The Florida pastor who wants to burn the Quran is wrong headed. Instead of burning a holy book, he should try burning Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow’s The Grand Design. The act might please God, would not harm soldiers in Afghanistan, it would satisfy the pastor’s arson-istic cravings, and Professor Hawking might enjoy the publicity. Everybody knows banning or burning books increases sales.
Bad News
My wife had a friend in for a chat. I was working at home as I sometimes do. The upstairs gets warm because of the roof. After the friend left, my wife said, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the air conditioner is out”. The usual tests, “call for cool”, “call for heat”, “fan only”, all fail. So the question is “Where is the problem?”. Looking into it, the LED on the control module is out. Checking the 5 amp fuse on the control module shows the puff of smoke. Jumpering the fuse with some light wire and flee clips (don’t forget to turn the power off at the breaker) brought the A/C to life. Off to Walmart to get a replacement fuse. The fuse is the same kind used in older autos with flat lugs. Walmart had 10, 15, 20, 30 in that still 5 to a pack. The only way to get 2 5’s was to buy a $16 combo kit. Since I figured it started OK with the jumper on. And the jumper did not feel warm after a couple of minutes, probably not a short. Bought the fuses and put the correct value 5 amp in to replace the jumper. (Don’t forget to turn the power off at the breaker).
My son’s car and my wife’s car use the new style fuse with pointed lugs.
My daughter’s car and my car use the old flat lug style. Hopefully, I will still have the same set of fuses unused when the cars need to be replaced.
Moral: Don’t Panic. Check the on-board fuse before you call an expensive service-person..
My wife mentioned that there was power surge that I did not notice since my laptop battery covered for the loss of public power.
By the way, the cool weather came in for the Labor day Weekend and we have had the windows and doors open since Saturday.
Furman and Scottish Games
I opened the Summer issue of the Furman alumni magazine only to find a picture of my neighbor. (Unfortunately, the webmaster cannot keep up with the print publication and and there are many broken links besides). I would post links to the pics but cannot. Please make do with this scan.
GTKmm Quick Start
I got the notion to learn something about GTK and review my C++. I have recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.10 so some of the things I had before are gone.
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Before you start, you will need libgtkmm-2.4-dev (version 1:2.18.2-1) installed.
When you install it should also call for
libcairomm-1.0-dev (version 1.8.0-1build1) will be installed
libglibmm-2.4-dev (version 2.22.1-2) will be installed
libpangomm-1.4-dev (version 2.26.0-0ubuntu2) will be installed
libsigc++-2.0-dev (version 2.0.18-2) will be installed
You may wish to install
gtkmm-documentation (version 2.17.4-0ubuntu1) will be installed
libglademm-2.4-doc (version 2.6.7-2) will be installed
libglibmm-2.4-doc (version 2.22.1-2) will be installed
libgtkmm-2.4-doc (version 1:2.18.2-1) will be installed
At that point, you can copy and paste the example code found on Wikipedia.
In order to follow the example literally, you will need to save each of the text files as the name indicated in the first line comment into an empty directory. Start a command line window and switch to that directory. Then the command given in the example should work.
If you copy and paste the g++ command you will get it right. If you type it, the “`” things are in the upper-left on most keyboards under the tilde (~), not a single-quote (‘)
me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$ g++ *.cc -o example `pkg-config gtkmm-2.4 –cflags –libs`
me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$ ./example
Hello world
me@home:~/Projects/gtk/hww$
Soul of the Tango
The music of Astor Piazzolla. In case you had not guessed, my favorite Yo-Yo Ma out of half-a-dozen Yo-Yo Ma Cd’s. Cello, bandoneón, piano, guitar. A pretty woman and a little wine are the only things that can add to that.
Long Ago, Far Away
There was a camp. All boys at camp Y-Noah in those days. Maybe different now. Back then a big treat was to go to a pine grove on the south side of the lake for an overnight. Great camping, quiet. And pine duff is soft and smooth. In those days, we carefully stepped across the spillway of the dam to get to the grove.
I am sure that many things have changed since those days. But one thing I know for sure is the same. The concrete dam that forms Lake Noah is still there. Which means that Headless Haddie still does not sleep at night.
That was already an old legend 50 years ago when I was a camper at Camp Y-Noah. Haddie was said t0 be a local girl, just about 12 or so. When the workmen were building the dam, somehow, Haddie, too close to where the concrete was being poured, was struck by a bulldozer, her head severed instantly by the impact, rolled into the flowing concrete and was buried. Her folks buried her body in a nearby graveyard. But on moonless nights, her ghost comes to the lake to see if she can find her head.
The sound you hear in the pine grove is Haddie’s dress, blowing gently in the summer wind.
Make sure you know where your stuff is. Especially your flashlight. Did you remember fresh batteries?
Sleep tight campers.
Citizen Graham
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) has discussed with other lawmakers the possibility of drafting a constitutional amendment to deny U.S. born children of illegally present mothers the U.S. citizenship guaranteed by the constitution. Go for it Senator! Senator Graham and his cronies cannot seem to even get a majority together to properly fund a patrol on the border to keep out drug carriers or bombers. He should be concentrating on sorting the wheat from the chaff of the immigrants who come here by choice. He should leave the newborns that have no choice in the matter alone. Apparently his once keen mind is fading. A trick from Genesis: Distract the audience with something truly inconsequential while the really important stuff slithers by. Time to pass the baton, Senator Graham. I will be voting for whoever makes him Former Senator Graham.
Ice is Nice
Sitting here on the deck on a seasonally hot day reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I have a glass of what was ice water. Before the ice “cubes” melted, they were prisms of a segment. That is the shape that the level water in the ice maker has as the intersection with the arc that is the mold. Someplace around here, I have articles (a,b,c) about ice maker repair but when it works an ice maker is a wonderful thing.
In a previous time, the ice cubes had to be made in the freezer section of the refrigerator. A metal pan held held metal dividers that had to be warmed or shifted with a lever to separate the rectangular prisms from the separators in the tray. When plastic became popular, a plastic tray made “cubes” with trapezoidal faces. These trays ejected the ice everywhere but into the glass you were trying to fill.
Back even farther, chunks of ice were broken from the same block of ice that cooled the food in the ice box. An ice pick was poked at the ice until a chunk came off. The block of ice likely came from an ice plant where ammonia refrigerant cooled a couple of gallons of water in each mold to make thousands of blocks every day.
Even farther back and maybe still today where it is more economical than not, ice was sawn from surface of a lake or even a purpose-built pond. Hauled and stored in an ice-house with sawdust packed between the blocks to keep them from sticking and to insulate.
Just some thoughts on a day when the temperature is 97 or so. A bit of a breeze make it tolerable. And ice water makes it enjoyable.
Chrome EULA Rant
I went to download Chrome for my Ubutu distribution. For some reason, I decided to actually read the EULA. I usually let the kitten step on the keyboard until that nonsense goes away. I would never agree to any of that EULA crap without a lawyer’s advice. In the middle of the EULA was a reference to:
“AVC Patent Portfolio License”
Another license which I, without legal assistance need to understand. Googling for the phrase gives me a great summary presentation.
Note that the title page provides this warning
“This presentation is for information purposes only.
Actual license agreements will provide the only definitive and reliable statement of license terms.”
In the presentation, on slide 2, second bullet, is “Align with AVC product value chain”
This line reminds me of the moment in my Draft Physical where the doctor says to a line of 20 young men, with their bare toes on a yellow tape line on the floor, “Bend over and spread your cheeks”.
But do not delay…
First Term: August 1, 2002 – December 31, 2010
Threshold levels to encourage early-stage adoption and minimize impact on lower volume users…
Call now… Operators are standing by… Limited time offer… (Did I pay too much by not waiting for the price to come down?) Does AVC seem like a scam to you?
Rate Protection on Renewal – royalty rates for specific license grants (except for Internet Broadcast AVC*) will not increase by more than 10% at renewals
This is my absolute favorite because I am a Mainframe Dinosaur. While the predicted death of the IBM mainframe seems to be long delayed, the mainframe software vendors continue to work to ensure the mainframe’s imminent demise through destructive software licensing conditions. Dr. Merrill and a few other have the right idea.
I’m with Shakespeare (Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78)
Garden Pond Pump Maintenance III
At the front of the house is a solar power fountain. My wife had bought a kit from a local store about 5 years ago. With the constant exposure to the weather and occasional freezing, the solar cell went bad.
So I needed a replacement solar cell. How can you tell if your solar cell is bad? If you have a multimeter [I prefer the kind with a needle because then I know it is not the battery], you can read out the voltage produced in bright sunlight. The front of the old panel was wet on the inside and you coud see right through in places. Time for a new one.
A little web-surfing brought up Silcon Solar . Their on-line catalog had a picture of a pump similar to mine. And a kit that included that pump with a solar cell that looked quite different. An e-mail exchange over a couple of days answered my questions and the new solar cell is in place and powering the fountain. This 18v (white and blue at left) solar cell will power the 12v pump unit just fine.
But the little 12v pump needs care too. The sun helps the algae to grow and the rain stirs up the sand at the bottom of the pond and that can stall the pump, even with the filter. Here is how to clean the pump in the pond at the front of the house.
The pump unit consists of a top cover, a base plate with the motor and pump attached, the fountain tube, a wire that is connected to the power source or solar cell and what cannot be seen is piece of filter media.
Before attempting to remove the top cover, remove the fountain tube from the pump outlet. Be care not to bend the tube at any time. Carefully twist and pull the tube from the pump outlet tube just outside the cover. Once the tube is remove, the cover can be separated from the baseplate.
At the bottom of the cover where it meets the baseplate are 4 tabs. Lifting the tabs lightly at the same time, allows the cover and base plate to separate.Removing the filter media reveals the pump components. The pump, on the baseplate consists of a cover/front half, motor-impeller assembly mounted on the baseplate.
Remove the filter medium. Rinse thoroughly. Wringing will shorten the life of the medium.
Carefully use the blade of a straight-slot screwdriver under the pump housing to remove the cover. Rock the blade back and forth until the cover is loose. Then lift straight off. Carefully remove any debris or algae. Rinse with pond water if required.
Test that the pump impeller turns freely by making sure that the solar cell is in full sun. The motor should run vigorously. If not check for binding due to dirt or algae. Replace the cover and insure that the pump continues to run at full speed without binding or stalling.
