The Newsletter Leaf Journal LIII 〜 Mooving (pun intended) as always
Welcome to the 53rd edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. As always, this humble and distinguished publication comes to you from the waterproof keyboard of Nicholas A. Ferrell, Editor and Administrator of The New Leaf Journal. We published six new articles for your reading enjoyment since we reported last. In addition to those six new articles, I have recommended reading around the web and news, notes, and included anecdotes for your reading enjoyment.
Table of Contents
- Leaves From the Week That Was
- Leaves From Around the Web
- The Old Leaf Journal
- Most-Read Leaves From Newsletter Week
- News, Notes, and Anecdotes
1. Leaves From the Week That Was
Below, you will find links to our six new articles with brief summaries of each. I preface the list by daring to suggest that this was one of our most varied weeks of content at The New Leaf Journal. From installing a Linux operating system on a 2007 to MacBook to public art displays in New York City and a bit of U.S. history, we leave no leaves unturned here at The New Leaf Journal.
“Installing and Running Bodhi Linux on a 2007 MacBook”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 3, 2021.
Right after hitting send on last week’s newsletter, I returned to work setting up Bodhi Linux on Victor V. Gurbo’s 2007 MacBook. However, I actually changed versions of Bodhi after discovering that Victor’s ancient laptop supported the 64-bit version of the lightweight Linux operating system. In the post, I explain both the install process and how I chose to configure the laptop in light of its hardware limitations. It still sits in my room, waiting to return to its home (and perhaps find new use).
“DuckDuckGo Presents Both Sides of the Freedom Tower-Songbird Debate”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 5, 2021.
In mid-September, I came across a DuckDuckGo search result wherein the search engine returned two articles for a query that took opposing positions on the same issue. Is the Freedom Tower good or bad for birds? The articles DuckDuckGo presented, from 2006 and 2005 respectively, were not in accord. However, if we are to believe recent reports that were printed in the New York Post and elsewhere, the “bad for birds” side may be having the better of the argument.
“The Cows of Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s at the 2021 NYC Cow Parade”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 6, 2021.
I saw three New York City Cow Parade statues with a friend on September 26, 2021. This article is my somewhat (I hope) humorous narrative of my 14-15 mile walk. Cow pictures are included. I can happily report that my blisters - mentioned in the article - are healing.
“Ghostwriter Markdown Editor Review”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 7, 2021.
I use Ghostwriter to draft all of my New Leaf Journal content - including this very newsletter. Ghostwriter is an aesthetic markdown editor with many non-obtrusive tools that are good for writers. I noted my efforts to get all of Ghostwriter’s tools working on the 2007 MacBook. Having just written about Ghostwriter, I thought it was as good a time as any to recommend it to New Leaf Journal readers. In light of the fact that Ghostwriter is definitely Linux-first at the moment, I also provided resources to other markdown editors that have more options for installation on Windows and MacOS.
“Justin and Justina 〜 The Weird Statue in Gowanus”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 8, 2021.
Justin and Justina return for their newest dialogue. Justina is disappointed that Justin did not tell her about the Cow Parade before it left town on September 30. Fear not, Justin knows of a different statue. Will Justina be satisfied with a backup statue?
“Introducing the 1922 Better Homes in America Demonstration Week”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 9, 2021.
The White House collaborated with the Better Homes Campaign to stage Better Homes in America Demonstration Week from October 9, 1922 through October 14. This is the first post in what will be a multi-part series. I offer an introduction to the Better Homes Campaign and the Demonstration Week it created with the Harding White House. Subsequent posts - to be published this week - will focus on remarks about the event by then-Vice President Calvin Coolidge and Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover.
2. Articles From Around the Web
I left you with quite a bit to read in the previous section. However, if you are a voracious reader, you may have time for six additional articles that I recommend from around the internet. Those of you who are satisfied with the reading from the previous section may consult your respective article archiving systems or bookmark managers to save some reading for the days to come.
New York Post: “Why Boji the commuting street dog is becoming a global superstar”
Hannah Sparks. October 7, 2021.
“Boji’s daily treks extend up to 20 miles as he stops through some 29 metro stations, they also said, including one that recently put him on a boat to the Princes’ Islands archipelago, southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara.”
Smart dog.
The Drive: “Marine Corps F-35s Are About To Be The First Fighters To Fly From a Japanese Carrier Since WWII”
Thomas Newdick. October 1, 2021.
On American F-35s taking off from Japanese carriers between October 3 and 7:
“As far as we are aware, this will be the first time that fixed-wing aircraft have operated from a Japanese warship since World War II.”
DistroWatch: “DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 921, 14 June 2021 (Bodhi Linux 6.0.0 Review)”
Jesse Smith. June 14, 2021.
I spent quite a bit of time with Bodhi Linux over the past two weeks. Not only did I install it on a 2007 MacBook, but I also switched my old computer (built in 2011) to Bodhi. I will have more on the latter story in the future. For the time being, you can enjoy this review of Bodhi Linux and decide whether it is worth considering on your old computer.
Euronews (Via AP): “‘Polexit’: Will Poland’s ‘nuclear’strike’ on EU’s legal order lead to the country quitting the bloc?”
Sandrine Amirel and Chrisopher Pitchers. August 10, 2021.
Rather than focus on Poland’s asserting its national sovereignty, I am going to focus on the headline. We need a moratorium on making up words by adding -exit.”
Eurasianet: “Uzbekistan foreign minister jets into Afghanistan for talks”
Eurasianet. October 7, 2021.
A reminder that Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbors, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, have quite a bit at stake in how events in Afghanistan play out.
International Business Times: “Boxing News: Ex-Olympian Feels Manny Pacquiao Will Fight Again After 2022 Elections”
Joseph Patrick. October 8, 2021.
I published an article last March about a planned comeback by boxer Oscar De La Hoya (the comeback was scuttled when Mr. De La Hoya had a serious bout with the Wuhan coronavirus). I counseled against Mr. De La Hoya’s comeback, for he is approaching 50 and lost his last fight in 2008 against Mr. Manny Pacquiao in decisive fashion. Mr. Pacquiao announced his retirement (not the first time) after losing a competitive fight against a significant underdog to focus on his campaign for President of the Philippines (for Mr. Pacquiao is also Senator Pacquiao). While Mr. Pacquiao has more left in the tank as a fighter than Mr. De La Hoya does (or did 13 years ago, for that matter), I hope that he does not make another comeback.
The Old Leaf Journal
Now for an article from our archive…
“Struggles With a Fresh Install of Peppermint OS”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. September 14, 2020.
Fresh off my success building a new computer and running Manjaro Linux on it, I took a stab at converting my Windows laptop to a Linux distribution. My first attempt was Peppermint OS. The install process was a bit rough, as I described in my article, but I eventually had things working. Peppermint is a nice lightweight Linux distribution that focuses on webapps (think of the idea behind it as something similar to Chrome OS), but I had enough persistent issues with it that I eventually switched my laptop to a version of Manjaro and subsequently Mabox.
Most-Read Leaves of Newsletter Week 40
For every Saturday newsletter, I list our most-visited articles [according to the privacy-friendly Koko Analyics since the previous newsletter. These “newsletter weeks” cover the one-week period beginning with Saturday and ending with Friday. Our current and 40th newsletter week ranking covers October 2-8, inclusive. Below, you will find our five-most articles from newsletter week 40 along with publication and ranking information about each.
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The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei (No Change)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 25 (13 in first) -
Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013) (Change +1)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 9 -
How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes (Change +2)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 6 -
“Persona 4 Golden Digital Artbook Review (Steam)” (Change -2)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 15, 2020.
Weeks in top five: 33 (6 in first) -
“Reviewing the HALOmask and är Mask” (Change -1)
Victor V. Gurbo. December 2, 2020.
Weeks in top five: 34 (10 in first)
Analysis
First, I note a fews from the previous week. I misstated the change in the RSS-Substack post (-1 instead of “No Change”) and I short-changed Victor’s mask review by one week in the top five. I also added a top five to my Tsuki ga Kirei piece - which only this week sets the new record for most consecutive appearances (24).
Our five strongest articles over the past two months all returned to the top five after shuffling spots behind my Tsuki ga Kirei piece. Those five articles, along with my second post on Blob Dylan, have made up the top five for eight consecutive weeks.
One notable near-miss on this week’s ranking was my post on on RSS as a Facebook alternative. Despite not having been present in a weekly top five since May 15-21, it remains our most-read all-time article by a wide margin thanks to its making the Hacker News top 10 in March. Perhaps Facebook’s troubles did it.
5. News, Notes, and Anecdotes (with leaf puns)
Some news, notes, and anecdotes from The New Leaf Journal.
News Leaf Journal
I spent all of my site time this week working on new content. Save for re-populating our categories hub page (it will happen - soon), that is my plan for the foreseeable future. Because the new Justin and Justina dialogue was my fifth featuring photographs that I took on May 19, 2021, I created a new tag for the date.
I did make one minor change to our side-bar. Our “most-viewed articles” widget on the sidebar (desktop) and under the content (mobile) previously displayed our six most-visited articles over the previous two weeks. I reduced the two-week period to one in order to encourage a bit more turnover in the articles that appear there. As a result, you can find a preview of our Newsletter Week ranking if you visit the site on Sunday evening.
Notable Leaf Journal
Pursuant to an email tip that I received about the mysterious “Blob Dylan” graffiti, I am beginning a research project that will look into the true Blob Dylan story. I am looking at publishing it on one of the next two weekends. The weekend of October 23/24 is the most likely target.
Anecdotal Leaf Journal
I referenced earlier in the newsletter that I installed Bodhi Linux on my old desktop computer after being impressed with out it performed on Victor’s very limited 2007 MacBook. The results thus far have been more impressive on my desktop - which is not surprising due to the fact that its specs are much better than the MacBook’s. Because my first piece on Bodhi Linux focused more on the hardware than the operating system, I plan to publish a second piece on the operating system itself in November or December (it will definitely not be an October article).
6. Taking Leaf
Thank you for joining me for the 53rd edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. I hope that you continue to follow this letter and the new content at The New Leaf Journal in the weeks and months to come.