2016 — 7 August: Sunday
There's a little imp of perversity living in my head.1 He it was that decided to run a 'molehole' page past the W3C validator yesterday, where — quelle horreur! — a teensy tiny infinitesimal error was flagged. Now this is a piece of HTML that has lain untouched for many moons but, more to the point, that same page used to yield a flawless compliance report. I suspect the validator may have stepped up its game recently, in fact.
My lovely UltraEdit...
... has a jolly useful — some might say "miraculous" — replace in files option which does at least as well as "Wild Edit" did on a global search and destroy mission in my previous Windows-based incarnation. As is often the case, I suspect nobody will notice any change... but I will know, as will my little imp.
It comes with a caveat:
The "Replace in Files" option, located under "Find in Files" in the "Search" menu, is probably one of the most powerful Find/Replace functions in UltraEdit. This allows you to edit massive amounts of files with just one click...
... all changes are permanent and cannot be "undone". We therefore suggest doing a test before executing the command on the actual data, or making a backup of the actual data before running the replace in files.
Beats grappling with Grep!
Big Bro reminds me...
... I will have to stick a Customs declaration on his little book package. I wonder if, technically, it classes as a second-hand gift despite being unopened? When, precisely, does ownership get re-assigned?
Yesterday...
... was, I'm prepared to admit, a little heavy on the old (new) Linux battlefront. As the masterful Kai Lung might have put it:
How is it possible to suspend Mint 17.3 on BlackBeast Mk III in one cup of the balance and weigh it against Mint 18 on Skylark in the other; or who in a single language can compare the tranquilising grace of a maiden with the invigorating pleasure of witnessing a well-contested ratfight?
So, how about a shot...
... of Mint 18 idly ticking over on Skylark? It shows the look'n'feel of my customised desktop theme. Renovations will doubtless continue. I aim to replicate on Skylark all that I do on BlackBeast Mk III. Then I can honourably retire the latter, keeping it as a fully-working standby (parked, in all probability, in what Peter still thinks of as "his" room). I shall relocate the i5 NUC to my desk here, plumbing it into the 34" Dell screen via HDMI2 and using it for web browsing and email. Skylark can better handle any heavy media file lifting or processing.
Why...
... is it considered "politically toxic" to suggest that "people should spend their children's inheritance — in the form of the family home — to cover the costs of social care"? I don't understand. While I was relieved when dear Mama popped her clogs (at 98) following several mindless years of zero quality of life, I was delighted to know that she was comfortable and cared for in ways I couldn't have begun to achieve for her. And it was the "family home" (not that anyone but she ever lived in it) that paid her care home fees.
This is being entered...
... on the i5 NUC, which is kindly showing me BlackBeast's desktop (courtesy of the frightfully — no, make that, ridiculously-useful NoMachine Remote Desktop that I've just downloaded and installed [again, of course] to the NUC in its new suit of Mint 18 clothes). I literally cannot tell the difference!
For a change...
... from my usual Sunday diet of radio I've now turned my attention to three CDs that were "auto-ripped" for me yesterday morning when my focus was definitely elsewhere:
- Rattle that Lock by David Gilmour
- The Wall by Roger Waters
- Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" by these fine folk:
"Wish you were here" was my vinyl delight of 1975! I bought it in its black, shrink-wrapped, glory, in Penzance in September while Christa and I were enjoying our one-year-delayed honeymoon/holiday in a little guest house there. Of course, I had no way of playing it until we got back home3 to Old Windsor.
Having confirmed...
... that the considerably newer Linux kernel in Mint 18 still doesn't cut, as it were, the DisplayPort mustard with regard to the Dell's 34" display (when driven from the i5 NUC) I have been doing a spot of display lead and socketry juggling. Until things next change, here's the system:
| PC system | Dell screen input | Workspace? |
|---|---|---|
| BlackBeast Mk III | mini-DisplayPort | #1 to #4 |
| Skylark | full-size DisplayPort | #5 |
| i5 NUC | HDMI | #6 |
I'm using one keyboard and mouse connected to BlackBeast, and running both the i5 NUC and Skylark headless. All three PCs are physically connected to the Dell screen so that NoMachine can handshake with it to find out what it needs to set each display to the Dell's 3440x1440 native resolution.
This is obviously...
... from my unpublished "Figures in a Landscape" portfolio:
We were walking along the Itchen from Shawford on a rather overcast Sunday afternoon (18th March 2007), thankfully largely unaware of what was coming our way later that year!