2010-09-30

smooth pigweed and nitrate poisoning

9.22: web.apt`garden/smooth pigweed:

. what intuition should call "(the pollen towers)
-- Amaranthus -- is not easy to name,
due to the confusion over many varieties:
Green Pigweed Amaranthus hybridis
www.santafebotanicalgarden.org
. a native of tropical America .
. those sites have differing pict's? ..
. here one shows my kind is smooth pigweed:
"(The first leaves of redroot and smooth pigweed
are rounded, whereas those of green pigweed
are tapered and slightly pinched toward the end. (Figure 1)
The upper stem of green pigweed is often less hairy
than that of redroot or smooth pigweed.
Redroot pigweed
has a relatively short, thick, compact inflorescence,
with the uppermost central spike
extending only a short distance above the
first branches of the panicle. (Figure 2a)
Green pigweed
has a longer and narrower terminal spike
with fewer but longer branches. (Figure 2b)
Smooth pigweed
has a very narrow, often lax, terminal spike
with numerous short lateral branches. (Figure 2c)

Figure 2c. Mature inflorescences of smooth pigweed.
(this is the kind around here)
. pigweed species occasionally accumulate nitrates
in the stem and branches in concentrations high enough
to poison livestock. [commonly eaten by humans too]
Infestations in silage corn
have been reported to cause
severe illness or death in cattle .).
[. vaguely recall from a china cancer study,
that the occasion for nitrates was a mineral deficiency:
here:
"(Plants require molybdenum to synthesize nitrate reductase,
a molybdoenzyme necessary for converting nitrates
from the soil to amino acids.
When soil molybdenum content is low,
plant conversion of nitrates to nitrosamines increases,
resulting in increased nitrosamine exposure
for those who consume the plants.
Adding molybdenum to the soil in the form of ammonium molybdenate
may help decrease the risk of gastroesophageal cancer
by limiting nitrosamine exposure.).]

2010-09-17

anti-communitarianisms by Niki Raapana

through her acl site
and in case anyone would like to avoid being
dragged slow-motion through the hate & porn
I transcribed them here
so you can study some
anti-communitarian propaganda
from a safe distance .

. all nations agreed in 1992
into regions under UN control;
the UN was created by communists,
fabian socialists, internat'bankers,
british & dutch royalty, and amer'capitalists .
. the usa and most other congresses,
make new laws every day
that take away your rights
in the name of sustainability
esp'ly for the sake of global warming
(later renamed climate change) .
. UN local agenda 21
defines "(sustainable)
as amer's needing to
balance their individual rights
against the needs of the global community

. shows a policy square and each one's
focus on {community, individual}:
## left-right
liberal, dem:
-- economic comm,
-- cultural individ .
conservative, repub:
-- cultural comm,
-- economic individ .
## upper-lower
communitarian:
-- economic comm,
-- cultural comm .
libertarian:
-- cultural individ,
-- economic individ .

. obama was trained to trick amer's
into adopting community values .
. his philosophy of community
is the same as EU founders:
jean monnet and robert schumann
who slipped some communitarian law
into the first EU trade agreement .
. now the basis for global law
is communitarian supremacy
-- over all state constitutions .

. obama was taught by his mentors
at the northwestern univ's
communitarian network
and by communist activist Saul Alinsky's
who taught the american colonial version
of building a global community
"(block by block).

. communitarianism is the emerging
supra-national system of community rules
and the new global religion .

--[that has the same red spiral
as debian linux .]

image of book: my brother's keeper .

. prof' McNight's role in
obama's rise to power:

quietly similar to 1970's
amer'press coverage of the
democratic khmer rouge
and their rise to power in cambodia ...
... was never scrutinized by the press .

Obama's committment to community building
is the key to his amazing success .

image of black unicorn
on pink construction paper
with a brilliant rainbow
flowing from its rear .

. ABCD (asset based community development)
is the friendlier way to gather
personal info for the fed,
a mapping and db program
used by community dev's to identify
"(bad weeds) and valuable skills people .

. the old DARPA insignia was the
seal of "(info awareness office)
with a dollar's eye-topped pyramid
behind the globe, as if eyeing the usa .
. the new logo is:
"(. darpa . 50 years .
bridging the gap, powered by ideas )
with "(darpa) in front of the globe .

image of depressed guy with caption:
"(nothing is real).
image of woman drinking coffee
by bending backwards to hold mug with feet
while sipping it .

community economic development:
always sustainable.
image of USSR flag during war .
image of street sign with warning
lic'#'s are recorded for war on
drug dealing and prostitution .

community policing:
is no joke .
image of a clown being arrested .
grade school cartoon of dog in police uniform
with caption: "(let's work together
to prevent crime an violence)

. the violent crime act of 1994
authorized a new federal police force
charged with rebuilding communities
using communist Alinksy's method .
cartoon image of police smiles
with caption:
"( I'm going to kick your ass
AND GET AWAY WITH IT ).

character edu -- very 3rd Way:
cartoon of running naked
with caption: "(life is short . play naked!)
parody of dr.seuss's book with caption:
"(my foot in your ass) .

community faith based initiatives:

image of the seal of Theosophy
with gold writing on black and caption:
"(there is no religion higher than truth)
a snake is eating it's tail but stopped by
the tail is bulging with double-lined nazi sign
in the middle is up-pointing double-line triangle,
and a matching down-pointing triangle
like the star of david .
. in the middle of that is the Ankh
. above all that is arabic with moon & star .

cartoonized image of obama
with a shining globe on his forehead .
image of church sign advertising:
"(the most powerful position is on your knees)

domestic violence act
and victim's rights:

image of book: "(the rape of nanking) .
-- they were burning their children alive
to avoid being arrested by fed's .

identical communitarian laws
are often passed in many nations
on the same day ...
almost as if there's a plan .
image of cat as viking
with caption: "(GOD WILLS IT).

mandatory community service:
criminals and students only .. (so far )

image of tide washing over
"(freedom) written in the sand .

image of comical poster of
native amer's with guns
"( homeland security:
fighting terrorism since 1492 .)
image of campers with hunting rifles .
image of palestinian stoning an israeli tank .

community councils:
self-appointed do-gooders .
"(at the root of better gov')

LA (local agenda) 21 project:
image of this projected in a graph
showing it networked with:
( environment center;
residents's assoc's,
NGO's, and other citizen level partners;
helsinki businesses;
other public admn's;
resident-managed local projects and campaigns;
urban facts;
city office,
steering group;
city council,
city board;
regional level ).

cartoon of hands raised to a fish above
with caption: fish worship .
image of "(salmon nation) .
cartoon of smoky the bear
with shovel and telling kids:
"(let's [defecate] in the woods) .
image of "(go green) ad' .

community visions:
(amer's have no idea
they all agreed on these)

neighborhood plans:
following mandates in UN local agenda 21

Local Agenda 21
sustainable development through
local partnerships .
image connects it to 3 things:
# local authority:
(city, municipal, district, ...)
# private sector:
(busi' and industr' informal sector)
# community:
(public, consumers, NGO, CBO, residents assoc,
prof' bodies, mass media, ...)

comical 1950's poster captioned:
"(world's highest std of living:
there's no way like the amer' way)
and in front of it is a soup line
with mostly people whose color
did not include that of anyone in the poster .

it's the ultimate Third Way, baby!
a bridge between our churches and community.

poster of 3rd-world africans
wanted for genocide .

a raised automatic rifle captioned:
"(the rise of israel)
a traffic sign pointing directions to "(hell..)
a white-face reimaging of obama captioned:
"(communitarian) .

the wining x-prize car is here!

the winning x-prize car is here!
Edison2 CEO Oliver Kuttner`The Very Light Car:
. the production models should be < 1000lb;
the proto' was 830lb, yet crash testing is meeting spec's .
 . along with the weight loss, and aerodynamics,
 it features a revolutionary suspension system .
challenge.gov lists the spec's it met:
High fuel economy (100 MPGe)
low emissions (200 g/mi CO2e wells‐to‐wheels
greenhouse gas emissions and low tail pipe emissions);
Production‐capable and designed to reach the market
in volumes of at least 10,000 units per year;
Safe and affordable .
some comments I replied to:
We don't have to re-engineer the entire car
in order to reach 100mpg? well,
that was just the min'spec';
the prize went to the fastest, cheapest, greenest .
. safety and comfort for mileage
isn't a good tradeoff?
. this is a weatherproof recumbent,
cheaper to own than riding the bus!
if you want 2000lb of safety add-on's
why not 3000? why not a hummer;
be the best you can be;
I'm just glad to get off the friggin' bus .

2010-08-30

Energy Security (perhaps) Saves (a lot of) Lives

8.29: co.pol/Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords/energy/Energy Security Saves Lives:
. if this warming is a problem at all,
its real significance is multiplied by
 the size of population;
therefore,
the problem will be solving itself:
if the planet becomes unlivable to
those without high-tech shelters,
then population size will be reduced to
those who have high-tech shelters,
and with the size loss
will go the problem .
. it's just like the biblical Noah's flood:
the weather will be leaving behind
only the god-fearing (tech-loving) guys .

2010-07-31

monetizing blogger.com with Amazon`associates program

proj.addn/net.blogger`amazon program/experience with the amazon link maker:

. every time you edit or create a blog,
the amazon search box is there to help you
to find products and create special links;
eg, for "Fagor Futuro 6 Quart Pressure Cooker" $135.79 .
http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-Futuro-Quart-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B001BVYG52/
it makes a link like
this:
http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-Futuro-Quart-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B001BVYG52?
ie=UTF8&tag=americiu-20
&link_code=btl
&camp=213689
&creative=392969
. or
if you have it add a link & image,
then the image's link is like:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BVYG52?
tag=americiu-20
&camp=213761
&creative=393545
&linkCode=bpl
&creativeASIN=B001BVYG52
&adid=00NC7A6HN0EVPFT7BJ7W&
. editing a cooking gear blog,
I found the link maker worked as expected:
I had high-lighted some text
and hoped it would turn it into a link,
or since I'd selected a link,
I hoped it might just replace the link
(not the selected text on top)
and, it does do just that !
[7.20:
. actually, it leaves your old link in place
but with no text,
so, you may want to remove the link first,
if you don't want cluttered html code .]
. if you don't have any text selected,
then where your cursor is,
it inserts the name of the product with a link .
. I intended to amazon-link everything that
actually has such a reference;
eg, "(an AM radio) got linked to the
actual unit I used that is
also available from amazon:
Sony-WMFS497-Sports-Walkman .
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-WMFS497-Sports-Walkman/dp/B00000K3RE?ie=UTF8&tag=americiu-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969
. at the bottom of the blog
I would also use Amazon Link&Image
to create ad's of the product I'd reviewed,
[7.20: and anything I'd mentioned
whether or not I tried the product .]
[7.31: also, use a link for a book
that has a good source of info .]

2010-06-30

efficient cooker

double-boiling pressure cooker & induction cooktop


6.5: aq.gear/amazon.com/order#103-6237227-7819428/confirm:
Shipping Method: FREE Super Saver Shipping
Max Burton 6000 Induction Cooktop (110V) UL $74.95
Fagor Futuro 6 Quart Pressure Cooker $135.79 .

6.11: it arrived .

[7.19: the induction cooktop  has 4 modes:
{temperature-controlled -- temp.button
, power-use-controlled -- power.button
} x { non-stop, timed } .
. after getting a head of steam,
I switch from power-use-controlled,
to temperature-controlled:
I avoid having steam be released
by setting the temp.button down a notch
from 250F to 210F .]


proj.gear/pressure cooker & induction cooktop/testing:
. start steam with 2 cup water,
oil gasket with rosemary-olive oil .
. getting close to it with an AM radio
was a rush of fear;
but the radio affects quickly diminish with distance .
. check timer,
check how long it takes to
get full 15 lb steam .
. turning off induction
quickly stops the steam whistling
-- it works just like gas .

6.12: sci.gear/pressure cooker/induction power mode setting:
. increment the  power.button (from 5 to 6)
to get steam quicker
 to reduce steam loss due to
the pressure-triggered lock
letting steam go before lock .
... that is worse, because,
too much steam escapes later
from pressure relief valve:
. upon hearing the relief valve starting to whistle,
I turn the heat off,
and, on the default (5) setting,
the whistle stops almost immediately;
but, on the next higher setting (6),
the whistle goes a minute longer .

6.13: mis.gear/cooker/use the force luke-warm!:
. I was in the next room listening
so that when the steam began whistling
I would turn it off,
but it was much longer than 5min,
and it was smelling burnt;
so then checking it visually,
the gasket was leaking steam:
the lumpy mix of herbs with oil
did prevent a clean seal;
also, it was set at 250 not 210 .
. I cleaned the gasket and re-oiled it
with mct in old vit.e dropper bottle .
. after restarting it,
it shut off shortly after that
with the message error#2:
oveheating at the plate;
which is understandable since
after a burn already formed,
its char was insulating the cooker's liquids
from the plate's heat .
. I was anxious to test my theory
so I cleaned out the char,
and put the remaining bean soup back in .
. the seal is forming,
and the burner is completing a 15-psi head .
...
test le(whole bean): yes!

6.14:

rdy le(210F, 20min):
it's still on without venting steam .
--[7.19: cook legumes with temp.button at 210F
and timer.button at 20min .]


6.15: the double boiler idea:

. one thing I liked about
this pressure cooker idea was that
if you could have the heat just under
the max pressure (so no steam is coming out)
then this would be the best at
keeping heat out of the kitchen
and not wasted .
. the induction cooktop
is very good at this:
move the function to near boiling (210),
down from 250 .
. then set the timer to 20min
(gives you about 5min to ramp up),
. what you have there now
is the timer going with
the [heat by power].function,
but, what you want is
the timer going instead with
the [heat by temp].function,
so, punch the function.button one more time;
and you'll see the indicator lights
are up for temp and timer,
rather than power and timer .
. I would rather puree my beans before cooking
so the oil and herbs are close by all .

web.gear/cooker/double-boiling pressure cooker:

. my pressure cooker insides are 8.5" wide x 6" high;
a meal of beans will use 1qt = 4cups;
so, 2qt would be roomy .
. how wide is a 3qt saucepan?
shaped wider than square, is 8" wide x 5" high .
-- that is a very tight fit:
2qt pan is my target .

. Revere ware is familiar looking:
it's a thin stainless steel [not anymore]
that doesn't add any extra metal I don't need
since I'm using it as the upper of a double boiler .
. it also has a handle that I've hacked off before
(as you can tell from the view, it's an easy job).
--. here at target, you can see
the dimensions are right:
7.9" width x 4.8" height .

. at amazon, with Super Saver Shipping:
$28 Revere 2-Quart Covered Saucepan .

. another pan, too thick for a double-boiler:
$29 Farberware Classic 2-Quart Saucepan with Lid
"( This takes a while to heat up
& you do not need to start it on high heat.)

6.16: engl.gear/cooker/steamer insert:
--. a steamer insert is the top chamber of a double boiler,
except with holes on the bottom .

6.16: mis.gear/cooker/induction cooktop given bad setting:
. I had somehow left it on power-control
rather than temp-control
so then I got too much steam .
. sure would be nice if that thing would
remember settings !

6.19: mom/gear/cooker/health/induction cooking to avoid radon:
. another reason to use an induction cooktop
even when gas is cheaper to operate
is that gas burning in the home
can be a significant source of radon:
if radon has been a problem in
some maryland basements,
their gas is bound to be
even more generally problematic .

6.24: proj.gear/cooker/double-boiling pressure cooker:
. the Revere 2-Quart Covered Saucepan
has arrived for use inside the pressure cooker .
. to spare a messy hacksaw job,
I tried bending the handle back and forth
until stress fatigue snapped it off:
 that worked quickly  .
. the cover's handle screwed off
leaving just a screw
-- wasn't sure if that handle would
add chemicals to the food
with the pan inside a pressure cooker .
. it fits easily on trivet meant for
holding steamer tray inside pressure cooker .
. first try will be yam puree 210F for 6 min
(from start of full steam) .



mis.cook/cooker/yam puree included citric:
. recalled only after reviewing instructions
that citric acid should be added only
after the cooking .
. I know from experience too,
that stainless steel will develope
pits and even holes
when pressure cooking acidic foods .

bk.gear/cooker/pan with cover:
. don't store with acid or salt,
don't clean with bleach .

6.25: sci.gear/cooker/double-boiling pressure cooker/pan not inductive:
. confirmed the pan is not inductive,
and it has a thicker-than-expected bottom
so, the most efficient way to quick-soak
(bringing up to a brief boil)
is in the rice cooker .

proc.cook/le/double-boiling pressure cooker:
. with the added heating job of a
double-boiling pressure cooker,
I thought the beans would need
an extended cooking time:
20min after pressurization,
rather than 20min after heat-on .
[7.19: or 30min to be safe .]

finding a sensible watch . travel clock

6.20: mis.addn/gear/self-winding watch needs a rechargable replacement:
. wind watch but still acts like low;
(waits for 2 seconds before moving sec'hand)?
lithium re chargeable is 4yrs old .

web.gear/clock/runs on cheap batt's:
9:25:
. how do I get time with friendly batt's?
pda?, linux powered pda? okl4 pda exist?;
11:28:
travel alarm clock on AAA battery!


2 AAA 4 x 1.5 x (under 1")

-- very popular . door folds to protect programming buttons .
. this is a recent model from casio:
Pre-Programmed calender until the year 2030

AAA 0.8 x 3 x 3.5 Seiko Get Up and Glow Travel Alarm Clock #QHL004KLH
-- seiko or knockoff is destroyed by a 2ft fall?
try analog QHT005SLH -- many complaints

-- watch history:

historically useful tool:
Watch Case Back Opener Wrench For Waterproof Watches
. Change Battery or Watch Movement You Self .

history of the g-force Unbreakable 10yr lithium batt's
"Triple Ten" concept: A minimum 10 year battery life,
10 bar (100m) water resistance,
and the ability to withstand the shock of a 10m freefall.

-- light stays whenever dark; no calender .
AAA battery. (3 x 2.25 x 0.75 )

--  [7.20: was defunct at time of purchase, but now available]:
2 AAA 3.75 x 2.80 x 0.95 High Sierra Atomic Travel Alarm Clock BK 8050-44BK

--. bad reviews about atomic being worthless .
2AA Seiko Atomic Alarm Clock

--. requires atomic signal; no manual set .
AA Atomic Digital Travel Alarm Clock 3.5x 2.6 x 3.4
AA La Crosse Technology WT-2165U Travel Alarm Clock : 0.9 x 2.6 x 3.6 inches
. reviews .

-- backlit; large but makes white noise
4AA 5.25 x 3 x 0.75"

-- programming controls unguarded
2 AAA 5 x 1.5 x 1.75;
instruction manual has no pictures
but on the site I see 3 buttons
(all that are needed) -- in top places .

see Brookstone?
-- llbean was also recommended but I couldn't find mine .

-- very bright always on?
1 AAA 2" W x 3" L x 0.75" D.

6.29: proj.gear/clock/embedded in cassette radio:
. the sony portable cassette radio has a clock!
I can use that to save on cell batt's
until the new clocks arrive .
. where are the instructions?
try to figure it out:
there's a set of 3 buttons near the clock:
(enter, -, +);
press enter,
(-) incr's minutes, (+) incr's hours,
press enter again after done,
else changes won't stick .

Ubuntu 10.04 on mac.vmware

xud (uniX # Ubuntu # Desktop)
-- in my mac.vmware

web.addn/xuw/linux and mac sharing data drive:

6.1: summary:
. for both mac and linux to have
both read and write access to a data drive,
what is a safer format than fat32 ?
. safety means a journaled format
like mac's HFS+ Journaled,
or the linux ext3 .
. mac doesn't have stable write-access to ext3 .

. ext2, despite its lack of journaling
is still recommended for devices with
a short life: bootable USB flash drives,
and other solid-state drives.
. linux can't write to a journaled mac drive .

Mounting ext3 in Snow Leopard? 2009.9
. to mount ext3 as rw in mac OS X Snow Leopard:
make sure you have MacFUSE
. extend Mac OS X's native file handling capabilities
via 3rd-party file systems.
It is used as a software building block by dozens of products.
As a user, installing the MacFUSE software package
will let you use any 3rd-party file system
written atop MacFUSE.
As a developer,
you can use the MacFUSE SDK to write numerous types of
new file systems as regular user-mode programs.
The content of these file systems
can come from anywhere:
from the local disk, from across the network,
from memory, or any other combination of sources.
Writing a file system using MacFUSE
is orders of magnitude easier and quicker
than the traditional approach of writing
in-kernel file systems.
Since MacFUSE file systems are regular applications
(as opposed to kernel extensions),
the dev's have just as much flexibility and choice in
programming tools, debuggers, and libraries
as with standard Mac OS X applications.
In more technical terms,
MacFUSE implements a mechanism that makes it possible to implement
a fully functional file system in a user-space program
on Mac OS X (10.4 and above).
It provides multiple APIs, one of which is a superset
of the FUSE (File-system in USEr space) API
that originated on Linux.
Therefore, many existing FUSE file systems
become readily usable on Mac OS X.
The MacFUSE software consists of a kernel extension
and various user-space libraries and tools.
It comes with C-based and Objective-C based SDKs.

Download fuse-ext2
Fuse-ext2 is a multi OS FUSE module
to mount ext2 and ext3
file system devices and/or images
with read write support

. if getting linux to format,
look out for the partition is not an ext3
but a Linux_LVM partition.

Install both of those and run a few commands in terminal:
$ disktool -l ## find nameOFdisk (used below)
$ sudo mkdir /Volumes/HD ## create a mount point
$ cd /usr/local/bin/ ## the fuse-ext2 folder:
$ sudo ./fuse-ext2 /dev/nameOFdisk /Volumes/HD/ -o force ## the fuse command

a login script example:
$ umount /dev/disk0s6 ## unmount what login automounted
$ mkdir /Volumes/Ubuntu ## login scripts are run as root
$ /usr/local/bin/fuse-ext2 /dev/disk0s6 /Volumes/Ubuntu -o volname=Ubuntu,force

Heres some useful information if you dont understand my syntax:
$ fuse-ext2 [-o option[,...]]
options:
ro : mount read only
force: mount read/write
allow_others: allow other users to access
debug: noisy debug output

Right now when I load os x
ext3 shows up automatically as read only.
automate this by Creating a login hook:
made it work.

sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /path/to/script
. This modifies the file:
/var/root/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow
. Type your password at the prompt, then press Return.
another way:
Finder`menu/go/Go to Folder ( /etc/ )
In the resulting window,
Open as text ( /etc/ttys ):
find this line:
#console "/System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow" vt100 on secure window=/System/Library/CoreServices/WindowServer onoption="/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"
Edit this line like so (and with /path/to/script naming your script)
#console "/System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow -LoginHook /path/to/script" vt100 on secure window=/System/Library/CoreServices/WindowServer onoption="/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"

## caveat: (from bitter experience)
scripting will work fine while you have
only one (boot) disk,
and after you've finished messing about
adding/subtracting disks from your system.
Disk arbitration probes asynchronously,
resulting in 'n' for 'disknsm'
being somewhat arbitrary.
Second:
> mount_fusefs: failed to mount /Volumes/HDA@/dev/fuse1:
> Socket is not connected
and I believe it is caused by a socket timeout.
The journaling system is different for ext3 and hfs+,
thus each time a disk is remounted on the 'other' OS,
the journal is rebuilt. Or
maybe something else is happening?
An awful lot of disk thrashing can be heard
for up to two minutes
before mount fails.
Manual mount after that time is almost instant.
. ext4 works too .

a Linux file system for Mac/PC drive sharing
Feb 23, '04 09:39:00AM ' Contributed by: Anonymous
I am constantly reading about people trying to move large files
between NTFS and HFS+ partitions.
I know that NTFS has Read Only support in 10.3, but there is a better solution...
The Mac OS X Ext2 Filesystem project
has a great driver for OS X that provides full ext3 Read/Write support for OS X.
web.addn/xuw/linux and mac sharing data drive/
vmware fusion ubuntu can access ext3 disk:

6.1: kwanghui on Jan 29, '10 01:13:21PM
(and at
superuser.com)
I find the easiest and most reliable way to access
linux ext3 partitions on my mac
is to run Ubuntu in a vmware virtual machine on the mac.
Once running you can connect Ubuntu to the ext3 drive via usb,
and this way you can get complete reliability
reading and writing to ext3 file systems.
It's fast because the disk is directly connected to the mac,
unlike on a network.
And you can use it to copy files very quickly
to/from the mac host
by using shared directories or any number of other ways.
asking fusion support specifically about fusion's support for ext3

6.7: Nov 16, 2008 9:20 PM
. you cannot use Fusion's VMDKMounter to mount
an ext3/LVM .vmdk virtual disk;
and, any other solution -- if it exists --
has nothing to do with Fusion.
So in the context of using Fusion's VMDKMounter
to mount an ext3/LVM virtual disk
it is not doable, as it is with a Windows NTFS or
FAT32 formated .vmdk virtual hard disk .
. In theory all you have to do is
find a MacFUSE filesystem plugin that handles ext3.
There's an experimental one,
but I don't think it's stable .
if you had vmware workstation for pc ...
. add USB controller to the VM
and plug in the external drive after the VM starts to boot;
or,
add it as a physical disk to the VM
(thats the advanced option in the add disk wizard) .
6.6: mis.addn/mac.vmware/no gateway to foreign fs:

. I was thinking that a linux vmware
might hook me up to a linux disk;
but, of course,
the vmware only sees what the host sees!

Fuse-ext2 requires at least Fuse version 2.6.0
- Mac OS: Mac Fuse
there are no known bugs for read-only mode,
though, do not mount your filesystems with write support
unless you do not have anything to loose.
please send output
the output of below command while reporting bugs.
$ /usr/local/bin/fuse-ext2 -v /dev/path /mnt/point -o debug
Usage: fuse-ext2 [-o option[,...]]
--. what you can do with readonly?
works well with a version control merge !
. there's some instructions in the download
that are not familiar ways to install .
. has a package as if mac install happens,
but the readme has a bsd script to run .
6.8: co.net/macosxhints.com/Mount Ext2/Ext3 Linux volumes in the Finder:

my reply to [kwanghui Jan 29, '10]:

[paraphrased] Nov 16, 2008 9:20 PM
http://communities.vmware.com/message/1100381#1100381
. you cannot use Fusion's VMDKMounter to mount
an ext3/LVM .vmdk virtual disk;
and, any other solution -- if it exists --
has nothing to do with Fusion.
So in the context of using Fusion's VMDKMounter
to mount an ext3/LVM virtual disk
it is not doable, as it is with a Windows NTFS or
FAT32 formated .vmdk virtual hard disk .
. In theory all you have to do is
find a MacFUSE filesystem plugin that handles ext3.
There's an experimental one,
but I don't think it's stable .

if you had vmware workstation for pc ...
. add USB controller to the VM
and plug in the external drive after the VM starts to boot;
or,
add it as a physical disk to the VM
(thats the advanced option in the add disk wizard) .

Mounting ext3 in Snow Leopard? 2009.9
[recent problems]

Fuse-ext2 2010.06/readme.rtf/Bugs
Fuse-ext2 is a EXT2 Filesystem support for FUSE.
. there are no known bugs for read-only mode.
although, write support is available (and it is pretty stable)
please do not mount your filesystems with write support
unless you do not have anything to lose.
6.3: proj.addn/mac.vmware.xuw/make a lubuntu vmware:
. says I should add vmware tools,
only after I turned it off;
but, when off, it has the menu offer dimmed .
. if I ignore its advice,
and ask for the vmware tools while its running,
then it does attach a virtual cd drive
containing the tools, along with
a script for installing them
(this is the routine needed for debian too;
only ubuntu and windows get auto-installers) .
. installing the tools is not a high priority
anyway:
if lubuntu is like the previous ubuntu variant,
it works well without the tools,
except for pasteboard sharing with host .
. lubuntu is a significantly lighter:
at 2.8gb, it's half of what other ubuntu's take up .
-- still nothing close to pup's 0.6gb!
. using synaptic pkg mgt to see what's inside:
(show all, sort by [is selected])
-- the selected-checkmark shows what's already installed .

6.16: proj.addn/xud/cross-platform drive:
. used vmware.ubuntu.gparted to
reformat the 80gb drive to fat .
(6.20: I had not been able to see the entire drive
from mac's drive utility).
. fat32 should be safe for transfers and backups:
if something messes up,
just repeat the copy .
. it would format an ext4 drive
but wouldn't let me write to it
-- consistent with prior readings on the subject:
vmware depends on the host's drivers .

6.16: proj.addn/xud/vmware tools install:
. vmware v3 can install vmware tools in ubuntu 10.04
or you can skip v3 and use this script ...
all defaults work .
. the only part I left out is:
sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
but I did that yesterday .
--. even without vware-tools,
things are nicely sharing by
trading access to usb drives .

mis.addn/xud/vmtools buggy without update:
. xud keeps rebooting with err mounting /mnt/hgfs;
this time I try manual recover
and it gives me a root shell .
. all these problems are echoed by dmoonc:
"( Ubuntu continued to complain at startup
that it had failed to mount hgfs.
It continued to request user permission
to skip mounting hgfs.
But once the boot completed
/mnt/hgfs was mounted with correct permissions.
To prevent Ubuntu complaining of failure
to mount hgfs,
I added a nobootwait option to its entry
to tell mountall(8)
not to hold up the boot for this filesystem.).
. the cut&paste across windows does work,
so not sure why shared folders wouldn't .
. shared folders are at /mnt/hgfs
yes!
. but! trying to access anything in hgfs
results in a system freeze .