Category: miscellaneous

I am finally getting around to cataloging the books I own. Now that I am running Linux I found a free piece of software that does what I want: Tellico. While it is for KDE I had no problem installing and using it with a Gnome desktop. So far I have cataloged over 300 books, which has been very easy due to the internet search feature of the software.

Another feature of the software that I liked at first was the ability to output an HTML report. I wanted to post my book list on this site and I thought that would be the easiest way. It was easy, but didn’t have the format or features that I wanted. Fortunately, the software also exports to an XML file. So I exported the XML and wrote my own javascript program to display the list.

You can see the list here: robertjwallace.com/books

While I was web surfing the other day I stumbled upon an article about things you can do with old phones. One of the ideas was to use it as a web cam. I thought that was a great idea so in a very short amount of time I had a new “cat” cam.

My old Windows phone is a Lumina 920. I charged it up and installed a free app called Win IP cam (there are similar apps available for Android and Iphones.)

The next step was to get a phone tripod to hold the camera. I found a nice one on Amazon Prime for $8.00. It even has a quick release plate.

While I normally just use a web browser to watch Abby, I also wanted the option of capturing the video to a file, so I googled and found a nice open-source piece of software that runs in Linux (as well as Mac and Windows), called OBS Studio. It took about a minute to get it installed and running.

So with an investment of $8.00 and a little time I now have a “cat” cam.

I recently helped some friends develop their websites. Both are wordpress sites, one was a redesign of a very old hand coded site with a custom coded CMS, the other a new site from scratch.

Continue reading “New websites”

Some of the most magical effects are effects that have an element of luck involved. While such effects are often impossible to repeat, they are also impossible for the audience to figure out. They are effects that build reputations.

Continue reading “Using Luck….”

As a retired software engineer I got bored and so I wrote an on-line Faro game. It is a work in progress. You can find it at https://robertjwallace.com///faro-game.

You can find rules and history for the game at various web sites. See:

Continue reading “Faro – online game”

• 57 Chevy Bel Air – Not very cool, it was a four door. But it did take me all the way to Laguna Beach and back when I was seventeen.
• 67 MGB GT – I blame Chris for this car. It was a rust bucket unfortunately. But it, along with Chris’ MGB gave me my taste for British cars. I didn´t keep it very long.
• 1978 Volkswagon Scirocco – This was a great car. Virtually indestructible, until I ran a red light and got T-boned right at the driver side door. Car was totaled but I walked away without a scratch.
• 1957 MGA – Saw this for sale on the road by Beaverton High School in 1985, and in a moment of weakness bought it. I still think that this is one of the most beautiful sports cars to look at. Only a four cylinder, but it handles nice. It was in pretty rough shape mechanically and although I did drive it for a while, it ended up sitting in my garage for a good number of years before I got it mechanically rebuilt.
• 1988 Honda Prelude – This car was almost as fun to drive as the Scirocco. It had four wheel steering, where the rear wheels actually turned slightly as well as the front wheels.
• 1999 Accura Integra – A nice solid car, sporty, but not really a sports car.
• 1960 Austin Healey 3000 – Now this is the car that people drool over when I drive it, at least if they are old enough to remember wanting one, or if they had one and regret getting rid of it. Same size as the MGA, but with an engine twice as large (roughly 3000cc compared to 1500cc). It also weighs 1000 pounds more. Under the bonnet is a straight 6 and it does feel like it.
• 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse – This car feels somewhat between my Prelude and my Integra. It drives much more like a sports car than did the Integra.

I have had a “smart” home for probably over thirty years.  So I get amused by the “new” trends in home automation such as Philips Hue, and Wink, etc.  The new technology is great, definitely better than what I have been using, but when I look at replacing what I have I find the costs to be prohibitive.  Re-doing my house would cost about $1000 and in some ways not be as good as what I currently have.

Continue reading “Home Automation (smart home)”