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● Links 21/08/2022: Comments for Ghost (Static Site Generator)

Posted in News Roundup at 2:24 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Audiocasts/Shows

=> ↺ Wireplumber Takes Pipewire To The Next Level! – Invidious

• Pipewire with Pipewire media session is totally usable however if you want to take it to the next level take a dive into Wireplumber and start messing around with the plugin framework to see what fun stuff you can achieve.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ What Is a Login Shell in Linux?

• You might use the Linux shell every day, but how you use it determines a lot about its behavior. You might have heard about the difference between a login shell and a non-login shell. And while it may not come off as obvious at first, there are several differences between the two shell types.

• Here’s everything you need to know about login shells on Linux.

Distributions and Operating Systems

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Evaluating DDS, MQTT, and ZeroMQ Under Different IoT Traffic Conditions

• This paper empirically evaluates the performance of three pub/sub technologies: OMG DDS, MQTT and ZeroMQ for representative IoT scenarios (high-frequency, periodic, and sporadic). DDS provides more comprehensive and modularized QoS support than others, and also demonstrates better overall latency and throughput in most evaluated scenarios. Specifically, DDS gained higher throughput than ZeroMQ and MQTT in the high-frequency data-flow use case. In periodic data-flow, ZeroMQ has lower latency than DDS for small(64B) and medium(2KB)messages. DDS latency outperforms ZeroMQ when sending large messages(32KB). MQTT is more sensitive to the in-parallel sporadic data-flow, and DDS can successfully shield the interference. Our results also reveal that DDS’s Multicast QoS can effectively improve throughput in multi-subscriber scenarios. The TurboMode property can intelligently decide appropriate batch size with regard to different payload and significantly improve throughput for small messages. And The AutoThrottle property results in lower throughput and latency and higher CPU utilization.

=> ↺ PicoStepSeq Is Small But Perfectly Formed

• The Paspberry Pi Pico is what you might call the board of the moment, thanks to its combination of affordability, features, and continued availability during the component shortage. We have seen plenty of great projects using it, and the latest to float past is [todbot]’s PicoStepSeq, an extremely compact MIDI sequencer.

=> ↺ Building A Spot Welder From 500 Junk Capacitors

• [Kasyan TV] over on YouTube was given a pile of spare parts in reasonably large quantities, some of which were useful and allocated to specific projects, but given the given the kind of electronics they’re interested in, they couldn’t find a use for a bag of 500 or so low specification 470uF capacitors. These were not low ESR types, nor high capacitance, so unsuitable for power supply use individually. But, what about stacking them all in parallel? (video, embedded below) After a few quick calculations [Kasyan] determined that the total capacitance of all 500 should be around 0.23 Farads with an ESR of around 0.4 to 0.5 mΩ at 16V and packing a theoretical energy total of about 30 joules. That is enough to pack a punch in the right situation.

=> ↺ Z80 Single-Board Computer Looks Like It Could Have Been A Killer Product

• Most retrocomputer builds seem to focus on either restoring old machines or rebuilding them from scratch. Either way, the goal is to get as close as possible to the original machine, and while we certainly respect those builds, there are other ways to celebrate the computers of yesterday, as this Z80 single-board computer nicely demonstrates.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

=> ↺ Comments for Ghost

• Any Ghost publication with comments enabled displays a commenting area at the bottom of each post, where members are prompted to start or join the conversation by subscribing or signing in.

Leftovers

=> ↺ A Quick VoIP Experiment

• Even without exposing a VoIP service, there is always a trickle of SIP traffic, probing if something is listening. Here is a random packet from my home network: [...]

=> ↺ Dream Projects Face Reality

• Do you ever get a project stuck in your mind? An idea so good you just keep thinking about it? Going over iterations and options and pros and cons in the back of your mind, or maybe on paper, but having not yet subjected it to the hard work of pulling it into reality? I’ve had one of those lurking around for the last couple weeks, and it’s time for me to get building.

=> ↺ 2022 Cyberdeck Contest: Extruded Rig Exudes Coolness

• When we came up with the cyberdeck contest, we figured we would see all kinds of builds, and so far, y’all haven’t disappointed us. Take for instance this tidy but post-apocalyptic build by [facelessloser]. It has that “I used what I could find among the rubble” appeal, yet it looks so clean. Now why is that?

=> ↺ Deepdeck: Going Beyond The Macro Pad

• We’re used to the idea of a macropad, a small extension keyboard for your computer whose keys can be programmed to the functions of your choice. They can be made in many ways, but they all follow a similar functionality. Deepdeck from [Nick Velasquez] is another matter, an attempt to make a macropad with functionality that goes way beyond simply pressing keys.

Science

=> ↺ A superconducting diode without an external magnetic field

• Superconductors are the key to lossless current flow. However, the realization of superconducting diodes has only recently become an important topic of fundamental research. An international research team involving the theoretical physicist Mathias Scheurer from the University of Innsbruck have now succeeded in reaching a milestone: the realization of a superconducting diode effect without an external magnetic field, thus proving the assumption that superconductivity and magnetism coexist. They report on this in Nature Physics.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

=> ↺ Calorie-free sweeteners affect microbiome and glycemic response: study

• “The results were quite striking,” says Elinav. “In all of the non-nutritive sweetener groups, but in none of the controls, when we transferred into these sterile mice the microbiome of the top responder individuals collected at a time point in which they were consuming the respective non-nutritive sweeteners, the recipient mice developed glycemic alterations that very significantly mirrored those of the donor individuals. In contrast, the bottom responders’ microbiomes were mostly unable to elicit such glycemic responses,” he adds. “These results suggest that the microbiome changes in response to human consumption of non-nutritive sweetener may, at times, induce glycemic changes in consumers in a highly personalized manner.”

=> ↺ We may never fully know how video games affect our well-being

• The reality, a new study suggests, is that we simply don’t have a good grip on how games affect our well-being, if at all.

• The research, described in the Royal Society Open Science journal last month, found little to no evidence for a causal connection between game play and well-being, meaning that time spent playing video games had neither a negative nor positive effect on players’ emotional health.

=> ↺ Let’s celebrate everyone’s favourite pollinators!

• Want to learn more about the bees that call Luxembourg city home? The Ville de Luxembourg has created a bee walking trail, so visitors can experience first-hand the vital role bees and other critters play in a healthy and thriving ecosystem.

Security

Privacy/Surveillance

=> ↺ Nonprofit Websites Are Full of Trackers. That Should Change.

• If you are a nonprofit organization, you may be part of the problem. Unfortunately, a 2021 report from The Markup showed that many nonprofits don’t take threats to privacy seriously. That may be changing: Planned Parenthood, for example, has suspended the use of marketing trackers on some portions of their website in response to the dangers they could create for people seeking information on abortions. Hey Jane, an online provider of abortion pills, has also removed the Meta (Facebook) tracking pixel. 

Defence/Aggression

=> ↺ Corporate Media Stays Silent as US Air Strikes Kill at Least 20 in Somalia

=> ↺ Tlaib: Biden Must ‘Hold Israel Accountable’ for Raid on Palestine Rights Groups

=> ↺ The Burma Front

Environment

=> ↺ How to destroy a “forever chemical”: Scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS

• The latest breakthrough, published Aug. 18, 2022, in the journal Science, shows how one class of PFAS can be broken down into mostly harmless components using sodium hydroxide, or lye, an inexpensive compound used in soap. It isn’t an immediate solution to this vast problem, but it offers new insight.

• Biochemist A. Daniel Jones and soil scientist Hui Li work on PFAS solutions at the Michigan State University and explained the promising PFAS destruction techniques being tested today.

=> ↺ Opinion | Investments in Projects Over People: An Equity Point of View on the Inflation Reduction Act

• The United States has crossed a threshold after decades of intrepid attempts to build political will for climate action. While it is important to recognize the shift in momentum, and its value, we can’t dismiss that it prioritizes investments in projects over people, again.

Energy

=> ↺ Jack Sparrow’s Compass

• I navigate London on a bicycle for the sole reason that it is the fastest way to travel. Motorbikes may have the advantage in terms of top speed, but that’s irrelevant when the limiting factor is so often the traffic. Bicycles have the unique ability to stop being a vehicle: by getting off and walking, you become a pedestrian, and can take the crossings and shortcuts that are available to them. Bikes can even be taken on the overground trains, and some of the underground ones, so if the route makes sense you can hop onto a train for part of it, and cycle at each end. London is not exactly Holland, but I have tried almost every way of navigating the city, and consistently conclude that the bicycle is king.

=> ↺ Plasma Jets May One Day Propel Aircraft Plasma thrusters could help jet planes fly without fossil fuels

• Now researchers have created a prototype thruster capable of generating plasma jets with propulsive forces comparable to those from conventional jet engines, using only air and electricity.

• An air compressor forces high-pressure air at a rate of 30 liters per minute into an ionization chamber in the device, which uses microwaves to convert this air stream into a plasma jet blasted out of a quartz tube. Plasma temperatures could exceed 1,000 °C.

=> ↺ A New Electric Jet Engine Actually Works Inside the Atmosphere

• Plasma-based thrusters are usually thought of as a potential form of spacecraft propulsion. Such engines differ from ion thruster engines, which generate thrust by extracting an ion current from its plasma source. These ions are then accelerated to high velocities using grids or anodes.

=> ↺ Europe Is Trying to Solve Its Energy Crisis With Fossil Fuel Projects in Africa

=> ↺ Batteries Get Tiny

• Steve Martin had a comedy routine that focused on the idea of “getting small.” That probably didn’t inspire the researchers at the Institute for Integrative Nanoscience when they set out to create a sub-square-millimeter microbattery. As you might expect, you won’t be starting your car with a battery the size of a grain of sand anytime soon, but these batteries do have a surprising capacity.

Wildlife/Nature

=> ↺ Why you should have more sympathy for seagulls – and how to stop them stealing your chips

• I designed a study to test this idea, and timed how long it took gulls to peck at a sealed bag of chips I had placed on the ground in front of me – once when I was looking at them and once when I was looking away. I found gulls took longer to peck at the chips when I was watching them. I also found gulls are attracted to food they have seen humans handling, probably because they have learned we often leave food waste lying around.

• What does this mean for our interactions with gulls? Well, we can reduce unwanted encounters by disposing of our food waste properly. If we choose to eat our food in a gull hotspot being vigilant will help: look for where gulls are and watch them. Check behind you, sit under an umbrella or by a high wall so that gulls can’t swoop in from out of your sight.

Overpopulation

=> ↺ The Global Population Will Soon Reach 8 Billion—Then What?

• Later this year, on 15 November 2022, the world population is projected to reach 8 billion. Seventy years ago, in 1952, it stood at 2.5 billion; and 70 years from now, by 2092, it will have grown by another 2.5 billion over current levels. Global population growth has been the overarching demographic story for decades and will remain a predominant trend for many years to come. Underneath this trend, however, lies growing demographic diversity. It is necessary to come to terms with this diversity to understand and address the increasingly divergent concerns of countries with demographic shifts, and we must support sustained and sustainable development.

=> ↺ World population to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022 [EN/AR/ZH]

• “This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.

=> ↺ Global population projected to exceed 8 billion in 2022; half live in just seven countries

• China has the world’s largest population (1.426 billion), but India (1.417 billion) is expected to claim this title next year. The next five most populous nations – the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil – together have fewer people than India or China. In fact, China’s population is greater than the entire population of Europe (744 million) or the Americas (1.04 billion) and roughly equivalent to that of all nations in Africa (1.427 billion).

Finance

=> ↺ Is Crypto Really Going To Crash? (Yes)

• It’s time for the Biden administration and Congress to end the crypto Ponzi scheme.In the meantime, share this video so your friends and family don’t fall for it.

=> ↺ Opinion | Four Reasons Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act Doesn’t Live Up to the Hype

• The Democrats are celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act over unified Republican opposition, claiming that the legislation is a historic breakthrough. Sadly, it’s not.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

=> ↺ Mike Pompeo and CIA Sued for Illegal Surveillance of Assange’s Visitors

Civil Rights/Policing

=> ↺ Afghan judge in hiding is refused entry to UK

• Her lawyers said she had jailed thousands of criminals, including hundreds of Taliban who have since been freed and are now part of the government.

• Fearing for her life after the Taliban takeover a year ago, she and her son went into hiding.

=> ↺ Opinion | Kansas Shows Abortion Rights Can Win in Red States

• There’s no place like home.

=> ↺ Abortion Remains Legal in Michigan After Court Extends Block on 1931 Ban

=> ↺ Opinion | Tribal Nations Are Under Threat as Native Families’ Right to Stay Together Is at Stake at the Supreme Court

• Since European settlers arrived on the shores of what is now known as the United States, federal and state governments, intent on seizing Indian lands, have sought to undermine and threaten the existence of tribes through the forced separation and assimilation of Native children. By severing Native children from their families, tribes, and culture, colonizers believed they could stamp out Indigeneity and erase tribal people altogether. As with any nation, the future ceases to exist if children are prevented from carrying on the languages, traditions, and knowledge passed down from each generation to the next.

=> ↺ Activists Arrested at Seattle Protest Pushing Murray to Reject ‘Dirty’ Manchin Deal

• “We can’t let Big Oil gut our bedrock environmental laws and bulldoze over communities; we need to stop this dirty deal.”

=> ↺ Calls Mount for Release of Saudi Woman Facing 34 Years in Prison Over Tweets

• Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Friday that “we are appalled by the sentencing” of al-Shehab, a 34-year-old mother and graduate student in the United Kingdom.

Digital Restrictions (DRM)

=> ↺ YouTube Shorts Will Add a Watermark to Videos — So If They’re Shared on TikTok, You’ll Know Where They Came From

• Going forward, the video giant will add a watermark icon to YouTube Shorts videos that creators download to share elsewhere, like on TikTok and Instagram Reels. That way, if a video that originated on YouTube Shorts goes viral on another platform, viewers will see a visual indicator of that.

Monopolies

=> ↺ Can the Visa-Mastercard duopoly be broken?

• At first glance their position appears insurmountable. Already dominant, in recent years the firms have been boosted by a covid-induced rise in online shopping. American consumers used credit or debit cards for 45% of their transactions in 2016; by 2021, that had reached 57%. The migration from cash is “a significant and long-running tailwind,” says Craig Vosburg of Mastercard. Yet two threats loom. The first comes from Washington, where legislators hope to smash the duo’s grip on payments. The second is virtual. Payments have been transformed in Brazil, China and Indonesia by cheap, convenient app-based options from tech giants like Mercado Pago, Ant Group, Tencent and Grab. After a long wait, new entrants now look like they could shake up America’s market.

Copyrights

=> ↺ New UFC Copyright Lawsuit Rejects Fair Use Defense For Documentary Makers

• The UFC’s ruthless approach to IP disputes often matches the brutality seen in the Octagon. UFC chief Dana White is famous for his rants against streaming pirates but this week documentary makers are feeling the heat. Their film features former UFC champion Michael Bisping and lots of unlicensed UFC action clips. Fair use, perhaps? Don’t even try it, UFC warns.

Gemini* and Gopher

Personal

=> ↺ (spoilers) Madoka Magica

• Pretty much all except one main character has been introduced, with the pink hair girl being the what I’d describe as the 1st main character (have fun with me describing them by their hair colour/characteristics).

=> ↺ Re: Anglophone Deficiencies

• I love stuff like this. Spaniards, Serbs, Finns, and Germans actually do ‘muck-up’ every sentence thrown at them if the sentence is in a different language. Each language has its own phonotactics, that is, which arrangements of sounds are acceptable in a given language. Perhaps sociolinguistically, English speakers are more obnoxious about it because of all the diphthongs and Americans; I don’t really know though.

Technical

=> ↺ Re: How many computers?

• A rough inventory of our personal computing hardware, inspired by ew0k’s “How Many Computer’s do you Have?”

=> ↺ A Licence is Not a Virus

• I find something comical about people who refer to FOSS licences as ‘viral licensing’. In order to refer to it as a virus, the following has to occur:

• 1. Soydev wants to charge money for his amazing software idea, but doesn’t want to write the software. 2. Finding a slew of MIT-licensed (and therefore free to use) software, he cobbles together enough libraries to achieve his goal, and the mega-bucks app lies within sight. 3. Tragedy strikes as one of the ‘free’ projects he’s copied in fact uses the GPL, which then makes his project also GPL.

=> ↺ Social media

• First, it makes sense that people come to the internet looking for connection and community. These are things that we need, and this hegemonic society deprives us of them (sometimes it feels like that’s by design — they make us miserable and use our misery to goad us into buying crap and obeying leaders — but it could be an emergent property, and this is an unnecessary digression). Those of us who recognize these human needs, and who have found our own needs occasionally fulfilled on the internet, probably do have a collective responsibility to look out for each other. So in that regard I absolutely agree with the sentiment of the post.

• On the other hand, I believe that modern social media platforms have made addicts of most of us. All this “engagement” (likes, boosts, replies, follows, etc.) is designed to feel rewarding, occasionally thrilling, so it’s natural that we come online seeking these feelings. But this is a habit that we’re well served to break. Like most addictions, people often get caught up in unhealthy behaviors seeking these signals, and they suffer because of it. But maybe worse than that, our engagement with this cycle gets in the way of actually building the sort of community which we came online to find in the first place. The relationships we need to build happen through different kinds of interactions than the ones facilitated by social media platforms. I think this is true even for “good” social media platforms that have good cultures, are well moderated, and full of nice and interesting people.

• [...]

• …be careful not to fall into a trap of mistaking social media engagement from the actual community-seeking that you need.

=> ↺ Using systemd to make a Minecraft server to start on-demand and stop when it has no player

Science

=> ↺ Horus Calendar Program Progress

• I’ve made some more progress on my calendar program (currently called Horus). I’ve added code to locally calculate the sunrise, sunset, solar noon, dusk, and dawn of a date given a location (longitude and latitude) and timezone. This will be used in the program to provide these features for the whole calendar, calculating the values on demand as you select dates in the calendar, or as today’s date changes, rather than being precalculated. The Astronomical Calculations happen to be fairly quick (certainly within a second for all calculations for one date). These

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