Thanks Holden. Do you remember my mentioning that I had found what I refer to as a grass-roots method of of recording thoughts and information that would help me use less paper/notebooks? [
Command Line Digital Diary]
I explained that the root of this idea was quite simple. You see, over the years I have taken for granted that I keep a journal, but the nature of what I use it for has changed as I have aged. I used to waste many pages, entire notebooks even, pining over exotic women who were not the least bit interested in my skinny pale ass.
I don't want to lose my train of thought and go off on a tangent about how discovering Schopenhauer at age 21 or so helped me face the cruel facts about how much I had overestimated my sexual prowess and that my attraction to these females was never mutual. I don't want to go into the details.
I'll try to stay focused.
So, the simple idea was to create a way to jot down technical notes directly from the command line and then be able to search for some detail, also from the command line. This would eliminate having to search frantically through notebooks which always included the great probability that I would make some clerical error in the process, mistaking a capital O for a zero 0 or the letter l for the number 1.
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As I mentioned in the other post, this was achieved by adding the following to the .bashrc file in my home directory:
alias notes='cd /mnt/data/notes && date +%c | cat >> `date +%F` ; cat >> `date +%F` ; echo | tac >> `date +%F`'
wherein ()
{
for i in $(find "$1" -type f 2> /dev/null);
do
if grep --color=auto -i "$2" "$i" 2> /dev/null; then
echo -e "\033[0;32mFound in: $i \033[0m\n";
grep --color=always -in "$2" "$i" {} 2>/dev/null +
fi;
done
}
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It's cryptic, I'm sure, but it works.
The thing is, that which began early in the month snowballed into one technical project after another. I have a few computers that I have placed various operating systems on. The oldest "obsolete" one with a 32 bit processor (which I wiped clean of Windows Vista) has Slackware, #!++ (read: Crash Bang Plus Plus), and BunsenLabs (all Linux). Another has Windows 10 and Ubuntu, and the main one has Windows 10, Arch Linux (with systemd), and Funtoo/Gentoo with OpenRC. I will not go into the details of what went into getting those 2 Linux distros on the machine or why exactly I have been drawn to them. I will say that it would not be possible if I were not free of any kind of the usual responsibilities. Like a strange drug, it is not something I would encourage others to explore unless they are enthusiastic about reading documentation that can only be found online and rarely in printed format.
So, I wanted to organize the "network" in such a way that I could enter notes into the "command line diary" and keep the notes synchronized. The reason I invested time in making use of a few machines at once was to encourage myself to learn more about communicating between machines in a network with various operating systems, being able to share folders and a printer. I I have learned a lot in the last couple of weeks about using Samba, configuring with the file /etc/samba/smb.conf. Each operating system on one machine uses a shared location for its "notes directory". This is the case with each machine. No matter which operating system is active, it is writing notes to the same directory, so there really are only 3 separate directories for 8 different operating systems. [madman? nerd? genetic hoax?]
I do not want to go into details, but the "command line notes" idea actually helped a great deal in building itself! By the time it was complete, the notes directory had folders which contained copies of a few essential files for each of the Linux operating systems (fstab, smb.conf, .bashrc) when each was able to boot properly and make the necessary connections - and each of those folders included the current IP address which the router had assigned the machine when that OS was active. In the .bashrc file, there are aliases for connecting to each machine, for each operating system, so that I can mount them with a "magic command". If I want to see a "menu" of these aliases, I just type "cat ~/.bashrc" ... This was a simple alternative to writing a program that would present a menu and launch the desired command.
You might say, there is a clear method to my madness, and I do not want to make more work for myself than is necessary. Much like the mathematics programs I have made, they only need to work for me - as long as I understand how to use them, that is enough. In no way am I under any kind of obligation to make anything "user-friendly".
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Now I want to stop blabbing about it as it must be quite boring. Even I become quite bored with it all some days. My thrills come from tinkering with computers, and on a whole, I feel quite empty inside, a mixture of depression, frustration, disdain, apathy ... I try to keep my head together. My emotions don't bother me, and this might actually not be quite a good thing. In other words, I am feeling less and less with my "heart" and mostly live in my "head".
Now, when and if I ever pick up a pencil, it is for "maths". Math has become a kind of "arts and crafts" for me.
This entire project, for me, has been about giving the technician in me somewhere to type/copy/paste since the student of mathematics part of me is very territorial about its notebooks and sketchpads. I think that even the philosopher part of me will appreciate the command line diary since it can interject with some random pigShit ideas whenever it feels an urge.
Don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting that the student of mathematics is a tyrant suppressing the technician and the philosopher. No ... not at all. The Lord (the frontal lobes of the neocortex) hath devised a scheme to allow the technician and philosopher to be unleashed without restraint for the student of mathematics is a notebook/sketchpad/diary hog. A line has been drawn. Paper is for mathematics only. Philosophical musings as well as technical instructions are actually more suited for a digital medium which can be searched and potentially organized.
I would suggest you keep a math diary/journal and use pencil. You probably already do this, so don't mind me. Where Hitler was a frustrated artist, I am just a frustrated
something-or-other-I-don't-even-know-what. The difference between Adolphus and I is that I have far too much psychological insight into the miserable condition of being a creature/world [Life as World], that a campaign of hatred does not appeal to me. Being born into this world is punishment enough for anyone and everyone. Save revenge for God, whoever that is. Myself, I don't care for such empty words that can mean just about anything to anyone. There must still be a great deal of resentment left in the collective unconscious from exposure to the memes of the monotheistic god YHWH=Allah="God the Father"=Alien-Space-Invader ... not to mention "The Absolute" or "The Universe as some kind of anthropomorphic unity" ...
I hate the word god. It is meaningless and a perfect tool for deceivers of all kinds.
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I think that one's engagement with math may be very personal. For me, when I am in that mode, it is very private and personal. You see, I am trying to train my hand to draw basic 3D figures and their "nets", something that has never been intuitive for me. You see, it is a very sensitive area, discussing a part of mathematics where one may be weak, but that is why I force myself to pu some time into it - although for the past two weeks, ever since I got to this part of visualizing geometry, I have been preoccupied with technical matters involving the details of creating a local network of machines.
So, there may be something I find humiliating about the mental blocks I have when it comes to drawing 3D figures. Perhaps I feel like a frustrated child. That's why the math diaries are so very private, and why they could never be replaced with an alphanumeric diary kept on a computer. When I pick up the pencil and use paper, well, then I am in a different mode. Math has become the most privileged activity. It is worthy of pencil and paper and a state of leisure and NON-PRODUCTIVITY ... arts and crafts, so to speak.
The notes I can write on the command line have their value as well, but they are more easily organized and "searched" on the computer.
As for pattern recognition, here is something you might have observed that is interesting:
3 * 37 = 111
6 * 37 = 222
9 * 37 = 333
12 * 37 = 444
Strange, isn't it?
999 * 2 = 1998
999 * 3 = 2997
999 * 4 = 3996
999 * 5 = 4995
9 * 9 = 81
99 * 99 = 9801
999 * 999 = 998001
9999 * 9999 = 99980001
Patterns ... they jump out at you and make you wonder ...
Of course, we can never underestimate the power of that place holder, 0, which was such a revolutionary idea ... something extremely exotic to the Romans and Greeks ... called Arabic numerals, where we both know that the origin of this great number, zero, is India.
It makes one wonder about this global hive and what has transpired throughout history for us to have access to the number system in use.
Imagine if we had to use Roman Numerals ...
Another thing that really touched me about Schopenhauer's perspective is that he considered India the birthplace and origin of HIS species. I too would like to consider all of humanity as this one species and forget the false category of race or nationality. Newton and Leibniz and all the controversy over just who "discovered Calculus" - but where is Calculus without algebra and geometry?
I would encourage you to keep that math diary, and maybe more than one at a time ... one with no lines, one with lines, one for metaphysical and philosophical ideas, and another few for "arts and crafts" maths.
One might feel humiliated by studying from high school books, but it can be empowering, I think, since we are displaying our disdain for the political power structure of academia which pigeon holes individuals into "grades" and a totally artificial hierarchy. You can't force or teach WONDER!
It may not be an accident that so many people are mathematically 'disempowered' by the school systems they are born into. It takes some courage to reintroduce yourself to this vast subject on whatever level you so happen to choose. That is why it must be the most private and personal level of one's existence, more personal than one's religion, nationality, ethnicity, or gender.
We are these weird animal creatures called human. If any chimpanzee could accomplish the little things we so called idiots and losers can, the primate would be hailed, gloated over, and prized.
I better get going. It's always cool to write to someone who will actually care about what you are typing.
So I have not been putting as much time into the math, but this is because the notebook I am now using is a kind of sketchbook, so I am not scribbling algebraic solutions ... but drawing like an ape, trying to be patient with myself when my drawing exposes my lack of artistic talent. Today we have software that draws much better, but this will not help me. I want to face this squarely and allow myself to be this clumsy ape/man that I am.
Of course we have this part within us that is capable of stabbing someone in the neck with a sharp pencil.
No, bad monkey!
Take care Holden.
It is always difficult to express the chaos in my brain. Words are so frustrating. So much to say, but so limited by our alphanumeric heritage.
Peace brother. Remember, we exist now between two eternities of nothingness.
Post ScriptumYou say you use a Mac OS that a relative gave you. Since that is Unix based, it should have a file in your home directory called profile. I think this is used the same way as .bashrc
I do not have any experience with Macs since those machines tend to be much more expensive, but I think you can make this work for you as well. You can write about your frustrations with learning math from the command line ... and keep a pencil written notebook for working on actual problems or whatever. In this way you won't clutter your math diary with the equally important thoughts that can be expressed with the keyboard.
If you try it, just create a folder called "notes". Each file will be named the current date, as in 2017-07-23 under notes. On a single machine, it is very straight-forward. The only reason it became such a complicated project for me is because I wanted to see if I could synchronize multiple directories on multiple machines. That introduced the complexity, but I learned a great deal in getting it all to work as I imagined.
That is what `date +%F` represents. You can find where I got this idea from
here. I found it while searching for a program that would do just this, and I am pleased to say that this grass-roots method serves the purpose. You just can't edit too much - and there is no spell checking on the fly. You can always open the files later for editing (with an editor of your choice).
I'm just very lucky I have the time to go off on such spontaneous tangents. I don't think it would take too much time to set up on a single machine, and you might begin using it immediately. You could then even type some things on the fly, then do a search with "wherein" - then copy some of your notes here or place into a word processor document for one of your stories.
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Excuse me, now the Technician is concerned with things like "Should I install
Anaconda (Python management) into Gentoo-based
Funtoo without disturbing its own Python paths, and, if so, will I contaminate the Gentoo environment with Wine just to be able to use
Vidle for VPython (so as to see bouncing spheres if I ever get back to Physics) ... ? ... ? .... ? ....
Do I dare
follow the instructions for a course in some university?
... so many technical dilemmas ... one eventually has to become acclimated to chaos and confusion as a way a life as we surf the learning curve of Sisyphus ...