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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

LineRider is still the best. And Scratch programming is fun.

Old good stuff:

 https://www.linerider.com/




Be sure to get an orange block to start things off... one of the ones like "click green flag thing" to start. You can also just mouseclick on the top block to start... and that has a different effect, it won't reset it all, so SWIRL for instance, will keep on swirling further and further. 

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/editor/?tutorial=home


Rats love to drive tiny rat-cars. Yeah, lol.

 https://www.extremetech.com/science/rats-enjoy-driving-tiny-cars-scientists-find


This just cracks me up. Am I no better than a rat? Or are rats just cool like us humans. BTW, no flipping traffic please, it sucks. 

QUOTE: Kelly Lambert, neuroscientist and rat driving instructor, for The Conversation. "When I walked into the lab, I noticed something unusual: The three driving-trained rats eagerly ran to the side of the cage, jumping up like my dog does when asked if he wants to take a walk...."

Web browsing popups are back?! How to destroy them.

 https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1405122

Is this 1997 all over again? So why in the HELL are popups a thing again? Stupid ass HTML 5 had good stuff but came with all the hidden ways to make it suck. Dirty, scummy computer companies. Let's destroy these popups again. 

(((Ques was, get rid of Gmail login popups)))

Note, you can find a bunch of things to uncheck related to anti-facebook, anti-cookie setting popups, etc. I check all those things off, let's see how it goes. 

Quote:

I found a fix by following a link prvided by jscher2000. The uBlock Origin add-on needs to be installed to Firefox. I made 2 changes in uBlock Origin Preferences. I don't know which change stopped the google sign in pop-ups, So I'll show them both:


Click Firefox's hamburger icon (3 lines) on the right side of the Menu bar. Click Add-ons and Themes. Click the 3 dots on the right side of the UBlock Origin listing, then click Preferences. Click to highlight My filters on uBlock's Menu bar. Click on line 1, in the big open space, and paste: ||accounts.google.com/gsi/*$xhr,script,3p Click the Apply Changes button. I think this is the specific fix, but I also made the following change. Click on the Filter list tab in uBlock's Menu. Scroll down to the line -Annoyances. I put a check in all the boxes in front of anything that had the word Annoyances in the filter name. Click the Apply changes button. Close the uBlock Preferences Firefox tab.


The link that I used: https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/wiki/solutions/#wiki_how_to_apply_filters


My understanding is that a web site that subsribes to the google sign-on service runs a script on Firefox to trigger the pop-up. This fix blocks the script. I'm running Firefox v109.


Maybe read:  

https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/ttstre/why_does_every_website_now_have_massive_annoying/

GOT to LOVE how this turned into a "cookie consent is bad"... naturally half the scummy sites out there make it painful, when it's intended to help. But the other popups are also a problem in 2024. 

NOTE, this guy says:

I've built my own websites and intentionally made ever effort to not include any cookies on there because I don't actually need them, but because I use CAPTCHA to keep out the spam and I've embedded a YouTube video somewhere, I have to have cookies. And then I have to have more cookies to manage the cookie consent.

It's basically unavoidable.

Aztecs had a Death Whistle, it's freaky looking (and sounding)

Info here: https://www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/media/2024/Totenkopfpfeife.html

Sound here: https://caneuro.github.io/blog/2024/study-skullwhistle/

"

Death whistles very, very frightening

The research team also obtained sound recordings of original Aztec death whistles as well as from handmade replicas. Listeners rated these sounds as extremely chilling and frightening. The Aztec death whistle seems to acoustically and affectively mimic other deterring sounds. Most interestingly, human listeners perceived the sound of the Aztec death whistle to be partly of natural and organic origin, like a human voice or scream. “This is consistent ith the tradition of many ancient cultures to capture natural sounds in musical instruments, and could explain the ritual dimension of the death whistle sound for mimicking mythological entities,” explains Frühholz. "






Learning - non-modern shows normal human learning

 https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2024/11/19/study-helps-explain-how-children-learned-for-99-of-human-history/

PULLMAN, Wash. — Unlike kids in the United States, hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin have often learned how to hunt, identify edible plants and care for babies by the tender age of six or seven.

This rapid learning is facilitated by a unique social environment where cultural knowledge is passed down not just from parents but from the broader community, according to a new Washington State University-led study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research helps explain how many cultural traits have been preserved for thousands of years among hunter-gatherer groups across a wide range of natural environments in Africa.

“We focus on hunter-gatherers because this way of life characterized 99% of human history,” said Barry Hewlett, a professor of anthropology at WSU and lead author of the study. “Our bodies and minds are adapted to this intimate, small group living, rather than to contemporary urban life. By examining how children in these societies learn, we aim to uncover the mechanisms that have allowed humans to adapt to diverse environments across the globe.”

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Words -ed

 https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/why-do-we-pronounce-ed-at-the-end-of-a-word


We hear /t/ in words like these:

hoped, talked, stopped, jumped, relaxed

We hear /d/ in words like these:

agreed, enjoyed, lived, webbed, snowed


Some adjectives were formed from past participles before the sound of the -ed suffix was reduced, and they retain the older pronunciation with a full syllable for -ed in some contexts:

blessed, learned, aged 

These have an archaic or formal character. The addition of the final syllable gives a more official sound to marked and alleged.

Friday, November 1, 2024

Rearview Glare Killing Me At Night


 

Actually front view glare is 100 times worse, but the rearview vs. super high vehicles with LED lights is terrible also. 

Read this all the way to final post... if want to try double tint on your rearview.

https://www.cadillacforums.com/threads/guys-i-really-need-a-flip-down-shade-for-rear-view-mirror.1122858/

He tried this brand, and while it was a major PITA, he said it was worth it: https://www.vehiclewrapping.com/auto-window-tinting/kdx-anti-glare-mirror-film/


And funny comments here, maybe there will be a good idea:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckyourheadlights


Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Health - Isometric exercise helps arteries

 They think. It probably applies to all exercise to a degree, but maybe isometric is extra. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/isometric-exercise-why-this-workout-regime-is-so-good-for-you

Then, once the contraction is relaxed, a sudden surge of blood flows into the blood vessels and muscle. This influx of blood brings more oxygen and (crucially) nitric oxide into the blood vessels – causing them to widen. This in turn reduces blood pressure. Over time, this action will reduce stiffness of the arteries, which may lower blood pressure.

Blur your house on google maps

 https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-blur-your-house-on-google-maps/

Saw a house next to an AirBNB house was set to blur. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

White Pocket lady stuck in sand with 4x4 - And Coyote Buttes South


https://www.thewave.info/WhitePocketCode/Map.html   https://thewave.info/ has a ton of info about mult areas. 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ekv6sTH3Pkcn7_d5sAvIBmHCJvk&ll=36.95683796233982%2C-111.84235868664236&z=13


This link has ALL THE INFOS for Coyote Buttes South (easier but still nightly try for it permit), which shows a map, and the map also shows the non-permit-needed White Pocket. They say, if no 4x4, can do Coyote Buttes South and just walk extra 2.5 mi in sand. Hmmm, seems too much walking. 

https://nomadsinnature.com/blog/skip-the-wave-hike-south-coyote-buttes

---WHITEPOCKET BELOW---

WHITEPOCKET: Yeah, just stop here at the scary sand sign, and walk the 0.25 miles, no biggie???



Actualy, check these other videos and comments. Sounds like it can get hairy well before the last warning section:

There is a specific route to White Pocket that is suggested - and it's not the sandy road leading from Paw Hole. Not sure if you made there considering your inquiry was 8 months ago.  Nevertheless, check out thewave.info for loads of information on the Coyote Butte/Vermillion Wilderness Area.

Appreciate the feedback. Ended up in a 4x4 Tahoe and made it no problem. However, I was glad I had a compressor, shovel, fix a flat and 2x8 sand ladders because it got very soft in some spots. Thanks!



Also, the off roading team had a "Stock Subaru Forester with 8.7 inch ground clearance (NOTE a Ford Explorer might only have 7.6 to 8.x ground clearance), and made it through the normal dirt road with sands, washboard, and deep rocky bumps with no problem. It DID have a problem getting back up the last 0.25 mi super sand area tho. And they admit that there was a rainstorm recently which made the sand EASIER, believe it or not. TIME 3:17 for that Subaru clearance vs. rock-bumps just fine part. 

GROUND CLEARANCE PER VEHICLE:

SMALL SUVs: Nissan Rogue 2021 has 8.2 inches of clearance... [vs.] ... compact SUVs of 2021. Its closest competitors are cars like the Honda CR-V (8.2 inches), the AWD version of the Hyundai Tucson (8.3 inches), the Toyota RAV4 (8.4 inches), and a little ahead of those the Subaru Forester and Outback (8.7 inches).

 On the lower end of small SUVs are crossover vehicles like the Kia Sportage (6.4 inches), the FWD version of the Hyundai Tucson (6.4 inches), the Mazda CX-5 (7.5 inches), the Chevy Equinox (7.6 inches), and the Ford Escape (7.8 inches).

Then there are the more off-road oriented small SUVs like the Jeep Wrangler (10.8 inches), the Ford Bronco (8.4 to 11.6 inches), and Bronco Sport (8.8 inches).

  •  RAV4 (2024) = 8.4 inches 
  • Mazda CX-5 (2021) = (7.5 inches) 
  • Ford Ecosport (2024) = 7.8inch, (2018 -2020) = 7 in to 7.8 in (fancier version has higher)
  •  Hyundai Kona = 6.3 in to 6.7 in
  • ---- 


MEDIUM SUVS: 
  • Nissan Pathfinder (2022) = 7.1 in
  • Equinox (2020-2022) = 7.9 in for AWD models, 8.0 in for Premiere AWD (7.6 in for non-AWD)
  • Sante Fe = 6.9 inch
BIG SUVS:
  • Chevy Suburban (2024) = 8 in - 10 in (I see AIRride, u can change it). 
  • Ford Explorer MAX (2025) = 7.6 in. to (8.2 in. for Platinum)


---STUCK ppl below. STILL TEMPTING! Read somewhere afterwards that you just need to walk the last 0.25 mile when you see deep sand, and you'll be OK. ... ... I dunno, some of the vids looked pretty dang intense. ---

 See yt Hun.tress.308 video, Hiking white pocket [got stuck in sand and had to be rescued!]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC70embxMiU

***so the trick is, the very last quarter mile rd is the deep sand.  Just walk that part then u r at whote pocket, Arizona.  

Looks like a red ford truck… at time 13:52 it shows 4x4 on the side.  She earliermentioned trying 4 hi and 4 low, but still stuck. Smaller truck and not knobby tires. 

Rescue came and reduced air in tires. Rescuer was a std jeep w big tires.  

——

See yt other vid by the off-roading team Jondz Adventuring “passport to: white pocket, az - sand trap!” Very interesting.  Cvt bad for subaru, but other subaru dis ok.  Jeeps and hi clearance did fine.  Gotta speed and momentum thru a lot. Around 15:30 minute mark. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek1Jc1mAg2g


Monday, October 21, 2024

Grand Canyon, Zion area hikes and sights

 Important NOTES up top

  1. Candy cliffs drive from east not West --We re in the rockies says: East approach not west. West has sharp decline.
  2. Zion's Observation Pt. https://theworldtravelguy.com/observation-point-zion-trail/ -> Gotta do East trail (easier anyhow, nice).
  3. Petroglyphs to pools is BETWEEN Many Pools and Keyhole Canyon on google maps. https://www.10adventures.com/hikes/zion-national-park/petroglyph-pools-trail/ shows details and has this MAP link: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=37.22464,-112.90906
    1. This map shows going N after get out of car/under road: https://hikestgeorge.com/hiking-trails/secret-petroglyphs-canyon-zion-national-park/



Page area plus more (below is prior to Oct 27th, 2024 notes)
  • Wahweap overlook (vast desert n faraway canyons, some buildings) (entering Page?)
  • Wire pass (permit unlimited ) to Buckskin Gulch SLOT canyon (3mi in, 3 mi out… easy but long and best scenery). See WereintheRockies.com site. Other ppl say, You start with a 45 minute drive on a rough road. But once you get to the trailhead there is a huge parking lot. $6 a person for permits.
  • The new wave
  • South Coyote Buttes 4-12 mi up to you, (easy permit to get), as good as The Wave, but 4x4 needed for 2.5 mi sand road. https://nomadsinnature.com/blog/skip-the-wave-hike-south-coyote-buttes
  • Lone Rock, N. of Page.
  • Old Paria - Old Paria Mesa is a big weird cool hunk of a rock, reddish, sitting next to highway as you drive by. 

  • SKIP Grand Staircase Escalante - ??? isn't it a HUGE area, how do you "do this"... not a trail. View from afar? Signs on roads. One part showed the Toadstool hoodoos, heh. One guy explained to get the heart, it's a 20 or 40 mi scary dirt road.  

  • Kodachrome basin park… only close to BRYCE, otherwise cant.
    • Willis Creek SLOT canyon, near Kodachrome. 
  • SKIP IF NO TIME. Coral pink sandunes
  • Moqui cave museum and sand caves - the manmade sand caves, rly impressive though. 
  • Cathedral Wash, Cathedral Rock, Balance Rock, Paria Beach & then Lee’s Ferry (bcuz every pull out is great. ) SW of Page, you'll hit Navajo Bridge also. 
  • White Rocks betw Kanab & Page. 100 Toadstools, wow. 4-10 miles up to you. It's the circle. "It’s as if world-renowned animator Dr. Suess met 1960s-era psychedelic rock star Jerry Garcia, on the classic TV show The Twilight Zone" https://www.backroadswest.com/blog/white-rocks-grand-staircase-escalante/
  • Toadstool Hoodoos trail, leaving Page halfway to Kanab.

 BRYCE CANYON, see this to pick a hike https://thethoroughtripper.com/best-hikes-in-bryce-canyon/#Is_it_a_Queen_or_a_Wizard. Basically, either the Queen + Navajo combo hike (moderate 3 mi. 652 ft gain at end of queen) or Mossy Cave (easier 1 mi.). 

  • Belly of dragon, entering Zion from east. Manmade but fun. 
  • SKIP, too far: Red canyon (AKA peekaboo slot) -in the backcountry of Utah’s southern desert so it's hard to get to with pros and cons for each option including experience, time constraints, and cost.
  • Best friends animal sanctuary
  • East Zion
  • SKIP Glen canyon dam, no time. 
  • SKIP-Vermillion cliffs and White Pocket. Would LOVE to, but... hours driving on bumpy sand road, getting stuck, no bathroom, etc. 
  • GOT IT. -Antelope Canyon X
  • Emerald pool lower, easy, magestic views of cliffs n mtns.
  • ABOVE HERE IS mostly THE DUDE'S LIST

 

Zion east side i think specifically

 

St. George / Zion area more

  • Grafton ghost town leaving ZION to St. George (but... Kanab, the 100+ Hollywood westerns thing).
  • Petroglyphs EASIEST in neighborhood. Bloomington Petroglyph park.
  • Candy cliffs at sunset best, from east road maybe Leeds, Utah (west rd too steep) any car
  • Snow canyon’s Jenny's SLOT canyon (easy 0.48 mi for roundtrip)
  • Snow canyons Petrified Dunes!!
  • Snow canyons white rock amphitheater (take the short trail) (like candy cliffs but no pink swirls).
  • Snow canyon volcano / lava tubes. Probably don't walk up volcano, too much loose gravel and steep means you will fall on big jagged rocks. https://thethoroughtripper.com/cinder-cone-trail-snow-canyon/#Trailhead_Basics 
  • Snow canyon Overlook via a Hidden trail (horse trail, near Snow canyon trail rides trail, south of their stables) (SW of red mtn trail) that has the best super view!
  • Pioneer park has “the crack”, a short SLOT canyon right there. Busy.
  • Pioneer park’s ARCHES, 2 medium, other small. See from parking, look up.
  • Pioneer park has a TON of easy red rock crazies, like rt by parking. Eventually Dixie Rock.
  • Desert garden by pioneer park. Free 

-=-=-=-=-=-= ORIG LIST Right below HERE

Zion & nearby hikes

 Canyon overlook trail (1mi). *** best views

  • ***Hobbit Hole (lower clear creek). 1.3 mi, 147 ft gain. Rocky.
  • Dry hike next to narrows.
  • Emerald pools (for the crazy cliff walls)
  • Grotto trail ( mile hike nxt to rd)(downhill from grotto to lodge)
  • Pa’Rus trail. Paved.

 Outside main canyon- drive self.

  1. Willis creek narrows slot canyon. Easy get to.
  2. Checkerboard mesa***great. East east.
  3. Zion jeep tour
  4. Cedar Breaks Ntl Monument (is Bryce Canyon junior, super cool)
  5. Snow canyon state oark, is 1 hr away. No snow. Lava tube! Slick rock! Petrified sand dune!
  6. TOO FAR - Valley of fire , closer to vegas. Suoer cool looking.
  7. Grafton ghost town, Hollywood movies, Butch Cassidy n Sundance kid. . (Kanab town had 100 western movies).

 -=-=-=-=-=-=

MORE NOTES 

Hobbit Hole near Zion
Via https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/us/utah/lower-clear-creek-the-hobbit-hole--2

This is a gem! Parking on the highway is limited east of the canyon overlook trail. Download the trail map before you go. No signs to mark your start but you know you are on the right trail… drop off the north side of highway down some slick rock and sand and look for the cool rock water underpass that goes under the highway. Travel south onto and along the trail. Enjoy some amazing slot canyon trails all to yourself! There is an old creek bed that goes off to the east that you can explore as deep as you wish. Moderate easy trail. Can be as short or long as you wish but if you love the canyons and slots— must try this. Family friendly if you have small ones :-)

--

If you stay on the trail marked on All Trails, completely dry (no standing water). There was a branch that still had standing water but that wasn’t the trail mapped…so you don’t have to get wet if you don’t want. Had it completely to ourselves. Just beware of the open area as it could get very hot in direct sun. **tip: as mentioned previously, the slot canyon is near the beginning—so if you want a fun, interesting, short trail…follow the trail through the slot canyon and turn around at the “hobbit hole” arch.

The hobbit hole is a low arch at the end of the first slot canyon. Fun for kids but easy for adults to get through too. We went to the second slot canyon, which had stagnant water in it and planned to turn around. Then we saw hikers coming from a side trail, which we then took and hung out under a spacious rock ledge for about 30 minutes. Great hike for a hot day, with reluctant hikers, or for slot canyon lovers.


Mighty Men and Monster Maker

 https://13thdimension.com/how-the-classic-mighty-men-and-monster-maker-kit-taught-me-to-draw/




SF6 Does Jamie beat M.Bison?

 https://eventhubs.com/news/2024/oct/16/cpt-super-premier-singapore-results/


DFM|Naruo (Jamie) eliminated G8S|Pugera (M. Bison) 2-0.

DFM|Naruo (Jamie) eliminated IBSG|Yanai (M. Bison) 2-0.

This online fight looks very close at least, but Naruo's Jamie still winning even vs. Dogura: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asgkohebhOE , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7T-p5QjI_Q

Finally found a Bison that won vs. his Jamie, Hotdog29: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzPcYWlEZNM

Naruo also does a mean (ranked #9, was #2 two weeks ago) Terry vs. Bison (Nemo), winning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLOxj-9Dxss