Solid Monitor Redux

Music

Added some manuals to the Solid Monitor page.

(These oldies still work great!)

Wallpaper - White Balls

Wallpaper

It's somewhat like T+2000 (2000 days after I expected what would be the worst day for Corona / Covid) and my wallpaper is a silent reminder of that. Remember the lock-down? I do. Work was done over Teams (something many managers nowadays think is no longer working, duh?) and one of the Teams backgrounds was this specific image.

(Click on the image to enlarge) 

Fuck HitfFilm Express. Fuck FXHome. Fuck Artlist.

Datatalk

Fuck HitFilm Express.

Fuck FXHome. Fuck Artlist.

Fuck every piece of software that requires online activation.

Because you will be screwed at some later date.

Under an Open Sky (Chase the Dream) - Men & Machine

Column

I would never let an AI write any of my stories. And - had I been a musician - I would never use AI to compose or sing or perform.

Still, even I have to admit AI is getting impressive, though it isn't perfect.

I wrote the lyrics to this song myself, then build a prompt and had an AI generate it. (Frankly, I cannot even remember which one I used, sorry.)

Retrieve the original installation language for Windows installs

Windows

To do an in-situ upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 your install medium needs to be of the same language as the one you originally installed your Windows with... or not?

On their website Microsoft says you need to pick the language you're currently using, but when you try to do an in-situ upgrade, it asks for the language you installed your original copy with.

Personal Windows 11 Setup

Windows

How I set up my machine...

(This note is pretty much for myself, and I think it actually has some mistakes in it as well...)

Can you still find that (SF) movie, or has Enshittification (TM) taken over full force?

Science Fiction

Let's try to watch some SciFi...

Note: this isn't a 'top 10' kind of list. I was just wondering where you could watch them (legally)...

Note that I'm based in The Netherlands, and availability strongly depends on the region you live in...

Wallpaper - Dual Monitor - Forest

Wallpaper

September featured a coastline, so let's go deep into the forest this time.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Swapping / upgrading / downgrading SSDs - You want Rescuezilla!

Windows + Datatalk

Replacing an SSD with something larger or (especially) smaller can be quite tricky. Here's a simple way to do it.

(And yes, it is using a Linux boot stick, duh 😏)

Deranged...

Column

A few days ago Donald Trump gave a speech to the United Nations, and everyone was listening in deadly silence.

If you watch it - even if you're a Republican you should watch it - and then think about it... then... then what? Be honest to yourself and the rest of the world, and check the facts...

Pin a shortcut to a batch file on the taskbar

Windows + Datatalk

Sometimes you just need a shortcut to a batch file. Now that's easy. But sometimes you want to place that shortcut on the task bar, and that is slightly more complicated.

This approach appears to work on Windows 10 and 11.

D&D - Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master - The Lazy Anthology (xe 2018, English)

RPG Book Review + Books

As Dungeon Master / Game Master, you're the heart of any role playing game. As DM / GM you run the world, play all the NPCs, and you decide which rules apply when.

That's a lot of work... sometimes a bit too much. This book tries to address that potential problem, by helping you to only prepare what is necessary.

Wallpaper - Dual Monitor - Sweetwater Coastline

Wallpaper

I suppose this is a very large lake, somewhere (that doesn't look like a saltwater coastline to me)... but it's the forever compelling combination of land, see, and water... Add a bit of reddish color, and it's hard to pay attention to anything but that mesmerizing desktop background 😏

D&D - Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master - The Lazy Anthology (xe 2018, Dutch)

RPG Book Review + Books + Dutch

Na al het uitzoeken en voorbereiden is het tijd om het resultaat te laten zien: The Lazy Anthology. Oftewel... drie de boeken tesamen in een enkele, full color hardcover.

Nuttig? Nee. Praktisch? Nee. Voordelig? Nee. Maar man, wat blijft het een goed gevoel om een hardcover vast te houden 😁 Maar ja, behalve de looks gaat het ook nog om de inhoud: waar gaat Return eigenlijk over?

POD, different bindings, and regular printing

RPG + Books

So, I completed my own 'download edit print' sequence using a POD Provider (Pumbo).

But... how do the different kind of POD products actually look?

Druk je eigen RPG handboek af - 4 - Pumbo instellingen (Dutch)

RPG + Books + Dutch

Pumbo adviseert professionele software. Helaas heb ik geen (professionele) Adobe producten, maar alleen maar PhotoImpact, Word, PFD Xchange, en IrfanView.

Maar daarmee wil het ook :-)

Druk je eigen RPG handboek af - 3 - Leveranciers (Dutch)

RPG + Books + Dutch

Okay. Ik weet wat ik wil laten afdrukken. Nou hoef ik alleen nog maar te bepalen bij wie...

215 paginas, full color, hardcover. Hmmm... wie zijn de kandidaten? 

Druk je eigen RPG handboek af - 2 - De PDF aanpassen (Dutch)

RPG + Books + Dutch

Mijn test case is The Return of the Lazy Dungeonmaster. Het basis boek is 96 paginas, en de beide aanvullingen zijn 64 en 48 bladzijden. Kant en klaar afgedrukt en verstuurd komen de drie boeken (totaal 208 bladzijden) uit op ca. 75 euro.

Mijn plan is er een enkele, dikke hardcover van te maken.

Druk je eigen RPG handboek af - 1 - Wat en Hoe en Waarom (Dutch)

RPG + Books + Dutch

Vaak is een PDF precies wat je nodig hebt. Een digitaal boek wat je gemakkelijk mee kunt nemen waar en wanneer je maar wilt. Maar soms wil je gewoon door een papieren kopie bladeren. Een echt boek in je handen houden. En da's wat lastig als er niets anders dan een digitale versie beschikbaar is.

D&D - 5e Basic Rules (5e14 2018, somewhat prettyfied)

RPG Book Review

5E is the closest thing to AD&D 2E that we've seen thus far. 5e is even easier to use, and just as much fun. And... you can start playing D&D 5E without spending a penny. My personal copy of the 5E Basic Rules has a few minor modifications, just to make it more practical.

(I have some mixed feelings on 5E24, the 2024 incarnation of the ruleset. Note that these Basic Rules are based on the 2014 set of rules.)

Viola Grace - The Covert Dragons

Audiobook Review

Once you have a Rakuten Kobo Plus subscription you're going to try to maximize its usage. Let's read / listen to tons of free books - as long as the subscription lasts - right? On top of that, I was investigating the typical romantasy concepts. Free and with a purpose, right?

Well... yeah. Right. Unfortunately, lots of the better stuff isn't free, and lots of the stuff included in Kobo Plus isn't very good... Will Viola Grace change my opinion?

Wallpaper - Fitness Protection Program

Wallpaper

I have absolutely no idea where I found this...

(Click on image to enlarge)

You may need something like WallX to make this usable.

More Wallpapers...

 

Rakuten Kobo - Aanvulling (Dutch)

Kobo + Dutch

Het inlogscherm op de telefoon van Kobo is een beetje verwarrend. Ik heb de handleiding voor Rakuten Kobo dan ook iets aangepast.

Voor meer, zie hier. 

D&D - Raise the Dead (d20 2003)

RPG Book Review

There's life after death... as long as you are a D&D character.

This book is all about raising the dead. Which might be a friend. Or it might be an enemy, to be raised to interrogated... or to be killed off again, who knows. This softcover book four adventures, all focused on raising that one dead friend.

V.E. Schwab - Shades of Magic - A Darker Shade of Magic / A Gathering of Shadows / A Conjuring of Light

Audiobook Review

This is a well known series, in which the last of the Antari (dimension hopping mages) discovers his ancestry, and fights an all consuming magic evil.

It's pretty good, but I didn't find it as exceptional as it is often made out to be. Still good though.

Wallpaper - Sigil University

Wallpaper

I've been running a few D&D sessions as a DM where the players were students at Sigil university (in the Planescape setting). And every university needs a logo and a slogan...

(Click on image to enlarge) 

Apple TV - Murderbot - s01e01..s01e06

Series Review + Apple TV

It's on Apple, and Apple appears to be doing a banging good job when it comes to SciFi shows. Severance. Silo. For All Mankind. Foundation. 3 Body Problem. Pretty good.

You can now add Murderbot to that list.

Kalayna Price - Alex Craft 1 - Grave Witch

Audiobook Review

Dabbling in romantasy lately, are we?

Well. It's only for scientific purposes. And if the story is half-decent, then why not? I can always skip the random porn inserts that seem to haunt modern day fantasy novels...

D&D - Forgotten Realms Adventures (2e 1990)

RPG Book Review + Forgotten Realms

Welcome to the Forgotten Realms. Back in 1990 TSR released Forgotten Realms Adventures, a hardcover book to help players and DMs update from (A)D&D to AD&D 2nd edition.

Content wise it's a little thin, but it was the very first TSR / D&D / RPG product I ever bought. For me, it's the book that started it all.

Homematic Maintenance / Error codes

Domotics + Homematic

Note to self: don't forget to frequently check your Homematic domotics system for any heating related issues...

2nd note to self: don't forget. But I did. Sigh.

3rd note (to visitor): skip this page. It's just for my own usage. You want to go here and see what else is on offer...

Nicole Conway - Mad Magic

Kobo Plus + Audiobook Review

I've only read this one a few weeks ago, and I'm already forgetting about this one. I guess that means it did not leave that much of an impression behind.

Elizabeth Moon - Vatta's War - Series

Audiobook Review

Harringtonish... Nice read, still. Youngling gets kicked out of school, becomes trader, killer, captain, admiral, savior.

Predictable, I admit, but enjoyable.

Wallpaper - PlayStation

Wallpaper

I did share an Xbox wallpaper, so there had to be a PlayStation one as well...

(Click on image to enlarge)

GoPro Bestandsnamen (Dutch)

Datatalk + GoPro

GoPro cameras geven hun bestanden rare namen. De GoPro kijkt naar de al aanwezige bestanden, combineert dit met informatie uit de camera zelf, en maakt vervolgens nieuwe namen.

Alle bestandsnamen hebben het volgende formaat: G[e][cc][rrrr].mp4, oftewel G [encoder] [chapter] [recording] .mp4

Rachel Bach (Rachel Aaron) - Paradox Series - Fortune's Paw / ...

Audiobook Review

Down-on-her-luck wannabe-warrior falls in love. Add exo-suits, aliens, baddy evil to fall in love with, an empire, a love story, and Rachel Bach's writing skills.

And what you end up with is a great series.

The Forgotten Realms - Map of Maps

RPG + Forgotten Realms

It's pretty hard to find a map that shows all the maps ever made of Faerun. So, I made my own, based on the products I own and other stuff I could find on the Internet.

Sneeuwjacht - 2 - Weerpech (Dutch)

Travel + Dutch

Je hebt invloed op je vakantie periode. Nou ja, een beetje dan. Natuurlijk moet je werkgever je toestemming geven, en dan zijn er nog beperkingen zoals kinderen en schoolvakanties.

Waar je weinig invloed op hebt is het weer. En dat is soms dus goed balen...

Ryk Brown – The Frontiers Saga

Audiobook Review

Ryk Brown appears to have become a quite popular self publishing author. I've sampled some of his wares... It's a bit fannish, a bit 'wannabe', to be honest. Some of the jokes and characters are okay, and do bring a smile on my face. The potholes though (especially the technobabble guffaws) are a bit of a let down.

Chronical: 2067

Movie Review

2067 (also known as Chronical: 2067) is a little (?) but good SciFi movie that more or less flew under the radar. Don't expect mega blockbuster style VFX and CGI, huge explosions and robust heroes. This isn't one of those.

Jill Bearup - Just Stab Me Now

Writing + Book Review

Alright... this post is going to be a weird one.

I was pointed toward this video by another nettizen (does anyone still use that word?) / Discord user / writer, and the video is quite interesting.

So let's split this post up in two parts: writing related, and a short review of the book itself.

Wallpaper - Revy (Black Lagoon)

Wallpaper

There are few characters as foul and violent in Anime as Revy, and you gotta' love her for that. This wallpaper is a fanart image based on the Black Lagoon's company's trip to Tokyo. Yeah, she's wearing a skirt but don't let that fool you... 

Microsoft Copilot... in Notepad? And 'on' by default?!?

Windows

Microsoft / Muckysoft / Micro$oft is rolling out it's Copilot AI assistant... and it doesn't matter if you like it or even agree with it, or not... You'll get it shoved down your throat, no matter what.

Did you know that Notepad (!) has Copilot support? Did you know it's ON by default?!? M$, what the hell is wrong with you?!?!?

(Go into settings and turn it off. Also uninstall the Copilot app. Fuck M$.)

Romantasy Redux

Writing

First of all, this is a little cynical, so my apologies for that.

Nevertheless, if you step away and study the subject from a distance then you'll find some interesting commonalities between many of the books in this well-selling (sub)genre.

Here are several of the tropes I identified thus far...

I hate Raymond Chandler...

Column + Writing

Sometimes, I try to be inspired by other authors. And I have to admit I'm awfully impressed and influenced by two specific, grand names: Raymond Chandler and Roger Zelazny.

But it's hard to get even close...

Sometimes I delude myself into thinking I 'got' it...

Quick check on Lyrion Music Server status (LMS) - Issues with .APE files and APE tags

Lyrion + Music

I managed to crash Lyrion v9.0.2 (former SqueezeBox LMS) without any reason. I suspect a reboot of the home server caused it to re-index, and it crashed and exited on some .mp3 files. So, here's a quick check to see if it is running, and what caused it to crash.

Wallpaper - The Team

Wallpaper

There's something about the work by Tony DiTerlizzi that just speaks to me. He was the original artist behind the artwork of PlaneScape.

I think (not even sure, it was too long ago) this is a poor re-composition I did myself. Which reminds me of a great team of real people I once worked with. I miss you, people. You were the best.

Sneeuwjacht - 1 - Proloog (Dutch)

Travel + Dutch

Hoe zou het zijn om vanuit een warm, sneeuwvrij dal de berg op te rijden, en dan boven op de top sneeuw aan te treffen?

Geweldig!

Dus... als voorbereiding voor een komende roadtrip een paar links...

MRA in de praktijk - 3 - GPX voor zowel MRA Next (Here) als Tom Tom (Dutch)

GPX + Dutch

Met MRA Routeplanner is het eigenlijk heel erg simpel om een .GPX file te maken welke door zowel Tom Tom als MRA Next (Here) goed wordt verwerkt, en waardoor gebruikers van verschillende navigatie apparaten en apps toch voor 99© dezelfde route rijden!

MRA in de praktijk - 2 - Volg de Route met MRA Next / MRA Navigatie (Dutch)

GPX + Dutch

Doel:

1. Lees een TRACK .GPX file in

2. Maak er een ROUTE .GPX file van

3. Gebruik MRA Next om de route te volgen

A Brief History of Self Regulation

Column

Call me a leftist. A socialist. A communist.

Or a realist...

(Click on image to enlarge)