From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Fri May 1 00:46:58 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:46:58 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Wednesday Weeds -> Error interacting with the database (the LUG) In-Reply-To: References: <8CA89BED-5F56-4972-B9F1-9BFCFDF819E2@gmail.com>

Message-ID: <99e02bafed390c94ffb273693c880df2@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> The LUG Gallery runs on a 14-year-old server computer. Its software is not compatible with more modern machines. It is being flooded with requests from AI robots that are downloading all of its images. This makes it behave badly. The developer of the gallery software was hired away by Google, and one of their conditions was that he stop supporting Gallery so that there would be more demand for Google?s offering. I don?t remember its name, but they abandoned it several years ago. As soon as I get the yearbook finished I am going to turn my attention to some form of upgrade to the gallery. From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Tue May 5 01:29:48 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Mon, 04 May 2026 18:29:48 -0700 Subject: [Leica] gallery status Message-ID: <4f9d0d8db08b247511b95e86bf177b05@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> I have finished production work on the 2025 yearbook and am waiting for the proof copy to come back from the printer. I was hoping to be able to focus on hardening the gallery software, but I?m finding that preparation for an upcoming colonoscopy is distracting me so much that I?m not making any progress on the gallery. As soon as I can, but no sooner. This will be my 5th colonoscopy. I am 76, so I hope it will be my last. The prep requirements this time are much fiercer than I remember from past procedures. From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Sun May 10 03:05:03 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Sat, 09 May 2026 20:05:03 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Gallery temporary fix Message-ID: <4c14b44d9b9a5f1ea63ca455e32a64cc@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> I had time to study the Gallery situation, and discovered that the current overload is coming from Vietnam. I blocked the entire country of Vietnam from accessing the gallery, which will give us a reprieve for a while. Tomorrow is a granddaughter?s 8th birthday, so I am expecting not to have much time to work on it further this weekend. There is a smaller overload coming from Brazil; I think I will also block Brazil from access to the Gallery. From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Sun May 10 03:38:23 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Sat, 09 May 2026 20:38:23 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Gallery temporary fix In-Reply-To: <4c14b44d9b9a5f1ea63ca455e32a64cc@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> References: <4c14b44d9b9a5f1ea63ca455e32a64cc@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> Message-ID: <32909c35927cd07dd484725094d4551e@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> I have blocked all access to the LUG Gallery from Vietnam, Brazil, Turkey, Estonia, Pakistan, and Russia. That seems to have calmed it down enough that I can go to bed and sleep without worrying too much. All of this is AI robots harvesting images for their LLM software. From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Mon May 11 05:01:33 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Sun, 10 May 2026 22:01:33 -0700 Subject: [Leica] LUG Gallery access In-Reply-To: References: <3BD59211-3B1B-4F75-BADF-2948E6F65223@gmail.com> Message-ID: I think I will remove all the blocks and see what happens On 2026-05-10 20:12, Bernard Quinn via LUG wrote: > Nor can I. > > Barney > >> On May 10, 2026, at 10:52 PM, Howard Cummer via LUG >> wrote: >> >> Hello Brian, >> >> I can?t access the gallery either. >> >> Howard. >> >>> On May 10, 2026, at 4:29?PM, lug-request at leica-users.org wrote: >>> >>> >>> El dom, 10 may 2026, 5:38, Brian Reid >> > escribi?: >>> >>>> I have blocked all access to the LUG Gallery from Vietnam, Brazil, >>>> Turkey, Estonia, Pakistan, and Russia. That seems to have calmed it >>>> down >>>> enough that I can go to bed and sleep without worrying too much. >>>> >>>> All of this is AI robots harvesting images for their LLM software. >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Leica Users Group. >>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Mon May 11 13:14:24 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Mon, 11 May 2026 06:14:24 -0700 Subject: [Leica] LUG Gallery access In-Reply-To: References: <3BD59211-3B1B-4F75-BADF-2948E6F65223@gmail.com> Message-ID: That error means that the server is overloaded. My blocking of certain countries (which is now removed) was intended to reduce the overload. On 2026-05-11 01:22, Peter Dzwig wrote: > Nor can I. > > I get: > > "Database Error: An error has occurred while interacting with the > database." > > Hope you had a good weekend with your grand-daughter > > Peter > > On 11/05/2026 03:52, Howard Cummer via LUG wrote: >> Hello Brian, >> >> I can?t access the gallery either. >> >> Howard. >> >>> On May 10, 2026, at 4:29?PM, lug-request at leica-users.org wrote: >>> >>> >>> El dom, 10 may 2026, 5:38, Brian Reid >> > escribi?: >>> >>>> I have blocked all access to the LUG Gallery from Vietnam, Brazil, >>>> Turkey, Estonia, Pakistan, and Russia. That seems to have calmed it >>>> down >>>> enough that I can go to bed and sleep without worrying too much. >>>> >>>> All of this is AI robots harvesting images for their LLM software. >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Leica Users Group. >>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Tue May 12 20:18:15 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 13:18:15 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Yearbook finally released Message-ID: <3c48bb96fad713c3cb1e63822651017e@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> Every year it seems to take me longer to get the yearbook produced, but today it is done and available. See http://leica-users.org/yearbook/ for the facts. As usual, it is available to buy from Blurb in either imagewrap or softcover format, and available online as a full-resolution PDF. Buy hardcover: https://www.blurb.com/b/12878106-lug-yearbook-2025-hardcover Buy softcover: https://www.blurb.com/b/12878066-lug-yearbook-2025-softcover Download PDF: http://leica-users.org/yearbook/LUGyearbook2024-pages.pdf Download PDF as 2-page spreads (makes it easier to see panoramas): http://leica-users.org/yearbook/LUGyearbook2025.pdf Next year's book will be the last. I hope to get long-gone LUG alumni to submit something. Instructions at http://leica-users.org/yearbook/submitting.html From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Tue May 12 22:26:45 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 15:26:45 -0700 Subject: [Leica] =?utf-8?q?Why_you_can=E2=80=99t_get_into_the_gallery?= Message-ID: <4d716ab3c81ed80b1e6f724daa0a7171@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> The LUG gallery server is under such heavy attack that I can't even get into it to try mitigating somehow. The "attacks" are AI robots extracting images to load into their software. Here is a load listing of the servers in the data center rack holding the gallery server. The numbers are 1, 5, and 15-minute loads. Any number bigger than 2 will start to show slowness. backup4 up 514+16:44, 0 users, load 0.90, 0.55, 0.45 gallery up 1+17:21, 0 users, load 67.30, 66.36, 68.02 justus up 224+23:00, 0 users, load 0.12, 0.20, 0.21 justus2 up 10+17:49, 0 users, load 0.00, 0.00, 0.00 justus3 up 2118+05:19, 0 users, load 0.19, 0.20, 0.21 lfinfo3 up 2:34, 2 users, load 0.37, 0.25, 0.23 mejac up 514+16:57, 0 users, load 0.15, 0.24, 0.24 s21 up 280+09:21, 0 users, load 1.80, 1.86, 1.69 s22 up 24+13:18, 0 users, load 0.87, 0.58, 0.46 s24 up 514+16:27, 0 users, load 0.33, 0.29, 0.25 server1 up 755+00:37, 1 user, load 0.29, 0.15, 0.09 vrx up 478+17:28, 0 users, load 0.11, 0.15, 0.15 www up 223+22:46, 0 users, load 0.27, 0.47, 0.49 From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Wed May 13 02:18:52 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 19:18:52 -0700 Subject: [Leica] =?utf-8?q?Why_you_can=E2=80=99t_get_into_the_gallery?= In-Reply-To: <3C1E51D4-E7EF-4B0F-ABE5-B3D66C58B3D0@gmail.com> References: <3C1E51D4-E7EF-4B0F-ABE5-B3D66C58B3D0@gmail.com> Message-ID: I?ve looked hard at commercial photo sites. The problem with them is they all require people to have accounts on the site, and those accounts cost money. The reason I went with this software 20 years ago was that everyone could use it without subscribing or paying. It might be that those innocent days are over; I haven?t yet given up on the idea of a ?prove you are not a robot? front end to a freeware gallery site. On 2026-05-12 17:08, Leo Wesson via LUG wrote: > Hi Brian, > > Any thoughts about moving the lug gallery to a commercial venue, maybe > something like Smugmug? > > How secure do you think Smugmug is? > > Thanks, > > Leo Wesson > 817-733-9157 > Leo at leowesson.com > >> On May 12, 2026, at 6:54?PM, Marty Deveney via LUG >> wrote: >> >> ?Sheesh. Thank you, good luck! >> >> >>> On Wed, 13 May 2026 at 7:56?am, Brian Reid >>> >>> wrote: >>> >>> The LUG gallery server is under such heavy attack that I can't even >>> get >>> into it to try mitigating somehow. >>> The "attacks" are AI robots extracting images to load into their >>> software. >>> >>> Here is a load listing of the servers in the data center rack holding >>> the gallery server. The numbers are 1, 5, and 15-minute loads. Any >>> number bigger than 2 will start to show slowness. >>> >>> backup4 up 514+16:44, 0 users, load 0.90, 0.55, 0.45 >>> gallery up 1+17:21, 0 users, load 67.30, 66.36, 68.02 >>> justus up 224+23:00, 0 users, load 0.12, 0.20, 0.21 >>> justus2 up 10+17:49, 0 users, load 0.00, 0.00, 0.00 >>> justus3 up 2118+05:19, 0 users, load 0.19, 0.20, 0.21 >>> lfinfo3 up 2:34, 2 users, load 0.37, 0.25, 0.23 >>> mejac up 514+16:57, 0 users, load 0.15, 0.24, 0.24 >>> s21 up 280+09:21, 0 users, load 1.80, 1.86, 1.69 >>> s22 up 24+13:18, 0 users, load 0.87, 0.58, 0.46 >>> s24 up 514+16:27, 0 users, load 0.33, 0.29, 0.25 >>> server1 up 755+00:37, 1 user, load 0.29, 0.15, 0.09 >>> vrx up 478+17:28, 0 users, load 0.11, 0.15, 0.15 >>> www up 223+22:46, 0 users, load 0.27, 0.47, 0.49 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Wed May 13 07:41:57 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Wed, 13 May 2026 00:41:57 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Yearbook finally released (repost with typo fixed) Message-ID: <75120b9ceb6d93a936b6a7cd75ea0d99@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> Every year it seems to take me longer to get the yearbook produced, but today it is done and available. See http://leica-users.org/yearbook/ for the facts. As usual, it is available to buy from Blurb in either imagewrap or softcover format, and available online as a full-resolution PDF. Buy hardcover: https://www.blurb.com/b/12878106-lug-yearbook-2025-hardcover Buy softcover: https://www.blurb.com/b/12878066-lug-yearbook-2025-softcover Download PDF: http://leica-users.org/yearbook/LUGyearbook2025-pages.pdf Download PDF as 2-page spreads (makes it easier to see panoramas): http://leica-users.org/yearbook/LUGyearbook2025.pdf Next year's book will be the last. I hope to get long-gone LUG alumni to submit something. Instructions at http://leica-users.org/yearbook/submitting.html From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Wed May 13 19:34:52 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Wed, 13 May 2026 12:34:52 -0700 Subject: [Leica] The LUG is not ending or shutting down Message-ID: <15245804e1b3a15c8fe7781ee1564823@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> I decided to stop making yearbooks because the demand is low and the amount of work that I have had to put into it has been large. I spent about 100 hours making and publishing the current yearbook, and I will be surprised if more than 15 or 20 books are purchased. Unrelated to the yearbook, the LUG Gallery needs to be re-thought because it is not able to cope with the AI era. But I will find a way. But the email LUG and the Facebook LUG will continue until the last of us drops dead or goes blind. From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Thu May 21 13:20:11 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Thu, 21 May 2026 06:20:11 -0700 Subject: [Leica] YB Arrives!! In-Reply-To: <226a3fa4-8a22-440c-93fd-2e5e81737a9d@summaventures.com> References: <226a3fa4-8a22-440c-93fd-2e5e81737a9d@summaventures.com> Message-ID: <8b71f6762bc3482014e1d9370bf8c5d1@mejac.carlsbad.ca.us> I find the Blurb print quality to be outstanding. Only 11 yearbooks have been purchased worldwide. Most people seem to be looking at the PDFs online instead of buying the book. Their loss. On 2026-05-21 02:17, Peter Dzwig wrote: > Half an hour ago UPS arrived with my Yearbook. > > The quality is absolutely superb, both of the photos themselves > (naturally :-) ) and of the printing which is really good and does a > brilliant job even on several very detailed B&Ws. They've upped their > game. > > There is so much that is excellent I am not going to select any > particular ones, except to say that we too seem to up our game from > year to year. > > As for Bill's selection. Simply, Congratulations! great stuff. > > **BUT**, Congratulations to Brian above all for doing an amazing job. > Thanks again, Brian for all that you do. > > Regards, > > Peter From reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us Fri May 29 20:08:59 2026 From: reid at mejac.carlsbad.ca.us (Brian Reid) Date: Fri, 29 May 2026 13:08:59 -0700 Subject: [Leica] Yearbook In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: 2 more copies sold this week, bringing the total to 13. Glad you appreciate it. On 2026-05-29 12:56, Leland Deane via LUG wrote: > I am one of the lucky 11. I love the yearbook, and the quality is just > great. I am adding it to my small collection, which I treasure, of past > yearbooks. > > Thank you for putting this all together. It is something I will look at > again and again. > Leland