Showing posts with label Sundry topics--- How to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sundry topics--- How to. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

How to use Shotcut in order to make videos

8/4/26:

Almost have forgotten that I have this installed on the computer. Here's another how to video in order to remind me.

7/6/26: The original post is below:

Saturday, July 25, 2026

This will work

Yours truly discover boric acid decades ago. I used it to get rid of roaches. Later on, I heard that boric acid will kill any insect. Given that it is in Borax, and Borax is a soap, its additional potential applications should be self-evident. It is also true that it should be respected. It won't be helpful to swallow any of this stuff yourself. Nor any of your children nor pets.

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Making your own rope

7/7/26:

Quite interesting. At least there's a way to find such videos. This one is in the "How to" category.



7/2/19: The original post is below:

Making rope

He makes a machine that makes the rope.  It is a simple enough machine so that most folks could do it.







Part two making rope

With his machine, he demonstrates it making some rope.








Soda bottle rope:

Must be Seven Up, or Sprite.  ( it's green )  By the way, another one of his machines takes a two liter ( empty) bottle of soda pop, and makes strips that can be woven into rope.  It is actually quite strong.





Sunday, June 28, 2026

FYI: Activated charcoal can be made at home

I know I saw a video that describes how to do this. How was it filed? Can I find it again? Is it in this blog, or at the main blog? So far, I've come up empty on the search for this. But there's no time to keep looking, so here's a note of it that I can reference later.



If the video can be found, it can go into my video database.

Couldn't find the that one, but this one will do just as well:



Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Haber process



2/10/26:

Another 'hole' patched. Thanks for clicking...

4/19/19:

The Haber process is explained.  The Haber process makes ammonia.

A question that I have is this: can a mixture of gases from woodgas, which is produced by the dry distillation of wood, be used to make ammonia?  If it can, can a device be constructed to make this ammonia, and would it be simple enough for an ordinary person to set it up?

Evidently, an ordinary person can set up a woodgas collector.  The second part is whether or not an ordinary person can make an ammonia making device using the Haber process.

The process requires a lot of pressure, so it may not be that simple.

Now, the reason I ask is this:  can you use this process to make ammonia for use in a fuel cell device?

Lots of questions there.




Monday, February 2, 2026

Learning to code is easier said than done

2/2/26:

An eventful month on the new blog. It is going well now. It's getting more and more capable as I add features to it. Rather than doing that here, go to the blog itself.

So why come back here? To that question, the answer "why not?". There can be a hierarchy of updates for that blog. This could be the one that is most infrequently made. After that, are inline updates on the top entry in the blog ( as of the moment, it is the top entry). I use my scrolling box feature to just update to that box, you see. For more frequent updates still, go to the calendar entry for that day. But a less frequent feature just now added is to use a pdf file for updates. Those pdf files will offer more details than what can be put on a calendar entry. On top of it all, you can see a history of updates. That hasn't been all ironed out yet, as I just thought of another thing I'd like to add. Details at the blogger's blog.

1/4/26:

The database has over 20 entries now. This post is very long. This will be the last update to it, I hope.

12/26/25:

Now I am writing python code to query a database that I am creating. So far, it may have only 4 entries in it. But over time, the database can grow into a long list of entries.

So there's time to get the python code to work properly. As a matter of fact, it is already working. Not completely properly, but it is in a working order of a somewhat acceptable way. It does return a "false" positive sometimes. But that can be fixed.

To include all the videos that have ever been embedded would be a massive undertaking. There must be hundreds of them. It might be best to let the list grow from this date, and maybe throw in a few on other searches, as they are made in the future. Anyway, that is the update for today.

12/24/25:

Instead of php and javascript, I re-wrote it into python. It's done offline, and has to be uploaded to the space, but it appears to work. It's not being shown because the file is for January.

So now, I can truthfully say that the data manipulation is done entirely by my code. Nobody else's editor is involved. But it isn't what I think it should be, all the same.

12/21/25:

Groan! When I went to work on it again this morn, the system seems to have blown up my space. So I saved my files, and reset the space. Nothing is working right now.

Maybe I'm back to square one. Seemed to be so close yesterday. But another snag, and then Kaputski. I went on a search for some answers, and I was going to try something new this morning. Fat chance, as mentioned above.

It looks like W3Schools is not an easy enviornment to do some simple real world computer coding. The project I'm working on is not at all hard, in fact, it is trivial. Yet on W3Schools, it is like pulling teeth in order to do the simplest things. It was like that with these other AI assisted learning environments.

So now I've tried 3 of these-- Boot.dev, Scrimba, and now W3Schools. None of them seem to do what I'd like to do. Sure, you can learn a bit with these systems, but it isn't likely to stay with you if you cannot do anything but read tutorials, and try extraodinarily simple exercises. For example, I finished the Python course on Boot.dev, but when I refreshed my knowledge on W3Schools, it was like starting over.

Two hackneyed expressions sum it up: 1) You learn by doing, and 2) Use it or lose it. Consequently, without any way to practice your coding skills on useful projects, this W3Schools spaces environment I'm using, is not likely to be very useful.

Consider this last update a type of review. I'm reviewing these 3 websites for learning how to code, and I have to consider them all a big fat failure. I don't think an employer can expect to hire people on the basis of getting cerficates from these places. They'll get some newbies who may know a little, but they won't know much. I cannot believe a certificate at one of these places will do much good--but I could be wrong.

In sum, about all you can accomplish is getting a certificate that says you know something. It may be true when you finish taking the exams, but the shelf life will render all that work meaningless within a short time.

Oh well. It may be time to move on from this. But I hate to concede defeat. But it's just not working out. Quick update: I took down the link from the main page to the W3Schools page I created. Seems little point now to keep it.

12/20/25:

This was one of those days in which past progress looks like a mirage. You think you see a successful ending, and BOOM! The thing rises up out of nowhere, or so it seems; and knocks you back down.

Now there's doubt again. It's getting frustrating. Maybe I can tee it up again tomorrow, but it is getting rather tiresome.

12/19/25: [updated @ 7:45 PM]

'Twas a productive day. Not too much further to go, and it will be a done deal. Then what? I guess I will worry about that later.


[posted @ 8:19 AM]



If you ever get into the middle of something, and realize the whole thing may need to be re-worked, do you do it? Or keep on the same path, since you've put so much effort into it?

That's the question before me now. There's a fix to the work I've got already, but it may as well be all re-written. Anyway, this has all been a learning experience. A few things could have been explained better, so that I wouldn't under-estimate the task I set myself to. There's a whole lot more to this than meets the eye.

Indeed! Which is one of the dark sides of the world wide web. Too much of it is hidden from view. A lot of bad stuff can go on behind the scenes. Know what I mean, Vern?

12/18/25:

Some minor successes to report. From here on out, it will be a hard slog to get to the finish line. But it looks like I just might make it.

12/16/25:

It may be hard to tell, but there's still progress being made. Once I hit an insurmountable wall, I'll throw in the towel. Not to that point yet. I've throw more shit on the wall than can be imagined, and nothing sticks. But there's some hopeful signs that can keep me going.

There may be a way to crack this code, and if there is, I will find it. Hopefully, that's true.

12/15/25:

Just to confirm that the file is public again. It may remain so, although it cannot be guaranteed to be permanent.

Work has moved to another space within the w3 environment. In that space, it may be possible to finish the program. It should be noted that there's a thing called a "front-end", and a "back-end". When I decided that I wanted to input data to be used to update the website, I unknowingly blundered into the "back-end" side of the game. The front-end and the back-end are two different thangs.

So I cannot work on this thang, so I'll go to work on the other thang. I hope that is clear. Frankly, it gives me a headache.

12/14/25:

Looks like I will have to concede a (hopefully temporary) defeat in my intentions for my personal calendar project. Consequently, the calendar will be public for now, while I continue to puzzle it all out. It may never be achievable for reasons I won't go into for right now, but I definitely have an opinion as to why this isn't possible right now.

12/11/25:

At the end of this project, what once seemed difficult may look trivial in retrospect. But that is all the part of the growth process. In this process, I will become more proficient at the craft.

If there's anybody curious about a Computer Science graduate struggling to write a baby program for the internet, please keep in mind that my education was back in the late 70's and early '80's. Personal computers were just a toy back then. There was no world wide web. There was no JavaScript or HTML. Nor any of the other things that you need to day in order to make web pages. There was no web. But I repeat myself. I've gotten old and decrepit too. Repeating myself may be attributed to a declining noodle, amongst other things. But there will be an endeavor to perservere.

More progress has been made. I will get there one of these days, but the pace seems rather slow... @ 6:44 AM

circa 5:45 PM:

It's getting closer all the time. I may put it back up with the new code, which will integrate the new calendar part. But it's like the "Gulf Freeway", always under construction. Except when it isn't.

So the way I will work it, for awhile at least, the page will become available again when there's no construction. That might be after 10 PM local time each day. This may not always hold, though. It's still too early to put back, I will announce the schedule for viewing the page, if anyone's interested.@ 5:44 PM

12/6/25:

Progress is being made... There are many ways to attack the problem as outlined in the webpage... There's one idea that is coming along, but how to demonstrate it on a web page? I can't really do that unless I want to make the thing available to anybody viewing the page.. Or password protect it. Otherwise, anybody could mess with my page... Anyway, a way to edit the calendar data, and then display it on a page could be sufficient.

The problem with it as it is, is that it is hardwired into the code. I have to change the code, not the data. To edit the data could be a private thing that anybody could do with a text editor, but I wanted an interactive page, not a text editor. Can't be done without introducing the risk mentioned in the above paragraph.

So what good is it? Well, the aforementioned text editor and the file layout is harder to read. This code simplifies the input and output of the webpage. Unfortunately, it cannot be done unless someone has their own private web page. Those can be had for a price. But I'm not selling those.

12/5/25:


It seems that I've hit another snag with my calendar page, drat it. There are details to this business that can be quite puzzling at times. Well, that's a good word for the situation. I'm very puzzled about something. Par for the course, I guess.


11/15/25:

8:25 PM:

No javascript is necessary.  Just a little html.


2:42 PM:

There's this idea that has popped up, and it involves embedding my own videos on my own site. That means, no more YouTube. Or Rumble. Is that possible? Well, before it is over, I will find out. Basically, the javascript just plays the video. You supply the video, and the javascript plays it. It may involve some other things, but that is the basic concept. If so, I just may embed a video into the spot that I've reserved on my page.


I have a video in mind. It took a little while to locate it. It is a video of my trip out to the land, so it fits right into the site. I want to edit it a bit before I put it up. My narration sucks, so I'll just dub in some music or something. I need a video editor. There's one that will work in Linux, but probably not on my Raspberry Pi.


If all goes according to plan, I'll kill a couple birds with one stone. I'll be able to present the land for sale (if I choose), and be able to show it as an example of my computer skills. Who knows? Somebody might think it is good enough to pay for.


11/14/25:: (oops!--got the date wrong, fixed now)


Time flies, it's almost halfway through this month. As time goes by, I'll continue practicing my html. I'm working new ideas I learn as I go, and put it into places on this website, and on the main site. Plus there's a couple other sites that I work with for practice.

See what this paragraph does in blogger..., looks like it doesn't do anything at all. hmmm, it works on a standalone page, but that cannot be proven here.

I messed with the font, and that may be getting blocked. The blogger platform has font directives available--shown in this paragraph. Maybe I have to content myself with those, and cannot add my own. Or there could be some other explanation.

Update:  Now all these a linked together.  Starting from the canva page, I can get here, or to the one I designed from scratch and back again.  Made a few changes to the canva page too.

11/11/25:

I'm collecting practice pages as a hobby. Another one here.


11/9/25:

A glutton for punishment. Back to this again. I found another place that has a few features that will allow me to practice some skills. It doesn't cost anything either. (w3schools) Actually, I've tried this one before, but stopped for some reason. Maybe I didn't like it.

So it's back to where I began a few years ago. At this rate, it will take me 20 years to learn anything if I learn anything at all. Twenty years is never as far as I'm concerned. Good reason for it. I won't last that long.

10/29/25:

Now we're talking. After watching many videos, and experimenting, I finally got a button on the darned thing. It goes to a website of my choice. Also a text box as link that goes to a website. It isn't much, but it is something. I try to do a little something to the new site each day.


10/26/25:


If you want to learn to code, you may spend a lot of time, and you may not be able to do anything significant.

 

Trouble is in finding a place and a way to practice some skills. The online teaching may leave something to be desired also.


So far it has proved to be a disappointment.


Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Coding on Raspberry Pi

10/7/25:


Interesting. It may be hard to understand the narrator, because he is obviously not a native English speaker. Anyway, Thonny is on my Raspberry Pi machine, so the example he gives is easy to follow. It may be a bit embarrassing at first, because it seems TOO easy. But it has been 20 plus years since I coded anything at all. I'm pretty rusty. Not to worry, it's coming along fine.


10/6/25:


 

Friday, May 16, 2025

Installation of Fedora Linux distro

5/16/25, 6:34 PM::

 

I'm going to suspend this for awhile. Reason being that there's not good enough reason to add yet another distro to the collection. If Mint craps out again, maybe...

 

Just added a restore version on Mint, so if it does crap out, then at least I can try a restore option. Didn't have that the first go round.

 

2:39 PM:

 

Note to self: Installing Fedora via Live Environment installation disk will not work. Insufficient disk space. Well, duh.

 

So I had to do a real install of Mint, which is always an adventure. As of this writing, Mint is now re-installed. What happened to the first install?

 

Just say it got discombobulated and there was no backup or restore capabilitity. So I did without it for awhile until now, when I decided I might need it again. Trouble is, I forgot how I got the thing installed the first time. Always a fun time to rediscover how all of this was a pain in the arse.

 

Maybe I can install Fedora now. This post is made in the Mint environment, so that's poof proof. The last time I tried this, I was in the mint install environment, and google yanked the post.

 

5/15/25,6:50 PM:


Fedora may be simpler, but getting Linux Mint installed again is a bit of a tussle. Spent the better part of today working on this.


Why did I ever start bothering with computers???? Seemed like a good idea at the time.




This is a video which shows how to install the Fedora Linux distro. I've used this YouTube Channel (AgileDevArt) for videos on how to install other Linux distros, among which is Zorin OS. My impression of the video is that the installation of Fedora seems relatively simple in comparision with Zorin or any other Linux distro that I've installed. Perhaps this is a good sign. As of yet, I'm only considering this new (to me) distro.


P.S., 11:11 AM:


This video isn't the SilverBlue distro mentioned on the other blog. AgileDevArt installed it via Windows. I'm contemplating doing it through Mint. That's a difference.


Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Tig Welding 101



This will go into the How-to category if I still have it. One of these days, I may need to know stuff like this. One of these days, the world will fall apart, and you'll have to know how to do things because the rest of the world will have gone to the dogs.









Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Knots in the head

Comment:

Here is another new subject that has gotten my attention.  Maybe I'll learn something from these videos, but it is harder than it looks.

The reason is that these guys go way, way too fast.  Secondly, they cover up what they do.  It is almost like trying to figure out a sleight of hand trick.




Daily Update:

More knots.  These videos fill in gaps that others leave out.  Eventually, you can learn what you need to know.  At least, I hope so.






Yet another one of these.  The truckers hitch seems like a good one, but it isn't exactly what I am looking for.




Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Rocket equation calculator

Comment:

In order to use this, you'll need your ISP number.  From there, you can calculate your Delta V, which is what you need for a mission.

For example, for 5000 ISP fission fragment rocket discussed recently, you'll need to use about 5 metric tons of reaction mass.  Not bad.  This would propel a 100 metric ton spacecraft to a delta v of about 2.5 km sec.  Depending on where you start, this could be enough to do a mission to Mars.

The starting point would be the lagrange point between the earth and moon.





Rocket Equation Calculator



Monday, August 26, 2019

How to bond new concrete to old concrete

Comment:

1. Acid wash
2. Make sure old concrete is damp
3. Mix some white glue to portland cement
4. Put the mix on the old concrete
5. Apply new concrete to this.





Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Shelving

Here's a bit of something that is hard to categorize.  This trailer is pretty crowded, so the need to maximize the use of space exists.

After a lot of procrastination, the job finally got done.  There is now about six square feet more of shelving.

It is still crowded in here.

Somehow, it does seem worth it.  But that six feet sure doesn't go far.


Sunday, June 30, 2019

Light a fire with a baggie full of water


The idea is to make a type of ball that can focus the sun's light into a beam hot enough to start a fire.





Friday, April 26, 2019

Friday, April 19, 2019

Bicycle Generator


Is this a useful device?  It is interesting, but how long can you turn those pedals? 

He hooks it up to a 200 watt food processor.  But what he doesn't show is that he cannot keep up the pace and actually run that thing for very long.  Sure, a food processor doesn't need much time to chop up some food, but there may be easier ways to do this.




Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Making Mead

Since I don't drink alcoholic beverages, it was unfamiliar.  Somebody mentioned this as a way to make an alcoholic beverage out of honey.  It got my attention, since I had considered the possibility of beekeeping on the property out west.  This kind of thing could be used as a way to make some money.  ( maybe )  Or, one could use it oneself.  ( lol )