Friday, December 11, 2020

Get your Web Browsing History in data friendly format

 Chrome has a history you can generally save.  Firefox does not.  I could care less what Edge or Safari do. But to pull your browsing history, with times, view counts, filters and more this tool is brilliant.  'BrowsingHistoryView' by Nir Sofer.  Find it at:

https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/browsing_history_view.html 

BrowsingHistoryView is a utility that reads the history data of different Web browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera) and displays the browsing history of all these Web browsers in one table. The browsing history table includes the following information: Visited URL, Title, Visit Time, Visit Count, Web browser and User Profile. BrowsingHistoryView allows you to watch the browsing history of all user profiles in a running system, as well as to get the browsing history from external hard drive.
You can also export the browsing history into csv/tab-delimited/html/xml file from the user interface, or from command-line, without displaying any user interface. 
Browsing History View - from 2016!

 

Me?  Over the past 4 years, excluding shopping, search, banking, I've visited about 450,000 pages across some 38,000 URLs.

 



Data is Fun!

Namaskar, Will England

Monday, December 07, 2020

What do you have on your motorcycle for touring?

 Question came up today as to what, where and how you carry your touring and long distance riding. So - my always packed setup.  Occasionally rotate out parts if I'm going backpacking, but the vast majority stays on the FJR year round. Med Kit gets restocked or replaced at least every 2 years.


My 2006 FJR Touring / LD bike

So, since around 2005 I started figuring out what to bring and where to put it.  Once it's in place, it stays there. Build patterns and habits so you can be efficient in riding, stopping and not losing anything.

Motorcycle Gear List - On Bike and On Gear:

 

Left saddlebag: Tools, spares in a ziptop canvas bag. Heated gear

  • Air pump, clips and plugs to attach to bike power. (stripped down walmart airpump. Also available from Aerostich.
  • Small socket set
  • Gloves
  • Anything I've used to work on the bike, either that tool or a duplicate goes in the toolbag.
  • Especially wheel removal wrenches. Those big bolts are not common sockets at the local hardware store.
  • Red rag or two.
  • Gummy worms, plug tools, fresh cement.

Right saddlebag: Overnight kit in a removable soft bag. 

 
Top case:
  • Hat, 
  • map(s), paper. 
  • Jacket,  windproof. 
  • Spare gloves, 
  • bike cover, 
  • 2-4 24oz water bottles. 
  • Pledge or Plexus and large soft cloth in a gallon zip lock 
 

Left fairing pocket  

  • phone changer and cable.
  • Spare phone charger. 
  • Spare phone cable. 
 

Handlebar:

Phone in RAM mount (unless raining, then inside 'stich. (Need to upgrade to Hondo Garage powered mount.)
 

Right fairing pocket 

 6' cable lock for the helmet, jacket / stich. 
 

Tank Bag: 

  •  4-in-1 screwdriver. 
  • Appropriate hex wrenches for body panels.
  • 10/11mm wrench. 
  • Earplugs, 
  • TAO, 
  • food (beef jerky), 
  • Spare visor. 
  • 24 oz water. 
  • Another hat, 
  • Carmex. 
  • 5x7 heavyweight notebook, binder clip, ziplock bag clipped to the notebook for receipts. 
  • G2 gel pen x2 (black and blue). 
  • Pencils. 
  • Sharpie. 
  • Visor cleaning (Plexus, microfiber) in ziplock. 
  • Heated gear controller. 
  • Leatherman Wave.
 

First Aid Kit

  • Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight/Watertight .3 or .5 Medical Kit + 50 ibuprofen, 12 decongestants (Pharmacy grade), 12 Benadryl. Replaced bi-annually. 
  • Prescription meds.
 

Camping gear in rear seat bag ifn' I ever bother camping.

  • REI quarter dome 1 tent, Klymit sleeping pad
  • Jetboil, with bowl, titanium long spoon. Usually a spare fuel cylinder.
  • 20 degree down bag in waterproof stuff sack OR 40 degree Sierra Designs (depending on the weather at destinations - usually just take the down bag.
  • REI camping chair
  • pack of Starbucks Via Packs, Pike Peak blend.
  • Alpinaire backpacking food if I'm aiming for camping more than an hour from a town.
 

Aerostich Roadcrafter:

  • Left pouch pocket: Nicotine vape, extra nicotine juice or chewing tobacco or cigarettes. Torch lighter.
  • Right pouch pocket: Spare earplugs. Change. Receipts if I'm not on a timed ride.
  • Right slash pocket: Bandanna / hanky.
  • Left chest pocket: Camera attached to 24" lanyard, attached to neck loop. Spare bike keys.
  • Right vertical pocket: 24oz Gatorade twist top bottle. Drink and refill at every gas stop. Replace daily with new Gatorade, drink at first gas stop, refill with filtered water.
  • Right arm pocket: current earplugs, spare ear plugs, bike keys. Emergency cash.Stich Inside pocket: Wallet.

Pants pocket:  

  • Gerber knife. 
  • Swiss army knife. 
  • Small rock blessed by the pastor 15 years ago.
Hasn't changed in 15 years. Patterns. 
 
TBD: Dash shelf with GoPro, Zumo GPS.
 
That's about it - 15 years of prep, long distance rides, 9 day tours, and so on.  Same stuff. same places. Same routines either on a flower sniffing tour or a 1500 mile in 24 hour extreme ride.
 
Hope it helps give you some ideas for setting up your bike for touring, LD riding, rallying or just flower sniffing.
 
Will England

Friday, November 27, 2020

Motorcycle Reading - blogs and such

 Getting cold in River City; already snowed in North of us.  So, here's some long distance and other interesting blogs and posts to read, in no particular order, cribbed from the Long Distance Rider Facebook Group. You can also check out my historical ride reports; historical as I haven't ridden much in the last oh, 10 years or so. Lazy mostly.

 And many more.

Even some random posts, tours, photos (may be missing images) from 20 years ago:

https://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/

Enjoy the reading = hope it inspires you to Go Ride in 2021!

 

- Will England

 

Monday, November 23, 2020

Back In Business - T-Mobile Product Ambassadors!

 For years - 14 of them to be specific - I've been a Product Ambassador for Sprint; that means I get to check out new, cool and interesting devices and share about the features, functions and fun you can have with them!

Now T-Mobile has the same program!  I'll be posting regularly on the T-Mobile Product Ambassadors forum, starting with the Google Pixel 4a 5G!



Namaskara!

 

Will England

#Pixel4a5G

#teampixel

#TMoProductAmbassador

(I work for them, I do not speak for them, nor was I compensated for any content generated)

 

Monday, November 09, 2020

Last Year - Gobblepalooza

 Amazon Photos just autocreated this nice collage from the photos I took last November at the Troop 387 Gobblepalooza campout.  We gather every year to cook all day and invite our friends, family, former scouters and leaders and parents to join around our fire of friendship and warmth for fellowship and thanksgiving.


I was impressed the software caught the exact tone of the day- from cooking to family to smiles and fellowship around the campfire. 

Seeing this warmed my heart just a bit in this season of our discontent.

Namaskara!

Will England

Monday. Clouds. Video of Clouds

 Monday. November 9th, 2020.  Up on time for work. Good. Morning presentation to the local team, manager and director went far better than expected.  Good. Kids off to work.  Good.  Daughter got the Honda she drives an oil change all by herself.  Good.  McCarthy Honda didn't try to overcharge or mess with her, just did the work requested.  Very good.

Son made it to work with time to spare.  Good.  Needed some meds left at home.  Less good, but I get to dump out early and take an evening roadtrip.  Good.  Amazing clouds on the drive home.  Shot a brief video from the cell phone in the  new car mount:


Ambient sound from the open window. A nice drive.  Click through and watch on YouTube; it's in 4K. Looks reasonably good. Like and Subscribe while you're there.

Today, it has been a good day.


Tonight, Zoom call into the Scout meeting. 

Tomorrow, all-day training. Followed by 3 more days of all-day training.  Fun.

Respectfully,

Will England

Saturday, November 07, 2020

The better part of Valour, is Discretion

 From Falstaff, Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part I, Act 5, Scene 3.

Today I awoke with a tension headache. And a sinus headache. And no sunglasses to be found. And realized, a 4 to 5 hour, 250 mile motorcycle ride, the first half directly into the sun, would be less than ideal. Particularly given that I have ridden perhaps 250 total miles in the last 2 years. Not a recipie for heath, wealth or wisdom.  Perhaps wisdom, as if I did go ride that far, with this little prep, I'd damn sure know not to do that again.  But - I have done stupider things, and learned from them, so perhaps I have gained some wisdom over the years. 

 

The company of Henry IV Part I, directed by Gregory Doran in 2014  
 
Henry IV, via Royal Shakespeare Company (1)

 So, plans have changed.  Enjoy the sun in the local area.  Help mom out getting her garden closed down for winter. Clean up some weeds and see if my new chipper-shredder works. And go ride.  But locally.  Take the Ducati out for a bit, top off the tank with no-ethanol gas and Sta-Bil. Take the Yamaha out for a bit longer (bigger tank), top off the tank with no-ethanol gas.  Perhaps half a can of SeaFoam on general principle. 

Oh, and the damn Nissan Pickup still needs a battery.  So that should be on the 'get-r-done' list.  (added).

Once that's running, find the pre-cut spacer boards and run it up to the hardware store for an eighth of a ton of sandbags over the axles for winter running.  Found a quarter ton (last year) was quite overkill. 

All of which involve moving, activity, outside, and sunshine.  Sounds like a win to me, even if I don't get to meet up with the 'Polar Bear Club' and start my winter riding season. 


Namaskara!

Will England


---
(1) Rsc.org.uk. n.d. Famous Quotes | Henry IV Part I | Royal Shakespeare Company. [online] Available at: <https://www.rsc.org.uk/henry-iv-part-i/about-the-play/famous-quotes> [Accessed 7 November 2020].

Friday, November 06, 2020

I Am The Air Pump Wizard

Figured I may go ride tomorrow. Sunny, 50 to. 70 all day, a 'Polar Bear Club' meet up in Marshall, MO. So, check the air. No go. Low 9.5 pounds in the rear. Low 16 pounds in the front. Low  Sure, I've got an electric pump and could air it up in moments. But it's 11pm and that thing is loud.

But, my near 30 year old BETO pump is silent. And I know the pump to PSI ratio. 40 pumps for the rear. 55 for the front.

Completed the job, no extra pumps, or air bleeding, matched both front and rear tire to the recommended 42.5 PSI for high speed distance riding. First time. No complaints here. 
Until tomorrow, 

Will England 

Subaru Harman Kardon Sound System

Well, it's not a calibrated sound level meter, but at 100% volume (no distortion) on Crystal Method, we can almost hit 100dB. Good enough for now. 

Thursday, November 05, 2020

well, that's been a day.

Trying out the mobile app again. Seems much better. A good thing, and one I am thankful for.

Other than that, well, today certainly was a day. 

Tonight - sit. Watch Forged in Fire off the DVR. It's a 4-hour special, so that's cool! Hopefully all is well with you in your space.

Namaskar! 

Will England 

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Meta - need to fix Google Tags here

 Google did something weird last month and warned me they were going to do it. I never looked at it, and now I'm getting warnings that they did something weird and it's not playing well with the blog.  Should look at that soon. 

- Will England

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Plantronics Blackwire 8225 USB NC Headset Unboxing



The latest tech to be reviewed 



A Plantronics Blackwire 8225 USB Wired Noise Cancelling Headset! This looks very nice - quality materials, soft on-ear headset, inline controls, and more.  Check out the unboxing video and subscribe to catch the next installment in the review!





Also - add your email address to the mailing list and get notified when a new post is made right here on WxExW - Wired by England by Weird!

Thanks,



Will England



Disclaimer: I was provided the product free of charge in exchange for my honest review(s). I received no other compensation for these reviews.

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Setting the 'featured' image for Open Graph (Facebook) og:image tag in Blogger

After a year of defaulting to my less than flattering profile pic (put there on purpose - I'm not showing off my personal looks, eh?) a coworker encouraged me to dig in and figure out how to set the Open Graph tags to use the image in the post, rather than the default image for sharing.

Illustration of OG Tags in Sharing

 

Namespace

First you have to add the Open Graph Namespace. You are going to do all of this in the HTML editor for your blog template:

In the HTML you need to add Facebook’s XML namespace to your page’s initial HTML tag. By default, there will be other namespaces already included, so you will just need to add xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#' 

Adding the Open Graph Tags

Scroll down in the HTML and just before the closing </head> tag, add the code that will pull images, titles, descriptions and more:

<!-- Open Graph Meta Tags BEGIN --> <meta expr:content='data:blog.pageName' property='og:title'/> <b:if cond='data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl'> <meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl' property='og:image'/> </b:if> <meta expr:content='data:blog.title' property='og:title'/> <meta expr:content='data:blog.canonicalUrl' property='og:url'/> <b:if cond='data:blog.metaDescription'> <meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' property='og:description'/> </b:if> <!-- Open Graph Meta Tags END -->

Testing Your OG tags on Blogger

Save your template, and you can test by finding a post with an image in the body of the post and taking it to the Facebook Developers Tool, or Facebook Lint.  Paste your post URL in the provided URL box, submit, request it to be scraped, or re-scraped, and you'll see what Facebook and most other sharing services will display when your link is shared.  I've tested this in Facebook and Slack, both work.

Twitter

Twitter does not follow the OG standard and has Twitter Card Tags all of it's own.  Sigh.  Fortunately, it's easy to add them into your blogger template code to create a 'Twitter Card' when your content is shared.

Add in to your meta tags along with to Open Graph tags Twitter specific tags for what kind of content you're sharing, the URL, and title of the post,

<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:url" expr:content='data:blog.canonicalUrl' />
<meta name="twitter:title" expr:content='data:blog.title' />

Then add your Twitter handle and the web domain you want displayed on the Twitter card:

<meta name="twitter:site" content="@willengland" />
<meta name="twitter:domain" content="wxexw.blogspot.com" />
Next, in the post image condition, after the OG:Image tag, add the Twitter image tag; be sure to add a default image as well, like we did for OG tags.

<meta name="twitter:image:src" expr:content='data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl'/>
<meta content='https://example.com/path/to/default-img.jpg' name="twitter:image:src"/>

 After all your image condition and default image OG and twitter tags, set a size:

<meta name="twitter:image:width" content="760" />
<meta name="twitter:image:height" content="380" />

and add a Twitter description after your OG description:

<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription name="twitter:description" '/>
And that's it.  One problem you may run into if you are using an older fixed width template is the images you add are smaller than what Twitter expects, creating a pixilated display image. Try for 720px wide, if that fits your template, for your first image in the blog. Your finished card can be tested in the Twitter card debugger and should look something like this (note my pixilated image; it's well under 720px on the blog post):


Twitter Card Example from a Blogger Post


I hope this helps you to properly tag your Blogger site for social sharing!

- Will England



Friday, August 21, 2020

Event Photography During Pandemic!

 

Scouts BSA Eagle Banner
I wrote up a blog on my professional / marketing photography site about doing an event shoot during a 12% infection rate (R=1.5+) pandemic:

https://www.willengland.com/post/event-photography-during-pandemic

Went well.  Dicky lighting - people in the shade of the pavilion, bright sun on the grass outside.  I made sure the cameras were set to center weighted evaluative metering; I had my protegee Alec (oldest son) shooting the stills while I ran the livestream off the LG V60 5G, shot the static video and main audio on the 90D and got closeups and B-Roll on the T3i. 

They said they had a PA system.  I offered to get and set up a proper PA system.  They declined.  So I set the Sennheiser mic to low sensitivity, assuming they'd run the PA like I run PA.  No.  Just barely audible on the camera, 20 feet back from the 'mains'.  And they had the mics in front of the mains, so they had to keep it turned way down to prevent feedback.  Le Sigh. If'n we ever do this again, I'm not giving them an option to do  their own PA, I'm doing it.  Pair of dual 12 powered cabs on poles, in front of the wired mic. We had a lot of senior citizens sitting in the back of the pavilion or outside on the grass properly socially distancing, and I guarantee they couldn't hear anything being said.  Shoot your video, photos and sound for the lowest common denominator - the 80 year old with a hearing aid.  Those are the folks that this stuff matters to - the kids won't look at it until they are 80, the parents just want to share it to the grandparents who couldn't be there (who are 80), and the 80 year olds that risk their life to show up -- make sure they can see and hear the damn thing.  :-)

Anyway, rant off - it was a good time; check out a few of the photos: https://www.eagle-court-of-honor.willengland.com/ 

- Will England

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Motorcycle Extra Lights - a good idea?

A pleathora of motorcycle headlamps
Being seen, and seeing others and hazards, is a good idea when riding a motorcycle. Recently the question came up about adding flashing lights on their motorcycle for improved visibility. 

Begin at the beginning.

First, be sure you have your main lights as clean and efficient as possible. Upgrade older halogen bulbs with LED bulbs, motorcycle specific.

Second, add driving lights down low - brake caliper or fork mounted.  They provide a 'triangle' of light which adds visibility and depth to your bike.  A single headlight is very hard to identify as a vehicle, how far away it is, and how fast it's going.  

Third, add driving - spot lights -  under-mirror or just under the main light.  These should be on a switched fused circuit, and be used only with your high beams in rural night locations.  They aren't for visibility, they are to see what's on the road ahead of you. 

What about flashing lights on my motorcycle?

On the back is where the rider asked about adding a flashing light.  My advice to him:

Check your location for regulations on flashing lights. Yellow is usually OK; the HAM Radio volunteers often have a yellow lamp used when they are stopped spotting weather or assisting with other emergency situations. Red and Blue are usually verboten.

However, it’s also a target fixation problem — seeing a flashing light makes you a visible target sleepy or distracted drivers can focus on, and hit.

You may look at some of the Back-Off type brake light modulators; additional or brighter rear marker and turn signal lights; SOLAS retroreflective tape or bike specific black reflective decals. The retro reflective decals or tape help your bike show up under the following vehicle headlights very well, without the blinking bits to create a target fixation issue.

The brake light modulators will cause your brake light to rapidly cycle, then go steady as you apply the brakes, giving more notice to people following you that yes, you are stopping now.

Yellow LED marker lights are generally OK by local code, but check your local code first.

Under body glow lights and interior frame glow lights are cool, look great in the parking lot, but can cause issues with the local constabulary, especially if they are red or blue.  Go green, yellow, or skip the bling; they won't add to your safety.

Being Safe riding the motorcycle at night


And overall? Ride like that can’t see you. And if they can see you they are aiming to hit you. That’s combat touring. Your front lights are simply so you can see where you are going, not so others can see you. Remember, these are the folks who cannot see or hear a freight train coming and pull around the crossguards and get hit. 

Hope this is helpful for current and future riders looking at adding lighting for visibility and conspicuity to their motorcycles!  Feel free to subscribe by email to get new posts in your inbox about all sorts of interesting things!

- Will England


Wednesday, August 19, 2020

DaVinci Resolve Write Permission Errors in Windows 10

You've been proactive about protecting your PC from Ransomware - you have all the latest virus definitions updated, the newest anti-virus software installed, and you set up Ransomware protection in Windows Security.

And you want to work on a video editing project in DaVinci Resolve.

But, when you launch the program you get "DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected cache path"; "DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected gallery path"; and "DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected capture path"

DaVinci Resolve Write Error Messages

 DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected cache path 

DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected gallery path

DaVinci Resolve does not have write permissions for the selected capture path 

(Yes, those are Macintosh paths - error messages and potential solution taken from the Blackmagic Design Forums.)

What's the solution to DaVinci Write Error Messages on Windows 10?

You've opened the folders in  File Explorer, right clicked, and unset 'Read Only'; you've made sure the change applied to the sub-folders. But you keep getting the errors!

Your diligence in protecting your computer from viruses and ransomware has actually caused the problem.  To solve, you need to visit the Virus and Threat Protection settings in Windows 10:

Virus and Threat Protection 

Scroll down and find 'Manage Ransomware Protection' and click the link. 

Manage Ransomware Protection 

When the Ransomware Protection panel is up, click the "Allow an app through Controlled Folder Access". Enter your Admin credentials if prompted.

Allow an app through Controlled Folder Access 

The simplest way is to click the Add an Allowed App, and choose Recently Blocked Apps.  You should find DaVinci Resolve in the list - and when you add it, you'll see the program file in the list of allowed apps!

 

 

 Close out of Windows Security, launch DaVinci Resolve again, and you should find the errors have gone away! You can now create or edit a video project in DaVinci Resolve!

I hope this has helped you with your DaVinci Resolve Write Error Messages!

- Will England