#Macs

[steel-and-fire]

Small sketch I drew during session.

[stone-cold-groove]

Screen shot of an online Apple Computer ad - 1999.

[glimpseinto]

House of Macs (2007) by Andre Gaulin on Flickr.

[europa6502]

I got Fedora installed on my 2018 Mac Mini!!

It went mostly ok, but there were a few bumps along the way.

I used this guide in case anyone is interested. :)

[scotianostra]

On June 17th 1823 Charles Macintosh patented the waterproof cloth he was using to make raincoats.

Mackintosh rubberized coats were not immediately successful. Although they were waterproof, they had a strong smell which most wearers found unpleasant. It was not until a fellow chemist, Thomas Hancock, invented a process involving vulcanized rubber that the problem was solved. Hancock became a partner in Macintosh’s business in 1834. This marked the real start of the iconic Mackintosh brand.

In 1824 an Arctic exploration team trialled rubber coated waterproof canvas bags, air-beds and pillows made by the Macintosh patented process. In 1841 the British army ordered waterproof clothing for all its troops. The rubberized coats and capes were functional and hard wearing and they soon became standard army issue.

After the death of Charles Macintosh in 1843, the company had a period of decline. But in 1851 the Mackintosh coat was shown at The Grand Exhibition at Crystal Palace, London. And the rest is history.

Of course just because you patent something it does not mean you actually were the first to invent it, controversy has followed the invention of the telephone since Alexander Graham Bell patented it, other inventions were questioned, the tyre, the television and the bicycle, all connected to Scotland and all have earlier versions that were thought of, or made beforehand, the “Mac” is no different.

James Syme, a surgeon and chemist based in Edinburgh, had discovered a derivative of coal tar (naphtha) could dissolve rubber and published his findings in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy five years before Macintosh came up with his idea.

It was the same process used by Macintosh following his own chemistry experiments with waste from Glasgow’s coal-gas works, and it has been claimed that the inventor had read Syme’s work before developing it for his own uses.

While Syme, uninterested in commercial matters, failed to patent his valuable discovery and continued to build a noteworthy career in surgery, Macintosh stamped his name on the idea in 1823, had Syme done so you might be calling the coats Symes.....it doesn’t have the same ring does it? Syme’s paper had not detailed the crucial sandwich-type construction employed by Macintosh, although this too was not completely new.

Spanish scientists previously used the method to make leak-proof containers for mercury, and renowned British balloonist Charles Green made a balloon envelope that applied the same principle in 1821.

French scientists also made balloons gas-tight and impermeable by impregnating fabric with rubber dissolved in turpentine and the use of rubber to waterproof fabric dates back to the Aztecs, who used natural latex.

But what made Macintosh’s invention revolutionary was its ease of manufacture and wear, seeing him swiftly launching into the production of cloth to be converted into coats and other garments by tailors in Glasgow.

Some of you might have picked up on the different spelling of the names in the first two paragraphs? Others will now be scrolling back to see what I mean! Well when As news of his invention spread, the repeated misspelling of the inventor’s name is thought to have popularised the description of the resulting coat as a “Mackintosh” – a name that has stuck to the present day.

Macintosh was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society for his contributions to chemistry and enjoyed considerable success before his death in 1843, aged 76.

First sold in 1824, his coat remains on the market in numerous forms across the world, it is now primarily a luxury brand still bearing its inventor’s name, even though it is spelled wrong!

[tribesoftheendtimes]

Felled Giant

The icon of MACS (Malthusian Alliance of Confederated States), the former leviathan of Nod and once a monstrous, fearsome power brought low by its own magnanimous hubris.

The War of MACS Aggression (976-982) had given the world the reason to put an end the worlds torment. Centuries of international humiliation boiling like hot acid, until burst out their very stomachs, searing vengeance. Its icons melted into meaningless slag, whole cities swept away in the fury of a billion strikes, Skinned alive by the sheer megaton power of nations spurned.

There would be nothing left but ashes for the future.

It's once bustling cities and pulsing industrial strength had been reduced to nothing more than a nigh inhospitable wasteland. What had once been a place of a billion souls had been reduced to less than 100 million.

For those that survived, the greener pastures the city-states had provided some facsimile of a life they clung to. These infant nations continued to hold onto the beliefs of the once mighty MACS, to its own unfortunate detriment. Incalculable greed and violence, puerile domination and unearned pride. A repeat of history, again and again and again.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Foundation lays beyond the boundaries, patiently waiting for those who flee from a civilized society unwilling to part with their beloved dystopic constrictions. The winding, crumbling miles and the overgrown spires of rust, provides a solace to the many incorruptible malcontents that find themselves here.

Genuine freedom is to had, where the possibilities are truly limitless. A freedom that had once been the false promise of a nation that wrapped its strangling borders around the neck of the land.

The very land itself wants for you, to take up its offer. To grasp at the chance for a life unrestrained.

All you need to do is to take that first step.

[thejournalofawanderer]

Surgery and How I Got Here

Hello all! It’s been such a long time since I last made a post. So much has happened to me. So much has changed. I’ll start with some life changing stuff first. I had surgery in April of 2024 (nearly a year ago now).

It took me a long time to get to that point. I noticed that my health and my overall state of being wasn’t quite right. I just wasn’t feeling like myself. I started out by going to my primary care physician (PCP), and I felt dismissed and greatly understood. My labs were “normal”, and I was told that I just needed to focus on sleep, exercise, drinking water, a healthy diet, and acknowledging I was getting “older”.

I was not satisfied with this response. I started doing some digging and some investigation on myself. I opted to seek further treatment from an endocrinologist. I had expressed my concerns and how I felt. She also said similar things my PCP said. But, she opted to run more labs and more tests.

Meanwhile, I met with my naturopath physician to make sure I was covering all my bases. I didn’t want to leave any stones unturned. I had a Dutch test done on my urine. I tried it all. I learned that not all doctors respect other doctors tests and forms of medicine. I mean, it’s all backed by science, so what’s the issue?

BUT, before I went to see my endo. I opted to fly to Colorado to meet with a different doctor that my friend had a lot of success with. Needless to say, she was a dud for me. She tried diagnosing my with PCOS based on no further testing. Cushing’s is oftentimes misdiagnosed for PCOS. I was on medications that did not help or support me. Luckily I went with my gut and opted not to take those medications anymore, and move forward with meeting my endo.

I got a sleep study done, because of my excessive daytime sleepiness. Let me tell you. I don’t know how those studies could tell you anything. It is literally the worlds worst sleep. You’re in an unfamiliar place looking the scene in Star Wars, where C3PO and R2D2 get all dissembled with wires everywhere. It was so uncomfortable, and they wake you up a million times. After all was said and done, the results were, “You do in fact have daytime sleepiness”…..NO SHIT!

I had mentioned my ADHD and anxiety, and my endo wanted to blame all of my symptoms on that. Like, I’ve ADHD and anxiety my whole life. My sudden change in weight and everyday functionality is not a result of these things. Something else is wrong, and it isn’t that or the medication that I sometimes take for my ailments.

I continued with more labs and 24 urine collections. I got a CT scan, and it came back showing that I had a 2 inch mass on my right adrenal gland. I was kind of surprised, and excited, because I was FINALLY getting closer to some sort of answer or diagnosis.

SO, after nearly a year of almost 20 different labs and tests, she then referred me to a super specialist endocrinologist at the main hospital. My labs were in this gray area, and I wasn’t satisfied with my answers. My labs were 50/50 for Cushing’s.

I met with my second endo, which my first meeting was abysmal. It was her resident that I met with…a guy. You see the thing is, I always request women doctors. I feel more comfortable with them, and I usually feel understood. When I got into this appointment (which I waited 4 months for), I was a bit disappointed to see a guy. He was very dismissive of my self diagnosis. I was under the impression that I had Cushing’s. He did not.

So, I got more labs and more tests. I got a second CT scan that confirmed the 2 inch mass on my right adrenal gland. Due to the size of the mass or nodule, they were going to opt for surgery, regardless of the results on my labs. But, my labs came back supporting the findings.

I think met with my surgeon. We discussed my pre-surgery expectations and scheduled my surgery. He was the one that told me I had Cushing’s. I felt relieved and accomplished. I had finally had an answer. All of my self advocacy was finally paying off. (Huzzah!)

So, I had my surgery on Thursday, April 18th. It was the first surgery I’ve ever had. I was nervous and not nervous at the same time. I remember the operating room. I remember how kind everyone was. I knew that I was in good hands. I remember waking up to see my mom and brother in my room. I was so tired, and kinda nauseous.

My time in the hospital after that was interesting. My IVs kept blowing my veins. I had put myself on a liquid diet a week prior to surgery, per my surgeon, and I hadn’t eaten real food. Post-op, I was so repulsed by food, but I had to eat. I couldn’t go to the bathroom without help out of bed. They took my blood from a vein that was receiving fluids, and it through everyone into a panic, because obviously my labs were dangerously wrong. So, I then had to become a human pin cushion every 1/2 hour to run my labs again to make sure I wasn’t going to die. Good times! Did I mention the IV blew my veins 4 times?

Overall, the worst part of post-op was trying to pass all of the gas or CO2 they pumped into my abdomen. It was HORRIBLE. The pressure had moved up into my chest, and it felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I only felt comfortable laying down. It took about a week for it to finally dissipate. Just in time for me to head back to work!

Then 6 weeks post op, I had to fly to Wisconsin/Minnesota to take a rock climbing assessment. Haha wild times.

Anyways, I am healed up from the actual surgery. Sometimes I feel like a little part of me is missing. They ended up taking out my whole adrenal gland with the mass. So, I am left with just my left adrenal gland. My cortisol levels have evened themselves out for the time being.

But here’s the kicker. Since surgery, I’ve had follow up appointments and my endo was like, “You don’t have Cushing’s, you have MACS”….I’m like, what are you talking about. My surgeon said I had Cushing’s and that having this surgery would cure me. Apparently I have a subclinical form of Cushing’s. MACS, which stands for Mild Autonomous Cortisol Secretion. (Mind was blown)

With this condition that I have, it’s an overproduction of cortisol in a system. So, imagine being in a state of fight or flight for so long that your body starts packing on weight to protect itself. That’s how I ended up where I am. It’s wild and exhausting. It’s a condition that takes time to recover from.

Folks keep asking how I am, and I honestly don’t know. I feel the same, but different. I’m still trying to lose all the weight I gained (50lbs) and find some sort of normalcy in my life again. I feel like an alien in my body. I don’t recognize the person I see looking back. I have my ups and my downs. I am trying my best to get through it. It’s hard, but I’m here.

Women are forever dealt the shitty hand. Our hormones dictate so much of our lives and when things go array, the whole body is in red alert. It’s frustrating and exhausting. I still feel deeply misunderstood when I am battling an illness that no one can see. It’s an invisible battle, that receives little sympathy or praise for how well I’m doing. I just wake pt wake up and hope for the best.

In the end I met with so many doctors (8). They all ran so many tests and labs (30+). I also juggled an extremely toxic relationship in all of this, that did not help my health and overall mental wellbeing. To say that this has been a challenge is an understatement. I am on a path to healing my physical wellbeing and my mental wellbeing. Thanks to everyone who has been with me through it all. It truly means a lot. Life is hard. It continues to be hard, but I am taking steps that will give me the strength to get through it.

For more information on MACS

[netscapenavigator-official]

It’s honestly such a shame that Apple locks down their platforms the way they do. I’ve been playing Hitman: WOA all day by running it through CrossOver & GPTK2, and it practically runs like it’s native. My computer has a regular M1 CPU, too. It’s crazy to think what modern games would do on ARM64 Macs if only Apple would stop disincentivizing developers from touching their platforms.

[jenjensd]

It’s my birthday so I’m forcing people on my dash to look at my cat. I can’t afford to blaze it but please look at him. His name is Fionn!

A very kind soul has decided to blaze this post! And if you want to see more of Fionn, check out @fionn-the-cat

[newstech24]

Steam is lastly including native help for Macs with Apple Silicon

Steam will quickly totally help Macs geared up with Apple’s in-house chips. Within the newest Steam consumer beta noticed by 9to5Mac, Valve says the “Steam Shopper and Steam Helper apps now run natively on Apple Silicon.” Which means Steam will not want to make use of Rosetta 2 to run on Macs with M-series chips. Rosetta 2 is the emulator that enables Intel-based apps to run on Apple Silicon’s…

[amtechhive]

Macos 26 rumored to leave support for these four Macs

The next major version of Macos, which is now dubbed “Macos 26”, is rumored to leave support for many old Intel-based Mac models which are currently compatible with Macos Sequoia. According to persons familiar with the case quoted by AppleinsiderThe following Macs will not be supported by the next version of Macos: These were the oldest supported by MacMacos Sequoia, and their omission in the…

[smart-macademia]

home library so I never have to leave the house 📚

[androfyi]

How to use Apple Software Restore to clone your Mac's drive

Apple Software Restore lets you clone your Mac even with a Signed System Volume. Here’s how to use it to copy your Mac’s storage. For a variety of reasons, you may want to make a clone of your Startup Disk on your Mac. This can include software testing, backups, configuration, or many other reasons. In the past on macOS this was relatively easy, but that changed with macOS Big Sur because Apple…

[cookrunwrite]

Late-Night Baking: Irresistible Cookie Butter Macarons!

[jaybug-jabbers]

I remember that wallpaper aaa, I miss this computer

Computer Chronicles - MacWorld Expo 1994