Phil Landmeier

So. Cal. engineer (hardware/software, retired, he/him), born at 313 ppm, musician, chef, now living in West Virginia. KW2P ham radio (the original social network), father, grandfather, astronomy, photography, writing, fountain pens, cats and dog, reader of banned books, Chairman of the Charcuterie Board, Whisk Manager, Compuserve refugee, Founder of The Church of the Unwarranted Assumption. Crypto is short for cryptography. Blog: shuttersparks.net

#HamRadio
#Morse
#MorseCode
#wv
#WestVirginia
#food
#cooking
#astronomy
#physics
#engineering
#photography
#FountainPens

Public Key

npub18muwgmtw8s6d6v4cvnzgerxny686nlw80865gs0urlt0dvfhyzjqp0hrxn

NIP-05 Address

shuttersparks_at_qoto.org@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsra78yd4hrcdxax2uxf3yv3nfjdraflhrhna2yg87pl4hkkymjpfqpshmmx

Author Public Key

npub18muwgmtw8s6d6v4cvnzgerxny686nlw80865gs0urlt0dvfhyzjqp0hrxn

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Last Notes

2024-08-14 06:24:43

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 Hmm. Are these people economists or just "personalities"? 1 to 2 percent inflation is normal and expected in a functioning economy. It's the target. It's what you want.

2024-05-20 18:50:39

Why is there a gun? O.o
https://media.social.qoto.org/media_attachments/files/112/474/915/316/164/451/original/e5921b1daa6ca93b.jpeg

2024-03-19 06:14:22

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 Hmm. The ache can be mostly blamed on the person administering the injection, not the vaccine.

2024-03-10 09:37:22

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@npub1zdp…vqv8 Well, and not to belabor the topic of maggots, but they are useful. They have certain skills that are useful to medicine. I'm sure you know this.
Maggots, like alligators, prefer rotted meat. This is because rotted meat is already partially digested. (The fact that we humans consider this "gross and disgusting" is irrelevant.)
Maggots are terrific tools in cases of gangrene. They have the seemingly miraculous ability to clean out a gangrenous wound. Perfectly. They leave the wound absolutely clean. This is because they will not eat healthy tissue, only rotting tissue.

2024-03-10 09:16:23

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@npub15zu…s7lx So they're back on this tack again? It's the same dozen people generating this crap for the right-wing rubes so I guess it makes sense.
it's been half a generation so it's time to bring up Pizzagate again. What was it? Hillary's friend had a pizza joint and a child sex operation was going on in the basement?
Just one problem: the pizza parlor in question had no basement. Ah, but the story flew really well in the right-wing media. The lack of a basement, no problem.
Meth-fueled Nazis have forgotten by now. Time to recycle the story and rile up "the base".

2024-02-09 06:29:22

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@npub1k7q…3lrw I'm originally from Los Angeles. Living now for many years in West Virginia has been an education. A lot of poor people here. Most of them believe that poverty results from stupidity. They believe that rich people are, by definition, good people, hard working, honest, and blessed by God. If you drive up in a nice car wearing a suit, they'll believe anything to tell them.
I'm sure this is the same in Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.
This is a huge problem that has to be fixed, but I have no idea how. I frequently disabuse people of these utterly wrong beliefs, but I'm just one person and there are millions of them.

2024-02-09 06:22:17

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 I'll be watching this thread. I've de-Googled myself almost completely. One of the problem areas is Calendar, where I maintain calendars that are shared with up to 20 people, most of whom are not computer people and barely know how to use a smartphone.

2024-01-23 02:42:02

So the State of Florida wants to provide financial support to current and future Florida criminals who want to run for president. Makes sense, for Florida, I guess.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/florida-eyes-5-million-fund-to-help-cover-trump-s-legal-bills/ar-BB1h5cpO

2024-01-18 18:41:15

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@npub1aq2…4nfw Good article. Thanks for posting. I'm thinking of subscribing to that magazine now.
I didn't know Eimac was still in business.
I was unaware that people were considering sending text, using advanced digital modes, over over broadcast AM shortwave. I think it's a great idea.
Do you know of any stations that are doing this on a regular basis? I mean, the technology is now easily accessible to anyone who has a pocket shortwave radio and a smartphone.

2024-01-12 06:09:45

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@npub108x…8n99 My, my. Well, the Patriot has proven itself, even against Russia's unstoppable hypersonic missiles.
I wish I had been on the team at Raytheon that designed it. I'd be feeling real good.

2024-01-09 18:20:38

This tracking stuff on the Internet is past ridiculous. I notice that when I pull up my Orders page on Amazon, uBlock blocks 133 items. When I pull up Accuweather for my town, it blocks 273 items.
Here on Mastodon, both uBlock and Privacy Badger read zero. Funny how that is.
#Internet #privacy

2024-01-06 00:04:03

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@npub19fc…ay3c Yes, it was a conscious intentional choice, and obvious to anyone paying attention. Unfortunately, the U.S. public is accustomed to being led around by the nose and looks to the media for affirmation that they're "okay".

2024-01-03 02:32:10

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@npub1uw8…88kr I remember it well, vividly, going out in subzero temps to smash the ice on the horse watering troughs with a hammer. This had to be done about every two hours.
I don't miss it.

2023-12-22 06:20:34

Hmm. Over the past two days I've noticed a change in rhetoric used in the news media regarding Trump, Giuliani, election fraud, and the insurrection. Softening words like "alleged" and "supposed" have disappeared suddenly. Putting things in quotes has disappeared. Now it's just words like illegal and false with no softening-words.
I wonder what this means. Are they done harvesting income from scandal-generator Donald Trump and cutting him loose? Have they come to the realization that the court proceedings will not go well for Trump and his minions and are getting on the side of reality, truth, and the majority of voters so they don't end up looking stupid? What's Fox going to do when the people they've supported for years end up in jail?
Amd what's wrong with Giuliani? He's a lawyer and should know better. He just got hit with a $148 million judgment so he declared bankruptcy. Does he not know that you can't declare bankruptcy in order to avoid paying an obligation? And he comes out of court after the judgment and runs his mouth some more, so the lawyers who won the $148 million judgment just sued him again. Senility?
#USPol #politics

2023-11-03 06:57:13

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 So there will be no need for him either and no billionaires.

2023-10-18 22:03:25

https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a
RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work.
So, RFK Jr is just as bad a scumbag as I thought.
#USPol #politics #vax #antivax #covid-19

2023-10-10 15:52:34

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@npub15zu…s7lx Their Calvinist / Puritan religion isn't based on the Bible. Puritanism has been poisoning North America ever since it was kicked out of Europe and fled here.

2023-09-19 22:02:58

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Hah. "...the wall of separation between church and state..." ---Thomas Jefferson

2023-09-19 21:43:18

"The church should direct the government..."
I'm going to guess that she truly doesn't know what the founders said about this.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3540071-boebert-says-she-is-tired-of-separation-between-church-and-state-the-church-is-supposed-to-direct-the-government/
#USPol #politics #boebert

2023-09-14 05:31:39

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 The rich are running out of rich things to do. Also, the world has plenty of idiots. Some of them are rich.

2023-09-04 20:15:05

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@npub1m0w…n0rv Hah. I doubt that #FP is a very popular tag. Not worth spamming.

2023-09-04 18:47:55

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Interesting. I messed with iron gall years ago, but I wouldn't get it anywhere near my FPs. I'll stick with what they were designed for and enjoy the marvels of modern chemistry, like bulletproof ink.
Each to his own. Part of the fun of fountain pens is doing your own thing. But I think you've found the answer to the rust problem. Gold should solve that.

2023-09-04 18:35:22

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Hmm, well, that makes you unique. I've never run into anyone that used iron gall ink in a fountain pen.
Why would you? The performance of good fountain pen ink is vastly superior to iron gall. If you want permanence, use Noodlers cellulose-reactive bulletproof ink. You can't get more permanent than that and it doesn't corrode the paper like iron gall does.

2023-09-04 18:30:08

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Well, there's your problem. That's considered an absolute no-no with FPs. You can only use inks made with dyes like aniline, and inks carefully balanced for proper surface tension, pH, and that contain an effective biocide. Fountain pens are very picky about ink and its characteristics.
Of course, nothing can stop you from trying but there's your problem.
Why not buy a nice set of Speedballs? They're cheap, fun to use, and work great. Also glass dip pens are cool and work pretty well too but not so much for calligraphy where you want a stub nib. Speedball also has some cool nibs for drawing wide lines. There's a reason that all cartoonists and manga artists use them.

2023-09-04 18:22:21

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Rusting? Hmm. No. I don't think I've ever encountered rusting with any nib in 60 years. (One of my sub-hobbies is restoring school pens from the 1950s)
All the Jinhao nibs I have are stainless steel or gold plated stainless.
There are corrosive inks like iron gall type inks that you should never even get near a fountain pen. Nor should you use any ink with pigment like India ink. Dip pens only for such inks. I have a set of Speedballs I use for India type ink and calligraphy. (Speaking of India ink, I greatly prefer Japanese Sumi ink over India ink.)
I'm puzzled. I've never seen rust on a fountain pen.

2023-09-04 17:51:13

I've been very happy with the Jinhao fountain pens I have in my pen collection. Working on them and with them I've collected some information that's useful to me and put it in a blog post.
https://shuttersparks.net/jinhao-fountain-pens/
#FountainPens #FP #FPs #Jinhao #nibs #feeds

2023-09-04 02:29:09

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@npub1jnh…lfd7 @npub1ypa…ct58 Not to mention that a big chunk of today's poor are the government's creation.

2023-09-03 20:00:00

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@npub1ypa…ct58 Yes, and there are lots of middle-class and poor people who believe this. Perfect, if you're rich.

2023-09-01 16:25:36

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@npub1aq2…4nfw I like the radio behind you in the photo. ;-)

2023-08-24 05:55:23

Ever need to change an overhead lightbulb you can't reach and prefer not to use a ladder? Or a high lightbulb in a stairwell? Here's a quick and easy fix.
https://shuttersparks.net/high-light-bulb-changer/
#home #household #trick #tip

2023-08-23 16:02:22

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@npub19fc…ay3c Yes, fireflies are fewer and fewer each year here in North Central West Virginia. 15 years ago, they were plentiful. I used to take time-exposure photos of them at twilight.
Now they are a rarity. Once in a while I'll see a single one.
All insects are down, actually. There used to be lots of Japanese stink bugs. Not anymore. I take walks in the evening and return without a single mosquito bite. They used to eat me alive. The lack of bites is a plus but it's wrong.
There used to be little flocks of chimney swifts zooming around at all hours of the day. You could always see them and hear them twittering as they fed on insects aloft. Their constant background twittering is now replaced by silence. The disappearance happened this year. They were plentiful a few months ago.

2023-08-09 06:47:47

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 Oh, no. I'm sorry.

2023-08-08 06:27:49

John Eastman Comes Clean: Hell Yes We Were Trying to Overthrow the Government
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/john-eastman-comes-clean-hell-yes-we-were-trying-to-overthrow-the-government
#USPol #politics #trump

2023-08-02 01:20:05

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 I would imagine some "small consideration" was part of the deal. Trump is big on kickbacks.

2023-07-28 06:04:15

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@npub17sh…6e06 Likewise. Yeah, wander around the archive and you'll find all kinds of interesting stuff. But RUSC is where I usually go for my OTR fix.

2023-07-28 05:51:41

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@npub17sh…6e06 Sounds like you're a fellow fan of old time radio. I have been since the 1960s.
Much can be found on the Internet Archive. My favorite source has been around for a long time and is called Are You Sitting Comfortably. https://www.rusc.com/
I'm a paying subscriber and highly recommend it.

2023-07-19 01:14:16

ATTENTION ALL INTERCEPT OPERATORS!
Crypto Transmission from KPH!
The MHRS in cooperation with our good friends at the Cipher History Museum will send a coded message in 5-letter groups via the facilities of coast station KPH on Saturday July 22, 2023. The message will be encrypted using the famous Enigma code machine and is an authentic message sent by a U-boat in the North Atlantic in 1942.
All KPH listeners are invited to try their hand at receiving and decrypting the message. Certificates will be awarded for proof of successful decode, first to decode and use of original hardware.
You say your Enigma machine is a bit rusty? Perhaps it has slipped a cog? No problem, MRHS has you covered! Software simulations exist for the Enigma code machine. Click Here for an easy-to-use Enigma simulator. It is web-based, no download necessary.
➢Enigma
The Enigma was the Germans' most sophisticated coding machine for securely transmitting command and control messages via radio communications in WWII. It was considered so secure that it was used to encipher the most top-secret of messages.
The arrangement of Enigma's rotors and plugboard connections provided a unique series of letter substitutions which changed with each keystroke. The daily rotor order and the ring and plugboard settings to be used were specified in a codebook distributed monthly to all users of a network.
For additional information on the Enigma please see Ralph Simpsons' Cipher Museum
➢Crypto broadcast date, time and formats.
The crypto broadcast will commence at 2000 GMT (1300 Pacific) on 22 July on all KPH CW frequencies. The broadcast will consist of a 'call up' (in plain text) announcing the broadcast, followed by the cipher message. The call up and cipher messages will be sent at 15 WPM. The cipher message will be sent in 5 letter groups and the message will be sent twice to ensure proper reception.
The usual KPH channel marker or 'wheel' running at 20 WPM will precede the announcement for the crypto broadcast to give listeners a chance to tune to the strongest signal in their area.
The KPH CW frequencies are (in kc):
426 (after an announcement on 500)
6477.5
8642.0
12808.5
17016.8
22477.5
Upon completion of the CW transmissions, the broadcast will be repeated at 2015 GMT (1315 Pacific) on all KPH RTTY frequencies.
The RTTY transmission will be 170cps shift Baudot, 45 baud.
The KPH RTTY frequencies are (in kc):
6324.5
8427.0
12585.5
More info available here: https://www.radiomarine.org/

2023-07-09 16:56:53

Here's the latest rumor that's spreading like wildfire among the right-wing rubes here in West Virginia. They're certain they're "in on the scam".
"Electric cars pollute just as much as regular cars because all the pollution from cars comes from the brake pads. Electric cars have brake pads like every car so they pollute just as much."
Sigh. This is, of course, ridiculously wrong in two different ways but it's the latest "the liberals are scamming everyone" rumor here in West Virginia.
#politics #USPol #ConspiracyTheory #RWNJ

2023-07-07 06:08:26

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 Hahaha. I don't know whether to laugh or shoot myself in the head.

2023-07-03 21:35:58

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@npub1ls2…g28m Hitler didn't expect the U.S. to go to war, and if they did he expected the U.S. to join Germany. After all, he got his ideas on racial-cleansing, eugenics, euthanasia, from the U.S. These things were a big deal in the U.S. from the late 1800s into the 1930s.

2023-06-15 16:44:17

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@npub1xg3…nyjk Republicans have a different view of what law and order mean.

2023-05-26 16:16:59

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 @npub1jzl…wlth I should add that in a country as corrupt as the U.S., where virtually every politician, from my local town council to the highest levels is on the take, it's perfectly valid to ask "who is making the laws". Asking this question is the fastest way to the truth.
It's no accident that the first states to enact such laws are those home to the companies getting busted.
My younger daughter lives in a city in Georgia that's home to, arguably, the biggest chicken processing facility in the world. She says that company runs all the politics in the city and county. They surely own numerous state legislators as well. They'd be fools not to since that's how business is done in the U.S.
I learned this in the early 80s when I found myself working closely on a project with a state legislator from Hawaii. I took advantage of the situation and we had some long talks about "civics". Hah. He explained how things really work, from town councils on up. People run for office on town councils mainly so they can influence real estate values by manipulating zoning laws and so forth. He explained how contractors are awarded projects at city, county, and state levels. (Hint: It's not based on merit. Lol.)
In this country one can figure out the truth by looking at what business interest(s) benefit from legislation.

2023-05-26 15:32:49

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 @npub1jzl…wlth The past year or so has seen frequent cases where big corporations got busted for employing children in industrial chicken and meat processing plants, working long hours in dangerous circumstances. These laws are being enacted, mainly at the behest of those big corporations because they no longer have access to an abundance of willing immigrants to fill those jobs.
Children should be in school, doing homework, eating, sleeping, not working in a dangerous chicken processing plant.
Nor am I opposed to young people getting work experience. I did it myself. I worked briefly when I was 16. Then when I was 17 I got a regular job while still in high school, but it was a job that didn't interfere with school: 5 to 9 PM weekdays and all day Saturday. It worked out great and was a great experience doing a wide variety of tasks. That's not the same as working on a production line in a chicken factory.

2023-05-26 01:47:47

So this is the solution to the problem created by stifling immigration, the lifeblood of the U.S.A. since the beginning.
https://apnews.com/article/child-labor-laws-alabama-ohio-c1123a80970518676be44088619c6205

2023-05-09 17:55:41

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 I was making a little joke.

2023-05-09 17:48:52

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@npub1kpw…xzz4 I made a different guess, for the halibut.

2023-04-24 16:58:37

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#[0] Some news stories say it was mutual, some say he was fired and it's being presented as mutual. I've not seen any story say that he quit. But perhaps he did.

2023-04-24 16:53:51

I don't think Carlson will have much trouble. He'll just go to NewsMax and bring his audience with him. This is probably not a good decision by Fox.