欧州自転車レース追っかけ日記 2021年02月

My Cousin Vinny (1992) and LSD

LSD, not that but Limited Slip Differential

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide happens to sound similar but I am not talking about it.

My MX-5 ND (2017 model, maybe it is now retrofittedly called ND1) does not have it. I don't remember well but mine did not include that option. I vaguely remember that the catalogue I downloaded had LSD as an option.

I knew what "it" was and I did not think it would worth paying for it for me.

Growing up in Japan, the land where automobiles (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu etc.) and motorbikes (Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki) even majority of "bicycle components" (Shimano) are made as a boy, I could not help liking cars and stuff. I read and learned the basic stuff about automobiles. LSD was a household name for me since I was about the time to get the license to drive one.

The name LSD could be a bit confusing in the States and the Wikipedia synopsis it appears as "positraction".

"My Cousin Vinny (1992)", which I remember watching in a movie theater somewhere (probably Reseda in San Fernando Valley, suburb of Los Angeles, California) contained the very idea of what an LSD worked mechanically on a car as the key argument which eventually acquitted the poor two college freshmen, one played by Ralph Macchio.

Marisa Tomei was brilliant and consequently won an Oscar for her performance.

My Cousin Vinny 1992 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Cousin_Vinny)

Now I downloaded latest Luxembourg catalogue and found that there was no mention of LSD in it.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [My Cousin Vinny (1992) and LSD]の続きを読む

テーマ:ロードスター - ジャンル:車・バイク

Stoneleigh National Kit Car Show 2021?

Stoneleigh National Kit Car Show 2021?

I would very much like to visit Stoneleigh and have a look at the show if it takes place in 2021 and if I could take some days off early May.

The official site is not showing any sign of heartbeat. The site at least tells that its 2020 show was cancelled and the tickets are not to be paid back and that the organizer asks the ticket holders to keep it for 2021 show.

There is on guaranty that it will take place in 2021 as the phantom COVID-19 pandemic is still to be contained if it gets ever. We (humans) have never contained a common cold caused by "old" Corona viruses and we will never. So why do we have to contain this "new" Corona virus now?

It does not make sense.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Stoneleigh National Kit Car Show 2021?]の続きを読む

テーマ:車関係なんでも - ジャンル:車・バイク

MAZDA MX-5 30th Anniversary in Hiroshima, Japan

30th Anniversary in Hiroshima

Of course I missed it. I was (I think) in Luxembourg. I could not have gone there without having to plan rather expensive trip.

Now I was watching some of the YouTube videos of the event. I have not seen them before. Why?

Because it was held back October 13, 2019 and then I had totally another thing on my mind. It was around the time I traveled to Japan to attend a funeral. So I totally missed it.

The next time they (MAZDA and MX-5 fans) have this kind of event (hopefully there is next one), it will be in 2029. What am I doing then? I could be dead by then.

When do we get to our normal life (if we ever do)?

I wonder. I wonder and am afraid that we may never get to it.

What am I talking about? COVID-19? The answer is yes and no. As this COVID-19 is only a one aspect of what I am worried about.

This Corona pandemic is not a real thing. This so-called "new" Corona virus can be new but we encounter new variants of known old virus all the time.

This hocus-pocus PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) testing detects other older known harmful-but-controllable Corona viruses which is known to cause so-called a common cold, too.

And it (PCR tesing) have a huge mergin of error so what we are getting from the testing is something we can not make out.

They may be reporting the falsely padded numbers of so-called infected patients. Someone with an "old" Corona virus can be statistically included in the COVID-19 patients.

We don't know for sure how many of those suspected COVID-19 dead really died from or of it. Old people just died one day from some complications from a common cold caused by an old friendly Corona virus (and then counted as a victim of COVID-19).

Some want to make an anthill out of a mole. Why?

We know why.

We know how. It involves the use of big media. Those mainstream media broadcast, write, publish and spread the false news and by censorship suppress the voices from people who are woke.

"Mary (2019)"

Gary Oldman plays a private sailboat captain who battles the evil at sea.

I was not impressed. I guess that this movie was edited heavily after initial pre-release trial showing to the exclusive audience (or ?) because the audience complained that it did not entertain them.

Toward the end, the captain finds out the mysterious and elusive destination that the previous owners (operators) of the sailboat seemed to have attempted to reach. Why had this "finding the mysterious destination" plot been totally dropped? Instead the story drifted away and got ashore to a boring end.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [MAZDA MX-5 30th Anniversary in Hiroshima, Japan]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

WorldTour 2021 and some cancellations

WorldTour 2021 and some cancellations

cyclingnews.com reports this dismal piece of news.

And this has been expected (as they had already noticed this measure long before).

(from OMLOOP HET NIEUWSBLAD site)

I want to go watch this race but it is not allowed.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [WorldTour 2021 and some cancellations]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Greek Yogurt and BG

MX5 Things / AVP on the road

(https://avpontheroad.be/?Lng=en)

I found this channel around the time I was considering buying mine back in 2017 or a bit later. He started with showing off his brand new purchase and eventually started tuning it.

I am happy for him that he turned his hobby into a kind of (at least a part time) job.

I would like to have this one but not now. I wish I had money for it.

What is Bill Gate up to these days?

For the last few weeks (or longer?) I could not notice that Bill Gates was speaking something on the ads on YouTube. I mindlessly dismissed them by clicking on "Skip Ad" button. It dawned on me now that I should take a look into them not because I am a big fan of him but why he was doing it (I am sure that he does not need any money for the appearance).

I know that there are at least two versions of them as the one I captured is a environmental issue one and I remember seeing one with him fumbling a grey cushy ball with red projectiles (seemingly imitating a piece of corona virus).

The "Green Premiums" one is a work of environmental mafia. It makes us feel that we have to expel combustion engines and hail those EVs as quickly as possible. Bullshit!

So what is the message of the corona virus Muppet one? Should we all vaccinated as swiftly as possible only to find that they (vaccination injections) are meant to put under mind control that we should blindly follow the directions from some obscure health advocating organization even though the effect or side-effect of the medicine is still unknown?

What is Greek Yogurt?

I went to (actually drove, Yesterday, Saturday) one of the local supermarkets where I buy Hannah's food. Her favorite food is one of those wet food (not dry food). Shes seems to like beef so I buy always look for the one she likes.

I tried a lot of kinds of food since her babyhood. I went to a dedicated pet supply store and picked a variety of food. Eventually I landed on a particular pouched food from local supermarket Delhaize and on the private brand one for baby cat.

When she reached adulthood, I switched to a LIDL private brand one. This was OK but she seemed to like more beef over other flavors. This Lild one came in a box with 4 flavors (Salmon, Chicken, Beef and ?) so I looked further. Eventually I landed on a beef flavor product sold at Cactus supermarkets.

After securing her food, I looked for something for myself and got packs of Mozzarella cheese and this Greek Yogurt. I did not know what it would taste like but the simplicity of the package told me that it contained only Yogurt and no fancy fruit compote or sugar. I was right.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Greek Yogurt and BG]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Telescoping Steering Wheel on MX-5

Telescoping Steering Wheel on MX-5

YouTube® recommended a video and I watched it. The guy who seems to be an Italian and speaks in good English with the typical Italian accent (more ups and downs) gave the instruction how to install a column spacer.

My Mazda ND MX-5 does not have "telescopic (or telescoping)" adjustment on the steering wheel. It tilts but does not telescope.

This lack of adjustment option must have annoyed many of those tall drivers who pull their seat all the way back and find the steering a bit too far to reach.

Mazda eventually addressed the issue when it had a minor update in 2018.

The early ND drivers are left without the telescoping steering wheel. There is a help. This column spacer lets them have the steering come closer but the adjustment is fixed not adjustable.

I am not tall and find the steering not too far but I like to sit deep in the seat so I wished the steering to be closer a bit. The installation seems to be very easy. It adds 1 kg of mass and comes with a price tag of 245 Euro (I don't know about the shipping).

"Giacomo Pizoni" on YouTube
URL: spacershop.com
Daily Driver Motorsport
Based in Milano Italy
I want it but I am not getting it now. Only if I get a raise?

If I order(ed) it online and let it delivered to Luxembourg, it would cost 30 Euro for shipping.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Telescoping Steering Wheel on MX-5]の続きを読む

テーマ:ロードスター - ジャンル:車・バイク

Is the battery fully charged?

Is the battery fully charged?

I hooked the battery to the ABSAAR® (http://www.absaar.com/v2/en/) "6 AMP 12V LA3 -- 0110601102" Yesterday after moon. I noticed that the green LED was slightly lit. It had been completely off but it was then slightly lit.

I wondered if the charge was finished. I disconnected the battery and unplugged the AC line and then reconnected them all to see. The green LED shone brighter when the cramps were not engaged. I figured that this meant that the charge is not 100 % but somewhere on it way to full charge. So I let the device continue to charge the battery and went to bed.

This morning I woke up to find the green LED got brighter than it had been the previous night. It is still not as bright as other LEDs (red and orange) next to it. Does it mean that it is still not fully (100%) charged? I think it is enough already.

"6 AMP 12V LA3 -- 0110601102" (http://www.absaar.com/v2/en/products/standard-automatic-metal-chargers)

My MX-5 has a problem of losing the battery charge in a week or so. It is OK. I will put it back in my MX-5 later and drive to the supermarket.

"Iran Everything Forbidden Anything Possible (2018)"

It is an interesting movie. I knew that (from some YouTube videos I watched) a few of the things I saw in this movie are going on. I did not know the extent of the enforcement by the authorities was go tight.

The movie title describes the content of the story ahead so well.

Some photos that I did not upload before as I was too lazy.

1. Hannah and me going out on a date on St. Valentine's Day. She poses on a fallen tree stem. She is about 5 meters above ground.

2. Hannah resting comfortably. This tree bridge is not man-maid. It just fell years ago and left as it is.

3. Hannah is looking at the activities below where small animals (gerbils?) are running around.

4. Recently cut stub on the forest trail. This is neatly trimmed for the safety?

5. Someone placed bird feed there.

6. We had snowy days back in Janurary.

7. (ditto)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Is the battery fully charged?]の続きを読む

テーマ:ロードスター - ジャンル:車・バイク

What's eating my MX-5's battery

Delivery from Germany

This morning (Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021) I got a delivery from someone (but working for DHL) and he handed me a neat cardboard box from Germany.

Inside I found what should be there, namely what I had ordered, reeds in a box, mouthpiece patches and a cleaning swab. I am happy about the swiftness of the delivery.

The leaking current in the system?

I have been plagued by this problem - the main battery (sealed lead acid 12 V battery) dies to the point that it can not start the engine in a matter of one week or so.

I noticed the problem when we (general population in Luxembourg or Europe) were hit by COVID-19. We have free public transportation (buses, trams and trains) here in Luxembourg and because of the lockdown, I used my Mazda MX-5 less early last Spring (2020) and left it parked for a while.

Then when I tried to start it up, the battery died on me. I had friend come over and gave me the jump. It was OK then (I drove around an hour with higher revs to charge the battery only to find after 10 days or so that the battery was dead again. This happened several times. I decided to change the battery only to find that the problem was not gone.

Today, I wanted to drive to the local supermarket but the battery was too weak to make it happen. I removed the battery and now it is hooked to the charger (AC 230 V to DC 12 V) and being charged. It will take almost a day (or at least overnight depending on the level of discharge) to complete. The last time I remember it took almost an entire day.

I was afraid that it would not start this morning. I knew the battery was weak as I had not driven it for about a week.

Why? Why did it happen and does it happen so often? I have to conclude that something is constantly eating the battery away even though the ignition is off. What is it?

3 possibilities:

1. the native car electric system
2. the USB power line that I DIYed using a cheap Amazon splitting wire thingy plugged into the fuse box
3. the trailer hitch system electric coupler providing electricity for trailer lighting system

2. it won't be the case as I made it sure it drew the power from the fuse that is dead when the ignition is off and the GPS navigation device turns itself off when the engine is off.

3. I don't know. Nothing is attached to the coupler but it could be eating some electricity.
1. I have to ask the mechanic to check the system.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [What's eating my MX-5's battery]の続きを読む

テーマ:ロードスター - ジャンル:車・バイク

How long do cats sleep a day and when?

No SOSUMI on my Dell Optiplex 780

Ivy Bridge vs Sandy Bridge generation gap

I scanned the site of SOSUMI and learned that for the base of SOSUMI, I need Ivy Bridge or later Inel CPU platform for the VM (Virtual Machine) to work.

So I checked if my machine qualified for that and found that it did not. What a heartbreaking moment of truth! Well actually it did not break my heart.

A short walk in the forest (Feb. 16, 2020)

I took her out as she had already been restless from the shiny rays of the Sun outside and urged me to take her out for a walk from the window sill in the morning.

About an hour of short exploration. She caught a mouse or more likely a gerbil-ish tiny animal after a while and toyed with it for some time.

The weather was OK. It had rained earlier and the asphalt surface was wet buy half dry. The sky was blue with small patches of clouds. The temperature was around 10 degrees Celsius.

Now we are home and after late lunch Hannah sleeps on my lap. How sweet!

It might as well be Spring!

How long do they sleep a day? Do they prefer to sleep by day and stay up by night?

They sleep long and well during day. When they are hungry, they eat. When they finish eating or have anything else to do, they sleep. They tend to wake up early in the morning and demand breakfast. They don't go to bed when I want to go to be myself.

Purchase prices versus maintenance cost

I watched some Saxophone maintenance videos on YouTube for the past weeks. One technician explains what he does when asked to work on the instruments and also indicated the cost. He uses quality parts and replaces almost all the replaceable parts when performing an overhaul. The cost of the overhaul is more than the prices of cheap instruments.

If (one in million) I purchased a Beck 550 Spyder, the cost of maintenance would be that of maintaining an old Beetle and some.

If I purchased a Lister Bell Stratos with an Alfa engine and parts salvaged from Alfa models, the cost of maintenance would be significantly high as Alfa parts are not known for their excellence nor wide availability worldwide.

I realized that Lister Bell has changed its company name to LB Specialist Cars.

I would very much like to visit this Kit Car Show in Stoneleigh, UK. (https://www.nationalkitcarshow.co.uk/index.php)

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [How long do cats sleep a day and when?]の続きを読む

テーマ:車関係なんでも - ジャンル:車・バイク

It might as well be Spring

It Might As Well Be Spring

It one of the tunes on Bill Evans Trio's "Moon Beams (1962)" album. One of my very favorite tunes.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Might_as_Well_Be_Spring)

Wet days ahead!

We have warmer days coming with humid air or simply put rainy weather here in Luxembourg.

The daytime high will stay 6 to 12 degrees Celsius or so and the low stay above zero so no more frozen windshield.

Beck 550 Spyder

I wrote in recent entries somewhere that one of my "dream" car (at least the replica of it) is Porsche 550 (kg = 1,212 lbs) Spyder. Now I am writing this watching the series of Beck 550 Spyder episodes made by "Heidi and Franny's Garage" on YouTube®.

I wish I could buy one for myself. It is not crazily expensive. They (at Beck), at the point of this writing, have two standard versions, one with VW Beetle air-cooled engine or Subaru water-cooled engine.

Hannah and me

Hannah is leaning on my wrist now and I have to type quietly as much as possible.

She is sweet and I think she likes me. I don't know what she thinks of me. I am her parent, friend or servant (who tends her needs like food, shelter, cleaning the toilet and most importantly love)?

This is one of the questions that a typical cat owner has. What am I to my cat? With dogs, the answer is simple, the owner is the master. As a social animal (think of a wolf pack), dogs have to find their own place in the pack even with humans. To make matters simple, humans have to be their master.

DHL is delivering

My small purchase from Thomann Germany now has them. It will be here by the end of this week. I have to devise a way of muffling (suppressing or silencing) the noise (not sound I am afraid) coming out of the instrument. Otherwise I won't be able to blow it.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ

[It might as well be Spring]の続きを読む

テーマ:猫のいる生活 - ジャンル:ペット

Hannah and me in the woods on a sunny day in Luxembourg

A sunny day in Luxembourg!

(photos are not yet uploaded - hopefully in a few days they will be here)

Today (Sunday, February 14, 2020 a.k.a. St. Valentine's Day) I took my dear Hannah out for a walk in the woods (forest). It was a sunny day here in Luxembourg.

We started around noon and wandered in the woods for about two hours. The temperature was around zero or minus one degrees Celsius but when the Sun shone on me (almost all the time as all the leaves are gone and trees are sparse at this time of the year) it felt warm.

More importantly Hannah seemed not to care about the cold weather at all and enjoying the opportunity.

I noticed relatively recently the forest workers of (or hired by) the local commune (administrative body) cut some trees in the woods supposedly to give the trees some elbow space and also make the paths in the woods easier for us to wander. This (photo below) stub shows a newly cut surface. The stub is gently trimmed as it stands at the triangular cross section of the paths. I guess the chainsaw worker was considerate and did so to prevent bikers accidentally hit on the edge.

I saw some seeds of grain on it. I guess some bird (or squirrel) lover put it intentionally. Apparently the mixed grain seeds are from the bird's food ubiquitously found at local stores.

There were thin and patchy snow in the woods still as the temperature remained below zero for the last several days.

The weather, reportedly and sadly, turns and we may have rainy days for some time.

The ground was frozen (frozen fallen leaves and solid mud) and I could easily climb up the hill where no paths were. Hannah's paws stayed clean and not muddy.

It is time I took my bike out for a ride!

I saw many bikers while walking Hannah in the woods as the local nearby woods is situated on the banks of the meandering stream and there's a paved road along the stream for joggers, walkers and bikers.

I want to ride my bicycle.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Hannah and me in the woods on a sunny day in Luxembourg]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Fox guarding the hen house idiom

Fox guarding the hen house

Watching a movie titled "Fat Fiction (2020)", once again I was reminded of the expression which appears in the title of this entry.

Here, USDA is on the list of suspects like lining up in front of those horizontal lines indicating the suspects' height along with those "usual" suspects like American Heart Association, and other numerous so-called advocating organizations and agencies. They are the fox in the system.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Fox guarding the hen house idiom]の続きを読む

テーマ:食と健康 - ジャンル:ヘルス・ダイエット

Thomas Mann, Michael Schumacher and Robert Schumann

German man or Mann, English one and French on

In German when you don't have to specify the subject of a sentence (when you talk about general public or etc.), you use "man" as the subject of the sentence. It is equivalent of "one" in English, of course.

The use of that one in English sounds a bit archaic or at least not so colloquial and generally people use "they" or "you" in place in quoting something general that applies to everybody as in, "One should always think of others before one thinks of oneself (borrowed from www.classicalwriting.com)".

In German and French one uses this kind of pronoun far frequently than in English. Do you have (serve) a beer here? If one wants to order a beer where one is not sure if beer is served or not, one asks the employee directly using "you". In English you is always in plural even though the object referred to is a singular person just like its (English language's) cousins have plural form of you (vous and Sie) for both singular person and plural persons.

Anyway, we (including even me!) uses this French version of one (English), "on" in everyday life. On a bier? should work. It means, "Do you serve beer here". If you (I am talking to nobody as this blog has no English speakers at all) should visit places where French is spoken and you need to ask if something is available or not, you should say, "On a ....? (One has ....?)".

In German you should use "Sie" instead of "man" in this case.

In German this man is frequently used when in English one used "I". May I ...? or Can I ...? Should I ...? sentences are often translated in "darf (kann, sollte) man ...?

There are so many words (including family names) ending in "mann". It is a kind of noun version of "man (pronouns)", I guess. They are pronounced as same but this pronunciation is one of the "exceptions" in German grammar. They (Germans) don't like too many grammatical exceptions but they can not help it.

In my very narrow knowledge of German grammar, I know two exceptions, das (article) and man (pronoun) should be pronounced as daas or maan (aa stands for long a like ah) but they make it short. It has to be spelled dass or mann to be pronounced as they are actually pronounced.

German mann is a word roughly equivalent of English man (too obvious?). I used to live in Germany and saw a lot of family names ending in mann on the mailboxes or other places.

Schumann, a famous German composer. His family name may be composed of Schuh (shoe). Schuh's plural form is Schuhe (shoes) and read "shoe-eh". There is a well-known German family name, Schumacher (shoemaker). These ****mann and ****macher family name variations are so common.

One comes to my mind particularly. I used to see it almost everyday as the name appeared on the mailbox close to the one belonging to my workplace back then. There was this family name, Assmacher.

It does not mean what you might think it does. It means ace maker (a very brilliant name).

Thomann

It has been shipped! On the online shop open hours notice, the shop remains closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

When I placed my order online, the response on the screen was that my order would be dispatched on Saturday, February 13. I thought it would be Monday but it turned out that I had totally lost the date. Are they extending the hours to compensate the loss of customers due to the current "fake" COVID-19 pandemic. It is not a pandemic.

It will arrive soon. I bought a pack of reeds (10 pieces), a pack of mouthpiece patch (6 pieces) and a cleaning swab (for Soprano Saxophone). There was no cleaning swab specifically made for Sopranino.

The difference between Soprano (or Sopranino) and (probably) Alto and bigger Saxophones is that the swab has two strings attached. The upper pipe (where it meets the mouthpiece) of a Soprano (and smaller) is so small, that pulling out the swab from there is impossible. The swab has to be pulled back to the bell where it first entered. Thus the swab has to have two opposing strings (at least so I figured).

The mouthpiece that came with it is, of course, a non-brand one (no inscription at all). It is supposedly a copy of Selmer S80 C (ubiquitous, omnipresent). I don't plan to upgrade it any time soon.

I would do so only if, ever, I outgrow the original mouthpiece. Will I ever outgrow it?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Thomas Mann, Michael Schumacher and Robert Schumann]の続きを読む

テーマ:車 - ジャンル:車・バイク

Being on a diet to lose some weight

Many people are gaining some weight

The current COVID-19 lockdown enforced in many part of Europe, many people are self-confined in their houses. Facilities (and businesses) where wearing the face mask prevents the customers from taking their full use (in other words, places where taking off the face masks compromises the full advantage of the places) are closed or forced to give limited service.

Basically those places don't require all the employees to be present at work.

I am one of those employees who are affected by the stupid measures.

I am gaining weight for Christ's sake! I don't feel good for myself.

How do I lose weight? Simply reducing the amount of food that I consume. Carbohydrate is absolute NO NO. Meat is OK, Vegetable is preferable. Not eating is most desirable, of course.

"The Devil All The Time (2020)"

The story takes place somewhere in the Bible reading South part of the United States.

Many (or most) characters in the story are murderers, evil or croocked. So many people get killed. I did not expect this before watching it.

Yeah, the title suggests that some kind of evil things go on. I thought it could be about aomw supernatural power like the Devil himself in the beginning but my hunch proved to be wrong. It was all about the humans doing the evil.

I liked it.

In the first half of the movie introduces those evil characters and builds up the base story. As the second half of the movie unfolds, we learn that the karma get passed on to the next generation.

"The Doorman (2020)"

More like "the doorwoman". Action and suspense.

Once I saw a movie with Denzel Washington in which he plays a bodyguard. He once failed to protect a boy (was it a girl?) in the past and has been traumatized. After a while he gets hired again as a bodyguard to protect a girl who gets kidnapped and he fails again but finds out she is alive. He then fights to rescue her at all cost.

Well, the story vaguely resembles the movie described above.

Overall, the movie was OK but it could have been better with more twist in the plot.

"The Bay Of Silence (2020)"

Crime and thriller. A psychologically unstable woman and her husband find out the dark past of her.

Thomann

This is a German (I guess) music instruments and related items shop who operates also online as far as I know. I needed small stuff for my new acquired toy, Sopranino Saxophone. Namely, reeds, mouthpiece patch and cleaning swab are in immediate need. I thought I could buy them from Amazon Germany but this online shop also offered them at reasonably low prices and offered a wider range of choice than Amazon Germany does.

They will be dispatched next week when the shop opens. When I placed the order, it was already Friday evening.

in Japanese: 続きをどうぞ
[Being on a diet to lose some weight]の続きを読む

テーマ:映画感想 - ジャンル:映画

A cold day in Luxembourg

A cold day in Luxembourg

Today (February 11, 2020) it is a bit sunny but consequently cold.

The daytime high (temperature) remains minus 2 or 3 and the nighttime low goes down as low as minus 7 Celsius. This cold wave stays here for 4 or five days before daytime high goes above zero Celsius.

I may take my dear Hannah out for a walk Tomorrow if the weather is OK. Are you happy, Hannah?

She likes looking out of the windows sitting on the window sill and everytime I see her do so, I am reminded of her desire to go out and hunt.

Delivery

Late in the evening or early in the evening (around 18:20) the door bell rang and it was a delivery. I finally got the eBay purchase from the United Kingdom (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to be exact).

It was packed and wrapped securely in cardboard and vinyl sheet so it arrived unscathed.

I opened it up and found no reed. There were photos of a reed in the item description but obviously that one was a soprano reed that the seller placed just for the fun of teasing me? The last of several messages from the seller was suggesting me to buy the reeds.

I have to buy some reeds from some online store from Germany or Amazon Germany soon. If I decide to buy from Amazon Germany, I may buy ones intended for a German Clarinet (B flat). They seem to have more demand than Sopranino reeds. Consequently they are a bit cheaper and are available in wider selections.

It is tiny and shiny. It seems OK as the seller had described. the mouse piece has slight dent where the front teeth bite it.

To my surprise, I did not have to pay for anything additional. Lucky for me? Or are musical instruments import tax exemption items?

I don't know but I won't ask no more about the import tax.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [A cold day in Luxembourg]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Parole media player or VLC

Parole or VLC
I am writing this in Kali Linux so I can not write in Japanese. Lately I am using Kali Linux more often than Ubuntu Studio because VLC on Ubuntu Studio won't play some (or many) mp4 files but Parole on Kali does a beautiful job of playing them back. I like watching movies while writing.

I don't know why VLC fails but it does. It did not when I was using 20.04 version of Ubuntu Studio but 20.10 changed the situation.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow 2020

I saw another Werewolf movie just recently "Wer (2013)".

This one was better than Wer in many respects.

This one has more suspense, more human drama and less supernatural stuff.

commercially not viable

In Saxophone world, I guess Selmer stands out of all other brand names.

Yamaha, Japanese musical instrument manufacturing giant (?) also makes them but as long as the production makes profit. This is typical of big company policy. In other words, they make only Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones who are used more frequently in bands.

Yanagisawa, Japanese artisanal company also makes them. They also make Sopranino, which is not so frequently used.

There are Taiwanese companies (or a company) and continental communistic Chinese companies who makes them in mass either in their own brand names and sell them under other's brand names (including the unsolicited way like branding them as Yamaha or Yanagisawa so that they sell more expensively).

There are Geman manufacturers. At Julius Keilwerth or Benedikt Eppelsheim. Julius Keilwerth they make usual 4 kinds whereas at Eppelsheim they specialize in ones that other commercial makers won't; Sopranissimo (Soprillo) Saxophones and bigger (lower in tones) Saxophones.

There could be other makers but I am not a specialist in this matter.

The one I acquired (still on my way to me) carries an Italian brand name but I am sure it was made in China (I don't know which, Taiwan or the other). It says Rosetti Series 5. I looked for Rosetti brand name on the Internet and found they are still operational in Italy but their current product line does not carry Sopranino. I think they dropped it as they were not making money on them (lack of demand).

I presume that Taiwanese companies have way better manufacturing skills and I hope mine was made there.

The UK seller (on eBay) says he had acquired it several years ago.

There are two distinct types of Sopranino Saxophones on the market. Two types of design. Let's say they are made after Selmer Mark VI and Selmer SA II. They look different. SA II models have more keys and "improved" table keys (left pinkie combination keys) .

Yanagisawa's Sopranino is anMark VI style model. Chinese models are made in both styles.

I find a lot of brand names seemingly made in China. Many people have made YouTube videos reviewing them. Some brands seem to be better than others.

The seller claims that his (or mine now) is beautifully preserved (the lacquer holds 100 %) and plays well from bottom to high end.

Mine is a Mark VI imitation model. I used to think that the SA II model looks aesthetically appealing but lately the simplicity and tacitness of Mark VI style is not too bad.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Parole media player or VLC]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Chorizo and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"

Chorizo or Chouriço

I am on Kali Linux and writing this using FireFox. This Kali Linux environment does not have Japanese Input Method (like mozc or anthy) installed so I can not write in Japanese but I can still read Japanese sites.

In a way, I can write in Japanese. I can copy Japanese words and text from some web sites and paste them here.

I will finish this entry using Ubuntu Studio later.

I Went to a local supermarket called Cactus to buy some food for my beloved Hannah, the cat. The Cactus group is seemingly a Luxembourg based and owned by Luxembourger(s).

There are supermarkets and other retail stores in Luxembourg.

We have other supermarkets namely Auchan (French origin) group ones, Delhaize ones (Belgian origin) and those Cactus ones. I suppose there are more of them (Carrefour group ones) but they are not so visible.

The thing I want to write is a kind of cured meat that I often buy at those supermarkets.

Chorizo is the Spanish name and Chouriço is the Portuguese name. Basically smoked (and spiced) pork sausages that are common here in Europe.

More info (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorizo)

Spanish ones and Portuguese one are different at least the ones sold in Luxembourg are different.

I visited a Portuguese supermarket that I am very sure owned by Portuguese (or ex-Portuguese) people where undoubtedly majority of the customers are like the owners. There I found the typical Portuguese ones that are sold in other supermarkets in Luxembourg so I concluded that the popular Portuguese ones are what I am getting.

They come in spicy version and not so spicy version. I prefer spicy ones.

Spanish ones are red (from paprika) but Portuguese ones are not red, meaning that they have significantly less paprika ingredient.

Portuguese ones to me taste saltier for some reason and they are also chewier. It may have something to do with paprika powder. It may change the texture of the meat mixture.

According to Wikipedia, the Portuguese ones could be hotter (than their Spanish cousins) in terms of spiciness (paprika and pepper) but the ones I am getting is not spicy (enough for me) anyway.

I used to buy Spanish chorizos but lately started buying Portuguese chouriços because good Chorizos are hard to come by but bad Chouriços are not so common.

So at Delhaize I find predominantly Spanish Chorizos but no Chouriços. At Cactus I find predominantly Chouriços but much fewer Chorizos.

Why so? I think because there are so many Portuguese immigrants here and Portuguese stuff is so casual and present here in Luxembourg. There are no traditional Luxembourg sausages but the Portuguese ones have become the substitution for them. It is possible that the owner(s) or most of the managers of the franchise stores are from Portugal.

"The Secrets We Keep (2020)"

The story takes place in 1960's (or late 1950s) in the United States of America but many of the characters are from Europe. It is post WWII story, where escaped / survived Jewish people are still suffering from the bad memories of the past.

Noomi Rapace plays a Roma (so-called Gypsy or Zgeuner in German people call themselves so).

Overall, the story was plausible and I could easily made it to the ending.

Polka Dots and Moonbeams

One of my favorite tunes. It is the second tune after "Re: Person I Knew (an anagram for album producer's name Orrin Keepnews)" on Bill Evans Trio "Moonbeams" so he or the producer thought it apt to borrow the part of the title.

I did not know that this "Poka Dots and Moonbeams" was so popular among Jazz musicians.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Chorizo and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams"]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Snow fall in Luxembourg and grub

February 8 and 9, 2020

I knew Today (Feb. 9) would be cold as the weather forecast had told me the day before. It seems that the cold air from the west has come. This cold air seems to linger for about a week.

The previous week (or two weeks) was rather warm (around 10 degrees Celsius) and I had hoped that no more cold wave would arrive.

Naturally the moisture in the air had built up and had been trapped as the sky had been covered by grey murky clouds. So the cold air made the moisture fall in the form of ice, which we call snow. It is not like we had a steady snow fall but the moisture in the air fell. We had a thin layer of snowy ice on the ground.

I took a walk through the forest to a supermarket where I wanted to buy Hannah's food. I took a different path on my way back through the forest. People were jogging there.

GRUB

*****************************************
# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
# info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden
GRUB_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""

*****************************************

This is the beginning of the original /etc/default/grub contents. There is a very important piece of information. From the console prompt you can get the idea of how to modify the file when you execute the command "info -f grub -n 'Simple Configuration'.

I modified two lines.
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden became GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu

GRUB_TIMEOUT=0 became GRUB_TIMEOUT=5

The first modification makes the hidden menu appear when the computer boots up. This is equivalent of hitting "SHIFT". GRUB menu appears and I can choose what to boot.

The second one makes the menu wait for 5 seconds before atutomatically booting the first option.

These should suffice.

VLC woe

The VLC (media player) on Ubuntu Studio 20.10 is having problem playing back some of the mp4 files. I looked up on the Internet (DuckDcukGo) and found a lot of people are asking the same questions on other versions of Linux or Windows and so forth. I tried some of the remedies suggested all in vain.

Now I am using Kali Linux and its media player (what's the name?) to play those movies. All right it is not a big issue.

CPU usage

I found out that one movie file (mp4 but not H265) uses the CPU around 40 %. It is not encoded in particularly a high resolution. This struck me as odd. A movie file encoded in much higher resolution normally uses only less than 10 % of the CPU power. Intel Core 2 Quad (Q9500) is an old dog but still decodes most of the movies with much ease. Why?

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Snow fall in Luxembourg and grub]の続きを読む

テーマ:映画感想 - ジャンル:映画

Fiat 124 Spider made in Italy

Fiat 124 Spider made in Italy

They were back in the 70's. The are being made in Hiroshima, Japan by Mazda as Abarth 124 Spider. They are sisters or brothers (or simply siblings) of Mazda MX-5 or locally dubbed Roadster.

I was watching "Made in Italy (2020)" and in the movie I saw it.

"Made in Italy 2020"

I did not expected it to be so much fun.

I saw some beautiful scenery of Italy and I'm on the same continent. In the movie, Natalia, local Italian woman drives a red Fiat 124 Spider, remarkably beautiful one. Yeah, it is just a car produced in the 70's. It (the one used in the movie) had a two bulges on the bonnet.

Once I drove this car for a while in the United States of America back in the 90's in California.

Those bulges appeared (or grew bigger) in later models, I believe but I could be wrong. They had something to do with the strict emission regulation enforced in California in the middle of the 70's, I thought. They were there to accommodate the some devices under the hood on the cam cover for improving the emission. Maybe the two cam covers grew slightly taller. Anyway, it could be only my imagination.

I looked for any hint at who could have provided the car in the ending scroll in vain.

I love this car and in a way I am driving it now after 30 years. Why? Because the current (maybe soon to be discontinued?) Fiat Spider is built by Mazda and designed (on the outside by Fiat or Abarth) and it is a modified version of my black Mazda MX-5 (ND generation). It has a different turbo charged engine and the transmission from NC MX-5.

My Spider was painted black but its original color was some orange-ish color as far as I remember.

The state (at least on the surface) of the Spider was remarkable. It must be as old as 50 years old by now.

What's with the movie itself?

Good!

Movie watching spree

"The way back 2020"
"The invisible man 2020"
"Vivarium 2019"
"Moon 2009"
"The Banker 2020"
"The Old Guard 2020"
"The Messenger 2009"
"We Were Soldiers (2002)"
"Jungle 2017"
"Understanding the Opioid Epidemic (2018)"
"Do No Harm The Opioid Epidemic (2017)"
"The Gift 2000"

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Fiat 124 Spider made in Italy]の続きを読む

テーマ:ロードスター - ジャンル:車・バイク

Capricorn One 1978

Where is Air Force One?

There was a report yhat caught my attentions somewhere, maybe Twitter?, that showed a picture of "FAKE" JB (seemingly because it was a still photo) waving at some people or nobody from a boarding (or disembark from) an airplane. The caption or something said that this man was with that plane suggesting the man had the command of it. I was first skeptical but disheartened soon and turned away from it.

One day later, I saw someone telling me that people found out that the airplane was not what the media wanted us to believe but another airplane similar to it.

I knew the title of the movie"Capricorn One (1978" and its plot since it came out. I don;t think I've seen it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricorn_One

I guess it is loosely based on the suspicion that Moon landings were not real but fake.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Capricorn One 1978]の続きを読む

テーマ:日記 - ジャンル:日記

Why there seems to be no "pork" pet food on the market?

Why?

The answer could be easily found on the Internet by simply searching for it.There are beef, chicken (poultry or fowl), ram, salmon, white fish or some wild animals (deer or similar) products but there seems to be no procuts based on pork meat.

Why Kali Linux shuts down quicker than Ubuntu Studio?

In that matter Haiku OS shuts down itself really fast and Ubuntu Studio shuts down (the PC's power goes down) realy slowly.

Utuntu Studio uses la ow-latency kernel and I wonder if it has something to do with this slowness. It starts up slowly and shuts downs slowly.

My current Kali shuts down the machine in a matter of seconds but my current Ubuntu Studio takes nearly a minutes or it less. Why the big gap? Are there so many shadow processes running in the background? It is because of the HDD performance?

Why does the 6 pin connector on the graphics board needs two IDEconnectors?

Those old IDE drives (HDDs) were so energy efficient that they needed so fewer watts of power? Consequently the IDE power source is so weak and not capable of delivering so less power?

I am planning to buy SATA-to-6 pin adapter cable and it so constructed that it draws power from one SATA power connector. Why?

Maybe Hannah needs a feline friend or so

She bites. She bites me whien she wants to play. It does not hurt much but I want to her to behave well.

Why she thinks and behaves like that? I know why and I knew that she might grow up like this when I got her. She needs to know that biting hurts. She has never been bitten by any other cats. She never learned to how to behave. I wish I had the luxury of keeping more than two cats.

I think it is time I start biting her back. It is a stupid thing but it should work. I will bike her paws just slightly. She won't actually feels it as a pain but rather an annoyance. Cats does not like their paws to be deprived of control.

It is not the pain that teaches her but the annoyance.
In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Why there seems to be no "pork" pet food on the market?]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

GRUB-INSTALL & UPDATE-GRUB

Which Grub?

Now I have Kali Linux and Ubuntu Studio on a HDD. Both Linux distributions demanded their version of GRUB to be installed on the top level of the HDD, where UEFI also lives.

I gave both of them a try and liked US's (Ubuntu Studio) version although Kali's version had a better background.

1: sudo grub-install /dev/sd* (* = a, b, c etc.)
2: sudo update-grub

3: /etc/default/grub

Q: How to change the behavior of GRUB?
A: Make changes to the file /etc/default/grub

Q: What to do after making changes to /etc/default/grub?
A: Run the command "sudo update-grub"

Q: When some rouge programs overwrite the GRUB, what should be done?
A: Run the command "grub-install /dev/sd*"

Goodbye for now, Haiku OS!

I erased it from the HDD and replaced it with Kali Linux. Although I liked Haiku OS, it is still in a beta status. I hope I will reinstall it on my PC soon.

Does someone notice this?

I am very sure that nobody is reading this. Nobody is reading this English part except for those bots that obligingly and laboriously visits anything in the Internet traffic to watch out for something like search engines and military intelligence software programs whose business is to know. So writing some personal things here won't hurt a bit as long as it does not involve some sensitive matters.

So I write this here. Recently I bought a musical instrument on eBay from the United Kingdom. As I am not sure if I can play it well, I am not writing it in Japanese.

Who cares? Nobody!

I bought a used Sopranino Saxophone. It is an old one (The seller acquired it several years ago and has neglected it since as he has other Saxophones that are in greater demand in gigs) but preserved well. It was not expensive as it is a cheap one made in China (continental or Taiwan).

I am anxiously waiting for its arrival. Though it comes with at least one reed (a photo seems to suggest), I need to buy some more. I will probably buy ones intended for a B flat Clarinet. I can buy the ones intended for a Sopranino Sax but as Sopranino Sax is an odd one or a black sheep in the Saxophone family, the market is too small and subsequently the reeds are also not easy to purchase. It is supplied in the market but for me acquiring this substitute costs less.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [GRUB-INSTALL & UPDATE-GRUB]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

Ubuntu Studio 20.10 on Dell Optiplex 780 MT

Installing Ubuntu Studio 20.10

I installed Ubuntu Studio 20.10 from its DVD iso image burnt on an actual DVD disc. The installation was from scratch, in other words, I re-partitioned the HDD and erased everything on it.

After the installation, the usual updates were installed. Then I installed a couple of packages related to mozc, a Japanese Input Method to write in Japanese.

For the moment everything seems OK except that when I try to play some movie files with VLC, it simply exits. I don't know if it is a bug. The VLC used to play them without problems when I was running Ubuntu Studio 20.04. Time will fix it, I believe.

Later I have to make modifications to some setting files so that I can select which partition to boot from as I am planning to install one more OS (probably Kali Linux) on a partition I reserved.

GRUB selection screen has to be visible when starting up.

Currently the system infomation looks like below:

Operating System: Ubuntu Studio 20.10
KDE Plasma Version: 5.19.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.74.0
Qt Version: 5.14.2
Kernel Version: 5.8.0-41-lowlatency
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 4 × Intel® Core™2 Quad CPU Q9500 @ 2.83GHz
Memory: 4.7 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Mesa DRI Intel® Q45/Q43

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Ubuntu Studio 20.10 on Dell Optiplex 780 MT]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

Dell Optiplex 780 BIOS update

Dell Optiplex 780 BIOS update

I happened to have a 2.5 inch SATA HDD that I took out from one of the Mac minis I own. I used it to install Windows 7 on, I believe, Mac mini Late 2009. I just installed and tried to install the needed drivers. I remember I abandoned halfway through.

I needed to have some environment where I can run a DOS program to update the BIOS firmware from current A12 to A15. As soon as the machine booted in Windows 7, I ran the program. The machine immediately went to reboot and on start up while the screen is still blacked, the flashing message came up telling me that it is flashing and it may take up to 10 minutes to complete. It took only 1 minute or so. It successfully flashed the ROM.

No visible nor tangible differences at all after the flashing. It is supposed to be so.

While I was on Windows 7, I played some card games and wasted my life. They are addictive. That is why I erase all the games on my Linux desktop environment. They (Ubuntu flavors) normally come with some games preinstalled.

What happened to Decathlon Luxembourg real store?

Luxembourg did not have Decathlon in Luxembourg. Kind Decathlon Belgium built one store on the other side of the border near a Belgian city, Arlon. There you have IKEA, too. You just have to drive around 15 minutes from the capital city of Luxembourg. Yes, as you have guessed it, there is not IKEA store in Luxembourg.

One year ago around the time the tram like made its way to the center of capital city, there was an announcement that Decathlon would open in the newly developed part of the city. I don't think it has materialized yet. Perhaps the COVID-19 crisis has something to do with it.

I rarely shop at IKEA but I do shop at Decathlon for some camping gear. Are they coming or not?

Movies and some more movies

"Some Guy who Kills People (2011)"
How do I categorize it? Thriller - Crime - Comedy?

I did not have any great expectation before I watched it. It turned out to be a good movie. It is not an Oscar quality but better than many others. The killer's motif sounds not so convincing but the twist worked for me.

"Underwater (2020)"
It is a deep sea version of Alien or alternate version of The Abyss or The Sphere? There are many other deep sea action movies and this one is above average. It is entertaining and certainly Kristen Stewart is pretty. She keeps the audience seated till the end.

"Restraint 2008)"
It stars also Kristen Stewart. It is also entertaining. The agoraphobic character reminds me of a character played by Sigourney Weaver in a movie Copycat (1995). Kristen Stewart is not the one who confines herself in a house.

Here Kristen Stewart also does her job and keeps the audience from turning away.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Dell Optiplex 780 BIOS update]の続きを読む

テーマ:パソコンな日々 - ジャンル:コンピュータ

Pink Panther movies and Austin Powers

I was writing this while watching “The Return of The Pink Panther (1975)” featuring Peter Seller. I like his movies including this Pink Panther Series.

The story of the movie is ridiculous and still the movie is very good. The Inspector Jacques Clouseau played by Peter Sellers is my favorite character.

Now I am watching “The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)” and writing this. I wonder which came again, The Empire Strikes Back or this.

Let’s check and find it out! The second sequel of the Star Wars came out in 1980 so the Pink Panther struck first.

I have seen these movies before and at least twice each. When? Maybe more than twenty years ago so naturally I had forgotten most of the plots and schemes.

The Dell Optiplex 780 MT is happily performing the task I have givenit. I am looking for the detailed info of its mainboard. It has some unplugged connectors on it. What are they? Some of them are evident. I see a 3 pin connector, which seems to be the CPU cooling fan power source. As the default CPU heat sink on my Optiplex 780 is not using it. I see other connectors and I suspect some of them are for extra USB ports.

Watching them now, I realized that these movies and characters certainly gave a lot of its plots and schemes to Austin Powers movies. Obviously Mike Meyers had carefully observed the Peter Sellers’ work and imitated him. Imitation is a form of sincere admiration.

I like Austin Powers movies and watched all of them.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Pink Panther movies and Austin Powers]の続きを読む

テーマ:アメリカ大統領選 - ジャンル:政治・経済

Inspector Clouseau and Peter Sellers

Movies

I always liked watching movies. Inspector Clouseau (played by Peter Sellers) Series (some of them are called Pink Panther Series) are one of my favorite ones. I happened to be watching one while writing this. There are other Pink Panther movies but I don't like them.

Jacques Clouseau is his name.

Zombie paradox, of sorts

I have enjoyed some of the so-called Zombie movies but there's something that quite has not convinced me of the validity of their plots.

You can ignore some of the common sense (like the rapidity of the so-called Zombie virus instantly affecting the hosts's behavior - to accomplish that the virus has to infect the cell and replicate itself by consuming the DNA material and multiply itself in a much large scale) but you can not ignore some of the rules of physics like the law of conservation of energy.

When a typical host is infected, the infected one becomes undead and craves for human flesh for his/her source of energy of metabolism, at least so it seems. Some Zombies move swiftly and others slowly but tenaciously for a long period of time.

Along the way, they capture victims and devour their fresh flesh but the infection process seems to be so rapid that those Zombies stop eating so less as just a bite off the body. This observation must be correct because they multiply. I mean if they devour the victims completely and leave only the bones, there won't be no new Zombies on the block, in other words there won't be no growing population of Zombies. And once they become majority, there won't be enough flesh to feed them. When this happens, they would eventually die (if they are not alive, then they dwindle) off.

Do they hibernate when no new energy source is found, thus they avoid their extinction? I don't know.

Where does the energy come from? This has been the troubling question that has been eating me up since long time ago. I haven't found many movies that have addressed this issue.

Well, there was a movie where people later realized that the infection would cure itself and the Zombies get healed after some time. This movie was an exception. Maybe this could be the only reasonable solution to this question. What was the title of this movie? In this movie a man decided to kill his girlfriend when she turned and later he regretted doing so when he learned that the infection was only temporary.

Some of the movies (like Evil Resident series) feature Zombies of enormous size and they look fearsome. I doubt it can threaten me. You know what happened (or at least we are told) when some big meteorites hit the Earth causing a catastrophic changes in the climate and made the food resources so scarce. Big ones died off, the total extinction of those big dinosaurs happened. Those big ones are the most vulnerable ones so fear them not (if the law of conservation of energy stands)!

"Hidden 2015"

Is it a Zombie movie? They (people from an infected town) seemed infected with some virus but they did not seem to eat up any human flesh at all. One of the soldiers who got in touch with the virus seemed to turn (into something) rather rapidly, tough.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Inspector Clouseau and Peter Sellers]の続きを読む

テーマ:Linux - ジャンル:コンピュータ

Haiku OS on Dell Optiplex 780 MT

Dell Optiplex 780 (used PC)

So far I have make it boot off the very HDD that was installed on my broken HP Pro 3120 SFF. I salvaged the components from it and transplanted some of it in Dell Optiplex 780.

The first stage is just to boot it and see how it boots. The HDD and the memory modules were transferred.

I knew that F2 key would lead to the BIOS screen. I realized that one of the photos that the eBay seller put up was this BIOS screen.

As expected, the BIOS version was A12. This has to be updated in time.

The BIOS screen was like nothing that I have seen before. I have not owned any Dell machines before. It looks like some utility program of Windows 7 or earlier.

I have not made any changes to the HDD contents but it booted from it and if fact Ubuntu Studio and Haiku OS worked very well.

The BIOS settings are extensive than those of HP Pro 3120 but it does not include any performance tweaking settings like changing the clock speed or anything.

The next stage is to refresh the contents of the HDD and rebuild the system. I will initialize the HDD and install Windows 7. After that I will flash the BIOS to latest A15. Then I won't need Windows 7 anymore. It is totally unnecessary.

The ISO image of the Ubuntu Studio 20.10 must be burned onto a USB flash memory. This will be the installation source.

I want the graphics card but it needs an extra power source (6 pin plug). I have not yet purchased the necessary cable. So the installation will be delayed. I need to save some money to pay for the item that I purchased on eBay from the UK. It costs me a bit more than I should be using this month. So the purchase of those needed small items can wait for another one month or so. I can keep using the system as it is now for some time.

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Haiku OS on Dell Optiplex 780 MT]の続きを読む

テーマ:JAZZ - ジャンル:音楽

Dell Optiplex 780 from UK arrives

Pick-up at the DHL facility

I picked it up this morning (well, February first, 2020 and if it helps someone in the future, I also say it was Monday) and after struggling to collect and discard the plethora of S-shaped packing material, I started looking into the content.

A Used Dell Optiplex 780 MT (Mini Tower) which is ready to accept full-height PCI cards (not like those half-height a.k.a. low-profile cards for those SFF chassis).

Inside the chassis, I found a HDD caddy, which the seller's description of the item claimed non-existent. Otherwise the item was pretty much as it was described.

I have to clean a bit and start transplanting the missing components from HP Pro 3120 SFF to complete it. I am now looking for the detailed schematics or at least the mainboard diagram explaining the connectors. I downloaded PDF files from Dell's support page but the service manuals are not so kind to me.

I noticed a dangling power connector there. I later realized it was a power supply for an FDD ( floppy disk drive). I may be able to convert it to an IDE power supply to power the graphics card.

Now let's do some work and see if it boots!

In Japanese: 続きをどうぞ [Dell Optiplex 780 from UK arrives]の続きを読む

テーマ:デスクトップパソコン - ジャンル:コンピュータ

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