Solid State External Drive
I want to move all my external storage to solid state drives. I get nervous that my disk-based external drives will eventually stop working.
This Samsung T5 SSD 500GB USB 3.1/USB-C is my first SSD purchase.
It’s tiny and fast! Love it. Bought it back in May for $160. Amazon now has it for $124.
When I fill it up, hopefully prices of the 1TB model will fall and I’ll buy my second.
iMovie Tips
Based on iMovie version 10.1.9
How to create highlight video from Volleyball game
- Drop entire game into timeline. You can just use Finder and drag and drop files
- Use Zoom-In/Zoom-Out slider
- Start watching using keyboard hotkeys to fast forward until you get to part where you are involved in play.
- Play normal and decide if you want this clip.
- For Hitting I like to start just before the set and after SOME celebration
- For Serve Receive I like to start with ball just before it crosses the net and end after setter sets
- For Digs I like to start just before hitter hits or maybe include set too, end after next hit of ball
- Include serve only if it has great velocity or placement, not due to bad SR
- Position head at starting frame, hit <Command><B>
- Position head at ending frame, hit <Command<B>
- Select and delete video before the highlight clip
- Advance to video past highlight clip and continue
- Use a Title above the last highlight clip in timeline (Reveal Lower Third) to remind you where you left off
- Don’t use transitions.
- Don’t include “lucky” plays like a server that hits top of net and goes in.
- Don’t include “basic” plays like a serve or free ball that comes right to you.
- Remember these should be “highlights”, not video of what anyone can do.
Keyboard Shortcuts
<Space>: Play
< L >: Fast Forward (repeat for faster). Use <Space> or <K> to pause
< J >: Fast Rewind (repeat for faster). Use <Space> or <K> to pause
< Left Arrow > Single frame backward
<Right Arrow > Single frame forward (Try holding down)
< Up Arrow> Previous Clip
<Down Arrow> Next Clip
<X>: Select Entire Clip
Split Clip : <Command><B>
<Command>Click to toggle selection
Select All: <Command><A>
Copy: <Command><C>
Paste: <Command><V>
Undo: <Command><Z>
<Option> < F > : Add Freeze Frame using current position. Grab frame handle (circle at top) to shorten/extend time
Remove (soften) Audio: Position cursor toward bottom of clip in timeline just above sound graph until you see double-arrow cursor, grab and pull down
Advanced Editing
Crop/Zoom
Slow Motion
Stabilize Shaky Video
Adjust Color
Syncing Audio/Music with Video
- Mute all Audio by selecting all clips <Command><A> and from menu select Modify…Mute Audio
- Drop in audio file below the video.
- If you forget to mute audio first, just select all again which will select audio track, then use <Command>Click on the audio track to deselect it. Make sure your cursor is an arrow before clicking.
- For play-by-play audio, find beginning of match by starting to listen and split and delete when audio is about to leave screen, drag remaining audio back to start. Repeat until beginning of match is found.
- Find audio for each video clip. Decide if you want to keep video/audio pair, doesn’t have to be perfectly in sync to review
- If you decide to clip clip, edit audio first.
- Edit Audio clip just like video deciding when to begin and when to stop.
- Create a freeze-frame at beginning and/or end of video clip using <Up Arrow> & <Down Arrow> & <Option><F>, stretch using circular handles so that audio will stay with video clip. Zoom in if necessary to gain better control. Make sure freeze-frame is not blurred. If last/first frame is blurred find non-blurred frame to freeze. Make sure video and audio ends at same point.
Miscellaneous
Working on multiple highlight videos at once.
What if you want to create different highlight videos from the same source video? iMovie only supports 2 video timelines and you can take advantage of that and stack one set of clips over the other. The top timeline is really designed for overlays like text and such, but it can be done with some careful management.
Another option if you only need to save off a few clips for another purpose is to simply use copy/paste of a clip from your main project to another. After copying, switch projects and paste the clip. Not ideal but it works.
GIT Hook to prevent Commit of a file
This is one of my favorite tricks.
When I make a temporary change to code, usually for testing, that I do not want to commit, I simply add a comment above the temporary code with the words DO NOT COMMIT. When I try to commit that file, git will abort the commit and warn me:
+ // DO NOT COMMIT
pre-commit: Blocking commit because detect
In the root of your project, open the hidden .git folder.
Use CMD + SHIFT + . to toggle display of hidden files if needed.
If it doesn’t exist, create a hooks subfolder.
create a file named pre-commit with the following content:
#!/bin/sh
# Check if this is the initial commit
if git rev-parse –verify HEAD >/dev/null 2>&1
then
against=HEAD
else
echo “pre-commit: About to create the first commit…”
against=4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904
fi# Use git diff-index to check for @DONTCOMMITTHIS
# http://stackoverflow.com/a/7292992/3307822
# https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/git-hooks/local-hooks
#
declare -a strsToLookForArr=(
“DONTCOMMITTHIS”
“DONOTCOMMIT”
“DO NOT COMMIT”
)for str in “${strsToLookForArr[@]}”
do
if git diff-index -p -M –cached $against — | grep ‘^+’ | grep -i “$str”
then
echo “pre-commit: Blocking commit because $strToLookFor detected”
exit 1
fi
doneecho “pre-commit: clear”
exit 0
Cassidy Dressage Pine Hill 2012
Cassidy’s High School Graduation Slideshow
How NOT to measure development productivity
Allen Holub believes in #noestimates.
In his blog post KPIs, Velocity, and Other Destructive Metrics he offers this alternative to useless metrics tracking:
Focus on continuous process improvement, and productivity takes care of itself.
He has this to say about Velocity as a useful measurement of productivity:
velocity (average points per sprint) is not a performance metric, and using it as such is actively destructive. For one thing, the basic unit (a point) is not a measurable quantity. It’s a judgment. You can’t derive a quantitative measure from qualitative input.
Kristen Kleymeyer Lake Travis Basketball 2017-2018
The Accountant (2016)
The Accountant ***** 1.7.7 Missed this movie when it came out. But I loved it. Starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. Great action. Liked the story. Ben is on the autism spectrum and a math savant who grew up and learned to live on his own, as a forensic accountant and assassin. Guess you gotta watch the movie!
Impossible Creatures
Still, one of my favorites games of all time. I usually fire up an old Windows box and play the campaign over Christmas break.
I managed to network 4 stations and the cousins came over for an afternoon of Impossible Creatures frenzy!
Tips
Level 6
This is a hard level.
Enemy will attack quickly so need to fend off with 1 or 2 level animals
In the mean time try to level up to 5 as soon as reasonably possible
Gather coal at all 3 areas along West and South border.
Take Rex to right side of map and collect Crocodile to make Lobster Crocs. You will need to use them to fend off the very tough turtle eels that come through the tunnel.
Once area is cleared of enemy in Part 1, setup base near copter pad, protecting it with 2 anti-air, collect coal, and add an air-chamber.
Create Dragonfly Crocs to help protect Lobster crocs against flying enemies and to fly over to right bottom side to protect new base.
Leave some range animals back at base as enemy may send whales from water to attack.
Build water chamber back at base and send some Lobster Crocs around south near new base so they can quickly be air lifted out of water onto land near base. Leave 2-3 Lobster Crocks at water chamber in case enemy sends whales around to attack from water.
Once you have the enemy coming from tunnel under control, send several Lobster Crocks to southern end of east side to be picked up by helicopter and placed on land. Once you’ve placed 2-3 of them, bring over fleat of Dragon Crocks (8?) to help protect new base, bring 2 henchman over and build 2 anti-air towers and establish coal camp. Bring more henchman over when you can as you defend the new base.
Level 9
This level has enemy generators that can be taken down for the win. The one at 1:00 near 2nd base can be taken down by dropping a range animal on plateau using helicopter. This this first, it will take 1 animal a while to destroy it. The one in water about 4:00 is undefended. The 3rd found around 7:00 can be attacked from 1st base with about 8 Lobster crocks. The last one around 4:00 can be attacked with around 10 Lobster crocks. The main base can actually be attacked with a full army of lobster crocks. I would attack from North, West and South so they don’t get bottle-necked at defenses.
Level 10
You have several enemy bases to destroy. You will need lots of animals so locate and setup a bunch of coal collection. Build helicopter and drop henchman on plateau at around 4:00 to collect coal. Try to get to center area with coal quickly and then to around 2:00 coal area. Build up your army just before 12:00 enemies and just before army at 2:00. Attack 2:00 before 12:00. You will need anti-air towers to attack 12:00 army. Place at least 2 anti-air at all coal collection sites. Bring small contingency of range animals to help defend from air-attack when attacking bases. Maybe bring 4 henchman to create air-towers as well.
Level 14
Need lots of coal this. level. Get to level 4 quickly and send army to reach 3:00 area with Level 5 in progress. Get there as soon as possible, don’t worry about animals or defenses along way, just survive, beat animals at end and setup base with Lobster Crocks. Create 3 air-defenses between 2 sets of coal piles. Should have stable base there with about 5:00 left. Build up army of about 10-15 Lobster Crocks and attack lab with Rex (need to cure him immediately) no later than 1 min left. Place 3 creature chambers in spilled antidote so creatures created are immune. Add at least 2 anti-air towers. Leave 3 range animals to take out single animals that may attack send all others forward.
Level 15
Killer Whale Lobster
KW: Head, Tail. L: Body
Health: 717 Defense: 60, Speed: 10/30, Sight Radius: 25, Size: 9
Chameleon Hippo
CH: Head, H: Front legs, body, back legs, tail
Health: 264, Defense 46, Speed 16/22, Sight Radious 30, Size 6
Setup coal collection just north of base, and left of base and then above to left of that one. Place water chamber to right of base and leave about 3-4 KillLobsters a little up from base near coal collection as attacks will come from water. Setup 2-3 air-towers at each coal collection.
Once these coal collections are establish establish last one at far end of map around 1:00
Max out abilities of the two 5 Animals and defend as animals are sent down from Ganglians base. Use Rex heavily. If you can defend the waves eventually you will starve Ganglian. Between waves send Chamatamus up a bit to take out defense towers. Try to save injured animals so they can regenerate. Once the attacks slow you can go up and take out Ganglian then keep going and take out Julius