My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on March 30, 2016

According to posts on Twitter and tweets and shares among friends … today is #ManateeAppreciationDay.

My interest in learning about Manatees goes back to the the late 1970s when a small group of us college guys in Ohio  decided to join the "Save the Manatee" campaign. We selfishly used it as a rally to travel to a variety of warmer Florida spots over several years when taking college trips over our breaks. Although we were economically minded and basically camped out on both east and west coasts as well as the Florida Keys … we did spend a little time on the St. Johns River helping with preserves and signage to warn boaters of the presence of these quiet, gentle and large mammals.
Here’s a short video off the stern of Encore; this one particularly liked our Zodiac!

Category: Nature, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: encore, florida, manatee, sailboat

Posted By RichC on March 30, 2016

Amazon has released a step-by-step guide on how to turn the $35 Raspberry Pi into a voice-controlled assistant.

The instructions demonstrate how to set up the single board computer to use Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service to create a low-cost alternative to the Echo, Amazon’s $180 smart speaker.

Like other online assistants, Amazon’s Alexa responds to voice commands and can set reminders, play music and answer simple questions.

While it was previously possible to use Alexa Voice Service with a Raspberry Pi, by releasing the guide, Amazon has made it simpler for users to gain access to the service.

Alexa is similar to other voice activated companions, although Amazon’s efforts are less prominent than the likes of Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana or Google Now.

The service is used by the Echo, which is not officially available outside the United States, as well as by free apps on iOS and Android devices, again only available in the US.

However, now, thanks to an extensive post on GitHub by Amazon, all the code required to build a Raspberry Pi version of Alexa is available online.

To build the voice-powered assistant, the guide recommends a second generation Raspberry Pi, a USB mini microphone, an Ethernet cable and a MicroSD memory card, all of which can be acquired for a lower cost than an Echo. Amazon is still looking to make money from these ‘home-made’ devices, however, with the walkthrough linking to these items on its online store.

Source: Raspberry Pi: Amazon releases recipe for baking a low-cost Alexa voice assistant | ZDNet

Category: Computer, Productivity, Raspberry Pi | No Comments »
Tags: Alexa, amazon, assistant, raspberry pi, voice, zdnet

Posted By RichC on March 29, 2016

Once in a while, you may want to do some maintenance on your Ubuntu machine and clean up unnecessary files that are chunking up large storage space in your hard disk. Here are 8 ways that you can use to clean up your Ubuntu[…]

Source: 8 Ways to Maintain a Clean, Lean Ubuntu Machine – Make Tech Easier

Category: Computer, Raspberry Pi | No Comments »
Tags: clean up, linux, maintenance, ubuntu

Posted By RichC on March 28, 2016

A bit delayed in posting to the blog, but we’ve been a bit distracted. Brenda and I met my daughter Katelyn and her husband Drew for a few days on the boat to enjoy some time together. Way too much time goes by between visits for my taste.

The weather was nice with a few wild thunderstorms (posting ani gif below), and  it was plenty warm and windy for sailing. I particularly enjoyed our day beachcombing and  the several meals out for local seafood (my favorite). Besides the local 12 A buoy, Fort Pierce Tiki Hut and Hurricanes, we also hit a couple regulars like Chilis and Dave’s Dinner (always a tasty but unhealthy breakfast). One thing I missed this trip was eating at Goodfellas with my good friends Mark and Dar … next time for sure!

A couple minor gear failures but it gave me time to tinker on something with the help of Drew … we get along great, which is something I was thankful for with my father-in-law (I do miss Dad Howard). The main halyard blog cracked (spotted by Katelyn I might add!) and a pin from the dinghy outboard motor must have disappeared (think I remember Taylor mentioning a problem the last time he had it out). We were able to temorarily replace it with a stainless steel bolt and even found time to order the new $30 part at the Suzuki dealer.

Category: Personal, Photos, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, drew, encore, family, florida, katellyn, sailboat, vacation

Posted By RichC on March 27, 2016

  
Happy Easter to all believers and those yet to acknowledge God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Today is the day we recognize the fulfillment of the earthly life of Jesus. Without the risen Lord and Savior … we sinners are not capable of existing side by side with God. I am so thankful Jesus took my sins and offered me the “gift” of salvation. “He is risen … He is risen indeed” and a great blog post explanation. 😉

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26

Category: Faith, Holiday | No Comments »
Tags: christianity, easter, jesus, religion, salvation

Posted By RichC on March 24, 2016

This content is restricted.

Category: Audio, Computer, Music, Raspberry Pi | 1 Comment »
Tags: fleetwood mac, linux, mp3, pianobar, raspberry pi, rumours

Posted By RichC on March 23, 2016

Looking at the Finviz chart of the wild second half of 2015 slide for crude oil, one would think we Americans would be cheering since we love driving big cars. Unfortunately lower crude prices (and prices at the pump) are also indicators of a struggling domestic and world economy. U.S. companies need strong international economies in order to sell our products and without growth, our companies are reluctant to hire workers, expand production or increase pay in the U.S.  Add to that the ridiculously high corporate taxes forcing companies abroad along with excessive regulation and we’ll continue to lag.  In other words, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Category: Business, Energy | No Comments »
Tags: Business, economy, export, oil, regulation, taxes

Posted By RichC on March 22, 2016

I’ll keep baby Bruno Ray’s announcement short and sweet since I didn’t check with mm and dad first before posting on my blog. But my nephew David’s wife Rachel gave birth to a handsome little boy with a full head of dark hair. Rachel’s dad delivered her little bundle of love via c-section as planned and all are doing well. Nollie is all prepared to be a 4 years older big sister … at least until the annoying starts.
 
We stopped to visit them Saturday night in Kentucky and gave them our "late" baby shower gifts only a few hours before she was heading to the hospital. Rachel … and everything in the house looked great (I particularly liked their creative changing table building into the baby’s room closet … very creative and helps keep the small room size useful. Nice job David!)

Category: Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: birth, bruno ray, david, family, rachel, skinner

Posted By RichC on March 22, 2016

Twitter marked TEN years of micro social networking this week … or perhaps more appropriately stated as a real time newsfeed and feedback mechanism? At least that is how I have used the service for over 9 of those 10 years.

Most journalists, politicians, corporate heads and notable celebrities use Twitter (and other social networks) regularly as a way to connect with followers. Those who comment about using it are usually very positive and find sharing addicting. The real time feedback and sharing is perhaps one of the more powerful features. Hopefully Twitter as a company will develop better ways to monetize the service without impacting user growth. It has been disheartening to watch $TWTR stock decline over the past year as well as see subscriber growth lag competitors. Innovation is needed and likely will require management change either on their own of forced if the company were to be acquired. In either case, as a shareholder I’m anxious … but for now, happy anniversary.

Category: Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: anniversary, birthday, Social Networking, twitter

Posted By RichC on March 21, 2016

Will the next generation of car enthusiasts continue to appreciate the sound of the American V-8?

Category: Automotive, Video | No Comments »
Tags: cars, dan neil, video, wsj