05/10/2018

Print a list of files in a Folder

From an article in PC World Link

You can print a list of files by returning to the dark days of DOS. But don't worry; it's not as scary as it sounds.

In Windows (or File) Explorer, hold down the SHIFT key as you right-click the folder. Select Open command window here.

This opens the DOS-like command window. Type dir > printit.txt, then press ENTER.

Return to Windows Explorer, where you'll find a new file, printit.txt, in the folder. You can either double-click the file to load it into Notepad and print from there or simply right-click the file and select Print.

You can change the look of that printed list by adding additional instructions to the dir command. For instance:

dir /b > printit.txt will print only the file names.
dir /o:d > printit.txt will sort the files by date.
dir *.png /o:d /s > printit.txt will list only *png files, sorted by date, and will include those found in the current folder's subfolders.

To find more such options, use the command dir /?

24/09/2018

Dremel 3000 Suddenly Stopped Working - Fix

I had my Dremel 3000 for about 3 years but in that time it had probably only had about 30 minutes use if that. You can imagine my surprise when having just started to remove rust from an escutcheon plate from my front door it stopped dead. No, a fuse had not blown, it doesn't have one. Neither had the fuse in the plug top blown. So what had caused this good as new Dremmel to depart this mortal coil?

A quick Google and perusal of a couple of video's suggested that assuming the brushes were in good order, they were, the fine copper wire from one or more of the Stator windings may have broken.

I followed the tear down in this video on Youtube:-

https://youtu.be/KOnnYD9UQS0


The broken wire can be seen at 2.36 minutes in.

Following the steps in the video I had no problem dismantling the Dremel or in rebuilding.

The broken wire was repaired by unwinding half a turn from the affected winding and after removing the broken wire from the termination clip, see the video, I inserted the wire and reinserted the termination clip. Be careful you do not snap the fine wire again.

Reassemble the Dremel without having any bits left over at the end, Make sure you do not lose the circular steel spring from the rotor shaft lock button in the process.

I am delighted to say the Dremel burst into life when switched on. Job done! For how long remains to be seen.

20/07/2018

Cyanotype: step into the blue and see the world in a new light

I am about to start experimenting with one of the oldest of photographic processes, the Cyanotype. To get me started I have ordered a kit from Fotospeed. Watch this space for developments...

In the meantime here is an article that was published in the Daily Telegraph offering a view of the process and its current rise in popularity.

Link: Cyanotype: step into the blue and see the world in a new light
In this digital world, there is a beauty in ­getting back to basics. Which is why I’ve come to participate in a cyanotype workshop led by photographer Elisabeth Scheder-Bieschin in her studio at Ridley Road Market in Dalston, east London.
Cyanotype is the photographic printing process discovered by Sir John Herschel, a scientist, in 1842 as a means to reproduce diagrams. It creates a white silhouette against a blue/cyan background when an object is placed on a reactive surface and exposed to the UV light, in daylight – a blueprint. Herschel inspired his friend, Anna Atkins, a botanist, who made cyanotype images of the flora she collected, earning her place as a founding mother of photography.
Follow the link to read the full article...

An early attempt, of mine, at a Cyanotype using Printing Out Paper

10/07/2018

FILMSTRO RELEASES OVER 1,000 TRACKS OF FREE MUSIC

Reblogged from - DIYPhotography.net

Filmstro is something of a unique service when it comes to music. With plugins for both Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, you can pick your music and then use sliders to adjust the momentum, depth and power of that music throughout your clip. You can adjust any tune to match the mood of your scene as it changes from shot to shot.



But they have static versions of all their Royalty Free music, too, and they’ve just released them to the world for free for use on YouTube. Even if your video is monetised.

Filmstro’s regular mixed music is repeatable and can literally go on forever. So, you can tailor it to whatever length of video you need. The static music is limited to 90 seconds, but for many videos, that’s going to work just fine. You can still just loop the songs in the background if it’s going under a voiceover, for example.

There are some restrictions on the license, after all, it’s for non-commercial purposes. You can’t use it in wedding videos, paid ads, apps with in-app purchases, etc. But the license does allow for use in personal YouTube videos, even if they’re monetised.

A Filmstro music track can be used as part of a video soundtrack (synchronisation license) in perpetuity and worldwide in the below instances:
Personal Youtube (including monetised videos)
Personal Vimeo (excluding Video on Demand)
Personal Other video platforms (not-paid advertising)
Personal Social Media (not including paid ads)
Personal Website and showreel (excludes wedding videos)
Film Festivals (Submission and screening – excludes distribution)
Free Podcasts
Free Tutorials
Free Games
Free Apps (excludes apps with in-app purchases)
Crowdfunding videos

To browse Filmstro’s collection of music, download the 90-second sequences, and start playing around with the audio mixing for yourself, head on over to the Filmstro website.

20/06/2018

Fix a Leaking Geberit Syphon Valve - UPDATED

Modern low flush toilets can be a real pain in the butt. Water trickling into the pan can be caused by the overflow or a leaking syphon valve. Overflow leaks are caused by the inlet water float valve not completely shutting off and overfilling the tank. External leaks can be caused by inadequate compression between the tank and pan. Syphon valve leaks cause the inside tank level to be lowered until the inlet valve opens sufficiently to balance the syphon valve leak. The amount of water lost can be judged from the inlet replacement flow.

Back in the year dot, the syphon valve used to be called the flapper valve which supported the tank head of water until the loo handle was turned. The flapper valve then lifted until the tank flushed and emptied, flapping back into place while the tank refilled. Simple, visible and easily repaired if the seal degrades.

The modern loo has a contraption designed to flummox the householder in that it is not obvious how it works. A modern syphon valve is encased in a plastic container, invisible without removing the fitting. The Gerebit container is held in position by two plastic clips which when pushed towards each other release the fitting which can be then lifted out. These are the protrusions seen bottom left in the photograph.




It's a five-minute job to investigate and change the seal, or a hundred quid if your a plumber called in.

1) If you have an external supply valve fitted then close to shut off the water supply. Alternatively, with a piece of string plus a weight, loop around the inlet float valve arm and dangle the weight outside the tank to hold the inlet valve closed, or jam closed with a piece of folded cardboard or .

2) Flush the loo.

3) Inside the tank near the base squeeze the two plastic clips inwards and pull the syphon housing upwards and out of the tank. See the picture above.

4) Check the seal for integrity, lime scale, blisters etc. See picture below.




Note: Modern seals may suffer a modern ailment which results in blistering on the surface. This will cause a leaking syphon valve and is the result of osmosis, that is a diffusion of water through the surface seal.

As an interim fix, as long as the seal is not penetrated right through, simply pop the blisters with a pin which will expel the water content and relieve the inbuilt blister pressure. Failing that replace the seal.

5) Reassemble all bits then check the loo flush.

Replacement seal is available via Amazon


23/04/2018

Free Sound Effect Samples From BBC Sound Archive

Link to the original posting on Musicradar

Explore a weird and wonderful collection of noises from the broadcasting behemoth...

There can be few organisations that have used more sound effects than the BBC, so there’s bound to be great interest in the news that the corporation has now made more than 16,000 of its FX available for free download.

These are being released under the RemArc licence, which means that they can be used for “personal, educational or research purposes”.

The archive is easily searchable, and a quick browse confirms that there’s a wide variety of content, ranging from the atmospheric to the downright obscure. Each sample can be previewed and both its duration and filename are listed.

The service is currently in beta, but you can dive in and start downloading right now on the BBC Sound Effects website.

Don’t forget that MusicRadar also offers its own library of free samples in the form of SampleRadar, and that this content can be in commercial recordings royalty-free.

BBC Sound Effects

These 16,016 BBC Sound Effects are made available by the BBC in WAV format to download for use under the terms of the RemArc Licence. The Sound Effects are BBC copyright, but they may be used for personal, educational or research purposes, as detailed in the license.

Access dataset metadata by visiting our dedicated LOD site.

If you have any queries regarding usage, please contact jake.berger at bbc.co.uk


Resistor Value Calculator

Below is an interactive solution for establishing the value of resistors from their color coding and markings for the interactive version follow the link http://resistor.cherryjourney.pt/

This gizmo is from the book/blog From Practical Electronics For Makers (Part 1 of N) about practical electronics for beginners and the rest. Is an excellent starting point for those interested in the subject. It is published in a series of chapters starting with the above link. I expand on the book/blog in another post




28/03/2018

Recover Space on C Dive SSD

Easy Way to Free up Space on your SSD Hard Drive

Check out Britec09 fix here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmOI9El0C6s

* Computer hard drive getting full?
* Need to reclaim back some used space?
* PC really sluggish?
* Need to free up some used hard drive space?
* Low Disk Space?
* Free Up Hard-Drive Space?

Well you are in luck, I am going to show you how to claim back used hard drive space, computer hard drives run real slow when full to capacity, with SSD solid state drives being really small, your hard drive fills up real fast, running a with a full hard drive can put wear and tear on a hard drive and make your computer system slow.

We are going to use WinDirStat, it’s a free program that scans your hard drive and gives you a full report of the size of folders in that folder tree, and it’s a great way of detecting what folders are hogging your hard disk space.

I used Ninite to download the WinDirStat program

Download
https://ninite.com/

My hard drive was red "Low Disk Space" and full to 92% use space and after running WinDirStat and Disk Cleanup, I got that down to 38.5% used space. That’s a lot of reclaimed space that I need on my SSD.

Contact Amazon

If you are an Amazon user you will be only too aware that finding contact details for Amazon to complain or contact them for any other reason is not easy or obvious on the main web pages. To help you out here are the contact details I use. I have to say on the few occasions I have contacted them action has been quick, decisive and helpful.

You can reach us them by chat or phone from this link

http://www.amazon.co.uk/contact-us

Customer Service can be reached by phone and chat 7 days a week 06.00 to midnight, local UK time.

If you need to call us, we can be reached on Freephone (within the UK) 0800 279 7245. International customers can reach us on +44 207 084 7911.

04/01/2018

USEFUL LINKS – ARTS & PERFORMANCE

USEFUL LINKS – ARTS & PERFORMANCE

Jobs

Directing opportunities
Regional Young Directors’ Scheme (actually not just for young people)

Newsletters


Support for theatre/performance artists in the North West
HOME Manchester runs an annual festival of new northern work, and workshops/activities throughout the year.
Royal Exchange Manchester programmes contemporary work in the Studio
Sick Festival Manchester – work in progress opportunities
Flare Festival – Manchester – work in progress opportunities
Live Art Bistro – Leeds – work in progress opportunities and artist support
Form – Blackpool – work in progress opportunities and artist development
Dance ManchesterWord of Warning – work in progress opportunities and mentoring
New Writing North – open calls, writing development
Electric Sunshine Project – Blackpool – writing for theatre courses 

Arc Stockton – various open calls, work in progress, artist development
Royal Court – rolling script reading service (plays)
Mothers Ruin – queer artist development

Annual/periodic opportunities
Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe open call (contemporary theatre)
Vault Festival annual open call (contemporary & fringe theatre)
Bruntwood Prize (plays/theatre)
Verity Bargate Award (plays/theatre)
Jerwood Performing Arts Micro Bursary artists/producers/individuals
Word of Warning – Emergency work in progress event in Manchester, takes place in October
The Lowry – Manchester venue – artist development schemes
Artist International Development FundThe Yard – London – open calls for new work
British Council
Edinburgh Fringe Emerging Producers’ Programme 

Useful documents 

Groups

Leadership & Advice

Contemporary arts organisations in Blackpool

Grundy Art Gallery (visual art)
Abingdon Studios (visual art)
Form Blackpool (performance & theatre)
LeftCoast (mixed arts)
Grand Theatre (dance: has a contemporary dance programme and NPO status for it, besides a traditional theatre programme)
Fylde Coast Youth Dance (young people)
Supercollidor (visual art)
Art B and B (visual art)
Bootleg Social (music)
UNIT (visual art)

Poetry and spoken word in Blackpool
Pub Poets

Lancashire Dead Good Poets

More arts organisations in Blackpool

Altruism (creative social network)
Winter Gardens Film Festival

Aunty SocialAlt Blackpool (culltural magazine)
Blackpool LibrariesElectric Sunshine Project (community theatre)
Blackpool University (university of creative arts)
Phil Winston’s Theatreworks (dance & musical theatre, commercial training)
Musica Lirica OperaBlott Studios (visual art)Blackpool SpeakeasyCVS (support to community, voluntary and faith organisations)Blackpool Museum (coming soon)Rock Hard Music Studios
Skool of Street (dance)
Tramshed (theatre company, satellite of Chickenshed)
ICAN – independent network
Heritage Blackpool
Blackpool Civic Trust (heritage and civic activities)
Funny Girls (burlesque cabaret showbar)

03/01/2018

Windsor Ambassador Supremus Tenor Banjo in The Whirle range (registration number 450220) - Renovation Project

Following a prompt from an old mate, I decided to dig out my rather tired and neglected Tenor Banjo and renovate it. I found this reference to the actual model, much to my surprise.

I am in the process of renovating a Windsor Ambassador Supremus Tenor Banjo one of the Whirle range with the registration number 450220. This number appears to refer to the model rather than the individual instrument. The banjo was given to me by my Jazz crazy friend, fellow Guinness drinker, founder and leader of the Wyre Levee Jazz Men, the late, lamented, Dr. Andy Gardner. I hate to admit it but at the time it was just a banjo to me. I had not really taken much notice of its pedigree, hitherto.

When I gave up playing in the band the banjo found itself consigned to a shelf at the back of the garage, since when it has moved house twice. I feel really guilty for not knowing more about it as an instrument, and for having so badly neglected it.

However, prompted by the Facebook post from a friend, to a link of  Blind James Campbell and the Nashville Street Band performing "John Henry" I was prompted to dig it out and get stuck into renovating it. I have ordered a new calfskin head and a new set of strings, so watch this space.

Here are a few photographs of the parts of the banjo in their present state.


The photographs speak for themselves, the split head, the missing head tensioning hooks (3) as well as the manufactures badge and the patented Pyxe tailpiece. The original nickel plating is quite badly corroded and the woodwork shows a few knocks and bangs. But all in all, it is perfectly repairable and I hope to have it sympathetically restored fairly quickly subject to finding a few missing bits.

For those who may be interested there is a brief history of the banjo in the BBC project "A History of the World - In 100 Objects" web page. One of the objects being a Winsor Tenor Banjo. Follow this link to find out more.

The Tenor Banjo is used extensively in both Irish traditional music and Traditional Jazz. It has a shorter scale than the G Banjo, and 4 strings tuned CGDA, but it is common for Irish musicians to retune down to GDAE using thicker strings. Used in jazz and popular music earlier this century, the tenor banjo has 4 strings and is usually tuned CGDA.

Tenor banjo should not be confused with plectrum style which was used much like the tenor but has a longer neck (22 frets) and a different tuning. Jazz players like the extra frets because they can use the same chord shapes and patterns in different positions. The Plectrum Banjo or 4-String G banjo has the same tuning and neck length as a 5-string G banjo but omits the 5th string. The lack of a 5th string peg facilitates quick thumb movement up and down the neck and as the neck is longer than on the tenor banjo a lot more chord inversions are available to the jazz player.

01/01/2018

Large Format Photography - School of Arts Loughborough University

I found the Photography Blog of Ben Dolman & Alan Duncan who are from the School of the Arts at Loughborough University when looking for information about Wet Plate photography. The Blog is a great resource for almost all things photography but particularly analogue and alternative photography.

I was attracted at first by their Build a 10x8 Large Format camera articles but soon discovered lots of other goodies. I suggest you follow the link http://cdtp-photography.blogspot.co.uk/ and discover a well constructed and written Blog that is cram packed full of info and ideas for yourself. Happy reading...