Rick's b.log - entry 2025/06/29

Forgetting the past

Anyway, in order to access it one needs to have a telnet client. And since it's an old-school BBS one needs to have a telnet client that supports PC-ANSI (or code page 437) which is basically the old MS-DOS character set.

David Pilling's Hearsay was perfect for this. At least, it used to be.

Here is an ancient version of Hearsay running on an equally ancient version of RISC OS running on the old Pi2 that's in my bedroom.

Hearsay showing the menu correctly.

This version of Hearsay crashes on the Pi3. There's probably something that doesn't sit well with the more recent ARMv8 core. Whatever, it doesn't work. So I downloaded the latest version from the ftpc site. It is now maintained by Colin and a fair bit of work has been done in making it a useful terminal to use with Linux. This makes sense as it is the most likely use case these days, but unfortunately instead of adding in a new terminal and calling it, say, "xterm" or somesuch, the built-in ANSI terminal was modified. Which means it now looks like this.

Hearsay not showing the menu correctly.

Immediately obvious are two changes. The first is that the 'bright' colours are more muted, and the second and more important is that the DOS style graphics characters are nowhere to be found. I have the characters menu open in both cases showing the exact same thing in both cases, yet different results.
Unless I have missed something, then, it no longer appears possible to use Hearsay with systems expecting ANSI graphics (including the infamous box drawing characters).

This is Plan B - eat ice cream instead. 😂

Starmer needs to go

It was nice to see that Starmer did an abrupt U-turn on a benefits bill worse, even, than the Tories thought up, after the backbenchers decided it was high time to remind their leader of what Labour is supposed to stand for. It was sickening, however, to see his describing the U-turn as "common sense". Is it was so clearly common sense then why were they about to do something that was the exact opposite of common sense? And it is even worse to see him today saying that he lost grip on what was going on because he was too busy licking Trump's arse focusing on foreign affairs.

Which means, basically, the guy is an arrogant idiot and he needs to go. In fact, Labour in general needs to shut down Parliament a week early so they can take some time before their summer holiday to think long and hard about what it is that they stand for. People voted Labour because they didn't want either the Tories or Reform. So to rock up and basically do what they would do not only legitimises their brand of toxic hate (it's the migrants, it's the feckless disabled, it's...), it gives them power. After all, why bother voting for Temu Tories next time when you can vote for the real thing?
Labour should be different. Labour needs to be different. Labour must demonstrate to the country that there is a better way forward, despite the difficulties and the absolute shitshow that the Tories left behind them...otherwise come the next election the country may well do something incredibly stupid and we could be seeing that bloody grifter Farage sitting in Number Ten.

Go to labour.org.uk and click on the About us/How we work link and you'll see the very top line says:

The Labour Party delivers for working people.

Further down under what Labour believes in, is:

The Labour Party was formed to give ordinary people a voice and improve lives.

Let's see some of that, huh? Not making the welfare system a two-tier system that pushes disabled people into poverty. If the books need to be balanced and you're doing it by punishing those least likely to be able to stand up for themselves (awful pun not intentional) while at the same time throwing money at AI and spouting buzzwords like you know what they mean.... that's not improving lives. That's just playing to the peanut gallery of the sorts of people who the public specifically chose not to vote for.

Proscribed terrorists

What did Palestine Action do that was so terrible that the government wants to call them a terrorist group? Nothing, as far as I can see. Throwing paint and stuff onto a military aircraft doesn't make you a terrorist, it makes you a dickhead. Breaking into a weapons manufacturer and spraypainting the building doesn't make you a terrorist, it makes you a vandal. These people probably belong doing hard work with an ankle tag (hey, there are loads of potholes that need filled - get to it!) but they aren't terrorists.

Terrorism is, by it's very name, the act of inspiring terror in people. I think the usual reaction to activism of this sort isn't to run away screaming in fear of your life (terror), it's to weigh up if you're likely to get into trouble if you punch those idiots right on the nose. They are an annoyance, just like the paint/powder chucking twats that came before them, and the ones that will surely follow.

I think, however, a far bigger question is what the actual hell is going on if somebody is able to walk on to a military airbase (like Brize Norton), find an aircraft, and damage it?
Really? Is this some sort of joke?
You do understand, I hope, that trying that in most other countries (from the US to here in France) could well result in a simple and effective headshot. Nobody on the airbase gives a crap about the person's protest, reasons, or life backstory. They are where they shouldn't be, about to damage military hardware. They should consider themselves extremely lucky if they look unthreatening enough that they are simply arrested at gunpoint. But consider that the army may simply not even bother, blam! All they thought they stood for is now a small red stain on the tarmac. Slow hand clap.
But no, in the UK, they not only get in, and on the tarmac, they appear to do a fair bit of work on the plane itself. Looking at the pictures this wasn't a simple "lob a tin of paint and leg it" job. Why were those military assets not better protected?

Peas

Anyway, those plants gave me about 140g of peas. I'll wash these tomorrow, dry them off, and then put them in the freezer. Accompaniment for two meals there.

My cup runneth over is three quarters full.

Repairing a pizza

The Lidl pizza as it came.

It had red and yellow bell pepper - ugh. And cheese? Hello? What's a pizza without cheese? This is embarrassing. This needs fixed.

[beat]

There, that's better.

The Lidl pizza, modified.

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jgh, 30th June 2025, 16:34

I noticed one of my potato plants in a tub had died in the heat, so I dug it out - and got 130g of new pots, ideal for a meal. First time I've ever harvested in *June*.

jgh, 30th June 2025, 16:39

I've been doing a chunk of CP/M programming over the last two weeks. After doing a couple of tweeks to my CCP (console) I ended up doing a major update to it - code I last updated 33 years ago. :)  Anyway, that resulted in me finally getting around to writing a Z80 coded BBC VDU code to ANSI module, and a run-and-stay-resident module for CP/M. Z80 BBC BASIC for CP/M now does colours! :)  (pictures to follow)

Rick, 30th June 2025, 17:37

Send pictures to the email address above along with anything you want to say and you can have a guest spot on my blog. ;)    The last time I used a Z80 was not a Speccy but an Osborne 1. It ran CP/M. Massive beast.     Unfortunately "the prick" (mentioned a few weeks back) somehow managed to "accidentally" drop it which caused too much damage to repair. He...was like that. I think that sort of thing have him pleasure. 🙁

Rick, 30th June 2025, 17:39

*GAVE* autocorrect, *gave*. Not *have*. 🤦    Kind of wish autocorrect had the ability to read the sentence in order to get context, it might make less idiotic replacements then. Or am I expecting too much from some lame programming?

C Ferris, 30th June 2025, 21:03

Rick have you thought about running your eye over 'Hearsay' code?

C Ferrls, 3rd July 2025, 08:20

Hey Rick did you ever do a article on designing a Ansi screen that !Hearsay could understand?

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