Posts Tagged: ‘Linux’

Using Linux (2024-11)

November 3, 2024 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Cal, the Cajun Clickers Linux guru, this month I thought I’d share my thoughts on this mysterious operating system.  For those that don’t know, Linux is an operating system.  In fact, it is one of the most used platforms in use today.  An operating system is software that manages all of the hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop.  To put it simply, the operating system manages the communication between your software and your hardware.  Without the operating system (OS), software wouldn’t function.

The Linux Operating System is used in a wide variety of systems and environments.  It powers large cloud infrastructure environments, on-premises converged infrastructure appliances, application servers, desktop computing environments and embedded systems.  Linux also powers many mobile devices such as Android phones, tablets and many wearables such as watches and fitness trackers.  It is also found on many netbooks.

Linux is an open sourced OS and has no cost. It is completely free to download and install.  This means that anyone can modify the code for their use.  This has led to many versions (distros) of Linux.  As of this writing, there are more than 600.

So why isn’t Linux used by more people?
1.  It seems intimidating.  There are a lot of versions.  Luckily, it isn’t too hard to chose.  There are only four or five distributions that are user friendly for beginners.
2.  There is a lack of useful software.  This used to have some truth.  In recent years, there are excellent programs that are comparable to both Windows and MAC.  Even gaming has become better with releases of Valve and Steam engines.
3 . Its not installed.  Most computers are sold with either Windows or MAC installed.  Although this is starting to change a little, users usually have to download and install Linux on their computer.

As a member of Cajun Clickers, we all have an opportunity to easily change to Linux.  Every month there is a “Linux SIG” and an “Extra Help for Linux” workshop.  These offer a chance to see Linux in operation and get a feel for how it works.  Many first time users start by converting an older computer to Linux.  Why not sign up and check it out?

Thanks for reading.

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KeePass Password Manager (2019-01)

July 11, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Do you use a password manager, or do you do like many others and have a just a few passwords that you use over and over?  If you answered no to using a manager, I’d just like to say that you are an idiot.  I’m sorry to be so blunt, but it is true.  In the modern age of computing it is important that you use hard to decipher, unique passwords for all the sites where you have an account.  It is trivial for hackers to try stolen user names and passwords on several sites.

I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you about the Password Program that I use every day when I’m computing.  I did a Google Search for “free password manager” and got 114,000,000 results.  I’ve carefully researched all of them except for the last four million or so.

I use a lot of passwords in my daily computing.  As of this writing, I’ve got 68 e‑mail addresses.  I frequent 7 different forums, each with separate password.  Then there are my gaming site passwords.  Five right now.  Did I forget to mention my military, government and medical passwords?  Twelve of them.  Then there are on line shopping passwords, miscellaneous social networks and many more.  I’ve got more than 50 passwords that I use fairly frequently.

The first week of every month, I change the passwords for websites that keep important data.  It seems that some company or government office is always being compromised and losing important data.  For most web sites, I use hard to break passwords.  Want to see one of my sample passwords? qyF+,CMqaF+@x!,SdqyF+,CMqaF;+@x!,Sd is a password that used to open one of my web sites for editing.

The program I use to manage all of those passwords is KeePass Password Safe.  It is a really easy to use utility that helps you to keep track of all your passwords while keeping them safe.  It lets you store all of your passwords in a lightweight, simple to use database that is encrypted so that only you can access it.

KeePass Password Safe stores all of your passwords in groups.  That makes it extremely easy to quickly find the one you want.  The program does more than just store the passwords; it also lets you easily copy them onto a Web page or an application.  You can drag and drop them, copy them to the clipboard, or copy them using a hot key.

One of the best features of KeePass is the random password generator which creates passwords with characteristics that you specify.  That way you can tailor your passwords as needed.  For example, some websites won’t let you create a password with underlines while others might require a specific password length.  KeePass makes it easy to create any password.

The program also includes support for TAN (Transactional Access Numbers) passwords and allows you to create TAN lists which automatically expire a password once it has been used.  Other features include auto-lock, database search, import/export.  There are many more features.

Of Course, KeePass also fits in with one of my most demanding prerequisites.  The cost is Zero!  KeePass is open source, which means that there have been a lot of plug-ins developed.  You can download the source code and modify it to meet your needs.  Keepass is a Windows program that has been ported to many other Operating Systems, including Android, iPhone/iPad, Blackberry, JavaScript for browsers and many Linux distributions.

You can read more about the program on the KeePass Password Safe Home Page.  Give it a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Thanks for reading.

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Zooming 2020-08

July 5, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

For the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of something I never thought I would do.  Until the start of the pandemic, I only attended one on-line video conference.  That was about four years ago.  I don’t remember which program I used, but I uninstalled it the following day.

I’m a member of several clubs.  They have all been using Zoom Video Communications.  With reservations, I first installed it on an older laptop with the Linux Mint OS.  It worked perfectly from the first.  Since then, I have installed it on Windows 10 and Android Phone.  It works great on all these systems.  I didn’t even have to update any drivers.

Before I review Zoom, I should make a few comments on security.  Initially, there seemed to be a lot of problems with “video bombing.”  This is when an unexpected appearance (usually obscene) appears in a video feed.  It turned out that most of these were due to sign‑in credentials being posted on YouTube or other places.  I have been attending at least three meetings a week and have not seen this happen.  There have been other problems.  Tom’s Guide has a comprehensive list in Zoom Security Issues. I haven’t noticed any untoward background activity on my computers when I am using the program.

With Microsoft Team, Google Meet, TeamViewer, Skype and so many other options, why has Zoom become so popular?  The answer is simple.  It is easy to use.  You don’t even need to create an account to attend a meeting.  Registration is only required to host the meeting.  You can use Zoom in a web browser, but I’ve found it is much easier when you install the program on your machine.

To join a meeting, you will need both a meeting ID and a password.  Both are provided by the meeting host.  You are then given the choice to sign in with audio and/or video.  Both options can be changed after you join the meeting.  After clicking “join”, you should see a message that says waiting for the host to let you in.  When the host does so, you’re done.

After you have joined a meeting, there are three viewing layouts you can choose.  These are selected with icons on the Zoom Room Controller (usually found in a corner of the screen). The options are:
1.  Speaker displays a large view of the person currently speaking, with a smaller thumbnail of the previous speaker as a picture within picture.
2.  Thumbnail combines the Speaker view with a scaled down version of the Gallery view.  A small strip of thumbnails, showing up to eight participants, displays beneath a relatively larger view of the active speaker.  The thumbnails show the participants who were most recently the active speakers.
3.  Gallery displays up to 25 participants on each screen, with the active speaker highlighted.  For meetings with more than 25 participants, an arrow displays next to the icon.  Tap the right arrow to display the next group of participants on the screen.  Tap the left arrow to display the previous set.

When you are in a meeting room, moving your mouse to the bottom of the screen reveals more icons.  The most important are the two on the left edge.  Clicking on the “microphone” icon mutes or un‑mutes your outgoing sound.  Clicking on the “video” icon starts or stops your outgoing video feed.  Both icons have small up arrows.  These give you more options.

If the meeting host has enabled it, you can share your screen.  Be careful if you do this.  Anything you see on your monitor will be seen by everyone in the meeting.  You don’t want to accidentally share any naughty pictures.

One feature I especially like is the ability for virtual backgrounds.  These are enabled in settings.  There are several built‑in backgrounds or you can upload your own.  I have several that I use, depending on the meeting.

There are several other options that I am not going to explore in the article.  You can find complete information and video tutorials on the Zoom Support Help Center.

Thanks for reading.

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BlueGriffon Web Editor – Originally Published July 2020

July 5, 2020 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

The club website is one of seven that I am currently maintaining.  To do so, I need some specialized tools.  For years, I was a “real” designer and wrote all my code in Notepad and later in Notepad++.  I may be showing my age, but I remember when I purchased Microsoft FrontPage in the late 1990’s.  I acquired it because DreamWeaver was just to darn expensive.  It turned out to be a good decision because DreamWeaver was later purchased by Adobe, which isn’t one of my favorite companies.

FrontPage taught me that I liked “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editors.  I’ve tried many of them.  For the past year, I’ve been mostly using BlueGriffon.  Their tagline is “The next-gen Web and EPUB Editor based on the rendering engine of Firefox.” Old timers may remember the NVU Editor. BlueGriffon is a descendant of the program.

There is a new document wizard which is handy for starting a new page. You can easily select the page language: HTML 4, XHTML 1, XHTML 1.1, HTML 5 or XHTML 5.  The wizard then lets you enter document information: Title, Author, Description, Keywords, Language, etc.  You can also choose, fonts, link colors, background image and more.

The BlueGriffon interface is fairly basic and closely mimics a word processor toolbar layout.  Icons to the most common options are clearly laid out: adding a table, a single image or a thumbnail.  Switching from WYSIWYG view (where you can arrange objects visually) to the web page source code (where you can manipulate the web page by editing the HTML code) is done by clicking on two buttons at the bottom of the page.  You can also view WYSIWYG and source code in side by side windows.

I am definitely a user of the multiple tabs feature, which makes it easy to quickly switch from one document to another, copy and paste, etc.  My only problem is that inactive tabs are not easily seen without mousing over.  This sometimes makes it difficult to quickly go to the desired tab.

BlueGriffon is cross‑platform with versions for Windows 7, 8,10, Mac OS X and many Linux distros.  There is also a portable version (for Windows only).  Like much modern software, you can purchase a license and get more features.  One of these is a manual.  I’ve found that a web search works just as well.  You can find a complete list of features here.  To download the program, click here.
If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Is This the Year for Linux? – Originally Published January 2020

January 31, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’m thinking that this is the year I may finally completely wean myself from the Windows Operating System.  This is largely because Window 10 seems to be getting worse.  They have moved many of the programmers from Windows OS to Azure and other projects.  It seems that they don’t do very much in‑house bug testing anymore.  Instead, they now farm it out to the “fast ring” and the “slow ring”.  Could this be part of the reason why there are often so many problems when updates are released to the public?

Meanwhile, Linux continues to get better.  Many of the distributions have evolved to where they are stable and mostly error free.  There are many programs that run on Linux.  Even most Microsoft software can be used on Linux with the Wine compatibility layer.

Linux is a very secure system.  I can make this statement because Linux is open‑source software.  There are thousands of eyes constantly examining for security issues.  Like any OS, there are trojans, viruses and back‑doors.  These are far fewer in numbers than Windows.  This is probably because there are far less installations of Linux.  When found, they are usually quickly fixed.

Since Windows 10 was released, there have been many vocal complaints about Microsoft “spying” on users.  The fact is that both Apple and Microsoft have always collected telemetry on usage data for years.  If you are concerned about this, Linux collects nothing, unless you specifically install it.  Considering the size of the Linux user base, not many profit motivated companies build tracking applications for Linux.  Of course, web browsers track data the same on all operating systems.

Linux is highly stable.  If you’ve spent any time around Windows forums, you know that after a while the system starts to slow down.  The OS often needs to be freshly installed so that it will run correctly.  You do not need to do this with Linux, which runs exactly as it did when first installed.  There are many tales of Linux distributions that have been running for years without rebooting the computer.  Add this to the fact that Linux runs on a wide variety of hardware.  Like many users, I got my start in Linux by running it on old computers that would no longer easily run Windows.  Now I use it almost daily.

Windows updates have become more nightmarish in recent years.  Maintaining Linux is easy.  All of the variants have their own software repository.  These archives are used to update both the system software and installed programs.  There is no need to update third party software individually.

Linux is completely free and users do not need to pay for anything.  All of the basic software required by a typical user and even an advanced user are available.  Linux is only for geeks isn’t true anymore.  It has become user‑friendly and has a good graphical user interface (GUI).  You will find almost all the functionality that Windows has.

Finally, maybe the biggest reason for switching to Linux.  You can brag on the internet that you’re a Linux User.

That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading.

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FreeFileSync – Originally Published September 2018

September 9, 2018 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

If you’re like me, you’ve got a file or two that you keep on more than one computer.  With a plethora cloud storage services, I don’t use this option as much as I used to.  There are some files that I don’t keep anywhere except on my computer(s).  One example is my passwords file.  I’ve used KeePass for many years.  I like to keep my passwords local on all my machines.  Another example is keeping backup files on a separate drive.

There are several methods of transferring files.  You could cut and paste when you make a change.  You could use the OS backup program.  Easiest of all, you could use FreeFileSync, a folder comparison and synchronization software that creates and manages backup copies of all your important files.

FreeFileSync has a fairly standard layout for a file syncing program.  There are two file comparison boxes, which display differences between your source and destination folders.  Sync locations are easily found by clicking the browse button in each comparison box.  Although I have never used it, you can also specify locations to sync by dragging and dropping them.  After you select your two locations, click either the Compare or Synchronize buttons at the top of the screen.

The software supports several different synchronization methods: Two way, Mirror, Update and Custom.  These and many other settings can be specified in the Synchronization Settings screen.

FreeFileSync has lots of other features:
• Copy locked files (via Windows VSS)
• Binary file comparison
• Automate syncs as a batch job
• Error reporting
• Long file path support
• 64-bit support
• Macros, such as %time% and %date%
• Supports SFTP (on Linux) and WebDAV (on Windows)
• and more. For a complete list, click here.

Of course, my favorite feature of the program is the cost of $0.00.  There is also a donation version that allows you to parallel copy and get automatic updates.  The program is open source software available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.  Be careful when downloading as there is sometimes additional software bundled.  You can download FreeFileSync here.  Give it a try. You might like it.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Best Linux Distribution? – Originally Published October 2017

October 8, 2017 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

Whenever geeks start talking about Linux, at some time the conversation turns to “Which Linux Distribution is the best?”  Sometimes I find that to be a little amusing. Does anyone ever discuss which Window OS is the best?  As I write this, Microsoft is in some fashion still supporting these different Operating Systems.

• Windows 10 Home
• Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10 Pro Education
• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB
• Windows 10 Education
• Windows 10 Mobile
• Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise
• Windows 10 IoT Core
• Windows 10 IoT Enterprise
• Windows 10 IoT Mobile Enterprise
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 8.1 Pro
• Windows 8.1 Enterprise
• Windows 8
• Windows 8 Pro
• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows 8 OEM
• Windows 7 Starter
• Windows 7 Home Basic
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Windows 7 Professional
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Ultimate
• Window 7 Thin PC

This is just a partial list.  There are also several Microsoft OSs for servers, foreign countries, specialized businesses, etc.  You can also still use Microsoft non-supported systems.

Linux distributions are similar to all of those Windows OSs.  They all operate the same, but have different interfaces.  These “shells” can change the appearance and feel of the different distros, but underneath, it is still a Linux kernel running the show.  Linux distros are easy to download and test.  Many of them can even be run from a USB flash drive.

My answer to the “best Linux” question is the same as my answer to the best automobile, the best phone, the best breed of dog, or the best anything.  Whichever works for you is the best.

Thanks for reading.

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Leaning Towards Linux – Originally Published August 2017

August 8, 2017 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

Tom wrote an article for the Newsletter titled “More Microsoft Aggravations”.  I’ll state for the record that I am not in total agreement with him.  I’m leaning towards being much more maddened than he is.  It has been slowly building up for two years now.  I’ll be happy to tell you why.

Windows 10 was released on July 29, 2015.  At that time I was running Windows 7 Professional on my desktop, Windows 7 Home on my laptop, Windows XP on an old desktop that I was using as a server, Windows 8.1 on a tablet, an older laptop with Linux Ubuntu and a laptop with the Windows 10 beta test (the club may remember me demonstrating the new OS with this machine in August 2015).  With the exception of the tablet, I used all the machines almost daily.

I decided that I wasn’t going to upgrade my Windows 7 machines.  This was partly because they were (and still are) both aging and I didn’t think Windows 10 would work well on them.  Besides, I had spent seven years getting my desktop setup just the way I like it.  Being only five years old, my laptop wasn’t quite so ancient.  I still think I made the correct decision as both machines still run fairly well.  In the past, I’ve written several articles on my maintenance and upkeep procedures.

With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft changed their marketing strategies.  It wasn’t long before they released the (in)famous GWX update that attempted to install the new operating system on every computer in the world.  There was a lot of deceit and trickery involved.  Many people had a new OS installed even if they didn’t want it.

In the intervening two years I’ve purchased the Nextbook 11, a convertible tablet.  It runs Windows 10 home and works well for my portability needs.  My Windows 7 desktop and laptop are still my two main productivity machines.  The laptop with the Windows 10 fast ring sits unused waiting for me to put a linux distribution on it.  I’m thinking of turning it into a media server.

I find myself getting more upset with the Microsoft Windows world almost every day.  I can’t say that there is any single, glaring thing, but instead a bunch of small aggravations.

  • Updates install programs that I don’t want or need.
  • Updates remove programs that I use.
  • File associations getting changed.
  • Getting unwanted advertisements (oops! Notifications).
  • Difficulty in navigating Windows settings.
  • Not having control over my hardware drivers.

These are just a few of the most noticeable gripes that I have.  It doesn’t appear that things will improve in the near future.  Maybe I will be surprised, but I’m thinking that things will get worse before they get better.

Linux is looking better every day.

Thanks for reading.

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Scribus Desktop Publishing – Originally Published April 2016

April 24, 2016 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (län’yəp, län-yäp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

Do you send out an annual Christmas letter to all of your relatives?  Do you like to make personalized greeting cards and party invitations?  Are you writing the next great novel?  Would you like to make your own personal calendar?  Would you like to edit the Computer Club Newsletter?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, you probably need some good desktop publishing software.  There are many programs you could buy: Microsoft Publisher, PrintMaster, The Print Shop and PagePlus, to name a few of the well known ones.  These programs will set you back anywhere from forty to two hundred dollars or more.

Or, if you’re thrifty like me, you could download and use an open source program that does everything the paid programs do and more.  I’ve been using Scribus Open Source Desktop Publishing to edit and publish the club newsletter for four months now.   I’ve come to think of the program as a word processor on steroids.

With Scribus you can create single or multi-page documents which can be single or doubles sided.  You can also create three or four fold documents for making brochures.  After your document is created, you simply have to insert text or image frames.  All the frames can be re‑sized, dragged and dropped or copy and pasted, etc.  You can also enter your data directly on the page, but it is much easier to create a frame.

Although I haven’t used all of the features, you can also insert render tables, frames, tables, shapes, etc.  There is also an insert barcode option.  I might research that feature in the future.  Wouldn’t it be cool to be reading a newsletter article and scan a barcode to get more information?

A search of the internet will yield several sites where you can find templates for everything from creating a comic book or magazine to printing your own newspaper.  You can also create and save your own templates.  I’ve done that for the newsletter.  Every month, the first page is nearly the same.  I just load the template, change the dates, volume number, meeting information and insert the President’s message.  Then it is just a matter of inserting articles, pictures, web site charts, etc.  My template is twelve pages, but it is a simple mouse click on the menu to add or delete pages as needed.

There are a few other things about Scribus you should know.  If you want to use the print preview, you have to install the interpreter Ghostscript.  Ghostscript is a non-harmful open source program, but it is more software on your computer.

Scribus has a medium difficulty learning curve.  Most items are intuitive and work much like any word processor.  Others are not.  For instance, to insert a hyperlink, you have to highlight the text and then select “Insert PDF Text Field”.  Then the inserted field has to be edited and the hyperlink inserted.  It was a pain at first, but after about the twentieth time, it became second nature.  For everything I have had difficulty with, it has been easy to find help and solutions in either the Scribus Wiki or an internet search.

Scribus is open source with versions for Windows, Mac and Linux.  There is also a portable version for Windows 32 Bit.  You can download the software at Get Scribus.  If you have a need for desktop publishing software, give it a try.  The cost is zero dollars, plus tax.

If you like the program, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Open Office – Originally Published March 2012

July 14, 2014 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
By Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)The pr
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

As I write this article, you can purchase Microsoft Office from Amazon for $202.99  If you have a student ID, it is only $123.49.  There is another method for saving yourself some cash.

OpenOffice can be downloaded and used entirely free of any license fees.  OpenOffice is released under the Lesser General Public License.  This means you may use it for any purpose – domestic, commercial, educational, public administration.  You may install it on as many computers as you like.  You may make copies and give them away to family, friends, students, employees – anyone you like.  (If you check their website, you’ll find out that I didn’t write this fancy paragraph all by myself).

OpenOffice has five modules.  Writer is a full feature text document editor that many technical writers say is better than Word.  Calc is a spreadsheet program that can completely replace Excel.  Impress is the OpenOffice alternative to Power Point.  Base is a data base module.  Draw is a graphics package.

I’ve got to tell the truth. I regularly use only Writer and Calc.  I’ve got all of the other modules installed in case I have to open a Microsoft Office file.  All of the components of OpenOffice can load and save Office files.

If you do a Google search to compare OpenOffice and Microsoft Office, you will find that many of the sites rate OpenOffice the best choice for personal use and Microsoft Office as best for business use.  This is because with Microsoft, you get technical support if needed.

OpenOffice support is done via an extensive online help the forums on the website.  You can also download a user guide.  There is an online forum for asking and answering questions.  Additionally, several users have created tutorials that demonstrate the ease of using OpenOffice.  If you want to spend some cash, there have been several books written on how to use the software.

For more information, check the OpenOffice website.  You can download OpenOffice here.  Try it.  I think you’ll be convinced.  Like all of the programs featured in my Lagniappe articles, the price of the program is zero.  If you like it, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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