A while back 2TB of storage seemed like plenty. Ooops.
It doesn't help that I'm a digital hoarder. I have everything from email mailboxes from the early 90s to obsolete Android virtual machines that will never run again. I've been forced to do something about it by filling up my backup drive.
My current backup strategy is to send everything to Google Drive. And then send all my pictures to Amazon Photos (free with Prime!). And then backup everything to an external drive (using my VSS tool) every month and stick it in a fire safe because Google and Amazon do not care about my files like I do.
I wrote a little utility to dump some stats to help me accept the problem and then do some tidying. Here's storage over time (imperfect, based on earliest of creation and last write time):
Some of that is driven by ever better cameras and increased willingness to shoot 4K video. Some of it is crazy projects that I forgot to tidy up after, like making a daily timelapse movie from a nest cam.
Here's a breakdown by file type:
Mostly media. New resolution, when I take 500 photos of my thumb I should delete all but the very best right after uploading instead of saving them in case I want to make some kind of thumb-animation later.
The most useful thing the utility does is dump out each folder with more than 1GB of files. That found a lot of cruft hiding in unexpected places (bye bye every frame of the 2017 eclipse that I accidentally left in Google Drive instead of my dedicated time lapse disk). I might improve this over time, but all of the above is available now as folder-insights on GitHub.
(Published to the Fediverse as: Folder Insights #code #backup A tool that shows storage over time, and by file extension, and finds folders with more than 1GB of files. Windows, source on GitHub. )
I just voted no to recalling Gavin Newsom. He probably shouldn't have had that mid-Pandemic party at The French Laundry, but I don't think that rises to the level of getting kicked out of office. I think we can wait for 2022 to pass judgement on his tenure.
The polling seems fairly tight right now, which is a little surprising given the Democratic lean of the state. I was tempted to leave the tedious second question unanswered, or write something stupid in, but it's possible that Newsom loses and we have to pick a new Governer. I backed Kevin Paffrath because he's going to fix homlessness in 60 days and he's the leading Democrat in the polls (and I don't believe he's going to fix homlessness). I don't want Newsom to lose but if he does I'd rather avoid the bear renter or talk radio climate skeptic.
The New York Times says:
"The vote is expected to come down to whether Democrats can mobilize enough of the state’s enormous base to counteract Republican enthusiasm for Gavin Newsom’s ouster."
But everyone is getting a postal vote. You don't even need a stamp. "Mobilize" is a bit of a stretch. If Newsom ends up sacked it's because he partied while the rest of us were bleaching our broccoli.
(Published to the Fediverse as: 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall #politics #election #california Voter guide for the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election. Vote No for recalling Gavin Newsom and vote for Kevin Paffrath to replace him. )
A timelapse of four containers growing crystals from the National Geographic Mega Crystal Growing Lab. The sequence was shot over two weeks (one frame every four minutes, running at 60 frames per second).
It should have taken less time. They recommend a growing area that is at least 68 degrees. This shouldn't be a problem with most of the country suffering record temperatures under heat domes if not actively burning in record breaking wildfires, but San Francisco is experiencing its coldest summer in more than five decades so two weeks seems like the minimum.
Other than not attempting to grow crystals in San Francisco, the other lesson learned is that you really want to use the two silicone cups included in the kit. We tried a pint glass that just grew fuzz (possibly due to the age and pitted nature of the glass) and a jam jar that grew cute small crystals that then made a decent attempt at escaping down the outside. I think three weeks and it would be a full J. G. Ballard situation.
Updated 2021-09-04 18:54:
Second batch. This time shot from above. It's still cold, so this is three weeks, 5 min interval and 60 frames per second for the timelapse:
Updated 2021-09-12 12:57:
Third batch. We're well into September but San Francisco is still bathed in fog. This is still at 5min per frame, but only took two weeks as I moved the lights closer in. For this timelapse I experimented with Adobe Super Resolution so the video has the same sequence three different ways (I wrote a separate post on the Super Resolution experiment).
(Published to the Fediverse as: Crystal World #timelapse #crystals #video Timelapse of growing crystals from the National Geographic Mega Crystal Growing Lab shot over two weeks (photo every 4 mins, video at 60fps). )
The New York Times: Opinion | Will We Ever Amend the Constitution Again?
See my training wheels suggestion for this.
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25-year retrospective of Nokia's Communicator, the first pocket computer phone that worked
My first mobile phone, and in many ways still my favorite.
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CNN: What's the risk of indoor dining if you're fully vaccinated? Here's what one expert says
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Catfood WebCamSaver 3.25 is available for download. This release includes the latest webcam list.
Time lapse of stars and the milky way over Redding, California. Nice to have got the milky way as there is still a fair bit of light pollution in this area. Shot over three nights in July 2021. Shot on a Sony A7C with 20mm f1.8 G lens. Post processed in Lightroom, LRTimelapse, Resolve and Filmstro Pro.
(Published to the Fediverse as: Milky Way and stars over Redding #timelapse #stars #milkyway #video 4K time lapse of stars and the milky way over Redding, California. )
Easy and spectacular hike around the perimeter road of Angel Island. Around five and half miles, although gets a bit longer if you add a detour or two, and there is something interesting around every corner. Just make sure you don't miss the last ferry back.
(Previously: Mt. Livermore on Angel Island)
Hike starts at: 37.869421, -122.433996. View in Google Earth.
(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Angel Island Perimeter Road #hike #angelisland #map 5.5 mile hike around the perimeter road of Angel Island State Park in California. )
A 4.5 mile out and back hike to Echo Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Start at the Summit Lake Ranger Station, take the short trail to Summit Lake and then follow signs to Echo Lake.
Hike starts at: 40.498228, -121.42711. View in Google Earth.
(Hike Map)
(Published to the Fediverse as: Summit Lake to Echo Lake in Lassen #hike #lake #lassen #map Hike from Summit Lake to Echo Lake in Lassen Volcanic National Park. 4.5 miles out and back. )
SONY ILCE-7C 20mm f1.8 1/30s ISO2500
Just inside the mouth of Skull Cave at Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California.
(Published to the Fediverse as: Skull Cave #photo #cave Photo of the entrance to Skull Cave at Lava Beds National Monument in California. )
Download a Sharepoint File with GraphServiceClient (Microsoft Graph API)
Accessing Printer Press ESC to cancel
Export Google Fit Daily Steps, Weight and Distance to a Google Sheet
Monitor page index status with Google Sheets, Apps Script and the Google Search Console API
Scanning from the ADF using WIA in C#
International Date Line Longitude, Latitude Coordinates
Sending email via GMail in C#/.NET using SmtpClient
Enable GZIP compression for Amazon S3 hosted website in CloudFront
