Hej Johnny!

<Esc>:read !/lib/libc.so.6
GNU C Library (GNU libc) stable release version 2.44.
Copyright (C) 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Compiled by GNU CC version 16.1.1 20260725.
libc ABIs: UNIQUE IFUNC ABSOLUTE
Minimum supported kernel: 5.10.0
For bug reporting instructions, please see: <https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/bugs.html>.

One down, one to go. For the record;

<Esc>:read /proc/version
Linux version 7.1.5 (root@europoint) (gcc (GCC) 16.1.1 20260725, GNU ld (GNU Binutils) 2.46.1) #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sat Jul 25 15:31:51 UTC 2026

Awesome!

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

o- -o -o -o -o o- o- o- o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o-
/) (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Wenað samwise þæt hi on ðis lænan mægen life findan soða gesælða.
The unwise think they can find true joy in this transitory life.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Re: she knew how to use her personality
By: Maurice Kinal to Johnny Mercer on Sun Jul 26 2026 01:40:42

o- -o -o -o -o o- o- o- o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o-
/) (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

No doubt this has been mentioned before, but I noticed that the number of penguins equals a word (two bytes). Is that coincidence or is it tied to your system?
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)

Hey Mortar!

I noticed that the number of penguins equals a word (two bytes).

Number of penguins equals nproc, which is according to 'nproc --help';

Print the number of processing units available to the current process,
which may be less than the number of online processors.

Note that in this reply it is equal to the number of online processors, 12. The msg you replied to was posted from the Europoint which has 16 online processors. Individual penguin orientation is random and is limited to right or left facing. So far that is all there is to what I am calling the 'Penguin Matrix'.

Life is good,
Maurice

-o -o o- o- -o o- o- o- o- -o -o o-
(\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) /) /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Help, help, I'm being repressed!
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

Hej Maurice!

-o -o o- o- -o o- o- o- o- -o -o o-
(\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) /) /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

The msg you replied to was posted from the Europoint which has 16
online processors.

See evidence below.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

o- o- o- -o -o -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o o- -o -o
/) /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\ (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Bilwitne monn ne forsioh [þu]; oft stille wæter staðu breceð.
Don't scorn a gentle person; often still water breaks at the shore.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Maurice Kinal wrote to Mortar M. <=-

Note that in this reply it is equal to the number of online processors, 12. The msg you replied to was posted from the Europoint which has 16 online processors. Individual penguin orientation is random and is limited to right or left facing. So far that is all there is to what I
am calling the 'Penguin Matrix'.

-o -o o- o- -o o- o- o- o- -o -o o-
(\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) /) /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

I feel like I missed something. Did you write a new program that emits Penguins

based on the proc num, and they get auto-inserted when you send netmail?

--
-Andy
Website: https://andy5995.github.io


... NoCarrierMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
-+- NoCarrierMail/Linux v0.54

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Hej Andy!

Did you write a new program that emits Penguins based on the proc num

Not a program but a bash routine that calls up 'nproc', which is provided by the coreutils package.

<Esc>:read !nproc --version
nproc (GNU coreutils) 9.11
Copyright (C) 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Written by Giuseppe Scrivano.

and they get auto-inserted when you send netmail?

Not netmail but echomail. It could be netmail but it isn't. There is little fun in netmail.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

o- o- o- o- -o -o o- -o o- -o o- -o -o o- -o o-
/) /) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\ /) (\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Wyrd bið ful aræd.
Fate is greatly fixed.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Maurice Kinal wrote to Andy Alt <=-

Hej Andy!

Did you write a new program that emits Penguins based on the proc num

Not a program but a bash routine that calls up 'nproc', which is
provided by the coreutils package.

and they get auto-inserted when you send netmail?

Not netmail but echomail. It could be netmail but it isn't. There is little fun in netmail.

Ah, ok. I'm familiar with nproc, but this bash script you speak of and the method of insertion is foreign to me. How would I use this with NoCarrierMail (MultiMail fork)?

--
-Andy
Website: https://andy5995.github.io


... I am not Paul.
-+- NoCarrierMail/Linux v0.55

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Hey Andy!

How would I use this with NoCarrierMail (MultiMail fork)?

It's been around 25-ish years since I've looked at MultiMail. Maybe as part of the signature or tagline? I am unsure if it sould be as dynamic (random orientation) without hacking the source.

Life is good,
Maurice

o- o- -o -o o- o- o- -o -o o- o- -o
/) /) (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) /) (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Æfter leofan menn langað swiðost.
People long most for a loved one.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's Brain - Ladysmith BC, Canada (1:153/7001)

On 31 Jul 2026, Andy Alt said the following...

Ah, ok. I'm familiar with nproc, but this bash script you speak of and
the method of insertion is foreign to me. How would I use this with NoCarrierMail (MultiMail fork)?

if you use an external editor (i think that's the only way MM works?) then you just replace your editor with a script that calls the editor, then injects the penguins, then exits.

if the tagline always starts with a couple dashes or whatever you could scan for that as the place to insert the penguins

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (1:120/616)

Hey Andy!

How would I use this with NoCarrierMail (MultiMail fork)?

I like the idea of using the external editor to tack on the penguin matrix before the tagline when creating the post|reply, suggested by Alexander Grotewohl (ref MSGID: 1:120/616 710589fd).

I just wrote a sample bash script that might help you if you choose to follow a scripted solution;

<Esc>:read ~/testing/penguin_matrix
#!/bin/bash
cd ~/testing
for i in `seq 1 $(nproc)`
do
(( RANDOM % 2 )) && mylist+="lf-penguin " || mylist+="rf-penguin "
done
paste -d ' ' $mylist | sed 's/ *$//'
unset i mylist
_____EOF_____

Where: seq, nproc, and paste are all from coreutils
sed (GNU sed) 4.10
lf-penguin rf-penguin are each 12 byte files

Setting the permission of ~/testing/penguin_matrix to 755 allows me to do this within this reply;

<Esc>:read !~/testing/penguin_matrix
o- -o -o -o o- o- -o o-
/) (\ (\ (\ /) /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Groovy. However the 8 penguin matrix just above the tagline is automagically inserted by my extra-special bash script I deploy for fidonet msg'ing. You should be able to run ~/testing/penguin_matrix from the commandline and it will output the matrix to your screen.

Clear as mud?

Life is good,
Maurice

o- -o -o o- o- o- -o -o
/) (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Forbær oft ðæt þu eaðe wrecan mæge.
Forbear often where you might easily take vengeance.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: One of us @ (1:153/7001.64222)

Alexander Grotewohl wrote to Andy Alt <=-

if you use an external editor (i think that's the only way MM works?)
then you just replace your editor with a script that calls the editor, then injects the penguins, then exits.

if the tagline always starts with a couple dashes or whatever you could scan for that as the place to insert the penguins

I added it to ~/.signature


--
-Andy

o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o -o -o -o o- /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

... NoCarrierMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
-+- NoCarrierMail/Linux v0.55

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Maurice Kinal wrote to Andy Alt <=-

<Esc>:read !~/testing/penguin_matrix

o- -o -o -o o- o- -o o-
/) (\ (\ (\ /) /) (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Groovy. However the 8 penguin matrix just above the tagline is automagically inserted by my extra-special bash script I deploy for fidonet msg'ing. You should be able to run ~/testing/penguin_matrix
from the commandline and it will output the matrix to your screen.

Clear as mud?

Ja alles klar ;)

I pasted the output to my ~/.signature. Thanks for the script. However, I think

the lf-pengun and rf-penguin should not be separate files, but would be nice if

the text were in functions within the script. ;) I may do some editing later.



--
-Andy

o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o -o -o -o o- /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

... NoCarrierMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
-+- NoCarrierMail/Linux v0.55

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Re: Penguins Byte
By: Andy Alt to Maurice Kinal on Mon Aug 03 2026 07:43:02

o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o -o -o -o o- /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ Seems to be inserting a couple spaces between penguins.
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)

Hej Andy!

I added it to ~/.signature

Looks good except one too many spaces at the end of both the lf and rf files ... I thinks. Either that or paste is using the space character as the delimiter, paste -d ' ' instead of paste -d '' which adds nothing. If you leave it as is then anyone quoting it back will automagically screw it up.

o- o- o- o- -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o -o -o -o o- /) /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

Above is your penguin matrix which you can compare to mine below. Mine is quotable by the usual dos-think ftn editors. However more than 16 penguins will require an extra 3 lines to pull it off. For example 24 will need to put the last 8 penguins on the additional lines such as;

-o o- -o -o o- -o -o o- -o o- -o o- o- -o -o o-
(\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
-o o- -o -o o- -o -o o-
(\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

32 would be more symmetrical but 24 is more likely. Anyhow I think you need to tighten up the spacing which fits nicely for all amounts of penguins.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

-o o- -o -o o- -o -o o- -o o- -o o- o- -o -o o-
(\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ (\ /) (\ /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Eall on muðe þæt on mode.
All in the mouth that's in the mind.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Hej Andy!

Ja alles klar

Das ist gut

I may do some editing later.

Yes. Have fun!

In the meantime where did you get the source for NoCarrierMail? I cannot seem to find it anywhere but did find MultiMail source. Even if I don't use it given the lack of a suitable offline 'door' it is always nice to know what is what out there in cyberspace.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

o- o- o- -o -o o- -o o- o- o- -o o- -o o- o- o-
/) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\ /) /) /) (\ /) (\ /) /) /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Ne wat swetes ðanc, se þe biteres ne onbyrgeð.
He never knows the pleasure of sweetness, who never tastes bitterness.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)

Hej Mortar!

Seems to be inserting a couple spaces between penguins.

Spacing needs to be tightened up a tad.

Het leven is goed,
Maurice

o- o- -o o- -o -o o- o- -o o- o- o- -o -o -o o-
/) /) (\ /) (\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ (\ /)
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
... Is seo forðgesceaft digol and dyrne; drihten ana wat.
The course of the future is hidden and secret; God alone knows.
--- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
* Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)