The GoldChannel Project: Build a home theater PC for less than $1000.
For the last several years, I've been wanting a home theater PC. A few of my friends already had home theater PCs, through which they could play their music on their stereo, display their pictures on their TV, and play their videos on their TV. Some of these systems were based on the Windows Media Center edition OS. I didn't want a Windows-based home theater. Support for the Media Center versions of Windows has waned, and in the current version, it's practially non-existent. I had heard of Mythbuntu -- a flavor of Ubuntu [Linux] with MythTV support integrated into it -- and wanted to try it out.

The name for this machine -- and the project -- was GoldChannel, after the high-priority command-level communications channel on "Babylon 5". Since my main desktop is named "orac" (from "Blake's 7"), and my main laptop is named "tardis" (from "Doctor Who"), I wanted to continue using names from some of my favorite science fiction programs.

The goal was to build such a home theater system for under $1,000 using easily obtainable parts.

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Current Mood: accomplished

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Waxing Political: What do Democrats stand for?
So, the Democratic National Committee elected Tom Perez as their next chairman, and not Keith Ellison. That tells me that they are staying their course, whatever that happens to be. Why? "Because we've always done it this way." Or so it seems to me.

I honestly don't know what the Democratic Party stands for any more. What is their current mission statement? What are their core values? Are they living up to them? If not, why not?

Years ago, the Democratic Party stood for the little guy -- the working man, the laborer, for civil rights, and equality for everyone. That may no longer be the case (except for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage), and probably hasn't been that way since the early 1990s, after Bill Clinton was elected and NAFTA was passed. Their current mission and purpose seems to be "To oppose the Republican Party, everything they do, and constantly fundraise".

Despite their incessant pleas and repeated requests for $3, I don't give money to political parties, period. I don't think it's a good return on my investment. Where does that money go? For ads (or should I say "party propaganda"), and to pay staffers. I might as well gamble it away in a casino.

Bernie Sanders chose to run as a Democrat last year because they had avenues and money that wouldn't have been available to him had he run as an independent. But the party chose to stonewall him because he was an outsider, and go with their lifelong loyal subject: Hillary Clinton.

I would very much like to see more political parties enter the fray, and knock the donkey and the elephant off the see-saw they've been riding. But both the Libertarians and Greens can't seem to get any traction -- they lag in fundraising behind the Big Two, don't get as much media coverage, and are kept out of debates. I can see both Democrats and Republicans spliting up their parties, and spinning off two new political parties: the Democratic Socialists (for followers of Bernie Sanders and the progressives), and (for lack of a better term) the Tea Party (for the neo-conservatives and Trump supporters). What's holding them back? The people who keep saying "But I've always voted this way, and don't see a reason to change!"

I'm still registered as a Democrat. The primary reason is so I can work as a volunteer pollworker. My county allows only D's and R's to work the polls, in order to keep everything fair balanced. Independents or third-party members need not apply. Thankfully there are no "loyalty tests" I have to take, or minimum donations required.

Current Mood: contemplative

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Christmas spirit? We haven't had that spirit here since 1989....
(In which I look back on the events of my life and try to figure out why I no longer feel any joy this time of year.)

I used to enjoy Christmas. When I was a boy, I looked forward to getting presents that day -- usually new toys and games, and the occasional article of clothing. Dad would film my sister and I opening our gifts with his 8mm film camera and light bar. We'd also get together with the extended family -- my father's three sisters and their families -- and have Christmas dinner together. They'd take turns hosting the annual event.

In the '80s, I noticed that the Christmas season seemed to be a big buildup starting on the day after Thanksgiving, peak on Christmas Day, and then it was business as usual on the 26th. I also became aware of the rampant commercialism of the holiday.

Then I moved away in 1989 for work. I didn't return home for Christmas due to the threat of inclement weather, which would have made driving on I-90 treacherous. I also had no other family or relatives here in Dayton. The nearest relatives were in Lorain, about 30 miles west of Cleveland, and I wan't close to them at all.

And then, in the 1990s, I left the Catholic faith. I got tired of the hierarchy, or as I called it, "the oldest of old-boy networks", telling us how we should think and live our lives. Have you ever wondered why Christmas -- the birth of Christ -- is celebrated on December 25? Because some pope in the 4th century decreed it as such. It coincided with the observance of Saturnalia, and that pope didn't want his people to be left out of the festivities. And so, Christmas became "not my holiday".

Something else I've been missing since I moved here: the observance of Hanukkah. Even as far back as kindergarten, I've had Jewish friends who shared their holiday with me. We spun dreidels, had potato pancakes, sang and played Hanukkah songs in our holiday concerts, and heard the story about the the Jewish people taking refuge in their temple and the oil in the lamp in the temple lasting for eight days. We were multicultural before the term was even coined or even trendy, and no one complained about this at all. I often feel that I'm in Goys' Town USA because there's little to no mention of this holiday here.

Christmas is about family. Where's my family? I'm all alone now. Mom and Dad are dead and gone. My sister is in Colorado. I've been divorced since 2007. I still have relatives in Buffalo, but it's rare that I hear from them. I'm usually the one who initiates contact with them; they don't call or write unless I do so first.

And so I stopped decorating for Christmas. I haven't put up a tree since the divorce. I haven't put lights up on the condo. I don't even hang a wreath on the door any more. It's just too much work to put everything up, only to take it down a couple of weeks later.

For me, December 25 has just another day. But I do like the feeling and sense of stillness I notice from sundown on Christmas Eve to midnight (00:00) on December 26. It's like all the machinery keeping the world going has stopped for a short time.

Current Mood: meh

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"Whatever it takes. No excuses."
(Based on a Facebook post from a few months ago.)

One of my mantras has been "Whatever it takes. No excuses." That is what I demanded of myself, and expected of others. Where did I lean this? I'm not quite sure, but I've given some thought as to where I might have learned it.

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Current Mood: grumpy

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The video conversion project.....
A few years ago, I purchased a copy of Honestech's VHS to DVD program. The software -- I can't remember if I had version 3.0 or 5.0 -- came with a "dongle" device into which I could plug three RCA jacks (for audio and video) and plug the other end into a USB port of my computer. The program served as the capture device and created MPEG files of the video. I used it to digitize about 100 video tapes I had while I was out of work 3-4 years ago.

Since then, I upgraded my desktop computer to Windows 7. I thought I would have to re-install the program, since it had previously run under XP (and it's a good practice to do so). But I couldn't find the CD or the license key. The path of least resistance was to purchase another copy of the kit. And so I bought the Vidbox Video Conversion Suite, which included an updated copy of the Honestech software and a converter box. (Vidbox and Honestech appear to be two product lines from the same company -- Honestech for PC; Vidbox for Mac.)

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Current Mood: accomplished

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Marching Band Memories - Part 2: The games....
Continuing my march down memory lane....

My high school -- Sweet Home -- was in Section VI, Division I of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). Section VI covered western New York -- Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, and Cattaraugus counties. Division I was for the larger schools. The schools (and teams) I remember us playing against were Amherst (Tigers), Kenmore East (Bulldogs), Kenmore West (Blue Devils), North Tonawanda (Lumberjacks), and Jamestown (Red Raiders). Games were held on Saturday afternoons, and occastionally on Friday nights.

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Current Mood: nostalgic

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Marching band memories - Part 1: The music...
A few weeks ago, one of the memes I came across asked if I could still sing my high school fight song.

I remember what our fight song was -- "Mister Touchdown USA" -- but I never sang it, because I was too busy playing it along with the rest of the marching band. And we never played the bridge section; just the verse. Here's the song. . (Trivia: It's one of the songs that the University of Nebraska's marching band often plays.)

The original lyrics are on the website of one of the song's writers, Ruth Roberts. But we had our own set of words. Here they are, courtesy of one of my classmates, John Pfetsch. (Thanks, John!)

We’re gonna fight for Sweet Home Central
We’re gonna fight for Sweet Home High
Blue and Gold we cheer your name
March down the field and we’ll win the game

We’re gonna Fight Fight Fight for our alma mater true
Fight for that sweet victory
We’re gonna do or die
All together Sweet Home High
This is the song of Gold and Blue

We also had the book of Big Ten Fight Songs. It had a yellow cover, and was published by MPL Communications -- Sir Paul McCartney's music publishing company. The songs we played from this book were "On Wisconsin" (Wisconsin), "Notre Dame Victory March" (Notre Dame), "The Victors" (Michigan), "Across the Field" (Ohio State), and "Go U Northwestern" (Northwestern).

I was in the marching band all four years of high school. I was disappointed to find out at the jazz ensemble reunion in 2014 that the marching band program had been discontinued, and the uniforms were sold or auctioned off. I'll talk about the uniforms, the trips, and the good times I had in a future post.

Current Mood: nostalgic

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My Eureka Timberline 2 tent...
(Originally posted to Facebook on 10/20/16.)

[Backstory: Earlier this year, my friend Heather (aka maedbh7) had been looking for a "bivvy tent", and found one on Craigslist for $40. The seller was in Dayton, and had asked me to pick it up for her. And earlier this week, we finally took it on an overnight outing to Buck Creek State Park, east of Springfield, OH.]

While Heather tried out the Eureka Solitaire tent (and posted a review to her wall), I used my tried and trusty Eureka Timberline 2. I've had it since the early 1990s. It's somewhat styled after the 2-person tents we had in my Boy Scout troop. It sleeps 2 medium-sized people, or 1 large person. There are zippered vents at both the front and back of the tent to provide ventilation.

I use a 6' x 8' tarp below the tent as a ground cloth, and their "floor saver" (a sheet of thick plastic cut to fit this tent) inside the tent. There is an optional vestibule that attaches to the front of the tent to give me a little bit of storage space for gear and wet/muddy footwear. And there's a mesh "gear loft" that attaches to loops inside the tent to hold light items (flashlight, wallet, meds, cell phone, etc.).

Camping hack: I sprayed primer, fluorescent paint, and clear coat on the heads of the steel stakes so I can find them easier if they're laying in the grass. Brightly colored duct tape may work just as well.

My queen-size air mattress fills nearly the entire floor area. If it's inflated outside the tent, it's a little tricky to put inside. I often have to unroll the air mattress and then inflate it after it's inside. Ditto that for deflating.

Disadvantages: The tent isn't tall enough to stand up in, so changing clothes can become an adventure. If the fly touches the interior "roof" of the tent, dampness can occur inside the tent. And the zippers sometimes get caught and stuck on the sides of the zipper.

Despite these disadvantages, this is a great tent for a weekend outing.

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To Darmstadtium... and beyond! (Revision 1)
"These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard
And there may be many others, but they haven't been discovered."
-Tom Lehrer, "The Elements"


Several years ago, I wrote about some of the new elements on the periodic table. And now I can't find that article. I looked as far back as 2008; didn't see it. So I'll write a new entry.

I've always been fascinated by chemistry and physics. Around 1974-75, I read Issac Asimov's Building Blocks of the Universe, and another book on the elements. This other book was the first mention of elements 104 (rutherfordium) and 105 (hahnium), and also theorized that element 114 would be relatively stable since it appeared under lead. (Sidenote: Hahnium was later renamed dubnium, to honor the Russian nuclear physics research facility.)

This past December, IUPAC announced the confirmation of the existence of four new elements -- elements 113, 115, 117, and 118, thus competing the seventh row of the table. And in June, IUPAC announced their official names and symbols -- Nihonium (Nh), Moscovium (Mc), Tennesine (Ts), and Oganesson (Og). (Technically, these are only proposed names at this time; they will become official in December, if there is no dissent.)

Of course, this renders the periodic table charts in most chemistry classrooms obsolete. But instead of requiring schools to purchase new charts, I'd like to see the scientific companies publish a sticker containing elements 104-118 that can be placed as an overlay on the chart.

So, for those of us who haven't picked up a chemistry textbook in years, what are the elements past Lawrencium (103), the last element of the actinide series? Collectively, this set is known as the transactinide series -- elements 104-118.
104 - Rutherfordium (Rf) - named for Ernest Rutherford
105 - Dubnium (Db) - named for the Russian town of Dubna (home of the research facility of the same name)
106 - Seaborgium (Sg) - named for Glenn Seaborg
107 - Bohrium (Bh) - named for Niels Bohr
108 - Hassium (Hs) - named for the German state of Hesse
109 - Meitnerium (Mt) - named for Lise Meitner
110 - Darmstadtium (Ds) - named for the German city of Darmstadt
111 - Roentgenium (Rg) - named for Wilhelm Roentgen
112 - Copernicium (Cn) - named for Nikoulas Copernicus
113 - Nihonium (Nh) - named for the country of Japan
114 - Flerovium (Fl) - named for the Flerov Laboratory in Russia (named for Georgy Flyorov)
115 - Moscovium (Mc) - named for Moscow, Russia
116 - Livermorium (Lv) - named for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
117 - Tennesine (Ts) - named for the US state of Tennessee
118 - Oganesson (Og) - named for Yuri Oganessian

But nuclear physicists aren't going to rest on their laurels and stop there. They're going to continue smashing atoms together and try to create more new elements. While they haven't been created yet, Element 119 would have the placeholder name of Ununennium (Uue), Element 120 would have the placeholder name of Unbinilium (Ubn), and so on. Starting with element 121, electrons will start filling the g-block. An extended periodic table has already been devised to accommodate this new row of elements -- the superactindes.

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The soundtrack of my life, in 12 albums.....
So, on Facebook, Jeff Bonhoff asked some of his online friends about music, and what 12 albums would be the soundtrack to their lives. I don't know Jeff very well (and I'd like to change that), but two of the people who responded were Rand Bellavia and Phil Mills. I'm putting this on LJ instead of Facebook due to its length. (At one time, Facbook used to limit the size of posts. I don't know if they still do.)

The challenge was this: List 12 albums that are, in some way, the soundtrack of my life.

When I constructed this list, I intentionally limited this to one album per artist. I also started with 25 albums and eventually whittled the list down to 12.

1) Glenn Miller, "Greatest Hits"
My father was a fan of big band music from the 1930s and 1940s -- Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, et al. He'd often play recordings of this music at home while he was relaxing, working around the house, or working in his workshop.

2) Supertramp, "Crime of the Century"
One of the first albums I bought. The band got a lot of airplay on the local radio stations. I remember hearing "Bloody Well Right" in March of 1975, when my father was in the hospital for an ulcer.

3) Styx, "The Grand Illusion"
Another one of the first albums I bought. Ray LaVere, a high school classmate of mine, loaned me his copy on cassette tape. JY's ARP Odyssey solo in the bridge section of "Come Sail Away" got me interested in synthesizers.

4) Electric Light Orchestra, A New World Record"
Twin brothers Alan and Kevin Payne had painted the ELO logo on a wall in their basement, and several of us in the neighbood came over to listen to ELO. Who was with us? Dan Clune, Kirk Komasara, Mike Polino.

5) Synergy, "Games"
Studio musician Larry Fast recorded several solo albums under the name Synergy. This album, released in 1979, was one of the first electronic music, or electronica, albums I heard. A notable sound on the album was the lead violin line on "Delta Four", which was an early example of digital synthesis.

6) Paul Simon, "Graceland"
7) Big Audio Dynamite, "This is Big Audio Dynamite"
8) Prefab Sprout, "Two Wheels Good"
These three albums were the soundtrack of my time in college. I have fond memories of hanging out with my Delta Chi brothers at the chapter house, talking about anything that came to mind, and listening to these albums.

9) Gowan, "Strange Animal"
Some other friends of mine from college were fans of Gowan. I saw him live in the summer of '86 at the Crystal Beach Pavilion.

10) White Zombie, "La Sexorcisto: Devil Music vol. 1"
When I was dating Amy ("Zon") Mundhenk in '93, this is what we listened to as we hit the various haunted houses around Dayton.

11) Pat Metheny, "Secret Story"
I love listening to Metheny's music when I'm driving long distances. I could have picked any of his albums.

12) Jonn Serrie, "And The Stars Go With You"
This artist's music often accompanies planetarium shows. I like to listen to it as I try to fall asleep at night.

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My first 7 jobs.....
So, one of the memes going around Facebook this week is to identify one's first seven jobs, marking them with the hashtag #first7jobs. ( Here are mine, with some explanation.Collapse )

Current Mood: nostalgic

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Fit the Fourth.....
Years ago, when I was in college, I fell in with a group of people who had the common interest of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The group was called "Don't Panic!", and were working on their version for the school's low-power AM radio station, WRUB. (It broadcast its signal via power-line communication, using the electrical system in the dormitories.)

Who was in the group? John Feinberg, Larry Fein, Ron Odde, Don Henk, Tim O'Brien, and a few others whose names I can't remember. We all had copies of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Scripts, and used that book as our script.

The first show of theirs that I was involved in was the final episode, "Fit The Twelfth". They had previously broadcast the preceding eleven parts. In this episode, we crowded into the studio. There was a section where a man was feeding his cat, whom the man calld "The Lord". And several of us were meowing like cats.

The decision was made to re-record an episode (with higher quality), and the fourth episode -- "Fit the Fourth"-- was selected. I played the part of "The BBC Radiophonic Workshop", in which my role was to create sound effects for the program. With the help of my trusty old Minimoog, I came up with sounds for the demolition beams, and the sounds of a spaceship door opening and closing. When it came time to record, we all crowded into the studio, and it went well.

We never recorded the other episodes, and I wonder what happened to the tapes of the show. I wouldn't mind having a copy for posterity. I know I still have the patch diagrams for the sounds.

Current Mood: nostalgic

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Another one rides the bus.....
Earlier today, someone on one of the Facebooks groups I'm on mentioned old school buses. And it reminded me of my bus riding experience.

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Current Mood: nostalgic

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Winning the Big One.... (2016 edition)
Last night's Powerball jackpot was $500 million, and there were no winners. Saturday's jackpot is over $700 mllion -- a new record.

The rules for both multi-state lotteries have changed since I posted this article four years ago. ( So let's update this a little, shall we?Collapse )

Current Mood: thoughtful

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Has it really been six months?
My last entry to LJ was back in March. I haven't had a large block of time, or the inclination, to write a long, thought-out post.

The last job: Tech lead and I got along like Spock and McCoy. One time, I asked my agency to put me on another job, and they didn't. I stopped short of quoting the Gestalt Prayer at him. We got two more programmers. And the week before Memorial Day, I was informed that Friday would be my last day. This caught me off guard. I thought the task was ongoing. But they cut it short, and never gave me any heads-up. I felt betrayed.

Anyway, a few weeks later, I interviewed with a defense contracting company that was looking to bid on a position. Part of the interview was to write text about my capabilities that would go into the proposal. And they gave me an offer, pending the award of the contract.

So I kept interviewing. I had an interview with another defense contractor, which kind of went strangely because the recruiter verbally offered me the job a few days later, pending some sort of contingency, and I never heard from him again. And I had an interview (and job offer) with a bank in Columbus.

At the end of June, while I was on vacation, I received word that the first company won the contract, and that I would start the following week. I had to tell the other two that I would be out of integrity if I didn't take the position, as it would leave that company in the lurch.

So what am I doing now? Some programming and mostly system administration for a home-grown cluster of Debian-based systems. Can't say much more about it, since it's DoD-related. But it should last a year.

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I try to be a team player....
The new job is working out OK, I guess. But it could be better. The project is to write a file-based source control system to manage remote servers. Puppet is package-based, and doesn't give us the necessary granularity to manage items on a file level.

This past week, I've been trying to learn how to write plugins for yum. Yum stands for "yellowdog updater, modified", and is the installation package manager for RedHat, Fedora, and CentOS. It's completely new to me. Plugins are writen in Python, which I've worked with before. But I have no familiarity with the modules I need to import.

My tech lead gives me partial information, and expects me to figure it out on my own. That may be how he learns things, but I need more hand-holding and spoon-feeding than that. The tried-and-true method of RTFM doesn't work for me; most of the documentation is written from the point of view of someone who understands how it works. Man pages are a reference, not a tutorial. And if I look at the code, which often doesn't contain any commentis, it doesn't make sense to me.

Deep down, I know he's not out to mislead me or send me on wild goose chases or snipe hunts, but it certainly feels that way at times. So why am I projecting or superimposing my past experiences onto him? Because it's what I know. ( And I'm reminded of several bad experiences I've had while being on teams.Collapse )

Current Mood: frustrated

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So I'm a genius. Big Fat Hairy Deal.
One aspect of myself that I'm particularly fond of is my keen intellect. I don't need those Facebook quizzes to tell me I'm a genius. I already know that I am. But this is something I rarely ever talk about. Why? Because when I do, it sounds like I'm bragging or boasting, as if this attribute makes me better than anyone else. It doesn't. I'm better at some things than other people, and they're better at other things that I am.

How is it determined or measured? Psychologists have developed the concept of "intelligence quotient". It's basically a ratio of a person's "mental age" to their chronological age. The average "score" is 100, and tails off at both ends in a frequency distribution known as "the bell curve". But does the test gauge a person's knowledge base, or does it test how people apply knowledge in certain situations? That I'm not so clear on. But the IQ test is the best thing we have right now to measure and quantize this attribute.

In my opinion, "genius" is overrated. So I scored high enough on an IQ test to be in the 98th or 99th percentiles -- the top 2%. Big whoop. So I'm a genius. Big fat hairy deal. That and a dollar can get me a cup of coffee. Two bucks if I go to Starbucks.

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Current Mood: grumpy

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New additions to the Sonic Arsenal.....
So, in the past year or so, I added a few pieces to my collection of musical instruments, collectively known as the "Sonic Arsenal".

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OVFF 30 highlights.....
After taking off a year from all filk conventions, I attended OVFF this year.

Rather than give a detailed con report, I'll give some of my own personal highlights as buillet points:
- Arriving early enough on Friday afternoon to talk with fellow attendees. Most were happy to see me and were glad I attended. (That was not my experience two years ago.)
- Performing "Starlight and Saxophone" with billroper, who was drafted at the 11th hour to play the song after filkertom was unable to attend due to missing car keys.
- Listening to Copy Red Leader while I was trying to figure out my new Novation Launchpad S controller.
- Karen Lindsley's concert.
- Being a "melodica ninja" at Debs & Errol's concert. (If I knew their song was to the tune of "If I Had A Million Dollars", and knew the key, I could have played it myself.)
- Hanging out with rms_butterfly and maedbh7 at the registration table.
- The Sunday afternoon jam, led by min0taur.
- The dead dog dinner party at BD's Mongolian Barbeque, and chatting with a convention attendee who knew of Raquy and Carmine.
- And most importantly for me, the feeling that I'm still wanted and welcome in the filk community.

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The Coffee Can Emergency Kit.....
I had been thinking about making some of these kits for the Holiday Bazaar my UU Fellowship is having in early December as a fundraiser. But I would need some metal #10 coffee cans for this project, and permission from the man who originally posted this. (I used to work with him years ago, and have since lost contact with him.) But alas, the page on which I originally found this is no longer there.

I carry one of these kits in my car year-round. It has saved me several times, from giving the lighter to a fellow driver, to the duct tape for emergency repairs. So I will pass on the list of contents so that you can make one of these for yourself.

( What's in the can?Collapse )

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