June 17, 2023

Newsletter Leaf Journal CXL 〜 Deploying newsletter 〜

The 140th Newsletter Leaf Journal features our newest articles on tech and visual novels, links from around the web, and other news and notes.

Welcome to the 140th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. Today’s edition comes a bit late because I was tired last night (I am definitely not writing this on Saturday afternoon). But it will be a full newsletter all the same, packed to the brim with the sort of content one would expect to find in a Newsletter Leaf Journal composed by New Leaf Journal editor Nicholas A. Ferrell on his waterproof keyboard.

Table of contents

• Leaves from the week that was
• Leaves from around the web
• The Old Leaf Journal
• Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week
• News leaf journal
• Notable leaf journal
• Taking leaf

Leaves from the week that was

I published four regular articles since mailing newsletter 139. I also published several short-format posts.

Full leaves

• Keeping WP Comment Blacklist Up to Date
  N.A. Ferrell. June 12.

  …Without a WordPress plugin.

• ESPN States Tim Duncan was ‘Born Overseas’
  N.A. Ferrell. June 14.

  “States” was an unintentionally good word choice in the headline.

• Deploying NoPaste to Surge.sh
  N.A. Ferrell. June 16.

  A guide in story form.

• The Letter (Tegami) - Visual Novel Review
  N.A. Ferrell. June 16.

  Our showcase article of the week was my review of the 2008 translation of Tegami, an understated visual novel about family and coming to terms with one’s past.

Leaflets and Leaf Buds

• Trying a Memos Server (You can see my server here and run your own for $1 per month)
• Enter difference between yay and dnf (adjusting to Fedora Linux requiring me to type “y” for yes instead of just hitting enter)
• WordPress Webmention Plugin Discovery (Webmention plus the Advanced Comments Form plugin)
• hBlock blocks Washington Times sign-in (only the second hBlock issue I came across)
• Peanuts and raisins (on a good snack)

Leaves from around the web

I got around to organizing my around the web articles, so you will find a few newer articles this week.

• There’s a Free Weekly Dance Party on the Williamsburg Bridge
  Erin Conlon for Greenpointers. June 15, 2023.

  The Williamsburg Bridge is the best walking bridge of the five major East River bridges with pedestrian paths (I am not counting the Roosevelt Island Walkway here). After reading this article, I understood how people could make it the worst.

• Construction on Rome’s Newest Subway Line Is Revealing a Trove of Ancient Treasures
  Meilan Solly for Smithsonian Magazine. July 24, 2018.

  I like the sound of Roman subway stations more than New York City subway stations.

• China’s Demographic Reversal
  Guy Sorman for City Journal. February 23, 2023.

  I feel as if the Chinese Communist Party engaged in a pattern of anti-human policies that brought it to the present precipice.

• Did Neanderthals Collect Impressive Animal Skulls?
  Alyssa McMurty for Atlas Obscura. March 16, 2023.

  Out: Caveman. In: Caveman man cave.

• The 2019 Notre-Dame Fire Revealed Iron Staples Holding the Cathedral Together
  Sarah Kuta for Smithsonian Magazine. March 17, 2023.

  “[L]arge iron staples have been found holding together the cathedral’s stone blocks. In light of this unexpected discovery, scientists say that Notre-Dame is the first known Gothic cathedral to make such extensive use of iron as a construction material.”

• Education department faces overhaul - The University of Chicago Magazine
  University of Chicago Magazine. October-December 1996 issue.

  An article on the University of Chicago’s 1995 decision to abolish its Department of Education.

• Dudley the Cat in Linlithgow, Scotland
  Atlas Obscura. March 20, 2023.

  Bronze kitty in Scotland.

• An interview with two Japanese dating service scam sakura
  SoraNews24. March 21, 2023.

  Interviewing two women who worked as scam artists for shady bars in Tokyo.

• Why § 230 Likely Doesn’t Provide Immunity for Libels Composed by ChatGPT, Bard, etc.
  Eugene Volokh for The Volokh Conspiracy. March 27, 2023.

  I watch with popcorn.

• Country Roads and City Scenes in Japanese Woodblock Prints
  S.N. Johnson-Roehr. March 31, 2023.

  An article on the paintings of Hokusai.

• Logitech partners with iFixit to offer spare parts and repair guides
  Brad Linder for Liliputing. May 17, 2023.

  Good thing my Logitech keyboard is waterproof (not on the repair list).

• Cafe Mars Restaurant Opens in Brooklyn
  Emma Orlow for Eater. May 16, 2023.

  I hope that the restaurant owners are getting a good deal on rent because that is not a great location for easy access, discoverability, or attracting people on an evening stroll…

The Old Leaf Journal

Let’s dig into our archives…

• hBlock and My Attempt to Purchase Health Insurance in New York
  N.A. Ferrell. December 16, 2021.

  The first time I ran into an issue with my host-file blocking solution.

• 1897 Magazine Offer – Pocket Kodak and Kodak No. 4 Bulls-Eye Cameras
  N.A. Ferrell. June 17, 2021.

  As advertised (pun intended).

• Summer, Cicadas, and the Girl – VN Review
  N.A. Ferrell. June 19, 2022.

  My review of one of my (surprise) favorite visual novels from the al|together collection. I made a few technical edits recently.

• Aliens vs Noncitizens – The Anatomy of a Debate
  N.A. Ferrell. May 26, 2022.

  Referenced briefly in my article on the meaning of “born overseas.”

• Recording a Test New Leaf Journal Pokémon Sword and Shield Battle
  N.A. Ferrell. June 9, 2021.

  My 2021 Pokémon battle against NLJ colleague Victor V. Gurbo, on video. My Persian had its moment…

• Reviewing Three Boutique Guitar Strings
  Victor V. Gurbo. June 25, 2020.

  I think the main point of this was so Victor could show off his cool old guitars.

4. Most-turned leaves of the newsletter week

I list our most-read articles from the previous newsletter week (Friday to Saturday) in each edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. These statistics come courtesy of Koko Analytics, our local, privacy friendly page-counting solution (see my review). Below, I present the 5 most-visited articles for 2023 newsletter week 24.

1. The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei (NAF, 3.14.21)
   2023 Appearances: 24
   Top Placements: 7
2. Heights in “The Dangers in My Heart” Anime (NAF, 4.2.23 )
   2023 Appearances: 3
3. Peekier Search Engine Review (NAF, 2.26.22)
   2023 Appearances: 17
   Top Placements: 3
4. Tiki paralogue trick in Fire Emblem Engage (NAF, 2.3.23)
   2023 Appearances: 19
   Top Placements: 11
5. The Pokémon Special Split in Generation 2 - Statistics and Analysis (NAF, 1.18.22)
   2023 Appearances: 16

Newsletter Week 24’s top five was eerily similar to newsletter week 23. The top four returned in the same order. Once again, my Leaflet on heights in The Dangers in My Heart led going into Friday before being overtaken by my tsuki ga kirei post on the final day. This week saw the return of my Pokémon generations 1 and 2 stats study piece which had been absent from our top five for several weeks.

5. News leaf journal

As I noted in a Leaflet, I started a Memos notes server. You can see my profile here and also follow its RSS feed. I added the feed to our feed aggregator along with a few of my GitHub projects.

I received the closest thing to a response to my latest Bing inquiry (still automated, but better automated than before) after I posted my GitHub Bing ban project to Hacker News (where it died with little fanfare). Maybe we are making progress?

6. Notable leaf journal

My Nintendo Switch Pro Controller died (doesn’t charge and won’t work while plugged in). I needed to replace it. Having written about how I am a fan of the Dreamcast’s magnetic Hall Effect controller joystick (see article), I decided to put my money where my mouth is and purchase a GuilKit Nintendo Switch controller with a Hall Effect joystick. It came in good packaging and feels nice on first impression. You can expect to read more about it in the near future.

7. Taking leaf

Thank you as always for reading The Newsletter Leaf Journal (and, I hope, The New Leaf Journal). If you want to follow the newsletter and are not doing so already, we offer email and RSS options (see options). I also syndicate the newsletter to The New Leaf Journal on Mondays (usually on Mondays…).

I look forward to another good week of articles and additions to The New Leaf Journal family of projects.

Until June 24…

Cura ut valeas.