Hiding the grub menu was not a good idea
Dual-boot Linux/Windows system only boots into Linux, no menu

Philothea is a dual-boot Windows and Linux system, so after freshening up Windows, I saw that the Linux side was running Mint 17, which goes back to 2014 and was having some trouble seeing an NVIDIA graphics card. So I booted from a Linux Mint 22 installation CD and had it overwrite the Linux that it found. At least I was mostly sure that's what it was doing.

I was right, but the reinstallation was followed by panic. The computer would only boot into Linux and no longer showed the grub menu of operating systems. (They tell me grub stands for Grand Unified Bootloader.)

Had I accidentally overwritten the Windows partitions?

No, thank goodness. It turns out that nowadays, by default the menu is hidden unless you repeatedly tap the Esc key during the UEFI boot process.

Bad idea. Anyhow, to un-hide it, within Linux, here's what I did:

(1) I like the gedit editor and didn't have it, so: sudo apt install gedit

(2) sudo gedit /etc/default/grub and make the following changes:

GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_SAVE_DEFAULT=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
and comment out any other lines that mention "HIDDEN".

(3) To apply the changes, sudo update-grub

I also made the changes described here (scroll to the bottom of the entry) to fix the time zone problem and get better access to the Windows network.

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How various things played out

Thanksgiving was successfully celebrated, with a bit less gathering of families than usual; Melody and Sharon and I were here; Cathy, Nathaniel, and their children were in Louisville; and neither group joined anyone else. We enjoyed being alone and having time to gather our wits.

We are thankful for marked advances in Sharon's health and many good things all around.

Philothea, my 2015 Dell Inspiron, is being prepared for another use (details later). Since it will still be under my control, I don't have to remove and destroy its disk, just wipe it securely with sdelete.

The challenging thing is, I started removing my old software and couldn't do it! Several old versions of Visual Studio left pieces and sub-packages that wouldn't uninstall in the normal way. I ended up doing a "Reset PC" from within the Settings, System, About menu. To my delight, it didn't disrupt the Linux dual-boot arrangement I had set up; it reinstalls Windows 10 (by downloading it!) in the same disk partition where it was originally.

By the way, Revo Uninstaller is well worth knowing about, if you want to run a lot of uninstalls in succession and perform heavy-handed force-uninstalls on request. I decided resetting Windows was easier, but Revo is worth knowing about.

Stephen's clock is a great success. He's glad to have it and is putting it to good use. Every 3-year-old should have a clock with just one hand that points straight up (or to the one and only index mark on its face) when it's time to get up.

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Recommended:
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Free
(but don't grab the wrong thing)

For backups, for many years I've been using Veeam Agent for Windows (formerly Veeam Endpoint Backup), and I still am. But in the process of getting it onto Ignatius, I mistakenly downloaded the wrong free Veeam product, a 12-gigabyte monster that administers servers of all kinds but does not actually make backups!

After a while I figured out that the lightweight, efficient, free backup package that I know so well is now called Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Free and is far down in the list on this page (address may change). You have to create a free account with Veeam and get on their mailing list, but then you get to use the software free of charge.

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Recommended: Perfect Backup

Before I got Veeam figured out, I spent about a day trying out Perfect Backup, whose free edition I highly recommend. (And the paid editions if you need them!)

If you want a simple, straightforward way to back up your computer, once or regularly on schedule, this is it. The backup files are ZIPs or simply directories of file copies, which means you don't need special software to get into them (although I'd use Perfect Backup to sort through layers of incrementals).

The way I was going to use it was: Set it to do only incremental backups and retain a large number of them (9999). The coverage of the incrementals is stored in a file in the root folder of the backup disk, so when you insert a new or erased backup disk that lacks this file, the incrementals will start over again with the initial one, which is of course actually a full backup.

They also encourage a practice of having a full backup happen every few days, replacing the earlier incrementals. This saves disk space but gives you less time depth.

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Why can't older computers run Windows 11?

My reason for getting rid of Philothea, other than its advanced age, is that it's not qualified to run Windows 11. Specifically, its CPU doesn't meet requirements. It has the required security coprocessor (TPM 2.0) but not a new enough Pentium.

A lot of us are wondering whether this is just a plot to sell everybody a new PC.

I don't entirely know, but here is what I've been pieced together.

Key point: You will still be able to run Windows 10 indefinitely. But it will stop getting updates; you'll want to get third-party antivirus software then; and you won't be able to run new software designed for Windows 11. This is how every Windows version change has worked. I booted Windows 95 in a VM the other day; I can still do that if I need it.

Now then...

There have been Pentiums with security flaws, such as "Meltdown" and "Spectre" (click here). Windows 11 wants a CPU in which these flaws have been fixed, i.e., a late 2018 model, or later.

Confusingly, the newness of a CPU design does not map cleanly onto Intel's "Core i7" (etc.) naming system. That is why the whole situation looks so messy.

There may also be other security issues in Pentium architecture about which Microsoft is being tight-lipped.

Also, newer versions of the Pentium have additions to the instruction set for vector calculations, and new editions of Windows and Windows apps may want to use them, since they have uses in encryption and security. We can't assume the Pentium will be the same forever.

But I wonder whether Microsoft will relent as the deadline for dropping support of Windows 10 grows closer. They have already provided ways to install 11 on CPUs that it supposedly does not support, within some limits. That means they're leaving themselves an escape.

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How to sell software in this day and age

I've had a number of odd problems moving into my new computer, and they mostly result from a fact about economics: Plenty of old software is quite satisfactory to run today, if we can still run it.

Traditionally — from the dawn of microcomputers until just a few years ago — software was normally sold as permanent (perpetual) licenses. I can still run Office 2003, which I bought back in 2003, if I want to, and do my work with it. And I'm using my permanent license to Photoshop 5.1 that I bought 12 years ago.

The problem is, How is a software maker supposed to keep making money? Soon everybody has software good enough for their needs, and that's that.

In the 1980s and 1990s, permanent software licenses were essentially self-extinguishing because we wanted to take advantage of better and faster computers. Sometimes we got a new operating system; more often we got the capacity to run software with more functionality; and the software makers were still discovering new ways for their software to help us. So a permanent license didn't keep you from buying the product's successor two or three years later.

Those days are past. Operating systems are stable. Windows 11 run Win32 apps from the late 1990s if they conform to operating system standards. Linux can run UNIX software from 1978. Our needs for functionality are stable too (as I just said about Office 2003). There's a real limit to the possibility of selling new software by adding features.

So how does a software maker stay in business? Many, including Microsoft and Adobe, are promoting software by subscription for a monthly or yearly fee.

That sits poorly with frugal people like me who don't want to take on something that will be charging us money periodically whether or not we're using it, whether or not we're still aware of it.

I like permanent licenses. At the same time, I see a place in the world for a time-limited license for perhaps 3 to 5 years, to mimic the economics of what permanent licenses used to be. I understand that this is how Adobe sells its "Elements" line now.

Why not just stop updating the old software after 3 years or so? Because the Internet is a hostile place, lots of software does some kind of communication, and updates are sometimes necessary to fix security problems.

There is also the issue of freeware. Packages like LibreOffice compete with commercial software and may actually be more reliable. Also, many manufacturers offer a free limited version of a commercial product (several backup utilities work this way, for instance). That builds the market for the full version.

Personally, I wish the Adobe "Elements" line would become free limited versions, to promote the full-priced products.

Also, a time-limited license could revert to a free limited version when it expires so that the software isn't dead in its tracks, but the premium features go away. Would that work?

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Misadventures with Adobe Premiere Elements 2019

I had Adobe Premiere Elements 2019 on the computer I was moving out of. So I deactivated it there and set about installing it on Ignatius. And was never successful.

Actually, what happened first was worse. By mistake I got out the Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 install disk, not realizing that it was an earlier version.

And it ran part of its installer.

And it damaged my Windows configuration, and I had to use System Restore to get my computer to boot again! I still don't know how this was done. Notoriously, Adobe dabbles in the operating system and relies on undocumented features that may change. This must have been some of that.

Then I logged into Adobe and got the proper installer for Premiere Elements 2019. And it said I had to update my operating system and browser, even though I was using fully up-to-date Windows 11 (Pro 64) already.

I know Premiere Elements 2019 runs under Windows 11 (Pro 64) because I have it doing it on another computer (I have two licenses).

But I couldn't install it on Ignatius. Adobe has a whole web page of proposed fixes that didn't help. The problem is that Adobe's installer uses Internet Explorer, and we no longer have Internet Explorer.

I fault Adobe for relying on undocumented features of the operating system. Microsoft tells you what you can and can't assume when programming for Windows. You can't presume the name of the web browser will never change! It is not part of the documented API!

(There are still more things to try. I've been told to try installing while not connected to the Internet. And to try installing while logged into Adobe Creative Cloud. We'll see...)

But what this will drive me to do is seriously try a freeware video editor, namely VSDC, which comes highly recommended. I'll let you know how that goes too!

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Stephen's clock: a clock for a 3-year-old

My 3-year-old grandson tends to wake up early and doesn't know whether it's too early to go and wake up other people. So I have built him a special clock.

The idea is, "Get up when the hand points up (to the white zone), not before."

It's a craft-store clock movement with only the hour hand, mounted on a square piece of wood that will hang with one corner up, and set so that the hand will reach the white area at 7 a.m. That implies setting it 5 hours fast relative to the hour hand of an ordinary clock.

(I also supplied the minute hand, taped to the back, so this can be turned into a normal clock later.)

We'll see if it works!

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Medicine box with timer

Here's another potentially useful object I've built recently. It's a box with a timer that shows how long ago it was last opened. It's for prescription medicines, but it could have other uses. (It was built for one relative, who ended up not needing it, and has now gone to another, who does. I encourage others to build them.)

The box is from a craft store. The timer is from a "TimerCap" for a pill bottle, wired to a microswitch (which is in a compartment set aside at the corner).

The timer reads hours and minutes and shuts down at 99:99, so it doesn't run down the battery when left unused for a long time. Anyhow, the battery is replaceable the way I described a few years ago, except that there is no label to peel up and stick down.

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Meet Ignatius

I have a new Dell XPS desktop computer in my home office. A 33-inch curved monitor is coming, too.

It came to my attention that my present desktop computer, Philothea, is 9 years old. There's nothing wrong with it except that it isn't upgradeable to Windows 11, which means its operating system will go out of support in about a year. PCs no longer have the dreaded short-lived electrolytic capacitor problem (see also this). But 9 years is a ripe old age for a computer that needs to be highly reliable.

The main uses of my desktop at present are:

• Server for shared files, which are backed up daily;
• Big-screen workstation from which I RDP to a client's computer to develop software;
• Running bookkeeping software that we don't want to run on a laptop;
• Potentially, software development for other clients.

That's a mixed bag, and some would say the first one, at least, should be an NAS device, but I don't want to open too many cans of worms at once. For now, Ignatius will simply take over the functions of Philothea.

Then what happens to Philothea? It can't run Windows 11, so I'm not quite sure how to put it out to pasture. Windows 10 goes out of support in less than a year.

While I like Windows 11, I have my opinions about making older computers ineligible to run it. Basically, I think Microsoft should make Windows 11 run on everything that runs 64-bit Windows 10. I don't see a clear difference between the CPUs that are eligible and the ones that aren't (but maybe someone can tell me; is 11 going to use additional CPU instructions?). It's not like the change from 16- to 32-bit or 32- to 64-bit. And I know about unofficial workarounds that do run 11 on the older CPUs but do not promise reliability. But maybe there's more to it than I know. Anyhow, I expect a proliferation of Linux usage as powerful computers become available secondhand, cheap, that can't run the current version of Windows.

Anyhow, continuing the tradition of naming computers after saints, this one is Ignatius. My two laptops are Matthaeus and Isidorus. Melody's is Cecelia (not Cecilia, just to keep you awake). Sharon's, however, is Potoooooooo (Pot 8 o's), the name of a horse, not a saint.

Surprise: Instead of VGA or even DVI outputs, this computer has one HDMI and many DisplayPort outputs. I had to scrounge an HDMI-to-VGA adapter to get it running temporarily with a small monitor. It's going to have a 33-inch curved monitor like I have at work (when you wear special glasses to focus at the distance of the screen, a curved monitor really helps).

Pleasant surprise: Ignatius is quiet. The fan is running, but it adjusts its own speed and is barely audible most of the time. Remembering the roaring of my 1983 IBM PC (which still boots!), I am thankful. In fact that IBM PC contains the original "PC Power and Cooling" "Silencer" power supply, supplied to PC World for me to review, and appreciably quieter than IBM's original.

Not so surprising: Modern CPUs have a lot of cores. This one supports 20 instruction streams. Any of us who are still writing software without parallelism are not taking full advantage of them.

Minor annoyance: McAfee Antivirus (which I do not like or trust) is bundled with the computer and comes pre-installed. I suspect Dell gets it free and McAfee makes money off the annual renewals. I plan to de-install it, which is a complicated procedure that requires downloading a special utility from McAfee.

And that reminds me, I need to go fix a computer for Melody's mother, in which a program referenced somewhere in the Autoruns has apparently been removed by McAfee, causing messages to pop up that complain about it.

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Detailed moon

I've found a new way to take sharp full-face pictures of the moon. With the C8 EdgeHD and f/7 compressor, the whole moon fits on the sensor of the Altair 26C camera. Here you see the moon very close to maximum apparent diameter, in this picture taken last night, with the moon unusually close to the earth.

Jupiter

Here's my first Jupiter picture of the season. Notice how small the Great Red Spot is. At the lower left, you see the satellite Io (I) starting to pass in front of the planet as seen from earth, and its shadow, which had already been on the planet for some time.

This is also my first Jupiter picture taken with the ToupTek 678 camera, which has 2-micron pixels and doesn't need a focal extender ahead of it — the telescope (C8 EdgeHD) works at f/8, and the full field is so large that getting the planet on the sensor is no problem. I then record only a small area of the picture, using SharpCap, and thanks to the USB 3 connection, I can get 60 frames per second. For unclear reasons, at one point I got a much slower USB 2 connection and had to disconnect the camera and retry.

Best 50% of a stack of about 7200 video frames.

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A use for an LLM

I don't think LLMs (the technology that underlies chatbots) are reliable for reasoning, but they should be very good at matching queries to text searches. And Perplexity.ai, the LLM-based search engine, is something I've found a use for.

Very simply, it finds things in this Daily Notebook that Google and Bing don't find. I don't know why, but I can't always retrieve, using Google and Bing, things that I know are here. Perplexity does better.

I type the queries the same way as with any other search engine, starting with site:covingtoninnovations.com to tell it to look just at this site. I'm sure there are more verbose ways to express the query.

I think the reason for the better coverage is mostly that Perplexity is not as geared toward advertising commercial products. Also, applying LLM technology to searches can't hurt.

I don't have an opinion yet about the summaries that Perplexity delivers. But, again, text summarization is an old AI problem to which LLMs ought to be highly applicable. But always check the summary for accuracy; it is only a rough guide.

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The comet retreats

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS C/2023 A3 is now a seventh-magnitude object (hard to see even with binoculars) in the constellation Serpens, but it still looks like a comet, not a blob. Here you see it next to two star clusters, with the star clouds and dark nebulae of the Milky Way faintly visible in the background.

Stack of 9 15-second exposures, Canon 60Da, ISO 800, with Olympus 100/2.8 lens (vintage 1977) at f/4, on iOptron SkyTracker. Usual processing with PixInsight, including spectrophotometric color calibration, gradient removal, and BlurXTerminator. This lens pairs well with BlurXTerminator because its aberrations are small and of a common type.

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Saturn with dark rings

Notice how dark the rings of Saturn are in this picture. They are usually as bright as the ball, and sometimes brighter. But at the moment the sun is shining on them nearly edgewise. To be more precise, the sun is about 2 degrees north of the ring plane, and we are about 5 degrees north of it. (North is up in the picture.)

Taken in rather unsteady air with my 8-inch telescope at f/10 and my new ToupTek 678 camera; stack of the best 50% of about 5000 video frames.

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Moon: Copernicus, Eratosthenes, Apennines

The wide field of the 678 camera also yields impressive pictures of the moon even when the air isn't especially steady. This is a stack of the best 50% of about 2000 video frames.

7 × 7

Today it has been 49 years since Melody and I first met. I brought her flowers today to mark the occasion. And I hereby incorporate by reference all the good things I've said about our meeting and our long life together. Here and here and here are more of the story.

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Life under an unsatisfactory president

Fellow Christians: I know you didn't all vote the same way. I don't want to debate how you should have voted.

But I challenge those of you who voted for Trump to become, now, his most demanding critics. It's your right and your duty.

You don't owe him loyalty. He works for the American people, not the other way around. If you had a role in putting him in office — hiring him for his new job — then it's your job to demand the best of him, insist that he shape up, and make it clear that he got your vote only by the skin of his teeth, and now you want him to do better than he said he was going to.

If you voted for him as the lesser of two evils, then you should have no problem criticizing what is bad about him. He's been elected. You're no longer helping his opponent if you criticize him. You're helping your whole country.

If you think you shouldn't criticize Trump, something is wrong with you. We American voters should always criticize our elected officials, all the time. They work for us, not the other way around. We should always be asking them to do better.

And if you didn't vote for Trump, nonetheless he works for you, too, and, as a voter, you have authority over him, the same authority that voters always have. Use it, or at least don't let it be forgotten.

I want to warn, by the way, about a kind of bad Bible interpretation that I often see. Do not equate our president with some kind of king set over us either by divine right or by sinful secular authority. That's not how a democratic republic works. We are not subjects of the president. Our loyalty is to our country, not to its elected general manager. As Alexander Hamilton put it, "Here, sir, the people govern."

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What it's like to attend an evangelical church during the Trump era

I want to share with my non-Christian friends something important about what it's like to attend a doctrinally conservative (evangelical) church these days.

Contrary to the impression some people will give you, church services are not Trump rallies. Candidates are not mentioned in the services; we have much more important things to do! Where I go, I don't even see campaign stickers on people's cars. Wearing a campaign button to a service would be very bad form. If asked, most of the congregants would probably say that neither candidate is all that good, and you should decide for yourself which is the less bad choice.

I think the church I attend qualifies as "evangelical" as the word was used before it became political. It certainly has that word in the name of its denomination (ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians).

All that I have said is equally applicable to several other churches I know well. I have actually not encountered a church that has replaced Christianity with Trumpery. I have encountered such individuals, and I suppose they must dominate some churches. But not nearly as many as the media seem to think. I wish all journalists would visit normal, healthy churches and see what really goes on there.

I also get the impression that the people who have replaced Christianity with politics are not attending church and perhaps never were. We certainly have had a sad trend of people telling the world that the Christian message is someone's political platform. But it's extraneous. Mature Christians don't make that mistake.

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