Rowing is slowly becoming the new watersport of choice for Cairenes looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Egypt’s chaotic capital.

CairoScene.

Pretty neat. Also

the band gap in ordinary water is about 7 eV

Good to know!

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03646-5

Where to find e-books

• Standard Ebooks, a curated collection of free and libre ebooks. Via reddit.
• Project Gutenberg, a large collection of free ebooks.
• Litteraturbanken, svenska klassiker. Via egen länknot.
• Z-Lib , z-lib.org domain seized, access via TOR or "personal domains" instead.
• Library Genesis
• Anna's Archive, an open-source search engine for shadow libraries like Sci-Hub, Libgen, and Z-Library that aims to catalog all books in existence. Via TorrentFreak.
• The Internet Archive books collection. Very varying quality, some only for lending (via libraries), not download.
• Open Library, an open, editable library catalog by the Internet Archive. I'm not sure how it relates to IA's book collection.
• OpenStax, a growing collection of chemistry/physics/math textbooks made available under open licenses.
• World Bank's open knowledge repository, over 34000 publications.
• BookFinder, a search engine for new, used, and out-of-print books.
• AbeBooks, another search engine for used and out-of-print books.
• Helda Open Books, monographs from different disciplines written/edited by University of Helsinki faculty.
• OAPEN, Online library of open access academic books, operated by the National Library in The Hague.
• DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books), community-driven, operated by OAPEN.
• Bookshop.org. Via LitHub.
• A list of all the free ePUB, PDF and MOBI eBooks published on Planet eBook - primarily European classics.

Managing your ebook collection

• Calibre, the software for managing all aspects of your ebook library. Created by Kovid Goyal, maintained by hundreds of contributors. Project repo.
• For a full-fledged web interface to your Calibre library, look no further than Calibre-web. Just like Calibre's built-in server, Calibre-web also supports OPDS, which makes it easy to integrate with mobile apps such as Librera Reader.
• COPS, a Calibre PHP OPDS server. A less-powerful alternative to Calibre-web, in my opinion. But it served me well for some time before I discovered Calibre-web.

Tools for finding e-books

• libby a commandline tool to search and download books from Library Genesis. Via lazybear.

Reading e-books

Recently discovered Thorium Reader. Works very nicely on the Linux desktop and connects to our Calibre-Web OPDS server. My Ansible role.

Foliate is another nice desktop ebook reader. My Ansible role.

For reading on Android I use Librera Reader.

More links

• A not entirely bad guide to Calibre (desktop only) by MakeTechEasier.
• Library Athena, books from Project Gutenberg neatly displayed for reading in the browser.
• https://reddit.com/r/technology/comments/ynipok/pirated_ebook_site_zlibrary_vanishessending
• https://tenforward.social/@jeffcutsinger/113084913783829362

Any reversible physical process is an energy storage technology.

An interesting take from Technology Connections.
In this one, he reminds us that simple management of heat in our homes can amount to a simple and immediately available method to distribute energy use from the hours of peak demand.

Crooked Timber says: "energy storage is a solvable problem [...] concerns about the variability of wind and solar power will come to nothing in the end".

Moving rocks up and down former mine shafts could be a workable energy storage system.

The Materials Project's mission is to accelerate the the discovery of new technological materials through advanced scientific computing and innovative design tools.

To use Materials Project's API, pymatgen may be easiest.
I am not aware of a similar API wrapper for R.

Taylor Sparks has produced a number of videos related to the Materials Project, such as Materials Project API example using pymatgen and Materials data repositories.

I recently got a copy of my "digital covid certificate". (You can get yours at covidbevis.se).
The certificate contains a rather dense-looking QR code, so naturally I was curious as to what data it contained.

With the help of Binary Eye, I could see that whatever the QR code encoded was not stored in clear-text.

Searching the web, I encountered this blog post by Austrian hacker Tobias Girstmair.
He has written a Python script that deconstructs the QR code into its data fields.

I installed it and used it to read out the values from a JPG screenshot of my QR code (I have randomised or hidden some data to protect privacy):

$ git clone https://git.gir.st/greenpass.git/
$ cd greenpass
$ python3.8 -m venv venv,
$ source venv/bin/activate
$ pip3 install flynn base45 PyPDF2 pyzbar Pillow
$ sudo apt install libzbar0 
$ python3 greenpass.py myqrcode-screenshot.jpg
QR Code Issuer : SE
QR Code Expiry : 2021-09-29 15:00:00
QR Code Generated : 2021-07-01 15:00:00
 Vaccination Group
   Unique Certificate Identifier: UVCI : URN:UVCI:01:SE:EHM/V10050020P8X
   Country of Vaccination : SE
   Dose Number : 1
   ISO8601 complete date: Date of Vaccination : 2021-06-01
   Certificate Issuer : Swedish eHealth Agency
   Marketing Authorization Holder : ORG-100030215
   vaccine medicinal product : EU/1/20/1528
   Total Series of Doses : 2
   disease or agent targeted : 840539006
   vaccine or prophylaxis : J07BX03
 Date of birth : 1982-02-01
 Surname(s), forename(s)
   Surname : <>
   Forename : <>
   Standardised surname : <>
   Standardised forename : <>
 Schema version : 1.3.0

The script worked when supplying a screenshot, but threw an error when I tried supplying the HC1 hash itself. In any case, I congratulate Tobias on a very nice piece of investigative work, allowing citizens all over the EU to inspect the data they share when using their COVID vaccination certificate.

Heja EIK!

• https://www.svenskfotboll.se/serier-cuper/spelprogram/div-2-norra-svealand-herr-2021/87655/
• https://fogis.se/information/?scr=table&ftid=87655
• https://malservice.aftonbladet.se/turnering/div-2-norra-svealand-h/87/3432/tabell

The SI system

• A comprehensive (SI) units package for LaTeX, by Joseph Wright. I cannot recommend this package enough for all scientific or technical documents. CTAN.

Code examples

• Semiconductor pn-junction diagram in TikZ, by Erwann Fourmond (2016)
• Schematic TEM in TikZ, by Eric Jensen (2012)
• Oxidation of iron surface under a blob of water in TikZ, by Jason Waskiewicz (2010)
• Designing a business card in LaTeX, by Olivier Peters. Github repo.

Templates

• LaTeX packages for CVs, resumés
• PhD thesis template for Cambridge university Engineering dept. Supports LaTeX, XeLaTeX and LuaLaTeX.

Integration with R

The ability to integrate any kind of R output into our LaTeX document is very useful, and the technology has reached a high degree of sophistication with knitr and tikzDevice (on the R side) and TikZ/PGF (on the LaTeX side).

• TikZDevice, an R package for producing graphics output as PGF/TikZ code for use in TeX documents. In other words, we start in R, generate an image, and export it to a TikZ picture. tikzDevice was developed around 2009 (here's an early demo) in concert with pgfSweave (this was before knitr entered the scene).
• dvir, offers the inverse approach to tikzDevice: we start in R, generate a TikZ picture, convert that to DVI, then import (and integrate) the result back into R. dvir is less popular than tikzDevice, and is currently not listed on CRAN (in fact, it clashes with an existing completely unrelated package named dvir), but appears to have solid technical underpinnings, with LuaTeX support and LaTeX math support.

Integration with Inkscape

• SVG2TikZ, formally known as Inkscape2TikZ, is an Inkscape extension for exporting SVG paths as TikZ/PGF code.

Integration with Microsoft PowerPoint

• IguanaTeX is a PowerPoint add-in which allows you to insert LaTeX equations into your PowerPoint presentation.

Integration with git

• gitinfo2-latexmk, small tool that integrates latexmk and gitinfo2.

Integration with Zotero

• Better BibTeX, a Zotero extension that makes Zotero effective for LaTeX users.

Integration with the web

• TeX commands available in MathJax, a comprehensive list of all commands available in MathJax v2.7.1, by Carol Burns and edited by MathJax creator Davide Cervone. MathJax v2.7 is still widely used, but has technically been superseded by v3. MathJax.
• KaTeX, developed by Khan Academy. Known to be faster than MathJax, but supporting a smaller subset of TeX/LaTeX functions. Differences between the projects appear to be shrinking, though.

Cloud-based LaTeX

• TeXLive.net
• Overleaf

Other packages

• Beamer, package for producing presentations and slides. Github.
• FiXme, collaborative annotation tool for LaTeX. Github.

Tips and tricks

• On managing large documents.

Hos NixTelefon kan du spärra ditt telefonnr mot försäljning, markadsföring och insamling. Spärren görs via telefon, men är helt automatiserad.

Hos Nix Adressat kan du spärra din adress från direktreklam (post). Spärren görs online, inloggning med mobilt BankID.

Oklart om postkodlotteriets utskick upphör när man registrerat sin adress hos Nix Adressat. De har i varje fall en egen spärrfunktion.

Spärra obehörig adressändring hos Skatteverket.

Spärra möjligheten att anmäla deklarationsombud på papper hos Skatteverket.

Via Cornucopia, Cornucopia igen.

"People You May Know", an FT Film (18 min) written by James Graham on the challenges presented by big data and algorithms, is released today in collaboration with Sonia Friedman Productions and supported by Luminate.

This short film appears to be the continuation of a paper titled "The Data Delusion: Protecting Individual Data is Not Enough When the Harm is Collective" edited by Stanford's Cyber Policy Center (the report's author is the managing director of Luminate), which has an adjoining Q&A session.

I think the film is worth watching, but one should keep in mind who the producer is.
Luminate was funded in 2018 by the Omidyar Group, which is owned by Pierre Morad Omidyar, who founded eBay which in turn bought PayPal. So not exactly a video by the people for the people...

Despite the notion in the film and the paper, I think the call for collective action does not negate the validity of individual action. Feeling like you should do something about this whole data privacy nightmare?
Well, you can! Switch from Chrome to Firefox. Switch from WhatsApp to Signal (or even better, Matrix). Don't let the Facebook newsfeed be your window unto the world; use your own RSS feedreader instead. Be the change you want to see!

Via kottke.org

When considering automation apps for Android, Tasker immediately comes to mind. And although it has name recognition, it's source code is proprietary and the app requires the Google Play store on the device (beyond a 7-day trial version).

So, what FOSS automation apps are there out there?

• Easer by Rui Zhao. Source on Github (449 stars, 1295 commits), F-Droid. Note that there is also a beta version of this app.
• Automation by Jens Schröder. Source on developer's Gitea instance (88 commits), F-Droid.

Other non-free automation apps for Android (not recommended)

• Tasker
• Automate by LlamaLab
• AutomateIt
• MacroDroid
• RuleBot by KF Software House (Hong Kong)

Two wheels

Cargo bikes

• Xtracycle, extra sturdy electric bikes with longer-than-normal rear wheelbase to carry two children or lots of cargo.
• Convercycle, a bike that transforms to cargo bike, via Core77
• En informativ presentation av nätverket "Cykla med lastcykel"

Lastcykelguiden, en märkesoberoende guide till lastcyklar och lastkärror.
Peppe Hämeenniemis presentation om lastcyklar (PDF) från Cykelfrämjandets cykelträff aug 2022.

Three wheels or more

• Electric tricycle that leans into corners, a concept from BMW (not produced yet). Cargo area between the two rear wheels, and the front is able to tilt in curves. Chain-based drive mechanism that looks complicated.

Per Alström är professor i ekologi och genetik och har i sin forskning kartlagt hela sju nya fågelarter.

• Skogsfåglar
• Sammanfattning

There's an app that can identify bird species from their song or even by photo:
Merlin. Developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and covers birds across most of the world. Thanks to Helen Fields for the tip.
Big downside - the app won't start until you provide an email address. It appears it won't continue working past five days unless the email address is confirmed. Why are you being snoopy, Cornell? Not nice.

Shelter is a Free and Open-Source (FOSS) app that leverages the "Work Profile" feature of Android to provide an isolated space that you can install or clone apps into.

• https://f-droid.org/app/net.typeblog.shelter
• https://fdroid.typeblog.net/
• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.typeblog.shelter

https://k7r.eu/shelter-take-a-break-from-work/

Directories of alternatives

1. https://switching.software - a list of easy-to-use alternatives to well-known software.
   Ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software.
   The source code for its website is published on Codeberg (meaning you can suggest changes, etc.).
2. https://www.privacyguides.org - lots of categories. The website itself is built from a public Github repo. Via https://mastodon.neat.computer/users/privacyguides/statuses/113002199475214098
3. https://guide.yuuire.com/recommendations/software/foss-alternatives - list of open source and privacy-friendly apps. Website's source code on github
4. https://divestos.org/pages/recommended_apps - F-Droid recommended apps by divestos.org.
5. https://european-alternatives.eu - European alternatives for digital products.
6. https://selfh.st/apps - A directory of self-hosted software.

Other lists of directories

• https://mastodon.uniteddiversity.coop/@josef/114081033687587936

Another nice initiative by Aral Balkan of Small Technology Foundation.

This project was acquired by Alphabet in 2013 and shut down by the same in Feb 2020.

The project leaves after it this almost 2h long documentary.

https://x.company/projects/makani/

Via /u/Chris_in_Lijiang.

Handla begagnade datorer, smartphones & annan IT-utrustning och bidra till en cirkulär ekonomi!

Svenska försäljare

• Godsinlösen Nordic AB (ReturHuset) har fysiska butiker i Staffanstorp och Skogås. Säljer begagnad elektronik.
• Inrego AB köper från företag, säljer begagnad elektronik till privatpersoner.
• Nordway Store AB, en kedja av fristående IT-återförsäljare, säljer begagnad elektronik. Har en LO-"branded" variant.
• Refurbed GmbH, "marknadsplats" som säljer begagnad elektronik. Företaget är baserat i Wien, Österrike.
• Refurbly AB, säljer begagnade mobiler.
• iXPress AB säljer begagnade iPhones, Samsung.
• MobilFynd, Ecommerce Sweden AB, säljer nya och begagnade telefoner från diverse märken.
• Nordic Teknik House AB säljer begagnade mobiler och surfplattor, men även annan elektronik.
• Kimbrer, köper begagnad IT-utrustning, främst från företag.
• IT-Auktion Nordic AB. Säljer ny och begagnad IT-utrustning. (Auktion, på alla vinnande bud tillkommer provision 17.5%). Tar endast emot produkter från företag (ej privatpersoner).
• Teknikdelar (Spares Europe), säljer bland annat begagnade mobiler (mest iPhones, några Samsung). Nyligen uppköpta av ClasOhlson.

International sellers

• eSolutions, sells phones (new or refurbished) preloaded with /e/OS (degoogled Android OS).
• https://buy.gazelle.com (most phones on offer appear to be carrier-locked)

https://www.islamiskaforbundet.se/ramadan-inleds-den-13e-april-2021/
https://islamiskaforbundet.se/doc/Pressmeddelande%20fr%C3%A5n%20Sveriges%20Imamr%C3%A5d%20(Svenska).pdf
https://www.islamiskaforbundet.se/bonetiders-kalla/
Den här videon förklarar hur och varför tidpunkten för fajr går från astronomisk soluppgång till en uppskattad tid mellan 11-12 Ramadan