initial commit

.gitignore

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+# Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+
+# Distribution / packaging
+dist/
+build/
+*.egg-info/
+*.egg
+
+# Virtual environments
+venv/
+env/
+ENV/
+
+# IDE
+.idea/
+poetry.lock
+
+# Generated files
+**/*.mp4

cipher/data/daybook_master_example.txt

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+=== NERDLETTER DAY BOOK MASTER — ISSUE 01 (JUN 2026) ===
+
+PAGE 001   NERDLETTER DAY BOOK #001
+VLGKU   JXCYH   LYMDC   ETLUB   ZIAUI   OOABL   RSPXP   SEILP   LFOOF   FQFRY
+
+──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+=== END OF MASTER PAD — 1 PAGES GENERATED ===

cipher/encrypt.py

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+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+def load_pad(filename="cipher/data/daybook_master_example.txt"):
+    """Load the master pad file."""
+    pad_text = Path(filename).read_text()
+    # Extract only the 5-letter groups, ignore headers and spaces
+    groups = [g for g in pad_text.split() if len(g) == 5 and g.isalpha()]
+    return "".join(groups).upper()
+
+
+def encrypt_message(plaintext: str, pad: str, start_pos: int):
+    """Encrypt using the pad starting at a given position."""
+    # Clean plaintext: uppercase letters only, remove everything else
+    pt = "".join(c for c in plaintext.upper() if c.isalpha())
+    if not pt:
+        return "ERROR: No letters in message"
+
+    ciphertext = []
+    for i, char in enumerate(pt):
+        if i + start_pos >= len(pad):
+            return "ERROR: Pad exhausted! Generate new master."
+        p = ord(pad[start_pos + i]) - 65
+        c = ord(char) - 65
+        d = (c + p) % 26
+        ciphertext.append(chr(d + 65))
+
+    # Format in 5-letter groups
+    ct_str = "".join(ciphertext)
+    return " ".join(ct_str[j:j + 5] for j in range(0, len(ct_str), 5))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
+        print("Usage: python3 encrypt.py 'Your secret message here' [start_page]")
+        print("Example: python3 encrypt.py 'Meeting at the retro show on Saturday' 7")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    message = sys.argv[1]
+    start_page = int(sys.argv[2]) if len(sys.argv) > 2 else 1
+
+    pad_str = load_pad()
+    # Each page = 50 letters (10 groups × 5)
+    start_pos = (start_page - 1) * 50
+
+    ct = encrypt_message(message, pad_str, start_pos)
+    print(f"\n=== NERDLETTER SECRET MESSAGE (Use Day Book PAGE {start_page:03d}) ===")
+    print(ct)
+    print("\nCopy the line above to the website.")

cipher/instructions.md

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+## HOW TO DECRYPT — STEP BY STEP (using your 8-bit machine)
+
+1. Type in the NERDLETTER DECRYPTOR BASIC program (see below)
+2. RUN
+3. When it asks, type the PAD groups from the appropriate page:
+
+   `VLGKU`   then   `JXCYH`   then   `LYMDC`   then   `ETLUB`
+
+4. Then type the CIPHERTEXT groups:
+
+   `HLXIB`   then   `JACJP`   then   `ERXHN`   then   `EFM`
+
+5. The machine will instantly print the plaintext!
+
+## RESULT YOU SHOULD SEE:
+
+```
+MARYHADALITTLELAMB
+```
+
+(Add spaces by hand: “Mary had a little lamb”)
+
+This is perfect secrecy — no computer on Earth can read it without this exact Day Book page.

cipher/scripts/nerdletter_numbers_station.sh

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+#!/bin/bash
+# NERDLETTER NUMBERS STATION MP4 GENERATOR
+# Lincolnshire Poacher style with letter-by-letter cipher readout
+#
+# Audio structure:
+#   Base layer (full duration): low-volume shortwave static
+#   On top, in sequence:
+#     1. Lincolnshire Poacher theme
+#     2. Voice: announcement + letters (0.5s between letters, 1.0s between groups)
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+ASSETS_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR}/../assets"
+
+MESSAGE="$1"          # e.g. "HLXIB JACJP ERXHN EFM"
+PAGE="$2"             # e.g. 001
+EPISODE="${3:-01}"
+
+OUTFILE="nerdletter_secret_${EPISODE}_page${PAGE}.mp4"
+TMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$TMPDIR"' EXIT
+
+SAMPLE_RATE=22050
+
+echo "=== NERDLETTER SECRET TRANSMISSION #${EPISODE} ==="
+echo "Page ${PAGE} — Generating MP4..."
+
+# --- 1. Generate voice announcement ---
+INTRO_TEXT="NERDLETTER SECRET MESSAGE ${EPISODE}. USE DAY BOOK PAGE ${PAGE}."
+echo "$INTRO_TEXT" | \
+  espeak-ng -ven+f3 -s88 -k50 -a 200 -w "${TMPDIR}/intro.wav" --punct="" 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 2. Generate letter-by-letter audio with proper gaps ---
+# Build an ffmpeg concat list: each letter as a wav, with silence between
+CONCAT_LIST="${TMPDIR}/concat.txt"
+> "$CONCAT_LIST"
+PART=0
+
+# Pre-generate silence files
+ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "anullsrc=r=${SAMPLE_RATE}:cl=mono" \
+  -t 0.45 -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/gap_letter.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "anullsrc=r=${SAMPLE_RATE}:cl=mono" \
+  -t 0.9 -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/gap_group.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+for group in $MESSAGE; do
+    echo "  Group: $group"
+    for ((i=0; i<${#group}; i++)); do
+        letter="${group:$i:1}"
+        PART_FILE="${TMPDIR}/letter_${PART}.wav"
+        echo "$letter" | espeak-ng -ven+f3 -s81 -k65 -a 210 -w "$PART_FILE" 2>/dev/null
+        echo "file '${PART_FILE}'" >> "$CONCAT_LIST"
+        PART=$((PART + 1))
+
+        # 0.5s gap after each letter (except last letter of last group)
+        if [ $i -lt $((${#group} - 1)) ]; then
+            echo "file '${TMPDIR}/gap_letter.wav'" >> "$CONCAT_LIST"
+        fi
+    done
+    # 1.0s gap after each group
+    echo "file '${TMPDIR}/gap_group.wav'" >> "$CONCAT_LIST"
+done
+
+# Concatenate all letter parts into one track
+ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i "$CONCAT_LIST" \
+  -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/letters.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 3. Generate closing announcement ---
+OUTRO_TEXT="END TRANSMISSION. TUNE TO OLD COMPUTER NERD DOT COM FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
+echo "$OUTRO_TEXT" | \
+  espeak-ng -ven+f3 -s88 -k50 -a 200 -w "${TMPDIR}/outro.wav" --punct="" 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 4. Concatenate intro + letters + outro ---
+VOICE_LIST="${TMPDIR}/voice_concat.txt"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/intro.wav'" > "$VOICE_LIST"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/gap_group.wav'" >> "$VOICE_LIST"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/letters.wav'" >> "$VOICE_LIST"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/gap_group.wav'" >> "$VOICE_LIST"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/outro.wav'" >> "$VOICE_LIST"
+
+ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i "$VOICE_LIST" \
+  -ar ${SAMPLE_RATE} -ac 1 -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/voice.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 5. Concatenate poacher theme + voice into foreground track ---
+FG_LIST="${TMPDIR}/fg_concat.txt"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/poacher_resampled.wav'" > "$FG_LIST"
+echo "file '${TMPDIR}/voice.wav'" >> "$FG_LIST"
+
+# Resample poacher intro to match
+ffmpeg -i "${ASSETS_DIR}/poacher_intro.wav" \
+  -ar ${SAMPLE_RATE} -ac 1 -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/poacher_resampled.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i "$FG_LIST" \
+  -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/foreground.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 6. Get foreground duration, generate static to match ---
+FG_DUR=$(ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format=duration -of csv=p=0 "${TMPDIR}/foreground.wav")
+echo "  Audio duration: ${FG_DUR}s"
+
+ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "anoisesrc=d=${FG_DUR}:c=0.22" \
+  -af "highpass=f=2500,lowpass=f=9000,volume=0.18" \
+  -ar ${SAMPLE_RATE} -ac 1 -t "${FG_DUR}" \
+  -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/static.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 7. Mix static underneath foreground ---
+ffmpeg -i "${TMPDIR}/foreground.wav" -i "${TMPDIR}/static.wav" \
+  -filter_complex "[0:a][1:a]amix=inputs=2:duration=longest:normalize=0" \
+  -c:a pcm_s16le "${TMPDIR}/final_audio.wav" -y 2>/dev/null
+
+# --- 8. Build video to match audio duration ---
+# Round up to nearest second for video duration
+VIDEO_DUR=$(echo "$FG_DUR" | awk '{printf "%d", $1 + 1}')
+
+ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "color=black:s=1280x720:d=${VIDEO_DUR}" \
+  -i "${TMPDIR}/final_audio.wav" \
+  -vf "drawtext=font='Courier':fontsize=50:fontcolor=green@0.95:text='NERDLETTER SECRET TRANSMISSION #${EPISODE}':x=(w-text_w)/2:y=80, \
+drawtext=font='Courier':fontsize=36:fontcolor=green@0.85:text='USE DAY BOOK PAGE ${PAGE}':x=(w-text_w)/2:y=170, \
+drawtext=font='Courier':fontsize=44:fontcolor=lime@0.95:text='${MESSAGE}':x=(w-text_w)/2:y=270:box=1:boxcolor=black@0.75:boxborderw=15, \
+drawtext=font='Courier':fontsize=30:fontcolor=green@0.75:text='DESTROY PAGE AFTER USE — SUBSCRIBERS ONLY':x=(w-text_w)/2:y=640" \
+  -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -shortest "$OUTFILE" -y
+
+echo "Done: ${OUTFILE}"

pyproject.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+[project]
+name = "nerdletter"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = ""
+authors = [
+    {name = "Gregory Gauthier",email = "gregory.gauthier@perspectum.com"}
+]
+requires-python = "^3.14"
+dependencies = [
+]
+
+
+[build-system]
+requires = ["poetry-core>=2.0.0,<3.0.0"]
+build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"

site/deploy.sh

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+#!/usr/bin/env zsh
+
+scp index.html gmgauthier@socrates:/var/www/nerdletter.oldcomputernerd.com
+

site/index.html

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+  <meta charset="UTF-8">
+  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
+  <title>The Nerdletter • Retro-Modern Fusion</title>
+  <style>
+    @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=VT323&display=swap'); /* Perfect CRT font */
+    body {
+      background: #000;
+      color: #00ff41;
+      font-family: 'VT323', monospace;
+      font-size: 1.4rem;
+      line-height: 1.3;
+      margin: 0;
+      padding: 2rem;
+      image-rendering: pixelated;
+      text-shadow: 0 0 8px #00ff41;
+    }
+    .crt {
+      max-width: 800px;
+      margin: 0 auto;
+      border: 16px solid #222;
+      background: #001100;
+      padding: 2rem;
+      box-shadow: 0 0 40px #00ff41, inset 0 0 80px rgba(0,255,65,0.2);
+    }
+    h1 {
+      font-size: 3.5rem;
+      text-align: center;
+      margin: 0 0 1rem;
+      text-transform: uppercase;
+      letter-spacing: 4px;
+      animation: flicker 1.5s infinite alternate;
+    }
+    @keyframes flicker { 0% { opacity: 0.95; } 100% { opacity: 1; } }
+    .tagline { text-align: center; font-size: 1.8rem; margin-bottom: 2rem; color: #00cc33; }
+    .scanlines {
+      position: relative;
+    }
+    .scanlines::after {
+      content: '';
+      position: absolute;
+      top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0;
+      background: repeating-linear-gradient(transparent 0px, transparent 2px, rgba(0,255,65,0.07) 2px, rgba(0,255,65,0.07) 4px);
+      pointer-events: none;
+    }
+    section { margin: 3rem 0; }
+    h2 { color: #00ff9d; border-bottom: 3px double #00ff41; padding-bottom: 0.5rem; }
+    .issue-teaser {
+      background: #001a00;
+      padding: 1.5rem;
+      border: 4px solid #00ff41;
+    }
+    .subscribe {
+      text-align: center;
+      background: #003300;
+      padding: 2rem;
+      border: 6px double #00ff41;
+    }
+    a { color: #00ff9d; text-decoration: underline dotted; }
+    a:hover { color: #ffff00; }
+    footer { text-align: center; font-size: 1.1rem; margin-top: 4rem; opacity: 0.7; }
+  </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<div class="crt scanlines">
+  <h1>THE NERDLETTER</h1>
+  <p class="tagline">COMPUTING WHEN IT WAS STILL FUN</p>
+
+  <section>
+    <h2>INCOMING TRANSMISSION</h2>
+    <div class="issue-teaser">
+      <video controls width="100%" style="margin-bottom: 1rem; border: 2px solid #00ff41;">
+        <source src="https://gmgauthier.us-east-1.linodeobjects.com/videos/nerdletter-secret-01.mp4" type="video/mp4">
+      </video>
+      If you arrived here by way of a secret transmission, consult your day book
+      for decyphering instructions. Starting Monday, June 1, there will be a new secret message each week.<br><br>
+      No day book? You may obtain one by emailing
+      <a href="mailto:nerdletter@gmgauthier.com">nerdletter@gmgauthier.com</a>
+      with proof of a $5 PayPal subscription payment. You'll also receive a BASIC program that will help you
+      decode the secret messages – compatible with almost all 8-bit era computers!
+    </div>
+  </section>
+
+  <section>
+    <h2>ISSUE #001 COMING SOON</h2>
+    <div class="issue-teaser">
+      <strong>Featured in our first issue:</strong><br>
+      • News and Interviews with the greats of the past!<br>
+      • DIY projects from community members!<br>
+      • Modern Projects that are keeping your retro system alive!<br>
+      • Guest essays from people who know what they’re talking about!<br>
+      • Bonus content: Nerdy stories!
+    </div>
+  </section>
+
+  <section>
+    <h2>Why a print newsletter in 2026?</h2>
+    <p>We all remember the days when you had to send away for stuff. The self-addressed stamped envelope.
+      The $5 check. The anxious checking of the post box for your magazine. We also remember the joy of
+      having that print in our hands. The feeling of opening it up and seeing fresh content inside, and
+      the eager anticipation of that moment when you'd have time to sit down with a cup of coffee and
+      read. That's why this exists. Because some things are better with ink and paper. No pop-ups.
+      No tracking. Just you, a cup of coffee, and stories about the machines that shaped us — plus the
+      crazy modern hacks that keep them alive.</p>
+    <p>Small print run. Big passion. For retro-fusion lovers only.</p>
+  </section>
+
+  <div class="subscribe">
+    <h2>GET YOUR COPY</h2>
+    <p>Dot-matrix printed edition mailed directly to your door.<br>
+      Limited run — When the paper runs out, that's it.</p>
+    <p><strong>Drop me a line:</strong> <a href="mailto:nerdletter@gmgauthier.com">nerdletter@gmgauthier.com</a></p>
+    <p>I’ll send you the details.</p>
+  </div>
+
+  <footer>
+    © 2026 The Nerdletter • Old Computer Nerd HQ • Oxford, UK<br>
+    <span style="font-size:0.9rem;">"If it booted in 1985, it'll boot in 2026."</span>
+  </footer>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>