Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • short takes, 2025-03-26

    My late husband, also a teacher, called this "being a dick." He hated the first two weeks of school "because I have to be a dick," meaning he had to lay down the law, enforce it constantly, and not smile while he did it.

  • The X-Files' "Kill Switch" is still horror, but in a completely different way

    I rewatched the X-Files episode "Kill Switch" last night (S05E11). The tech is quaint (45 Mb/s download speeds! 64-bit encryption! CD-ROMs!), but what really struck me is how the horror of the episode is completely different in 2025 than it was in 1998. I saw "Kill Switch" when it first aired. Back then, we feared the things the episode asserts we should fear. Computerized sentience that turns malevolent. Machines with their own agendas. Byers pronouncing "Linux" as "Lie-nux." (That last one doesn't happen in "Kill Switch," but it does happen, and I will never forgive the writers for it.)

    Watching "Kill Switch" today raises a whole new horror: We are so accustomed to computers invading our privacy and eliminating our security that the characters' actions in "Kill Switch" make almost no sense.

  • Bloated and Vomitous

    By means of almost universal contrast, I am in the exceedingly *American* city of Orlando at the moment, albeit sitting on Jeremy's sofa and thus not exposed to the elements in the dreaded exterior, within which one could waste away in any number of seconds. I don't write about the decimating plague that has wiped most of the population from the east cost of the *states*, but of the stifling heat that staunches any impetus for creativity.

    Unfortunately, I'll arrive to Praha in June during the mere beginning of its *hot* season. Oh, I'll suffer! However, I'll also exist in a sort of hazy bliss for the first few weeks. It will be the sensation of being back *at home*. Praha always yields that sensation. Logroño did, as well, for years, but I think it was more because of the specific people who lived in Logroño rather than the place itself. If I'm ever there again, I'll have to make note of the suffusion of sensation (or lack thereof).

    In any case, by means of almost universal contrast, I'm in the exceedingly *American* city of Orlando where any number of *stereotypes* one picks up about various "types" of American humans comes to life like a surreal comedy skit as one strolls the streets and parks.

• Science

  • Stargazing 2025-03-24 Fairbanks, AK, USA: Wide Field, Aurora (publ. 2025-03-26)

    On Monday morning we had clear skies, and I had about 30 minutes to spare before needing to get ready for work. The temperature was +20 deg F. I decided to start with naked eye stargazing, thinking I could go back in and get the binoculars if there was a target I wanted to focus on. Something new for me is that I have started carrying around a small notebook and pen, so that I can easily make quick astronomical, botanical, or other observations as desired.

• Technology and Free Software

  • Notes on blocking spam by filtering on ASN

    So now that I can classify IP (Internet Protocol) addresses by ASN (Autonomous System Number) [1], I thought I might see how it could help with spam email. I'm already using an ansi-spam agent [2] to cut down on spam, so maybe filtering by ASN could cut down even more. The last time I looked into additional means of spam avoidance, the use of SPF (Sender Policy Framework) wasn't worth the effort [3].