Ramblings of a Luddite Geek

It Starts With a Small Favor

2026-04-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

One time the boss asked me to sketch a new product concept in our CAD program. After an hour or so, I'd print out a paper drawing and hand it to him.

After a few weeks he stops by and asks, "How's the project going?" "What project?" Apparently the little favor I did, the sketch I provided, was supposed to be /my/ new project. I was supposed to test it and get it working and make imporvements on it (in between all the other products that customers were paying for). This wasn't the first time I was expected to be a mind reader, but it was the most egregious example.

My job, as it was explained to me when I started, was to design and order photomasks for a new IC. I'd also provide notes on the fabrication requirements, both backend and frontend. After that, it was somebody else's problem. This was easy work, and I was able to fit in with only a little training. I had time to devote to professional development, which was lacking.

At one weekly status meeting someone reported a problem with one of the chips I designed. Suddenly everyone was looking at me. They expected me to know what was going on and hoped I had devised a solution, Apparently, again, I was supposed to be responsible for all aspects of its manufacturing and testing. But I wasn't even aware that it started production. My only response was "I don't know" sung to the tune of "How the hell should I know?" Again I was faulted for my lack of mind reading skills.

This is how things go in a small company that lacks a mentorship program. If someone had provided a little guidance and explicit expectations, on day one, I might've developed into the ideal engineer.

Unfortunately, this happens at home, too. "I want to paint the window sill on the porch. Can you buy paint for me?" my wife asked last week. Now she's saying that it's a big job and that she might have to hire someone to help. So the todo list that she wrote today included, "Help me paint the window sill." I'm assuming I'll have to do it myself. But this bothers me because you're always paint the trim last, and the entire porch needs painting. Not only is she manipulating me into doing the job, she's manipulating me into doing it wrong.

Does this happen to anyone else? What are your experiences?

Some Monospace Fonts Available in Blogger

2026-04-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

While editing my most recent post, I've been disappointed with the lone monospace font that's available in Blogger by default. I'm referring to Courier. The biggest problem with it is that it's very difficult (for me) to discern between l and 1.^* Here's what they look like in Courier: l and 1.

Fortunately, Google has made it easy for a user to add alternate fonts. I listed below some of the monospace fonts you can choose.

Based on the discernment between l/1, I like these the best (ranking in alphabetical order):

Font Name	lower L vs. One
Fragment Mono	l and 1
Google Sans Code	l and 1
JetBrains Mono	l and 1
Oxygen Mono	l and 1
Reddit Mono	l and 1
Source Code Pro	l and 1
Ubuntu Mono	l and 1
Ubuntu Sans Mono	l and 1

The discernment is greatest with Reddit Mono; there's no way I'd mistake the lowercase L for the number 1. However, I like Ubuntu Mono the best. Not only is the discernment good, the character height is comparable to the height of the default font for this Blogger theme. So I'll use this font for code listings from now on.

^*That's lowercase L and the digit one in case you thought I pressed the same key twice. In fact I thought I pressed the same key twice, so I re-entered the characters very deliberately.

Courier the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Cousine the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Datatype the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Fragment Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Google Sans Code the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

IBM Plex Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Inconsolata the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

JetBrains Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Overpass Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Oxygen Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Reddit Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Roboto Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Share Tech Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Source Code Pro the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Ubuntu Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

Ubuntu Sans Mono the quick, red fox jumped over the brown, lazy dog. THE QUICK, RED FOX JUMPED OVER THE BROWN, LAZY DOG. 0123456789

No File Name Completion With org-insert-link? Try This

2026-04-05T20:10:00.001-04:00

If you invoke org-insert-link (typically C-c C-l) in order to link to a local file, you might expect that pressing TAB will complete a partial path or file name. Instead you’ll get the frustrating message “[No match].”

What you need to do instead is to invoke the command with a prefix argument like this: C-u C-c C-l. Then you’ll get the expected completion behavior with TAB.

But why is a prefix argument necessary? It turns out that org-insert-link expects a link type at the "Insert link" prompt. Some link types are file, bbdb, info, etc. (To see a full list of link types, press TAB right after invoking the command, without entering anything.)

This is a powerful command. You can, for example, enter bbd and press TAB to complete the bbdb: link type. Then enter the first few characters of someone’s name or a business in your bbdb list of contacts, such as arth. Upon pressing TAB, you should see completion fill in arthur. Press again, you’ll get Arthur Dent and perhaps his email address. Clicking on either will complete the entry. Press ENTER to put the link into your buffer.¹

Completion isn’t available for all link types. A link to an info node, for example, has to be entered manually, although usually it’s created with org-store-link (C-c l) while point is in the info node of interest.

I encourage you to read the help for org-insert-link and org-store-link. The two hyperlinks immediately below will take you to the online manual on gnus.org. But if you copy the link text and yank into an org file, Emacs will open the Org manual at the page for handling links.

[[help:org-insert-link][Emacs help for org-insert-link]]

[[help:org-store-link][Emacs help for org-store-link]]

I dislike getting frustrated. But when I’m frustrated with Emacs, I expect to learn something if I dig deep enough. It hasn’t let me down yet.

¹ This depends on whether bbdb has been loaded. If you use bbdb and you’re not getting completion, invoke M-x bbdb and try again.

The Perpetual Calendar -- All You Really Need, Perhaps

2026-03-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

The first day of the year can fall on only one of the seven days of the week. This year, 2026, started on a Thursday. Last year, 2025, started on a Wednesday; 2027 will start on a Friday. 2025, Wednesday; 2026, Thursday; 2027 Friday. So why bother buying a new calendar every year? Some people don’t; they use a Perpetual Calendar ¹ instead.

If there were only 364 days in a year, we could keep using the same calendar each year. The number 364 is evenly divisible by 7; there are exactly 52 weeks in that hypothetical year. But that one extra day in our year forces us to have a calendar for each day of the week.

What about leap years? They occur once every four years and have 366 days. We have to “skip over” a calendar every four years. For example, the calendar for 2028 (a leap year) will start on a Saturday. The following year will start not on Sunday but on a Monday.

Thus we need fourteen unique calendars; seven have 365 days; seven have 366, owing to the addition of February 29. This is what some refer to as “The Perpetual Calendar.”

Unfortunately, if you want to keep track of religious holidays, you’ll have to pencil in all those holidays whose schedules follow the lunar calendar ². And this involves more than figuring out the date of the Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year). Dates of holidays in the Abrahamic religions ³ (sometimes referred to as Judeo-Christian religions ⁴) also are based on the lunar calendar. This includes Christianity ⁵.

So is the Perpetual Calendar the only calendar you’ll ever need? That’s for you to decide.

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_calendar
² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_calendar
³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religions
⁴ The term “Judeo-Christian” ignores Islam, so I looked for a more appropriate term. See https://www.draslamabdullah.com/post/the-judeo-christian-tradition-history-paradox-and-political-construction
⁵ Yes even Easter requires reference to the lunar calendar. It falls on the date of the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox, roughly speaking. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_Easter

Emacs Lisp Function to Determine the Start of Engineers Week

2026-02-27T16:53:00.003-05:00

This year, Engineers Week started on Sunday (February 22, 2026). It always begins on Sunday of the week of George Washington's birthday. ¹

Here's an Emacs Lisp function to calculate the date that Engineers Week will begin for a given year:

(defun eweek (year)
  "Returns the date on which Engineers Week begins for the year given in
YEAR.  Returns the date in the standard format for a (Gregorian)
calendar date in calendar.el, a list of integers (MONTH DAY YEAR)"
  (calendar-gregorian-from-absolute
   (calendar-dayname-on-or-before
    0 (calendar-absolute-from-gregorian (list 2 22 year)))))

Invoking (eweek 2025) should return (2 16 2025), which was the start of Engineers Week last year.

¹ https://calendar-holidays.com/engineers-week/

Amaze Your Friends – Send a Letter Without a Written Address!

2026-02-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

You can have an unaddressed envelope arrive at someone’s address or Post Office Box.

I discovered this from my annual, end-of-year deluge of cards to friends and family. I had printed all the recipient’s addresses on plain paper, and then cut them into address labels. (My printer doesn’t accept labels as printed media.) Then I affixed them to the envelopes with a glue stick.

The glue stick was left over from previous years. So the first time I used it, the end of the stick was a bit dried out; the adhesion probably was poor as a result. Thus the first label I had attached eventually fell off, but it stayed on long enough for the local post office to see it and generate the address at the very bottom in barcode form.

Apparently, once the originating post office prints that barcode, the mail item goes where it was intended.

If one could determine just how much adhesion is necessary to make this work repeatedly, a whole new product – Gag Labels – could be launched! If I were to guess, the stickiness might’ve have compared well to a Post-It note that had been reused a few times. Another approach would be to develop a temperature-sensitive glue that would irreversibly release after, say, 8 hours exposure at a temperature at or below, say, 10°C (50°F). Perhaps this is the environment in which most mail finds itself during storage and transit.

This wouldn’t work for all geographic locations at all times of year. But for a Luddite Geek located in the Northeastern part of USA, it would work from November to April, allowing him to send Season’s Greetings, Valentine’s wishes, and tax returns, not to mention write about himself in the third person.

Solid, Liquid, Gas

2026-02-07T22:50:00.001-05:00

Liquid meals serve a pseudo-medical purpose: to provide nourishment to people who cannot tolerate solid food. Energy drinks and gels (aka Nutrient Goo) fill a need for endurance athletes. But in 2013, Soylent was introduced and marketed to people who are simply too busy to prepare and chew food.

As we transition from consumption of solids to liquids, I wonder how long it will be before a "Nutrient Gas " will allow people to breath in their meals. Being already in a gaseous state, will these "meals" facilitate our body's need to fart?

Soylent on Wikipedia
Review of Soylent

A Long View of Venezuela Action

2026-01-08T17:17:00.000-05:00

Looked at in isolation, USA's actions in Venezuela may seem arbitrary, or a bully's response to being bullied, or a blatant grab for oil. However, when considered as a piece in the puzzle of recent world events, it makes sense.

Consider also the bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran, which took place in June, ¹ and then the military strikes in Syria that took place in December ².

This activity in Iran, Syria and Venezuela, in the context of Russia's attempted occupation of Ukraine, reveals effective US international policy against Russia. The three countries are (or were) allies of Russia.

While Russia remains embroiled in Ukraine, the US can engage Russian interests, reducing Russia's footprint on the world stage. In effect, we can wage war on Russia, albeit indirectly.

And recall that Russia invaded Ukraine soon after Pres. Biden won the 2020 election and took office in 2021. Pres. Trump claimed the invasion wouldn't have happened if he had been elected. At first I assumed that he was talking nonsense, something a sore loser or braggart would say. But now I think Russia was convinced that a massive operation in Ukraine might encourage Trump to take action. With Biden in charge, Putin seized the opportunity to take over Ukraine.

In light of this, it seems likely that US support of Ukraine would be just enough to maintain the war, to keep Ukraine from being taken over, but not enable them to completely repel Russia.

What's behind US's desire to annex Greenland? Partly it's to gain more resources. But considering that Greenland is well-positioned between USA and Russia, it may be the ideal location to establish defense against hypersonic missiles, which need to be situated as close to the enemy's launch sites as possible. But why do we need to annex Greenland to do that? While it's true that the US already has a base in Greenland, my guess is that the technology is Top Secret and needs to be kept careful guarded.

All of this is conjecture based on a thought exercise; don't think I have access to special information.

¹ https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-war-nuclear-talks-geneva-news-06-21-2025-a7b0cdaba28b5817467ccf712d214579
² https://www.npr.org/2025/12/19/g-s1-103194/u-s-launches-strikes-syria

Edit Online Forms With Emacs

2025-11-28T18:50:00.001-05:00

If you'd rather use your own text editor to enter content into a web form, you could use and configure a browser extension to establish a link between the form field and the editor. One such extension that Google search suggests is Browser's External Editor.¹

But if you use Emacs, you're probably better off with Chrome Emacs.²

Chrome Emacs is added to a Chromium browser, but you still need to add something to Emacs. That something is the mode called atomic-chrome.

atomic-chrome can be found on Melpa; you can use the Emacs package manager to add it. My personal experience is that it's necessary to start its server manually with atomic-chrome-start-server, or add (atomic-chrome-start-server) to your init file.

I find it invaluable when commenting on a LinkedIn post, which can disappear whenever your feed is updated.

I also like it as a replacement for the Blogspot post entry field, which is easily cleared with an accidental press of Ctrl-a followed by any key press. Blogspot performs an automatic backup whenever you pause typing during new post mode. But that's a worthless feature because it will backup every mistake, including one in which you replaced all content with a key press. And it offers no way to access previous backups. I'm less likely to select all text in Emacs³, but it's not impossible. As well, I could still somehow still manage to do the Ctrl-a thing in Blogspot. Nevertheless this is a nice workaround.

But in fact I've been composing new posts outside of Blogspot for years; usually I use LibreOffice Writer because... Well, come to think of it, I don't know why I use Writer when I can use Emacs. Maybe it's because with Writer, I can insert pictures and such. (And I haven't figured out how to do that in Emacs.

¹ https://chromewebstore.google.com/search/Browser's%20External%20Editor
² https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chrome-emacs
³ Pressing C-x h will select all characters in an Emacs buffer.

Adding Moon Void of Course Events to Org-Agenda via Diary

2025-10-28T13:34:00.013-04:00

In a previous post, I demonstrated how to create an Org file that has Moon Void of Course events. However, I found that the events don't show up in all Custom views of Org Agenda, such as when a Custom Command defines a single org file. So here's an alternate method for displaying the events in the Agenda, which I prefer. It involves adding the events to a special diary file, such as mvoc.

To make this work, you'll need to use fancy diary display, which means setting diary-display-function to diary-fancy-display. As well, evaluate and add these statements into your Emacs config / init file, as explained in the Emacs manual in the Fancy Diary Display node.¹

(add-hook 'diary-list-entries-hook 'diary-include-other-diary-files)
(add-hook 'diary-mark-entries-hook 'diary-mark-included-diary-files)

Recall that we created a spreadsheet document in the first post on this topic.² Then we modified it in a subsequent post³ to create the mvoc.org file. Now we'll modify it again so we end up with something like this in the mvoc diary file:

Oct 28, 2025 22:38 Moon Void of Course
Oct 28, 2025 22:55 Moon entering Aquarius after void

The date format shown above is the default. Alternatively, you can use a date format specified by calendar-date-style.

Here are the steps to create a diary file with Moon void of course events like the ones shown above. Again, we begin with the spreadsheet that was created in steps 1 through 4 of the initial post.

Add a new sheet to the document; name it mvoc.
Enter the following in cell A1. Please note that the tilde character represents a line continuation character. In fact the content should be entered without line breaks:
1. =TEXT($moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2,"MMM D, YYYY HH:MM") & ~
2. " Moon void of course" & UNICHAR(13) & UNICHAR(10) & ~
3. >TEXT($moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2,"MMM D, YYYY HH:MM") & ~
4. " Moon void of course entering " & $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.C2
Set the row height to at least two times its default height so that you can see the result in its entirety.
Save the spreadsheet in its native format (Excel as an XLSx file; LibreOffice Calc, ODS). A lot of work went into entering the formula in A1 -- it would be highly frustrating if that got lost!
As before, we will pause and breathe for discussion.
1. The reference to $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2 in 6.1 returns the date and time that the void begins. Similarly, $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2 in 6.3 returns the date and time that the void ends.
2. The aforementioned dates and times are formatted with the TEXT worksheet function to ensure that the date is represented in MMM D, YYY format (Oct. 28, 2025, for example), followed by the time in 24-hour notation, where 23:45 is 11:45 pm. We omit the seconds because it won't show up properly in the Agenda. And anyway, seconds are omitted from the data; the event's timing probably isn't determined with enough accuracy to warrant it.
3. In 6.2 we define the description of the start time; it will say simply, "Moon void of course." That text is terminated by a line ending for DOS/Windows; the two "UNICHAR" worksheet functions resolve to Carriage Return / Linefeed characters. You might need to specify this differently for non-Windows systems.
4. Similarly in 6.4, we define the description of the end time, for example "Moon void of course entering Aquarius." Although instead of "Aquarius" it could be any Zodiac sign specified in Column C of the source sheet.
5. The formula in cell A1 will create two lines in the diary file that define the start and end of the event.
Starting at cell A1, fill down until all the data of the first sheet is included.
Save the spreadsheet again.
In step 8 of the initial post, I instructed to "Export the new sheet as a CSV file." We'll want to do that again. But this time it's necessary to pay attention to LibreOffice's "Export Text File" dialog box that precedes the Save dialog box (as we did when creating the mvoc.org file). Ensure that the Field Delimiter and String Delimiter dropdown boxes are blank as shown in Figure 1. Otherwise, each heading will be preceded by a double quote character, and the lines might end with a comma.
Remove the extension from the newly-created CSV, and copy it to your home directory. Now there should be a file called mvoc; to verify, use Emacs to visit the file. The default keystrokes would be C-x C-f ~/.mvoc followed by ENTER.
Open the diary file. By default the file is named diary and it's located in the home directory. Add the following in the first line: #include "mvoc" and save it.
Press C-c a a to view the default agenda view. A screenshot of today's agenda is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: The LibreOffice Export Text File dialog box with Field delimiter and String delimiter fields blank

Figure 2: Agenda View for Tuesday, October 28. It shows that Moon is void of course from 10:38pm to 10:55pm.

Please let me know if you found this useful or if you have suggestions for improvement.

¹https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Fancy-Diary-Display.html

²https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/10/add-moon-void-of-course-dates-to-google.html

³https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/10/an-org-file-to-report-when-moon-is-void.html

An Org File to Report When Moon is Void of Course (in 2025)

2025-10-14T09:41:00.000-04:00

In my previous post I wrote about how to create a custom calendar in a spreadsheet and then add it to Google calendar. I used the dates and times when Moon is void of course in 2025 as an example. ¹

In this post, I'll show how to add those events to an org-mode file so that they show up in the Agenda View. And while there are Lisp add-ons that create org files from ICal files, it's easier to create the org file directly, since we don't actually have an ICal file.

Begin with the spreadsheet that was created in steps 1 through 4 of the previous post. But note that the new sheet in step four will be in the format that Org can read.

Here are the next steps:

Add the following content in the first 5 rows of column A. These define the recommended file-level settings for the Org file:
1. #+STARTUP: content
2. #+STARTUP: hidestars
3. #+STARTUP: indent
4. #+CATEGORY: MVoC
5. #+FILETAGS: :MVoC:
Leave row 6 blank and then enter the following in cell A7. Please note that the tilde character represents a line continuation character. In fact the content should be entered without line breaks:
1. ="* Moon void of course entering " & ~
2. $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.C2 & ~
3. UNICHAR(13) & UNICHAR(10) & "<" & ~
4. TEXT($moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2,"YYYY-MM-DD NN HH:MM") ~
5. & ">--<" & ~
6. TEXT($moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2,"YYYY-MM-DD NN HH:MM") ~
7. & ">" & UNICHAR(13) & UNICHAR(10)
Set the row height to at least three times its default height.
Save the spreadsheet in its native format (Excel as an XLSx file; LibreOffice Calc, ODS). A lot of work went into entering the formula in A7 - it would be highly frustrating if that got lost!
Then pause and breathe for discussion.
1. In paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2, we have code for a heading that will say, "Moon void of course entering Aquarius." Although instead of " Aquarius" it could be any Zodiac sign specified in Column C of the source sheet.
2. The "UNICHAR" worksheet functions in paragraphs 6.3 and 6.7 resolve to the Carriage Return / Linefeed characters when called with arguments of 13 and 10 as they are here. These two characters define line endings on Windows. It's your spreadsheet's way of pressing ENTER.
3. The reference to $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2 in 6.4 returns the date and time that the void begins. Similarly, $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2 in 6.6 returns the date and time that the void ends.
4. The aforementioned dates and times are formatted with the TEXT worksheet function to ensure that the date is represented in YYYY-MM-DD format (2025-10-14, for example), followed by an abbreviation for the name of the day of the week (Tue, which, by the way, is optional) ², and finally followed by the time using the 24-hour notation, where 23:45 is 11:45 pm.
5. The start date & time and the end date & time each are surrounded by angle brackets; the bracketed start and end elements are separated by two hyphens. Today the duration that the Moon is void of course is denoted this way:
  1. <2025-10-14 Tue 00:05>--<2025-10-14 Tue 05:47>
Starting at cell A7, fill down until all the data of the first sheet is included.
Save the spreadsheet again.
In step 8 of the previous post, I instructed to "Export the new sheet as a CSV file." We'll want to do that again. But this time it's necessary to pay attention to LibreOffice's "Export Text File" dialog box that precedes the Save dialog box. Ensure that the Field Delimiter and String Delimiter dropdown boxes are blank as shown in Figure 1. Otherwise, each heading will be preceded by a double quote character, and the lines might end with a comma.
Change the extension of the newly-created CSV file to org. Edit it with Emacs and press C-[ to add it to the Agenda File List.
Press C-c a a to view the default agenda view. A screenshot of today's agenda is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: The LibreOffice Export Text File dialog box with Field delimiter and String delimiter fields blank

Figure 2: Agenda View for Tuesday, October 14. It shows that Moon is void of course from 12:05am to 5:47am.

Please let me know if you found this useful or if you have suggestions for improvement.

¹ https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/10/add-moon-void-of-course-dates-to-google.html
² The reference for org-mode's date range timestamp format can be found here: https://orgmode.org/worg/org-syntax.html#Timestamps

Add Moon Void of Course Dates to Google Calendar

2025-10-13T12:50:00.001-04:00

Google calendar can be configured to show the phases of the moon. This view can be enabled in the settings. ^{1, 2} You can find other calendars in Settings, too, such as various religious holidays and sports.

But you can also create your own calendar and upload it as a ICAL file. Or you can import it as a CSV file. I used the import CSV method to add the dates and times that Moon is void of course.

What does it mean that Moon is void of course? In astrology, Moon visits each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. As well, Her position may form Major Aspects with other celestial bodies. When Moon transitions from one house of the Zodiac to the next, and fails to be in a Major Aspect, She is considered void of course. It is believed to be a time to avoid important business, for example. ³ Thus, believers will want to have this on their calendars. Here's how to add these times to your Google calendar.

Locate a list of dates and times that Moon is Void of Course.
1. I used the list at voidofcoursemoon.com ⁴
Download or copy the data to a CSV text file.
Import the CSV into a new spreadsheet. I copied the data, so for me, the columns were tab-delimited. As well, I defined the first two columns as Date/Time and the last column as Text. Delete any lines that do not contain the desired data; I kept the first line as "Void begins: Void ends: Moon enters after void:."
Create a second sheet that will link to the content in the first sheet. You'll export this sheet as a CSV file in a format that Google calendar can read.
Add these nine column headings in row 1 of the "Export Sheet" ⁵
1. Subject
2. Start Date
3. Start Time
4. End Date
5. End Time
6. All Day Event
7. Description
8. Location
9. Private
Enter the following content into the cells of the second row:
1. Moon Void of Course (or whatever you'd like to see as the title of each event).
2. =$moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2 (with format code MM/DD/YYYY)
3. =$moon_void_of_course_table_2025.A2 (with format code HH:MM:SS AM/PM)
4. =$moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2 (with format code MM/DD/YYYY)
5. =$moon_void_of_course_table_2025.B2 (with format code HH:MM:SS AM/PM)
6. FALSE
7. ="Moon will enter " & $moon_void_of_course_table_2025.C2 & " after void" (or whatever you want to see in the event description).
8. Eastern US & Canada (This is the time zone name, but put whatever you want to see for the event location).
9. FALSE
10. Select all nine occupied cells in row 2 (columns A through I) and fill down until all the data of the first sheet is included.
Save the spreadsheet as XLSx (Excel) or ODS (LibreOffice Calc).
Export the new sheet as a CSV file.
Create a new Google calendar and import the CSV file into it. ⁵

Or you can skip all that and just use the calendar I created, which you can find here. ⁶ But note that it's limited to events in 2025.

Here's how it looks in my calendar; the Phases of the Moon calendar also is enabled...

I hope you find this useful. Next, I'll describe how I got these events into Org-mode.

¹ href="https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/13748650?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop

² href="https://www.maketecheasier.com/display-alternate-calendar-google-calendar/

³ https://www.astrologybyjudithryan.com/void-of-course-moon-info

⁴ href="https://voidofcoursemoon.com/void-of-course-moon-2025-calendar/

⁵ href="https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37118#advanced&zippy=%2Ccreate-or-edit-a-csv-file

⁶ href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WqS678DtfBI9J0MQzuAphMrURAC3kK8T/view?usp=sharing

Failure to “Practice What You Preach”

2025-10-05T19:28:00.000-04:00

A blog post in March on the Proton website¹ recommends several European programs or apps that circumvent potential US privacy violations. The "privacy-focused European alternatives" that are recommended in the social media category include Mastodon (which I use), Lemmy, and Friendica.

However, if you want to share that blog post, the you're offered choices of X, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Facebook! I wanted to point out the irony to the author, but there is no comment box in which to enter a reply.

Share options on Proton blog post

Even better (as in more ironic) is that blog post had been posted to Facebook with a link back that included a "fbclid" parameter. I suppose maybe we can give Proton a pass on this - they're entitled to know where their readers come from and when. But why not just have a simple "referral" parameter set to "facebook20251005185942" (or "linkedin," or whatever)? I ask because who knows what the 118-character value of fbclid unencodes to?

If you'd like to be a bit of a disruptor (or just have fun), you could append "?fbclid=biteme" to the link to the blog post before you navigate to it.

¹ https://proton.me/blog/european-tech-alternatives

Forget MAGA -- Focus on MACFA

2025-08-23T19:43:00.000-04:00

I had planned to write another of my silly “Forget MAGA...” posts^{1, 2}. The new post would have called for a focus on MACFA, or Make All Commodes Flush Again. This was something that Trump himself promised he would do.

But when I looked for background material and sources, I came across a recent Slate article³ that reports on the great progress that was made in low flush (LF) toilets. According to the article, the newest models can flush effectively with as little as 1.28 gallons of water.

I believe it. I can flush my toilets with a two-gallon bucket half filled with water. But the bowls remain nearly empty after that, so I suppose it takes another half gallon to refill the bowl.

The article explains that the earliest LF toilets used 1.6 gallons as does my newer fixture. However, they didn’t flush away all the solid waste; Trump himself said the operator had to flush “10 times.” “Not me, of course,” reports say.

So, have we Made All Commodes Flush Again? It would seem so. But I remain skeptical. I’d expect that the gradual accumulation of crap (quite literally) and minerals would reduce the water velocity in a low-flow toilet. And flushing is all about water velocity.

I can recall how well our 1.6 gallon toilet flushed. The water would almost totally disappear the moment I pressed the handle. But now it’s just like any other old-fashioned toilet in which the water rises before anything solid goes down.

When the commode was installed, there was a bumpy patch at the bottom. Now I wonder if the toilet was used or defective and that the bumpy part was scale or corrosion that was painted over.

Earlier today, I used my improvised drain clearer (an old bent coat hanger) to scrape at the entrances to the trap and siphon jet. The toilet flushes much better now. I’ll clean the visible portions with a pumice stone later tonight.

¹ Forget MAGA -- Focus on MATA https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/07/forget-maga-focus-on-mata.html

² Forget MAGA -- Focus on MEGA https://ludditegeek.blogspot.com/2025/07/forget-maga-focus-on-mega.html

³ https://slate.com/technology/2025/02/toilets-low-flow-trump-environment-cost-savings.html

Define Emacs as Editor in Altap Salamander

2025-08-16T17:31:00.005-04:00

I’ve been a devotee of the Servant Salamander / Altap Salamander file manager¹ for decades. I migrated from Norton Commander (NC)² soon after I started to work on a multi-tasking OS, Windows NT.

Likewise, I’ve been a fan of the (extensible) text editor Emacs³ for decades, having given up on Brief⁴, eventually. While on WinNT, I stayed with Brief a long time. But I seem to recall that Brief didn’t respond well to having one of its open files changed by another application. (This rarely happened in environments that it was designed for.)

Norton’s F4 key invoked a built-in text editor to open the selected file. The Salamander F4 key is configured to use Notepad.exe to open the selected file. But it can be configured to use other editors based on the selected file’s extension. I configure F4 to use Emacs for all text-like files.

Once I open Emacs, I like to keep that instance open for as long as possible. That’s because I build up a history usage, including:

Regular expression searches
Kill ring contents
On-the-fly macros

Switching to a new Emacs instance is a major interruption to my workflow.

Enter Emacs server. Emacs includes a server that can open a file in a running instance when invoked from an external application, such as Norton, ...er, Salamander. This allows a user to edit new files while maintaining the previous Emacs instance.

To use this active server process feature, you’d invoke Emacs with this command⁵ (all entered on a single line): C:\Path_to_Emacs_bin\emacsclientw.exe -a C:\Path_to_Emacs_bin\bin\runemacs.exe

But I find that configuring Salamander’s F4 to call the Emacs server to be difficult sometimes. In fact I spent an embarrassingly long time yesterday trying to figure it out. But it’s not at all difficult if you really understand two things:

Only the Emacs executable should appear in the Custom Editor Target box; any switches go into the Arguments box before the $(Name) parameter.
Emacs doesn’t like file names that contain quote marks. So if there’s a space in the path to the executable, you should specify the 8.3 name and not the path seen in Explorer.⁶ Please see the figure below.

I’ve heard Emacs gurus advise against installing Emacs in a location other than the default. The default on Windows currently is C:\Program Files\Emacs\emacs-30.1\. And I followed that advice unfortunately. But it caused me a great deal of grief, because it forced me to surround the paths in quotes and was incompatible with the server process. On my previous computers I had been installing Emacs in C:\Users\Public\Programs, which all users have access to and conforms to the DOS 8.3 file name format. That’s why this error is new to me.

So here’s advice from a wannabe guru:

Follow the instructions above to configure Salamander’s F4 to invoke Emacs if you already have Emacs and Altap Salamander installed.
When you install Emacs, change the installation location to ensure that the path is made up of only alpha-numeric characters and that all users will have Read and Execute permisions.

¹ https://www.altap.cz/
² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Commander
³ https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/
⁴ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brief_(text_editor)
⁵ https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html
⁶ Eli Zaretskii, https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-emacs-windows/2014-04/msg00013.html

Putin in Alaska

2025-08-14T16:47:00.000-04:00

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with President Trump tomorrow. Many political analysts already view this as a victory for Putin, or at least a concession. But I disagree.

It would be a major concession if he were hosting the meeting on Russian soil. Instead, he’s allowing Trump to host the meeting, in effect giving the other “home field advantage.”

It’s no secret that Trump wants to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe he would even be willing to arrest Putin for war crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a warrant out for his arrest.¹ With Putin outside Russian borders, an arrest shouldn’t be too difficult.

But certainly Putin is aware of this; already he will have planned his next moves. Perhaps when the Russian Empire sold Alaska to USA², they included a clause in the treaty that would allow Russia to regain ownership under very special circumstances. Such a clause might read, “Be it enacted and declared by the authority of these presents, that if the Sovereign of the Russian Empire, being the lawful ruler thereof, shall within the term of fifty-seven thousand (57,000) days and one week from the date hereof personally repair to the lands, tenements, and hereditaments herein described, and there, in the presence of two credible witnesses, shall utter the words ‘I have a red pencil box,’ then, and forthwith upon such utterance, all right, title, and interest in and to the said premises shall revert to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, his heirs and assigns, to be held by them for ever; anything in this grant or elsewhere contained to the contrary notwithstanding.”³

The day of August 15, 2025 should be an interesting one.

¹ https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendant/vladimir-vladimirovich-putin
² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase
³ This fictitious clause was synthesized with Copilot 0.4.2.0 on Windows 10 using the prompt, “Please rewrite the following content in legalese that might have been in use in 1867: If the ruler of Russia should visit this place in 57000 days and one week and say ‘I have a red pencil box’⁴ the territory shall revert back to Russia.”
⁴ The phrase “I have a red pencil box” comes from an episode of Benny Hill.

Cold in Summer; Hot in Winter

2025-08-06T17:53:00.001-04:00

Why do most folks set their thermostats lower in Summer than in Winter?

I’ve seen summer settings at 68°F (20°C), while winter settings are at 75°F (24°C). What do they expect the HVAC system to do when it senses an indoor air temperature of 72°F (22°C)? Should it heat the room? Cool it? It’s a paradox.

Engineers who design thermostats have a simple solution for this paradox – they let the user figure it out. They provide a Cool/Warm setting, which tells the device which setpoint is active.

This doesn't make sense to me. Not only is it a paradox, but it defies the way people perceive air temperature.

For example, if it’s 18°F (10°C) cooler inside than outside, you should feel much cooler when you step inside. So if the outside air is 91°F (35°C), you should feel much cooler with a summer setting of 77°F (25°C). And if the humidity is even slightly elevated, it will feel even hotter outside and cooler inside.

Similarly, if it’s 36°F (20°C) warmer inside than outside, you should feel much warmer when you step inside. So if it’s freezing cold (32°F or 0°C) outside, you should feel much warmer with a winter setting of 68°F (20°C).

But it seems that people no longer trust themselves to acclimate. Heat has been a standard offering in automobiles for over 50 years – it’s free, a by-product of the combustion engine. The default setting in wintertime is maximum heating, even though the riders wear coats. And nowadays, nearly every automobile has air conditioning, and the default summertime setting for it is maximum cooling. Climate control in automobiles mostly is “open loop,” meaning that the system does not monitor the air to see whether the setpoint has been reached. It just keeps heating or cooling.¹ This is in opposition to indoor heating systems, which are closed loop.

The other drawback to the “low setpoint in summer, high in winter” method is that it’s more wasteful. It’s like biking uphill into a headwind.

Here’s where I brag about the setpoints I use – feel free to roll your eyes.

In summer, I’m fine with the window units set to 77°F (25°C). However on cool humid days, I might switch the units to dry mode, even though it doesn’t work as well as a dehumidifier. In Winter, I use a setpoint of about 64°F (18°C). Plus it drops an additional 2°C (or 3.6°F) at night in “setback” mode.² Usually I get up before the furnace turns itself back on, so I experience a warming as I prepare tea / coffee, feed the cat, etc. That slight warming helps me acclimate to Winter.

Would you like to save money and reduce your ecological footprint?⁵ Then try this:

If you live alone, try a higher setpoint at home in summer. Wear a light sweater at work or while shopping. Limit the use of A/C in the car. And in winter, do the opposite. Try setting a lower setpoint at home, dress lightly in layers. When in the car, remove outerwear and limit the use of heat.

¹ Some luxury cars provide closed loop climate control. Indeed, I drove an old Audi whose heat and air conditioning seemed to stop working after about twenty minutes. I don’t really know whether they were closed loop or was just broken. Either way, it was difficult to get used to the effect.

² It’s a German-made boiler, which means the fundamental temperature units are Celsius. It provides a Fahrenheit display for most things, but not for the setpoint, which is “programmed” by setting DIP switches ³ on the thermostat’s circuit board.

³ A DIP switch ⁴ or Dual In-Line switch is really a set of switches packaged into the standard outline of an IC. And while ICs have gotten 60% smaller over the past three decades, DIP-switches have retained the same bulky outline of the chip packages they were modeled after.

⁴ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIP_switch

⁵ What is Ecological Footprint? Click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint

⁶ Try the footprint calculator at https://www.footprintcalculator.org/

Forget MAGA -- Focus on MATA

2025-07-12T13:14:00.001-04:00

Have you noticed that towels don’t seem to absorb water any more? Pick up a cold drink from the countertop and try to wipe away the ring of water. What happens? You smear the water across the surface. My wife and I complain all the time about how modern towels can’t absorb water.

Bath towels that are heavy, plush and soft bother me. These are the towels that seem to be least absorbent. They’re so thick, I can’t get them into narrow places, such as behind my ears. And they’re heavy so it takes effort to pick one up and move it around, so I end up working up a sweat. Such towels are good for:

decorating
lining the dog bed
gifting to people whom you don’t really like

My preference is a cheap, plain, white, 100% cotton towel that I can wash in hot water to get out all the oils that prevent absorption. I like them because they're light weight and a bit scratchy. And they absorb really well.

I don't use fabric softener because it coats the towel with a film that repels water. See for yourself. Lay a towel on a flat surface and drip water onto it. The water will form a bead, then a puddle, indicating the towel is hydrophobic.¹

Advice abounds on the Internet about not using fabric softener on bath towels.² I see the same advice even on the bottles of fabric softener itself as shown below. (Note that most towels are made from terry cloth.³)

I’m convinced that if we just had towels that can absorb water, we will make America great again.

So, MATA -- Make Absorbent Towels Again!

¹ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hydrophobic
² https://duckduckgo.com/?q=why+no+fabric+softener+on+some+clothes&ia=web
³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrycloth

Forget MAGA -- Focus on MEGA

2025-07-06T07:18:00.000-04:00

When I was a boy, my shoes and sneakers never wore out. Sure I would outgrow them when I was in elementary school, but by the time I was a fully-fledged teenager my feet stopped growing, and I wore the same footwear. In fact, I still can fit into the same shoes, sneakers and boots that I wore in high school.¹ So the only things that needed replacing were the shoelaces.

Remember how shoelaces broke? I do. It would be a big inconvenience. It would happen just as I was getting ready to leave the house to go somewhere important, not when I was stepping outside just to kick or throw some ball around.

These days I never have to replace the laces. Why is that? Are laces now made from a superior material? Perhaps.

But perhaps not. I think the reason is that the shoes would break before the laces did. Right? Have you noticed that sneakers don't have eyelets anymore? They don't even have holes for the laces! Instead, they have a loop of slightly elastic fabric through which to pass the laces. What flimsy garbage!

I'm convinced that if we bring eyelets back, we will make America great again.

So, MEGA -- Make Eyelets Great Again!

¹ I have/had a pair of hiking boots that I wore every day in high school. (I imagined that I was Aragon; in fact I almost bought a cloak.) Thirty to forty years later I'd wear these boots occasionally. The "have/had" arises from a recent purging my wife did of "all this old stuff on the porch."

A Change to Independence Day

2025-07-04T09:25:00.002-04:00

It's the morning of Independence Day in USA. As I watch bicycles cycle by, I dread tonight's inevitable displays of fireworks. Of course they won't start until darkness pervades, when I'm ready to go to bed. This will be at 9pm in my area. (The sun will set here at 8:29pm ¹). However, in the northern-most places, sunset may occur 90 minutes later ², at 10pm. Imagine waiting until 10:30pm for fireworks! Or worse, trying to get a good night's sleep for an early appointment the next day.

Then there's the issue of moonlight. A full moon can detract from the intensity of a fireworks display.

Therefore I propose moving Independence Day to the day of the first New Moon in January. Yes, let's celebrate the Fourth of July in January!

This year the New Moon occurred on January 29, and the sun set here at 5:00pm.³ So you might go to see fireworks, go out for dinner and then go to bed at the decent hour of 9:00pm!

Even in the southern-most part of the US, sunset occurred at about 6:00pm on January 29 ⁴, making a 6:30pm fireworks display a nice convenience.

The added benefit is that we'll have something to look forward to right after Christmas!

¹ https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/springfield-ma?month=7&year=2025
² https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@5689178?month=7&year=2025
³ https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/springfield-ma?month=1&year=2025
⁴ https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/key-west?month=1&year=2025

Paper Towel Math

2025-05-28T12:16:00.000-04:00

I stocked up on paper towels a while back. I bought two packages of the same brand. One was marked as a triple roll; the other, a double roll.

The triple roll claimed to have 135 sheets; the double roll, 110 sheets.

This doesn’t make sense.

Based on the quantity of sheets in the double roll, the triple roll should have 165 sheets (3 x 110 / 2). But it has only 82% of the required number of sheets. It also means that a single roll should have only 55 sheets.

The other discrepancy appears in the sheet dimensions. The triple roll sheet is defined as 11” by 5.9” while the double roll sheet is 11” by 6”. Perhaps the 6” dimensions is really 5.9” rounded up to the nearest inch. Otherwise, it would mean the triple roll falls even shorter of the required quantity; not only are there fewer sheets, but they’re smaller, too!

And if you notice, the dimensions are for the “half sheet” not the full sheet.

Folks on Reddit can provide more entertaining content on this subject. Please follow these links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/ucjrfy/paper_towel_math/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1d1zio5/paper_towel_cost_comparison/

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/ubvft9/paper_toweltoilet_paper_math_hardly_anything_is_a/

Interview with ChatGPT 2025-05-23

2025-05-23T11:35:00.000-04:00

LudditeGeek chats with ChatGPT…

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

ChatGPT said:
The term "Luddite" historically refers to a group of English textile workers in the early 19th century who protested against industrialization and new machinery that they believed threatened their jobs. The original Luddites physically destroyed weaving machines and looms, seeing them as symbols of job loss and economic injustice.

Today, "Luddite" is often used—usually pejoratively—to describe someone who resists new technology or is skeptical of technological progress. But that usage can be overly simplistic or dismissive. There’s a growing recognition that modern "neo-Luddites" or tech skeptics aren't necessarily anti-technology—they may instead be concerned about:

Ethical use of technology (e.g., privacy, surveillance, AI ethics)

Job displacement and economic inequality

Environmental impacts

Loss of human connection or autonomy

In that light, calling someone a "Luddite" might unfairly paint thoughtful criticism as backwardness. The more nuanced view is that skepticism toward certain technologies can be part of a healthy public discourse, especially in a world where tech changes rapidly and often outpaces regulation or ethical consideration.

Would you like to explore how this term relates to any specific issue or group today?

LG said:
Please tell me what you think of the term "Geek"

ChatGPT said:
The term "Geek" has undergone a fascinating transformation over time.

Historically:
"Geek" originally had negative connotations. In early 20th-century American slang, it referred to circus performers who did bizarre or grotesque acts, and later came to describe someone seen as socially awkward, overly intellectual, or obsessed with niche interests—often with a sense of ridicule.

Today:
"Geek" has been largely reclaimed and rebranded. It’s now commonly used as a badge of pride, describing people with deep passion or enthusiasm for a specific subject, often in tech, gaming, comics, science fiction, or other subcultures. You’ll see terms like:

Tech geek – someone deeply into computers, programming, or gadgets.

Science geek – someone passionate about scientific topics.

Pop culture geek – someone who knows every detail about franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, or Doctor Who.

Cultural Shift:
Being a geek is now often seen as cool or admirable, especially as tech expertise and niche knowledge have become more valued socially and economically. Companies like Google, Apple, and Meta were essentially built by "geeks," and geek culture has had a huge influence on mainstream entertainment and business.

My take:
The evolution of “geek” reflects a broader societal change: valuing expertise, curiosity, and depth over surface-level popularity. It’s an example of how language can be reclaimed to reflect empowerment and shifting cultural norms.

If you’re interested, I can show you how "geek" culture has influenced specific industries or movements—just let me know!

LG said:
What would the term "Luddite Geek" connotate?

ChatGPT said:
The term "Luddite Geek" is an intriguing and seemingly paradoxical phrase—it blends two ideas that traditionally sit at opposite ends of the technology spectrum:

"Luddite" connotes skepticism or resistance to new technology.

"Geek" suggests enthusiasm for and deep knowledge of technology or specialized subjects.

Possible Connotations:
A Technically Skilled Critic of Technology
A "Luddite Geek" could be someone who understands technology deeply but chooses to question, critique, or selectively reject it. Think of a programmer who avoids smartphones, or a data scientist who’s wary of AI surveillance. This person isn't ignorant of technology—they're skeptical because they understand it so well.

Ethical Technologist
The term might imply someone who champions ethical, human-centered technology—opting for tools that serve society without unnecessary disruption. They might support open-source software, use privacy-focused apps, or oppose tech monopolies.

Tech Minimalist or Digital Ascetic
A "Luddite Geek" might embrace digital minimalism: using tech thoughtfully and deliberately, not compulsively. They might build their own computers or write code, but refuse to use social media or voice assistants.

Ironic or Humorous Self-Description
Some people might use "Luddite Geek" tongue-in-cheek—acknowledging their tech credentials while poking fun at their own reluctance to adopt every new gadget or trend.

In Popular Culture:
This archetype is increasingly common—think of technologists who advocate for slower, more humane tech, like Jaron Lanier, or authors like Douglas Rushkoff, who question the societal impacts of digital culture from an insider’s perspective.

In short, “Luddite Geek” paints a picture of someone who’s not anti-technology, but pro-responsible, intentional, and ethical use of it. It’s a term that could reflect thoughtful resistance, not ignorance.

Would you like help crafting a definition or persona based on this idea?

LG said:
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"?

ChatGPT said:
The blog Ramblings of a Luddite Geek offers a nuanced and thoughtful exploration of technology, aligning well with the concept of a "Luddite Geek." This term suggests someone who, while deeply knowledgeable about technology, approaches it with a critical and ethical perspective.

In a recent post titled "Invalid and Inconvenient File Name Characters in DOS," the author delves into the intricacies of file naming conventions in DOS, highlighting the challenges posed by certain characters. This detailed technical analysis demonstrates a deep understanding of computing systems. However, the author's preference for avoiding spaces in file names and the use of underscores instead reflects a practical approach aimed at minimizing potential issues, rather than a rejection of technological progress .

The blog's content suggests that the author is not opposed to technology but seeks to engage with it in a manner that is thoughtful, intentional, and aware of its limitations and potential drawbacks. This aligns with the ethos of a "Luddite Geek," who values technology but advocates for its responsible and ethical use.

In summary, Ramblings of a Luddite Geek effectively conveys the perspective of a "Luddite Geek," offering insights that are both technically informed and critically reflective.

Invalid and Inconvenient File Name Characters in DOS

2025-05-21T17:23:00.002-04:00

File names that include a space require special handling. Specifically, the name or path needs to be surrounded by quotation marks when they’re referred to.

For that reason I have an aversion to using space characters in my file names. Whenever I download a file, I find myself replacing them with underscore characters. It’s easy to do in Altap Salamander¹. Open the Rename tool with Ctrl-Shift-R, put a space in the Search box, an underscore in the Replace box, press Alt-Y to uncheck “Only Once” and finally Alt-R to perform the action.

Since I’m learning Python, I thought it would be fun to write a script to do this. And while I’m at it, I should create the script so it also replaces any illegal characters in a string.

Thus I went down the rabbit hole of searching for a list of illegal characters.

According to Microsoft², there are these: < > : " / \ | ? *. But I realized that I didn’t want a list of illegal characters; I wanted a list of characters whose use is a bad idea – inconvenient characters. To me, they are ( ) + & , ^ ! %.

So I looked at a popular thread on Stackoverflow³, where, to my chagrin, a Python script similar to mine⁴ was waiting for me. I enjoyed reading the answers, the comments, the opinions. But not once did anyone mention an inconvenient character except for space. And so I revved up my “expertise engine” and looked for the post editor in which to write my response.

Alas, I did not have enough “reputation points” to answer the question. And anyway, I thought the whitelist idea was the best.

But in case you’re curious, here are explanation of why these characters are inconvenient:

Parenthesis: They confuse the DOS FOR command. Create my(file).txt. Then enter the following at the cmd prompt:⁵

for /F %s in (my(file).txt) do echo %s

I’m using Windows 10 and verifying these examples with it. On older Windows (7, XP?) parenthesis caused a problem even if the file name is placed after the do, like this:

for %i in (2 4 6 8) do copy my(file).txt my(file)%i.txt

Plus sign: The DOS copy command can be used to concatenate two or more files into one. What’s the concatenation operator? You guessed it – it’s the plus sign. How would you concatenate my+1.txt with my+2.txt? This doesn’t work:

copy my+1.txt+my+2.txt ex2.bat

You can do this instead, which is just as bad as using spaces:

copy "my+1.txt"+"my+2.txt" ex2.bat

Ampersand: Two statements can be placed on one line when they’re separated by an ampersand. If you wanted to copy one file to another and then print the contents to the screen you could enter:

copy ch2.txt ch42.txt & type ch42.txt

But if instead of ch2.txt you had ch2&3.txt, it gets tricky. For example, enter:

copy ch2&3.txt ch42.txt & type ch42.txt

It gives up rather quickly, saying that ch2 and ch42.txt could not be found and that 3.txt is not a command. That’s because DOS interprets it as three separate commands, not two:

copy ch2

&3.txt ch42.txt

type ch42.txt

Comma: My only concern about commas is that I work with CSV data files frequently. If a file name needed to be included in such a file, the comma could be interpreted as a delimiter and screw up the layout.

Percent and Exclamation mark: These are used in batch files to reference variables or command line parameters. Consider what special handling you’ll need for a file named my%100.txt:

set x=2

copy my%100.txt my%100%x%.txt

The %1 is replaced by the first command line parameter, which is not what you want. When this is run with no parameters, the batch file tries to copy my00.txt to my002.txt.

When delayed environment variable expansion is enabled, the second statement could be written as shown below, which can be inconvenient when the file name includes an exclamation mark:

copy my%100.txt my%100!x!.txt

If the file is named my!100.txt, you can make this example work by escaping the ! that’s part of the file name. Use ^ as the escape character, but you’ll have to double it:

copy my^^%100.txt my^^%100%x%.txt

Unfortunately, there is no way (that I know of in DOS) to escape the percent character in %1.

And that brings us to caret. If you use it in a file name such as my^100.txt, you’ll need to escape it, as well.

copy my^^100.txt my^^100%x%.txt

Command prompt help lists even more characters that require quotes if they’re used in filenames. You can find this at the end of the output from cmd /h:

The completion code deals correctly with file names that contain spaces or other special characters by placing quotes around the matching path…. The special characters that require quotes are:

<space>

&()[]{}^=;!'+,`~

Note that % isn’t among them.

I hope I’ve convinced you to avoid any characters other than alphanumeric, hyphen, underscore and dot. If not, try to avoid the command prompt.

¹ https://www.altap.cz/

² https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/naming-a-file

³ https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1976007/what-characters-are-forbidden-in-windows-and-linux-directory-names

⁴ The one in my head that I hadn’t yet written

⁵ Some code samples can be found at my incovenient_characters repo

Buyer Beware

2025-05-18T20:17:00.000-04:00

Don't do business with an IT firm whose website contains broken links. It's like getting a tattoo from a guy with "no regerts" on his arm.

Proofread With Read Text

2025-05-16T10:34:00.004-04:00

One of the best pieces of letter-writing advice came from the CT DOL¹. The suggestion? Get your word processor to read your content out loud.

Spell checking can’t catch misspellings where the word spells a different word correctly, such as “no” used in place of “on,” for example. But when read aloud, the mistake is obvious. It’s also great for catching cut and paste errors in which a word or phrase may be repeated or missing.

LibreOffice doesn’t “ship” with this feature. But the extension “Read Text”² can do the job. After you install “Read Text” and restart LibreOffice, you can select the content you’d like to have read, and then select Tools | Add-Ons and then Read selection… “Read Text” can also read from the clipboard, so you can use the feature with content from your email client or web browser.

But be careful -- the technique won’t draw attention to homophones³, witch yule all so have two bee vigilant too avoid.

¹Connecticut Department of Labor
²https://extensions.libreoffice.org/en/extensions/show/read-text
³https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone