Last Updated

Map
Replied to Hydrox Cookies Will Return to Stores This Month (Grub Street)

The “original Oreo” is coming back very soon.

A piece of my childhood returns. Hydrox, which predated Oreo, is finally making a comeback.

A few years ago, tech personality Leo Laporte referring to the Hydrox Cookie as an Oreo knockoff caused me to write off a letter regarding this.

I was most disappointed to hear disparaging remarks about the Hydrox cookie on your program. For your information, it is Oreo(1912) made by the National Biscuit Company(Nabisco) that ripped off Hydrox(1908) made by Sunshine Biscuit Company.The name Hydrox, which comes from Hydrogen and Oxygen…admittedly wasn’t the best name for a cookie, but in the latter years, till the product was discontinued, it was rebranded as Droxies. I remember, a few years ago, for the 100th anniversary, Keebler, who now owns the Sunshine brands, did a limited run of Hydrox cookies. You see, as a child, I couldn’t have Oreos on religious grounds. I am Jewish, and Oreos were originally made with lard, which for many years, meant that they were not kosher. It wasn’t until 1998 that Oreos were certified as kosher. So, Hydrox were the sandwich cookies of my childhood. Religious issues aside, I am not the only person for which such passion exists. A quick internet search shows much love for the now discontinued Hydrox cookie. Since I cannot get Hydrox, and at the moment I really am craving a cookie I haven’t had since 2008, I will have to go buy Sunshine’s 1947 bestseller, still in existence, the Vienna Finger. 
I did receive an on air apology from Leo Laporte, who proclaimed he actually had liked the Hydrox. I’m tempted, when the first ones become available, to ship him a package with another note.
Replied to Lessons from trying to help with Android/iOS transfer (tommorris.org)

This weekend, I have been helping an Android user I know switch over to iOS.

What a fucking mess. The tech industry really ought to feel collective shame for the horror movie that is trying to switch from one platform to another…

Few things here. As an Android enthusiast, I recognize people prefer Apple, even if I don’t. I do hate everyone looking at my devices and automatically assuming anything nice must be made by Apple. But good for them for building that rep.

It isn’t as if iOS hasn’t had its share of scandals recently, including their recent app usage of restricted functions…functions Apple thought they could restrict by scanning for them in the code. But, either way…

The MTP issue isn’t a Samsung one. It was thought a security issue to allow direct access to the filesystem of the device by USB cable. The old solution was partitioning, but it meant a hard limit on app installs. So, MTP allows a single filesystem, but the media coming out securely and easily(well, not in your case). The MTP experience on a computer is definitely a problem though.

WhatsApp no making it easy to work with their data is a symptom of the bigger data portability problem. I really think your problem isn’t Android and iOS and the bad transfer experience. The issue is that few companies makes it easy to take data out of their siloed systems. Most people will give up on the effort.

Post Kinds Improvements

For those who have been following my Indieweb activities, I have for a little over a year been developing a WordPress plugin called Post Kinds.  The plugin is based on the built-in Post Formats feature, but focuses on different types of specialized post types or kinds. I figured I would motivate myself by writing out some of the improvements under development.

Picking the right icons to represent the kinds has always been a challenge, because they were part of an icon font. Icon fonts are ‘fake’ fonts that are actually composed of symbols. The latest version of Post Kinds under development switches to SVG. SVG is a text format that defines a complex shape. As it is text, it can be embedded directly in the page. You can compare the two below.

 

newpostkinds
New Post Kind Icons
Old Post Kind Icon Font
Old Post Kind Icon Font

Version 2.3.0

  • Enable the Jam post type. A Jam is used to share a particularly meaningful song you are listening to. distinguished from the existing Listen type, which is a more passive type designed to store songs you have listened to.
  • Support for start and end date, which will be used to enhance activity kinds. This will prepare for support for events, travel, and exercise in a future version. I really want to build travel in soon, but I have a lot to put in before all the pieces come together.
  • Improvements in parsing to bring in better and more consistent data from URLs provided.
  • Help within the plugin. This will be the first version to add built-in help.

This version will not go out until the above, as well as improved presentation(which I’m currently building) are complete. I’ve been working on the presentation rewrite for over a week now, trying to make it a significant improvement over the previous incarnation.

Tim
Time

The 1986 Kennedy Space Center Mystery

I have had this tendency of late to produce trip reports. I visited the Kennedy Space Center for the first time since 1986. So, even though I’m away from home, and my archives are a bit disorganized, I figured I’d reflect on my first visit, for a moment.

p_v13ahgrq2q20505_g

Untitled-69

I was able to locate these images from that visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Untitled-62

I also apparently saw an IMAX movie. The dream is alive was released in June of 1985 and prominently featured the Challenger. I do not remember much of that trip clearly.

Attempts to narrow down when I was there exactly have intrigued me, because January of 1986 also marked the Challenger disaster. I wonder how close I was to one of the sad chapters in American Space Exploration.

The Challenger was scheduled to depart the 22nd of January, but it ultimately didn’t happen till the 28th due to a combination of factors including a prediction of inclimate weather for January 26th. In the pictures, I am carrying an umbrella.

Martin Luther King Day was observed nationally for the first time on Monday January 20th, 1986. From recollections of the other parties, we left Florida after that and were back in New York when the disaster occurred.

That would put the trip sometime in the range between Monday, January 6 and Friday, January 17th.  We know the previous mission, STS-61C, operated by the Columbia, had an aborted launch on the 6th, and was cancelled on the 7th due bad weather at the contingency landing sites in Senegal and Spain. There was a mechanical problem on the 9th, and  on the 10th there was heavy rainfall at the launch area at KSC. It finally launched on the 12th and it later didn’t land at Kennedy Space Center on January 18th due to inclimate weather, ultimately landing at Edwards Airforce Base.

If there had been a launch attempt any day we were there, it would be something that would likely stick in our minds. There is a vague recollection of the shuttle being on the launch pad. But it was most likely the Columbia, not the Challenger as suggested. But who knows?

The final clue is a trip to Disney, taken as part of the same trip, which shows a sunny day. So, we need two days together, one inclimate, one nice…not hard in Florida weather. But lacking concrete historical weather data for 1986(anyone have access to that information?), or more clues, it seems unlikely I can narrow is down further.

The Columbia, which operated STS-61C, disintegrated on February 1, 2003 on reentry. The two shuttle disasters claimed the lives of 14 dedicated men and women.

The search is ongoing for additional visuals from this trip. The mystery remains.

 

Liked Hanukkah – Lift Yourself Up – music video by Jewish a cappella group Shir Soul – Happy Hanukkah! (YouTube)

Happy Hanukkah from Shir Soul!

After mentioning Chanukah Music, at least one acapella group, and giving one plug to Scott Eckers, I’m sure someone in his family would comment if I didn’t link to Shir Soul’s Chanukah song, as Scott appears in it(he’s the guy in the red shirt).
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. I’d mentioned I was listening to some Chanukah music. Wanted to give a few quick recommendations. I have nearly 200 Chanukah tracks.

  1. It’s Chanukah(Amazon link) – An album released back in 2011 by a friend of mine, Scott Eckers. It features the students of the I.L. Peretz Jewish School. It’s a nice production.
  2. A Maccabeats Chanukah(Amazon link) – Just released, the Maccabeats cover some classic Chanukah songs.
  3. Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah by the Klezmatics(Amazon link) – Several rerecord Woody Guthrie Chanukah songs, Guthrie poems about the holiday, and some instrumental compositions by the Klezmatics.
  4. Hooked on Chanukah(Amazon link) – Nothing like a classic Boy’s Choir to sing some holiday songs.

There are many more I haven’t mentioned, like the five different version of the classic Ladino song, Ocho Candelikas. And I’m skipping I have a little Dreidel. But to continue to expand my collection. Any suggestions?

Bookmarked Long Island Teacher Sues State Over Grade, Claims Evaluation System Is Flawed (newyork.cbslocal.com)

From the classroom to the courtroom. A highly regarded Long Island teacher is suing the state over a bad grade.

So, if you are a great teacher…there is little room for growth…so you aren’t growing and thus a bad teacher…

Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour

After living in New York City my entire life, I finally got around to visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island today.  I went on the Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour.

“Your tour guide will take you to select areas of the 750-bed Ellis Island Hospital, including infectious and contagious disease wards, kitchen and the mortuary and autopsy room. At its peak of operation in the early 20th century, this was the largest Public Health Service facility in the United States. Following in the footsteps of the dedicated doctors and nurses of years gone by, you will learn the fascinating history of the hospital and its role in preserving public health. You’ll also visit the Laundry Building, with much of its original equipment still in place, where over 3000 pieces of laundry were washed and sanitized daily.”

A ward, last used as a Coast Guard office in the 1950s
A ward, last used as a Coast Guard office in the 1950s

Most people do not realize that Ellis Island had a hospital, or the controversial nature of it. From 1902 to 1930, the hospital treated immigrants who were identified with a health deficiency of some kind. One in five immigrants who passed through Ellis Island were identified as having an issue, and nine out of ten of those were eventually cured and allowed to enter the United States.

A Tuberculosis Spit Sink
A Tuberculosis Spit Sink

It was an amazing concept then, as it would be today. It was one of the largest public health hospitals in U.S. history. It was designed based on the philosophies of the time, with isolated wards to keep disease from spreading, large windows and other natural methods of circulating air, a mattress sterilizer, and a dedicated laundry for hospital linens.

By the thirties, advances in technology, including air circulation systems, made the hospital increasingly obsolete. It was receiving little upgrades or equipment. Ultimately, the hospital was closed and was used as a military psychiatric hospital during its later years.

In the end, on November 12, 1954, 61 years(less one day) to the day I stopped by, the hospital closed for the last time. There was no removal of fixtures or supplies. The fixtures were so antiquated, the employees simply left everything where it was…where it remained…ready for the next day that never came. Over the next few decades, the island was looted and vandalized, until it was reopened as a museum.

The Structure is Still Remarkable
The Structure is Still Remarkable

TWA Flight Center

TWA Flight CenterThis morning, Open House NYC held its annual open house at the TWA Flight Center at JFK airport. I headed down for a bit before work. The building opened in 1962 as the TWA terminal at the airport. Designed by Eero Saarinen, the building was in use until October of 2001 when TWA merged into American Airlines.

In 1994, the building was declared a landmark by the city. In 2005, the Port Authority and JetBlue Airways began constructing the new T5. The original concourse was knocked down. The only part of it saved was part of the departure lounges, known as the Trumpet, which was lifted and moved at a cost of $895,000, but was ultimately demolished. Despite promises of a complete renovation and use for the space, in the last decade, it has been only open for events such as the Open House.

Just a few days ago, it was confirmed, after years of discussion, that JFK’s first onsite hotel would be built there. According to the renderings I saw today, the hotel would be in two sections at the edge of the terminal near the old tubes that led between the ‘headhouse’ and the concourse, and would not obstruct the views of the existing building.

 

Departure BoardLots of PeopleCheckinPit