I love Amazon because of the product reviews. Even when Slashdot was promoting the Amazon boycott over the 1-click patent, i mentioned (can't find my comment, /. seems to stop comment history in 2007 :( ) that B&N was terrible in that they only have positive comments on their website. A negative comment i left on B&N was deleted shortly thereafter. Amazon, however, keeps even the bad reviews.

Here's a couple that caught my attention recently. While looking for a bath overflow cover, this comment has a better idea. This product does indeed grow mold, look at the customer images on the left side of the main picture.

I was looking at comments on using a Kindle in the tub, where it was mentioned (seems to be a common idea) to put it in a ziplock bag to protect it from the moisture (which gets into the debate whether the buttons or swipe is better to turn pages).

I learn a lot from Amazon comments, the 1-stars often tell you what people are complaining about, and the 5-stars many times counter the complaints and have useful comparisons. The 2s, 3s, and 4s, similarly are helpful. I think Amazon's comments are what make Amazon such a great retailer. Well, not the only thing, but, even if i purchase something elsewhere i will go to trusty Amazon to find out the real deal.

How Hollywood Can Capitalize On Piracy. Nicely written article, with a bit of history and research.

Playing the Game of 10. Make 10 from the numbers. Rules are pretty easy, and includes undo and replay. It starts in the tutorial as extremely easy, then gets harder and harder.

It's available online (javascript), with more levels in iOS, purportedly free for a few days before it goes up to $0.99.

Reading EurekAlert! i came across Computer program lets users learn keyboard shortcuts with minimal effort, making me think they finally caught up with emacs.

The project page is even more interesting, raised keys and all.

What is haptic feedback anyway? Sounds like a gastrointestinal malfunction.

I've been logging in lately, posting JEs and commenting (read:fishing), just because.

And now i have mod points. That's just weird. I don't care. No, that's not right. I shouldn't care, but i do. :(

I hate myself.

This excerpt from Civilization in Transition (The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 10), page 20, paragraphs 27 and 28 is both right and wrong (italics, his):

One is reminded of the story of a young rabbi who was a pupil of Kant's. One day an old rabbi came to guide him back to the faith of his fathers, but all arguments were in vain. At last the old rabbi drew forth the ominous shofar, the horn that is blown at the cursing of heretics (as happened to Spinoza), and asked if the young man knew what it was. "Of course I know," answered the young man coolly, "it is the horn of a ram." At that the old rabbi reeled back and fell to the ground in horror.

What is the shofar? It is also the horn of a ram. Sometimes a symbol can be no more than that, but only when it is dead. The symbol is killed when we succeed in reducing the shofar to a ram's horn. But again, through symbolization, a ram's horn can become the shofar.

From time to time i've wondered what the Latin in the ending of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was. Too lazy to type it in myself, i've searched google lazily, and never found it.

Well, this time i did it! A site claims to have the script which seems ok. The ending is:

"I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses herein and herein contained, et cetera, et cetera . . . fax mentis incendium gloria culpum, et cetera, et cetera . . . memo bis punitor delicatum!" It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks. You bumped into the ceiling which now has to be washed and sterilized, so you get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!

The Latin, translated via Google Translate, reads:

and so on, and so forth. . . the glory of the burning fire was the fault of the torch of the mind, and so on, and so on. . . memory twice punishing nice!

Not sure what it means....but, mission accomplished. And, searching for the Latin phrase on google, does indeed bring it up easily.

One thing i enjoy when reading psychological books, is the authors' tendency to wax poetic. It may be an uncommon occurrence, but they are oh so much appreciated.

Here's one i recently came accross in From India to the Planet Mars, Page 293 (Appendix Two, P. 72)

I avow that I really regret a little the day when I would have to see in the mediumship of Mlle. Smith the authentic revelation of real experiences, rather than the beautiful subliminal poem that I have admired up to now.

Some years ago, perhaps 6 or 7, after deliberating building or buying, i bought a bike. I ride it for pleasure and to keep in shape. While i don't ride too much due to minor arthritis, i have managed to ride over 2500 miles according to the odometer.

I went to the local Trek Store, American Cycle & Fitness, and asked for a cleaning. When i had been there a week or two prior to purchase toe grips, he oiled my chain and mentioned that i could use a cleaning. When he told me that were out of grips but might have them soon, i left with intention to get them when they called me.

They never called. So, i came back and asked again. The grips, as before, are only available pre-attached to pedals, which i did not need. So, i asked about the cleaning, for $49.99, he looked and said i needed the $89.99 service: the spokes needed tightening, the brakes were loose, the flywheel needed to be replaced, and i needed a new chain. I was able to verify the wheel not being straight, which he said the spoke tightening fixes; i couldn't tell the difference between the new and old flywheel, but i knew the bike wasn't always shifting (down two, up one, to go down one); and the brakes were indeed loose. Why i needed a chain, i don't know. I mentioned to him my need to conserve cash as i have no job, and he found a cheaper chain in the back saving me about 10 bucks.

I also needed a bike lock. I seem to lose those, but after having two bikes stolen in the past (one from the shed, the other, i don't remember), i am weary of being with a lock as a deterrent. Combination is preferred so i don't lose the key, but thickness of the cable is irrelevant, as if someone can break one lock, he can probably break any. The lock is just a deterrent.

He helped me find a lock and suggested the stronger one. They only sell Kryptonite locks. Previously they had Trek locks, but he explained they were just made by Kryptonite anyway. Or so i think he said. I went for the cheaper, thinner one, but it would not fit in my previous holder. I do not remember if the new one came with one. So, i took the more expensive lock, which looked like it would fit. It didn't, so they went to install it.

The lock holster comes with a strap, and a screw, and a confusing instruction sheet written in 14,000 languages. I asked them to install it. They had a hard time doing it, he asked him, then asked him back, until finally it was installed. Laurel and Hardy could have done no better.

My erstwhile lock's holster was situated near the handlebar, as no other place could hold it comfortably. The new guy didn't like that, so he put it under the seat (on the upright middle bar). Of course, there was little room, so he had to lower the holster, then explained that the lock was too large so i would have to twist it when taking it out. /me wonders if he realized his stupidity in rejecting the position near the handlebar. Oh well, it does work with a minor fidget now and then to keep the cable from hitting my legs.

Then comes the light. I have a CatEye, it has two levels of brightness, which makes little difference, but it illuminates well. I just go back and forth between having it shine right in front of the wheel and further ahead. The former is for immediate safety, though considering i am moving, the latter seems more useful. So, i figured why not have two lights.

First he told me the my model wasn't available any more, then went on to sell the most expensive model, it was a $45 LED, USB rechargeable, bright light. Indeed it was bright. The lady nearby explained it was diffused widely too. After wavering with the cheaper models, i decided on this one because i wanted the brighter wider light for my safety.

He took the display model because it was the last one, and when i asked for a floor-model discount, he declined, saying it was just a few days old and the package was in the back. Arg. He installed it very easily on the fork.

When paying, i heard the people next to me getting a card with "points" from another worker. When i asked about it, the told me i was eligible and i needed to speak to her (they were closing, and his computer was off), and then send an email to get the current purchase added. I asked her and she just took care of everything. It was nice, other than the fact that i had to ask.

Riding home was amazing. The smooth riding, shifting, and breaking made it all seem worth it. That night, however, i found the light to be utterly useless. Not only was the beam so diffused as to illuminate very little, being he put it on the fork, it was pointing upward, not downward! I tried other places, but they were either impractical places, or the wheel block their effectivity. Checking Amazon, comments mentioned it's excellent use as a marker. Also, while the list price was $45, Amazon had it for about half that.

I wiped it clean from some minor dust with water, put it back in it's package, and brought it back two days later. He took it back without a hassle. I now intend to purchase one on Amazon, together with the toe clips.

While researching for a personal project I wanted to look at Galen's De Temperamentis. The book talks about temperaments and is referred to near the beginning of Galen's own On the Natural Faculties.

Keirsey and others quote Galen. Some challenge this understanding saying he got Phlegmatics and Cholerics backwards. For this and other reasons i wanted to read the book myself. Alas, i do not read Ancient Greek.

Galen wrote his works in Greek. Some are extant, some are not. Some in Greek, some in Arabic, some in Latin, and not always via one translation. Greek->Arabic->Latin is found, and in some works Greek is not the original source language, that is, the original Greek text is lost, but some ancient scholar translated another version back to Greek.

But it's all available in English, right? No, it is not. :( It is surprising to many that there are very few works of Galen available in English, at least in the public domain. This is somewhat unbelievable; Galen, an important, famous, and prolific author of antiquity, doctor and philosopher, praised both then and now, who, even after a fire destroyed many of his works still has a immense anthology in his name, whose works are in the public domain, are simply unavailable to those of us who do not read ancient Greek, Arabic, and Latin. At first this sounds ok, but with all the information people like, want, and have today, to have such an author of antiquity to be beyond the reach of most people, is indeed hard to believe.

A bit more searching found that Internet Archive via its own efforts and those of Google Books has 8 copies of De Temperamentis online.

The texts are as follows:

Ancient Greek

• Galeni de temperamentis liber I. (1897) (listed as Romainian)
• Galenou Peri kraseon tria: Galeni De temperamentis libri III (1904)
• Galenou Peri kraseon tria. [microform] = Galeni De temperamentis libri III; (1904)

Latin

• Hieremiae Thriveri... Galeni De temperamentis libros epitome (1547) (listed as Spanish)
• Hieremiae Thriveri... Commentarii in omnes Galeni libros De temperamentis (1547)
• Galeni Pergamensis De temperamentis, et De inaeqvali intemperie libri tres, Thomas Linacro Anglo interprete. Opus non medicis modo, sed et philosophis oppido q[uem] necessariu[m] nunc primum prodit in lucem cvm gratia & priuilegio (1881) (text starts on page 76)
• Galeni Pergamensis De temperamentis, et de inaequali intemperie (1881) (text starts on page 75)
• Galeni Pergamensis De temperamentis : et De inaequali intemperie libri tres, Thomas Linacro Anglo interprete. Opus non medicis modo, sed et philosophis oppido q[uam] necessariu[m] nunc primum prodit in lucem cum gratia & priuilegio. Impressum apud praeclaram Cantabrigiam per Joannem Siberch, anno MDXXI (1881) (text starts on page 73)

In the Latin, the first two are the same edition, and the last three are the same edition. I ignored the first three because of the Ancient Greek, and tried the Latin editions. The OCR supplied text is mostly garbled. Saving a page and using an online OCR service also returns mostly nonsense. Ostensibly, the older unclear fonts, the "f" looking like an "s", and not-well-recognized Latin add up to a real problem. Further, the first Latin edition listed above has interspersed commentary. Even if the OCR did work, the commentary would pose a bit of an issue.

Well then, maybe i should try it myself. I took two copies which looked clearest to me, one from each edition: Hieremiae Thriveri... Commentarii in omnes Galeni libros De temperamentis (1547) and Galeni Pergamensis De temperamentis : et De inaequali intemperie libri tres, Thomas Linacro Anglo interprete. Opus non medicis modo, sed et philosophis oppido q[uam] necessariu[m] nunc primum prodit in lucem cum gratia & priuilegio. Impressum apud praeclaram Cantabrigiam per Joannem Siberch, anno MDXXI (1881).

The texts seem fraught with errors. To illustrate, here are the first two sentences from the each edition, with base letters, separate ae into two letters, fixing s/f problems, and adjoining words that are brought together with a hyphen over two lines. Other issues, such as broken words, misplaced punctuation, are left in place.

First edition (Google Translate):

Constare animalium corpora ex calidi, frigidi, sicci, humidiq; temperatura, nec effe horum omnium parem in temperatura portionem, demostratum antiquis abunde eft, tum philofophorum, tum medicorum praecipuis. Diximus autem & nos de ijs , ea quae probabilia suntuisa,alio opere:in quo de ijs, que Hippocrates constituit, elemetis egimus.

Second edition (Google Translate):

Constare animalru corpora ex calidi, frigidi, sicci, humidique mixtura , nec effe horu omniu pare in temperatura portione , demonstratum antiquis abunde eft,tum philofophorum, tu medicorum precipuis. Diximus autem & nos de ijs,ea quae .pbablia sunt uisa alio opere . In quo de ijs,quae Hyppocrates costituit elemetis , egimus.

Correcting the two editions based on each other, and using Google Translate from English back to Latin where neither is translated well, here's what it should read (Google Translate)

Constare animalum corpora ex calidi, frigidi, sicci, humida mixtura, nec effe horu omniu parem in temperies portione, demonstratum antiquis abunde eft, tum philofophorum, tu medicorum praecipuis. Diximus autem & nos de ijs, ea quae probabilia sunt uisa alio opere in quo de ijs, que Hippocrates constituit, elementis egimus.

Note the differences in spelling:

1. animilium/animalru/animilum (both)
2. humidiq;/humidique/humida (both)
3. temperatura/mixtura/mixtura (first)
4. horum/horu/horu (first)
5. omnium/omniu/omniu (first)
6. parem/pare/parem (second)
7. temperatura/temperatura/temperies (both)
8. portionem/portione/portione (first)
9. demostratum/demonstratum/demonstratum (first)
10. tum/tu/tu (first)
11. praecipuis/precipuis/praecipuis (second)
12. que/quae/que (second)
13. Hippocrates/Hyppocrates/Hippocrates (second!)
14. constituit/costituit/constituit (second)
15. elemetis/elemetis/elementis (both)

The first was corrected 10 times, the second, 9 times. Regarding spacing and punctuation, which, admittedly, is mildly arbitrary, the former seems better:

First:

1. humidiq; (extra semicolon)
2. ijs , (extra space)
3. suntuisa,alio (missing space)
4. suntuisa,alio (comma instead of space)
5. opere:in (colon instead of space)

Second:

1. mixtura , (extra space)
2. portione , (extra space)
3. eft,tum (missing space)
4. ijs,ea (missing space)
5. .pbablia (extra period, comma, or something)
6. opere . (extra period)
7. ijs,quae (missing space)
8. elemetis , (extra comma)

This is all from my typing it in and comparing, then going back and "showing the work" for the JE. Note, the f/s difference is not always obvious, and sometimes may also be incorrect. I am not listing those, because i simply can't tell what which one each is supposed to be.

In summary, i tried typing in two sentences. There were 10 spelling errors and 5 punctuation errors in the first edition, and 9 spelling errors and 8 punctuation errors in the second, for a total of 15 or 17 typographical errors, using Google Translate with Latin, and not counting f/s confusion. Most likely, the plate workers did not understand Latin, which would add to the usual mistakes in daily, manual labor. It certainly makes one appreciate modern day word processors.

Typing, correcting, and identifying which word is correct is time consuming. I don't know how long those two sentences took, but even if i would ramp up the speed with familiarity, the ~140 pages would take quite a bit of time. And doing it alone, usually means a less thorough proofreading. This would require some effort.

So, i searched some more, and found a project funded by the Wellcome Trust and supervised by Professor Philip van der Eijk to translate Galen into English, properly. This is an immense effort, as they are using older manuscripts, that is in ancient Greek, where available, and trying to be true to the text.

The funding was awarded in 2009, and the first volumes were set to appear in 2011. Looking on Amazon, however, shows the still unpublished first book with a release date of December 31, 2013. My guess is that is a placeholder for unfinished work. It is also a bit expensive and, ostensibly, not going to be in the public domain.

With all this i sent Professor van der Eijk an email asking about the text. Not that i know how such emails are sent, but nonetheless:

Professor van der Eijk,

  I am interested in Galen's De Temperamentis for research in a personal project, and have been looking online for an English translation. Google and the Internet Archive have a couple Latin translations, but they seem to be of poor quality and the text via OCR is garbled. I even typed in the first two sentences but had to correct a number of words for it to make any sense, at least as is seemed when using Google Translate Latin to English.

I then found your project of translating Galen. I wish to ask, is a translation of De Temperamentis being prepared?

I sent that, yesterday, September 9th. It is far to early to expect a reply.

This leads me to the following conclusion. Galen's works will likely be available in a number of years for purchase, but nothing free online, and certainly not soon.

With this realization i wondered if Kickstarter could be used for a community funded project to make De Temperamentis available in English, for free, online. Galen's other works could also be done, providing there is interest and, of course, source material in the public domain. Such a project would not be a best solution, such as the project funded by the Wellcome Trust. However, it would likely give people what they need, being mostly correct, similar to Wikipedia.

When i mentioned this to a friend of mine, he said he recently saw posting on Slashdot, a Kickstarter project to make Chopin's music available online for free. His former project was very successful ($68,359 pledged of $11,000 goal), and the current campaign seems well on its way to success ($46,562 pledged of $75,000 goal, five days in with 40 days to go). While in some ways his project is different, in others is is similar, that is, to make the old available online for free.

At this point i'm not sure what to do. Try doing some more sentences, make a kickstarter project, search online some more, or give it up. As might be imagined, my mind has been jumping here and there on what to do, wondering if it is even worth the effort, or if it is, what to do next. At least posting this JE makes me a bit more relaxed, having put a lot of this down, finally, in writing.

8/30/2013ÂÂ-ÂÂFriday
7:30 am On FedEx vehicle for delivery LAKE ORION, MI
5:33 am Arrived at FedEx location LAKE ORION, MI
5:31 am At local FedEx facility LAKE ORION, MI
2:39 am Arrived at FedEx location PERRYSBURG, OH
Â-Â
Â
8/29/2013ÂÂ-ÂÂThursday
9:40 pm Departed FedEx location INDEPENDENCE, KY
4:19 pm Arrived at FedEx location INDEPENDENCE, KY
2:59 pm Shipment information sent to FedEx
11:11 am Picked up LEBANON, OH

Yeah, i know, i know. But i still am amazed at Kentucky being on the way from Ohio to Michigan and the package's ability to be at Lake Orion before arriving there. My condolences to the dear departed location in Independence, Kentucky. And, i am amazed that it's about to be here, in just a day. It took the company, seemingly, longer than that to tell FedEx about it!

And then i get my hammocks.

Final note, JEs are as bad as they used to be. Can't see the source and the preview at the same time?! Guess the morons^H^H^H^H^H^H who design these things, refuse to admit their absolute stupidity of removing functional parts of websites that have been there for years.

I hate everybody.

Checking out multiply.com. Just got http://chacham.multiply.com

I'm looking to post more JEs, but not here on slashdot, it just isn't my style anymore. I'm thinking of using Blogger or Wordpress, or whatever fits my style. First thing to be looked for is preview showing me the editable copy without me having to go to another page to edit it, like it used to be here. Any ideas?

RIFT is holding a special Allies of the Ascended event. As my chosen ally, you can use this code to join me during the dates below, free of charge! Heed my call, and together we shall battle the Blood Storm!

Event Dates
10am PDT April 8, 2011 through 10am PDT April 11, 2011
Ally Code

ZDHM-R9WC-MLT9-ZNG9-MCJM

Visit www.RIFTgame.com/en/ally instructions on how to apply your Ally Code and to download the RIFT patcher.

Decided i should write a JE just to let people know i'm here. But i kept holding off. Seeing the new slashdot design, i'm glad i did. Not only is it ugly, it's hard to find anything. Oh well. Computers are passing me by. I don't care about these sorts of things anymore. First it was MTV, now Slashdot. Guess i'm finally over the hill.

Anyway, just went to google to search for "average gestation first pregnancy". First link was wikipedia, so i clicked and was greeted by a picture of a naked pregnant woman. Absolutely disgusting. I ranted in the past about the circumcision picture (i'd link to it, but i'm too lazy to figure out how to find the full JE listing in the re-design). Wikipedia has an agenda. I don't care who or what. Of course i'm wrong, just ignore me, i'm a loser who likes to rant.

I've been playing Rift. I canceled by subscription (Tomorrow would be the first month they charge for, game opened last month with one-month included in purchase price). As a keyboarder, i find the mouse use too much. I was hurting my back reaching for it. It's a young game, i know. They're fixing things, i know. You need a mouse for games like this, i know. Nonetheless, the fact is my back was hurting. The AH and mail system are a pain to use extensively, and they do not allow add-ons. Also, PvP was fun at first (i'm horrible at PvP, i always lose, and yet i liked it in this game) but after level 20 it was all about the stuns (baby). So, i'm back to being horrible at PvP at don't like it. And Stonefield was drabby and the rain just made me not want to play the area. They did a great job on Sanctum and Meridian, stupid design, but it did look real nice. Silverwood and Freemarch were nice, but all the other areas were blah. Not interested.

The clincher was the 1.1 patch. What did it add? More rifts. Yay! And more scantily clad female NPCs. I mean, really. Of course the head of the Defiants, the strongest women in the game, doesn't wear too much armor. And why do traveling merchants need clothes? Alsbeth, she's dead already. Dead people don't need clothes. Unless they're male, they grow clothes, naturally, of course.

Rift is a pretty cool game and has a lot of potential. It's definitely worth checking out, and i have a good feeling the developers are going to make it better, as they have been doing so far. It's likely i'll come back to the game soon enough, but for now, i'm taking a break.

So, that's that. I'm still following JE titles in email, interesting/informative titles might get read, which means i ignore 99% of the JEs i see, which is almost nothing nowadays anyway. If i read it, i'll almost always try to give you a moo, unless you're being useless or disgusting. I'm a cranky old man and best left ignored.

Anyone want to purchase a 3 digit uid? :P

[Arg! Can't see the edit text and preview at the same time? What sort of idiots are designing these things anyway?! Well, that pretty much settles it. Don't expect anymore JEs from me. It's just too frustrating. Sorry about the quality of this JE. This interface is not inviting.

Where's my typewriter anyway?)