Name: Mark

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Web Site: http://nemasket.net

Posts by bumpkin:

    The Happy Valley

    September 1st, 2010

    I’m heading east on the Mass Pike returning from a ten day vacation in Westhampton – a small town near Northampton. This part of Pioneer Valley is right up my alley and I leave it reluctantly and with a heavy heart. Also known as the Happy Valley, at least this part has much that appeals to me. The people here are educated, liberal, tolerant, and seem to have similar sensibilities regarding quality of life.

    The streets are remarkably clean – even the rural ones. The stores are mostly mom and pop operations – I didn’t see one big box store the whole time. Fast food and chain donut shops exist but in moderation. I saw many historic properties with proud banners proclaiming “Your CPA Dollars At Work”. The area is literally loaded with paved bike paths built on old rail lines. Northampton is the lesbian capital of the US and judging from what I saw every town in MA could use a lot more lesbians. Open space abounds and there are serious well thought out plans for preservation. It’s a stark contrast to the piece meal/knee jerk efforts of most towns.

    The people here have a glow that comes with a high quality of life and a noticeable lack of low rent dipshits tossing their Burger King cups out the window as they cruise past the empty downtown storefronts on their way to Walmart.

    Anchored by five large universities, the Northampton area seems to have hit on a societal sweet spot that has a lot going for it.

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    Brunelle’s natives are restless

    August 28th, 2010

    If this article is any indication, Marsha will have a tough time in the next election. All of the comments are indicative as well. April is a long way off and so far marsha has been tough to beat.

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    Quick note from vacation

    August 25th, 2010

    I’m on vacation in north hampton massachusetts. I fell down some steps the very first morning and wrecked my ankle. North hampton is a great town very liberal and people seem to really care about their quality of life. Sorry if this post is clumsy i’m dictating to my wife’s phone. The droid speech to text input is amazing.

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    Flat Iron tonight!

    August 21st, 2010

    For any late afternoon or early evening ‘Netizens:

    I’ll be playing at the Flat Iron Cafe in Middleboro tonight – Saturday Aug 31 – from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. Joining me for a few songs will be Bery Rinaldo all the way from California. Also on program is Gary Coole – yes that’s his real name – and old friend that I haven’t played with in quite a while – years actually. So we’ll just get it going and see what happens. Last but not least is the legendary Marese aka Mary Barry. Marese outright refused to do her now standard “Closer To Fine” – though perhaps the roar and adulation of the crowd will convince her otherwise. Instead she opted for a deeper cut off the same Indigo Girls album – Love’s Recovery.
    .
    Come on down. Flat Iron management tells me this is traditionally their slowest week so we’ll need all the help we can get..

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    Wamps are lawyering up

    August 18th, 2010

    Lawyers representing the Mashpee Wampanoags have made a public record request to the town of Middleboro for any document, video, or audio anything that contains the word “Casino”, “Wampanaog”, or curiously “Adam Bond” according to a Brockton Enterprise story. The size and scope of the records request is interesting.
    .
    The tribe was billed $3K for the documents which are available for public inspection in the offices of the town manager and town planner. My guess is that they are mostly trying to intimidate the town by appearing to prepare for a protracted lawsuite – which they can’t afford. This is to limit their liability for what the town of Middleboro considers to be a unilateral breaking of the IGA.
    .
    Clearly they are going to make the case that there was no written or implied exclusivity. That is indicated by item 12. Items 18-21 are meant to frighten us into believing that the tribe is going to look for repayment of some of the planning monies if we don’t back off. I’m curious about items 16 and 17 – votes about picking IGA negotiators and Adam Bond’s role. There’s something behind that but I don’t know what. Maybe they just wanted to invoke an “Oh no, not Bond” reaction from the BOS. Beyond that they’re just being a pain by requesting so much stuff – stuff that could be used by a competent legal team in the event that legal battles begin in earnest.
    .
    I wonder how much success Middleboro would have if they made a similar request to our sovereign nation former friends? Probably about as much success as we would have had trying to manage a sovereign nation mega casino – a idea that dumb three years ago and just gets dumber over time.

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    BOS rule change discussion

    August 17th, 2010

    Here is video of the BOS discussion from 8/9/2010 about proposed rule changes that many see as a serious curtailing of the public’s ability to speak. Public comments would need to be submitted on the Wednesday before the meeting.
    .
    In the video, resident Allin Frawley expresses his concern with the change and explains how it introduces a time lag that can exceed two weeks during the summer schedule.
    .
    What cracks me up in this meeting is the mass confusion from the BOS as they try to limit the speech of people they don’t like and allow it for others resulting in painful gyrations that finish up with Selectman Mimi Duphily withdrawing her wish to comment to avoid a “pissing match” with residents and Selectman Brunelle observing that they might have to clarify the rules a little more. I would suggest this addendum to the six pages of proposed rules: “Residents we don’t like can’t speak at all and all others can speak at will – so long as they’re not commenting in a way that disagrees with us”. I think that should pretty much cover it.
    .
    Do you feel represented yet? BTW – what is the proper term for a female BOS member: Selectman, Selectperson(seems awkward), Selectwoman? Maybe I’ll request to put the question to the BOS during public comment and we’ll have an answer in 2.7 weeks.

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    Gig – Flat Iron Aug. 21

    August 14th, 2010

    Playing at Soule Homestead 8/21/2010

    Playing at Flat Iron Cafe 8/21/2010

    I’ll be playing at the Flat Iron Cafe this Saturday Aug 21 from 7:30 to 10:30 PM. Check out their event announcement.
    .
    The Flat Iron Cafe is located at:
    444 Centre Street
    Middleboro, MA 02346
    (508) 947-3358
    .
    This is historically their slowest week with people on vacation, getting ready for school and so on. With that in mind please do your best to attend if you have any interest. I’ve played 2 gigs recently so the rust is minimal and I’m hoping to have a good gig.

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    This week in the Gazette

    August 13th, 2010

    My bi-weekly column is in the week’s Middleboro Gazette and discusses in some detail things I often mention but perhaps haven’t fully explained: Various offers of help I’ve made to Middleboro BOS and the deafening silence that greeted the offer. This is framed in the discussion of why I think that sitting on the IT assessment committee would be a waste of my time – since past action of the BOS and IT director convince me that they have no interest in what I have to say or what I have to offer.
    .
    Also in this week’s paper is an editorial by Jane Lopes that I’d recommend. It concerns the recent set of meeting rules being proposed by BOS chairman Marsha Brunelle that will have the effect of limiting public speech at meetings. Today anyone can speak during the public comment period. The new rules would force you to submit your comments in writing on the Wednesday before the meeting. It would also limit public comment on other agenda items except for those that are specified as public hearings.


    The chairman of the board suggests that other government bodies do not provide for the public input that Middleboro residents enjoy. Well, Ms. Brunelle, we live in Middleboro, and in Middleboro we speak our piece. As chairman you have the right to cut off someone who is disrespectful, who has long since made his or her point, who is holding forth on the subject of apples while the board’s discussion involved oranges. It’s up to the chairman to ensure that meetings run effectively and adjourn in a timely manner unless there’s pressing business that dictates otherwise. But the tradition in Middleboro is that the selectmen’s meetings on Monday night are the place where people can get their questions answered and make their opinions known, albeit certainly within reason.

    In my opinion, the rules being proposed by Brunelle serve no purpose but to alienate the public. I’ve watched virtually every BOS meeting for the last three years and at no time has the public been disruptive – though things got a little heated during the peak of the casino issue. When Adam Bond took over as Chairman just after TMFH, he brought back the public comment period and I know he was nervous that it would blow up in his face as casino emotion was still high. It didn’t.
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    People in this town often complain about the ‘ol boy network. They’ll have fresh evidence if the perceived good ‘ol boys and gals stay silent on this. It’s not up to Allin Frawley or Mike Solimini to fight this on their own and lord knows that BOS fanboys aren’t going to do it. It’s up to the former selectmen and longtime political gadflies to steer the ship of state away from the rocks.

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    Gig – Eddy Homestead Reunion

    August 12th, 2010

    Playing at Soule Homestead 7/31/2010

    Playing at Soule Homestead 7/31/2010

    I’ll be playing at Eddy Homestead this coming Saturday 8/14 from around 12-1. I’ll also be at the Flat Iron Cafe on Saturday 8/21. I’d love to see you there to support this cool local asset. I’m referring to the Homestead not myself. Though I am pretty cool and I am a local ass .. et.



    MIDDLEBORO — Descendants of Pilgrims John and Samuel Eddy will gather next Saturday, Aug. 14, for their annual reunion at the historic Eddy Homestead in East Middleboro.

    Lunch will be served at noontime, featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, baked beans, beverage and dessert.

    Following the afternoon program, visitors may tour the 1803 Eddy Homestead, the home built for prominent local attorney Zachariah Eddy and his bride, Sarah Edson.

    Tickets for the cookout are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children 6-12, under 5 free. Reservations should be made as soon as possible. Checks payable to the Eddy Homestead Association should be mailed to Richard Cormier, 75 Taber St., New Bedford, MA 02740.


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    Mosques at Ground Zero

    August 12th, 2010

    One of the oft-repeated mantras of Fox News, Teabaggers, and other right-wing factions is that the current Democratic-controlled Congress and President are somehow violating the Constitution or wishing to. This is indicated by statements such as this Sarah Palin quote implying that Barack HUSSEIN Obama wanted to ban guns.:


    The former Alaska governor said in a speech to the National Rifle Association that political backlash is the only thing stopping Obama from gutting the Constitution’s right to bear arms. Palin said the public needs to stop Democrats in their tracks, starting with the November elections.

    Back during the the last presidential race, normally sane Orrin Hatch spouted this incendiary crazy talk in an interview with Glenn Beck – the undisputed king of right wing crazy talk:


    GLENN: Senator, I don’t know what has happened to our country. I mean, we are swinging so far to the left. I mean, I played a piece of audio from Secretary of Agriculture Benson from the 1960s where he said people will — he said Kruschev told him that Americans are so naive, we’ll spoon socialism down their throat, you know, and over the years; before you know it, you’ll raise the red flag. And here we are. We’re at a point to where our country and our Constitution is slipping through our fingers.
    .
    SENATOR HATCH: Well, I hate to tell you that bill is not the worst — it’s the worst thing as far as I’m concerned, but there are a lot of bad things. If we don’t have that firewall of at least 41 solid Republican senators, then I think it’s over for our country in a lot of ways because we’re going to go straight to socialism


    So there we have it – the US Constitution is hanging in the balance under attack from the left – a nefarious group of people trying to subvert the American way of life to a hell that is socialist at best but more likely communist. Now I don’t think Orrin Hatch believes that – but clearly he was willing to imply it when the Republicans were staring into the teeth of a filibuster-proof Democratic majority. That’s just wrong Orrin. And by the way – how many times did you get beat up by transgender liberals with a name like “Orrin Hatch”?
    .
    And now we have these same defenders of the Constitution bemoaning the desire of “Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to build an Islamic center and mosque at 45 Park Place, two blocks from the perimeter of the former World Trade Center towers.”. Given the tragic events of 911, the once-reasonable war in Afghanistan, and the WTF are we doing in Iraq war, it’s understandable that Americans have a lot of baggage with Islam.
    .
    But here’s the funny thing about the Constitution. It can’t be arbitrarily applied or suspended according to the whim du jour. Freedom of religion is either a fundamental part of our Constitution – or it’s not. Freedom of speech is a constitutional guarantee or not.
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    I’m about as left as they come and about the last thing I want to do is defend any religion – but as an American, I can’t pick and choose which fundamental rights I support. It’s all or nothing.
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    So go ahead and tell everyone you know that I support building a mosque on privately owned land near ground zero – because I just can’t think of a way to prevent it that isn’t …. un-American. We don’t have to like it and we don’t have to march for it. But we also should not stand by when a fundamental freedom is threatened.
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    America has many problems but religious tolerance isn’t one of them. It’s a key thread in the very fiber of the American tapestry.
    .
    In closing, a great man once said:


    With the first link the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.

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    DAR State Forest

    August 11th, 2010

    Here are a few pics from a recent camping trip to DAR State Forest. This is one of the best places I’ve ever camped at – keeping in mind that I don’t go camping all that often. The sites were big and well separated. The whole place had (I think) only 50 sites. The firewood was cheap (3 bundles for $10). Good trails. Nice clean lake. Clean bathroom/shower facilities.
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    We did a lot of hanging out by the pond and had a ball throwing a stick into the lake for the dog. Slaney was running right up to the edge of the water and leaping out into the water as far as she could. She’s turned into quite a water dog.
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    On the last day we hiked up to a fire tower – which offered stunning views of the area.
    Here’s some video of the dog fetching a stick and swimming. It’s kind of long – about 7 minutes and the best jump is about 5:40 in. Slaney is still kind of new to water but every time we come to a lake she expects .. no demands .. that a stick be thrown into the water. She has a really funny quirk with sticks. It drives her nuts when a stick gets sandy and she’ll bark at the offending branch and often use her paws to roll it back into the water to rinse it off. Slaney is very good with her paws – a trait that comes from her boxer heritage I believe.

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    Linux software updates

    August 6th, 2010

    I’ve been posting recently about my problems with Windows and touting Linux. One of the main benefits of Linux is that updates are centrally controlled so that you get updates to the base operating system(Linux) and all the applications as well. This is in contrast to Windows which has one mechanism for keeping Windows itself up to date and applications such as web browsers and email clients are left to fend for themselves.
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    Once a week or so Linux automatically notifies me that updates are ready to install – like it did this morning. In this screenshot you can see updates to the very core of the OS – the kernel and a software development application – Eclipse. Press the button …. done.

    Linux Ubuntu Update Manager

    Linux Ubuntu Update Manager

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    Moving user accounts on Windows XP

    August 3rd, 2010

    As I recently posted – my Windows XP machine at home was infected with Antivir Solutions – an “antivirus” program that infects you with itself and then tries to get you to pay to remove it. That was three hours down the toilet.
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    Yesterday my family informed me that the computer had been horribly slow lately so I started digging into things. I did all the usual – looking for extra services, removed extra programs, did some XP tuneup things that I found on the net and finally got to defragging the computer. “Defragging” is something that any experienced Windows user knows about but is virtually unheard of in Unix/Linux because their filesystems don’t suck. As your disk starts getting full, there is no one spot on disk large enough to add a large file so filesystem stores pieces of the file throughout the disk – this makes accessing the file slow. It also slows down other things that are waiting in line to access the disk. I had to go through some gyrations freeing up space because my main C: disk was nearly full.
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    The computer is a Sony Vaio that we’ve had for probably 8 years. The thing came with a 70-80GB drive that was split up(partitioned) into 13GB C: drive and 64GB D: drive. As you may or may not know, when you create user accounts on Windows, it puts them in C:\Documents and Settings\UserName. Every file you download or application you run leaves things inside this directory. When you start getting involved in graphics and movies these directories can become huge and I have been battling a space shortage on C: for years. Dear Sony – I hate you. This insane artificial limitation on where user directories can be on Windows drives a Unix guy like me crazy. On Unix, user directories can be anywhere on the machine or network and can be moved at will. So – I decided that I would find a way to move my user directories off of C: or die trying. I learned a few things along the way that some of you might find interesting.
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    First off – I’m talking about home computers running Windows XP – not networked computers like you might have at work that have profiles and such. After googling around, I found a couple of solutions – all of which had problems. When initially installing Windows, you can create some sort of file that will make it put user directories wherever you say – not an option for me since my computer is already installed. This still doesn’t mean you can put then anywhere – just that you can put them somewhere other than C:. Various people reported that you could get into some ugly hacking of the registry to get the directories elswhere – which looked dangerous and difficult. A coworker had a good suggestion – if I had another disk, you could make that partition appear as a folder anywhere in C: – say replacing C:\Documents and Settings with another drive. I wanted to use H:\Users as my user directory storage not H: – so I didn’t like that idea even though I probably could have made it work.
    .
    So my solution was to use the Windows equivalent of a symbolic link. SymLinks are a very handy construct that have existed since time immemorial on Unix. The are a pointer to another location that might exist anywhere on the machine or network. They look feel and act like regular files and directories but just point to somewhere else. Windows only recently had something similar called “junctions” and in typical Microsoft fashion, they have to take something logical and known and give it their own stupid name – like calling directories “folders” or replacing the defacto directory separator – the slash / – and changing it to be the hard-to-reach backslash \. Junctions first came into being in Windows 2000 probably 30 years after Unix had links and are far less capable. A Windows junction can only point to a local file or directoy – not a location on the network. It was not until Windows Vista in 2006 that Microsoft released a real symbolic link that could point to networked locations. But I have Windows XP and was stuck with junction points.
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    So my plan in case it isn’t obvious yet was to copy the user directories from C:\Documents and Settings to H:\Users. I am neither a “Document” or a “Setting”. Then I would create a junction point in “Documents and Settings” pointing to the new location on my H: drive. First I acquired junction.exe because obviously Microsoft couldn’t include something in the operating system that was actually useful. Then I used xcopy to copy the directories, renamed the original dirs, and set the link with junction. Here are the actual commands:

    xcopy mjb H:\Users\mjb /O /X /E /H /K /C

    rename mjb mjb.orig

    junction "C:\Documents and Settings\mjb" H:\Users\mjb

    I like this solution over the alternatives – junctions allow me to move any dirctory on my system to another location while maintaining the original path.
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    While I was doing all this work, I installed a couple of programs to make Windows more useful and bearable. Curiously I find that Windows becomes more useable as you install more non-Microsoft software. First up was KpyM Telnet/SSH Server. This allows my to login to my XP machine from another computer – this just gives me a simple command line. I already have VNC that give me the whole desktop on a remote machine.
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    After that I installed Console2. The windows command line interface cmd is total crap (Start-Run-cmd). It can’t be resized which never fails to infuriate me. Console2 is more like the terminals on Unix/Linux and include tabs.
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    So there you go – my space issues are solved, I installed a couple of useful tools on my Windows machine, and I learned a nifty trick with junctions. Enjoy. If you want to really really really piss me – supply me a solution to moving user accounts that is easier – my solution took me quite a while to figure out.

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    Soule Homestead gig recap

    August 1st, 2010

    I played at the Soule Homestead in Middleboro last night as part of their Summer Concert Series. Due to the EEE threat, the gig was moved indoors. I was really looking forward to playing outside and was disappointed. The room was small but held a decent amount of people – it was completely packed and overflowing into the next room where the concessions were being sold. The sound was excellent in my opinion. The onstage mix was perfect, not too loud but plenty loud enough to hear myself. The audience was very attentive and quiet while the music going on. It was very different from the bar-type gigs where people are socializing, eating, and drinking. It was a nice atmosphere to perform in and a little scary – no mistake could go unnoticed. As always when I play there plenty of small gaffs but nothing really horrible.
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    Kudos to the Soule Homestead staff. They took good care of me and made it all very easy. I just had to show up with my guitar, plug in, and play. The main act was the Nashville Clippers. I really enjoyed this band which consisted of two couples. They had a very engaging “real” sound. Good harmonies, understated instrumentation and excellent sound – the mix was perfect.
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    For various reasons, I only got the final five songs recorded. Normally I record from a direct feed off the soundboard. This recording was done with the built-in condenser mikes on my Tascam DR07. Nothing fancy – it was just sitting on a chair next to me that was jumbled with my stuff – harmonicas, pics, drinks, etc. For all that I think the recording is pretty decent:

    1. Catfish John
    2. Christmas Time
    3. Goin’ Cross The Mountain
    4. Papa Gene’s Blues
    5. Foggy Dew
    6. Walkin’ Boss
    7. Ring Of Fire
    8. Pretty Fair Maid In The Garden
    9. Colleen Malone
    10. Little Bird Of Heaven
    11. What A Wonderful World
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    Before you switch to Linux

    July 30th, 2010

    Linux

    Image courtesy of Metin Seven, Seven's Heaven

    The topic of switching to Linux came up via comments on a recent post. Coincidentally I saw this article this morning titled “Warning: Five Things to Know Before Switching to Linux”.
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    I basically agree with most of the article’s tenets except for some nits with the section “5. Technical Skills Required”:

    Linux requires a higher level of computer knowledge to make things work. That isn’t to say that ordinary users can’t use Linux, but to perform more advanced functions–such as setting up peripherals that aren’t plug-and-play or installing non-packaged software–you’ll need those higher level technical skills. Setting up Linux workstations is relatively simple, but Linux server services require a very skilled technical person to enable and configure them. If you’re the type that likes to tinker with computers, to learn new things, and to celebrate a victory when you’re successful, then Linux is for you.

    If you have supported hardware I would maintain that setting up a Linux workstation is far easier than a Windows one. How many of you have installed Windows? I’d guess not many. If you have you’d know that after the install of the base operating system you don’t have much. You have to install drivers for every piece of hardware you have – printers, cameras, web cams, mp3 players, etc, etc – with many of the installs requiring a reboot. You don’t have any photo editing, music editing, or office suite. You have little more than a web browser(Internet Explorer), a simple text editor(Notepad), and a music/video player(Windows Media Player). When you install Linux – everything is there when you’re done. Install, one reboot, and you have a tremendous wealth of open source applications:

    • Office suites
    • Web browsers
    • Audio editors
    • Video editors
    • Software development tools(compilers, programming editors, IDE’s
    • Music players/management tools
    • IM clients
    • Internet telephony progrmas
    • Image editors
    • Photo management tools
    • The list goes on and on and on and on

    It is very true that if your hardware is not supported out of the box, it can be difficult or impossible to make it work with Linux. If it is supported however, it will be as easy or easier to get it working than Windows. It is also true that if you are setting up a server, you will need some technical chops or a lot of perseverence – but setting up a server under Windows is no picnic either.
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    I think the article had a slightly more negative tone than I would have liked but I think it sums up moving to Linux nicely:


    If you want stay with the familiar and comfortable pitfalls that you’re accustomed to, use Windows. Or, to really dumb down your computing environment, you can pay the extra money for Apple products. You can also choose to suffer a little pain, make a few exceptions, use Linux to power your desktops and servers and experience a new level of computing freedom.

    Linux for kids
    Once configured – Linux is easy to use. Here is an article titled “10 reasons why your kids should be using Linux”.

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    WooHoo – I’m rich!

    July 29th, 2010

    FBI email

    Proof that I'll soon be rich



    Ed. The following post is sarcasm in response to an obvious email scam. Do NOT give personal details to anyone you don’t know. Trust me – nobody is going to give you money no matter how official looking it is.

    I’ve just received this official-looking email from the FBI that leads me to believe I’ll soon be getting $36M from Banco Pastor – a large Spanish Bank. All I need to do is send my sensitive contact info to fbi.investigations.gov@hotmail.com. Personally I think it’s cool that the FBI is trying to save public money by using hotmail accounts.
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    I think I’ll send a copy of my birth certificate, social security number, and drivers license just to make sure they have everything required to expedite the payments.
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    Nice knowing you suckers – I’m rich now and don’t need any of you. So long.
    .
    I don’t know what Spanish angel is giving me $36M but thank you Flying Spaghetti Monster.

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    The name of my pain is – Windoze

    July 27th, 2010

    Windows sucks

    The name of my pain

    Leave it to Microsoft Windows to suck so bad that it even ruins the productivity of people like me who don’t even use it.
    .
    So I’m under the gun to get my next Middleboro Gazette column done, trying to rehearse for my next gig, and inundated at work. My wife – who is a very smart and careful computer user – gets this POS malware on her work laptop. The stuff apears to be rogue anti-virus software called Antivir Solutions. Every action you take launches a popup that says you have viruses and must buy their software. This stuff was a pain to remove. I tried several different web sites with removal instructions and finally one that worked. This all came at a cost of about 3 hours of time I didn’t have to spend.
    .
    After I got that squared away, I booted into my beloved Linux laptop just a few minutes ago. My Ubuntu update manager informed me of the pending updates – which included a security update for Firefox. Click, auto-download, auto-install, done. You poor Micro$oft Windoze users will never know the worry-free joy of browsing the web, clicking on links, and email attachments with having any fear that your next click will send you into virus hell. True that Windows is targeted more than Linux, but it’s also true that Windows just plain sucks and is insecure by design. Beyond being less targeted, more powerful, easier to install, easier to update, cheaper, just plain cooler, Linux software management is so far superior to windows it’s just ridiculous. On Windows, each application (Firefox, Thunderbird, GoogleEarth, is responsible for updating itself. Windows has it’s own mechanism for updating the base operating system – and screw everybody else. On my Ubuntu machine, all the installation and updates are centralized and automatic. In fact when the next version of Ubuntu is released, I’ll be presented with a button to update to it if I choose. Can you imagine clicking on a button that seamlessly updated you from Windows XP to Windows 7. FFC – Fat Frackin’ Chance.
    .
    Did I mention that I hate Windows?

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    Ice cream social – Sun 7/25

    July 24th, 2010

    Reminder of this good cause:


    The Middleborough Historical Association will celebrate July, National Ice Cream Month, under the tents at the group’s annual Ice Cream Social on Sunday, July 25 from 2-4 pm. on the grounds of the Middleborough Historical Museum, 18 Jackson St.

    This is fairly close to the Nemasket River so watch out for alligators.

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    Crooked Still at the Narrows

    July 23rd, 2010

    Me and my darling bride(I’ve been told emphatically not to call her “the wife”) went out with our friends Rich and Sue to see one of my favorite bands – Crooked Still at the Narrows Center in Fall River. Fantastic show. In the “ain’t technology cool” department, I just checked the Narrows show blog and found this post and picture of the band that looks like it was taken shortly before the show.
    .
    I love the Narrows. We got in early enough to get a table at far stage right and were sitting about 15 feet from the band with a perfect view. The sound was great and the performance, as is usual with this band, was top notch. One of the great things about the Narrows is that you can bring in your own food and drink. I tried a new wine – Layer Cake Shiraz – which I enjoyed immensely. The parking is plentiful and free and it’s very easy to get to – right next to Battleship Cove.
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    Musically you might say that Crooked Still is bluegrassy but their style is more roots oriented and very unique. They perform a sort of musical archaeology – digging up great old tunes, dusting them off, and remaking them in their own style. Check it out for yourself. I love the percussive sound the cellist Tristan Clarridge gets. Fiddler Brittany Haas just quietly kicks fiddle ass. Singer O’Donovan has a cool, whispery, unique style. Banjo player Liszt rips up the strings with a real distinctive picking style that is definitely not your father’s Flatt & Scruggs and of course the bass player DiMario is no slouch either.

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    MLL Jimmy Fund drive

    July 20th, 2010

    Jimmy Fund

    Bottle and can drive at Muckey's - Sat. 7/24 10AM - 2PM

    I was asked to post this. Seems like an extremely easy way to pitch in for a good cause:

    Help the Middleboro Little League 10B All Star team take a swing at cancer!!
    .
    The team is raising money for the Jimmy Fund. We are holding a bottle and can return drive On Saturday, July 24th from 10am to 2pm at Muckey’s Liquors (Rt 44). Bring us your returnable bottles and cans and we’ll take care of the rest! All the money we raise goes to directly to the Jimmy Fund. Please support the boys’ efforts by donating your returnables this Saturday. Thank You.


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    Playing Soule Homestead – 7/31

    July 17th, 2010

    I’ll be opening for the Nashville Clippers at the Soule Homestead Summer Concert Series on July 31, 2010 at 6:00 PM until the main act comes on at 7:00 PM. This is a really idyllic setting with beautiful views of fields, trees, old New England stone walls and gorgeous sunsets.
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    Admission is $7 and $5.00 for seniors and students with children under 12 free. The Soule Homestead is located at 46 Soule Street Middleborough MA 02346.
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    The series runs every Saturday until 8/21. Please support the series as much as possible but especially on the night I’m playing to feed my already considerable ego. Here are some mp3′s from my last gig and here is the Facebook event page.

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    Green Energy Committee report

    July 16th, 2010

    This week’s Middleboro Gazette has an article about the presentation by Jeff Stevens of the Green Energy Committee:


    The town could cut its energy costs by up to 20 percent, or close to $200,000, with initiatives that would mainly involve conservation and better control over existing systems, members of the Green Energy Committee told the selectmen Monday night.
    .
    Brian Kowalski, a certified energy manager who serves on the committee, has completed an assessment of the Town Hall, which was renovated and fitted with new heating, cooling and ventilation systems in 1999. He told the selectmen Monday night that an annual savings of $11,000 could be saved on gas and electric bills for the building through better use of the existing systems and some retrofitting.


    It will be interesting to see if Middleboro follows through with something that appears to be a no-brainer. The assessment done by Mr. Kowaslki (and I think his wife) took a huge amount of effort. At the BOS meeting, they were asked if they would audit the other buildings in town. To paraphrase the reply was something like “well .. this was as ton of work and we don’t think you’re really going to do anything – but if you do, we’ll do all the assessments you want”.
    .

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    Benefit for Rogue Theatre Company

    July 15th, 2010

    Here is a plug for a magic show to benefit the Rogue Theatre Company – featuring Adam Bond. Adam has been very good about plugging my shows and causes on his radio show. BTW – I’ll plug any event within reason.

    Fun-de-Mental

    Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11
    8:00 PM Performance

    Roseland Ballroom @ Hong Kong City
    174 Broadway,
    Taunton

    Reservations: 877-592-7130 or click on one of the reservation dates
    below

    August 13th | Reserve

    August 14th | Reserve

    Tickets: $20, Optional Buffet: $12

    A benefit for
    The Rogue Theatre Company

    Silent Auction, Cash Bar and Chinese Buffet at 7:00 PM

    You are mental if you miss Fun-de-Mental, the Rogue Theatre Company’s
    Summer Fundraiser. We hope you’ll join us for a great night of laughs
    and illusion with everyone’s favorite disappearing casino selectman,
    Adam Bond. There will be an optional Chinese Buffet, cash bar and silent
    auction. We look forward to seeing you there!

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    BIA letter and Middleboro’s awful PDF

    July 15th, 2010

    Recently I posted about the letter sent by the Middleboro BOS to the BIA opposing any change to the tribe’s LIT application. I thought people might want to see the actual letter.
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    The PDF document, like many Middleboro documents is a scan of a document. The means that it is essentially a giant picture that you can’t copy text from. Instead of a PDF – Portable Document Format you have a Painful Document Format. Middleboro releases documents in this fashion on purpose to make it difficult for people to share and discuss the content. A “normal” PDF document is created in one step – you have a file such as a Word document and you convert it to PDF often by use of a PDF printer – a piece of software that appears as a printer but produces a PDF file instead of a printed sheet of paper. This document was created by taking a printed sheet of paper and running it through a scanner – which essentially takes a picture of the document. Depending on your scanner, you might retrieve the scanned document by email or some other means.
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    Creating a good PDF

    1. Open document
    2. Print/Save to PDF

    Middleboro method of creating a bad PDF

    1. Open document
    2. Print document
    3. Retrieve document from printer
    4. Run document through a scanner
    5. Transfer PDF to your computer
    6. Dispose of wasted printed sheets paid for by Middleboro taxpayers
    7. Let loose evil chuckle and congratulate yourself for making it difficult for the taxpayer/citizen to extract text from the public document

    Hooray for Middleboro IT

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    BOS approve FU letter to BIA

    July 13th, 2010

    BOS assess Middleboro casino

    BOS assess Middleboro casino

    In a unanimous vote, the Middleboro BOS approved a letter opposing the Mashpee Wampanaoag’s plans to alter their fee to trust application by adding a Fall River site to it:

    “It is nothing short of legal chicanery for the tribe to now attempt to expand its initial reservation request to include land for a casino in Fall River, which would directly compete with an already contracted project in Middleboro,” the letter says.

    A draft of the letter surfaced last Friday in a Brockton Enterprise article titled Middleboro selectmen not pleased with tribe’s casino pull-out. As I recently tweeted, the article title begs the question of what the tribal leadership was doing to the town before they pulled out.
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    My friends over at ReelWamps have chimed in on the letter as well.
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    Would this be a bad time to ask if we’re getting our $250K planning money this year? I would hate to dredge up the past and say “I told you so”. OK well that’s not true – I love saying “I told you so”. It was June 2009 when I posted that last year’s payment would be the last one.
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    If only the BOS had engaged the opposition and leveraged their expertise instead of alienating them. But that don’t make no nevermind – the BOS don’t want to hear from me even when I come bearing free web sites.

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