<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I useYYDevelopment’sfree (including of cost) and open source WordPress plugin,Show Pages ID, both here and onThe New Leaf Journal. I received a dismissible banner on my plugin page asking for a WordPress review. What about an on-site review? Show Pages ID is a very simple plugin that adds a field to the WordPress admin screen […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The law office I work for uses Dropbox. I use Dropbox in a browser profile I set aside for work instead of the local app. I just noticed today that when I upload a file, a little gray box appears in the bottom right corner of the screen showing the upload progress. When the upload […]]]></summary>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[I came across a certain Bush Clinton Playground in Red Hook, Brooklyn (NYC) a few years ago and was amused by the name. When I walked by last week, I decided to take a photo and turn it into an article. Despite the fact that the name invokes our 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Presidents, those with a cursory knowledge of New York City history will know that the "Clinton" here is DeWitt Clinton, who served as Mayor of NYC, Governor of NY (following his father George on Governor) and was the Federalist nominee for President in 1812 (he lost fairly narrowly to James Madison). What about Bush? I was not sure who Bush Street was named after, and I learned that New York City is also not quite sure.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I came across a certain Bush Clinton Playground in Red Hook, Brooklyn (NYC) a few years ago and was amused by the name. When I walked by last week, I decided to take a photo and turn it into an article. Despite the fact that the name invokes our 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Presidents, those with a cursory knowledge of New York City history will know that the "Clinton" here is DeWitt Clinton, who served as Mayor of NYC, Governor of NY (following his father George on Governor) and was the Federalist nominee for President in 1812 (he lost fairly narrowly to James Madison). What about Bush? I was not sure who Bush Street was named after, and I learned that New York City is also not quite sure.<br />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I read about an adware company purchasing the open source Simple Mobile Tools apps for Android. I was not using any of the apps at the moment (I used a few in the past), so I decided to offer some suggestions for alternatives that I use on my own device (I run LineageOS 20 on my phone). My recommendations are admittedly limited by my set up and phone usage, but I think I have a few good ones.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Simple Mobile Tools is a suite of free and open source android apps designed to replace Google’s default apps. However, “free and open source” will likely be a thing of the past after Simple Mobile Tools was acquired by ZippoApps. I used a few Simple Mobile apps back when I wrote a review of F-Droid apps in 2021, but I was fortunately not using any at the time of the ZippoApps news. One of the main contributors to Simple Mobile Tools who was not involved in the decision to sell the suite to an adware company forked the project. The fork looks like a good option for people who want to keep using the Simple Mobile Tools suite. Since I was not using any of the apps, I thought I would note what I use instead. Before continuing, do note that my phone runs LineageOS and I do not use any closed s…]]></summary>
<author>
<name>The New Leaf Annex</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Simple Mobile Tools Alternatives]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Simple Mobile Tools is a suite of free and open source android apps designed to replace Google’s default apps. However, “free and open source” will likely be a thing of the past after Simple Mobile Tools was acquired by ZippoApps. I used a few Simple Mobile apps back when I wrote a review of F-Droid […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Why manhole covers are round]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I never thought about why manhole covers were round before reading this detailed history of manhole covers in New York City. That they are round “so they won’t fall into the manhole … if you insert [them] at an angle or vertically” makes sense. Maybe I never thought about it because I have never been […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I primarily use feeds to stay on top of interesting authors and websites. I seldom need to deal with newsletters because almost everything I follow (including a few Substack and Buttondown newsletters and the newsletter for Tablet Magazine) also have RSS feeds. But there are a few exceptions, notably some of the Real Clear network […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[A friend sent me a bonsai. The bonsai was packaged and shipped from a nursery in Mississippi. Despite being a small bonsai, it came in a big box. What accounted for the box size? Well... (Note these were not all the Styrofoam peanuts.)
Article with the full story and photographs of the healthy bonsai:
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A friend sent me a bonsai. The bonsai was packaged and shipped from a nursery in Mississippi. Despite being a small bonsai, it came in a big box. What accounted for the box size? Well... (Note these were not all the Styrofoam peanuts.)<br />
<br />
Article with the full story and photographs of the healthy bonsai:<br />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[They say it's better late than never. I interpret that to mean it's never too late to catch up on the newest trends in women's fashion (in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) from January 1841.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I started a GitHub repository for Bing ban stories when The New Leaf Journal ran into a Bing ban. While my project is no longer banned by Bing, I am still maintaining the repository. Today, I added a (now-resolved) Bing ban story from Mr. Andrew Ward regarding his portfolio and blog site.]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Welcome to the 163rd edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you as always from the waterproof keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, N.A. Ferrell. Below, I have our six newest articles (one of our more varied collections), 21 links from around the web, links from our own archive, and brief news and notes from the week that was.
Speaking of the week that was...
Leaves from the week that was
I published six new articles since mailing the Newsletter 162.
1783 NY Evacuation Day Song
A short follow-up to my history of Evacuation Day.
NBA MVPs and MVP Teammates
Fun stats and notes on NBA MVPs who played with other NBA MVPs.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Sports Illusrated, fresh off an AI article controversy, selected Colorado Buffaloes college football coach Dion Sanders as its Sportsperson of the Year. Mr. Sanders took over as head coach at Colorado after the football team went 1-11 in 2022. Sports Illustrated noted that the team improved greatly in Coach Sanders’ first season: As for the […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[What Happened to Ronald McDonald?]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Justin of our Justin and Justina duo looks behind a particularly inane protest to wonder what happened to that Ronald McDonald guy.
Possibly related posts...
Justin and Justina review 2022 at the NLJ
Justin & Justina: The Most-Read New Leaf Journal…
The Enigmatic Life and Death of Emperor Otho
Justin & Justina: Most-Read NLJ Content of 2020
Justin & Justina 〜 4th of July Grill Sacrifices to…
Anime Recommendations of the Decade (2011-20)
The Quince Shortage - Justin and Justina
ACE Academy - Visual Novel Review
Collected Justin and Justina Dialogues]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Overhearing a man drop "pie chart" in casual conversation about video games inspired a dialogue on pizza charts and mixing work and leisure.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I received an email from the Bing Webmaster Team: We hope this message finds you well! We've noticed it's been a while since you last visited Bing Webmaster Tools, and we've genuinely missed having you around! Webmaster Tools has undergone some exciting updates and improvements recently, and we think you'll be pleased with the enhancements […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[On JRPG Hidden Items and NPCs]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I am interested in alternatives to big tech software and services. It was for that reason that I switched to Linux in 2020. While I am not big on social media, I use Mastodon, Pixelfed, Minds, and NOSTR to help promote my writing on my self-hosted WordPress projects. I have had an interest in open source alternatives to Goodreads. There are a few interesting ActivityPub powered projects, but they are not quite what I am looking for. At the moment, I am trying Open Library. You can see my fresh profile and current reading.
I like it thus far. Once you know where everything is, it is easy to navigate and organize books. I also like LibraryThing (not open source), but that is more geared toward collection management than reading tracking. My top request for Open Library is RSS/ATOM support. I maintain a static site with all of my feeds (including this site) and would like to be able to drop an Open Library feed in there without having to be creative. Libreture (for storing and managing DRM-free ebooks) and Inventaire (for cataloguing and trading physical ebooks) both produce feeds for user profiles. Alas, that seems to still be a missing feature for Open Library and LibraryThing. I could see others being disappointed with Open Library's relative lack of social functionality, but I think that may be more of a feature than a bug.]]></summary>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[> When interpreting older songs, I try to find the darker side of these often up-tempo major key cla...]]></title>
<id>https://memos.emucafe.org/m/37</id>
<link href="https://memos.emucafe.org/m/37"/>
<updated>2023-11-29T00:39:02.000Z</updated>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[When interpreting older songs, I try to find the darker side of these often up-tempo major key classics; often a love song is just a brush stroke away from being transformed into something menacing.
Very interesting take that you demonstrate through the performance. Question: Can you think of any examples of folk songs that jump out to you where the songwriter intended for the song to change depending on how the vocalist interprets it?
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I am using the Classic Editor here at The Emu Café Social, in large part because some of the IndieWeb plugins I am using require it instead of Gutenberg. I agree with this take by Mr. Baty in a vacuum that the classic editor is better for writing than Gutenberg. However, I use Gutenberg over […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Gothamist published an article on the push to ban street vendors from the magisterial Brooklyn Bridge. I am 100% in support of banning street vendors from the Bridge, but I will focus on another point in the report. See the following quote: But vendors said there are not many legal spots where they can […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I published my previous Bearblog post (it has been a while) back in the middle of the spring anime season (see post). The year is coming to an end. Despite my having written in that post that there was no clear anime of the year front-runner as of the middle of the spring season, my current front-runner for anime of the year (expect my New Leaf Journal year in review at the end of December or early January) is from that very spring season (see my 2022 review).
But I digress.
Since last posting here, I acquired the emucafe.org domain to use for my new social publishing site. Because I paid the small fee for extra Bearblog features, I figured that I may as well use it here too. Thus, my new main domain here is newleafannex.emucafe.org. For anyone considering using their own domain with Bearblog, I will say that the set-up process works exactly as advertised in the docs.]]></summary>
<author>
<name>The New Leaf Annex</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[I discovered that empty first like in alt text field for image in WordPress causes image to always b...]]></title>
<id>https://memos.emucafe.org/m/36</id>
<link href="https://memos.emucafe.org/m/36"/>
<updated>2023-11-28T15:25:56.000Z</updated>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I discovered that empty first like in alt text field for image in WordPress causes image to always be aligned left, regardless of other settings.
#WordPress]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Emu Café Memos</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Not to brag, but Amazon is telling me that it has been more than 5 years since I last broke my Hario v60 coffee glass. Not a big deal. As I said, I don't like to brag.
Story Link: https://thenewleafjournal.com/5-years-without-breaking-my-coffee-glass/
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Not to brag, but Amazon is telling me that it has been more than 5 years since I last broke my Hario v60 coffee glass. Not a big deal. As I said, I don't like to brag.<br />
<br />
Story Link: <a href="https://thenewleafjournal.com/5-years-without-breaking-my-coffee-glass/" rel="external nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://thenewleafjournal.com/5-years-without-breaking-my-coffee-glass/</a><br />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[My post on a 1913 magazine collection of reader-submitted breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus from the 50 states. I singled out several for looking good (to me). However, I do have some concerns about the AMOUNT of food...
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Welcome to the 162nd edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you as always from the waterproof keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell.
Today's newsletter falls on New York City's Evacuation Day. What is Evacuation Day? You can learn about it in a link in our Leaves from the week that was section below. While I usually limit this humble newsletter to articles published from the previous Saturday to the Friday preceding the newsletter, I made an exception for New York City's patriotic holiday. Other than this exception, you will find your favorite (I hope) regularly scheduled newsletter sections below.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Fresh off the presses, my long, detailed history of a former official New York City holiday that landed on November 25: Evacuation Day. It commemorated the evacuation, or final departure, of the British military from Manhattan on November 25, 1783, which was followed by the entry of the U.S. military led by a certain General George Washington.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A detailed history of New York City's Evacuation Day, a former holiday that landed on November 25 and was second only to Independence Day in NYC's patriotic pantheon.
Possibly related posts...
The al|together and Insani Visual Novel Translations
The New Leaf Journal Celebrates Its First Birthday
A 2021 List of Alternative Search Engines and Search…
Justin & Justina: Most-Read NLJ Content of 2020
Oldest Golfers to Contend for Majors Between the…
Anna Jarvis and the Origin of Mother's Day in the…
1883 Opening of the Brooklyn Bridge
The Enigmatic Life and Death of Emperor Otho
Winds of New Beginnings: Pokémon Gold & Silver]]></summary>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Happy Thanksgiving! Inflatable turkey seen in front of a grocery store in the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Carroll Gardens.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Happy Thanksgiving! Inflatable turkey seen in front of a grocery store in the Brooklyn NYC neighborhood of Carroll Gardens.<br />
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Re-printing the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, from the pen of George Washington in 1789 (also noted are some 1789 arguments against a federal proclamation of Thanksgiving).
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Back in 2022, I wrote an article on the importance of being in good standing with Microsoft Bing for reaching searchers who prefer privacy-friendly search solutions. While Bing itself is far from privacy-friendly, many alternatives such as DuckDuckGo, Qwant, Ecosia, and Swisscows use Bing’s search index. That particular article was inspired by a post on […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Welcome to the 161st edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you as always from the waterproof keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell. We have a solid week of publishing, so I look forward to sharing our new articles, links from around the web, and other news and notes to hold you over through Thanksgiving.
Leaves from the week that was
I published five new articles since mailing newsletter 160.
"I Voted" Sticker Appears in Pocket
I am going with the "magic" explanation.
On Coach Jimbo Fisher's Buyout
I could not pass on the opportunity to write about Texas A&M paying a man $76.8 million to not coach its football team.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I dare say Newsletter 161 is one of my finer newsletter efforts. Links to our 5 newest articles, 21 links from around the web, and a Thanksgiving-themed walk through our archives. Come for the new New Leaf Journal content, stay for external links to articles about birds looking at birds.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[After capturing an impromptu piano recital in my home featuring at least two Danbo and two stuffed chicks, I decided that I had accomplished everything I could as as a photographer.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I just published my article on Grenada’s annual October 25 Thanksgiving. As I explain in that piece, Grenada’s Thanksgiving commemorates the date of the commencement of the 1983 U.S.-led intervention to restore order on the island after a palace coup. It occurred to me right after publishing the article (somehow only after) to check whether […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[October 25 Thanksgiving in Grenada]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Examining Greanda's annual October 25 Thanksgiving, which commemorates the beginning of the 1983 American-led intervention to restore order in the small Caribbean nation.
Possibly related posts...
History of Thanksgiving Proclamations in the Philippines
Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Calvin Coolidge's 1923 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Return to Shironagasu Island Review
When President Coolidge Spared a Raccoon From…
"Coffee Fruit Punch" - A Cookbook Abomination
Justin & Justina: Most-Read NLJ Content of 2020
Fallen Inflatable Thanksgiving Turkey
Justin and Justina review 2022 at the NLJ]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Running The New Leaf Journal takes me interesting places. For example, it has taken me to Grenada over the last few days. Not literally, mind you. I am not much of a traveling guy (nor am I a big fan of planes or other vehicles). I am researching Thanksgiving in Grenada for what promises to […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Last year, I published a history of Thanksgiving proclamations in the Philippines from the U.S. colonial era through the first President Marcos's significantly changed take on the holiday.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I have written a number of articles about hair color in Japanese anime, manga, novels, and games (usually visual novels) -- because why not become the internet's leading resource in something? I finally got around to creating a collection page for this very important 2D anthropology project.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It has been a rough year for search engines I reviewed. Peekier went offline and turned into a Kagi redirect last February. But again, my review lives on.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Elephind, a newspaper search engine that I used for a number of projects, has been taken offline. For those who are curious about what it looked like, my review lives on.
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I have published a growing collection of articles on hair color in Japanese anime, manga, and games (usually visual novels). My […]]]></summary>
<author>
<name>Nicholas A. Ferrell</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[On Coach Jimbo Fisher’s Buyout]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Texas A&M's decision to pay Coach Jimbo Fisher $76.8 million to not coach the school's football team raises questions about its priorities as an institution.
Possibly related posts...
College Football Coach Salaries and Buyouts and…
Should the Pistons have drafted Carmelo?
The Japanese Citizenship Requirement for Sumo Stablemasters
1997 Otis Thorpe trade and the 2003 NBA Draft
Sega of Japan's Yukawa Dreamcast Commercials
Brown hair and dress codes in Ippon Again!
Imagination in Pokémon Red and Blue
Playing Through Cancer in Silence: Shawn Respert's NBA Story
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Welcome to the 60th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of the perennially virid online writing magazine, The New Leaf Journal. This newsletter comes to you from the waterproof keyboard of the editor of The New Leaf Journal, Nicholas A. Ferrell. After a brief unplanned hiatus, we returned to our ordinary publishing pace last week. Below, I share our newest articles, links from around the web, and news and notes about The New Leaf Journal.
Leaves from the week that was
I published five new articles since mailing the previous newsletter.
October 2023 at The New Leaf Journal
No one said these months in review had to be published in the month of review.
Planning and Angel Next Door Season 2
The anticipated results of good article planning.
Upgrading Pixel 3a XL …]]></summary>
<author>
<name>The Newsletter Leaf Journal</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[7-Eleven Embraces Open Source (Food)]]></title>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[SoraNews24 published an entire article about making a recipe released by 7-Eleven in Japan. I think the recipe looks good (“to die for” is probably excessive, however). But regardless of whether you think 7-Eleven’s sausage-butter-rice dish looks appetizing, I am sure you can join me in praising the convenience store chain for fully embracing open […]]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Re-printing the first U.S. Veterans Day Proclamation, written and issued by then-President (and prominent veteran) Dwight D. Eisenhower 69 years to the day:
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[On October 11, 2023, Nintendo Life cited to reports that Disney is looking to purchase a video game company. This sounds very ominous so I am crossing my fingers that they do not buy a company that makes good games. Go for one of the companies that makes those terrible free-to-start mobile games!]]></summary>
<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I use a low-end Beelink mini-PC as a TV box (this will be a New Leaf Journal article eventually). I run Fedora on the mini PC and switch between GNOME and Kodi sessions depending on what I am doing. Yesterday, I upgraded from Fedora 39 to Fedora 40. The upgrade went smoothly. Everything appeared to […]]]></summary>
