The mosquitos are exceptionally fierce these days in the Aptos Hills.

[pH]

Holy Moly.
We're about 3-1/2 miles up Cathedral Drive above the Aptos Post Office bordering Nisene Marks State Park.
The mosquitos are pretty fierce of late. On the other hand, I've only just seen the first
few yellowjackets of the season (and managed to eliminate two of the first three I saw....bwaahaa ha haaaaa....no mercy for yellowjackets for personal reasons.

Normally I might have one mosquito coil going on the deck and that keeps them down
to a quite tolerable level of "leak through".
Tonight I have three (count 'em 3!) going and I'm still getting a pretty impressive assault.

How's everyone else faring out there?

pH

[BCFD36]

Yeah, pretty bad. But, like you, not too many yellow jackets.

Obviously this group doesn't get used much any more. I hadn't checked in
awhile.

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer - Stellar Solutions

[pH]

Hi Dave.
Yes, you're right. Times change, I guess.
I think it's a sad thing: The commercial replacements are getting
all the press--twitter, facebook, etc. etc. etc. but they are just
really the same ol' same ol' of Usenet and Internet Relay Chat.

The *big* advantage I see of Usenet over the commercial stuff is that there
is no "Big Brother" banning your speech based on the latest fashion out
there. (moderated groups excepted, of course.)

I can just imagine how the late Tim May would have fared out there.
I always liked that we could all read his posts like big boys and not
have to be "protected" from the ideas expressed.

There's *lots* out there that I might disagree with...I like reading
it, though.

No one here to read this, but here it is anyway. God bless Usenet.

pH in Aptos

[David Arnstein]

In article <9caaf01f-4bea-447e...@googlegroups.com>,

pH <wb6...@gmail.com> wrote:
>No one here to read this, but here it is anyway. God bless Usenet.

Well, I read it. I don't live in the mountains though.
--
David Arnstein (00)
arnstei...@pobox.com {{ }}
^^

[Julian Macassey]

On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 11:15:29 -0800 (PST), pH <wb6...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, you're right. Times change, I guess.
> I think it's a sad thing: The commercial replacements are getting
> all the press--twitter, facebook, etc. etc. etc. but they are just
> really the same ol' same ol' of Usenet and Internet Relay Chat.

Yea, I love to giggle when people say "social media" I
often reply "Yea usenet is pretty useful".

>
> The *big* advantage I see of Usenet over the commercial stuff is that there
> is no "Big Brother" banning your speech based on the latest fashion out
> there. (moderated groups excepted, of course.)

There is a way to post to moderated groups.
alt.sysadmin.recovery for example is technically moderated, but
there is no moderator, it is assumed that if you are a sys admin
you know how to approve your own posts.

>
> I can just imagine how the late Tim May would have fared out there.
> I always liked that we could all read his posts like big boys and not
> have to be "protected" from the ideas expressed.

Tim May may have been crazy by the standards of the
normals. But so also are Shockley (who after all created "Silicon
Valley") and James Watson of DNA fame.

You want more crazy? Kary Mullis, Nobel prize in
Chemistry for PCR (DNA). He also had conversations with glow in
the dark raccoons from outer space.

The world is changed by crazy people, not by sober
accountants. That is true in science and the arts.

>
> There's *lots* out there that I might disagree with...I like reading
> it, though.

My father believed you had read everything, especially
what you disagreed with.

>
> No one here to read this, but here it is anyway. God bless Usenet.

I read it, and followed up. You keep usenet alive by
using it, not by clicking a stupid "like" button.


--
"(Bill) Gates is more and opportunist than a technical type and severely
opinionated even when the opinion he holds is absurd."
- Gary Kildall "Computer Connections"

[Andy Valencia]

pH <wb6...@gmail.com> writes:
> > Obviously this group doesn't get used much any more. I hadn't checked in
> > awhile.

> The *big* advantage I see of Usenet over the commercial stuff is that there
> is no "Big Brother" banning your speech based on the latest fashion out
> there. (moderated groups excepted, of course.)

For a more modern take on decentralised public communication,
me and my family have been using Mastodon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon_software

It doesn't have the Usenet group hierarchy; instead, your "home
instance" tends to reflect your choice of a compatible community.
mastodon.sdf.org is one, witches.live is another. :-) The site
mastodon.social is kinda the mothership of the whole show, but
just in the sense that it was one of the first.

Anyway, give me a shout @van...@mst.vsta.org if you happen to be
over there.

Andy

[Julian Macassey]

On Tue, 03 Dec 2019 06:40:33 -0800, Andy Valencia <van...@vsta.org> wrote:
>
> For a more modern take on decentralised public communication,
> me and my family have been using Mastodon:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon_software
>
> It doesn't have the Usenet group hierarchy; instead, your "home
> instance" tends to reflect your choice of a compatible community.
> mastodon.sdf.org is one, witches.live is another. :-) The site
> mastodon.social is kinda the mothership of the whole show, but
> just in the sense that it was one of the first.

What usenet has that makes it light, fast and platform
independant is that it is ASCII (utf) based. I can read usenet
from a dumb terminal anywhere.

Adding pretty pictures adds little to verbage.

--
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best
colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket." - LBJ 1964

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 11:15:29 -0800 (PST), pH <wb6...@gmail.com> wrote:

>There's *lots* out there that I might disagree with...I like reading
>it, though.

When I write something, and everyone agrees, then I consider it a
failure. It's not really necessary to fully read or understand
something in order to agree with it. However, to disagree, requires a
full read, at least a superficial understanding, and the ability to
present a defensible counter arguement. (One line position statements
don't count).

>No one here to read this, but here it is anyway. God bless Usenet.

I guess I should feel sorry for those who can only read, but cannot or
will not write.

That reminds me. I still have two boxes of Home Power magazine for
you in my palatial office.

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[BCFD36]

It only took me two days to see it. There are some still here. Too bad
we haven't heard from Gary Starkweather or JC Dill in awhile. Or some of
the other regulars from long ago.

I will have to disagree about the pictures though. Sometimes pictures
speak a thousand words.

[pH]

On Monday, December 2, 2019 at 9:53:54 PM UTC-8, Julian Macassey wrote:

> On Mon, 2 Dec 2019 11:15:29 -0800 (PST), pH wrote:
> > Yes, you're right. Times change, I guess.
> > I think it's a sad thing: The commercial replacements are getting
> > all the press--twitter, facebook, etc. etc. etc. but they are just
> > really the same ol' same ol' of Usenet and Internet Relay Chat.
>
> Yea, I love to giggle when people say "social media" I
> often reply "Yea usenet is pretty useful".

Ha! Times when I have mentioned Usenet I generally get blank stares. (As opposed to the unadorned step upon which I sometimes walk--blank stairs.)

One thing I have never tried is good old irc, internet relay chat. What would be the closest modern analog to that?

Also as part of my Usenet heritage I would always get grief from co-workers because I would never top post; that was all they knew thanks to good old MicroSoft. My explanations simply fell upon deaf ears.

>
> >
> > The *big* advantage I see of Usenet over the commercial stuff is that there
> > is no "Big Brother" banning your speech based on the latest fashion out
> > there. (moderated groups excepted, of course.)
>
> There is a way to post to moderated groups.
> alt.sysadmin.recovery for example is technically moderated, but
> there is no moderator, it is assumed that if you are a sys admin
> you know how to approve your own posts.

Are there still moderated groups out there? I had assumed Usenet was simply dying the slow death of newspapers. There are some that still have some life in them like comp.unix.shell (I don't know anything, just read it to try to learn.) rec.bicycles.misc and .tech

>
> >
> > I can just imagine how the late Tim May would have fared out there.
> > I always liked that we could all read his posts like big boys and not
> > have to be "protected" from the ideas expressed.
>
> Tim May may have been crazy by the standards of the
> normals. But so also are Shockley (who after all created "Silicon
> Valley") and James Watson of DNA fame.

I don't know if I would say "crazy", but he had his opinions. We had know way of knowing if he was trolling or not; the point is that he was not afraid to say what he thought and that's a good thing, I think whether I agree or not.

The late Geoff Miller was not afraid to vent his spleen and castigate all those no-nothing drivers out there who were too slow, etc. (I'd be one of those in his crosshairs.)

>
> You want more crazy? Kary Mullis, Nobel prize in
> Chemistry for PCR (DNA). He also had conversations with glow in
> the dark raccoons from outer space.

Wow. PCR has revolutionized biology. Glow in the dark racoons from outer space? Really? Could simply be science fiction musings.

>
> The world is changed by crazy people, not by sober
> accountants. That is true in science and the arts.

...who also have the Edison "1% inspiration 99% perspiration" industriousness. I don't.

>
> >
> > There's *lots* out there that I might disagree with...I like reading
> > it, though.
>
> My father believed you had read everything, especially
> what you disagreed with.

Amen. How else can you know how to formulate a argument?
I used to like to argue w/ my kids and then we'd switch sides. That was fun.

> >
> > No one here to read this, but here it is anyway. God bless Usenet.
>
> I read it, and followed up. You keep usenet alive by
> using it, not by clicking a stupid "like" button.
>

Huzzah and shame on me for not checking back sooner.
pH

[wb6...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at 6:46:10 AM UTC-8, Andy Valencia wrote:

I read through a tutorial on installing Mastadon on a Raspberry Pi. I remember it was *real* long and involved.
I had not realized that it's getting some actual use/traction.

My daughter has a job at Aptos Natural Foods and they require her to use something called "Slack." From her description it seems to be like one of the good old Bulletin Board System (wonder if any of those are still around.)

pH in the Aptos Hills

[wb6...@gmail.com]

Starkweather and Dill! Sounds like Scrooge and Marley, doesn't it?
I recall those names, now. Maybe they'll pop backup, who knows.

Then there was that professor up in Boulder Creek that Geoff used to
torment about his dogs and other things...can't recall offhand.

pH

[Andy Valencia]

pH <wb6...@gmail.com> writes:
> Are there still moderated groups out there? I had assumed Usenet was
> simply dying the slow death of newspapers.

comp.arch has some hard-core CPU and system architecture people.

Andy

[Julian Macassey]

On Fri, 13 Dec 2019 20:49:01 -0800 (PST), pH
<wb6...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, December 2, 2019 at 9:53:54 PM UTC-8, Julian
> Macassey wrote:
>
> One thing I have never tried is good old irc, internet
> relay chat. What would be the closest modern analog to
> that?

I often tell the "Bros", slack is irc with
pictures to keep the semi-literate happy.

>
> Also as part of my Usenet heritage I would always get
> grief from co-workers because I would never top post;
> that was all they knew thanks to good old MicroSoft.
> My explanations simply fell upon deaf ears.

Posting in line confuses people. I have found
that the Wintards are unaware that although their MUA
dumps the cursor at the top, but 1. they can move it. 2.
They can delete extraneous text.

Most people on the net today have never used an
ASCII terminal. There are people who have never actually
used an MUA, but access mail like gmail via a browser.

>
>
> Are there still moderated groups out there?

There are indeed. comp.dcom.telecom is one as is
alt.sysadmin.recovery.

>>
>> Tim May may have been crazy by the standards of
>> the normals. But so also are Shockley (who after
>> all created "Silicon Valley") and James Watson of
>> DNA fame.
>
> I don't know if I would say "crazy", but he had his
> opinions. We had know way of knowing if he was
> trolling or not; the point is that he was not afraid to
> say what he thought and that's a good thing, I think
> whether I agree or not.
>
> The late Geoff Miller was not afraid to vent his spleen
> and castigate all those no-nothing drivers out there
> who were too slow, etc. (I'd be one of those in his
> crosshairs.)

Those are the people who made the net they were
as the Bros like to say "Early adopters".

>
>>
>> You want more crazy? Kary Mullis, Nobel prize in
>> Chemistry for PCR (DNA). He also had
>> conversations with glow in the dark raccoons from
>> outer space.
>
> Wow. PCR has revolutionized biology. Glow in the dark
> racoons from outer space? Really? Could simply be
> science fiction musings.

He explains all in his auto-biography.

His Wikipedia page is worth a read.

+ Mullis reported an encounter with a "standard
+ extraterrestrial raccoon" at his cabin in the woods of
+ northern California around midnight one night in 1985; he
+ denied being on psychedelic drugs at the time.

His auto-biography is "Dancing Naked in the Mind
Field" your library should have it.

>
>>
>> The world is changed by crazy people, not by
>> sober accountants. That is true in science and
>> the arts.
>
> ...who also have the Edison "1% inspiration 99%
> perspiration" industriousness. I don't.
>>
>> >
>> > There's *lots* out there that I might disagree
>> > with...I like reading it, though.
>>
>> My father believed you had read everything,
>> especially what you disagreed with.
>
> Amen. How else can you know how to formulate a
> argument? I used to like to argue w/ my kids and then
> we'd switch sides. That was fun.
>

--
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in
its own way.” - Leo Tolstoy

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Fri, 13 Dec 2019 21:07:01 -0800 (PST), wb6...@gmail.com wrote:

>Then there was that professor up in Boulder Creek that Geoff used to
>torment about his dogs and other things...can't recall offhand.

Sherwood Harrington