Realsuddenlike

Wonderful URL for Making a Site

jonernstberger — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:20:57 +0000

Fantastic link for hiding your email address from the bots: http://www.web-development-blog.com/archives/e-mail-links-protective-solutions-against-spam/

Funerals and Thoughts

jonernstberger — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:22:50 +0000

Today, I was at the funeral of an elderly man who had just recently passed away. Here are a couple of the thoughts and inner monologues that I had:

“I want my boys to be able to say that about me.” This fellow, now a great-grandfather, had three children. Two of these children, now men in their 60′s, got up to speak. They both cried during their discussions. They did not bemoan their last interactions or the lack of time with their dad. They cried because they had so much respect for him and want to be JUST LIKE HIM. How many sons can say that? I hope that (one day) mine can.
Grace really is that amazing. Every one of us is busted–completely broken. God’s grace is really important to us (even the most devout). We can’t do it on our own folks!
Time is short. Pictures on the projector showed a man of varying ages. However, the young ones impressed me most. In many of the pictures, this fine older man was clearly remembered (in cellulose) at ages similar to my current age! Yet, there his body laid. I began to wonder when the times of those I loved would come. We don’t have much time with many people we love. How are we using it? Moreover, how are we using the opportunities that God grants us?

I’ll probably add some more later.

Enjoy,

Best Photos for Samsung Impression

jonernstberger — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:14:29 +0000

At this point, I’ve owned my Samsung Impression for about 1.5 years. I’ve learned a few things about it. The datebook application is pitiful but you can sync it with Google Calendar through the proprietary software. I actually like the touchscreen keyboard better than the QWERTY slide-out keypad that was originally a reason of attraction for me to purchase it! I’ve also learned that automatic photos with this camera are pitiful. For some reason, I never really fooled around with the settings. But recently, I did just that and saw an incredible difference.

The camera included on the Samsung Impression is really not bad for a feature phone. The camera has a 3.1MP rating with no flash. However, the software included is really pretty decent. Anything a modern digital camera would have, this camera has (including some hokey picture frame settings that I wish weren’t there!). There really are a variety of white-balance settings and shutter-speed combos as well. On to my fix (which most have probably figured out by now.)

I have two children and so photos were NEVER in focus. The camera gave the fuzziness associated with no flash and lots of wobbly motion. In fact, I saw this problem when taking stills. My own hand were too shakey for a good, clear photo. I’ve always kept the camera at a “superfine” resolution but this time changed the setting to the “motion” scenario. I leave it there. The phone now takes sufficient photos for most scenarios. Decent enough, in fact, that I’ve actually started using it for point-and-click type photos!

Maybe this will help someone else out.

YouTube and Vimeo Settings for Video Upload

jonernstberger — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:03:17 +0000

For YouTube.com, I follow these settings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube#Format_and_quality_comparison_table

Consequently, I created two render profiles (a SD profile and a HD profile) in Kdenlive. Both have 44100 Hz sampling in 128kbit/sec AAC. The SD video is at 1000kbit/sec and the HD video is at 2000kbit/sec for the H.264 codec. Both profiles have a two-pass render. My SD video is so high because my camera records in 720×420 which falls in the category for .8-1 Mbit/sec video. Deinterlaci ng is preferred.

In Vimeo, I follow these:

http://vimeo.com/help/compression

Consequently, I again created two profiles. One of HD and the other for SD. Again I use the H.264 codec with AAC audio compression. For SD video, we use 2000kbit/sec and for HD we use 5000kbit/sec. Video should be 853×480 for Widescreen (16:9) DV. 1280×720 for 720p. Deinterlacing is a must (i.e., force progressive) and audio bitrates at 320 kbps at 44100 Hz.

I hope these are useful!

Show first Row in Openoffice.org Calc on Each Printed Page

jonernstberger — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:53:56 +0000

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOo3_User_Guides/Getting_Started/Printing_from_Calc

Enjoy!

Canon .MOD Files and YouTube

jonernstberger — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:35:28 +0000

I tried uploading a .MOD-file from my Canon FS200 video recorder to YouTube.com. It worked flawlessly! Why?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOD_and_TOD_(video_format)

EverNote and NeverNote

jonernstberger — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:42:09 +0000

I recently added EverNote to the list of sites that I plan to use to increase my day to day note-taking efficiency. I’m very impressed with the ability to keep notes and retrieve them.

However, I live in Linux Land. Consequently, I needed a Linux client to sync to the EverNote server. EverNote does not distribute a Linux client of EverNote!

Enter NeverNote (http://nevernote.sourceforge.net). NeverNote is a downloadable client that interacts (with some limited functionality) with the EverNote servers. I downloaded the approximately fifty-three megabyte appropriate installer (the amd64 RPM in my case) and ran the command

rpm -Uvh nevernote-0.96-2.amd64.rpm

It installed without the need to grab any dependencies and works without a flaw.

So far, so good.

Just like that…

jonernstberger — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 20:02:33 +0000

Two days ago, at suppertime, something happened in my household that changed how things just “are”. My littlest child suddenly seemed unhappy sitting in the high chair beside the dining room table and wanted to sit in the booster seat at the table itself. Since then, he has not eaten a meal in the high chair.

This event happened with no acclaim. No one praised him for doing such nor was there any lamentation made over this milestone in my youngest’s life. But, something is different. He is maturing.

Not so long ago, he was born. Then he rolled over. Teeth popped out, he stood upright, he switched entirely from solid foods, and he started using utensils to eat. Now, I see a toddler (a big toddler) running around my home. Capable of opening doors and nonverbally and verbally communicating. He mimics our every move and smiles wonderfully afterward. He is just as proud of his own achievements as I am amazed at his progress.

Yet, for all my pride in my son, the empty high-chair in my dining room reminds me that my toddler is a little boy and not a baby. My parents warn me of the impending doom: my little boy will not be such for long. Soon, he will be interacting socially (as elementary schoolkids do), then curiousity will pique in girls, and soon he will be a teenager (and, although I possess multiple graduate degrees) and I will be reduced (in his mind) to a blathering idiot warning him of the consequences of choices.

For now, my wife, my cameras, my family and I will soak up every minute of the precious young, innocent, and naive lives of our children.

May God give us the love, understanding, patience, and exhortation that we require and that our children deserve.