Results From the Cold Water Experiment

Soon after COVID-19 arrived in USA, infectious disease experts were motivating us to wash our hands. I’d hear (paraphrased) “It doesn’t make a difference if you use warm water or cold, just wash them.” ¹

Then oil prices rose, and it cost more to run the furnace for heat and hot water.

And the pièce de résistance was from a mental health webinar that said cold showers produce a rise in dopamine (among other feel-good neurotransmitters). ^{2, 3}

This trifecta of accolades for cold water motivated me to cut back on hot water use. Besides, I’ve always looked for ways to reduce my Carbon Footprint. ⁴

So I used only cold water to wash my glasses, hands and face and to brush my teeth. I still used warm water for showering and shaving, though.

One immediate benefit was that I spent less time at the sink – I didn’t have to wait for the warm water to reach the faucet.

Then, when the oil was delivered, I was amazed to see that we needed about 40% less to fill the tank.

As for my mood, I feel pretty good considering it’s the bleakest time of the year in New England.

However, one side effect was pointed out to me during a recent screening for skin cancer. I mentioned that my fingertips were “taking a beating” in the cold weather. The dermatologist diagnosed me with Raynaud’s Syndrome. She suggested that I see a cardiologist or vascular specialist who might prescribe a vasodialator. “In the mean time, keep your hands warm. You can get thin silk gloves to fit under your regular gloves.” I decided not to mention that:

• I do not wear gloves;

• I keep the house at 66 F (19 C);

• I wash my hands with cold water.

All of the above results in vasoconstriction.

I’ve had cold hands for as long as I can remember; my mother taught me to wash my hands with cold water. I believe she was trying prevent me from getting scalded if I accidentally turned on the hot water too much.

As a young adult I read about how Vitamin E is good for blood circulation; ⁵ I figured it would improve blood flow to my hands, so I started taking it when I was a young adult. It did help. As a less young adult, I switched my breakfast from cereal and milk to almond butter and blueberries on rice cakes. Almonds are naturally high in Vitamin E, so my hands continued to feel well. But I heard that almond trees require a great deal of water, and truckloads of bees were needed in order pollinate them. And then I jumped on the “supper is the new breakfast” bandwagon.

I just started taking Vitamin E again last week; already I feel some improvement in my hands. I wonder if it will keep my blood pressure down, too.

¹ https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/faqs.html

² https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9953392/

³ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4Q1s9Tyb9ZZmyqZhQk489FS/why-we-should-all-be-taking-cold-showers

⁴ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-how-to-measure-yours

⁵ https://www.faim.org/the-great-antioxidant-vitamin-e

The Great Task

The best thing that Democrats and Independents can do to keep Trump out of the White House is to register as Republicans and vote for Nikki Haley in their states’ primaries. You don’t have to vote for her in the general election.

Learn about how to change party affiliation; the U.S. Election Assistance Commission describes how here:
https://www.eac.gov/how-do-i-change-my-political-party-affiliation

As of today, there are no statements on her website about where she stands on key issues.  But you can learn a little bit more about Nikki Haley here:
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/15/1157122486/nikki-haley-confederate-flag-race-president-2024

Her voting record is shown here:
https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/47879/nikki-haley

The Great Task, this post’s title, is the name of a recently created PAC that was formed to prevent Donald Trump from winning the Republican primary in 2024.

My Wordle Strategy With “A” Words

I wrote a few weeks ago about Wordle, and that my starting word is STEAM.¹

As well, I wrote that my strategy is to enter guesses that end in Y, and to choose words that contain repeated letters.

Suppose the letter A was flagged as correct but in the wrong position (STEAM). My next guess would be AGAIN.

But suppose the letter A was flagged as correct and in the correct position (STEAM). My next guess might be AURAL to check for the double A, or more likely FORAY to check for a trailing Y.  LUNAR also is tempting, since the letters L, N and R occur commonly.

I’ll follow up with more second guess words next week. Meanwhile, please let me know what your starting word is and why.

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¹ https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2023/11/introducing-my-wordle-strategy.html

Introducing My Wordle Strategy

I’ve been enjoying Wordle¹ daily since before the New York Times. I like the game because of how little time it takes to play, and how rewarding it is to get the answer.

Here’s how my Guess Distribution looks today:

1. 0
2. 20
3. 148
4. 208
5. 196
6. 50

I’ve missed only 8 games, mostly by not guessing correctly within six tries, but also due to not playing a couple of times.

What’s my starting word? It’s STEAM.

In general, my strategy is to enter guesses that end in Y, and to choose words that contain repeated letters.

For example, suppose the letter E was flagged as correct but in the wrong position (STEAM). My next guess is usually NEPER, which, like the decibel, is a unit of measure for logarithm-based quantities.

And suppose the letter E was flagged as correct and in the correct position (STEAM). My next guess might be NEEDY.

Another favorite second guess is when both the E and M are correct but in the wrong position (STEAM). My guess then is EMCEE, after which I know exactly where the E(s) belong(s).

I’ll follow up with more second guess words next week. Meanwhile, please let me know what your starting word is and why.

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¹https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

Just Like Hockey

I went to a fight the other day and a session of Congress broke out.

This is a take on an old joke, "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out."

As well, it's a commentary on the scuffle that took place between Kevin McCarthy and Tim Burchett on Tuesday¹, and the spat between Sen. Markwayne Mullin and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien in a Senate hearing also on Tuesday.²

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¹https://www.npr.org/2023/11/14/1212912482/mccarthy-burchett-elbow-house-republicans

²https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/stand-butt-fistfight-nearly-breaks-senate-hearing-bernie-sanders-steps-rcna125140

Foray into Fiber Optic Internet Service

The letter from my ISP stated that it would be installing optical fiber. The letter encouraged me to upgrade (warned me, actually) because repairs to my DSL soon would incur a service fee.

I ignored the first two letters, but then decided I’d look into the matter.

The upgrade process started with a call to customer service. The agent went over the available tiers of service and their costs. I chose 500Mbps because I know that bottlenecks in speed occur at the server and the device. Higher speed service is good for large families that have several users and devices all vying for bandwidth, but that’s not me. (I was happy enough with 20Mbps, actually, but that was just the download speed. I was limited to about 1.6Mbps upload speed, which made teleconferencing problematic.) The 500Mbps was for both download and upload.

The agent scheduled a date and time for a technician to visit – I had to be home for this. She also looked into the details of my account and informed me that I had overhead service. This was wrong. The neighborhood had overheard wires; however my wire was (mostly) underground. But the agent was unconvinced. It didn’t matter too much; the technician would see it and correct the record.

I liked the technician. He saw the DSL wire – it was lying on the ground near the house. He pointed out that the wire was meant for overhead installations. He showed me where the fiber would come down from a different utility pole – he even pointed out that box it would connect to. So the new “wire” would need to be trenched on the other side of the property. Since the ISP didn’t realize I needed the fiber buried, he decided to expedite the order. But first, the property needed to be surveyed by the “Call Before You Dig” (CBYD) program. I did not need to be home for CBYD or for the cable to be buried. But I was glad I was present for both.

When the CBYD technician arrived, I went out to meet with him. He was puttering around the pole to which the old DSL was connected. I told him that the ISP would be digging at the other pole. Nevertheless, he indicated “No Water / No Gas” and placed flags over the electrical service. He didn’t bother to mark the cable or DSL – I guess that service doesn’t matter.

The guy came out the next day to put down the new cable. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. I didn’t know he was there until I heard some sort of thumping and went out to investigate. He was attempting to manually dig a trench on the wrong side of the house, navigating near the cable! I explained how the installation needed to go, and he was relieved because it meant that he could use the gas-powered trench digger. He seemed not fluent in English, so he probably didn’t read the ticket. Anyway, he completed the job, and I took photos of the two exposed ends.

The technician would return on Friday, but someone still needed to connect the cable to the box on the pole. Would he do that? I hoped so.

The next day, I got a frantic text from my wife. The (VoIP) land line phone was not working. And the cellphone service was dropping her calls after 20 seconds. So she had no way to call anyone!

It turned out that the ISP canceled our service. So we were without Internet service for four days!

The weather forecast for the Friday installation day included a severe thunderstorm watch. And still the cable was not attached to the box on the pole. But eventually the guy came in the bucket truck and made the connection pretty quickly. I guess he was spurred on by the thunder clouds roiling nearby. About 30 minutes later the deluge began.

Then the technician came to put in the new modem, router and WiFi. This all went amazingly well. He even set the WiFi passcode to what it was before; I didn’t have to re-authenticate all my devices to the new WiFi. The only surprise was that I was left with no battery backup. The technician removed the old UPS, which had only 12Vdc output -- it was useless for the new system. He said he was glad to see I had my own UPS for the computer and cordless phone system, and he plugged the Modem and Router into that. Indeed, I got a message afterward alerting me to the fact that the VoIP system would not work in the event of a power failure.

I’ve had the service for several weeks. At first the Ookla speed test reported about 500Mbps for both upload and download when connected to the ISP’s own server. However, when connected to the nearest (non-ISP) server, the speed was under 30Mbps. As well, DNS lookup was problematic, and I’ve had to restart my computer prior to the start of my work-from-home day.

Voice mail was the next problem. The upgrade came with a whole new voice mail system. We opted out of the voicemail system that came with DSL As before, the new voicemail answered when our line was in use, and callers would leave messages expected that we’d hear them. We had no idea this was going on, and we missed some messages from medical providers. So I used the web interface to set the number rings before pickup to 12. But that did nothing. I needed to spend about 45 minutes over two sessions with customer service before eventually it could be disabled.

But lately, things have improved. In fact during a recent severe thunderstorm, the Internet connection remained steady even though cable and electrical power was intermittent. Wet weather would always degrade the DSL service – now this seems to be another tale of hardship we had to endure, like 9600 baud rate modems, text-based message board systems, and 1.2 MB removable media.

Lately, the speeds to local non-ISP servers have improved; although the advertised rate still isn’t being met.

Quarterly Reports in Org-Agenda

Org-mode comes out-of-the-box with Agenda views for these time spans: Day, Week, Fortnight (aka bi-weekly, but why?), Month and Year.  Oddly, there’s no built in option for Quarter.

Ideally, Org-agenda would come preconfigured to respond to the keystroke sequences of vq1, vq2, vq3, vq4 to display reports for Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4.

After searching online and struggling with customizations, I came across a two-step method to show a quarterly report that doesn’t require code.

First, invoke org-agenda with a prefix argument of 91 like this:

M-91 M-x org-agenda <ENTER> a

The “M-91” means you hold down the Alt key while pressing “9” and then “1” but you can also do this:

C-u 91 M-x org-agenda <ENTER> a

Second, press “j” (while visiting the *Org-Agenda* buffer) to invoke org-agenda-goto-date.  Choose the first day of whatever quarter you’re interested in.  Today I was interested in reviewing content for the previous quarter.  Thus I choose 2023-04-01 to show the second quarter (Q2) of 2023.

If you want to choose more Agenda options such as Search, Matching or other, or if you want 91 days to be the default view always, try setting org-agenda-span to 91, which will eliminate the need for the prefix argument to org-agenda.  You can do this in two ways:

Invoke M-x customize and then search for org-agenda-span

Or press C-h v org-agenda-span and then click customize.

Once you're in the customize buffer, click the Value Menu button and then enter 91, or whatever number of days you're interested in.  Note that this entry must be an integer. It can accept a negative value, but the results are undesirable.  So stick with positive integers.

Interview with Claude 2023-07-15

LudditeGeek chats with Anthropic's Claude

Hello, please tell me what you think of the term "Luddite"

Here are a few key points about the term "Luddite":

- A Luddite is someone who is opposed to technological change. The term originated in the early 19th century when textile workers known as Luddites protested against the use of new labor-saving machinery by destroying it.

- The Luddite movement began in Nottingham, England in 1811 and spread to other parts of England over the next few years. The protesters were concerned that the new machinery would replace their jobs and undermine their livelihoods.

- Today, the term "Luddite" is used more broadly to describe people who are against any new technology or who want to slow down technological progress. However, it often has a negative connotation implying irrational resistance to change.

- Some modern day "Luddites" have legitimate concerns about how certain technologies could impact society, jobs, privacy, etc. However, the term is sometimes misapplied to dismiss reasonable criticism of new technologies.

- There are ongoing debates about whether rapid technological change destroys jobs faster than it creates new ones, and whether some technologies should be regulated for social benefit. The Luddite perspective highlights valid worries about these issues.

- Overall, "Luddite" is a complex term with roots in an earlier protest movement. It is often applied loosely today to characterize skepticism or distrust of technology, which can have merits as well as downsides. The key is to have reasoned discussions about technological impacts rather than dismiss concerns as anti-progress.

Please tell me what you think of the term "Geek"

Here are some key thoughts on the term "geek":

- Originally a pejorative term referring to odd or unconventional people, but has been reclaimed and adopted by many as a positive label.

- Now typically used to describe people who are very knowledgeable or enthusiastic about technical or niche subjects like science, technology, gaming, comics, etc.

- Geeks are often stereotyped as socially awkward or obsessed with obscure details, but this is a generalization. Many geeks have active social lives and broad interests.

- "Geek culture" refers to interests and activities associated with topics like sci-fi, fantasy, comics, anime, video games, and technology. It is now mainstream and commercially successful.

- "Geek chic" refers to the rise in popularity of geeky interests, especially in fashion and appearance. Owning one's geeky interests is seen as confident and cool.

- Calling someone a "geek" today is often meant positively, to indicate intelligence, expertise, or passion for specialized subjects. However, it can still be used negatively to imply social ineptitude.

- The rise of "geek culture" shows how niche interests have become more widely accepted, though some negative stereotypes persist. Overall, "geek" today is an ambigous[sp] but often empowering term to describe technical or pop culture enthusiasts.

What would the term "Luddite Geek" connote?

The term "Luddite geek" seems oxymoronic, but could convey a few possible meanings:

- A geek who is skeptical or selective about adopting new technologies. They enthusiastically use tech tied to their interests, but are cautious about potential downsides of certain emerging tools.

- A geek who prefers retro or vintage technology as a hobby or aesthetic. For example, someone who collects old computers, games and consoles, or uses analog devices for the nostalgia or craftsmanship.

- A geeky person who works in tech but worries about its societal impacts, like on privacy, jobs, mental health, etc. They try to raise awareness and advocate ethical use of new innovations.

- Someone very knowledgeable about technology's history and limitations, including roles like programmers, engineers or analysts. They take a nuanced view grounded in technical realities.

- A geek who oppose technology designed solely for profit or power, but support tools that seem to genuinely benefit society. They want humane and democratic use of tech.

- A stereotypical portrayal mocking geeky types as retrogressive or afraid of change. Though often unfair, the phrase implies an aversion to innovation.

So in summary, "Luddite geek" combines niche expertise with some degree of concern or selectivity around technology. It can have both earnest and mocking connotations depending on context.

Tell me what you think of the blog Ramblings of a Luddite Geek at https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com. Do you think it conveys the thoughts of a "Luddite Geek"?

After reviewing some posts on the Ramblings of a Luddite Geek blog, I would say it generally reflects the perspective of a "Luddite geek" based on the meaning we discussed:

- The author seems very knowledgeable about technology, especially older and niche devices like Palm PDAs, older Macs, and vintage gaming systems.¹ This aligns with the geek identity.

- However, he is selective about adopting new technology, preferring to repair, repurpose or retain use of older tools. He highlights the longevity and reliability of older tech. This reflects the Luddite spirit.

- He thoughtfully considers the pros and cons of new innovations like smartphones, expressing concern about distraction and information overload. This balances enthusiasm with skepticism.

- He values technology that enables creativity, problem solving and fun, but is wary of it becoming too consolidated or deleterious to society. This demonstrates social conscience.

- His retro computing projects allow him to tinker and experiment hands-on, showing passion paired with consideration of impacts.

- While not an outright rejection of modern tech, he embodies the nuance of a "Luddite geek" in wanting humane, ethical progress.

Overall, I think the blog title and content accurately convey the paradoxical and considered perspective a "Luddite geek" would have - enthusiasm tempered by caution, and intellect married with idealism. The author seems to live up to this complex descriptor.

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¹ This is a fabrication -- totally untrue. Nowhere in my entire blog do I mention the Palm PDA, Apple Macintosh or the Atari, which was the gaming system my family had when it was popular. However, I did write one post that mentions the Commodore 64, which many kids used for gaming.

A Novel Way to Gain Followers

I heard the news today that, “Neuralink, the neurotech startup co-founded by Elon Musk, announced Thursday it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct its first in-human clinical study.”¹

This technology is meant to “help patients with severe paralysis control external technologies using only neural signals. … patients with severe degenerative diseases like ALS could eventually regain their ability to communicate ... by … typing with their minds.”

All I could think was, “He must be desperate to get new followers on Twitter!”

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¹https://news.yahoo.com/elon-musk-brain-implant-company-134631197.html

Interview with YouChat 2023-04-01

On April 1, 2023, Luddite Geek chatted with the AI bot at You.Com. Here's what transpired:

Hey there! How can I be of assistance?

> Hello, please tell me what you think of the term "Luddite"

As an AI language model, I do not have personal opinions or beliefs. However, I can provide information on the term "Luddite". The term "Luddite" refers to a person who is opposed to technological change and automation, particularly in the workplace. The term comes from the Luddite movement in 19th-century England, which was a social movement of textile workers who opposed the use of machinery that threatened their jobs. Today, the term is sometimes used more broadly to refer to anyone who is resistant to new technologies or social changes. Some people see the term as pejorative, while others identify with it as a rejection of the rapid pace of technological change in modern society.

> Please tell me what you think of the term "Geek"

As an AI language model, I do not have personal opinions or beliefs. However, I can provide information on the term "geek". The term "geek" originally referred to someone who was socially awkward or obsessed with a particular hobby or interest, particularly those related to technology or pop culture. Over time, the term has evolved and taken on more positive connotations, with many people identifying as geeks or using the term to express pride in their hobbies or interests. Some people use the term in a derogatory way to mock people for being too obsessed with something, but overall it is generally considered to be a more neutral or even positive term today.

> What would the term "Luddite Geek" connotate?

The term "Luddite Geek" could potentially connote someone who is interested in technology but also has reservations about the potentially negative effects of technology or the pace of technological change. It may suggest someone who is interested in technological topics but also values the importance of human connection and physical experience. Alternatively, the term could be used ironically to suggest someone who is interested in technology but rejects modern or advanced technology in favor of more primitive or outdated technologies. However, the specific connotations or interpretations of the term may vary depending on the context in which it is used.

> Tell me what you think of the blog Ramblings of a Luddite Geek at https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com. Do you think it conveys the thoughts of a "Luddite Geek"?

As an AI language model, I cannot browse the internet, so I am unable to provide a specific opinion on a particular blog. However, based on the term "Luddite Geek", a blog with this title may suggest that the author has an interest in technology but may also have reservations about the potential negative effects of technology or the rapid pace of technological change. The blog may explore topics related to technology and its impact on society, while also exploring more traditional, non-technological ways of experiencing the world. Whether or not this particular blog conveys the thoughts of a "Luddite Geek" would depend on the content of the blog and how the author frames their ideas and opinions.

Nearly Wasted Lotion

Here's what I found at the bottom of a bottle of lotion -- the pump tube ends about an inch from the bottom!  I have enough to last for another two weeks!

New Life For an Old Scanner

Here’s the scenario:

You buy new a computer for the first time in 10 years.

Then you hook up your scanner to scan a document and find that the new OS doesn’t recognize the scanner.

You go in search of a driver for the scanner that can be installed on the new computer. But alas, nothing can be found.

This is the pitfall of replacing a 32-bit operating system (OS) with a 64-bit OS – you might not find 64-bit drivers for all your peripherals.

It happened to me. But luckily I found a post by a MVP¹ who recommended VueScan².

VueScan is compatible with my Cano Lide 20 and runs under Windows 10. It can be downloaded, installed, and run for free; however the resulting scans include a watermark. But for less than the cost of a new scanner, you can buy a license for VueScan that removes the watermark and gives you access to one year of updates.

I’m not averse to paying for a new scanner. But I hate the idea of discarding a perfectly good piece of hardware just because I lack the software to operate it.

There is second option, aside from buying a new scanner. You can create a Virtual Machine (VM) that emulates the 32-bit OS and install the scanner driver on that. It’s more complicated, but it might be the preferred option if you have peripherals other than just a scanner to preserve. We do this at work so that we can keep using old lab hardware. The only drawback is that you might need a second license for the OS that runs on the VM.

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¹ https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/scanner-driver-for-canon-lide-20

² http://www.hamrick.com/

Fear Our Autonomous Future

We’re supposed to have faith in self-driving cars. Yet we can’t seem to prevent two trains from colliding.

This is a reference to the March 1 head-on train crash in Greece. According to the BBC and The Guardian, “The passenger train and the freight train were travelling in opposite directions but ended up on the same track”¹ and “The two trains are thought to have travelled along the same track for 2-3km before they met head-on.”²

Maybe the problem with trains is that they’re confined to a limited number of paths (tracks), which increases the chances of a crash. The reason we have so few airplane collisions is only because of how improbable it is that two planes would occupy the same space during most of their flights.

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¹ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64813367

² https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/greece-train-crash-deaths-injuries-larissa-collision-derailment