Greetings List Lurkers,
SHARE Providence was tense...
The minute I start setting up for the lecture (performance) my hard drive
develops issues. Thankfully I have a backup computer as well as a
bootable USB. Boot off USB install gparted run it and finally reboot to
do the show.
Now in the middle of copying to a new hard drive...
I really want to thank Brett for leading the charge last week, as well as
for helping Steve out. Apparently Brett is dieting, so there was no
pizza. I will fix this. We will again meet tonight at our usual place
and time if you need to know see below...
Besides that scare the show went really well!
THE 2017 VISUAL BASH TOUR FROM HELL CONCLUDES.
I exhibited at SHARE Providence Friday 11 August...Maybe some mainframe
work will come of this! I discovered that the State of Vermont mainframe
apparently got outsourced... Is there any hope for Vermont?
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
Ok I will admit that the 5 minute "Instant Python" rant I gave to Brett may not
qualify, but I think we shall continue to move Brett forward mostly due to my
need to write blockchain-Tic-Tac-Toe. Next for Brett is functions, and he
really must participate.
LOFTIER EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
Blockchain Tic-Tac-Toe
part of the SHARE conference is to reconnect and somehow figure out how to code
the transactions. This will be attached to the tic-tac-toe.py game. We have
decided on using python 3 for the first cut which merely involves writing a
simple tic-tac-toe game. Now get thinking!
see http://docbox.flint.com:8081/blockchain#blockchainttt
You would have thought the SHARE conference would have helped...
Splunk
The BOSI web site "Classes" section has been updated to include educational
materials about Splunk, which we really need to start to use as a product.
Since Eric-the-Weasel is on vacation I propose we use his time to help us build
a sample Splunk Server, as eventually I want to set up a copy of Splunk here in
the Casa Flint Network Kitchen. Maybe today. Watch this space...
We will try to move this towards the goal post...
TRANTOR LLDD
Notice the name change. LLDD stands for Local "Library Digital
Destinations", and is the real important part of this project. As of now
the system is once again 100% operational. I had a chance to speak to
Sarah, as I am most interested in her help with both the trantor project
and Library-based TechnoRubble.
Sarah the librarian indicated that there is new management (Scott Murphy) at
the State Library level and that they are hiring a technical coordinator who
can address Local Library Digital Destinations (LLDD).
Sarah also still wants a press release. I hope that the concept of Local
Library Digital Destinations has not been completely wiped out by entrenched
powers would so much prefer that to raise revenue by concentrating everything
in the very expensive DII Data Center at National Life, likely for a hefty
monthly fee! I may still do a press release, and after talking to her will no
doubt have a draft for her to review on the Trantor web site shortly. Sarah has
been busy, I may stop by and see how things are tomorrow.
Maybe we can crank out a press release by tomorrow...
The hard part of trantor turns out to be:
1. Getting a State bureaucracy to recognize
Free Open Source Software (what's in it for them?)
Could there be some action here finally?
2. getting the visual bash trantor prototype complete, with
appropriate features, which is done.
3. Adding the new elements to the collection...
Sadly, not much has changed here.
TADA
Teleconferencing At Da AdultSwim (TADA) starts again at 6 PM EST today. I would
dearly love to know how to do more than one party, we like Joseph Hart but is
there more we can do? What about a Visual Bash or Termux interface to Google
Plus? Got to ask Joe.
Hopefully these will be discussed on:
https://hangouts.google.com/hangouts/_/flint.com/tada
TECHNORUBBLE
Apparently the Rutland Mini-Maker Fair got rescheduled for 12 August. Doug
Webster sent me a note about it. This will be a discussion topic at our
meeting this afternoon, anyone want to go to Champlaign Sept 23-24?
Technorubble at Libraries.
At the meeting back in February, J West came up with this angle and I would
very much like to try to set TechnoRubble up at the Kellog Hubbard, Kimball and
the Aldrich Libraries and see if this would work. I may also try to get some
traction at the Kellogg Hubbard.
- The Website http://technorubble.org,http://technorubble.com
- The new donation letter has been updated, and is being used!
TechnoRubble Supply
As usual, we need more TechnoRubble. Two local sources of TechnoRubble might
someday be the ReStore and CVSWD. The TechnoRubble untangling and packing is
part of that effort.
TechnoRubble Taxonomy Lets start with the hard part:A TechnoRubble Taxonomy
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/technorubble#TechnoRubbleTaxonomy. As the summer
burns off I intend to tackle this, using the framework developed in the Trantor
project.
An additional part of this TechnoRubble Taxonomy effort could involve the Code
for America Vermont brigade, who have not posted in several weeks, and in my
copious spare time I am attempting to re-establish contact. They appear to be
Slack based, and I clearly am not. The idea is to make TechnoRubble much more
network centric (after all what created most of the technorubble?) get people
to mail their TechnoRubble to us in a USPS Flat Rate Box. Get TechnoRubbble
available on Amazon or Ebay!
To summarize, the meeting today is again at 40 Washington Street, Barre, VT
05641.
Topics for discussion as usual remain:
- Open Source Educational Human Development
I am working on an idea... I am changing the priority of our
eternal needs, and placing education first.
- Maker Movement A Maker Space in Barre? Why not? We clearly have a
Maker Faire profile. Could it be that the commercial power centers
are beginning to appreciate the value of a maker fair??
I need to revise my paper on this subject and get it out.
Here is the statewide plan:
http://docbox.flint.com:8081/bb
who has good ideas about a Barre Maker Space. Why not do digital
stone soup?
- Move BOSI towards reStructuredText. I am seriously researching a
tiddly2rest converter. This would allow us to become more git
centric... avoid the need to change to gittlywiki...
We still need to convert... Yea buddy... Shut up Effin.
- Blue Sky R&D, but in Vermont it will be Gun-metal Grey Sky(c) R&D
(GMGSR&D).
- I fought the DREK and the DREK continues to win. Remember, What
really is holds us back is DREK!!! DREK is what happens to your
workspace (both hardware and software) when you fail to put stuff
away, or you let your friends or relatives use it. This is a cosmic
law. I am still fighting the DREK. How to get over it? The secret
may be empty pellet bags. Is TechnoRubble organized DREK?
These five points are quickly becoming more than our policy, and more like a
prayer...
Anyway, we have the technology and we will have Pizza tonight 5-7 at Hedding
UMC.
I gotta go...
This is the official notice of the Barre Open Systems Institute (BOSI) Adult
Swim. For those coming in via the Google Plus and the Internet, and there are
folks who are gonna try, the swim stars at 6:00 PM EST.
Our ongoing major objective is to continue to try to figure out how to invest
the time and resources to turn the Barre Open Systems Institute into more than
just the Adult Swim technical clinic and more into a real learning facility,
and figure out where our good chairs went. One direction we have been working
on is to begin thinking about classes. The curriculum that I am most interested
in is teaching documentation.
Once again, as Labor Day approaches we prepare for the BOSI Barbecue, but
the goal of the meeting shall be as usual, to get organized and try to get the
various projects moving forward, despite DREK. We continue to wonder about how
to build the BOSI curriculum to this webpage:
http://bosivt.org/classes, does work, and has just been updates.
Remember, the BOSI Adult Swim is essentially about helping out fellow users of
open source products in a clinic environment. Despite my very best of
intentions, the Adult Swim is really almost a perpetual Linux install-fest, and
only secondarily a learning environment.
While we need to update this list soon, the ever growing list of projects (now
on our web site :^) includes:
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/vm - A Docker copy of VM370
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/kindle - The Kindle Liberation Front
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/pyrs - A pythonic interface to Income Tax?
- http://ledroid.org - Ok, this is a real project eh?
- http://bzinga.net - What happens when you combine Bash and Zenity?
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/nodejs - ok, it is on the list.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/snobot - jesum they love this robot
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/furmon - monitor that pellet furnace
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/arduino - moving in the arduino groove
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/javajive - to get better at Javascript
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/tsp - Temperature Sensors Project
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/robotsrules - The quest for Roberts Rules -
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/visual.bash - Yea, I am not kidding...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/mrtg - remedial raw mrtg for the slow...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/raspberry - all versions
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/strembot.org - maybe a very cool project.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/organized - oh please let me be organized!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/music - this may be the least organized
site ever!
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/bb - A big noble idea.
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/grantbot - A less noble idea to feed the
big idea...
- http://docbox.flint.com:8081/gitlywiki - is tiddlywiki5 the answer?
This will be updated!
Otherwise, Barre indeed remains a great venue for a Linux and Open Source
Software discussion and general system rejuvenation. Expect to be remotely
preached at on the various topics of Open Source and how I am confident it
shall cure all the evils and ills of this wicked world. In a perfect meeting,
people would come in, sit down, see the stuff we have been doing and hopefully
help us get the DIY stuff we are doing done, or maybe just fix a laptop.
So, do not forget that the Barre library stocks "Linux Format", and the latest
issue is on the shelf, and it is good. The DVD's are available to checkout and
copy, we shall to continue provide copies and isos of each and every one. I am
continuing to duplicate about a years worth of DVD's which is quite a task. You
may want to watch this space for developments.
Anyway, come and do open source stuff. For more information about the BOSI
Adult Swim meeting time and location try this:
Directions to the Adult Swim:
http://docbox.flint.com:8080/bosivt.org/directions or, go to http://bosivt.org
and click on directions.
Show up at Hedding UMC if you have questions or are interested in Linux or the
concept of free and open systems. Again, we are in the basement of the Hedding
UMC facility which we like pretty well.
Somehow we need to make progress not more projects!!!
If you wish to be included on the "Linux_adult_swim" mailing list, send a
response to this note.
Join us in the heat this afternoon!
This is Flint signing off...
I will continue to refactor this newsletter, and at some point in the future
(do not hold your breath :^), it shall become readable!
Kindest Regards,
Paul Flint
(802) 479-2360
(802) 595-9365 Cell
/************************************
Based upon email reliability concerns,
please send an acknowledgment in response to this note.
Paul Flint
Barre Open Systems Institute
17 Averill Street
Barre, VT
05641
http://www.bosivt.org
http://family.flint.com/flint
skype: flintinfotech
Work: (202) 537-0480
