Category Archives: Misc

I now believe in the Tariff Fairy

2 Replies

Hello from the U.S.A. Anyone here who has ever imported items from Europe has learned about the V.A.T. (Value-added tax – Wikipedia). A few years ago, I wanted a THEVIC20 – a replica Commodore VIC-20 computer that ran an emulator capable of running Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore 64 software:

THEVIC20

Unfortunately, the manufacturer never released it in the U.S.A. so my only option was to import one. I ended up buying from one of the European Amazon stores (I think it was England). If I recall, there was a fee for currency exchange, as well as a pretty high shipping fee to the U.S.A., and then … V.A.T. This made it much more expensive than if I had been able to pick one up at my local Best Buy.

Replica Commodore VIC-20: TheVIC20.

To make matters worse, my unit was defective, so I had to pay to ship it back to England to return it, then buy it again.

I really wanted a THEVIC20. My first computer was a VIC-20, you see. But mine was a VIC-20 “Color” computer, not a VIC-20 “Colour” computer. Close enough, though.

Whatever value this tax adds, I am sure the Europeans appreciate it.

But I digress.

Earlier this year I learned that I could record 360 video footage and then upload it, along with a GPS log, to Google Street View and get my footage published as a Street View “blue line”. Cool.

While most of my submissions worked fine, others did not.

The wrist-worn GPS Remote I use with my Insta360 X5 camera would sometimes have gaps in the GPS or jumps in the GPS data and this would be rejected by Amazon. I have previously written about how you can (or try to fix) these issues using programs/scripts.

After having a few GPS logs fail to record on the GPS remote, I started using logs recorded on my smartphone as a backup. I have also read that the GPS in the phone would do a better job and be more accurate.

However, even with that, sometimes the data still wouldn’t be good enough for Google.

Remember the Sony GPS-CS1, anyone?

This reminded me of when I first started geotagging my digital photos. We didn’t have smartphones with built-in GPS yet. This was back in the era of Palm Pilots and Blackberries. At the time, I bought a Sony GPS-CS1 standalone GPS logger. It looked like this:

For many years, it hung off my camera bag. I’d power it up at the start of the day, let it record all day, then later download the GPS data via USB and then add it to my photos using a program called HoudahGPS, which I just found is still available:

HoudahGPS — Download and convert GPS track log files

Eventually, I switched to using a program on my iPhone (GeotagPhotos 2) or this purpose. With that, I didn’t have to worry about replacing AA batteries or manually downloading. The gps log would just appear on my computer thanks to my phone syncing with cloud storage.

But I digress. Again.

$150 back then is…

At $150 in 2006, that Sony GPS-CS1 would cost about $240 in 2025 as I write this:

CPI Inflation Calculator

So imagine my surprise when I started looking at a modern device to serve as replacement or backup for my Insta360 logger or my smartphone and found one for about $240!

Columbus P-10 Pro Submeter (0.5m) GPS/GNSS Data Logger and USB Receive – GPSWebShop

The more things change, the more they stay the same. But, this gadget records more data points, has more memory, and extreme battery life. Win!

But I did not really want to spend that kind of money, so I looked around and found a cheaper model that was around $134:

Columbus P-1 Mark II 10Hz Professional GNSS Data Logger – GPSWebShop

That’s the one I would order.

This company was located in the USA, but the product was made in China. And, for some reason, they ship from Canada. Were they trying to bypass some tariffs or something?

I had to pay $25 for “international” shipping, and they warned I would be responsible for tariffs and such, paid to the shipping company (DHL).

This morning, I received a text from DHL with my “import duty payment” notice.

Those fees were… $92.54

So if I take the $134 of the unit plus those fees, I get around $226 – slightly less than what I paid for my original data logger back in 2006 after adjusting for inflation.

While any of us should prefer paying less, I guess I still “paid less” even with the extra fees compared to what it cost 20 years ago ;-)

And now I believe in the tariff fairy.

Microsoft Bugs

4 Replies

There is an old Disney urban legend that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen and, when medical technology has evolved to cure his cancer, he will be thawed out and cured. In modern internet times, this tale really took off with Disney fans, leading to several books and even a movie:

The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head (2018) – IMDb

If I recall, my name is in the credits of that movie … because I backed it on Kickstarter or whatever fund raisingsite it was using at the time. ;-)

But I digress…

It has been claimed that Disney’s “ice princess” movie was released under the title Frozen so when people web search for “walt disney frozen” the search engines will return hits about the movie Frozen instead of the urban legend. “Ah! It’s a cover up! It must be true!”

And this is clearly not true, because if you web search for that, you get a bunch of front page results about the urban legend, well before you get to anything about the animated movie.

What Would Microsoft Do?

But this does give me an idea. Microsoft has released a number of games for Windows over the year, such as Microsoft Solitaire, Microsoft Freecell, Microsoft Minesweeper and Microsoft Pinball Arcade.

I propose Microsoft create a new game for Windows called “Bugs” — perhaps some modern update of Dung Beetles (known as Mega-Bug on the CoCo).

That way, when you web search “microsoft bugs” you get results about the game, and not about the frustrating thing that just got pushed to your PC in the latest Microsoft Windows Update.

Just a thought…

Until next time…

Steve Bjork in the movie Rollercoaster (1977)

Leave a reply

My late friend, Steve Bjork, had quite an interesting life. While I do not know anything about his childhood an upbringing, he did share tidbits about his later years. In the 1970s, he worked for Magic Mountain (known as Six Flags Magic Mountain after 1979) in Valencia, California.

A number of movies have been filmed at Magic Moutain over the years, including National Lampoon’s Vacation which used the park as a stand-in for the fictional Wally World. It was also used in one of the Beverly Hills Cop movies.

But long before those 1980s classic was: Rollercoaster.

Filming on this epic 1977 disaster (?) movie began in 1976, according to the wikipedia entry on the film. Steve had mentioned he was an extra in this movie, and I had thought maybe he just went down and lined up to audition. (That is how it worked when me and some friends “auditioned” in high school for a movie that was filmed in East Texas.)

Steve mentioned he was in a scene loading a roller coaster. I wondered if we could find him. Thanks to the help of Eric, who was able to locate where I could watch this movie, I began scrubbing through the film looking for any scenes showing a roller coaster load area.

Finally, at around the 1:44 mark near the end of the film, we found him. Ladie’s and gentlemen, a young Steve Bjork!

Steve Bjork in Rollercoaster (1977) at about the 1:44 mark.

As the coaster car pulls back into the station, several costumed park workers quickly go to the car to start unlocking the lap bars so the riders can get out. At the far back of the room is Steve. The movie stars are riding in the back and you get to see Steve in two different clips of this scene.

For comparison, here is the earliest public photo of Steve I could find, which appeared in the January 1983 issue of SOFTLINE magazine:

Steve Bjork in SOFTLINE, January 1983, p54.

I have not checked to see if he can be spotted elsewhere in the film, so if you decide to look for him, let me know if you find something new.

Thanks for helping me find this, Eric!

Five nines and 99% uptime

Leave a reply

How reliable is your internet provider, or webhost provider?

Many years ago during my Microware era, I had some outsider exposure to the wireless communications industry. This was a long time ago. Cellular phones were still mostly analog, other than the GSM network. (After a layoff, I spent about a year selling cellphones from a now-defunct “leader in wireless activations” and I think it was VoiceStream or something that had GSM phones in our area. Few customers wanted them because the digital coverage was pretty limited to just large cities at the time.)

But I digress.

A term I learned was “five nines”. This was a level of reliability expected out of these cell phone towers. Five nines is 99.999%.

Do all those extra decimal places really matter? We were told that even promoting 99% was terrible, and 99.% still was problematic if the service was important.

This stuck with me, and years later I would see claims of reliability from high-speed internet providers (initial cable modems for my area; I had the first install of one in my neighborhood, but that’s a story for another time). 99% sounded great to me, but the reality was … less great.

To help you visualize how reliable “99%” is, I made this spreadsheet:

DaysHoursMinutesPercentMin DownHours Down
3072043200994327.2
307204320099.943.20.72
307204320099.994.320.072
307204320099.9990.4320.0072

You can see that a service offering 99% uptime would be down over 7 hours per month.

At 99.9%, you only lose 43 minutes per month. Much better. Clearly, an extra decimal place goes a long way.

And the industry standard of “five nines” would allow a service to have less than 30 seconds downtime in a month.

Here is the wikipedia page that discusses this, with even more stats:

High availability – Wikipedia

With that in mind, what do you think the uptime is of your high-speed internet provider? :) And what do they claim?

Until next time…

m

1 Reply

As I drove to work one morning, I noticed some interesting abbreviations being used on my traffic report phone app. (I’d normally say “GPS app” but then folks always say “you need your GPS to get to work?” No, it’s not about navigation. It’s about traffic reports, police incidents, closed exits and other things.)

But I digress…

In America, “m” is an abbreviation for “miles.” For example, mpg (miles per gallon) and mph (miles per hour).

“m” is also an abbreviation for meters, as in mps (meters per second) or 3m (three meters).

When I see “5m” I assume this is meters.

But “m” is also an abbreviation for minutes. If you see this:

4h3m30s

That clearly looks like hours, minutes and seconds. And if someone sends a text saying:

BwoopyBob: be there in 3m

…that seems to mean minutes.

Context is everything.

My navigation app shows speed, distance and time. All of these things are “m” words: miles per hour, miles to go, and minutes until arrival.

So naturally, they have to alter the abbreviations.

Minutes is shortened to “min”, which we usually assume means minutes or minimum, and miles is “mi” since, I assume, the app also supports metric distances and would use “m” for that. And miles per hour is displayed as “mph” as I’d expect.

I wonder what other “m” units are displayed by this thing?

  • m
  • mi
  • min
  • mpg

Seeing one alone is not enough to understand what the “m” means, and even having a numeric unit may not help… Is 30m thirty miles or thirty minutes or thirty meters? Or something else?

I guess my point is, when abbreviating, always add context. Your users/readers will appreciate it.

Until next time…

Branson, Missouri…

Leave a reply

Any CoCo folks near Branson? There is a place there called Retromania which is an 80s themed “attraction” with some 1980s arcade games, a few pinball machines, an 80s horror movie themed haunted house, VR and lots of 80s memorabilia. While I didn’t see any CoCo related stuff on display, I did see some Atari and Odyssey hardware. I kinda want to bring a CoCo ROM-PAK to donate to the display next visit ;-)

Website hosting…

Leave a reply

I have been doing website hosting as a hobby since the mid-1990s. I just set up a “business card” site for a local cafe (Douglas Cafe in Urbandale) we frequent. We’ve also done projects for them including making new menus, table top signs, window vinyl lettering, and street signs. To help boost their new website, I just wanted to post it here for the search engines to find:

https://www.douglascafe.com

While I do not actively persue website hosting anymore, I still have about 75 sites hosted here. My web hosting account is going up 25% my next renewal, so I may very well have to re-activate this as a business that takes money.

More to come…

My early 90s CoCo room.

Leave a reply

Forty years ago, this is what my room looked like… UPDATED with photos!

Allen's room (so far):
 
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-      | VCR,Jag,Etc.| | | CM8/VCR | |   TV   | || | C= Mon.|               ||
.\     |_____________| |_|_________|_|________|_||_|________|_______________||
. \                    |  _________ ______  ___ ||____ ____________ ....... ||
.  \                   | | .CoCo3. | MPI  ||Dsk||| HD |  Amiga500  | mouse  ||
-                      |_|_________|______||___|||____|____________|________||
|------|                       CHAIR                    CHAIR        |_____| |
| Boxes|                                                             |Term.| |
|      |                                                            _|_____|_|
|______|                                                            |  Ans. ||
|Shel| ______                             Floor Space!              | |---| ||
|-ves| |file|                                                       | |DMP| ||
|    | |thng|                                                       |_|___|_||
|    | |____|            -----------------------------------------------------
|____|                   |                                            |      "
|                        |              My Double Bed                 |      "
| /\                     |                                            |      "
| \K\                    |___________________________________________________-
|# \4\                        | Term.|                              | Lamp/  |
| # \/                        |      |                              | Radio  |
+----|.......|---------------------------------------------------------------+
 
Door into room on top left, closet on bottom left, window on bottom right.
Going clockwise:
 
Starting at top, metal "erector set" shelving containing misc. junk on top
shelf, two VCR drawer cabinets and Jag on second, SVHS and editing gizmos on
third, fourth has complete Sega Genesis/CD setup, and below is Sub-Etha
Software stuff (paperwork, software, etc.)
 
First computer desk is CoCo system with CM8 on VCR, and TV to the right.  A
set of medium sized powerer stereo speakers sits on the CM8 and another on the
Amiga monitor for great stereo seperation.  Dual power strips below this, too.
 (One with modem line and CoCo on it, the other is on "all the time" for VCRs
(clock) and TV).
 
Amiga desk is metal frame (not wood like CoCo) and has Amiga setup and
monitor, and TONS of books on shelves below right of desk.  A pull out sliding
"table" at the right has a WYSE terminal on it w/CoCo cube stored below it.
 
Next is a printer table (came with the desk) with the Friday and printer and
power strip.
 
Bed.
 
Table with clock, radio, and lamp.
 
Another table with hardware terminal (so I can hack while in bed, via serial
port on CoCo).
 
K4 keyboard setup with amp/speaker, sequencer, Midi disk drive, etc.
 
Bookshelf with magazines and misc. junk, and filing cabinet (on wheels, lid
opens from top).
 
Storage bins (used to lug CoCo stuff to 'Fests) stacked three high, full of
junk.
 
And this, my friends, is my room.  <whew>
 
          Allen

And here is me, in all my nerdy glory.

And this is what the other wall looks like, after returning home from a CoCoFest.

Don’t panic! The room didn’t always look like that…

Until next time…

Our magazine ads, before they were typeset…

Leave a reply

While going through some random disk images, I found some text files that seem to be the Sub-Etha Software ads, before we took them to the printshop to have them typeset by a professional.

First, this looks like the first ad we planned to run in Rainbow magazine, before we got a deal to do a quarter page inside. Note the company name was going to be Forty-Two Technology and the phone # listed was before I had a dedicated line.

Multi-Basic-- Ever wonder why, with 128K or 512K, you cannot use even 32K under RS-Dos?  Well now there's MultiBasic, making possible, without adding ANY commands, the use of ALL of your CoCo3's memory by basic.  Have several programs loaded in memory at once, able to call subroutines from each other, move between each other, even load other programs from disk, all without variable loss or interruption of program flow.

Shadow BBS-- Finally, a CoCo3 RS-Dos BBS with power, speed, and flair.  Uses RS232 Pak or serial port. Features include full ANSI, X/Y Modem, 28 line 40/80 column support, 240 byte onscreen status window, software clock, up to 255 independently numbered message areas, borderlines, one-liner discussions, surveys, auto-messages, doors to external programs, user profiles, full sysop utilities, much, much more! See for yourself, call ShadowBBS HQ at (409)63-REALM.  Order thru BBS or thru: Forty-Two Technology, PO Box 4242, Lufkin, TX 75901. (409)637-7604.

Next up is the prototype for the ad we did run, featuring MultiBASIC and SHADOW BBS by Terry Todd. We didn’t have a dedicated phone number yet, so the 632-4200 was just a made up one for the mockup.

 _____________________________________________________________
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 | MULTIBASIC - Use all 128K/512K of your CoCo 3 without     |
 | learning ANY new commands!  Have several programs loaded  |
 | at once sharing subroutines and variables!  Load programs |
 | without losing variables, and more!  INTRO. PRICE: $24.95 |
 |                                                           |
 | SHADOW BBS - An RS-Dos BBS with Power, Speed, and Flair!  |
 | ANSI, X/Y Modem, Clock, Surveys, AutoMessage, Up to 255   |
 | Msg Areas, User Profiles, Doors, Borderlines, Full SysOp  |
 | Utilities, and Much, Much More!  Runs on 128K CoCo 3 with |
 | Disk Drive(s), Serial Port OR RS232 pak!  Call and see    |
 | for yourself!  (409) 63-REALM        INTRO. PRICE: $34.95 |
 |                                                           |
 | Sub-Etha Software          Call or write for information! |
 |  P.O. Box 152442           Add $2.00 S&H and $3.00 C.O.D. |
 | Lufkin, TX  75901          Texas residents add 8.25% tax. |
 |  (409)  632-4200                   "Don't Panic!"         |
 |___________________________________________________________|

Next, another prototype… Much closer to what ended up being typeset and published – and even has the real phone number. These blank spots at the top where were the logo was going to go. I did these ASCII ones to show them exactly what we wanted.

 _____________________________________________________________
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 | Ever  wonder  why,  with a 128K or 512K CoCo 3 you cannot |
 | even use 32K under RS-Dos?  Well, now there's MultiBasic, |
 | making  possible  without  adding ANY commands the use of |
 | your CoCo 3's "hidden" memory  by  Basic.   Have  several |
 | programs   loaded   in   memory  at  once  able  to  call |
 | subroutines from each other.  Move  between  programs and |
 | load  other  programs  from disk without variable loss or |
 | interruption of program flow.  A "must-have"  utility for |
 | Basic programmers!                                        |
 |                                                           |
 | INTRODUCTORY PRICE ............................... $24.95 |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |                      /) Shadow  BBS (\                    |
 |    Complete RS-Dos BBS with Low Hardware Requirements!    |
 |                                                           |
 | Finally, an RS-Dos CoCo 3  BBS  with  power,  speed,  and |
 | flair!   Uses  RS232 Pak OR serial port! Features include |
 | ANSI, X/Y Modem file  transfers,  28  line  40/80  column |
 | support,  240  byte  on-screen  status  window,  software |
 | clock, up to 255 independently  numbered  message  areas, |
 | borderlines, one-liner discussions, surveys, automessage, |
 | doors to external programs,  user  profiles,  full  SysOp |
 | utilities,  and  much,  much  more!  And unlike most BBSs |
 | you've seen, no hard drive, RS232 Pak, or memory  upgrade |
 | is  required!  Shadow  BBS will run on a 128K CoCo 3 with |
 | one disk drive and a modem, yet it is capable  of  taking |
 | advantage  of  all  the hardware your system includes.  A |
 | full appreciation of Shadow BBS comes not, however,  from |
 | it's many features or it's low hardware requirements, but |
 | from the flair and smoothness of the program itself.   We |
 | want  you  to  see what this incredible BBS can do.  Call |
 | The Shadow's Realm, the official Shadow BBS HQ system, at |
 | (409)  63-REALM  (300/1200  Baud,  24  Hrs.)  and see for |
 | yourself!                                                 |
 |                                                           |
 | INTRODUCTORY PRICE ............................... $34.95 |
 |                                                           |
 |                                                           |
 |   Sub-Etha Software        Call or Write for Information! |
 |    P.O. Box 142442         Add $2.00 S&H and $2.50 C.O.D. |
 |  Lufkin, Texas 75915       Texas residents add 8.25% tax. |
 | (409) 639-ETHA [3842]              "Don't Panic!"         |
 |___________________________________________________________|

And this one, AD4.txt, is another variation:

_____________________________________________________________
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|                                                           |
|___________________________________________________________|
||                                                         ||
||                    *: MultiBasic :*                     ||
||   More Memory for Basic without Learning New Commands!  ||
||                                                         ||
|| Ever  wonder why, with a 128K or 512K CoCo 3 you cannot ||
|| even  use  32K  under  RS-Dos?    Well,   now   there's ||
|| MultiBasic, making possible without adding ANY commands ||
|| the use of your CoCo  3's  "hidden"  memory  by  Basic. ||
|| Have  several programs loaded in memory at once able to ||
|| call  subroutines  from  each  other.    Move   between ||
|| programs  and  load  other  programs  from disk without ||
|| variable loss  or  interruption  of  program  flow.   A ||
|| "must-have" utility for Basic programmers!              ||
||                                                         ||
|| INTRODUCTORY PRICE ............................. $24.95 ||
||                                                         ||
||                                                         ||
||                     *: Shadow BBS :*                    ||
||   Complete RS-Dos BBS with Low Hardware Requirements!   ||
||                                                         ||
|| Finally, an RS-Dos CoCo 3 BBS with  power,  speed,  and ||
|| flair!  Uses RS232 Pak OR serial port! Features include ||
|| ANSI, X/Y Modem file transfers, 28  line  40/80  column ||
|| support,  240  byte  on-screen  status window, software ||
|| clock, up to 255 independently numbered message  areas, ||
|| borderlines (quotes),  one-liner  discussions, surveys, ||
|| automessage, doors to external programs, user profiles, ||
|| full  SysOp utilities, and much, much more!  And unlike ||
|| most BBSs you've seen, no hard  drive,  RS232  Pak,  or ||
|| memory  upgrade  is  required! Shadow BBS will run on a ||
|| 128K CoCo 3 with one disk drive and a modem, yet it  is ||
|| capable  of  taking  advantage of all the hardware your ||
|| system includes.  A  full  appreciation  of  Shadow BBS ||
|| comes not, however, from it's many features or it's low ||
|| hardware  requirements,  but   from   the   flair   and ||
|| smoothness  of  the program itself.  We want you to see ||
|| what this incredible BBS can  do.   Call  The  Shadow's ||
|| Realm,  the  official  Shadow  BBS  HQ system, at (409) ||
|| 63-REALM (300/1200 Baud, 24 Hrs.) and see for yourself! ||
||                                                         ||
|| INTRODUCTORY PRICE ............................. $34.95 ||
||_________________________________________________________||
|                                                           |
|    Sub-Etha Software      Call or Write for Information!  |
|     P.O. Box 152442       Add $2.50 S&H and $3.50 C.O.D.  |
|   Lufkin, Texas 75915     Texas residents add 8.25% tax.  |
|  (409) 639-ETHA [3842]    "Don't Panic -- We Ship Fast!"  |
|___________________________________________________________|

I guess by this next one we trusted the typesetting person, since it was just the raw text:

Happy Holidays From...

 SUB-ETHA SOFTWARE

"In Support of the CoCo"

Thanks to those who stopped by our booth at the CoCo Fest!

 *: MiniBanners :*
 Multiple Line Banners on ANY Printer!

NEW!  Create single or multiple line banners with adjustable heights and
widths.  Up to 16 lines of text with independently sized characters.  Even
works with daisy wheel and non-graphic printers!  Includes over 30 fonts!

INTRODUCTORY PRICE ................................................ $14.95

 *: MultiBasic :*
 More Memory for Basic without Learning New Commands! 

PRETTY NEW!  Tired of being limited to 22K for Basic?  We were too, so we
created MultiBasic, a utility which allows you to use the "hidden" memory of
your CoCo 3 without learning ANY new commands.  Load multiple programs, disk
chain, share subroutines and variables, all without interrupting program flow.

HOLIDAY PRICE ..................................................... $24.95

 *: Shadow BBS :*
 Complete RS-Dos BBS with Low Hardware Requirements!

ALSO PRETTY NEW!  Finally, an RS-Dos BBS with power, speed, and flair.  Uses
RS232 Pak OR serial port.  Does not require a hard drive or memory upgrade! 
Features:  SysOp Utilities, Up to 255 Msg Areas, X/Y Modem, ANSI, Status
Window, Clock, AutoMessage, User Surveys and Profiles, and too much more to
mention here!  A full appreciation of Shadow BBS comes not, however, from it's
many features or low hardware requirements, but from the flair and smoothness
of the program itself.  We want you to see what this BBS can do.  Call the
Shadow's Realm, the official Shadow BBS HQ, at (409) 63-REALM (300-2400 Baud,
24 Hrs.) and see for yourself!

HOLIDAY PRICE ..................................................... $34.95

I wonder what else I will find as I go through these things…