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

For details about the ebook, click here.

130612. Mr. Wizard submits a new Math Puzzle. The Captured King and the Wizard stumble into a Nest of Ninjas.

130611. I woke up around 4:00am today. I've been told that it's best to sleep at least until 6:00am. Maybe down the road after things are stable.

The breathing shock issue got out of hand last week. There's also some pain now. So I started a CoderFast yesterday. Best to avoid food for a while.

A message sent to the Knight this morning: A commute before dawn under a cloudy sky can be surreal. One is transported in mind as well as body.

A message sent to Charlie: The shirts and ties worked out well. I'd like to buy used items just like them. I also need to find shoes.

130611. I've corresponded slightly with one of DNA's daughters. This is a copy of a letter that I sent to her on Monday 130610. The PDF file mentioned in the letter may be downloaded at this link.

Good morning. I had dinner with your father last night; tree collards. We agreed that they're a comfort food. He's in good spirits and good shape. Full of plans and ideas. If I make it that far, I hope to emulate him.

This letter started out as brief. It no longer qualifies as that. I seem to be in a writing mood today. This text may evolve into chapters of a book that I'm working on. I hope you won't mind if I use you as a guinea pig for the purpose :-)

First, I've attached a PDF document that DNA gave me. It's been sent to a physicist friend of mine; I'd like to introduce her to your parents as they're of an age and have common interests. The document represents your father's views on the origin of the universe. Therefore, you may find it interesting.

Moving on, I regret any lack of clarity on my part in recent correspondence. I'm good at writing when I'm confident of what to say. My confidence has been shaken recently but I'm attempting to proceed sensibly.

Last week was my birthday; that was the day DNA and I visited the garden. The milestone marked the end of some transitions that I've alluded to. But I'm dealing with physical pain at this time and there are other issues to decide about.

Regarding the disability issue, I spoke several times a while back with one of the best known disability advocates in the Bay Area. Both the Dept. of Rehabilitation and private groups had referred me to him. He and I agreed that my situation was unusual. There were three paths to disability and none of them seemed likely to be productive.

I'll explain what happened because you've expressed interest. But note that things should be O.K. now.

The following points are simply my understanding. I'm sure I've made mistakes. However, it's clear that the “safety net” in America is not what it's believed to be.

One issue that concerns me is that if I, somebody who is good at discerning details, have difficulty finding out how to make things work, what happens to people who are less able to do so? I'd like to spend the rest of my life on changing perceptions and on improving the system.

This is how things went for me:

1. Neurological issues are not generally considered disabilities despite difficulties that go with them. Even difficulties that affect employment prospects. There is support in the U.S. for children who are different neurologically. Essentially nothing for adults if they can speak. This seems to be the test.

2. I was in a wheelchair for a while. Additionally, I could not process food. Eating caused fevers and delirium. But I had no funds with which to obtain current diagnoses for these issues.

3. I'd been unemployed too long for one type of disability assistance.

4. Another approach required my assets to be less than one month's rent and living expenses. There was a cut-off of about $2,000. I had no job so there was no issue with the income test. But the assets test ruled me out.

5. A third path to disability was inadvisable because the government is hostile towards people who seek it. The procedures involved are difficult to navigate. Lawmakers are apparently planning to shut down this path to balance the budget.

6. I tried to find a job instead of disability. I wanted to work anyway and I'm good at what I do.

My little brother Ken is the inventor of the Amazon Kindle. I'm the one who taught Ken to walk, to drive, and to code. So I asked our mother to ask him to provide me with a reference. She declined to do so. Other people I'd helped over the years wouldn't take my calls.

It has to do with perceptions and working backwards from them; this issue will be at the heart of the book.

7. I looked for job placement assistance.

I'm no obsolete mid-level manager. I can design systems, manage small groups, write documentation, spot problems in sales proposals and contracts, and cut costs without compromising quality.

I did a pretty good fighter jet database prototype for Northrop Grumman. An Elance project that I did earned praise and a five-star review. Due to being patient I'm considered a good teacher and I've been called a mentor. I still teach webdev and other skills to both adults and children.

But the type of job placement assistance I found involved classes intended to teach me how to fill out a job application. I was good at that 40 years ago. There was an offer of the free use of a photocopy machine for resumes. Also people who wanted to charge me hundreds of dollars for vaguely defined services that might or might not lead to employment.

In short, there wasn't much for an unemployed but skilled professional who was different.

8. I tried recruiters. Most of them were useless. I did recruiting myself for a while. So I learned how it works. Recruiters operate under constraints that make it difficult for them to place somebody who is not cookie cutter regardless of their skills.

9. People are desperate to work in the U.S. But the jobs are not there except for entry level. Hamburger flippers and bank tellers. When I looked at open listings for experienced people, listings that did not require recruiters, I found that there were sometimes thousands of applicants for a dozen positions.

10. In the end, somebody from 20 years ago who said that I was “the best software engineer (he'd) known” created a position for me. Like your parents and others, he doesn't care that I'm different. I'll do what I can to justify his faith.

If I can make the right decisions, everything will work out. The issue of housing is part of this. My home of 25 years may be gone. I'm prepared to do what I must to move forward.

130610. I'd planned to start a fast on Sunday 130609. But I visited DNA the elderly attorney in the evening. He offered me tree collards to eat and chili as well. Who could resist the combination?

DNA is interested in, and has studied, the Law, Engineering, and Physics. Here is his take on the Origin of the Universe presented without edits.

DNA the attorney says:

On the origins of the universe.

According to the Big Bang theory, the universe began from a singularity with a single explosion, and has been expanding ever since.

This theory has passed every test science has been able to devise, and is considered both proven, and a fact.

But is this justified? Suppose the “beginning” is actually a fountain; no beginning, no ending. It simply keeps spouting matter and energy.

Of course, this brings up the “perpetual motion” idea, which is solidly disproven in science. However, we can say the same thing about the Big Bang — and it is accepted. In fact, there is nothing the Big Bang offers that is incompatible with a Big Fountain, and much that the Big Fountain offers that is not explained by the Big Bang.

For example: it is well established that matter can never travel at the speed of light. So, any matter from the time of the origin of the universe emitted light, but that light has long since traveled beyond our planet, and can no longer be seen! For the Big Fountain, this is not a problem, for the Big Bang, it is a totally irreconcilable problem! With the Big Bang, we cannot see light emitted from the beginning of the universe; it has long since passed our planet, and is gone!

Further, with the Big Bang, we had a spreading shell of matter and energy. We can assume that the initial event was “ragged”, and some matter moved faster than other matter, but to say some of it is still observable “just leaving” is absurd. Again, no problem with a Big Fountain. Some observers have reported observations that appear to show matter that is older than the universe. Such observations are ignored, of course, with the Big Bang — but they are entirely possible (and even likely) with the Big Fountain.

Let's invoke Occam's Razor — the most feasible result is the most likely. Many of the observations do not comport with a Big Bang — all comport with a Big Fountain.

Specifically, there is nothing in the Big Bang theory that is not supported by the Big Fountain, but substantial questions in the Big Bang theory that are answered quite well with the Big Fountain.

130609. I've added Audacious to my distro. This is a FOSS audio player descended from XMMS, a legendary player that dates back to the dot-com era. Screenshot is below.

Audacious supports the usual features: standard audio formats, audio CDs, Internet streaming, custom playlists, lyrics download, etc.

Requirements aren't light but they're reasonable. Standard dev tools, SDL, Gtk+ 3, Audacity, a number of sound libraries, and miscellaneous pieces. Works when I try it and doesn't feel too heavy. Recommended.

130609. 1. I've been falling down a bit too often. The breathing shock issue is continuous on some days. I think I'd better stop eating for a while. This will commence today or tomorrow.

2. The co-author of the Watercodia story has visited me after quite some time. I was pleased to see him. He said this to me:

“OldCoder this is just a difficult stage of your life, it will get better but always remember there is always people there for you... maybe not your family... but people are always here... OC stay safe”

This type of thing is important medically. It helps one to stay alive. The Kiralys tried to kill me. They came so close. They'd be pleased if they knew. Others, Christ Followers, business people, and possibly visitors from another plane, have made a difference.

If you'd like to read the Watercodia story, click here.

3. Shiing Shen and I chatted last night. His country seems to be as lacking as the U.S. is in regard to mathematics education.

<ShiingShen> I love how great the math curriculum is here; in grade 8 we begin with the basics of solving coefficients
<ShiingShen> except we don't call them coefficients; we call them 'solving the unknown'
<OldCoder> Explorers on the Frontier!
<OldCoder> You should show the math teacher more of your work
<ShiingShen> I do show him my work
<ShiingShen> but I guess the stuff we're currently learning is more important

130609. Here are Phenek Photos of Macro Corks. He is pleased with the quality of close-ups that his new camera provides. I have included a zoom below to highlight the impressive features of the device.

130608. This is part of a letter that I sent today to somebody whose views I'd sought. Not important but some of the points I've made here may be of minor interest.

You said, “Your assumptions about conscience and how people dismiss facts they do not want to perceive actually sounds strikingly like your own assertions about God. Why would anyone want to dismiss the existence of God? He and His ways are very interesting. Jesus said “... seek and you shall find...” so we know God is not hiding from us. I think if you figure out why people try to avoid seeing God's hand at work you might understand the flaws in consciences.”

If you read carefully, you may see that I've made few assertions about God to date. Despite the wording, the assertions are actually about people. The rest of what you've said is the start of a thesis of your own. Do you feel that people “try to avoid seeing” God's hand? If so, is this different from my own thesis, which is that people work backwards from beliefs and assumptions?

The thesis is important.

What did you think that a book about relationships would need to delve into, if the subject of abuse was addressed? Did you, as well as Jim Kiraly and Grace, along with Tom and Michael, expect nothing more than a recital of unpleasant events?

Events are part of it. How far things can go.

There haven't been many cases like these, have there? A wealthy abuser commits actual perjury, there's actual abuse of process, at least one felony committed on the abuser's side. All pointless. Jim and Tom lied about everything significant and after Grace's visit to me and her own calls to me, nobody ever asked me not to call them. And when I called these people circa my birthday in 2012, and said “God Bless You”, it was intended to be goodbye forever.

It's more than an interesting story. The Kiraly Cases are a lever through which change can be achieved. So calls to lawmakers and organizations will continue. I'll turn the damage done by an abuser into something positive. In the end, I'll have the thoughts of hundreds or possibly thousands of people to work with.

But if I'd like to make a difference, where should the focus be? The answer is connected to a subject that you've dealt with yourself for years. Denial. Not denial of God, but denial of that which happens.

What goes on in people's heads? I believe that I know, to some extent. But I don't intend to work backwards. Which puts me in an interesting position. I need to learn from people in the little snow globe that is the world. The snow globe I've held in the palm of my hand and wondered at. I don't quite fit in there but I'll do what I can. And what I must.

I am the Boy Who Writes. I am pleased to meet you and to greet you. The game is over and has begun.

130607. Phenek has sent some Finland Flowers. These are macro photos, which means close up. Note the details that are visible in the zoom below.

130607. Mr. Wizard invites you to solve a Symbol Puzzle. And there is a turn of events in the Saga of the Captured King.

130607. Yesterday was my birthday. Usually, I don't observe the occasion. But the last two birthdays were different.

On my birthday in 2012, or around then, I left voicemail messages for most of the Kiralys. The messages were polite. I thanked each of the Kiralys for what they had done for me in life. Which was nothing. I laughed as I said, “God bless you”.

I considered my relationships with these people to be over as of that day. Planned to have nothing to do with them again. But they'd already filed Court actions to shut me up. Didn't even ask me not to call them.

God Bless perjurers and abusers
God Bless my Mother Grace and my Father James
Who on me placed the blames
For their own actions
I take no satisfactions
In the outcome

God Bless Tom Kiraly, the dull coward
God Bless Ken Kiraly, the dangerous one
Is Scott even still alive?
Last I heard he weighed a ton

I am concerned about Scott
Or at least I give a thought
More than these Automatons ruth-
less did for the truth

On my birthday in 2013, yesterday, I felt fragile physically. I'm old for real now. The breathing shock issue happens several times a day. Breathing accelerates, I fall down, etc. It's starting to be a bit tedious.

I'm still in shock in other respects too. So I spent time with several IRL people on my birthday. Figured that would help with the emotional side of things.

One person gave me a slice of birthday cake. There is a photo below of the cake. It was the first slice of this type in a very long time.

Later on, Garibaldi sang me the birthday song. This was most unexpected. I don't recall anybody else doing this in the last 45 years.

I picked up an old laptop that Jericho had upgraded for me. He charged me below cost for the work.

Then I went to visit Charlie, who lived near Jericho's business. Charlie gave me some of his clothes. Charlie is tall and thin, but apparently I've lost enough weight that our sizes are compatible.

DNA the elderly attorney and I met for a while after that. There is a photo below of DNA in his car, a little electric vehicle. DNA and his wife RNA love the little car, and I think it's great. It can only go about 100 miles at a time, but that's enough for their purposes. No gasoline is needed and maintenance costs are low.

There's also a photo below of DNA picking tree collards. Tree collards are enjoyable and apparently healthy to eat; more people should try them.

It's odd to look at this elderly man and realize that James is about the same age. But James is in poorer shape. James abhorred exercise and ate what he wished. His quality of life is regrettable now, I imagine.

And this friend, DNA, fit and sharp at 82, tells me that I'm a “really neat guy”. Who doesn't appreciate feedback like that? Jim Kiraly, in comparison, did unpleasant things when I was young. Afterwards, the Kiralys marginalized me. I was an inconvenient fact. By continuing to exist, I demonstrated impoliteness.

I realize now I internalized the things that the Kiralys said. I took the blame for James' actions. This is the darkest part of abuse. The death of the truth. Even the victim starts to buy into the denial.

Josef invited me to meet him on Thursday evening. I didn't see the message until it was too late. But I talked with him and others by phone. Then I fell asleep, pretty early, and dozed until about 3:00am.

The next day, today, Garibaldi took me to Starbucks and bought me my first frappucino as a gift. I usually don't drink coffee but the frappucino was nice.

A frappucino is apparently coffee buried in high calorie treats. I asked Garabaldi, “How many calories do these things have?” He replied, “I don't want to know”.

130607. ShiingSheng says:

<ShiingShen> At about 1 AM I started to write a paper / specification of sorts of an encrypted remote shell protocol which does not require you to transfer a key. I stopped at about 2 AM, would you like to see it thus far?

<OldCoder> Proceed
<ShiingShen> Instead of LaTeX I wrote it out in a text file:

                   Encrypted Shell Protocol (Concept)
                       Shiing Shen -- Jun 07 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS------------------------------------------------------0

SERVER-SIDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
    GENERATING THE AUTHFILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1
    HANDLING COMMANDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2
CLIENT-SIDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
    REQUESTING AND SOLVING AUTHFILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1
    SENDING COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2
SHARED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
    ENCRYPTION (POST AUTHFILE GENERATION). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1
    DECRYPTION (POST SOLVING AUTHFILE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2

SERVER-SIDE------------------------------------------------------------1

GENERATING THE AUTHFILE                                              1.1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, we need to make an 'AUTHFILE' for the client to solve in order to
verify himself/herself.

Fig 1. Generate AUTHFILE
Encrypt (key: PASSWORD_HASH)
 +--> Concatenate
       +--> {
           0xFADE         [MAGIC NUM]
           "OK!"          [FURTHER VERIFY]
           PASSWORD_HASH  [PASSWORD HASH]
           "\n\n"
           UNIQ_ID        [UNIQUE ID]
       }

(NOTE: I need to find a  stronger key  than the  password hash.  However
       it has to be a shared secret)

<ShiingShen> It's not done yet but
<OldCoder> One moment
<ShiingShen> k
<OldCoder> Reviewing
<ShiingShen> I could describe the protocol
<OldCoder> Not bad format
<OldCoder> Go on

<ShiingShen> Well
<ShiingShen> It starts out with the client requesting the 'AUTHFILE', which is documented above. It is used to verify the password.
<ShiingShen> So, let's say
<ShiingShen> I want to test that I have the correct pass
<ShiingShen> I decrypt the AUTHFILE with the key I have
<ShiingShen> Check the first two bytes
<ShiingShen> and the other verification

<ShiingShen> Now it has a unique ID
<ShiingShen> This is because, my older version of the handshake was vulnerable to someone listening in on the encrypted traffic (the chat protocol)
<ShiingShen> So
<ShiingShen> to send a command (after everything is verified)
<ShiingShen> You encrypt it like this...

<OldCoder> Wait
<OldCoder> First step
<OldCoder> Server sends AUTHFLE
<ShiingShen> Yes
<OldCoder> Back up
<OldCoder> Who sends the first what? The very first?
<ShiingShen> The client opens a connection to the server and requests it

<OldCoder> Fine
<OldCoder> The AUTHFILE is sent
<OldCoder> It contains a password hash
<OldCoder> But what password?
<ShiingShen> oh wait
<ShiingShen> The password hash you don't need in there
<ShiingShen> Just realized
<ShiingShen> Because if you decrypt it, you already have the hash
<ShiingShen> Well, the password

<OldCoder> Yes
<ShiingShen> nevermind
<OldCoder> Heh
<ShiingShen> This worked out better n my head
<OldCoder> It is fine; have fun
<ShiingShen> in *
<ShiingShen> I don't need to make this; there's already ssh

<OldCoder> Not the point
<OldCoder> You are exploring ways to make things work
<OldCoder> Perhaps you will think of approaches nobody has found before

130607. On my birthday, the Knight spoke to me of Pars Construens and Pars Destruens. These are different parts of arguments or debate. The part where one builds up a position and the part where one tears a position down. But, to me, the terms mean more than this.

Pars Construens and Pars Destruens are components of souls. Those who are Pars Destruens at heart fall into the second of two categories.

Destroyers as opposed to builders
Deletionists vs. inclusionists
Those who hurt as opposed those who help
Entropy vs. progress

When one destroys, one should build as well
Or one is an agent of Hell
There are no two ways about it
Christ Followers are builders

130605. Two brief IRC exchanges:

<Phenek> few more hours till your birthday
* OldCoder is writing blog post about birthday
<Phenek> your birthday is here already
<OldCoder> Ah
* OldCoder is writing
<Phenek> we are celebrating in finland :)
* OldCoder is delighted
<Phenek> had icecream :)
<OldCoder> Dancing in the Streets!
<OldCoder> :P
* OldCoder imagines crowds of people clamoring for tasty Finnish Ice Cream
<Phenek> :)

<ShiingShen> OldCoder, is there a difference between
<ShiingShen> xor eax, eax
<ShiingShen> and
<ShiingShen> mov eax, 0
<ShiingShen> ?
<OldCoder> xor will set the zero flag
<OldCoder> I'd need to check to see if mov will; it may not
<OldCoder> The zero flag is used for instructions such as branch on zero
<ShiingShen> oh
<OldCoder> So, the two instructions are pretty close
<ShiingShen> Thank you
<OldCoder> You're welcome, but it is simply a minor point to be researched

130526. This is a transcript of a voicemail message that I left for George and Sandy Kerechanko a few minutes ago.

Note: I've been advised by legal counsel that I may leave George and Sandy a message at this time. However, it's probably best if I transcribe what I say and post anything that I receive in response; either verbal or written.

I've learned the hard way that life is not about facts. To preserve cherished illusions, people, good people as well as bad, will lie to themselves. And to others. From this point on, everything significant is going to be documented.

This message is for George and Sandy Kerechanko. I learned about Russell's death this morning. You have my condolences. That is the primary point. I'll add that he was well-liked among his contemporaries. In this regard, he was a success.

For additional remarks, you may read the article about Russell on the front page of my weblog. I may reflect further there on the meaning of life in the coming months. And on the nature of relationships.

Russell was very young, wasn't he? 30 seemed ancient to me when I was young myself. But today is the 30th birthday of one of my students and I find myself thinking of him as just starting out.

Regardless, each of us is given a lifetime. One lifetime is all that we get. Make the most of Time. That is what I intend to do myself.

I'm going to help people. They tried to stop me and they failed.

For some things, I may use Russell as a model. He connected with people and I'm going to ask his friends how he did that. How did your son balance his demons and his angels? The important part is that he did. In the end, he was seen as human and even beloved.

And I believe he may have helped people. This is what we should all aspire to do.

130526. Blue Dream's 30th birthday is today. Happy Birthday to somebody who is officially old now.

This is only half in jest. Russell, who'd just turned 30 himself, has died. The Time that we are given in the world is part of a limited offer. It can't be replaced.

Blue Dream, make the most of Time. Decide what you wish to do and proceed.