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Reading List
I’ve kept a list of books I’ve read since ~2005 in an Excel document. Better to share it. Apparently Art Garfunkel shares his reading list on his site. When I went, Garfunkel’s link was broken but Wikipedia’s reference had a link to an archive of it.
Here is my list with short comments.
*Audio-books are marked with an asterisk *. On road trips, while doing construction especially painting, and while commuting I listen to a lot of audio-books and lecture series.
2025
- The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. *
- Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood’s Darkest and Best Kept Secrets by Kenneth Anger
- The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government by David Talbot *
- Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill *
- America’s Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones by Antony C. Sutton
2024
- Hangar 4: A Combat Aviator’s Memoir by Isaac G Lee
- Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam by Vivek Ramaswamy
- Patriots by James Wesley, Rawles
2023
- Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
- Greenwich Time and Longitude by Derek Howse
2023
- The Clocks are Telling Lies: Science, Society, and the Construction of Time by Scott Alan Johnston
2022
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2021
- Cem Anos de Solidão. Português translation of Cien Años de Solidad, which I read in English in high school. First novel I read in Portuguese.
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Read in a single day with Luzia following in Portuguese. Third time reading it.
- Husband-Coached Childbirth (Fifth Edition): The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth by Robert A. Bradley
2020
- Deadliest Enemy by Michael T. Osterholm, et al *
- Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari *
- Hunting LeRoux by Elaine Shannon *
- American Nations by Colin Woodard *
- 1066: The Year That Changed Everything by Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses *
- Game Theory by Ken Binmore *
- Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta *
- The Landlord’s Operating Manual: Essential real-life real estate investment decision making by Nathan Ruffing
2018
- The Hero with 1000 Faces, Joseph Campbell, *
- Evicted, People whining about being awful tenants
- Johnny Got His Gun, Disturbing
2017
- The High Middle Ages, Great Course on Audible, *
- The Vikings, Great Course on Audible, *
- The Early Middle Ages, Great Course on Audible, *
2016
- The Art of the Deal, Trump, Trump is the president elect.
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Read in a single day (in Salt Lake City) because it’s awesome. Second time reading it.
- The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers, *
- It’s Your Ship, Navy Captain, * Some good ideas, but overall awful. He throws fellow Navy under the bus throughout.
- 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss, *, Automate the tasks of your life, free yourself geographically.
- Flow, *, Rec’d by David Lindahl in his Commercial Real Estate book, good.
- Killing Jesus, Bill O’Reilly, *. Excellent alternative account of the life of Jesus.
- Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, *, Excellent. Business is not in conflict with personal life, they are linked.
- The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho, *, It was OK. Personal Legend. Author is Brazilian. Read again in Portuguese.
- History’s Greatest Stories of Exploration Great Course, *, Best Great Courses I’ve listened to yet.
- Living History: Experiencing Great Events of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds Great Course, *, Greeks through Muslim conquests and Crusades, awesome.
- Peloponnesian War Great Course, *, Good, too much detail for me about the Greeks because I didn’t know enough to start with. Alcibiades is a great historical figure.
- Calvin e Haroldo Ataque dos Monstros de Neve, Português. Funny in Portuguese too.
- The Prince, Machiavelli, Rec’d by Thad. Second book to be printed after the Bible. Should read again. About succeeding politically, references a lot of Italian history I wasn’t familiar with.
- Commercial Real Estate, David Lindahl, Not very good. Mostly about commercial-sized residential.
- Getting More, Stuart Diamond, About negotiating. Very good. Talks about negotiating with children as a parent too much though.
2015
- Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass, Harold Gatty, Borrowed from Tim’s library. Brings your attention to normally obscure navigational aids.
- Aspire, Kevin Hall, Read while biking to Cleveland. About words inspiring. Talks about Gary Price the sculptor.
- Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande, About the use of checklists, primarily in medicine.
- Latin Lessons: How S America stopped listening to the US and started prospering, Good subject, not that interesting to me. Politics. Disjointed.
- Multi-Family Millions, Z lent to me. It’s great about repositioning apartment buildings. Affected my ownership of apartment building.
- 7 Years in Tibet, Tim said he read the first page and didn’t put it down for 50 pages. Great story. Better than fiction.
- Unbroken, *, Recommended by Pallas, amazing real life story.
- The Power of Habit, *, Rec’d by Leesa Clark Price
- Antifragile, *, Kineomen Recommendation, incredible word, “antifragile,” interesting concept.
- Guns, Germs and Steel, *, Descriptions of prehistoric population movements.
- This is Your Brain on Music, Daniel Leviton, *
- Investing in duplexes, triplexes and quads. Z said it’s right up my alley. Informative. I want to systemize some of the things he says.
- The Bible
- Old Testament: Aug 2014 – May 2015
- New Testament May – June 2015
- MCDP1 Warfighting, USMC, Sun Tzu wrote Art of War. Marine Corps wrote MCDP 1. Worth reading!”
- Baa Baa Black Sheep, Pappy Boyington, Honest book by a lifelong alcoholic.
- Go Giver, Recommended by Evan Nicol. Really good. Really short.
- Man’s Search for Meaning. Second time read.
2014
- Torn in Two, Farid Hotaki, Cool story but is a half-true story about his own life.
- On Killing, About war, killing, humans’ aversion to killing.
- Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Escape from Camp 14, North Korean escapee.
- Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Neha rec’d.
- The Me I Want to Be, Gifted to me by the Moores
- Good to Great, Jim Collins, Rec’d by Devaunt, using it to evaluate projects.
- First to Fight, About marines’ search for a mission, started to read. It’s about bureaucracy, awful.
- Black Hearts, Jim Frederick, Rec’d by 465 CO, Commandant’s Reading List
- The Real Story of Bat 21, Andrew’s uncle.
- Freakonomics, Malcom Gladwell
- Oultiers, Malcom Gladwell
- The Places Between, Rory Stewart, Visits Chagcharon in Afghanistan.
- Catch 22, Did not finish. Aaron wanted my opinion on it. It’s awful and I could hardly read it because it was pretty much military whining.
2013
- The Geopolitics of the United States, Straftfor, Biff e-mailed to me. Great summary of US history georgraphically.
- On Wings of Eagles Ken Follett, About a team that Ross Perot assembled to extract prisoners from Tehran.
- Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell, Commandant’s Reading List
- Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, Daniel Quinn, *, Rec’d by Nash and others.
2012
- Comanche Moon, part of the Lonesome Dove series.
2011
- China Inc, * Read at end of Afghanistan deployment, eye opening.
- Imperial Grunts, Kaplan, Prestesater rec’d. Includes helo pilot/DLI grad. Draganov reading also.
lonesome dove,larry mcmurtry,Book,”June 2011 the original cowboy book, great book.”
Common Sense,Thomas Paine pamphlet,Book,”May 2011, Washington said American Revolution happened bc of it, Revolutionary war pep talk”
charlie wilson’s war,,Book,”Mar 2011, during OEF, about a war in afghanistan in the 80’s, rec’d by Maj Howell”
Atlas Shrugged,Ayn Rand,Book,”2010-11 EMV-Afghanistan, glorifies capitalism good quotes pgs 969, 963″
casino Royale,Ian Fleming,Book,”First Bond book, GREAT, short read”
The Zombie Survival Guide,max brooks,Book,”Nov 2009 several people were reading it, so I did. Glad I did, much more prepared for Zombie attacks”
the hot zone,,Book,”2009 from George about ebola virus, pretty cool”
the shack,,Book,”2009 aleah’s reading it, about finding God”
the audacity of hope,barrack obama autobio,Book,
blindman’s bluff,,Book,”2008 about subs, kyle obenour’s dad was on the Parche”
blackhawk down,mark bowden,Book,June 2008
DB Cooper: What Really Happened,max gunther,Book,”May 2008 good book, seems plausible–really pretty simple, cool story”
chuck yeager autobio,,Book,May 2008
faith of my fathers,john mccain,Book,”May 2008 sounds good, he had awesome experiences, was good”
fair game,valerie plame wilson,Book,”May 2008 CIA spy with a senator husband, good book about her being ‘outed’ by Cheney etc”
fahrenheit 451,,Book,”March 2008 about a fireman who burns books, premise too ridiculous”
a farewell to arms,ernest hemingway,Book,”March 2008 gibbon gave it to me, good I liked for whom the bell tolls better”
man’s search for meaning,victor frankl,Book,”Jan 2008 gibbon gave it to me, AWESOME book”
for whom the bell tolls,ernest hemingway,Book,”read it when I was young, would like to read again”
it doesn’t take a hero,norman schwarzkopf,Book,”read it once, want to read it again, would get more out of it”
the bourne identity,robert ludlum,Book,excellent book
the prince and the pauper,mark twain,Book,
the things they carried,tim o’brien,Book,”good book, too much about feelings though”
devil’s guard,,Book,”about former SS in the French Foreign Legion, banned, have on computer, very interesting”
one bullet away,,Book,required for Lt’s
debt of honor,tom clancy,Book,”GREAT book, Japan crashes stock market, guy flies plane into capital building”
games people play,berne,Book,talks about peoples’ actions beyond their normal meaning
mr nice,,Book,howard marks’ autobiography bought at a book store
the five love languages,gary chapman,Book,”evan nicol recommended, great, similar to …Influence People”
harry potter and the sorcerers stone,JK Rowling,Book,way better than I had expected!
it’s not about the bike… my journey back to life,lance armstrong,Book,dave powers has it
jarhead,anthony swofford,Book,”marine book jay read, good insight into war and marines”
great expectations,charles dickens,Book,”read once, but must read again”
clockwork orange,,Book,
great gatsby,F Scott Fitzgerald,Book,Didn’t get it this time… Read again in Nov 2016
islam and terrorism,,Book,book by a former islamic teacher recommended by Charlie of Ryan Intl
kite runner,,Book,book emily gordon lent me
moby dick,,Book,”Summer 2005?, great book, read during summer of mono”
yayas in bloom,,Book,sequal to divine…
divine secrets of the yaya sisterhood,,Book,mom and her friends’ name-giving book
ben franklin’s autobiography,,Book,”read most of it, very good, insightful”
art of war,sun tsu,Book,
da vinci code,,Book,mystery novel involving the Catholic church and relation to da vinci
the giver,,Book,see why dad didn’t want us reading it
how to win friends and influence people,,Book,”recommended by ahmed, great book, interesting”
killing pablo,mark bowden,Book,pablo escabar (cocaine)
silent spring,,Book,”about scientist who spoke against DDT and mosquitoes killed millions of people with malaria, skimmed over it instead of reading it”
flu,,Book,about 1918 flu pandemic
Double Cross,Sam Giancana’s Son,Book,”Rec’d by Tim, great book about Mob”
Tale of Two Cities,Charles Dickens,Book,Read again
China Road,,Book,Ahmed bought it for me on my Kindle…
Fact vs Force
Fact: Mankind has not yet been to the Moon.
Force: Most of mankind believes we have been to the Moon and laughs at people who don’t believe it.
I believed the moon landings were real and I dismissed theories to the contrary for one simple reason: the moon landings required the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people and that many people cannot keep a secret. There can’t be a lie that big – I thought.
Hundreds, Not Hundreds of Thousands
The theory was presented to me that the astronauts went to low Earth orbit, and unbeknownst to even ground control, they faked everything beyond low Earth orbit. They faked radio calls, flight data, and some images and videos that had been pre-recorded from the California desert (probably recorded in the summer of 1968). Since ground control couldn’t tell the difference between a real flight and even a training simulation, it may not have been easy but it is doable. Launching and faking the radio calls and some imagery reduces the number of people involved in the secret from hundreds of thousands down maybe a hundred or so.
Lie or Die
A hundred still seems like a lot of people to keep a secret until you consider that the ring-leaders, whoever they were, killed people to do it. You don’t have to kill everyone who might speak up. Once you kill a few people who are willing to speak up, the remaining people willingly fall in line and keep the secret, knowing what happened to their friends.
The phrase, “for two people to keep a secret, one of them has to be dead,” should be, “For two or more people to keep a secret, you must kill one of them who speaks.”
Timeline
What follows is a timeline of key events along with video. Throughout the summary, I make two simple statements to categorize the evidence:
- “To believe the moon landings were real, you accept …”
- “To believe the moon landings were faked, you accept …”
Both versions of the story are incredible, whether we went to the moon or we faked it. When I see the evidence laid out, I come to the conclusion that the moon landings are not just an incredible feat. They are truly not credible. They did not happen. Mankind has not yet landed on the Moon – or even left low Earth orbit for that matter.
March 1962: Operation Northwoods, Etc
Operation Northwoods made it to the president for approval, but he rejected the proposal. See also Operation Mongoose, and MKUltra that lasted from 1953-1973.
12 September 1962: JFK, “We choose to go to the Moon…”
22 November 1963
JFK was assassinated and replaced by Lyndon B Johnson, who remained in office until January of 1969.
25 November 1963: Big Media Lie
The official story is that Dan Rather accidentally misspoke on literally one of the most important details he ever reported, a detail that is blatantly obvious in the film he was describing. He went on to become one of the most successful news anchors of his time.
Why did he say Kennedy’s head went violently forward? I know little about the Kennedy assassination, but if I ever go down the rabbit hole, I start knowing two things: 1. the head shot came from the front sending Kennedy’s head violently backward, and 2. whoever took the head shot controlled what Dan Rather said about it.
4 August 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Incident Faked
The Gulf of Tonkin incident is unrelated to the moon landings directly, but faking the incident that initiated the Vietnam War that killed 60,000 Americans puts killing a few Americans to fake the moon landings in perspective.
For the record, I think it’s annoying when videos or other media are titled with things like “TRUTH…” in capital letters. It makes them look silly. If it’s the truth, just say it. It is recently widely accepted that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was faked to provide pretense to start the war in Vietnam.
22 January 1967: Gruff Gus
According to Gus Grissom’s widow, when he was home for the last time before the fire that killed him, Gus picked a large lemon from a tree in their yard and intended to hang it on the rocket to call it a lemon. Grissom was quoted as saying we were at least a decade from going to the moon, not 2 years as was advertised. His criticism had earned him the nickname “Gruff Gus”.

27 January 1967: Apollo 1 Training Fire
Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, the Apollo 1 crew, died in a fire.
To believe the moon landings were real, you accept the official story that the only deaths in the entire Apollo program happen to have included the most notable critic exactly when his death would have been necessary to transition from real moon landing effort to faking it and put other critics on serious notice to stay quiet.
I believe people would have to have died for either story to be true – real moon landings or fake. I believe the Apollo program could have crash-landed humans on the moon if that had been an acceptable outcome. However, the dead astronauts coincidentally died just when they would have had to to fake the moon landings and keep it quiet.
21 April 1967: Thomas Baron Report
Thomas Ronald Baron wrote a 275-page report on NASA safety protocol violations, which he gave to Rep. Olin E. Teague’s investigation at Cape Kennedy in Florida, on 21 April 1967.
27 April 1967: Thomas Baron Death
Thomas Ronald Baron died along with his family when their car was struck by a train.
To believe the moon landings were real, you accept that Thomas Baron and his family’s deaths were also coincidental, just 3 months after the Apollo 1 crew’s deaths and 6 days after he released his critical report.
The Apollo Program: 9 Isolated Claims
There are only 6 total claims of landing humans on the moon. Furthermore, there are only 9 total claims of humans even leaving low Earth orbit, all the Apollo program. Nobody else even claims to have left low Earth orbit before or since the Apollo program, not Russia, no other NASA program, not China, nobody else in all of mankind. Here is a list of those claims:
Mission | Landing Date (UTC) | Landing Time (UTC) | EVA Duration | Moon Phase at Landing |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin | 20 July 1969 | 20:17:40 | 2h 31m | Waxing Crescent (28.8% illuminated) |
Apollo 12, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean | 19 November 1969 | 06:54:35 | 7h 45m (2 EVAs) | Waxing Gibbous (80.6% illuminated) |
Apollo 14, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell | 5 February 1971 | 09:18:11 | 9h 24m (2 EVAs) | Waxing Gibbous (approx. 84% illuminated) |
Apollo 15, David Scott, James Irwin | 30 July 1971 | 22:16:29 | 18h 37m (3 EVAs) | First Quarter (51.7% illuminated) |
Apollo 16, John Young, Charles Duke | 21 April 1972 | 02:23:35 | 20h 14m (3 EVAs) | First Quarter (67.7% illuminated) |
Apollo 17, Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt | 11 December 1972 | 19:54:57 | 22h 4m (3 EVAs) | Waxing Gibbous (approx. 80% illuminated) |
Apollo 8 claims to have orbited the moon 24-25 December 1968 with Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders
Apollo 10 “dress rehearsal” claims to have flown within 15.6km of the moon’s surface on 22 May 1969 with Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, Eugene A. Cernan.
Apollo 13 claims to have been a failed moon landing attempt but also claims to have sling-shotted around the moon in order to return to Earth with James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise
To believe we went to the moon, you accept the official story that from December 1968 to December 1972, a 4-year period, the Apollo program sent humans beyond low Earth orbit 9 times, and the feat has not been accomplished at all before or since, despite the obvious leaps in technology during the following 53 years and counting.
August 1969: Apollo 11 Press Conference
To believe we went to the moon, you accept the astronauts’ behavior at this press conference at face value. If the Apollo 1 crew was murdered and these guys went along with the mission because they knew they were next to die if they resigned, then this was a type of hostage situation – which is exactly what it looks like. Why does it look like a hostage situation? There are even teleprompters. Why are there teleprompters on the desk?
YouTube commenters bring up some poignant questions: were they raped by aliens on the moon? Did the moon land on them? This video would not have survived social media in 2025. There would have to have been some explanation and human behavior is timeless, so really, why do they act like that?
11 December 1972 Lunar Module Lift-Off Footage
To believe the moon landings were real, you don’t laugh at this footage of the Apollo 17 “final take-off” from the moon:
Lunar module flying on Earth:
To believe we landed on the moon, you accept that that aircraft went “6 for 6” landing on the moon and taking off again. There is one-sixth Earth’s gravity and no atmosphere on the moon to contend with, but still. Do it again.
Take another look at that aircraft flying and compare it to what a rocket looks like that can lift off and enter into orbit. Again, 1/6 gravity of the Earth and no atmosphere, but that thing had to land on an unprepared, unknown surface ready to lift off again and enter into orbit. I understand it supposedly docked with the lunar orbiter where Michael Collins was waiting, but does that make it easier or harder?
No Unfakeable Footage
To believe we went to the moon, you accept that although none of the imagery brought back can be definitively proven fake, all of the imagery could have been faked, taken in the California desert and altered. While the imagery is impressive if fake, NONE of it is definitively unfakeable.
No Earth Footage from the Moon Surface
To believe we went to the moon, you accept that the astronauts never panned the TV camera up to see the Earth from the surface of the moon, despite the following reasons to have taken some video of Earth from the moon:
- They spent a total of 75+ hours on the moon (combined among all 6 missions).
- Neil Armstrong stated that the view of the Earth from the moon was a source of comfort to him while on the moon.
- The Earth was visible in the lunar sky from their landing sites literally the entire time for all 6 missions, which is an astronomical fact. The Earth does not move in the lunar sky because the moon is tidal locked to the Earth. Also, the Earth would have been separated from the sun by roughly 90° the entire time. This is an astronomical fact because they landed near first quarter moon phase every time. The Earth would have appeared as a “half-Earth” because of the position of the sun.
- The first famous photograph shown to the public from near the moon was “earthrise,” supposedly taken from orbit, but they never did another similar photo or video.
They never showed the stars or the Earth from the surface of the moon, especially in a video. Showing the Earth from the moon in a video would have been easy and interesting … but impossible from the California desert with 1960s technology. Why is that footage missing? Were they too busy playing golf on the moon to point the camera at Earth that was right there in the sky the whole time?
The Van Allen Radiation Belts
To believe the moon landings were real, you have to accept that the 9 Apollo missions got to the other side of the Van Allen radiation belts – somehow – without really mentioning them and when astronauts were questioned about the radiation, they hardly remember dealing with it. Contrast that with plenty of footage of NASA itself and scientists talking about how intense and dangerous the radiation is.
22 January 1973
Lyndon B Johnson died the day before the war in Vietnam ended and Nixon mentioned him in his speech. LBJ knew about the moon landings and profited from the Vietnam War as well. We’re not talking about nice people here.
20 July 1994: Neil Armstrong Speech at the White House for NASA’s 25th Anniversary
“Today we have with us a group of students, among America’s best. To you we say: we have only completed a beginning. We leave you much that is undone. There are great ideas undiscovered, breakthroughs available to those who can remove one of truth’s protective layers. There are places to go beyond belief.“
-Neil Armstrong, 20 July 1994
To accept the moon landings were real, you have to explain why Neil Armstrong said exactly what someone would say if he had been forced to fake the moon landing against his will and had the opportunity to speak to students 25 years later.
Read what he said. That is not a cryptic statement buried in a long speech among many speeches. The guy most famous for having walked on the Moon became a recluse from media attention for the rest of his life, but in one of the few speeches he gave, that’s what he said. Neil Armstrong was an unwilling participant and he told us what happened the best he could.
A Word on Bart Sibrel
If you believe the moon landings were faked, be warned: you’ll be grouped with Bart Sibrel, the loudest denier of the moon landings. While I happen to believe his theory and I think he does a pretty good job of organizing the evidence, he is unnecessary to come to the conclusion that the Apollo program faked the Moon landings. Also, Bart Sibrel is obnoxious to the astronauts, who were mostly I think unwilling participants, especially Neil Armstrong. Lastly, Bart Sibrel believes in multi-dimensional aliens that interbreed with humans. So, quote verifiable facts, not Bart Sibrel.
18 July 1969, Apollo 11 Faking Being Halfway to the Moon
Why does Bart Sibrel have this video? He says NASA gave it to him by mistake when he requested footage for a documentary, which sounds fishy but plausible. The video was not seen by the public until the 1990s when Bart Sibrel got it. Unless somebody can tell me how Bart Sibrel doctored this video or modified the date or changed the audio or whatever, it shows Apollo 11 near the Earth faking that the Earth is far away when they are supposed to be halfway to the moon.
To believe the moon landings were real, you have to explain either how Bart Sibrel has this video, or how the video is something other than what it appears to be, which is Apollo 11 faking being halfway to the moon on 18 July 1969. You have to explain this or they didn’t go. Is the date stamp wrong? Does the audio not actually line up with what’s happening in the video? Is the person seen in the video not actually Michael Collins or one of the astronauts? Did Bart Sibrel fake the video somehow? Why does an individual with little budget have a video showing Apollo 11 in low-Earth orbit on 18 July 1969, faking being halfway to the moon?
In Bart Sibrel’s Astronauts Gone Wild, he presents the 18 July 1969 video to Buzz Aldrin and Buzz Aldrin has no explanation. At one point in the confrontation Buzz Aldrin even suggests that Bart Sibrel manufactured the video. Bart Sibrel may be an ass hole in the way he goes about doing what he does, but the astronauts don’t act right either. Bart Sibrel is really putting his life on the line saying what he’s saying. I think the astronauts are the wrong people to confront since I believe they were unwilling participants, but their behavior is consistent with fake moon landings.
Laser Reflecting from the Moon
Supposedly the astronauts put laser reflectors on the Moon facing Earth and lasers can be bounced off of the mirrors back to Earth. To believe the landings were faked, you have to accept that there are in fact no man-made reflectors on the Moon, so the lasers are reflecting off of the surface of the Moon back to Earth. So, you have to accept that the surface of the whole Moon reflects more than Neil Armstrong’s pocket make-up mirror.
Motive, The Usual
The United States spent approximately $25.8 billion on Project Apollo between 1960 and 1973, which is equivalent to about $257 billion when adjusted for inflation to 2020 dollars.
Why do people even ask what the motive was?
Russia and China Know We Faked It
If we faked the moon landings, the Soviet Union may have known at the time and both Russia and China certainly know by now. Why haven’t they said anything? To believe the moon landings were faked, you have to explain why Russia and China don’t say anything. One claim is they are blackmailing us to not say anything. Since we collaborate with Russia in space, I tend to think they are happy to work with us on space travel rather than expose us. I don’t totally understand why they don’t say something, but I am sure they know.
Nah, why am I questioning this? They knew. The Soviets knew. Anybody with a space program knew what they saw was not real. The public has nothing to compare it to, no context. The Soviet Union knew in 1969 that the Moon landing was fake. We collaborate with Russia in space, everybody knows that. The only news here is that we were already collaborating with them during Apollo so the Soviets collaborated with us faking the Moon landings. They were happy in second-place with whatever cut they got of the Apollo program to stay quiet.
21 April 2025: Conclusion
I started looking into the moon landings on 21 April 2025 when I realized they could have been faked. Since I started looking into it, I have seen zero compelling evidence that we actually went to the Moon and a lot of compelling evidence it was faked. Am I cherry-picking evidence? Or do people imagine that evidence is compelling that isn’t?
This really shakes my perception of reality, which is why I titled the post “Fact vs Force”. I am sure we did not go to the Moon. For such an extraordinary, incredible claim the lack of evidence is absurd. Especially now with 50+ years of hindsight, the continued fervor with which people defend the validity of this fabrication leads me to realize that when force is applied, force can trump fact for a very long time…
However,
facts are stubborn things, and to those who continue to believe in this historically anomalous feat I say, “Cool. Do it again.”
When we do actually go to the Moon, we’re going to:
- ferry fuel for the departure back to Earth
- shield against Van Allen radiation
- land somewhere where we don’t have to deal with a scorching 350-hour-long day
- get some video footage of Earth from the surface of the Moon, which Apollo was apparently too busy playing golf to get done.
The Moon landings were fakeable when the public had nothing real to compare them to. When we do go to the Moon, the contrast with the fakes is going to be hilarious.
Run Programs Automatically on Linux (esp Raspberry Pi)
Server Daemons
The Greeks considered daemons to be spirits that work in the background, so that’s why daemons are called daemons.
systemd
/etc/rc.local
is deprecated according to ChatGPT.
Graphical Applications
Using a desktop file in the autostart folder.
lxde?
If running a version with desktop GUI, put the desktop file for the program you want to auto-start in:
~/.config/autostart
Short-Run Programs that Run Regularly
Crontab (everything with crontab can be done with systemd, but easier with crontab.
Modbus on Raspberry Pi (Zero 2W) with USB Converter
Power on the Raspberry Pi before plugging in the USB interface, then to save the connected devices before plugging in the USB:
ls -1 /dev >> dev1.txt
Then plug in the USB and:
ls -1 /dev >> dev2.txt
Then, to find the new device attached:
diff dev1.txt dev2.txt
React with Vite and Express API, using Node.js and TypeScript
Install the Latest Node.js
sudo apt install nodejs npm
sudo npm install n -g
For the latest stable version of Node JS:
sudo n stable
node --version
Create a New React App with Vite
Install Node.js, then in the directory where you want to install (often within project-name/client
):
npm create vite@latest
npm run dev
Clone Existing React App
To clone a React project from Github, you clone it, then use the following command from the project subdirectory (to install it, which I don’t totally understand, but it works):
npm install --f
Move Entire App to a Subdirectory
You’ll want the React app to be contained in a subdirectory /client
and the Express API contained in a subdirectory /api
or /server
. You can move the entire React app by moving all files into a subdirectory with the following commands:
mkdir client
git mv -k * client/
Create the Express API (mostly from ChatGPT)
mkdir api
cd api
npm init -y
Install express. Install mysql2 only if you are going to connect to a database:
npm install express cors dotenv mysql2
npm install --save-dev typescript ts-node nodemon @types/node @types/express @types/cors
UPDATE: ts-node is apparently a higher-performance version of tsx. I found ts-node to be a pain, so next time, use tsx instead.
npx tsc --init
Modify tsconfig.json
for better compatibility:"compilerOptions": {
"target": "ESNext",
"module": "NodeNext",
"outDir": "./dist",
"rootDir": "./src",
"strict": true,
"esModuleInterop": true,
"moduleResolution": "node"
}
Add the following lines to package.json
, scripts
section to run typescript files directly with ts-node by compiling with tsc
then running the dist/index.js
file:
… ,
"type": "module",
"scripts": {
"dev": "ts-node src/index.ts",
"build": "tsc",
"start": "node dist/index.js",
"test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1"
},
Make src/
directory:
mkdir src
cd src
Within src/
, make index.ts
and write the express API TS code, then run it with:
npm run dev
Running the Two Servers, API + React App
When they are separate, run the API from the api/ directory with:
npm run dev
and run the React app made with Vite from the client/
directory with:
npx vite
Deploy to a VPS
Fresh install an Ubuntu server and create non-root superuser per these instructions. Then:
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm nginx
sudo npm install -g serve pm2
Build and Run Frontend Manually
Going to frontend directory, then:
npm install
rm -rf dist
(if necessary to clear previous build)
npm run build
package.json
should be: "scripts": { "dev": "vite", "build": "tsc -b && vite build", ... }
serve -s dist --listen 4173
Run the Backend Manually
node index.js
CORS and .env Note
It is worth setting up – from the beginning – permissive CORS that utilizes .env
. You can get pretty far ignoring CORS and .env
in your initial local dev environment, but you do encounter CORS even in the local environment from the start. Facing and understanding the concepts of .env
and CORS up front saves time overall.
Also using .env
up front helps separate the environmental factors so you understand how things are working better.
Set up pm2
From the client/
directory:
pm2 start bash --name tv3clock-viteserve --cwd /home/nate/code/time-v3-astroclock4/client -- -c "npx serve -s dist --listen 6173"
From the api/
directory:
pm2 start index.js
Set up pm2 for reboot:
pm2 save
pm2 startup
Then copy-paste the long command it gives you, per instructions.
Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
Then modify
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
with:
server {
listen 80 default_server;
listen [::]:80 default_server;
server_name _;
root /home/youruser/your-project-folder/frontend/dist;
index index.html;
location / {
try_files $uri /index.html;
}
location /api/ {
proxy_pass http://localhost:5000/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
}
}
Then restart nginx:
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginx
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
Develop in Python Using VS Code and WSL
PS > wsl --install
PS > wsl --list --online
PS > wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04
PS > wsl --list --verbose
PS > wsl --setdefault Ubuntu-22.04
PS > wsl
# code .
Windows PowerShell, Get Oriented
Windows PowerShell, Get Oriented
- The prompt is
PS C:\current\path>
%VARIABLE_NAME%
is a variable
Get the latest version of PowerShell
PS > winget search Microsoft.PowerShell
PS > winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget
Scripting with PowerShell ISE
PS > Get-ExecutionPolicy -List
PS > Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process RemoteSigned
Set Up Python from Scratch on Windows
Python is not natively-installed on Windows, unlike on Linux machines. This pretty much covers it: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/python/web-frameworks
WordPress from Scratch
On a fresh Debian VPN. Per WordPress.org’s own list:
sudo apt install apache2
sudo apt install php
sudo apt install php-curl
sudo apt install php-[the rest of the recommended extensions]
php -m
to see a list of the php extensions installed.
sudo apt install mariadb-server
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo mysql_secure_installation
mysql -u root -p
sudo apt install httpd mariadb mariadb-server php php-common php-mysql php-gd php-xml php-mbstring php-mcrypt php-xmlrpc unzip wget -y
Backup the Server
To make a backup file, sudo su root
then navigate to root directory, and:
tar cvpzf backup.tgz --exclude=/proc --exclude=/lost+found --exclude=/backup.tgz --exclude=/mnt --exclude=/sys /
Download the resulting file.
To restore:
tar -xvpfz backup.tgz -C /
then, mkdir /proc
, mkdir /lost+found
, mkdir /mnt
, mkdir /sys
reboot
Running a Server from a Raspberry Pi (Compared Alongside VPS)
A Server is a Physical Computer
There are various types of servers, but they all consist of a physical computer somewhere. This tutorial shows how to set up a server first with the simplest of physical devices you can have in your home for less than $20 and side-by-side with how to do it in its more abstract – and more common – form, a VPS (virtual private server) you can rent from a hosting service.
The two procedures are very analogous. Seeing them side-by-side helps make concrete what you are actually doing even though sometimes you can’t physically see it.
Server 1. Raspberry Pi Zero W Running Raspberry Pi OS (Debian, a flavor of Linux)
Can be purchased many places, such as Microcenter or Amazon.
Server 2. VPS (Virtual Private Server) Running Ubuntu 20.04 (a flavor of Linux)
I purchased a VPS from Hostwinds. There are various operating systems available. I used Ubuntu 20.04.
Connect to Your Server over a Network (or the Internet)
Connect Via Secure Shell (SSH)
I SSH login using the MobaXterm SSH Client. The server is usually a remote computer to which you do not have physical access, so instead of plugging in a keyboard, mouse and screen, you establish a connection that gives you access to the server’s command prompt. SSH stands for secure shell, meaning the data you transfer between your computer and the server are encrypted. SSH is enabled by default in Ubuntu, but not all Linux flavors.
Useful Linux Commands: https://vitux.com/40-most-used-ubuntu-commands/
1. Raspberry Pi Zero W
Connect the Raspberry Pi Zero to your LAN. There is a way to do this with command line but the Raspberry Pi OS connects to WiFi on the initial startup, so just do it on initialization. If you want, to view the saved password with the command line to know generally where WiFi passwords are stored, use
sudo grep psk= /etc/wpa_supplicant/*
which searches the appropriate directory for “psk=” and you see the stored WiFi keys.
Enable SSH. SSH is not enabled by default with Raspberry Pi Zero. Many tutorials tell you to add a blank file to the /boot
folder called SSH
(no extension at all). Use the command touch ssh
, then reboot
. If you do this, notice once SSH is enabled then the file gets deleted so you will not see any change other than the SSH login should work.
Or enable SSH by: in the raspberry pi terminal window, enter sudo raspi-config
, select Interfacing Options
, SSH
, enable it.
2. Ubuntu
Must install openssh-server. Use sudo apt install openssh-server
. Check status after install with sudo systemctl status ssh
.
Find the Raspberry Pi’s own IP address in the command line with ip add
or ip addr
or ifconfig
. The IP will show after wlan0: inet __.__.__.__
Within a LAN, it is often something like 192.168.1.* Alternatively, you can type your router’s IP into your browser and view a list of connected devices. Or, use nmap, sudo apt install nmap
and the command sudo nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24
(without sudo you won’t see all the MAC addresses)
2. VPS
On a VPS, SSH is (should be) enabled by your host to allow the purchaser to access it. You will get a default username and password from the hosting service who established the VPS with its default settings.
In MobaXterm, “Remote host” is where you specify the IP address of your server, available in your Hostwinds account.
The username is “root”
The password is whatever you set in Hostwinds
Optional: Update Operating System
1. Raspberry Pi OS
sudo apt update
is the Debian update command (Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian).
2. VPS
Update Ubuntu (only required if there is a new version of Ubuntu).*
*First, be sure you can login as the non-root super-user before updating Ubuntu as the new install will default to not allow root login. This means if you were planning to just use the existing root user with infinite powers you are now infinitely locked out of your own VPS and have to have your host re-initialize it. Your VPS host changed this setting when it set up your VPS so you can login but when you update the Ubuntu OS, the OS returns to the OS default which is to not allow SSH root login! This is a GREAT example of why to do the user basics as the very first step.
sudo do-release-upgrade
Update the advanced package tool:
(without the -get is newer, so I use it)sudo apt-get update
sudo apt update
Make Website Available Outside Your LAN
1. Raspberry Pi Zero W
Once the Pi server is serving a site on its IP within the LAN, making the site available outside the LAN (on the internet) is as simple as directing site requests that arrive to your internet IP to the Pi server. Sounds complicated, but when a browser looks for a website on the internet, it looks on port 80. Most routers have an option to direct all traffic arriving on a specific port to a specific IP within the LAN. Connect to your network’s router to configure it, usually by entering its IP (often 192.168.1.1) into a browser and logging in with a password you set. You should see an option like this under the advanced settings.
To Do: Establish an SSH Connection with SSH Keys for the Non-Root User
Normally, you generate a public and private key on your local computer then copy the public key to the server along with some settings. Hostwinds has an option in server management to generate the key, download the private key, and install the public key on the server. Reboot required.