Preparation – 3ÈME SALON DES TRACTEURS ANCIENS » (17 et 18 Août 2013)
Reading Time: < 1 minute[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157635047444443″]
Images as I drove home from the gym.
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Ingress Operation Apache, Covering Geneva in Blue.
Operation Apache
Ingress is a selfless game when you play as a team. The driver gets no AP. Other operators get a few AP for breaking portals. Three individuals gets hundreds of thousands of Mind Units (MU). Rather than feel a sense of achievement I feel fatigue.
The first reason is to do with the hangouts. You have to be serious. When I work in a team I want to be able to joke around. The most fun you have is with people who know what they’re doing and despite the stress have fun doing it. When you do something for free this is even more important.
The second is driving a hundred kilometres. I don’t like driving without something to do at the destination. I also prefer to be active during daylight hours rather than once the sun sets. I am not a vampire.
The three day rains don’t help either. Three days of rain, seeing the Arve saturated and very high. The Pont Rolex is a metre from being flooded.
Friday I drove three hundred and seventy kilometres for another operation. I drove an hour to the location and an hour back from the location. On this previous up the engine had run for six and a half hours.
I drove up one slope and fire crews were present. They allowed me to go on and I drove up beside the stream running down. The water wasn’t too deep but there were a lot of stones and mud. I felt the car loose traction so tried to keep my speed up. I saw where a storm drain intended to take water in was overflowing like a spring.
In total I drove 470km on half a tank of diesel so fuel wise it was probably still cheaper than driving to meet people in Geneva. I think I’ll take a break from communal activities and play solo. I’ll stick to Via Ferrata and hiking as team activities. I will feel good about the op in a few days, when the sun starts to shine again.
Audiobooks, Instead of Podcasts
I love books, and I love podcasts. We will never get to the end of our podcast queue, but we will work towards the end of our reading lists. My reading list is 70+ books long so it would take months of effort to get through. My goal is not that ambitious. My goal is to read the 25 books this year, that I set out to read. I am three behind schedule. At the start I was seven behind schedule so I have made up for the time that I have been missing. We will see whether I reach this year’s goal.
The Pre-Lunch Walk
The pre-lunch walk was nice. I went from seeing cattle that were resting to cattle that were eating grass with the alps as a backdrop, as well as the Mont Blanc. I also saw a tractor with a trailer filled with beets drive by me before dumping its load into a field, waiting to be transported at a later time. I also another tractor unloading its cargo into a conveyor system to dump onto a train, for transport. The walk was interesting, due in part, to walking a slightly different route at a different time of day.
Desaturating The Mind on Twitter
Not all tweets are positive, and not all tweets are according to your values and your desires. That being written, not all tweets warrant a response, and not all tweets deserve an argument. Recently someone has responded to tweets of mine, but rather than to have a conversation and to listen, to impose their view. Oh, you think this, but that’s what others think. Twice I have considered blocking that person because twice it has made me uncomfortable.
I am a single person, living alone, and in between contracts. I use social media to establish personal connections, and to feel less solitude. What I have felt, with this individual, at least twice, is rage, and a desire to block them. If I write something that you don’t agree with, ignore it. Don’t bludgeon me with “but people think something different.”
In the grand scheme of things the question is not whether people think differently, but whether the difference of opinions of two people sees the rights of one, put upon by the habits of the other. If I need to close the window, and turn on the extractor fan, I am not the unreasonable one. I am not the one that is being selfish.
I have now blocked the person who likes to impose their views and opinions, rather than just listen.
And Finally – 1st Thoughts on the SIgg Shield One
It’s heavy and the handle is not as wide as I thought it was. It does open easily but the part that is meant to keep clean, seems to trap water. It was dry when I checked now. The difference in weight between the Sigg Traveller, which is similar to my old bottle is 147 grams, compared to 230. That 100 gram difference is big when you’re hiking or climbing. This is a bottle that would be good for work, the home or a flat short walk.
A Forgotten Apple Event
On the Twelfth of September Apple held an event to promote their new iPhone devices and I completely forgot to watch and spoof what they were selling. For years now I have had little to no interest in new Apple devices and watches for a very simple reason. They’re extremely expensive, compared to alternatives.
Years ago I bought a new iphone every year, from the 4 to the 4S to the SE but after that I stopped until I bought an 8+ for drone flying as it had a bigger screen before reverting back to the Iphone SE(second generation). I heard on a podcast that the original SE was the best low budget iPhone so that’s why I took it. I took the second Gen SE because it had the smallest screen.
Too Big To Hold and Use One Handed
The problem with almost all iPhones is that they are large, fragile, and hard to use one handed. This means that you need big pockets, big hands, and a protective case to keep them safe. Small and elegant phones are more interesting. They’re easier to hold, carry, and keep safe. A phone that you can use one handed with ease, is more useful.
Incremental Progress
When the first iPhones came out every new device was priced at an interesting point and the tech was innovative. Now you spend 1000 USD for an incrementally better phone. According to GSM Arena it’s not worth buying the iphone. I don’t want to spend so much money on a device, that if, dropped once, needs to have the screens replaced. The front and back glass can shatter after a single drop.
The Ultra 2
Some people will see the Ultra 2 and desire it. I don’t. Apple watches are fragile. I broke one indoor climbing. I wore Suunto watches rock climbing in the mountains and barely have scratches to show for scraping the watch on real rocks, every weekend. Another issue is the price point. You’re paying 800 CHF for a watch that lasts 36hrs in GPS mode. For 150 CHF or so you can get the Garmin Etrex SE and track for a week, and within a few seconds you can swap the AA batteries that you can buy almost anywhere.
Planned Obscolecence
The other drawback to buying expensive Apple Watches is that if you buy one, you will want to buy the next generation, and the generation after that. It will cost 800 CHF to keep up to date. Do you want to fall down that rabbit hole?
A good App-mosphere
Of course when you’re buying an Apple Watch you’re not just paying for the watch. You’re also paying for the app-mosphere. You’re paying to have access to all of the apps that play nicely, for a fee, with the Apple watch. it’s great to have access to so many apps, but most cost 30 CHF per year, per app. That’s easily hundreds of francs.
With Garmin, Suunto, Google and Xiaomi this is included in the price of the device you wear on your wrist. I would have written Fitbit instead of Google but we know that Fitbit is on borrowed time.
Daily Charging
With the Suunto Peak 5 you charge once every few days. With the Garmin Instinct Solar you can go for weeks without charging, in summer. With the Garmin Suunto 45s you charge every two or three days. Do you want to spend 800 CHF on a watch that needs one and and half hours to charge every single day, for normal use? No other high end watch forces you to recharge so often. Batteries degrade with charge cycles, so you’re going through one charge cycle, per day.
With the Suunto D4 diving watch and Suunto D9 you would charge once every two or three years, by swapping batteries.
And Finally
Not being interested in the latest apple watches and iPhones works to my advantage. I save on time, money and desire. When innovation is not ground breaking it is easier to remain indifferent. I would be more interested in swapping the battery in the current second generation SE than in getting a new phone.
The Unquantified Self and the Garmin Etrex SE
Since boyhood I have liked watches. There was a period when I wore none, but eventually I got the habit back and now I regularly wear two watches. I don’t wear two watches because I like to wear two watches. I wear two watches because Apple sends to one database and Garmin sends to another, and there is some functionality that is dedicated to one platform. If you want Apple functionality you have to wear an Apple Watch, and if you want Garmin features you need to wear a Garmin watch.
The Etrex SE Solution
The Garmin Etrex SE is different from the Garmin Etrex 32X because it’s a cheaper, simpler model with a built in ability to communicate with iPhones and other mobile phones. The advantage of this is that you can track your daily walks, cycling, flying and other sports for up to 160 hours non-stop before you need to recharge or swap the batteries.
An AA Advantage
The other advantage of the Garmin Etrex family, but especially the Etrex SE is that it requires two AA batteries that can be swapped within seconds, but last for 150 hours or more.
By accident I left the device on overnight and it tracked for 19 hours and still had plenty of battery remaining for that day’s walk. With this device you can track walks, bike rides, and more for days at a time.
In contrast the Edge Explore can track for three or four hours before needing a recharge if it is in normal mode, but many more hours if it is in battery saver mode.
The Garmin instinct can track for a day or two at a time, before needing to be recharged, but to charge you need an external battery and time. With the Etrex SE you need a few seconds to swap batteries.
Geocaching Built In
If you enjoy geocaching then this is a great device because it pairs with your geocaching account and makes it easy for you to see surrounding objects and their location. It allows you to mark and navigate to geocaches of interest, with ease.
Up To Date Weather
Although it can take a few seconds to load you can also get live weather conditions with the device. This is based on weather service information, not a built in barometer.
GPS Precision
When walking I noticed that GPS – All GNSS accuracy bounced between 3-4 meters. That’s good enough to detect if you’re swapping back and forth from side of the road to the other. I played with that level of accuracy with another GPS.
Wrist Freedom
As the title suggested one of the advantages of the SE is that it’s a small, portable GPS that you turn on, track yourself, and turn off. It automatically transfers the walk, run, bike ride, flight, car drive and other activities to the Explore and the Garmin Connect apps, so you have the convenience of GPS watches, without needing a free wrist to use it.
Sports Aware
With the Garmin Etrex 32 you can easily track an activity but when you get home and sync the device to your computer you need to tell it what sport you were doing. You also need to physically either remove the SD card and sync, or you have to plug the GPS into the computer and sync that way. With the SE you can tell the GPS, either at the start of the activity, or when you save, that you’re walking, hiking, running, skiing, driving, using an ATV, flying and more. You don’t need to connect to Garmin Connect and manually tell it what you were doing.
Instant Charge
I write this more as a joke, than a serious advantage. With this GPS if you notice the battery is low, you don’t need to plug it into a wall, and wait for hours. Simply remove the back, swap the batteries and get on with your adventure.
Garmin Explore
When I looked at a comparison of the 32, the 22 and the SE I noticed one big difference between the three. The SE has no built in maps but it does have Garmin Explore, and Garmin Explore has good maps. This means that although the Etrex SE is limited due to its lack of maps, it does punch way above its weight and price, by pairing with the Explore App. You can draw your route whilst charging your phone, and then it syncs to your devices, for you to navigate with ease.
Limitations
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It has no memory card slot, so you can’t expand to keep track of more activities or maps.
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it is quite big and bulky. It does fit into a pocket but like a Cuckoo bird it will kick out its neighbours. You could place it in the side pocket of your hiking bag, or the top pocket, depending on preference.
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No Maps built in. For navigation and maps you need to use your mobile phone. Location information is shared between the phone and GPS live, so you do have maps, but this requires you to use mobile phone battery life. With the Garmin Etrex 32x and other models you have maps built in.
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GPS or All GNSS services. With this device you can’t tell it “I want to use Galileo, and no other GNSS. You can only choose between GPS, and “all GNSS” which I think is a limitation. I would like more freedom to choose.
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Pairing is limited. If you want to track heart rate, temperature, cadence and other data then you can’t. It tracks your location, speed and altitude but not much else.
And Finally
If you want a GPS for navigation then this is not the gps for you, unless you’re navigating to geocache locations. This is one of the cheapest GPS devices you can get. It’s cheaper than a lot of watches, handheld GPS and more. The device itself is limited, in terms of maps, but if you pair it with the Explore app, then it becomes a powerful option, for navigating and more.
I am surprised that the device has so few reviews. I spent less than a minute drawing a walking route with the Explore app and I could sync it to the Garmin Instinct watch and Etrex SE within seconds. It’s smooth, fast, and intuitive.
The Garmin Etrex SE, although, very simple, demonstrates the future of GPS navigation devices, taking full advantage of Android, iOS and excellent battery life.
Migrating Media Assets from Google Photos to PhotoPrism
Yesterday I started the proper migration of my Google Photo assets from Google Takeout to PhotoPrism. The first step was to mount the drives to the linux system, the second was to transfer the photos from the external hard drive to the internal SD card, unzip them, and then start imposing assets.
The first bottle neck is exporting 800 gigabytes from Google drive to a local drive. I chose to download the files in one gigabyte packages in fifty gigabyte sets over many hours. This depends on your connection so the experience will vary.
Moving Between Disks
The second bottle neck is when moving the files from an external hard drive to a microsd card. The transfer can be quite time consuming which is part of my reason for using a Pi, rather than a laptop. A laptop would be much faster but it will time out unless you tell it not to sleep. The issue with that is that laptops are not designed to be un for days at a time, without sleeping every so often. Once the Pi is working you can leave it to work.
Ideally I would keep the files on the external drive and skip this time consuming step. I wanted to test the feasability of using an SD card, to keep things tidy once the time consuming phase is over.
Unzipping
PhotoPrism needs files to be unzipped to work. This can be a time consuming task if you do so with the Pi, rather than a laptop or desktop. I would recommend unzipping the files ahead of moving the files from an external drive to an internal drive. At the time of writing I did not find a quick way of unzipping files with a single command.
Importing From the Import Folder
PhotoPrism has an import folder. This is where you extract your unzipped Google Takeout Folders to. Select “move files” to delete all files that have been automatically imported. Click import and then PhotoPrism does the rest. This is the stage that takes the most time. PhotoPrism orgqanises the photos by year, month, date, location, tags, and people. This is the stage where you can go for a walk, or enjoy a good night of sleep because it will take hours to complete.
I am not clear whether the JSON files for images are always zipped within the same archive or whether they are zipped once every few files. This is part of my reason for experimenting with ingesting several gigabytes at a time, rather than one folder at a time. The second reason is that if I give it tasks that take hours it gives me no excuse to procrastinate. That’s what I did before writing this blog post.
Recognising Faces
PhotoPrism recognises faces but it doesn’t create a “person” until it has several images. When it does have several images it gives you the opportunity to name that face, or add it to a pre-existing face. It’s nice to watch as faces from your past re-appear, and amusing when you realise how many names you have forgotten, as well as seeing which ones you clearly remember.
Recognising Places
At the moment when I am writing this post it has recognised 200 places and 15 states. When it recognises a place you can search by country via the search tool, or by location with the map. States are towns, villages or regions. This is a useful way of organising photos because it shows how much you travel, but also how many places you have been to, once you zoom in enough.
Cameras
This tool, by reading EXIF info, makes it possible to search for photos by camera. You can search for 360 photos with insta360 or photos from years ago with canon s70 or Canon EOS 5 MkII etc.
Categories
If you’re looking for photos of food, or aircrafts, or goats, or sheep, or monuments, or historical, you can. It also allows you to seach by colours, for example teal for grass and diving or blue for sunny days and more.
Years and Months
It is possible to search by year or by month, or both. You can search for December images to see if you can find images of snow, or you can search for June and yellow to find images of drought.
Import and Log
Two tabs that I spent time watching last night when I first started to import Google Photos properly were “import” and “log”.
The import tab is important because it allows you to know whether files are being imported or not so this allows you to decide whether to import more images or not. I prefer to import 50 gigabytes, clear the import directory, and then import the next 50 gigabytes, rather than to leave it to run for hours and assume that everything was imported correctly. If something fails I like to know when it’s easier to fix. So far I am under the impression that photos are, at the very least, imported into folders by year and month, as well as indexed automatically based on content.
I like to watch the logs to see if errors occur, but also to see when new faces are recognised, whether thumbnails are being generated correctly as well as when a new face cluster is ready to be named.
Making Photos and Videos Private
With PhotoPrism you can set several images or videos as private at once. You select the first image and then before clicking the last image press shift as you click and it will select that range. You can then click on the lock and those images or videos will be marked as private. Having the ability to select a range of images and apply changes, such as privacy is useful. I use privacy as an example but you could just as easily add a country, or keyword, or anything else.
The Index Tab
I realise that I should mention the index tab. Indexing runs automatically, as soon as it detects images in a directory or a mounted drive it will attempt to index those files which is both useful and likely to cause a mess. Luckily PhotoPrism comes with a “cleanup” tool to make clearing up orphan files and tidying the index easier.
It’s Fast
Despite indexing thousands of files, adding metadata, recognising colours, adding categories and labels, as well as generating thumbnails it’s fast. I can load images almost instantly when scrolling up and down. This is despite running on a Pi whilst it’s working hard. This is a great self-hosted alternative to Google Photos and iPhotos. Remember, before cloud storage was a default tools like Picasa existed, and these were great for organising photos. The difference is that now they’re cloud solutions where the cloud is your home Raspberry Pi rather than an app on your phone or laptop.
User Roles
When you use PhotoPrism for free you can have just one user. If you pay 2 Euros per month you can have “Super Admin, Admin, User, Viewer, Guest” accounts. This allows you to create individual users, to add friends and family.
Cloud Option
If you don’t desire to have your own private instance running at home you have a cloud based solution that starts at 6.50 Euros per month but it’s unclear what the cost is for storage.
And Finally
Initially I thought that I would use Nextcloud for media asset management but when it failed to display video files as thumbnails and when I saw that I couldn’t easily get rid of orphan index entries I hesitated between Immich and PhotoPrism. What made me commit to PhotoPrism is that I saw that they had a tool to import from Google Takeout built in. Instead of spending hours or even days or weeks re-organising photos the software would do it for me.
Adobe Lightroom costs 99 CHF per year. Kyno by LessPain Software costs 150 Euros per year and CatDV costs several thousand CHF to purchase. If you know how to setup PhotoPrism you can save money, or upgrade the hard drive to a higher capacity once per year, to ensure less risk of drive failure due to age.
Hiking in Switzerland
In 2019 Swiss people spent 162 million hours walking and hiking in Switzerland. Hiking generates 2.5 billion CHF per year and there are 50,000 signs to help people find their way. In Switzerland people hike 20 times per year.
I go for a two to three hour walk/hike every single day and as a result I have walked almost 2 million steps since March.
The Canton de Vaud has 3736 kilometres of hiking trails of which 1538 have hard surfaces. 547 kilometres are in the mountains. 136 volunteers help keep the paths open.
The total number of hiking trails in Switzerland amount to 66,722 kilometres, of which 17444 have hard surfaces. 24,783 kilometres are in the mountains. For 2019 there were 1028 organised hikes by Randonner.ch. These facts and figures are from the 2019 annual report.