Ken Hollis

@gandalfddi

Retired MSFT - Computer-Network-ICS-SCADA-CyberSecurity - I have a very particular set of skills-Military Brat-#PNW Me - gandalfddi.github.io Ridin' My Motorcycle - gandalfddi.github.io/motorcycle.html Space Shuttle - gandalfddi.github.io/shuttle.html

1783 Siguiendo1118 Seguidores1702 Publicaciones

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Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· 22d

Bay of Martyrs, Great Ocean Road, Victoria. January 2026. The name isn't poetic license - local history holds that settlers drove Girai wurrung people from these cliffs in the 1840s. Beautiful and brutal in the same frame. #Nature #Photography #Australia

Wide panoramic view of the Bay of Martyrs on Australia's Great Ocean Road under a deep blue sky. Turquoise and dark blue ocean fills the frame, with lines of white breakers rolling into a curved sandy beach on the right. Golden limestone cliffs frame both sides of the bay, and a small flat-topped limestone island stack sits offshore. The foreground is dense low coastal scrub in silvery green, with a patch of weathered driftwood on the cliff edge. Distant headlands fade into haze along the horizon.

Bay of Martyrs is on the Great Ocean Road near Peterborough, Victoria, part of the Bay of Islands Coastal Park. The name (along with nearby Massacre Bay and Massacre Hill) is tied to local accounts that European settlers in the 1840s drove Girai wurrung (Kirrae Whurrong) people off these cliffs to their deaths during the violent dispossession of the Western District. There's no surviving written record of the specific event – which is itself part of the story

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· 24d

Throwback: July 2014, my first bike – the 2000 Triumph Sprint – with buddy Bill and his Ducati Diavel at the Y where SR 123 meets Chinook Pass. Decision point: over the pass or down toward Rainier. Either answer is correct. #Motorcycle #Motosky #PNW #ChinookPass

Two motorcycles parked on wide asphalt at the SR 123 / Chinook Pass (Hwy 410) junction in Washington's Cascades. On the left, a red 2000 Triumph Sprint sport-tourer with matching red panniers and a black helmet resting on the seat. On the right, a rider in white-and-black Dainese leathers sits on a black Ducati Diavel with a red trellis frame, checking his phone. Behind them the two-lane highway curves uphill past a rocky cut bank, with evergreen forest and hazy blue mountain ridges under a partly cloudy summer sky. Two other motorcycles are approaching down the road in the distance.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· 26d

... And yet we ride ...: gandalfddi.github.io/motorcycle_e...

A woman in a black leather jacket sits astride a green Moto Guzzi cafe racer, paused at the open wooden door of a barn. Text overlay: Remember that the minute you take your first step into the life of your dreams, the first to greet you there will be fear. Nod. Keep walking. - Brianna Wiest"

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· 27d

See, LLMs ARE useful for some things :-). I may have an afternoon project in my future

Me:
So what parts do I need to assemble to create a curved "ASSHOLE" that will provide the needed indentation on a $1 coin? ;-)

LLM Response:
Ha – you're describing a counterstamp die, and the good news is this is a legitimate, legal hobby with a couple centuries of tradition behind it. Legal note first so it's on the record: 18 U.S.C. § 331 only prohibits fraudulent alteration of coins. Political counterstamping with no intent to defraud is legal – same statute carve-out that permits pressed-penny machines and hobo nickels. British suffragettes counterstamped "VOTES FOR WOMEN" onto pennies for exactly this purpose. You're in good company. Just don't try to pass it as anything other than a dollar.

Now the engineering. Assuming this coin uses the standard "golden dollar" blank (Sacagawea/Presidential spec – 26.49mm diameter, 2.0mm thick, manganese-brass clad over a copper core), you're working soft metal. That's in your favor.

The die. Individual letter punches won't hold a clean arc – seven letters hand-registered on a curve will look like a ransom note. What you want is a single-piece custom counterstamp die with the text engraved on an arc matching the coin's rim radius (~13mm, positioned so the arc echoes where "LIBERTY" sits – which, given the placement, writes its own joke). Order it from an outfit that does custom hobo-nickel and counterstamp dies

<skipped for too much alt-text>

Total kit: custom die, harbor-freight-class press, jig, anvil block. Call it $200 and an afternoon, then marginal cost per coin is zero. Fall release, so you've got lead time on the die order.

One genuinely practical note: counterstamped political coins are a recognized collecting niche. The suffragette pennies go for real money now. Yours would at least be, ah, thematically coherent with the numismatic tradition of editorial commentary on the sovereign's portrait.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· 29d

Denali Park Road, Mile 9, July 2024. Fireweed in bloom, spruce over open taiga, and that faint white mass on the right horizon is Denali itself – 70 miles out and cloud-free for once. The mountain makes its own weather; roughly 1 in 3 visitors ever sees the summit. We got lucky. #Nature #Photography

Panorama from Denali Park Road: pink fireweed and low shrubs in the foreground, scattered spruce trees across open taiga, the Alaska Range foothills under a clear blue sky, and the faint snow-covered peak of Denali visible in the far distance on the right.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 8

(Interesting way to break threading, I was blocked fore replying to this & the thread stopped showing correctly...ANYWAY, the reply:)

Spaceweft — @spaceweft.bsky.social
Hey Ken, genA.i. and LLMs are "just another tool" in much the same way asbestos and radium were, and just as harmful to the general population.
These things need to be regulated to within an inch of their developer's lives, not allowed to be purchased casually, and mitigation efforts required.
3:29 PM · Jul 8, 2026

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 6

@thomaspaineha.bsky.social @apocalypsecarousel.bsky.social Here are actual quotes that align with what your meme is shooting for:

Four portraits – Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine, and James Madison – each with two quotes on religion and government.

Jefferson: 'It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.' – Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785.
'In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty.' – letter to Horatio Spafford, 1814.

Adams: 'These governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses' with no pretence of divine inspiration. – Defence of the Constitutions, 1787.
'The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.' – Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, 1797.

Paine: 'My own mind is my own church.' – The Age of Reason, 1794.
'All national institutions of churches ... appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.' – The Age of Reason, 1794.

Madison: 'During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? ... pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.' – Memorial and Remonstrance, 1785.
'Strongly guarded ... is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States.' – Detached Memoranda, ca. 1820.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 5

You and Isaac Asimov agree ...

Two options depending on how verbose you want it:
Concise (typical alt attribute):
Earth from space on a black background beside the Isaac Asimov quote: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." Below it: Science Trumps Belief. Facts Do NOT care If You Believe Them. Magical Thinking Does NOT Change Reality.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 4

Columbia River from the Wild Horse Monument overlook, looking upstream past Vantage. The climb up the trail is loose gravel and regret, but the view is why you do it anyway. October light on channeled scabland - the Missoula Floods did good work here. October 2024 #Motorcycle #Motosky

Wide view of the Columbia River from high on the Wild Horse Monument bluff near Vantage, Washington. The deep blue river curves through a gorge of layered basalt cliffs and golden dry-grass hills under a bright blue sky streaked with rippled clouds. Dark volcanic rock outcrops and sagebrush cover the slope in the foreground, dropping steeply to the water.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 4

ATGATT-At 30 mph ~44 ft/s. Friction coefficient 0.7 on dry asphalt, deceleration is ~0.7g. You slide 2 seconds, 40-45 feet. Denim is first ~4 feet. Remaining is skin, subcutaneous fat, then whatever's next. Asphalt doesn't stop grinding because it hit something that bleeds. #motorcycle #Motosky

Meme - Asphalt - Worlds fastest tattoo remover - Ride Aware

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 2

Meme:
Do you remember, before the internet, that it was thought that the cause of collective stupidity was the lack of access to information?
Well ... it wasn't that

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jul 2

Night sky densely scattered with stars, slightly elongated from a long-exposure shot. Dark silhouettes of trees rise along the bottom edge, with a faint reddish glow of terrain in the lower right corner. No moon or foreground detail visible

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 29

Ah yes...

Meme, woman on left "you told me you had a lot of money invested"

Cat on right "yeah, in my motorcycle"

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 29

Toklat River, Denali Park Road, July 2024. This is what a glacial river does when nobody makes it choose a lane ... braided channels wandering across a gravel bed wide enough to lose a bus in. Every spring melt the river redraws the map, and the road crew gets to find out where it went this time.

Wide braided glacial river crossing a gravel floodplain in Denali National Park. Multiple shallow channels of grey, silt-laden meltwater weave between exposed gravel and cobble bars. Green willow and shrub line both banks, giving way to rolling tundra hills and the darker peaks of the Alaska Range foothills under a heavy overcast sky. A metal viewing-platform railing is visible at lower left, with an eroded cut bank on the right.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 26

#Motorcycle #Motosky trip from Anacortes Washington to Hoh Rainforest & back home. A couple of ferry rides, blue sky & nice weather. View from Washington Park in Anacortes: gandalfddi.github.io...

A rocky shoreline in Washington Park, Anacortes, with rugged stone formations in the foreground leading down to a calm blue bay. Evergreen forest lines the curving coastline under a clear, bright blue sky on a sunny day.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 21

Latest Meme's added #Motorcycle #Motosky : gandalfddi.github.io...

A black‑and‑white photo of a rider on a vintage‑style motorcycle cruising down a suburban street. The rider wears a helmet, sunglasses, gloves, a leather jacket, jeans, and boots, with one hand raised in a casual gesture. The motorcycle’s tank has “HARRY” painted on it. Overlaid text reads: “Retirement means I have time to do whatever I want - mostly riding past people who are in meetings.”

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 18

Riding the edge of Hells Canyon, July 2023 - deeper than the Grand Canyon and twice as wild. Nothing but heat, horizon, and a Harley 2005 Road King that never complains. #Motorcycle #Motosky #Harley #Nature #Photography www.fs.usda.gov/r06/...

A fully loaded cruiser motorcycle parked on a roadside pullout overlooking Hells Canyon. Saddlebags and camping gear are strapped to the rear seat. The background shows rugged, steep canyon walls with patches of green vegetation under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Jun 5

May 14, 2020 — Astoria–Megler Bridge viewed from the pullout south of the Columbia River, watching a weather front sweep across the span: www.bing.com/maps/se...

A wide coastal panorama showing the Astoria–Megler Bridge in the distance under a dramatic sky. Dark storm clouds move across the river toward the bridge while lighter sky remains to the left. The foreground includes a grassy pullout area bordered by a chain‑link fence, with trees framing both sides of the image and low landmasses visible across the water.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 31

Oahu Sunset Beach Park January 2025 #Nature #Photography www.hawaiiyeah.com/o...

Sandy beach in the foreground, palm trees to the left and right, the pacific ocean stretches out in front of you with blue skies and a few clouds up above

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 27

There is a difference between riding a #Motorcycle #Motosky responsibly and being an idiot. Luckily with a #Motorcycle the problem is usually self correcting ...

Motorcycle Meme of a Person standing up on a motorcycle while doing a wheelie, quote:
Common Sense Is Not Gift It Is A Punishment. Because You Have To Deal With Everyone Who Doesn't Have It - Anonymous

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 27

Grand View Point Overlook in Canyonlands National Park Once the pavement ends, you stand over 6,000 feet up staring at a rugged, vast wilderness carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers that completely steals your breath away: gandalfddi.github.io... #Motorcycle #Motosky #Nature #Photogtaphy #NPS

A wide panoramic vista of deep canyon gorges and towering red rock cliffs under a bright blue sky with wispy white clouds at Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 24

New #Motorcycle #Motosky memes up: gandalfddi.github.io/motorcycle_m... My favorite of this batch, staring into reality & thinking about what is important in this short time we exist on this planet

Two people on the right side with their motorcycle on the left outlined by the ocean and sky with the sun setting over the ocean

You will die, you are not special, the people who hurt you will probably never apologize, hard work doesn't always pay off, love is not always returned, and the universe is not arranging itself around your story.

Your Motorcycle will always love you. GO RIDE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!!

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 20

Motorcycle in the middle of the picture parked with the sea to the left, blue skies up above and a scenic roadway on the right "One Day or Day One itis your decision"

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 16

Rode my #Motorcycle #Motosky to Palouse Falls, May 11, 2026. If you visit you have to go in the spring because the falls dry up later. 2ish miles of hard pack / gravel. Didn't drop the bike :-). #Nature #Photography parks.wa.gov/find-pa...

Palouse Falls is in the middle of the picture, the canyon and the canyon walls it carved out is to the left and right front, a pool of water is in the center of the picture with the Palouse River exiting to the right of the picture. Blue skies up above with sun rays coming down. High Plateau is in the upper middle of the picture

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 4

Flowers in Joshua Tree. #Nature #Photography #NPS

Center foreground Yell Flowers in the semi-arid landscape grow out of the soil in dry rocky soil, brush in the background out of focus, blue skies up above also out of focus

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· May 1

Northern Coast of #Scotland, August 2014 — somewhere along the Assynt coast, where the heather drops straight into turquoise water. One of those places that stays with you long after the road trip ends. #Nature #Photography

A small turquoise bay on Scotland’s northern coast, surrounded by steep rocky hills covered in green ferns and heather. A narrow strip of white sand curves around the inlet, and a single boat is anchored offshore. The scene feels remote and rugged, with cliffs and cloudy skies in the distance.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Apr 30

Pulled over in the Snoqualmie Valley. Cascades on the horizon, pasture in front, bike still warm. Some views earn the stop. 🏍️ #Motorcycle #Mototsky #Nature #Photography

First-person view from a stopped motorcycle on a rural road. The rider's shadow stretches across the asphalt in the foreground; the bike's right mirror, handlebar, and windscreen are visible at the edge of the frame. Beyond the road, a wide green pasture extends to a cluster of red and white barns and farmhouses. Snow-capped Cascade mountains rise on the horizon under a clear blue sky. Overlaid text reads: "My Soul Connects To Nature As Though It Has Come Home Again."

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Apr 28

CO-129 northbound #Motorcycle #Motosky out of #Colorado — high desert, sagebrush, and a sky that goes all the way down to the ground. Vast open plains. The Hermetic texts were written for exactly this kind of road. #Nature #Photography

Rider's-eye view from a motorcycle on a two-lane highway through high desert plains, Colorado Highway 129 heading north. Dry sagebrush flatlands stretch to distant mesas under a deep blue sky with scattered cumulus clouds. Overlaid text reads: "As above, So below, As within, So without, As the universe, So the soul" – Hermes Trismegistus.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Apr 26

On the Seattle Waterfront today Bluebird morning at Seattle's new Overlook Walk. Looking northwest over Pier 62 across Elliott Bay to the Olympics, with a Pier 66 cruise ship just out of frame. #Nature #Photography www.bing.com/maps?cp...

Elevated view from a curved concrete plaza on Seattle's waterfront on a bright sunny morning. A long pier extends into the calm blue water of Elliott Bay with people walking along it. Snow-capped Olympic Mountains line the horizon across the bay with pure blue skies up above. A cruise ship is visible at the right edge of the frame. In the foreground, a man in a gray sweater and beige cap sits on a wooden bench looking at his phone. Stainless steel cable railings border the plaza.

Ken Hollis@gandalfddi· Apr 24

Quicksand Cove, Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords National Park, #Alaska — July 28, 2024. Panoramic view toward the Kenai Mountains. Low stratus on the ridgeline; residual summer snow streaks the darker rock faces above the tree-line-free green talus slopes. #Nature #Photography www.bing.com/maps?cp=59.8...