Subj : Re: Slimmed down Debian To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Sun Jun 21 2020 17:56:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: > Hi Ky! > > > KM> These durn two-legged stools.... > > I wonder if that's why it was so cheap?! > KM> 30% off!! > > If a three-legged stool closer to one-third! I left a stump, in case it falls over. :) > > KM> This could be... which reminds me, ExplainingComputers has > > KM> another RPi video today. He's a very pleasant chap and has a way > > KM> of making stuff easily understood. > > I'll take a look some time. One thing I hope he explains and reminds > > frequently is with the RPI 4 to use the HDMI port nearest the power > > connector -- the other port won't give sound if the first one is empty. > > I'm not the first one to have had that simple problem. > KM> Leave him a comment about it! > Probably would do more 'as appropriate' as opposed to out of the blue. He reads 'em all, so... > ..I'll have to find out why there are two HDMI ports. Handy for some > usages, but multiple monitors doesn't seem to be super-popular even with > 'regular'home use. Not uncommon, just doesn't seem to be common. No idea, other than I suppose one use for these things is as a splitter for security monitors. > > KM> Sound policy! > > alsa or Pulseaudio?! > KM> Whichever one doesn't crash! > Ummm, both do with the cymbals sounds. ...Yeah: weak joke. My Windows exit sound used to be breaking glass... WAV file came with WordPerfect6 for DOS! > > AFAIK nothing was using the USB port at the time the backup was being > > made via Ethernet. (The original way when the CPU overheated.) USB > > devices were connected just because they were connected during the day > > but were not in active use. > KM> No, I mean does the network chip also send data through the > KM> southbridge? I'd guess it does, and that heated up the chip, and > KM> the system. > Oh. My guess is yes, though reading about Southbridge so do USB stuff. > LIS my guess is the regular backup was using a lot more CPU cycles > because creating a condensed file with numerous files zipped into the > one storage file, whereas the USB backup was a simply copy: just move > the data, not work on it too. Moving data being that chip's job, that seems to be what heats it up -- guessing it's a per-request thing rather than purely size. ZIP might have been hard work in the olden daze, not so much for modern PCs. > Your turn to check! I'm sort of chuckling to myself on this end as I > remebber the manual and I think even the promotional literature for my > original computer, the DEC Rainbow 100, specifically stated which > function was done by what CPU: video and memory by the first, floppy > drives by the second, that type of thing. Very out inthe open. Now we > have to dig down into hard-to-find manuals. Woah, that's specific!! > KM> Nice when the holes are convenient! you'd think it'd be a > KM> Generally Good Idea if only for better venting under the CPU, but > KM> it's far from universal. > > Yes, though I took the lack of access as more for RFI shielding. (It > doesn't have to be anywhere near right for it to make sense to me > sometimes!) I don't like these plexiglas cases exactly for that reason -- lack of shielding. Of mine only Silver's has plexi panels, and some year they'll get broken and I'll find some sheet tin to rivet into the spots. Really good case otherwise, but lordy, gamers and their desire to show off their guts... > KM> In my observation, more fins too close is better than too few > KM> fins far apart. Tho I don't know what's optimal; surely some > KM> engineer has done the math. > And some green-visored bookkeeper has done the math and taken away the > efficiency for having more profit! Likely so... more fins uses more metal and costs more! [PIs] > Hey! My "could be the truth/sounds good to me" finally gets a little > validation! Quite sure there are other small/tiny board computers > out there which are more efficient for some of the jobs I'm having the > RPi do, as you indicated, Sometimes being more familiar with one > brand/style is more efficient. The very inexpensive Raspberry Zero > would probably be a better choice for a few projects around here, just > means potentially more cases, power supplies, etc., to stock. Yeah, there's something to be said for settling on a standard and sticking to it... like, not having to relearn from scratch! > > KM> Oh, for that you just need two poles and a rope (mechanical > > KM> winch). > > I don't think I know any Polish people! > KM> Well then, you'll just have to stay in that hole! > > "Lassie! Get Pa!" Pa! what are you doing in this hole?? > > Why? Carbon monoxide doesn't smell! If the generator was placed in > KM> Supposedly not, but actually it does have a sort of dirty-damp > KM> scent. (Then again, I'm somewhere waaaaaaay over beyond > KM> Supertaster, which is also Supersmeller...) > > Makes sense. Could be most people are unable to sense CO or you react > to the CO and get that musty smell reaction. There have been times Yeah, so long as I'm alerted, I don't care why! Kept smelling something I didn't like... discovered a rotted-out flue under the house... well, that explains it! (Replaced along with the furnace that died last winter.) > (rare) when I went sniffing as "something wasn't right". The CO > Detector didn't trigger, but then it's one of those ones without the > level display -- I'm going back to that type when this one expires. Level display does sound better. > > KM> I must have a dozen, if not more. But I don't bother removing > > KM> them, and PCLOS, being a rolling release, gets updates more or > > KM> less continuously. > > That might be part of the reason why you have so many. > KM> Likely so! new one a couple days ago. Along with updating just > KM> about everything else. > All new! All improved! Now back to the drawing board to fix those > problems the fix of the old problems created!! And that's how it went. Something in the installs from this year is messing up kioslave, whatever that is, so can't do disk anything. My old install does not have the problem even after updates. (Keeping fingers, toes, eyes, and wires crossed...) > KM> Actually, am having trouble finding something that agrees to > KM> install on Fireball; Windows everything whines about the BIOS not > KM> being compliant (it was a Win7 workstation, you ninny!) tho PCLOS > KM> runs just fine... > > Not sure if this is of any help: > https://www.linux.org/threads/i-cant-install-linux.12399/ Nope... I can install linux on it. I can install Win10 on it. (Apparently the board has an embedded license, as W10 auto-activated itself.) I can run a 'portable' Win7 on it, but Win7 will not install. Given its intended job as fileserver (cuz native SAS ports) I'd really rather have XP64 on it, but may not be in the cards. Speaking of disk support... I'm wondering how I partitioned the NVMe on a Win7 setup when Win7 does not natively support NVMe, and the hotfix to support it has been killed off. BUT! I found a patch and driver that work on XP64. Tada! http://doomgold.com/pcstuff/NVMe.rar > More for Linux installation issues because of motherboard manufacturer > issues but could give a clue to get around the Microsoft installation > problem. Nope, doesn't seem to apply. And my response to "linux won't install" has always been to throw out that distro and find another one. > KM> So you were good whether you wanted to be or not. whip> > > I odn't know how much food training I would have done should > she have been of proper weight: treats are expensive, not something I'd > carry around just for fun, and to me positive re-inforcement sometimes Oh, it's been all the rage for some time. And now we have a generation of ill-mannered brats that we never had before. Cuz gods forbid that you ever make Poopsie FEEL bad. (Negative reinforcement is rather more important than positive, but try telling the feelgood crowd that.) > needs to be done on-the-fly and a "you did good" voicing and neck rub > sort of thing might be all that's available. Sort of thinking simply > going for a walk, no real need to bring along treats (sort of defeating Yeah, there's the thing... a treat is a bribe. If there's something else more interesting, or the bribe is not to be had, the response is likely to be "screw you". Also, in nature the underling gives the treat to the boss, who then may decide to graciously share -- so treat-based training confuses good dogs, and with outlaws just reinforces their notion that they're the boss. Main reason it 'works' with today's robotic obedience and agility dogs is because they're kept a bit starved, so will do anything-for-food. > the purpose!), going to cross the street and the dog sits in front of my > path, preventing me from being squished by a car. Well, you'd hope > KM> (Similarly, repeat breedings in dogs are never the same quality, > KM> and sometimes very different... well, here's an explanation. > I'm in computer mode: thinking analog vs. digital duplication! LOL, if only!! > KM> There may actually be truth in the old contention that a > KM> crossbreeding forever ruins the dam.) May also affect the male's > KM> future offspring, depending on the degree of exposure to the > KM> female's immune factors (dogs get a lot via the 'tie') and which > KM> sperm get advantaged or disadvantaged by it. > > Makes sense: the coupling activity is not just one direction. I would > assume the reasoning behind the slight changes is to maintain a > diversity in the line (not sure if 'lineage' is correct): Darwin type > stuff: this option is good in this enviro ment but not so good in a > slight variance, so excat duplication in offspring isn't a good idea. Actually the other way around. "Diversity" is probably the most abused concept in all of biology. When wild animals were actually DNA-profiled, turned out they were far more genetically homogeneous than domestic animals -- on average the wild types were 25% inbred, while dogs, perhaps the most inbred of all domestic species, average somewhere in the 3 to 8% range. (D'ya really think that buck CARES that half those does are his daughters and/or half-sisters??) How you can not know this just from looking... in a herd of 100 wild deer, you'll be hard pressed to pick one out, because they all look exactly alike. But 100 dogs, even of the same breed, will look like 100 different dogs. Fact is domestic breeding preserves tons of genes that in nature would be Darwined away. And yeah, wild species often have coping issues if conditions change, or if a new disease comes through. Deer are a great example of this, what with the mass die-offs that happen when they get too overpopulated. Ditto rabbits. > > KM> Lego PCs :) > > Maybe the next one I'll call 'Eggo'! (Le'go my Eggo. ...Wrong one!) > KM> Hahaha -- that ad always makes me wonder about the relationship > KM> between waffles and Legos :D > Waffles generally don't have the outies so don't stack securely. Ah, that explains why the Waffle House fell down! > > KM> Our usual method being to just Make S#1t up. :D > > As long as it sounds plausible! We just need to post to a website to > > make it valid! > KM> Is that how it works? I shall proceed to post everything I wish > KM> to be true. Ky is a billionaire. Ky was just appointed dictator > KM> for life. > > We're assuming 'billionaire' was referring to a currency and not > ownership of a billion grass clippings! Oh, that I already have... and five lawn mowers in various stages of worn out. Did you know there are whole communities of folks who collect lawn mowers? :) > And if you're a benevolent dictator might not be all that bad. I often say, "When I become dictator" just before espousing some excellent policy. > KM> Yeah, for another $25 I'd get the extra 4GB, assuming all else > KM> equal. But I do like the idea of all those in the same generation > KM> being cross-compatible -- simplifies rolling out a bunch of > And so far an inexpensive kit seems to be cheaper and easier than > buying the wallwart power supply, sub-HDMI to HDMI cable, the case -- > seems like another item or two but essentially those little necessary > parts. WAAAAY too many parts. > > KM> Something Went Wrong!! :O > > That sounds like a Windows error message! > KM> Actually, that's the official MacOS error message!! > > ======================= > = Whoops! = > = We made a boo-boo! = > ======================= > Oh, we KNOW that's not an Apple error.. they would never admit that "We" made a boo-boo!! > KM> KM> parts sitting in my driveway> > So am I as I haven't looked for 'em yet! Haha... I don't know what 'treasures' I need, but I'm sure there must be some. > > Ha-ha - yes! Some times it's I know it's around here some place -- was > > in a blue box..... > KM> At least you color-coded your junk before you lost it! > > Pretty good for a guy who's somewhat colour-blind! Have switched most > of my storage to Banker's Boxes ==> more consistent size easier to stack > and store. Some will have boxes with the box, so looking for that blue > box still is a clue. Have been labelling in a temporary/permanent > manner: half a sheet of 8«"x11" paper, fold in half the long way and rip > that in half, fold the piece in half and use a thicker felt tip pen to > make a general list: "audio cables", though video cables are separated > by VGA as got a ton and a small box (not a Banker's Box - yet!) for HDMI > and DVI, plus the HDMI couplers. Detailing of the contents depends how > assorted the contents is. I need to do something like that, instead of "overflowing boxes sitting in the middle of the floor, apparently full of very thin snakes during mating season". > As for my laser printer I am on my second set (first set was the initial > starter set). I've got another 1,000 pages to go before considering > buying replacement magenta -- other two have about 1500+ pages and the > black guessing 3,000. I have a color laser I picked up cheap (with extra carts) but haven't got around to setting it up... ended up less motivated than I expected. Wireless so main thing is finding an outlet... scarce in this house. > As for your HP driver, not a good attitude on their part and could cost > them sales. Oh yeah, did not make me happy at all. But they still have 35 year old HPLJ2 drivers on their site, probably cuz lawyers use 'em, and lawyers can create much more grief... I did not remind whoever I was arguing with. But that nice wide-carriage printer will not be useful, instead will someday be deemed clutter and go into the trash, and if I ever need another, will buy some other brand. (It was free, but still.) > > And I've kept other older stuff just because of having older computers: > > why get rid of a daughtercard or whatever just to end up maybe needing > > it later? > KM> THIS!!! no matter what you deem too outdated to keep and > KM> therefore throw away, THAT will be the next weird thing you need > KM> and can't find!!! > Yup! Years ago I repaired a pole lamp for one of the kids using a > plastic part leftover from a toilet repair kit (!). Congrats, here's your Proper Midwesterner Badge > Heatsink sounds like a very good idea, along with maybe a strip of > asbestos insulation if flush against the motherboard. (Asbestos?! Yeah > - from the odds and ends box we've been fill with "throw that junk out!" > stuff for years!!) Haha, yeah... junk you can't buy anymore gets suddenly valuable! > > Hadn't head about Gnome and the swipe thing -- we have to get touch > > screens now or right_click and move? (semi-joke). Might be in 20.04, > > I'm at 18.04. > KM> Oh, I mean the way the desktop operates, where you don't have > KM> static icons, you have a display that you crank back and forth. > KM> Drives me to drink. > Oh, that! yes, I've occasionally done something to scroll my display to > another window. I think it's Settings > Display > number of windows. > Obviously I haven't changed it! ...Took a quick look, that's not right. > Maybe I was thinking the Raspberry Pi. Not desktops; how the icons are displayed. Drives me mad. I think there are supposed to be four desktops, even if I never use 3 of 'em. I like the OpenBox names for 'em: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. > > But Microsoft _never_ steals nor does underhanded things like that! > KM> Well, technically you can't 'steal' opensource... I don't think > KM> it would be a good move, tho, and not only because having > KM> alternative ecosystems is generally a good thing. Switching their > KM> codebase to linux is what basically killed Novell -- they went > KM> from having an utterly unique product to being just another Linux > KM> also-ran, which sealed the company's fate. > > Yup: would seem like using open source code (Free BSD?) would make what > makes Windows unique just another version. Yeah... of course MacOS is really mangled BSD, but Apple users generally have too few clues to know that. And BSD doesn't require 'giving back' altered source code (being rather more truly free than the GPL), so Apple can hide what they're doing. Linux base, tho, would require source be made available, since the M/a/r/x/i/s/t/ GPL license requires that. > KM> Oh, going down ain't so fun either... mower wants to run away > KM> from me! But yeah, sideways part, the mower has to be full of gas > KM> or it stalls out. > Mow with the tank on the other side! Actually I do have to do that! > > > > .. If say "I always lie", am I lying? > > KM> Yes. No. > > True! > KM> False! > Um, "X"? Marks the spot. þ RNET 2.10U: ILink: Techware BBS þ Hollywood, Ca þ www.techware2k.com --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .