Subj : Various Things (1) To : Daryl Stout From : Barry Martin Date : Sun Mar 05 2023 08:13:00 Hi Daryl! BM> Right now it's just after breakfast and it that cheesecake would not BM> stand a chance! DS> I've known folks who eat pizza for breakfast (I resemble that DS> remark) . I did that occasionally during college; now the leftover slice or two becomes my lunch. BM> As for the Raspberry Pi's, yes, quite a few but part of the reasoning BM> is compatability. Intended as an inexpensive option to get kids BM> computers (originally something like $5 - $35 -- and grab extra BM> keyboards, mice) they were also used by business: some applications BM> didn't need a $500 computer to do something like an assembly line BM> process, And so it was found the $5 and $10 versions of the Raspberry BM> Pi were more than capable. DS> These folks think everyone's flush with cash...that's the DS> lobbyists and politicians in Washington. I dare them to try DS> to survive on "the mere pittance" I get each month. Well up to the creation of the Raspberry Pi I can't think of a super low-cost computer. At the time the smaller/more compact something was the higher the cost became. BM> So what's this got to do with compatibility? Stuff wears out, gets BM> damaged. I'm guessing sometimes there is a lack of extra space and so BM> a RPi Pico which is around half the width of a deck of cards cannot be BM> replaced by the current RPi 4 which is about the size of a deck of BM> cards. And so the Raspberry Pi folks made the decision to keep the old BM> models. DS> It's the law of entropy...sooner more than later, in this life, DS> things are doomed to fail. Definitely. One reason I have spares -- well, for some things! Don't have a spare house and as you indicated above sometimes not a spare $5. Have had computers suddenly fail -- not lock up, outright become non- functional (why am I thinking the Parrot Sketch from Monty Python?!). BM> Right. There are times when the cheap version would be satisfactory, BM> of course. I have some 'yuck!' keyboards -- some came with a computer. BM> Those keyboards had a bad feel but for a while I was using them with BM> the MythTV Frontends if that computer refused to boot with just a BM> wireless keyboard. Plugged in the junk keyboard, stored it behind the BM> computer. Boot: "I see that junk keyboard and so will continue booting BM> and load the wireless keyboard eventually". DS> As long as it works, and is of reasonable quality, I don't DS> care. I have a few preferences: keypress pressure, layout.... Plainness(!): the RGB keyboards I would find distracting. BM> Good test of motor skills: grasp the banana without squishing, removal BM> of the peel. Maybe also cognative: don't discard on to the tile floor! DS> They might slip on it if they try to peel away in escape. Can't give the cops the slip that way! BM> In the 70's I flew on a few 'puddle jumpers' DS> The life jackets are the airlines complimentary "itsy bitsy DS> teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini"...one size fits all. Those DS> are for use if the flight captain decides to land near a hot tub DS> (the ocean). Some floatation assistance would be better than none! BM> Hmmm: a four-way go! That could be interesting! DS> Especially when you try to explain it to your insurance DS> company. Some time back I read where there was an accident caused because both light sets were green. Don't recall how it was proven. BM> The forecast for tomorrow (Friday March 3) is up in the air (no pun BM> intended): apparently the NWS has issued a winter storm warning from BM> Chicago to about 70 miles west -- they might get up to a foot of snow. BM> I'm about 100 miles further west and the current forecast is for rain BM> or half-inch of snow to 2-3 inches of snow, depending on the track. DS> We got thunderstorms and flooding rain here (I'm high enough DS> where flash flooding isn't an issue), but there were numerous DS> reports of tornadoes, very large hail, damaging winds, and flash DS> flooding...across the Arklatex, Arklamiss, and MidSouth, from DS> Thursday afternoon into Friday morning. There were some "dead DS> spots" in radar coverage from the National Weather Service, and DS> it was only through spotter/chaser reports/videos, that tornado DS> warnings were issued. Texarkana and Shreveport, among many other DS> areas, got hit. The forecast storm for Friday super-fizzled -- drizzled a bit in the afternoon and that was it. Seems like your section of the country is getting nasty storms; southern California snow -- caught the last half of a news segment showing several feet of snow somwhere in California. My Mother in southern New Hampshire got about a foot Friday and Saturday. She was complaining hadn't been plowed out yet and had a doctor's appointment Monday morning. (I was thinking they have all day Sunday and most of Monday morning to plow but she went on to a different topic.) BM> Some sort of weather tomorrow (Friday), nice for the weekend, rainy on BM> Monday, decent but cool for the rest of the week.... DS> I looked at the extended GFS (the Goofus Model ), and if DS> (that's a huge IF) it verifies, we could see a mid-March winter DS> storm here. But, more than 5 days out, I'll take it with a grain DS> of salt. That salt could be handy to provide a bit of traction to the mailbox! Here they're predicting for Monday (tomorrow as I type) a minor storm -- rain less than a tenth of an inch; don't recall anything about windy. For some reason a big concern about this tenth of an inch, and yes, what they said and the map displayed verifying the 0 to 0.1 inch. I think I'm stuck on why the big whoop over such a tiny amount; would be a concern if the local rivers were flooding. ....Thursday night and Friday they've talking about snow. DS> However, at this typing, except for a few bags of DS> microwave popcorn, I have no food here. While my disability DS> payment arrived yesterday, I didn't get a chance to order any DS> food...as I was up into early Friday morning, texting weather DS> updates to friends. So, I basically was exhausted...and insomnia DS> (not weather) has me up tonight. I have got to get back on a DS> regular sleep schedule somehow. I'm thinking getting some food would have been a priority but then I've also have been super-involved in a project and neglect other important stuff. DS> I guess I'll have to order from Grubhub later today. A fellow DS> area BBS Sysop is picking me up to do lunch at a local Denny's DS> Sunday morning (we will go Dutch Treat). But, it'll give me a DS> chance to get out of the house, and away from the computer for a DS> bit. Your computer will miss you! Bring back a pancake and feed via the DVD drive! BM> There are times it would be handy to have a notification like that here BM> but with what I have isn't going to work. Well, would work but would BM> undo some other monitoring. ...Could do two more cameras (and BM> Raspberry Pi's!) just for 'pinpoint' monitoring -- naaa! DS> I also have a camera with the alarm system, and an intercom DS> with the doorbell camera. But, if my internet/wi-fi is down, I DS> can't view photos from either of them. Wait! Let me get my Polaroid! LIS in some other message a while back, the monitoring system here is something I put together and so has good and bad points. Camera placement: could be better. Use windows (the glass things, not the software!) as not all that interested in drilling holes in the house, plus where those cameras would be placed running cables would be a problem. Solar power would be a consideration except shady on the driveway side of the house and over the years mediocre results with solar-powered items. Plus over the years nothing has really happened to warrent professional coverage. BM> So the mosquito population could be exterminated by keeping the males BM> sober?! DS> That'd be something to celibate (pun intended). BM> Stay in bed and debris could fly through your roof! DS> If your structure takes a direct hit from a tornado, it's DS> gone... especially if it's rated "strong to violent". A lot of "it depends": when the derecho hit a few years back the wind was coming from the west; neighbour (to the west) had a tree snap about 15 feet from the base and blown into my yard. Tall enough would have hit the house but it flew a bit and landed diagonally (to the SE) and missed everything. ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... March 4, 1872: the Boston Globe publishes its first issue. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .