The current free ebook is located at this link:
http://haggishell.com/ridgeproject.pdf

For details about the ebook, click here.

130525. I played soccer on Saturday morning on the way to work.

Not a startling statement. But it was the first time in a while. The last time that I played a ball game, most of the people reading this were not born.

It was interesting.

When the most skilled person on the other team, Abelardo, gained control of the ball, his entire team gained control. They moved as a unit.

I wasn't sure how to make the ball go where it should go. But I made small contributions. I was told that one reverse kick that I did was creative. I also managed to stop one goal.

Everybody seemed to have fun. It wasn't like baseball or football, which I remember as all business and not fun at all.

That part may be connected to James Kiraly. When he watched sports, one of the few things that he enjoyed, he seemed to be angrier than usual. To James, sports were meant to be brutal. The other side was to be crushed and mistakes were not to be forgiven. He'd find soccer too subtle.

Soccer is worthwhile. It's exercise both of the body and of the mind. The players have some autonomy and yet they're a team. There's plenty of motion and room for creativity.

I'll try this again. For one thing, I need to meet more people. For another, I should get more exercise.

As I think about exercise, Grace Kiraly comes to mind. Grace wanted to believe, so badly, that everything that had happened to me from childhood on, including abuse by her husband, was my fault. A “choice” that I had made even at age eight. This became her mantra. Diet and exercise were part of it.

Grace reasoned backwards, as this type of person does, looking for answers that made her comfortable. She decided that I must have made a “choice” to eat the wrong types of foods and not to exercise. The fact that being in a wheelchair had somewhat limited exercise for me at times did not cross her mind.

Or, if the thought did cross her mind, she put it aside. I used to believe that this is what Christians do. I understand now that it isn't about being a Christian. It's about being what the Kiralys are.

In 2012, long after the phone calls that James Kiraly lied under oath about, during a period when I was supposedly harassing my parents but never once called them, Grace set out to reeducate me. She called me and initiated her own campaign of harassment.

Surely, Grace reasoned, if I'd eat the right foods, exercise more, and pray to God for forgiveness for unspecified sins, all would be well.

Grace demanded I set aside specific hours once a week when I was to receive her phone calls. She planned to call me during these hours and explain how my “choices” had laid me low. The calls were to be considered a special favor from Grace to me.

Oh, joy :P

It became clear, at last, that my Mother had no desire to discuss anything worthwhile. Anything real. When I told her, as politely as possible, to take a hike, she seemed somewhat put out.

Looking back, I'm pleased that Grace and I will speak no more. I pray to God that it will always be so.

The soccer game was good. I met new people. There were things for me to do, even with my limited skills. I didn't break any of my bones. Afterward, we had slices of fresh watermelon.

I'd like to do this again.

130525. Shiing Shen says:

The graphic was generated by LyX. The LaTeX code for the graphic is:

\[ F=\begin{Bmatrix}-\infty\\ \vdots\\ +\infty \end{Bmatrix}, \]

<ShiingShen> For classical ciphers, one-time pads are pretty secure. The only vulnerability I know of with them is a “known plaintext” attack. But, as the name suggests, you'd need to know the plaintext before hand and extract a key that way.

<OldCoder> You've been interested in this for a while
<ShiingShen> I have a pretty wide variety of interests: reverse engineering, math, programming, cryptography, etc.
<OldCoder> One wonders what you will do for a profession. Will you remain in the academic world? That is probably what I should have done.
<ShiingShen> probably

<ShiingShen> I enjoy things that make me think hard
<OldCoder> Everybody should. What are you working on presently?

<ShiingShen> A hypothetical particle field to describe space in a simple equation
<OldCoder> Do you have a formula?
<ShiingShen> F = \begin{Bmatrix} -\infty \\ \vdots \\ +\infty \end{Bmatrix},
<ShiingShen> each particle is
<ShiingShen> F_n = P
<ShiingShen> whereas P is any particle in the standard model
<OldCoder> Tell me about the equation and the comma

<ShiingShen> F is a dynamic 1-dimensional matrix which holds the value of every particle in the universe (as described by the standard model), whereas F SUB n = P. Mostly hypothetical, and I see no real implications.

<OldCoder> Value of a particle? What does the standard model say? And what is P?
<ShiingShen> P just means any particle
<OldCoder> So it is a fun way of listing the Universe
<OldCoder> But how is the value of a particle expressed?
<ShiingShen> with these values
<ShiingShen> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_particles
<ShiingShen> I cannot write out every one

<OldCoder> What is the comma for?
<ShiingShen> to ensure that the matrix is dynamic
<ShiingShen> otherwise the particles wouldn't move or interact

<OldCoder> A comma does that?
<ShiingShen> I'd think it does
<ShiingShen> after all, it expresses a list
<ShiingShen> 1, 2, ..., 5

<OldCoder> But the comma is outside the braces
<OldCoder> There is no next item
<ShiingShen> no, let's say:
<ShiingShen> {2, 4},
<ShiingShen> {4, 6}
<OldCoder> Yes
<ShiingShen> that could still work
<ShiingShen> just F's value changes

<OldCoder> But in this diagram there is only one {}
<OldCoder> If you did {}, ...
<OldCoder> that would be interesting
<ShiingShen> whoops

<OldCoder> Multiple Universes
<ShiingShen> it SHOULD be in the braces
<OldCoder> LyX says not
<ShiingShen> didn't think about that
<ShiingShen> I should've done -inf... +inf, ...
<OldCoder> Try it
<ShiingShen> eh, whatever
<OldCoder> No, follow through

<ShiingShen> we don't learn about matrices until grade 11
<OldCoder> Says who?
<OldCoder> Fix the equation; I wish to see it
<OldCoder> Or add more Universes
<OldCoder> Which is what you have now
<OldCoder> I think the comma is optional. It is implied.

<ShiingShen> The version I gave them will probably still impress them. I guess its dynamism could be implied or assumed.
<OldCoder> Yes. This is simply a representation of a list that contains an infinite number of entries.
<ShiingShen> I know

<OldCoder> But the interpretation you put on it is worthwhile
<OldCoder> The Universe in a pair of braces
<ShiingShen> heh
<OldCoder> And, if you keep the comma outside the braces, and add ...
<ShiingShen> as I said, hypothetical

<OldCoder> An infinite number of Universes
<OldCoder> In about one inch of screen space
<OldCoder> That is very efficient

<ShiingShen> I didn't know what to call it so I just named it after my surname
<ShiingShen> now I feel kinda arrogant
<OldCoder> Why?
<OldCoder> You are the Universe
<ShiingShen> I guess
<ShiingShen> Peter Higgs is all of mass
<OldCoder> But you are Energy too

<OldCoder> I must sleep now
<OldCoder> o/
<ShiingShen> night

<ShiingShen> OldCoder, I just thought of something
<OldCoder> yes?

<ShiingShen> Even proxies that use heavy encryption, such as Tor, run the risk of being able to view raw request data because the exit node must have the decrypted data in order to send it to the host
<OldCoder> Of course
<OldCoder> but this is hardly a new thought

<ShiingShen> I thought of a way to circumvent that. However, it would have to be implemented on the host you're sending the request to's end.
<ShiingShen> if there was a proxy that chose an array of nodes
<ShiingShen> or, wait
<ShiingShen> the server could generate a unique ID for your requests
<ShiingShen> so then, the proxy chooses an array of nodes
<ShiingShen> which send the requests in parts
<ShiingShen> but they use the unique ID
<ShiingShen> so the server concats the packets
<ShiingShen> and thinks of it as a single request

<ShiingShen> the only way to compromise
<ShiingShen> is if one person controls all the nodes
<ShiingShen> it would add a bit more complexity to the HTTP protocol though
<OldCoder> It would
<OldCoder> The thing is, you'd be shifting too much responsibility onto the remote server
<OldCoder> If you were going to do this
<OldCoder> Just run n2n instead of Tor or
<OldCoder> Tunnel encrypted sessions through Tor
<ShiingShen> yeah

130524. For coders learning JavaScript. Here's a sample JavaScript program that I edited for Tactician. If you'd like to try the program, see the instructions in the comments. To download a text version, click here.

// kbunitscvt.js - Sample KB units converter
// Original authors: Tactician and OldCoder
// License:  MIT/X
// Revision: 130524

//--------------------------------------------------------------------
//                           important note
//--------------------------------------------------------------------

// This software is provided on an AS IS basis with ABSOLUTELY NO WAR-
// RANTY.  The entire risk as to the  quality and  performance  of the
// software is with you.  Should the software prove defective, you as-
// sume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.  In
// no event will any of the developers,  or any other party, be liable
// to anyone for damages arising out of use  of the software, or inab-
// ility to use the software.

//--------------------------------------------------------------------
//                              overview
//--------------------------------------------------------------------

// This  is a  simple  JavaScript program intended  for people who are
// learning the language.

// This program prompts the user for a  file size,  expressed in kilo-
// bytes,  and displays the same size in  the most  appropriate units:
// kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, or terabytes.

// To try this code,  load it in a  trivial HTML file  as follows  and
// visit the HTML file in a browser:
//
//    <html>
//    <body>
//    <script src="kbunitscvt.js"></script> 
//    </body>
//    </html>

//--------------------------------------------------------------------
//                             constants
//--------------------------------------------------------------------

//  KB_per_MB = Kilobytes per megabyte
//  MB_per_GB = Megabytes per gigabyte
//  GB_per_TB = Gigabytes per terabyte
//  KB_per_GB = Kilobytes per gigabyte
//  KB_per_TB = Kilobytes per terabyte

var KB_per_MB = 1024;
var MB_per_GB = 1024;
var GB_per_TB = 1024;
var KB_per_GB = KB_per_MB * MB_per_GB;
var KB_per_TB = KB_per_GB * GB_per_TB;

//--------------------------------------------------------------------
//                        get input from user
//--------------------------------------------------------------------

                                // "Prompt" string
var prompt_size = "Type file size in KB and press Enter";
                                // Prompt the user
var file_size   = prompt (prompt_size);

while (isNaN (file_size))       // Repeat as necessary
{
    alert ("Sorry, that is not a number");
    var file_size = prompt (prompt_size);
}

//--------------------------------------------------------------------
//                    convert to appropriate units
//--------------------------------------------------------------------

var units_str = "KB";           // Units string (KB, MB, GB, or TB)

if ((file_size >= KB_per_MB) && (file_size < KB_per_GB))
{                               // Express as megabytes
    file_size = file_size / KB_per_MB; units_str = "MB";
}
else if ((file_size >= KB_per_GB) && (file_size < KB_per_TB))
{                               // Express as gigabytes
    file_size = file_size / KB_per_GB; units_str = "GB";
}
else if (file_size >= KB_per_TB)
{                               // Express as terabytes
    file_size = file_size / KB_per_TB; units_str = "TB";
}
                                // Round the result to nearest integer
file_size = Math.round ((file_size * 100) / 100);
                                // Output the result as HTML
document.write ("<p>The file is ",
    file_size, " ", units_str, " in size</p>");

130524. For IRCers only. Just a couple of humorous IRC fragments:

<Phenek> it would be cool to see a picture of you with sunglasses on, leaning to your cool honda, sipping cola, with a beach and sunset behind you

<OldCoder> If I could get that picture composed
<OldCoder> I would be composed myself
<OldCoder> I am not opposed
<OldCoder> To being composed
<OldCoder> If the occasion arosed
<OldCoder> I would try it
<OldCoder> It is a picture fine
<OldCoder> Imagine the life of mine
<OldCoder> being cool and composed

<Phenek> you should make it possible :)
<OldCoder> Very well
* OldCoder snaps his fingers
<OldCoder> There. It is done; because there is magic in the world

<Phenek> cool :D
<Phenek> I hope you didn't GIMP it
<OldCoder> No; the magic is that it is possible
<OldCoder> I cannot say that it is likely
<OldCoder> When things are possible
<OldCoder> People imagine that they may happen

<Phenek> do you think it might happen? do you think it would be cool moment or photo?
<OldCoder> It will not happen, I fear
<OldCoder> But I will imagine
<OldCoder> It is near
<OldCoder> A moment without peer
<OldCoder> The perfect moment

<Phenek> maybe even better image would be if we added a laptop on the roof of honda with IRC open and friends chatting there
<OldCoder> Of course
<OldCoder> They will be there regardless

<OldCoder> I think it is 4:30am here
<Skittles> It is 7:30 am here
<OldCoder> Yes
<Skittles> I had a revelation
<Skittles> I believe it was from the heavens
<Skittles> I was sitting, and just gazed at my wall for 10 minutes
<Skittles> then I heard my voice in my head saying “Stop wasting your time dude! Stick with C++ and Lua! Trust me!”
<Skittles> so I am doing so

<OldCoder> I had revelations
<Skittles> Possibly from heavens
<OldCoder> I was sitting
<Skittles> tell me moar
<OldCoder> Gazed at my wall for minutes
<OldCoder> The wall said
<OldCoder> tell me moar
<Skittles> lol
<OldCoder> Then I heard my voice
<OldCoder> Make a choice
<OldCoder> Stop wasting your time, dude
<OldCoder> C++ and Lua suit your mood

130523. Mr. Wizard has posted a new puzzle for you plus a new entry in the medieval saga of the captured king:

130523. This is a copy of a personal letter to Pillar with minor edits.

Dear Pillar,

I think we share views regarding how groups and associations work; and we are far from alone. I'd like to discuss what it implies over time and, in the end, find a way to write about it. If I connect it to people's lives in a genuine way perhaps I can produce a work that is reassuring and helpful.

Nothing is as the Pharisees declare. No harsh and unforgiving Fundamentalist God glaring at you and no meaning to normal conventions. Good people are bad and vice versa. But in the moments we are here in the world, the moments of a candle flame, there are people who are worth caring about and things that are worth doing. In the midst of this, perhaps a God who manifests through kindness and truth.

Regards, Robert (OldCoder)

130522. This is a quickstart guide for engineers who'd like to launch an AWS EC2 Instance. Screenshots and details aren't included; this is just a brief outline intended for experienced developers.

1. If you don't already have an AWS account, set one up using the following page. Note: You'll need a credit card. However, AWS accounts per se are supposed to be free. Additionally, AWS EC2 instances are supposed to be free for a year or close to free.

http://aws.amazon.com/

2. Log-in at:

https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/v2/home

3. Look for a large Launch Instance button. Press it. Select Launch with the Classic Wizard. Look for Ubuntu Server 12.04.2 LTS. Select the checkbox for 64 bits next to that entry and press the associated Select button.

4. Proceed through the setup screens:

* Make sure the instance type is set to: T1 Micro

* Make sure Shutdown Behavior is set to: Stop

* When you get to the screen which allows you to create a Key Pair, do so. You should be given the chance to download a file afterward. This is one of two files in the Key Pair; the other one stays at Amazon. Download the file. Put it somewhere safe and make backup copies. If you lose the file, this will complicate things.

* When you're prompted to choose a Security Group, create a new one with the following four Inbound TCP entries. Or use an existing Security Group if you know that it has these entries:

TCP ports or ranges: 20-22, 80, 443, 30000-30100

5. Allow a few minutes for the new instance to start. You can check its status using the Instances link on the left side of the page at:

https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/v2/home

The Instances link should bring up an Instances status page. Note: The page doesn't have a descriptive name or label.

6. To determine the associated IP address, go to the Instances status page. Select the checkbox to the left of the instance. Bring up the Actions list and select Connect.

A small Connect screen should pop up. This should display a long hostname next to the label Public DNS. Do an nslookup of the the hostname. This should provide you with the IP address.

7. To log-in to the instance, use a Linux CLI command similar to the following:

ssh -i PEMFILE ubuntu@IPADDRESS

Replace PEMFILE with an absolute path for the file downloaded previously during the Key Pair step. Replace IPADDRESS with the IP address identified in step 6.

8. You may wish to create a second user account on the AWS EC2 instance; either as a safety measure or for use by a second developer. To do so, log-in to the instance and execute commands similar to the following. Replace mary with the account name that you'd like to assign to the second user:

 sudo bash
 adduser mary
 su mary
 cd /home/mary
 ssh-keygen -f mary
 mv mary mary.pem
 mkdir -p .ssh && chmod 700 .ssh
 mv mary.pem mary.pub .ssh
 cd .ssh
 cat mary.pub >> authorized_keys
 chmod 600 authorized_keys mary*

A password should be specified during the adduser step but is optional during the ssh-keygen step.

At this point, become superuser, copy mary.pem into the /home/ubuntu folder, change owner for the copy to ubuntu, and use scp on the client side to download the file to your PC.

Change the permissions of the downloaded copy to octal 600 (rw----). A command similar to the following can now be used to log-in to the VPS as the second user:

ssh -i mary.pem mary@IPADDRESS

where IPADDRESS is the IP address used previously.

If you'd like the second user to have sudo rights (recommended if this is a backup account that you plan to use yourself), edit /etc/sudoers in the AWS EC2 instance and add an appropriate entry.

If the second user is an actual person, provide him or her with the password(s) that you assigned and a copy of the PEM file.

130522. This is a copy of a personal letter to Pillar with minor edits.

Dear Pillar,

Some thoughts on the points you've made:

1. Reason.

You said, “I increasingly think that people are not as sentient as we like to think, and that sentience and reason isn't the powerful force that we think it is. I think that people move within social environments that are themselves evolving entities, and which often limit and control our behavior in ways we never consider.”

The first point is clearly correct. People often don't reason at all. In some cases, if facts contradict assumptions or desired conclusions, they literally can't perceive the facts, let alone use them as the basis for reasoning.

The second point, “move within social environments that are themselves evolving entities”, needs clarification. Social environments may undergo change. But how does this connect to the notion that sentience and reason are not as powerful as people believe?

2. Eye of the Beholder.

You said, “You can't really produce something of lasting value, you can only produce things, and maybe people will find value in them, and maybe they won't, and maybe they will last, and maybe they won't. I very much doubt my fiction and programs will last very long, or be used by very many people, but I'm still glad I did them.”

The first part here suggests that value is in the eye of the beholder. Fair enough, depending on how you look at it.

Regarding the second part, it's possible to ensure that your works will last indefinitely. Open licenses and broad distribution will help. Additionally, we evolve as we create. Your past works are part of the road to future works. Isn't it possible that future works will be amazing?

3. Associates.

You said, “I'm thinking that's probably because I've made mistakes in my choices of whom I mix with.”

You've alluded to this previously. It happens. In my case, I made mistakes in my choice of whom I was born to. Is there a way for you to put the people in question aside and move forward?

4. Answer regarding Pastor.

I said, “My Mother Grace gave me permission to interview the Pastor of her Church.”

You said, “I don't quite understand why you need anyone's permission other than the Pastor himself?”

I didn't need anyone else's permission. I asked Grace as a courtesy.

As a side note, my Father James's attorney, Michael, never talked about the fact that Grace had given her consent to the interview. Instead, Michael implied that there was something inappropriate about the call. Exactly what was inappropriate was never spelled out. Presumably this was an innocent oversight on his part.

5. Interesting issues.

You said, “One of the most important things for people going through bad times is to know that others went through them and survived.”

You added, “I'm particularly struck here by the fact that you've got secondary narratives about wealth, power and the abuse of the legal system. I think these are things that aren't discussed as much as they should be, and a book like this will highlight the gap between how people think things are run, and how they really are.”

You also said, “I think that accepting oneself is the doorway to understanding others, and to happiness, myself. I think that when we are young we all spend our time trying to be someone other than who we are, and that never goes anywhere.”

I agree with all of this. If I can handle these threads properly, the book may have some promise. As part of the process, I hope to discuss these issues with people over time.

6. What is exceptional?

You said, regarding my family's wealth and power, “Wow, you do move in some exceptional circles!”

Not really. But this raises an interesting question. How would you define “exceptional” ?

James Kiraly, the Transamerica VP, was a hard worker but this was connected more to his OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) than to conscious choices or innate talent. In the past, I'd been under the impression that Thomas Kiraly, the Humana VP, was more intelligent than James. However, after the choices that Thomas has made over the past year, this is no longer clear.

Both possess wealth and power. Is this more significant than common sense and conscience, which are lacking? They've created little of importance in their lives. Those lives strike me as meaningless compared to lives of others I've known. James was an abuser. Both of them lied under oath; they are unambiguous perjurers. No, my feeling is that James and Thomas aren't “exceptional”.

Kenneth Kiraly, the inventor of the Kindle, is different. He has no conscience and he's a bit dangerous. But he's quite sharp and there are things going on in his skull. He's put his intelligence to productive use. And he's apparently tried to make contributions to society though that may be primarily his wife Virginia's doing.

All things considered, I'd describe Kenneth as “exceptional” and the other two as “tiresome”. My Mother Grace, another member of this group, is complicated. It will take thought to decide what to say about the woman.

7. Additional points.

You said, “There's almost always some similarities and commonalities between the experiences of different people, and I perceive these to be the bridges that we can build on to understand each other's situations.”

In short, build communities.

You added, “It's more that I think we have to think local, and look to make small, significant changes to the lives of a few people.”

How about a compromise? Small but significant changes to the lives of a reasonable number of people.

You also said, “You are very good at these motivational one-liners you know ;-)”

Thank you. They're sincere. Continue to write.

You said, “I see that a lot of 'communication' is really people exhibiting tribal affiliation.”

Yes. This is connected to what we've both said about reason.

Regards, Robert (OldCoder)

130521. A letter to Ioannes with minor edits:

Lisi: If you'd like help with your artwork, send me image files that contain large versions of the drawings. Include descriptions of each piece; what it represents and remarks about the creative process.

John: You said that James Kiraly and Thomas Kiraly poured so much money into their insane quest to find something to justify their actions, anything at all, that huge stacks of papers were produced.

You requested that I take charge of the stacks so that they'd be out of your way. If you'd like me to do this, let's set up a day for the pickup. I'd like to coordinate it with lunch at the Vietnamese Pho restaurant.

Both John and Tracie: The book that I sacrificed everything for is in progress. The goal is to make a difference. I'd like you to comment on families, the Law, and these cases.

Do people see right and wrong as important? Is there such a thing as conscience? For most people, I don't believe so. Most people assume that they are “good” and work backwards from that. They experience guilt but it's connected to group dynamics. People feel guilt if they hurt somebody that they care about. Then, and only then. Right and wrong are not factors. So in a sense conscience does not exist.

Do you agree or disagree?

130519. I feel odd.

Two people say that I'm experiencing something that happens to soldiers at times. It involves feeling more tired than usual. To speak with people is helpful. So I do so.

Last night, Saturday, I visited DNA the 82 year old attorney and his wife. He's using a copy of Linux Mint that I installed for him on a new laptop. We spruced up the Linux configuration. He was pleased. I enjoy doing tasks of this type. It makes people happy to have obstreperous software work as it should.

Today, Sunday, the Knight and his wife took me to lunch. This was unexpected. It was a pleasant occasion. We went to two dining establishments, In-N-Out Burger and Foster's Freeze.

Both places had a 1950s or 1960s atmosphere. In fact, Foster's Freeze dates back that far. It was fun to step through Time and visit a lighter side of the past. The side where we ate hamburgers and desserts groaning under a load of calories all the time.

We spoke of health, nutrition, startups, Time, and other subjects. Afterward I was still tired but I felt more real. It is good to be real.