I only used SQL to do the initial selection - and then more custom
code to go through/organize that. Table-joins and the rest are just
too evil. No "simple" once you get to that junk (and it's SLOW too).
Dump the initial find to a file and use 'C' to go on from there.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 01:19:38 -0500, c186282 wrote:
I only used SQL to do the initial selection - and then more custom
code to go through/organize that. Table-joins and the rest are just
too evil. No "simple" once you get to that junk (and it's SLOW too).
Dump the initial find to a file and use 'C' to go on from there.
We had a person who handcrafted a query using a wide range of DB2 scalar functions. I have no idea how many hours it took and it kept growing. I
don't remember the DB2 version but it broke on some sites where the DB2 version had a 4k limit rather than the later 8k.
I knew what it was supposed to do but I didn't have a clue how it did it.
The idea was to provide configurable queries that a user could modify for their needs but that one got handed down to generations of support people untouched. That was the case for a lot of the 'configurable' reports. It would have been easier to hard code the reports.
I wrote an "unlimited sorting levels" function once for Revelation DB
... pretty compact ... and not long afterwards I could NOT figure out
how it worked. It *did*
work though. Sometimes ya just get 'in the zone' when writing code
and maybe yer head can't get back there later on ?
The 'configurable' stuff ... sometimes you get a sort of next-level
idea that SOUNDS great, but by the time you really get into it then
it WOULD be just easier to write one-off reports or whatever.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 07:55:08 -0500 c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
The 'configurable' stuff ... sometimes you get a sort of next-level
idea that SOUNDS great, but by the time you really get into it then it
WOULD be just easier to write one-off reports or whatever.
There's probably a corollary to Zawinski's Law about programs expanding
to the point where every behavior is configurable (except the one thing
you really *need* to configure...)
It is 4KW. 4096 = 1024 * 4 = 4 * 2^10.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 20:54:32 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:56:27 +0100, Andreas Eder wrote:
It is 4KW. 4096 = 1024 * 4 = 4 * 2^10.
That’s 4kiW. Kibiwords, not kilowords.
If you care enough to bother differentiating, sure.
There's probably a corollary to Zawinski's Law about programs expanding
to the point where every behavior is configurable (except the one thing
you really *need* to configure...)
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:52:24 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
You don’t see the difference as important?
Not at all! I'm just capable of inferring the correct value from context without needing a separate unit term.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:53:38 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or later
be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it.
Ristretto is ~18 years old by now, and there's still no option to
disable its Windows Picture & Fax Viewer-esque "index the whole
directory on launch" behavior. There are multiple threads on r/xfce
about the performance penalties this imposes when viewing images from large-ish directories.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:30:51 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or
later be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it.
Ristretto is ~18 years old by now, and there's still no option to
disable its Windows Picture & Fax Viewer-esque "index the whole
directory on launch" behavior. There are multiple threads on r/xfce
about the performance penalties this imposes when viewing images from
large-ish directories.
Obviously nobody cares. At least, nobody with any ability to offer a
fix.
So your argument is that all problematic Free Software limitations get
fixed, except for the ones that don't get fixed, which are, ipso facto,
not problematic, even when they cause well-documented and oft-discussed problems?
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:35:00 -0800, John Ames wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:30:51 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or
later be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it.
Ristretto is ~18 years old by now, and there's still no option to
disable its Windows Picture & Fax Viewer-esque "index the whole
directory on launch" behavior. There are multiple threads on r/xfce
about the performance penalties this imposes when viewing images from
large-ish directories.
Obviously nobody cares. At least, nobody with any ability to offer a
fix.
So your argument is that all problematic Free Software limitations get
fixed, except for the ones that don't get fixed, which are, ipso facto,
not problematic, even when they cause well-documented and oft-discussed
problems?
I figure, if a problem affects something like 100 people, then one of
those 100 would have some programming skills to be able to offer a fix.
On 2/28/25 9:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:35:00 -0800, John Ames wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:30:51 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or
later be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it.
Ristretto is ~18 years old by now, and there's still no option to
disable its Windows Picture & Fax Viewer-esque "index the whole
directory on launch" behavior. There are multiple threads on r/xfce
about the performance penalties this imposes when viewing images
from large-ish directories.
Obviously nobody cares. At least, nobody with any ability to offer a
fix.
So your argument is that all problematic Free Software limitations get
fixed, except for the ones that don't get fixed, which are, ipso
facto,
not problematic, even when they cause well-documented and
oft-discussed problems?
I figure, if a problem affects something like 100 people, then one of
those 100 would have some programming skills to be able to offer a fix.
"Programming skills" ? More like one in 100,000 users.
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 23:02:07 -0500, c186282 wrote:
On 2/28/25 9:59 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:35:00 -0800, John Ames wrote:
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 22:30:51 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or >>>>>>> later be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it. >>>>>>Ristretto is ~18 years old by now, and there's still no option to
disable its Windows Picture & Fax Viewer-esque "index the whole
directory on launch" behavior. There are multiple threads on r/xfce >>>>>> about the performance penalties this imposes when viewing images
from large-ish directories.
Obviously nobody cares. At least, nobody with any ability to offer a >>>>> fix.
So your argument is that all problematic Free Software limitations get >>>> fixed, except for the ones that don't get fixed, which are, ipso
facto,
not problematic, even when they cause well-documented and
oft-discussed problems?
I figure, if a problem affects something like 100 people, then one of
those 100 would have some programming skills to be able to offer a fix.
"Programming skills" ? More like one in 100,000 users.
I don't know what Ristretto is but I am familiar with bug fixes, Sometimes you look at a non-critical problem that affects few users, examine the possible fixes, realize it is a gigantic black pit filled with IEDs, and assign it a priority of 5 (which in our system meant 'when hell freezes over')
And that is for commercial software that people are paying money for...
One of the problems with skilled programmers is they are adept at sniffing out rats.
All those 'C' macros and ultra-compacted unreadable lines some wags
create ... stuff we've talked about ...
that's gonna be the means and look of the code.
Consider those hard drives. The makers sold them with capacities measured
in MB and GB (and approaching TB, at that point). But the OSes reported
file sizes and available space in units they also called “kB”, “MB” and
“GB”, but were actually kiB, MiB and GiB.
OSes reported units in power of two
because that's what existed at the time. When the makers wanted to cheat
the consumers and reported the units in power of ten.
Le 28-02-2025, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> a écrit :
Consider those hard drives. The makers sold them with capacities measured
in MB and GB (and approaching TB, at that point). But the OSes reported
file sizes and available space in units they also called “kB”, “MB” and
“GB”, but were actually kiB, MiB and GiB.
In fact, it's the other way around. OSes reported units in power of two because that's what existed at the time. When the makers wanted to cheat
the consumers and reported the units in power of ten. Putting their own definitions on the units printed in very little characters.
And then some guys came saying the sellers are right, the OSes need to
change the units used from the beginning to adapt to the sellers.
In any piece of commercial software, anyone who sees such a limitation
as a bug would be rebuffed with the standard response (all together
now):
"That's not a bug, it's a feature!"
On Fri, 28 Feb 2025 09:42:15 -0800, John Ames wrote:
There's probably a corollary to Zawinski's Law about programs expanding
to the point where every behavior is configurable (except the one thing
you really *need* to configure...)
Presumably he was talking about proprietary software. In any piece of Free software, such a limitation would sooner or later be seen as a bug, and a patch would be available to fix it.
I would differentiate between the "programmer's K" and the "salesman's
K".
Le 28-02-2025, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> a écrit :
Consider those hard drives. The makers sold them with capacities measured
in MB and GB (and approaching TB, at that point). But the OSes reported
file sizes and available space in units they also called “kB”, “MB” and
“GB”, but were actually kiB, MiB and GiB.
In fact, it's the other way around. OSes reported units in power of two because that's what existed at the time. When the makers wanted to cheat
the consumers and reported the units in power of ten. Putting their own definitions on the units printed in very little characters.
And then some guys came saying the sellers are right, the OSes need to
change the units used from the beginning to adapt to the sellers.
On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 02:49:48 -0500, c186282 wrote:
All those 'C' macros and ultra-compacted unreadable lines some wags
create ... stuff we've talked about ...
that's gonna be the means and look of the code.
Can't wait. Have you ever used f2c? It converts Fortran 77 to C. The C
code compiles and works but it isn't exactly human readable.
I pref to not put the leading bracket on the same line as the 'if' or
'else' because then it's easier to pick out the block by eye - just
look for the '{' on the left.
On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 00:17:39 -0500, c186282 wrote:
I pref to not put the leading bracket on the same line as the 'if' or
'else' because then it's easier to pick out the block by eye - just
look for the '{' on the left.
I tend to put them after to make the code a little more compact. It's easy enough to bounce between the corresponding braces in vim. The exception is for complex for statements where the initialization, test, and increment
are on three lines.
When American were used to 350 cubic inch engines in their cars,
using 'CCs' generated bigger numbers and those tended to impress even
though a lot of those engines were of much smaller displacement.
Fooled enough of the people enough of the time.
On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 00:08:04 -0500, c186282 wrote:
When American were used to 350 cubic inch engines in their cars,
using 'CCs' generated bigger numbers and those tended to impress even
though a lot of those engines were of much smaller displacement.
Fooled enough of the people enough of the time.
That worked backwards when the displacement was given in liters. 428 ci sounds a lot better than 7 L.
They seemed to have died down but for a while the market was flooded with cheap Chinese knockoffs of Vespas. One proudly advertised itself as having 150 cc (of oil in the crankcase). The engine was 49 cc on a good day.
My first bike was a '55 FLH I bought at a police auction. When I called my friendly insurance man he asked what the displacement was and I said 74. "CCs?" he asked. I should have lied. The 1200 cc Sportster really is
1200; 73.35 doesn't roll of the tongue well.
When Canada went metric they blew gas mileage completely out of the
water by turning the equation upside-down, changing from miles per
gallon to litres per 100 km. You can't just apply a simple conversion factor.
On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 00:08:04 -0500, c186282 wrote:
When American were used to 350 cubic inch engines in their cars,
using 'CCs' generated bigger numbers and those tended to impress even
though a lot of those engines were of much smaller displacement.
Fooled enough of the people enough of the time.
That worked backwards when the displacement was given in liters. 428 ci sounds a lot better than 7 L.
They seemed to have died down but for a while the market was flooded with cheap Chinese knockoffs of Vespas. One proudly advertised itself as having 150 cc (of oil in the crankcase). The engine was 49 cc on a good day.
My first bike was a '55 FLH I bought at a police auction. When I called my friendly insurance man he asked what the displacement was and I said 74. "CCs?" he asked. I should have lied. The 1200 cc Sportster really is
1200; 73.35 doesn't roll of the tongue well.
When Canada went metric they blew gas mileage completely out of the
water by turning the equation upside-down, changing from miles per
gallon to litres per 100 km. You can't just apply a simple conversion factor.
My first (and only) bike was a Yamaha 80. And that was cubic
centimeters.
Flat-out down a steep hill I managed to hit 60 mph a few times.
"Sales-speak" and objective reality are two different things
Esp if selling to males, "bigger"/"stronger" is what you want to
convey to the rube ... er ... customer.
On 2025-03-02, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 00:17:39 -0500, c186282 wrote:
I pref to not put the leading bracket on the same line as the 'if' or >>> 'else' because then it's easier to pick out the block by eye - just
look for the '{' on the left.
I tend to put them after to make the code a little more compact. It's easy >> enough to bounce between the corresponding braces in vim. The exception is >> for complex for statements where the initialization, test, and increment
are on three lines.
Even there, proper indentation saves the day:
for(i = 0;
i < 10;
i++) {
printf("%d\n", i);
}
Another thing I do to make code compact is to omit the braces if
the body of the if or for is a single line. However, I won't do this
if the next line is up two or more levels, since I want everything
to be accounted for with braces. For instance:
for(i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
printf("%d\n", i);
if((i % 2) == 0) /* Omitted braces */
printf("The preceding number is even.\n");
if((i % 3) == 0) {
printf("The preceding number is a multiple of 3.\n");
} /* Don't go up two levels without braces! */
}
On Sun, 2 Mar 2025 22:43:05 -0500, c186282 wrote:
"Sales-speak" and objective reality are two different things
Esp if selling to males, "bigger"/"stronger" is what you want to
convey to the rube ... er ... customer.
Works every time. The .38 Special has a bullet diameter of .357 but .38 sounded better when selling it to the military. The later .357 Magnum went back to truth in advertising with a case 0.10 longer so you can't fire it
in a .38. 9 mm is .356 so it's about the same although the ballistics of
the three vary widely.
I had a Yamaha Seca 400 that was a hair under 400 cc to meet the European tiered licensing breakpoints. It didn't sell in the US because it was too small. I put a lot of miles on that too small bike, including a trip up to
a trailhead on a road designed for goats.
https://vividness.live/riding-solo-to-the-top-of-the-world
Great movie. At one point he's up around 18000' pushing the bike because
it won't run. He's not running very well either but he made it. It
definitely isn't a Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman trip with expensive
BMWs and a film crew.
Another thing I do to make code compact is to omit the braces if the
body of the if or for is a single line. However, I won't do this if the
next line is up two or more levels, since I want everything to be
accounted for with braces. For instance:
for(i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
printf("%d\n", i);
if((i % 2) == 0) /* Omitted braces */
printf("The preceding number is even.\n");
if((i % 3) == 0) {
printf("The preceding number is a multiple of 3.\n");
} /* Don't go up two levels without braces! */
}
Typical load was a 200gr bullet at about 620fps. It's annoying to
collectors that you can't really use the now-ubiquitous .357 bullets
lest they 'rattle down the barrel'.
On Sun, 02 Mar 2025 23:12:27 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
When Canada went metric they blew gas mileage completely out of the
water by turning the equation upside-down, changing from miles per
gallon to litres per 100 km. You can't just apply a simple conversion
factor.
I got adept at translating 100 kph road signs into mph
but I gave up completely on cents per liter of gas including the exchange rate. With Imperial gallons I figured I was getting a bargain; with liters I figured
I was getting screwed.
My first (and only) bike was a Yamaha 80. And that was cubic
centimeters.
Flat-out down a steep hill I managed to hit 60 mph a few times.
A friend had a Yamaha, a YCS1 iirc. Cute little thing, 180 cc, with
electric start, which was an oddity in the '60s. He had a comedy routine where he would shake the bike and it would miraculously start while
everyone else was kicking away.
On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 01:06:04 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Typical load was a 200gr bullet at about 620fps. It's annoying to
collectors that you can't really use the now-ubiquitous .357 bullets
lest they 'rattle down the barrel'.
Mosin Nagants have the same problem. Most of them are happier with .311
or .312 rather than the ubiquitous .308. .303 British to the rescue. The Brits measure between the lands rather than the grooves so the bullets
are .312.
In Lyudmila Pavlichenko's autobiography she refers to the Mosin as a 3-
line, a line being 0.100, or .30 caliber. The book is an interesting read. She was an active sniper but was then sent to the US on a propaganda
mission and became BFFs with Eleanor Roosevelt. The US had been reluctant
to send aid to the Soviets but she might have played a small part in convincing FDR to get off the mark. Funny how US allies come and go.
On 2025-03-03, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
On Sun, 02 Mar 2025 23:12:27 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
When Canada went metric they blew gas mileage completely out of the
water by turning the equation upside-down, changing from miles per
gallon to litres per 100 km. You can't just apply a simple conversion
factor.
I got adept at translating 100 kph road signs into mph
Me too. Being a computer nerd working in hexadecimal all the time
helped - I just read the numbers off my old miles-per-hour speedometer
as if they were hex.
but I gave up
completely on cents per liter of gas including the exchange rate. With
Imperial gallons I figured I was getting a bargain; with liters I
figured I was getting screwed.
That got a bit more complicated. 3.8 liters to the U.S. gallon, OK, but
the exchange rate muddied the waters.
On 3/3/25 2:53 AM, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 01:06:04 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Typical load was a 200gr bullet at about 620fps. It's annoying to
collectors that you can't really use the now-ubiquitous .357
bullets lest they 'rattle down the barrel'.
Mosin Nagants have the same problem. Most of them are happier with .311
or .312 rather than the ubiquitous .308. .303 British to the rescue.
The Brits measure between the lands rather than the grooves so the
bullets are .312.
Use the .303 bullets to reload the Russian ctg or rechamber the Mosin
to the Brit ctg ?
On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 12:58:14 -0500, c186282 wrote:
On 3/3/25 2:53 AM, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 01:06:04 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Typical load was a 200gr bullet at about 620fps. It's annoying to >>>> collectors that you can't really use the now-ubiquitous .357
bullets lest they 'rattle down the barrel'.
Mosin Nagants have the same problem. Most of them are happier with .311
or .312 rather than the ubiquitous .308. .303 British to the rescue.
The Brits measure between the lands rather than the grooves so the
bullets are .312.
Use the .303 bullets to reload the Russian ctg or rechamber the Mosin
to the Brit ctg ?
I reload with .303 bullets. Prvi Partizan has boxer primer brass that I reload. It was an experiment on my part of what can be done with a $75
rifle. Reloads are noticeably more accurate than surplus Bulgarian steel
case but you don't get the great balls of fire effect. They didn't skimp
on powder.
My brother had a Mosin ... I was always afraid to fire the thing,
wondered if it'd blow up. Most WERE pretty sturdy, but you always
wonder about war surplus stuff.
Never entirely happy with old wartime Enfields either,
you always wonder how many corners they cut during the crisis
........
The M95 pattern 6.5 Swedish has seen renewed popularity in the USA.
Damned good. Even some new rifles are now 6.5 - esp light/carbine
rifles. That and the 7x57 Mauser are great all-around. You don't NEED
a cannon for most needs except maybe in Alaska. There, .375H&H,
BIG bears.
On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 22:36:03 -0500, c186282 wrote:
My brother had a Mosin ... I was always afraid to fire the thing,
wondered if it'd blow up. Most WERE pretty sturdy, but you always
wonder about war surplus stuff.
Never entirely happy with old wartime Enfields either,
you always wonder how many corners they cut during the crisis
........
you probably could beat a moose to death with a Mosin and it would work
fine. My wife came equipped with a M44. That was a piece of work. Take something with a muzzle blast from hell and chop about 9" off the barrel
and add a sidewinder bayonet.
The M95 pattern 6.5 Swedish has seen renewed popularity in the USA.
Damned good. Even some new rifles are now 6.5 - esp light/carbine
rifles. That and the 7x57 Mauser are great all-around. You don't NEED
a cannon for most needs except maybe in Alaska. There, .375H&H,
BIG bears.
The guys that shoot the 1000 yard competition at the local range love
their 6.5s. The last I knew the best 10 shot bench rest group was under 7"
so they're doing something right.
.300 Win Mag is popular here with the elk crowd. I'll pass. I only shoot paper anymore and I'm not into self-inflicted pain.
Maybe it's a Guy Thing ... people yearn for "cannons".
However in real life they're almost never necessary.
On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 20:27:22 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
You could argue that the hard drive makers were using the units
correctly, it was the ones (mis)interpreting “k” as “1024” and so on >> who were telling lies.
As a general rule, you can tell the difference between an inaccuracy and
a lie by looking at who comes out ahead on it.
...
Div0 has been a problem since forever. Fixes,
if existing, have been kinda non-standard.
Trying to GUESS if you are about to Div0 in
the app tends to use up lots of code. Even
now, not all processors have handy Div0
exception handling ... I think even ARMs don't,
or at least don't enable it by default. This
is just *terrible* for 2025 ... I'd really
not rather have my brain-surgery robot suddenly
freeze up because of a stupid Div0 .
On 2025-03-09, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
...
Div0 has been a problem since forever. Fixes,
if existing, have been kinda non-standard.
Trying to GUESS if you are about to Div0 in
the app tends to use up lots of code. Even
now, not all processors have handy Div0
exception handling ... I think even ARMs don't,
or at least don't enable it by default. This
is just *terrible* for 2025 ... I'd really
not rather have my brain-surgery robot suddenly
freeze up because of a stupid Div0 .
... or a military ship:
https://medium.com/@bishr_tabbaa/when-smart-ships-divide-by-zer0-uss-yorktown-4e53837f75b2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Yorktown_(CG-48)
A friend of mine has a favorite question:
What could possibly go wrong?
Maybe that question should be asked more often.
A friend of mine has a favorite question:
What could possibly go wrong?
Maybe that question should be asked more often.
On 2025-03-09, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
A friend of mine has a favorite question:
What could possibly go wrong?
Maybe that question should be asked more often.
Someone once said that good programmers are spoilsports.
Rather than fawning over the wonderful things technology
can do, they're constantly looking for ways it can go wrong.
When I deposit checks at the bank I do have my little card, but ALSO
have a 'deposit slip'. Some of the younger tellers sometimes have
that "???" look when they see it. However, I'd still like to have
both check AND physical slip scanned in ... those inked acct numbers
cannot be affected so easily by operator mis-keying
Adhesive tape would suffice and fix it in an instant, assuming that the
reed switch is placed inside the box. But I agree: if you already have
the makings of a more interesting (not to say complex) solution, go for
it, just for shits and giggles.
On Sun, 9 Mar 2025 20:42:22 -0400, c186282 wrote:
When I deposit checks at the bank I do have my little card, but ALSO
have a 'deposit slip'. Some of the younger tellers sometimes have
that "???" look when they see it. However, I'd still like to have
both check AND physical slip scanned in ... those inked acct numbers
cannot be affected so easily by operator mis-keying
I think the last time I had a physical check to deposit was a covid
stimulus check. I remember that because the lobby was closed and I had to walk up to the drive through window.
I did actually go to the bank last week. A CD rolled over and I got a
letter saying the rate would be 0.35 for 60 months. WTF? It turned out
they were paying 3.75 for 7 month CD and crap for any other periods. When
I asked the kid why 7 he didn't know. I don't know if he understood that
as why 7 months and not 6 or why 7 months was the only one that didn't
have a ridiculous rate but either way it was above his pay grade.
I guess we'll see in 7 months if the world hasn't ended.
Banks are adversarial now, not "your servants".
On Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:14:26 +0000, Sn!pe wrote:
Adhesive tape would suffice and fix it in an instant, assuming that the
reed switch is placed inside the box. But I agree: if you already have
the makings of a more interesting (not to say complex) solution, go for
it, just for shits and giggles.
Simple is good. Which is why I walk to the mailbox. That's my problem. I
can think up all sorts of complex solutions involving MCUs but then I ask myself why bother? I could use a system like that to detect when the cat wants to come in but she has learned to knock. Problem solved. I could
have a remote device measuring temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, light intensity, wind speed, and so forth that would come up on the WiFi
as a web server so I could browse to it but walking out on the deck works too.
On 2025-03-11, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
Banks are adversarial now, not "your servants".
What do you mean "now"? When my sister was working at a bank
30-someodd years ago she was reprimanded more than once for
failing to gouge customers enough with service charges.
On 12/03/2025 19:56, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
Building a good studio monitor takes money and skill and peopleEven worse, the last thing most of them want is the good clean
are not prepared to pay for that and nor do they actually notice
the difference anyway. Especially on rock music
sound a monitor will give you. They want lots of boom - so many
PAs are set up with a huge broad peak centered at about 250 Hz.
It sounds like crap, but everybody seems to want it that way.
In terms of PA systems it is almost impossible to get efficiency AND
good LF performance.
A 30 foot concrete horn in a cinema type installation is good, and, if
organ music or a bowed bass is your listening pleasure, labyrinth type
will go down to around 80Hz.
But if its bass drums or a bass guitar, you need a lot of power and a
large surface area. And no reverse wave at all if possible. Enormous impractical horn best, Infinite baffle second best, bass reflex third
best ...
Serried ranks of loudspeakers in a wall configuration works pretty well.
You always need the most power for the bass loudspeakers for this very reason. Its very hard to get the efficiency up.
Another thong mots people do NOT realise is how much louder a good
magnet or horn design makes a loudspeaker, and how little louder
upping amplifier power makes it
10W=> 100W is just 10dB. A loudspeaker going from 85dB/W to 105dB/W is
100 times more 'powerful'
The Code of Ur-Nammu, oldest known writ-down laws,
about 4000+ years old found on Sumerian tablets, refers to fines for
offenses ... silver sheckels or mina's thereof. Where there is coin
there are bankers and lenders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Ur-Nammu
Oh, the third speaker was center, L+R, and relative gain carefully
adjusted for optimum imaging. The center speaker was the one I
used for the yearly candle-puffing ceremony. The kick drum on
Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" would puff out a small candle
placed just in front of the woofer cone.
On Wed, 12 Mar 2025 22:17:46 -0400, c186282 wrote:
The Code of Ur-Nammu, oldest known writ-down laws,
about 4000+ years old found on Sumerian tablets, refers to fines for
offenses ... silver sheckels or mina's thereof. Where there is coin
there are bankers and lenders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Ur-Nammu
Weren't usurers in the seventh circle of hell with the sodomites?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Jkk3JpMHo
On 2025-03-13, Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> wrote:
Oh, the third speaker was center, L+R, and relative gain carefully
adjusted for optimum imaging. The center speaker was the one I
used for the yearly candle-puffing ceremony. The kick drum on
Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" would puff out a small candle
placed just in front of the woofer cone.
Inspired by an article in a hi-fi magazine, a friend bought a
third speaker and we hooked it across the hot terminals of the
other two, so it got a L-R signal. We put it behind us, and got
all sorts of interesting effects. The Poco album "Crazy Eyes"
had a note on the cover: "Some banjo and dobro tracks may cancel
if played in mono." On our three-speaker setup, the banjo walked
right around behind us.
Ha Ha ... all sorts of sensory-deception tricks are possible.
But, remember the huge "quadraphonic" sales BS in
the 70s/80s ? I think "Quadraphrenia" was named
for it.
It NEVER lived up to the hype - just More Expensive.
On Thu, 13 Mar 2025 03:09:05 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Ha Ha ... all sorts of sensory-deception tricks are possible.
I remember the records when 'stereo' was first coming on the market that would create the impression of a freight train driving through the living room.
It might be my ears or my less than stellar sound systems but it seems
some of the more pronounced effects of the '60s have been toned down.
At the time I had a decent turntable, amp, and speakers I'd built. I think
it was one of the Rolling Stone songs that starts with a car horn. A friend who I was demoing the system to thought it was somebody out in the
driveway.
Like you I got into ear protection at the range and motorcycle helmets a little too late in life. Even in my youth I recognized some of the high frequencies audiophiles oohed over would benefit the cat more than me.
I once heard an experimental recording made with the microphones placed inside molds shaped like human ears.
On Thu, 13 Mar 2025 03:09:05 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Ha Ha ... all sorts of sensory-deception tricks are possible.
I remember the records when 'stereo' was first coming on the market that would create the impression of a freight train driving through the living room.
It might be my ears or my less than stellar sound systems but it seems
some of the more pronounced effects of the '60s have been toned down. A
the time I had a decent turntable, amp, and speakers I'd built. I think it was one of the Rolling Stone songs that starts with a car horn. A friend
who I was demoing the system to thought it was somebody out in the
driveway.
Like you I got into ear protection at the range and motorcycle helmets a little too late in life. Even in my youth I recognized some of the high frequencies audiophiles oohed over would benefit the cat more than me.
On 2025-03-13, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
On Thu, 13 Mar 2025 03:09:05 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Ha Ha ... all sorts of sensory-deception tricks are possible.
I remember the records when 'stereo' was first coming on the market that
would create the impression of a freight train driving through the living
room.
It might be my ears or my less than stellar sound systems but it seems
some of the more pronounced effects of the '60s have been toned down.
They developed a bit of subtlety, fortunately. In the early days, they wanted to be sure that you knew it was stereo, so many instruments would
come entirely from one speaker, with absolutely nothing of them showing
up in the other speaker. Room ambience? What's that?
About 20 years ago, a local FM station got some wires crossed; the
right channel's signal was being fed to both channels, and the left
channel was going nowhere. Those early recordings came through with
half the music missing. For instance, the Beatles' "Lady Madonna"
lost its signature piano track. The real irony came when they played
Guess Who's "Undun" after saying how it was written as a tribute to
jazz guitarist Joe Pass. You guessed it, the guitar track was totally
gone. After two weeks of this nonsense, I e-mailed them about it,
since they obviously weren't paying much attention to their on-air
signal. It was fixed in a couple of days.
At the time I had a decent turntable, amp, and speakers I'd built. I think >> it was one of the Rolling Stone songs that starts with a car horn. A friend >> who I was demoing the system to thought it was somebody out in the
driveway.
I once heard an experimental recording made with the microphones placed inside molds shaped like human ears. I jumped when I heard a loud truck drive by - but it was outside the recording studio, nowhere near the 9th-floor apartment where I was listening to the recording.
On 2025-03-13, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
But, remember the huge "quadraphonic" sales BS in
the 70s/80s ? I think "Quadraphrenia" was named
for it.
It NEVER lived up to the hype - just More Expensive.
I couldn't wait for the fad to end. There were some truly
dreadful remixes (e.g. Santana's _Abraxas_), where the
sound gratuitously ping-ponged from speaker to speaker,
basiclly doing nothing but shouting "Listen to me! I'm
quadraphonic!" while wrecking otherwise good music.
Besides, I was pissed off that they wasted a whole channel.
If you want to do it right, why not put the four speakers
at the vertices of a tetrahedron and sit on an elevated
chair in the middle. That way properly-made recordings
could give you full 3-dimensional sound.
If it was just a matter of encoding sounds on a 2-dimensional
plane, our little trick of hooking a third speaker across the
hot terminals of the other two and putting it behind us did
much of the same thing with a conventional stereo system.
On Fri, 14 Mar 2025 02:19:07 -0400
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
Modern amps, STILL selling 4+1 or even bigger numbers.
As Mike Oldfield put it, "for people with four ears..."
We used to have a "hi-fi" set, built into a very nice
wooden cabinet. The sound was good - just not "stereo".
Well, the 60s especially were a time for musical/tech
"experimentation". Stereo effects were intentionally
increased, warranted or not. There's a guitar down-
slide in "Whole Lotta Love" that goes across the room ...
GAWD I hated the sound of those TV/monitor flyback transformers back
in the day - like having teeth drilled.
Wiki sez they were 30-150khz, TVs 15khz ... but no WAY hearing 150khz
... maybe sub-harmonics.
High frequency range Complete with auto-change Every note comes
through, neither sharp nor flat The ear can't hear as high as that
Still I ought to please any passing bat With my high fidelity
On Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:07:08 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
High frequency range Complete with auto-change Every note comes
through, neither sharp nor flat The ear can't hear as high as that
Still I ought to please any passing bat With my high fidelity
My flutes produce overtones I can't hear.
The cat can and she is not
pleased. She doesn't mind the banjo and I'm not going to tell her that cat skin was prized for mountain banjos.
https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/224905
I thoughty it was generally goat...
On Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:07:08 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
High frequency range Complete with auto-change Every note comes
through, neither sharp nor flat The ear can't hear as high as that
Still I ought to please any passing bat With my high fidelity
My flutes produce overtones I can't hear. The cat can and she is not
pleased. She doesn't mind the banjo and I'm not going to tell her that cat skin was prized for mountain banjos.
https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/224905
Banjo ... personally don't mind 'em. Great
for "BlueGrass" but can be used for other.
Hmmm ... remember AC/DC properly using a
BAGPIPE in a top-rated song
and Paul Simon
blended a number of native African instruments
and rhythms into an album.
George Harrison
liked the sitar (I kinda do too).
Literally
a world of sonic opportunities out there.
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
Banjo ... personally don't mind 'em. Great
for "BlueGrass" but can be used for other. Hmmm ... remember AC/DC
properly using a BAGPIPE in a top-rated song and Paul Simon blended a
number of native African instruments and rhythms into an album.
George Harrison liked the sitar (I kinda do too). Literally a world
of sonic opportunities out there.
But the cat may GETCHA for it !
On Sat, 15 Mar 2025 23:52:47 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Banjo ... personally don't mind 'em. Great
for "BlueGrass" but can be used for other. Hmmm ... remember AC/DC
properly using a BAGPIPE in a top-rated song and Paul Simon blended a
number of native African instruments and rhythms into an album.
George Harrison liked the sitar (I kinda do too). Literally a world
of sonic opportunities out there.
I don't play bluegrass and, truth be told, a little goes a long way for
me. A lot of it is mostly rolls played over chords without much melody.
There is a whole genre prior to bluegrass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNbj0XaZrvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lLkjs0c0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cx2sRHOd1Y
The last one has a guitar track. A lot of the old time banjo is two
finger, like the Hicks video. Boogs used three fingers and throws in a
couple of rolls but he's playing the melody and singing over it.
Clawhammer or frailing came a little later and is more rhythmic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgQts07fjo
Luke Kelly played it quite a bit differently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIqr1Ge8Z5w
I play the melody rather than an accompaniment. When you can't sing you
have to do something to entertain yourself.
The Celtic Dragon is a local bagpipe band that shows up often. Usually
they stick to traditional bagpipe music but every now and then they'll
take a shot at Irish songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qMDq0lPpmo
The problem bagpipes have is thy only have 9 notes, G A B C# D E F# g a.
Tin whistles and Irish flutes are similar and are usually in D or G, but
you can go into the second and third registers.
D E F# G A B C# d e f# g ... The entire range of Foggy Dew is from D to g
so bagpipers sort of have to fake the high notes and hope nobody notices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QofgGTDK0Ec
Red Is the Rose (Loch Lomond if you're a Scot) is the best you can do with bagpipes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuvHYw_U5-w
Bagpipes also have the peculiarity that the chanter is fed from the bag.
That leads to a variety of fingering techniques to break up notes since
it's always going to be making some sound. Uilleann pipes have two
ovtaves and since they're usually played seated you can close the bottom
of the chanter against your leg. Also, since you're pumping the bag with
your arm you can sip a beer if you're fast enough. Definitely a superior design.
But the cat may GETCHA for it !
She's old, arthritic, and her superpower is sleeping.. Not an attack cat.
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
I don't play bluegrass and, truth be told, a little goes a long way for
me. A lot of it is mostly rolls played over chords without much melody.
There is a whole genre prior to bluegrass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNbj0XaZrvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lLkjs0c0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cx2sRHOd1Y
The last one has a guitar track. A lot of the old time banjo is two
finger, like the Hicks video. Boogs used three fingers and throws in a
couple of rolls but he's playing the melody and singing over it.
Clawhammer or frailing came a little later and is more rhythmic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgQts07fjo
Luke Kelly played it quite a bit differently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIqr1Ge8Z5w
I play the melody rather than an accompaniment. When you can't sing you
have to do something to entertain yourself.
On 3/16/25 2:35 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
Well, in the late 60s Warhol environment, not such an odd statement.
It was a, limited, reality.
Note. Cope. MAGA means even the weirdos get to strut a little ...
just that they're not "more equal".
And if somebody finds a good way to weave the pipes into rock-n-roll
- GREAT !
You're clearly a music "aficionado" - good for you
but I'm not one. I hear what I hear, like what I like,
don't go all historical/cultural about it to any
great degree. It is what it is.
And if somebody finds a good way to weave the pipes
into rock-n-roll - GREAT !
There seems to be an unwritten rule in bluegrass that the more miserable
the lyrics, the happier the tune. Everyone can be playing a mile a
minute while the singer goes on about how he has no job, no money, or no
girl (who he might have murdered but is now sorry for having done so).
As the saying goes, "If the girl ain't murdered by the second verse, it
ain't bluegrass."
You can look for another instrument which is not a bagpipe but which
will sound the same way for someone who don't really like listening to
the music. I don't know the English name, it's bombarde in French. For example:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcLM_B1Z1yw>
On 2025-03-16, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
It predated "woke", and even PC 1.0.
And it didn't politicize sex.
Le 16-03-2025, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> a écrit :
You're clearly a music "aficionado" - good for you
but I'm not one. I hear what I hear, like what I like,
don't go all historical/cultural about it to any
great degree. It is what it is.
And if somebody finds a good way to weave the pipes
into rock-n-roll - GREAT !
Yes, you are clearly not a music aficionado so you are looking for
something that exist and is well spread since ages.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNUrJBvKf_I> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpXcUBqkcxw> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybHgzMVxpNA> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGAtyfI3QCw>
You can look for another instrument which is not a bagpipe but which
will sound the same way for someone who don't really like listening to
the music. I don't know the English name, it's bombarde in French. For example:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcLM_B1Z1yw>
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:19:56 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-03-16, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
It predated "woke", and even PC 1.0.
And it didn't politicize sex.
Have you really forgotten what the song was about? Or were you too young
to notice, back then?
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:19:56 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-03-16, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
It predated "woke", and even PC 1.0.
And it didn't politicize sex.
Have you really forgotten what the song was about? Or were you too young
to notice, back then?
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 03:58:33 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:19:56 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-03-16, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 04:32:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
... Lou Reed's "Take a Walk on the Wild Side".
“he was a she” ... bit woke, don’t you think ...
It predated "woke", and even PC 1.0.
And it didn't politicize sex.
Have you really forgotten what the song was about? Or were you too young
to notice, back then?
Did you miss the part about 'politicize'? Apparently there was a version
the changed 'and the colored girls' but I never heard it. If Candy wanted
to suck Holly's dick while being screwed by Little Joe nobody cared. They were all too zoned out on Valium.
Norwegian black metal is preferable !
Ah, recently saw a list of "least friendly" countries,
and Norway was prominent. People said that even if you knew the
language pretty well the social dynamic was just impenetrable. No
wonder they went a-viking ... to escape
On Sun, 16 Mar 2025 23:35:24 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Norwegian black metal is preferable !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv-GRWfHLD8
I've got an album Vikernes made in prison. Not bad considering all they
would give him was a synthesizer. I prefer the more traditional Norwegian bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n90SVmnomdM
Heilung is a mix. It was formed in Copenhagen but has Norwegians, Danes,
and Germans in the band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRg_8NNPTD8
Faun is German but has the same feel. This one even has a bagpipe of
sorts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lFjnlf--Jw
Ah, recently saw a list of "least friendly" countries,
and Norway was prominent. People said that even if you knew the
language pretty well the social dynamic was just impenetrable. No
wonder they went a-viking ... to escape
When the crops were in there was nothing better to do than take a trip to Britain or Ireland and liberate ill found wealth from monasteries and
other soft targets. Then there were the ones who went in the other
direction and became the RUs.
I've been reading James Nelson's 'The Norseman Saga' series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._Nelson
Thorgrim Night Wolf and his son go off viking with his father-in-law to Ireland. I'm on the 7th book and by now after fighting the Irish, the
Danes, and other Norse all Thorgrim wants to do is go home to his farm but the Gods don't seem to want to let him leave Ireland. It's set the the 9th century when Dublin was a Viking settlement. It's particularly enjoyable since Nelson knows his way around a sailing vessel.
On 16 Mar 2025 21:42:48 GMT
Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> wrote:
You can look for another instrument which is not a bagpipe but which
will sound the same way for someone who don't really like listening to
the music. I don't know the English name, it's bombarde in French.
AFAIK English just takes "bombarde" as a loanword. The sound is similar
to the shawm, which shares an etymology with the French chalumeau, but
all three are distinct instruments. Confused yet?
Exactly ... it was "social" rather than "political".
Nobody was keen to make 'Lola' or whomever "more equal" under the
law. Weird people at weird affairs,
only the ultra-stuffy puritans cared in the least. They were the ones
in the wrong, trying to make the weird people "less equal" under the
law, "SEND IN THE VICE SQUAD !!!"
On 15 Mar 2025 06:49:16 GMT rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
My flutes produce overtones I can't hear. The cat can and she is not
pleased. She doesn't mind the banjo and I'm not going to tell her that
cat skin was prized for mountain banjos.
My dad attempted to pick up the oboe, briefly. The family dog put paid
to that notion.
Um ... before my mother's eyesight got too bad, she was complaining
about a "mystery" novel she got that was writ by a man who knew just
TOO much about mountain climbing. The amount of technical detail from
his expertise kinda jammed-up the main story.
Basically "man-splaining" - but in paperback
In any case, the Vikings/Rus were VERY ROUGH PEOPLE for quite awhile.
Half, really over half, of my ancestry is Nordic (the volume of rapes
likely mean most of the rest is heavily so too). Wasn't until around
the Norman Conquest that Euro-style "sophistication" crept in.
AFAIK English just takes "bombarde" as a loanword.
Love the sound of the flute as an instrument (from classical to your
Thijs van Leers,) but I never could get the hang of the embouchure.
Still need a lot of practice on breath control and fingering with the recorder, but it saves me the trouble of having to deal with that
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 01:39:37 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Um ... before my mother's eyesight got too bad, she was complaining
about a "mystery" novel she got that was writ by a man who knew just
TOO much about mountain climbing. The amount of technical detail from
his expertise kinda jammed-up the main story.
Basically "man-splaining" - but in paperback
He doesn't really man-splain but uses nautical terminology that most
readers would gloss over. There is a joke in sailing circles about a
newbie who was instructed to let out the sheet but not make it fast who
went into slow motion.
I forget which mystery author laid a little trap for his readers when he described the character releasing the safety on a revolver. When the complaints rolled in he pointed out he had written in one of the very few revolvers to have had safeties.
In any case, the Vikings/Rus were VERY ROUGH PEOPLE for quite awhile.
Half, really over half, of my ancestry is Nordic (the volume of rapes
likely mean most of the rest is heavily so too). Wasn't until around
the Norman Conquest that Euro-style "sophistication" crept in.
According to 23AndMe my ancestry is over 96% German which corresponds to
what I know about my ancestors, which isn't much. The oddity is the Y chromosome, I M253. Currently the highest concentration is over 50% of
the males in Västra Götaland, Sweden, and it spreads out from there.
The haplogroup is associated with the early hunter-gatherers, not the
farmers that moved in from the mid-east causing the neighborhood to go to hell.
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 00:59:59 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Exactly ... it was "social" rather than "political".
Nobody was keen to make 'Lola' or whomever "more equal" under the
law. Weird people at weird affairs,
only the ultra-stuffy puritans cared in the least. They were the ones
in the wrong, trying to make the weird people "less equal" under the
law, "SEND IN THE VICE SQUAD !!!"
The puritans were fun! I knew a woman who worked at a costume shop that
was aimed at strippers. Her specialty was merkins. In the Boston Combat
Zone full nudity was illegal but simulation was not. fwiw, the owner of
the business was a trannie. For better or worse that's all gone now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Zone,_Boston
The Zone wasn't a destination for me but I traversed it on my way to Chinatown for a mooncake fix. I miss that a bit. Where else can you see
wind cured chickens hanging in shop windows along with less easily
identified treats?
On 16 Mar 2025 21:42:48 GMT
Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> wrote:
You can look for another instrument which is not a bagpipe but which
will sound the same way for someone who don't really like listening to
the music. I don't know the English name, it's bombarde in French.
AFAIK English just takes "bombarde" as a loanword. The sound is similar
to the shawm, which shares an etymology with the French chalumeau, but
all three are distinct instruments. Confused yet?
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And
“loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German
term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
On 3/17/25 5:57 PM, John Ames wrote:
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And
“loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German
term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
"English" is a 'pigeon' ... a glomming-together of
languages from everybody who ever invaded or went
to war with it.
That makes it weird and difficult - but also very
versatile.
There was a time in the 80s where the "Pure French"
movement insisted on local lang for everything. You
may have to look it up, but their term for "satellite"
was like a full sentence long :-)
On 18/03/2025 08:49, c186282 wrote:
On 3/17/25 5:57 PM, John Ames wrote:In Welsh, if your tyres are flat you 'put wind in your wheels'
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And >>>> “loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German
term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
"English" is a 'pigeon' ... a glomming-together of
languages from everybody who ever invaded or went
to war with it.
That makes it weird and difficult - but also very
versatile.
There was a time in the 80s where the "Pure French"
movement insisted on local lang for everything. You
may have to look it up, but their term for "satellite"
was like a full sentence long :-)
There is no word for screwdriver in Zulu.
On 3/18/25 6:54 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:You say 'hand me a screwdriver'
On 18/03/2025 08:49, c186282 wrote:
On 3/17/25 5:57 PM, John Ames wrote:In Welsh, if your tyres are flat you 'put wind in your wheels'
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And >>>>> “loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German >>>>> term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
"English" is a 'pigeon' ... a glomming-together of
languages from everybody who ever invaded or went
to war with it.
That makes it weird and difficult - but also very
versatile.
There was a time in the 80s where the "Pure French"
movement insisted on local lang for everything. You
may have to look it up, but their term for "satellite"
was like a full sentence long :-)
There is no word for screwdriver in Zulu.
"Wind in the wheels" has a romantic sound ... it
evokes both the physical AND 'travel'.
Now how DO you ask a Zulu to hand you a screwdriver ??? :-)
On 18/03/2025 12:12, c186282 wrote:
On 3/18/25 6:54 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 18/03/2025 08:49, c186282 wrote:
On 3/17/25 5:57 PM, John Ames wrote:In Welsh, if your tyres are flat you 'put wind in your wheels'
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And >>>>>> “loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German >>>>>> term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
"English" is a 'pigeon' ... a glomming-together of
languages from everybody who ever invaded or went
to war with it.
That makes it weird and difficult - but also very
versatile.
There was a time in the 80s where the "Pure French"
movement insisted on local lang for everything. You
may have to look it up, but their term for "satellite"
was like a full sentence long :-)
There is no word for screwdriver in Zulu.
"Wind in the wheels" has a romantic sound ... it
evokes both the physical AND 'travel'.
Now how DO you ask a Zulu to hand you a screwdriver ??? :-)
You say 'hand me a screwdriver'
On 3/18/25 12:58 PM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 18/03/2025 12:12, c186282 wrote:
On 3/18/25 6:54 AM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 18/03/2025 08:49, c186282 wrote:
On 3/17/25 5:57 PM, John Ames wrote:In Welsh, if your tyres are flat you 'put wind in your wheels'
On Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:42:23 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Fun fact: “calque” is a loanword, lifted whole from the French. And >>>>>>> “loanword” is a calque, translated from the corresponding German >>>>>>> term, “Lehnwort”.
Oh, that's marvelous XD
"English" is a 'pigeon' ... a glomming-together of
languages from everybody who ever invaded or went
to war with it.
That makes it weird and difficult - but also very
versatile.
There was a time in the 80s where the "Pure French"
movement insisted on local lang for everything. You
may have to look it up, but their term for "satellite"
was like a full sentence long :-)
There is no word for screwdriver in Zulu.
"Wind in the wheels" has a romantic sound ... it
evokes both the physical AND 'travel'.
Now how DO you ask a Zulu to hand you a screwdriver ??? :-)
You say 'hand me a screwdriver'
And he says "WHAT ???" :-)
On Thu, 20 Mar 2025 12:21:03 +0000 The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
In India there are many languages, but everyone sort of speaks English.
Or has impoted lots of English words and phrases.
Visited Portugal last spring - lots of great seafood and wine, but at
one point we ended up in an Indian restaurant on the outskirts of
Lisbon. My dad was doing his best to order (being fluent, if rusty, in Portuguese,) but he and the proprietor were having difficulty getting
through to each other. Finally, the light goes on, and he asks: "do you
speak English?"
Guy looks at him like he's from the moon. "I'm *Indian!*" he laughs.
On Thu, 20 Mar 2025 08:03:21 -0700, John Ames wrote:
On Thu, 20 Mar 2025 12:21:03 +0000 The Natural Philosopher
<tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
In India there are many languages, but everyone sort of speaks English.
Or has impoted lots of English words and phrases.
Visited Portugal last spring - lots of great seafood and wine, but at
one point we ended up in an Indian restaurant on the outskirts of
Lisbon. My dad was doing his best to order (being fluent, if rusty, in
Portuguese,) but he and the proprietor were having difficulty getting
through to each other. Finally, the light goes on, and he asks: "do you
speak English?"
Guy looks at him like he's from the moon. "I'm *Indian!*" he laughs.
'Monsoon Wedding' came out before 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' but had a similar feel as the wedding from hell. What I mostly remember is the characters would be chattering along in what I presume was Hindi, switch
to English mid-sentence, and eventually go back to Hindi.
But in the townships they speak a hybrid.
Tsosti-Taal.
Which is something like 'bad boy speak'
Tsotsi is Sotho. Taal is Afrikaans
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 04:54:17 -0400
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
France/F-Pop just NEVER got modern music.
I admit that French pop is outside my own wheelhouse, but I suspect
you're likelier to hear the bombarde in traditional events and
selections from Praetorius than anything on the radio o_O
Le 18-03-2025, John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> a écrit :
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 04:54:17 -0400
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
France/F-Pop just NEVER got modern music.
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their music
as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their time.
I admit that French pop is outside my own wheelhouse, but I suspect
you're likelier to hear the bombarde in traditional events and
selections from Praetorius than anything on the radio o_O
If by that you mean that the only French music you know is what you can
hear on the radio, I agree, it's pretty awful. But French music is not limited to what's on the radio. And, by the way, I can understand one
don't like French music when one's not French because it can help to
have time to be accustomed by it.
When I was in Germany I discovered the schlagers. On one side, I found
it wonderful to see people singing together. But I was never able to
like it. It was too weird for me. But it doesn't stop me to discover
other German bands like Die Toten Hosen.
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their music
as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their time.
On 21/03/2025 22:22, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Le 18-03-2025, John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> a écrit :Nothing beats Swedish Death Metal.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 04:54:17 -0400
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
France/F-Pop just NEVER got modern music.
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their music
as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their time.
I admit that French pop is outside my own wheelhouse, but I suspect
you're likelier to hear the bombarde in traditional events and
selections from Praetorius than anything on the radio o_O
If by that you mean that the only French music you know is what you can
hear on the radio, I agree, it's pretty awful. But French music is not
limited to what's on the radio. And, by the way, I can understand one
don't like French music when one's not French because it can help to
have time to be accustomed by it.
When I was in Germany I discovered the schlagers. On one side, I found
it wonderful to see people singing together. But I was never able to
like it. It was too weird for me. But it doesn't stop me to discover
other German bands like Die Toten Hosen.
Its those long dark winter nights and all that socialisim that does it. Music to commit suicide to.
On Sat, 22 Mar 2025, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/03/2025 22:22, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Le 18-03-2025, John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> a écrit :Nothing beats Swedish Death Metal.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2025 04:54:17 -0400
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
France/F-Pop just NEVER got modern music.
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their music
as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their time.
I admit that French pop is outside my own wheelhouse, but I suspect
you're likelier to hear the bombarde in traditional events and
selections from Praetorius than anything on the radio o_O
If by that you mean that the only French music you know is what you can
hear on the radio, I agree, it's pretty awful. But French music is not
limited to what's on the radio. And, by the way, I can understand one
don't like French music when one's not French because it can help to
have time to be accustomed by it.
When I was in Germany I discovered the schlagers. On one side, I found
it wonderful to see people singing together. But I was never able to
like it. It was too weird for me. But it doesn't stop me to discover
other German bands like Die Toten Hosen.
Its those long dark winter nights and all that socialisim that does
it. Music to commit suicide to.
You are a wise man! This is the truth! For those of you interested in
some oldies but goldies, I recommend Candlemass LP Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Good stuff! I also liked their second one, Nightfall. Doom
metal at its best
On 21 Mar 2025 22:22:32 GMT
Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> wrote:
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their
music as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their
time.
IMHO Jarre peaked early and (like many synthesists) got less engaging
the more he leaned into digital, sample-based instruments - but Oxygène
and Équinoxe are still on regular rotation at my house :)
On 3/24/25 10:54 AM, John Ames wrote:
On 21 Mar 2025 22:22:32 GMT
Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> wrote:
Nonsense. Jean-Michel JARRE and David GETTA played modern pop songs
which where well known all over the world. I don't consider their
music as great, but they were as modern as they could be at their
time.
IMHO Jarre peaked early and (like many synthesists) got less engaging
the more he leaned into digital, sample-based instruments - but Oxygène
and Équinoxe are still on regular rotation at my house :)
Sorry ... just CAN'T get into the 'French Groove'.
Heavily pref the UK/US/Scandi 'gothic' kind of
heavy rock.
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