Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Danger? 🚰

    In the instruction booklet that came with a travel kettle there were several safety warnings. Most of them were the kind of thing you'd expect.

  • Feeling Inhuman

    I believe that I am no longer human. I, of course, retain my humanity; however, I feel as if I am no longer human today. Why is it that I feel this way? I do not know. Perhaps I am touched with melancholia today. Perhaps I do not have any time to do that which I feel inclined to do? Perhaps it is a combination of everything. All I can say for sure, today, is that I don't feel quite right.

• Politics and World Events

  • Rebutting Pascal's Wager

    In which I discuss the classic argument for believing in God known as Pascal's Wager, and refute both it and related arguments by discussing unconsidered, related possibilities.

    One of my leading mantras is that I am but only one man, with but a small window of experience into the Earth and the universe beyond, and the wide sea of humanity that inhabits it. I wouldn't call myself a religious person, but I do find religion and belief fascinating, and I enjoy hearing about people's beliefs, traditions, and ideals. I am willing to hear out and discuss many a religious or spiritual argument - many times, I have something I can learn, and even if I don't, then unless you're unambiguously hurting people, I'm usually happy to just live and let live.

• Technology and Free Software

  • Palm computering

    In august I wrote about my Palm LifeDrive. I have since done the "surgery" to replace the internal micro drive with a compact flash card, and it went off mostly without any issues. The program I used is called Powerdrive: https://palmpowerups.com/readarticle.php?article_id=10

    The one issue I did have was user error: when prompted to set the amount of RAM I mistakenly put 1Gb, which is far too much since PalmOS programs are mostly only kilobytes in size. It was easy enough to redo though, and now with a CF card the unit runs a bit faster (rebooting doesn't take 2 minutes anymore) and longer (easier on the battery.)

  • Further Exploration of Slide Rules

    I continue to experience delays in getting my THAT analog computer. To make a long story short, I finally figured out how to submit a duty dispute request to UPS, which is the process for getting tariff-related problems corrected, but I was told that they are so backed up, that the process would take at least three months. I opted instead to have the package returned to sender. I'm hoping to get Anabrid to re-send the unit, maybe with the copper cables removed.

    Meanwhile, I continue to explore slide rules. Through donations from various friends, I now have a collection of four different straight-edge slide rules, as well a few specialized slide-rule like computers made out of cardboard or thin plastic. The one currently within arms reach is a miniature Deci-Lon 5 slide rule from Keuffel & Esser Co, which has 26 scales, if we include the C and D scales which are repeated on both sides.

  • Programming

    • Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist

      Some time ago, I wrote about my journey into Ruby and how "The Well-Grounded Rubyist" helped me to get a better understanding of the language. I took a lot of notes while reading the book, and I think it's time to share some of them. This is not a comprehensive review, but rather a collection of interesting tidbits and concepts that stuck with me.