Zachariah

From “archy and mehitabel,” 1927

i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires

why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense

plenty of it he answered
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves

and before i could argue him
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity

but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself

archy

Now I get to try the iFixit kit. First time I’ll be fighting a glued battery. Can’t wait.

Rule is not responding.
Would you like to close it?

I have a shop fan on my porch that I leave on 24/7 when it’s humid out. It has three speeds. The lowest speed is rather noisy. 

If I don’t run it, humidity condenses on the front door. Then mosquitoes are attracted to the moist door. And this leads to them sometimes entering the house.

I bought this ($19), so I can dial the lowest speed even lower to the exact point the noise is low enough but the wind is fast enough.

It was just a thought that occurred to me since it’s electric, could it not be run at a different speed if the input electricity was changed?

Yes, it can. Works beautifully.

Why are these wires on this water tower? What do they do?

Update:

Caught it with the curtain up!

Specifically: Because the .mu registry (TLD operator) is a ccTLD, it can re-price any domain at any time.

This is a follow up to: https://programming.dev/post/27587527.

Conclusion:
Carefully read the terms and conditions if you choose to register a ccTLD. They are not bound by the ICANN Registry Agreement.

Gandi contacted the .mu registry about the price increase, and the registry has assigned premium pricing to all 2-character and 3-character domains regardless of whether they're premium or not. This would not be allowed if .mu was a gTLD. The .mu registry will not be grandfathering any domains registered and continually renewed since before premium domains were invented. I have reached out to the .mu TLD registry directly, and I am waiting to see if my personal plea will sway them. If they don't change their minds, I'll lose this domain on Tuesday.

Timeline:
I went to renew my domain about two weeks before it expiring, and discovered the renewal price went from $170 to $5,600 (or 32 years price for just one year). Usually, I do this much sooner, but my life has been crazy. Even three weeks ago I was barely functioning because of a sinus infection.

I contacted Gandi, my registrar, and at first they were less than helpful. Eventually, they did escalate my ticket to their legal department who contacted the .mu registry.

Gandi informed me that the .mu registry reclassified all 2-character and 3-character domains as premium. Gandi was not notified of the change, so that explains why I was not notified. Gandi said they do not agree with the reclassification of these domains—including mine. But, unfortunately, it's not up to Gandi. They requested that the .mu registry reconsider but have had no reply.

I then emailed ICANN about this because I was under the impression that the Registry Agreement governed all registries, and the reclassification is clearly a breach of the agreement. Unfortunately, ICANN let me know that this agreement doesn't apply to ccTLDs.

I have now sent an email directly to the .mu registry, hoping that a personal plea may make a difference.

I am not optimistic. In the end, I will probably lose the domain. I will make sure to complain about .mu domains as much as possible if I lose it. I will also be weary of registering any ccTLDs in the future. I only have a couple.

It's been a wild ride. Many points where I was almost hopeful, but it's probably just another case of the little guy getting screwed, and the big guy too rich to care.

I am scrolling All, I have scrolled a long way, and I tap on a post. 

Then I’m done, I tap < Back, and then accidentally tap < Communities. 

I end up on this screen: 

In Apollo, I used to be able to swipe the bottom of the screen to get right back where I am. 

In Voyager, I can only get back by tapping All in the list. 

I return to All, but I’m back at the top and lose my scrolling progress.

Update 2025-04-04 Here: https://programming.dev/post/28065778

I have had a two-letter .mu domain since 2011. I went to renew it this year, and the renewal price is showing as $5,600 in my cart, but the renewal price on the registrar’s website says $170 as it had been for many years.

I have put in a ticket to get an explanation, but I fear it’s some “premium domain” bullshit from the TLD operator.

I have two weeks to figure this out. I’m really hoping I can appeal somehow. Does anyone have any experience negotiating with a TLD operator?

I tried adding it to the cart of a different registrar for transfer, and although their transfer price for this TLD is listed as $75, it’s showing $5,516.50 for the transfer price when it’s in my cart.

My site is just a fun artistic site with no ads, tracking, store, or anything. I spend $170 a year on it and don’t make any money from it.

I have tons of other domains, but it’ll hurt letting this one go. Should I give up on any hope of keeping it?

Even if I could somehow get donations to keep it alive this year, I’d just lose it next year. I don’t have thousands to spend on it each year. I’m so sad about this.