooperative”? Ignited is meant figuratively.
Are Bob Dylan’s songs literature? An answer to that question is provided in the banquet speech written by Bob Dylan but given by the United States Ambassador to Sweden, Azita Raji, at the Nobel Banquet, 2016-12-10.
Good evening, everyone. I extend my warmest greetings to the members of the Swedish Academy and to all of the other distinguished guests in attendance tonight.
I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize. Being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature is something I never could have imagined or seen coming. From an early age, I’ve been familiar with and reading and absorbing the works of those who were deemed worthy of such a distinction: Kipling, Shaw, Thomas Mann, Pearl Buck, Albert Camus, Hemingway. These giants of literature whose works are taught in the schoolroom, housed in libraries around the world and spoken of in reverent tones have always made a deep impression. That I now join the names on such a list is truly beyond words.
I don’t know if these men and women ever thought of the Nobel honor for themselves, but I suppose that anyone writing a book, or a poem, or a play anywhere in the world might harbor that secret dream deep down inside. It’s probably buried so deep that they don’t even know it’s there.
If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I’d have about the same odds as standing on the moon. In fact, during the year I was born and for a few years after, there wasn’t anyone in the world who was considered good enough to win this Nobel Prize. So, I recognize that I am in very rare company, to say the least.
I was out on the road when I received this surprising news, and it took me more than a few minutes to properly process it. I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure. I would reckon he thought of himself as a dramatist. The thought that he was writing literature couldn’t have entered his head. His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read. When he was writing Hamlet, I’m sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: “Who’re the right actors for these roles?” “How should this be staged?” “Do I really want to set this in Denmark?” His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. “Is the financing in place?” “Are there enough good seats for my patrons?” “Where am I going to get a human skull?” I would bet that the farthest thing from Shakespeare’s mind was the question “Is this literature?”
When I started writing songs as a teenager, and even as I started to achieve some renown for my abilities, my aspirations for these songs only went so far. I thought they could be heard in coffee houses or bars, maybe later in places like Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium. If I was really dreaming big, maybe I could imagine getting to make a record and then hearing my songs on the radio. That was really the big prize in my mind. Making records and hearing your songs on the radio meant that you were reaching a big audience and that you might get to keep doing what you had set out to do.
Well, I’ve been doing what I set out to do for a long time, now. I’ve made dozens of records and played thousands of concerts all around the world. But it’s my songs that are at the vital center of almost everything I do. They seemed to have found a place in the lives of many people throughout many different cultures and I’m grateful for that.
But there’s one thing I must say. As a performer I’ve played for 50,000 people and I’ve played for 50 people and I can tell you that it is harder to play for 50 people. 50,000 people have a singular persona, not so with 50. Each person has an individual, separate identity, a world unto themselves. They can perceive things more clearly. Your honesty and how it relates to the depth of your talent is tried. The fact that the Nobel committee is so small is not lost on me.
But, like Shakespeare, I too am often occupied with the pursuit of my creative endeavors and dealing with all aspects of life’s mundane matters. “Who are the best musicians for these songs?” “Am I recording in the right studio?” “Is this song in the right key?” Some things never change, even in 400 years.
Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, “Are my songs literature?”
So, I do thank the Swedish Academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question, and, ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer.
522 K is the name of Unit One’s Knowledge Preservation initiative. Much of the knowledge preserved is in the form of books, but also instructional videos. Sometimes, the material will be worked into a course, including a MOOC – a Massive Open Online Course. The first proposed MOOC course, Life skills, to be produced by Unit One has been described elsewhere.
What has not been described elsewhere is how to handle MOOCs and other forms of information, after the end of the Internet (as we know it).
The End of the Internet?
Yes, we have to be realistic. This age of freedom that we have enjoyed since about 1880 seems to be coming to an end. Those who want an understanding of this should very quickly watch Adam Curtis’ HyperNormalisation (2016). General information about it can be found in Wikipedia.
The reason for the haste is not that HyperNormalisation will disappear. It will simply be morphed into countless fake versions by adding and subtracting content. In the end, no one will know how the original looked. This is accord with the political philosophy of Vladislav Surkov (1964 – ).
Vladislav Surkov in 2013 (Photo: Kremlin)
I leave it as an exercise for the reader to find additional information about Vladislav Surkov and his implementation of Sovereign Democracy. Critics of the approach often use the term Managed Democracy, or even a phrase that eliminates the word democracy altogether. HyperNormalisation describes it vividly, and interested people are referred to that section of the film.
Surkov’s approach to politics is to have the state give financial support to a vast number of organizations that populate the political landscape, not merely from left to right, but also in many other ways. These groups will frequently be in opposition to each other. Using this approach, politics becomes theatre. It is impossible to know what is a real group, and what is a fake group. This is precisely what the politicians (and the economic elite) want.
There is no need to physically shut down the Internet, to end its usefulness. Instead, fake news is being produced and added to the feeds of social media. Soon, there will be so much fake news, and so little real news, that people will have a hard time knowing what is real and what is fake. Presumably, in the next few years numerous iterations of this blog post will appear, and no one will know which one is original, and which are fake.
This is especially easy to accomplish with the use of the Cloud. Why anyone in their right mind would trust some unknown organization to store data is beyond my comprehension. My advise – trust no one you don’t know personally, and have met in the flesh. If there is one thing that I am certain, it is that the Cloud is sentral to the “faketization” of content.
It may come as a surprise to many, but those that run clouds store their data in lakes.
The alternative to cloud and lake computing is pond computing. Everyone should store data in their own pond, and back up that data in someone else’s pond. As of 2022-04-10, we have a NAS (Network Attached Server) that can back up over 50 TB of data, with a potential of 90 TB. When this post was written in 2015, the capacity was 12 TB of data. More importantly, we also have external drives capable of storing over 30 TB of data in 2022, compared to 20 TB in 2016. While the NAS is online, the external drives are offline, making them considerably more difficult to manipulate. They are also located physically away from our house. Destroying our house will not destroy our data. We are in the process of acquiring a second NAS, located at another location well away from our house, that will mirror its content, as well as a third one in another country. These will eliminate the need for external drives.
522 K is designed to ensure that information remains uncorrupted. We encourage people to have their own NAS, and to have external drives that duplicate the content found on their NAS.
An Asustor AS5002 NAS. The Asustor NAS is typically populated with 2 x 6 TB Western Digital Red hard disks. (Photo: Asus)Four Western Digital My Passport Ultra 4 TB external disks. Photo: Western Digital)
The project title refers to Ray Bradbury’s iconic Science Fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451. It seems that Bradbury was about 30 degrees F. too low in his estimate of the auto-ignition temperature of paper. Thus, 480 is probably a more correct estimate. Despite the fact that the number of significant figures is somewhere between 2 and 3, conversion sites will provide 248.889, as its Celsius equivalent. Converting this to Kelvin, one gets 522.039 as an official answer. Here, we will pretend that we have 3 significant figures and use 522 K as a title for this project.
To make certain that one can see the arbitrary nature of this number, we will connect it (in some mystic new age fashion) to the Dewey Decimal number 522 – Astronomy: techniques, equipment, materials. Readers should also be pleased to know that 522 K could also refer to Pioneer VSX-522–K home theater receiver, or some exotic feature of an American tax law that I have not been able to understand with sufficient clarity to post anything about here.
Update: On 2020-06-29 at 10:00 this weblog post was updated, with the following information.
Asustor equipment is no longer being used for our NAS. Instead, we are using a used Dell rack-based server running Nextcloud. There are twelve bays available, of which four are populated with 8TB drives.
While we still have large numbers of Western Digital My Passport external hard drives, we have stopped purchasing new Western Digital equipment, because of Western Digital’s inappropriate substitution of SMR = Shingled Magnetic Recording technology on their Red NAS drives.
We are now specifying Toshiba drives for future purchases. Standard components will be N300 8TB drives for the NAS, and Canvio Advance 4TB external drives.
While this article refers to another weblog post on the WordPress website, the article can also be found here.
This post was further updated on 2022-04-14 at 20:00.
As the world continues its spiral of decline, there will be a greater and greater need for insight into basic knowledge, as more and more families become dysfunctional.
J. D. Vance explained the challenge in a TED talk.
Not everyone is blessed with an understanding of hygiene. Because lives may depend on it, The province of British Columbia requires all food service employees to take a Foodsafe course, level 1. This ensures that everyone has a minimal level of knowledge about the correct handling of food.
For some time, male inmates at Verdal prison have been offered a House Husband course. Here, they learn the basics of hygiene, food preparation for a family (nutrition, meal planning, setting tables, cooking, serving, using dish washers and washing/ drying dishes), laundry basics (washing, drying and ironing clothes, some minor repairs) and house cleaning (dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, walls, windows and bathrooms).
Snow removal is not covered in the House Husband course. Perhaps it should be, but with a focus on more manual methods. (Photo: Patricia McLellan, 2010)
Dysfunctional families and their members need fundamental knowledge on how to survive. Life skills is the proposed name for a MOOC course that provides this fundamental knowledge. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. Those interested in learning how to make MOOCs should investigate a course offered in Sligo, Ireland.
Comments are invited as to what such a course should contain, and how it should be divided up into modules.
Proton Bletchley is responsible for General Systems Theory at Unit One. Here are his Nine Requirements for working effectively with Systems.
1. Persona
Life can be distracting. A person who has a mind divided between, say, surfing in Australia and general systems theory will accomplish little, because they will be bouncing between dreams of waves and boxes of GST content. At Unit One, work is divided between several different personas. While Brock heads off to virtually surf at Bondi Beach, Proton Bletchley is responsible for GST. His last name comes from the secret WW2 centre where Alan Turing worked, and developed much of the foundation for computer science. His first name comes from Earnest Rutherford, who named protons in 1920.
Proton Bletchley is Unit One’s resident expert in General Systems Theory. He is also an environmentalist, which helps him focus his thoughts.
2. Wardrobe
If one goes to the trouble to develop a persona, the very least one can do is to clothe that persona in something relevant. Proton uses corn blue workwear. This in part is because his environmental focus is on water.
Workwear is useful because people who work with General Systems Theory also have to function in many different places in the real world. A typical example, might involve the collection of environmental data using Arduinos with SD cards. Devices may have to be made in a workshop, then transported to a site where they would be used as data loggers.
Of course there are GST theorists, sitting around producing virtual thoughts while puffing away on their virtual pipes, can reduce their clothing budgets considerably, by purchasing only virtual clothing.
Workwear feels appropriate when working with General Systems Theory. While Proton has only a blue outfit, other workers may wear green, black or red – depending on their moods.
3. Computer
Computing is an integral part of General Systems Theory. At one level this means supercomputing. Meteorologists and other -ists who want data in real time, need fast computers.
The fastest computer in the world is arguably D-wave’s quantum computer in Burnaby, just a few blocks from where our good friends Roy Sinn and Sue Innes live. See: http://www.dwavesys.com/
So, there is no point in Proton having anything big. It will never be big or fast enough. He is opting for the exact opposite – minimal computing. Proton remembers seeing his first ad for an EEEbook, and thought “I want that!” He was referring to the computer, not the girl!
Asus EEE PC 701 was launched in Japan in January 2008. (Photo: Asus)
By June 2008, Asus had probably realized that many of its customers were women and offended by its previous ad. With the launch of the Asus EEE PC 900, it replaced its beach girl user with one referred to as “The Housewife”.
“The Housewife” was used to promote the new and improved Asus EEE PC 900 in June 2008. (Photo: Asus)
Today’s (2016) ads for Asus have not changed much, although the computers are larger and more powerful.
Asus EeeBook X205TA (Photo: possibly odishafast.in)
Sam Rutherford, in Laptop Mag concludes, “The Asus EeeBook X205TA offers excellent battery life, a solid display and strong everyday computing that puts it a notch above other budget laptops.”
4. Operating System
Proton prefers Linux. Because of Proton’s connections with New Westminster, the original answer was Mandrake. Mandrake the Magician takes his name from Leon Mandrake, the stage name of New Westminster resident Leon Giglio. Leon Mandrake had been performing for more than ten years before Lee Falk “invented” the comic strip character. However, in 2004, MandrakeSoft lost a court case to Hearst Corporation, and was forced to change the name of its Linux distribution.
New Westminster’s very own Leon Mandrake with Princess Narda (Photo: Yes, well looks like Romaine down at the bottom …citing sources can be difficult at the best of times)
Fast forward to 2016. Mandrake has morphed into Mageia. Version 5.1 was announced 2016-12-02.
Proton has considered using other Linux distributions, including Linux Mint and elementary OS (which has a unique and simple design). If Proton wasn’t so prejudiced, I’m sure that he would be wanting to experiment with elementary OS.
5. Browser
In keeping with the open source philosophy of Linux, Firefox is an open-source web browser. There are many other open source browsers, including Chromium and Opera. However, Proton is concerned about the close bindings between Chromium and Google. Opera has started to require users to log on every twelve hours, so they can profit from advertisements. As an alternative to Firefox, Midori is a lightweight, fast and open-source (free) browser.
6. Email address
One of the main challenges of employing so many personas, is the habit of having only a single personal email address. Proton disagrees with this philosophy, and is considering having an additional email address just for the Proton Bletchley persona. The advantage is that one can keep all of the material related to that persona in a single place.
7. Office software
Open source office software provides many of the features and functions provided by Microsoft Office. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice consisting of a suite of programs packaged in a single install. Components of the LibreOffice suite are:
Writer: word processor.
Calc: spreadsheet editor.
Impress: presentation editor.
Draw: graphical editor.
Math: mathematical formulae editor.
Base: database program.
Project planning software has always been something of a problem. LibrePlan, for example, states that it is open source, but that only applies to a limited suite of software. Anything really useful is excluded from the open source version, and has to be purchased. At the moment, Proton’s favored open source project software is Open Project.
8. Simulation software
There is a close connection between general systems theory and computer simulation. While Insight Maker is not open source, it is free and available, although Proton notes disturbingly, that it has not been updated for over a year. The last bimonthly newsletter was posted in August 2015. His fear is that someday it will simply disappear.
While some simulation programs are general, others are made for specific purposes. This topic will be covered again in another post.
9. Library
Books and articles are needed for inspiration. Ideally, they also have to be available for scrutiny at any time. It is becoming more and more important to use ebooks, which compress the space of even the largest library into less than a litre.
Update: 2022-01-26 13:00
This is historical content written and published in 2016. There is little point in updating this post, except to add how some things have changed, while others have remained the same.
Persona: From the number of weblog posts being written, a person might suspect that Proton had retired, rather than Brock.
Wardrobe: It is difficult to acquire cornflower blue workwear. Brock did manage to get some red workwear about 2017, but even these are difficult to get hold of. He is now using grey work trousers. Arduinos are no longer being used. These have been replaced by Raspberry Pi Picos, starting in late 2021.
Computers: Asus computers are still in use, but Brock’s latest laptop is now a VivoBook, with a 14″ screen, Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 512 GB SSD. Trish is still content with her ZenBook UX305C. At some point, but only at her request, it will be upgraded. Other computers include an Asus VivoMini VC65, an Asus PN-50, an Asus AiO Pro.
Operating system: Linux Mint is in use. Brock still dreams of using Mageia, with version 8 the latest incarnation. The latest experimentation in the household has been with Linux Endeveaur. However, it was not performing adequately to replace Linux Mint. Mageia
Browser: Firefox is still the main browser in use. Brave has been installed.
Email Address: Currently, the McLellans have a domain at mclellan.no that serves their needs in terms of email addresses and websites.
Office software: no changes.
Simulation software: no changes
Library: A Calibre library stores household ebooks. People in the household then use their personal Kobo ebook readers to read books. We have ordered two new Kobo Libra H20 models, as replacements for our current Glo HD models, purchased in 2016-.
Update: 2022-12-24 23:00
Our general policy is for Trish and Brock to use the same equipment. Thus on 2022-08-30, we purchased 2 x Asus Zenfone 9 (A12202) hand-held devices, then in 2022-10-20 we purchased 2 x Acer Swift 3 14″ (SF314-43) laptops. Both sets of machines use USB-C ports for charging.
Soon after the previous update, the 2 x Kobo Libra H2O e-readers arrived. They supplement, rather than replace the Glo HD models. All of the Kobos use USB-micro ports for charging. Any future e-readers will have to use USB-C ports.
