opus5: bring the corups of many more articles - tgtimes - The Gopher Times HTML git clone git://bitreich.org/tgtimes git://enlrupgkhuxnvlhsf6lc3fziv5h2hhfrinws65d7roiv6bfj7d652fid.onion/tgtimes DIR Log DIR Files DIR Refs DIR Tags DIR README --- DIR commit 77105e8c10be1d960c6393b79bc97a5ba850e728 DIR parent 1c516f66d580851a5ab46a43e22a38e9516bb352 HTML Author: Josuah Demangeon <me@josuah.net> Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2022 16:44:43 +0200 opus5: bring the corups of many more articles Diffstat: A opus5/article-josuah-I-Do-Not-Know… | 124 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ R opus5/article-tgtimes-animated-tex… | 0 M opus5/article-tgtimes-bluetooth-br… | 6 +++++- D opus5/article-tgtimes-darkfi.mw | 0 M opus5/article-tgtimes-embedded-for… | 137 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- M opus5/article-tgtimes-gopher-podca… | 28 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ M opus5/article-tgtimes-ircnow.mw | 60 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--- M opus5/article-tgtimes-maemo-leste-… | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ M opus5/article-tgtimes-mallumo.mw | 28 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ M opus5/article-tgtimes-sailingwithg… | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- D opus5/article-tgtimes-sortix.mw | 1 - M opus5/tgtimes5.mw | 6 +++--- M opus5/tgtimes5.pdf | 0 M opus5/tgtimes5.txt | 647 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-- A opus6/article-tgtimes-space-weathe… | 57 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 15 files changed, 1116 insertions(+), 55 deletions(-) --- DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-josuah-I-Do-Not-Know-Do-Not-Ask-Me.mw b/opus5/article-josuah-I-Do-Not-Know-Do-Not-Ask-Me.mw @@ -0,0 +1,124 @@ +.SH josuah +I Do Not Know, Do Not Ask Me +. +.PP +The post-Snowden era is marked by a new fact that cannot be ignored anymore: +NSA (among others) is watching you (among others). +. +.PP +Does that change anything to my everyday life? +Probably not, they already were before you knew about it. +Should I do anything about it? +No answer. +The eternal doubt that modern society is famous for: +. +.QP +I do not know, do not ask me. +That question is weird anyway. +Let me go back to my life. +. +.PP +That same doubt that occurs when you look up on a supermarket and see the mess of wires, +tubes, cables and neon lighting, barely even hidden, at best painted in white... +The worst scene of industrial warehouse, as if taken straight out of the Brazil +.FS +https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/ +.FE +movie. +. +.PP +A landscape that is in such opposition with the images of every product being sold, +picturing what more or less fits the collective imagery of "house of my grandparents in back-country", +promising a natural environment... +Where did they even find all these landscapes of backcountry without phone line everywhere, +tracktors, alsphalt, cattle warehouses or wind turbines to put on these product label background images? +. +.QP +I do not know, do not ask me. +That question is weird anyway. +Let me go back to my life. +. +.PP +How did such a landscape, +neon distopia pictures that seems straight out of /r/cyberpunk post or the latest Blade Runner, +got invited into the cozzy bubble of the average citizen? +.FS +https://theuws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/supermarkt.jpg +.FE +Who made these places so ugly? +Why do I feel like human is being considered like cattle in these kind of places? +. +.QP +I do not know, do not ask me. +That question is weird anyway. +Let me go back to my life. +. +.PP +What weird things am I even saying! +Am I trying to tell that an NSA agent is sitting on the metal beams of these places disfigure passersby with their empty gaze. +There are cameras though. +What do they film? Thieves? Who is checking? Software? Peoples? Are marketting people looking at these pictures? Of me too? +What do they think of me? Did they look at my hand hesitating between these two products? +. +.QP +I do not know, do not ask me. +That question is weird anyway. +Let me go back to my life. +. +.PP +Going out, one might encounter someone sitting on a backpack barely full, +with a small cup filled with coins, looking a bit panicked, looking a bit dirty, looking a bit lost, +sometimes even a bit drunk. +Occasionally they will ask you for another coin to add to their small collection. +Passerbys offer them a lie such as "I do not have cash", or a kind word like "no, sorry", +keep walking faster without looking, and eventually stops paying the tax and quickly keep going before they got asked for more. +What did happen to them? Did they choose to live here? +How can I know it will never happen to me? +Why do I feel bad if I do not give them what they ask? +Why do I feel bad if I give them what they ask? +. +.QP +I do not know, do not ask me. +That question is weird anyway. +Let me go back to my life. +. +.PP +Let's not get fooled or reverse the roles here: +Writing this, I am not asking these questions to you, neither you are asking these questions to yourself. +The \fIplaces\fR are asking these questions to you themself. +. +.PP +By building a supermarket out of a warehouse but displaying eye-catchy pictures of a scenery that does not even exist, +it is obvious that people will notice the disbalance between the two. +. +.PP +By placing cameras filming every square meter of such a place, or even a whole city, +it is obvious that people will wonder at some point, who is behind the screen reviewing these images. +. +.PP +The questions are left open. Nothing is made to even hint about the answer. +We are left in the doubt, +letting some ensure "it is just in case of a thief, the police officer is going to watch" +or other affirm "they are using these images to study how we think to better control us!". +. +.PP +Such divergent claims based on convictions, the technician installing these cameras up there has no hint either, +its manager followed the recommandations of the mothership company, +itself getting directions from the parent investor group who lately purchased the brand, +who themself are only trying to keep-up with the most up to date business practices, +read on an online newspaper article recommanded by a colleague. +. +.PP +I stopped to care about these silly things since long. +I came back to the real world for the better. +I live my life and it works plenty well, so why would I care? +. +.QP +So why is that, at deep down, in the middle of my gut, there is a voice whispering to me, that's something's wrong. +.FS +https://yewtu.be/watch?v=QcSlAihVM0Q +.FE +. +.PP +The thing with living like an ant in the anthill is: +you do not get too many answers about how the whole place works. DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-animated-text-art.mw b/opus5/article-linuxconsole-animated-text-art.mw DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-bluetooth-brain.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-bluetooth-brain.mw @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -.SH josuah +.SH tgtimes Wireless, wireless everywhere .2C 60 . @@ -77,4 +77,8 @@ https://limemicro.com/products/boards/limesdr/ among others, the gears for letting one experiment with radio transmissions. . .PP +Every year, the American Relay Radio League (ARRL) is publishing a large book focused on radiocommunication, +and its chapter 1 section 1 is \fIDo-It-Yourself Wireless\fR. +. +.PP This is an invitation for everyone to discover or rediscover the universe of electromagnetic fields communication. DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-darkfi.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-darkfi.mw DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-embedded-forth.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-embedded-forth.mw @@ -15,11 +15,134 @@ They serve their purpose to embedded enthusiasts as educational and scripting la But small "language in a nutshell" are fitting right the small resources of microcontrollers. This is the case of Forth and its stack-machine approach. . -.PP -https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220331-0.gmi?inline=1 -https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220305-0.gmi?inline=1 - +.IP Mecrisp Forth - http://mecrisp.sourceforge.net/ +This implementation immediately targets microcontrollers. +See for instance the work of librehacker.com author Christopher Howard. +.FS +gemini://gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220331-0.gmi +gemini://gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220305-0.gmi +.FE +. +.IP chipFORTH +Another implementation of Forth, which were used by NASA +.FS +https://www.forth.com/space-shuttle-instrumentation-interface/ +.FE +for improving reliability of its flight control system, +among the mosts critical pieces of software of a shuttle. +. +.IP https://github.com/corecode/forth +Among notable Forth projects is Simon "corecode" Schubert's nimble forth implementation +.FS +.FE +as well as hardware code describing the working of a CPU that executes Forth natively +.FS https://github.com/corecode/forth-cpu -https://github.com/corecode/forth - -https://www.forth.com/tag/chipforth/ +.FE +. +.IP https://forth.chat/ +If feeling like having a taste of Forth and Forth community, there are several channels +featuring forth that you could enjoy, +some of which are oriented toward hardware projects directly +.FS +ircs://irc.hackint.org/#forth-hardware-projects +.FE. +. +.IP https://github.com/chmykh/apl-life +This is Conway Game of Life in APL in Forth +What a long chain! It is APL programming language implemented in Forth, +and Conway game of life implemented in APL +. +.IP https://github.com/remko/waforth +Feeling like pushing the irony of "Web" assembly even further? +Why not blasting a Forth implementation at it? +.FS +https://el-tramo.be/waforth/ +https://el-tramo.be/thurtle/ +.FE +This proves Forth as the new programming language \fIen vogue\fR +. +.IP http://collapseos.org/ +What else does a programming language need to prove itself useful? +A kernel? Check! +Collapse OS +is an operating system targetted at resilience over nine thousands, +as it is designed to resist everything around it tearing apart, including the whole civilisation. +When nothing remains but wastelands, CollapseOS will be there to reborn from scavenged parts and +from old computers. +. +.QP +Forth is, to my knowledge, the most compact language allowing high level constructs. -- Collapse OS author. +. +.IP "gopher://retroforth.org/ https://retroforth.org/" +A forth implemented in C, Python, C#, Nim, JavaScript and Pascal! +.FS +.FE +The C version permits to embed the script into a binary along with the interpreter, +for a single-binary deployment process. +The more classic way to use it is to use shebangs scripts to have executable scripts. +. +.PP +Many smaller utilities can already provide something you needed: +. +.IP http://retroforth.org/examples/Casket-HTTP.retro.html +An HTTP server +. +.IP http://retroforth.org/examples/Atua-WWW.retro.html +A Gopher to HTTP+HTML Proxy on top of Atua. +. +.IP http://retroforth.org/examples/Atua.retro.html Gopher server +A gopher server, already listed on the Gopher index of links, the Gopher Lawn +.FS +bitreich.org/1/lawn/c/gopher.gph +.FE +. +.IP http://retroforth.org/examples/7080.retro.html +A s +. +.IP https://gitlab.com/goblinrieur/spreedsheet/ +A spreadsheet application in the terminal. +. +.IP gopher://forth.works:100 http://forthworks.com/ +This is a collection of code blocks written in the Retro Forth's author (crc) newest Forth implementation. +It is itself served by a gopher server (blocks 203-205 on the list above) in Forth. +. +.IP https://github.com/oriontransfer/pl0-language-tools +A PL/0 implementation in Python that can emmit Retro Forth code as ouput. +It looks like Forth simplicity, portability, stability and speed of execution made it a good candidate as a target language. +The PL/0 language is known for the book \fIAlgorithms + Data Structures = Programs\fR +from Niklaus Wirth, himself famous for the Wirth Law: +. +.QP +The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure all software ills. +However, a critical observer may observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in size and sluggishness. +-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth's_law +. +.IP https://ribccs.com/candy/ +If you were doubting about Forth being fit for the industry, bear in mind that the above is +a very-large scale VFX Forth project with over a million lines of code! +. +.IP http://sam-falvo.github.io/kestrel/2016/03/29/vibe-2.2 +Why not spin a vi-like text editor itself in forth? +See how few code it takes to implement one. +. +.IP https://git.sr.ht/~vertigo/shoehorn +An answer to the bootstrapping problem: how to get from no software to a complete system? +Which compiler compiles the first compiler? +Forth's simplicity is a good candidate for solving this problem. +. +.IP https://git.sr.ht/~vertigo/forthbox +Software environment for computers to base upon right after booting: +a system shell in forth with real hardware projects dedicated to it. +Think of a LISP machine, but instead being a Forth machine. +. +.IP http://deathroadtocanada.com/ +This video-game uses Forth as a scripting language. +When a whole scripting language fits on a thumb, putting it everywhere costs nothing! +. +.PP +Such a large tool chest for such a small language. +With the Covid, Wars under disguise, and other supply chain troubles, +the era of "more features" is coming to an end, +and the era of reliability rises. +In these trying times, anyone is welcome to go Forth. DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-gopher-podcast-search.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-gopher-podcast-search.mw @@ -2,6 +2,34 @@ Search podcasts via Gopher . .PP +Do you happen to be a podcast enjoyer? +Maybe you considered to have something to listen to on the road or while cooking. +. +.PP +Combining many different sources, you may encounter some heirlooms +by searching through this gopher front-end for podcast search. .FS gopher://gopher.icu/1/pod .FE +. +.PP +The platform aggregates multiple search APIs of RSS link aggregators with a focus on audio podcasts, +and extracts the RSS links for you, +so you do not have to search throug a dozen of webpages just to find the RSS button. +. +.PP +For instance, knowing about the Amp Hour podcast, I tried searching for it: +"Amp Hour" in the search field, and bingo! The first result is "The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast", +that was quickly added to my list of RSS feeds in a blast. +. +.PP +Being based off Gopher, this makes it insanely easy to automate a script searching for podcasts, then +downloading the entries and uploading them to an MP3 player of any kind +(dedicated, or as part of a phone or other portable computer). +. +.PP +Want to know more about it? +One place to discuss about it is the Bitreich IRC server +.FS +ircs://irc.bitreich.org/#bitreich-en +.FE DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-ircnow.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-ircnow.mw @@ -2,8 +2,60 @@ A new IRC network: IRCNow! . .PP -jrmu, is trying to get exposure for a network he started [ http://ircnow.org ] -He has an upcoming free workshop in the LibrePlanet online conference (that anyone can join), on May 9 @ 12pm EDT / 16:00 UTC. [ https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?eset=1&id=104 ] -We recorded a testrun of his slides yesterday. "IRCNow FSF - workshop testrun" (1h15m, 12022-04-21T16:00Z#4) | https://0x0.st/oTal.webm (167MB). He's also a fan of the gopher protocol (at 1hr10min) [ https://jrmu.host.ircnow.org/libreplanet/libreplanet.pdf ] . -Here's another article that was written in Linux Magazine in August 2021, about the network he started. https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2021/249/Interview-IRCNow +A new IRC network is in town! +.FS +irc://irc.ircnow.net:6667 +ircs://irc.ircnow.net:6697 +.FE +. +Ever wanted to feel what an early community looks like? +The admin jrmu brought the project together, and is currently collecting users along the way. +. +.PP +Whether you looked for a place to host your own community, +or wanted a see a fresh community be grow from fertile ground, +the community is welcoming and active. +. +.QP +IRCNow: Of the Users, By the Users, For the Users +. +.PP +A LibrePlanet event +. +.PP +Something else from this community might catch your attention, +is its orientation toward being administrated by its users themself: +rather than letting the founder handle everything, +the community is oriented toward serious teaching of unix command line and system administration to anyone, +from beginners to advanced users seeking improvement. +. +.PP +In-person teaching sessions were covered during the LibrePlanet 2022 event +.FS +https://jrmu.host.ircnow.org/libreplanet/libreplanet.pdf +.FE +with recording of a test-run of the event +.FS +the voice only starts from 0h20m +talking about Gopher at 1h15m +https://0x0.st/oTal.webm +.FE +where future and present hackers met together working our their system administration and community building skills. +. +Linux Magazine also ran an interview giving a good impression about the spirit of the project: +.FS +https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2021/249/Interview-IRCNow +.FE +. +.PP +Beyond yet another IRC network to chat with, +IRCnow offers hosting services for +IRC bouncers, Bots, E-Mail, VPN, Code, File Storage, and Shell Accounts. +. +.PP +The wiki itself features plenty of technical information on system administration as a support for its bootcamps, +which offers a comfortable step-by-step introduction to a complete server administration. +.FS https://wiki.ircnow.org/index.php?n=Minutemin.Bootcamp +.FE +I have often seen administrators hired with less than this much knowledge! DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-maemo-leste-update.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-maemo-leste-update.mw @@ -1,3 +1,46 @@ +.SH tgtimes +Maemo Leste keeps kicking in! +. +.PP +The ultimate hacker's toy project: a OpenSource powered hand-held computer. +. +.PP +Where to start from? +There can be two walls preventing every Linux enthusiast from having its own phone with a Linux Powered sticket on it: +. +.IP 1. +hardware support: getting Linux to boot on these twisted hardware setups that smartphones are can be frustrating. +. +.IP 2. +application support: writing all the tools that make a plain unix shell useable as a phone. +It may be as simple as a daemon watching incoming phone call from hardware abstractions (those from in 1.) +and playing a ringtone.wav whenever a call comes in, +it still has to be written. +Same goes for a keyboard application if it uses a touch-screen. +Same goes for anything. +. +.PP +Since it goes beyond the scope of a week-end hack, +collaboration takes place for making these projects happen. +. +.PP +Maemo Leste is now existing since more than four years, and keeps being developed at good pace. +It even shines where Android does not: +it uses mainline Linux kernel instead of forks that never get upgraded nor contributed back to Linux. +This means that all software officially supported by Maemo Leste might also be available to many more Linux-based projects. +. +.PP +Of course, there are non-official porting efforts for more hardware underway to become a completely supported target. +Like it is for every operating system project. +. +.PP +Maemo Leste, the project bringing a real UNIX shell where you only had a Android Java ecosystem, +featuring GPS chips reverse engineering, and a working phone module. +. +.PP +The support for the inexpensive PinePhone means you can get a fully working linux phone in your pocket. +Grab it while it is hot, the lack of bloated prebuilt application forced into it by the vendor means it will not catch fire! +. .FS https://maemo-leste.github.io/maemo-leste-sixteenth-update-november-and-december-2021-january-april-2022.html .FE DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-mallumo.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-mallumo.mw @@ -1,3 +1,31 @@ +.SH darkfi +The Mallumo Weechat Plugin +. +.PP +IRC is part of the protocols that survived to the advent of the Web. +. +.PP +It still has users, it still has new network and communities initiatives springing out, it is alive. +. +.PP +One single little touch it lacks is end-to-end encryption. +Without it it is perfect for public communities such as software projects discussions and support chat, live event chats... +but private 1-to-1 communication could suddenly become a good candidate for end-to-end encryption. +. +.PP +Part of the DarkFi project, this is what Mallumo .FS https://github.com/darkrenaissance/mallumo .FE +brings in a simple piece of code using libNaClk, +the crypto library from Dan Bernstein, +author of ED25519 (in its repackaged libsodium form). +This is state-of-the-art, well-proven and fast cryptography for end-to-end communication. +. +.PP +With this plug-in dropped in the plugin folder, +all private communication start by a simple key exchange over normal IRC, +and the conversation upgrades to nacl-encrypted messages over regular IRC. +. +.PP +There might not be any simpler way to encrypt peer-to-peer communication online. DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-sailingwithgrace.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-sailingwithgrace.mw @@ -1,2 +1,34 @@ - +.SH tgtimes +Sailing With Grace +. +.PP +The sea! +Water all around, not a single piece of ground around to stand in, only a single boat that becomes one with you, its capitain. +Infinite waves under the blue or cloudly sky is all you see for a long trip of many days. +Feeling both lost, but at the same time united with surrounding nature. +After all, the largest part of Earth is covered by the sea. +. +.PP +This is the world of Sailing that awaits each of us, +for a single trip hosted by a well proven crew, +or as a lone sailor braving tempests after tempests. +. +.PP +Sailing blogs are definitely a good opportunity to dream, +the instant of an article. +. +.PP +This blog, Sailing With Grace, has taken the decision of offering all its content through HTTP, +but also proxied over Gopher. +.FS gopher://gopher.sailingwithgrace.com +.FE +This recalls an interesting point: +it proves that Gopher is not only good for talking about Gopher and computer things, +but is also oriented toward the outside, +is it ready to be used by people who are not gopher geeks? +. +.PP +It always was to begin with, so why would it not? +Are people less able to use computers now than they was before the web came? +The discussion is open. DIR diff --git a/opus5/article-tgtimes-sortix.mw b/opus5/article-tgtimes-sortix.mw @@ -1 +0,0 @@ -.LK https://twitter.com/sortiecat/status/1511449871416545283 DIR diff --git a/opus5/tgtimes5.mw b/opus5/tgtimes5.mw @@ -5,11 +5,12 @@ Opus 5 - Gopher news and more - May. 2022 .AE . .so opus5/article-20h-geomyidae.mw -.so opus5/article-tgtimes-animated-text-art.mw +.so opus5/article-bitreich-onlyturtlefans.mw +.so opus5/article-josuah-I-Do-Not-Know-Do-Not-Ask-Me.mw +.so opus5/article-linuxconsole-animated-text-art.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-ascii-art-rendering.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-bluetooth-brain.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-breathing-open-source.mw -.so opus5/article-tgtimes-darkfi.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-embedded-forth.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-fft-hack.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-gopher-podcast-search.mw @@ -17,6 +18,5 @@ Opus 5 - Gopher news and more - May. 2022 .so opus5/article-tgtimes-maemo-leste-update.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-mallumo.mw .so opus5/article-tgtimes-sailingwithgrace.mw -.so opus5/article-tgtimes-sortix.mw . .so opus5/footer.mw DIR diff --git a/opus5/tgtimes5.pdf b/opus5/tgtimes5.pdf Binary files differ. DIR diff --git a/opus5/tgtimes5.txt b/opus5/tgtimes5.txt @@ -185,12 +185,163 @@ ____________________________________________________________ - Animated ASCII art linuxconsole + Prof. Skildgaard: Only Turtle Fans +____________________________________________________________ + + I am happy to announce, that the scientific head of + bitreich, Prof. Skildgaard, the professor for slow + sciences at the Aarhus university in Denmark, now has + opened his own website: + + http://onlyturtlefans.com/ + + You can see many #turtlefan pictures. annna | #turtle- + fan: gopher://bitreich.org/I/memecache/turtlefan.png + + Please recommend his work! He has done so much for us, + like reviewing all entries to the last and the coming + brcon. This takes ages! + + Sincerely yours, + + 20h Chief Slowness Executive (CSE) + + + + + I Do Not Know, Do Not Ask Me josuah + + The post-Snowden era is marked by a new fact that can- + not be ignored anymore: NSA (among others) is watching + you (among others). + + Does that change anything to my everyday life? Proba- + bly not, they already were before you knew about it. + Should I do anything about it? No answer. The eter- + nal doubt that modern society is famous for: + + >> I do not know, do not ask me. That question is + weird anyway. Let me go back to my life. + + That same doubt that occurs when you look up on a su- + permarket and see the mess of wires, tubes, cables and + neon lighting, barely even hidden, at best painted in + white... The worst scene of industrial warehouse, as + if taken straight out of the Brazil [1] movie. + + A landscape that is in such opposition with the images + of every product being sold, picturing what more or + less fits the collective imagery of "house of my + grandparents in back-country", promising a natural en- + vironment... Where did they even find all these land- + scapes of backcountry without phone line everywhere, + tracktors, alsphalt, cattle warehouses or wind tur- + bines to put on these product label background images? + + >> I do not know, do not ask me. That question is + weird anyway. Let me go back to my life. + + How did such a landscape, neon distopia pictures that + seems straight out of /r/cyberpunk post or the latest + Blade Runner, got invited into the cozzy bubble of the + average citizen? [2] Who made these places so ugly? + Why do I feel like human is being considered like cat- + tle in these kind of places? + + >> I do not know, do not ask me. That question is + weird anyway. Let me go back to my life. + + What weird things am I even saying! Am I trying to + tell that an NSA agent is sitting on the metal beams + of these places disfigure passersby with their empty + gaze. There are cameras though. What do they film? + Thieves? Who is checking? Software? Peoples? Are mar- + ketting people looking at these pictures? Of me too? + What do they think of me? Did they look at my hand + hesitating between these two products? + + >> I do not know, do not ask me. That question is + weird anyway. Let me go back to my life. + + Going out, one might encounter someone sitting on a + backpack barely full, with a small cup filled with + coins, looking a bit panicked, looking a bit dirty, + looking a bit lost, sometimes even a bit drunk. Occa- + sionally they will ask you for another coin to add to + their small collection. Passerbys offer them a lie + such as "I do not have cash", or a kind word like "no, + sorry", keep walking faster without looking, and even- + tually stops paying the tax and quickly keep going be- + fore they got asked for more. What did happen to + them? Did they choose to live here? How can I know it + will never happen to me? Why do I feel bad if I do + not give them what they ask? Why do I feel bad if I + give them what they ask? + + >> I do not know, do not ask me. That question is + weird anyway. Let me go back to my life. + + Let's not get fooled or reverse the roles here: Writ- + ing this, I am not asking these questions to you, nei- + ther you are asking these questions to yourself. The + places are asking these questions to you themself. + + By building a supermarket out of a warehouse but dis- + playing eye-catchy pictures of a scenery that does not + even exist, it is obvious that people will notice the + disbalance between the two. + + By placing cameras filming every square meter of such + a place, or even a whole city, it is obvious that peo- + ple will wonder at some point, who is behind the + screen reviewing these images. + + The questions are left open. Nothing is made to even + hint about the answer. We are left in the doubt, let- + ting some ensure "it is just in case of a thief, the + police officer is going to watch" or other affirm + "they are using these images to study how we think to + better control us!". + + Such divergent claims based on convictions, the tech- + nician installing these cameras up there has no hint + either, its manager followed the recommandations of + the mothership company, itself getting directions from + the parent investor group who lately purchased the + brand, who themself are only trying to keep-up with + the most up to date business practices, read on an on- + line newspaper article recommanded by a colleague. + + I stopped to care about these silly things since long. + I came back to the real world for the better. I live + my life and it works plenty well, so why would I care? + + >> So why is that, at deep down, in the middle of my + gut, there is a voice whispering to me, that's + something's wrong. [3] + + The thing with living like an ant in the anthill is: + you do not get too many answers about how the whole + place works. + + + [1] + https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/ + + [2] + https://theuws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/supermarkt.jpg + [3] + https://yewtu.be/watch?v=QcSlAihVM0Q - With all the history of ASCII art and demoscene, it - would be a shame if noone ever tried to combine the + + + Animated ASCII art +____________________________________________________________ + + With all the history of ASCII art and demoscene, it + would be a shame if noone ever tried to combine the two in animated ASCII art. Courtesy of textfiles.com, - we can browse through a collection of 93 animated + we can browse through a collection of 93 animated ASCII pieces of arts. [1] The animation speed will likely be too high for a ter- @@ -218,19 +369,20 @@ ____________________________________________________________ + [1] http://artscene.textfiles.com/vt100/ http://linuxconsole.net/ascii_art.html - Synthetic ASCII Art tgtimes +____________________________________________________________ Sometimes, an entirely new way to approach problems is found. The media is often fond of covering these top- - ics, be it quantum computing, blockchains, machine - learning... With these big toys come people experi- + ics, be it quantum computing, blockchains, machine + learning... With these big toys come people experi- menting with it. This time we are reviewing the combo of Machine Learn- @@ -299,10 +451,6 @@ ____________________________________________________________ could only be text. - >> Do not use Bluetooth devices to send, receive, - store, or process classified information. [4] - - [1] https://graphicsinterface.org/wp-content/uploads/gi2021-13.pdf @@ -315,8 +463,105 @@ ____________________________________________________________ https://www.vice.com/en/article/zmymwx/machine-learning-ascii-art-neural-net https://github.com/OsciiArt/DeepAA - [4] + + + Wireless, wireless everywhere +____________________________________________________________ + + Wires! Cables! Connectors! Computer and electric sys- + tems seems to befriend with plugs and sockets. Why is + the computer industry running away from them for ev- + erything exposed to users? + + Where do I plug the cable? Everyone needfully face + this question at least once, be it the first time + they own a computer. From the various connector + shapes to choose from, to the various set of proto- + col the Universal USB connector supports, cables + provoke confusion to cable-haters and computer neo- + phytes. + + Cables are ugly It might not be true for everyone, but + computer manufacturers seems to say differently. + Starting with the name "wireless", that comes by op- + position to wires, supposing they were something to + avoid. Cable management is a full time job for dat- + acenter jockeys, and a chore for the cable-hating + computer user. + + Cables are immobile Unless making use of an uncommon + cable management strategy, objects connected to ca- + bles cannot be carried too far away without unplug- + ging everything devices are connected to. + + So here comes wireless. While not frequent in large + computer infrastructure, wireless is invading the mar- + ket along with battery devices. Using radio waves to + make device talk to each other, at various frequen- + cies, modulation, datarate and distance. Ready to + sacrifice any amount of good engineering to make it- + self more seducing to the market, marketting perpetu- + ates the same illusion of making computer troubles + fade away with wireless. + + From the Bluetooth protocol swamp of mixed edge-cases + and compmlexity, to the security vulnerabilities of + Wi-Fi, to the security vulnerabilities of Bluetooth, + to the proprietary but popular protocols like LoRaWan, + to the unreliability and unstability as opposed to + wires, to the black box of wireless broadband such as + UTMS and LTE, Wireless does not have the same fame + among developers valuing simplicity and reliability. + + Even the United Army holds griefs against wireless + such as Bluetooth, and disrecommand it for use by mil- + itaries: [1] + + >> Do not use Bluetooth devices to send, receive, + store, or process classified information. + + Nontheless, wireless is fun, beautiful, and filled + with culture. While marketting pushed engineers from + the wireless cliff, long before computer came, radio + waves were put at good use in the most simple forms: + radio communication. From the AM and FM radio sta- + tions to listen while on the road, the medium-range + boat, airplane, truck, pedestrian talkies, and even + satellite communications, hobbyists building-up their + own antennas for inter-continental communication, + garage door openners and remotely controlled drones... + + Complex and twisted wireless protocols are only a spe- + cial case of radio communication, and simple unobfus- + cated methods of communication are possible, and even + frequent. + + Be it a simple and inexpensive RTL SDR dongle receiver + [2] to complete receiver-emitters such as HackRF [3] + or LimeSDR [4] among others, the gears for letting one + experiment with radio transmissions. + + Every year, the American Relay Radio League (ARRL) is + publishing a large book focused on radiocommunication, + and its chapter 1 section 1 is Do-It-Yourself Wire- + less. + + This is an invitation for everyone to discover or re- + discover the universe of electromagnetic fields commu- + nication. + + + + [1] https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN4771_Pam25-2-9_Final_Web.pdf + [2] + https://www.rtl-sdr.com/ + + [3] + https://greatscottgadgets.com/hackrf/one/ + [4] + https://limemicro.com/products/boards/limesdr/ + @@ -367,15 +612,14 @@ ____________________________________________________________ time. - [1] https://www.pubinv.org/project/freespireco/ + [2] https://rtems.org/ - Embedded Forth Programming tgtimes Big computers can run large and complex programming @@ -394,15 +638,151 @@ ____________________________________________________________ the small resources of microcontrollers. This is the case of Forth and its stack-machine approach. - https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220331- - 0.gmi?inline=1 - https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220305- - 0.gmi?inline=1 + Mecrisp This implementation immediately targets micro- + controllers. See for instance the work of + librehacker.com author Christopher Howard. [1] + + chipFORTH Another implementation of Forth, which were + used by NASA [2] for improving reliability of its + flight control system, among the mosts critical + pieces of software of a shuttle. + + https://github.com/corecode/forth Among notable Forth + projects is Simon "corecode" Schubert's nimble forth + implementation [3] as well as hardware code describ- + ing the working of a CPU that executes Forth na- + tively [4] + + https://forth.chat/ If feeling like having a taste of + Forth and Forth community, there are several chan- + nels featuring forth that you could enjoy, some of + which are oriented toward hardware projects directly + [5] + + https://github.com/chmykh/apl-life This is Conway Game + of Life in APL in Forth What a long chain! It is APL + programming language implemented in Forth, and Con- + way game of life implemented in APL + + https://github.com/remko/waforth Feeling like pushing + the irony of "Web" assembly even further? Why not + blasting a Forth implementation at it? [6] This + proves Forth as the new programming language en + vogue + + http://collapseos.org/ What else does a programming + language need to prove itself useful? A kernel? + Check! Collapse OS is an operating system targetted + at resilience over nine thousands, as it is designed + to resist everything around it tearing apart, in- + cluding the whole civilisation. When nothing re- + mains but wastelands, CollapseOS will be there to + reborn from scavenged parts and from old computers. + + >> Forth is, to my knowledge, the most compact lan- + guage allowing high level constructs. -- Collapse OS + author. + + gopher://retroforth.org/ https://retroforth.org/ A + forth implemented in C, Python, C#, Nim, JavaScript + and Pascal! [7] The C version permits to embed the + script into a binary along with the interpreter, for + a single-binary deployment process. The more clas- + sic way to use it is to use shebangs scripts to have + executable scripts. + + Many smaller utilities can already provide something + you needed: + + http://retroforth.org/examples/Casket-HTTP.retro.html + An HTTP server + + http://retroforth.org/examples/Atua-WWW.retro.html A + Gopher to HTTP+HTML Proxy on top of Atua. + + http://retroforth.org/examples/Atua.retro.html A go- + pher server, already listed on the Gopher index of + links, the Gopher Lawn [8] + + http://retroforth.org/examples/7080.retro.html A s + + https://gitlab.com/goblinrieur/spreedsheet/ A spread- + sheet application in the terminal. + + gopher://forth.works:100 This is a collection of code + blocks written in the Retro Forth's author (crc) + newest Forth implementation. It is itself served by + a gopher server (blocks 203-205 on the list above) + in Forth. + + https://github.com/oriontransfer/pl0-language-tools A + PL/0 implementation in Python that can emmit Retro + Forth code as ouput. It looks like Forth simplic- + ity, portability, stability and speed of execution + made it a good candidate as a target language. The + PL/0 language is known for the book Algorithms + + Data Structures = Programs from Niklaus Wirth, him- + self famous for the Wirth Law: + + >> The hope is that the progress in hardware will cure + all software ills. However, a critical observer may + observe that software manages to outgrow hardware in + size and sluggishness. -- + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth's_law + + https://ribccs.com/candy/ If you were doubting about + Forth being fit for the industry, bear in mind that + the above is a very-large scale VFX Forth project + with over a million lines of code! + + http://sam-falvo.github.io/kestrel/2016/03/29/vibe-2.2 + Why not spin a vi-like text editor itself in forth? + See how few code it takes to implement one. + + https://git.sr.ht/~vertigo/shoehorn An answer to the + bootstrapping problem: how to get from no software + to a complete system? Which compiler compiles the + first compiler? Forth's simplicity is a good candi- + date for solving this problem. + + https://git.sr.ht/~vertigo/forthbox Software environ- + ment for computers to base upon right after booting: + a system shell in forth with real hardware projects + dedicated to it. Think of a LISP machine, but in- + stead being a Forth machine. + + http://deathroadtocanada.com/ This video-game uses + Forth as a scripting language. When a whole script- + ing language fits on a thumb, putting it everywhere + costs nothing! + + Such a large tool chest for such a small language. + With the Covid, Wars under disguise, and other supply + chain troubles, the era of "more features" is coming + to an end, and the era of reliability rises. In these + trying times, anyone is welcome to go Forth. + + + [1] + gemini://gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220331-0.gmi + gemini://gem.librehacker.com/gemlog/tech/20220305-0.gmi + [2] + https://www.forth.com/space-shuttle-instrumentation-interface/ + + [3] + [4] https://github.com/corecode/forth-cpu - https://github.com/corecode/forth - https://www.forth.com/tag/chipforth/ + [5] + ircs://irc.hackint.org/#forth-hardware-projects + [6] + https://el-tramo.be/waforth/ + https://el-tramo.be/thurtle/ + + [7] + [8] + bitreich.org/1/lawn/c/gopher.gph @@ -501,46 +881,237 @@ ____________________________________________________________ Search podcasts via Gopher tgtimes - [1] + Do you happen to be a podcast enjoyer? Maybe you con- + sidered to have something to listen to on the road or + while cooking. + + Combining many different sources, you may encounter + some heirlooms by searching through this gopher + front-end for podcast search. [1] + + The platform aggregates multiple search APIs of RSS + link aggregators with a focus on audio podcasts, and + extracts the RSS links for you, so you do not have to + search throug a dozen of webpages just to find the RSS + button. + + For instance, knowing about the Amp Hour podcast, I + tried searching for it: "Amp Hour" in the search + field, and bingo! The first result is "The Amp Hour + Electronics Podcast", that was quickly added to my + list of RSS feeds in a blast. + + Being based off Gopher, this makes it insanely easy to + automate a script searching for podcasts, then down- + loading the entries and uploading them to an MP3 + player of any kind (dedicated, or as part of a phone + or other portable computer). + + Want to know more about it? One place to discuss + about it is the Bitreich IRC server [2] + [1] gopher://gopher.icu/1/pod + [2] + ircs://irc.bitreich.org/#bitreich-en A new IRC network: IRCNow! tgtimes - jrmu, is trying to get exposure for a network he - started [ http://ircnow.org ] He has an upcoming free - workshop in the LibrePlanet online conference (that - anyone can join), on May 9 @ 12pm EDT / 16:00 UTC. [ - https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?eset=1&id=104 ] - We recorded a testrun of his slides yesterday. "IRCNow - FSF - workshop testrun" (1h15m, 12022-04-21T16:00Z#4) - | https://0x0.st/oTal.webm (167MB). He's also a fan of - the gopher protocol (at 1hr10min) [ + A new IRC network is in town! [1] Ever wanted to feel + what an early community looks like? The admin jrmu + brought the project together, and is currently col- + lecting users along the way. + + Whether you looked for a place to host your own commu- + nity, or wanted a see a fresh community be grow from + fertile ground, the community is welcoming and active. + + >> IRCNow: Of the Users, By the Users, For the Users + + A LibrePlanet event + + Something else from this community might catch your + attention, is its orientation toward being adminis- + trated by its users themself: rather than letting the + founder handle everything, the community is oriented + toward serious teaching of unix command line and sys- + tem administration to anyone, from beginners to ad- + vanced users seeking improvement. + + In-person teaching sessions were covered during the + LibrePlanet 2022 event [2] with recording of a test- + run of the event [3] where future and present hackers + met together working our their system administration + and community building skills. Linux Magazine also + ran an interview giving a good impression about the + spirit of the project: [4] + + Beyond yet another IRC network to chat with, IRCnow + offers hosting services for IRC bouncers, Bots, E- + Mail, VPN, Code, File Storage, and Shell Accounts. + + The wiki itself features plenty of technical informa- + tion on system administration as a support for its + bootcamps, which offers a comfortable step-by-step in- + troduction to a complete server administration. [5] I + have often seen administrators hired with less than + this much knowledge! + + + [1] + irc://irc.ircnow.net:6667 + ircs://irc.ircnow.net:6697 + + [2] https://jrmu.host.ircnow.org/libreplanet/libreplanet.pdf - ] . Here's another article that was written in Linux - Magazine in August 2021, about the network he started. - https://www.linux- - magazine.com/Issues/2021/249/Interview-IRCNow + [3] + the voice only starts from 0h20m + talking about Gopher at 1h15m + https://0x0.st/oTal.webm + + [4] + https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2021/249/Interview-IRCNow + [5] https://wiki.ircnow.org/index.php?n=Minutemin.Bootcamp - [1] [2] - gopher://gopher.sailingwithgrace.com + + + + Maemo Leste keeps kicking in! tgtimes + + The ultimate hacker's toy project: a OpenSource pow- + ered hand-held computer. + + Where to start from? There can be two walls prevent- + ing every Linux enthusiast from having its own phone + with a Linux Powered sticket on it: + + 1. hardware support: getting Linux to boot on these + twisted hardware setups that smartphones are can be + frustrating. + + 2. application support: writing all the tools that + make a plain unix shell useable as a phone. It may + be as simple as a daemon watching incoming phone + call from hardware abstractions (those from in 1.) + and playing a ringtone.wav whenever a call comes in, + it still has to be written. Same goes for a key- + board application if it uses a touch-screen. Same + goes for anything. + + Since it goes beyond the scope of a week-end hack, + collaboration takes place for making these projects + happen. + + Maemo Leste is now existing since more than four + years, and keeps being developed at good pace. It + even shines where Android does not: it uses mainline + Linux kernel instead of forks that never get upgraded + nor contributed back to Linux. This means that all + software officially supported by Maemo Leste might + also be available to many more Linux-based projects. + + Of course, there are non-official porting efforts for + more hardware underway to become a completely sup- + ported target. Like it is for every operating system + project. + + Maemo Leste, the project bringing a real UNIX shell + where you only had a Android Java ecosystem, featuring + GPS chips reverse engineering, and a working phone + module. + + The support for the inexpensive PinePhone means you + can get a fully working linux phone in your pocket. + Grab it while it is hot, the lack of bloated prebuilt + application forced into it by the vendor means it will + not catch fire! [1] [1] https://maemo-leste.github.io/maemo-leste-sixteenth-update-november-and-december-2021-january-april-2022.html - [2] + + + + The Mallumo Weechat Plugin darkfi + + IRC is part of the protocols that survived to the ad- + vent of the Web. + + It still has users, it still has new network and com- + munities initiatives springing out, it is alive. + + One single little touch it lacks is end-to-end encryp- + tion. Without it it is perfect for public communities + such as software projects discussions and support + chat, live event chats... but private 1-to-1 communi- + cation could suddenly become a good candidate for + end-to-end encryption. + + Part of the DarkFi project, this is what Mallumo [1] + brings in a simple piece of code using libNaClk, the + crypto library from Dan Bernstein, author of ED25519 + (in its repackaged libsodium form). This is state- + of-the-art, well-proven and fast cryptography for + end-to-end communication. + + With this plug-in dropped in the plugin folder, all + private communication start by a simple key exchange + over normal IRC, and the conversation upgrades to + nacl-encrypted messages over regular IRC. + + There might not be any simpler way to encrypt peer- + to-peer communication online. + + + [1] https://github.com/darkrenaissance/mallumo - Publishing in The Gopher Times you + + Sailing With Grace tgtimes + + The sea! Water all around, not a single piece of + ground around to stand in, only a single boat that be- + comes one with you, its capitain. Infinite waves un- + der the blue or cloudly sky is all you see for a long + trip of many days. Feeling both lost, but at the same + time united with surrounding nature. After all, the + largest part of Earth is covered by the sea. + + This is the world of Sailing that awaits each of us, + for a single trip hosted by a well proven crew, or as + a lone sailor braving tempests after tempests. + + Sailing blogs are definitely a good opportunity to + dream, the instant of an article. + + This blog, Sailing With Grace, has taken the decision + of offering all its content through HTTP, but also + proxied over Gopher. [1] This recalls an interesting + point: it proves that Gopher is not only good for + talking about Gopher and computer things, but is also + oriented toward the outside, is it ready to be used by + people who are not gopher geeks? + + It always was to begin with, so why would it not? Are + people less able to use computers now than they was + before the web came? The discussion is open. + + + [1] + gopher://gopher.sailingwithgrace.com + + + + Publishing in The Gopher Times ____________________________________________________________ Want your article published? Want to announce some- DIR diff --git a/opus6/article-tgtimes-space-weather-woman.mw b/opus6/article-tgtimes-space-weather-woman.mw @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +.SH tgtimes +Space Weather Woman +. +.PP +As she names herself, Tamitha Skov +.FS +https://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/ +https://yewtu.be/c/TamithaSkov +.FE +is the Space Weather Woman. +You read it right! +She have been doing, since now close to ten years, forecasts about how is space weather is going. +. +.PP +Just a nerd fantasy? +Only a sci-fi artist on a periodic one woman show? +Not at all! +Knowing what the sun is blasting toward Earth can reveal more useful than it looks. +This includes: +. +.IP \(bu +personnal safety for some plane flights at high lattitude. +. +.IP \(bu +GPS communication, something happening in the pocket of many individuals, +some of them even unaware of the involvement of satellites in the process. +. +.IP \(bu +Long distance radio communication, which include Amateur Radio operators, +but also emergency services and militaries. +. +.IP \(bu +Something that Starlink did not invent +.FS +WildBlue, Viasat, NordNet... +First amateur stellite launched in 1961. +.FE +is satellite-relayed communication, including satellite internet and voice phone transmission. +Actually a lot of wind turbines are being given satellite internet, +and see how a little disruption +.FS +https://hackaday.com/2022/06/02/the-great-euro-sat-hack-should-be-a-warning-to-us-all/ +.FE +in satellite internet access can disrupt their operation. +. +.PP +And all of these fancy things are benefiting from Tamitha Skov's efforts as a researcher, +but also by informing in layman's terms what is going on outter space. +. +.QP +Weather phenomena like coronal mass ejections, solar flares, and solar particle events. +.FS +https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamitha_Skov +.FE +. +.PP +Science is elegant.