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| -rw-r--r-- | posts/playing-with-leaves.md | 9 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | posts/sketchy-looking-gas-stations-aren-t-that-sketchy.md | 9 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | posts/the-best-way-to-transfer-gopro-files-with-linux.md | 51 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | posts/yabs-yet-another-bad-shop.md | 119 |
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diff --git a/posts/playing-with-leaves.md b/posts/playing-with-leaves.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c80b18 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/playing-with-leaves.md @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +--- +permalink: "/posts/{{categories}}/{{slug}}" +title: Playing with Leaves +categories: [] +tags: [] +layout: post.liquid +is_draft: true +--- +Start writing already... diff --git a/posts/sketchy-looking-gas-stations-aren-t-that-sketchy.md b/posts/sketchy-looking-gas-stations-aren-t-that-sketchy.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd91ec2 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/sketchy-looking-gas-stations-aren-t-that-sketchy.md @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +--- +permalink: "/posts/{{categories}}/{{slug}}" +title: "Sketchy-Looking Gas Stations Aren't That Sketchy" +categories: [] +tags: [] +layout: post.liquid +is_draft: true +--- +Start writing already... diff --git a/posts/the-best-way-to-transfer-gopro-files-with-linux.md b/posts/the-best-way-to-transfer-gopro-files-with-linux.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b1f00b --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/the-best-way-to-transfer-gopro-files-with-linux.md @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +--- +permalink: "/posts/{{categories}}/{{slug}}" +title: The Best Way to Transfer GoPro Files with Linux +categories: ["technology"] +tags: ["gopro", "camera", "video", "download", "linux", "wireless"] +layout: post.liquid +is_draft: true +--- + +Transferring files off of most cameras to a Linux computer isn't all that +difficult. Normally I can rip out the SD card and transfer files or just use a +USB data transfer of some kind. The exception is my GoPro Hero 4 Black. For 4th +of July week I took a bunch of video with the GoPro, approximately 20 MP4 +files, about 3GB each. The annoying thing about the GoPros USB interface is +you need an app to download everything this way. The camera doesn't just show +up as a USB device that you can mount. The GoPro does have a micro-SD card but +I'm away from home and didn't have any dongles or adapters. + +The solution? GoPro cameras, after the Hero 3, can open up an ad-hoc wireless +network that lets you browse the GoPro's onboard files through an HTTP server. +This means you can open your browser and scroll through the files on the camera +at a intranet address, `10.5.5.9`, and download them one by one. Well if you +have like two dozen videos on there it kinda sucks. + +> *Smiles warmly* + +So, I opened up the manual for `wget`. I'm sure you could get really fancy with +some of the options but the only thing I cared about was downloading every +single MP4 video off of the camera, automatically. I did not want to download +any of the small video formats or actual HTML files. So here's what I did: + +```sh +$ wget --recursive --accept "*.MP4" http://10.5.5.9:8080/ +``` + +This tells `wget` to download all of the files at the GoPro's address +recursively and skips any that don't have the MP4 extension. Now I've got a +directory tree with all of my videos in it. And the best part is I didn't have +to install the dinky GoPro app on my laptop. Hopefully this helps if you're +looking for an easy way to migrate lots of footage without manually clicking +through the web interface or installing additional software. + +Some things I would like to change/add: + +- Download all image files as well; should be easy, just another `--accept` +- Initiate parallel downloads +- Clean up the directory afterwards so I just have one level of depth + +I could probably write a quick and dirty shell script to do all of this for me +but I use the camera so infrequently that it's probably not even worth it. + diff --git a/posts/yabs-yet-another-bad-shop.md b/posts/yabs-yet-another-bad-shop.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a4929a --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/yabs-yet-another-bad-shop.md @@ -0,0 +1,119 @@ +--- +permalink: "/posts/{{categories}}/{{slug}}" +title: YABS - Yet Another Bad Shop +categories: ["automotive"] +tags: [] +layout: post.liquid +is_draft: true +--- + +Today I received a text message from a local mechanic/auto shop asking me to +leave them a Google review. It was an automated message from a shop that I know +well and have used many times in the past. Unfortunately, I have had several +poor experiences (at the time they seemed horrific) with them in the past year +and I can honestly say they'll never receive my business again. Now I could +have used this as an opportunity to leave them an anonymous nasty-gram but +instead I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to write about everything I +don't like about them without telling you who they are or hiding who I am. Why +would I do that? Well for one, they were an excellent shop for many years. I +believe a recent change in management is to blame and I'm not going to ruin +their chances of making a comeback (because frankly I would like for them to +rebound). And secondly, I don't believe in hiding. This page and its author are +public knowledge. Now, in no particular order: a sample of awful work from yet +another bad shop. + +# Mom's Truck -- Balls Out + +Mom's truck is a 2007 Chrysler Aspen that she loves very much. Dad does a whole +lot of work on it himself (the both of us do pretty much everything we can +in-house so long as we have the right equipment). We've been taking her truck +into this shop for years because we've found them to be reliable, efficient, +and economical. As I said before, at some point in their recent history they +changed hands -- either ownership or management, I can't remember which. It was +around this time that Dad decided to overhaul Mom's front suspension. He +replaced the ball joints, tie rod ends, and a few other worn out parts. He then +did his own best-guess front-end alignment, but left everything loose so that +YABS could finish up the alignment and tighten everything. Now read that again +because it's important. Dad did his own alignment in our driveway (as a +cost-saving measure), got it decently close, but then instructed this shop to +finish the job and tighten everything up. + +Now here's where things fall apart. This shop full of professional mechanics +took one look at the alignment Dad did and decided it was good enough. Hooray +for Dad and supernatural mechanical skills, but the shop didn't even touch the +car. They called Dad back to come pick up the car, telling him it was already +good to go. They never tightened a thing, even after Dad explicitly told them +everything was loose and needed to be tightened but they didn't to touch a +thing. So what happened? Dad picked up the car assuming everything was A-OK and +Mom drove the car for about a week before the two front tires wore down so +badly they had to be replaced immediately. Everything fell out of alignment as +things loosened further and further and the tires wore unevenly until they +ripped themselves to shreds. The worst part? These weren't tires with 6+ years +on them. These were brand new tires. So YABS got to install two more front +tires and then tighten everything. They did not cover the costs, presumably +because it was Dad who had done the alignment. Strike one. + +# Friend's Minivan -- Crude Necessities + +A good friend of ours drives a 2005-2006 Chrysler Town and Country. It was +actually Mom's car before upgrading to the Aspen (the minivan was perfect in +every way but it couldn't tow). Our friend has been using YABS for just a long +as we have. Once again, things started getting kinda strange after several +years of good service. She started getting charged extra for simple repairs she +had them doing very consistently. They also started tacking on extra items for +routine jobs. She would go in for an inspection and they would claim she needed +a new Part X. Now this in and of itself isn't an uncommon or even strange +request to make. As cars age they need things and sometimes you don't know what +they need until you visit a professional mechanic. They remember the things you +forget about. + +One day they did all the forgetting, and they forgot a pretty important, nay, +crucial engine component: motor oil. Our friend took her minivan into YABS for +a routine oil change. Good diligence on her part. And she's not the type to do +that change on her own. She's too old to get under a car anyway (no offense!). +So she took the van to YABS and they did a job they've done thousands of times: +drain oil, replaced the filter, and gave her back the car. Easy peasy right? +Now I know I'm not a professional but I'm thinking someone might have wanted to +double-check that several quarts of synthetic had left the shop shelf and gone +into the car they just backed out of the bay door. Now this part of the story +I'm a little fuzzy on so take it with a large, heaping grain of salt, but I can +say for a fact that they failed to *completely* refill the engine oil before +returning her car. Supposedly there was enough in there such that the minivan +survived long enough for them to realize it before she drove off. + +# Monty, My 2013 Ford Focus -- Nut Allergy + +160$ for new lugnuts; knew that these were a problem with ford and chrysler, class action lawsuit so keep lugnuts + +I decided to give YABS another try after a long leave of absence. I needed new +tires all around for my daily driver. I also needed an inspection and an +alignment. A simple set of tasks for any shop (you see where this is going). I +initially tried to go to another local shop but they were all out of the tires +I was looking to get so I caved and went to YABS. About halfway through the job +they gave me a call and told me they had some bad news. They said that there +were some issues getting the lugnuts off my wheels and that they had all been +stripped, warped, or otherwise destroyed in the process. They told me the only +fix was to get new ones from a supplier in town for about $160. Keep in mind +the entire job (inspection, tires, etc.) was going to cost $650. Furthermore, +dad and I had no problem getting those lugnuts off and back on again just a few +weeks prior when we changed the transmission fluid. + +They didn't have an explanation that I could reconcile with. Joe Schmoe over +the phone told me this is typical of Fords and Chryslers these days and that +they'd like to keep my lugnuts for a class action lawsuit they're participating +in. Now why on Earth would any sane mechanic, with full knowledge they are +dealing with a defective set of lugnuts, take a high power impact wrench to +those wheels without speaking with the owner about it first? Smelled fishy to +me honestly. + +# Ole Blue -- + +Lost hupcap, took a chunk out of tire sidewall + +# Not All Bad + +- good things -> hassle-free inspections, etc., honestly years of good service + +Oh the tires were Cooper GTs by the way and they're amazing. They're smoothe +and quiet and came with a very nice warranty. They're also made in the USA, +which is very important to me. |