A few springtime snaps around the old homestead
Well, the weather has perked up a bit, But we can’t actually go out and do very much because of coronavirus lockdown. So I thought Id take a few springtime snaps around the old homestead.
Journal
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Stag Beetle Larvae in my garden
I decided to a bit of work in the garden yesterday afternoon. As I was clearing away some of the dead wood from some old tree stumps round the back of my shed, I came across these wee beasties. They were massive. Unfortunately they were a tad camera-shy, but before they curled up, they were…
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GNU’s not Unix? If not then why not?
The GNU/Linux family of operating systems (e.g. Debian, Fedora, KDE Neon, Kubuntu, LinuxMint, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Xubuntu et al) are not permitted to use the UNIX trademark. Instead, they are described as “unix-like“. In fact, the “GNU” in GNU/Linux (c/w the “G” in GIMP) is a recursive acronym meaning GNU’s not Unix. In a nutshell,…
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Installing our weather station
Here are a few snaps taken as we installed Weather Station Aercus Weathersleuth WH24 External Sensor Cluster. It really needed to be up as high as possible, yet reasonably easy to maintain. It also needed to be clear of obstructions. Well, as clear as our postage-stamp sized backyard will allow. The only viable place was…
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Debian Digital pictures Electronics FAQ Journal Linux Photography Shell Scripts Technology Zoneminder
Another update: Raspberry π4 for Zoneminder part 3
Raspberry π4 for ZoneMinder Part 1 – Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder Part 2 – Update: Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder Part 3 – Another update: Raspberry π4 for Zoneminder (you are here) My π4 Zoneminder has been running for just over two months. Overall I’m pretty happy with it. The main issue I had…
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Why I quite like USB C
A lot of folks complaining that they have to go buy yet another set of USB leads, thanks to this newfangled USB C plug that’s come along. So what’s it all about and why do practically all new smartphones come equipped with it? Main reason is that it allows suitably equipped mobile devices to charge…
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Trump memes collection
Just a wee collection of Donald Trump memes I have collected over the years. I plan to add to the collection from time-to-time, as I stumble across them. Some of them are a bit rude. But then again, so is Trump…
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Fixing a damaged SD slot
There are many ways to break an SD slot, but a surprisingly common one is to jam a tiny piece of plastic it it that has snapped off from a damaged SD card. The tiny plastic dividers between an CD card’s contacts can snap off. I’ve had quite several cards do that over the years….
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Removing tricky screw thread lens filters
I’m a fairly keen amateur photographer. Over the years, I have collected quite an assortment of vintage lenses, filters and other bits and bobs. I have also encountered quite a few sticky filters. However, I can honestly say that I have never destroyed a filter by attempting to remove it. Having the correct tool helps…
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Merry Christmas 2020
Seems we had to put up with Donald Trump, Brexit and Coronavirus all in one year! Here in Havant on the south coast of England, we are now in what our Government describes as a coronavirus Tier 4 area. Personally I don’t mind staying at home. I have enough food, half a bottle of decent-is…
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A few more favourite things
I needed a few pictures for another article I’m writing. While I had everything set up, I thought I’d take a few additional snaps of various bits-and-bobs I have kicking around the studio.
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Debian Digital pictures Electronics Equipment FAQ Journal Linux Photography Studio Photography Technology Zoneminder
Update: Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder part 2
Following on from my last article, this is Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder part 2. Now I have had time to set it up and test it for a while. Firstly, I decided to abandon the ARM64 version of Ubuntu on π because it seems slow and clunky. Basically it seems the current beta ARM64…
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Debian Digital pictures Electronics Equipment FAQ Journal Linux Photography Studio Photography Technology Zoneminder
Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder
This is a overview of my adventures experimenting with a tiny Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder GNU/Linux-based security system. Raspberry π4 for ZoneMinder Part 1 – Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder (you are here) Part 2 – Update: Raspberry π4 8GB for Zoneminder Part 3 – Another update: Raspberry π4 for Zoneminder Background I have…
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Good riddance to Orange Blotus
At approximately 16:25 UTC today, 2020-11-07, the result of the 2020 US presidential election was finally called. Joe Biden is the 46th President elect of the United States. Apparently Orange Blotus is somewhat displeased and is threatening all sorts of court action and other nonsense. Seems Trump thinks he can bully the United States government…
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Remote shooting using “IP Webcam” software.
Folks considering remote shooting via smartphone may wish to experiment with Pavel Khlebovich’s “IP Webcam”. Basically it’s an amazingly clever and full-featured app that allows you to control the camera(s) on your smartphone with a remote computer, using standard internet protocols. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam I initially got into it because it plays nicely with Zoneminder. Thus any…
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A surprisingly straightforward studio flash repair
Back in 2015 I bought 3 pairs of studio flash heads (one pair 400 joule, one pair 360 joule and one pair 200 joule). They were supplied as bargain bundles, complete with stands, brollies etc. via sellers on eBay. They were quite a bargain. Each flash head worked out at approximately £50 per unit, They…
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Repairing PTZ IP camera
Our Floureon PTZ (pan tilt and zoom) external IP camera has shipped a bit of water. It lives on the south west corner of the building and gets battered by the strong south westerly prevailing winds we have here. Problem is the cost of the repair often exceeds the second hand market value of the…
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Digital pictures Electronics Equipment Journal Linux Photography Review Studio Photography Technology
Clevo N150CU running GNU/Linux
Seems it’s time to buy another laptop. My trusty old Thinkpad has seen better days. Worse, a company with somewhat ironic name of “PCSpecialist” made a total pig’s breakfast of repairing my new Clevo N141ZU I had purchased from it earlier. “PCSpecialist” also lost my hard disk, then denied having it. And what “PCSpecialist” laughingly…
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Ulefone 3w ruggedised smartphone
I recently purchased an unlocked Chinese Ulefone Armor 3W ruggedised smartphone – c/w Mediatek chipset, 8-core 64-bit CPU, dual unlocked SIM slots, 256GiB TF slot and 10300mAH battery. I have quite a soft-spot for cheap generic Chinese phones. Of course, one has to choose the product quite carefully. You need to ensure your preferred device…
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Why does Google think I’m at Barnard Castle?
In fact, I am 416 kilometres away from Barnard Castle, as the crow flies, or about 500km by road. Granted, I very seldom use Google as a search engine. I use privacy-aware searches instead such as DuckDuckGo. I have also been to great lengths to prise my rooted smartphone from Google’s clutches too. But my…
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Sliderule – the eco-friendly computer from days of old
Some of my favourite computers require no PSU, no batteries, no RAM, no disks, no upgrades and they are 100% resistant to all known malware. No, I’m not talking about some newfangled Linux. I’m talking about good old fashioned sliderules. 🙂 Sliderules top to bottom… Top: Darmstadt 304. Despite its German-sounding name, this sliderule was…
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I’m the operator with my pocket calculator
Like in that old Kraftwerk song, I have a bit of a penchant for small pocket calculators. These are a few of my oldest examples. In fact the Sharp Elsimate dates back to 1973 and belonged to my late father.
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Backups: NAS vs external hard disk
Discussion came up on a forum to which I belong whether it is better to use NAS (network attached storage) or external hard drives for backup. My answer is why not use both? Effectively I have three NAS servers. One is a media server. The others are purely backup – though they can quickly be…
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Home made light modifier
OK, so we are still in coronavirus lockdown here in the UK and I have spent the afternoon playing! 🙂 I saw the basic idea on a web forum on a photography site, and decided to look around my garage and see if there was any thing suitable to produce something similar. I also took…
