Escape Tradition

ST-4 Star Tracker in Windows 7

2011-03-04T15:07:00.003-05:00

If you happen to have a SBIG ST-4 Star Tracker and would like to use it with Windows 7, perhaps this can be of help.

Required:

Dosbox (DOS emulation)
CCDTRACK - (Star Tracker software for the ST-4 / useful instructions)
Computer with a serial port

Instructions:

Open DOSbox
mount the directory that contains CCDTRACK.exe to a drive (example: "mount c c:\CCDTRACK" mounts the directory C:\CCDTRACK to Dosbox's c:\"
Open the com port in DOSbox ( "serial1=directserial realport:com1" )
Navigate to the directory that you mounted ("c:")
Run CCDTRACK.EXE

There are ways to automate the mounting of the directory in DOSbox, but that's outside the scope of these instructions. You can learn more about DOSbox.conf here.

Bugs:
The navigation in CCDTRACK isn't instantly available, you can use the right/left arrows to reveal the various menu options.

I was able to establish a link with the CCD/camera using a USB to serial adapter (you need to make sure to change the "realport:com1" to the actual com port for the adapter, which can be found in your Windows device manager). However, during the image grab, it would timeout.

Notes:
I tested grabbing an image in Windows 7 to verify the com connection, but haven't tested things in the field.

New Display format test

2010-10-14T14:23:00.010-04:00

Cool Looking Vehicle

2010-10-12T15:37:00.002-04:00

photo © 2009 Nationaal Archief | more info(via: Wylio)

While working on Wylio, I came across this picture. It's just cool looking!

Lightworks Open Source NLE

2010-05-21T12:47:00.000-04:00

The Lightworks Beta program just sent out their first newsletter. This looks to be a promising open source NLE. I'm excited to play with it as soon as a version is released for download. Right now it sounds like Windows users will be able to download something to start playing with as early as Q3 of this year.

Vadrum Video - iPod Drumming to Metallica

2010-05-05T10:00:00.028-04:00

You may recognize Andrea Vadrucci as "Vadrum" or simply "that guy that made the YouTube video drumming to Mario Bros. music." Regardless, I think this video deserves a bit of recognition as well.

I can't help but imagine his response to an unknowing skeptic that says "yeah, but dude I bet you can't play that on real drums."

It looks like he has a CD coming out this fall.

Reaper.fm Audio Editor and Multi-tracker

2010-05-03T10:00:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while I try to catch up with what's going on in the audio editing world. Over the years I've played around with Cakewalk, Pro Tools, and the open source Audacity. But my current favorite has to be Reaper.fm. It has a passionate development team behind it and a loyal community. I've been very impressed with what I've seen.

Unlike so much software out there, the more I use it the more I like it. It's hard to explain, but it just seems extremely well thought out and useful. Want to record multiple takes automatically? No problem. Want to treat midi like your other audio tracks? Sure! Want to be able to edit envelopes for every conceivable setting on the fly while running multiple instances of Reaper through themselves? Done.

And the hefty download? 4.4MB. Adobe take note.

Now if only I had something brilliant to record...

Reaper.fm is not free, but it also isn't crippled. It reminds you to purchase a license if you find the software useful and decide to keep using it. Two licenses are offered. You pay either the discounted $60 license or the $225 for the full license depending on your intended use.

Literally Wrong

2010-04-29T15:20:00.009-04:00

My good friend, roommate from college, and all around good guy - Micah recently wrote a blog post titled "Literally Ironic" where he explains his crusade against the word "literally" when used in situations such as describing Jesus as a "literal person."

Sorry, Micah, but on this one you're literally wrong... at least partially.

The legitimate issue with the term "literally" would be (as expressed by XKCD) when people improperly use "literally" as an intensifier to metaphorical language. I can understand where that is improper use.

BUT

While "literal" can mean "expressed by letters" it can also mean "actual or factual."

I would suggest that the correct use and definition of "literally" as "actual or factual" is the reason it is a problem when used with metaphorical language in the first place.

This phrase is proper: "Jesus was a literal person, a historical person and a male person."

But all is not lost! For those of you intent on pursuing the conquest of righting the literal wrongs of our beloved language here's a list to keep you going.

Chessmaster - I can has win? - Fail

2010-04-17T15:28:00.004-04:00

I lose, I lose, I lose... Oooo I can has win? FAIL!

Cutting Cable, Squashing Satellite

2010-04-05T13:23:00.004-04:00

photo by Chris Denbow / CC BY 2.0

It's been a few months now that Rachel and I have been without cable or satellite TV. We actually don't even have over the air TV at the moment. I did get one of those vouchers in the mail to buy a digital conversion box - but never got around to using it. I thought "well, i'll probably upgrade my TV soon anyway."

And someday I probably will...

This isn't to say we're without entertainment. We pay $9 a month for Netflix, have a Roku box to watch the instant streaming stuff on (and now a Netflix Wii disc) and keep up with Lost, 24 and a few other shows on Hulu.

I got tired of paying for people to advertise to me. It's one thing if it's free over the air, or if it's free on Hulu with sponsers, but when I'm paying a premium monthly fee for visual entertainment and it is filled to the brim with advertisements enticing me to "buy buy buy" It gets wearing.

The one thing I really miss from DishTV (that's what we had) is the DVR. Granted it's not really needed when using on demand media. But it sure was a neat little gadget. I liked being able to pause live TV. I know there are Mac PC and Linux configurations out there that can turn your computer into a DVR, but there's something about having that little box connected to your TV, that just plain works, that I appreciated. It had one job to do and it did it well.

That said, giving up the DVR for the freedom of not being tied to Big Cable or Ma Satellite was a small price to pay.

So, what TV/media/visual entertainment do you use?

Wii Netflix Disc vs. Netflix on Roku

2010-04-02T13:08:00.004-04:00

I just got the Wii Netflix disc in the mail. After a quick setup process (by entering a code on http://www.netflix.com/wii after inserting the disc in the Wii) I was off and running.

I also own a Roku box, so I was curious how this would compare. Overall, I like the way Netflix is implemented on the Wii but I'm still a fan of Roku.

This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are the things (some good, some bad) that stick out to me the most:

Netflix Wii Disk:

Uses Wii remote for navigation
Wii isn't HD, but can do 480p
Shows "new to DVD" and other lists (like genres)
Has your instant queue
You can add new items to your instant queue
Needs the disc inserted to play Netflix

Netflix on Roku:

No external media (no disc) required
Roku is HD
small form factor
simple menu navigation
shows your Netflix instant queue
can't add new titles or browse titles outside of your queue

Who Am I?

2009-11-02T20:41:00.002-05:00

The question "Who Am I?" is always in the back of my mind. Sometimes it's drowned out by the noise of everyday life. Sometimes it's quieted by my current project, idea, conversation. But it still exists.

I'm convinced there is no easy answer. It's complex - physically I'm a mass of atoms, cognitively my thoughts traveling along neural "paths" in chorus with my mind and consciousness. There's always the Decarte "I think Therefore I Am" lingering on the shadows of my pseudo-philosophical dinnertime discussions.

But the question remains.

I have many roles. I'm a husband, an uncle, a brother, a son, a nephew, an in-law, guru in some circles and a "noob" in others. I'm many sizes of fish in many sizes of ponds.

I have many attitudes. I'm angry, sad, happy, goofy, loving, kind, mean, apathetic.

Every moment I'm slightly different than before. I've heard my physical being isn't even what existed seven years ago - every molecule in my body has been replaced - yet I maintain being "me."

There is a problem with the question "Who Am I?". It lacks context. The reason it is so hard to answer is it doesn't define enough parameters. Its simplicity deceptively suggests there is a single, correct, answer. In fact an answer can only be found once context is defined. Otherwise it's kinda like asking "What color is the sky?"

...what color is the sky? Well... that depends... is it daytime? Nighttime? Cloudy? Clear?

Maybe along with "Who Am I?" I should also ask myself "What is my favorite context to be defined in?"

So, what is your favorite context? Who are you in that context?

SoundAudio.net

2009-10-19T19:54:00.005-04:00

Off and on I've considered creating some sort of audio related website. Maybe a stock music business, sound effect downloads, maybe a tutorial based site, or some other useful audio resource for fellow video creators.

The other day I was playing around with the Google keyword tool and noticed the keyword "sound audio" had around 300k searches every month for the last year. SoundAudio.com was already registered (appears to be an auto-generated "junk" site) but SoundAudio.net was available. I liked the double meaning of "sound" in the title and think it could be catchy.

To make a long story short, I registered SoundAudio.net partially as a challenge to myself to see if I could get it to the top of the Google search results for "sound audio." Right now it's a page on my C2S site, but I hope to discover more about what people are looking for and then develop it as a valuable resource.

I just finished putting a few links and resources on the page and submitted it to google, so it could be a few days or weeks before it even shows up in any google searches, but I'm interested to see what happens.

So, what do you think people are looking for when they search for "sound audio"?

Form from Frequency

2009-09-28T13:34:00.007-04:00

I've recently been browsing YouTube for interesting frequency and tone videos. Here are a couple that caught my attention. You don't really need your sound on to enjoy them - most of the sound is pretty monotonus anyway.

The Impossible Tesla (that we all owe our thanks)

2009-02-05T17:05:00.008-05:00

As a kid I remember playing with cardboard boxes. You could do anything with a cardboard box. It could be a spaceship; it could be a fort - the bigger the better. Refrigerator and washing machine boxes were the best! A box was one of the greatest gifts a kid could get.

Here’s an article a friend recently passed my way (thanks Jason E.!). It’s pretty neat stuff – transmitting wireless power and all – and I hope it becomes commercially viable.

The article is interesting, but this blog isn’t about the article per say. The article simply reminded me of something I’ve noticed about references to Nikola Tesla. The common knowledge of his work is that he was an inventor with many important patents and he’s the father of AC. Most people who have heard of him know that he also experimented with transmitting power wirelessly via the Tesla Coil.

We think of “wireless” in more specific terms nowadays. Due to all of our advances in wireless data transmission using radio waves, when we think “wireless” we think “air” or “space.” During pop-culture references to Tesla (if such things even exist) it can quickly be assumed that his wireless transmission ideas have to do with passing current through the air.

It seems that everyone's always looking up at the pretty sparks that come out of the top of a Tesla coil, or holding a fluorescent light bulb in the air (another Tesla invention) and showing it light up in a coil’s presence. But when I was reading through his writing about power transmission (in The Nikola Tesla Treasury) it appears that the ground - not the air - is what Tesla was most interested in. He believed the earth could be rung electrically “like a bell” and he seemed convinced that he could do it. His coils had hundreds of feet of metal shafts that were sunk into the ground. He believed he could transmit power to all portions of the globe wirelessly and continuously. If it were true, all you’d have to do is plug into the turf for all your power needs.

It sounds far fetched - I know. Normally I wouldn’t give much credit to a “crazy” idea like that - except that he is the reason I can even write this blog today -(considering my distance to the nearest power plant.) The increased efficiency of power transmission Tesla introduced with AC, along with his many other inventions; including radio transmission and remote control (pretty much all the stuff we normally think of as “wireless”) have revolutionized our world. Frankly, I don’t think Edison can hold a light bulb to the impact that Tesla has on our society.

The argument I’ve heard against the global wireless transmission of power is that it is too inefficient to be possible. This confuses me. This doesn’t fit with my understanding of Tesla. Besides being against fossil fuel as a long term power solution (since it could be used up in nearing generations) Tesla consistently revolutionized - in orders of magnitude – electrical transmission efficiency. It seems that when the father of AC current (try running DC a couple miles like Edison wanted, you’ll see what I mean) and the fluorescent light bulb says “hey I’ve got an even better way to transmit power” we should pay more attention. Why has his “crazy” idea about global power been dismissed by all but the fringe? It seems that once we got use to AC current over a wire, we just went with it, not even trying to understand what could possibly be more important inventions for transmitting power.

Besides power, he believed the coil would someday transmit pictures and sound (this is the late 1800s and early 1900s remember) and his funding for the coil was cut off when among other things, he was “beat to it” by Marconi transmitting a long distance radio wave (with a device comprised at least partially of Tesla’s patents). That's frustrating I imagine. Having your invention greater potential halted due -at least in part- to your previous inventions and patents.

After his latest version of the coil was dismantled for the scrap metal, we’ve never even re-created a full scale Tesla coil. Why not? Perhaps it’s because transmitted power is hard to meter and charge for, maybe it’s because he was wrong and you simply can’t do it - or perhaps we were so happy lazily playing with the cardboard box Tesla gave us we ignored what was in it.

Verizon Math Fail

2009-02-02T17:23:00.002-05:00

If you've ever had a frustrating conversation, you'll appreciate this video. It's from failblog.org.

How We Got Where We Are - Part 2

2009-01-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

I don’t consider myself financially free yet. Perhaps it’s an ideal that can never be truly reached, but I certainly feel a lot closer these days. I haven’t had a normal job for two years now, and I’m more financially stable right now then I was when I did have a job.

Rachel and I were both working normal jobs in 2004. In 2005 we hatched an informal plan to honestly pursue financial freedom. This means, we decided that we weren’t as interested in new cars as much as new investments, or new furniture as much as new opportunities.

Step 1: Rachel quit her job

Rachel started working for herself. She has always wanted to be a writer; ultimately she wanted to publish a book. She was working for peanuts at the local paper and we could manage for at least a year on just my salary and savings. Plus if she got a few good clients, then our cash-flow would be back up where it needed to be.

The one nice thing about not being paid much at your normal job is: You don’t have to get very many clients to make up for your salary when you quit. She learned the ropes of freelance writing and started getting articles published in national magazines, and then she took on some PR work for local businesses. She edited a book for a local author and also wrote a chapter in a book for one of her freelance clients. By 2006 she was making more money being self-employed than she had made when she was working for the local paper.
By the end of 2006 we decided to take another risk.

Step 2: I quit my job.

I had established a video business in 2004, mostly to take care of the individuals who approached me when they heard I could shoot and edit video. It would bring in extra money here and there as clients approached me - mostly word of mouth advertising. I’ve always wanted to make movies; that’s one of my life goals. Someday I’d like to make a feature film or documentary. I also wanted to try some real estate investing and - although I didn’t share all of his perspectives on wealth - was inspired by what Robert Kiyosaki me estate.

We decided we would be able to float for at least a year on Rachel’s clients and savings, so I decided to buy a local investment property that was in horrible shape, but a great location. I put a lot of my own effort into it to make sure I stayed on budget. It turned out well, and I was able to sell it this past year during the worst recession since the Great Depression. Even if I hadn’t sold it, I had options, I could have easily rented it to any of the perspective renters that stopped by during the renovation. Real-estate gives you those kinds of options. As long as you are willing to learn new things, don’t over-pay or over leverage, real-estate is a good investment.

So now, we’ve just concluded 2008. This past year, Rachel wrote a book proposal that was accepted by a major Christian publisher and she’s currently under contract to have the manuscript finished by April. I’m in the market for my next property and have recently finished a couple fairly large video projects. We’re both working from home, for ourselves and towards our goals. It hasn’t always been easy, we aren’t fundamentally happier or better people now then we were in 2004. I truly believe, if you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy with a million dollars. You have to make peace with who you are and where you are before moving on. So don’t quit your job out of anger, looking for happiness. But I will say this: I have no intention of returning to the “normal” work-for-money life whence I came. I have found my freedom of time and work allegiance worth the effort. Here’s another video from Rich Dad that you may like. You can see more of them on the actual Rich Dad website.

How We Got Where We Are - Part 1

2009-01-02T13:33:00.007-05:00

Before I can say how we got here, first let me explain “we” and “where we are.” The “we” is my wife Rachel and me. The “where we are” is complete self-employment, no normal jobs.

In 2004, after I’d been working at a Chattanooga, TN TV station as the “Creative Services Director” we decided to change pace and move back to Dayton, TN where we had both gone to school at Bryan College. I took a job in the tech department at the college. Both of us had recently played the board game “Cash Flow” by Robert Kiyosaki, (author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad”) and it changed our perspective on money.

Many of the concepts I learned from that game are probably elementary to those who have grown up in business minded families. But to me, playing the game unlocked a perspective of money that was new and revolutionary. The idea of money working for me through investment and business creation instead of me working for money through a typical 9-5 seems simple when stated, but it was a paradigm shift.

No-longer was it important how many dollars were in the bank; now the importance was how much was coming in monthly versus how much was going out, and how much of the income was through investments or passive means. Work smarter not harder, as Kiyosaki would say. Suddenly money wasn’t money anymore, it wasn’t a thing to save in the bank, want for it's own sake, to store up… a thing to hope would last through retirement… it was freedom.

You shouldn’t LOVE money, don’t cradle it, desire it, grasp it, or simply want more and more of it; USE money for what it’s made for, and use it well. This means - spend it correctly, get into “good” debt, leverage, invest. Start a business if that’s what you want to do. All the scary concepts that I had lumped together in the “really bad ideas” part of my brain made sense as tools when used properly. No-longer was money the thing I was working for, now I was working towards a goal. I was working towards the financial freedom to allow me to use more of my time for myself and my family instead of my boss and my job.

I started looking at my financial well-being like it was the balance sheet the game introduced to me: Assets vs. Liabilities and Income vs. Expenses. Learning the way these four concepts relate to each other and interact is the crux financial freedom. Everything else - including taxes, became just paperwork – and I was willing to learn the paperwork.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T15:10:00.004-05:00

Well, I just wanted to shout a quick hello to all my readers… so to the three of you out there. Happy New Year!

So Here it is...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

For 2009, what are your goals?
How would you like to see yourself or your surroundings change by 2010?
What have you put off doing that you can get done today?
How long is too long before taking the next step in your career or life?

Just some thoughts to bring in the new year with, I hope you all have a great day and a peaceful end to the 2008 holiday season.

Being Self-Employed

2008-12-24T14:20:00.003-05:00

I’ve decided being self employed is more about freedom than money. At least one thing makes me cringe at the prospect of ever going back to a normal job (besides the nausea induced by reflecting on re-compiling a résumé). It’s that feeling that every morning, after my alarm gets me up, that I’ll soon be spending most of my day under supervision; owing my employer time, allegiance, and having to ask for permission to do simple things, like leave the office for a dentist appointment.

It’s not wrong or evil, for employers to expect this from their employees; in fact it’s quite understandable. They rely on knowing where you are because you perform a function that is needed. When you’re not there, that function can’t be performed, or must be performed by someone else. It’s a responsibility. For that responsibility they pay you and they give you peace of mind. The peace of mind is that “I have a stable job” feeling. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes not.

For some reason, I wasn’t wired to be comfortable in that situation.

I’d rather know exactly where I stand financially; not simply rely on my employer to make good business decisions. I’d rather be in a position where I don’t have to perform a specific function the same time and way on specific days in order to get paid. I’d rather be free to wake up late, after a late night of being with friends, and go to bed late if I decide to. In order to have these “rathers” - these freedoms- I must take on the responsibility.

At work, many times you get more responsibility without more freedom… it’s job inflation. Usually you have to prove yourself in a certain function before you get the title and the raise to go along with it. Being self employed you have all the freedom and all the responsibility at the same time, and how you organize and spend your time is up to you and directly affects your bottom line.

I've heard it said “When you work for yourself, you just move from having one boss, to a bunch of bosses – your clients.” I disagree. Since I don’t rely on one client, no one person has ultimate control over my working experience. The relationship is completely different. In this way, clients aren’t the boss - in fact if needed, I can even “let a client go.” If you try that one with your boss, I think you’ll find it doesn’t work out well for you.

Add a Caption - Pic 1

2008-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today marks the first ever "add a caption" blog post on EscapeTradition. Here's the pic, just leave your caption in the comments section.

Video - Family Fun, Mentos and Diet Coke

2008-12-19T09:00:00.006-05:00

For most people, family reunions don’t involve science experiments. Of course, most people aren’t from my family. At this past year’s reunion, in addition to watching and learning about a working model fuel cell vehicle, the younger generation also got a hands-on, high pressure, learning experience. In the video, two of my three brothers, “Uncle” Dave and “Uncle” Paul, busily prepare triggering systems for an efficient combination of “the fresh maker” and Diet Coke - enabling their tumultuous relationship. Baking soda and vinegar volcanoes are just SOOO last century.

I took the liberty of not getting my hands dirty, and instead documented and edited the events that transpired.

The RED cameras and the dawn of a new era

2008-12-17T15:38:00.006-05:00

Billionaire Jim Jannard of Oakley fame is on a mission. It seems the mission is to bring unbelievable hardware to all digital still and motion camera users. Not a small task, not a minor mission.

Since the success of the 4k RED ONE camera, there have been rumors and vaporware of future cameras flying around consistently. But now it seems that the RED Digital Cinema Camera Company has settled (as much as RED settles on anything) on some pretty amazing equipment coming out in 2009 and 2010.

Here’s the easiest way I can explain RED’s new wave of camera hardware:

It’s like Lego for digital capture devices. They took “modular” to another level, breaking the cameras down into components. It’s not just about a detachable lens anymore. The housing for the sensor of the camera is separate from all other components, which makes upgrading and exchanging the most critical part of your digital camera as easy as hitting "reply-all" by accident and emailing everyone you know your unintelligent sarcasm.

You can use the same sensor in one configuration for a digital still camera and in another to shoot full motion, or even high frame rate slow motion – all at extreme resolutions.

I won’t get into the details of the various codecs or compression, or details on RED’s .R3d format (REDCODE RAW) but at least think about the resolutions like this:

Imagine the Christie projectors in your local digital theaters which usually display at 2048x1080 or “2k” footage...
Now imagine one of the smallest RED camera sensors which can capture 3k footage
Ok, now think about the current 4k footage the RED ONE can capture
In 2009, along with the smaller 2/3” Scarlet 3k sensor RED is also releasing a 5k sensor, ponder that for a moment.
Entice some more synapse firings by considering there are also 6k and 9k sensors in the works.
And just for good measure, let your mind melt into techno-babbling bliss about the amount of throughput needed on your hardware to handle what their 28k sensor will push out. Yes… 28k. But the 28k sensor is ONLY capable of up to 30 frames per second.
This bullet point is simply to say: I don’t think my current computer could even play 1 frame a second at 28k in RECODE RAW.

The RED website has the brochure you can see which includes more info… Oh, and scroll to the bottom of it for an example of a 3d configuration, using two sensor cases mounted together. On the site you can also see a size comparison between common formats and sensors. You'll have to use your imagination for the 28k.

If this were any other company, I’d have a hard time believing that they would actually pull off what their claiming for 2009-2010. (after all, I’m still waiting for the flying cars those early nineties Sunday evening tech shows promised by the year 2000.) The disclaimer on their site says “Prices Specifications and Delivery Dates are subject to drastic changes. Count on it…”

That being said, I learned from the RED ONE release that Jannard is serious about creating and fulfilling huge expectations in his customers. This is a mark of a very driven, intelligent business owner. Beyond that, he also seems to be a very down to earth, likable person who is passionate about his cameras and loves making great hardware at incredible prices to exceed all expectations for the rapidly growing community of digital professionals and enthusiasts. (Jim, if you ever read this, you can just make the check out to Dan Evans)

Mark my words though, Jim Jannard and his company, RED will be a noted exclamation point as we move forward and peer back onto the flat, 617-PRO-Mysterium-Monstro-sensor shaped plane of history for Digital Capturing. I say Digital Capturing because I don’t know what else to call it. It’s beyond video, and it’s beyond stills, it’s not just Cinema, and it will include 3d. What would you call it?

(if you call it Digital Capturing, just make sure to include the phrase "like that really smart guy Dan said on that wonderful blog http://www.escapetradition.com that's been around since like... December 2008")

Now, if we could only get a “Jannard” running GM... electric flying cars for $5,000 by 2012 anyone?

OnTrackDM6 and Me

2008-12-15T19:21:00.005-05:00

So, all I wanted to do was help a friend out and get some data off of an old win98 hard-drive. It was the bootable system drive, and it came from a good ol’ Pentium Pro 200. The computer was having trouble booting (though I did get it up in safe mode once) and didn’t have a network card in it. “Simple enough” I thought as I quickly opened the case, located the drive amidst the dust and un-screwed it from its shackles (who uses six screws on one drive anyway?). I’ll just pop it into my winXP box move the less-than-single-DVD amount of data over and burn it to a disk for him.

Day One:
No matter how many times I’m sure I’ve got something figured out, there’s always a catch. So, since it’s a win98 drive, it’s probably FAT32 right? MAYBE it’s FAT16, but who really cares.
A few minutes later (OK maybe an hour or so… was I really that slow?) after not being able to give it a drive letter in Windows Disk Manager (it just came up as “Hard Drive” with no options when I right clicked) I decided to move to much more impressive sounding solution. But I didn’t have time right then, so on to day two:

Days Two and Three
Days two and three came and went. I fiddled here, and faddled there, when I had time. I bounced a couple questions off of a few good friends to get their take on things. “Why wouldn’t I be able to give it a drive letter in Windows?” Oh well, Linux will take care of things. Linux! Oh Linux how I want to love thee. For the past decade, I’ve been occasionally trying various distributions of Linux thinking “This is the time I’ll actually start using it for good.” But since I do a lot of work with Adobe software, “This time” never really seems to come. But I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, “I’ve got an Ubuntu box around here or two,” I thought. “I’ll just stick the drive in and my Ubuntu 8.10 should be able to handle this, no sweat. Linux is all nice and smart and quick and cool, this will be a breeze (but with Intrepid! te he... get it?).
But this quick command in Ubuntu left me scratching my head. (This lists important info about your disks.)
sudo fdisk -l (that’s a little “L”)
“Oh, ok, there’s my Linux system drive, it’s drive sda with a file system of ext3. Ok cool, and… oh here we go, sdb1… that’s it! that’s the win98 drive I want to get to… and, just as I thought it has a file system of… OnTrackDM6. WHAT? WHATS THAT? WHO DID THIS? HOW DID I GET HERE? WHAT’S THE MEANING OF EXISTENCE?”
Ok, I wasn’t that dramatic, but I was a bit confused. Those of you who are more knowledgeable than me at that time (last week) probably already know about OnTrackDM6. To over simplify: It was created as a work-around to let you bypass of some of the limitations of Microsoft’s FAT file systems.

Day Four:
Day four came about a week after Day one, in fact Day four was today. This is the day of success. After trying over and over to interpret exactly what this meant:
http://ramses.smeyers.be/varia/OnTrackDM6/
and then figuring out that it wouldn’t work for me anyway with Ubuntu 8.10 due to some changes in the Linux kernel as discussed here:
http://kerneltrap.org/mailarchive/linux-kernel/2008/3/11/1137834/thread#mid-1137834
I finally solved my problem by taking the following steps.

My Solution:
I hope these steps can help someone else, 'cause this is how I finally got the data off the drive.

Locate and dust off that old Ubuntu 6.10 install disk. It’s also a LiveCD, remember? (this might work with 7.04 or 7.10 as well, but I used 6.10)
Make sure the old HD your trying to get the data off of (the OnTrackDM6 drive) is properly connected to the computer (...is it set as “master” or “slave?” Don’t forget to set that jumper correctly for your current configuration)
Boot into the Ubuntu 6.10 LiveCD
Run the command: sudo fdisk -l (that’s a little “L” still) you should see the disk sitting in there - you can probably tell it apart from your current hardware because it's probably no more than 10gigs, right?
Remember what it’s designated as (in my case it was hdd1 now - in 6.10 the drive is still considered hd instead of sd). Write that on a sticky note if you have to.
Restart the computer
At the LiveCD boot menu, press, while F6 for “Other Options” or “Boot Options” or whatever it’s called
Type in (at the end of the line) hdd=remap63 (or whatever your disk was designated as, don’t include the number, just the letter)
Hit enter to boot from the LiveCD
Run the command sudo fdisk -l (little version of the BIG "L") to make sure your kernel boot option did what you expected. (In my case, instead of saying the file system was “OnTrackDM6” it said it was “Unknown” now, but for you it may say it’s FAT16 or FAT32
Make a directory in your home folder (or wherever you please) to mount the drive (ok, techies, to mount the filesystem.)
Then mount the drive with the command: sudo mount -t vfat /dev/hdd1 /home/ubuntu/THEDIRECTORYYOUMADE remember, change “hdd1” to the correct drive, as you saw from your “sudo fdisk –l” command
Now, after it’s mounted, go to the directory you previously created and you should see all your files. Copy the items from the drive to a network share or some other storage media, like a flash drive.

Again, I hope this can help save you a little bit of time!

10 Free Software Programs

2008-12-12T08:00:00.005-05:00

Here's a list of 10 free software programs that I have found useful over the years. They're in no particular order. I hope they can be at least as useful to you as they have been to me.

1. Celtx - free screenwriting, TV show, and media writing software. This project has evolved into a wonderful tool. You can use this to write a standard two column TV spot or an entire feature film... unless of course you’re more of a graphic novelist, but it’s got you covered there too.

2. AndreaMosaic - free photographic mosaic software. This program will allow you to make your own photo mosaics (you know, a big picture made out of a bunch of little pictures). It’s a great tool, very helpful and very free.

3. ModeMaster - this is a dynamic, online guitar scale for learning the 7 basic modes on guitar (also includes other scales). If you want to be able to be able to play anywhere on the neck, not just in the box formation of the major scale, visit this site and practice what you see.

4. InkScape - open source, free, vector graphics and image editor. Another example of a vector graphics editor is Adobe Illustrator, very not free.

5. Duper - a great utility to find and delete duplicate files on your computer. This is great when I've... I mean... you’ve mixed up a bunch of mp3s and/or photos across many different folders and you know you’ve got tons of duplicates, but you really don’t feel like manually figuring things out. This is a java utility, so you do need java installed - but otherwise there’s no install necessary. I downloaded it and made a little shortcut to it on my computer.

7. Exifer - Ever had the wrong date and time set on your digital camera when you took tons of pictures? Well, you can use Exifer to change the exif meta data, no harm no foul.

8. Audacity - free audio multi-track recorder and audio editor. Most people already know about this program, but if you don’t you should.

9. Picasa - Google’s image organizer, re-toucher, adjuster, and (now since version 3) YouTube-slide-show-video-maker-er is an incredible tool. You can quickly find and re-touch your pics, then batch export at a constrained resolution. Great when importing, quickly adjusting/cropping, then exporting tons of pics (like, say, for a 300 picture slide show that needs to be done ASAP...)

10. Riva FLV Encoder - a good solution for encoding your final video projects into flash video format (FLV).

Taking Advice - When and How

2008-12-10T13:20:00.003-05:00

Take advice from everyone, but only follow the advice if the person giving it has accomplished something similar to what you’re trying to. An example would be: don’t follow your dentist’s advice in real estate (unless they also own tons of rentals). Follow you’re dentist’s advice when caring for your teeth. People you respect in one area of life: pastors, teachers, parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters may not be good advice givers in another. Look at how they have conducted their lives in the area that you’re seeking advice. If you want to have similar success in a particular area, follow the advice.

If you plan on investing in real estate, and someone who has never bought their own investment property, or has consistently lost money in real estate, is giving you advice on buying a rental (or not buying it due to many various scary sounding reasons) - have the conversation, but realize at some point you could very well end up doing the opposite of what they tell you. Hear them out because you’ll see reasons they’ve never invested, you also may be able to hear what mistakes they made. It’s important to hear their reasons, and give them the respect they deserve as a fellow human trying to make it in this world, but don’t let all their reasons automatically become your reasons to not buy a property, (or to make a foolish purchase) unless you want to have similar results.

There are always exceptions to this rule, but that’s where your brain comes in handy. You’ll know your circumstances better than anyone, and if the advice you get doesn’t line up with where you are in life, or where you want to end up in the near future - well then don’t take it to heart. Ultimately, you’ll bear the consequences for your choices -good or bad- this is both a great freedom and a serious responsibility.