Thursday, 24 October 2019

Remote Control KitchenPi: playing with NodeJS

I wanted to change channels via a phone or iPad on our internet radio.


This looked like a good excuse to try out something new.


So I settled on getting my head around NodeJS, which looks ideal for headless Pi projects, including internet radios and birdbox camera systems.

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

Canon MG3650: a printer for Linux?

Choosing a new printer for Linux is always terrifying.


Printer manufacturers never seem to take Linux users seriously.


But I took the plunge today and bought a new Canon MG3650S.

Friday, 4 October 2019

Police UK API: Local crime data with Gambas

In the UK our Police force have recently made crime data available via the net.


You can access monthly crime figures by category from their website.


But there is also a simple API available for you to carry out your own data analysis.

Monday, 23 September 2019

my photographic workflow: RAW > Geeqie > RawTherapee > Gimp > Jpeg

I seem to change the way that I process photos every 18 months or so.


These changes may affect the choice of photo viewer, editor or even the format used to take photos.


So this post just details my current preferences.

Thursday, 5 September 2019

Broken Boombox? ...just Bodgit!

I was recently given a Bluetooth speaker with an unusual fault.


It worked fine, so long as you held down one of its buttons.


I couldn't open the box, so what to do?

Monday, 2 September 2019

Add Copyright text to Photo with Gimp

Adding a copyright watermark to photos before uploading them to the internet seems like a sensible thing to do.

 

It may deter someone from reusing/stealing your valuable artwork.


Here is my suggested method when running The Gimp on Linux.

Friday, 2 August 2019

Acrylic Splashbacks & KitchenPi

Earlier this year we refurbished our kitchen & utility room.


With a new layout, new floor, new sink, a mixture of new cabinet doors and a few completely new kitchen cabinets, we are happy with the end result.


However, the choice of red splashbacks meant we also needed a new enclosure for our internet radio: KitchenPi.

Wednesday, 24 July 2019

What we have learnt about hedgehogs

We have been capturing pictures & video of hedgehogs in our garden for the last 18 months.


Its been very interesting.


So what have we discovered?

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

our Huffing Hedgehog

Apparently hedgehogs have a range of sounds that they can make depending upon their mood and situation.


The sound on our trail-cam has always been a bit 'iffy', but when it works it can reveal interesting behaviour.


We noticed a faint sound on some recent recordings, so I cranked up the audio level by 18dB...