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January 6, 2022
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Our JPEG Mottling Colors give another method to manually knock out backround colors. These have an interesting advantage in that they can significantly eliminate .JPG background ghosting artifacts.
All done att only a slight increase in file size and response time. Simply cut and paste.
January 5, 2022
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Our Vignetting Auto Backgrounder starts by backing off the reds just barely enough that there are no intentional red=255's left anywhere.Then new red=255's are carefully added to outline the borders of the images you want to keep.
It is important that the entire outline is continuous!
The code starts west and heads east to just past the last continuous red=255, replacing every pixel with a chosen randomly mottled background. Scanning starts from the top and works its way down.
It then starts east and replaces west. Then north and heads south. And finally south and heads north. Typical results appear here.
Should a vignetting flag be set, the replacement pixels darken towards the edges. This actually uses a genuinely real field theory as detailed here and here.
The mottling also performs a secondary role by minimizing .JPG ghosting artifacts.
Should you have any undercuts or embarrasing bolt holes, these can be optionally scanned and replaced to prevent punchthrough. Because of execution slowness, this is kept as an option
January 4, 2022
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Heavy image lifting can be done by combining underappreciated Microsoft Paint and free ImageViewer32. Obvious tasks are making vertical and horizontal edges truly vertical and horizontal. And "chasing edges" for much better uniformity by towing things along. Or improving background fills.
Or carefully outlining edges to be knocked out with complete and exact red=255 markers or comparable yellows or others that include a red=255 component.
Be sure to check out ImageViewer32's pulldown image directory.
ImageViewer32 offers rotations within one degree, while Microsoft Paint includes a little known quadratic spline ( second pen choice to the right ) that is most useful for corner rounding and cubic spline approximations.
Paint's somewhat limited toography is "good enough" for many text relettering tasks, while such tasks as relettering an entire oscilloscope can be handled by our Bitmap Typewriter.
January 3, 2022
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Going to "web friendly" colors can often simplify. With these, you end up with 215 colors consisting of 5 reds, 5 greens, 5 blues, and, coincidentally, 5 "free" grays.
The code appears here and a demo here, with codings suitable both for PostScript and CSS. For instance, 192 setwebtint is a nice PostScript URL blue equal to a CSS 0CF.
January 2, 2022
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Finished the 2021 blog and started the 2022 one.
January 1, 2021
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Architect's Perspective using our.PSL correction routine is often a useful choice for eBay Display. This is a 2-1/2 dimensional format in which all vertical and horizontal edges are made truly so. Per these many examples.
An inputfilename is predefined, as is a tiltoutfilename destination. A filenameprefix is properly set as a PostScript source. howmuchtilt determines the amount of correction, with 0.075 often being a typical value.
Yeah, there is a steep learning curve to getting acceptable PostScript filenames. But with some reasonable practice this can end up simple and routine.
As usual, an //acrodist /F is needed to activate Distiller's allowing file manipulations. The code should also work in Ghostscript, but no Google Drive solution is presently known.
Normally, you will want to shorten the upper image lines and lengthen the lower ones. If needed, a negative -0.075 correction can do the opposite. While east-west corrections are often avoidable with your initial camera work, these can be dealt with by rotating 90 degrees, correcting, and rotating back.
The "neutral" uncorrected location, while normally in the middle, can be adjusted with vtiltaxis and htiltaxis. See the internal program notes.
December 31, 2021
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Actually taking the picture is an utterly negligible portion of the image postproc process. Always allow two hours or so for the really important stuff in creating world class photos. Always preclean the subject and the camera lens as much as possible.
Start with a trripod mounted, second battery backed up Nikon class camera of fifteen megapixels or more and always work in .BMP format for each and every step before your final image compression.
Shoot outdoors flash free in medium to heavy shade. Initially crop somewhat oversize. Rotate oversize with Imageview32 to initially "balance" any right or left leaning.
December 30, 2021
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I've long labored under the delusion that we have by far the finest eBay images any place anytime .Made possible by these software routines...
Microsoft Paint
ImageViewer32
Web Friendly Color Code
Web Friendly Color Printout
Bitmap Typewriter
Architect's Perspective Correction
Vignetting Auto Backgrounder
Knockout JPEG Mottling Colors
Yeah, they are oddball, often waaay out of mainstream, and have extremely steep learning curves. And initially getting filenames to work can be extremely frustrating. All of these are open source.
But once you are on board, they are fast and easy to use and give very impressively superb results. I thought we might spend the next few blog entries reviewing just what these routines do and how to use them.
An older tutorial can be found here.
December 29, 2021
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The Stack Overflow site can be most useful for programming help in most any language. But some of the denizens may end up a tad arrogant or tedious.
December 28, 2021
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PostScript files can be extremely tricky to use, but once controlled, they can leap tall buildings in a single bound. They are extremely useful to retouch bitmaps, do perspective correction, perform auto backgrounding and vignetting, , photo relettering, convert .JPG images into PDF, or generate code for any other computer language.
File instructions have to be specifically activated by sending //acrodist /F to Distiller. Demanded by Adobe to reduce abuse potential. Since reverse slashes are a reserved escape character in PostScript, you will have to use TWO reverse slashes in a PostScript string every time you want a single reverse slash in a Windows filename! Alternately, you can apparently use one forward filename slash which Windows seems to accept.
As near as I can tell, windows relative filenames and web URL's are presently prohibited. Full absolute filenames are required and usually are restricted to Distiller or GhostScript.
I presently know of no way to use PS files with Google Drive. But here are a bunch of unique PS routines that are triply Distiller - GhostScript - Google Drive compatible.
December 27, 2021
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Thermodynamics of hell...
If exothermic, all hell eventually breaks loose.
If endothermic, all hell eventually freezes over.
December 26, 2021
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Time for our usual new year's predictions...
Arrogant and abysmal herd stupidity
clearly making covid much worse and
dragging its kicking and screaming out
much longer.
The sudden elimination of the unintended
consequence federal marijuana subsidies
and farm price supports reducing prices
down under the 59 cents per pound range.
With tax revenues dropping a tad, perhaps
only by four or five orders of magnitude.
PV pricing finally allowing subsidy free
renewable and sustainable
genuine net
energy production As per this and this
weekly reporting.
"Chirp" like broadband Lidar offering
several frequency bands to which plants
and terrain respond differently
A new and "for real" treatment for wood
that makes it stronger, cheaper, and more
energy efficient than aluminum..
Advancing conversion of coal fired power
plants into singles bars.
Dramatic improvements in presently
terrible HVAC. In theory the SEER
max is 300 or a COP of 120.
Hangnails becoming a qualifying
condition for medical marijuana.
Snottities adding a new perspective to
evaluating extraterrestrial life.
New alternates to archaeological publication
that are much closer to open source.
Increasing climatic and weather
variability,
along with the size and frequency of highly
outrageous fires. All clearly caused by
human activity. As to the deniers, they
better hope and pray that it is in fact human
caused, because otherwise it will be a lot
harder to fix.
Paints "so white" that they actually can do
modest cooling via night sky radiation.
Concrete smart enough to repair itself.
December 24, 2021
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Any reverse slash inside a PostScript string really has to be shown as a double reverse slash. Because a reverse slash is an escape character for several other commands, such as \n.
This gets important in a hurry when trying to write or read some host diskfiles. For a printed or screen display, it will take two Gonzo slashes to equal one PostScript slash and two PostScript slashes to pass one real slash on to Windows or whatever. To show double reverse slashes on screen, eight reverse slashes are needed in the original Gonzo string!
December 23, 2021
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As any geologist will tell you, there are three kinds of rocks: Ingeneous, Sedentary, and Metaphoric. And you thought that was bad. More attempts at humor here. And especially here.
December 22, 2021
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While Black Range Lodge remains my favorite bed and breakfast because of long term friendships, I can also highly recommend Casitas De Gila.
Casita's highlights include remote hot tubbing under the stars in one of the finest dark sky locations in the country, a bunch of easy new riparian stream trails, a superb mini art gallery, free WiFi, panhandling horses, and aces to a group of telescopes and terrestrial optics.
The two Bed and Breakfasts are an easy two hour trip apart. Both are in the parts of New Mexico you can't get to. With superb
stuff in between to visit.
December 21, 2021
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All a desert rat has to know about boats: The binnacle goes on top and the barnacle goes on the bottom.
Interchanging the two is a serious breach of maritime etiquette.
December 20, 2021
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My PostScript Video
Main PostScript library
PostScript Secrets
PostScript Beginner Stuff
PostScript Show and Tell
Some older PS Programs
Gonzo Tutorial
Gonzo Utilities
PostScript Reference Manual
December 19, 2021
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December 18, 2021
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A PostScript group example that can work with your host Distiller, host GhostScript or Google Drive display is this stunning group of avuncular sleezoids...
Sleezoid2a .psl source and .pdf demo
Sleezoid2b .psl source and .pdf demo
Sleezoid2c .psl source and group demo
Sleezoid2d .psl source and .pdf demo
Sleezoid2e .psl source and group demo
As usual, we strongly recommend using host based Acrobat Distiller via a command line //acrodist /F.
See H.K. Hornswoggle and N.V. Blatenworth’s classic Exploiting Avuncular Sleezoids for Fun and Profit from the Brandenburg Press, Boise ID 1964, pages 55-2750 for a thorough, but definitely unterse, treatment.
More here. And, of course, here.
December 17, 2021
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Many of our older PostScript programs and demos can be found here.
Use .psl for the source and .pdf for the demo when available. A companion .log file is also sometimes available.
Sometimes the .log file can be the only output, seemingly throwing the baby out and drinking the washwater. But hey, it works! Such as this example.
December 16, 2021
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Our high speed complex Magic Sinewave calculator can be found here, the rest of the Magic Sinewave library here, and a low end simple digital sinewave alternate solution here.
Magic Sinewave have the astounding property that any number of low harmonics can be forced exactly to zero in theory and to surprisingly low real world levels. They have been third party validated and verified as fully tested math.
December 15, 2021
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While our focus has been on prehistoric bajada hanging canals, there are also bunches of Hohokam style riverine canals here as well. Many of these remain in use to this day. To me, these are not nearly as world class impressive engineering.
And the question remains why go to a unique bajada hanging solution when much simpler and easier to build riverine routes were apparently available.
Two riverine examples I've somewhat looked at recently are the San Jose canal at N 32.85697 W 109.54880 with an image here. And the Rogers Reservoir canal fragment at N 32.87314 W 109.83737. The latter is severely endangered as it lies in the path of a new Pima High School.
Our latest paper preprint here and video here. We are working on completing our previous image directory
December 14, 2021
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December 13, 2021
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But my very favorite is the hazmat rule of thumb: Hold your arm extended with your thumb up. Then close one eye.
If you can still see the scene, you are too close.
December 12, 2021
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One of the handier "rules of thumb" that sometimes apply some of the time and can be enormously useful is this: Very often, one percent of what happens nationally happens in Arizona. And one percent of what happens in Arizona happens in the Gila Valley.
Thus, roughly, there are 300 million people in the US, 3 million in AZ, and 30,000 locally. While not super accurate, this rule can quickly give you a rough estimate of an amazing variety of events or tasks. Where you otherwise may not have the faintest clue as to scale.
The rule is surprisingly accurate with Covid. Today's haul was 250,000 - 2500 - 25.
Naturally, the "rule" does not apply to anything with a regional bias. I suspect Thatcher has more cotton module fires than Bangor, Maine does. And that walrus attacks may be rare in Nebraska.
December 11, 2021
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At least to me, it has been utterly obvious for decades that global warming is both real and overwhelmingly man made.
My first clue was the spectacular oxbow lakes and hundred year old trees in the lower Blue river. All of which vanished without a trace. And in a largely undeveloped and "reverting back to wilderness" area.
And my second clue was when a New Mexico organic farmer had to change all her crops because the previous ones never got to harvest.
December 10, 2021
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December 9, 2021
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As we've seen, our log reporting and analyzing sourcecode and log demo has an odd bug in that it may blow up on an ultra long malware log entry attempt.
A typical "real" user entry might be around 300 bytes maximum, while the malware attempts ( they may sort of look like Java rather than HTML ) found so far could be many thousands of bytes.
The simple patch is /maxfilestring 600 pop 3000 store or some other big number. But this significantly slows down your code and might raise VM issues. So you have two choices: Flush the log malware attempts in those rare instances where they happen. Or allow very long readline inputs with a minute or longer response penalty.
For now, I'll leave the code as is.
December 8, 2021
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Arizona has no caves to speak of.
December 7, 2021
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Many mysterious artifacts abound in the desert southwest and especially here in the Gila Valley.
One of the more obviously intriguing examples are the "hot dog formations" 5 miles SxSSE of Swift Trail Junction. AKA SW quarter of section 9 or somewhere near N 32 39' 45" W 109 41' 39"
These are three foot high dirt "bunkers" with rock buttressing that are several dozens of feet long. Also nearby are ( apparently useless ) rock check dams piled much higher than usual. Use is, to say the least, nonobvious.
They do not seem prehistoric in that there is no association with potsherds, lithics, fields, or habitation sites. The rocks also seem to have been moved a significant distance, most likely by wheeled transport. They also look "too new".
The nearest 4WD track is 900 feet south and the property is BLM Rangeland. Explanations of rifle range backdrops, scouting projects, erosion control, cattle guards, hoaxes, movies or vid commercials, kids pissing around, drug dealers, UFO landing sites, or rancher improvements all seem unlikely. There are no obvious trash artifacts, modern or otherwise.
I am at a loss to explain these. The simplest thing is to blame them on the CCC. Who have proven adept at doing totally useless stuff in strange ways.
Nearest CCC camp was 8 miles away at Noon Creek. The artifacts do not show on available images.
A tiny bit of supporting evidence is that some of the rock arrangements show "Italian stone masonry" careful arrangement and placement quite similar to those of other known CCC sites. No concrete is used. The motif is distinctly unsouthwest.
Your comments welcome.
December 6, 2021
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Few people realize that the word "gullible" does not appear in any major dictionary or spell checker.
December 5, 2021
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Our main free ebook page can be found here, along with many of our free classic reprints here.
December 4, 2021
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Got several emails over Marijilda Ruin. Firstoff, it is one of the very few sites that I do not disclose. Second, there is totally lacking satellite image evidence. Third, the 4WD access road only gets you part way and is mesmerizingly awful. Always use somebody else's vehicle! Fourth, the ruin is overgrown so badly it is trivially easy to miss by even a few feet.
Truth be known, I've never been there. Close a dozen frustrating times. The above evidence is mostly from a pair of legendary gonzo low profile super hikers.
Sites with much better locations and access can be found here. With more detail here.
December 3, 2021
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I've still got major problems in picking up FatCow stats. The best I've found so far now often seem to work much of the time.
First, you should link https://yoursitecom.fatcow.com/stats/index.html and either welcome the stats page or else do a password check in and email view. Per what they sent you.
Then try https://www.fatcow.com/controlpanel VisitorStats.bml
Again, it may only be my site, and this is the best solution I've found so far. Please email me if you have any input on this.
December 2, 2021
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The photovoltaic Panel PV pricing can be found updated every Wednesday here and here. Cell prices today bottom out under ten cents per peak watt.
Meanwhile, insider details of the conversion of coal power plants into singles bars can be found here.
December 1, 2021
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The majority of our earlier Guru's Lair papers pretty much demand use of larger-than-phone monitors. Especially since many were originally magazine or book formats. But the majority of visitors these days are on the newer and much more phone friendly responsive design pages.
The essential very first step in making any web page mobile friendly is to add this line near the top of your <head> code...
<meta name="viewport"
content="width=device-width,
initial-scale=1.0">
We presently use a "two step" approach where we first write for a "large" monitor and then refine it for around 350 pixels wide Samsung class sites. The usual narrow site improvements usually consist of very slight adding or removing words for improved justification.
Our usual recommended superb responsive design test site can be found here. But Chrome reports what may be a temporary malware issue.
November 30, 2021
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Some really oddball third party stuff here. Largely still unexplored is this Lagrange to Bezier adapter.
Bezier through exact four points is here. There are an infinite number or possibilities. So, it is not yet clear which are the best and shortest. But it may involve an apportioned chords scheme.
Finding an exact length for a cubic Bezier curve involves some beyond ugly Elliptical Integrals. Faster and much more useful is this approximation and others in our newly revised and phone friendly library page.
November 29, 2021
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I've just discovered a glitch in our logfile status analyzer sourcecode and log demo: It can be trashed with a readline length error by an ultra long malware url hit entry.
These seem rare enough that you can manually delete them from moo.yoursitecom or wherever. But I am working on a potentially much better solution. So far, too short a file length generates the glitch, while too long gobbles up vm excessively.
The ultimate solution should seem to be to reuse one long string, and then copy it ( dereferenced per details here ) into a custom short string for each and every file read.
After further testing, I'll try to post the results here and here. Sorry about that. Or please email me your solution.
November 28, 2021
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We've shown a somewhat ( and surprisingly ) improved bubble sort here and a variation that sorts on a subarray ( such as a popularity vote) here.
Better yet, we have a heap sort tutorial here, and source code in our various .psl files. This ends up insanely faster for longer sorts but is tricky to understand. more info in various entries here.
By way of comparison, a heap sort can be much faster than a print or == of comparable size. So, other factors often dominate in program sped. The subarray sorts are comparable to the bubble approach.
November 27, 2021
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The most outrageous PostScript off-the-wall blatant abuse? Using setdash to instantly draw thousands of perspective bricks!
Such as this code and demo, this demo, or this printout. Sourcecode on the latter may be "lost".
Code file size can be utterly negligible. Try to challenge anybody, anywhere to beat this code. Using any computer language, anytime ever.
November 26, 2021
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Converting an Array into a String This one is way, way, waaaay beyond disgustingly elegant.
Assume you have an array of positive integers in the 0 to 255 range. They might be an ASCII text message or they simply might be some data that you want to efficiently stash as a string. So, to convert…
/makestring {dup length string dup
/NullEncode filter
3 -1 roll {1 index
exch write} forall pop} def
[72 105
32 116 104 101 114 101 ]makestring
---> (Hi there!)
Huh? OK, here it is in English: Create a new string the length of the array. Convert the string into a virtual file that can be written to. Then stuff the array integers into the string one by one.
November 25, 2021
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Super useful is this string merger routine...
/mergestr {2 copy length exch length add
string dup dup 4 3 roll 4 index length exch
putinterval 3 1 roll exch 0 exch putinterva
} def
(This is a) ( merged string.) mergestr
---> (This is a merged string.)
and this "put an integer inside a string...
/secretnum 42 store
(The meaning of life is ) secretnum 10 string
cvs mergestr (.\n) mergestr
The meaning of life is 42.
November 24, 2021
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Another confusilation is whether you want PostScript to do something "right now" rather than waiting for new results that might not show up until later in the program.
A typical use might be text justification, where a color change or a URL link screen position might not be known until after the justification calcs are complete.
Firstoff, you will need some scheme for deferred action, such as this printlist in our Gonzo Utilities. You then insert your deferred command....
printlist exch 3 index exch put
exch 1 add exch
Secondly, your code must NOT include anything that executes immediately. Typically, you should be inside an array. Any variable or command should be replaced by a name cvx.
Here is an example that sets part of a deferred link...
/surl {mark
198 /setrgbcolor cvx
/currentpoint cvx
/urly /exch cvx /store cvx
/urlx /exch cvx /store cvx
] cvx
printlist exch 3 index exch put
exch 1 add exch
} def
November 23, 2021
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Er, one of the more insidious and infuriating happenings in all of PostScript is when strings stuffed into arrays seem to mysteriously change content later in the program.
This is intentional! If you reuse the same sting in an array or wherever, only a POINTER to the new info is kept. Which uses up much less VM.
The de-referencing workaround is to make a new string copy any time you want to keep its content from changing later in the program..
(reusable_string) dup length string cvs
----> (safe_string)
There is a tradeoff of using all new strings that gobble vm, messing with vm itself, or risking inputs that are too long and generate errors. We'll see some solution code that allows one long string ( such as for file reading ) and final compacted shorter ones in a few days.
November 22, 2021
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The little known Insider secrets of Converting Between PostScript Strings, Integers, Arrays, and Dictionaries can be found here. We'll review some of the more subtle stuff in out next few blogs.
November 21, 2021
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When they marionette shrimp. how do they tie all those little strings on?
November 20, 2021
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Two downloadable episodes of Captain
Video do
appear here and here. And bunches of unlost "new" additions here.
Which conclusively proves that the concept of "mesmerizingly awful" seems to be time invariant.
Several dozen episodes exist but are not readily available. Most of the others were apparently destroyed shortly after Dumont went belly up.
November 19, 2021
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The problem with Captain Video is simply this: They are "for real" our goodwill ambassadors to outer space Along with Roller Derby and Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.
In 1949, our sun suddenly became a radio star, blasting out vast quantities of new VHF energy. In 70 years, this has swept out over six million cubic light years of space and has been sent to roughly 6000 candidate star systems.
And still at a sensitivity level detectable with our current technology. And new candidate star systems are being contacted at a cube law rate, while the energy levels are only dropping square law.
What if...
What if a candidate star system receives a perfectly lucid twelve second clip of "Roller Derby" as the sum total of all that is known about Earth culture?
November 18, 2021
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Some classic papers on differential amplifiers can be found here, here, and here.
November 17, 2021
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The name for schemes such as yesterday's scam is a RCF, short for reversed cash flow. As in having others pay you for your fun.
Other examples include getting paid to live in a wilderness cabin, forming a user group, getting paid to drink beer, or becoming a developer appear here.
Earlier comments here.
November 16, 2021
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For some bizarre reason, there seems to be a mini run on my thesis.
Which eventually became this construction project. And, somewhere along the way, got an aerospace company to pay a university to let me write a $1000 construction project for a hobby magazine.
This was one of the first integrated circuit linear integrated circuit construction projects. Since linear IC's were expensive and few and far between, we cheated a little and biased some plain old logic gates into ultra cheap and still reasonable performing into their linear regions.
November 15, 2021
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I still have a bizarre bug in getting my Fatcow stats. It does seem that the link sometimes https://www.fatcow.com/controlpanel/VisitorStats.bml works and sometimes it drops into email. Other times, an error 500 file unavailable appears.
Numerous Live Chat attempts have not helped, as Fatcow apparently thinks it is not their problem. It may have something to do with Chrome menus or cacheing. Rebooting helps but sometimes does not eliminate the problem.
Your suggestions welcome.
November 14, 2021
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Every once in a while, Distiller will report being unable to find the Helvetica-Bold font. Even if your code never asks for it!
At least some of the time, the problem lies in it somehow getting into an oddball compatibility Default setting, such as PDF/A-1b:2005 (RGB).
Stick with standard compatibility unless you have a real good reason not to. And double check every now and then just to be sure.
November 13, 2021
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A reminder that we have the definitive Gila Valley dayhikes guide here. It includes exact locations of all but the most sensitive of places to go and things to do.
The trips can be greatly added to by use of Google Earth, or my very favorite Acme Mapper. A local hiking club can be found here.
Some of the lesser known dayhikes have now been gathered together here. This is also a great example of how PostScript can completely and utterly blow Power Point out of the water on all counts. Many more examples here.
Separately, if you want your outdoor activities to make a significant contribution to ongoing exciting world class research, check out our Prehistoric bajada hanging canals you'll find here.
A collection of field notes can be linked here. And we are now newly posting to Research Gate. Or contact us for more details.
November 12, 2021
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We do have great heaping bunches of super premium solid state HP and Agilent microwave switches up on our eBay auctions and store. To 24 GHz.
An older listing here. Prices are presently as low as 2 cents on the dollar.
November 11, 2021
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Sadly, we long ago sold out of our water soluble swimsuits, dimpled chad ( snarfed up, of course by amateur astronomers ) and tinfoil hat liners.
You did, of course, have to remember to place the liners on the outside of the foil to block them from reading your thoughts and on the inside to prevent them from controlling them.
We still do have a very few highly collectible, "not available elsewhere" and absolutely mint nuclear holocaust fashion accessories remaining.
November 10, 2021
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Here are most of the presently available field notes. Many are earlier versions that remain sorely in need of major revision...
Allen Canal
Bear Springs Canal
Cluffnw Canal
Deadman Canal
Freeman Canal
Frye Complex
Henry Canal
Jernigan Canal
Lefthand Canyon West
Longview Area
Lower Frye Construct
Mud Springs
Minor Webster Ditch
Riggs Mesa Canal
Robinson Canal
Sand Canal
Smith Canal
TB Ponding Area
Tranquility Canal
Tugood Canal
Veech Canal
For sourcecodes, please substitute .psl trailers above.
November 9, 2021
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Fundamental Factors Underlying Recent
Technological Innovation
In hindsight, nothing, but nothing, eclipses the staggering and unprecedented any time ever recent price drops in memory technology costs.
I was there in a major aerospace firm the day the price of semiconductor memory blasted through the nickel a bit needed to challenge magnetic core.
November 8, 2021
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Much more on bashing pseudoscience here. And trashing automotive electrolysizers here. Details on Supraluminal Dowsing for Brown's Gas in Roswell here. And water powered cars here.
November 7, 2021
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The curious saga of the magic lamp can be found here, an excerpted original here, and a supporting classic third party analysis here.
This remains one of my favorite pseudoscience yarns. The bottom line is that there can be a huge error if you try to measure the power of low duty cycle waveforms with common average responding instruments.
November 6, 2021
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An associate just rediscovered a shorter riverine prehistoric canal at N 32.87168 W 109.83544 to N 32.87468 W 109.83950 that seems to link the Union Canal with Rogers Resovoir.
A new version of Pima High School appears about to totally trash this short discovery reach. Also endangered is the Reay Bajada Canal that is about to become a housing development. The valley has a strong history of utterly destroying impossibly unique prehistoric artifacts.
The "riverine" seem to share a Hohokam heritage and are quite extensive in the Safford Basin. But, at least to me, they are not nearly as unique or as technically advanced as our mountain stream based bajada hanging canals. Video Here.
November 5, 2021
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There is an alternate to the four flavors of hdmi called DisplayPort touted by HP, Dell and others. These are not directly compatible, but adapters and adapting cables are readily available.
The issue comes up whenever you are trying to adapt a modern laptop to an older VGA only overhead projector.
November 4, 2021
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Watch out for the cliff!
What CLIFFFFFfffffffff?
Watch out for the ping pong ball
What ping pong gloulckkk?
Watch our for the ladder!
What ladder dedadder dedadder dedadder?
Watch out for the revolving door!
What revolving door .. ing door .. ing door?
Curiously, there does not seem to be the faintest hint of these on the web. I'd like to try and find the rest of these and give them a long missing home.
November 3, 2021
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A reminder that the foremost rule of telephone scams is that the next person that speaks after "How are you today?" loses.\
If you must say something, then one good answer is "terrible". To which their script tells them to respond with "great".
"My Saint Bernard just died" might be another useful response.
Needless to say, you don't want to piss them off, for they have all sorts of possible nasty reprisals. We get a dozen or more of these per day.
November 2, 2021
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Science Magazine for 22 October 2021 on pages 400 and 465 to 471 has a sneaky new way to make wood stronger than aluminum. Besides ending up ridiculously greener.
This looks like a stunning breakthrough and, at the least, should lead to a whole raft of winning student papers.
November 1, 2021
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The Incredible Secret Money Machine.
I am sometimes asked if this was for real. Firstoff, I genuinely believed ( and largely still do ) in most everything present in appropriate context.
Which I felt accurately reflected pre web times where it was utterly unheard of for an engineer ( or anyone else for that matter ) to not be employed by some large old line firm.
But hell yes. At the time there were zillions of pre web get rich quick scams out there So the ISMM was also intended to double as a satirical parody of the entire genre.
Despite dozens of outstanding then and now reviews ( especially Kevin Kelly of the Whole Earth Catalog ), very few people caught on to this secondary goal. An older archive sorely in need of updating here.
The plant on the cover, of course, was instantly recognizable as a false aralia
October 31, 2021
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There are four different sizes of .hdml cables and connectors: Regular TV or type "A", Rare double type "B", Mini type "C" for laptops and Micro type "D" for smart phones.
A typical $5 adapter is shown here. Cables of various lengths and prices are also available. But you have to make absolutely sure of exactly what you are ordering.
You can also get HDMI to VGA adapters. Which should be really useful to connect newer electronics to older overhead projectors. But note that (a) these only go one way ( hdml in and vga out ) And that (b) certain higher performance units may need to exclusively slurp 5 volts of DC power from the handiest USB port.
October 30, 2021
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Some other "array of arrays" are involved with the improved ISP log file analyzer whose sourcecode is here and their logfile demo here. These perform mapping or indexing and have the following form...
[ [ starta counta ] ...[ startn ] [ countn] ]
These tell the reporting software where to enter the main array of arrays and how many sequential terms to grab and report.
October 29, 2021
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Heap sorts can be applied in several locations if you are using "array of arrays" or "array of strings. At the "outside" level, they cause identical entries to be grouped together. "Inside" they can put counts in numeric order and do other tasks.
These are ridiculously faster than bubble sorts as they execute in log(n) times rather than as bad as n^2.. Their execution times are usually far faster than simple print reporting requests.
String sorts are in lexicographic order. Detailed examples here.
October 28, 2021
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4. Hit Frequency per postfix .asp ,bmp .shtml etc...
Hits are searched per predefined postfixes in
postmap single array.
An outside forall that scans hitmaparray for
staratt2 and count2 of hits generating maybe
candidates. An internal forall then searches for
a given postfix. Valid hits and their frequencies
are then print reported to the output log file.
October 27, 2021
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3. Hit Frequency respomse .(404) ... (200) etc....
Responses are auto put in numeric order
with a single heap sort. Most other scans need a
double heap sort that first groups hit candidates
go together and secondly puts map results in an
order of count frequency.
October 26, 2021
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2. Hits by count frequency...
The shortarray is sorted by hits, thus grouping
identical user hits together A map array is then
created that identifies the starting point of each
group and the number of hits in the group.
Results are then print reported to an output .log
file. No .pdf file is needed, so none is created
in this particular release..
October 25, 2021
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1. URL's by hit frequency...
The shortarray is sorted by url, thus grouping
identical user hits together. A map of URLs
versus hits and responses are next generated
and then re sorted by hit count. Placing the
busiest URL's first.
The addition of postfixes (especially (404))
greatly simplifies finding potential malware or
other malicious activities leap out to
you with this feature. The bad guys might
be filtered above eight 404's.
October 24, 2021
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Here is a summary of our ISP file log analyzer algorithms. Firstoff, you have to get your ISP daily log report downloaded and uncompressed. Mods will likely need made for any ISP other than Fatcow.
Your host file copy then needs linked to log_an3.psl by way of /filenameprefix and /infilename defs. The program is then sent to Distiller via //acrodist /F.
Sorry, while all of Gonzo is included internally, we are not directly Google Drive compatible due to its obscure sneakiness involved in generating log files. We should be GhostScript compatible, but we have not tested this.
At any rate, a simplified log report is first generated in an "array of arrays of strings" shortarray format that includes only [[(ISP)( file) (status)] ... ] format Filenames are then shortened to 55 characters max by cropping and appending ... to any longer problems.
Code then continues as four submodules...
October 23, 2021
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An improved ISP log file analyzer seems ready for big time. Find the sourcecode here and the logfile demo here.
This presently starts by FTPing a file similar to .access_log_20180710.gz from the Fatcow stats directory on your website and then uncompressing it with WinZip into your host file similar to amoo.yoursite.com textfile.
This is then properly linked to /filenameprefix and /infilename in our log_an3.psl sourcecode and sent to Acrobat Distiller via its secret //acrodist /F magic incantation. A PostScript .log textfile then gets generated.
The program then does some ultra fancy grouping and sorting to create detailed reports of stuff like URL's by hit frequency, hits by popularity, hits by response, and hits by file postfix. Thus going far beyond and far more conveniently than the initial isp log reports.
The code should be easy to modify for other ISP formats, and its ultra sophisticated super fast heap sorting should be easily expandable to your specific needs.
Execution time is around fifteen seconds for a 1 meg input log file. Most of this time is spent printing final outputs.
Your speed will, of course, also be CPU age dependent.
Please report any errors, test results, and requests.
October 22, 2021
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Another free way to run PostScript is with GhostScript. Which can do almost all of PostScript and even a few additional stunts. But it does have a rather steep learning curve that is complete with some hidden gotchas. Getting fully compatible fonts and full length log files also may end up tricky.
Meanwhile, there are several ways to pick up "real" PostScript and "real" Distiller. Especially with eBay and Adobe's student discounts.
Better yet, you can rent genuine Adobe Acrobat. In their newly available $14 per month Acrobat Pro DC. Or their super $52 per month deal of "one each of everything and then some" Adobe Creative Cloud.
October 21, 2021
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There are many ways to use the incredibly superb general purpose PostScript language and its .pdf Acrobat converting Distiller.
Perhaps the cheapest ( as in free ) and most convenient is to use Google Drive. But it is limited in that it presently forbids most of the really spectacular stuff you can do with PostScript Such as reading and writing disk files or including run "subroutines", or generating log output files or writing code for use by other languages..
I've recently been updating some of our simpler code to make it more Google Drive compatible. Per these dozens of triply compatible examples here.
Find our PostScript library here, our Gonzo Utilities here, the Gonzo tutorial here, our ancient show and tell, a list of our .psl files here, and our PostScript video here. Plus, of course, the PostScript Reference Manual.
Gonzo is a super powerful combined text layout and tech illustration utility. Back in the days of our PostScript Beginner Stuff. you simply prepended a gonzo run command. Leading to astonishingly short runtime routines.
To gain Google Drive Gonzo compatibility, you can either insert all of Gonzo early in your code. Or else excerpt only those key routines that you really need. Adding full Gonzo adds around 90K to your code. This is largely a trivial and no big deal these days. Many example here.
October 20, 2021
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I'm in the process of reworking our fancy ISP web analyzers. Find the work in progress source code here and a generated logfile demo here. Besides new algorithms, it uses some much faster heap sorts. It is only partially finished.
It is intended to use the Fatcow ISP, but should be adaptable. You first FTP a log file from their stats directory, such as /stats/access_log_20211023.gz This is a compressed file, so you will have to expand it with winzip to get something like moo.mylogcom.
It is super important to get all the absolute filenames correct. Send the .psl file to Acrobat Distiller via the secret magic incantation //acrodist /F. Or use GhostScript. Either way, your log file is your main output.
( Revised updated sourcecode here and log demo here.)
October 19, 2021
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Several timelines of our bajada hanging canal discoveries can be found here.
I also once started some hanging canal blog excerpts beginning with 2009. These still need work as they are not yet mobile friendly and only go to 2019. Also here.
Some key newer canal docs include...
ARA Video
JFA Preprint
Main Canal Menu
Canal Images
Earlier Directory
October 18, 2021
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I've always been camera shy, with this rare example including an unintended "the other right" grievous flaw. Because Les Solomon is on your left and Don Lancaster is on your right.
Photographed in Durango Colorado. Must have been sometime around 1974 or 1975.
October 17, 2021
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Here's a collection of links to related to our TV Typewriter stuff...
The originals...
TV Typewriter Cookbook
Cheap Video Cookbook
Son of Cheap Video
Build the Superclock
Put the time on your TV Screen
Experiments with WWVB
Modern third party analysis...
The Typewriter that changed the world
Bride of Son of Cheap Video.
October 16, 2021
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The case against patents here. And more patent bashing here.
October 15, 2021
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I've been having troubles accessing my Fatcow Usage Statistics in that they often return a code 500 Internal Server Error and with a "This page isn't working"". Here is a"roundabout workaround that seems to work.:
1. Sign in and read your email.
2. Exit Chrome, especially Speed Dial.
3. Go to your home page, then a blog.
4. Enter...
https://www.fatcow.com/controlpanel/
VisitorStats.bml
If that fails, try a full reboot.
October 14, 2021
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One of our more obscure Apple IIe resources was To and Fro with Apple's Inverted Decimal Code, which also got expanded into our "just look it up" Hexadecimal Chronicles.
Please scan the later so we can include it with our free eBooks.
Other Kilobaud Microcomputing and similar reprints here.
October 13, 2021
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October 12, 2021
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I've long been a fan of bashing pseudoscience and promoting real science. But there is a phenomenon that seems to be stuck in the middle, neither fish nor fowl. This is the hum on the desert.
Here's how we covered it earlier in our Gila Dayhikes page:
"HUM ON THE DESERT" -- Enigmatic "lopeing generator" sounds are heard by some in the Desert Southwest. Myself included. With no generally acceptable explanation. These could be real or variations on tinnitus or individuals that posses exceptional infrasonic capabilities.
And here is what Wikipedia did with it. And here is some additional coverage.
If this was an external source, it seems to me that a few minutes with a decent audio spectrum analyzer would nail it down once and for all. But this does not seem to ever happen.
Building a PC audio card synthesizer with a bunch of knobs might be interesting. Followed by comparing time reports and knob settings.
My present theory is ostoacoustic emissions. In a quiet room, one of my ears can clearly sense an object placed within an inch of it. The sensing lasts only a second. I assume this is some sort of a "balance recalibration" or "acoustic background pattern adjustment". I have no doubt it is real.
And might explain why the effect seems stronger inside a van or SUV, perhaps owing to acoustical filtering or resonance.
But no credible solution to the hum on the desert has yet appeared. I predict it will turn out "real but internal"
October 11, 2021
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I can see a major problem emerging that will very dramatically affect power utility system stability. At present, all of their regulation methods assume that if the voltage goes up,so does the load current drawn.
But with many switchmode power supplies, power factor correctors, and with newer fluorescent electronic ballasts, the current will go down as the voltage increases!
Thus presenting a negative resistance to the power grid!
I suspect that if such loads get more than about fifteen or twenty percent of the total, some very ugly things will start happening to the power delivery system.
Some related topics are covered in our energy fundamentals tutorial.
October 10, 2021
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A credible case could be made that just about everybody in the US who ended up in electronics during the 1950's to 1970's did so because of the original Popular Electronics newsstand magazine. By strongly motivating them in or even well before high school.
I strongly feel that Perry Ferrell, the PE editor, was one of the most important and underappreciated individuals in the entire personal computer revolution. Who literally created the individuals who created the revolution.
One of the mainstays of the mag was a fiction column authored by a John T. Frye called Carl & Jerry. Carl and Jerry were both prototypical hardware nerds, long before the term even existed.
And, amazingly as told to me by Les Solomon, John was apparently wheelchair bound and unable to participate personally in any of the Carl and Jerry adventures. Les and other PE staff would meet with John and vet the stories for feasibility and credibility.
In many ways, I guess I was Carl, albeit a shorter and more obnoxiously wiseassed version. Per these details.
At any rate, you can find many of the Carl and Jerry stories on the web. And Jeff Duntemann has been publishing a series of reprints of the original stories. Besides his online tribute page.
Had the stories continued, of course, Carl would have ended up as a universally despised and triply divorced "reality distortion field" mega tech CEO. And Jerry would be relearning to tie his shoes after a seemingly minor recreational drug mishap.
October 9, 2021
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The fourth of current bajada hanging canal projects involving drones and Lidar might involve the Jernigan Canal...
Obviously viewable segment from N 32.83996 W 109.81748 to N 32.84016 W 109.81574 Should continue east after yet untraced short stream crossing.
Vehicle access via 4WD mesa top track north of Grandma Road. Your participation welcome.
October 8, 2021
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The third of current bajada hanging canal projects involving drones and Lidar might involve the Mid Allen Canal...
Easily followed portion between between N 32.79628 W 109.82307 and N 32.80372 W 109.81747. Attempt to follow south to Hawk Hollow Tank and North to Allen Dam.
Vehicle access via the Frye Mesa to Mud Springs 4wd track south of Thatcher International Airport. Your participation welcome.
October 7, 2021
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The second of current bajada hanging canal projects involving drones and Lidar might involve the Watershed Crossing (!) to Mud Springs....
Follow well defined canal North from N 32.79153 W 109.85378 to N 32.79985 W 109.84181. Then attempt to find stream takein south and link "next" canal visible portion north.
Vehicle access via Ash Creek Road at top of the mesa. Your participation welcome.
October 6, 2021
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The first of current bajada hanging canal projects involving drones and Lidar might involve the Lower Frye Complex...
Aerial survey well defined hanging area from N 32.76625 W 109.79383 to N 32.76825 W 109.79167. Attempt to further follow uplink and downlink routes.
Vehicle access near the chlorinator on lower Frye Mesa Road. Your participation welcome.
October 5, 2021
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Nikolia Tesla, of course, is the patron saint of the Church of the Latter Day Crackpots.
More on similar tautology here
October 4, 2021
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Strange fire tale #1 -- We were working at the
Gentry lookout when the next forest over put a
totally untrained relief lookout on nearby Oahaca
lookout.
At the time, there were very strictly scripted radio
procedures for fire reporting. Over the radio came
"Dispatcher, dispatcher, there is a fire!".
Dispatcher ( showing extreme restraint ) politely
asked where the fire is. "Right over there in
those trees!".
October 3, 2021
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Magic Sinewaves here and calculator here..
October 2, 2021
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A reverse order heap sort can be done by swapping the positions of the array subfiles to be tested thusly...
% /arraysamp {} store
% /arraysamp { 0 get exch 0 get} store
/arraysamp {1 get exch 1 get} store
% /arraysamp { 2 get exch 2 get} store
October 1, 2021
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A heap sorting subarray example newly appears here with its demo log here. As usual, send it to Acrobat Distiller via the //acrodist /F magic incantation.
Uncomment one of these additions to drop down to a subarray...
% /arraysamp {} store
% /arraysamp {exch 0 get exch 0 get} store
/arraysamp {exch 1 get exch 1 get} store
% /arraysamp {exch 2 get exch 2 get} store
These will be needed about seven times, usually following any 2 copy that decides whether a swap will be needed. The trick is to swap the full array entry, while testing only the subarray values.
Speed is insanely faster than any bubble sort for large n. Note the 1000 {sort} repeat that stopwatches in milliseconds. Much more here.
September 30, 2021
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We've seen many times how PostScript's "array of arrays" or "arrays of strings" can be most useful in extracting data six ways from Sunday.
Essential to this task are modified search routines that can test on an array subarray or substring. Placing the entire outside arrays in an order set by the previously searched substring.
Ferinstance, you could pull out all the 404's or the URL hits by popularity, or the accessed files by popularity. Note that a lexicographic sort arranges identical entries together by value.
We saw how to do this with a bubble sort here, while a heap sort subarray example newly appears here.
September 29, 2021
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Some bajada "hanging" canal projects potentially involving Lidar or Drones...
1. Map Lower Frye Complex N 32.76602
W 109.79407 to N 32.76825 W 109.79161..
Attempt trace to N 32.78062 W 109.77548
and uplink from N 32.75797 W 109.81516.
2. Verify Watershed Crossing at N 32.74411
W 109.83891 to N 32.74556 W 109.83945.
3. Map Mud Springs Canal watershed crossing
at 32.79150 W 109.85375 to N 32.80447
W 109.83874.
4. Map spectacular East Deadman from
N 32.75362 W 109.78308 to N 32.75655
W 109.77689 Attempt link to N 32.76544
W 109.74191.
5. Map Tripp Canyon Canal from N 32.80476
W 110.05048 to N 32.81157 W 110.04663.
Extend from N 32.80055 W 110.05284 and
to possible N 32.81566 W 110.02228
6. Map Golf Course Canal from N 32.79687
W 109.78505 to 32.79888 W 109.78158
Find source from possible N 32.78288
W 109.78715 or N 32.79111 W 109.79149
Try downlink to N 32.80580 W 109.77644
7. Map the Allen Canal from N 32.78238 W
109.83529 to N 32.80121 W 109.81968.
then off mesa and past dam to N 32.83492
W 109.79806. Plus final destination.
8. Map and link Reay Canal from N 32.82108
W 109.77335 to N 32.80641 W 109.77625.
9. Determine possibly damaged Mud Springs
takein from N 32.78865 W 109.85500 to
32.79160 W 109.85363
10. Map Robinson Ditch from 32.79160
W 109.85363 to N 32.78547 W 109.79290.
Determine if Robinson sources Golf Course.
11. Map Sand Canal "climb" from N 32.81233
W 109.94773 to N 32.82067 W 109.93890
Continue to N 32.83123 W 109.92557.
12. Map USFS pipeline from N 32.74567
W 109.83942 to N 32.75587 W 109.83478
Presumed to overlay upper Frye canal.
13. Map Veech Canal from N 32.64237
W 109.74252 to N 32.64407 W 109.7403
and find Eastern destination. Fix hiking.
14. Complete mapping of Jernigan Canal from
N 32.83690 W 109.81499 to N 32.84223
W 109.81583 Also attempt to resolve route
from N 32.82773 W 109.81948 to
N 32.84223 W 109.81583
15. Map and explore the Taylor Canal from
N 32.81385 W 109.97493 to N 32.81703
W 109.97208 and beyond.
16. Complete a map of the UFO Fish Fillets
N 32.81385 W 109.97493 to N 32.81703
centered on N 32.81516 W 109.97063.
Try to verify age.
17. Find takeins above Minor Webster at
N 32.79817 W 109.87218 and tugood at
N 32.81171 W 109.87100
18. Map Goat Tank canal from N 32.68190
W 109.75540 to N 32.68906 W 109.72070.
19. Map Jennings historic canal at N 32.74207
W 109.69429 to N 32.74524 W 109.69255
and verify prehistoric origins.
20. Try to verify Marijilda Canal at N 32.70628
W 109.77262 to Henry's Canal at N 32.73720
W 109.74217.
21. See if the historically derived Bigler Canal
has a prehistoric origin from N 32.85464
W 109.93813 to N 32.88939 W 109.91182.
22. Trace the Quail artesian canal from
N 32.71232 W 109.69192 to N 32.72078
W 109.67975. Seek prehistoric origin proof .
23. Seek takein from Cluff Northwest going
N 32.82528 W 109.84798 to N 32.82636
W 109.84723.
24. Map Western Deadman from N 32.73671
W 109.81380 to 32.77082 W 109.75144.
Seek northern destination.
Enter into mapper.acme.com or etc. for more detail
September 28, 2021
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One of the projects that's sort of a back burner here is to find more polynomials for active filters. It turns out there are only a very few popular ones out of hundreds or thousands of possible candidates.
Per our Active Filter Cookbook.
Consider a fourth order lowpass filter. Normally, this gets factored into a pair of cascaded second order sections. So, there are four variables involved that consist of two frequency terms and two damping terms. All of which do not necessarily have anything at all to do with full polynomials.
What happens if we use four random values? I've long been an advocate of throw another million calculations at it or shake the box. While most of these will end up utterly worthless, are there any "new" or "undiscovered" active filter solutions? Are any of these useful?
Ferinstance, we might try frequency and damping boundary values from Butterworth and Slight Dips. With one intermediate point, we could have 3^4 = 81 candidates. Or two intermediate points for 4^4 = 256 candidates. Or three intermediate points for 5^4 = 625 candidates.
Your inputs welcome
September 27, 2021
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We've seen here how the glacial bubble sort can often be made faster for certain data sets by exiting when no exchanges are longer needed. But it may remain unacceptably slow when you get into sorting hundreds or even thousands of items.
Much better for large data sets but extremely obtuse is the heap sort. Find a tutorial here And its demo sourcecode here. Worst case bubble processes as n squared. Typical heap sort processes as log n.
Or in a recent PostScript project, times from three milliseconds to twelve seconds.
September 26, 2021
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The original Sallen and Key paper assumed unity gain in that this was all you could get out of a Cathode Follower. Their values for the filter components ended up tricky and obnoxious when used at unity gain.
One of the Active Filter Cookbook optional improvements was that you could go to equal component values with identical and "more standard" capacitors simply by going to gains modestly above unity. Trivially easy these days with opamps.
September 25, 2021
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I've got a link to the original Sallen and Key active filter paper here. This has been hard to find in that it first appeared in the obscure and long defunct IRE Transactions on Circuit Theory.
My Active Filter Cookbook started with this paper and significantly improved upon it.
September 24, 2021
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Waay back when,Chirp was a major breakthrough for radar systems in that it dramatically improved the resolution and peak power needs. Besides being much harder to jam. I long ago ran a tutorial here.
The basic idea was to start with a linear swept frequency waveform and, on return, send it through a linear delay versus frequency network. Bats, of course, have used chirp from day one.
Apparently the Lidar folks are just beginning to discover Chirp. It will be most interesting to see what can develop here. One example here.
September 23, 2021
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Secrets of converting between PostScript strings, integers, arrays, and dictionaries can be found here.
September 22, 2021
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An aerial photo of Pacman, Arizona can be found here.
September 21, 2021
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I'm in the process of improving our web log stats program ( old log_an1.psl code here and log_an1.log demo here ) and noticed that it is ending up waaay too slow. The main culprit is apparently tens of thousands of list related print commands, which can end up a thousand times slower than typical internal PostScript commands.
I do have this custom mergestr command that merges a pair of strings. It ends up a thousand times faster than print...
/mergestr {2 copy length exch length add
string dup dup 4 3 roll 4 index length exch
putinterval 3 1 roll exch 0 exch
putinterval} bind def
The trick is to make each of your print statements as long as feasible ahead of time. Potentially resulting in speedups as high as several hundred for appropriate list locations.
Yeah, despite all the grunge in mergestr, it still is blindingly fast, executing thousands of times in well less than one millisecond. The upper limit of combining strings is staying under 64K. The lower limit is your appropriateness of combination. A 10X speedup average seems more than possible.
September 20, 2021
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Apparently surprising or any unexpected random significant slowdowns of PostScript code can sometimes be traced to their internal garbage collection. This can be a problem with many long strings associated with disk file reads involving the //acrodist /F magic incantation.
Your first defense of this is to clear your computer of competing programs before running Distiller.
Your second defense can involve these Virtual Memory commands...
vmstatus == == == returns condition.
-2 vmreclaim stops all collection
0 vmreclaim resumes normal collection
2 vmreclaim forces immediate collection
More here and here.
September 19, 2021
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As we've seen, Public Surplus is a useful supply source for all your eBay sales. Mostly driven by community colleges, schools, and various city and towns.
Here is my buying strategy: Earlier, I find the street prices on eBay and their popularity and shipping ability and potential demand. As we've seen before I always seek out a 30:1 sell to buy ratio. But of particular interest are "contents of cabinet" and "contents of room" situations.
Around ten minutes before an item's auction close, I verify my user name and password. And that pickup and/or shipping makes sense and is not unreasonably excessive.
At seven minutes, I --> ONCE <-- enter thirty percent MORE than my absolute maximum proxy bid price. Note that on the average, you will never pay this amount. Normally you will either lose or else will win for a lot less.
I then ignore EVERYTHING till the auction close. No tripping of five minute refreshes or pissing contests need apply. Fer sure.
September 18, 2021
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tDar is short for the Digital Archaeological Record. It is sponsored by ASU and is an open source creative commons compendium.
tDAR’s use, development, and maintenance are governed by Digital Antiquity, an organization dedicated to ensuring the long-term preservation of irreplaceable archaeological data and to broadening the access to these data.
It is pretty much open source and open to everyone. There is a $10 charge for each individual listing, or $5 each for a hundred or more.
September 17, 2021
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The US Interagency Elevation Inventory is a nationwide listing of known publicly available high-accuracy topographic and barometric source elevation data for the United States and its territories.
The inventory provides a single resource for information about all known completed and in-progress broad-area public domain elevation data.
Yes, it includes some Lidar data.
September 16, 2021
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The Russians have just invented synthetic caviar. It is absolutely indistinguishable from the original.
Except by taste.
September 15, 2021
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The Open Education Consortium is a leading resource for free online university courses. A new somewhat similar listing can be found here.
Here's a few older offerings...
Arizona State University
College of Eastern Utah
Johns Hopkins
Kaplan University
Michigan State
MIT
New Jersey Technical Institute
Notre Dame
Tufts
UC Berkeley
University of California Irvine
University of Mass Boston
University of Utah
University of Wisconsin
Utah Valley University
Weber State University
Western Governess University
Wheelock College
September 14, 2021
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Some major Lidar Download sources can be found here.
Among other neat things, Lidar has revolutionized the cave "lost wax" mapping technique.
It should also be most useful for tracing our bajada hanging canals. Especially if long but slight depressions can be located and followed to acceptable resolution.
September 13, 2021
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Sorry about the recent SSL renewal mixup. We should be back to our fully secure website. Hosted by FatCow.
September 12, 2021
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One of the more interesting timing examples: The PostScript == is much slower than print. Possibly by a factor of two or so. But == is far more flexible.
September 11, 2021
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Our Gonzo stopwatch tools include...
/stopwatchoff {stoptimer reporttimer} def
/stopwatchon {resettimer starttimer} def
/reporttimer {mytime 1000 div (\rElapsed
time: ) print 20 string cvs print ( seconds.
\r) print flush} def t
/resettimer {/mytime 0 def} def
/starttimer {usertime /mytimenow exch
def} def % add to time so far
/stoptimer {usertime mytimenow sub
/mytime exch mytime add def} def
More Gonzo routines here and a tutorial here.
September 10, 2021
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One useful set of tools buried in our Gonzo Utilities are our stopwatch routines, especially stopwatchon and stopwatchoff.
These can time most any event and reports in seconds. For shorter measurements, use a stopwatchon 1000 {event} repeat stopwatchoff instead.
More PostScript stuff here.
September 9, 2021
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If you are running a website, it is super important to get your log files from your ISP. These files can be used as is or can be greatly enhanced with your own additional code.
In the case of Fatcow, reports are daily issued in their stats file added to your website with names similar to access_log_20210915gz. You can grab these with a FTP program such as Filezilla.
These are compacted files that will need uncompressed using WinZip or equivalent. In the case of Fatcow, decompression leads to a text readable file such as moo.yourname.com.
At this point, your log report can be read and used in its intended manner, or can be fed to custom PostScript code for a more detailed analysis.
I've written a "super analysis" program called log_an1.psl that generates a fancy log_an1.log report that can further detail your performance analysis. Run this by sending //acrodist /F to Distiller.
Includes full group sorting, 404 analysis, user files by popularity, detailed malware analysis, files by types, and similar "Golly Gee Mister Science" stuff.
Per this sample output.
September 8, 2021
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Ah yes. The tearing method. This is a "Directors Cut" revision that showcases the ability to dramatically restore legacy papers and publications.
The "Tearing Method" was so astonishingly easy and simple that it was even used in Middle School computer camps to teach machine language programming and 6502 code.
It basically consisted of nothing but page highlighters used to attack the unavoidable key elements to any code of the time.
Centermost of which was painting all RTS Return from Subroutines green. Which promptly chopped up any enormous program into easily ( and often trivially ) cracked byte sized chunks.
Much of the method was derived off of Arizona wilderness fire towers. Another unintended use of Arizona Fire Towers can be found here.
September 8, 2021
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And a fourth fancy /jpegimageprocwithlink method of url linking "internalizes" and resizes a .JPG file into a PostScript image operator.
Which is tricky but really great for such things as click-to-expand images. A few details can be found here and in some other .psl files. Note that these routines are for .jpg only and will not function with other image formats. Also that the /F disk access incantation is essential.
September 7, 2021
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The third method of auto linking a PostScript url is with our Gonzo surl and eurl routines or this greatly simplified version...
/makeurl { /urlname exch store
/Rect
[x1 y1 x2 y2 ]
/Border [ 0 0 0]
/Color [ .7 0 0 ]
/Action
<</Subtype /URI /URI urlname>>
/Subtype /Link
/ANN
} store
The Gonzo versions are swift enough to mark their text start with currentpoint and to delay their positioning until print time with this magic incantation...
printlist exch 3 index exch
put
exch 1 add exch
This subtle mod allows justification calculations, kerning, and such per a detailed example here.
September 6, 2021
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Apparently there is a new and well documented auto url linking feature in Adobe Acrobat that lets you link text URL's. Switchable and buried in their "tools-->edit" menu.
At least for me right now, Distiller automatically links this feature, converting any string that starts with https://... and ends in a non-printing character. Doing automatic text resizing and relocation vaguely similar to our older upcoming personal surl, eurl, makeurl, and Adobe's ANN routines.
Besides moving with text justification, our hot areas are purposely somewhat larger than theirs, but no biggie. And you might have to still use our old ways for oddball links.
The only tiny disconcertment is that this does not seem to be mentioned in the Distiller docs, and there is no obvious "Distiller - make a soft switch" option. So, if auto URLs are not working in your Distiller, simply do them later directly in Acrobat PDF.
September 5, 2021
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There are at least four methods of getting url links into Acrobat .PDF. The tricky part is to use Distiller to make the links before ( rather than after ) .PDF conversion. And the trickier part of anything involving Distiller disk reads or writes demands the secret Distiller incantation of //acrodist /F.
Many of the linking methods involve PDF Mark. Details on which have been newly updated by Adobe here, with my older tutorial here.
September 4, 2021
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The Hexadecimarl Chronicles wee basically a "book of numbers" of essential values for Apple IIe Basic and Machine Language programmers. A very few of these remain available on the web at outrageous prices.
The neat thing about the Hexadecimal Chronicles was that the book production cost was essentially zero! It was written nearly entirely by AppleWriter and typeset by a Diablo 630! And completely eliminated any need for costly and tedious manual proofing. As it was untouched by human hands. And one of the earliest books to be able to do so. Predating ebooks.
You are welcome to scan both these texts so I can offer them as free eBooks. Other long unfinished projects include the Goodyear AEEM's and the Cave Crawler's Gazettes. These will need you as a sponsor for eventual inclusion.
Please note that most of our archival material is available under Creative Commons. And we strongly encourage you to make historical archival copies for longer term preservation.
September 3, 2021
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Our free ebooks website can be found here, with many of our free construction projects here. Amazingly, the TVT Cookbook is newly setting record downloads!
Two of my more obscure "traditionally published" books were All About Applewriter and the Hexadecimal Chronicles. I managed to find a dozen of these rare mint autographed Call A.P.P.L.E. books and now have them up on our eBay site Content was pretty much excerpted from the Tearing Method and the AppleWriter Cookbook.
September 2, 2021
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The "anvil test" for camp coffee...
If the anvil sinks, it it too weak.
If the anvil floats, it is just right.
If the anvil dissolves, it is too strong.
September 1, 2021
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No, I am not making this up. The Lawrence Welk version of One Toke Over the Line can be linked here.
I am wondering if this could not have exclusively been the defining moment for the birth of "WTF?"
Much more ( 100 million entries per day! ) here, a detailed
analysis here, and the curious origin of the analysis here.
August 31, 2021
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What were my worst construction projects of all time? After all, something had to end up on the bottom of the pile...
A thermoelectric ice cube maker where the
heatsink rise vastly exceeded the module delta T.
A science fair proximity project where the
sensitivity was appallingly bad because of a lack
of understanding vacuum tube biasing.
A pneumatic key presser for an IBM Selectric
typewriter that never quite got the 1 in 64
pneumatic decoder properly worked out.
A Miles per gallon meter had trouble with
speed sensing, although the short-every-third-
bar motor commutator was sort of cute.
An X band car safety radar that involved then
outrageous reflex klystrons and a monumental
lack of end user interest.
An ultra cheap color organ using nothing but
three power photoresistors and three light
bulbs but had a big tendency to self destruct.
An attempt to get plotters to draw integrated
circuit packages by merging Applewriter's
WPL with Hewlett Packard's HPGL.
A computer cassette interface that, while it
seemed to work properly, did not have
nearly the error rate studies that clearly were
necessary.
An Apple IIe graphics accelerator that
attempted to complexly table lookup HIRES
graphics for only a minor possible speedup.
Attempts at WWVB receivers that never could
quite get acceptable noise performance.
An advertising "Reddy Readout" based on a
winning college exhibit that was impossibly
difficult to hardwire program and only offered
a twelve character message.
August 30, 2021
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A thermoelectric tutorial can be found here. For most users most of the time: thermoelectric modules are utterly and totally worthless.
The problem is their abysmal efficiency. Their COP is often around 0.15, compared to 18 for a more traditional air conditioner.
It is trivially easy to get the temperature drop across your high side heatsink to grossly exceed your net module cooling!
August 29, 2021
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Sincerity is everything. Once you have that
faked, all else follows.
August 28, 2021
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The entire remaining world's supply of avuncular sleezoids can be found here.
Please do not confuse these with the marbelous pancakes.
We also have the world's entire remaining supply of absolutely mint nuclear holocaust fashion accessories here. But we long ago ran out of the water soluble swimsuits and the tinfoil hat liners.
Place the liners on the OUTSIDE to prevent them
from activating your implants. Place the liners on
the INSIDE of the tinfoil to stop them from reading
your brainwaves.
August 27, 2021
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There is more hydrogen in a gallon of gasoline than there is in a gallon of liquid hydrogen.
More "ain't gonna happen" Hydrogen ludicrosities here.
August 26, 2021
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Here's our latest directory of our Gonzo PostScript files that are triply Adobe, GhostScript, and Google Drive compatible...
#35 - Tinaja Image Menu source • demo
#35 - Canal Image Menu source • demo
#33 - USB Label printer source • demo
#32 - Wolfvision Conns source • demo
#31 - Word Frequency source • demo • tutor
#30 - Grid Gonzo Excerpt source • demo
#29 - Grid Gonzo Full source • demo
#28 - Binary k of n ones source • demo• log
#27 - Simple Sinewave Gen source •demo
#26 - PS Writes SHTML! source • demo
#25 - Marbelous 333 source • demo
#24 - The ultimate bagel source • demo
#23 - Rope-a-Dope source • demo
#22 - Spherical Transforms source • demo
#21 - Poison Ivy Spray Can source • demo
#20 - 2D Perspective Cube source • demo
#19 - Fractal Fern source • demo
#18 - URL Linking source • demo
#17 - Print Diverter! source • demo
#16 - PS Error Reporter! source • demo
#15 - Dictionary Snooper source • demo
#14 - Marberlous Pancakes source • demo
#13 - Meowwrrr Pussycat ( available list )
#12 - PS Accuracy Improver source • demo
#11 - Cubic Spline Length source • demo
#10 - "Lite" Gonzo Shell source • demo
#9 - Constant Cubic Spline source • demo
#8 - Fake Log Demo source • demo
#7 - Avuncular Sleezoids ( available list )
#6 - Tuna Can source • demo
#5 - Font Reporter source • demo
#4 - Brick Wall source • demo (!)
#3 - Scribble source • demo
#2 - Fat Tail Arrows source • demo
#1 - Web Friendly Colors source • demo
As always, these work best by sending a command line //acrodist /F to Acrobat Distiller.
Find free Gonzo here, its tutorial here, the reference manual here, and a video here. More on PostScript here, more Beginner's Projects here, and a great heaping bunch of PS apps here.
August 25, 2021
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Our new tinaja_images1a.psl, tinaja_images1a.pdf, tinaja_canal_images1a.psl, and tinaja_canal_images1a.pdf files appear to be fully Google Drive compatible, even though they were intended for use with "real" Adobe via //acrodist /F being sent to Distiller.
The Google version includes a font modification, the full Gonzo Utilities, and substitution of an array of strings for any file reading. These should also work with GhostScript or Artifex.
Apparently Distiller invokes an auto linking feature of Acrobat PDF.
August 24, 2021
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Our second example of an array of strings as a file run substitute takes the PRO-Sitemaps report from our website and generates an Acrobat PDF live linked list of only our hanging canal related site images. Find the sourcecode here and the demo here.
August 23, 2021
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Our first example of an array of strings as a file run substitute takes the PRO-Sitemaps report from our website and generates an Acrobat PDF live linked list of all our site images. Find the sourcecode here and the demo here.
Our Gonzo Utilities are towed along internally per this tutorial. The execution time is half a second or so, mostly blown on an optional lexicographic sort.
August 22, 2021
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Two useful web debugging tools include the nominally charged PRO-Sitemaps and free Validator.W3.org.
In general, if you find Dreamweaver or whatever suddenly doing strange things, the chances are pretty high that there are dozens or hundreds of errors in your code. The same goes for layout tools and Chrome differences. It is trivially easy to skip or add punctuation or commands.
A free phone formatting tool is responsivedesignchecker.com
August 21, 2021
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The advantages of using PostScript's run and readline commands is that you can do so much more with them. Especially when dinking around with bitmaps, dramatically shortening your run time curve, or writing routines for most any other computer language.
The disadvantages include a steep learning code, having to remember that arcane //acrodist /F, displeasing Adobe, raising malware issues, awkwardness with GhostScript and ( so far as I know ) lacking Google Drive compatibility.
There is one sneaky and little known PostScript stunt that may sometimes give you the equivalent to reading a file without actually doing so. This is called "an array of strings" ...
/somedata [
( first line stuff )
( second line stuff )
.......
( last line stuff )
] store
Using somedata { do things ) forall largely does the same thing here as readline does for files. Each line can be 65,000 characters long and you can have up to 65,000 lines.
You do have to make sure your array of strings is absolutely correct, and you might need some skulduggery with some other program to get you the needed valid parenthesis and carriage returns.
August 20, 2021
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Corrected some typos and such in our new Bajada Hanging Canals Menu & Directory. Please report any remaining issues.
August 19, 2021
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Then there's this.
And this.
and bunches of this.
August 18, 2021
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Some false color stunts appear here.
And sourcecode here.
August 17, 2021
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top •
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respond
Just completed the latest version of our bajada hanging canal directory and menu. Find it here. There are now over 110 Canal Study Areas (!) and something over 200 miles (!) of known or at least presumed possible passages.
Find the latest JFA preprint here, the still being updated canal images here, an earlier tutorial here, and one version of my ARA video here.
Actually, you have a choice of videos. A non-copyable YouTube high resolution one, and a surprisingly compact, freely copyable and USB friendly version that sadly is slightly fuzzy. Yes, we are trying to find a new improved solution, and you are most welcome to copy and creative commons distribute the present copyable version.
Most of our remaining canal stuff can be found by searching on canal here.
Your participation in this stunningly engineered new world class archaeological discovery is welcome. Especially if you have a drone or your vehicle proudly includes its Arizona Pin Striping.
August 16, 2021
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Some Dreamweaver suggestions: Use the Split code-design mode. Use the latest version. Use ctr l-F to find and curl-H to replace. Use shift-F7 to spell check. Use ctrl-F3 to strobe the Properties mode.
Use of id's has been discouraged, but I still find them very useful. They are apparently visible only in the code-design viewing mode.
August 15, 2021
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I seem to be having a bizarre problem with FatCow. Sending stuff to their input bml files often divert or downgrade or refuse instead of providing the requested stats or email.
Strangely, the problem seems to get worse when using the Chrome Speed Dial. Cache clearing or rebooting only helps sometimes.
This strange and inexplicably workaround often helps: Right Click on Speed Dial Selection. Pick edit. Copy and Paste.
It is not clear whether this is a me problem, a Fatcow problem, or a Chrome Cache, anti-virus code, or a Speed Dial Issue. Your suggestions welcome. While Fatcow live chat is certainly useful, they seem to tend to always blame themselves last.
August 14, 2021
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Here is how to change the size of an Acrobat document to be "mobile friendly" or whatever.
/CropBox [0 0 360 770]
/PAGE pdfmark..
More details here...
August 13, 2021
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Find a low end digital sinewave generator here and a high end one here.
August 12, 2021
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August 11, 2021
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Hostess Twinkies Schnauzer Style
August 10, 2021
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Two more files that demo using PostScript to read files include gurupslfiles2a.psl ( source ) and gurupslfiles2a.pdf ( Demo ) These are linkable lists of all of our website available .psl files.
Other filetypes are creatable by modifying searchstring. Be sure to have your exact absolute local filename and send //acrobat /F to Distiller.
August 9, 2021
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Adobe has newly revised their PDF Mark Reference Manual. Among other additions is new coverage for transparency.
An older tutorial of ours can be found here.
August 8, 2021
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Yesterday's algorithm goes something like this: First, find or create a textfile of sequential filenames to be linked. pro-sitemaps is useful but not free. You than read this disk file using Distiller's //acrodist /F to create an array of strings, one for each website listing. Be sure your absolute file link is correct and that file reading is activated.
You next sort the array of strings to get it in lexicographical order, using our improved bubble sort from a few days back. Sending the .psl file to distiller should then create an Acrobat cloud .PDF file that includes their new url auto linking feature.
The process takes around five seconds for 2500 links. Much of that time is spent with the new bubble sort.
August 7, 2021
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Gotcha. Our latest files combine examples of reading disk files in PostScript with a new linked directory of many of our website files. Find these as gurufiles2a.psl source code and its gurufiles2a.pdf demo.
To create similar code for your own website, you will need a text file list of programs, such as from You will also have to revise your own correct, tested, and working full absolute filename.
August 6, 2021
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Gotcha. Apparently there is a new and well documented feature in Adobe Acrobat that lets you auto link URL's. Buried in the "tools-->edit" menu.
At least for me right now, Distiller automatically links this feature, converting any string that starts with https://... and ends in a non-printing characters. Doing automatic resizing and relocation vaguely similar to our older personal surl, eurl, makeurl, and ANN routines.
Our hot areas are purposely somewhat larger than theirs, but no biggie. And you might have to still use our old ways for oddball links.
The only tiny disconcertment is that this does not seem to be mentioned in the Distiller docs, and there is no obvious "Distiller - make a soft switch" option. So, if auto URLs are not working in your Distiller, simply do them later directly in Acrobat PDF.
August 5, 2021
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Fundamental Factors Underlying Recent Technical Innovation.
August 4, 2021
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An older master list of all files here. And PSL files here.
August 3, 2021
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Web Friendly PostScript and CSS Colors
August 2, 2021
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So, what are some "Golly Gee Mister Science" heavy duty and off the wall examples of PostScript files that ( following yesterday's guidelines ) make use of extensive and switched on diskfile manipulations?
Architects Perspective
Vignetting Autobackgrounder
Fatcow Malware detector
Bitmap Typewriter
Fun with Fields
More Fun with Fields
Airbrush Utilities
Pixel Interpolation Algorithms
Gonzo Utilities
August 1, 2021
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At one time, the PostScript language had unfettered access to most any disk file. Which gave you simple and powerful run subroutines such as our Gonzo Utilities and PostSript Beginner Stuff, besides letting you read and modify sourcecode in most any computer language.
I'd guess that well over 98+ percent of all the really neat stuff you can do with PostScript was based on ultra fancy and unexpected file manipulations. Sadly, this also allowed severe malware and abuse potential, So Adobe sharply restricted disk file access a few years back.
Yes, if you know the secret insider stuff, you can still make full use of files and run subroutines. The rule is to send your .PSL or textfile PS code to Distiller using this incantation...
The /F is super important as this is the soft switch that turns your disk commands back on Another important detail is that you must get your absolute host filenames totally exact and correct. Perhaps doing something like this...
/input filename (sitemap.txt) store
/filenameprefix (C:\\Users\\don\\Desktop\\
Do Today\\) store
/sourcefilename filenameprefix
inputfilename mergestr store
/readfile sourcefilename (r) file store
Use of a USB can often simplify filenames. It may pay to start with a simpler filename example.
There are somewhat similar disk access soft switches in GhostScript and Artifex. But so far, any disk access seems to be unavailable in Google Drive. This severely restricts what you can do, but several non-disk drive examples have been shown here..
July 30, 2021
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Enameled Dealing With Four Paws and Groundswill
July 29, 2021
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The single most important drill any fireman can make anytime ever: SMOOTH BUMP BUMP TO THE PUMP!
July 28, 2021
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Much of this energy tutorial remains accurate, timely and relevant. But it was written at a time when solar pv was not remotely renewable or sustainable or even "green". At the time, this was the "big pv lie".
These days, solar pv is long last and fast approaching subsidy free renewability. You can follow current pricing here and here. Sadly, the present pricing has been more or less flat lately rather than its traditions of steeply declining. But major new developments are reasonably expected "real soon now". Particularly involving Perovskites.
I'd predict pricing shortly and reasonably approaching four cents per peak cell watt. And two cents per peak cell watt being the inevitable "bye bye nukes" collapse point. Coal, of course, is rapidly being converted into singles bars.
More energy tutorials here. Please be sure to factor in historic pricing where appropriate.
July 27, 2021
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Supraluminal Dowsing for Brown's Gas in Roswell here, secrets of the magic lamp here, debunking Thermoelectrics here, ridiculing hydrogen stupidities here, general bashing tirades here, water powered cars here, electrolysis here, and the rest of the gang here.
The bottom line: Sagan's Extraordinary Claims demand extraordinary evidence.
July 26, 2021
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... and bunches of marbelous pancakes here.
July 25, 2021
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Secrets of Avunncular Sleezoids revealed here...
July 24, 2021
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Some Acrobat Distiller references...
PDFmark Reference Manual
PostScript Reference Manual
Distiller Acrobat API Reference
Acrobat SDK Documentation
Adobe PDF Creation Settings
Post Document Editing Tools
PostScript Disk Access Notes
Gonao Utility Tutorial
Gonzo PS Downloads
PostScript Beginner Stuff
PostScript Show and Tell
PostScript Secrets
PostScript Video
PostScript Library
July 23, 2021
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Just made the amazing discovery that the latest cloud version of Acrobat Distiller will automatically generate PDF url's from text strings that start with https:// and are non-printing characters free. Yes, they even will automatically reposition to the present text and size and position
Two inadvertent demos appear here and here.
Several gotchas:
I can't seem to find any docs on these.
Or any on-off soft switches.
There's possible earlier ANN conflicts.
You may have to paint them blue yourself.
Not clear which versions this will work on.
Nonetheless, this is a super powerful and super convenient tool when and where it can be used.
July 22, 2021
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A reminder that our new hanging canal menu and directory is "almost" finished and that you can preview a preliminary sample version here.
Please report any typos or suggested revisions.
July 21, 2021
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The worst of Marcia Swampfelder.
July 20, 2021
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Here's a reminder over our "new" bubble sort routines.
They can be significantly faster for most users most of the time in that they exit their loops if there was no previous change made. Results might now be two seconds for 2000 sorts.
This code sorts an array of integers, reals, or strings...
/bubsort3a {/curmat1 exch store
curmat1 length 1 sub -1 1
{/done true store
/maxposition exch store
0 1 maxposition 1 sub
{/posn exch store
curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
gt{curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
curmat1 exch posn exch put
curmat1 exch posn 1 add exch put
/done false store
}if
} for
done {exit} if % stop on no swaps
} for
curmat1
} bind store
A minor gotcha on sorting strings: PostScript does a lexical sort, as do most other languages. Thus, your end sequence might be 1, 10, 11, 2, 3, 4, ... and you may want to make a manual adjustment to get a "true" alphanumeric result.
This code sorts an array of arrays. In this case, it sorts on the second entry of the subarray...
/bubsort3b {/curmat1 exch store
curmat1 length 1 sub -1 1
{/done true store
/maxposition exch store
0 1 maxposition 1 sub
{/posn exch store
curmat1 posn get 1 get
curmat1 posn 1 add get 1 get
gt{curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
curmat1 exch posn exch put
curmat1 exch posn 1 add exch put
/done false store
}if
} for % inner loop
done {exit} if
} for
curmat1
} bind store
One work in progress is to take this website text status report and convert it into a gonzo.psl file by adding links and such. This should give you an alphabetized and linked directory to everything on our website.
July 19, 2021
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How to totally trash an on board vehicle hydrogen electrolysizer.
Please note that while any one of these by themselves is clearly a fatal flaw, using them in combination is strongly recommended to be absolutely sure your device ends up utterly and truly worthless…
July 18, 2021
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Most of our web files are linked here.
Most of our .psl files are linked here.
A XML file listing is linked here.
Most of our mentioned videos are linked here.
Most of our website images are linked here.
USB sourcecode can be found here.
With all of our free eBooks here.
And most of our classic papers here.
July 17, 2021
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The typewriter that changed the world.
Original paper here.
July 16, 2021
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Personal computer pioneers. Les Solomon is on your left.
More history here.
July 15, 2021
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Magic Sinewaves are repeating very long sequences of ones and zeros. They can get created from ordinary but extremely carefully chosen and delivered digitally switched pulses.
The key feature of of magic sinewaves is they let you force any desired number of low harmonics precisely to zero in theory and to astonishingly low levels in practice.
Find our unique high speed magic sinewave calculator here and great heapng bunches more in our Magic Sinewave Library.
July 14, 2021
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For most individuals and small scale startups most of the time, any involvement with patents and patenting is virtually certain to end up as a net loss of time, energy, money, and sanity.
Find out why in our patent bashng library.
July 13, 2021
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Hydrogen stupidities exposed here.
July 12, 2021
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Approximating a Circle or an Ellipse Using Four Bezier Cubic Splines.
More in our Cubic Spline library.
July 11, 2021
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Our revised and now compact and USB friendly ARA hanging canal video can be found here and our classic PostScript vid here.
Three rather bizarre third party vids can now be found here, here, and here. The first of these may have been the original birthplace of "WTF"!
July 10, 2021
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The most impressive tinaja anywhere ever ( let alone Arizona ) is this one. It is about to be converted into a copper mine. You can't get there from here. For fully rope qualified gonzo canyoneering teams only!
Two of its "Golly Gee Mister Science" friends can be found here and here.
July 9, 2021
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Secrets of the spectacularly failed Mount Graham Aerial Tramway can be found here, along with bunches of "tinaja" related stuff.
Including links to our Gila Valley Dayhikes.
July 8, 2021
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Lessons learned during a uv Lamp Debugging. Did a stupid mistake during their testing procedure blow up the product and bankrupt the company?
July 7, 2021
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I'm wondering whether the hanging canals and the artesian canals were built by the same peoples contemporaneously. Present belief is that while quite likely, this conclusion is somewhat less than compelling.
The artesian versions tended to be shorter with far fewer hanging portions in "friendlier" terrain, but they otherwise seemed to share the same impressive engineering features. Both were clearly upland rather than riverine, and both clearly had higher engineering standards than the imported riverine canals. The artesian versions may have seen full year use, rather than being seasonal.
Should the canals be split out into hanging, artesian, riverine, historic, modern, and deceptive losers that missed the cut? Your comments welcome.
Find our new canal menu and directory here.
July 6, 2021
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Some cute and elaborate relative navigation has been added to our new hanging canal menu and directory.
Key code involves this type of id....
<a id="quailcan108"></a>
...and this kind of ( usually) "seven way" nav options...
<p><span style="font-size: 15px">
<a href="#top"> top</a>
<a href="#menu">menu</a>
<a href="#leastdump107">prev</a>
<a href="#quailcan108">deeplink</a>
<a href="#tripext109">next</a>
<a href="#bot">bot</a>
<a href="mailto:don@tinaja.com"> respond</a></span></p>
...along with "pretty printing" between options as
•
Please report any that remain not properly working.
July 5, 2021
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Our newest and best hanging canal papers are our currently being revised canal directory and menu, our JFA preprint, our image directory, the ARA video, and this tutorial.
Many of our older key hanging canal papers can be found here by searching on, of all things, "canal".
July 4, 2021
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A link to an internal Windows file position can be preceded by a "#". But you have to mark the location ahead of time with an id.
As in <a id="veech01"></a>
And accessed via <a href="#veech01">link_name_here</a>
Many examples here.
July 3, 2021
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There are two ways of showing filenames. The usual absolute locations and the lesser used relative ones. A full path or absolute path is a path that points to the same location on one file system regardless of the working directory of the document that contains a link.
If a document uses absolute paths then it cannot be moved to another computer without major hassles.
The advantages of relative file names is you can put them onto a web resource or a USB without needing any third party references that may end up beyond your control.
More details on Windows filenames are found here, html filenames here, and Acrobat .PDF filenames here.
July 2, 2021
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One project that is taking ridiculously longer to finish is a new catalog of all our hanging canals. 112 so far with a total length of 250 miles or more!
The new catalog uses relative filenames, so it can be freely moved onto USB or unspecified future web resources. It is thus mostly open source.
It is not quite finished. You can follow the progress here, and your proofing is welcome.
July 1, 2021
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Sorry for the posting delay. Please keep checking back for the latest updates.
June 30, 2021
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If Dreamweaver starts using the wrong Hyperlink locations, one possible cause is seemingly unrelated major errors. One clue is if the early locations are correct and the later ones offset or otherwise wildly wrong.
The cure is to use this program to verify an "all green" present status. Two related programs for URL's and CSS can be found here and here. While a phone friendly tester appears here. These are free, while a very useful 404 tester is nominally charged for here.
June 29, 2021
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Building your own phone apps for Android sale or for web traffic generation can be enormously rewarding. But may take many months on a step learning curve involving as many as half a dozen languages.
The process usually centers on Android Studio and their Image Assist Studio. Usual a project called an app is first created. Then touching icons are created. The icons are usually based on transparent .png files are are generated in several sizes for various mobile and laptop uses. Rules are very specific.
The code is often open source and based on Java or Kotlin, while Gadle helps out with multi language development software.
June 28, 2021
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A newsgroup denizen apparently had the audacity to challenge my Guru status.
To clarify, I do remain a card carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Gurus and Swamis Unions Hulapai County local #357. And have just newly been recertified to MIL-TFD-41.
I did have to upgrade from local #427 because of the Tapioca Pudding Institute's restraining order over that Godzilla versus the Night Nurses definitive scene.
More here.
June 27, 2021
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Fill justification does remain an important part of our Gonzo Utilities for non-web uses It includes such fancy stuff as initial and drop caps, hanging punctuation, and final line unshading by slightly widening. Avoiding hyphens can also significantly improve the results.
We also have an optional picojustification in which individual characters get sometimes replaced with characters that are scaled five or ten percent times wider. Thus, spaces are widened by one factor, any spaces between characters by a second, and the characters themselves by a third.
There's also an overstrike feature where two characters can be put on top of each other for such things as riding down the canyon or complementary logic.
By carefully selecting the ratios, outstanding justification results. A half point on a ten point character, 50 character line gives you 25 points of white space to gobble up. This over and above the usual justification.
Stretching the characters by horizontal scaling does not define any new fonts.
A concept I call post justification editing can also offer major benefits.
June 26, 2021
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A new CSS revision seems to be allowing fill justify text on the web. But this seems to me to be a very bad idea. Especially with mobile text widths.
Emerging norms appear to be left justify with half ledding between paragraphs, substitution of bold and color for italics, and, above all, optimizing text width for the deice in use.
Use of hyphens is also strongly discouraged. Edit instead with different words in different formats instead. Check the most likely text widths.
June 25, 2021
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A Mo Hotta Mo Betta specializes in sauces that have broken thermometers on their labels.
June 24, 2021
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A highly religious traditional family moved into Gila Bend and wanted to fit in with the locals.
So they put a dead horse up on blocks in their front yard.
June 23, 2021
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A semi final icon can be found here. With its pre transparency here, its PDF here, and the Gonzo PSL sourcecode here.
I was surprised that Acrobat did not do any antialiasing on their .PNG conversion. But in hindsight, this might interfere badly with the .PNG algorithms, transparency, and sizes.
Note that we have outstanding typography at this point with .PDF.
File size is just over 2K. The ratty small character appearance should improve dramatically with the larger icon sizes. The font used was my favorite StoneSans-Bold. It possibly could be retouched slightly.
June 22, 2021
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Proof and edit your .PDF file which now should be your rounded edge icon of correct size, content, and position inside a hideous red box.
Export your .PDF file to a .PNG image using Acrobat or a similar service.
Find a free web service that deals with .PNG transparency and make your red areas transparent. Such as this one.
Check your result by overlaying another image. Then test on your intended app. By going to Android Studio or similar.
June 21, 2021
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So far, we should have a rounded blue box of the correct size centered inside a red square. The red square eventually will be a transparent area inside a .PNG image file.
Proceed with specific rounded box content, making sure your font is available. For art, favor the full width stripes that .PNG likes for best compression. This example results in a 2K compressed final file.
Convert Gonzo to PDF Acrobat by using the magic incantation of //acrodist /F sent to Distiller or by using Google Drive.
June20, 2021
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Here is Gonzo's roundpath operator...
/roundpath {/rpdata exch def /rprad exch def
rpdata length 1 sub cvi /rppoints exch def
rpdata 0 get rpdata 1 get moveto 2 2 rppoints
2 sub {/rpvalue exch def 0 1 3 {rpdata exch
rpvalue add get } for rprad arcto pop pop
pop pop} for rpdata rppoints 1 sub get rpdata
rppoints get lineto} def
It draws a box with rounded corners, starting at top center.
/radius 6 store % corner radius..
radius
[ topcen topright botright botleft topleft
topcen ] roundpath
175 setwebtint fill % paint it medium blue
In this case, topcen would be iconsize 2 div, iconsize, etc..
Note that only the "inner" corners are rounded.
June19, 2021
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The first order of business involves changing the size of Distiller's display.
It turns out there are some 40 Distiller addons called PDF Marks. We first looked at them here and their reference manual can be found here.
PDF Marks do such tasks as providing URL links or click expanding images. Of concern here is the PAGES order accepting CropBox...
/border 2 store % width of transparent border
/iconsize 48 store
% size of square rounded icon
[ /CropBox [border neg dup
border 2 mul iconsize add dup ]
/PAGES pdfmark
A color is selected that will become transparent...
5 setwebtint % red
and a full square is built...
border neg dup moveto
iconsize border 2 mul add pu
iconsize border 2 mul add pr
iconsize border2 mul add pd
closepath fill
June18, 2021
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I've pretty much just completed an ultra simple and incredibly good looking and easy to use smart phone icon generator. We'll pick up some more details in the next few blog posts
The scheme uses our Gonzo roundbox routine with a red border. The code is sent to Distiller via /acrodist /F or, being triply compatible, to GhostScript or Google Drive.
The generated .PDF file is then converted to a .PNG image and one of the free web PNG editors then changes the red to transparent.
Fast, easy, and high quality. Font changes or other adjustments may be needed for Google Drive.
June 17, 2021
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One of the really big deals way on back when I was creating out Gonzo Utilities was hanging punctuation. Which pretty much has fallen by the wayside. But we still have it if you need it and want it.
With hanging punctuation, periods and commas and such go just far enough into the fill justify right margin to create the illusion of a "solid right". Otherwise, subtle "teeth" will appear at each right sentence end.
These days, left justification with half height paragraph ledding seems to be a better and vastly more popular choice. /hangflag true store activates it.
CSS also has a new hanging punctuation option but its use is not recommended. Especially on variable mobile text widths.
June16, 2021
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One of the klutzier features of our Gonzo Utilities and Tutorial is the ability to overstrike. This is handy for adding a tilde to "canyon" or to add complement bars to digital logic.
/overstrikechar defines the character with its /overstrikeht height above baseline. Entering |o in your text enters the selected character without advancing.
Overstrikes are tricky in SHTML, so please see our examples here.
June15, 2021
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Yes, our Gonzo Utilities and their Tutorial fully support kerning. Kern size is usually set by /kern 1 store for full size uses or /kern 0.1 store for our recommended 10X grid use.
Insert |k in your text for negative kerning ( such as unspacing "AWARD"with "A\kW|kARD ) or |j ( for slightly increasing title spacings ). This is tricky to show in SHTML, so please view our better examples here.
June14, 2021
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How to totally trash an on board vehicle hydrogen Electrolyzer.
June13, 2021
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The June 18th, 2021 issue of Science Magazine appears to have two solar pv papers in it that may end up being of breakthrough status.
The only tiny problem with weekly breakthroughs is their seven day half life.
Follow current pv cell pricing here and here.
June12, 2021
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An executive summary to Magic Sinewaves can be found here. With a calculator here. And our main Magic Sinewave library page here.
June11, 2021
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Here's several more attempts at humor. These times the jokes were to drive home the quite valid underlying points...
Alexander Graham Kernatski
All time resume loser
Coal singles bars
First "WTF" origin
Fourpaw groundswill trashing
Gila Bend church
Godzilla vs the night nurses
ISMM
Mitzi's Yuppy Fare
Poison Ivy in a Spray Can
Snottites
Sun as a radio star
Trashing electrolysis
Tuboencabulator
War and peace
Xylophone duet
June10, 2021
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The best starting point in Android Development is apparently the Android Studio.
The preferred icon format is apparently .png with corners "rounded" by use of a hex white transparency of #FFFFFF. There are detailed here. There are several icon sizes in popular use ...
MDPI 48 x 48
HDPI 72 x 72
XHDPI 96 x 96
XXHDPI 144 x 144
XXXHDIP 192 x 192
Here's some more hints on sizing. Starting with 144 x 144 pixels and a 4 pixel rounded border is a recommended starting point.
June 9, 2021
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Boo. Hiss. The "recommended" current method to write a phone app is to use a Java derived language called Kotlin. After goimg through a few hundred of their examples, I make the following prediction: Using PostScript instead is far faster, far cleaner, far more intuitive, far more obvious, and far more fun.
The reason being that PostScript is interpreted and stack oriented, rather than compiled. It should not even be remotely close for many, if not most apps.. Especially with the new Google Cloud stuff and Gonzo emulation rather than direct byte by byte synthesis.
I'd like to issue a PostScript Challenge to blow this wide open. Yeah, it does highly depend on how often an exact proc gets used.
June 8, 2021
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Not sure why, but our TV TypeWriter free ebook download is breaking all "sales records" recently. With the Machine Language Programming Cookbook not all that far behind.
Please note that a partially improved version of MLP1 is available as a Director's Cut. Director's Cuts are intended to show what can be done to upgrade and revise Linotype Era Classic Books. Given sufficient interest and third party funding. These include...
AACBII ReworkJune 8, 2021
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Just added some preliminary plans for Android phone links to our Guru's Lair. Find the sourcecode here and the demo here.
Yeah, it is sort of triply Google Drive compatible but the fonts are presently Distiller optimized.
June 7, 2021
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Found the long lost "KFC VIRUS" for the Apple IIe. Outside of sounding like it is frying in its grease, there is no long term damage. The compact code is also exportable anywhere you need a "slightly pinkish" white noise source.
June 6, 2021
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Around half of the US States ( plus Washington DC ) have now legalized Marijuana. But it turns out that many title companies in many of these states will outright disapprove of providing loan financing or create major hurdles. Under certain circumstances, you might want to watch this detail very carefully.
June 5, 2021
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Many computer languages reserve one or more escape characters to allow for use expansion. If you try to print these characters, wildly wrong results are likely to happen.
Ferinstance, in PostScript, parenthesis will trash text justification. The workarounds are to substitute /) and /) for the parenthesis and // for a single forward slash.
As many as eight forward slashes may be needed for a DOS filename inside a Gonzo string. One workaround is to substitute single reverse flashes, which DOS also accepts.
Things can get even trickier in my Gonzo Utilities, where a vertical dash is the normal escape character. But it can be substituted by /altescapechar.
June 4, 2021
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We've seen a number of examples where PostScript uses its write-to-disk feature to create or emulate a totally different computer language. Examples have includes SHTML, Cricket, and XML.
Many of our .psl sourcecode files can be found here. While many are now triply compatible, their usual use involves the secret Distiller incantation of //acrobat /F.
I'm wondering if PostScript might be able to do some simple low end aps for Android Smart phones. Particularly an icon to click through in the Guru's Lair.
Web resources for low end phone development seem few and far between.
June 3, 2021
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One sure fire topic for a student paper are the snottites.
These are bacterial mats that live in total darkness and prefer a Ph less than unity (!) and in their spare time shit sulphuric acid. Not surprisingly, they are called extremeophiles.
Yeah, their lifestyle isn't all that great. But a case can be made that they are far more alien than most aliens.
More winning paper topics here. Plus, of course, one loser. But which?
June 2, 2021
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One of the more subtle and more significant tricks in our PostScript Tutorial lies in the use of deferred execution.
Normally, a PostScript command executes immediately. But there are times and places where you may want to wait until final print time before letting something special happen.
Obvious examples involve text justification, where you want a color change to affect a single word. whose positioning may depend on what has gone before. Or provide kerning. Or to make sure a url clickthru box does appear where sized and expected and does autotrack where you want it to.
It turns out that our Gonzo Utilities create a "things to do" printlist just before print time. You must enter this list if you are up to something special.
Ferinstace, here is how to do a color change in the correct position.
/tinton1 {mark 12 /setwebtint cvx] cvx
printlist exch 3 index exch put exch 1 add exch} def
Note that no code before stuffing into the print list is allowed to execute immediately! The usual way around this is to use /zorch cvx exec rather than zorch. Or an [array] followed by cvx exec.
June 1, 2021
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What was the most stunning development of the past fifty years? Or for that matter, the past 5000? This would have to be the stunning drop in the cost of memory. From a nickel a bit to well less than a dollar per gigabyte.
And with no end in sight.
In retrospect, this was as fundamental as fire, the wheel, or iron. And will likely end up the cause of the first life to leave the solar system to be silicon rather than carbon based.
Some lesser factors influencing tech innovation can be found here.
May 30, 2021
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Did I ever tell you about my one and only concept for a Mad Magazine Cover? They never did pay me, but I guess these things may take time.
May 29, 2021
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One of the other eBay items we once did quite well on were our tinfoil hat liners.
These were genuine Cho-seal from Chomerics and we got them declassified from Holloman Air force Base. Normal cost new was outrageously expensive.
And they flew on outta here.
As any multiple abductee will gladly tell you, there is an important use consideration. The Cho-Sealf material should go on the inside of the tin foil hat if you want to stop them from reading your mind. And on the outside if you want to keep them from controlling your thoughts.
Each layer provides up to 120 decibels of attenuation.
We used the same stuff years ago when we were first exploring low cost keyboards. BTW, at least some of the stock Apple I photos has my ASCII keyboard on them.
Did I ever tell you about the dimpled Chad we sold to amateur astronomers?
May 28, 2021
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Yes, we are working on a new phone ap for the Guru's Lair. Hopefully real soon now. It is in final beta test.
Meanwhile, you can web access our website from www.tinaja.com and many of the main pages should now be phone display friendly.
But do note that much of our material is based on original print resources and thus is best viewed on larger format pages or displays.
Also, yes, our site is definitely "retro". Intentionally and purposely so. By design.
May 27, 2021
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And a reminder that we now have archival USB backup copies of our entire Guru's Lair website available on eBay. Over 44,000 files!
Please disseminate these to historical pc documents and stunning new archaeological engineering discoveries to the widest possible archival resources.
May 26, 2021
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A reminder that, besides the original we have a newly revised 3GP version of our ARA bajada hanging canal video that is much more compact and freely copyable to USB.
We managed to reduce the file size by a factor of eighty! We encourage you to freely copy the new version and disseminate it to the widest possible archival resources.
Sadly, the imagery is not quite as sharp, so we are open to your suggestions of a revision that is both sharp and compact.
May 25, 2021
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Managed to backfill the missing blog posts, and they should now be fairly complete. Please note that lots of obscure stuff has been newly added, so do check back over the past few months.
May 24, 2021
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Just discovered that hard drive to USB adapters are readily available on the web. They apparently can derive all their needed power and signals directly from the USB without needing ac power or specialized interface signals.
One obvious use is recovering data from an otherwise broken pc.
May 23, 2021
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Our Google Drive hosted ARA Bajada hanging Canal video remains available here and can be directly viewed or freely downloaded.
There are two minor glitches in that the file is too big for USB storage and that the MPEG2 downloaded format may have Windows viewing issues.
We've fixed these issues with our new 3GP video version that, amazingly, reduces file size by a factor of 80 to a mere 65 Megabytes and is fully Windows readable.
Sadly, it is slightly fuzzy, so if you have any suggestions between the two file formats, let's hear them.
May 22, 2021
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The US covid issues seem to be easing and appear to be down to the sheer stupidity candidates. Two useful continuing data sources can be found here and here.
May 21, 2021
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We think we have gotten rid of most of the non-working deeplinks in whtnu21. . These were mostly plain old typos and oddball Chrome history issues. Please report any remaining in any older files..
May 20, 2021
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Our entire Guru's Lair website is newly available on USB. Per these details. Please join us in archiving these 44,000 historic files to the widest possible long term audience. Nearly 15 Gambits total. Includes hanging canal stuff and newly compacted ARA video..
May 19, 2021
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Here are our latest triply compatible Distiller - GhostScript - GoogleDrive tested and working programs.....
#33 - USB Label printer source • demo
#32 - Wolfvision Conns source • demo
#31 - Word Frequency source • demo • tutor
#30 - Grid Gonzo Excerpt source • demo
#29 - Grid Gonzo Full source • demo
#28 - Binary k of n ones source • demo• log
#27 - Simple Sinewave Gen source •demo
#26 - PS Writes SHTML! source • demo
#25 - Marbelous 333 source • demo
#24 - The ultimate bagel source • demo
#23 - Rope-a-Dope source • demo
#22 - Spherical Transforms source • demo
#21 - Poison Ivy Spray Can source • demo
#20 - 2D Perspective Cube source • demo
#19 - Fractal Fern source • demo
#18 - URL Linking source • demo
#17 - Print Diverter! source • demo
#16 - PS Error Reporter! source • demo
#15 - Dictionary Snooper source • demo
#14 - Marberlous Pancakes source • demo
#13 - Meowwrrr Pussycat ( available list )
#12 - PS Accuracy Improver source • demo
#11 - Cubic Spline Length source • demo
#10 - "Lite" Gonzo Shell source • demo
#9 - Constant Cubic Spline source • demo
#8 - Fake Log Demo source • demo
#7 - Avuncular Sleezoids ( available list )
#6 - Tuna Can source • demo
#5 - Font Reporter source • demo
#4 - Brick Wall source • demo (!)
#3 - Scribble source • demo
#2 - Fat Tail Arrows source • demo
#1 - Web Friendly Colors source • demo
As always, these work best by sending a command line //acrodist /F to Acrobat Distiller.
Find free Gonzo here, its tutorial here, the reference manual here, and a video here. More on PostScript here, more Beginner's Projects here, and a great heaping bunch of PS apps here.
May 18, 2021
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New sourcecode for a triply PostScript compatible step and repeat label printer can be found here, with its demo here.
Be sure to redefine /vertstart, /horstat, /incvert, /inchoriz, /numvert, and /numhoriz to match Online Labels or your other intended label supplier.
Ma y 17, 2021
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There is more hydrogen in a gallon of gasoline than there is in a gallon of liquid hydrogen. Mole fractions and all.
More hydrogen economy ludicrosities here.
May 16, 2021
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The key secret to making Google Drive compatible with many, many more PostScript programs is to expand their run command to include url's.
Your assistance in making this happen ( or creating the illusion of this happening ) is most eagerly sought out.
May 15, 2021
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Our own available ( or related ) videos include...
Original ARA Bajada Hanging Canal
3GP compacted video version
Introduction to PostScript
TV TypeWriter Reconstruction
Along with these recommended third party vids...
The possible very first origin of "WTF"
The "must watch" Xylophone Duet
The first original Tuboencabulator
May 14, 2021
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Insider secrets of cubic splines can be found here.
May 13, 2021
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The traditional free fall pricing of PV panel pricing may be at least on temporary hold or actually ending. Owing to the panels at long last approaching true sustainability and renewability.
Find the ongoing weekly prices here and here.
May 12, 2021
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View the case against patents here.
May 11, 2021
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Most of the Guru's Lair files can be searched here.
And the ".psl" PostScript specific ones here.
May 10, 2021
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The secrets of converting coal fired power plants into singles bars can be found here.
May 9, 2021
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Full details on four pawing enameled groundswill here.
May 8, 2021
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A 1:1 Scale model train layout can be found here. Which combines astonishing accuracy with the ability to still run around in circles.
May 7, 2021
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Several variations on avuncular sleezoids can be found here.
These were based on my random operator out of the PostScript Gonzo Utilities which you can find here with its tutorial here, its video here, and triply compatible examples here.
Fixed alignments specific rather than random ones might prove more interesting.
A directory of most of our .psl software can be found here.
May 6, 2021
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Our marbelous pancakes can be found here. These are an approach at approximating the marbeling once used in traditional book fly leafs.
But, bedsides their astonishing size bang for the buck, they open whole new worlds of computational possibilities. For instead of producing the self similarity of Mandelbrot and friends, they can create unique self UN similarities.
Zillions of new student opportunities would seen possible.
May 5, 2021
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Flutterwumpers here.
May 4, 2021
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A reminder that some of our outstanding eBay bargains include our absolutely mint "kiss your onager goodbye" nuclear holocaust fashion accessories, new archival USB backups of over 44,000 files, lots of HP and Agilent microwave switches, hard to find precision gun drills, and Wolfvision cameras that can be used both in smart or dumb modes.
The latter is especially useful in volunteer organizations where zero programming skills are needed by the presenters.
May 3, 2021
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Check out our 600+ Gila Valley Dayhikes.
With more details on these Lesser Known Dayhikes.
Or the Mount Graham Tramway.
.
May 2, 2021
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Approximating a Circle or an Ellipse Using Four Bezier Cubic Splines.
May 1, 2021
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Many of our older or earlier Guru's Lair papers may seem "lost" just because we haven't gotten around to doing much with them lately. But they certainly may still have at least some useful content.
Our Wavelets Library is a typical of many "forgotten" examples.
The easiest way to explore these is with our directory of all Guru's Lair files. We also have full backup USB's newly available on our eBay store.
We strongly urge you to disseminate these to the widest possible archive resources.
April 30, 2021
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Reprints of most of our classic print papers can be found here. With our free eBooks here.
These were eventually followed by our GuruGram library here.
April 29, 2021
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Not all fire hydrants are created equal. Those with a red cap are rated less than 500 GPM, orange 500 to 1000 GPM, Green 1000 to 1500 GPM, and blue 1500 GPM or above.
There also might be an offset blue reflector on the road that lets you spot a hydrant at night from blocks away. The shift from road center tells you which side of the road the hydrant is on.
Then again, some places just use fancy paint on their hydrants.
April 28, 2021
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A collection of really terrible pun punchlines can be reached from the link found here.
April 27, 2021
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My How to Scam a Student Paper might have been two subtle.
This was a mix of purportedly genuine info ( yes, this paper is one useful route towards a thick report ) with a deadly trap.. Most of the research suggestions gets you an "A". But one gets you an "F".
But which?
April 26, 2021
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My How to Scam a Student Paper might have been two subtle.
This was a mix of purportedly genuine info ( yes, thick paper is one useful route towards a thick report ) with a deadly trap.. Most of the research suggestions are off the wall and real enough and genuine enough to get you an "A". But one gets you an "F".
But which?
April 25, 2021
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Our deeplinks found here, in our other blogs, and elsewhere let you return to one exact point in a long file.
First, you set up a shtnl anchor...
‹a id="d04.01.21"›
And then you call it where needed...
‹a href="#d04.01.21"›deeplink‹a›
A nearly complete index of all the "secret" html codes can be found here.
April 24, 2021
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Here's most of our April Fool and related entries...
Bruno
Brasso
Gullible
Hangnails
Marcia
New Mexico
Nuclear Holocaust Fashions
Painless
Poncho
Puns
Spam Tax
Tinfoil Hat Liners
Union Card
Watch Out
Water Soluble Swimsuits
April 23, 2021
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A detailed look at the "Gambler's Ruin" here.
April 22, 2021
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When Dreamweaver copies an anchor, it alters it. This fact when combined with not enough attention to detail seems to be the cause of many deeplink frustrations.
Manual testing is a must, and this diagnostic can be a great help. As can splitting any problems in half with the status line to see where the anchor link goes rather than where it is intended to go. In very rare cases, Chrome history can also play a role if any characters precede the "#".
Please report any remaining problems, especially on our current blog.
April 21, 2021
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Don't get sick. Combined with this Fitness Aware form and this Aerobic Pulse Rate Chart.
April 20, 2021
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April 19, 2021
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The curious saga of the magic lamp
April 18, 2021
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At present, Google Drive seems to be unable to run PostScript programs with run commands or disk read/write access in them. The way we got around this for triple compatibility here was to tow along an entire Gonzo Utilities copy inside the main code.
This program, is thus a useful tool to extract as a model for future triply compatible code. Yeah, it adds 87K to the file size, but that is not all that big a deal these days. Alternatives are to excerpt only the Gonzo needed routines or stick with real Adobe or GhostScript that can deal with run.
Much more PostScript here, the Gonao utilities here, and a tutorial here. And a small pile of triply compatible code here. And even a video here.
April 17 2021
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Certainly the greatest movie of all time was the cross genre classic Godzilla versus the Night Nurses.
Sadly, distribution had to be pulled because of the restraining order from the Tapioca Pudding institute. It then had to be released directly to 8 track.
Much more here.
April 16, 2021
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Yes, we are working on a Guru's Lair phone ap. It may take a while before testing is complete.
Let us know if you want to beta test.
April 15, 2021
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Both of the principal researchers into the Gila Valley Bajada Hanging Canals are well into retirement and sorely limited as to possible future contributions. These unique and utterly stunning engineering features represent a major future for all of southwestern archaeology.
Your help is very much needed in backing up and archiving alternate sources for the Guru's Lair hanging canal papers. Particularly to such web resources as tDar, Research Gate, or Academia.
One key issue is making as many as possible of the links relative rather than absolute. Please contact us if you can participate.
Video here and JSA preprint here.
April 14, 2021
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You are never supposed to connect or disconnect a VGA video cable under power. That's the reasons for those locking screws. It is also a good practice to always connect the destination first.
The reason is that if the cable male pins are "live", any unlikely shorting of them with any external physical contact could do very bad things.
April 13, 2021
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Would there be any point in making solar pv panels also doing water catchment? This might ease cleaning and maintenance. Or lead to special herb and spice situations.
April 12, 2021
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Just realized I should be selling water rather than dirt.
Our Steep to sloping 20 acre Gold Hill Oregon parcel receives 40.2 acre feet of precipitation annually. Gravity harvested catchment might prove useful for a cannabis operation.
See the latest listing here and more details here.
April 11, 2021
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Some patent horror stories here. And lots more bad stuff on patents in our patent bashing library.
April 10, 2021
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And some more. Hundreds to go and a key next step issue is switching to relative or substitute addressing for outside uploads...
aproncd25.shtml
alberto26.shtml
longview27.shtml
upperfrye28.shtml
midfrye29.shtml
lofryepond30.shtml
hscanal31.shtml
... in progress. Presently 112 total still need work
April 9, 2021
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And some more...
rincon13.shtml
tranq14.shtml
diskpk15.shtml
twine16.shtml
twinw17.shtml
tbpond18.shtml
bearflat19.shtml
mgoathyd20.shtml
deadw21.shtml
watspread22.shtml
bigler23.shtmll
mulch24.shtml
April 8, 2021
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Here's the first dozen of our new hanging canal image image study directory. Much work remains to be done...
veech01.shtml
goat02.shtml
ledford03.shtml
lowjac04.shtml
upmary05.shtml
mainmary06.shtml
marysfb07.shtml
mariaq08.shtml
hileb09.shtml
sixpak10.shtml
henry11.shtml
roper12.shtml
April 7, 2021
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More on all of our prehistoric hanging canals canals here, here, here, here, along with a video here.
April 6, 2021
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Per the Active Filter Cookbook, a fourth order low pass filter needs only four data values to specify its response at any given frequency.. These are two damping values and two frequency values. Each unique value comes from some polynomial. Most are useless.
Only a tiny few polynomials are in popular and in use because of their other features they offer. Yesterday's Legendre plot strongly suggests the "best" possible analog filters have yet to be found.
Your comments welcome.
April 5, 2021
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A plot of a rare Legendre low pass filter can be found here. Which suggests that the "best" possible low pass filter is yet to be found.
Perhaps by a "shake the box" technique that "throws another million calculations at it "
Free Active Filter Cookbook downloads here.
April 4, 2021
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Public Surplus is a useful source of stuff to sell on eBay.
April 3, 2021
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Our new low end digital sinewaves can be found here, with our high end zero low harmonics Magic Sinewaves here and their calculator here.
April 2, 2021
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Many years ago, I was attending a folk concert. The opening act
was a single and an unknown flute player, performing in front of the
closed stage curtains. His job was to warm up the audience for the
high priced help that was soon to follow.
He was good. Very good.
But as he went along, the music started getting strange and finally
downright weird. He was playing chords on his flute, along with notes
with unbelievably strong tonal structures. Eventually, the music turned
into bunches of impossible sounding and god-awful squawks.
Almost all of the audience got bored and restless as the music
seemed to deteriorate. Just then, I happened to notice a friend beside
me who had played in and had taught concert band. He was literally
on the edge of his chair with his mouth open.
He briefly turned to me and said very slowly, ''You can't do that with
a flute. It is not possible."
Of the thousands of people in the audience, at the most only five
realized they were now witnessing a once-in-a-lifetlme performance
involving the absolute mastery of a very difficult musical instrument. To
nearly everyone else, It sounded like a bunch of god-awful squawks.
Always play for those five.
April 1, 2021
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Shocking.
I just found out that many of the New Mexico subastas are going to be sold at auction!
Even worse, "slippery slope" issues may also endanger a large number of the licitacions and even the almonedas.
Thankfully, eBay sales and shipping to New Mexico aren't quite as bad as they used to be. Yeah, there is still the language barrier and the hassles at customs.
One main problem was that of all the New Mexico truck tires are all a different size and spacing, so everything needed reloaded at the border crossings.
Fortunately, there are now REVERSIBLE truck tires that can simply be insided out at the New Mexico ports of entry.
More details at your nearest New Mexico embassy.
March 31, 2021
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I've recently discovered the Wolfvision line of products and am quite impressed with them. To the point we have several older product versions up on eBay at attractive prices.
These are basically smart copy stands or opaque projectors with inedible capabilities. But few people relieve they also have a "dumb" mode where they can directly drive an overhead projector without any pc or programming skills at all!l
We have proven these to be enormously useful here at TFD as a training aide.
Find the smart and dumb connections here with their sourcecode here.
March 30, 2021
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Our free eBooks can be found here. And many hundreds of free copies of our early columns and papers here.
March 29, 2021
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Fundamental Factors Underlying Recent Technological Innovation can be found here.
March 28, 2021
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There is more hydrogen in a gallon of gasoline than there is in a gallon of liquid hydrogen. Mole fractions and all.
More hydrogen insanities here.
March 27, 2021
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We have great heaping bunches of SMT microwave switches in various styles and shapes at a tiny fraction of their list prices. All guaranteed to function "as new".
March 26, 2021
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There is a new speed reading ap that can let you read War and Peace in twelve minutes flat!
Its about Russia.
March 25, 2021
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"Kiss your onager goodbye" with there absolutely pristine mint ultra rare military collectible nuclear holocaust fashion accessory circular slide rules.
What were they thinking? Can't you just see a frantic master sergeant out in the open wildly spinning these and "Dang! there goes another one."
You may want to pickup a pair as they are worth more when still slaked but are also an absolutely winning show and tell or open display item.
March 24, 2021
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The only Lidar image in our prehistoric hanging canal studies to date can be found here. The Reay canal is believed to run ssw to nne mid screen.
High resolution drone based Lidar should prove enormously useful for canal studies. Please let us know of suitable resources.
March 23, 2021
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I'm usually a frugal minimalist. But I've always absolutely insisted on these fewest and finest...
Mylar Correcting Selectric
Real Drafting table.
Triplet 310 VOM
Custom light table
Fancy test bench
Tektronix 455 Oscilloscope
Power paper cutter
Surplus storage doghouse
Nikon cameras
HP all in one
Rare 4WD VW Bus
KIM-1
Brunton Compass
Apple IIe
Laserwriter
Adobe Software
PostScript
Fatcow
Science Magazine
Arizona Regional Assn.
Dinner with friends
Hot tub
March 22, 2021
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An acre foot is a puddle an acre in size and 1 foot deep or its equivalent. Equal to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,850 US gallons.
A normal cotton crop needs six acre feet per acre of water. A drip cotton crop needs 2 acre feet of water.
Our Oregon property receives 42 acre feet of precipitation per year.
March 21, 2021
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Let's see. 25 inches of rain is 2.08 feet and there are 7.5 gallons in a cubic foot, so an efficient catchment would gather15.5 gallons per square foot.
While some web catchments claim 80 percent efficiency, most are likely to be less, so let's assume 10 gallons per square foot of catchment.
At 480 gallons per plant, 48 square feet of catchment would be needed per plant. Indoor might be significantly less.
Be sure to consult a professional and over-design.
More here.
March 20, 2021
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From this web site...
One-eighth of an acre (50 feet by 100 feet with 50 cannabis plants) would use 24,000 gallons per season (about eight months or 240 days). This would result in producing 50 two-pound plants and using 480 gallons per plant. A two-pound plant divided into eighths of an ounce yields 256 eighths.
March 19, 2021
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eBay has newly added a phone ap. Early responders report a 20% increase in sales. There is an op out option.
March 18, 2021
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Many of the entries in our Gila Valley Dayhikes or our Lesser Know Gila Dayhikes center on the Greaten-Bonita-Eden-Sanchez Metropolitan area.
March 17, 2021
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Few people realize that the "obvious" shuffling algorithm is flat out wrong
Consider three cards. There could only be six shuffling outcomes (ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, CBA), but there are twenty-seven possible results of any of three cards swapped with itself or one of the two others.
It is not possible to arrange 27 whole objects into 6 equal sized piles.
Which says that some of your outcomes will be more likely than the others. This horrendous bias above does become quite small as n increases, but it still is an obvious no-no for a true shuffle
Do NOT swap every array element in the array with itself or any other. Instead, swap every array element only with itself or one of those lower in the sorting stack!
Full details here. In other words, once a location is swapped, do NOT try to swap it again. One swap per location.
March 16, 2021
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The Psyctone used an ultra short modulo 6 pseudorandom number generator for its 63 note sequences. Find a copy here.
This started out as an aerospace cubical cellmate bet that I could get a ridiculously short sequence to squawk.
A third party recently built an all-software web Psyctone Simulator is newly offered. Find a free copy here.
One of my earliest pseudorandom projects was the KFC Virus that made an Apple II sound like it was frying in its own grease. Simply a long Pseudorandom software n=31 generator that whapped the speaker with each one. I can't seem to locate any current example.
March 15, 2021
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Here's some of our pseudorandom number papers and books and tutorials...
Ask the Guru Archive I
Ask the Guru Archive III
TTL Cookbook
CMOS Cookbook
Apple Assembly CB II
RE April 1975
PostScript Insider Secrets
Hacker Archive I
I never did get a reasonable solution for black sheep of the family sequence #19. I think there may at long last be one on the web with many terms and not quite maximal length. Not clear who would need it for what, though.
March 14, 2021
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Getting quite a few calls on whether our Oregon superb view property is suitable for cannabis cultivation.
Let's see. The Gold Hill annual precipitation is 25 inches, or 2.083 acer feet per acre, so raw 41.66 acer feet for the 20 acres. An acre foot is
43,560 cubic feet or 312,450 gallons. Or 13,016,667 gallons total.
Which is up in the "fair to middlin" class. Yeah, precipitation is seasonal. The sloping to steep terrain might suggest feasible catchment and retaining of a fraction (but likely rather small) of this value.
The web suggests that: One-eighth of an acre (50 feet by 100 feet with 50 cannabis plants) of 150 pounds total would use 24,000 gallons per season.
Separately, adjacent developed properties have successful wells. A domestic use of 100 gallons per day translates to 36,500 gallons per year.
Please email me for more info or a referral to local professional help.
March 13, 2021
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I thought I made a mistake once.
But it turned out I was in error.
March 12, 2021
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One of the many handy service routines in our Gonzo Utilities is rand. Who, as in 6 rand puts a pseudorandom integer of zero to five on the stack for you.
Should you want to get an identical "random" sequence over and over again, you can prefix it with something like 12345 srand.
Find free Gonzo here, its tutorial here, the reference manual here, and a video here. More on PostScript here, more Beginner's Projects here, PostScript secrets here, and a great heaping bunch of PS apps here.
March 11, 2021
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Some weirdness has long been coming down between FatCow and Chrome. The symptoms, at least here, are that Fatcow will make a rare mistake on its email or stats and post an error message. They fix the problem, but Chrome keeps the mistake report in its cache, refusing to give you FatCow Access. And telling you Fatcow is still broken.
Using FatCow's superb live help then tells you that everything is working just fine. Which, from their perspective, appears to be the case.
I've found two possible workarounds. The first is to temporarily move to the Edge browser for email and stats.
The second is to eliminate the last 24 hours of your Chrome cache info. Do this by clicking on Chrome's upper right three dots, selecting Settings, scroll on down to Privacy, and then Clearing the last 24 hours of browsing data.
Please report anything you can add to this.
March 10, 2021
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I've long been overly enameled over digital sinewave generators.
The earliest walking ring versions first appearing in the RTL, and ( especially ) CMOS Cookbooks.
Six alternative digital sinewave generation methods can be found here.
With a barely still available chip buried here on page 36.3.
Our latest and best triangle series digital sinewave generator for low end micros was first described here. And based on this third party story.
We've greatly improved and updated it here with full sourcecode here. The code is astonishingly compact and amazingly low in distortion. And that's before a simple filter capacitor is added!
Earlier work can be found here, here, and here. Again with each having .pdf, .psl, and .log variants. We first looked at this as Column #85 here.
My biggie, of course, are the Magic Sinewaves who have their own web page here. And their special supper duper mind boggling calculator here.
Lower frequency Magic Sinewaves are repeating very long sequences of ones and zeros. They can get created from ordinary but extremely carefully chosen and delivered digitally switched pulses.
The key feature of magic sinewaves is that they let you force most any desired number of your lower harmonics precisely to zero in theory and to quite astonishingly low levels in practice.
While allowing you to do so at the highest possible efficiency. By using the fewest possible number of switching events.
Compared to traditional PWM, magic sinewaves can offer moderately higher efficiencies and significantly reduced low harmonic distortions. With circuitry that is elegantly simple and microcomputer friendly.
For use in such applications as induction motor speed controls, electric autos, solar panels, power factor correction, inverters, home energy efficiency improvers, 400 Hertz avionics, UPS, PFC, and specialized utilities.
Special variations on Magic Sinewaves are fully three phase friendly. The performance of these and others has been verified by several independent mathematicians.
March 9, 2021
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My "spots before your eyes" electronic dice was newsstand published here. Available via our free eBooks.
By thinking outside the box, the interface and decoding were dramatically simplified. Use a pair of modulo six walking ring counters. Call your count sequence on one die 1-3-5-6-4-2 and decode your states ( two of which are free ) "1-3-5", "not 1", "6-4-2" and "six". Note that "6-4-2" and "1-3-5" are freely decoded complements. When one is on, the other is off.
Yes, cascading two dice are permitted. For there is no difference between simultaneously rolling a pair of six sided dice, or rolling a single thirty six sided die, each side of which shows one of the possible two die combinations.
March 8, 2021
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Where they are suitable, the walking ring counter is one of my favorites. We've looked at these in detail in the CMOS Cookbook and elsewhere.
Walking ring counters are fully synchronous and make the best possible use of device frequency limits. They easily decode with 2-input gates or equivalent and are glitch free while offering minimum propagation times. They are quite easy to convert to analog sinewaves with only a few very carefully chosen resistors.
They do quickly become inefficient for larger modulo. A divide by 12 counter takes six flip flops, and things quickly get out of hand above that.
But there is an ugly hidden gotcha involving walking ring counters: Their missing states can jump into unwanted disallowed sequences! Ferinstance a modulo six counter can have its two "missing" states cycle as 010 101. Of one-third intended frequency. A decade counter has six "missing" states.
The workaround is simple: If needed, reset to zero every now and then. Just don't assume they will always work properly all by themselves.
March 7, 2021
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A reminder that we have some newly revised and triply compatible Distiller - GhostScript - GoogleDrive word frequency code here.
It might be interesting to combine all of the Craig's List hits for, say an "acres" search, find their word frequency, and then filter then appropriately. This might predict a list of most popular hits for whatever you are selling.
With the theory that in a "perfect" market, exactly what is being sold is meeting the search needs of their buyers. At least for more relevant choices.
March 6, 2021
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Some Craig's List SEO hints: Searches are based on newest at the top.
Searches are case sensitive. Thus your "Acres" will give you fewer hits than "acres". It thus pays to keep everything in the title lower case except names and a first character.
As your listing ages, it drops down until it eventually requires scrolling as it goes "below the fold". You can put your listing back on top with an edit.
You should search on your best word daily to make sure your listing spends as much time as it can "a few panels from the top".
Perhaps an edit relist every eight days or so can be optimal to keep you in the search sweep spot but not attractive any excess attention to yourself.
It might be interesting to search on every "reasonable" word in your listing to see what others consider important search terms.
March 5, 2021
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A useful tool to expand analysis of your website activity can be found here with an example here. One of its many features is to caution flag any user with more than eight 404's as potential malware.
The code is exceptionally useful to find out if sudden traffic increases are real or bogus. Also to monitor long term popularity trends.
In the case of Fatcow, you read the latest accesslog_etc out of their stats file and then decode it with WinZip or whatever and store it with a name similar to moo.myrenamedfile.com Booting the code then expands the analysis.
Send your modified PostScipt file to Acrobat Distiller with the secret incantation of //acrodist /F.
March 4, 2021
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A heap sort tutorial can be found here. Heap sorts excel when a large number of items need quickly sorted with minimal overhead.
March 3, 2021
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Here's a reminder over our "new" bubble sort routines.
They can be significantly faster for most users most of the time in that they exit their loops if there was no previous change made. Results might now be two seconds for 2000 sorts.
This code sorts an array of integers, reals, or strings...
/bubsort3a {/curmat1 exch store
curmat1 length 1 sub -1 1
{/done true store
/maxposition exch store
0 1 maxposition 1 sub
{/posn exch store
curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
gt{curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
curmat1 exch posn exch put
curmat1 exch posn 1 add exch put
/done false store
}if
} for
done {exit} if % stop on no swaps
} for
curmat1
} bind store
A minor gotcha on sorting strings: PostScript does a lexical sort, as do most other languages. Thus, your end sequence might be 1, 10, 11, 2, 3, 4, ... and you may want to make a manual adjustment to get a "true" alphanumeric result.
This code sorts an array of arrays. In this case, it sorts on the second entry of the subarray. Thus, when properly coded, sorting by popularity...
/bubsort3b {/curmat1 exch store
curmat1 length 1 sub -1 1
{/done true store
/maxposition exch store
0 1 maxposition 1 sub
{/posn exch store
curmat1 posn get 1 get
curmat1 posn 1 add get 1 get
gt{curmat1 posn get
curmat1 posn 1 add get
curmat1 exch posn exch put
curmat1 exch posn 1 add exch put
/done false store
}if
} for % inner loop
done {exit} if
} for
curmat1
} bind store
March 2, 2021
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Three recommended third party videos are this Xylophone Duet, and, of course, the Tuboencabulator.
While our own videos can be found here and here.
March 1, 2021
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Can't put one over on her. Nosiree.
Little old lady to her companion at a recent live auction...
"Why, that man has been talking all morning!"
More auction stuff here.
February 28, 2021
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Secrets of our Directors Cut "Tearing Method" are revealed here. With its sourcecode here.
With some obvious mods, the concept is easily applied to modern micros.
Portions of Fundamentals of machine language programming are similarly modified starting here. With sourcecode here.
February 27, 2021
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Just got a helpline request for gathering .jpg images into PostScript code.
We have many examples of this, one of the fanciest of which is our /jpegimageprocwithlink With a detailed use here.
This PostScript routine takes info on a pair of .JPG files and then converts them into an Acrobat Distillable click-to-expand .PDF image. View the code in the above link.
This method means you can have a smaller and more compact image in your .PDF and a full size one only for whoever wants to click through.
To use, extract and edit in any suitable text editor. A .psl extension simply identifies a text file as "PostScript Lancaster" that often may need my Gonzo Utilities. Then send to Distiller with the usual //acrodist /F.
Predefine local /imageurl and web /imagelocaldirectory .JPG locations. Followed by this appropriately modified setup...
93 36 % x y translate
1500 1636 % hpixels vpixels
0.147 % photoscale
imagelocaldirectory % local source url
imageurl % clickthru url
jpegimageprocwithlink % do it!
Those hpixels and vpixels values are critical and must exactly match your .JPG! View them in ImageViewer/32 if you can't find them elsewhere.
jpegimageprocwithlink uses Adobe's PDF Mark operators.
February 26, 2021
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There are at least five different and distinct "flavors" of Gila Valley canals: Hanging, Artesian, Riverine, Historic Adaptions, and Historic Originals. The latter are quite rare upland, but apparently common riverine.
Compared to the spectacular hanging canals, the artesian versions tend to be fewer, lower, shorter, simpler, less seasonal, wider ranging, much less construction effort, and arguably of less sophisticated engineering. Which can raise the question whether the artesian and hanging canals were contemporaneous and built by the same peoples over the same time spans..
Much better dating and aggressive use of drones and video in general might help resolve this question.
Meanwhile, here is a partial list of canals that are presently believed to be of possible prehistoric origin and clearly artesian sourced....
Aravapia Canal
N 32.64712 W 110.16480 to
N 32.64437 W 110.15347
Artesian Canal #1
N 32.75226 W 109.72046 to
N 32.75824 W 109.71904
Artesian Canal #2
N 32.75271 W 109.72035 to
N 32.75611 W 109.71659
Bandolelier Canal
32.93523 -109.94128 to
32.94158 -109.92112
Bear Flat Canal
N 32.85790 W 109.96120 to
N 32.85985 W 109.95839
Bear Springs Canal
N 32.85049 W 109.94399 to
N 32.87226 W 109.92596
Bigler Canal
N 32.85985 W 109.95839 to
N 32.85790 W 109.96120
Cottontail Canal
N 32.75982 W 109.72270 to
N 32.76055 W 109.71823
Hog Canyon Canal
N 32.55361 W 109.76449 to
N 32.55407 W 109.76414
Horner 1
N 32.73828 W 109.69852 to
N 32.74419 W 109.69602
Horner 2
N 32.73746 W 109.69793 to
N 32.73884 W 109.69725
Quail Canal
N 32.71191 W 109.69202 to
N 32.72108 W 109.67986
Tranquility Canal
N 32.75987 W 109.73284 to
N 32.77434 W 109.72784
Your input welcome.
More on all of our prehistoric hanging canals canals here, here, here, here, along with a video here.
February 25, 2021
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Bunches of stage lights are showing up as community college surplus at seemingly bargain prices.
The only tiny detail is that they are being replaced with LED stage lights that are ridiculously cheaper, far smaller, far more efficient, and far cooler.
Uh, that's besides not needing any highly lossy color filters or a single light creating any color or even blending between them. Or being DMX compatible.
The market for the old lights is likely to be almost as good as CRT monitors pc layout tape and dots, chart recorders, or litho cameras. Namely, far less than their shipping costs.
More eBay and auction stuff here. And our own genuine eBay bargains here.
February 24, 2021
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Found the problem with our Acrobat PDF Animation demo. It seems to work just fine for most users most of the time when viewed as a local download, but clearly ( and differently! ) trashes if you try to view it by way of Chrome or Explorer.
Seems the browser versions simultaneously show all 24 pages, while the local demo properly shows only one page, sequentially stepping through the group at an acceptable animation rate.
To run the demo, download it in a browser but then view it locally with a .PDF reader or whatever. Close most other files.
Not sure if this is fixable, and some early info presently might be "lost". It does remain a cute one-off example of little known .PDF capabilities.
More on JavaScript over Acrobat here, and our two off-the-wall fields papers can be found here and here.
February 23, 2021
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Back when our PostScript class was doing resumes, one student wondered "what if" one single individual was responsible for each and ever major disaster or debacle over the previous few decades.
And how a positive spin would be put on it.
Their "proven ability to command a strong media presence" would be based on their Edsel ad campaign, tanker safety coordinator for Exxon, fire prevention manager for Yellowstone, Bhopal tank maintenance director, new Coke creativity group leader, Cherynoble training supervisor, BP safety containment officer, etc... etc...
This might make an interesting cloud project. Please email me with one or more of their employment experiences.
February 22, 2021
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A reminder that we have no foreign sales. With no exceptions. Two reasons are that we simply do not do this, and that certain of our suppliers prohibit or otherwise restrict exports of certain items.
While we still offer free US only technical consulting during reasonable hours, our secrecy policy as always remains "there ain't one". You may always assume that anything you tell us can and may be disseminated to the widest possible audience.
February 21, 2021
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Assume you are an intern working on a SETI program at a somewhat advanced civilization on Iota Rectuli IV.
Strong evidence of rocky planets have recently been discovered nearby in a minor arm of your own second rate galaxy sometimes called the "Milky Way" A mere seventy light years or so away.
Amazingly, one of these planets suddenly and recently became a "radio star" with substantial output at the VHF frequency range. Your recent careful analysis has shown detailed comb structures with strong harmonics related to both 60 Hertz and 15.750 kilohertz.
Between the latest of advanced signal processing algorithms and some exceptionally rare viewing conditions, out pops a perfectly lucid and clear ten second video clip of Roller Derby!
As the sum total of everything known about human civilization. We can assume that Captain Video and "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" are yet to be discovered.
What report, if any, would you submit to your supervisor?
February 20, 2021
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The very latest in free Captain Video downloads can be found here.
Which conclusively prove that "mesmerizingly awful" is a largely time independent concept.
Our older archive ( and no longer updated ) Captain Video page here. With more ongoing support of our own video topics here and here.
February 19, 2021
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The performance of PostScript in Google Drive could be dramatically improved by providing the ability to run a url as well as a local file.
As this might usually be an interpreter feature, I'm not sure exactly how a third party could do this, and Adobe strongly discourages file access due to its malware potential with their -F lockout to unskilled new users..
So far, Stack Overflow has been unable to solve this issue. Your input is more than welcome.
A few of our PS triply Distiller-GhostScript-Google Drive compatible files have been newly updated here.
February 18, 2021
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Another curiosity of our 1960 Thatcher topo map is the "White House" which may still show up as a shell on acme mapper. Not sure of its history or why it deserved a topo reference. Near N 32.89172 W 109.96604.
Could this have been once an artesian resource?
Again, your input welcome.
February 17, 2021
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Improved the contrast and quality of an excerpt of the 1960 Thatcher topo map that clearly shows a major artesian Bear Springs road and canal.
This "Gradeall Class" canal was so huge compared to its current source that it seems like it might have been a real estate scam. Access today appears more or less totally restricted and abandoned.
But the Bear Springs themselves once appeared to have been so major that they seemed highly unlikely to have been prehistorically ignored. The obvious question is whether the 1960's project ( that may have been Hippy Commune related ) was in fact an overlay of a prehistoric original.
Your input welcome.
Much more on all of our prehistoric hanging canals can be found here, here, here, here, along with a video here.
February 16, 2021
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Lower frequency Magic Sinewaves are repeating very long sequences of ones and zeros. They can get created from ordinary but extremely carefully chosen and delivered digitally switched pulses.
The key feature of magic sinewaves is that they let you force most any desired number of your lower harmonics precisely to zero in theory and to quite astonishingly low levels in practice.
While allowing you to do so at the highest possible efficiency. By using the fewest possible number of switching events.
Compared to traditional PWM, magic sinewaves can offer moderately higher efficiencies and significantly reduced low harmonic distortions. With circuitry that is elegantly simple and microcomputer friendly.
For use in such applications as induction motor speed controls, electric autos, solar panels, power factor correction, inverters, home energy efficiency improvers, 400 Hertz avionics, UPS, PFC, and specialized utilities.
Special variations on Magic Sinewaves are fully three phase friendly. The performance of these and others has been verified by several independent mathematicians.
You can find the latest Magic Sinewave calculator here and bunches of further details here.
Along with an unrelated and equally cute low end approach to digital sinewaves here.
February 15, 2021
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Strong evidence supports the premise that the overwhelming majority of historic area canals were in fact "steal the plans" or "borrow the blueprints" partial adaptations of prehistoric originals.
The first clue is that the prehistoric efforts were so major and so inclusive that there wasn't much suitable room left for any new historic ones. A second is that trade potsherds were often in unique nearby association.
A third is that several "Rosetta Stone" examples include portions that are a mix of engineering to prehistoric and "Gradeall" size standards. Some of which now terminate halfway along the original route at a cattle tank or other modern use.
It is obviously easier, faster, less skillful, and cheaper to "dig out an old ditch" than to successfully engineer a new working canal construct from scratch.
Particularly strong likely stolen examples or partial rework include the Cluff Northwest canal at N 32.74626 W 109.72724, the Allen Canal at N 32.78489 W 109.83354 and the Minor Webster ditch at N 32.80704 W 109.86855.
Exceptions to not being a historic original do appear few and far between. One modern exception might be the Roper Lake canal apparently initially built in the 1950's at N 32.74626 W 109.72724 and the Sunny Flat Canal whose details you can find here and here.
February 14, 2021
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Here is an interesting Product Liability Notice that should have all sorts of nefarious uses. With related friends here.
February 13, 2021
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A rather heretical and largely "math free" way of looking at and working with electromagnetic and similar fields can be found here and here with sourcecodes here and here.
February 12, 2021
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Fundamental Factors Underlying Recent Technical Innovation can be found here with its sourcecode here.
Feel free to repost under Creative Commons terms.
February 11, 2021
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All sorts of interesting things can be done by putting JavaScript on top of Acrobat. Your key info can be found here.
Um, I once used this scheme to produce some impressive three phase power Acrobat animation per details here and here and here.. But it seems to have barfed self-running lately..
February 10, 2021
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Speaking of which, here are our latest triply compatible Distiller - GhostScript - GoogleDrive tested and working programs.....
#31 - Word Frequency source • demo • tutor
#30 - Grid Gonzo Excerpt source • demo
#29 - Grid Gonzo Full source • demo
#28 - Binary k of n ones source • demo• log
#27 - Simple Sinewave Gen source •demo
#26 - PS Writes SHTML! source • demo
#25 - Marbelous 333 source • demo
#24 - The ultimate bagel source • demo
#23 - Rope-a-Dope source • demo
#22 - Spherical Transforms source • demo
#21 - Poison Ivy Spray Can source • demo
#20 - 2D Perspective Cube source • demo
#19 - Fractal Fern source • demo
#18 - URL Linking source • demo
#17 - Print Diverter! source • demo
#16 - PS Error Reporter! source • demo
#15 - Dictionary Snooper source • demo
#14 - Marberlous Pancakes source • demo
#13 - Meowwrrr Pussycat ( available list )
#12 - PS Accuracy Improver source • demo
#11 - Cubic Spline Length source • demo
#10 - "Lite" Gonzo Shell source • demo
#9 - Constant Cubic Spline source • demo
#8 - Fake Log Demo source • demo
#7 - Avuncular Sleezoids ( available list )
#6 - Tuna Can source • demo
#5 - Font Reporter source • demo
#4 - Brick Wall source • demo (!)
#3 - Scribble source • demo
#2 - Fat Tail Arrows source • demo
#1 - Web Friendly Colors source • demo
As always, these work best by sending a command line //acrodist /F to Acrobat Distiller.
Find free Gonzo here, its tutorial here, the reference manual here, and a video here. More on PostScript here, more Beginner's Projects here, and a great heaping bunch of PS apps here.
February 9, 2021
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A reminder that we have a word frequency analyzer with its new sourcecode here, a demo here, and the older original tutorial here.
Yeah, there's a lot of variants on word frequency available on the web. This one has the advantages in that it strips out all of my .ps or .psl commands. And that it is newly triply distiller-GhostScript-GoogleDrive compatible.
I've newly added it to our Google Drive compatible listings.
February 8, 2021
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While others call them "cairns", I strongly feel that the term "mulch rings" is much more appropriate.
In that only a single layer of rock normally sees use.
February 7, 2021
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At present, we haw at least eight major and distinct prehistoric water management features here in the Safford basin. These vary from routine to utterly unique world class. All demand extensive further study...
1. Mulch Rings - Preserve water by their rock
coverings delaying evaporation.
2. Aproned Check Dams - Slow water down
and retard silting.
3. Dry Farmed Rock Grids - Many thousands
of these to the North, hundreds to the South.
4. Artesian Canals - A dozen or so of these are
in appropriate areas. These tend to be flatter,
shorter, lower elevation, and much simpler.
5. "Hanging" Canals - Carved on the steep
sides of remnant bajada mesas, making their
routes largely independent of terrain and
demanding unique world class engineering.
6. Watershed Crossings - Allow the hanging
canals to route "up" out of one drainage
basin and then "down" into a second, all the
while maintaining perfect appropriate slope.
7. Aqueducts - Above ground constructs bridge
lower areas to maintain typical 2 degree slope.
8. Riverine Canals - Largely restricted to the
Gila River and remarkably similar to the
Hohokam Technology of the Phoenix Basin.
At present, it is not clear whether the hanging and the artesian canals were done at the same time or by the same peoples with similar skill sets. The hanging versions obviously would seem to demand considerably more engineering expertise and usually are considerably longer.
A related video here, a JFA preprint here, the Wikipedia story here, a location catalog in progress here, and our image directory here.
Your help welcome, especially if you are drone literate.
February 6, 2021
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A reminder that we started a new mobile friendly catalog of all our Prehistoric Bajada Hanging Canals study entries.
Things are going slow, but you can find the current progress here.
The "orange" entries are presently current. The originals have been kept by adding a new "w" in their filenames. Please report any issues.
While there are over 110 current study areas, somewhat under half of these will turn into complete "real" canals. Oint to missing or unverified pieces likely to belong to one continuous canal, and to a very few study "losers" whose credibility dropped on field visits.
Estimated total mileage of the combined hanging and artesian canals is believed to significantly exceed 150 miles. And that is not counting the Hohokam like Gila River oriented riverine canals.
February 5, 2021
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Do hanging canals exist all the way around Mount Graham? Clearly the northwest streams have most of the flow and made the most significant of their canal contributions.
Also clearly, we have canals in Taylor and Trip Canyons to the west and artesian sourced Jennings and Quail Canyons well to the east. And Veech and some unstudied candidates Southeast in the P Ranch area.
A significant canal exists to the South via Grant Creek. And a still to be studied one to the Southeast in the Hog Canyon area of Gillepsie Wash. Also to be studied is an apparent historic Aravaipa Canal well to the Southwest.
Only the largely arid western Big Spring area would seem to lack canal potential. At least none has been found to date.
So, yes, a reasonable claim would seem to be able to be made that the canal project clearly exploited virtually ever drop of Mount Graham water.
February 4, 2021
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The "anvil test" for camp coffee...
If the anvil sinks, it it too weak.
If the anvil floats, it is just right.
If the anvil dissolves, it is too strong.
February 3, 2021
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Started a project to make a catalog of our prehistoric bajada canal locations more accurately verified and more phone friendly. While it may take a long time to complete, you can follow its ongoing progress here.
The new listings are orange, while the originals are aqua. UN-updated green "wide" files have been newly saved with a "w" in their filename.
February 2, 2021
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One of the more distinct and unusual features of our prehistoric hanging canals is the Twin Boobs Ponding Area. Whose obvious features have been illustrated here along with its single walled destination status here.
Very few destinations are known for the hundreds of canal study areas, so this one is rather distinct. It is clearly fed by two canals, neither of which have yet been completely studied or have their total routes determined. The yet to be versified possibility exists for both Marijilda and Deadman Canyons to serve as water sources.
The Eastern Marijilda takein occurs here and crosses a unique aqueduct here, and goes through a significant hanging portion here. Further routing might involve a historic canal here and continues largely unknown until it ultimately goes under a well documented cemetery route, followed by a contraflowing wash crossing and then delivering to the ponding area.
While a Marijilda sourced and Rincon Canyon delivered Western delivery canal would appear possible, the presently largely unstudied Deadman East Canal sorely needs a useful destination. And two mountain streams would thus offer a dual sourcing.
Your survey and drone help needed.
February 1, 2021
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Given the hundreds of miles of Mount Graham prehistoric bajada hanging canals, it would seem utterly unthinkable that Frye Creek water would have been in any manner ignored. Especially since the HS Canal significantly added to the lower Frye Creek flow. And ( presumably ) routed the Lower Frye Complex and the Freeman Canal.
There are several obvious and well defined watershed crossings in the canal study area. One unproven candidate watershed crossing is present in Frye Creek above the falls. And while apparently rather credible, would seem to be the only possible point of water extraction. This also would appear to be able to divert Frye water to the Allen Canal.
Verifying a Frye watershed crossing beyond reasonable doubt does in fact exist as a key project in our ongoing exploration. Your help in this challenging hiking project is more than welcome.
January 31, 2021
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Just got a rare and long pro nuke phone call. In which my views were never asked for and I was clearly unable to get an edge in word-wise.
My view is simply this: It is far too early to tell if nuclear power will ever become a net energy source. We will not know this until well after the results of the next seven or eight Chernoblys are fully resolved.
Prices of pv solar have long been pretty much in free fall. You can monitor these every Wednesday here and here. Six cents per peak cell watt has already been achieved and promises eventually reaching net renewability and sustainability.
Continuing long term present trends, four cents per peak cell watt should be achievable with new developments involving Perovskites. And this should completely eliminate any need at all for net metering or solar subsidies "real soon now".
And I predict that two cents per peak pv cell watt should be the final "bye bye nukes" trip point.
And there is another big factor: Terrestrial solar PV does not normally add that much heat to the global warming planetary energy budget. While nuke, natgas, and coal clearly do.
More energy concepts here.
January 30, 2021
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Craig's List reserves the right to block you if you try to newly list more than one item in more than one city more than once every 48 hours. Per details here.
Your account page gives you canceling and relisting options.
Our latest Craig's post here.
January 29, 2021
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Those recent events clearly tell us why the word "gullible" does not ever appear in any major dictionary or spell checker.
January 28, 2021
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A reminder that we have upgraded our Hanging Canal paper so it is newly phone friendly.
A related video here, a JFA preprint here, the Wikipedia story here, a location catalog in progress here, and our image directory here.
Your feedback welcome.
January 27, 2021
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OK. Here is one way to make your own satellite images for any real estate you may have for sale: Perfect for Craig's List.
The three biggies on imagery are Acme Mapper, Google Earth, and Zoom Earth. I overwhelmingly prefer Acme for most uses most of the time, especially for our Hanging Canals.
Please note that Acme gives you several display options with their "upper right" chevron. One frustrating detail is that extra scroll wheel size reduction is needed if you are to activate their US Topo option.
Find your property and make it as large as reasonable on your highest resolution display. Then press your print screen key.
Then paste your image to Paint, and add any suitable lines, curves, or text. You might also find free Imageview32 quite useful. Save as JPG.
And that is all there is to it.
January 26, 2021
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A reminder that we have a new satellite image of our spectacular 20 acre Gold Hill Oregon developable steep to sloping view property here.
January 25, 2021
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Ah yes. Reddy Readout. It probably never actually ended up in print ( I forget exactly why ) and, outside of being the very first cheap display, was not all that great. But some hints of what it all was about can be newly found here.
In hindsight, the concept was likely stolen from Pittsburgh's long gone Mount Washington Iron City Beer sign. Yinz Guys strike again.
It was simply a giant 3x5 incandescent bulb readout that displayed messages. Using some hard to find parts and involving very painful programming. Unique because it was waaay before the TV Typewriter.
It started out as a winning Lafayette College homecoming contest "float" and morphed into using some ultra low cost but now unobtanium specialty relays. One downer was the twelve character message limit.
Some other "bottom of the pile" projects were mentioned here and here..
January 24, 2021
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Just made some corrections and revisions to our free Classic Reprints page. This included picking up a miscued Parts Profiles reprint, revealing some esoteric Reddy Readout details, and updating to our new included Pick Blog Year"single fill fits all" file.
January 23, 2021
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I've put our "All we have" USB's on hold because of a production glitch, being pre phone friendly, and needing improved nav.
Feel free to copy our files to creative commons open source libraries.
January 22, 2021
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Added this satellite image to our unique Gold Hill OR Craig's List acreage offer...
Please note that properties immediately east and west of this very last available 20 acre steep to sloping spectacular view site have already been successfully developed.
January 21, 2021
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Started the mobile friendly update to our bajada hanging canal study area directory. This will take a while as we now have over 110 candidates, and a few 404's might remain present to ease the transition process.
Find the first six study upgrades here, here, here, here, here, and here..
January20, 2021
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Our new mobile friendly bajada hanging canal update should now be ready. Find it here..
The original wide version has been newly archived here..
Please report any corrections, suggestions, or requests.
January 19, 2021
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Some of our pv papers need revision because for years and years solar cells were nowhere remotely near being renewable or sustainable.
But these days, the price of pv cells continue to drop, albeit it modesty. And we are finally approaching "green". You can follow the ongoing pricing here and here. And the conversion of coal fired power plants into singles bars here..
We are presently around six cents per peak pv cell watt. it would seem reasonable to project four cents per peak cell watt as eliminating any and all need for net metering and subsidies. And two cents per peak cell watt as being the "bye bye nukes" point.
As in poof. gone.
January 18, 2021
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Some of our energy tutorials can be found here..
Recent energy densities for Lithium batteries seem to be moving from 200 watthours per liter to 1200 watthours per liter
Gasoline remains waaay ahead at 9600 watthours per liter. But you have to factor in that electrical systems approach 85% efficiency, while heat engine system can at best do only around 33% because of Carnot's Law.
January 17, 2021
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Amazingly, there now is a $4 Raspberry pi!
January 16, 2021
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Apparently rectocranial inversion can simultaneously end up both acute and chronic.
January 15, 2021
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January 14, 2021
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Work is continuing slowly on our mobile friendly bajada hanging canal update. Find some progress on the latest version here. And its video here.
We are now up to 112 canal study areas, only a scant few of which have been downgraded. Latest find was the Quail Canal in Artesia. While clearly of historic use, its scale and location strongly suggests a prehistoric origin.
In general, the overwhelming majority of historic bajada canals have been "steal the plans" or "borrow the blueprints". With partial conversions being typical and several "Rosetta Stone" adaptations being quite convincing.
One exception appears to be the Roper Lake canal, which did not seem to exist before the 1950's, had partial cardinal alignments, and actually tried to cross a prehistoric Henry's Canal.
January 13, 2021
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One of the handier "rules of thumb" that sometimes apply some of the time and can be enormously useful is this: Very often, one percent of what happens nationally happens in Arizona. And one percent of what happens in Arizona happens in the Gila Valley.
Thus, roughly, there are 300 million people in the US, 3 million in AZ, and 30,000 locally. While not super accurate, this rule can quickly give you a rough estimate of an amazing variety of events or tasks. Where you otherwise may not have the faintest clue as to scale.
Naturally, the "rule" does not apply to anything with a regional bias. I suspect Thatcher has more cotton module fires than Bangor, Maine does. And that walrus attacks may be rare in Nebraska.
January 12, 2021
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Many of the entries in our Gila Valley Dayhikes or our Lesser Known Gila Dayhikes center on the Greater Bonita-Eden-Sanchez Metropolitan area.
January 11, 2021
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Secrets of Nonlinear Graphics Transforms can be found in this Classic Paper.
January 10, 2021
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"Can't miss" winning student paper of the week: Water Vapor Cooling.
When under a strong enough vacuum, water will boil at amazingly low and easily controlled temperatures. Which, when properly pumped, makes for a semiconductor heatsink with a significantly low thermal impedance. And more than likely to be the next big thing for cooling circuit hot spots.
More painless ways to scam winning student papers can be found here. But do be forewarned: one ( and only one! ) of these is bogus.
But which?
January 9, 2021
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One of my very first hobbyist linear integrated circuit projects can be found here. With lots of others here.
In which we horrifically abused a MECL distal integrated circuit to serve as an experimental ultra sideband linear amplifier! It seems that digital IC's were far ahead of linear ones at that time.
By one of those utterly astonishing coincidences that seem to infect this blog, we just happen to have some of the few ultra rare remaining MECL integrated circuits up on eBay.
Your big chance to get in ahead of the hoarders. And, when combined with their plastic carriers, they make dandy high tech fully 883 Mil Spec Compatible jewelry pendents.
January 8, 2021
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A reminder that a newly expanded list of triply compatible PostScript language Distiller-Ghost-GoogleDrive compatible programs can be found here.
And that two Google Drive workarounds for the PostScript run command is to excerpt the entire run sequence ( as per here ) or to just excerpt only the crucial needed code ( as per here ). With either demo here.
I'm still wondering if there might not be some hidden sneaky trick that allows PostScript to directly read URL files web wide instead of the usual reading of host files only limit.
If so, run could be faked by reading and cvx exec executing a file line at a time. Possible something is buried or at least abusable in the PDFMark Reference Manual. Or in the Acrobat API Web Reference. Or something in https://www.javascript.com/. Or in GhostScript.
Major beneficiaries from web wide URL PostScript reads would, of course, be our gonzo Utilities and their tutorial.. Newly allowing these thousands of programs to become fully Google compatible.
Your input welcome.
January 7, 2021
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We just relisted our developable stunning Southern Oregon Gold Hill steep to sloping spectacular view property for sale. 20 acres. Find it on Craig's List.
Price has been reduced to $157,950.This is the very last remaining single large developable property immediately adjacent to the northern Gold Hill city limits.
We have secured a full access easement for these 20 acres. Power and cable are on the property. The legal description is T36 R3W S16 Tax Lot 400. Attractive financing may be available at 25% down and 10% per year for 10 years offered through the Evergreen service.
Mid-size city amenities are twelve minutes away at Medford. The property borders directly on the town of Gold Hill. The Rogue River is very close; beaches and mountains are only an hour away.
Here's a group of photos...
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You can click expand these.
This steep to sloping parcel is immediately adjacent to the Gold Hill city limits and offers absolutely outstanding views. It is in one of the most in - demand rural areas in the country, and has really great access both to recreation and to midsize city resources. Plus superb climate, low crime, and good schools. Some zoning info here.
Here is a map. Property is the green rectangle "pointed to" by Thirteenth Street.
You also have the option of the satellite view here on Acme Mapper (mapper.acme.com), or otherwise searching around GPS N 42 43686 W 123 05781. Please note that comparable properties both to the east and west have been successfully developed.
Parcel receives 42 acre feet of precipitation per year. Gravity harvested catchments would seem feasible for a cannabis operation.
You can contact the owners directly by phoning (928) 428-4073 or else use my don@tinaja.com. Additional older photos here.
Guided tours can be arranged. While "by owner", we have hired an agent to assist us with closure since we live in Arizona. Please contact chris.marshalll@afmforest.com or call 541 664 9200.
January 6, 2021
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We are in the process of trying to make our bajada hanging canal paper more mobile friendly. It is taking longer than expected, so you can preview the progress here or find the original here.
Much more on all of our prehistoric hanging canals can be found here, here, here, and here. Or the video here.
January 5, 2021
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Director's Cuts are my method of restoring Linotype era books and stories to beyond their formal glory. Major benefits include very low file sizes, "perfect" typography and backgrounds, color addons, full URL linkings, removal of hyphens, paragraph ledding, voice and much more.
But it is time intensive and has a steep learning curve. More details here. And you can tell us about your project here. Some examples...
AACB1 "Level II" Rework
Applewriter Cookbook and
sourcecode
Fasterized Fractal Fern and sourcecode
MLPCI "Level II" Rework and sourcecode
Paleomag & Archaeomag and sourcecode
Poison Ivy in a Spray Can and source
SigForth Intro to PostScript and sourcecode
Superclock Rework
Tearing Method from Enhance I and sourcecode
Thermoluminescence and sourcecode
TVT Image Rework
Winning the Micro Game and sourcecode
January 4, 2021
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One of our really big deals at the time was our "tearing method" that literally let anyone ( even Junior High Computer Camp students ) instantly and fully analyze Apple IIe machine language programs. The method evolved totally off grid on wilderness fire towers.
The innermost secret, of course, was painting all the "60"' values green. A crucial key technique that no Apple machine language program could possibly resist without instant, utter, and total demolishment. As in RTS. Amazingly, the method is still somewhat extendible to PIC and Raspberry PI and such.
Find the original here, and our later "Director's Cut" version here and its sourcecode here.
January 3, 2021
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A listing of Adobe technical notes can be found here, along with bunches more info on the superb PostScript language.
Meanwhile, a presently still very rare and "triply compatible" Distiller - GhostScript - GoogleDrive collection of PostScript programs is being put together here.
We are working on getting bunches more PostScript programs fully compatible. At present, only the tiniest subset of all PostScript will work at all on Google Drive. Your input welcome.
January 2, 2021
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Had the McAfee firewall behave erratically. Instead of allowing most of Google ( including our ARA video ) , it returned an "Unable to connect to network" message.
The temporary workaround was to shut off the firewall for fifteen minutes. But "normal" operation seems to have resumed a day or two later.
January 1, 2021
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Closed out our 2020 Blog and started a new 2021 one. Also started to make the blog menus enter as includes. It will take a long while to convert all of the blog pages to includes. Only a few are currently active.
The blog include can be viewed here and the main menu + entry include here. Note that both sequences are simply "subroutine" boilerplate and are not at all complete or "stand alone" shtml sequences.
December 31, 2020
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There does not yet seem to be any simple or obvious way to use PostScript's super powerful run command inside stock Google Drive.
A likely cure might end up to be to be able to run url's as well as the original host sourced files. Attempting to run url's presently generates ioerrors. PostScript, of course, significantly predated web anything.
Meanwhile, two workarounds are to excerpt only what is necessary from the intended run file. With sourcecode here. Or to tow along everything in a complete copy of the intended run file. With sourcecode here.
When using our Gonzo Utilities and their tutorial. a full copy would add around 84K to your file length. But possibly only a few K for excerpts.
With everybody skipping the terabyte revolution to go on to the petabyte one, an extra 84K here or there might not seem that big a deal anymore.
Many more triply Distiller-Ghost-GoogleDrive compatible files here.
December 30, 2020
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Our free Gonzo Utilities ( code here, tutorial here ) include a PostScript dictionary chock full of tools to (1) create amazingly short fully human readable code, (2) do outstanding typography, (3) build up superb tech illustrations, (4) dramatically improve bitmaps, and (5) provide assorted utility routines.
Here's a 10x grid example...
%!PS
%10X Gonzo layout grid
(C:/Users/Don/Desktop/gonzo.psl) run
50 50 10 setgrid
45 65 showgrid
showpage
%EOF
Be sure you correctly host link your Gonzo copy! Run this in Distiller via your secret command line incantation of //acrodist /F, directly in GhostScript, or in Google Drive by towing along either all of 85K Gonzo or just its 1200 or so bytes worth of setgrid, showgrid, and all of its fatterborder, fat5, fatter10 and thingridline supporting operators.
Find free Gonzo here, its tutorial here, the reference manual here, and a video here. Many more triply compatible Google Drive examples can be found here. More on PostScript here, more Beginner's Projects here, and a great heaping bunch of PS apps here.
December 29, 2020
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Time for our usual end-of-year predictions...
Arrogant and abysmal herd stupidity
clearly making covid much worse and
dragging its kicking and screaming out
much longer.
Legislation to spank errant politicians and
send them to bed without any supper to
continue remaining
stuck in legislative
committee.
A temporary stalling of pv price drops due
to its finally beginning to approach long
term renewability and sustainability. But to
be dramatically decreased "real soon now"
by emerging Perovskite technology.
Stunning advances in drone sizes and
costs rendering border walls utterly
ludicrous. Especially for F150 tethered
drones.
The sudden elimination of the unintended
consequence federal marijuana subsidies
and farm price supports reducing prices
down under the 59 cents per pound range.
With tax revenues dropping a tad, perhaps
only by four or five orders of magnitude.
Cotton and marijuana farmers standardizing
on 500 pound bales. With anything less
being "personal use".
Advancing conversion of coal fired power
plants into singles bars.
Stunning breakthroughs in quantum
computing making highly disrupting
cryptocurrency value generation nearly
free and mind boggling fast.
Dramatic improvements in presently
terrible HVAC. In theory the SEER
max is 300 or a COP of 120.
Hangnails becoming a qualifying
condition for medical marijuana.
The latest in nootropics going well
beyond placebos and possibly even
impacting Alzheimers
Significant improvements in Google
Drive getting able to not choke on
PostScript.
Increasing climatic and weather
variability,
along with the size and frequency of highly
outrageous fires. All clearly caused by
human activity. As to the deniers, they
better hope and pray that it is in fact human
caused, because otherwise it will be a lot
harder to fix.
December 28, 2020
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Yesterday's exploration of N 32.84634 W 109.81887 added significant credibility to it being a genuine and valid prehistoric canal.
But its proposed long and potentially spectacular route all the way from Cluff Ponds has some glaring and unsolved "holes" in it. As does its unknown destination. Despite dozens of research visits.
Your participation welcome.
Much more on all of our prehistoric hanging canals can be found here, here, here, here, and a video here.
December 27, 2020
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Managed to make an update of our Word Frequency Analyzer triply Distiller-GhostScript-GoogleDrive compatible. Find the new sourcecode here, a demo here, and the older original tutorial here.
The main issues were redefining print commands that output to the .log file with printx ones that output to the main .pdf page. And, because of some unexplained odd behavior with Null Encode, replacing it with a friendlier but cruder routine.
A bunch of additional recently triply compatible programs appear here.
December 26, 2020
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I was under the impression that I had completely ran out of credible new places to put our prehistoric Bajada hanging canal discoveries. But the Quail Canal #108 study area just cropped up on Acme Mapper.
This is an artesian driven ( in, of all places, Artesia Arizona ) mile long plus class canal. It seems to have dried up, but once went from an artesian well northeast to a decent sized pond. As with many of the historic canals, this one credibly seems to have "stole the plans" from a prehistoric origin.
The origin of which is suggested but not yet proven. It is on posted private land, so I was unable as yet to get any images or contact the landowners or their family historians. Your input welcome.
More on all of our prehistoric hanging canals can be found here, here, here, here, and a video here.
December 25, 2020
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Apparently GhostScript and Google Drive treat PostScript's Null Encode filter somewhat differently from Distiller. At least they were returning odd lower random counts in our ongoing word frequency code explorations.
So, this "Golly Gee Mister Science" mind bogglingly cute and exotic code to convert an array to a string...
/makestring {dup length string dup
/NullEncode filter3 -1 roll {1 index exch
write} forall pop} def
...got replaced with this crude version that works here just fine...
/makestring {/arr exch store arr length
string /target exch store 0 1 arr length 1 sub
{ /posn exch store arr posn get /curval exch
store target posn curval put } for target} store
Much more on PostScript's string and array manipulation here.
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