N.A. Ferrell

I am the administrator and editor of The New Leaf Journal, the perennially virid online writing magazine. I also run a short-form writing site called The Emu Café Social. By day, I am a legal writer and researcher in the area of U.S. immigration law.

Main workstation (EndeavourOS/XFCE); Old workstation (Bodhi/Moksha); Media PC (Fedora/GNOME); Main laptop (Fedora/GNOME/Sway); Netbook (Bodhi/Moksha); Laptop "Server" (Trisquel/LXDE); Phone (LineageOS); Old phone (/e/ OS); Tablet (LineageOS)

Public Key

npub1qz08as93v7sznfu26qp420095vncj97433n94vj3nul3chkcvszqdsn8zk

NIP-05 Address

nafnlj@linuxrocks-online.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqp8n7czck0gpf579dqq648hj6xfufzl2ccej6kfge70cutmvxgpqdaxycf

Author Public Key

npub1qz08as93v7sznfu26qp420095vncj97433n94vj3nul3chkcvszqdsn8zk

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Last Notes

2025-04-30 17:53:35

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After the 2025 Playoff field was finalized, I wrote a follow-up post highlighting how SRS can differ from win-loss record. The 37-45 Miami Heat made the 2025 Playoffs (and were unsurprisingly sent home quickly). One would think a 37-45 team would have qualified for my worst playoff team survey... but the Heat actually had a positive SRS and Net Rating. Go figure. I examined whether they had the worst record of a positive SRS/Net playoff team (spoiler: they did).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/best-nba-playoff-teams-with-losing-records/

2025-04-30 17:51:29

Most of the discussion going into the NBA Playoffs (or any other postseason tournament) focuses on the best teams. I took a different approach in examining the worst NBA Playoff teams of the 16 bit era, covering 1984-2024. Instead of using win-loss record, I examined the teams which made the playoffs with a negative SRS score, which takes into account scoring margin and strength of schedule.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/worst-nba-playoff-teams-by-srs-1984-2024/

2025-04-05 16:10:20

Two years to the day, I published an article about refilling a bottle of sunscreen. I plan to publish a follow-up this afternoon. Let no one say I am not consistently publishing the hottest of hot takes.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/refilling-water-gel-sunscreen-bottle/

2025-04-03 16:04:37

I was browsing the indoor plant section of Lowe's in Gowanus (a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NYC) back in 2021. I noticed something unusual on one of the plants: A sparrow. Instead of telling everyone that I saw a sparrow, I used my photo and anecdote as inspiration for an original NLJ fictional dialogue.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/justin-justina-the-sparrow-in-lowes/

2025-03-18 15:23:47

I published an article on a small change to my home internet setup. I use an ARRIS SURFboard SB8200 modem and MikroTik hAP ac3 router (wi-fi disabled) and kept those to parts. I swapped my basic TP-Link wireless access point for a NETGEAR WAX 202 functioning solely as an AP. For the NETGEAR, I installed OpenWrt (I suppose it counts as a backup router too). My TP-Link AP also found a new life...
https://thenewleafjournal.com/my-openwrt-netgear-wax-202-access-point/

2025-02-09 21:02:52

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Unfortunately the brave pumpkin didn't make it into the image thumbnail with the automatic cropping.

2025-02-09 21:01:36

I recently published a photo article about a brave decorative pumpkin in a knit hat seen outside a Carroll Gardens brownstone on January 11, 2025. While the pumpkin was hanging in there, it was showing signs that caused me some concern.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/b/75A
I regret to inform readers that as of the afternoon of February 9, 2025, the brave pumpkin has "deflated"

2025-02-08 18:15:25

Back in 2011, I wrote an outline guide to Persona 3 FES's "The Answer" epilogue for a friend. Somewhat improbably, I still have the plain text file guide. I re-visited my guide in an article last year. Do note that in addition to the fact that the guide indirectly spoils a key point of the end of the main Persona 3, I doubt that it is fully applicable to Persona 3 Reload and its Answer-covering DLC on account of the fact that the battle system in FES was significantly different in some important respects than its successors.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/outline-guide-to-persona-3-fes-the-answer/

2025-02-07 16:01:14

Back in 2021, I wrote an article about an unpleasant dress code situation in a Japanese middle school. One Japanese student who had naturally brown hair was forced to dye her hair black to conform with a dress and grooming code which was ostensibly designed to ban unnatural hair colors. Readers will see a link to a follow-up article just below the introduction wherein I discussed the Tokyo school system's decision to move away from this policy (not directly related to the case I wrote about in this article). My post comes with my own U.S.-based hair style-dress code anecdote (one I witnessed, not directly involving me).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/around-the-web-hair-dye-in-japanese-schools/

2025-02-05 16:45:38

Four years to the day, I published a photo post centered on BLOB DYLAN graffiti seen in a rare trip to the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Bushwick. That post ended up becoming the start of a series and research project. Link to the series collection is in the article.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/blob-dylan-seen-in-bushwick/

2025-02-04 16:55:09

Four years to the day I published a photo post with snowy sites from the aftermath of Winter Storm Gail in Brooklyn, New York City. I was using my former BlackBerry Classic to take the photos... which was touch and go since its fading battery was not fond of near-freezing temperatures.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/a-bike-in-the-snow-in-brooklyn/

2025-02-03 16:52:20

Two years to the day, I wrote a story/strategy guide for the first paralogue chapter in the then-recently released Fire Emblem Engage for the Nintendo Switch. The extra battle had a definite difficulty spike compared to the regular campaign and I was slightly under-leveled. I came up with a cheesy approach to dealing with two enemies late in the stage and thus avoiding having a couple of hours of work unraveled.
(PS: I still need to finish Engage...)
https://thenewleafjournal.com/tiki-paralogue-trick-in-fire-emblem-engage/

2025-01-31 18:46:11

Two years to the day, I told the story of how me and my friend and sometimes-New Leaf Journal colleague, Victor V. Gurbo, temporarily birdnapped a pigeon in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn NY to remove twine tied around its feet -- all, thanks to Victor, without inadvertently amputating the pigeon's feet.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/nlj-brooklyn-nyc-pigeon-rescue-story/

2025-01-28 19:26:52

Back in 2023, I was inspired by a news story about Cuban nationals illegally enterting the United States via hang glider to put the knowledge I have gleaned from my day job as a legal researcher and writer in the area of U.S. immigration law to terrible use -- a new fictional dialogue covering the secret Hang Glider Citizenship Clause, a shadow provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-hang-glider-citizenship-provision/

2025-01-26 18:26:27

I had seen a few Cybertrucks in the wild in Brooklyn, including one in Brooklyn Bridge Park (which inspired an article reflecting on the 1990s racing game aesthetics of the jagged vehicle). To my surprise, I saw a second Cybertruck in Brooklyn Bridge Park on December 19. But this Cybertruck was not like the others -- it was an Eddy's General Construction Cybertruck.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/eddys-branded-cybertruck-at-bbp/

2025-01-20 20:39:08

One year to the day, I wrote about what was then my primary keyboard for more than one decade running, my Logitech K310 washable keyboard. I replaced it as my primary keyboard not long after with a Filco Majestitouch V3 (ten keys, of course), but it still hangs around as an always-clean secondary keyboard to connect to other computers.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/my-logitech-washable-wired-keyboard-k310/

2025-01-16 19:00:49

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@nprofile…20fd Jokes aside, when something becomes "retro" is an interesting question. For example, by 2000, any of my classmates who were into games would have thought of NES and probably SNES as "retro" or at least "old," even thought they saw their last US games around 94/97 respectively. But I doubt people think of PS3 the same way in 2025 as the NES or even SNES in 2000-01. I could be wrong though, just my impression.

2025-01-10 00:58:56

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@nprofile…qthd Thank you for reading and taking the time to highlight this issue for me. The first few links in the article are internal links that do no open in a new window, so it makes sense the issue started where it did. I looked at the page source and saw the Aria label is "(opens in a new tab)." I'll look into it and try to tweak how my theme, WordPress, or some combination are handling these tags in a way that is bad for screen readers.

2025-01-08 17:26:53

In 2019, I dusted off my trusty old copy of the original Mario Party for Nintendo 64 for a planned round of fun with my friends. I was surprised when I was confronted with Toad asking me if I wanted to resume a gain -- a game I had apparently left finished nearly two decades earlier. There was only one thing to do...
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-two-decade-mario-party-finally-ends/

2025-01-07 17:40:27

According to my "Years Ago Today" plugin in WordPress, I had only published one article in the previous four January 7s (I did publish one today). That came in 2021 when I discussed a blog post by by Patrick McKenzie explaining Japan's Hometown Tax System.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/a-hometown-tax-system-story/

2025-01-06 17:20:05

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@nprofile…ur75 I came across Milo once in a grocery store in New York City (it's not common here) and deicded to give it a try. It was good, even though I used almond milk -- I understand. It definitely was not the "Intense" one though.

2025-01-06 17:13:08

Last year, I wrote a review of the year that was in anime, ranking what I thought were the six best shows of 2023 along with some category-specific honors. I am working on my 2024 article. While 2024 will be out a bit liter than my 2023 review, I do plan to beat my having published by 2021 review in April 2022.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/2023-anime-year-in-review/

2025-01-06 17:10:40

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@nprofile…fwh2 I'm with you there. I unfortunately have to use SMS with some of my friends. My solution these days is to use KDE Connect to send the messages, but it was much better having the physical keyboard. I bought a little USB-C BlackBerry keyboard a few years ago from Tindie and it is fun works well, albeit it's not too practical not being attached to the phone.

2025-01-05 18:39:45

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@nprofile…q9zx I cut out a few months before the end in spring 2021. Two reasons: (1) Locked to Verizon and I wanted to switch to a sub-$10 per month plan from Tello; and (2) Mine had some weird battery issues, especially in the cold, which made it unreliable -- Performance was also beginning to deteriorate. But it had a good run. I later purchased a little USB-C BlackBerry keyboard so I can relive the nostalgia.

2025-01-05 18:30:07

Three years to the day, I bid a fond farewell to the BlackBerry 10 operating system, which served me well on my BlackBerry Classic for a good 4-5 years (I forget exactly when I switched from the BlackBerry Bold to Classic).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/farewell-to-blackberry-10/

2025-01-04 20:01:23

In my early WordPress administrator days (by "early" I mean 2020-2022), I used a plugin to optimize images when they were uploaded to the server. These days, I optimize images on my desktop before uploading them. My tool of choice for more than a year has been the free and open source Yoga Image Optimizer, which is available on Flathub. I recall I once used the Arch User Repository package, but some issue with it caused me to switch to the Flatpak. (It is also available for Windows for any Windows-users who want to try.)
https://thenewleafjournal.com/reviewing-yoga-image-optimizer/

2025-01-03 21:58:20

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@nprofile…vwu2
Favorite overall, counting everything OVA: FLCL
Favorite Movie: 5 Centimeters Per Second (I am more of a TV series person than movies, however)
Favorite TV Seasons: Aria the Origination is my favorite, but other favorites: March Comes in like a Lion (S2); Cross Game; Now and Then, Here and There; SSSS.Dynazenon
Series: In addition to the ones I listed above, Oregairu and Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

2025-01-03 19:30:41

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@nprofile…my67 Agreed. While it's a great view in the modern day with the city lights, I imagine "the stillness of the night" described in the 1895 article was something that can't be re-captured now.

2025-01-03 19:10:39

In 2021, I shared a fun article from an 1895 issue of Harper's Round Table. Franklin Matthews' "Cobweb Lane" described the unique experience of walking across the recently-opened Brooklyn Bridge at night. I have walked across the Bridge at night on several occasions, so it was interesting reading about what it was like more than a century earlier.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-brooklyn-bridges-mysterious-cobweb-lane/

2025-01-02 22:40:43

The end of the year means it is time for my annual year-end review of our most-visited articles (according to our local page counting solution, Koko Analytics). I decided to include 81 articles in the ranking this year and every ranked article comes with a brief summary, visitor stat notes, and occasionally additional thoughts or extra reading recommendations. While I will not spoil the ranking, I will note that for the third time in five years of rankings, the top-article was decided by the whims of Hacker News.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/01-02-24-the-81-most-visited-articles-of-2024/

2024-12-30 17:43:59

My final @nprofile…tw9k -powered newsletter of 2024 includes links to my newest articles (Christmas trees and obscure visual novels), short posts (installing Droidian on a Pixel 3a XL), 21 links from around the web with punny commentary, and a recap of my 52 most-visited-article-of-the-week rankings from 2024 (where I continue to struggle to understand the relative success of my 2022 look at Norton Safe Search).
https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/archive/213/
#Newsletter #Links #AroundTheWeb

2024-12-27 00:59:32

I was running DivestOS on my Google Pixel 3a XL, which I had been using to read feeds since I retired it as my main phone in favor of a GrapheneOS Google Pixel 6a. I had originally purchased the 3a XL to try Ubuntu Touch on a well-supported device. I decided to go back to the original plan (I failed at installing it in the first instance). This time I set everything up correctly and was about to install Ubuntu Touch. I noticed the installer had an additional option for installing beyond Ubuntu Touch. Long story short, I know have a Droidian phone despite not having heard of Droidian 30 minutes ago. Go figure.
https://social.emucafe.org/t/Qo

2024-12-23 16:54:54

Some people are difficult to buy presents for. Prospective gift givers may seek a tip from these difficult would-be recipients. Back in 2020, I turned these sentiments into a fictional dialogue featuring The New Leaf Journal's resident fictional dialogue duo, Justin and Justina: "A Christmas Present Struggle." The post also features three Christmas-themed photos I took while walking around Brooklyn.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/justin-justina-a-christmas-present-struggle/

2024-12-21 17:46:36

On December 12, 2018, I inadvertently purchased a tampered-with yogurt at the grocery store. I made that the subject of my first New Leaf Journal article in May 2020. Exactly six years to the day of the yogurt incident, I returned to the same grocery store with the intention of buying Silk cashew milk, which I knew was on sale. Before putting the cashew milk in my basket, I checked the sell-by date per my practice. Thus, on December 12, 2024, I narrowly avoided repeating the great Chobani flips yogurt tragedy of December 12, 2018 ("tragedy" is relative since I was refunded the $1 I paid for the tampered-with yogurt).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/sell-by-november-cashew-milk-in-december/
(Article includes link to the earlier yogurt story.)

2024-12-20 20:19:35

I read a "52 things I learned in 2024" list through my RSS/ATOM feed collection. I thought it was an interesting project, so I threw together my own "54 things I learned in 2024" list (54 instead of 52 because I like my lists to be divisible by 3). Every one of the 54 things comes with a link, so you too can learn what I learned with the original sources (I also link to the inspiration article, so you can learn a total of 106 things).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/54-things-i-learned-in-2024/

2024-12-17 17:43:46

In 2022, I re-printed a poem called "Kitty's First Pie" from an 1881 issue of Harper's Round Table (courtesy of @nprofile…gtst ). You may be wondering what the poem is about. Kitty? Pie? Where is this going. Spoiler alert: It is about a girl named Kitty making her first pie. But does "Kitty" being a little girl mean that there is no cat in the poem? I can't spoil everything...
https://thenewleafjournal.com/kittys-first-pie-an-1881-childrens-poem/
#Poem #Poetry #ChildrensPoem #Pie

2024-12-16 16:53:12

I was walking through Carroll Gardens in 2018 when I happened across a very unfortunate car. While I could not do anything to help the car, I could at least document it with my (at the time) trusty BlackBerry Classic camera.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-unfortunate-car-in-carroll-gardens/
#NYC #Brooklyn #CarrollGardens #Car #BlackBerryClassic #photography

2024-12-13 16:26:19

I saw a Tesla Cybertruck parked at Brooklyn Bridge Park. That same week, I read a post criticizing the design of the Cybertruck and offering many unfavorable comparisons. While my sentiments about the Cybertruck's design are not too far out of step with those of the post, I had my own comparison in mind. When I see a Cybertruck, I think of the first car racing game I owned: Virtua Racing Deluxe for the Sega 32X.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/musing-about-tesla-cybertruck-at-brooklyn-bridge-park/
#NYC #Brooklyn #BrooklynBridgePark #Tesla #Cybertruck #Photography #VideoGames #RetroGames #Sega32X

2024-12-12 17:39:23

"The world to reverse" is a freeware Japanese visual novel first released in 2005 and localized into English with approval in 2006 as part of the 2006 al|together festival. I should, however, say "visual novels" because TWTR is two freeware visual novels for the free price of one. The first half, "hallucinate," takes the view of a character in an antisceptic hospital bed haunted by a woman with hate in her eyes (it ends with a twist). The second, "flanca," is more a depressing choose your adventure style story in a medieval Europe-inspired setting than a visual novel. I ended up liking both. The newest version of ONScripter-EN for Linux in Galladite27's GitHub repository (updated since my review) should run both fine, although I still have MIDI sound issues with hallucinate. Otherwise, the original Windows executable works without issue on top of WINE or Proton.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-world-to-reverse-visual-novel-review/
#VisualNovel #Doujin #Freeware

2024-12-12 00:12:12

Almost all of the email I receive at my site addresses is SPAM. Most of it is lazy SPAM. Today I received a solicitation to buy e-bikes in the EU. I don't live in the EU. I don't ride e-bikes. I don't even like e-bikes --they're absolute terrors in NYC (which, I reiterate, is not in the EU). What's worse is it was a follow-up because I did not respond to the original spam. I understand spam is inevitable. But is it too much to ask for the spammers to be creative? Last year I received a genuinely moving spam email from Li Shangfu, the former Defense Minister of China, pleading for my help. Almost cried a bit. That's the kind of spam I want to see more of.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/li-shangfu-emails-the-new-leaf-journal/
#Spam

2024-12-11 18:31:31

This is my personal Mastodon account, which I use primarily for sharing my writing. If you enjoy my writing, you can also follow my websites directly thanks to the WordPress ActivityPub extension.
@nprofile…849j
(This is the profile for my main project, The New Leaf Journal. The vast majority of articles are by me.)
@nprofile…38tt
(This is my profile on The Emu Café Social, a short-form writing website that I run.)
@nprofile…haaj
(Thanks to RSS Parrot, you can also follow my social Activity Stream on The Emu Café Social.)
@nprofile…tqsq
(Also thanks to RSS Parrot, we have an account for my weekly @nprofile…tw9k -hosted newsletter, The Newsletter Leaf Journal. New issues come every Saturday.)
I also have accounts on X, Minds, Bluesky, and Nostr. But of greater interest is my Pixelfed account at @nprofile…jasr , where I share photos I take that I use in my articles.

2024-12-11 18:27:19

@nprofile…awk8 https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/rss

2024-12-11 18:10:10

@nprofile…awk8 https://social.emucafe.org/patrons/naferrell/activity/feed/atom/

2024-12-11 17:03:24

Sometimes you see free stuff left out for the taking in Brooklyn, New York City. I documented three free desks seen in recent months, two of which came with notes. I did not take any of the three desks, however. But minutes after seeing and not taking the third desk, I came across a lighted mirror. Did I take the lighted mirror? If I did, did it light up? I can't spoil everything, but I invite you to join me for a minor furniture-filled tour touching on four Brooklyn neighborhoods.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/three-free-desks-in-brooklyn-and-a-mirror/
#Anecdote #Walking #NYC #Brooklyn #Desks

2024-11-25 18:05:33

I haven't been able to publish many articles lately, but if you have nothing else to read on the internet besides my writing at The New Leaf Journal (a relatable problem I'm sure), my most recent newsletter includes links to all of my articles about Thanksgiving from 2020-2023 (along with 21 links from around the web and my quips about said links).
https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/archive/208/
#Newsletter #Thanksgiving #AroundTheWeb

2024-10-30 21:06:43

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@npub1dtl…ywrx The anime is based on the VN, so other way around in this case. It's a good 8-10 hours of reading with no interactive elements and starts slow, so I'd put it in the acquired taste category, granting I like Higurashi. The free first part is a good guide to whether one would enjoy 2-8. If you or anyone reading gives it a try, would highly recommend with patch that replaces default visuals with better ones from the Japanese PS2 version.
https://wiki.07th-mod.com/

2024-10-30 16:33:25

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@npub1dtl…ywrx I'll go with part 1 of Higurashi: When They Cry. After a fun start, MC learns about screts in town and begins to think his friends are hiding things. There is a scene toward the middle, when he is already on edge, when his best friend snaps -- in his eyes at least -- and accuses him of lying to her (which I read for first time at about 3 AM one morning). It does a great job of conveying deep isolation/loneliness/fear with nothing but dialogue and very simple visuals/SFX.

2024-10-30 16:22:26

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Just over two weeks ago, I returned close to the scene of my 2020 heroism and reflected on my great deed -- with more photos included.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/trash-can-hero-returns-to-scene-of-heroism/
#Gowanus #NYC #Brooklyn #Photography #TrashCan

2024-10-30 16:21:14

Four years to the day, I wrote an article about rescuing a fallen trash can in Gowanus. The article includes photo evidence. In writing the article, I asked myself what the most important part of heroism is. My answer: Telling everyone about my being a hero.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-heroic-fallen-trash-can-rescue-in-gowanus/
#Gowanus #NYC #Brooklyn #Photography #Anecdote #TrashCan

2024-10-27 17:46:47

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I was not done writing about Living for the Day After Tomorrow with my review. I had cable back in the day. I first watched LDAT on Time Warner Cable's Anime Network on Demand. Thanks to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, I was able to use old ANNOD schedules to pinpoint precisely when I found the service and started watching LDAT (aided by my remembering that was a single event). I share my memories of the old ANNOD.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/anime-network-on-demand-twc-memories/
#Anime #Anecdotes #Cable #AnimeNetwork

2024-10-27 17:44:26

Were one to ask what my favorite "forgotten" anime series is, I would go with Living for the Day After Tomorrow (Asatte no Houkou in Japan). It originally aired in 2006. It is a simple double age-swap story (think "Big" rather than Freaky Friday), but what most stands out to me is its aesthetics. Despite its age, it is the finest TV anime depiction of summer, as I opine in my full review.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/living-for-the-day-after-tomorrow-anime-review/
#Anime #LivingForTheDayAfterTomorrow #AsatteNoHoukou #JCStaff #Summer

2024-10-24 15:41:44

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@npub1dtl…ywrx Thanks for reading. I like the glitch theory. I'm glad my moth didn't move when touched like the one your friend re-activated... would have made it hard to get it outside.

2024-10-18 17:09:49

I saw a strange bug on the wall of my building lobby. It was twitching, but staying in place. On the fourth or fifth day, I decided to rescue the bug. I set it free outside and it immediately flew me away. After my heroic rescue, I researched the bug and discovered that it is an ailanthus webworm moth, which I reviewed in a full article.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/rescuing-an-ailanthus-webworm-moth/
#Photography #Bug #Moth #Anecdote

2024-10-17 15:50:21

I reviewed a 2016 freeware visual novel called The Dandelion Girl (available on Itch.io and Steam), which is based on Robert F. Young's 1961 science fiction short story of the same name. In the review, I noted that the 2016 Dandelion Girl is itself a remake of an earlier version of the novel from 2010. A reader found the original, so I will review that and compare in the next couple of weeks.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-dandelion-girl-visual-novel-review/
#VisualNovel #ScienceFiction #ONScripter #OELVN #Freeware

2024-10-09 15:40:19

My review of My Black Cat, the 2006 freeware localization of a 2005 Japanese visual novel wherein you, the player, are (shockingly) a talking black cat.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/my-black-cat-visual-novel-review/
The novel remains free to download and play. See my notes in the review if you want to run it natively on Linux.
#VisualNovel #Cats #Doujin #Freeware

2024-10-02 16:43:23

Seen in Brooklyn four years ago and photographed as part of my old BlackBerry Classic photography series, a noble rooster.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/a-rooster-statue-in-brooklyn/
#Brooklyn #Rooster #Statue #Photography

2024-10-01 20:11:17

In late 2020 or 2021, I signed up for a Naver account so I could use its Webmaster tools (why not?). I was able to sign up and submit The New Leaf Journal, but things then went sideways.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/naver-webmaster-trials-and-tribulations/
#Naver #Webmaster #WebmasterTools

2024-09-28 17:55:04

I have a Yamaha ATS-1070 TV soundbar. I use an optical audio cable to connect it to my TV. The "door" to the optical audio cable port broke. I mothballed the soundbar for some time because the cable does not stay in the port without the door. However, I used a bit of ingenity to fix the problem with, of all things, part of a Post-It Note. My article on the "fix" now one of our most-read pieces, so maybe it is a common issue.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/broken-optical-audio-cable-door-fix/
#Soundbar #Yamaha #OpticalAudioCable

2024-09-09 16:02:52

I planned to write one end-of-decade article at the end of 2020, which happened to be the first year of the NLJ. But because decades for the purpose of best-of lists are most commonly thought of as 0-to-9 (my impression, at least), I led with the case for 1-to-0 decades.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-case-for-1-to-0-decades/
#Semantics #Decades

2024-09-09 00:57:31

My good friend and New Leaf Journal colleague Victor V. Gurbo’s June 2021 article about grafting a brass bird’s head cane handle to an umbrella (https://thenewleafjournal.com/b/1dw) is going crazy on The New Leaf Journal at the moment. But wherever the hits are coming from aren’t sending referrer headers that I’m picking up. Mysterious.
https://social.emucafe.org/patrons/naferrell/activity/55/
#KokoAnalytics #ServerLogs

2024-09-07 19:54:20

I mailed Newsletter Leaf Journal 198. It has the usual assortment of my new article links and 21 links from around the web. I'm proud of my title this week. For reference: One of my new articles featured my memories of NBA Live 98 for Sega Genesis.
https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/archive/198/
#Newsletter #AroundTheWeb #Links

2024-09-06 17:51:53

Thoughts on full-text RSS/ATOM/JSON feeds, both from the perspective of an end-user and a webmaster.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/on-using-and-offering-full-text-feeds/
#RSS #ATOM #JSONFeed #RSSFeed

2024-09-05 22:16:15

I published my review of the month that was at The New Leaf Journal in August 2024. While I did publish 20 new articles, the major highlight of the month was my overhaul of the site's design, which I describe in the review but you can see for yourself on your next visit.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/august-2024-at-the-new-leaf-journal/
#WordPress #Blog

2024-08-29 22:56:38

My turn-WordPress-into-PWA [plugin] was complaining about our JPEG site icon so I spent 10 minutes making a new site icon using a photo of coffee flowers from an old Project Gutenberg book. Most professional I assure you.
https://social.emucafe.org/patrons/naferrell/activity/37/
#WordPress #PWA #GIMP #ProjectGutenberg

2024-08-29 22:56:08

2024-08-28 14:01:01

A half-specious and half-serious short post on good news about Linux's growing desktop marketshare.
https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/linux-desktop-market-share-4-45-percent/
#Linux

2024-08-26 15:06:29

I bought Tropico 4 a few years ago. Then I got a copy through a larger Humble Bundle. Now GOG is giving it away. I have another free copy through GOG. While I am not doing a Tropico 4 giveaway, consider this a PSA that it is free on GOG for the next 69 or so hours (as of when I am hitting enter).
https://social.emucafe.org/patrons/naferrell/activity/28/
#GOG #Tropico4

2024-08-26 14:01:05

From 2022, an article featuring four photos of volunteer mushrooms growing in Brooklyn, NYC.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/mushroom-photographs-from-brooklyn-in-the-summer/
#Photography #NYC #Mushrooms #Brooklyn
https://linuxrocks.online/system/media_attachments/files/113/028/685/074/574/727/original/175dc7960c90bbf7.jpeg
https://linuxrocks.online/system/media_attachments/files/113/028/685/024/134/059/original/011ec9c51d2e2676.jpeg

2024-08-23 22:02:04

Pigeon building a nest in Forest Hills, Queens: A three-part photo story. As I explain in the article, I initially stopped to take a photograph of the pigeon because it was a pretty pigeon. Little did I know what it was up to when I readied my phone camera.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/pigeon-nest-building-in-forest-hills/
#NYC #Queens #Photography #Birds #Pigeons
https://linuxrocks.online/system/media_attachments/files/113/013/589/451/311/466/original/eafc25d04b435e40.jpeg

2024-08-20 16:30:42

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This is of course the second generation 1 Pokémon horror story I turned into an article. But at least I (sort of) knew what I was getting into when I tried to catch a Safari Zone Dragonair in Pokémon Yellow... not to mention I had other in-game things to do while undertaking that unnecessary task.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/dragonair-safari-in-pokemon-yellow/
#PokémonYellow #GameBoy

2024-08-20 16:24:39

I am recording a Pokémon Red review for a written article project. I decided to try to catch every available Pokémon (exempting the Safari Zone, probably, since I'd like to be done before 2027). That meant catching a Caterpie in Viridian Forest. Caterpie is supposed to appear in 5% of encounters. Why then did it take me more than 100 encounters to find one?
https://thenewleafjournal.com/searching-for-caterpie-in-viridian-forest/
#Pokémon #PokémonRed #GameBoy #RetroGaming

2024-08-19 14:01:01

Re-printing a short children's story with a moral about the importance of keeping promises from the March 1, 1914 edition of Dew Drops Magazine.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/1914-moral-story-for-children-on-responsibility/
#ChildrensStory #MoralStory

2024-08-18 22:02:02

Anime News Network posted the following question: "What is your most favorite sports anime series?" I decided to take on this question, but only if I could lie. If that hint is enough for you to guess the answer, or at least narrow it down to two possibilities, you should feel good about your great taste.
https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/favorite-sports-anime/
#Anime #SportsAnime #CrossGame
https://linuxrocks.online/system/media_attachments/files/112/985/277/817/922/658/original/387a7f59464c7c2f.jpeg

2024-08-16 15:46:25

There is finding a needle in a haystack. Then there is finding a contract for a specific entity in a folder of more than 50 PDFs, all of which have file names consisting of dates instead of the entities in question.
https://social.emucafe.org/activitystream/p/20/

2024-08-14 22:02:03

Issue 194 of The Newsletter Leaf Journal recapped our 8 new articles from the week of August 3-9, includes 21 links from around the web (with my commentary), and other news and notes.
https://buttondown.com/newsletterleafjournal/archive/194/
#Newsletter #AroundTheWeb #Links
https://linuxrocks.online/system/media_attachments/files/112/962/628/631/221/783/original/04b2f38acaf26e77.png

2024-08-14 14:01:00

On a New York City warning about eating fish and eels caught in the waters of the East River. For whatever it is worth, one whiff of the river on a bad day is more than enough to explain the likely basis of the warning.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/b/3Eq
#NYC #Brooklyn #RedHook #EastRiver

2024-08-13 14:01:02

There is an old sports mantra that "defense wins championships." I decided to examine whether this is the case with the NBA. For my survey, I assessed how every NBA champion going back to 1973-74 compared to the league average for the year in offensive and defensive efficiency. Main take-away: Defense AND offense tend to win championships.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/examining-whether-defense-wins-nba-championships/
#NBA #Sports #Analytics

2024-08-12 14:01:01

Current events inspired me to undertake a historical survey of major party U.S. presidential tickets. Going back to 1804, which tickets had the most dramatic differences between the age of the top of the ticket and the running mate? 2024 has the top-ranking, but I filled out a list with tickets 2-24 along with my assorted take-aways from the data.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/biggest-age-gaps-in-u-s-presidential-election-tickets/
#History #Elections #USPresidents

2024-08-10 21:30:44

I was recently given a reason to revisit Midsummer Haze, a visual novel with a random trigger mechanic that required me to do the same thing 43(!?) times on my first play-through. This made me remember the author's afterword referenced that it was written during the 2004 Athens Olympics. Since the Olympics are going on now, I decided to revisit the afterword. Of course... I had to beat the novel again...
(Spoiler: MUCH better luck this time.)
https://thenewleafjournal.com/b/6fs
#VisualNovels #Olympics

2024-08-10 20:59:53

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@npub16d3…5hz8 A (very late) thank you for the kind words. Coolidge was a very good writer -- his autobiography comes with my recommendation and Project Gutenberg has a book with his pre-national politics speeches.

2024-07-04 16:15:30

Reviewing tnen-President Calvin Coolidge's remarks on July 4, 1926, commemorating the 150th anniverasry of American independence (it was also Coolidge's 54th birthday).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/calvin-coolidge-on-why-we-celebrate-independence-day/
#July4 #IndepenceDay #CalvinCoolidge #History

2024-05-30 15:29:03

A collection of stories and poems from four issues (May 1873, 1875, 1877, and 1881) of The Nursery Magazine. These magazines are available on Project Gutenberg.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/around-the-web-with-four-may-issues-of-the-nursery-magazine/
#Spring #ChildrensLiterature #ProjectGutenberg #May

2024-05-29 18:48:11

Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine XI fell while making his last stand in Constantinople 571 years to the day.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-last-stand-of-constantine-xi/
#History #RomanEmpire #ByzantineEmpire #Constantinople

2024-05-24 16:20:06

I thought about what to do four our 1000th full New Leaf Journal article. What did I settle on? Turning a video I shot of a pillbug into a GIF.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/turning-my-pillbug-video-clip-into-gif/
#Pillbug #GIF #Linux #SanAntonio

2024-04-30 15:13:04

The most recent edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal happened to fall on The New Leaf Journal's 4th birthday. I celebrated with a birthday-themed newsletter accompanied by our usual 20+ links from around the web.
https://buttondown.email/newsletterleafjournal/archive/184/
#Newsletter #AroundTheWeb

2024-04-29 15:30:37

We are hitting early summer temperatures in New York City today, so I figure today is as good a time as any to share my curated spring-time reader from 2021 before we go over the seasonal tipping point in a few weeks.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/around-the-web-new-leaf-spring-content-new-and-old/
#Spring #Poetry #Flowers

2024-04-03 16:47:35

The last time I went to a movie theater was April 3, 2010. How do I remember the exact date? Because I went to see the ill-fated second fight between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Boxing matches prove to be easy to date. I shared my memories of the event back in 2020.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/seeing-hopkins-jones-ii-at-the-theater/
#Movies #Boxing #Manhattan

2024-04-01 14:59:08

For April Fools 2022 -- I revisited one of my favorite classic video game magazine April Fools jokes: Electronic Gaming Monthly's claim that one could buy a Sega Neptune prototype for $199. As I explain in the post from the perspective of someone who read the magazine at the time -- the joke was very timely.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/egm-2001-sega-neptune-april-fools-joke/
#Sega #VideoGames #AprilFools

2024-03-27 16:47:40

Doves and pigeons in NYC behave differently. Pigeons regularly wander around sidewalks and gather where people are leaving crumbs. Doves tend to be skittish around people. In this article, I tell the story of seeing a dove barrelling through a group of sparrows -- a charming reminder that doves and pigeons are closely related.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/on-doves-and-pigeons-in-brooklyn/
#Birds #Pigeons #Doves #Sparrows #NYC

2024-03-26 15:47:20

I saw that Microsoft is sunsetting Publisher. I thought this had happened years ago. But after the obligatory "wait it's still here thought," I felt nostalgic. Many years ago, I was editor of my high school newspaper and used Publisher to create a template and format each issue. I go for a trip down memory lane...
https://thenewleafjournal.com/high-school-newspaper-microsoft-publisher-memories/
#MicrosoftPublisher #Newspaper

2024-03-21 19:15:04

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@npub16d3…5hz8 I chuckled when I wrote it. I knew then I had a good bad pun.

2024-03-16 14:38:20

I just mailed issue 178 of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. It includes links to my four new articles, 21 links from around the web with sometimes-punny commentary, and other news and notes.
https://buttondown.email/newsletterleafjournal/archive/178/
#Buttondown #Newsletter #AroundTheWeb

2024-03-14 16:57:01

What remains my greatest photo-journalism accomplishment (there is clearly stiff competition): A squirrel kiss in three acts on a bench in Manhattan's Battery Park.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/photographing-a-squirrel-kiss-in-three-acts/
#Squirrels #NYC #Manhattan #Photography

2024-03-06 15:36:09

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@npub1753…ahhs I'm just glad your non-English speaker friend didn't adopt the "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" approach.

2024-03-05 16:51:06

I am working on a project to turn my play-through of Pokemon Red into a serialized novel/strategy guide on The New Leaf Journal. The idea was inspired by a 1999 strategy guide with a similar concept. I only have three badges at the moment though so consider it a work in progress before we are ready to start publishing chapters.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/introducing-pokemon-red-novel-project/
#Pokemon #PokemonRed #StrategyGuide #GameBoy #VideoGames

2024-03-05 16:48:37

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@npub1axm…dsle I agree that there is nothing inherently wrong with the word "like" and that it can and often is used in a way that brings a thought together. The issue I was getting at in the article is the use of like as filler -- let's say an alternative "um" -- where it has no real meaning and shows up where it makes no sense.

2024-03-05 16:45:03

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@npub16d3…5hz8 I was hoping that you would like literally like the post. I'll like try to do better next time.
(Your comment made me laugh, thanks for reading and "liking.")

2024-03-04 16:29:05

"Like" is the most abused word in the English language ("literally" -- which is often seen with "like" -- is probably second). But some abuses are worse than others. Few abuses are worse than "like there was like no follow-through."
https://thenewleafjournal.com/like-a-verbal-tic/

2024-02-16 18:12:21

One of the best parts of running a website is that you can share your accomplishments. Not to brag, but let me tell you about that one time I managed to re-fill a bottle of sunblock without spilling (good sunblock recommendation included).
https://thenewleafjournal.com/refilling-water-gel-sunscreen-bottle/
#Sunscreen #Sublock #Refill

2024-02-14 19:29:58

A short article on "The Valentine," a pretty engraving by W.E. Tucker that appeared in an 1850 issue of Graham's Magazine.
https://thenewleafjournal.com/the-valentine-an-engraving-by-w-e-tucker/
#Art #Engraving #History #Valentines #Magazine #ProjectGutenberg