Month: December 2018

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Getting back to how things were–kinda-sorta

When the travel theme I’d been using not only stopped development, but shut down their support site, and the theme broke with an update to the baseline WordPress, I really had no choice to change themes. I picked Twenty-Seventeen since it’s a baseline theme from WordPress. It ought to be around for a while. 

There are a few things I lost though:

  • Google Map with map pins for posts, that link back to the post.
  • A weighted Tag Cloud where the more often a tag is used, the larger the tag is.
  • Automatic page breaks, or “read more” to hide long posts on the home page.

I haven’t sorted the first one yet, but “Options for Twenty Seventeen” by Oliver Campion handily takes care of the latter two. If you’re looking for something to polish some of the rough edges of Twenty Seventeen, I have no reservations about recommending “Options for Twenty Seventeen”. Mr. Campion is a responsive developer and was quick to step in and resolve an upgrade issue I was having getting the plugin activated. 

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The Talking Head

I bought an inexpensive 360 camera last year, and while it’s gotten some good use as a 360 still camera, I really have not done much of anything with it as a video camera. I made a couple of handheld GoPro videos that I wasn’t happy with at all. 

After learning that Samsung has added stabilization to their $100 USD Gear 360 (2017) camera, I wanted to give it a try. It works really well. For walking around with the camera on the end of a two to three foot long pole, the stabilization works amazingly well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO1MqNz8Iog
My very first Gear 360 test video. 

I’m not entirely happy with the audio quality, but that’s going to be true for most small cameras. That’s why external audio recorders are so popular with Vloggers who make vlogs that you actually want to listen to. 

I’m dropping this video here so I’ve something to compare to if I decide to make future videos. All in all though, for a walking and talking style of video, I’m pretty happy with it. 

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Fish Cam v2

Fish Cam v1 I was planning on using a camera / computer mount designed to stick on a glass window. As well as that would work on a glass fish tank, on a cement pond, it’s proven to be a logistical nightmare. Enter version 2:

computer on a spatula
Computer on a spatula.

The rethought version uses an infrared camera module with two infrared lights, so the camera should work nighttime or daytime. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has also come out with a new model of the Pi Zero that includes WiFi on the board, and a new case that fits the Pi Zero perfectly. 

The two things I’m waiting for now are an extra long right angle micro USB cable I ordered from eBay to power the Pi, and a tube of RTV to glue the spatula to the bottom of the concrete railing. The spatula ought to be able to get the camera out over the water while still keeping the Pi under and protected by the concrete. I don’t want to glue anything until I can test the positioning, so the next step is waiting on the Post Person to deliver my power cable. 

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WooHoo! It’s Logo time!

So for at least a year or so, I’ve been struggling to figure out how to make a round logo file with my Xbox gamer photo in the middle of it. There are any number of tutorials on YouTube that explain how exactly to do it, quick and easily, in the full blown version of Photoshop. Other photo editing programs, not so much. It’s been discouraging, to say the least. 

Fortunately, I know a photographer here in Thailand, who is also an accomplished wizard with the full version of Photoshop–Russ Thorne who specializes in Creative Art Photography.

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    WMWTM Blog Logo

I messaged Russ last night, and this is what I woke up to. WooHoo! 

Thanks Russ, it looks great. 

BTW, Russ sells prints, and Photoshop editing services, so if you’re ever in need…

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