# Jason Tucker > Crafting Digital & Wood Wonders from LA: IT Director, Web Builder, Podcaster & Streamer Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Jason URL: https://jasontucker.blog/about/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T19:47:37.000Z I'm an IT guy by trade and a tinkerer by nature, based in the Whittier, California area. By day I keep the tech running at a local nonprofit church, managing everything from network infrastructure and security cameras to cloud services and phone systems. If it has a blinking light and an IP address, it's probably my problem. By night (and weekends) I'm deep in my homelab. My Unraid server hums along running Plex, a full media automation stack, and more Docker containers than I'd like to admit. Home Assistant has slowly consumed my house, with lights, cameras, garage doors, solar, and a Tesla Powerwall all talking to each other in ways that probably over-engineer simple problems. I wouldn't have it any other way. I write here mostly to document what I'm building and breaking. If you've ever spent three hours debugging a container networking issue and then wanted to write it down so Future You doesn't suffer the same fate, this is that kind of blog. I figure if it helped me, it might help someone else who ends up down the same rabbit hole. Outside of the tech stuff, I'm into Formula 1, board games, and tending to my roses. If something I've written helped you out, or you just want to geek out about Grafana dashboards or \*arr stack configs, feel free to reach out. ### Now URL: https://jasontucker.blog/now/ Last updated: 2026-06-24T19:26:59.000Z 📺I’ve been working on a series of blog posts regarding my move from Plex to Jellyfin using small list of other open source to replace the TV movies live TV photos, videos, audiobooks, and so on and so forth with different solutions and also making sure that migrating the data that was collected from Plex into these new systems 💻 Blog [moved from PikaPods to MagicPages](https://jasontucker.blog/ghost-newsletter-for-15-month-why-i-left-pikapods-for-magicpages/), and it's been a smoother ride. Still on Ghost CMS, still writing more than I'm tinkering with the platform — which is the goal. 👨🏻‍💻 The homelab has grown considerably. Still on Unraid, still running the full \*arr stack, but the big shift lately has been [migrating from Plex to Jellyfin](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-1-why-im-finally-taking-this-seriously/), documenting the whole thing as a blog series. Jellyseerr is now the request frontend, Authentik handles SSO across the stack via OIDC, and I've got Grafana/Prometheus monitoring running on a dedicated Raspberry Pi. The monitoring setup has become its own rabbit hole. 🔐 Stood up Authentik as a central identity provider for the [homelab](https://jasontucker.blog/tag/homelab/) under a home domain. Getting single sign-on working across Jellyfin, Homebox, and other services has been satisfying, even when it wasn't. 📚 Working on getting a proper ebook and audiobook library set up on [Unraid](https://jasontucker.blog/tag/unraid/). PDF management, library organization, the works. 💼 Still managing IT for a local church, networks, cameras, cloud services, print servers, the full stack. Recently built out a receipt-matching and expense reconciliation system in Google Apps Script that I'm quietly proud of. 🌱 The roses are still getting attention. The woodworking tools remain patient. The security cameras are now [identifying every bird that visits the yard](https://jasontucker.blog/how-i-turned-my-security-cameras-into-an-automatic-bird-identification-system-with-birdnet-go/), which my wife and I did not expect to enjoy as much as we do. 🏎️ Following the Formula 1 season closely. I'm a Max Verstappen fan, so [2025 was a gut punch](https://www.formulaonehistory.com/results/2025-f1-drivers-championship-standings/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Norris took the title at the final race in Abu Dhabi by just 2 points, ending Max's four-year consecutive championship run. 2026 has been an even wilder reset, new power unit regulations, a 50/50 ICE-to-electric split, active aerodynamics, and new teams like Audi and Cadillac joining the grid have completely reshuffled the pecking order. Max is [currently sitting 7th](https://www.motorbiscuit.com/f1-driver-standings/?ref=jasontucker.blog) with 43 points through five races, while a rookie, Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes — is leading the whole field. It's chaotic and I'm here for it, even when it's painful. 🕹️ Playing [Arc Raiders](https://arcraiders.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Forza Horizon 6](https://forza.net/forzahorizon6?ref=jasontucker.blog) on PC ### Watch URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watch/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:17:11.000Z Loading... ### Sign In URL: https://jasontucker.blog/signin/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:49:26.000Z _No content available._ ### Sign Up URL: https://jasontucker.blog/signup/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:49:54.000Z _No content available._ ### Subscribe URL: https://jasontucker.blog/subscribe/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:50:16.000Z _No content available._ ### Accounts URL: https://jasontucker.blog/accounts/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:58:02.000Z _No content available._ ### Archive URL: https://jasontucker.blog/archive/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T21:54:16.000Z _No content available._ ### Categories URL: https://jasontucker.blog/categories/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T22:08:00.000Z _No content available._ ### Membership URL: https://jasontucker.blog/membership/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T22:01:52.000Z ## Frequently Asked Questions #### Is this free? It is, I write my blog so I can find what I've done in the past and make it easy for me to remember, look back and then update the post if I found a better way. You get to see the content as well, for free. If you want to pay that works for me too, you have options. #### How can I leave a comment? Best way to be able to leave a comment is to become a member which lets you leave a comment. ## Posts ### Quartermaster: A Homelab Remote That Doesn't Pick a Side URL: https://jasontucker.blog/quartermaster-homelab-stack-review/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T20:31:41.000Z Most homelab remote apps pick a lane. You get one thing for Plex, another for the \*arr stack, and a third for the servers underneath. Quartermaster, built by UK developer [Lewis Egley](https://www.qmstack.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), tries to cover all three from a single native iOS app. I have a bunch of mobile apps that have tried to do this and none come close to what Lewis has done. What is a Quartermaster? A quartermaster is an official responsible for managing and distributing supplies and provisions (such as food, uniforms, and equipment) in the army, or for handling navigation and steering duties aboard a ship. Think of [Q in James Bond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q%5F%28James%5FBond%29?ref=jasontucker.blog) but for this its how you are going to interact with your homelab via it's new Quartermaster. The pitch is currently thirty services split into two halves. One half is entertainment. The other is what the app calls the "Command Centre", everything that keeps the entertainment half running. ## The entertainment half The home screen leads with an Up Next row for the week ahead, then Recently Added underneath. It reads as a single calm screen instead of a wall of separate widgets, which is usually where these apps end up once you've connected more than two or three services. Radarr and Sonarr get full management inside the app: browse, search, add, edit, monitor. Lidarr gets a lighter touch, connection and live status rather than editing. My library runs all three, and the Radarr and Sonarr depth is the part I actually use daily. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2144-Large-1.jpeg) Movies and show detail screens pull ratings from multiple sources into one line. There's a taste match score too, computed on the device from your own library and request history rather than pulled from somewhere else. Quality and file size sit next to the monitoring toggle, so a request doesn't need a separate screen. Download clients get proper treatment as well. SABnzbd gets a full queue and history. NZBGet, qBittorrent, Transmission and Deluge show live status, with Transmission and Deluge going further into queue management: adding, pausing and removing torrents directly from the phone. Bazarr surfaces a wanted list and lets you grab subtitles without opening a browser tab. Prowlarr and NZBHydra2 get connection and live status, which covers what most people actually need from an indexer manager on a phone screen. For media servers, Plex, Jellyfin and Emby all get sessions, now playing, and recently added. Tautulli goes further, with full activity history and the ability to terminate a session remotely. That last part matters more than it sounds. Someone transcoding a 4K file from three states away over hotel wifi is exactly the kind of thing you want to kill from your phone, not from a laptop you don't have open. I run Jellyfin now, not Plex, so Tautulli isn't part of my stack anymore. What I'd actually want in its place is [Streamystats](https://github.com/fredrikburmester/streamystats?ref=jasontucker.blog) support. If you're running Jellyfin, that's the equivalent tool, and right now it's missing from the list. Reading and photo libraries round out this half. Komga and Kavita cover comics and ebooks. Immich covers photos, including job status and storage. Audiobookshelf shows library and listening progress. ## The "Command Centre" half Let's embrace the British spelling here. This is the half that actually separates Quartermaster from a typical media remote. Flip over and you get one screen that flags what needs attention: a stopped container, a degraded tunnel, downloads sitting blocked. Everything else stays quiet until it isn't. Portainer gets full container management, live stats plus start, stop and restart. Unraid gets array status, per disk temperature, and Docker and VM controls from the same screen. A disk running hot shows up here before you'd notice any other way, and the destructive actions sit behind a confirm step. Network gets its own section. AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both get blocking stats and a pause toggle, useful for the ten seconds a smart TV app refuses to load without ads turned back on. Cloudflare covers tunnels, security and analytics, which lines up with running cloudflared alongside Tailscale rather than instead of it. Tailscale itself isn't on the list yet. Glances covers general system stats: CPU, memory, disks, temperatures. Tdarr shows the transcode queue as a read only monitor, nothing more. Home Assistant is the one that surprised me. Lights, locks, climate and scenes sit in the same app you'd use to check whether Sonarr grabbed last night's episode. It might be more than some people want in one place, but it's a wild thing to see working. ## Alerts without a middleman The part worth calling out is how notifications work. There's no company server sitting between your services and your phone. While the app is open, alerts fire the moment something finishes or fails. When the app is closed, the alert has to come from somewhere you already control: a self-hosted ntfy instance, or Pushover, Discord, Telegram. Your Sonarr instance pushes straight to your own ntfy server, and that pushes to your phone. Nothing about a finished download passes through infrastructure Quartermaster runs. Background checks for slower things, like storage filling up, run when iOS allows it. The app is upfront that this isn't a guarantee, which is a fair way to describe how background execution actually behaves on iOS rather than promising something the platform can't reliably deliver. ## Every service the app supports Here's the full list of thirty connected services, grouped the way the app groups them: - **Movies, TV & Music:** Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr - **Downloads:** SABnzbd, NZBGet, qBittorrent, Transmission, Deluge - **Requests:** Jellyseerr / Overseerr / Seerr, MusicSeerr - **Streaming:** Jellyfin, Emby, Plex - **Books & Audiobooks:** Komga, Kavita, Audiobookshelf - **Photos:** Immich - **Smart Home:** Home Assistant - **Activity & Stats:** Tautulli - **Indexers & Subtitles:** Prowlarr, Bazarr, NZBHydra2 - **Network:** AdGuard Home, Pi-hole - **Servers & Docker:** Glances, Portainer, Unraid, Proxmox VE - **Media Processing:** Tdarr - **More:** Cloudflare ## Let's talk about security The app's website puts it plainly in the footer: a native iOS controller for your whole self-hosted stack, thirty services across two worlds, from your media to the homelab that runs it. Pure client. Credentials never leave your device. Built in the UK, made by one developer. What that means in practice is you do the work. You go collect your own API keys from each service and enter them into the app yourself. Nothing is scraped or auto-discovered. If a key changes on your end, fixing it is on you, not the app. Quartermaster also supports local-only access, which matters if you've got something like an iPad that never leaves the house. Point it at a plain 10.0.0.x or 192.168.0.x address and you're done. If you want more, Tailscale, Cloudflare, and header-based auth bypasses are all fair game too. But it also supports remote as well with Tailscale, Cloudflare, and header-based auth all ready to go to make a secure connection regardless of what ways you've set things up for yourself. The app isn't opinionated about which of those you pick. It doesn't push you toward a specific setup, it just works with whatever you already have. And there's no server owned by the developer sitting in the middle. It's your device talking directly to your services. ## Pricing Free covers one service, fully. Pro unlocks everything on the features page for 14.99 once, or 3.99 a month if you'd rather pay as you go. With this many integrations on offer, that's not a hard number to justify once more than one or two things on the list are part of your actual stack. ## Where it fits If your homelab is just a media server and a couple of \*arr containers, Quartermaster is more app than you need. It earns its place once the stack grows sideways: Unraid or Proxmox underneath, AdGuard or Pi-hole for DNS, Home Assistant tying the house into the same network. My stack leans harder into Jellyfin than Plex these days, and Quartermaster treats both as first class citizens, sessions and continue watching either way. Readarr and Tailscale aren't on the list yet, so those stay outside the app for me. Streamystats support would close the gap Tautulli leaves behind for Jellyfin users like me. ## How I'm using it I have a few services that are exposed to the internet via Cloudflare Tunnel but all of my services are behind Tailscale. Perseonally anything I want to access outside of Cloudflare I'd use Tailscale for. It's my vpn of choice for this sort of thing. Unraid exposes all of my docker services that I use as hostname nodes in my tailnet so I'm just using those for my remote access. Local access I'm using my local hostnames and IP addresses and Quartermaster also detects what wifi you are on so it can switch gears with out you stressing. Their website: [Quartermaster: your whole self-hosted stack on iPhoneRun your whole self-hosted stack from your iPhone and iPad: 30 services across two worlds, from Radarr and Sonarr to Proxmox and Home Assistant. Out now on the App Store.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/icon-3a76a6f1-60d8-4a30-8b6a-6a7c64f5ef6c.png)QuartermasterQuartermaster![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/opengraph-image-05c78866-7fba-4a25-aeb8-5b64a46a60c3)](https://www.qmstack.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) The iOS App: [Quartermaster: Homelab Stack App - App StoreDownload Quartermaster: Homelab Stack by Lewis Egley on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Quartermaster:…![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-32-6f7bdd57-ebbf-48ec-9d13-3d3adb907078.png)App StoreLewis Egley![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/1200x630wa-ef176415-1b40-4e41-b4e5-b488121cf96c.jpg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quartermaster-homelab-stack/id6779994284?ref=jasontucker.blog) 💰 ****Disclosure:** No, I'm not being paid to write this blog post at all, when I see something I like I share it. If you like what I shared I have a $5 a month membership on this blog if you feel like supporting me. Support the developer Lewis Egley that wrote this app so they can keep developing this app and more like it. ### Callsheet: The Companion App for Jellyfin (and Plex, If You Must) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/callsheet-jellyfin-integration/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T20:26:32.000Z I saw a post from Casey Liss about [Callsheet](https://callsheetapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) a couple days ago and asked him a simple question on Mastodon. Does it support Jellyfin yet? I already knew it worked with Plex and have been using it since it came out many years back. Casey wrote back almost immediately. It's already there. What I didn't know is that Jellyfin support had shipped back in May. It looks like Casey is also moving way from Plex, that benefits us all as it relates to this app. I was already using the Plex feature in it and didn't realize that Jellyfin was added. If you haven't run into Callsheet before, it's a cast and crew lookup app for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS, built by Casey. You probably know him from the [Accidental Tech Podcast](https://atp.fm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) or his other show, [Analog(ue)](https://relay.fm/analogue?ref=jasontucker.blog), with Mike Hurley. He built Callsheet as his own answer to a question a lot of us have had while watching something. Who is that actor, and what else have they been in? IMDb technically answers that question. It also makes you fight through ads and clutter to get there. Callsheet skips all of that and pulls its data from TMDB instead. That alone would make it a nice utility app. The part I care about is what Callsheet does once you're actually watching something, and which server it's watching along with you. [CallsheetA better way to look up films, shows, cast, and crew.![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Callsheet![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/540x540bb-4c8eded0-e1ef-4317-be3b-93af5a2c4f01.jpg)](https://callsheetapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Now Playing, and why it matters None of that is new on its own. Trakt has done some version of "what am I currently watching" for years, mostly built around scrobbling from various clients. What's different here is that Callsheet ties that playback position directly to its cast and crew database. You're not just seeing a progress bar. You can jump straight from "I'm 20 minutes into this episode" to "who plays that character" without leaving the app. The per-title progress meter is newer than I realized. Casey added it in version 2026.5, released June 20, 2026, along with the "Ends At" popover that breaks down runtime versus what you've already watched. Before that, Now Playing showed what you were watching, just not how far into it you were. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2134-Large.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2131-Large.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2132-Large.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2133-Large.jpeg) How the Jellyfin integration with Now Playing in Callsheet. ## Plex, if you must Callsheet has supported Plex since version 2023.4, back in September 2023, alongside a similar integration for the Channels app. For years there was only one way to connect, and Casey has been pretty open that it was never great. He's described that original mechanism as unreliable to the point that he regretted including it at all. That original approach is now called Passive mode. It talks directly to Plex clients over the local network, no login required, and it can even show what's playing on someone else's Plex server if you're on the same network as their client. The tradeoff is that it barely works with iOS and iPadOS clients, and it only works at all if you're on the same network as the playback. In [2026.5](https://www.caseyliss.com/2026/6/20/callsheet-2026-5?ref=jasontucker.blog), Casey added a second option called Active mode. It requires logging into Plex, similar to Jellyfin's Quick Connect, but in exchange it works reliably, works with iOS and iPadOS clients, and works even when you're away from home. The catch is it only shows media from your own server, not anyone else's. Casey was candid about why he built this. He's been migrating his own media setup toward Jellyfin because Plex keeps getting worse, and once he'd already broken his own no-login rule to support Jellyfin in 2026.4, adding a login option for Plex was the obvious next step. ## Two months with Jellyfin support, whether I knew it or not Version [2026.4](https://www.caseyliss.com/2026/5/5/callsheet-2026-4?ref=jasontucker.blog), released in May 2026, added proper Jellyfin support to the Now Playing view. Setting it up takes a few steps: 1. In Callsheet, go to Settings, then Persnickety Preferences, then Integrations. 2. Find the Jellyfin section and enter your server URL. 3. Callsheet generates a Quick Connect code. 4. Open your Jellyfin server's admin dashboard and approve that code. Once that's done, the connection sticks around. You don't have to repeat the dance every time you open the app. It's a little embarrassing that I went two months without noticing this had shipped. But now that I've had it running for even a few days, it's held up without a single hiccup. No missed progress updates, no stale sessions, nothing to troubleshoot. There's a detail buried in the release notes that's worth calling out on its own. [If you point Callsheet at a Tailscale address](https://www.caseyliss.com/2026/5/5/callsheet-2026-4?ref=jasontucker.blog#:~:text=Interestingly%2C%20if%20you%E2%80%99re%20a%20Tailscale%20person%2C%20and%20you%20enter%20your%20100.x.y.z%20or%20x.ts.net%20address%20as%20your%20server%2C%20the%20Jellyfin%20integration%20is%20actually%20the%20only%20one%20of%20the%20three%20that%20works%20remotely.%20Plex%20and%20Channels%20only%20work%20if%20Callsheet%20is%20on%20the%20same%20network%20as%20the%20playback%20client.) for your Jellyfin server, whether that's your 100.x address or a home-domain.ts.net hostname, the Jellyfin integration is the only one of the three (Plex, Channels, and Jellyfin) that actually works remotely. Plex and Channels both need Callsheet to be on the same network as whatever's doing the playback. Jellyfin doesn't have that restriction. That matches how I use Tailscale everywhere else in my setup. If I'm out of the house watching something on my phone through my Jellyfin client, Callsheet can still show me progress and cast information without me being on my home network. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2135-Large.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2136-Large.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/07/IMG_2134-Large-2.jpeg) Authorizing the Jellyfin Integration ## Is this a Trakt replacement? Not entirely, and I don't think that's really the goal. Trakt tracks watch history over time, builds stats, and has a whole social layer around what you and your friends are watching. Callsheet doesn't do any of that. What it does is answer the question you have right now, mid-episode, about who's on screen and how much time is left before you need to decide whether to keep going. For me, that's actually the more useful tool most of the time. I don't check Trakt while I'm watching something. I check it after, if at all. Callsheet is the app I reach for in the moment, and now that moment includes Jellyfin instead of just Plex. I've been slowly replacing pieces of my Plex-dependent workflow for a while now, and this is one more piece that no longer needs Plex to function. Casey mentioned in that same release he's been running Jellyfin alongside Plex on his own Mac mini, I'm curious how many other developers in this space are quietly making the same switch behind the scenes and what new Jellyfin introductions are out there for apps I'm already using. Time to dig more into what I'm using already to see what I can find. [Callsheet: Find Cast & Crew App - App StoreDownload Callsheet: Find Cast & Crew by Limitliss LLC on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Callsheet: Find Cast…![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-32-f40309d0-9639-4c76-8195-f9213479c87c.png)App StoreLimitliss LLC![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/1200x630wa-dc2bb5d2-a26d-421b-9cac-f8668f867009.jpg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/callsheet-find-cast-crew/id1672356376?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### From Plex to Jellyfin Part 7: Watching Habits—Tautulli to Streamystats URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-7-tautulli-to-streamystats/ Last updated: 2026-06-27T12:13:17.000Z When I was running Plex, [Tautulli](https://github.com/Tautulli/Tautulli?ref=jasontucker.blog) sat quietly in the background doing one thing I actually cared about: telling me what I'd watched and how much time I'd spent on it. I had no use for its notification system or custom script execution. I just wanted the numbers. The graphs. The "oh, I watched 40 hours of this show last month" kind of accountability. Tautulli was good at that. You'd log in, see your homepage stats, filter by time range, check your user page, and walk away knowing exactly which shows were eating your free time. Then you migrate to Jellyfin. Tautulli stops working because it only speaks Plex. Jellyfin doesn't have a built-in equivalent. You're suddenly flying blind. Enter [Streamystats](https://github.com/fredrikburmester/streamystats?ref=jasontucker.blog). ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/screencapture-192-168-1-15-3000-servers-1-dashboard-2026-06-26-23_00_25-Large-1.jpeg) A sample home page of Streamystats ## The Core Trade Tautulli and Streamystats both answer the same basic question: what have I been watching? But they arrive at the answer through completely different lenses. Tautulli is a Python-based monitoring tool that tracks what was watched, who watched it, when and where, with detailed statistics about each library and user. The interface is functional, organized by discrete views (Users, Libraries, History, Graphs). Everything is there. Nothing is flashy. Streamystats is built with modern frameworks and includes a dashboard with overview statistics, live sessions, recommendations, and an interactive AI chat interface. The data architecture is newer. The UI feels more intentional. You're not clicking through separate tabs to find what you want; you're asking the dashboard what you want to know. Here's the practical difference: Tautulli made you navigate. Streamystats makes you browse. ## Side by Side | Feature | Tautulli | Streamystats | | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | Current activity monitoring | Yes | Yes | | Watch history with search | Yes | Yes | | User statistics | Yes | Yes | | Library statistics | Yes | Yes | | Device/IP tracking | Yes | Yes | | Graphing & trends | Highcharts (rich) | Modern dashboard (focused) | | Notifications (Discord, Slack, email, etc.) | Extensive | No | | Custom scripting | Yes | No | | AI recommendations | No | Yes (semantic) | | AI chat query | No | Yes | | Custom watchlists | No | Yes | | Semantic search | No | Yes (with embeddings) | | Watch pattern heatmaps | No | Yes | | No plugin requirement | No (requires API access) | Yes (Jellyfin API only) | | Tech stack | Python | Next.js / React / TypeScript | | Active development | Maintenance | Active hobby project | The rows that matter depend on what you actually use. I skipped notifications and scripting entirely. The loss is immaterial to me. I gained better graphs, a nicer interface, and a completely new capability I didn't have before: AI-driven insights. ## What Changed in Practice Tautulli's homepage gave you four key boxes: your top items this week, your top users, recent activity, your watch time by duration. Clean. Minimal. You look, you go. Streamystats' dashboard is denser. It defaults to showing you live sessions (who's watching right now), recent activity, trending content, and recommendations. Scroll down and you get genre breakdowns, watch time graphs, and completion rates. It's a different philosophy. Instead of answering "what was I doing," it's showing you "what's happening now and what should you notice." ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-26-at-23.02.57@2x.png) The real shift comes in the user pages. Your own user page in Streamystats shows your personal watch history with filters (date range, library, media type), time spent watching by date, watch frequency, top items, and now, heatmaps showing when you watch and how much. You can drill into any show and see your episode progression. You can see which users share your watching taste. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-26-at-23.03.50@2x.png) User Stats That last one didn't exist in Tautulli. Not in any meaningful way. ## New Capabilities You Didn't Have Before Streamystats added four things that fundamentally change how you interact with your library. **Watchlists.** You can create custom lists in the interface. Mark items as watched or unwatched. Set them public or private. Flag them as "promoted" so they show up as sections in your Jellyfin clients. This wasn't Tautulli's job. This was Radarr/Sonarr territory. Streamystats treats it as a first-class feature. This isnt something that I use since I have other tools doing this but its interesting. **Semantic search and AI chat.** If you enable OpenAI-compatible API access (OpenAl,Together Al, Fireworks Al, Voyage Al, OpenRouter, Ollama (Local), LM Studio (Local), LocalAl (Local), Custom) Streamystats can embed your library and answer questions about it. "Show me all the sci-fi I've started but haven't finished." "What should I watch based on what I liked last month?" The backend uses vectorchord to store embeddings and performs fuzzy similarity search. It's genuinely useful if you have a large library and a fuzzy memory of what you own. I've messed with this a bit. **Lots of graphs and charts.** See visually when you and your household watch. Monday night at 8pm? There's the spike. Thursday afternoon when the kids are home? Another pattern. Saturday morning movie binges? It's all there in a grid. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-26-at-23.08.29@2x.png) **Year in Review.** Streamystats generates an annual recap of your watching habits. Total hours watched, top shows, top movies, most-watched genres, viewing trends across the year. It's Spotify Wrapped for your media server. You get a moment at the end of the year where you actually see what you spent your time on, quantified and visualized. Tautulli never bothered with this. It was data for data's sake. Streamystats understands that sometimes you want to feel something about your numbers. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/screencapture-192-168-1-15-3000-servers-1-wrapped-2025-2026-06-26-23_09_12.jpeg) Lots of fun stats based on your watching habits. These weren't problems Tautulli solved. They're problems you didn't know you had until the tool offered an answer. ## The Installation Reality Streamystats runs via Docker with a setup wizard that walks you through connecting your Jellyfin server, and the first load can take a while depending on library size. I used the Unraid template "[Streamystats—AIO,](https://github.com/fredrikburmester/streamystats/blob/main/AIO.md?ref=jasontucker.blog)" which bundles the frontend and backend together. One template, one configuration, done. The Docker Compose setup is straightforward. Change your SESSION\_SECRET (generate one with openssl rand -hex 64). Point it at your Jellyfin server. Wait for the initial scan to complete. That's it. The first load took about fifteen minutes with my library size. After that, it runs quiet. The database grows as you watch, but there's no plugin to manage on the Jellyfin side. Streamystats relies solely on the Jellyfin API for statistics, so the playback reporting plugin is no longer needed. ## **Streamystats and Your Home Screen Workflow** [Part 6](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-6-rebuilding-the-home-screen/) covered how [Moonfin](https://github.com/Moonfin-Client/Moonfin?ref=jasontucker.blog)'s native collections support and Moonbase's row reordering let you build a curated home screen without relying on the Home Screen Sections plugin. Streamystats extends that toolkit, but differently depending on which client you use. If you're on Moonfin, Streamystats isn't directly part of your home screen setup. Instead, you use the [Seerr](https://github.com/MichiNeu/Seerr?ref=jasontucker.blog) integration, which lives in Moonfin's Integrations menu. From there, you enable and reorder Discovery Rows: Recent Requests, Recently Added, Trending, Popular Movies. These rows pull from your Seerr instance and surface directly on your home screen alongside your automated collections. No Streamystats watchlists involved. This is how you surface curated request activity without a separate collection build job. If you're on [Streamyfin](https://github.com/fredrikzz/streamyfin?ref=jasontucker.blog), promoted watchlists work differently. When you create a watchlist in Streamystats and flag it as promoted, those watchlists become available as sections in Streamyfin. You're not just tracking what you've watched; you're creating rows that show up on your phone or tablet. You curate them directly in Streamystats. Mark items as watched or unwatched. Reorder them. Share them across your household. The promoted ones automatically surface alongside your automated collections. Both approaches serve the same purpose: surfacing specific curated or request-driven content on your home screen without relying on collection build automation. Your Year in Review data stays in Streamystats, but your best-of-the-year watchlist (if you're on Streamyfin) can live as a row on your home screen all year long. For Moonfin users, Seerr's Recent Requests row does something similar, showing what your household has been requesting to watch. ## What This Means Tautulli was observability. It told you what happened. Streamystats is observability with personality. It tells you what happened, suggests what matters, answers the question you were about to ask, and occasionally reminds you of the year you just had. For me, that's the difference. Tautulli was a tool I opened occasionally to satisfy curiosity. Streamystats is something I check regularly because it keeps showing me things I didn't know I wanted to know. The Year in Review sits somewhere in between. It's not essential infrastructure. It's just fun for end of the year reflection. Your household watching patterns are more interesting than they seem at first glance. Streamystats makes those patterns visible and occasionally celebratory in a way Tautulli never quite managed. That's not revolutionary. It's just better. What do you think? Make a free account here and leave a comment below! ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 6: Rebuilding the Home Screen with Posterizarr, Maintainerr, and Moonfin URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-6-rebuilding-the-home-screen/ Last updated: 2026-06-27T12:12:53.000Z I told you in [Part 3](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-3-clients-moonfin-on-apple-tv-and-the-moonbase-plugin/) that [Moonfin](https://github.com/Moonfin-Client/Moonfin-Core?ref=jasontucker.blog) and its companion server plugin [Moonbase](https://github.com/Moonfin-Client/Plugin?ref=jasontucker.blog) hit all the major criteria I was looking for in a client. What I didn't get into yet is the bigger reason any of this mattered to me in the first place: replicating what my Plex home screen actually did, not just what it looked like. For a long time, that home screen looked the way it did because of one tool: [Aggregarr](https://github.com/agregarr/agregarr?ref=jasontucker.blog). It built collections from curated lists, generated custom artwork for those collections, and arranged the results into rows on my home screen. One tool, three jobs, done. Jellyfin doesn't have an Aggregarr. It has roughly six tools that each do a third of the job, and which six you actually need depends on which app your household watches through. If you're on stock Jellyfin Web instead of Moonfin, some of this still applies, some of it doesn't, and I'll call out which is which as we go. ## Why "it depends on your client" is the whole story here Most Jellyfin plugin roundups quietly assume you're using jellyfin-web in a browser. That's a reasonable assumption most of the time, except it means half the advice out there doesn't transfer if you're watching through a native client like Moonfin, Swiftfin, or the official Android TV app. Here's the architecture split that actually matters, and it took me longer to untangle than I expected: **Plugins that inject into jellyfin-web.** [Home Screen Sections (HSS)](https://github.com/IAmParadox27/jellyfin-plugin-home-sections?ref=jasontucker.blog) and its companion plugins, [Editor's Choice](https://github.com/lachlandcp/jellyfin-editors-choice-plugin?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Media Bar](https://github.com/IAmParadox27/jellyfin-plugin-media-bar?ref=jasontucker.blog), fall into this bucket. I went and found [the developer's own introduction post for HSS](https://www.reddit.com/r/jellyfin/comments/1oomluv/home%5Fscreen%5Fsections%5Fa%5Freddit%5Fintroduction/?ref=jasontucker.blog), and he says it plainly in the preamble: it only works on web-based clients, meaning a browser, the official iOS app, and the official Android app, since those three are built as wrappers around the web client. Native apps are explicitly excluded, and he names Swiftfin specifically as an example of what doesn't work. Moonfin, being a separate native Flutter build rather than a web wrapper, falls into that same excluded category. **Features built natively into a client.** Moonfin has its own collections support baked directly into the app now, reading straight from Jellyfin's API rather than depending on any plugin. It goes further than that: Moonfin markets itself as one of the first native Jellyfin clients with built-in [Seerr](https://github.com/seerr-team/seerr?ref=jasontucker.blog) support, which means Trending, Popular, Upcoming, and genre/studio/network rows can come straight from your Seerr instance with zero plugins involved. The Moonbase server plugin proxies that traffic directly, so Seerr doesn't even need to be reachable from the client itself. This is a recent addition, and it changes the calculus on a few things I'll get to below. ## Collections: start with what's already free Aggregarr's first job was building collections automatically from curated sources rather than making you do it by hand. Jellyfin has two real tools here, and they solve slightly different problems, but check what you already have before installing either one. If you're running Seerr alongside Moonbase, Moonfin's native Discovery Rows already pull Trending, Popular, Upcoming, and genre/studio/network groupings straight from Seerr, no plugin, no extra container, nothing to configure beyond having Seerr itself set up. That covers a real chunk of what Aggregarr's curated lists were doing on Plex. What it doesn't cover is anything from sources Seerr doesn't surface, Letterboxd, MDBList, AniList, and anything built from rules against your own existing library rather than discovery data. That's where the two tools below actually earn their place. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-25-at-09.53.30@2x.png) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-25-at-09.54.28@2x.png) [**jellyfin-plugin-auto-collections**](https://github.com/KeksBombe/jellyfin-plugin-auto-collections?ref=jasontucker.blog) groups content you already own using rules: genre, decade, studio, that kind of thing. It's a native Jellyfin plugin, no separate container to run, and it has real maturity behind it: 226+ stars, steady releases going back to at least May 2025, with version bumps tracking each new Jellyfin server release. There's even a community repo of shared configuration templates if you don't want to write rules from scratch. [**JFC (jellyfin-collection)**](https://github.com/4lx69/jellyfin-collection?ref=jasontucker.blog) picks up where native Seerr discovery rows leave off: pulling curated lists from sources like Letterboxd, MDBList, and AniList, and optionally requesting whatever's missing through Sonarr or Radarr automatically. It reads Kometa-style YAML configuration, so if you happen to have old Plex Meta Manager files lying around, it'll reuse them. The catch is that it's a much younger project with no comparable track record yet. Back before I use Aggregarr I was using but [Kometa](https://github.com/Kometa-Team/Kometa?ref=jasontucker.blog) itself does not support Jellyfin**.** The official Kometa-Team GitHub repo still describes itself as working with Plex, and [the Jellyfin/Emby feature request on their tracker](https://github.com/Kometa-Team/Kometa/issues/321?ref=jasontucker.blog) was closed back in 2021 without being merged. They changed [request trackers ](https://kometa.canny.io/features/p/emby-jellyfin-support?ref=jasontucker.blog)and it shows as "planned" with no real movement that I can see. JFC is a separate, newer tool that happens to read Kometa's YAML format. That's a meaningful difference if you're trying to figure out which project to actually go install. My approach, and what I'd suggest if you're starting from scratch: confirm Discovery Rows are pulling real content first, since that's zero-install validation. Install auto-collections next, purely to confirm a plugin-built collection actually renders correctly as a Moonfin home row. Once that's confirmed, JFC is the one to reach for, but only for the specific curated-list and auto-request behavior nothing else in this stack already covers. ## The one tool that didn't need replacing: Maintainerr Not everything from the Plex side of my stack needed a Jellyfin equivalent. [Maintainerr](https://github.com/Maintainerr/Maintainerr?ref=jasontucker.blog) is the one tool I carried over wholesale, because it already supports Jellyfin natively, not as an afterthought bolted on later, but as a first-class target alongside Plex and Emby. If you haven't run across it, Maintainerr is the inverse of a request tool like Seerr: instead of helping people add things to your library, it watches for content that's gone stale, unwatched for X days, never requested, whatever rule you define, and groups it into a collection before eventually deleting it, unmonitoring it in Radarr or Sonarr, and clearing the original request out of Seerr. It's the tool responsible for the "leaving soon" shelf a lot of self-hosted libraries have, and it's how I keep my library from quietly filling up with things nobody's touched since 2023. It's worth a mention here specifically because of how it ties into everything above. Aggregarr's own changelog even references it directly, tagging items that fall out of an Aggregarr-managed collection with an "agregarr-stale" label specifically to play nicely with Maintainerr picking them up. The two tools were already working together on the Plex side of my setup, and that relationship carries over untouched now that the library they're both pointed at is Jellyfin instead. My migration brought over the bulk of my existing rules directly, with a small handful that depended on watchlist data needing a rebuild against [Streamystats](https://github.com/fredrikburmester/streamystats?ref=jasontucker.blog) instead, since that's the Jellyfin-side equivalent Maintainerr expects for that kind of rule. If anything, Maintainerr is the proof that not every part of this migration is a teardown and rebuild. Some of it is just pointing the same tool at a different server and moving on. One trick I use Maintainerr for is when I forget to watch something that is *on the chopping block* is I make a rule that builds a collection called "🪵 🪓On the chopping block" and then include that collection on the home screen so I can remember to watch something before it gets auto deleted by maintainerr. ## Artwork: Posterizarr Aggregarr's second job was generating custom artwork for everything it built. The closest equivalent here is [Posterizarr](https://github.com/fscorrupt/posterizarr?ref=jasontucker.blog), and it's a genuinely capable tool: pulls textless artwork from Fanart.tv, TMDB, TVDB, and IMDb, applies your own overlay styles, and writes everything into a Kometa-compatible folder structure so it'll travel with you if you ever change tools again. It makes your library look fancy, take a minute and set it up and it will do some cool stuff for you. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-25-at-10.25.17.png) Recently Added on Jellyfin ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-25-at-10.02.25@2x.png) Posterizarr config screen for Jellyfin ## Home screen rows: where Moonfin pulls ahead This is the section that's actually specific to running Moonfin, and it's the most useful thing I found in this whole process. Since HSS-family plugins are web-client-only by design, per the developer's own statement, a Moonfin household gets nothing from installing Editor's Choice, Media Bar, or the standalone [Collection Sections](https://github.com/IAmParadox27/jellyfin-plugin-collection-sections?ref=jasontucker.blog) plugin. None of them render outside jellyfin-web. Here's where it gets interesting, and it came from two separate places, not one. I opened [a GitHub issue asking specifically about Collection Sections support](https://github.com/Moonfin-Client/Plugin/issues/166?ref=jasontucker.blog), and a contributor's answer was direct: "We already have Collection home row support. You need to turn on the Collections toggle." Not "we integrate with that plugin," but "we built our own version of what that plugin does." Separately, in Moonfin's Discord, another contributor confirmed the bigger picture: as more native implementations land inside Moonfin, HSS support is likely to get removed entirely, because supporting an external plugin's output long-term is hard to maintain. The goal, in their words, is to keep HSS support around until native versions exist for whatever features people are actually using, not to rip it out on a fixed deadline. The practical upshot for anyone running Moonfin: skip Collection Sections. Go straight to Home Row Toggles in Moonfin's settings and enable Collections there instead. It already shows your collections as home rows natively, reading from the server directly, with a future the plugin doesn't have. I tested this on Apple TV specifically too, since the tvOS app only recently moved onto Moonfin's shared codebase, and it's working there as of this writing. There's a second native row type worth setting up alongside Collections, and it has nothing to do with HSS at all: Discovery Rows, fed straight from Seerr through the Moonbase plugin. Moonfin's own marketing leans on this hard, calling itself one of the first native Jellyfin clients with built-in Seerr support, and the row list reads like an Aggregarr feature checklist: Trending, Popular, Upcoming, My Requests, with filtering by genre, studio, and network on top. This is Moonbase talking to your Seerr instance directly, no jellyfin-web involved anywhere in the chain. It's funny, I'll most likely never use the Jellyfin-web client other than doing config changes. I mainly watch content on my Apple TV or my iPhone. S0 it's worth making sure that everything works on the client side since I'll never really use the web client side. One more thing worth correcting from a conversation I had a few weeks back about making home rows feel less static: a recent Moonbase release added genuine drag-and-drop reordering for home screen rows right in the admin settings, hide or reorder Continue Watching, Next Up, Latest Media, and everything else. I'd been assuming this needed scripting against an undocumented settings API to pull off. It doesn't. It's already sitting in the UI. ## The seasonal wrinkle One thing I went looking into separately: is there a way to make home rows more dynamic, a holiday section that shows up automatically and then disappears, without manually toggling things every year? [KefinTweaks](https://github.com/ranaldsgift/KefinTweaks?ref=jasontucker.blog) already does this, today, with zero scripting required. Its feature list specifically includes seasonally-themed sections, Halloween, Christmas, and others, with a configurable date window set right in its own admin page inside the Jellyfin dashboard. The catch, and it's the same shape of catch as Collection Sections: KefinTweaks builds this feature on top of the HSS plugin. It's riding the exact bridge that's on a path toward replacement once Moonfin builds native equivalents. It works right now. I wouldn't build a permanent workflow around it without expecting to revisit this once Moonfin's roadmap catches up. I did mention this in the Moonfin Discord and and few of the contributors said it was a good idea and I should submit a feature request. Pair that with the native reordering feature above and you've got most of what I was originally trying to script my way into: a section that appears on schedule and can be manually bumped to the top when it does, with no Settings API reverse-engineering required. ## What's left for part two This post covers the proven, lower-risk half of replicating what Aggregarr used to do: validating native collections and discovery rows, pairing Maintainerr and Streamystats to keep the library itself feeling alive rather than static, getting artwork generation working, and figuring out which home-row approach actually has a future if you're running Moonfin. Part two picks up with the harder, more custom half: JFC for the specific curated lists that Seerr's own discovery feeds don't reach, and a closer look at how far Moonfin's native row reordering can actually take a holiday-aware home screen before something genuinely custom is needed. Maybe I'll build something to do this or just submit that as a feature request so it can be baked into a Moonfin future release. I do want to make a massive shout out to Axl the developer of Moonfin, they have made a great product that is feature rich and works really well. With so much customization under the hood it really allows for a great experience for the end user. [If you like his work, buy him a coffee.](https://buymeacoffee.com/moonfin?ref=jasontucker.blog) or stop by their [Discord](https://discord.gg/nJNaZGrJnq?ref=jasontucker.blog) and give them a shout. [Buy Axl a coffee ](https://buymeacoffee.com/moonfin?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 5: Migrating Audiobook Progress to Audiobookshelf (Since Nobody Else Had) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-5-migrating-audiobook-progress-to-audiobookshelf/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T21:43:17.000Z I told you in [Part 1](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-1-why-im-finally-taking-this-seriously/) that Prologue and my audiobook collection were going to suck the most. I wasn't wrong, just early. [Part 4](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-4-how-watchstate-syncs-watch-history-between-plex-and-jellyfin/) solved this exact problem for video. WatchState exists, it's mature, and it does the job. For audiobooks, nothing like that exists. I had to build it. This is the story of that script, and it's also a decent stand-in for the whole migration so far. Plex wasn't just a media server. It was the thing every other piece of my setup quietly assumed would always be there. --- ## The Real Cost of Decoupling Splitting one monolith into several focused tools is the right call. I said as much in [Part 2](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-2-navidrome/), when Navidrome took over music duty instead of asking Jellyfin to do a worse job of something Plex already did fine. Jellyfin does support audiobooks, technically. But going from Plex to Jellyfin for audiobooks would have meant running straight back into the same problem music almost had: a video-first platform bolting on a feature it was never built around. Audiobookshelf exists because it was built for exactly one job. Same logic that sent music to Navidrome sends audiobooks to Audiobookshelf. That part of the decision was easy. The part nobody warns you about is what happens to everything that was quietly wired into Plex along the way. Watch history. Listening position. Per-user state. None of that lives in a neutral, portable format. It lives inside Plex's database, shaped exactly the way Plex needed it shaped, and getting it out means understanding a schema nobody documented for this purpose. Decoupling a monolith doesn't just mean swapping the server. It means rebuilding every quiet assumption that monolith was making on your behalf. --- ## Before we begin lets talk about the AI in the room. I want to tell you up front about this, I vibe coded this entire migration script. I spent time doing the research, working out how things work and in the end but Claude Code and I cracked out this script together and tested it as much as I could outside of my own library. With that ethical disclaimer out of the way, let's get started with attempting to migrate your audiobooks. ## Where Plex Actually Stores Audiobook Progress My assumption going in was that audiobook progress would live at the album level. An audiobook is one item in your library, so the position you're at should live on that item. It doesn't. Plex stores listening position at the **individual track level**, the same as it would for a song on an album. A multi-file audiobook isn't one progress value. It's a pile of per-file offsets that happen to belong to the same parent. It could be one A4b or 100 wav, mp3 etc files. To get a usable position, you have to find the most recently played file in the book, then add up the full duration of every file that comes before it, then add that file's own offset. Only then do you have a single number that represents where the listener actually is. Plex also doesn't separate audiobook progress by account the way you'd hope. Two people in your household listening to the same book produce two completely separate sets of rows, keyed by Plex account ID. Nothing anywhere indicates they're the same physical file unless you go looking for it. And then there's duplication. Re-scans and re-imports over the years left several of my books with multiple album-level entries, all sharing the same external ID, each with its own slightly different progress. Plex doesn't clean this up on its own. --- ## None of This Existed Already Before writing anything, I looked for prior art. People migrate from Plex to Audiobookshelf often enough that I assumed someone had solved this. Nobody had, at least not publicly. The tooling that exists for syncing watch state, the same WatchState project that handled [Part 4](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-4-how-watchstate-syncs-watch-history-between-plex-and-jellyfin/) for me, is built around video. It has no concept of an audiobook library, let alone the track-to-book aggregation problem above. It would be cool to have Audiobookshelf be added as a backend to WatchState but I doubt the author wants to deal with this mess. Audiobookshelf's own API supports writing progress directly, which meant the building blocks were there. The bridge between the two wasn't. So I vibe coded one. --- ## What the Script Actually Does The full thing is on [GitHub](https://github.com/jasontucker/plex-to-abs?ref=jasontucker.blog), but here's the shape of it. It reads directly from Plex's SQLite database, no Plex API involved, because the API doesn't expose this data in a form that's useful for bulk migration. For each audiobook, it walks every track belonging to that book, finds the one with the most recent **last\_viewed\_at** timestamp, and reconstructs an absolute position from there. Duplicate album entries get collapsed by matching on the book's external ID (its Audnex identifier, in my case), keeping whichever duplicate was most recently played and discarding the rest. Per-user separation runs through Plex's **account\_id**. Each person you want to migrate maps to one Audiobookshelf API token in a config file, and the script processes one person at a time. Running it against the wrong account is the difference between migrating your progress and migrating your spouse's. Title matching turned out to be the part that bit me hardest. --- ## The Title Matching Problem Plex and Audiobookshelf agree on almost nothing about how a title should be formatted. Heck, Plex isnt event made for audiobooks, it was hacked in. Plex pulls in subtitle and series information that Audiobookshelf strips entirely: ``` Plex: "The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream" ABS: "The Alchemist" Plex: "Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games): A Hunger Games Novel" ABS: "Sunrise on the Reaping" ``` My first pass handled this with a loose fallback: if an exact match failed, check whether either title contains the other as a substring. That felt reasonable for about ten minutes. Then I ran it against my own account and watched *The Alchemist* get matched to a Stephen King book called *UR*. The string "ur" is sitting right there inside "alchemist" once you normalize case and punctuation, and my matcher was happy to call that a hit. A few entries down, *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)* got matched to a Russian-language Jane Austen collection, for the same reason. Short, loosely-matched fragments turn into noise once your library has a few hundred books in it. The fix was a matching cascade instead of one clever rule. Try an exact match first. If that fails, strip everything after a colon and try again. If that fails, strip parenthetical asides. If that fails, strip a trailing series suffix like ", Book 3." Only after all of that fails does it fall back to substring matching, and only for titles long enough that a false match is actually unlikely. That last gate matters more than it looks. Short titles need to fail outright and get flagged for a manual look, not get force-fit into whatever string happens to contain them. --- ## Why This Is Worth Open Sourcing This is a narrow problem. Plex-to-Audiobookshelf migrations aren't common enough that there's a thriving ecosystem of tools fighting over the use case. But narrow doesn't mean nobody else needs it. It means the few people who do need it have nowhere to look. The script is modular on purpose. A config file holds your Plex database path, your Audiobookshelf URL, and a token per person you're migrating. The matching logic, the Plex reading logic, and the Audiobookshelf API client are each separated into their own file instead of one script doing all three jobs at once. If your matching needs differ from mine, or your account structure is different, you can change one piece without touching the rest. It's on GitHub now, dry-run by default, so you can see exactly what it intends to write before it writes anything. Look, it isnt perfect so you could have your own LLM 5 years from now read it and then make a more up-to-date version of it if you want. Thats my goal here, vibe code it out and then let someone else vibe code their own version of it. --- ## The Bigger Pattern Every part of this series so far has been some version of the same discovery: Plex wasn't just a media server, it was a set of assumptions baked into everything around it. Music assumed Plex. Watch history assumed Plex. Audiobook progress assumed Plex in a way that turned out to be more tangled than any of the others, because nobody had bothered to untangle it before. Decoupling each piece has been real work, not because any single piece is hard, but because each one hides its own version of "wait, how does this actually store data?" The upside is that what comes out the other side isn't locked to anything. Navidrome doesn't care what happens to Jellyfin. Audiobookshelf doesn't care what happens to either of them. These are all open source projects I'm trying to use to replace a software that I bought a lifetime license for, plexpass. They are ruining it for others with their crazy pricing model for lifetime licenses and a bunch of people are building various rafts to abandonship. In all of this I'm trying to build a framework for migrating from Plex to all the other apps in the opensource ecosystem that I had Plex doing. Movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, pictures. If I ever want to move off one of these tools again, I'm not starting from zero. I've already done the hard part of learning where the data actually lives, now you do as well. That's the trade I'm making across this whole series. More pieces, more moving parts, and every single one of them replaceable on its own terms. At least when Jellyfin dies we can go and listen to music instead of what I had to do when Plex died, go outside and touch grass and sneeze because Im alergic. --- *Read the rest of the series:* [*Plex to Jellyfin*](https://jasontucker.blog/series/plex-to-jellyfin/) Migrated anything similarly stubborn off Plex? Drop it in the comments. ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 4: How WatchState Syncs Watch History Between Plex and Jellyfin URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-4-how-watchstate-syncs-watch-history-between-plex-and-jellyfin/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T18:58:56.000Z [WatchState](https://github.com/arabcoders/watchstate?ref=jasontucker.blog) is a self-hosted tool that keeps watch history and play state synced across media servers. If you run more than one backend at once, say Plex and Jellyfin side by side during a migration, it's the piece that makes sure marking something watched in one place actually means something everywhere else. I run it on Unraid in Docker, syncing between Plex and Jellyfin while I work through my own move away from Plex. Here's how it actually works, what it can do, and a few things I got wrong setting it up that are worth knowing before you start. [GitHub - arabcoders/watchstate: Self-hosted service to sync your plex, jellyfin and emby play state. without relying on 3rd-party external services.Self-hosted service to sync your plex, jellyfin and emby play state. without relying on 3rd-party external services. - arabcoders/watchstate![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-99f3f6de-c361-4d37-a59c-352e0cabc987.svg)GitHubarabcoders![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/watchstate-1af7bad4-56ca-4383-a3b5-ce2742b68491)](https://github.com/arabcoders/watchstate?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## What it actually syncs WatchState connects to each backend you give it: Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, and a handful of others. For each one, it can import existing play state into its own local database, and export play state back out to any backend you choose. Import and export are separate, deliberate operations, not one automatic two-way mirror. That distinction matters more than it sounds like it should. WatchState doesn't guess which backend is correct when two disagree. You decide that by choosing which backend to import from first and which ones to export to afterward. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-23-at-11.53.29.png) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-23-at-11.54.11.png) ## How it matches the same item across two libraries Matching the same episode or movie across two different servers is the actual hard problem here, not the syncing itself. WatchState does it primarily through external GUIDs, IMDB, TMDB, and TVDB IDs that both Plex and Jellyfin typically expose for properly matched content. When those IDs are missing or inconsistent, there's a fallback called path matching. It hashes the trailing two or three segments of a file's path, the season and episode folder structure, and uses that as a secondary identifier. If Plex and Jellyfin are pointed at the same files on disk, even with different mount roots, the file paths still line up underneath. ## Webhooks, and what they don't do by themselves Both Plex and Jellyfin can push webhook events to WatchState the moment something gets played, paused, or finished. That's what makes the sync feel close to real time instead of waiting on a scheduled job. A webhook event only updates WatchState's own local database, though. Getting that change pushed out to another backend is a separate step, handled by a scheduled Export task, plus a faster relay mode for small changesets called Push. Both need to actually be enabled, and both need each backend's Export setting turned on, or the webhook arrives, updates locally, and goes nowhere else. ``` state:import -v -u main -s plex --force-full state:export -v -u main -s jellyfin -i ``` ## Multiple people, one setup If more than one person uses your media server, WatchState handles that through what it calls identities. Point it at two backends and it tries to match each person's account by username automatically. Mismatched usernames, or managed and protected accounts on Plex, need a little manual attention, but the matching itself works cleanly once everyone's accounts line up. Each identity rides on the same webhook setup. There's no need for a separate webhook URL per person, which used to be a requirement in older versions and is one of the more useful quiet improvements in this project. ## Where I actually got stuck I installed WatchState, pointed it at both backends, set up webhooks, and assumed I was done. I wasn't. Playing something in Plex never showed up as watched in Jellyfin, and my first instinct was to assume the tool itself was broken. It wasn't. The actual order of operations matters a lot here, and I'd skipped past it. You're supposed to pick one backend as your source of truth, import from it first, and only then bring in a second backend and push that history outward. I'd added both backends at once without thinking about which direction the data should flow. So I wiped the container, deleted its config folder, and started over reading the setup guide properly this time instead of clicking through it. That single change, doing the import and export in the right order, fixed most of what I thought was broken. One real bug was still hiding underneath, and it had nothing to do with WatchState. A specific episode kept failing to sync with a clear error: no metadata found for that item on the Jellyfin side. Jellyfin genuinely didn't know the file existed yet, because Sonarr and Radarr were only configured to notify Plex when new episodes finished importing, not Jellyfin. WatchState was reporting the problem correctly the entire time. I just hadn't pointed the blame at the right service. Adding a Jellyfin connection in Sonarr and Radarr's Connect settings, alongside the Plex one that already existed, closed that gap for good. New episodes now hit Jellyfin the moment they're imported instead of waiting on a library scan. ## A nice surprise for stats nerds If you run [Streamystats](https://github.com/fredrikburmester/streamystats?ref=jasontucker.blog) alongside Jellyfin, the watch history WatchState backfills isn't wasted on it. Streamystats can infer playback sessions directly from the same watched-status field WatchState writes to, turning synced history into real entries in your stats dashboard. You lose device and client details for anything that originated on a different server, but the watch counts and dates carry over. The whole exercise was a good reminder that starting clean beats patching around a half-understood setup. Reading the actual order of operations before touching a second backend would have saved me an afternoon, but tearing it down and rebuilding it properly is what actually taught me how the tool wants to be used. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-23-at-11.56.14.png) Screenshot of someone else's collection of ripped movies and TV series Did you take the plunge moving away from Plex to something else like Jellyfin or Emby? Have you tried this or something similar to it? Let me know in the comments. ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 3: Clients - Moonfin on Apple TV and the Moonbase Plugin URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-3-clients-moonfin-on-apple-tv-and-the-moonbase-plugin/ Last updated: 2026-06-24T06:56:22.000Z Honestly, the one thing that has really stopped me from moving over to Jellyfin is amount of basic apps for Jellyfin and none of them provide any additional features that would make it easier for me to find content on the server. I’ve put a lot of effort into building out my Plex installation, using a whole bunch of different doctor containers and tools to customize the database provide additional meta-data for the content in the way that it’s organized and coming up with collections and other rule based ways of displaying Rose and the interface making it fun and easy to find content on the server. The one thing that I’ve noticed with the clients is that they all lack this customization, but I’m finding that during my process of looking at different clients for the that it looks like Moonfin hits all of the major criteria that I’m looking for. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/moonfin-for-tvos-the-final-frontier-v0-s9tie0g7mmwg1.png) ## Why I Gave Moonfin a Real Shot on Apple TV I've cycled through a handful of Jellyfin clients on the Apple TV over the past year. The official app works, Infuse is the gold standard for 4K HDR playback, and Swiftfin covers the basics in a clean native shell. Moonfin is the newest name in that lineup, and it's the first one that made me rethink how much a TV client should be doing on its own. Moonfin started as a separate Apple TV app and has since folded into the larger Moonfin Core codebase, the same shared engine that powers its Android TV, mobile, and desktop clients. On tvOS specifically, it's built natively in SwiftUI with an MPVKit playback core under the hood, which is what lets it decode HEVC, AV1, DTS, and TrueHD without leaning on Jellyfin's server to transcode everything down to something safer. ## What the Apple TV App Actually Does Well The playback overlay is where Moonfin earns its keep. Trickplay scrubbing, track and quality pickers, cast and crew info, a next-up card, and a pause overlay with speed and zoom controls are all built into the native player. Subtitle styling goes deeper than most clients bother with on a TV screen. Native MPVKit Playback - Hardware-accelerated playback with Dolby Vision Profile 7 decode and Atmos passthrough, advertised only when the connected display actually supports it. Direct play only show up as available when your actual display reports support for them. That sounds like a small detail, but it matters. A lot of clients will offer a quality toggle that looks correct on paper and then quietly falls back to a worse output, and you only find out by squinting at your TV's input info screen. Round that out with SyncPlay for watching together across devices, Live TV with DVR support, and skip intro and skip credits buttons that actually show up reliably, and you have a player that covers most of what Infuse does for free. tvOS 16 or later is the only real requirement. ## The Rough Edges Worth Knowing About None of this is a finished product yet. Some Apple TV HD units see playback stuttering that's tracked as an open issue on GitHub. The Siri Remote's back button closes the app outright instead of stepping back a menu, which catches people off guard the first few times. If your library leans heavily on 4K remux files with Dolby Vision, Infuse is still more dependable for now. ## Why Moonbase Changes the Equation The Apple TV app on its own is a solid client. Install the companion server plugin, Moonbase, and it becomes part of something bigger. Moonbase is the backbone of the whole Moonfin ecosystem: it runs on your Jellyfin server and handles settings sync, runtime configuration, Seerr proxying, custom themes, and a hosted web version of Moonfin you can reach right from your Jellyfin instance. The settings model is the part that sold me. Preferences live in a profiled structure: one global baseline plus optional overrides for desktop, mobile, and TV. Set your media bar, navbar, and ratings preferences once at the global level, and every device inherits them automatically. Only flip a setting at the device level if the Apple TV genuinely needs something different from your phone. Seerr integration runs through the plugin as a proxy rather than a direct connection from the TV. The Apple TV app talks to Jellyfin, and Jellyfin forwards the request to Seerr with the session already authenticated. That means Seerr never has to be reachable from the TV itself, which is convenient if you're routing things through a Cloudflare tunnel and don't want to expose another hostname just so the living room can request a show. Admins can also set server-wide defaults for nearly every user-facing setting. New profiles inherit those defaults instead of starting blank, which is the kind of thing that actually matters once you have more than one person watching off the same server. ## Getting Moonbase Running Moonbase installs like any other Jellyfin plugin, through the repository system rather than a manual drop-in. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-21-at-11.43.28.png) *Jellyfin Dashboard -> Administration -> Plugins -> Repositories -> Add Repository* *Name: Moonfin* *URL:* [*https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Moonfin-Client/Plugin/refs/heads/master/manifest.json*](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Moonfin-Client/Plugin/refs/heads/master/manifest.json?ref=jasontucker.blog) *Jellyfin Dashboard -> Administration -> Plugins -> Catalog -> Moonfin -> Install* *Restart Jellyfin* The web UI layer depends on the File Transformation plugin to inject itself into Jellyfin Web, so add that repository too if you want the Moonfin icon next to the SyncPlay button. *Repository URL:* [*https://www.iamparadox.dev/jellyfin/plugins/manifest.json*](https://www.iamparadox.dev/jellyfin/plugins/manifest.json?ref=jasontucker.blog) *Install: File Transformation* *Restart Jellyfin* *Force refresh your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)* ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-21-at-11.44.32@2x.png) If you're running Jellyfin in Docker on Unraid, the plugin lands under whatever path you've mapped to the container's plugin directory, typically something like */mnt/user/appdata/jellyfin/plugins/Moonfin/*. If you sit Jellyfin behind a reverse proxy or a Cloudflare tunnel, double check that every */Moonfin/* path gets forwarded, or the Seerr panel and settings sync will fail silently. Moonfin's Apple TV client is still young compared to clients that have had years to sand down their rough edges. The development pace has been fast enough that the stuttering and navigation quirks feel more like a punch list than a dead end. I'm leaving it installed on the living room Apple TV for now and keeping an eye on how it holds up over the next few updates. ## Seerr Support Interesting thing about this is how you can look at the Seerr requests you have made and see what one have completed. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-21-at-11.47.40@2x.png) You can then go to Search and a new row a the bottom appears if you don't have the content you can request it. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-21-at-11.48.19@2x.png) ## One bug I noticed One weird issue that my wife and I had last night when we were watching a movie is that if you don’t have the built in screensaver enabled in the app then the system screensaver will kick in after X number of minutes right in the middle of the show. I need to submit that as a bug, but it’s really weird that something like that is in there. Do not have screensaver enabled just for in the middle of the movie Snoopy popped up and when I tried to exit out all the colors on the screen went wonky so I had to quit the app and start over again. Luckily, it did save my place. There is a lot more to explore and I'll update this post as I learn more. What are you using as a client on your Apple TV? ### Nautiline vs. NaviBeat: Two iOS Apps worth considering for your Navidrome Library URL: https://jasontucker.blog/nautiline-vs-navibeat-two-ios-apps-worth-considering-for-your-navidrome-library/ Last updated: 2026-06-23T17:56:36.000Z In [Part 2 of this series](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-2-navidrome/) I mentioned Nautiline as my iOS client for Navidrome and kept moving. That wasn't the whole story. Since then I've been testing a bunch of mac, AppleTV and other apps to see whatelse is out there and a second notable app entered the picture: NaviBeat. It's newer, it covers more Apple hardware, and just like Nautiline it costs money up front. Both apps connect to Navidrome via the OpenSubsonic API. That's where the obvious overlap ends. Here's how they actually compare. --- ## Nautiline [Nautiline](https://nautiline.app/?ref=jasontucker.blog) is an iOS-only OpenSubsonic client. It's $9.99 on the App Store and does exactly what it says: streams music from your Navidrome (or any OpenSubsonic-compatible server) with a clean, native-feeling interface. ![Nautiline main screens](https://nautiline.app/assets/mainscreens.webp) Nautiline's main screens, showing the library and Now Playing views The feature list covers the things that matter day-to-day. Home and Away modes let you point the app at your local server address when you're on the same network and a public URL when you're not. Offline downloads work. Gapless playback works, even on transcoded streams, which is not something you can take for granted across clients. CarPlay and Siri are both supported. You can add custom headers, which is the feature that makes Cloudflare Access tunnels or Tailscale viable without jumping through authentication hoops every time. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/6FA56572-70E2-437D-AEA1-2BC6DE35D18E-1.png) Transcoding support deserves a specific mention. Nautiline handles seekable transcoded playback, meaning you can jump around in a transcoded file the same way you would a locally cached one. A lot of clients struggle with this and quietly degrade the experience on mobile connections. Nautiline doesn't. It's iOS-only. No Mac app, no Apple TV, no iPad-native layout (it runs on iPad, but it's the phone layout scaled up). If your listening happens entirely on iPhone, that's fine. If you want something that spans devices, you're already at the edge of what Nautiline does. [Nautiline: OpenSubsonic Client App - App StoreDownload Nautiline: OpenSubsonic Client by Gledtone on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Nautiline:…![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-180-7d9fa75e-346c-41b2-8087-a9ee70671232.png)App StoreGledtone![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/1200x630wa-2a8f5688-9adc-43a4-8e3f-1fee4fde6ae1.jpg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nautiline-opensubsonic-client/id6755918140?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## NaviBeat [NaviBeat](https://navibeat.app/?ref=jasontucker.blog) is a $5.99 Universal Purchase that covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. One purchase, five platforms, no subscription. Built by one developer in Belgrade using native SwiftUI throughout. ![NaviBeat Now Playing on iPhone](https://navibeat.app/assets/screenshots/iphone/navibeat-iphone-now-playing.jpg) NaviBeat's full-screen Now Playing view on iPhone The platform breadth is the headline, but the detail that actually matters more to me is that each version is purpose-built for its screen. The Apple TV app is focus-driven, designed for a Siri Remote. The Mac app has a real Mini Player that pins on top of other windows. It's not an Electron wrapper or a Catalyst port doing its best. Each app is native to the platform it runs on. Time-synced lyrics are supported across all platforms. NaviBeat reads LRC files straight from your Navidrome library and scrolls them in sync with playback. Tapping any line seeks to that point in the track. It's a small thing that becomes surprisingly useful once you have it. ![NaviBeat lyrics view on iPad](https://navibeat.app/assets/screenshots/ipad/navibeat-ipad-lyrics.jpg) Time-synced LRC lyrics on iPad, with tap-to-seek support Offline pinning works for albums, playlists, and whole artists with an LRU cache size you set yourself. Last.fm integration is opt-in and requires no third-party relay. CarPlay is included. The Apple Watch app handles offline pinned playback independently, so you can leave your phone at home on a run and keep the music going from your wrist. ![NaviBeat on Apple TV](https://navibeat.app/assets/screenshots/tvos/navibeat-apple-tv-home-featured-album.jpg) NaviBeat's Featured Album hero on Apple TV 4K, built for focus-based navigation NaviBeat is also a v1.0 release. It's solid but it's new. Rough edges exist. The developer is responsive and the roadmap is shaped by what beta testers actually ask for, which is a reasonable operating model for a one-person app. ## Quick update The creator of NaviBeat left a comment below indicating that much like Nautline it too has header login support for cloudflare and the like. If you need to login with Authelia and such you can do so using the add headers function. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/2468E76E-F870-40EF-854F-CB61F6E908B7-1.png) NaviBeat has this great feature that checks the server health for Artist Images, Lyrics and Album Covers and will event provide you with instructions on how to fix this for you. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/189E9B25-9BAE-405D-B72D-6FD68AF9F369_4_5005_c.jpeg) Server Health for Lyrics [NaviBeat App - App StoreDownload NaviBeat by Nenad Jokic on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like NaviBeat.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-180-3995c335-d0aa-4087-878b-cecdb8833210.png)App StoreNenad Jokic![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/1200x630wa-f0c78b52-9b33-4364-8550-e95062ff51f8.jpg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/navibeat/id6763518834?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Where They Differ Price comparison first: Nautiline is $9.99 for iPhone. NaviBeat is $5.99 for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. If you own more than one Apple device and want a consistent experience across all of them, NaviBeat is the more cost-effective option by a significant margin. Nautiline has been in development longer and feels more settled. The transcoding experience in particular is polished. If iPhone is your only Apple device and you want something that's been road-tested, Nautiline is the safer choice. NaviBeat's multi-platform approach is genuinely useful if you move between devices. The same library, the same queue, the same playback state, whether you're on your phone, your Mac, or your couch with the Apple TV remote its' very comparable to Spotify in this regard. That continuity across screens is something Nautiline can't offer. Both apps handle the core listening loop well: connect to your server, browse by artist and album, play music, manage a queue. Neither is missing the fundamentals. Both suppose login headers for cloudflare and such. --- ## Which One Am I Using Both, depending on what I'm doing. Nautiline stays on my phone for commuting and casual listening. It's been reliable long enough that I don't think about it, which is the correct end state for a music app. NaviBeat landed on my Mac and Apple TV because nothing else was filling those slots. Having Navidrome on the TV with a native tvOS interface is something I didn't know I wanted until I had it. I've been playing with a few apps for Mac and Windows to see what would works best for me. There are some great apps out there I'll be covering here but its nice to have a single app across all of the devices. At work I listen to music on an older iPad that sits next to my desk and is connected to my officer speakers, it works well running NaviBeat. If I were starting fresh today with zero Nautiline history, I'd probably go NaviBeat first. The $5.99 Universal Purchase covers the entire Apple ecosystem in a way that makes it hard to argue against. But Nautiline earned its place the hard way, by working correctly over time, and that counts for something. The good news for anyone just getting into Navidrome: you have MANY real options now and these two only scratch the surface of whats ou there. The iOS client situation for self-hosted music has gotten noticeably better, and both of these apps are part of why. As always I welcome your thoughts in the comments. What are you using to listen to your locally stored music? ### Streaming Navidrome to Yamaha MusicCast with upmpdcli (No Shared Filesystem Required) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/streaming-navidrome-to-yamaha-musiccast-with-dlna-no-opensubsonic-required/ Last updated: 2026-06-17T18:45:42.000Z ## The Problem Navidrome is a great self-hosted music server. Fast, clean UI, solid Subsonic/OpenSubsonic API support. But Yamaha's MusicCast ecosystem doesn't speak that language. MusicCast uses DLNA/UPnP, which Navidrome doesn't serve natively. The obvious workaround is to run a separate DLNA server like Gerbera or MiniDLNA pointed at your music folder. That works, but it means both containers need access to the same filesystem path, you're maintaining a second index of your library, and you lose any metadata or playlist structure Navidrome manages. There's a cleaner approach: **upmpdcli**. --- ## What upmpdcli Actually Does upmpdcli is a UPnP media server that uses a Subsonic-compatible backend to serve content. You point it at your Navidrome instance via the Subsonic API, and it advertises itself on the network as a DLNA media server. MusicCast discovers it, browses it, and streams directly from Navidrome's library. No shared volume mounts. No second database. No filesystem access required at all. upmpdcli acts as a protocol translator between the Subsonic API and UPnP. That's the part that makes this setup worth writing about. --- ## Prerequisites - Navidrome already running and accessible on your network (Docker or otherwise) - A Navidrome user account with API access (any account works) - Your MusicCast device on the same VLAN as the machine running upmpdcli - Host networking available for the upmpdcli container (required for UPnP/mDNS discovery) The host networking requirement is non-negotiable. UPnP relies on multicast packets that don't survive Docker's default bridge networking. If your MusicCast gear sits on a separate IoT VLAN, you'll need a multicast proxy. More on that at the end. --- ## The Docker Compose Setup This is the whole thing. It's refreshingly short. ``` services: upmpdcli: image: giof71/upmpdcli:latest container_name: upmpdcli network_mode: host environment: - UPMPD_FRIENDLYNAME=Navidrome DLNA - UPMPD_SUBSONIC_URL=http://192.168.1.X: - UPMPD_SUBSONIC_USER= - UPMPD_SUBSONIC_PASSWORD= - UPMPD_SUBSONIC_ENABLE=yes restart: unless-stopped ``` Replace the IP and port with your actual Navidrome address. The `UPMPD_FRIENDLYNAME` is what shows up in the MusicCast app when you browse for media servers, so name it something you'll recognize. There are no volume mounts here. upmpdcli doesn't need access to your music files directly. It fetches everything through the Navidrome API and streams audio on demand. --- ## Deploying on Unraid On Unraid, the easiest path is to drop this into a new compose stack via the Docker Compose manager (or the Community Apps compose UI if you're using that). Set the network mode to `host` and paste in your environment variables. Because upmpdcli uses host networking, it won't appear in Unraid's Docker network view the same way bridge-networked containers do. That's expected. Check that it's running with: ``` docker logs upmpdcli ``` You should see output indicating it connected to your Navidrome instance and started the UPnP advertisement. If it throws a connection error, double-check the URL. Even with host networking, `localhost` won't resolve to another container. Use the actual LAN IP of the machine running Navidrome. --- ## Connecting MusicCast Open the MusicCast Controller app. Navigate to the room with your device, tap the input source, and look for **Server** or **Media Server**. "Navidrome DLNA" (or whatever you set as the friendly name) should appear automatically within a minute or two of the container starting. Browse in and you'll see your Navidrome library organized by Artist, Album, Genre, and Playlist. Select something and play it. Audio streams directly from Navidrome to the MusicCast device. The playlists part is worth calling out specifically. Because upmpdcli pulls from the Subsonic API rather than just reading a filesystem, it can expose playlists you've built in Navidrome. A basic DLNA file server can't do that. --- ## If Your MusicCast Gear Is on a Separate VLAN UPnP discovery breaks across VLANs because multicast doesn't route between network segments. If you've got your IoT devices isolated (good practice with UniFi), you need to reflect those multicast announcements between VLANs. Enabling IGMP snooping helps within a VLAN but won't bridge between them. For cross-VLAN UPnP, you need a multicast proxy. Running `avahi-daemon` with `enable-reflector=yes` on a host with interfaces on both VLANs handles this. It can also run as a Docker container with host networking: ``` services: avahi: image: flungo/avahi container_name: avahi network_mode: host volumes: - ./avahi-daemon.conf:/etc/avahi/avahi-daemon.conf restart: unless-stopped ``` In your avahi-daemon.conf, set enable-reflector=yes under the \[reflector\] section. Once that's running, MusicCast should find upmpdcli even across VLAN boundaries. --- ## What You're Trading Away MusicCast's DLNA client is functional but not fancy. No queue management beyond what the device itself supports, no scrobbling, no smart playlists generated on the fly. You're browsing a tree, not using a purpose-built music app. For day-to-day listening I still reach for Symfonium on my phone connected to Navidrome directly. But for whole-home audio through MusicCast receivers and speakers, upmpdcli just works. It's local, fast, and the only thing that can break it is Navidrome going down, which would break everything else anyway. One container, a handful of environment variables, and your Navidrome library shows up on hardware that has no idea what a Subsonic API is. ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 2: The Case for Navidrome (and Why Jellyfin Doesn't Get My Music) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-2-navidrome/ Last updated: 2026-06-17T18:45:18.000Z I told you in [Part 1](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-1-why-im-finally-taking-this-seriously/) that PlexAmp was my biggest concern going into this migration. Spent some time sitting with that. Found an answer. That answer is Navidrome. And it means Jellyfin never has to touch my music library at all. --- ## Jellyfin Handles Music. It Just Doesn't Handle It *Well*. Jellyfin is a video-first platform. Everything about how it's built and where developer attention goes reflects that. Music got added because a media server without music support feels incomplete, not because anyone set out to build the best music server on the internet. That's not a criticism. It's just the honest framing. Once you accept it, the weaknesses stop feeling like bugs and start feeling like predictable results of prioritization. Here's what those weaknesses look like in practice. **The Subsonic API is an afterthought.** The Subsonic API has been the standard protocol for self-hosted music clients for over fifteen years. Navidrome implements it natively; it *is* the protocol. Jellyfin's Subsonic support is a community plugin. It's partial, it has compatibility issues with certain clients, and you have to maintain it yourself outside of Jellyfin's core update cycle. If the plugin breaks on an update, your music clients break. **The client ecosystem is thin.** Because Jellyfin's Subsonic implementation is limited, the 20+ mature clients in that ecosystem don't fully work with it. You end up funneled toward Finamp. Finamp is a good app, but one client versus an ecosystem of purpose-built music apps is a real constraint. On iOS especially, the music client story hasn't kept pace with the video story. **Scrobbling requires a plugin.** Last.fm scrobbling in Jellyfin needs the Last.fm plugin installed and maintained separately. When Jellyfin updates, you hope the plugin ships a compatible version at the same time. It usually does. "Usually" is not a comfortable operating condition for something that should just work. **Smart playlists don't exist.** Jellyfin lets you build manual playlists. That's the whole story. No rules-based playlists, no "give me everything rated 4 stars or higher released before 1990 that I haven't played in 60 days." If you have a large library and care about how you surface music in it, this gap will bother you. **ReplayGain support is inconsistent.** If you've tagged your files with ReplayGain values, Jellyfin's handling of that metadata varies by client. Some honor it, some ignore it, and Jellyfin itself doesn't have a clear answer. That inconsistency matters if you've put in the time to get your listening levels right across albums. **Performance degrades with large libraries.** Jellyfin indexes video metadata, music metadata, and everything else in one database. Adding a large music library on top of an already-loaded video library produces real slowdown. A server handling 500 movies and 30 TV shows without complaint can start dragging when you throw 20,000 music tracks into the mix. Jellyfin's music feature exists. For casual listening, a playlist here, an album there, it's probably fine. For anyone with a real library who thinks about how they listen, it's a workaround looking for a better answer. --- ## What Navidrome Actually Is Navidrome is a music server and nothing else. Written in Go, fast, and running in a container that idles around 50MB of RAM. It implements the full OpenSubsonic API natively, which means every client in that ecosystem connects without workarounds or plugins. It indexes your library, handles on-the-fly transcoding via FFmpeg when clients need it, scrobbles to Last.fm and ListenBrainz at the server level, and builds smart playlists from tag-based rules. No GPU required. No resource competition with Jellyfin. No plugins to maintain across updates. One container, one job. What it doesn't do: video, anything the \*arr stack needs to talk to, or anything outside of audio. Music in, music out. That narrowness is the point. --- ## The High-Res Question If you care about lossless audio, and if you're self-hosting your music library in 2026 you probably do, this part matters. Navidrome doesn't transcode by default. It streams files in their original format. FLAC, ALAC, WAV, your 24-bit/96kHz files arrive at the client exactly as they left your drive. FFmpeg only kicks in when a client requests a lower bitrate, say on a slow mobile connection, or when you've explicitly configured a transcode profile. Jellyfin also passes through lossless files, so on a spec sheet the difference looks small. The gap shows up in the client layer. Nautiline on iOS handles lossless passthrough properly and respects the ReplayGain tags already embedded in your files. Jellyfin's music clients are less consistent on both counts. Navidrome also recently added sonicSimilarity support through its plugin system. Audio-based recommendations, finding tracks that actually sound like the one you're playing, are now possible when a plugin provides the capability. It's early, but it's the kind of music-specific feature development that simply won't happen on the Jellyfin side. Jellyfin has video to worry about. --- ## Nautiline and Why the Client Matters PlexAmp works because it's a music-first iOS app built specifically around a music server. A purpose-built server paired with a purpose-built client is what makes it feel like a real product instead of a bolted-on feature. The equivalent on the Navidrome side is [Nautiline](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nautiline-opensubsonic-client/id6755918140?ref=jasontucker.blog). It's a $10 iOS app built specifically for OpenSubsonic-compatible servers. The interface feels native, not like a port of an Android app or a web wrapper in a trench coat. Album art renders correctly. Now Playing is clean. Offline downloads work. ReplayGain is respected. CarPlay works. The queue is persistent. Reviews from people switching to Navidrome tell the same story: try the available iOS clients, land on Nautiline, stop looking. That's where I landed too. The reason PlexAmp felt irreplaceable was that it was the only mobile music client in the self-hosted space that felt finished. Nautiline is finished. That's the gap closing. --- ## Psysonic for Mac and Windows (and the Orbit Feature Worth Talking About) iOS covered. Desktop is a different conversation, and the answer there is [Psysonic](https://psysonic.de/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Psysonic is a native desktop client for Mac and Windows built primarily around Navidrome. It's not a web app in an Electron shell pretending to be a desktop app. It uses Tauri and React and actually feels like something installed on your machine. The library browser is fast, the Now Playing dashboard is customizable, and it supports smart playlists natively, which pairs well with Navidrome's tag-based playlist rules. It's under active development, so rough edges exist. But the trajectory is clear and the update cadence is solid. The feature that stands out is **Orbit**. Orbit is Psysonic's shared listening mode. You start a session, share an invite link, and anyone else on your Navidrome server can join and listen in sync. The host controls playback and the queue. Guests can suggest tracks from anywhere in the library (albums, playlists, search results, favorites), and the host either approves them manually or enables auto-approve to keep things moving. Everyone's client mirrors the same track and position in real time. The thing that makes this practical rather than gimmicky: it runs entirely over your existing Navidrome server. No external relay, no third-party sync service, no extra account anywhere. Your server, your users, your playlists as the transport layer. Guests do need their own Navidrome login and access to the same server, so for anyone outside your network that means having Navidrome reachable publicly, which in my setup means pointing them at home-domain.com through Cloudflare rather than the Tailscale hostname. It's a genuinely fun feature for the "what are you listening to right now" use case, without turning your self-hosted setup into a social platform. --- ## What This Does for the Migration Here's the decision this unlocks. If Jellyfin has to handle music well, I'm comparing the entire Jellyfin experience to the entire Plex experience. Plex wins that comparison on music. Every time. That's a hard migration to justify. But if Navidrome handles music and Jellyfin only has to handle video, the comparison becomes video versus video. That's a much more favorable fight for Jellyfin, which is genuinely good at video and improving. Navidrome is already running, pointed at the same `/mnt/user/media/music` directory that Lidarr writes to, doing its job in the background. That piece is done. Navidrome doesn't care what I decide about Jellyfin. The remaining concerns from Part 1, Tautulli, family app quality, the Prologue audiobook situation, are all video-adjacent problems. I can work through each of them without music muddying the comparison. --- ## The Short Version Jellyfin doesn't have a music problem it's actively trying to solve. Navidrome is a music server that does nothing else and does it well. Those two facts point at the same answer: don't ask Jellyfin to handle music. Split the stack. One container, one job, a $10 iOS app. Music is handled. On to the harder problems. --- *Next up: Part 3 — Setting Up Jellyfin on Unraid and Connecting the \*arr Stack* Running Navidrome? Using a different iOS client? Drop it in the comments. ### Ghost + Newsletter for $15/Month: Why I Left PikaPods for MagicPages URL: https://jasontucker.blog/ghost-newsletter-for-15-month-why-i-left-pikapods-for-magicpages/ Last updated: 2026-06-24T15:59:59.000Z A while back I wrote about stepping away from [WPwatercooler and the WordPress ecosystem after more than twelve years](https://jasontucker.blog/power-politics-and-wordpress/). That post ended with a one-liner about writing my blog posts in Ghost going forward. This is the follow-up to that sentence. Ghost is faster and cleaner than WordPress from a maintenance perspective, and I don't spend half my time managing plugins that are one update away from breaking something. I landed on PikaPods as my host at $5/month: runs Ghost in a container, done. For a blog I write mostly for myself, that was perfect. Then I started thinking about a newsletter. ## Why PikaPods Wasn't Enough Ghost has newsletter functionality built in. You can let people subscribe, send posts to them by email, all of that. What it doesn't include on a self-managed or PikaPods setup is an outbound email provider. Ghost needs something to actually send the mail. The recommended one from Ghost is Mailgun, which Ghost integrates with natively. The problem is Mailgun's retail pricing starts at $15/month for up to 10,000 emails. I have 15 subscribers. I'm not writing 10,000 emails worth of content a month. Spending $15/month on email infrastructure on top of $5/month on hosting to reach a handful of people who are probably also me on different devices felt like the wrong move. So I started looking at managed Ghost hosts that bundle email sending into the plan. ## Let's see the Magic I went with [MagicPages](https://www.magicpages.co/?ref=jasontucker.blog) at $15/month. The deciding factor wasn't just the email newsletter. MagicPages gives you a lot more on the backend than PikaPods does. PikaPods is great for what it is: a no-fuss container host. But it's not a Ghost-specific platform, so you don't get things like up to the minute managed updates, built-in email infrastructure, or any of the Ghost-adjacent tooling that a dedicated host provides. MagicPages handles all of that, including outbound email via Mailgun on their end. I don't see a Mailgun bill. I don't configure API keys. It just works. We went from retail Mailgun pricing to a fully-managed solution of Ghost + Mailgun for $15/month. Works for me. One thing I wasn't expecting was the in-dashboard customer portal. It's not a flashy feature but it's one of those small details that signals a product is well thought out. Support-wise, the contrast with my Midnight experience was immediate. ## Bring on the moving truck The migration itself from PikaPods to MagicPages was straightforward, and Jannis, the owner, handled most of it himself. I pointed him at my PikaPods SFTP credentials and a database URL, and about 30 mins later everything was imported and live at my new URL. Members, posts, all of it. I didn't touch a JSON export file. He just did it. ## Note on Transparency It also helps that MagicPages is clearly not standing still. [Jannis recently posted](https://www.magicpages.co/blog/a-new-chapter-for-magic-pages/?ref=jasontucker.blog) about where the platform is headed, and it reads like someone who's been running this thing seriously for three years and is now building it like a real product. They've moved from Kubernetes to Docker Swarm, migrated to Cloudflare, simplified to a single plan with no artificial limits, and grown from a one-person side project to a small team. The infrastructure migration post in particular was the kind of transparency you rarely get from a hosting provider. They told you what they changed, why, and what it means for your site. That's not marketing, that's just being straight with your customers. The single plan thing is worth calling out specifically. The old Starter tier didn't include CDN or custom themes, and Jannis was direct about why it's gone: managed hosting done right can't be done confidently at that price point. I respect that more than a pricing page full of feature columns designed to make the cheap tier look almost good enough. ## Hands-on with day one Back to the migration, that kind of hands-on migration support isn't something you expect from a $15/month hosting service. It's the kind of thing you'd pay a consultant for. I've done this work with WordPress sites in the past and you can do it manually or you can pay for infrastructure to do it for you. MagicPages only does Ghost hosting and I'd imagine other people have moved from places like PikaPods if the solution they were offering wasn't fitting for that customer, much like I did. ## Didn't we do all this for the newsletter? Getting the newsletter set up after the migration took about two minutes following their own documentation inside the customer portal. That's not me being generous with the timeline, that's genuinely how long it took. The Mailgun integration is pre-configured on their end, so there's no API key hunting, no DNS records to decipher on your own. You just turn it on. There was one small snag. The UI for setting up a custom sending domain had a bug where a dialog wasn't opening correctly, which blocked the email forwarding setup. I flagged it to Jannis, he sent me a direct link to work around it, handled the backend wiring himself once I'd done the DNS side, and that was the end of it. Bug encountered, bug worked around, issue closed, all within a few hours. That's a pretty good support experience even when something goes wrong. If I had to guess, it was something with the Cloudflare integration but who knows. The newsletter feature itself is exactly what I wanted. Nothing complicated. Readers can subscribe on the blog, posts can be sent to subscribers automatically or manually, and Ghost handles the subscription management. No third-party list tool, no separate platform to log into, no Zapier glue holding it together. It's all inside the Ghost admin I'm already using. ## Would something like this work for you? If you're running Ghost on PikaPods and wondering how to add email without paying Mailgun retail prices, a managed Ghost host is the cleanest answer. You're going to spend more per month, but you're buying a complete solution instead of assembling one from parts. Maybe you have a zillion subscribers and you're sending 10,000 emails a month then $15 is nothing to sneeze at but maybe a managed solution like Midnight or MagicPages is the way to go for you. **Disclaimer:** This post isn't sponsored at all by either of these companies its just me doing what I do, sharing what I learned in the process and documenting the process for future me to read, or you to read in your inbox once you subscribe for free, or $5 if you want to pitch in for my new hosting bill. Lol. If you do want to join me in trying out MagicPages, use this affiliate link and I'll get a small commission. Bust honestly, waiting until 30 days when I report back on how my experience was with the service has gone. 📣 "Hey Siri, remind me in 30 days to write a review about Magic Pages" [Magic PagesGet your Ghost CMS publication up and running in no time with Magic Pages’ Ghost CMS web hosting – starting at EUR 13.00/month!![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/magic-pages_full-logo_dark-plum-icon-0e9e2d73-72a3-45ba-96b5-6cae1c1bf0e9.svg)Magic Pages![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/Facebook-post---1-1-72872d9f-d824-4d8b-b73c-9195d72fad21.jpg)](https://www.magicpages.co/?aff=MvuJFBfNZr7a&ref=jasontucker.blog) this is an affiliate link, there are many like it but this one is mine. Leave a comment below, I want to hear what you are using for your website, newsletter or any other content you are creating. ### How to Run Backblaze Personal Backup on Unraid URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-to-run-backblaze-personal-backup-on-unraid/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T06:02:29.000Z When you're backing up homelab, your backup needs a backup. As I've been working my way through all the different cloud services I'm paying for, one thing I wanted to do was take a tiny bit of those savings and put them toward a cloud-based backup of my servers, not just the main Unraid box, but all the little machines scattered around my home office— the home lab, if you will. The plan is simple: everything backs up to the Unraid server, and then Unraid backs up to the cloud. Personal documents, photos, videos, audiobooks, ebooks, and anything else that would be a pain or impossible to replace. Backblaze Personal looked like the best option at $15 a month for unlimited data on one computer. The catch? It's a Windows and Mac product, and I'm running Linux. ## Why Backblaze Personal on a NAS Is Weird Backblaze Personal isn't designed for this. It's meant for your laptop or desktop, not a headless server with 35TB of media. But the pricing is hard to beat if you can make it work. The trick is running the Windows client inside a Wine container using the [backblaze-personal-wine-container](https://github.com/JonathanTreffler/backblaze-personal-wine-container?ref=jasontucker.blog) project by [JonathanTreffler](https://github.com/JonathanTreffler?ref=jasontucker.blog). You get a virtual display streamed to your browser through noVNC, and the Backblaze client thinks it's running on a normal Windows machine. No VM, no Windows license, just Wine doing its thing. It's janky in the best possible way. Create some windows drives and assign existing directories to them and you are now backing up your "windows" computer. [GitHub - JonathanTreffler/backblaze-personal-wine-container: Run the Backblaze personal backup client in a docker containerRun the Backblaze personal backup client in a docker container - JonathanTreffler/backblaze-personal-wine-container![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-80e88904-ce0e-422f-bcd4-ae953700b0aa.svg)GitHubJonathanTreffler![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/backblaze-personal-wine-container-007e0b28-36ec-4ece-a8ae-d06dd27bec7d)](https://github.com/JonathanTreffler/backblaze-personal-wine-container?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Deciding What Actually Needs Backing Up The first real decision was figuring out what to back up. I've got over 35TB of stuff on the server, but most of it is replaceable— "Linux ISOs" and media files that I could re-download if I had to. What matters is the irreplaceable stuff: 2.3TB of photos in Immich, home videos, voice memos, archived websites, YouTube downloads, podcasts I produced over the years, music I ripped when I was in my teens, audiobooks, ebooks, and all the Docker configs and databases that make everything actually work. Backblaze Personal is priced for personal files, not a media vault, so I had to be selective. If I can get it "off the back of an Internet truck,” it doesn't need cloud backup; it can be replaced later. My kids’ first steps, wedding photos, and other irreplaceable memories— I need to keep them safe. ## The Database Backup Problem Backing up live database files is a bad idea. You'll snapshot them mid-write and end up with corrupted backups. The fix was a nightly dump script that runs through Unraid's User Scripts plugin before Backblaze picks anything up. I'm dumping PostgreSQL databases for Authentik and Immich, plus MariaDB, into compressed SQL files. Finding the right connection method for each database was its own adventure. Authentik's PostgreSQL user isn't postgres; it's authentik. The MariaDB LSIO image uses Unix socket auth for root instead of password auth. You work through it, you document it, and you are good. ## The Read-Only Mount Mistake I mounted the backup volumes as read-only because it seemed like a safe default. Then Backblaze silently failed to back anything up. The client tries to create a .bzvol metadata directory at the root of each drive, and it can't do that on a read-only mount. Dropping the :ro flags fixed it immediately. It's a good reminder that "safe defaults" aren't always compatible with how software actually behaves. ## Final Thoughts After working through all the quirks, I've got 1.4 million files and about 2.5TB queued for backup. Database dumps run nightly and rotate automatically. The container throws a permission warning on startup, but that's just a Wine thing; the green checkmark in the Backblaze client is what matters. The whole setup is a reminder that on a homelab you are responsible for everything, until you put it in the cloud. Remember, "The Cloud is just someone else's computer.” If you're running a similar setup and want to know more about keeping your self-hosted stuff resilient, I've also written about [fixing a corrupted Plex database](https://jasontucker.blog/fixing-a-corrupted-plex-database-unraid-docker-or-bare-metal/) and [moving from Plex to Jellyfin](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-1-why-im-finally-taking-this-seriously/) and some [solutions on documenting your homelab.](https://jasontucker.blog/build-a-wikidocs-snapshot-of-an-unraid-server-dynamically/) What are you using in your homelab for offside backup? Join my site for free and leave a comment below. ### From Plex to Jellyfin, Part 1: Why I'm Finally Taking This Seriously URL: https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-1-why-im-finally-taking-this-seriously/ Last updated: 2026-06-17T17:47:46.000Z I bought a Lifetime Plex Pass November 29th 2014\. Back then it was around $75, which felt like a reasonable bet on software I was already using every day. It turned out to be one of the better purchases I've made, I've gotten over a decade of use out of it, and until recently I had no complaints about the value. Then Plex announced that starting July 1, 2026, a new Lifetime Plex Pass will cost **$749.99**. To put that in context: in March 2025, they raised the lifetime price from $119.99 to $249.99, the first increase in over a decade. Fourteen months later, they've announced another 200% jump on top of that. The stated reason is that the pricing now "reflects the real, ongoing value of the software." Their blog post also quietly noted they had "considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass in the past." Read that twice. They're telling you where this is going. I'm not angry about it. I already own mine, and existing holders keep all their benefits. But it made me think, and thinking turned into this series. --- ## The KTZ Systems Nudge I'd been aware of Jellyfin for years and had half-heartedly spun it up a couple of times without committing. What finally got me taking it seriously was watching Alex over at KTZ Systems document his own migration on YouTube. He's been putting out a series covering the switch from Plex to Jellyfin — not a "just use Jellyfin, it's great" puff piece, but an actual warts-and-all process log. That's the format I want to follow here. I'm not going to tell you Jellyfin is better than Plex. I don't know yet. I'm in the middle of figuring that out, and I'd rather write about that process honestly than pretend I have conclusions I don't have yet. One thing Alex did that I just cant do is delete Plex and then start with Jellyfin. We're going to go about this a bit slower and more deliberately with some data migration and configuration along the way --- ## The Goal: One URL, One App, Zero Confusion Before I get into the why, I want to be specific about what I'm actually trying to build. Because "migrate from Plex to Jellyfin" is vague, there are a dozen ways to do it and most of them still leave your family members juggling multiple apps and URLs. Here's the experience I want for the people I share media with: 1. Install Tailscale once (a five-minute ask) 2. Open Jellyfin at a single Tailscale URL 3. Search for something they want to watch if it's not there, hit Request 4. It shows up when it's ready 5. Watch it That's it. No separate Seerr tab to remember. No "go to search.whatever.ts.net to request things." No explaining what Sonarr and Radarr are. Just one app, one URL, and a request button that works. For me on the admin side, all the plumbing — Seerr, Sonarr, Radarr, SABnzbd — still runs exactly as it does today. I can still access each service directly by its Tailscale hostname when I need to. None of that changes. The difference is that family members never need to know those services exist. The way this actually works is through the [**Jellyfin Enhanced**](https://github.com/n00bcodr/Jellyfin-Enhanced?ref=jasontucker.blog) plugin, which embeds Jellyseerr's search and request interface directly into the Jellyfin UI. Users request media without ever leaving Jellyfin. Jellyseerr runs in the background handling the actual orchestration to Sonarr and Radarr. It's still there, it's just invisible to anyone who doesn't need to see it. That's the target. This series is about getting there. --- ## My Current Stack Quick inventory, since this series is going to get specific: - **Unraid server** running Docker containers for the full \*arr stack: Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Bazarr, SABnzbd - **Plex** (binhex-plexpass) — still running, still what family uses right now - **Jellyfin** — running alongside Plex, pointing at the same media directories, being evaluated - **Seerr** — already connected to Jellyfin and the \*arr stack, accessible at search.mytail-net.ts.net for my own use - **Tautulli** — still monitoring Plex; the Jellyfin equivalent is an open question - **Quadro P620** — hardware transcoding, configured (mostly) in both servers - **Tailscale** — the access layer; every service I care about has a Tailscale hostname - **Cloudflare Zero Trust** — for services that don't stream media and can live behind a tunnel without latency concerns or throwing red flags to Cloudflare, they dont like your streaming more than 100mb with them. Both Plex and Jellyfin are currently reading from the same /data/media tree. They coexist fine. The question is how long I keep maintaining two of them. --- ## The Pricing Pattern That Made Me Pay Attention Here's the full Plex lifetime pricing history, because the arc matters: | Date | Lifetime Price | | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | | Launch through early 2025 | $75 → $119.99 | | April 2025 | $249.99 (first increase in a decade) | | July 1, 2026 | $749.99 | Two major price increases in fourteen months, after a decade of stability. And the language in the announcement, "we've considered eliminating the Lifetime Plex Pass", is Plex telling you that the lifetime option exists on borrowed time. Again: I'm not affected. My pass is grandfathered. But if I were standing at the entry point today, like a friend of mine is, looking at $750 for a media server that increasingly pushes streaming service integrations I don't want, I would not buy it. I would look at Jellyfin, which is free, open source, and has no monetization model to drift toward. That's the lens I'm evaluating this through. --- ## What Plex Is Becoming (vs. What I Actually Want) The price is the obvious thing, but the more meaningful signal is the product direction. Every major Plex update in the last few years has pushed the "Plex as a streaming service" angle harder: the Discover tab, Plex Movies, Live TV integration, the Watchlist pulling from external sources. The UI keeps making these features more prominent. None of that is for me. I self-host because I want to control my own media library, the files I've acquired, organized the way I like them, served to people I choose. I don't want a streaming service with a Plex badge on it. Jellyfin's entire existence is built around the thing I actually want. There's no venture capital pressure to monetize the user base. There's no "eventually we'll need to justify this to investors" lurking underneath the roadmap. It's a community project that does one thing: serve your media. --- ## What's Holding Me Back Honest accounting of the friction, because these posts are useless if I skip this part: **Family inertia.** My family members know Plex. The apps are polished. The TV app ecosystem is mature, we run ours on Apple TV but Roku and Fire Stick exist as well. Asking people to switch apps and install Tailscale is a real cost, even if it's a one-time one. **PlexAmp.** I use it for music. Finamp exists on the Jellyfin side. It's not PlexAmp. If you listen to music through your media server, this is probably your biggest loss. **Tautulli.** I genuinely love Tautulli for play statistics, notification triggers, and history granularity. There's no settled Jellyfin equivalent that satisfies me yet. This needs its own investigation. **App quality gap.** Jellyfin's official clients have improved significantly. Infuse supports Jellyfin now. Swiftfin on iOS is solid. But Plex's apps are still more polished for people who don't want to think about it — and those are exactly the people I'm trying to serve. **Prologue**. I liste to my audiobook collection using Prologue and it conencts to plex to do the listening. I think this one is going to suck the most. --- ## The Series Plan Here's what I'm planning to cover, in roughly this order: [**Part 2 — The Case for Navidrome (and Why Jellyfin Doesn't Get My Music)**](https://jasontucker.blog/from-plex-to-jellyfin-part-2-navidrome/) Jellyfin handles music. It just doesn't handle it well. This is the argument for splitting the stack – running Navidrome as a dedicated music server alongside Jellyfin rather than asking a video-first platform to do double duty. Covers the actual Navidrome setup on Unraid, client picks, and scrobbling config. Music handled, off the plate, never thought about again. **Part 3 – Setting Up Jellyfin on Unraid and Connecting the arr Stack** Getting the Docker container right, library configuration, hardware transcoding on the Quadro P620 (there's more nuance than "enable NVENC and you're done," and I've already hit that wall once), and making sure Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr are all talking to Jellyfin instead of (or alongside) Plex. Look we have a lot of Linux distros to watch on our media server so we need to make sure we get this right 😉 **Part 4 — The One URL Goal: Embedding Seerr Inside Jellyfin** The practical walkthrough of configuring [Jellyfin Enhanced's Seerr integration](https://github.com/n00bcodr/Jellyfin-Enhanced?ref=jasontucker.blog#-seerr-integration), setting up user accounts so family members can request from inside Jellyfin, and testing the full request-to-watch flow. This is the post where the goal from Part 1 either works or it doesn't. **Part 5 — Remote Access via Tailscale: No Port Forwarding, No Relay** How the Tailscale setup works for Jellyfin, why it's actually simpler than Plex's remote access model once it's configured, and what the family onboarding experience actually looks like. Plexpass gives you this ability and Tailscale is going to fix this for me when using Jellyfin. **Part 6 — The UI Plugin Ecosystem (Honest Edition)** Jellyfin's plugin story is powerful and messy in equal measure. I've already survived a database-corrupting version rollback trying to get CustomTabs working. That story deserves to be told. **Part 7 — What About Tautulli? The Stats and Monitoring Problem** The hardest unsolved piece. What exists on the Jellyfin side, what's missing, and whether "good enough" is actually good enough. **Part 8 — The Verdict** Writing this last, after I've actually been through it. Either I cut over or I run both indefinitely — but either way I'll have real reasons rather than speculation. --- If you're mid-migration yourself or running a similar setup, I'd genuinely like to hear what broke and how you fixed it. That ground truth is worth more than any feature comparison chart. --- *Next up: Part 2 — Setting Up Jellyfin on Unraid and Connecting the \*arr Stack* ### How I Turned My Security Cameras Into an Automatic Bird Identification System with BirdNet-Go URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-i-turned-my-security-cameras-into-an-automatic-bird-identification-system-with-birdnet-go/ Last updated: 2026-06-10T21:16:53.000Z My wife loves listening to the birds and identifying them using an app on her phone. I thought I'd take this a step further and see if there was something that can identify the birds based on their song. Looking around I found BirdNet and [BirdNet-Go](https://github.com/tphakala/birdnet-go?ref=jasontucker.blog), then discovered you can run this on Docker and use the security cameras you already have outside to identify the birds. Awesome! So I took 3 of the cameras around my house and used their microphones to identify the birds. It was magic. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.22.22.png) ## Real-Time Bird and Bat Audio Detection BirdNet-Go runs 24/7\. It listens constantly. The moment a bird starts singing, it analyzes the audio and gives you an identification. No waiting, no manual recording. It works for bats too, which is pretty cool if you've got them flying around at dusk. The system just keeps running in the background, cataloging everything it hears. It also started detecting frogs which is interesting. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.11.38.png) ## Multi-Model Local AI Inference Engine The whole thing runs locally on your hardware. No cloud services. No API calls. The AI models live right on your server or Raspberry Pi. This means it's fast, private, and doesn't cost you anything per month. You can even run multiple models if you want different detection strategies or regional bird databases. They recently added Google Perch v2 to the model gallery allowing for 14,795 species to be detected vs the 6,000 that BirdNET 2.4 provided. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.12.50.png) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.13.12.png) ## Alert Rules with Species List Matching You can set up rules for specific birds. Want to know the instant a cardinal shows up? Done. Looking for a rare species in your area? Set an alert. The system matches against species lists and sends you notifications based on whatever criteria you set. It's like having a birding buddy who never sleeps. I even have it connected to a channel in my homes Discord server. Wait, your house doesn't have a dedicated Discord? ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.16.33.png) Setting up notifications and alerts for bird sightings into the house discord channel #birdnet ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.35.16.png) ## Species Novelty Tracking for New Detections This feature tracks which birds are new to your yard. First time a blue jay visits? BirdNet-Go flags it. It maintains a running list of every species it's detected, so you can see your yard's biodiversity grow over time. Honestly, this turned into a fun game for us. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.19.28.png) ## RTSP Stream Support for IP Cameras If your cameras support RTSP, you're good to go. Most modern IP cameras do. You just point BirdNet-Go at the stream URL. I used three of my existing security cameras. Didn't need to buy any special hardware. The cameras I already had for security now pull double duty identifying birds. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.14.59.png) ## BirdWeather Integration for Data Sharing BirdWeather is a community platform for sharing bird detection data. BirdNet-Go integrates with it directly. If you want to contribute your observations to a larger dataset, you can. It helps researchers and other birders see what's happening in your area. You don't have to use it, but it's nice that the option exists. ## Self-Hosted with No Cloud Dependencies Everything lives on your network. The audio never leaves your house unless you explicitly share it. No subscription fees. No terms of service changes. No company shutting down the service in two years. You own the whole stack. It runs in Docker, so it's easy to manage alongside everything else in your homelab. ## Can connect to Home Assistant Evernything needs to be able to connect to Home Assistant and BirdNET-Go can use MQTT to be discovered in Home Assistant. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/CleanShot-2026-06-04-at-11.25.21.png) ## Visual Audio Channel Energy Level Analysis The interface shows you real-time audio levels for each channel. You can see exactly what the microphones are picking up. This helps you position cameras better or troubleshoot why one isn't detecting anything. Sometimes you'll realize the camera is pointed at a noisy AC unit or getting wind noise, and you can adjust accordingly. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/06/birdnet-1.jpeg) ## Final Thoughts Look, this project surprised me. I expected it to be neat but figured I'd get bored after a week. Instead, my wife and I check it daily. We've learned which birds visit at what times. We've spotted species we didn't know lived nearby. My friends got interested too, I made this avaiable on the public house domain name (behind Cloudflare of course.) and allowed a few of my friends to connect to it and see how it works. It turned our security camera setup into something genuinely useful beyond security. If you've got cameras with microphones and even a passing interest in birds, give BirdNet-Go a shot. It's one of those homelab projects that actually improves daily life instead of just being technically interesting. [GitHub - tphakala/birdnet-goSelf-hosted realtime soundscape analyser for birds, bats and other wildlife. Multi-model local AI inference, runs 24/7 on a Raspberry Pi. — ⭐ 1,232 · 🍴 114 · nightly-20260601![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg)GitHubtphakala![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/7030001?v=4)](https://github.com/tphakala/birdnet-go?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Podcasts I'm listening to 2026 edition URL: https://jasontucker.blog/podcasts-im-listening-to-2026-edition/ Last updated: 2026-05-28T18:21:06.000Z I like documenting things that happen in my life and podcasting happens all the time in my life, so I went through my Overcast library and pulled the whole list. It is a pretty honest snapshot of where my head is at: a heavy dose of Apple and tech commentary, a big homelab and self-hosting section, some smart home stuff, a couple of Formula 1 shows because its a big part of my sports fandom, and a few music and trivia picks to keep things from getting too nerdy. lol. I grouped everything by genre below. Each one gets a short writeup, a link to the show's home on the web, and a note on where to subscribe. Almost all of these are in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and of course Overcast, so I mostly just point you to the official site where the subscribe links live. --- ## Apple & Tech Commentary This is the core of my feed. If you spend any time in the Apple nerd corner of the internet, most of these names will be familiar. **Accidental Tech Podcast** Marco Arment, Casey Liss, and John Siracusa talking tech, programming, and Apple with the kind of detail that only three very opinionated developers can sustain. It is long, it is deep, and the Siracusa review tangents are worth the price of admission. I've been listening to them forever. Website: [atp.fm](https://atp.fm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **The Talk Show With John Gruber** The Daring Fireball man himself, working through the week in Apple and tech with a rotating set of guests. Slow, conversational, and great for a long drive. Long ass podcast but I get a lot from it. Website: [daringfireball.net/thetalkshow](https://daringfireball.net/thetalkshow/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **AppStories** Federico Viticci and John Voorhees from MacStories digging into apps, workflows, and the iOS power user world. This is the show that feeds my worst automation and shortcuts habits. I come around to this podcast maybe every other or third episode. Website: [appstories.net](https://appstories.net/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Stratechery Network **Stratechery** Ben Thompson's analysis of tech strategy and business, which has basically become required reading and listening for understanding why the big platforms do what they do. The podcast feed pairs with the newsletter. It's good to know whats happening in the world of tech from the biz side of things. Website: [stratechery.com](https://stratechery.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) · Subscriber feed set up through the site. **Dithering** Ben Thompson and John Gruber, fifteen minutes per episode, twice a week, no more and no less. It is a paid show and the discipline of the format is the whole point. Tight, smart, and never overstays its welcome. John is limited to 15 mins with Ben and its a joy to listen to. Website: [dithering.fm](https://dithering.fm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) · Members-only feed you set up through the site. ### The Verge Network **The Vergecast** The Verge's flagship show about Brenden Carr being a dummy. On the week in gadgets and tech news with Nilay Patel, David Pierce, and the crew. Reliable Friday listening. Again, I run the ad-free edition. Website: [theverge.com/the-vergecast](https://www.theverge.com/the-vergecast?ref=jasontucker.blog) · I pay for the Ad-free feed via The Verge. **Decoder** Nilay Patel from The Verge interviewing leaders and unpacking the big structural questions in tech and business. I have the ad-free edition, which comes with a Verge subscription. Website: [theverge.com/decoder-podcast-with-nilay-patel](https://www.theverge.com/decoder-podcast-with-nilay-patel?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Version History** A newer Verge show where David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and rotating staff tell the story of the best, worst, and most influential gadgets ever made. Equal parts nostalgia and tech history. Website: [theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) · I'm a subscriber of The Verge so I get the Ad-free feed --- ## Homelab, Self-Hosting & Linux This section is basically my day job and my hobby colliding. If you run a server in your closet, you will feel seen here. **2.5 Admins** Allan Jude and Jim Salter, two sysadmins, plus producer Joe Ressington who can "just about configure a Samba share." Weekly tech news and listener admin questions, with a healthy obsession with ZFS. I havent explored the rest of the Late Night Linux family of podcasts they mention each episode. I found this one listening to the BitFlip show. Website: [2.5admins.com](https://2.5admins.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **The Uncast Show** The official Unraid podcast, hosted by Ed Rawlings (you may know him as SpaceInvader One) and Stefano from SPX Labs. Unraid news, deep dives, and community chat. As an Unraid user this is must-listen, and watching SpaceInvader One go from community creator to full-time Unraid is fun. Website: [unraid.net](https://unraid.net/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **BitFlip.show** A newer independent show about the pragmatic side of infrastructure: self-hosting, homelabs, open source, and the real-world decisions engineers make, hosted by Alex, Adam, Geoff, and Stephen. Bonus points because one of the hosts is on the Unraid team. I listened to Alex and Chris Fisher on their old show Selfhosted and this one slots right into the gap that Selfhosted left when it closed up. Website: [bitflip.show](https://bitflip.show/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats** Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski on full stack web development. Practical, friendly, and a good way to keep up with the JavaScript world even when it is moving faster than anyone can reasonably follow. I don't listen to these as much but I scan the titles of the episodes to find the gems. Website: [syntax.fm](https://syntax.fm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ### Jupiter Broadcasting Network **LINUX Unplugged** Jupiter Broadcasting's flagship Linux show with Chris Fisher and Wes Payne. A weekly, community-driven take on Linux, open source, and self-hosting. This one has been in my rotation forever. Website: [linuxunplugged.com](https://linuxunplugged.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **The Launch** Also from Jupiter Broadcasting, a lighter weekly warm-up that pulls together the best stories and clips to set up your week. Good palate cleanser between the heavier shows. Website: [jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/the-launch](https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/the-launch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Smart Home & Gadgets The part of the feed that fuels my Home Assistant habit. **Home Assistant Podcast** The community show all about Home Assistant from HK Media, hosted by Phil and Rohan. New features, integrations, and the general state of the open source smart home. I run the ad-free feed. Website: [hasspodcast.io](https://hasspodcast.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **HomeTech.fm** Gavin Campbell, TJ Huddleston, and Seth Johnson covering the smart home and home technology industry from more of an installer and professional angle. A nice counterweight to the pure DIY shows. Website: [hometech.fm](https://hometech.fm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **The Technical Difficulties Podcast** The DIY Smart Home Guys, Pete Borchers, Brandon Doyle, and Vince Hylla, on the latest smart home trends, devices, and automation. More YouTube-creator energy than the others, which keeps it loose and fun. Website: [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-technical-difficulties-podcast/id1788394297?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Home Gadget Geeks** Jim Collison's long-running weekly show on gadgets, tech projects, and the geeky home, part of The Average Guy network. Comfortable, community-driven listening. Website: [theaverageguy.tv](https://theaverageguy.tv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Tech News & Internet Culture Shows about what is happening online and why it matters, with a bit of an edge. **The 404 Media Podcast** The team behind 404 Media, the journalist-owned outlet, talking through their reporting on hacking, privacy, platforms, and the weirder corners of the internet. Some of the best original tech journalism going right now. Website: [404media.co](https://www.404media.co/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Hard Fork** Kevin Roose and Casey Newton from The New York Times on the week in tech, AI, and the future. Smart and funny without being lightweight. My go-to for keeping up with the AI news cycle. Website: [nytimes.com/column/hard-fork](https://www.nytimes.com/column/hard-fork?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Better Offline** Ed Zitron's sharp, skeptical, frequently angry look at the tech industry and the people running it. If you want the counter-narrative to Silicon Valley hype, this is it. From Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts. Website: [iHeart](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-better-offline-150284547/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Search Engine** PJ Vogt (formerly of Reply All) answering the questions you idly wonder about, from the trivial to the surprisingly deep. Beautifully produced narrative audio with a real curiosity at its center. Website: [searchengine.show](https://www.searchengine.show/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Dot Social** Flipboard CEO Mike McCue interviewing the builders and thinkers behind the fediverse and the open social web. If you care about Mastodon, ActivityPub, Bluesky, and where social media goes after the walled gardens, this is the one. Website: [flipboard.com](https://about.flipboard.com/fediverse/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## News & Society A little balance so it is not all servers and gadgets. **The Daily** The New York Times' flagship daily news show. Twenty minutes or so on one big story, every weekday. The default for staying current. Website: [nytimes.com/the-daily](https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Code Switch** NPR's show on race, identity, and how those threads run through everything in American life. Thoughtful, well-reported, and consistently worth the time. Website: [npr.org/codeswitch](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Offline with Jon Favreau** From Crooked Media, Jon Favreau talking with guests about how the internet is reshaping our brains, our politics, and our attention, and what a healthier relationship with it might look like. A bit ironic to listen to on a phone, but here we are. Website: [crooked.com/podcast-series/offline-with-jon-favreau](https://crooked.com/podcast-series/offline-with-jon-favreau/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Formula 1 Race weekends need a soundtrack. **Up To Speed** Global's newer F1 podcast with a stacked lineup: Will Buxton, Naomi Schiff, David Coulthard, and Jolie Sharpe. Twice a week, with fast race reactions on Mondays and a deeper story plus interviews on Thursdays. Website: [globalplayer.com](https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42Lupc/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **The Fast and the Curious** Greg James, Betty Glover, and F1 broadcaster Christian Hewgill, plus a rolling cast of drivers, taking you inside the world of Formula 1\. More personality and banter than hardcore analysis, which is exactly what I want between sessions. Website: [Acast](https://shows.acast.com/thefastandthecurious?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Music Two very different ways to listen to songs more closely. **Switched on Pop** Musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding breaking down the making and meaning of pop hits. They explain the theory and craft in a way that makes you hear familiar songs completely differently. From Vulture and Vox. Website: [switchedonpop.com](https://switchedonpop.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **One Song** Diallo Riddle and LUXXURY taking one song apart per episode, instrument by instrument, with a ton of humor and genuine love for the music. From Hartbeat. A great companion to Switched on Pop. Website: [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one-song/id1696154359?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- ## Comedy, Trivia & Variety The stuff that keeps the feed from being a productivity seminar. **Dear Hank & John** Hank Green and John Green dispensing dubious advice, answering listener questions, and delivering the news from Mars and AFC Wimbledon. Officially "a comedy podcast about death," which undersells how warm and funny it is. It's a great show about 2 brothers talking about nothing and everything at the same time. Website: [complexly.com](https://www.complexly.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Lateral with Tom Scott** Tom Scott and question master David Bodycombe run a comedy panel quiz built around lateral-thinking puzzles with weird, sideways answers. The kind of show where you shout guesses at your phone and are wrong almost every time. This is a podcast I wait and listen to with my wife Jen in the car, we really enjoy it. Website: [lateralcast.com](https://lateralcast.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## OMG, why so many podcasts? Look, I get it, its sounds like I listen to podcasts non stop and that isnt the case. Let me prioritize the ones that are worth it to me and that I listen to daily or event weekly. **All of The Verge podcasts & Stratechery Network shows** \- I listen to them moment they are released, it's just how it is. I pay for the subscription and I really like they content they produce. **Hard Fork** \- I listen to most of these episodes, I try my best to keep up with whats going on in tech and AI. One of the hosts is dating a guy from Anthropic so it adds a bit more flavor to the show. **Home Assistant Podcast** \- I listen to these every time they come out usually on the same day they are released. **Formula 1 podcasts** \- I listen to them during the season and if i miss one about the previous race and were on to the next race then I skip them. These are very much so ephemeral. **2.5 Admins, HomeTech, and the other smart home podcasts** \- I listen to these in the car when I am driving alone. It's an easy win to get these knocked out and I learn so much from them. --- Anything you think I'm missing? Let me know in the comments. ### Automating My YouTube Watch Queue with Google Apps Script URL: https://jasontucker.blog/automating-my-youtube-watch-queue-with-google-apps-script/ Last updated: 2026-06-10T21:17:48.000Z I watch a lot of YouTube — but I hate the YouTube algorithm. I don't want recommendations, I don't want trending videos, and I definitely don't want my watch history influencing what gets surfaced next. What I *do* want is a clean, automated queue of recent videos from channels I've specifically chosen to follow, with watched items automatically cleaned out. So I vibe coded it myself with Google Apps Script using very early ChatGPT. every Claude model version I’ve had it look the code over to see if there are improvements. The API calls to this code are a lot depending on how many channels you are tracking. This post walks through exactly what the script does, how it's set up, and what happens each time it runs. --- ## I've been scratching this itch for a while now Back in 2024 I posted about this solution I came up with using Python and wrote about it (as I do) on this blog. It was titled [Automating YouTube Playlists generation with YouTube API](https://jasontucker.blog/automating-youtube-playlists-generation-with-youtube-api/). I recently posted about how do to this sort of thing in Plex using a Docker Container. Yesterday I wrote about [Automating Our Sunday Night YouTube Routine with Youtarr (and Why I'm Probably Over-Engineering This)](https://jasontucker.blog/automating-our-sunday-night-youtube-routine-with-youtarr-and-why-im-probably-over-engineering-this/) using Youtarr. I thought I'd circle back on my most recent solution, which I've been using for a while now using Google Apps Script. ## What It Does (The Short Version) The script monitors a list of YouTube channels you define, grabs any videos posted in the last 8 days that are longer than 2 minutes, and adds them to a private YouTube playlist — but only if you haven't already watched them. It also keeps a Google Spreadsheet log of every video it's added, and a second scheduled run uses that log to clean watched videos back out of the playlist automatically. The result: a self-maintaining queue that acts like a personal RSS-to-playlist feed. --- ## The Architecture There are three moving parts: 1. **A Google Apps Script** — the brains. Two scheduled functions handle population and cleanup. 2. **A YouTube Playlist** — your personal watch queue, managed entirely by the script. 3. **A Google Spreadsheet** — acts as a persistent log (and "watched" list) across runs. The script uses Google's built-in YouTube Advanced Service (no external API keys needed beyond enabling it in your Apps Script project) and SpreadsheetApp for the log. --- ## Configuration At the top of the script, there are five variables you'll need to set for your own use: ```javascript var CACHE_DURATION_DAYS = 7; var VIDEO_DURATION_THRESHOLD = 120; // 2 minutes, in seconds var PLAYLIST_ID = 'YOUR_PLAYLIST_ID'; var SPREADSHEET_ID = 'YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID'; var CHANNEL_IDS = [ 'CHANNEL_ID_1', 'CHANNEL_ID_2', // ... ]; ``` - VIDEO\_DURATION\_THRESHOLD — filters out Shorts and other clips below this length. 120 seconds (2 minutes) is a sensible floor, but raise it if you only want longer-form content. - PLAYLIST\_ID — the ID from your YouTube playlist URL. Create a private playlist in your YouTube account and grab the ID from the URL: **youtube.com/playlist?list=YOUR\_ID\_HERE** - SPREADSHEET\_ID — the ID from your Google Sheets URL. Create a blank spreadsheet; the script will set up the tab and headers on first run. - CHANNEL\_IDS — an array of YouTube channel IDs for every channel you want to track. You can find a channel's ID in its "About" page URL or via a YouTube channel ID lookup tool. --- ## Run 1: updatePlaylist() — Populating the Queue This is the main function and should run on a schedule (I have mine set to daily). Here's what it does step by step. ### Step 1 — Initialize the Spreadsheet ```javascript initializeSheet(SPREADSHEET_ID); ``` On first run (or if someone deletes the sheet), this creates a tab called "Watched Videos" with four column headers: Video ID, Channel Name, Video Title, and Publication Date/Time. On subsequent runs it's essentially a no-op. ### Step 2 — Fetch Recent Videos from Each Channel ```javascript var eightDaysAgo = new Date(); eightDaysAgo.setDate(eightDaysAgo.getDate() - 8); for (var i = 0; i < CHANNEL_IDS.length; i++) { var videos = getLatestVideos(CHANNEL_IDS[i], eightDaysAgo); allVideos = allVideos.concat(videos); } ``` For each channel, the script calls `YouTube.Search.list` with a `publishedAfter` filter set to 8 days ago, fetching up to 10 recent videos per channel. The 8-day window gives a little buffer around a weekly schedule. The search call returns id and snippet data — enough for the video ID, channel name, title, and publish date — but *not* duration. That requires a separate call. ### Step 3 — Get Video Durations in Batches ```javascript var videoDetails = getVideoDetailsInBatches(allVideoIds); ``` YouTube's Search API doesn't return duration. The script collects all video IDs from the search results and calls **YouTube.Videos.list** with **contentDetails** to get the ISO 8601 duration string (e.g., **PT14M32S**). This is done in batches of 50 (the API maximum) and uses a **parseDuration()** helper to convert **PT14M32S** → **872** seconds. Results are cached for 6 hours using **CacheService.getScriptCache()** to avoid redundant API calls on reruns. ### Step 4 — Filter and Add For each video, the script runs three checks before adding it to the playlist: ```javascript if (fullVideoData.durationInSeconds > VIDEO_DURATION_THRESHOLD && !watchedVideos.includes(videoId) && !videoInPlaylist(videoId, PLAYLIST_ID)) { addToPlaylist(videoId, PLAYLIST_ID); addToWatchedList(fullVideoData, SPREADSHEET_ID); } ``` 1. **Duration check** — is it longer than the threshold? Filters out Shorts. 2. **Watched check** — is the video ID already in the Spreadsheet log? Prevents re-adding something you've seen. 3. **Playlist membership check** — is it already in the queue? Prevents duplicates on reruns. If all three pass, the video gets added to the playlist and logged to the spreadsheet with its channel name, title, and publish date. --- ## Run 2: runPlaylistCleanup() — Clearing Watched Videos The second scheduled function is runPlaylistCleanup(), which calls cleanPlaylist(). I have this one set to run less frequently — a few times a week is plenty. ### How It Works ```javascript var watchedVideoIds = getWatchedVideos(spreadsheetId); var playlistItems = getAllPlaylistItems(playlistId); playlistItems.forEach(function(item) { var videoId = item.snippet.resourceId.videoId; if (watchedVideoIds.includes(videoId)) { YouTube.PlaylistItems.remove(item.id); } }); ``` It loads the full list of video IDs from the spreadsheet (Column A, everything from row 2 down), then fetches all items currently in the playlist using getAllPlaylistItems(), which handles pagination automatically to get past the 50-item API limit. For every playlist item whose video ID appears in the spreadsheet log, it issues a PlaylistItems.remove() call. This is a 50-quota-unit operation, so the function is intentionally conservative — it only removes what it knows has been tracked. > **A note on "watched" semantics:** The spreadsheet log records videos *added* to the playlist, not videos you've actually watched in YouTube. The assumption is that if a video has been in your queue long enough for the cleanup to run, you've either watched it or decided to skip it. If you want true watch-state tracking, you'd need the YouTube Data API's playbackPosition or history features, which have their own quota and OAuth complications. --- ## Reliability: Exponential Backoff All YouTube API calls are wrapped in an `exponentialBackoff()` helper: ```javascript function exponentialBackoff(func, maxRetries = 5) { for (let i = 0; i < maxRetries; i++) { try { return func(); } catch (e) { if (i === maxRetries - 1) throw e; const waitTime = Math.pow(2, i) * 1000 + Math.random() * 1000; Utilities.sleep(waitTime); } } } ``` If a call fails (rate limit, transient error, whatever), it waits 1s, then 2s, then 4s, then 8s, then 16s before giving up. The random jitter on top prevents thundering herd issues if multiple runs somehow overlap. --- ## Setting It Up There are four things to create before the script can run: a Google Spreadsheet, a YouTube playlist, a Google Cloud project (for the YouTube API), and the Apps Script itself. Here's the full walkthrough. Link to the full script is at the bottom of this post. --- ### Step 1 — Create the Google Spreadsheet The script uses a Google Sheet to log every video it adds. It will create the tab and headers automatically on first run, so you just need a blank spreadsheet to point it at. 1. Go to [sheets.google.com](https://sheets.google.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and click **Blank spreadsheet**. 2. Give it a name you'll recognize — something like "YouTube Watch Queue Log". 3. Paste that ID into the SPREADSHEET\_ID variable at the top of the script. Copy the **Spreadsheet ID** from the URL. It's the long string between /d/ and /edit in the address bar: ``` https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/THIS_IS_YOUR_SPREADSHEET_ID/edit ``` That's it — don't create any tabs or add any headers yourself. The script's **initializeSheet()** function will build the "Watched Videos" tab with the correct columns on the first run. The sheet will end up looking like this once videos start flowing in: | A — Video ID | B — Channel Name | C — Video Title | D — Publication Date/Time | | ------------ | ---------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------- | | dQw4w9WgXcQ | Some Channel | Video Title Here | 2025-05-20T14:00:00Z | > **Tip:** Don't manually delete rows from this sheet. The Video ID in Column A is how the cleanup function knows what to remove from the playlist. If you delete a row, that video could get re-added on the next run. --- ### Step 2 — Create a YouTube Playlist 1. Go to [youtube.com](https://youtube.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and sign in. 2. Click your profile icon → **Your channel** → **Playlists** → **New playlist**. 3. Give it a name (e.g., "Auto Queue") and set the visibility to **Private** (unless you want others to see it). 4. Paste that into the **PLAYLIST\_ID** variable in the script. After creating it, open the playlist. Copy the **Playlist ID** from the URL — it's the value after **?list=**: ``` https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=THIS_IS_YOUR_PLAYLIST_ID ``` --- ### Step 3 — Find Your Channel IDs For each YouTube channel you want to track, you'll need its channel ID — not just its name or handle. The easiest way: go to the channel's page, click **About**, then look at the share/copy link option. The URL will contain the channel ID starting with `UC`. Alternatively, sites like [commentpicker.com/youtube-channel-id.php](https://commentpicker.com/youtube-channel-id.php?ref=jasontucker.blog) can look them up by URL. Add them all to the **CHANNEL\_IDS** array in the script: ```javascript var CHANNEL_IDS = [ 'UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx', 'UCyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy', // one per line, as many as you want ]; ``` --- ### Step 4 — Create the Apps Script 1. Go to [script.google.com](https://script.google.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and click **New project**. 2. Delete the default empty function in the editor. 3. Paste the full script in. 4. Update the configuration variables at the top with your Spreadsheet ID, Playlist ID, and Channel IDs from the steps above. 5. Give the project a name (click "Untitled project" at the top). --- ### Step 5 — Enable the YouTube Data API The script uses Google's Advanced YouTube Service, which has to be explicitly enabled. 1. In the Apps Script editor, click **Extensions** in the top menu → **Advanced Google Services**. 2. Find **YouTube Data API v3** in the list and toggle it **on**. 3. Click **OK**. If you see a prompt to also enable it in Google Cloud Console, follow the link and enable it there too. You'll need a Google Cloud project — Apps Script usually creates one automatically, or you can link an existing one under **Project Settings** (the gear icon in the left sidebar). --- ### Step 6 — Set Up the Scheduled Triggers This is what makes the script run automatically without you having to do anything. 1. In the Apps Script editor, click the **clock icon** in the left sidebar (Triggers). 2. Click **\+ Add Trigger** (bottom right). 3. Set up the first trigger: - **Function**: updatePlaylist - **Event source**: Time-driven - **Type**: Day timer (or Hour timer if you want it more frequent) - **Time**: Pick a time when you're unlikely to be actively using YouTube 4. Click **Save**, then **\+ Add Trigger** again for the second one: - **Function**: runPlaylistCleanup - **Event source**: Time-driven - **Type**: Week timer or Day timer (every 2–3 days is plenty) 5. Click **Save**. --- ### Step 7 — Authorize and Test 1. Back in the editor, select `updatePlaylist` from the function dropdown at the top. 2. Click **Run**. 3. A permissions dialog will appear — click **Review permissions**, choose your Google account, and click **Allow**. The script needs permission to: - Manage your YouTube account (to add/remove playlist items) - Access Google Sheets (to read and write the log) Both scopes are required. After authorizing, the function will run and you should see log output in the **Execution log** panel at the bottom. If everything is configured correctly, any qualifying videos from your channels posted in the last 8 days will show up in your playlist and spreadsheet. --- ## YouTube API Quota Considerations The YouTube Data API v3 has a daily quota of 10,000 units. Here's a rough breakdown per updatePlaylist run: | Operation | Cost | Typical calls | | ------------------------------ | --------- | ------------- | | **Search.list** per channel | 100 units | 1 per channel | | **Videos.list** (batch of 50) | 1 unit | 1–2 | | **PlaylistItems.list** (check) | 1 unit | per new video | | **PlaylistItems.insert** | 50 units | per new video | With 8 channels, you're spending \~800 units on searches alone per run. Add insertions and checks and a daily run should land well under 2,000 units — comfortably within the free quota. **cleanPlaylist** is the expensive one per-deletion (50 units each), so it's intentionally run less frequently. 🤓 ****How many channels can this handle?** With a daily run, you can comfortably track \~80–90 channels before bumping into the YouTube Data API's 10,000-unit daily quota. If you need more, switch the trigger to run every other day or replace the search step with YouTube's free per-channel RSS feeds. My wife and I watch about 8 videos per week using this method since each video is about 30-40 mins long. --- ## Ideas for Extending It A few things I've thought about but haven't implemented yet: - **Category filtering** — use the **topicDetails** field to filter by topic category (e.g., only tech content). - **Keyword exclusion** — skip videos whose titles match certain terms (useful for filtering out reaction videos or sponsored content). - **Priority ordering** — insert high-priority channels' videos at the top of the playlist instead of appending. - **Email digest** — send a weekly summary of what was added via **MailApp.sendEmail()**. - **True watch state** — poll the YouTube History API (if you can work through its OAuth complexity) instead of using the log as a proxy. --- The full script is available as a [GitHub Gist](https://gist.github.com/jasontucker/9a6289d72d0a409975ead5fb2acc05ec?ref=jasontucker.blog). If you set it up or adapt it for your own channels, I'd love to hear what changes you made. [update-youtube-weekly-playlist.jsGitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-9.svg)Gist262588213843476![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/gist-og-image-54fd7dc0713e-6.png)](https://gist.github.com/jasontucker/9a6289d72d0a409975ead5fb2acc05ec?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Automating Our Sunday Night YouTube Routine with Youtarr (and Why I'm Probably Over-Engineering This) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/automating-our-sunday-night-youtube-routine-with-youtarr-and-why-im-probably-over-engineering-this/ Last updated: 2026-05-27T07:42:26.000Z Every Sunday night, my wife and I settle in on the couch to watch YouTube videos together and it's become our little ritual. For months, I've been managing this with a Google Sheet and AppScript that builds a playlist from our favorite channels, which works but still needs babysitting (hello, mid-roll ads). So naturally, I did what any homelab enthusiast would do: I built another mousetrap to manage by setting up [Youtarr](https://github.com/DialmasterOrg/Youtarr?ref=jasontucker.blog) to automate the whole video collection process. ## I've been scratching this itch for a while now Back in 2024 I posted about this solution I came up with using Python and wrote about it (as I do) on this blog. It was titled [Automating YouTube Playlists generation with YouTube API](https://jasontucker.blog/automating-youtube-playlists-generation-with-youtube-api/). I recently posted about how do to this sort of thing in Plex using a Docker Container. Today I wrote about [Automating My YouTube Watch Queue with Google Apps Script](https://jasontucker.blog/automating-my-youtube-watch-queue-with-google-apps-script/). Lets see if I can over-engineer this project as well but with a Plex twist. ## My current config - Google Sheet setup with AppScript My Google Sheet setup has actually been pretty solid. It pulls the latest videos from our subscribed channels and compiles them into a YouTube playlist. The real magic happens at 6pm every Sunday when the AppScript automatically cleans out already-watched videos, leaving just the fresh content from the week. It's functional, but it still lives in YouTube's ecosystem with all the ads and occasional buffering issues that come with it. I'm a paid premium subscriber and there is a feature to skip detected ads that are in the middle of the video, it's not perfect but it's a step in the right direction. Am I over-engineering our Sunday night YouTube routine? Probably. Is it working well for the video collection part? Absolutely. The truth is, I'm not entirely sure this will replace my AppScript workflow—that automatic cleanup feature is really valuable, and I might end up with a hybrid solution. But that's the fun of homelab projects, right? You build something, learn from it, iterate, and sometimes end up with a Frankenstein's monster of automation that somehow works perfectly for your specific needs. ## Automated YouTube Channel Content Downloading Youtarr works like the other \*arr apps you're probably already running. You add YouTube channels you want to follow. It checks for new videos automatically. When it finds something new, it downloads it. The scheduling piece is pretty straightforward. You set up your intervals. Tell it which channels matter most. It handles the rest in the background while you're doing literally anything else. No more manually checking if your favorite creators posted something. No more hunting through subscription feeds. It just grabs everything and organizes it for you. ## Integration with Plex Media Server Here's where things get interesting for my setup. Youtarr dumps videos directly into a format Plex can read. Organize them into libraries. Add metadata. The whole nine yards. This means I can browse YouTube content the same way I browse my TV shows and movies. Same interface. Same remote control. Same couch. The container also works with Kodi, Emby, and Jellyfin if that's your flavor. I'm running Plex (with PlexPass), so that's where I'm focused. But options are nice. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/05/CleanShot-2026-05-26-at-22.52.36@2x.png) Plex Interrogation ## yt-dlp Powered Video Extraction Under the hood, Youtarr uses yt-dlp to actually grab the videos. If you've been around the self-hosting scene, you know yt-dlp is basically the gold standard for downloading YouTube content. It's actively maintained. Handles YouTube's constant changes. Supports quality settings so you're not filling up your drives with 4K videos you'll watch on a phone. The nice thing about Youtarr is you don't need to mess with yt-dlp commands yourself. The container wraps it all in a web interface. Point, click, done. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/05/CleanShot-2026-05-26-at-22.53.34@2x.png) ## Final Thoughts Look, I'll be honest. I'm still testing whether this actually improves our Sunday night routine or just shifts the complexity around. The AppScript cleanup feature is genuinely useful, and I might keep both systems running for a while. I have one other solution to check out called [Tube Archivist](https://github.com/tubearchivist/tubearchivist?ref=jasontucker.blog) that has a few other different features. But having our videos downloaded locally means no additional creater read ads. No buffering. No wondering if YouTube's algorithm decided to stop showing us stuff we actually subscribed to see. I'll report back once we've actually used this for a few Sunday nights. Maybe it becomes the main system. Maybe it's a backup. Maybe I end up with some weird hybrid that makes perfect sense to me and absolutely nobody else. That's homelab life. I'm curious what you are using for your YouTube watching setup. Leave a comment below. [GitHub - DialmasterOrg/YoutarrSelf-hosted web app that automates downloading, organizing, and scheduling YouTube channel content with support for Plex, Kodi, Emby and Jellyfin — ⭐ 1,118 · 🍴 44 · v1.69.2![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg)GitHubDialmasterOrg![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/167704353?v=4)](https://github.com/DialmasterOrg/Youtarr?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Why I Ditched Heimdall and Homepage for a Custom Docker Container Launcher URL: https://jasontucker.blog/why-i-ditched-heimdall-and-homepage-for-a-custom-docker-container-launcher/ Last updated: 2026-05-27T21:38:44.000Z I built my own vibe-coded launcher for my docker containers using Claude and some elbow grease. Heimdall felt stale. Homepage was close but not quite right. So I made exactly what I needed—nothing more, nothing less. I named it Undocked Launcher and it has dark mode. Lol. ## One-tap access to homelab services The whole point was speed. I wanted one click to get into Plex, Home Assistant, or whatever else I'm running. No bookmark folders. No typing URLs from memory. Undocked Launcher is just a clean dashboard that gets me where I need to go and how I want to get to it. It pulls my container info straight from Unraid and other "servers" and displays it in a way that actually makes sense to me. ## Reads from other servers running docker on my network. I have a few servers on my home network running Docker containers and I wanted to make sure that I could access all of them and not have to remember which device was hosting what docker container. It's clean and simple and just works. ## Cloudflare tunnel integration for remote access I run Cloudflare tunnels for most of my external access. The launcher knows which services have tunnels and shows me those URLs when I need them. It's all baked right in. No switching between tabs to find the right subdomain. Just click and go and protected by Cloudflare auth. ## Tailscale VPN network connectivity support When I'm on my Tailscale network, I want to use those internal addresses. They're faster and I trust them more. The launcher detects when I'm on Tailscale and prioritizes those connections. It's smart about it without me having to think. ## Direct IP address connection option Sometimes you just need the raw IP and port. Maybe Tailscale is acting up. Maybe Cloudflare is having a moment. The launcher always shows me the direct connection as a fallback. Local network access never goes away. ## Unraid server dashboard interface Everything lives in one place now. I can see what's running, what's not, and get to Unraid itself without hunting. It fits my workflow instead of forcing me to adapt to someone else's vision of how a homelab launcher should work. ## Multiple connection method switching The real magic is switching between connection types on the fly. Cloudflare, Tailscale, or direct IP—I pick what makes sense for the moment. No separate bookmarks for each method. The launcher handles all of it and remembers my preferences. ## Homelab service launcher and organizer It's more than just links. I organized everything by how I actually use it. Media stuff together. Home automation together. Network tools together. The categories make sense to me because I made them. That's the luxury of building your own tools. ## Quick access service bookmarking system I pinned my most-used services to the top. Plex, Home Assistant, and a few others I hit every day. Everything else is still there, just below the fold. It learns what I use and makes those things easier to reach. Simple but effective. ## Final Thoughts Look, this isn't some revolutionary project. It's a few hundred lines of code that solved my specific problem. It took a few rounds with Claude Code to come up with it but it was something I've always wanted but couldnt find what I really need in other solutions, that's the beauty of homelab work. You don't need thousands of stars on GitHub to make something useful. You just need to scratch your own itch. Heimdall and Homepage are great for a lot of people. They just weren't great for me. So I built something that was. Now my homelab feels like mine again. [GitHub - jasontucker/undocked-launcherHomelab dashboard for Unraid — one-tap access via Cloudflare, Tailscale, and direct IP — ⭐ 0 · 🍴 0![](https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg)GitHubjasontucker![](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/108426?v=4)](https://github.com/jasontucker/undocked-launcher?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Explo: Self-Hosted Discover Weekly for Your Music Library URL: https://jasontucker.blog/explo-self-hosted-discover-weekly-for-your-music-library/ Last updated: 2026-04-28T07:08:27.000Z One of the things I miss most about Spotify is Discover Weekly. That Monday morning playlist that somehow always had something worth listening to. Since moving my music library to Plex and using Lidarr to manage my collection, I've been pretty happy, but that music discovery piece has always felt like a hole. That changed when I stumbled across a YouTube video by DammitJeff today that introduced me to [Explo](https://github.com/LumePart/Explo?ref=jasontucker.blog). ## What is Explo? The Explo github site reads: *Explo bridges the gap between music discovery and self-hosted music systems. Its main function is to act as a self-hosted alternative to Spotify’s Discover Weekly, automating music discovery based on your listening history.* *Explo uses the* [*ListenBrainz*](https://listenbrainz.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) *recommendation engine to retrieve personalized tracks and requests them directly into your music library.* ## The Problem with Self-Hosted Music [DammitJeff](https://www.youtube.com/dammitjeff?ref=jasontucker.blog) put it perfectly in his video. [Starting around 30:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1852s&ref=jasontucker.blog), he describes the exact friction point that keeps people tethered to streaming: > "The biggest problem I keep hearing from people who want to start moving away from Spotify and Apple Music over to self-hosted music is almost always the exact same issue. Discoverability, recommendations. I mean, people still want to be able to discover new music, and streaming services, they kind of have a pretty good grip on that. But I think I finally cracked it." That's exactly where I've been. Everything else about self-hosting music is solved: library management, metadata, multi-device playback. But discovery has always been the weak link. ## Enter ListenBrainz The solution starts with [ListenBrainz](https://listenbrainz.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog), a free and open-source music scrobbling platform. [At around 31:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1876s&ref=jasontucker.blog), DammitJeff explains what makes it useful: > "They also have a service called ListenBrainz. It's an open-source database of listening stats and can track and log your listening history from any app like Plex, Navidrome, YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and a lot of other apps. So now we have like an actual history of what you're listening to... ListenBrainz can also see what other people are listening to that might overlap with your music and create recommendation playlists for artists and songs that you might like." This is the foundation. ListenBrainz builds a taste profile from your listening history, then cross-references it with what similar listeners are enjoying to surface recommendations you'd probably never find on your own. ## Where Explo Comes In Once you have recommendations, you need something to act on them. [At 31:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1906s&ref=jasontucker.blog): > "And once we have the recommendations, we can run it through an app called Explo, which can take that list and then run it through a downloader of your choice and automatically clean up everything for you and download all the tracks seamlessly." And it runs on a schedule. [At 31:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1918s&ref=jasontucker.blog): > "So every Tuesday it'll run through those recommendations that ListenBrainz made, automatically download the songs, send it to your music library, and create a playlist with new music. We're basically making our own algorithm here. By default, it can create three playlists for you: discover, weekly jams, and daily jams... And it's also smart enough to suggest based off of your artists and make sure that it doesn't try to download songs that are already in your library." It's worth being clear about what Explo actually does and doesn't do. [At 32:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1952s&ref=jasontucker.blog), DammitJeff clarifies: > "Explo itself doesn't download the songs, which is why I'm cool talking about it. It just grabs recommendations from ListenBrainz and then tells a download app of your choice to go, you know, download those specific songs and then puts them into a playlist that Plex or Navidrome could use. So just to be clear, the combo is ListenBrainz, Explo, and a third app downloader." Explo is the middleware. ListenBrainz generates the recommendations, Explo orchestrates the process, and your downloader of choice (YouTube via yt-dlp, or Soulseek via slskd) does the actual fetching. The result lands as a playlist in Plex or Navidrome automatically. ## The Part That Got Me Really Interested About two-thirds through the video, DammitJeff mentioned something that made me stop and rewind. [At 33:03](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=1983s&ref=jasontucker.blog): > "Only thing is this is a command line program and it desperately needs a user interface. I've been designing something like for my own needs, just like a really simple way to help people interact with the environment variables a little bit easier... I would love to get this added into Explo, but I need to get approval from the main devs to be able to get it merged into the main build." He wasn't just talking about it either. He actually built it and submitted [PR #116](https://github.com/LumePart/Explo/pull/116?ref=jasontucker.blog) to add a full web interface and setup wizard to Explo. His background is in UX/UI design and it shows. The wizard walks you through connecting your music system, setting up your download preferences, and configuring your schedule all through a browser instead of manually editing a `.env` file. The PR is currently open and under review with 18 commits already in. The reaction on GitHub was massive, largely because the same YouTube video sent a wave of people over to the repo all at once. The project maintainer LumePart even commented that the PR looked suspicious at first because of the sudden flood of reactions, until he realized they all came from the video. That's a great problem to have. ## Getting It Running on Unraid Since I run everything on Unraid, I went the Docker route. The setup involves a few moving pieces. For scrobbling, Explo needs listening history to generate recommendations. I set up scrobbling from Plexamp to Last.fm (built into the Plexamp app, so it covers my iPhone, Mac, and iPad automatically), then connected Last.fm to ListenBrainz. I also imported my Spotify history into ListenBrainz which gave it a big head start on understanding my taste. One unexpected side effect of logging back into Last.fm was seeing songs I was listening to back in 2009\. I'd completely forgotten about that account. Scrolling through that history took me back to a time when things felt a lot simpler. It's funny how music does that. If you're running Plex like I am and listening through Plexamp on your phone, the scrobbling setup is pretty painless. You can connect Last.fm directly to your Plex server at [plex.tv/users/other-services](https://plex.tv/users/other-services?ref=jasontucker.blog), and from there you can also [link your Last.fm account to ListenBrainz](https://listenbrainz.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) so everything flows through automatically. That chain is what makes the whole Explo setup work without having to think about it. For downloading, Explo uses YouTube to fetch tracks via yt-dlp. You need a free API key from Google Cloud Console. The free tier gives you 10,000 units per day which is way more than a weekly tool will ever use. The Docker setup itself is straightforward. Point it at your `.env` file and your music library and you're off. I put mine at `/mnt/user/appdata/explo/` with music downloading into `/mnt/user/data/media/music/explo/`, a subfolder that Plex watches as part of my main Music library. ## Testing the Web UI Branch Since DammitJeff was asking for testers I spun up a second container from his fork to try the web interface. It lives in a separate directory and runs on port 7288\. The setup wizard is genuinely nice. If you've ever set up Sonarr or Radarr you'll feel right at home. The main caveat right now is that authentication isn't built in yet, so keep it on your local network only. For homelab testing it works well though, and it's clear this is going to meaningfully lower the barrier to entry for Explo once it lands in the main branch. ## One Thing to Note About Discovery Mode When you first set up Explo, ListenBrainz probably hasn't generated a Weekly Exploration playlist for your account yet. That takes a few weeks of scrobbling history. In the meantime you can set `LISTENBRAINZ_DISCOVERY=api` which pulls 25 recommendations using whatever history you have. Once your account has more data, switching to `playlist` mode gives you 50 tracks and better results. Importing your Spotify history speeds this process up considerably. ## Worth Setting Up DammitJeff's closing thought at [33:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&t=2023s&ref=jasontucker.blog) sums it up well: > "So there you go, for the people that cannot live without discovery recommendations. Legit, I couldn't find any info about this mix of apps. Hopefully, I helped someone out there finally fix their self-hosted music." He helped me. If you're running a self-hosted music setup and you've been missing the discovery side of things, Explo is worth the hour it takes to get running. Go give [PR #116](https://github.com/LumePart/Explo/pull/116?ref=jasontucker.blog) a thumbs up if you want to see the web UI land in the main branch, and check out [the full video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&ref=jasontucker.blog) — it's what got me started on all of this. --- **Links:** - [Explo on GitHub](https://github.com/LumePart/Explo?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [DammitJeff's YouTube video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d2cATPt8Nk&ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Web UI Pull Request #116](https://github.com/LumePart/Explo/pull/116?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [ListenBrainz](https://listenbrainz.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Is there anything you can think of that would make this better? Leave me a comment below I'd love to hear it. ### Teaching an old fan new tricks URL: https://jasontucker.blog/teaching-an-old-fan-new-tricks/ Last updated: 2026-02-04T22:10:45.000Z My wife Jen lets me know the ceiling fan in our bedroom stopped working. I always wanted the fan and light in that room to be smart, a long while back I bought a [Bond](https://bondhome.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog) device that would blast IR and RF to change the state of a device but it never knew its current state. Just blindly yelling into the void "TOGGLE LIGHT STATE" and it could be on or off, who knows. I figured since the fan AND the light stopped working its most likely not the fan motor it must be the controller. I searched around looking for a fan controller box I can swap out that will let me set the state of the fan, not toggle it and can also be used with Home Assistant and ultimately Apple HomeKit which is where my wife controls stuff on her phone. ## What did I get? So for this setup I went with a [Sonoff iFan04](https://sonoff.tech/en-us/products/sonoff-ifan04-wi-fi-ceiling-fan-and-light-controller?ref=jasontucker.blog) which lets me control the fan using an app, it comes with one called eWeLink which is ok but not for me. I used that app for the initial setup then to add it to Home Assistant and Home Kit. I installed the Sonoff integration that AlexIT is maintaining, [SonoffLAN](https://github.com/AlexxIT/SonoffLAN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) as long as you have the latest firmware installed. I let the eWeLink app do the firmware update then enabled the DIY Lan option so the device can be controlled locally not using the cloud. Configuration > [Integrations](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/integrations/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \> Add Integration > [Sonoff](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/config%5Fflow%5Fstart/?domain=sonoff&ref=jasontucker.blog) and my device was added to Home Assistant and with my fan tested I put the fan back together and noticed that for whatever reason Sonoff thought it was a good idea to put a buzzer in the device so every time you press the button it makes a noise! BEEP! ## What is that beeping? Each time you press a button it makes the device beep. Lets say its 3am and you roll over press a button and change the speed of the fan, both you and your partner hear BEEP each time a button is pressed. Nope, not on my watch. So I have a few options to deal with this, one is to physically do something to the buzzer on the board either with hot glue, super glue, desolder the buzzer or just crush it with pliars. I've heard reports from folks online that if the wifi signal fails it may start beeping too. That sounds awful. I've heard of folks flashing the device with Tasmota or even editing the esphome using something like [https://github.com/rh1rich/esphome-ifan04](https://github.com/rh1rich/esphome-ifan04?ref=jasontucker.blog) but I havent explored that. I contacted Sonoff to see what they recommend before I go and pull the buzzer. ## I need a physical remote Ikea started selling this awesome [Ikea Bilresa Dual Button Remote](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bilresa-remote-control-white-smart-dual-button-80617876/?ref=jasontucker.blog) (or [in a 3 pack](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bilresa-remote-control-kit-dual-button-multicolor-70617891/?ref=jasontucker.blog)) which is a simple 2 button remote which runs Matter over Thread. To setup this remote and if you are like me using both Homekit and Home Assistant you scan the QR Code on the back of the remote while in the Apple Home app then add the device there. Assign the device to a room and then open the room. You should see the device under the Other area at the bottom, tap the device and scroll to the bottom and tap on **Turn On Pairing Mode** and a code is presented. You can use that code to add this device in Home Assistant and the current state will be synced between the two ecosystems via Matter. This remote is kinda awesome, it has 2 buttons and each button has 3 states. Press, Double Press, Press and hold. Here is my setup: **Button 1** \- Fan - Each Single Press - High, Medium, Low, Off - Double Press (just in case, same as single press) - High, Medium, Low, Off - Press and hold - Off **Button 2** \- Lights - Single Press toggles fan light - Press and hold toggles all lights in the room So in order to set this up I needed a way to cycles through the settings and this device has the state named: off, low, medium, high. I setup a script and added it to Home Assistant - Go to **Settings** → **Automations & Scenes** - Click the **Scripts** tab - Click **\+ Add Script** (bottom right) - Click the **⋮** menu (top right) → **Edit in YAML** - Paste the entire script code - Click **Save** Here is the vibecoded script I used to cycle through the fan speeds: `alias: Cycle Fan Speed fields: fan_entity: description: The fan entity to control example: fan.bedroom_fan sequence: - choose: - conditions: - condition: state entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" state: "off" sequence: - target: entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" data: preset_mode: low action: fan.set_preset_mode - conditions: - condition: state entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" attribute: preset_mode state: low sequence: - target: entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" data: preset_mode: medium action: fan.set_preset_mode - conditions: - condition: state entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" attribute: preset_mode state: medium sequence: - target: entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" data: preset_mode: high action: fan.set_preset_mode default: - target: entity_id: "{{ fan_entity }}" action: fan.turn_off ` ## Setting up the remote To use this remote to its fullest in Home Assistant the easiest way to do it is to use this [Blueprint for Ikea Bilresa Dual Button Remote](https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ikea-bilresa-dual-button-remote/965815?ref=jasontucker.blog) that has all the button presses setup. I went to that site and clicked the import blueprint button and added it to my home assistant. From there selected the 2 buttons I wanted to configure and got things working using the Cycle Fan Speed script to do the speed toggling and toggle light to do the light toggling. Since you have 3 states per you can set those up how every you like. Also if you have 2 sets of buttons (I have a green and an orange one on either side of the bed) you can configure them together like I did here. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/02/CleanShot-2026-02-04-at-11.21.52-1.png) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2026/02/CleanShot-2026-02-04-at-11.22.07-1.png) With all this setup I now have a fan that can be controlled with the remote it came with, the Ikea remotes or can be controlled from Home Assistant or HomeKit app. I could with Home Assistant using the temp sensor in the room change the fan speed to cool the room down as well. There is a lot to do with this and I'm looking forward to having a more streamlined and predictable setup going forward. ❓ What are you using for your dumb fans to make them smart? ### Seeing Games as They Were Meant to Be Seen: My Graphics Card Upgrade Journey URL: https://jasontucker.blog/seeing-games-as-they-were-meant-to-be-seen-my-graphics-card-upgrade-journey/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T23:40:09.000Z After years of making do with aging hardware, I finally took the plunge and upgraded to an [AMD RX 9070 XT](https://jasontucker.blog/optimizing-bios-settings-for-my-new-amd-rx-9070-xt-gpu-upgrade/). As someone who works in IT and runs an extensive home lab, I'm no stranger to hardware upgrades, but this one hit differently. For the first time, I'm experiencing ray tracing, and it's completely transformed how I see the games I've been playing. ## The Ray Tracing and Path Tracing Revelation Ray tracing was always one of those features I'd read about but never experienced firsthand. The realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows seemed like nice-to-haves rather than must-haves. I was wrong. So incredibly wrong. **Cyberpunk 2077** has become my showcase piece for what modern graphics can do. With 87.6 hours already invested in Night City, I thought I knew this game inside and out. But with ray tracing enabled, it's like playing it for the first time all over again. The neon reflections in puddles, the way light scatters through crowds, the realistic shadows cast by the mega buildings—it's breathtaking. Every rain-soaked street corner is now a photo opportunity. I find myself just standing still sometimes, rotating the camera to catch how light plays off different surfaces. It's funny, I never thought to take pictures in game for many of the games that have that feature, it looks like I'll be doing more of that now that things look nice. ## Rediscovering Open Worlds **Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced** is another game I'm actively playing (I fired it up today, actually). Even though GTA V is getting long in the tooth, the enhanced edition with proper ray tracing makes Los Santos feel fresh again. The vehicle reflections alone are worth the upgrade, seeing the city reflected in your car's paint as you cruise down Vinewood Boulevard adds a level of immersion I didn't know I was missing. I've also been diving back into **Red Dead Redemption 2**, which I last played a few months back. The ray-traced lighting at different times of day is stunning. Sunrise over the Heartlands, moonlight filtering through the Bayou trees, the warm glow of a campfire—these moments hit differently now. With only 32.9 hours logged and just 4 out of 51 achievements, I have plenty of reasons to keep exploring, and now I have the visual fidelity to fully appreciate Rockstar's masterpiece. ## The Achievement Hunter in Me Looking at my library, I realize I'm a bit of a serial game-starter. **Starfield** (98 hours, 34/62 achievements), **Fallout 4** (90.9 hours, 6/84 achievements), and **Horizon Zero Dawn** (23.4 hours, 21/79 achievements) all show that I love diving into these massive worlds, even if I don't always see them through to completion. It looks like I'll be circling back now that things look nicer. But you know what? The graphics upgrade is giving me a reason to revisit these worlds. **Far Cry 6** is sitting there with 0 out of 99 achievements despite 28.4 hours of play—that tropical paradise deserves another look with ray-traced lighting bouncing off the Caribbean waters. Man that game was hard to play on such an old GPU. ## Games I'm Excited to Experience Properly There are several games in my library that I've barely touched but am now excited to experience with my new hardware: - **Expeditions: A MudRunner Game** \- Last played in July 2025, this one's physics and environmental effects should really shine with better graphics processing - **STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor** \- 21.2 hours in with 14/53 achievements, the lightsaber effects and alien worlds deserve the ray tracing treatment - **The Last of Us Part I** \- Only 19.3 hours logged from May 2023, and this remake was built to showcase modern graphics technology. What a hard game to play with an older card. ## The Technical Side As someone who manages complex IT systems and runs Home Assistant automation at home, I appreciate that the RX 9070 XT isn't just about pretty pictures. The performance is consistent, thermals are manageable, and it integrates seamlessly with my setup. The power supply compatibility worked out perfectly, and I'm getting the framerates I need while maintaining visual quality. ## The Perfect Timing: GTA 6 on the Horizon Here's the thing that really makes this upgrade feel perfectly timed: GTA 6 is set to launch on November 19, 2026\. After spending 31.7 hours in GTA V Enhanced and literally playing it today, I can't help but think about how incredible Vice City is going to look with modern ray tracing and next-gen graphics. I've been with the GTA series for years, and seeing how much the Enhanced edition of GTA V has improved with my new card makes me incredibly excited for what Rockstar is building. The game is returning to Vice City with a massive open world called Leonida, a Florida-inspired state that goes far beyond the city's borders. The thought of exploring those neon-soaked streets, the swamps, the coastal areas, all with the kind of visual fidelity that modern hardware can deliver is genuinely thrilling. The timing of my upgrade couldn't be better. By the time November 2026 rolls around, I'll have nearly a year of experience with ray tracing under my belt, I'll know exactly how to [optimize my settings](https://jasontucker.blog/optimizing-bios-settings-for-my-new-amd-rx-9070-xt-gpu-upgrade/) for the best experience, and my RX 9070 XT will be ready to handle whatever Rockstar throws at it. GTA 6 is being built specifically for next-generation hardware, promising cutting-edge graphics, advanced AI, and the most detailed open world Rockstar has ever created. After all those hours in Los Santos, I'm ready for Vice City. And this time, I'll actually be able to see every ray-traced reflection in every puddle, every piece of neon bouncing off wet pavement, every detail that makes Rockstar's worlds feel alive. ## What's Next With my new graphics capability, I'm planning to be more intentional about my gaming time. Instead of bouncing between titles (looking at you, 98 hours in Starfield with barely half the achievements), I want to really experience these worlds the way developers intended them to be seen. I'm particularly excited to dive deeper into **Cyberpunk 2077**—with 23 out of 57 achievements and "Yesterday" showing as my last play session, I'm clearly hooked. The combination of compelling storytelling and now stunning visuals has me completely absorbed in V's story. And of course, I'll be keeping my skills sharp for when Vice City calls in November 2026. ## Final Thoughts Upgrading your graphics card isn't just about higher frame rates or better textures, though those are nice. It's about seeing the artistry and craft that game developers pour into their worlds. It's about those small moments: the way light filters through leaves, how fire reflects in a character's eyes, the subtle shadows that add depth to a scene. For the first time in years, I'm not compromising. I'm not wondering what I'm missing. I'm experiencing games as they were meant to be experienced, and it's reignited my passion for gaming. And knowing that I'm now ready for GTA 6 when it launches this November? That's just the cherry on top. Now if you'll excuse me, Night City is calling, and I have some photo mode screenshots to capture. Vice City can wait... but not for much longer. Time to dive into [GTA5 online and buy a new mansion.](https://www.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/1pjd13q/i%5Fbought%5Fall%5F3%5Fmansions%5Fso%5Fyou%5Fdont%5Fhave%5Fto%5Fsome/?ref=jasontucker.blog) --- *What games would you recommend for showcasing ray tracing? Drop your suggestions in the comments below.* ### Optimizing BIOS Settings for My New AMD RX 9070 XT GPU Upgrade URL: https://jasontucker.blog/optimizing-bios-settings-for-my-new-amd-rx-9070-xt-gpu-upgrade/ Last updated: 2026-01-04T20:58:12.000Z I recently purchased a [XFX AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Swift 16GB ](https://www.microcenter.com/product/691506/xfx-amd-radeon-rx-9070-xt-swift-white-triple-fan-16gb-gddr6-pcie-50-graphics-card?ref=jasontucker.blog) upgrading from an old NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super card with 6GB. The card is a night and day difference, my new card isn't the highest spec card but when [compared to my previous card, it's light years better](https://technical.city/en/video/GeForce-GTX-1660-Super-vs-Radeon-RX-9070-XT?ref=jasontucker.blog). One thing I always struggled with is the memory on the old card, it never had enough for modern day graphics. I wanted to make sure my bios for my motherboard was configured correctly and found this website [hone.gg](https://hone.gg/blog/bios-settings-for-gaming/?ref=jasontucker.blog) that explains a lot about how to configure it. ## My specs: - Case: [NZTX H5 Flow](https://nzxt.com/products/h5-flow-2022?ref=jasontucker.blog) (2022) - **CPU:** [AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (6 Cores)](https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/5000-series/amd-ryzen-5-5600x.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) - **Motherboard:** [ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming](https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b550-f-gaming-model/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - **Memory**: DDR4 32GB (2x16 sticks) - **GPU:** [XFX AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT Swift 16GB GDDR6 PCIe 5.0](https://www.xfxforce.com/shop/xfx-swift-amd-radeon-rx-9070xt-triple-fan-gaming-edition?ref=jasontucker.blog) - **PSU:** [MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.1](https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MAG-A850GL-PCIE5?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Important:** I also upgraded my PSU from 650W to 850W for this GPU. The RX 9070 XT draws significantly more power (304W TDP) than the old GTX 1660 Super (125W), so a quality 750-850W PSU is essential. I also had to use two separate PCIE cables for the power. Some folks say its ok to use 1 with 2 connectors on it but I had a second one that came with my MSI MAG PSU so I went that route. Better to overdo it than not provide enough power to the video card. ## Benchmark Before and After It's a good idea to run some benchmark tests before and after upgrades and before and after settings changes to make sure that what you changed helped. I'm starting with 3DMark Time Spy, then trying 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme. [Save 75% on 3DMark on Steam3DMark is for gamers, overclockers and system builders who want to get more out of their hardware. With its wide range of benchmark tests, 3DMark has everything you need to test your PC or Mac’s performance.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-10.ico)STEAM![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/capsule_616x353.jpg)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/3DMark/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [3DMark Solar Bay Extreme on SteamSolar Bay Extreme is a heavy cross-platform raytracing benchmark for powerful lightweight devices.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon-11.ico)STEAM![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/capsule_616x353-1.jpg)](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3941790/3DMark%5FSolar%5FBay%5FExtreme/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Digging into a few others out there you have [Unigine Superposition](https://benchmark.unigine.com/superposition?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [FurMark](https://geeks3d.com/furmark/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but I've heard that it can really mess things up if you run it too long since it's more of a stress tester. **FurMark** \- Extreme stress test. Only run for 5-10 minutes maximum. This is intentionally brutal on GPUs and can cause overheating. Use for PSU stability testing only, not regular benchmarking. 3 other tools to run are for monitoring, both AMD and Nvidia have apps that can do on screen displays as well. [AMD Adrenalin Software](https://www.amd.com/en/products/software/adrenalin.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) is what I'm currently using. - [MSI Afterburner](https://www.msi.com/Landing/afterburner/graphics-cards?ref=jasontucker.blog) (Free) - [HWiNFO64](https://www.hwinfo.com/download/?ref=jasontucker.blog) (Free) - [GPU-Z](https://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) (Free) ## Update Bios Before I do anything I updated the bios to the latest version. Old stuff doesn't know about new stuff so I updated the bios to make sure things were running with the latest and greatest. For my ROG STRIX B5550-F Gaming mobo [I go to this site to download the bios](https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b550-f-gaming-model/helpdesk%5Fbios/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Search the name of your motherboard and bios update to find what website has it or use the GPU-Z app mentioned above to find if you're behind on updates and where to download them. ## XMP/EXPO Profile This is the biggest change you can make to improve performance - enable your RAM's XMP/EXPO profile. The setting name depends on your platform: - **XMP** \- Intel platforms - **EXPO** \- AMD Ryzen 7000 series with DDR5 - **DOCP/A-XMP** \- AMD Ryzen 5000 series with DDR4 (that's me!) For my system, I looked for **DOCP** or **A-XMP** in the BIOS under the AI Tweaker or Extreme Tweaker tab. Enable it to run your RAM at its rated speed instead of the default 2133 MHz. ## Resizable BAR or AMD Smart Access Memory - Press **F7** to switch to Advanced Mode (if in EZ Mode) - Go to **Advanced** tab at the top - Look for **AMD CBS** or **PCIe Subsystem Settings** Find and enable these settings: - **Above 4G Decoding** \- Set to **Enabled** For mine: Advanced → PCI Subsystem Settings → Above 4G Decoding → Enabled - **Re-Size BAR Support** \- Set to **Enabled** (this is SAM on AMD) Advanced → PCI Subsystem Settings → Re-Size BAR → Enabled - **Disable CSM** (Compatibility Support Module) Path: Boot → CSM → Disabled - Press **F10** to Save and Exit **Verify it worked:** After rebooting, open GPU-Z and check the 'Resizable BAR' line - it should say 'Enabled' or show 16GB. ## Platform Specific settings I'm running AMD and found that these can be enabled **AMD-Specific Performance Settings** (Optional - for advanced users) These settings can squeeze more performance from my Ryzen 5 5600X that I may look into later: - **PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive)** \- Allows CPU to boost higher. Requires good cooling - stock coolers aren't sufficient - **Curve Optimizer** \- Undervolt individual cores for efficiency. Start conservatively at -10 and test stability - **Core Performance Boost** \- Enable for automatic frequency scaling **Note:** Test stability after each change with Cinebench or Prime95. ## Results After enabling DOCP and Smart Access Memory, I saw a 5-8% FPS improvement in most games. Combined with the massive upgrade from the GTX 1660 Super, games now run butter-smooth at 1440p with maxed textures - exactly what I was hoping for with the 16GB of VRAM. Total investment: \~$750 (GPU + PSU upgrade) Performance gain: Night and day difference **Bottom line:** If you're upgrading your GPU, don't skip the BIOS optimization - it's free performance! 💡 ****Quick Tips: Buying GPUs on Facebook Marketplace** I saved money buying my RX 9070 XT on Facebook Marketplace ($630 vs $750+ retail), but you need to be smart about it: **Essential Safety Steps:** - Meet in public places (police stations are best, I went with a Starbucks) - Verify serial numbers match (box vs. card) - Check for physical damage before paying - Get a written receipt with serial number - Test the card the same day you buy it **Red Flags - Walk Away If:** - Seller won't let you inspect thoroughly - Price is too good to be true - Serial numbers don't match - Card shows signs of use when advertised as new Ultimately in my case the guy was a student, bought the video card and found that its about 12 inches being a triple fan card it didn't fit his smaller case for his desk. My [NZTX H5](https://nzxt.com/products/h5-flow-2022?ref=jasontucker.blog) case has plenty of room ### Fixing a Corrupted Plex Database (Unraid, Docker, or Bare Metal) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/fixing-a-corrupted-plex-database-unraid-docker-or-bare-metal/ Last updated: 2025-10-01T23:45:39.000Z If you’ve run Plex long enough, you’ve probably hit the dreaded **database corruption** issue. Suddenly Plex won’t load your library, or you get weird behavior when browsing media. The good news is Plex ships with a built-in repair utility, and you can use it whether you’re running Plex in **Unraid**, in a **Docker container**, or directly on **Windows/Linux/macOS**. This post will walk you through how to safely stop Plex, run the repair, and start it back up. ## **Why Plex Database Corruption Happens** Plex uses an SQLite database (com.plexapp.plugins.library.db) to track all your media, metadata, and watched states. Like any database, if Plex is interrupted while writing to it (power outage, forced restart, filesystem hiccup), the file can get corrupted. Symptoms include: - Plex not starting at all - Libraries missing or refusing to scan - Searches returning nothing ## **The Official Repair Tool:** ## **PlexDBRepair** Plex bundles a repair script called [**PlexDBRepair**](https://github.com/ChuckPa/DBRepair?ref=jasontucker.blog) (or DBRepair.sh depending on your distribution). It can often salvage a corrupted database without you needing to restore from backup. ## **Step 1: Stop Plex Safely** ### **If you’re running Plex in Docker (Unraid, binhex-plex, linuxserver/plex):** You don’t need to stop the container, just stop the **Plex Media Server daemon** inside it. For example with binhex-plex: `docker exec binhex-plex supervisorctl stop plexmediaserver` Or if that doesn’t work: `docker exec binhex-plex pkill -f "Plex Media Server"` If that doesn't work and you are using Unraid you can try and connect to the container's console and manage it from there. 1. **Open a shell into your container** From Unraid, go to the **Docker tab** in the web UI, click the dropdown arrow next to your Plex container, and choose **Console**.Or from a terminal, run: `docker exec -it binhex-plex bash` (replace binhex-plex with your container name — you can see it under docker ps).Now you’re inside the container as if it were its own mini-Linux system. 1. **Stop the Plex daemon** Inside the container shell, try the official way first: `supervisorctl stop plexmediaserver` If that returns “no such process” or Plex keeps running, use a process kill: `pkill -f "Plex Media Server"` You can verify it stopped with: `ps aux | grep -i plex` ### **If you’re running Plex on bare metal (Windows/macOS/Linux):** - On Windows: stop the Plex service from **Services.msc** or exit it from the tray icon. - On Linux: `sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver` - On macOS: quit Plex from the menu bar. ## **Step 2: Run the Repair Script** The repair script location depends on how Plex is installed: - **Unraid/Docker (binhex-plex):** `docker exec binhex-plex /usr/local/bin/DBRepair.sh auto` - **Linux (official package):** `/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/PlexDBRepair` - **macOS:**Located under the Plex app bundle, usually: `/Applications/Plex Media Server.app/Contents/MacOS/PlexDBRepair` - **Windows:**Run from the Plex installation folder: `"C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\PlexDBRepair.exe"` The auto option attempts to run a full check/repair sequence automatically. ## **Step 3: Start Plex Again** - **Docker/Unraid:** `docker restart binhex-plex` - **Linux:** `sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver` - **macOS / Windows:** Just launch Plex again. ## **What I do - Automating Nightly Maintenance on Unraid** If you’d like to automatically run a repair check once a night: 1. Install the **User Scripts** plugin in Unraid. 2. Create a script like this: #!/bin/bash echo "=== Plex Maintenance Started: $(date) ===" # Stop Plex daemon docker exec binhex-plex pkill -f "Plex Media Server" sleep 10 # Run DB repair docker exec binhex-plex /usr/local/bin/DBRepair.sh auto # Restart Plex container docker restart binhex-plex echo "=== Plex Maintenance Finished: $(date) ===" 1. Schedule it for 3 AM daily or some time outside of your backup window ## **Stuff to think about** - **Backup first**: Your Plex database lives in Plex Media Server/Plug-in Support/Databases/. Copy it before running repair. - **Use Uptime Kuma or similar monitoring**: If you monitor Plex uptime, you can automatically put it in maintenance mode before repair so alerts don’t fire. - **If repair fails**: Restore from a database backup (com.plexapp.plugins.library.db-.bak) found in the same folder. ## **Conclusion** Whether you’re running Plex on bare metal, inside Docker, or on Unraid, the database repair process is very similar. The key is: 1. Stop Plex 2. Run PlexDBRepair 3. Restart Plex With a little automation, you can even run it nightly to catch corruption early. Got any other suggestions? Leave it in the comments. ### Build a WikiDocs snapshot of an Unraid server dynamically URL: https://jasontucker.blog/build-a-wikidocs-snapshot-of-an-unraid-server-dynamically/ Last updated: 2025-10-01T23:01:26.000Z I’ve always wanted a way to document the environment my servers are running in, and to access that info without SSH’ing in and digging around. I started using WikiDocs and was doing it all manually. Then I realized: why am I doing this manually? The server already knows what it is running. Let’s make it do the work for me. I looked around to see if anyone had done this already and didn’t find much, so I opened ChatGPT and started a little vibe-coding session. The goal was simple: build a script that collects the data I care about and renders it as Markdown for WikiDocs. ❓ I want to document my unraid server, what commands should i run to collect data that wont change but would be good to know for the server? I can access the server via cli It came back with a long list across System Info, Hardware, Networking, Users and Groups, Services and Software, and Docker. For example: # Hostname and OS hostnamectl # Distribution & version lsb_release -a      # works on Ubuntu/Debian cat /etc/os-release # universal fallback # Kernel version uname -a # Uptime and load uptime It also suggested saving output to structured Markdown. That fits WikiDocs perfectly, since it works off a folder tree with content.md files. mkdir -p ~/server-docs hostnamectl > ~/server-docs/system-info.txt lscpu > ~/server-docs/cpu.txt lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MOUNTPOINT > ~/server-docs/disks.txt ... ## **Rendering to WikiDocs** After a few iterations, I had it output everything in a format WikiDocs can read. The plan was to generate a Markdown file for each section under servers/unraid, with a landing page and subpages for disks, Docker, networking, and more. I ended up with a structure like this: . ├── content.md ├── unraid │ ├── content.md │ ├── disks │ │ ├── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sda │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdb │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdc │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdd │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sde │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdf │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdg │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdh │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdi │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdj │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdk │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdl │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdm │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdn │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdo │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── disk-sdq │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── radeon-r7-a22mf061445000306 │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st3000dm001-1ch166-w1f3pr5b │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st3000dm001-1ch166-z1f334wp │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st3000vn000-1h4167-z31023t5 │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st3000vn000-1h4167-z31025dt │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st4000dm000-1f2168-s3019nam │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st4000dm000-1f2168-s3019nhk │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st4000dm000-1f2168-s3019vwq │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st4000dm000-1f2168-s301prlt │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st6000vn001-2bb186-zct3whxh │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── st6000vn001-2bb186-zct3wj2j │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ ├── wdc-wd30ezrx-00dc0b0-wd-wcc1t0724596 │ │ │ └── content.md │ │ └── wdc-wds500g2b0a-00sm50-21117d801885 │ │ └── content.md │ ├── docker │ │ └── content.md │ ├── hardware │ │ └── content.md │ ├── networking │ │ └── content.md │ ├── old.md │ ├── services │ │ └── content.md │ ├── storage │ │ └── content.md │ ├── suggestions │ │ └── content.md │ ├── system │ │ └── content.md │ └── users │ ├── content.md │ └── versions │ └── 20250907_103358.md └── versions ├── 20250401_140453.md ├── 20250907_094433.md ├── 20250907_094658.md ├── 20250907_094722.md └── 20250907_094848.md Each disk has its own content.md. Docker, hardware, networking, and the rest have their own content.md too. Everything updates nightly, which is very nice. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/10/CleanShot-2025-10-01-at-15.46.37@2x.png) ## **A Suggestions Page (what to fix next)** My server is a collection of older drives from retired NAS boxes, so I asked ChatGPT for a Suggestions page. ❓ can we make a suggestions page on the wiki for this server of what upgrades or disks we should look to swap out based on key data from this data set? It built a page that scores each drive on SMART health, temperature, power-on hours, key attributes like reallocated or pending sectors, uncorrectable errors, CRC errors, NVMe wear, and a few model heuristics like the ST3000DM001\. > Heck yeah—let’s add a **Suggestions** page that flags disks to swap/plan/monitor and gives upgrade notes. It scores each drive on SMART health, temps, power-on hours, key SMART attrs (reallocated/pending/uncorrectable/CRC), NVMe wear, and some model heuristics (e.g., ST3000DM001). It then writes: > `/servers/unraid/suggestions/content.md` with: > “Replace soon”, “Plan replacement”, “Monitor” lists (sorted by risk) > reasons per drive > general upgrade tips (cooling, cables, tests, spare, capacity) > Here’s the **full updated script** (includes your previous fixes: capacity parsing, clickable links, M/D/YYYY, breadcrumbs), now with the Suggestions page. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/10/CleanShot-2025-10-01-at-15.47.05@2x.png) ## Modularizing the script The first pass was a monolith. I broke it into modules so I could run it from User Scripts in Unraid and schedule it with cron. I stored everything here: /mnt/user/appdata/server-scripts/generate-wiki-snapshot/ │ ├─ config.env ├─ run.sh ├─ lib/ │ └─ common.sh └─ modules/ ├─ 01_collect_system.sh ├─ 02_collect_shares.sh ├─ 03_collect_disks.sh ├─ 04_render_pages.sh ├─ 05_disks_pages.sh └─ 06_suggestions.sh A quick tip for multi-turn builds with ChatGPT: if it suggests an approach you do not want, tell it what you changed. Future answers will line up with your choices instead of it trying to steer you back. ## Landing Page Once the subpages existed, I added a landing page that shows the last update time, quick links to each section, and a short system summary. This runs after the other pages, so it can reference them. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/10/CleanShot-2025-10-01-at-15.45.23@2x.png) ## Wrapping up I came into this with a dream, a twenty dollar ChatGPT subscription, and almost no research on what to collect beyond my manual notes. The script has been solid for a month. My goal was a self-documenting environment that stays fresh automatically, and that is what it is doing. As I add more homelab gear, I will spin up similar scripts to feed WikiDocs. ## What gotchas have I found? - Some tasks were slow, and it was not obvious if they were stuck or just busy. I added timestamps to each phase so I could see progress in real time. - The Mac ChatGPT app can see iTerm2, which saved a lot of copy and paste during debugging. - Bash was fine, but I might refactor to Python later for fun, and to compare dependency and setup trade-offs. - A few optimizations mattered, such as timeouts, skipping the Unraid flash drive in SMART, and avoiding deep du scans unless needed. - I found that using the Mac app of ChatGPT would allow it to have access to iTerm2 so it could see what was happening on the screen instead of me copy and pasting back and forth. --- ## The repo Yes, I had ChatGPT package it because that was half the fun.I am accepting PRs, and you can have ChatGPT draft one for you. [GitHub - jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshotContribute to jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot development by creating an account on GitHub.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-6.svg)GitHubjasontucker![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot)](https://github.com/jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot?ref=jasontucker.blog) GitHub Repo ## **Install and schedule** Here is how to get the scripts onto your Unraid box, run them once, and schedule nightly updates. ### **1) Clone the repo to Unraid** # pick a home for scripts mkdir -p /mnt/user/appdata/server-scripts cd /mnt/user/appdata/server-scripts # clone and enter the folder git clone https://github.com/jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot.git generate-wiki-snapshot cd generate-wiki-snapshot ### **2) Configure paths** cp config.env.example config.env nano config.env Recommended values: WIKI_ROOT="/mnt/user/appdata/wikidocs/documents/servers/unraid" DOCS_DIR="/root/server-docs" FAST_RENDER=1 WIKI_USER="nobody" WIKI_GROUP="users" Save and exit when done. chmod +x run.sh modules/*.sh tools/*.sh ./run.sh Quick check that WikiDocs now has pages: ls -R /mnt/user/appdata/wikidocs/documents/servers/unraid ### **4) Schedule with the User Scripts plugin** 1. Open Unraid, go to Plugins, make sure **User Scripts** is installed. 2. Go to Settings, then User Scripts, then click **Add New Script**. 3. Name it something like **Generate Wiki Snapshot** and paste this: #!/bin/bash /mnt/user/appdata/server-scripts/generate-wiki-snapshot/run.sh 1. Click **Save Changes**, then **Schedule**. 2. Choose **Custom** and use a daily cron. Example at 3:30 AM: 30 3 * * * 1. Click **Apply**. You can also click **Run Script** to test right away. ### **5) Optional quality of life tweaks** - Turn on timestamps in the console by leaving the default logging in place. - If SMART probes are slow on a specific device, set EXCLUDE\_DEVS in config.env. - If a share scan is heavy, keep FAST\_RENDER=1\. Set it to 0 if you want deeper du sizes. ### **Learn more and contribute** Full details, updates, and a place to open issues or PRs are here: **GitHub**: [https://github.com/jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot](https://github.com/jasontucker/unraid-wikidocs-snapshot?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Stupid Plex URL: https://jasontucker.blog/stupid-plex/ Last updated: 2025-09-10T17:01:57.000Z It was [2022 when this occurred last,](https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/09/another-plex-data-breach-sees-company-urge-users-to-change-their-password/??ref=jasontucker.blog) Plex had a breach and they forced all of their users to reset their passwords. This week the same thing happened again and I totally forgot how much of a pain it was to "reclaim" my server when it gets disconnected from my account. Here is what I did to reclaim mine in case you ran into the same issue. I'm using Unraid with Plex running on the *binhex-plexpass* docker container. Remote into the Docker container, for me I go to Docker then the docker container and click on Console. Go to this address and login with your plex account, this will give you a claim ID: [http://plex.tv/claim](http://plex.tv/claim?ref=jasontucker.blog) Open the console window and type: `$ cd /config/Plex Media Server $ curl -s -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:32400/myplex/claim?token=CLAIMID"` Some XML will show up on the screen and ends in Go to the local IP of your server [http://192.168.1.15:32400/](http://192.168.1.15:32400/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and you should now have access to the server. ### The Hot Tub URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-hot-tub/ Last updated: 2025-08-11T19:04:23.000Z A local friend that I met on [Foursquare](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foursquare%5F%28company%29?ref=jasontucker.blog) a LONG time ago we fought for mayorship of may of the local stores and locations in our town, she posted on Facebook that she got in her pool back in late May and I commented to her how the pool temp was, it was "chilly but doable" and and talked about how her new house is going to have one of those pools that flows into a hot tub so it keeps the pool temp up. I told her that I wish i had a hot tub and she told me she needed to get rid of theirs by the end of July so they could move into their new house. I asked her to send me a pic of it because my wife and I would love to have one. We landed on a price that worked for us and I presented my findings to Jen to see if she would be interested in it as much as me. We worked out where we could put it, where it would be nice to put it and where it would be manageable to move a 92"x92"x32" very heavy box into position. ![Hot Tub in it's previous home](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6010-Medium.jpeg) Hot Tub in it's previous home I subscribed to [/r/hottub](https://www.reddit.com/r/hottub/?ref=jasontucker.blog) as one does and then started digging into what a Harmony Esteem 8052 was and realized that's just the shell and the jet configuration and started looking into the Balboa VS Spa System Model: VSP-CS5100-YCAH which is just the box that the 22972\_E2 motherboard lives in controlled by a 22093\_B topside controller. So what all that means is some company, CalSpa who may or may not be in business now one way or another made the shell, slapped in a spa system controller with heat element, a topside panel on the surface of the tub to control it all and put in 2 motors and an ozone generator and a crapload of pvc pipes connected to jets. That's all a hot tub is, not the Harmony Esteem 8052 that's just the name for this configuration. Box full of parts, nothing more. In computer speak, this is a PC computer case that was pre built at Microcenter, the power supply, motherboard, videocard and the AIO cooler connect to everything and you have the machine. Now that I know how one of these is constructed I got looking into how to get it moved here. ## How to move this thing? I found out there are spa moving companies you can hire and most of them do residential jobs just for consumers in between their big jobs for spa houses selling them at their stores and spa shows. You pay them $200-$500 and the show up with a truck with a lift, a sled and a strong guy to push it around on said sled. I found one that used the word Uber in their name and called them I almost used them but got the runaround. I found another company on Google and hit them up. They asked for the address of both locations (most likely to look on google maps), the dimensions of the gates of both locations and some dimensions for the turns they are going to have to take. We picked a date and waited. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6188-Medium.jpeg) Measure once move twice? ## Where to put this thing? My wife Jen and I looked around our backyard and found 2 places we liked, one on the left side of a crape myrtle tree in our backyard and one on the right side of it. The left is in the sun more so it may weather the box more, may ruin the cover more. The right side was closer to where i wanted the electrical to go to, it was closer to the house and code states the shutoff needs to be pretty close. > 680.41EMERGENCY SWITCH FOR SPAS AND HOT TUBS. A clearly labeled emergency shut off or control switch for the purpose of stopping the motor that provides power to the recirculation system and jet system shall be installed at a point readily accessible to the users and not less than 1.5 m (5 ft.) away, adjacent to, and within site of the spa or hot tub. Good enough for me, I wanna be safe if something bad happens so we went with the right side of the tree for that and a few other reasons. I contacted a friend that did some landscaping for us a few years ago. I guess it was time to give him more money so I had him come over and look over what we wanted. Our backyard is lower than our neighbors, we live on a hill and our backyard is flat but has a 10' hill at the edge of it. We wanted to see if he could excavate the area and make us a pad with a retaining wall of sorts behind it. Local rules say anything shorter than 3' you can do, so we went with that. ![Raised brick patio area under the crape myrtle tree](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6087-Medium.jpeg) Raised brick patio area under the crape myrtle tree ## How are we going to power this thing? I started calling around to a few different electricians, some hate doing residential work or will tolerate it between big high paying jobs and others its their bread and butter. Easy in and out and the gig only take a day or two. I have experience with electricians now since we had one come out and upgrade our service to 200A and then again when we had solar folks come out and install another panel to serve as the protected circuits for our battery backup. Brian came out and talked with me about the electrical, I liked Brian and he had confidence he could get the job done, skilled folks that came out with him and they ran electrical though our attic to our attached garage and then out to where the shutoff should be. From there we had him install an outlet as well as ran low voltage wire so i could install some outdoor lighting in the backyard, good by crappy walmart solar lights. we had a walkway between the house and the hottub and i wanted the electrical ran in the back corner of the tub to be out of the way. Our goal was to put the tub so the serviceable parts are in the front so he would run wire to that spot in flex conduit. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6563-Medium-1.jpeg) What it ended up looking like ## Moving this heavy thing I met the movers at my friends house and they tilted the hot tub on its side, put it on a [flat but flexible piece of $500 plastic](https://www.amazon.com/Spa-Sled-Mover-SSM-01-Regular/dp/B00X8TAHFI?ref=jasontucker.blog) and pulled the thing like a dog sledding team out to the truck. We met at my house and they did the reverse to get it to my gate. Wow these guys are prepared, they brought our 2x4s and used some bricks I had laying around and made a ramp to slide the thing down the 2 steps to my back yard. I asked them to put the hot tub so the pump and electical were on one side and that the tubs top faced the wall so I can do any repairs on the bottom side of it. The whole thing including drive time took an hour. Before they placed the tub into position I had them put it on [moving blankets](https://www.harborfreight.com/home/moving/moving-blankets/80-in-x-144-in-extra-large-double-sided-moving-blanket-58062.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) I bought from Harbor Freight mainly to protect the side of the tub so it doesn't chip if we needed to scoot it around a bit. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6226-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6228-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6229-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6231-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6234-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6235-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6236-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6237-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6238-Medium-1.jpeg) Moving the hot tub ## Constructing an oasis Our landscape guy came out and cut out the hillside then build the retaining wall and side walls for the tub, we figure you can use these to get in the tub so we don't need steps. Next he left the area where the pad so the electrician can come out and run his conduit to he location I specified. They did that and stubbed up both sides to come back later. With that done they mixed and poured the pad and repaired the sidewalk that needed to be cut to accommodate the trench that the electrician did. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6087-Medium-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6309-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6358-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6400-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6505-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6506-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6563-Medium.jpeg) ## Repairing 25 years of water damage Like I said in the opening paragraphs, the "CalSpa Harmony Esteem 8052" is just the tub shell and some wood under it holding it up along with all of the PVC piping and the spray foam around the jets. Knowing that I focused in on the structure of the hot tub. It looks like it did have some leaks at some point. I bought this hot tub knowing it worked at some point but also knowing it hasn't been used in a few short years. I removed the black underside of the hot tub that was stapled onto the wood frame and rolled it up and used a bungie cord around it and stored it. I inspected the corners of the unit looking for water damage which there was a lot of in 2 of the 4 corners. I removed the 3 panels I could access and the corner panels that go around each one. This is made from a tongue and groove siding stapled cheaply on some carpet nail strips. Once all of those were off repaired any damage to them. I then looked at the corners, I began cutting out the affected areas with a sawzall and using those cutouts to make templates using some wood I had in my woodshop to replace the corner pieces. The hot tub frame is just 2x4s joined with nails and staples and the wood sits on the black underside which sits on the ground. The panels are connected to one another with those carpet nail strips and those panels are screwed into the frame of the hottub for easy removal. I had to drill out some of the screws so I ended up using [coated wood screws](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Simpson-Strong-Tie-Deck-Drive-8482-DSV-WOOD-Screw-8212-10-x-4-in-T-25-Flat-Head-Quik-Guard-174-Tan-50-Qty/1002623446?ref=jasontucker.blog) which should not get rusty outside. They also use a T-25 bit which means they will have a better time of not stripping. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6724-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/DB9EEEDD-5C15-4230-9F8F-424119F13AA8-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6725-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6726-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6727-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6728-Medium.jpeg) Replacing wood corners ## Document Everything With the wood working project done I then started taking pics and writing up a note in my notes app titled Hot Tub with the hashtags #house #hottub so I can find them later in my [Forever ✱ Notes](https://jasontucker.blog/enhancing-memory-with-automation-my-journey-with-forever-notes-and-ios-shortcuts-2/) note taking system. I included these headings: **Shell** Harmony Esteem 8052 **Controller** [Balboa VS spa system 22972\_E2](https://spacircuits.com/ELE56940--Balboa-55737-Cal-Spas--ELE09907283%5Fp%5F6302.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) Model: VSP-CS5100-YCAH \[[manual](https://spacircuits.com/assets/images/55841%20or%2054756%20VSP-CS5100-YCAH%20VS500Z%20%20pn%2022972%20rev%20C%20or%20D%20Hot%20Sheet%20circa%202007%20click%20here.pdf?ref=jasontucker.blog)\] \[[service manual](https://www.tiledspas.com/documents/BPTroubleshootingManual60Hz.pdf?ref=jasontucker.blog)\] Topside panel Balboa 22093\_B **Ozone Generator** DEL Industries, Inc. SLO, CA Z0-301 Ozone Generator 110-120V - 40A • 48W • 80Hz **Heating Unit** [HTR 5.5KW TITANIUM M7 STUD 2x2IN flow through metal tube](https://www.hottuboutpost.com/balboa-5-5kw-titanium-m7-heater-55624/?srsltid=AfmBOoqzA8EuOPx3ERvHACdBeY3SmxYEXtrnXpQiq%5FhbcvmzYfsewgcf&ref=jasontucker.blog) [5.5kw 240v Heater Element ](https://www.amazon.com/Xzionh-5-5kw-Replacement-Flo-Thru-Universal/dp/B0F475T33Z/ref=sr%5F1%5F6?crid=26T32EJOP05IY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b-7ZyELAQmFRw-%5FPadCDM5zWjAkOjpnDvE0FMClCKraUjw2fPrIKq2IukriU-zQol1matBwTekMm3K6iTlDa5mbr35KgJ4%5Fv0oeMcyTib31YH91fgXqvne1GMr7az5uzN5QgUbn%5F9XvJFXWhgR%5Fio%5FsdSFErpmw02PZryy3RQ6qRe1vGg4UcJWXNJL5S12rzpZkbeL07hCkxKt0uHvFIuvfmZ3mga1-WzH5tCEr3R62QzQRpvh%5FEPzX45HSr-Ij5VT6Ft43lpeB7%5Fz4ERX2w%5FVRqGZTPxut9X1O2Wa-WN%5FE.sV-XIwMhYF--B62x-cajfRLNrc0VO2oiEMI3Swb1rrc&dib%5Ftag=se&keywords=5.5kw%2B240v%2BHeater%2BElement&qid=1754932690&sprefix=5.5kw%2B240v%2Bheater%2Belement%2B%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-6&th=1&ref=jasontucker.blog) **Motors** [flo-master XP 06525488](https://www.spaguts.com/aqua-flo-flow-master-xp2-48y-spa-pump-by-gecko-4-0-bhp-2-5-hp-continuous-220v-06125000-1040-1672?srsltid=AfmBOord%5FIK5EiyGlDEf0va2mEKU84tGd2UIjyQgYbPrjk2QoaMtIpp7&ref=jasontucker.blog) with [Pump](https://www.poolzoom.com/diagram/aqua-flo-flo-master-xp-xp2-series-pump-parts?srsltid=AfmBOoqsQDMIwua9umd3JmuXKl%5FTKO6EfNXzwtGKEZnmZ4J41COaeFGD&ref=jasontucker.blog) I'd imagine as I go on I'll add in the jets, light and other items as well. I'll update this posts as I do more things, this post is for me and if you get any benefit from it then thats awesome. ## Making it pretty I removed all the panels and then sanded them and painted them a nice color that goes with the walls of its new home as well as our house. I put it back together so we can move it into place since I'd imagine these panels could add some stability and structural integrity to the hot tub. At least I hope so. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6712-Medium-2-1.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6713-Medium-1.jpeg) ## Moving it into place I scheduled a time for a few friends and family to come over and drink my beer and help me move this thing. With the electrical stubbed out, the pad and retaining wall done and cured we moved the hot tub into place. I bought a few items in prep for this but the main one that did it for us was [Forearm Lifting Straps](https://www.harborfreight.com/forearm-lifting-straps-56627.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) from Harbor Freight. My son and his friend both played football back in the day they came over with a friend of mine and we moved it out, rotated the tub so the serviceable parts were at the bottom and then moved it into place using the PVC rolling method of the egyptians. [Not my video but like this](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WdJFBgrTbdM?ref=jasontucker.blog) but on brick and concrete. Once moved into place we used the straps again this time tied together and tilted down the hot tub into its spot. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6737-Medium-2.jpeg) ## Wiring and filling it up I called the electrician and set a time to have him come out and run his wiring to the tub along and into the Balboa controller. With that done I filled the tub using 2 hoses, one from our pool and another from the tap. This let me have chlorinated water in the tub without fussing with anything and twice as quick pulling from 2 sources. I removed 2 of the panels so i can watch for leaks and I turned the hot tub on for the first time the jets worked and things started moving. Sadly it started leaking in a few places under the tub. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6742-Medium-2.jpeg) The hot tub in place ## YouTube University As I continued my journey in YouTube University to get my hot tub owners degree I watched a few videos from the experts on how to deal with leaks. Remember a hot tub is only a shell, jets, hoses and pvc with spray foam for insulation and all of that attached to motors and a heating element. Knowing that, I learned of an easy fix first with [Fix-a-Leak](https://www.amazon.com/Leak-Marlig-Swimming-Pool-Leaks/dp/B017B00LEQ?ref=jasontucker.blog) and watching some videos on how to use it [Fix a Leak: The Ultimate Solution for Pool and Spa Leaks | Sealing Holes Permanently](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H80b6UguhtI&ref=jasontucker.blog). I'd say this is a good first step. Maybe it's a pinhole leak and this can fix it? I was also getting an error and the cutoff breaker was tripping. Doing some digging i found it was the heating element that failed. Not wanting to spend a bunch of the [HTR 5.5KW TITANIUM M7 STUD 2x2IN flow through metal tube](https://www.hottuboutpost.com/balboa-5-5kw-titanium-m7-heater-55624/?srsltid=AfmBOoqzA8EuOPx3ERvHACdBeY3SmxYEXtrnXpQiq%5FhbcvmzYfsewgcf&ref=jasontucker.blog) and ended up replacing the heating element inside it. [5.5kw 240v Heater Element](https://www.amazon.com/Xzionh-5-5kw-Replacement-Flo-Thru-Universal/dp/B0F475T33Z/ref=sr%5F1%5F6?crid=26T32EJOP05IY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b-7ZyELAQmFRw-%5FPadCDM5zWjAkOjpnDvE0FMClCKraUjw2fPrIKq2IukriU-zQol1matBwTekMm3K6iTlDa5mbr35KgJ4%5Fv0oeMcyTib31YH91fgXqvne1GMr7az5uzN5QgUbn%5F9XvJFXWhgR%5Fio%5FsdSFErpmw02PZryy3RQ6qRe1vGg4UcJWXNJL5S12rzpZkbeL07hCkxKt0uHvFIuvfmZ3mga1-WzH5tCEr3R62QzQRpvh%5FEPzX45HSr-Ij5VT6Ft43lpeB7%5Fz4ERX2w%5FVRqGZTPxut9X1O2Wa-WN%5FE.sV-XIwMhYF--B62x-cajfRLNrc0VO2oiEMI3Swb1rrc&dib%5Ftag=se&keywords=5.5kw%2B240v%2BHeater%2BElement&qid=1754932690&sprefix=5.5kw%2B240v%2Bheater%2Belement%2B%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-6&th=1&ref=jasontucker.blog) which is much cheaper and dead simple to do. I emptied the hot tub into the pool using our submersible pump and started on the repair. Sadly my hot tub doesnt have traps on either side of the motors so I have to empty it out to do any repairs like this. Remove the tube, remove the heating element, put a new one in with new screws and gaskets on either side and fired it up. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_049065B7-877B-4030-A097-20E98D2CDD99-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6851-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6860-Medium.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/A0923E6F-B7EA-44DD-B166-2FB7F82570A6-Medium.jpeg) Replacing the heat element Boom, its producing heat and not tripping the breaker. Since this unit is a 220V it heats up in about 3 hours give or take. We have a AmbientWeather weather station at that also has pool float temp sensor that I moved to the hot tub so i could track its progress 🤓. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6922.jpg) That night Jen and I got to go in the hot tub and it was well worth the effort getting to this point. Our daughter also got to get in later that night. She turned off the jets and set the temp to 90º and closed the lit and then trouble came. ## WTH is that noise? Through the night the tub stayed on keeping it hot and did its cycles to move the water around periodically. At some point in the night when we were asleep the #1 motor started making noises, almost like an electric fog horn. Electrical Noise 0:00 /18.938756 1× I feel like this started happening in the morning or the neighbors would have come over to complain at night. Either way the fog horn noise I think was coming from the pump motor 1 which runs first to move the water around. I turned off the breaker, turned it back on and press temp to get to the part where the motor fires up and it makes this REALLY LOUD NOISE. Fun! ## What's next? My first attempt to fix this is to [replace the capacitor(s) on the pump](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NcbLGIYbVWs?ref=jasontucker.blog) and maybe the [motor bearings or pump seal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK6NyZNqvnw&ref=jasontucker.blog). But we'll start with the cheapest option first the caps. That does it for now. I'll add more to this living document as I learn more and do more with this hot tub. ## Todo List - [ESP32 Balboa Spa wifi controller](https://github.com/NorthernMan54/esp32%5Fbalboa%5Fspa?ref=jasontucker.blog) WiFI Enable your Balboa SPA using a ESP32 module connected to your spa controller using rs485 interface to Balboa SPA Controller. - Hourly tracking of hot tub temperature for 24 hours - Daily tracking of heater on time in seconds. Keeps 24 days of history - Daily Tracking of filter on time in seconds. Keeps 24 days of history - Home Assistant Integration - Repair Leaks - Easy on and off side panels, what fasteners to use - Home Assistant optimizing heating during sunny times of day to leverage solar energy intake - Learning and optimizing water care ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/08/IMG_6899-Medium.jpeg) It works! ### Homelab - Dell EMC Poweredge T430 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/homelab-dell-emc-poweredge-t430/ Last updated: 2025-05-01T22:52:17.000Z I'm working on a new build for a 2018 Dell EMC Poweredge T430 which will be running Unraid and hosting my Plex server and storage for my media. Yes it's 2025 and I'm using a 2018 Dell server but wow you can get this for cheap! Doing some research before purchasing I found this post from [Eric Schewe of The Picky Sysadmin](https://www.pickysysadmin.ca/2019/10/24/adding-a-quadro-p620-to-my-plex-vm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) back in 2019 stating that he wasn't able to get a processor, in his case a E-2176G CPU to use the onboard graphics to do any Plex transcoding. To solve this he went and purchased a Quatro P620 graphics card (2GB ram) to use its NVENC and the capability of using HEVC video files. Following his lead I purchased the same videocard for $40 on ebay so I can manage to have Plex do any transcoding if needed. ## Specs Dell EMC PowerEdge T340 Server Intel Xeon E-2124 (9th gen Coffee Lake) 3.30 GHz CPU - Socket 1151 PERC H330 Raid Controller 3 X 300 Gb Hard Drives (8 bays) 2 X 495 W EPP Power Supply 32 GB (4x8GB) DDR4 Unbuffered DIMMs ## Current Stats Stats wise the server operates just fine with the 1 cpu with 4 cores and 4 threads. Memory usage wise things are OK but could be better if I upgraded from 32 to 64gb maxing it out. As you can see in the screenshots the Cache/ Buffers is what is taking up a lot of it. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/05/CleanShot-2025-05-01-at-15.35.41.png) Stats pulled from 30 days of usage using Beszel ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/05/CleanShot-2025-05-01-at-15.43.43.png) Stats from Unraid ## Potential upgrades ### CPU I'm reading that the CPU in this is 4 codes and 4 threads but I'm finding that you can get an 8 core 8 thread for about $120 on ebay. That may be something I dig further into. ### Memory This server supports up to 64GB of ram with 4 slots. Currently it has 32GB of ram but swapping out the 8GB each to 16GB each would double my ram. I havent done this yet ## OS On my laptop servers I've been using Unraid and wanted migrate one of the licenses over to this new server and decomission the laptop. This server has an internal USB plug that you can use for such a thing. I upgraded my Unraid license to the Unleashed license allowing me to have unlimited storage devices connected to the server. My plan was to have 16 drives in this server so I needed to get the bigger license. They do offer a Lifetime license and I'll most likely will get that at a later date. If you are looking for a solid OS to run your homelab on, Unraid is great. It's a paid product, the software is awesome and they are always adding more stuff to it all the time. The biggest thing was Tailscale built into Docker containers. Game changing! [My Unraid Affiliate Link](https://unraid.net/pricing?via=c9f649&ref=jasontucker.blog) This is the only link on this post, everything else is just what to search for. I fully support Unraid but these other products can be found in many places and I'm not big on doing affiliate stuff especially with Amazon. ## Where I'm at now with this project ### Hard Drives I ended up removing all of the drives that came with it and ordered some **HDD Tray Caddys KG1CH for the Dell PowerEdge T330 T340 T630 R730 R730XD** for about $41 for 5 of them. Feel free to search for that on Ebay, there is a bunch of them on there. Over the course of a week I moved my content to an external drive as well as one by one shrinking my NAS down to just 2 drives from 6 and got all of my content over to these drives to the new server. I now have 8 HDD of various sizes and flavors and 2 SSD for cache. 2 of the 8 HDDs are for parity and the remaining 6 are for storage of media for Plex. ### Video Card I'm using Plex on this server in a Docker enviroment so I ordered an **Nvidia Quatro P620 2GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Graphics Card with 4 Adapters** feel free to search for that on Ebay, there is a bunch of them on there. That was $44 and now allows me to transcode 4 pieces of content at the same time for that odd video file that was downloaded years ago before I knew to standardize of the file formats I acquire. ### IDRAC License I was either going to get a KVM device or see if the IDRAC had a way to do KVM like functionality and found that this server didnt have the license to suppose this feature and usually are quite expensive. Doing some digging I found someone on Reddit mention that you can buy these from chinese resellers for CHEAP so I did and searched for **IDRAC7/8/9 Enterprise License Permanent idrac for PowerEdge 12th 13th 14th 15th** and bought one for $20.61 and was delivered via email in less than an hour. IDRAC is awesome because you can make bios changes and also access the console from one interface even if the server is turn off. ### FANS This has to be THE BIGGEST UPGRADE YOU CAN DO TO ONE OF THESE SERVERS sorry, I had to yell due to just HOW LOUD THIS SERVER IS IN A QUIET ROOM. I ended up getting the **Noctua NF-P12 redux-1700 PWM, High Performance Cooling Fan for Desktop, 4-Pin, 1700 RPM (120mm, Grey)** as well as a **fosa 5Pcs 5Pin to 4Pin Adapter Cable Fan Connector Adapter Converter Extension Cable Cord for DELL Dedicated Fans** you can find both of the on Amazon this will replace the fan on the back of the computer near the CPU with a fan that is so much quieter. ## MORE STORAGE This is my first home server, my previous setups were 2 NAS devices and 2 laptops so it's nice to have 1 dedicated device for everything. After loading all 8 drive bays with medium size used drives I wanted to see if I could add at least 4 more drives along with 2 more SSDs for caching. ### SATA Expansion Card I ended up purchasing a **PCIe x1 to 12-Port SATA3.0 Expansion Card,6Gbps SATA Adapter for SSD/HDD, Plug and Play with 12 Status LEDs, Compatible with Windows/Linux/Ubuntu/ESXi/Synology NAS (with SATA Bundle Cables)** which gives me the ability to have 12 drives connected to this using SATA cables. It comes with SATA data and SATA power cables to connect it all. ### New Drive Cage I ended up getting the **LVOERTUIG Hard Drive Cage, Stainless Steel Hard Drive Rack with Cooling Fan, 5.25" to 5X3.5 Rack for Computer, Hard Drive Cage Adapter Rack Bracket(Silver)** which is just a cage with rails for the drives as well as a fan that is kinda loud. I replaced the fan with another **Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 PWM, High Performance Cooling Fan, 4-Pin, 1200 RPM (120mm, Grey)** which mounted perfectly to this thing. ### Wiring To get this to work I needed to tap into the ATX 4 pin that is on the Dell Array backplane and add in some splitters to power the drives. Thes existing wire has 2 SATA power plugs on it so I ordered **2Pcs 8 Inches SATA Power Extension Cable 15 Pin Male to 2 x 15P Female Y Splitter Cable Adapter, SATA Power Cable, Hard Drive Power Cable, SSD Power Cable** which gave me 4 SATA plugs to power the 2 SSDs I'm using for my existing array for Cache and then 1 plug for the new fan for the 4 HDD drives and 2 SSD drives in order to connect those the SATA splitters that came with the SATA 3.0 expansion card connects to a Molex connection. I ended up having to purchase a **SATA Male to molex Female Adapter, SATA to LP4, molex to SATA Power Adapter,15Pin SATA Male to 4 Pin IDE Female Adapter Connector Apply to Connector for Hard Drives (2 Packs)** which converts from SATA to Molex with the correct genders. ## Testing Everything I've been using this server for about a month before I thought I should try and add this janky setup of 4 more HDD and 2 more SSD to the mix and so far it's working nicely and isnt as janky as I thought it would be. The SATA3.0 expansion is working good and the 6 of the 12 SATA connections is working well for expanding my storage in Unraid. ## What about power? So the frequently asked questions I asked myself was will this server boot after adding all the drives to this cage!? Am I overloading that 1 4 pin ATX port with all these other drives in it? I use an addon on Home Assistant to monitor the power of the server by pulling values from the IDRAC, here is the power usage from this server over the course of the month. You can see that the server was pretty low during the first part of the month with a bit of increase on April 26st when I installed the additional drives. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/05/CleanShot-2025-05-01-at-15.21.27.png) Yes, the server booted the dual 450W power supplies are handling things just fine. The drives spin down quite a bit and unraid is REALLY good at keeping just what is needed spinning and what is incoming cached and distributed to the parity drives and the one or 2 drives that will store the content. Unraid is wild and works so well for what I'm doing. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/05/JPEG-image-FFC1F8A30B93-1.jpeg) Before and After ### Getting Beszel agent to monitor GPU usage when using Docker URL: https://jasontucker.blog/getting-beszel-agent-to-monitor-gpu-usage-when-using-docker/ Last updated: 2025-05-01T21:16:44.000Z I found a forum post discussing if there was any way to get Beszel the server monitoring software to be able to monitor the host computers GPU and report it back to the Beszel server. I found a [comment from Arunoruto](https://github.com/henrygd/beszel/issues/262?ref=jasontucker.blog#issuecomment-2724844315) stating that they came up with a way and make a fork of the beszel-agent repo to allow for this for Nvidia GPUs. They are using Github workflows to keep their fork up to date. [GitHub - arunoruto/beszel-agent: Container package for the beszel-agent with nvidiaContainer package for the beszel-agent with nvidia - arunoruto/beszel-agent![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-5.svg)GitHubarunoruto![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/beszel-agent)](https://github.com/arunoruto/beszel-agent?ref=jasontucker.blog) I'm running this on Unraid but you need to use Docker Compose to make that happen. In order to do that I installed the Unraid "app" called [Docker Compose Manager](https://forums.unraid.net/topic/114415-plugin-docker-compose-manager/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which adds a section to the Docker Containers page where you can create a stack and then add the compose info to get it working. I used the following compose to make it work, putting in my key from the Beszel entry my server has. After that the GPU data is now reporting. If you need to debug this further you can go into the Logs screen of the docker and see what the logs show. Once you have gotten this working you can change the LOG\_LEVEL line from debug back to info. `services: beszel-agent: image: ghcr.io/arunoruto/beszel-agent:latest container_name: beszel-agent restart: unless-stopped command: nvidia-smi runtime: nvidia deploy: resources: reservations: devices: - driver: nvidia count: all capabilities: - utility network_mode: host volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro - /media/hdds/.beszel:/extra-filesystems/md0:ro environment: LOG_LEVEL: debug LISTEN: 45876 GPU: true KEY: "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC...EbMs" ` ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/05/CleanShot-2025-05-01-at-14.11.06@2x.png) ### Free Cybersecurity Courses URL: https://jasontucker.blog/free-cybersecurity-courses/ Last updated: 2025-05-01T20:25:59.000Z I'm looking to brush up on my Cybersecurity skills and have found these 2 so far to be something I'm going to dive into this summer. [ProjectSecurity.io](https://projectsecurity.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Your Guide to Cybersecurity Training Through Homelabs: Build real-world homelabs, master the basics, and create a security portfolio along the way. [TryHackMe](https://tryhackme.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Access over 900 training labs and learning pathways suited to all levels, from the complete beginner to the seasoned hacker. TryHackMe makes learning engaging, entertaining, accessible, and affordable. What have you looked at for Cyber Security training? ### Unraid + Dispatcharr + Nvidia Quadro Video Card = Hardware Transcoding URL: https://jasontucker.blog/unraid-dispatcharr-nvidia-quadro-video-card-hardware-transcoding/ Last updated: 2025-06-12T20:54:53.000Z This is how I got my UNRAID setup with a Quadro card for HW Transcoding to work with Dispatcharr. No more maxed out CPU, hand it off to the GPU instead. - Edit the Docker container - Toggle Advanced View On - Go to Extra Parameters - Add `--runtime=nvidia` - Create the following container variables: - key: `NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES` with the value `all` - key: `NVIDIA_VISIBLE_DEVICES` with the value `all` - Open Dispatcharr WebUi - Settings > Add Stream Profile - Name it anything you like. I called mine ffmpeg (HW) - command `ffmpeg` - parameters `-user_agent {userAgent} -hwaccel cuda -i {streamUrl} -c:v h264_nvenc -c:a copy -f mpegts pipe:1` - Set default user agent to VLC Thanks ShadeZeRO in the Discord for the help ### Putting eyes on the back of your Unifi G5 PTZ using Home Assistant URL: https://jasontucker.blog/putting-eyes-on-the-back-of-your-unifi-g5-ptz-using-home-assistant/ Last updated: 2025-04-23T23:50:53.000Z On my property I have 4 cameras, one of which is a Unifi G5 PTZ which works really well when it can see something but unlike our parents growing up it doesn't have eyes on the back of its head. My PTZ is placed at the corner of my garage where 3 cameras around it are able to see various parts of it's PTZ view. Using this to my advantage i can have home assistant inform the PTZ that one of the other cameras is seeing motion so it can look in that area and I get 2 viewpoints. The fixed position the other camera and the PTZ moving to the area tha the other camera can see by using presets. I wrote a blog posts recently [Adding a tour or patrol mode to Unifi G5 PTZ using Home Assistant - Let's add a missing feature to Unifi PTZ using Home Assistant Automations ](https://jasontucker.blog/adding-a-tour-or-patrol-mode-to-unifi-g5-ptz-using-home-assistant/)so if you followed that this might as well be a part 2 to help you with getting your PTZ to notice things by the means of other sensors or "entities" that home assistant can reference. So I have a smart doorlock and it knows when the door is locked, unlocked and open. I also have a Unifi Doorbell camera that knows if something is in front of it as well as 2 more cameras that can see my front yard and driveway. I also have my garage door which has an entity in home assistant so we know when the door is open, opening or closed and closing. - Smart Door Lock - Unlocked - Locked - Open - Front Yard Camera - Motion - Driveway Camera - Motion - Smart Doorbell Camera - Motion - Garage Door - Open - Opening - Closed - Closing - PTZ - Motion With all of this data we can work out a bunch of stuff. Did the front door open? Maybe point the PTZ at the front door. Did the garage door open? Point the PTZ at the garage door. Did a car drive up in the driveway? PZT to the driveway. Having a second vantage point is really helpful and you have a PTZ you might as well have it look at the things i can't see in the yard that the other cameras can. ### Doorbell Camera Motion I started out by having the Doorbell Camera tell the PTZ someone is outside the front door. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-16.17.46.png) When there is motion detected then tell the PTZ to look at the camera but also have it do some mode changes since for some reason the PTZ forgets to follow people when you have it change presets. In the [previous blog post](https://jasontucker.blog/adding-a-tour-or-patrol-mode-to-unifi-g5-ptz-using-home-assistant/) I explained HOW to setup the PTZ presets to move the camera to the preset location now we can use those presets to give us a second vantage point. ### Front Door Open If the front door opens I want the PTZ to also look at the front door to see what's going on. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-16.22.14.png) ### When the garage door opens look at it with PTZ So when my garage door opens I want to see whats going on outside of it might as well have it look at the garage door when its opening. What's nice about this is its look as it open vs once it is already opened so you get a bit more info before its fully opened. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-16.23.38.png) ## What else could you do? I think any external sensor can be used as trigger for the PTZ to go look at. Why not? For instance I have a chain link fence with a gate on it. If I had a sensor on it I'd add it as a PTZ Preset and then have the camera go look at it when its opening and closing. If i had a REALLY long driveway and had a beam cut sensor at the gate I'd have the PTZ look at the gate so you can see the car drive up. A fun one would be if you had a smart bird feeder you could have the PTZ look at that feeder so you get a second point of view. ### Adding a tour or patrol mode to Unifi G5 PTZ using Home Assistant URL: https://jasontucker.blog/adding-a-tour-or-patrol-mode-to-unifi-g5-ptz-using-home-assistant/ Last updated: 2025-04-23T23:52:36.000Z One glaring thing that is missing from the inexpensive Unifi PTZ camera is a tour mode or Patrol Mode. A tour mode is when it's idle that the camera would just tour the viewable area and look around to see if it detects anything if it does break out of the tour and follow the thing it detected. I hear that the much more expensive version does have this tour feature. Before putting [eyes on the back of this things head](https://jasontucker.blog/putting-eyes-on-the-back-of-your-unifi-g5-ptz-using-home-assistant/) lets see how to make a patrol mode work using home assistant. ## Setting up presets for the tour Unifi PTZ uses 9 presets you can switch between to move the camera to preset places using pan tilt and zoom. These presets can be access manually using the Protect camera view interface. There is no other place you can control this other than that location either in the web interface or the mobile app. I went and setup my presets so it looks at my gate, driveway, garden, walkway and the front door. All these places also have cameras already so this is just extra coverage for the existing cameras with some gaps filled in based on where I placed this PTZ. Out of the 9 locations you can setup as presets I'm using 4 of them in the tour. ## How to get Home Assistant to talk to Unifi Protect Go into Settings > Devices & services > \[Add Integration\] and add the Unifi Protect integration. This will give you all your ententies for each of your camera devices so you can utilize the motion and people detection to be used in your automations. One thing that is missing in all of this is actually accessing the PTZ controls from this integration. I'd imagine at some point this will get added but for now we have to talk directly to the local API to access these controls. ## Getting PTZ functionality into Home Assistant I came across this post [Better support for PTZ State / PTZ Presets #436](https://github.com/uilibs/uiprotect/issues/436?ref=jasontucker.blog#issuecomment-2813746590) and this post as well [Integration/unifiprotect/ptz state #142129](https://github.com/home-assistant/core/pull/142129?ref=jasontucker.blog) and then found this one [Unifi Protect PTZ Control Implemented!!](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1gzaarh/unifi%5Fprotect%5Fptz%5Fcontrol%5Fimplemented/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which really made me happy since it outlined how to control the PTZ by making **input\_button**s for each of the presets utilizing a bash script to act as the go-between for accessing them. If you follow these steps on this post you'll end up in a place where you have 10 inputs, one for each preset as well as a home preset so you can control your camera. ## Backend setup for Home Assistant Based on the [Unifi Protect PTZ Control Implemented!!](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/1gzaarh/unifi%5Fprotect%5Fptz%5Fcontrol%5Fimplemented/?ref=jasontucker.blog) posts on Reddit you need to do the following to setup your PTZ controls. Create a file in the path and give it execute permissions. */config/custom\_scripts/unifi/ptz/ptz\_preset\_control\_camera.sh* ## Update your configuration.yaml to reference where your saved the script Add this to your configuration.yaml so you now have the shell command called "ptz\_preset\_control\_camera" that you can pass the various value to. ` shell_command: ptz_preset_control_camera: "bash /config/custom_scripts/unifi/ptz/ptz_preset_control_camera.sh {{nvr_ip}} {{username}} {{password}} {{camera_id}} {{preset_number}}" ` ## Write an automation *This bit is stolen from the reddit post but I might as well add it here so its in one place.* To get your camera id simply navigate to `recording manager` in Unifi Protect and then click on your PTZ Camera. Look at the URL bar and grab the value after the `cameraSelector=` (it should be 24 characters long, no spaces and alphanumerical) Replace the values for `nvr_ip,username,password,camera_id,preset_number` `preset_number`: - `-1` is home position - `0` is Preset 1 as shown in Protect GUI - `1` is Preset 2 as shown in Protect GUI - `2` is Preset 3 as shown in Protect GUI Protect supports up to 9 presets! Just add more than the 3 views listed below and the 3 actions so you have a total of 9 ## Writing the Automation for the Tour This is where I come in with how to go about adding an automation that will switch between each preset. The first automation is to direct the PTZ to go from one preset to the next and skip a few that aren't required for my yard. I currently have my camera set so that every 5 minutes it will do a tour of the yard and then go back to monitoring the home location until the next 5 minutes. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-14.56.34.png) ### When in the When section I have a 5 minute timer to kick off the tour. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-14.57.13.png) ### And if I have other cameras on the property that the PTZ is able to see, by giving it some eyes in the back of it's head I can use the status of the other cameras to see if I need to have the PTZ look there or not. If there is no motion on the other cameras then every 5 minutes it will do the your ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-14.58.23.png) ### Then do For the Then Do section I have a few things happening. I'm using the Logo on the camera as a way to know if its in tour mode or not. I turn it on then step through the "pressing" of the preview button then waiting a set time and pressing the next button. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-15.00.46.png) The logo part is optional but it's the only way I can see if the camera is in tour mode or not. I have it move, wait 10 seconds and the see if there is any motion then move to the next one. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2025/04/CleanShot-2025-04-23-at-15.02.08.png) At the end I have it turn off the logo for testing purposes. ## Bonus Content: Making a Dashboard with controls You'll also want to install the [Advanced Camera Card](https://github.com/dermotduffy/advanced-camera-card?ref=jasontucker.blog) by going to Home Assistant > HACS > Frontend > "Explore & Add Integrations" > Advanced Camera Card this card lets you see the camera and has a bunch of other features I havent tapped into yet. Once you do that you can then crate the new dashboard. Create a new dashboard in Home Assistant Settings > Dashboards > \[Add New Dashboard\] start from scratch and then click the 3 dots in the upper right and open the "Raw Configuration Editor" and paste this in so you have a place to start. ## In conclusion If you know of a better way to do this? I'd love to hear it. This is my first attempt at this and I thought I'd see what I can come up with. Is this fully tested? Nope, will it change? Most likely. Let me know here, or on social media where you saw this posted because I'd love to see this done a few different ways. ### Making Unraid usable on mobile URL: https://jasontucker.blog/making-unraid-usable-on-mobile/ Last updated: 2025-02-28T15:51:12.000Z # Enhancing the Unraid Web Interface on iPhone For anyone who’s tried managing their Unraid server on an iPhone, you know the struggle is real. The standard Unraid web interface isn’t optimized for mobile devices, making it cumbersome to navigate on a small screen. After numerous frustrating attempts to work around the limitations of the non-responsive design, I got frustrated and began searching and found a fantastic solution that has transformed my mobile management experience which includes a few forks so you have some options. # What about mobile apps? There are indeed a few mobile apps that will let you interact with Unraid API but most of them are very opinionated on the type of things you should be doing on a mobile interface. “A user would definitely never want to add a new disk to a share” or “there’s no way someone would want to add a new SSD to their cache pool” yeah, me! So the mobile apps are out back to making the web actually usable on your phone. ## The Problem: A Non-Mobile-Responsive Interface Unraid’s default web interface is designed with desktop users in mind. On an iPhone, the layout feels huge, really wide, clunky, text and buttons are either too small or misaligned, and overall usability is rough. This meant that tasks which should have been quick and easy became unnecessarily time-consuming, especially when you’re on the go. Surely you want be able to manage you disk array while on the go or restart a docker container because something got stuck one handed while waiting for your coffee to brew. ## A Custom CSS to the Rescue During my search for a solution, I stumbled upon a custom CSS file designed specifically to make the Unraid web interface mobile responsive. This CSS tweak completely overhauled the layout for a smoother, more intuitive experience on mobile devices. The instructions I followed can be found on GitHub: [Unraid GUI Responsive](https://github.com/dohnutt/unraid-gui-responsive?ref=jasontucker.blog). This implementation not only addresses the awkward spacing and scaling issues but also makes interacting with various elements on the interface far more user-friendly. The best part? It’s a straightforward tweak that doesn’t require deep technical knowledge to apply. ## Step-by-Step Guide 1. **Download the Custom CSS:** Head over to the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/dohnutt/unraid-gui-responsive?ref=jasontucker.blog) and download the custom CSS file. This file is specifically crafted to adapt the Unraid interface to mobile screens. 2. **Install the CSS on Your Unraid Server:** Follow the instructions provided in the repository. Typically, this involves placing the CSS file in the appropriate directory on your Unraid server and modifying the web interface configuration to load this new file instead of the default one. 3. **Clear Browser Cache:** Once installed, make sure to clear your browser cache or perform a hard refresh. This ensures that your iPhone loads the updated, mobile-friendly interface. 4. **Enjoy a Better Mobile Experience:** Open your iPhone’s browser and navigate to your Unraid server. You should now see a responsive interface with improved readability, scalable elements, and an overall smoother experience. ## Acknowledgements A special thank you goes out to **dohnutt** for implementing this fantastic solution. Additionally, credit must be given to **CC Morris**, the original creator of the CSS that dohnutt forked from. Their combined efforts have significantly enhanced the usability of the Unraid interface on mobile devices. ## Final Thoughts I spent a lot of time on my iPhone and very little on my desktop computer or laptop. I spend a lot of time at work sitting at a desk and the last thing I wanna do is sit at a computer at home. With this custom CSS, my experience managing Unraid on an iPhone has improved dramatically. If you’re tired of battling with a non-responsive interface, give this solution a try. It’s a simple tweak that can save you a lot of time and hassle. Feel free to share your experiences or any additional tweaks you’ve discovered in the comments below! Happy Unraiding! ### Here WeGo - Google Maps alternative? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/here-wego-google-maps-alternatives/ Last updated: 2025-02-16T23:29:30.000Z After the whole Gulf of Mexico / Gulf of America BS going on with the current US Presidential Administration, I thought I’d try some alternatives since both [Google Maps](https://www.theverge.com/news/609772/google-maps-gulf-of-america-rename-mexico?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Apple Maps](https://www.theverge.com/news/610580/apple-maps-gulf-of-america?ref=jasontucker.blog) changed it to Gulf of America. Petty? Yeah, sure but it’s good to look at alternatives and my petty thought being it was a good enough excuse. I put the question out on social media: [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/jasontucker.blog/post/3li63bwwnup2g?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@jasontucker/post/DGETZxPIDbb?xmt=AQGzFMjqxrnbOxLnOyJbCu-qghV2M638k73oKwnznYG9DQ&ref=jasontucker.blog), [Mastodon](https://simian.rodeo/@jasontucker/114004208727879005?ref=jasontucker.blog) and one name kept coming up: HERE WeGo. ## What is HERE? HERE is a mapping platform with a long history, originally developed by Nokia and now owned by a consortium of major automakers, including BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. It's widely used in commercial fleets, logistics, and even built into some car navigation systems. I used it way back when the Nokia n95 came out and I was testing it for review. Their mapping technology powers navigation systems for major car manufacturers, and their app, HERE WeGo, is designed to offer a robust alternative to Google Maps and Apple Maps. ### What is HERE WeGo? HERE WeGo is an app that provides turn-by-turn navigation, offline maps, and real-time traffic updates, making it a compelling choice for those who want more control over their mapping experience. So, I'm curious how well does it hold up as a daily driver for personal navigation in 2025? More importantly, can it replace Google Maps or Apple Maps especially when used with CarPlay? I decided to take HERE WeGo for a spin and see how it compares. ## Hands-On with HERE WeGo After installing HERE WeGo, the first thing I noticed was its clean interface. It has a modern look, and a nice touch is the small weather widget in the corner, which keeps you updated on current conditions. The app offers several map views, including basic, 3D, and satellite imagery, giving you flexibility depending on how you like to navigate. One of the more interesting features is its CarPlay integration. Unlike Google Maps or Apple Maps, where CarPlay is always enabled, HERE WeGo gives you the option to turn it on or off in the settings. I’m not sure why you’d want to disable it, but it’s nice to have control. Another useful feature is the ability to create an account and save shortcuts for frequently visited locations. It's similar to Google Maps saved places but feels more streamlined for quick access. ## Settings & Customization The settings menu is a bit hidden; you need to slide up from the bottom drawer and pull it all the way up to access everything. But once you're there, it offers a good amount of customization, including: - Fuel type - You can set your preference (e.g., gasoline, diesel, electric), which is useful if the app integrates fuel stop suggestions. - Appearance - Options for dark mode, auto mode (adjusts based on time of day), and default light mode. - Units - Supports Imperial (US) or Metric, and lets you toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius for temperature. ## Navigation Preferences HERE WeGo gives you several options to tailor your navigation experience: - Route preferences - Customize how routes are calculated (though it doesn't seem as in-depth as Google Maps). - Navigation appearance - Adjust how things look while driving. - Speed limit alerts - You can enable or disable speed limit notifications, but by default, there's no alert sound. Road sign alerts - HERE WeGo offers road sign alerts, and you can tweak how many types of alerts you receive. ## Voice Guidance & Audio Options HERE WeGo offers a range of voice guidance settings, allowing you to tailor how navigation instructions are delivered. **Voice Guidance Language** You can choose from different voice languages, with the default set to English (US). If you prefer silent navigation, there's an option to disable voice guidance entirely. **Street Name Announcements** By default, HERE WeGo announces street names during navigation. You can also enable the "Announce in my language only" option, which ensures that street names are only read aloud if they match the selected voice guidance language. That’s nice. I live in southern California, so I'm curious how well it can pronounce the Spanish-based names. **Voice Guidance Style** A unique feature in HERE WeGo is the ability to enable "visual references on route." When turned on, this adds spoken references to physical objects like traffic lights and landmarks, helping you navigate more intuitively. ## Audio & Volume Controls HERE WeGo allows you to adjust voice volume with three levels: Soft, Normal, and Loud--plus a "Play test sound" option to preview the audio. - Bluetooth Voice Guidance – If you're using a car's Bluetooth system, this setting ensures navigation prompts are played over the vehicle's speakers. - 3D Spatial Audio (Experimental) – This feature, powered by Mach1, enhances navigation voice guidance by spatially positioning instructions, making it feel like directions are coming from the correct side of the car or headphones. Overall, the voice options are pretty robust, especially with the spatial audio experiment, which could be a game-changer for navigation clarity. - Parking suggestions - The app can suggest parking near your destination, which is a nice touch. ## Downloadable Maps HERE WeGo offers a robust offline maps feature that allows users to download entire regions or countries for use without an internet connection. This is particularly useful for travelers or those navigating areas with spotty mobile service. Users can manage their downloads through a dedicated settings menu, which displays available storage and allows them to control whether downloads occur only over Wi-Fi. Once downloaded, maps are listed with their file sizes, and users can update or remove them as needed. The app organizes maps by continent, making it easy to find and download specific locations. This approach ensures efficient storage management while providing reliable offline navigation. One key difference between HERE WeGo and Google Maps is how they handle offline map downloads. Google Maps allows users to select a specific area by manually drawing a box on the map, giving flexibility in downloading just the regions they need. This can be useful for saving storage space or focusing on frequently visited areas. In contrast, HERE WeGo requires users to download entire predefined regions, such as a state or country. While this approach ensures complete coverage without gaps, it can take up more storage and may include areas that a user doesn't need. However, HERE WeGo's system simplifies the process, removing the need to manually define areas, which can be useful for users who frequently travel across a whole state or country. Both approaches have their advantages: Google Maps offers more precise control over storage and coverage, while HERE WeGo provides a straightforward, all-inclusive offline navigation experience. ## What about a review? I'll be using HERE WeGo more in the coming weeks and will update this post as I get more experience with it. For now, I just wanted to share my initial thoughts since I'm excited about trying it out as an alternative to Google Maps and Apple Maps. If you've used HERE WeGo, I'd love to HERE 🙄 your thoughts! Are there any features you really like or any tips you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments below. ### Enhancing Memory with Automation: My Journey with Forever ✱ Notes and iOS Shortcuts URL: https://jasontucker.blog/enhancing-memory-with-automation-my-journey-with-forever-notes-and-ios-shortcuts-2/ Last updated: 2026-04-15T18:07:27.000Z My memory isn’t great. It’s something I’ve been grappling with for a while, and while I’ve tried to improve it, I’ve also accepted that offloading my thoughts and daily details to a reliable, searchable system is a necessity. That’s where [**Forever ✱ Notes**](https://www.myforevernotes.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and some custom **iOS Shortcuts** have been great for me. ## **The Challenge: Forever ✱ Notes Setup** [Forever ✱ Notes](https://www.myforevernotes.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) is a journaling system that leverages Apple Notes to create a structured, date-based journal. It’s a solid idea, but the manual setup they recommend didn’t quite work for me. For example, they suggest adding “next” and “previous” navigation links manually between notes, as well as setting up quarter and month notes and then manually building the links for those. These steps felt tedious and didn’t align with how my brain works. Instead, I built my own simplified variation using two main components: **iOS Shortcuts** and Apple Notes. Lets get into the Apple Notes part of it. Forever ✱ Notes has some shortcuts that when ran will create 365 days of notes, 1 note a day for all the days, this setups the structure for the system. It also generated 12 months with numbers for each day of the year in those months that you have to manually link to the notes. Nope.. not something I feel is going to work for my brain and way to much work to make happen for me. So the Shortcut generates those day notes they call "[Journals](https://www.myforevernotes.com/docs/journal?ref=jasontucker.blog)" titled "1 January", "2 January" etc but it also generates Month and Quarter notes as well "✱ January", "✱ Q1" you may notice this new symbol what they call the "[The Heavy Asterisk](https://www.myforevernotes.com/docs/the-heavy-asterisk?ref=jasontucker.blog)" which is use to denote a that this page is using this system. There is also the star of the show the [✱ Home](https://www.myforevernotes.com/docs/home?ref=jasontucker.blog) outlined on their website on how to use it. It's the main page of the interface and is pretty powerful once you get it setup. I like this idea and ended up using it quite a bit in my setup. As for the Months and Quarters, eh.. they require manual effort to setup. I tried to automate all this using Shortcuts but couldnt make it work. ## **My Setup: Automating the Day-to-Day** **1\. Daily Setup Shortcut** My day starts with a shortcut I call **“Setup the Day.”** Here’s what it does: - Gathers context: Pulls in sleep data from the night before, the current weather, my calendar events, and any reminders from Apple’s Reminders app. - Creates the day’s note: All this information is saved in a existing note for the day, titled with the current date (e.g., “4 December”). This gives me a snapshot of everything I need to start my day, all in one place. My shortcuts leverage heavily the "Run Shortcut" function that lets me run one shortcut from another to chain things together. Think of it like functions and subroutines. **This Setup \* Today Entry (@ wakeup)** shortcut grabs the weather, my calendar events, reminders, some sleep analysis (from a shortcut I found someone made) and combines all of them into a text field layed out the way I want. It makes it into rich text from markdown and then searched for the current days note and appends the content collected to that note, thats it for this shortcut. It gets ran every morning "When Waking Up" using the personal automations inside of Shortcuts. Here is my 📲 [Setup \* Today Entry (@ wakeup)](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/f11681ac43614badba2f765c0239514a?ref=jasontucker.blog) (This shortcut link updated on April 15 2026 due to an[ issue with dates in the latest iOS version](https://forum.myforevernotes.com/d/301-open-todays-note-shortcut-suddenly-not-working/3?ref=jasontucker.blog)) shortcut that I have run in the Personal Automations for "When Waking Up" so it runs without me doing anything. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/12/When-Waking-Up.png) **2\. Journal Entry Shortcut** Throughout the day, I use a shortcut called **“Journal Entry”** to log events and thoughts. This shortcut: - Detects my location (e.g., work, home, or elsewhere). - Appends entries to my daily note formatted in this fashion: `- 4:00pm - I wrote a blog posts about my journaling @ Home` - Adds certain entries to the Apple Journal app if I’m not at work (just in case Journal becomes a bigger part of my routine later). For work, my journal entries focus on tasks I’ve completed, making it easy to reflect on my productivity and track any follow-up items. 📲 [Journal Entry](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/43e432bc5b9541d48278104e5064a08b?ref=jasontucker.blog) Shortcut **~~3\. Location Tracking Shortcut~~** ~~Whenever I connect or disconnect from **CarPlay,** another shortcut runs. This one:~~ - Tracks my location using [**Data Jar**](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/data-jar/id1453273600?ref=jasontucker.blog) (a lightweight app for storing structured data). - Logs where I’ve been and matches it to a list of favorite places. ~~At the end of the day, these location logs are added to my journal entry for the day, providing a complete record of my movements.~~ 📲 [Carplay Traveling Off Shortcut](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/aa9a85921e3c45c4bea42b4503f420a6?ref=jasontucker.blog) In Automation in Shortcuts set this for when CarPlay Connects 📲 [Get: Journal Calendar Events](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/c12885cd9a054c6589b8e1193ad77ec1?ref=jasontucker.blog) This reads from todays calendar events and removes the duplicates just in case and then outputs the list of events. ~~📲~~ [~~Location Category~~](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/47cabbc3ebb849af832981e7cd3be541?ref=jasontucker.blog) ~~This gets ran from the Journal entry and will add the name of the location to the end of each entry. Customize the locations as you see fit~~ **4\. Nighttime Routine Shortcut** My nightly shortcut wraps everything up. It: - Pulls location data from Data Jar and appends it to the day’s note. - Clears Data Jar to start fresh for the next day. This automation ensures that I don’t miss any details from my day. 📲 [Chosen Date Sleep Analysis](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/24f2549954894035bb45c8895f5798b5?ref=jasontucker.blog) This is a shortcut that I found on Reddit that does a good job of using healthkit to get the data you need. 📲 [Nighttime: Daily Journal](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/48b2cf36a65942b6b24284e46db4d350?ref=jasontucker.blog) is the shortcut that I have run when the "End of the Day" focusmode turns on which I scheduled at 11:55pm. Apple made shortcuts weird and you have to do some odd hoop jumping to allow for automation that is hand free. Focus modes tend to be the best way to do this. You could use a NFC tag or something else but this REALLY needs to be ran before midnight or it will mess things up and put all of your location entries on the wrong day. ~~📲~~ [~~Clear Locations~~](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/6845c21c128d477d9fc69e6105e0d493?ref=jasontucker.blog) ~~This removed the locations at the end of the night from the Nighttime: Daily Journal above~~ Setup an Automation in Shortcuts that turns on when ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/12/Nightime-Routine-1.png) The Nighttime Automation The focus mode you need to set just that turns on just before midnight ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/12/End-of-day-Focus-Mode-1.jpg) **Why I Love This System combined with my automations** One of the standout features of this Forever ✱ Notes is how it organizes notes. With **365 notes per year,** each note is dedicated to a single day. Over time, you build a layered history. For instance, next year’s December 4th note will sit right below this year’s, letting me reflect on how my life has evolved year by year. It will show the weather from last year, what time I work up, how long I slept and other data that I was collect and maybe aren't collecting any more. It's a cool way to see the history based on the day of the month. This structure feels intuitive and rewarding. I’ve been slowly working towards a system like this for a while, and combining my ideas with the Forever ✱ Notes framework has been incredibly satisfying. **A Sample Day in My Journal** Here’s a quick look at what one of my daily notes might include: ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/12/4-January.png) **Final Thoughts** Memory is tricky, and while I can’t change how my brain works, I can create systems to support it. Forever ✱ Notes and iOS Shortcuts have given me a way to manage my life, track my productivity, and build a searchable, meaningful record of my days. ## A New addition to this ✱ Home shortcut One thing that always frustrated me about this system is the static text a the top of each note that the creator wanted you to manually build out so it links to the home page, next page and previous page along with today. I never used this and it seems like a waste of time to do. I ended up going this route recently and its made it much better for me. Thanks **Kavia**, you built what I wanted to build. [https://forum.myforevernotes.com/d/270-forever-journal-a-shortcut-suite-that-makes-it-easier-to-a-create-a-journal](https://forum.myforevernotes.com/d/270-forever-journal-a-shortcut-suite-that-makes-it-easier-to-a-create-a-journal?ref=jasontucker.blog) If you’re someone who struggles with memory or just wants to better document your life, I highly recommend trying a setup like this. It’s not perfect, but it works for me—and that’s what matters. ## Wrapping up What do you think? Let me know. I'm not offering any support on these shortcuts but I can point you in the right direction if something doesn't work. If you wanna hit me up on socials you can find on one of these here: [Jason Tucker (@jasontucker.blog)he/him. 💙🔵🟦 IT Director / WebDev Likes: #homelab #unraid #woodworking #woodworker #php #wordpress #ghost #CMS #F1 #Formula1 #Redbull Blog: jasontucker.blog Woodworking: createdimperfectly.com![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon.png)Bluesky Social![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/bafkreihreudmo2pwg3hjwdeb4gfv2zzukn2zu43yg4maze6ttjpgsoe6ky@jpeg)](https://bsky.app/profile/jasontucker.blog?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Jason Tucker (@jasontucker@simian.rodeo)16 Posts, 538 Following, 640 Followers · he/him I make podcasts for you to listen to, I stream video so you don’t have to be there and I build fun stuff for people to enjoy. 💼 #ITDirector 🎙️founder of now defunct #WPwatercooler #WordPress podcast 🪵🪑#woodworking on the weekend 🏡 #smarthome enthusiast 🏎️ #formula1 #F1 fan![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-180x180-1e7a784ec461b591e092f2826b9559f9.png)Mastodon![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/c4584c85e3b5df08.jpeg)](https://simian.rodeo/@jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) • Threads, Say more397 Followers • 3.8K Threads • IT Director, technology enthusiast, woodworker at @createdimperfectly #Whittier ❤️ @JenTucker. See the latest conversations with @jasontucker.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/Pcnemah90K8.png)Threads![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/429560898_765339015681214_1697325839331379196_n.jpg)](https://www.threads.net/@jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Adding social networks to your Ghost blog navigation, including Bluesky URL: https://jasontucker.blog/adding-social-networks-to-your-ghost-blog-navigation-including-bluesky/ Last updated: 2024-11-17T19:10:06.000Z Do you have a Ghost powered website and are looking to add all your social links to the navigation? Recently ditched X/twitter for Bluesky and want to add Bluesky to your navigation as well? Ghost blog posted [this article](https://ghost.org/tutorials/add-social-media-icons/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and I found that it was missing Bluesky and took the liberty of adding it to my code which I'm sharing below. Follow the instructions on how to use the code from the article and then replace their code with mine and Bluesky will show up. [ghost-social-networks-navigation.cssGitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/pinned-octocat-093da3e6fa40-1.svg)Gist262588213843476![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/gist-og-image-54fd7dc0713e-1.png)](https://gist.github.com/jasontucker/e174f62ac652135e542c12334f3ab427?ref=jasontucker.blog) Hope this helps someone. ### Power, Politics, and WordPress URL: https://jasontucker.blog/power-politics-and-wordpress/ Last updated: 2024-10-15T17:42:53.000Z For over 12 years, I co-hosted a podcast called [*WPwatercooler*](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) with Sé Reed and Jason Cosper. We weren’t just discussing the latest plugins or updates—but as of late we were holding a critical mirror up to the WordPress ecosystem. We talked about its triumphs, its community, and, yes, its leadership. Our episodes often took a closer look at the actions and decisions of Matt Mullenweg, WordPress’s co-founder. We aimed to question what needed questioning, and our love for the community was always at the heart of those conversations. But as of August 9th, 2024, I decided it was time to step away. The world of WordPress, its challenges, and its shifting dynamics had changed significantly over the years, and it felt right to close this chapter. Little did we know how intense those dynamics would become in just a few short weeks. Since our [last episode](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep485-so-limitless-and-free/?ref=jasontucker.blog), a major dispute erupted between Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, and it’s turned into a saga that’s raising serious concerns across the WordPress ecosystem—and even beyond. The conflict, as outlined in a recent *Fast Company* article titled ["The WordPress drama could have major implications for the internet"](https://www.fastcompany.com/91209753/the-wordpress-drama-could-have-major-implications-for-the-internet?ref=jasontucker.blog), centers on accusations from Mullenweg that WP Engine has built its success by extracting value from the open-source project of WordPress without giving back. It's one of many articles out there but the most recent I've read. It’s an accusation that, in itself, might resonate with those who’ve seen the commercialization of open-source projects before. But the way it’s been handled is another matter entirely. Mullenweg's decision to cut off WP Engine’s access to crucial resources and the subsequent back-and-forth of cease-and-desist letters have left many in the community feeling unsettled. It’s not just about trademarks and IP anymore—it's about a shift in how power is wielded in a space that’s supposed to be community-driven. The fact that over 150 Automattic employees took buyouts rather than continue under the current leadership speaks volumes. It’s a clear indicator of internal tension and of a fundamental disagreement with how things are being handled. With the recent take over of the free ACF plugin in the repository it just shows the weird power dynamic at play here. This whole situation is emblematic of why I’m relieved to no longer be producing *WPwatercooler*. I loved being a part of those in-depth conversations about WordPress, but it’s been exhausting to watch how what was once a passionate, open-source movement has been evolving—sometimes for better, but recently, for worse. Mullenweg’s recent actions remind me of the delicate balance between the ideals of open source and the realities of commercial interests. When *WPwatercooler* started, WordPress was this symbol of community empowerment, offering users the ability to own their digital presence. Heck, we even had a birthday cake and piñata on it's birthday made for it at my local meetup. Now, the ongoing dispute with WP Engine has made it feel like the vision has shifted more towards control and consolidation. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/10/CC2814CE-B8B3-4E7E-994A-748188CEC817.jpg) WordPress Birthday Party - OC WordPress Meetup Looking back, it’s bittersweet. I miss the lively debates with Sé, Cosper, and the community. We always aimed to hold WordPress accountable because we believed in it. We saw the potential it had to be more than just software—to be a movement. And perhaps, that’s why it’s so tough to see this current chapter unfold. It’s not that criticism didn’t have its place, but that it was always done with a sense of hope for what WordPress could become. Now, as October rolls around and this saga continues, I’m watching from the sidelines, in my jammies in our "[slack](https://watercoolerslack.lol/?ref=jasontucker.blog)", and I can’t help but feel relieved that I don’t have to dissect every twist and turn of this drama anymore. WordPress will always be an important part in that part of my life, but I’m ready for new conversations, new projects, and a little less turbulence. It’s hard to say what’s next for WordPress or for Matt Mullenweg. There’s a lot at stake for the community and for the internet itself, as WordPress powers over "43.5%" of all websites. But one thing is clear: this is a turning point. Whether it’s a turning point towards a healthier future or a fracturing of the community remains to be seen. For now, I’ll hold onto the good memories of *WPwatercooler* and remain hopeful that the community spirit that made WordPress what it was can endure. And maybe, just maybe, someone else will be there to hold up that critical mirror when it’s most needed. For now I'll just write my blog posts in [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) while sipping coffee from a Yeti travel cup with *WPwatercooler* stickers on it. ### Mounting multiple Google Drives on a Mac, is CloudMounter the best? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/mounting-multiple-google-drives-on-a-mac-is-cloudmounter-the-best/ Last updated: 2024-09-23T17:51:25.000Z I like most folks interact with a few different cloud provided storage systems, Google Drive, One Drive, Box, Dropbox and even more than one instance of each. When using your Mac you can only be logged into one at a time using the official Google Drive app, why? I suppose only Google can answer that and it doesn't sell more ads so maybe that's why. I dug around (on Google) and found [CloudMounter](https://cloudmounter.net/?ref=jasontucker.blog) an app that lets you mount multiple instances of cloud storage on your Mac (and Windows) and have them show up as drives. CloudMounter provides a 14 day free trial and is $29.99 and supports a bunch of cloud storage systems: Google Drive Dropbox Amazon S3 OneDrive WebDAV Solutions Openstack FTP SFTP Box Backblaze The FAQ mentions FUSE a few times and I need to investigate this a big further, one thing in particular that is mentioned is this question: **Why the drive that I mounted in CloudMounter is case-insensitive?** Mounted drives will remain case-insensitive regardless of the type of connection used, when FUSE for macOS is not present in the system. Have you used this app before? know of something better? Leave me a comment or find me on socials and hit me up. ### Finding the stupidly named "Windows App" on macOS using Raycast URL: https://jasontucker.blog/finding-the-stupidly-named-windows-app-on-macos-using-raycast/ Last updated: 2024-09-20T04:35:44.000Z Microsoft does some dumb stuff sometimes, this one just bothers me to no end. They thought it would be a good idea to rename their perfectly named "Microsoft Remote Desktop" to "Windows App" typically I'd use Spotlight or Raycast to do a quick search for "Remote" and find the app. ### Raycast In Raycast you can add an alias to the app and when you search for it you should be able to find it quickly. I used “rdp” the acronym for “Remote Desktop Protocol” which is what I’m so use to calling it. Then I can press the key sequence to open Raycast and type rdp and there it is! ### Scanning paper documents and auto sorting into folders based on content URL: https://jasontucker.blog/scanning-paper-documents-and-auto-sorting-into-folders-based-on-content/ Last updated: 2024-09-16T23:09:00.000Z I'm working on a project to scan a bunch of documents and store them in cloud storage for future generations in the organization to filter through as needed. I hope I can just search in Google Drive to find the document I need and if we ever need to move away from Google Drive we can move the documents to another file storage system no problem. ## What I'd like to have happen My plan is to use an old Xerox copier that has network scanning capabilities and scan a collection of documents and have them OCR and saved to a holding place to be read, filtered and put into folders with a persons name on it and the files named for what each document is. The documents are mainly forms that were filled out with handwriting and the other documents are things collected as the person was a member of the organization. The forms go back to most likely the 1950, heck even earlier and most likely are about 500 or so folders, one for each person. ### What I have #### Scanner I'm working with an older Xerox copier that has network capabilities that can do the scanning and saving to SMB share or USB thumb drive. I'm not sure I can rely on the OCR of this scanner since it's capabilities are locked in to the area in which it was created. Doing a second pass of OCR scanning may be best with more modern hardware and software. #### Computers **Raspberry Pi 4** \- I have a raspberry pi with an external harddrive on it to do some data collection and then connected to the internet push the data to Google Drive as its final resting place. **Macbook Pro M2** \- If it would make it easier to do any on device AI for reading the documents this may be a good way to do it. #### Storage We're looking to store this content on **Google Drive** so we can leverage the search capabilities of Google drive to find content easy and search the OCR data in the future if we need to find a specific collection of content based on keywords. ### Lots of Documents Like I wrote in the intro, I have about 500 or so hanging files in a cabinet of records from people in the organization and each folder has 1-30 pages of documents that need to be unstapled, scanned and organized. These documents are applications, application fees, and other documents outlining various statuses a person as been through. These documents were used in the past as a way to keep track of such things but have been replaced with online tools to do the same thing. For record keeping sake we would like to keep these documents scanned as PDFs in case we ever need to reference them since most of them havent made it into the online tool that we use. ### Organization Honestly I'm not really looking for a tool that has its own database and has its own way of storing things. I'm mainly looking for a file processor that can take a file from the printer (sitting in an SMB share) and read the OCR data in it then using a few phrases it finds can help rename the file and store it in a folder with the persons name in it. I'm thinking there may be 10 types of documents to scan and just need the files named and the folders they live in created. ## Solutions I have used in the past ### Hazel I've used [Noodlesoft's Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) before on the Mac to process files based on lots of criteria. This solution is most likely what I'll start using but it is limited in some respects. They have a [lively online forum](https://www.noodlesoft.com/forums/index.php?ref=jasontucker.blog) with many people using this tool to rename and organize documents just like me. #### Articles I've found using Hazel or could be used with Hazel [Automatic OCR with Hazel: The Easy Way – Grey Patterson![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon.ico)Grey![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/OCR-Script.1714f3aaec9345ac86923836ad93a9d4.png)](https://greypatterson.me/2019/08/automatic-ocr-with-hazel-the-easy-way/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [A Marriage between Handwritten Notes and ObsidianWe live in a world of typed text. What place does the Penman have?![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/RiddleLogo.png)Riddle PressKincaid MacDonald![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/Handwriting-Caption.jpeg)](https://riddle.press/a-marriage-between-handwritten-notes-and-obsidian/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [OCR with the pytesseractOptical Character Recognition (OCR) is referred to as Text Recognition. We can extract text from the image, cameras, scanned documents, and…![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/10fd5c419ac61637245384e7099e131627900034828f4f386bdaa47a74eae156)MediumGauravi Rajput![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/1*5qPFtgWDwpZ0_bEa9sd6Qw.jpeg)](https://medium.com/@gauravi.rajput24/ocr-with-the-pytesseract-e06c02f26602?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Extending my research ### Paperless-ngx I started my journey with looking at [Paperless-ngx](https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) as a solution to help with reading the documents and setting up routes for what filename a scanned file should have based on the contents of the file. It then store the files in the file system so you can do what you need to with them. It has a web interface ### Papermerge DMS Another solution is [Papermerge DMS](https://github.com/ciur/papermerge?ref=jasontucker.blog) which looks interesting and a few folks have mentioned on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Papermerge/?ref=jasontucker.blog) as a solution to this problem. It's a document management system runs it's own web server. I've been researching how it manages the files it scans and what it can do with the files. Personally I think this solution isnt the best fit for me since it most likely relies on the software and the PDFs arent changed in any way. It just collects meta data and stores it. I'll need to look further into this later. ### Teedy I have seen this one mentioned a few times - [Teedy](https://github.com/sismics/docs?ref=jasontucker.blog) which looks like another interesting way to do this. Seems like it is more of a database than a processor. ## More to go I'm going to start scanning some documents, find the commonalities in those files in that data set and work out how I want to organize that data. Then try a few OCR solutions and how that data is stored in a PDF/A file format and how Hazel can be used to do some of the organization. I'd love to find a way to have a raspberry pi setup near the copier that at a press of the button on the Xerox copier send the scanned document to a folder that the raspberry pi is watching, OCR and then organize the file and push it to Google. One can dream, lets start small and work out way toward what I want. ## What's next? I'll add to this document so I have something for me to reference and something for you to comment on below if you have approached this problem differently than I have. ### Saving maps on Apple Maps and Google Maps for offline use URL: https://jasontucker.blog/saving-maps-on-apple-maps-and-google-maps-for-offline-use/ Last updated: 2024-09-16T20:54:10.000Z Offline maps are a godsend when in an area that may not have cell service. Both Apple Maps and my favorite Google Maps offer offline downloads of an area so you don't find yourself without maps on your mobile device. Instead of providing you with text that will become old over time I thought I'd provide you with links to get you to the result you are after. **Apple Maps** \- use offline maps to access information like hours and ratings for places, turn-by-turn directions, and estimated arrival times. [How to download maps to use offline on your iPhone - Apple SupportWith Maps in iOS 17 or later, use offline maps to access information like hours and ratings for places, turn-by-turn directions, and estimated arrival times.![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon.ico)Apple Support![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/ios-17-iphone-14-pro-maps-search-location-download-callout.png)](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105084?ref=jasontucker.blog) **Google Maps** \- You can save an area from Google Maps to your phone or tablet and use it when you're offline. [Download areas & navigate offline - iPhone & iPad - Google Maps HelpYou can save an area from Google Maps to your phone or tablet and use it when you’re offline. Tip: You’re unable to download offline maps in some countries or regio![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/icon/favicon.ico)Google Maps Help![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/thumbnail/FXGjThjZwFOODV24wgCAHU3oMDb863ZCpANN)](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Almost 12 years of WordPress Podcasting URL: https://jasontucker.blog/almost-12-years-of-wordpress-podcasting/ Last updated: 2024-08-22T18:22:31.000Z I originally wrote this post over on WPwatercooler.com but who knows how long that site will stay up. For nearly 12 years, I’ve had the privilege of hosting WPwatercooler a podcast that I founded with a bunch of fun folks in our local community. Around the 9-year mark, I wrote a post titled [*Podcasting about WordPress: What I Learned in 9 Years*](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/2021/09/22/podcasting-about-wordpress-what-i-learned-in-9-years/?ref=jasontucker.blog), which delves into some of the show’s history, as does the [*WPwatercooler Origin Story*](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/2014/04/23/origins-wpwatercooler/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Recently, we recorded our final episode, [*EP485 – So Limitless and Free*](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep485-so-limitless-and-free/?ref=jasontucker.blog), and I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts on why I’ve decided to step away from the show and why this will be our final episode. > Please note that these views are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of my two co-hosts. We don’t blog much on this site, so if you’re reading this, it’s me Jason Tucker the mostly quiet yet productive behind the scenes one on the show. Over the years, as a commentator in the WordPress space, I’ve noticed significant shifts in the community and the platform itself. WordPress has become increasingly political, and the direction it has taken is one that I find myself less inclined to analyze or discuss. The leadership is honestly pretty wonky, we’ve discussed it at great length on our podcast episodes as of late and Sé even blogged about it last year [A Call for Accountability: Sharing My WordPress Code of Conduct Report](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/2023/09/22/a-call-for-accountability-sharing-my-wordpress-code-of-conduct-report/?ref=jasontucker.blog). The product, in my opinion, has experienced numerous changes that have left me questioning whether I still want to be a part of this conversation and whether I should continue to offer a resource for something I no longer feel passionate about. I still appreciate the software WordPress once was, but I’m less enthusiastic about what it has become. When I look back in 5 years will it be renamed Jetpack and run on Node.js, deeply? Who knows. While I continue to use WordPress for certain projects and stay informed about its developments, I’ve also explored other CMS and website-building tools. A while back I did a bit of a “rumspringa,” so to speak, allowed me to discover alternatives that better suit my current needs, and I find myself gravitating towards these new tools for many of my projects. This exploration lead me to some cool software and something I’m now using in a bunch of personal sites and projects for my friends. At one point my involvement in the Southern California WordPress community was extensive—attending numerous meetups and WordCamps. Recording and streaming videos of our meetups and some of the WordCamps. WordPress became such a significant part of my identity that stepping back from being “the WordPress guy” in my circles has been a process. WordPress is a great tool for some websites, but it’s not the solution for every project, and it’s not something I’d recommend for every use case. Years ago having a WordPress cake at a party for it’s 10 year birthday for our WordPress meetup didn’t seem weird, but now it kinda does. 🤷🏻‍♂️. WordPress at that time was more the community and less the php files. The community was worthy of the 🍰. Over the past 12 years, we’ve produced 830 videos across 6 shows and special content verticals. We’ve conducted interviews, tested plugins and themes, broadcasted live from WordCamps, and more. Even my daughter Jess had the opportunity to interview women in WordPress at a WordCamp US, which was a highlight for us. We’ve had over 400 contributors in one way or another during this journey. It’s been an incredible run, and I’m grateful for all the support and camaraderie in our community. A lot of love, care and self funding went into this project, I hope I find something just as [special someday](https://createdimperfectly.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) to pour my time into. Our Discord will remain active, and the YouTube channel will stay up until it meets the fate of Google Reader. I’m also committed to hosting the podcast files for at least six more months. The website is on shared hosting with “all of the plugins set to auto update” if it breaks it isn’t my fault. Both WPwatercooler and Dev Branch feeds will no longer be updated and no shows will be produced for either. In closing, there is a lot of software out there, don’t let a silly tattoo you got at a WordCamp be the reason to pigeon hole yourself into only using this collection of php, js, css and images there are plenty of other things out there to explore, make better and use on projects. Use WordPress, don’t use WordPress it’s totally up to you. Thank you all for your support. Here’s our [last episode](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep485-so-limitless-and-free/?ref=jasontucker.blog)—enjoy. ### Add additional column to Active Directory for Papercut ID URL: https://jasontucker.blog/add-additional-column-to-active-directory-for-papercut-id/ Last updated: 2024-08-08T05:20:50.000Z At work, I manage our Active Directory, Azure Directory (Microsoft Entra ID), and Google Directory (they all sync between one another, but that’s for another post). We use Papercut as our print management system. It deploys printers and drivers for Mac and Windows and deals with who is printing to what, what department, and budget should they be printing to. It's rad, and I love how much easier it makes my job. In order to know who is printing and copying on our devices, we have to offer up a few ways of authentication. Using AD credentials is one way; we do SSO for single sign-on between Windows and a web service, and we use that for authenticating in the 2 apps we use from Papercut to know who is printing. Mac is the same thing using a web app to log in. But what about standing in front of a printer and printing? We're not the company that wears name badges; we may at some point, so I'm future-proofing a little bit here. I use the "pager" field in AD in the users’ account to store their code for printing; the user knows the code, and when they walk up to the printer, they input the code, and it greets them and asks what subaccount in their budget they want to charge a printout to. It's fancy and makes the Accounting department happy. The problem I was running into is that for some reason, a few of my users didn’t have their 4 digit code in the pager field, and I wanted to go in and update them. There are a lot of ways to do this with PowerShell, reporting, and such, but I wanted to use the Active Directory Users and Computers to manage this. As you read I did need to use Powershell to set things up. This post just like most are for me to find later on Google when I run into this problem again. Hi Jason, glad you found this post. --- I had no idea but you can actually change what columns show up in ADUC, who knew?! (I'd imagine many people but lets explore together.) ADUC stores the columns in something called.. extraColumns. You can edit these extraColumns using the ADSI Edit tool. Sign in to a domain controller and go to ADUC (Active Directory Users and Computers) and click Add/Remove Column you'll see a list of columns you can select from but the one I wanted "pager" isn't listed. - Open **Administrative Tools** or type **adsiedit.msc** in the Windows Search - Start **ADSI Edit** - Right-click **ADSI Edit** in the left pane and select **Connect to** - Select **Configuration** in the well known Naming Context - Click **OK** Using the left pane navigate to the following: CN=organizationalUnit-Display,CN=409,CN=DisplaySpecifiers,CN=Configuration What is 409? it's the English language code you'll need to know what the code is for the language you are managing. Right-click CN=organizationalUnit-Display and click Properties. Find the attribute **extraColumns**. By default, it’s empty, and the value is **not set**. Add the below value to the attribute **extraColumns** to display the **Mobile** in Active Directory. ```none pager,Pager,0,150,0 ``` These fields are defined as follows ```none ldapdisplayname,column header,default visibility,width,unused ``` | **Value** | **Description** | | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ldapdisplayname | Contains a string that represents the ldapDisplayName of the attribute. | | column header | Contains a string that represents the text displayed in the header for the column. | | default visibility | Contains a numeric value that is 0 if the attribute is hidden by default or 1 if the attribute is visible by default. | | width | Contains the width of the column in pixels. If this value is -1, the width of the column is set to the width of the column header. | | unused | Unused. Must be zero. | You could just add that field to the extraColumns and be done but you'll lose all the other fields that were usually in that. How silly! To fix that I started doing some research on what can you do to capture the current fields and add them to the new one we want. I found a post that outlines this and wanted to share it here [Add additional columns in Active Directory - Copy extraColumn values](https://www.alitajran.com/additional-columns-active-directory/?ref=jasontucker.blog#h-copy-extracolumns-values) you'll need to run this code to grab the existing and copy it over to where your new value, in my case *pager* so I can have pager as well as the standard values. odd it's called extraColumns and not overrideColumns because it should be. ```powershell $Language = 409 $Config = (Get-ADRootDSE).configurationNamingContext $ouDisplaySpecifier = Get-ADObject -Identity "CN=organizationalUnit-Display,CN=$Language,CN=DisplaySpecifiers,$Config" -Properties * $defaultDisplaySpecifier = Get-ADObject -Identity "CN=default-Display,CN=$Language,CN=DisplaySpecifiers,$Config" -Properties * $extraColumns = $ouDisplaySpecifier.extraColumns $extraColumns += $defaultDisplaySpecifier.extraColumns Set-ADObject $ouDisplaySpecifier -Replace @{extraColumns=$extraColumns} ``` If you read the rest of that post which us not something I needed you can do this in many other places in AD which is nice. ### The Homelab - Aug 2024 edition URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-homelab-aug-2024-edition/ Last updated: 2024-08-05T21:19:52.000Z I work as an IT Director for a company with about 70 employees and manage the network, servers, cloud infrastructure and all of the desktop support for the organization I'd love to have a place to play and learn. Obviously downtime is a concern at work and having a test bed to play with is important but outside of work how to I sharpen my skills? For me it's getting into a Homelab, a place where the stakes are *just as high* but I can't get fired if things break, I'll just have a disappointed wife and upset daughter dealing with my shenanigans. So what is a [homelab](https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/?ref=jasontucker.blog) any how? For me currently it's the production environment that my house runs on. It consists of a few systems and networking infrastructure and allows me to bend and break things to learn how to fix them. I'll also be building a development/test environment or as most folks would call a **REAL homelab** where at some point I can break things and my family can still watch tv or use the internet without me messing things up for them. As my network and servers grow so does the ability to run tests and play without messing up "production" by building a test network with test servers and network hardware. Much like my knowledge is growing so is the gear I'm using for testing. ## The Servers My servers consist of 2 Dell Precision i7 laptops (4 core, 8 threads) from 2016 both upgraded to 32gb of ram, 2 SSDs (one of them in the [optical slot using this kit](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075814NB2?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog), the other in the standard drive slot) and running [Unraid](https://unraid.net/pricing?via=c9f649&ref=jasontucker.blog) on a [USB driv](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7Q41PM?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog)e to load it into memory. At some point I'll add a 3rd drive to both serves so i have a cache drive. This is mainly for the [Docker](https://www.docker.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) containers to use and nothing to do with media storage, that's what the NAS boxes are for. [Unraid Link](https://unraid.net/pricing?via=c9f649&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Server 1 This server acts as my workhorse server running many docker containers for various experiments and media acquisition. ### Server 2 This server acts as my media server. Running docker I have containers accessing the various file shares on the NAS. Accessing NFS shares from my media storage NAS to be played by Plex or any DLNA devices that want to access the TV, Movies and Music stored on the Media NAS. This server also runs [Homebridge](https://homebridge.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Scrypted](https://www.scrypted.app/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Uptime Kuma](https://uptime.kuma.pet/?ref=jasontucker.blog) for managing my smart home and monitoring the various devices running on the network. ### Raspberry Pi Running on the device is [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog) running on a [RaspberryPi 4](https://www.amazon.com/RockBee-Raspberry-Pi-Model-4GB/dp/B0CF959LWL?ref=jasontucker.blog) with [HA OS](https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/?ref=jasontucker.blog) so everything is managed in Home Assistant. ## The Storage I running 2 older NAS devices one for backup of the computers on the network as well as the laptop servers and another for "media storage". These old chassis have brand new drives in them but the NAS itself are from 2012 and 2016\. Inherited from my old workplace and current workplace as we replaced old infrastructure. 16TB in one NAS and 8TB in the other. These NAS have SMB and NFS enabled allowing for other devices on the network to access them as needed. ## The Network This part is a more recent development. I was running a pair of Asus WiFi 6 routers with a few wired old Netgear switches and have recently moved to Ubiquiti. Playing with VLANs at home and doing more of the stuff I do at work but at home using more small business grade hardware. **UniFi Cloud Key** \- Acts as the NVR for my UniFi Protect cameras. [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T6JNP4R?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) **UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra** \- Manages the network and each of my UniFi switches and wireless access points. [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DB6HNHLQ?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) **UniFi Access Points** \- My 1700 sq home has 3 wireless access points (office, living room, garage) wired and connected to my PoE switches, giving my home ample coverage despite the 1960s walls with lathe and plaster as well as stucco trying so very hard to block it from penetrating. Kitchen, bathrooms, attached garage firewalls, and outside stucco are Wi-Fi killers. "Old" houses in California weren't made for Wi-Fi. [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC7X8XFD?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) \- [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW2KD4HT?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) **UniFi Switches** \- 1/2 of my switches are UniFi switches, but I'll slowly get all switches out for UniFi ones so we have 1 pane of glass to manage them with. [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TLT6Z4?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) **UniFi Protect** \- My UniFi cameras manage my front door and around the building cameras, letting me see what is going on and let me see the daily commute of the animals in my neighborhood. What I like about UniFi Protect is I can access it from anywhere, yet it’s all stored locally at home, unlike Ring or other camera products that you have to pay for cloud storage for. [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L3X9ZZX?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) \- [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VNBR1RY?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) \- [Link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVGKWVSR?tag=createdimperf-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## What's Next in this Homelab series? Next I'll be exploring the various docker containers running on each [Unraid](https://unraid.net/pricing?via=c9f649&ref=jasontucker.blog) server, why I'm using them and months from now what changed and what I've replace with different solutions. Documenting my homelab is fun and I hope you get something from it. In the comments let me know what you are using maybe you can inspire me much like I hope I inspire you with this post. ### Automating YouTube Playlists generation with YouTube API URL: https://jasontucker.blog/automating-youtube-playlists-generation-with-youtube-api/ Last updated: 2024-07-24T18:40:21.000Z My wife Jen and I each week sit down in front of the TV in our living room and watch YouTube together. We have about 8 channels we watch and each week on sunday these channel put out new content to watch. Some of these we've been watching for years to its fun to sit down and watch them together. I made this process pretty easy for myself by adding videos from each channel to a playlist early sunday and by the time we sit down to watch them I have all the videos lined up and ready to go so we can burn through them one by one. Since it's a playlist they just keep playing until were done which is nice and easy to watch without digging into each YouTube channel to find the latest content. I wanted to automate this process by providing a script a list of YouTube channel IDs and have it scan the channel list and pluck out the videos we havent watched yet that are on this list and at it to the **Sunday YouTube** playlist for us to watch. Most of the time we end up watching all of the videos but sometimes we watch a few and then may wait until the following sunday or a few days later to inbox zero them and get everything watched. I approached this problem by using ChatGPT 4o to geneate a Python Script to make this happen. I have a linux box that I use for utilities such as this and it just runs scripts all the time doing by bidding. Here is what I asked ChatGPT to do 💡 I have a collection of youtube channels that I watch their latest content each week and would like you to write a python script that would look for the latest unwatched video from each channel and add it to my watch later playlist It generated the command to install some python modules and then wrote the script I needed to do the basics of talking to the YouTube API It then explained how I needed to open then Google Developer Console and setup the API, the scope for accessing the API and setting up the Oauth 2.0 creds to make it all happen. We also needed to setup some python modules to interact with the API. A few copy and pastes and we had a working setup. If I ran into any issues I'd just copy and paste the error and let ChatGPT solve it for me so we could get to a working result. Problems with Watch Later and using a custom playlist Above I mentioned we use a custom playlist but inactualiy we were using the Watch Later built in playlist from YouTube each week. We (ChatGPT and I) found out that the API we were using didnt suppose using the Watch Later playlist so I made a new one in YouTube, got the ID for the playlist and asked ChatGPT to add the functionality. 💡 Can you use a custom playlist with ID: PLT4hI3SgCr16yyLYKqFvxwtku772FhI and remove any watched videos from this playlist when you add new ones and be sure there are no duplicates. With its new marching orders it generated the code for me. I then wanted to have it run this script weekly on sunday at 7pm just before Jen and I sitdown and watch TV together. It let me know it needed to add a Shebang at the beginning of the script so it can be run directly and know the path where the verison of python was run it from cron. 💡 can we make a cron job in linux to run this script each sunday at 7pm? It explained how to make the script executible using chmod, how to edit crontab and it made the crontab entry for me to copy and paste. I ran this a few times and it worked well so I then asked it if we could add pushcut support to it and it generated the code to do so. 💡 can we add to the script to send a message to Pushover indicating that the script was ran, what videos were added and how many there were? It had me run a pip command to add "requests" module and then updated the code to include that module and added the logic to do what I asked. It then indicated *"This will ensure your script runs automatically at the specified time each week, cleans out the custom playlist, removes any duplicates, adds new videos, and sends a Pushover notification with the details."* What if you don't want to run this with Python? you could do this with Google's code implementation with Google Sheets or using any other programming language, I just know that Python has a lot that it can do so I chose that language to do this script. ## Let's try Ruby Just for giggles I asked ChatGPT to refactor this code and write it in ruby. Pick your scripting language, add the script to cron and let'er rip. ## What did I learn? I learned that it's really quick to spin up a script if you know what to ask ChatGPT to make it happen. I also learned that WOW you can blow through your 10,000 API calls very quick with some testing. I ran the script a few times and by the end of it i exhausted the API limit really fast. There is some expensive processes happening in this script. I asked it at once point to do some optimization and to also include some checks on how much of the API calls it was using and it attempted to do so using some predefined values search\_list: 100, # Cost for each search.list request playlist\_items\_list: 1, # Cost for each playlistItems.list request playlist\_items\_insert: 50, # Cost for each playlistItems.insert request playlist\_items\_delete: 50, # Cost for each playlistItems.delete request I think this was a good learning experience in just how fast you can spend your API calls when using a free account and just doing some basic testing. For the 8 youtube channels we follow each week and each channel typically puts out 1-3 videos in that week (with shorts and full videos included in this) it shouldnt run into too many issues. ## What's next? I'll run some test this week and will let you know how it goes this sunday. What would you do different? How would you have ChatGPT approach this problem or if you are a coder in Python or Ruby what would you do different when approaching this problem? ### What tools I use produce & promote WPwatercooler URL: https://jasontucker.blog/what-tools-i-use-produce-promote-wpwatercooler/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:33:31.000Z I've been thinking about the video production stack I use for recording, streaming, transcribing, subtitling, repurposing, and promoting [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) on social media. I thought I'd share what I'm using. If you've used something different, I'd love to know what you are using. If you have any questions about my setup, please give me a shout on socials (see footer), and I can help you out. *Some of the links below are affiliate links, I'm sharing my video production stack as a way to help others and maybe I make a few bucks off of it as well.* ## Streamyard Streamyard is like a full suite video studio. It allows me to have people on the show using an invite code, and it enables both me and my guests to stream to our own destinations, where people can watch on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. It records multitrack as well as a single mp3, and lets you download both audio and video. It's great, and I haven't found anything like it that is fully browser-based. A close second is Riverside.fm, but I haven't used that yet, though I have heard good things. [My affiliate link for Streamyard](https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5756954563575808?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Descript For editing, transcribing, and subtitles, I use Descript. I don't do much editing, but for transcribing and subtitling, it's an awesome way to take the multitrack audio from Streamyard, bring it into Descript, have it remove all the 'ums' and 'ahs' from the audio, and then transcribe it so I can post that transcription on the website as well as the subtitles for YouTube. A far second is [MacWhisper](https://goodsnooze.gumroad.com/l/macwhisper?ref=jasontucker.blog), which can do multitrack audio, but the format of the transcript isn't great, and I really wish it were better. [Descript](https://www.descript.com/?lmref=cMdefQ&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## VidIQ & TubeBuddy I've been using VidIQ and TubeBuddy for years, and they both provide some of the same features as well as some different ones for YouTube channel management. They offer channel statistics, keyword tools, competitor comparisons, trend alerts, thumbnail generators, and the list goes on. My favorite is the keyword tools, letting me research what keywords others are using and then collecting them to use later on my own videos, seeing which are popular and what can better describe my content. They work well for me and my needs. Try them both and see which one works for you. For me, TubeBuddy seems to be the best, but I use the free version of VidIQ since it has some interesting features too. [VidIQ](https://vidiq.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [My Tube Buddy Affiliate Link](https://www.tubebuddy.com/pricing?a=wpwatercooler&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Opus Clip A newcomer to my one-man-army stack is Opusclip. This tool lets me take a YouTube video I've uploaded or streamed and generate vertical video for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram with ease. Using AI, it can generate multiple videos from fun, entertaining, and insightful parts of your content, and then add baked-in captions to the video so it's engaging and easy to consume. A close second is Repurpose.io, which has a lot of the same features but packaged a bit differently. [My Opus Clip Affiliate Link](https://www.opus.pro/?via=wpwatercooler&ref=jasontucker.blog) [My Repurpose.io Affiliate Link](https://repurpose.io/?aff=11564&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## ChatGPT My secret sauce in all of this is using ChatGPT to organize my content in such a way that it's easy to just copy and paste into YouTube using some of the content collected above. I built a custom "GPT" called **Post Production WPwatercooler Jobs** that lets me upload the TEXT transcript and paste in the URL of the YouTube video and the URL for the WPwatercooler post. From there, it has a series of subjobs that it completes and puts together to make the content I need for the website, YouTube, podcast, and social media posts, all from the transcript of the show we just recorded. I won't share with you my entire GPT, but this can get you started: *Your role is to process transcripts from a podcast called WPwatercooler, a WordPress podcast hosted by Jason Tucker, Sé Reed, and Jason Cosper, along with various guests. Your primary tasks are to create a summary and generate YouTube chapters from each episode's transcript. Provided will be the following inputs:* *YouTube URL* *wpwatercooler.com post URL* *uploaded transcript* From there, I have it take data from one task and add it to the next, and the end result is pasteable content I can put onto the various services that host our content. [www.youtube.com/shorts/AG...](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AGYERcJybPs?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Apple Vision Pro Demo - my thoughts URL: https://jasontucker.blog/apple-vision-pro-demo-my-thoughts/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T00:59:50.000Z Today I did a demo of the Apple Vision Pro at the local Apple Store and wanted to share my thoughts. I wear glasses and was told to bring them to the demo so they could pull the prescriptions off of them and then using that information can get the correct ZEISS Optical Inserts for me to use for the demo. They took my glasses and inserted them into this device in a white box that read the prescription. You can see them doing this in this video [youtu.be/nlJOuVrOY...](https://youtu.be/nlJOuVrOYPQ?t=82&ref=jasontucker.blog) It took a few minutes for them to get this info, they did a scan of my face and ears and then magically an employee came out with a tray with the face shield, optical inserts and everything all correctly sized and ready to go. [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0h8%5FV-JLYM&ref=jasontucker.blog) The demo is the one that all of the podcasters and youtubers have talked about, doing some basic setup moving your eyes around and pinching some dots in a circle a few times and then getting into how to move windows around and resize them. After that its scrolling web pages and watching lots of videos and zooming into photos. Overall the on-rails demo is a great way to get to know the device. Is it for me? This iteration is very expensive for by budget but I can see may awesome uses for it if I was someone that traveled a lot or something. [youtu.be/5bbQC2YSs...](https://youtu.be/5bbQC2YSshM?t=523&ref=jasontucker.blog) My thoughts are that the interface does require some precision to do things, videos of people walking around flicking their arms around while exiting a car and walking down the street are bogus, the cursor is where your eyes are looking at and your hand is the left mouse button when you pinch there are some other gestures as well but it's going to take a bit for this device to mature. Manipulating photos with pinch and zoom are really cool but not having a gaming controller to do things with makes this a very interesting device for gaming, no idea how that is going to play out only time will tell. Apple isn't good at gaming so it's going to take a strong partner to make something like that happen here. If I was an app developer with a solid idea I'd be all over this but outside of that i think this device is a dev kit that is publicly accessible. Will there be a non-pro version of it? Most likely, for around $3800 its spendy. [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjjtMZmXoeQ&ref=jasontucker.blog) [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYNLndZZIs&ref=jasontucker.blog) [Book a demo for the Apple Vision Pro](https://www.apple.com/retail/instore-shopping-session/session-selection/?topic=visionpro&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Kitchen Stove Hood Makeover URL: https://jasontucker.blog/kitchen-stove-hood-makeover/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T07:54:37.000Z Another project in my kitchen renovation is to change up our stove hood instead of buying a $600 one I’m going to fix up our old one. With the hood removed I stripped down, cleaned, sanded and primed the hood to get it ready for paint. I’m going with this spray automobile primer that also does some patching as well and comes out looking really nice after sanding. Next is to do a few coats of “stainless steel” paint which has real metal in it. A few light coats to go to a good looking setup. Next I’m going to be changing the wiring configuration to include a Aqara Dual Relay Module T2 to allow me to control the vent and the light using HomeKit which should be a nice addition to this 1960s based unit. Finally I’ll put a coat of clear to finish it and reinstall the thing. I hope it works out, looks good and functions like I want it to. [Aqara Dual Relay in action](https://youtube.com/watch/zaDDJt6Nj5U?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Aqara Dual Relay Module T2 with Matter](https://a.co/d/bqid5SY?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Specialty Appliance Satin Stainless Steel Enamel Spray Paint](https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-Specialty-Appliance-Stainless-Steel-Enamel-Spray-Paint-Actual-Net-Contents-11/5001061665?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Transforming Our Kitchen: From Outdated to Outstanding URL: https://jasontucker.blog/transforming-our-kitchen-from-outdated-to-outstanding/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T01:03:09.000Z I’ve been working on our latest home improvement adventure. We've taken a big leap in transforming our kitchen, and I can't wait to share the progress with you all. We've recently converted our stove top to a sleek gas range and said goodbye to our old wall oven. But what to do with the space it left behind? That's where our latest challenge lies. **The Journey So Far:** Our journey started with replacing our 1960s gas stove top with a gas range, a decision that has already elevated our cooking experience. Then came the removal of the wall oven. While it served us well, it was time for an upgrade. Now, we're left with a cavity that screams potential! **The Big Challenge:** The empty space where the oven once lived poses an interesting challenge. It's a sizable area that could easily turn into wasted space if not utilized properly. So, we brainstormed, and what better way to fill this space than with a functional, stylish storage solution for Jen’s pots and pans? ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/77619c2edd.jpg) How’s it’s looking right now **Designing the Perfect Storage:** When it comes to kitchen storage, accessibility and aesthetics are key. We envision a slide-out storage unit that not only looks good but makes it incredibly easy to access everything. Imagine not having to reach all the way to the back of a deep shelf – that's the convenience we're aiming for! **Slide-Out Storage Solutions:** We're exploring various slide-out units. These nifty solutions use the depth of the cavity effectively, ensuring that every inch is utilized. With features like smooth gliding mechanisms and sturdy build, they promise to make rummaging through pots and pans a thing of the past. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/media.png) Maybe something like this ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/68a370b320.png) It in use **Shelving that Makes Sense:** Along with slide-out units, we're considering installing a couple of shelves on sliders. This would be particularly useful for storing bulkier items. Adjustable shelving could also be a great addition, offering the flexibility to accommodate different sizes and shapes. **Finishing Touches:** We're also planning to add a false wall or a similar feature to cover up the back wall. This will not only give the space a cleaner look but also help in seamlessly blending the new storage with the existing kitchen layout. **We Need Your Input:** Now, this is where I turn to you, my awesome readers. Do you have suggestions for slide-out units? Know any great places to find them? Or maybe you’ve seen some inspiring kitchen storage solutions? Drop your ideas and links in the comments or on socials – we'd love to see them! **Before and After – Stay Tuned:** Keep an eye out for our next post, where we’ll share some before and after photos of this kitchen transformation. It's going to be quite the reveal! ### Smart leak detectors you need in your home URL: https://jasontucker.blog/smart-leak-detectors-you-need-in-your-home/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:29:54.000Z I read this article [You Need Leak Detectors in Your Home, and More Than You Think](https://lifehacker.com/home/home-water-leak-detectors?ref=jasontucker.blog) from Life Hacker today and they mention various places to put leak detectors in your home. Places like water heater, crawlspace, garage, toilets, under sinks, dishwasher, refrigerator, laundry, roof, boiler/radiator, fishtanks and HVAC. The one place we use ours the most in our home is our garage freezer. It's a freestanding upright freezer and its older and has a lock on it that requires a key. We don't have any little kids in our house so we have the key hanging on a string off the door handle. The lock is a bit of a pain to use and if the seal on the freezer isn't 100% it sometimes frosts up a bit in the corners making it hard to close and lock properly. Unless you lock and then pull on it, it may not be locked and this has bit us in the butt. Subsequently we'll found a puddle under the door where the ice has melted before the content of the freezer have began melting as well. I've installed a smart leak sensor in the hinge side of our freezer sitting on the floor and when the door isn't 100% closed this is where the drips usually form. When a drip hits the floor and enough surrounds the sensor 2 exposed metal pieces and the water complete the circuit and it sends a signal to the hub to send out an alarm. So what sensors and hub do we use? Aqara! You can buy Aqara on Amazon and you'll need just 2 things, the sensor and a hub. This posts isn't sponsored and the links are not affiliate links, I can't keep up with such things. ## Smart Sensor [Aqara Water Leak Sensor](https://www.amazon.com/Aqara-11LM-SJCGQ-Water-Sensor/dp/B07D39MSZS?ref=jasontucker.blog) has 20% off coupon ## Hubs [Aqara Smart Hub M2](https://www.amazon.com/Aqara-Control-Automation-Supports-Assistant/dp/B08Y1PJZZH?ref=jasontucker.blog) has 20% off coupon [Aqara Hub M1S Gen 2, Wireless Smart Home Bridge](https://www.amazon.com/Aqara-M1S-Smart-Hub-Gen2/dp/B09VPF3MBR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) has 20% off coupon In my home I have the Aqara Hub M1S Gen 2 hub, it works with Homekit out of the box and it can talk to all the Zigbee based repeaters you may have in your home. The unit have has a speaker that yells out about the leak and also blasts out to the Apple Home app that a leak was detected. Once you get into this system you pretty my build out your own security system with door, window sensors and temp and occupancy sensors too. This my be your gateway into having a smart home! You have been warned! Let me know how this goes for you, its saved me from replacing food in the freezer and I'd imagine if we ever have a leak under the sinks or the kitchen we'd be warned as well. Buy many and deploy them they will save you much like they have saved us. ### The wrongly accused NameDrop feature in iOS17 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-wrongly-accused-namedrop-feature-in-ios17/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:32:00.000Z I'm a beta user of iOS, have been for many years and I use the betas on my daily drivers (iphone, ipad, macbook pro, apple watch, apple tv) and I use new features on iOS far before they come out to the general public. The one feature that is getting a lot of attention right now is **NameDrop**. ## What is NameDrop? With iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1, you can use NameDrop to quickly share contact information with a nearby iPhone or Apple Watch. NameDrop works by bringing two iPhones or Apple Watches close to one another and then the phones recognize one another and prompt you to share your contact info with the other device. You'll get theirs and they get yours. ## What people are getting wrong People are stating that you can steal someones contact info by just putting your phone next to theirs and it just steals the info without your knowledge. This is not true and the Apple docs even explain how this isn't true. ## Apple Directions on how to use it **Share from iPhone to iPhone or Apple Watch:** Hold the display of your iPhone a few centimeters from the top of the other person’s iPhone or Apple Watch. **Share from Apple Watch to another Apple Watch:** Open the Contacts app on your Apple Watch, tap your picture in the top-right corner, tap Share, then bring your watch close to the other person’s Apple Watch. **Apple Watch? Unless you have a new Apple Watch this doesnt work on it.** NameDrop is available on Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch Series 7 and later, and Apple Watch SE (2nd generation). ## What's the fuss about? There is a lot of posts online about this feature being used to steal your contact info without you knowing. Here are what the headlines on Nov 27th 2023 were showing when I searched for **NameDrop** on Google ![Top stories Police warn parents of new iPhone feature Detroit Free Press Oakland County Sheriff's Office issues warning about Apple iPhone system update. WIRED - No, You Don't Need to Turn Off Apple's NameDrop Feature in iOS 17.](https://jasontucker.blog/uploads/2023/cleanshot-2023-11-27-at-09.45.11.png) ## What are people saying? Lots of TikToks about it being "bad" [Momofrubies](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8fmc9bJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Grey | Petty /Astrology/Witch](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8fm7nrH/?ref=jasontucker.blog) And people in the know sharing that this feature requires the user to accept the contact exchange. [Chris Carley](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8fmqPFT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) And creators sharing how the feature actually works [CNet](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8fmvNpp/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## How I feel about it This feature isn't bad just like most technology this feature is misunderstood. Back in the day an app called "Bump" did something like this. What was Bump? Bump was an app released by Bump Technologies in 2009 that allowed users to share data between their smartphones. They could transfer photos and contact cards by bumping their phones at each other. It was available on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play, and its technology was used briefly for PayPal money transfers on iPhone. ### Automating with iOS using CarPlay and the Action Button URL: https://jasontucker.blog/automating-with-ios-using-carplay-and-the-action-button/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:35:04.000Z I've been messing with the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max and coming up with fun ways to get shortcuts to run when you press it as well as when you plug your iPhone into CarPlay. This gives you 2 different ways to make some fun things happen when you are using your iPhone and when you plug your iPhone in to your car or collect to wireless carplay. ## CarPlay Shortcuts has 2 different automations one that they call Personal and another for your Home if you use Homekit. We'll be focusing on the Personal one to setup this. I created 2 shortcuts one called [CarPlay Set Traveling On](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/4fe1134bf3004f4b8b27dcf0edc5dfbd?ref=jasontucker.blog) and one called [CarPlay set Traveling Off](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/8fe6a032a34847f4bd06e9f40fd74406?ref=jasontucker.blog) and I setup 2 different automations one for when the phone is connected to CarPlay and one when the iPhone is disconnected from CarPlay and have these setup to use these 2 automations and shortcuts: > **When CarPlay Connects** > > Run Immediately > > Don't notify when run > > **CarPlay Set Traveling On** and the other one > **When CarPlay Disconnects** > > Run Immediately > > Don't notify when run > > **CarPlay Set Traveling Off** When it's the morning between 8-9am and I plug my phone in to use CarPlay I have the personal automation that kicks off a shortcut called "CarPlay Set Traveling On" which sets my Focus Mode to "Traveling" to on and then checks to see if it's between 8am and 9am and if so, it runs another shortcut called "My daily report" which reads my various calendars and says outloud what events are coming up for today. It also checks my Reminders to see if there are any pending reminders I need to take care of and says those as well. It then runs another shortcut that is the same as my action button shortcut menu (see below) **"Traveling" focus mode?** I created a focus mode called "Traveling" which is a replacement for the Driving focus mode that Apple has built in. I did this because you can't do any many things with Driving as you can with just a normal focus mode. **My daily report** It's based off of this collection of shortcuts that talk to one another and uses [Data Jar](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/data-jar/id1453273600?ref=jasontucker.blog) as a temp storage area for the values it collects. [Speak action voice options - Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/comments/17mdems/comment/k7lgl34/?utm%5Fsource=reddit&utm%5Fmedium=web2x&context=3) ## Action Button My action button shortcut uses Device Orientation to determine what is it it needs to do. It can run 1 of a few different shortcuts based on how its orientated. I based mine on [Action Button Menu + Focus Modes for iPhone 15 Pro! - Stephen Robles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibKSRF6SMNk&ref=jasontucker.blog) **Orientation Detection** \- Build by [Stephen Robles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opw5u7L3x6Y&ref=jasontucker.blog) (Check the description for the links he talked about in this video). To do this requires an app called [Actions](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/actions/id1586435171?ref=jasontucker.blog) that has the orientation detection as an action in Shortcuts. He made a sample shortcut he calls [Orientation Actions](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/3d004624e8fa450c9669d7ee8f8750f4?ref=jasontucker.blog) you may want to check out. - Upside Down - **Super Mute** - Rightside Up (Portrait) - **Action Menu** - Landscape Left Side - **Open Camera** - Face Up - **Vibrate & Flashlight** - Face Down - **Set Focus - Meeting** **Super Mute** \- a shortcut that [Stephen Robles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opw5u7L3x6Y&ref=jasontucker.blog) also came up with that does some logic to see it it should set the volume to 50% or 0% based on if Silent Mode is one.. smart. **Action Menu** \- I have a shortcut that displays a menu to select from a bunch of shortcuts that I've collected all over the internet. Making a shortcut call another shortcut is super handy keeping everything short and sweet and interchangeable. Just a few examples you can use when you build your own menu using the "Choose from menu with" action: - [Directions to Event](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/51d8ab90c6e7461c838b9b305e0f61f4?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Searched calendar looking for an event and pulls up the directions - [Quick Centre](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/7fe50dd8e4584aab950ebcc67d33c62f?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- A menu with all sorts of stuff in it. - [AirPods Status](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/c3d1214a5b3a4668b3ee47412457b5e2?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Your iPod Status - [Passwords](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/bd46b20062184dbda6e8edd84f384b0c?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Quick Link to Apple Passwords - [Scan a UPC to Family Shopping List](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/a326698af4f04a259bd2cc9ef6a794d0?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Scan a UPC and it shows up in your shopping list decoded to the name of the item. - [What Is That?](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/01a9204909ad4a7aa337064c5b79fae9?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Uses an API to look up what airplane is above you - [Network Tool](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/38474a40938342438dd8843650b9492c?ref=jasontucker.blog) \- Gives you info about the network you are connected to **Open Camera** \- it's a built in function. **Flashlight** \- Built in function, I have it vibrate so I know it turned on. **Set Focus - Meeting** \- Setting a focus mode is built in. As I build out this functionality more I'll share it with you but for now this is a good start to something fun. ### Searching history in zsh URL: https://jasontucker.blog/searching-history-in-zsh/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:37:24.000Z Honestly, trying to remember every shell command I use regularly is a headache. Repeatedly typing out those commands? Exhausting. And juggling all those aliases feels like a jigsaw puzzle sometimes. I use `$ history | grep thing` and needed better way. I user zsh and oh-my-zsh so this plugin is pretty awesome. Now hitting Control+r will start the zaw-history search where you can filter your zsh history. Yay! [The best ZSH history search](https://sensaisean.medium.com/the-best-zsh-history-search-9926c0a62f66?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Guys trip to Convict Lake - Hiking to Marsh Lake URL: https://jasontucker.blog/guys-trip-to-convict-lake-hiking-to-marsh-lake/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:44:46.000Z I went on a trip this past weekend up to Mammoth Mountain and camped at Convict Lake with some guys. During our first hike there, I came to the realization that I'm no longer in my 20s. I'm also overweight and not accustomed to long hikes. We hiked through Little Lakes Valley up to Marsh Lake, following Rock Creek so our guys could fish there. The hike was beautiful, but I struggled with the ascent. Our trail is quite popular, with many dogs both on and off their leashes, as well as people of all ages and abilities out hiking. The hike had a 259ft ascent and a 95ft descent, starting at an elevation of 10,230ft and spanning 1.2 miles. I wasn't there to fish, so I was carrying all of my camera gear, a backup battery, and was wearing tennis shoes. The trail had some icy patches, with pockets of melting ice and some water flowing across. Considering it was the tail end of October, it was quite chilly. [Hike to Marsh Lake](https://fatmap.com/routeid/3519631/hike-to-marsh-lake?fmid=cp&ref=jasontucker.blog) If we had continued up the trail from Marsh Lake, we would have encountered Box Lake and Long Lake, both of which are much larger than Marsh Lake. That journey would have extended our hike to 2.1 miles with a 488ft ascent and a 157ft descent. [Hike to Long Lake](https://fatmap.com/routeid/3519641/hike-to-long-lake?fmid=cp&ref=jasontucker.blog) Although our crew had a few minor catches, they weren't particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, our group didn't bring back any fish from this hike, and that includes both our fly fishing and spin fishing enthusiasts. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/1d4a2b0e4c.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/6cbec5e94c.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/c06cc0e6b2.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/33d22d660b.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/p1540178.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/718d28dd-e1b3-4206-b2a2-8e5556e4b0ba.jpeg) ### Is Apple's iOS 17.2 Beta Journal App the New Day One? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/is-apples-ios-17-2-beta-journal-app-the-new-day-one/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:39:17.000Z With the latest beta of iOS 17.2, Apple unveiled its much-anticipated Journal app, which they had teased in prior announcements about iOS 17\. This nifty app is designed to gather diverse data snippets from your day, courtesy of any apps that play nice with Journal. After that, it's all about crafting your journal entry, embedding data points like photos, locations, and more. Now, I'm not here to review the Journal app. Instead, I'm sharing what I'm hoping this app will mean for users like me. The real charm of an Apple-made app is its deep-rooted integration with the iOS. Apps bundled with the OS have the golden ticket – access to private APIs. They're primed to mesh seamlessly with other apps on your device. It's a vibe we've seen with the Photos and Notes apps – the Journal app will likely have the same capability to harness information from other apps, enriching your journal entries. Previously, I've played around with IFTTT, Automate, and the Shortcuts app to feed data into DayOne, my goal was to consolidate data I've shared online – be it on my personal website, Instagram, Twitter, or other platforms – into a unified daily snapshot. In this beta it looks like there are no Journal shortcut actions just yet, sad they didn’t start off with them. I'm crossing my fingers that the Journal app will let me do exactly that – and more. It's about tracking my day-to-day, reflecting on my week, and having a dedicated space to pen down thoughts, just as you would in a traditional journal. I've been a fan of Day One, but if Apple can offer a similar experience deeply intertwined with the iOS ecosystem, then other offerings like Day One or Simplenote (props to WordPress's Automattic for these!) might take a backseat for me. It’s early days but with Journal, I could have all my desired data bundled into my Journal entries! Other websites covering the Journal app on this first day in this beta and some highlights I found from them: [How to use the new Journal in iOS 17.2 and where it needs work - Apple Insider](https://appleinsider.com/inside/ios-17/tips/how-to-use-the-new-journal-in-ios-172-and-where-it-needs-work?ref=jasontucker.blog) > There's no adding to Journal through Siri, for instance. At present, if you try any combination of phrases to do with adding a journal entry, Siri creates an appointment in your calendar instead. > You can't use a widget to enter a Journal post. And there's no Shortcut action for it, so there's no way to have the Action button start a new entry. > There's no Control Center button for it, either. Nor is there a Messages app for Journal. [Apple's Journal app explored: Dear Diary - PhoneArena](https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-journal-app-explored-all-the-features%5Fid152043?ref=jasontucker.blog) > Apple Journal: Issues and how to fix them > Of course, the app is still in beta, so it's normal to expect issues and bugs. One of the more common bugs, which me and multiple users seem to have experienced, is the lack of journaling suggestions when starting Journal for the first time. > As usual, when you have a problem and go on the online, there's a pretty high chance you might discover a fix pretty quickly. One suggested fix for the issue is to go into "Settings -> Journal -> Journaling suggestions -> Suggestion privacy settings -> Clear history", and then relaunch the Journal app, which should repair one of the app's base functions. It didn't do it for me, but it's worth checking out if it would fix your issues. [iOS 17 Journal App: All You Need to Know](https://beebom.com/journal-app-iphone/?ref=jasontucker.blog) > Journaling Schedule > Journaling is something that needs consistency, but it is easy to forget about penning down certain entries in our busy lives. To help you with this, you can set a schedule for the start or end of your day to help make journaling a consistent practice. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/568c570738.png) ### The one about the water flosser URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-one-about-the-water-flosser/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:47:59.000Z I’ve been on this water flossing kick after a TikTok Registered Dental Hygienist named Krysta started talking about it on there and I had to give it another try. I went to Costco and got the water flosser and travel flosser combo and both are working quite well. When I was a kid I had one, but I had no instruction on how to use it, so I probably didn’t do a very good job which is why my teeth are kind of jacked up now. - Water floss - Swish water (so your brain says “yes I swished!”) - Brush teeth - Spit - Don’t swish any water just leave any extra toothpaste on your teeth So far it’s working well but the machine is loud, gotta do all that before my wife goes to bed. I also take the travel one in the shower, that works nice. You can check out her content here [https://www.tiktok.com/@krystaambruson](https://www.tiktok.com/@krystaambruson?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### F1 Academy at Austin GP URL: https://jasontucker.blog/f1-academy-at-austin-gp/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:50:20.000Z F1 Academy is racing this weekend in Austin and if you are watching on F1TV app you can select it from the list of races and practices happening this weekend. Times are US Pacific PRACTICE 1 - Fri — 06:15 - 06:55 PRACTICE 2 - Fri — 11:55 - 12:55 QUALIFYING - Fri — 15:30 - 16:25 RACE 1 - Sat — 07:45 - 08:45 RACE 2 - Sat — 13:30 - 14:10 RACE 3 - Sun — 07:40 - 08:45 What is F1Academy? In November 2022, Formula One announced the creation of F1 Academy, a racing series for women aimed to focus on developing and preparing young drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. It was created to help smooth the transition from karting to the single-seater ladder. Support Women’s racing by watching F1 Academy. They have 3 races this weekend and it’s good to support this up and coming group of women. Next season the women will be working with the F1 teams and will all have team liveries on their cars. Bianca Bustamante is a favorite and she’s going to be racing for McLaren. [www.formula1.com/en/latest...](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.mclaren-sign-f1-academys-bianca-bustamante-as-first-female-member-of-driver.6w5XZDIEWlRBNiUPSn1sbF.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) Will you be watching? Who are you supporting? ### Moving from Feedly over to News Explorer but will I stay? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/moving-from-feedly-over-to-news-explorer-but-will-i-stay/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:53:13.000Z I replaced Feedly which I've been using since Google Reader (RIP) died a quick death in on March 13, 2013\. Wow it's been that long? I wasn't clever to switch over to this new system on that exact date but regardless I moved from Feedly over to News Explorer. As written on the tin - "News Explorer syncs your RSS, JSON, Atom and Mastodon feed subscriptions, folder setup, news items, read statuses and favorites across all your Apple devices" and I've been using it on my Macbook, iPhone and iPad with no issues at all. All synced and updated I feel like I'm reading everything from one place instead of multiple places. ## Why did I switch? Feedly kept showing some API limit messages on their web interface at various times throughout the day and it was an old website that didnt feel like it was getting the attention that it deserved. I searched around and lated on News Explorer and I like the interface and its ability to limit the amount of old posts it keeps unread so I don't feel overwhelmed when open it and I'm not faced with 999 posts from all the websites I sorta-kinda read. It syncs with iCloud and does daily snapshots to keep it sync'd which is nice. ## Whats cool about it? The limiting unread content by X number of days is nice so things just fall off the end and I dont have to read about what happened 6 months ago but rather limit things to no more than 10 days so I'm staying current but not falling behind. I also like that there are a few reading modes: Feed Article, Mercury Reader, Arc90 Readability and website article. So you have some options. - Feed Article just shows you the text that was in the RSS feed. Some are the excerpt and others are the full thing. - Mercury Reader removes ads and distractions leaving only text and images for improved reading view on any site. - The Readability algorithm was developed in 2010 by Arc90 labs. Its main goal was to offer media consumers the option to get rid of the junk on a website, and focus only on the relevant content - Website Article just lets you see the website as if you went to the page directly. The reading modes are nice because you can set one for default for all your feeds and then you can set different ones for each individual feed. So if you read a site that has LOTS of ads or weird formatting issues you can control by trying the different reading modes. ## What it lacks Being able to save a URL to micro.blog easily. I love collecting fun links and sharing them and sadly I haven't found a clean way to do that. No shortcut support ## Will I keep using it? A while back I was looking at inoreader and was on the fence since it's a paid service but it has some awesome features that I'd get a lot of use of. For now I'll stick to News Explorer and see how it treats me and if I can get it to talk to Micro.blog to save links. [Download News Explorer](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/news-explorer/id1032668306?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The one about the Taylor Swift concert movie URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-one-about-the-taylor-swift-concert-movie/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T06:54:54.000Z Tonight my 18 year old daughter Jess and I are seeing Taylor Swift at the movies at 10:30pm, it’s gonna be a long night and last night I didn’t go to bed until 2 AM in anticipation for this, so hopefully things turn out well tonight. Tonight’s fit for the 3 hour concert movie Update: I slept from 4pm-8pm expecting to take a 45 min nap but ended up full on sleeping. Oops. Another update: Jess just realized this thing is 3 hours and her dad is preparing hard and she didn’t prep one bit. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/uploads/2023/image.jpg) No one in the theater [www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8h89L...](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8h89LpE/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Everyone in the theater [www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8h8F5...](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8h8F5oy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Which will it be? ### Google Glass URL: https://jasontucker.blog/google-glass/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T07:00:37.000Z Reading my RSS feeds this morning I found [Stuck In Customs](https://stuckincustoms.com/2023/10/07/before-their-time/?ref=jasontucker.blog) posted about Google Glass and it compelled me to search for photos of me getting my Google Glass fitted in Santa Monica with my son and all the photos of me looking at someone trying on my Google Glass... so weird. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/904f1135-8f6e-4693-99eb-91aacb87906d-1-105-c.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/3f82a625-a11f-4e99-a02a-ab2984f945b1-1-105-c.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/15a9886c-6fc6-4465-8ea5-cdd289ec8747-1-105-c.jpeg) I ended up with so many photos of me from other people taking a photo of me. I'd imagine that anyone else that got Google Glass also has lots of photos of them looking at the person using the Glass and explaining to them how to use them. Google Glass, the $1500 head visor that let other people take pictures of the owner. I also ended up with lots of photos of me driving with both hands on the wheel.. this was an early flex I suppose. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/f390d634-cd12-44a8-8c1d-768c12af3d07-1-105-c.jpeg) In total 870 photos may of them are photos of my kids at Disneyland and lots of photos of me doing this. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/e2090e99-bb6e-4e45-a732-abe7f33053b8-1-105-c.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/4072aa62-42ab-45c0-b0fa-bf320f0c642a-1-105-c.jpeg) And was a hit at WordCamp SF ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/1740f170-d7b6-4090-802d-734d826e8674-1-105-c.jpeg) With lots of BTS shots while I was recording video with Sé Reed ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/b6267708-8479-47a7-844d-b204a8c91300-1-105-c.jpeg) If I had to highlight a few photos its the ones of me and my kids where im just taking a picture while we were doing something fun ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/8257b67d-2cc1-4a28-a7ff-d74924752933-1-105-c.jpeg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/dc8544b1-b806-49f4-970e-a555d58ff137-1-105-c.jpeg) Or doing something 2 handed ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2024/03/814b3ca1-5c84-4e78-a0ea-e6fc0861076c-1-105-c.jpeg) I have so many videos of me explaining how to take a video with the thing as well 0:00 /0:12 1× ### Re-introducing myself to blogging URL: https://jasontucker.blog/re-introducing-myself-to-blogging/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T07:02:08.000Z I’ve been blogging for well over 20 years and found that each time I set out to start blogging the website is usually the thing that stops me from being productive. I wanted to see if I could remove the fiddly bits of a website and just use something that is not only purpose built, but also doesn’t have a whole lot of fiddly bits to mess with, so I moved my website from my self hosted WordPress to a service called Micro.blog. This isn’t my first time using Micro.blog, but it is definitely the first time that I’ve set out to use it as my main blogging platform for my personal website previous attempts, were me just messing around with it, and, I really want to see how I can add this to my routine, which I did so many years ago when I first started out writing on the Internet. Back, then it was on livejournal.com and using that service allowed for me to be a part of a local community and be a part of the community on LJ as well. With micro.blog what’s nice about it is it’s tied to the Fediverse so places like mastodon and such can interact with my content and I can interact with other peoples content from here as well. ## The Goal My goal of this project is to see if I can start blogging at least once a week and see if I can start putting my thoughts to digital paper because looking at my old blog posts I can see that I was having a lot of fun doing it. Recently every time I go to write a blog post on my website there’s always some WordPress plug-n or an update to a theme or some other thing that’s distracting me and I’m hoping by using a service like this I remove that entire piece from the equation. I’ll still be using WordPress for all my other websites, but this one’s definitely going to be a very stripped down and basic thing and I hope it becomes something that is part of my normal routine. ## What I've noticed from importing my old content Micro.blog uses Hugo blogging engine as the basis of its setup. I exported my content from WordPress into an XML file and then imported it into Micro.blog and its doing it's very best to see about matching up content, images and seeing what it can do to wrangle the content into the Hugo platform. I'm impressed so far. With other 2600 posts its needing to digest and convert it's taking its time working though it. So what have I noticed from the logs that auto update as its importing? Wow I spent a lot of time participating in so many internet trends like [NaBloPoMo](http://nablopomoguideunofficial.blogspot.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and other blogging things like it. ## Post Formats WordPress is currently going though a bit of a rewrite with its block editor and the entire dashboard as well. With this comes some old ways of doing thing and some new ways of doing things as well. One of which that I always loved it various post formats like quotes, links, images etc. Micro.blog has these kinda and I'm excited to use them. It ends up with this import of content from my old websites I shared a lot of links and YouTube video as blog posts which is awesome but I didn't include much context around. This is fine but something like Micro.blog should allow me to just share links here and they come up inline with the rest of the posts no content around it needed. Have you done something like this? I’d love to hear about it. ### Momentum - My favorite browser start page URL: https://jasontucker.blog/momentum-my-favorite-browser-start-page/ Last updated: 2024-03-07T07:06:32.000Z If you’re anything like me, opening a new tab can often lead to a rabbit hole of distractions. That’s where Momentum comes in its a game changing browser extension that transforms your new tab page into a personal sanctuary of focus and productivity. Instead of the usual blank slate or a clutter of bookmarks, Momentum presents you with a beautifully designed dashboard that serves multiple purposes. It not only helps you stay laser-focused on your tasks but also keeps you organized with built-in to-do lists and even sprinkles in a dash of daily inspiration. Imagine starting your day with a stunning landscape photo, an uplifting quote, and a single, clear focus—all in one place. That’s the power of Momentum, and it’s why it’s my go-to tool for turning idle moments into productive sessions. It works on Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. It’s awesome and has changed my way of looking at the browser as my start page to the internet. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2023/09/Momentum.gif) ## Features Momentum comes with a bunch of features, some free and some paid. I’ve been a paying user of this extension for many years and have gotten a lot out of it. What comes with the free version? ## Balance Mode This is the biggest feature for me which is Balance Mode. Balance mode lets you change what is displayed based on the time of day so you arent bugged by things at work when its after hours. You set you Uptime and Downtime schedule. **The plus version lets you specify the hours of the day and the days of the week.** These extra options allow you to choose more specific hours of the day (e.g. 5:30 am – 1:15 pm) and days of the week (e.g. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays). ## Percentage Clock I don’t show the time of day on my Momentum screen and only show the percentage of my day which helps me with knowing how much of my day I have left AND if I’m going over the allocated time. It’s great for work life balance. - At 9 am the percent clock displays 0%. - At 5 pm the percent clock displays 100%. - Between 9 am – 5 pm the Percent Clock displays the % of the work day that has past. - Before 9 am the clock displays a negative (-) percentage. - After 5 pm the clock displays a positive (+) percentage. **Plus features the ability to customize the house of the day and day of the week.** These additional options allow you to choose more specific hours of the day (e.g. 5:30 am – 1:15 pm) and days of the week (e.g. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays). ## World Clock This isn’t a feature I use but if you deal with lots of people in different time zones this may be helpful. **It’s a plus only feature** but it lets you list a number of locations around the world and display their times on the screen. ## Search You can choose to search with Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo with Momentum’s built-in search. ## Daily Focus Achieving your goals or completing projects isn’t a one-night affair; it requires consistent, daily effort. That’s where Momentum’s Daily Focus feature shines. It prompts you with a crucial question every day: “What’s your main focus for today?” This question sits front and center on your Momentum dashboard, greeting you each time you open a new tab. And here’s the kicker—it resets at 4 a.m. local time every day, completed or not. This encourages you to start each day anew, offering a fresh canvas for your ambitions. I need to use this feature more but when I do it’s helping me stay focused. ## Mantras Mantras serve as concise reminders that help you focus on key principles or values. Think of phrases like “Be present,” “Unleash your creativity,” or “Simplify to amplify.” In Momentum, your daily mantra takes center stage, replacing the standard greetings like “Good morning, Jason.” And just like your daily focus, photo, and quote, your mantra refreshes at 4 a.m. local time, giving you a new nugget of wisdom to ponder each day. ## Background Photos Momentum’s daily landscape photo changes each day at 4 am local time, just like your daily quote and mantra. You can also see who took the photo, hover your mouse cursor over the location at the bottom left corner of Momentum. To visit the photographer’s page, click their name. **The paid version:** lets you skip photos, select your own photos and favorite photos. ## To-do list One of the standout features of Momentum is its built-in task manager, aptly named Todo. This isn’t just a basic checklist; it’s a streamlined tool designed to make your day-to-day task management a breeze. With Todo, you can effortlessly add new tasks with just a few clicks, making it easier than ever to jot down anything that comes to mind. The interface is clean and intuitive, allowing you to easily view and organize your tasks in a way that makes sense to you. **The paid version ties into 3rd party todo solutions:** Asana, Todoist, Trello, Google Tasks, Wunderlist, BitBucket, GitHub and Basecamp 3. ## Launchpad Launchpad takes convenience to the next level by showcasing your most-frequented websites directly on your dashboard. Strategically located just below the clock, these shortcuts give you quick and easy access to the sites you visit the most, making your online experience even smoother. ## Links and bookmarks With Momentum’s Links feature, located at the top-left corner of your dashboard, you can easily compile and access all your go-to websites in one convenient spot. The best part? These saved links are tied to your Momentum account, so you can effortlessly pull them up on any computer where you’re logged into Momentum, ensuring a seamless browsing experience across multiple devices. ## What does my Momentum look like? ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2023/09/CleanShot-2023-09-10-at-11.37.45-570x277.jpg) [Try Momentum](https://momentumdash.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The turn names of Silverstone - British GP URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-turn-names-of-silverstone-british-gp/ Last updated: 2023-07-06T18:11:49.000Z ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2023/07/F1-Master-Map-2023-1024x671.jpg) As an American F1 fan, I’ve been fascinated by the Silverstone Circuit, a place that’s steeped in history and tradition. It’s like the Fenway Park or Wrigley Field of motor racing, a classic venue that’s seen so much over the years. Before getting into the names of the turns lets look at some of the history of this location. The story of Silverstone starts back in World War II, when it was an airfield for the Royal Air Force. After the war, the airfield was abandoned, and some enterprising folks started using the runways for racing. Can you imagine the thrill of those first races, with nothing but hay bales and ropes to mark the track? In 1948, Silverstone hosted its first official Grand Prix, and the following year, the circuit was officially opened. By 1950, it was hosting the first round of the brand-new Formula One World Championship. As an F1 fan, that’s like being at the first Super Bowl or World Series game. Over the years, Silverstone has changed and evolved, just like the sport of F1 itself. The track has been modified several times to keep up with the faster, more advanced cars. Major changes were made in 1991, 2010, and 2011, which included adding new sections to the track, moving the pit lane and paddock, and improving facilities for teams and spectators. It’s like watching your favorite old ballpark get renovated and modernized, but still keeping its classic charm. Today, Silverstone is known as the “Home of British Motor Racing”, and it’s a must-visit for any F1 fan. It hosts the British Grand Prix, one of the highlights of the F1 calendar, and races in the MotoGP, British Superbike Championship, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The circuit is also home to the Silverstone Racing School, where the next generation of racers is being trained. For me, as an American F1 fan, watching a race at Silverstone is like taking a step back in time, while also seeing the cutting edge of motor racing. It’s a place where history and tradition meet speed and innovation. And that’s why I love it. Looking at the map of Silverstone for the British GP track the turns have numbers but also names. Many of the turns at the Silverstone Circuit are named after local geographical features, landmarks, or historical references. Curious myself I did some research to see what the origins of each turn’s names are: ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-06-at-17.55.37@2x-1024x670.jpg) 1. **Abbey**: Named after the [Luffield Abbey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffield%5FAbbey?ref=jasontucker.blog), a former monastery located nearby. 2. **Farm**: Likely named for a nearby farm or the agricultural history of the area. 3. **Village**: This could be a reference to the nearby [Silverstone village](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverstone?ref=jasontucker.blog). 4. **The Loop**: This name is likely due to the shape of the turn, which forms a loop. 5. **Aintree**: Named after the [Aintree racecourse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aintree%5FRacecourse?ref=jasontucker.blog) in Liverpool, which hosted the British Grand Prix before it moved to Silverstone. 6. **Wellington Straight**: Named after the [Wellington Bomber aircraft ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers%5FWellington?ref=jasontucker.blog)that used to take off from the airfield on which the circuit was built. 7. **Brooklands**: Named after the [Brooklands Motor Circuit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklands?ref=jasontucker.blog), a historic track in Surrey, England. 8. **Luffield**: Named after the nearby [village of Luffield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development%5Fhistory%5Fof%5FSilverstone%5FCircuit?ref=jasontucker.blog). 9. **Woodcote**: Named after the [Woodcote Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodcote%5FPark?ref=jasontucker.blog), a country club in Surrey, England. 10. **Copse**: A [“copse” is a small group of trees](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/copse?ref=jasontucker.blog#:~:text=A%20copse%20is%20a%20thicket,of%20hide%2Dand%2Dseek.), which likely existed or still exists near this turn. 11. **Maggotts**: Named after [Maggot Moor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenfield,%5FBedfordshire?ref=jasontucker.blog). 12. **Becketts**: Named after the Becketts Farm, which is located nearby who take their name from the medieval chapel of St Thomas à Beckett, which was built in memory of the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury and once stood near to the corners. 13. **Chapel**: As read in Becketts above, St Thomas à Beckett, the chapel buildings were demolished in 1943 to make way for Silverstone airfield. 14. **Hangar Straight**: Named after the aircraft hangars that were part of the airfield on which the circuit was built. 15. **Stowe**: Named after [Stowe School](https://www.stowe.co.uk/?ref=jasontucker.blog), a nearby independent school. The school grounds are visible from this corner of the track. 16. **Vale**: “Vale” is a term for a valley, which could describe the topography of the area. 17. **Club**: Like Woodcote, Club, now the track’s final corner, was named in honour of the [RAC’s famous clubhouse in Pall Mall, London](https://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/pall-mall/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Incidentally the iconic gold trophy awarded to winners of the British Grand Prix is the RAC Cup and is the oldest prize awarded in F1 racing. Unlike other trophies, the winner doesn’t get to keep it – it’s returned soon after the podium celebrations. ### Getting work done on the go with an iPhone URL: https://jasontucker.blog/getting-work-done-on-the-go-with-an-iphone/ Last updated: 2023-05-18T09:20:00.000Z During my day job as an IT Director I find myself away from my desk quite a bit and wearing many hats. My work changes directions a lot and running back to my desk to use my computer just takes too much time to get simple tasks done. Because of this, over the years I’ve had to learn to adapt and to make sure that I can do many of these tasks while mobile. My plan for this post is to outline the most popular apps I use and then describe what I do with each. ## My Devices ### **Smartphone** My everyday carry is an iPhone 13 512GB that lives in [Smartish Gripzilla black case](https://smartish.com/products/gripzilla-with-magsafe-armor-case-for-iphone-13-pro-6-1?ref=jasontucker.blog) with an [Apple Leather Wallet with MagSafe in Midnight](https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MM0Y3ZM/A/iphone-leather-wallet-with-magsafe-midnight?afid=p238%7Cs0iLFFCLD-dc%5Fmtid%5F1870765e38482%5Fpcrid%5F500495733826%5Fpgrid%5F114922237426%5Fpntwk%5Fg%5Fpchan%5Fonline%5Fpexid%5F%5F&cid=aos-us-kwgo-pla-btb--slid---product-MM0Y3ZM/A&ref=jasontucker.blog) which acts as my wallet for a debit card and my driver’s license, this case keeps everything lightweight and not so clunky. Qi charging still works with this setup too you just have to remove the wallet. ### **Smartwatch** I wear a Apple Watch I send most notifications over to the watch vs my phone vibrating uncontrollably. ### **Computer** I’m using a company issued 14-inch 2023 M2 Pro – Macbook Pro with 16gb ram and 500gb of storage. Outfitted with a cheap Amazon black case and lots of stickers so I know which computer is mine. ### Security I carry with me a [Yubico Yubikey](https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5-series/yubikey-5c-nfc/?ref=jasontucker.blog) in a [Yubico Keyport Pivot 2](https://www.yubico.com/us/product/pivot2?ref=jasontucker.blog) allowing me to keep my keys secure (and not show the blade of them since they don’t hang loose and can’t be photographed and duplicated easily). *What’s with the Yubikey?* It’s for a physical factor of authentication **“something you have”** to go along with the rest of the authentication trifecta **“something you know”** and **“something you are.”** [There is a zillion websites that support Yubikey](https://www.yubico.com/works-with-yubikey/catalog/?sort=popular&ref=jasontucker.blog) and if you are buying one, you may want to buy 2 and have both of them set up for all the websites you are using it with, put the other in your safe or store at work. ## Google - **[Gmail App](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/gmail-email-by-google/id422689480?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)** – We are a G Suite shop and checking my email using my phone is quite necessary. I run this app with notifications on but only for my High Priority emails. This cuts back on the number of vibrations in my pocket I send these notifications to the Apple Watch. - **[G Suite Admin](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-admin/id779592978?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)** – I use the admin apps mainly for adding users on the fly, making changes to their accounts and adding users to groups. Resetting passwords is quite common for me in this app. - [**Microsoft 365 Admin**](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-365-admin/id761397963?ref=jasontucker.blog) – We’re a Google shop with Microsoft virtual servers running AD and such so managing Microsoft 365 on an app it awesome. - **[Google Docs](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-docs-sync-edit-share/id842842640?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) & [Google Sheets](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-sheets/id842849113?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)** – I use these apps all the time for updating documents and viewing shared documents in meetings when I forget to bring my laptop with me. Docs and Sheets are where everything lives for me. - **[Google Drive](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-drive/id507874739?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)** – On the iPhone Google Drive allows me to add people to Google Share Drives (formerly Team Drives ) and lets me move files around as needed. It’s my way of accessing documents that are shared with me as well as creating new folders to share with other people on my staff. - [**RingCentral**](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ringcentral/id715886894?ref=jasontucker.blog) – We’re new to RingCentral but this has been awesome for taking calls on the go and making calls to vendors using the organizations main phone number or my direct dial number without giving out my actual cellphone number. - [**Google Hangouts Meet**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/hangouts-meet/id1013231476?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)– Holding a meeting on the go can be tricky but with Google Meet I can schedule a meeting from within Google Calendar and join the meeting using Google Hangouts Meet - **[Remote Desktop](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrome-remote-desktop/id944025852?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)** – Using remote desktop lets me access some of the utility computers that I have in my office. Much like RDP it makes it easy for me to access the computer with just a few taps. ## Systems - [**Meraki Dashboard**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/meraki/id693056161?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Depending on the network switches you have and their willingness to be controlled via a central location you may or may not have an app for your networking infrastructure. We use Meraki at my church and managing your switches from an app like this is quite handy when on the go. In this app, I can look up which devices are connected to what port, what the bandwidth is per port and the status of all of the switches we own. If we were a multi-campus environment I could even see the other switches over the internet. - [**PRTG**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/prtg-monitoring/id326306472?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – This is the 3rd shop that I have used PRTG and love it for being able to see the status of my network in real-time from anywhere. I can also look at the “maps” that I’ve made combining many different sensors and grids to see what’s going on in my networking environment. - [**ADAssist Pro**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/active-directory-assist-pro/id738316197?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Before moving to Microsoft 365 we did on-premise AD. I used this to interact with my Active Directory from my phone. It’s dead simple and very easy to add new users, change passwords or add users to groups. Now that we have switched to G Suite I haven’t used this as much but if you are a Windows shop with AD this is a killer lil app. It one of the more expensive apps out there for this but its price usually come in at around $20. ## Documentation - [**Day One**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/day-one-journal/id1044867788?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I hate keeping a diary or journal but Day One lets me pull in social media posts, photos, and location data into my journal so I can keep track of what’s going on in my life. This isn’t 100% work related but it helps me keep track of what I’ve been up to so I have some “backup” as to what I’ve been working on. - [**Notes**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/notes/id1110145109?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – This is the standard notes app that comes on the iPhone and I use it for everything. Notes can be accessed from Siri as well as [Siri Shortcuts](https://www.macstories.net/shortcuts/?ref=jasontucker.blog#notes). Notes also have a [document scanner](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205773?ref=jasontucker.blog) that works quite well. - [**Scanbot**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/scanbot-pro-scanner-app-fax/id1007355333?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Scanning a piece of paper or even multiple pages into a PDF use to require a multifunction printer but with Scanbot I can create a PDF faster than it would take me to walk over to a printer, remove the staples and put it in the feeder. It also works with [Shortcuts](http://www.tapsmart.com/uncategorized/scanbot-8-favourite-scanning-app-just-got-smarter/?ref=jasontucker.blog) with some examples here on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/search/?q=scanbot&restrict%5Fsr=1&ref=jasontucker.blog). - [**Drafts**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/drafts-capture-act/id1236254471?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Drafts is where all of my text starts on my iPhone. I tend to [dictate](https://getdrafts.com/editor/dictation?ref=jasontucker.blog) a lot of stuff into Drafts, edit it and then send it on its way as a [text message](https://forums.getdrafts.com/t/sending-messages-imessage-sms-with-drafts/940?ref=jasontucker.blog) to someone, or even [post a tweet](https://forums.getdrafts.com/t/using-twitter-with-drafts/109?ref=jasontucker.blog). Drafts is a great place to get your writing started and then send it off to somewhere else to finish it off. - [**Lucidchart**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/lucidchart/id611543423?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I’m in the middle of a capital campaign to build a new worship center at my church along with moving some of our staff to what was our Sunday school classrooms and making new offices for them. I use Lucid charts to draw up measurement perfect layouts of a room and can edit these on their mobile app if needed if we need to change a seating chart in a room or move a wall from here to there. ## Automation - [**Shortcuts**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/shortcuts/id915249334?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Formerly Workflow (build by Ari Goldstein who use to be part of the Chronic Dev Team that would jailbreak iPhones using their software iJailbreak now works at Apple. He and his team building Workflow, a way of doing a drag an drop automation interface app for iOS and was later purchased by Apple and renamed Shortcuts. I use shortcuts all the time in my day to day life. From [scanning UPC labels](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/db5487b89a774138a8c63542e845030c?ref=jasontucker.blog) to be added to a reminders list for shopping to [combining screenshots](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/2ddf565a3af044a8acc2321fa213bbaa?ref=jasontucker.blog) to get the point across to adding a [fake device overlay around a screenshot ](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/35d5e536be86444380536965cd0c32ba?ref=jasontucker.blog)for documentation purposes there is plenty of awesome things you can make with Shortcuts on the iPhone or iPad. - [**IFTTT** ](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/ifttt/id660944635?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – If This Then That is an amazing tool for automation allowing you to automate many cloud based services to interact with one another. From something simple such as [updating your Twitter avatar when you update your Facebook](https://ifttt.com/applets/94066p?ref=jasontucker.blog) one to [adding a calendar event when you arrive or leave from work](https://ifttt.com/applets/sFk2WC4r?ref=jasontucker.blog) and even [including the gym](https://ifttt.com/applets/219749p?ref=jasontucker.blog)! But its not just limited to geo location tracking.. no, this makings most of the web talk to one another. [Adding songs to Spotify Playlist](https://ifttt.com/applets/299925p?ref=jasontucker.blog), [tweeting your instagram photos natively to twitter](https://ifttt.com/applets/aVxGRrtD?ref=jasontucker.blog). The list goes on. All I can say is I take full advantage of this free service and have a bunch of my stuff run through it daily. You can even make IFTTT talk to Shortcuts and visa versa. ## Utilities - [**1Password**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/1password-password-manager/id568903335?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – My favorite password manager. I’ve tried a few (Lastpass & Dashlane) and I keep going back to 1Password. I use it personally and carry 2 vaults (one family vault and one work vault, both paid accounts.) It works on the iPhone, iPad, Mac.. it just works and works well. It also supports 2FA which is handy - [Au**t**hy](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/authy/id494168017?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I use Authy kinda as my backup 2FA. I mainly do this in case of the 1Password app on my phone stops working and I wanna make sure I can get into my 2FA. - iSH (Beta) – This thing is fancy, it’s a command line for the iPhone and also has SSH as well just about any other command line tool. It’s in private beta but if you look around on Twitter the author posts about it and how to get on the beta. - [**Deliveries**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/deliveries-a-package-tracker/id290986013?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I love this app for being able to track my packages. It has share sheet integration and a clean interface for seeing when your packages will arrive. If you copy the tracking number and open the app it will read the clipboard to see if you have a tracking number in there or not. - [**Opener**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/opener-open-links-in-apps/id989565871?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – This app is amazing, it allows you to open 3rd party iOS apps for all sorts of things. If you have a webpage open and want to open it in Chrome Mobile you tap the share sheet, tap the shared item and Opener will ask you what you want to do with it. Genius! - [**Tailor**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/tailor-screenshot-stitching/id926653095?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I take a lot of screenshots and many times the screenshot is longer than the screen. This app will convert screenshots that you take in succession that overlap as you scroll down the screen. The resulting image is a stitched together image that looks great! - [**ImageDrain**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/imagedrain/id932866396?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Speaking of images, this share sheet extension app when invoked in the share sheet in Safari will search for all the image on the page and let you save each one quickly. - [**Text Case**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/text-case/id1407730596?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog)– Another share sheet extension app when you select some text and invoke the share sheet will let you manipulate the selected text in a number of ways. Capitalize words, Sentance case, reversed, CamelCase, ROT13, Base64, url encode, url decode. It works well with Siri, Siri Shortcuts and Shortcuts as a function in your shortcut. - [**Speedtest**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/speedtest-by-ookla/id300704847?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – There is a bunch of these in the app store I like the one from Ookla the best. You run it and it will give you a speed test of your current connection. - [**RD Client**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id714464092?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Windows Remote Desktop in the palm of your hand. - [**MailChimp**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/mailchimp/id366794783?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Check your stats on Mailchimp, see if your campaigns were sent and even create a campaign in a pinch. ## Development - [**Charles Proxy**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/charles-proxy/id1134218562?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – This awesome debugging proxy can help with debugging whats happening with your app as well as learn a little bit about how apps on your phone interact with the APIs they connect to. It play man in the middle between the app on the device and the internet. ## Messaging - Messages – Standard messaging app on the iPhone and iPad that lets you text message/SMS with your contacts. - [**WhatsApp**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – By far one of the better apps for messaging with groups of people internationally. - [**Facebook Messenger**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/messenger/id454638411?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – If you need to interact with people on Facebook via messenger this is the way to go. - [**Slack**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/slack/id803453959?mt=12&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – If you team using Slack this is a great app to use. - [**Discord**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/discord/id985746746?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I’ve found that a few of my IT groups are using Discord for messaging. - [**Reddit**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/reddit/id1064216828?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) & [**Apollo**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/apollo-for-reddit/id979274575?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Reddit has become my go-to place for all sorts of things happening on the internet. [/r/ifttt](https://www.reddit.com/r/ifttt?ref=jasontucker.blog), [/r/macapps](https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps?ref=jasontucker.blog), [/r/orangecounty](https://www.reddit.com/r/orangecounty?ref=jasontucker.blog), [/r/shortcuts](https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts?ref=jasontucker.blog), [/r/testflight](https://www.reddit.com/r/testflight?ref=jasontucker.blog) &[ /r/wordpress](https://www.reddit.com/r/wordpress?ref=jasontucker.blog) there is something for everyone on Reddit. ## Sanity Savers - [**Overcast**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/overcast/id888422857?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – My Podcast app of choice. I like this one because of it’s night mode feature, smart speed and voice boost. - [**Audible**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/audible-audiobooks-originals/id379693831?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Audio books are where its at ourside of podcasts. - [**Spotify**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/spotify-music-and-podcasts/id324684580?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Put one some tunes when you are in the car or stuck rewiring a server rack. - [**YouTube**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/youtube-watch-listen-stream/id544007664?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Where else are you going to find out how to terminate cat6 by an 8 year old? ## Travel - [**TripIt**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripit-travel-planner/id311035142?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – I love TripIt for taking all of the receipts and other emails from my travels and turn them into a nice itinerary. The service is free and works well for someone that only travels every so often for work. One thing I like about it is you just forward your emails to a special email address and it will ingest it and parse out the info it needs to add it to your account. You can also share trips with your spouse and family so they have all the details and any changes that may occur. - [**Google Trips**](https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-trips-plan-your-trip/id1081561570?mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Much like TripIt Google Trips scans your Gmail looking for travel stuff and adds it to a nice interface for you to use on the go. #### What do you use to get your work done while on the move? Leave your response in the comments. ### WP-WebAuthn - Passkey on WordPress URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wp-webauthn-passkey-on-wordpress/ Last updated: 2023-05-07T12:07:35.000Z With Google recently announcing [**The beginning of the end of the password**](https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-password/?ref=jasontucker.blog) I started thinking about WordPress and what plugins are available that allow for passkey support for authentication. Using only your username you can use the passkey system to use your computer or mobile device to perform the rest of the login sequence. Google is moving toward this so I might as well explore this a bit further. ## WP-WebAuthn Looking in the WordPress plugin directory I found a plugin that I’ve been using for several months on WPwatercooler’s website called [**WP-WebAuthn**](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-webauthn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) created by [Axton](https://profiles.wordpress.org/axton/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which includes a WebAuthn Login Form block if you need it. ## Setting up WP-WebAuthn The setup of this plugin [WP-WebAuthn](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-webauthn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) is easy just install it and then look Settings and WP-WebAuthn where you can set the preferred login method some display settings and how you want the login to work. **Note –** On this screen you’ll also see if you get any notices that you may need to install “gmp” module on the server so I went down that rabbit hole for a bit. I cover this below – [Installing gmp on SpinUpWP](#gmp) Once you have done that go to your user profile and scroll down to **Registered WebAuthn Authenticators** where you can register a new authenticator for each of the devices you will be logging in with and next time you login just put in your username and press Auth and complete the login using FaceID, TouchID, Windows Hello or a bunch of other methods. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2023/05/CleanShot-2023-05-07-at-11.59.22.png) ## Installing gmp on SpinUpWP My server didn’t have gmp installed so I needed to do that to complete the plugin install and get it setup. Installing gmp on PHP 8.0 was quick running the following commands as a **[sudo enabled user](https://spinupwp.com/doc/understanding-system-users/?ref=jasontucker.blog)**. I’m following the instructions provided by [**SpinUpWP – How to change PHP settings**](https://spinupwp.com/doc/how-to-change-php-settings/?ref=jasontucker.blog). I start by using apt and installing php8.0-gmp and then editing the php.ini file, I chose to do the whole server and just the one site, follow the instructions one way or the other. ``` $ sudo apt install php8.0-gmp $ sudo nano /etc/php/8.0/fpm/php.ini ``` From here search for ;extension=gmp and remove the ; to enable the module. ``` ;extension=bz2 ;extension=curl ;extension=ffi ;extension=ftp ;extension=fileinfo ;extension=gd ;extension=gettext extension=gmp ;extension=intl ;extension=imap ;extension=ldap ``` Save the file and then restart the php service ``` $ sudo service php8.0-fpm reload ``` ### YukiTube - Yuki Tsunoda's YouTube Channel URL: https://jasontucker.blog/yukitube-yuki-tsunodas-youtube-channel/ Last updated: 2023-04-16T10:46:06.000Z With it being 5 months since Danny Ric putting anything out on his YouTube channel [Daniel Ricciardo](https://www.youtube.com/@DanielRicciardo/videos?ref=jasontucker.blog) it looks like Yuki Tsunoda and his PR team are starting up a channel for him, the first video focusing on fitness, fun in the water and fun in the desert of Dubai. Most of the video is with his Australian performance coach Michael Italiano who also worked with Daniel Ricciardo when he was with McLaren. As stated in a recent interview with [Dive Bomb](https://www.dive-bomb.com/post/i-am-eager-to-help-yuki-grow-as-a-person-but-and-as-an-athlete-an-interview-with-michael-italiano?ref=jasontucker.blog) “I am eager to help Yuki grow as a person but and as an athlete.” Michael has been making the rounds on various YouTube channels [Scuderia AlphaTauri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ0sHcx12ZY&pp=ygUQTWljaGFlbCBJdGFsaWFubw%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog), [PitStop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty-R98UjH1E&pp=ygUQTWljaGFlbCBJdGFsaWFubw%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog), [Lakeside Drive F1 Podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6udhmIY6U&pp=ygUQTWljaGFlbCBJdGFsaWFubw%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog) and his own YouTube channel [Michael Italiano Formula One Coach](https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelItalianoF1Coach?ref=jasontucker.blog). I’ve only been watching F1 for that last year and Yuki’s been one of my favorites in the various promo videos he’s done for his [love of food](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F2v%5FM5vj0Q&pp=ygUQeXVraSBob25kYSBqYXBhbg%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog), [AlphaTauri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8idQIqGQevE&pp=ygUQeXVraSBob25kYSBqYXBhbg%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Redbull Racing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gemtOrb4xEQ&pp=ygUQeXVraSBob25kYSBqYXBhbg%3D%3D&ref=jasontucker.blog) and over is a racer I really want to see do well. With Danny out this season its good to see someone like Yuki doing videos like this, I always liked the ones that Danny did and Yuki’s video looks promising. YukiTube EP1: Dubai 2023 Preseason Training Camp BTS You can subscribe to Yuki’s channel [Yuki Tsunoda](https://www.youtube.com/@yukitsunoda0511?ref=jasontucker.blog) on YouTube and check him out on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/yukitsunoda0511/?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog) as well. ### Is Elon building WeChat for everyone else? Twitter is now X URL: https://jasontucker.blog/is-elon-building-wechat-for-everyone-else-twitter-is-now-x/ Last updated: 2023-04-11T11:24:47.000Z I had a feeling [this is what was going to happen with Twitter](https://gizmodo.com/twitter-x-elon-musk-wechat-everything-app-1850322566?ref=jasontucker.blog). Elon is revisiting X.com which in[ 2000 merged with Confinity and turned into PayPal](https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2015/10/09/how-was-the-rivalry-between-paypal-and-x-com-before-and-after-the-merger/?sh=3140a4ab6154&ref=jasontucker.blog). After watching what Elon is doing lately it looks like he’s trying to build out a WeChat for everyone else (outside of China) using existing plays in various spaces on Twitter and adding in financials. Here is me throwing a few things against the wall to see what sticks. He really wants to build this financial ecosystem. He [changed the twitter logo to Dogecoin logo](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/twitter-changes-logo-to-dogecoin-cryptocurrency-image-in-apparent-late-april-fools-day-gag?ref=jasontucker.blog), wants to have his SpaceX and [Tesla employee live in “company towns”](https://gizmodo.com/musk-plans-company-town-texas-called-snailbrook-1850209426?ref=jasontucker.blog) he’s working on one called [Snailbrook](https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/09/tech/elon-musk-texas-town/index.html?ref=jasontucker.blog). Company towns day were towns that folks would be paid in a currency used in the town called [company scrip](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company%5Fscrip?ref=jasontucker.blog), it looks he’s even testing this by living in a [small home on site as well](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-full-send-podcast-45000-boca-chica-texas-home-space-x/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Now he is circling back to X and and wants to build out [an everything app](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/04/11/twitter-inc-no-longer-exists-as-elon-musk-inches-closer-to-x-everything-app-ambitions/?sh=54711bff209b&ref=jasontucker.blog). X.com has has the [single X in the source code since 2017](https://www.namepros.com/blog/elon-musk-finally-puts-x-com-to-some-use.1054256/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and hasn’t changed since then. So is Elon trying to build a WeChat for the rest of us? It looks like that may be the case with Twitter already having many of the features that WeChat has just not as vast. Here is what I have found regarding WeChat and what I think Elon may be working towards using the existing infrastructure. | WeChat | Twitter | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Messaging and Calling | Twitter Spaces | | WeChat Location Sharing | Per post | | QR Codes | Nothing as vast as WeChat currently | | WeChat Search Engine | Search for Twitter content | | WeChat Moments / News Feed | [Twitter Moments](https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/twitter-moments?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Twitter News](https://create.twitter.com/en/industries/news?ref=jasontucker.blog) | | WeChat E-Wallet | X.com? | | WeChat Official Accounts | [Twitter Verification Blue Checkmark](https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/about-twitter-verified-accounts?ref=jasontucker.blog) | | WeChat Stores | [Twitter Shops](https://blog.twitter.com/en%5Fus/topics/product/2022/twitter-shops-more-space-to-shop?ref=jasontucker.blog#:~:text=When%20you%20go%20to%20the,you%20can%20scroll%20through%20items.) | | WeChat Mini Programs | API access? | | WeChat Articles | [Twitter Top Articles](https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/top-articles?ref=jasontucker.blog#toparticles-work) | | WeChat Advertisements | [Twitter Ads](https://ads.twitter.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) | | WeChat Pay | X.com? | | WeChat CRM | | | WeChat Video | [Twitter video / Periscope](https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/watch-broadcasts?ref=jasontucker.blog) | I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below. ### F1 2023 drivers screen time on new intro sequence URL: https://jasontucker.blog/f1-2023-drivers-screen-time-on-new-intro-sequence/ Last updated: 2023-03-05T10:49:40.000Z I was reading around on Reddit and came across this video doing a timer on how long each driver was on screen doing the new 2023 intro for F1\. [F1 2023 Drivers screen time in the new intro sequence](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/11gccix/f1%5F2023%5Fdrivers%5Fscreen%5Ftime%5Fin%5Fthe%5Fnew%5Fintro/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## I love some of the comments on Reddit: > Ok, the actions of russell and leclerc in this are cracking me up. Looks like something out of zoolander. > > [oleboogerhays](https://www.reddit.com/user/oleboogerhays/?ref=jasontucker.blog) > Not to mention Ocon doing a full on Blue steel > > > [lbizzle5](https://www.reddit.com/user/lbizzle5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) > Has the order of the drivers in the hype video always been the reverse of the finishing order in last year’s championship? > > [Briggadoon](https://www.reddit.com/user/Briggadoon/?ref=jasontucker.blog) This one is interesting to me in how they place the order of the drivers in the video. It’s also interesting how they change the order for special things too. > It was, except Abu Dhabi in which they moved Bottas before Max to have the two championship contenders next to each other before the second half of the extended intro. > > \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNXp50juXLk\[/embedyt\] > [therealadamaust](https://www.reddit.com/user/therealadamaust/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and if you missed it, Valtteri Bottas did a BTS of his media day \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9UDnmJT\_4\[/embedyt\] ### Geeky fun with F1 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/geeky-fun-with-f1/ Last updated: 2023-03-21T11:54:19.000Z As a recent convert to the exciting world of Formula One racing, my wife Jen and I have been thoroughly captivated by this adrenaline-fueled sport. Since discovering our love for F1 last year, we’ve been avidly following every race, always looking for ways to enhance our viewing experience. In my quest for more information about the sport, I’ve come across some valuable resources that I believe will be useful for both new and seasoned fans. Here are some of the best finds that I wanted to share. ## F1 App for Smart TV Jen and I watch F1 using the F1 TV app on our Apple TV here are other ways to watch if you using a different device on your TV. [Apple](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/f1-tv/id1315007279?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.formulaone.production&hl=en&gl=US&ref=jasontucker.blog) [Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Formula-One-Digital-Media-Limited/dp/B077VPVD47?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Roku](https://channelstore.roku.com/details/4af8eceac36ccd8b432a2d37712dde90/f1-tv?ref=jasontucker.blog) Since Chromecast is a media streaming device, you can’t install F1 TV on it as such. However, you can cast the service on a monitor or TV using Chromecast. Once connected, open Google Chrome on your computer, and click on the three vertical dots icon at the top right. Select Cast from the menu bar, and it’ll cast your browser’s content on the TV or monitor. On your iOS or Android mobile device, simply play the content and press the ‘Chromecast’ button. On Firefox, you will need to install an extension on the browser to enable Chromecast support. Chromecast ## MultiViewer for F1 This app on your computer allows for you to watch multiple views from F1 races the way you see fit. It does require a F1 TV subscription but its really hard to be a fan and not have this subscription to watch the races. With this you can see so many different views of the race, here is a few from their website people are using. [Download MultiViewer, it’s free](https://multiviewer.app/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## TrackWeatherLive.com This website shows you the location and weather data of the location the races is taking place at. Such an easy way to find this data. [TrackWeatherLive](https://trackweather.live/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Delay Timing Feed If you dont want to watch the live feed on your laptop while watching it on TV you can use this delayed timing feed to watch it in a delayed setup. Delay F1 live timing feed and add additional visualisations. If you love watching F1 with the official live timing it can sometimes be annoying if your TV feed is delayed. Knowing an overtake has happened before you see it can spoil the fun. This extension allows you to delay the live timing feed to match with your TV. Click the “Display Delayed Timing” button when you’re on the [F1 Live Timing page](https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) to access the delayed feed and additional visualisations to enhance your F1 experience. You must be on the leaderboard tab before clicking. Visit “Race Control” to view the live timing data archive. [F1 Live Timing Feed](https://www.formula1.com/en/f1-live.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Delay Timing Feed](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/f1-delayed-live-timing/gchagbhdnlcnmkhplddglibfdjbbeclg?utm%5Fsource=f1mv&utm%5Fmedium=link&utm%5Fcampaign=recommendations) ## Totally new to F1? F1 Beginners Guide Catch up on how this sport works, this is a great guide and cheat sheet. [F1 Beginners Guide](https://f1beginnersguide.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Cheat Sheet](https://f1beginnersguide.com/cheatsheet/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Drive to Survive If you aren’t watching Drive to survive you need to. Everyone needs some trash tv in their life an drive to survive is reality tv for F1 fans and its a blast!. **Marketing Hype:** *Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a “documentary” series produced in a collaboration between Netflix and Formula One, to give a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers and races of the Formula One World Championship. The fifth season of the series, focusing on the 2022 season, was released on 24 February 2023, prior to the training seasons and the start of the 2023 championship and the opening race, the Bahrain Grand Prix.* [Drive to Survive on NetFlix](https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## YouTube Channels to subscribe to ### Formula 1 \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLfoNZDHitwjVXxcSbLoaMbMGLkpWTTvVz\[/embedyt\] ### Pete Windsor \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_qlCdou5e00\[/embedyt\] ### Lando Norris \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Eq0Q9Ve9s\[/embedyt\] ### WTF1 \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmK5iJSHk1o\[/embedyt\] ### Kym Illman \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usOx3e6VV3Q\[/embedyt\] ### Daniel Ricciardo \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JkiLrpisd4\[/embedyt\] ### Charles Leclerc \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPGOTr8OVrM\[/embedyt\] --- ## Community Mentions ### Driver61 \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3yArt3cxTE\[/embedyt\] ### The Parc Fermé Podcast \[embedyt\] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSKBS3TLxBM\[/embedyt\] ### What's with ActivityPub + WordPress + Cloudflare not working? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/whats-with-activitypub-wordpress-cloudflare-not-working/ Last updated: 2023-03-27T14:52:38.000Z I’ve been on a journey to get WPwatercooler.com to be on the fediverse and it hasn’t been as easy as I was thinking it was going to be. Folks that run a website and want to use Mastodon to build community around it have a few options for being presented on the Fediverse. This post isn’t going to help you solve this yet but I hope we can work out what needs to be done in order to do so. ## Some new developments Since writing this post, others have discovered solutions to the issues I discuss below. One such solution is provided by [Dustin Rue](https://mastodon.chateaude.luxe/@dustinrue?ref=jasontucker.blog) in a blog post **[Caching WordPress author pages when using ActivityPub](https://dustinrue.com/2023/03/caching-wordpress-author-pages-when-using-activitypub/?ref=jasontucker.blog)**, which was extremely helpful in attempting to resolve the Cloudflare problem. However, it should be noted that implementing this solution requires access to the Nginx configuration file. If you are hosting with [SpinupWP, which provides such access](https://spinupwp.com/?referral=wZ5O2q9L4b&ref=jasontucker.blog), Dustin’s post may be useful in resolving this issue. 1. Make an account on an existing Mastodon instance, share your links to your content there 2. Build your own Mastodon instance and make an account there and share your content 3. Use ActivityPub and allow people to follow your website on any Fediverse property There is most likely more but for the most part its those 3 that you can select from. I started out with WPwatercooler on Mastodon.online which can be found at [https://mastodon.online/@wpwatercooler](https://mastodon.online/@wpwatercooler?ref=jasontucker.blog) this works fine and people can follow it but I wanted to see if I could take it a step further and add WPwatercooler.com to the Fediverse directly and this is where ActivityPub comes in. > [ActivityPub](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/?ref=jasontucker.blog) > [NodeInfo(2)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nodeinfo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) > [WebFinger](https://wordpress.org/plugins/webfinger/?ref=jasontucker.blog) I installed these three plugins so that I could offer up ActivityPub via WebFinger and people on Mastodon will be able to find the website on there. I created 2 accounts on WPwatercooler.com one for each show *wpwatercooler* and *devbranch* and then I did a search for **@wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com** and **@devbranch@wpwatercooler.com** on my Mastodon instance and was able to find them. ## The Problem The thing I and other folks in our community ran into was that we could follow the accounts and if we tried a bunch sometimes it should register. Seems to be a caching issues I think. Let’s check and see. ## WebFinger In part WebFinger is a protocol that allows for discovery of information about people and things identified by a URI. Information about a person might be discovered via an acct: URI, for example, which is a URI that looks like an email address. Both of these accounts can be found by going to [https://wpwatercooler.com/author/devbranch/](https://wpwatercooler.com/author/devbranch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/](https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/?ref=jasontucker.blog) as you can see both of these are authors on the WPwatercooler website like I spoke about before. When someone tries and searches for @wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com on Mastodon it accesses [https://wpwatercooler.com/.well-known/webfinger?resource=acct:**wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com** ](https://wpwatercooler.com/.well-known/webfinger?resource=acct:wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com&ref=jasontucker.blog) and as you can see from the url it looks at the domain name in the .well-known/webfinder and looks for the resource with the account name of wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com Webfinger offers up a json output that looks like the following: ``` { “subject”: “acct:wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com”, “aliases”: [ “acct:wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com”, “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/”, “mailto:jason+wpwatercooler@wpwatercooler.com” ], “links”: [ { “rel”: “http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/”, “type”: “text/html” }, { “rel”: “http://webfinger.net/rel/avatar”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/cropped-WPwatercooler-Avatar-2023-2-96x96.png” }, { “rel”: “http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page”, “href”: “https://www.wpwatercooler.com”, “type”: “text/html” }, { “rel”: “self”, “type”: “application/activity+json”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/” }, { “rel”: “http://nodeinfo.diaspora.software/ns/schema/2.0”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/nodeinfo/2.0” }, { “rel”: “http://nodeinfo.diaspora.software/ns/schema/1.1”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/nodeinfo/1.1” }, { “rel”: “http://nodeinfo.diaspora.software/ns/schema/1.0”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/nodeinfo/1.0” }, { “rel”: “https://feneas.org/ns/serviceinfo”, “type”: “application/ld+json”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/serviceinfo/1.0”, “properties”: { “https://feneas.org/ns/serviceinfo#software.name”: “WPwatercooler” } }, { “rel”: “http://schemas.google.com/g/2010#updates-from”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/feed/ostatus/”, “type”: “application/atom+xml” }, { “rel”: “http://ostatus.org/schema/1.0/subscribe”, “template”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/?profile={uri}” }, { “rel”: “feed”, “type”: “application/stream+json”, “title”: “Activity-Streams 1.0 Feed”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/feed/as1/” }, { “rel”: “feed”, “type”: “application/activity+json”, “title”: “Activity-Streams 2.0 Feed”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/feed/as2/” } ] } ``` the section we’re interested in is ``` { “rel”: “self”, “type”: “application/activity+json”, “href”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/” }, ``` This section has the author url and you can see that its using the type of application/activity+json instead of something like text/html so when it queries that url it passes along in the header Accept: application/activity+json and it should return it in that format. Running the following command ``` $ url -i -H “Accept: application/activity+json” “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler” % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —:—:— —:—:— —:—:— 0HTTP/2 200 date: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:42:34 GMT content-type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 last-modified: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:11:53 GMT cache-control: max-age=0 expires: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:40:07 GMT vary: Accept-Encoding age: 3746 x-cache: HIT cf-cache-status: DYNAMIC server-timing: cf-q-config;dur=9.0000003183377e-06 report-to: {“endpoints”:[{“url”:“https:\/\/a.nel.cloudflare.com\/report\/v3?s=hTOA5wCRdqy4Lkoey48CmI2UIbYym8HWAvtsssC4lRsXgli7%2BchgWImTY3ol%2FdS8gTcodIYZQ6cbSDMVZ1co5brwCJxEpkIdqJ%2FCEjwKcxOWhomHgfWISN9qzmkfkMd7tNo8fQORQ%3D%3D”}],“group”:“cf-nel”,“max_age”:604800} nel: {“success_fraction”:0,“report_to”:“cf-nel”,“max_age”:604800} server: cloudflare cf-ray: 78b0e3631e862ea3-LAX alt-svc: h3=“:443”; ma=86400, h3-29=“:443”; ma=86400 ``` Cloudflare returns back text/html and outputs the author page and not the json we wanted. Talking with a few folks on Mastodon we found that people are having this issue with using Cloudflare and there isn’t anything we can do to resolve it sadly. I tried excluding the caching for the specific paths /author/(.\*) and other such tricks and it keeps changing the content-type to text/html and not application/activity+json as requested. Looking online I’ve found a bunch of people using Cloudflare + ActivityPub running into this issue and other technologies that also use Accept: application/activity+json and finding that it only returns text/html. Bummer. The code that makes all that work can be found in the WordPress ActivityPub plugin [class-activity-pub.php](https://github.com/pfefferle/wordpress-activitypub/blob/master/includes/class-activitypub.php?ref=jasontucker.blog) ``` /** * Return a AS2 JSON version of an author, post or page. * * @param string $template The path to the template object. * * @return string The new path to the JSON template. */ public static function render_json_template( $template ) { if ( ! \is_author() && ! \is_singular() && ! \is_home() ) { return $template; } // check if user can publish posts if ( \is_author() && ! user_can( \get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ), 'publish_posts' ) ) { return $template; } if ( \is_author() ) { $json_template = ACTIVITYPUB_PLUGIN_DIR . '/templates/author-json.php'; } elseif ( \is_singular() ) { $json_template = ACTIVITYPUB_PLUGIN_DIR . '/templates/post-json.php'; } elseif ( \is_home() ) { $json_template = ACTIVITYPUB_PLUGIN_DIR . '/templates/blog-json.php'; } global $wp_query; if ( isset( $wp_query->query_vars['activitypub'] ) ) { return $json_template; } if ( ! isset( $_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'] ) ) { return $template; } $accept_header = $_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT']; if ( \stristr( $accept_header, 'application/activity+json' ) || \stristr( $accept_header, 'application/ld+json' ) ) { return $json_template; } // Accept header as an array. $accept = \explode( ',', \trim( $accept_header ) ); if ( \in_array( 'application/ld+json; profile=“https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams”', $accept, true ) || \in_array( 'application/activity+json', $accept, true ) || \in_array( 'application/ld+json', $accept, true ) || \in_array( 'application/json', $accept, true ) ) { return $json_template; } return $template; } ``` ## Can this be done? After discussing this with @tomfinley@wptoots.social and @tim@mastodon.timnolte.com on mastodon in this tread [https://simian.rodeo/@jasontucker/109701436056062907](https://simian.rodeo/@jasontucker/109701436056062907?ref=jasontucker.blog) we found that there is an endpoint that will return json [https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler**/activitypub**](https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/activitypub?ref=jasontucker.blog) I’m wondering if instead we can force Webfinger to return that url with /activitypub at the end instead of expecting Cloudflare to return a non text/html content type. You can see this JSON output here [https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/activitypub/](https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/activitypub/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ``` “id”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/”, “type”: “Person”, “name”: “WPwatercooler Show”, “summary”: “The world’s most influential WordPress podcast brought to you by Jason Tucker, Sé Reed & Jason Cosper”, “preferredUsername”: “wpwatercooler”, “url”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/”, “icon”: { “type”: “Image”, “url”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/cropped-WPwatercooler-Avatar-2023-2-120x120.png” }, “inbox”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/users/6260/inbox”, “outbox”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/users/6260/outbox”, “followers”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/users/6260/followers”, “following”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/wp-json/activitypub/1.0/users/6260/following”, “manuallyApprovesFollowers”: false, “publicKey”: { “id”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/#main-key”, “owner”: “https://wpwatercooler.com/author/wpwatercooler/”, ``` What’s involved to make this work on Cloudflare? I’d love to hear in the comments and we can see about getting this combo of WordPress + CloudFlare + ActivityPub working, I’ve seen so many people complain about this not working with this very popular combo of technologies in the WordPress support forums. ### Using ChatGPT to optimize YouTube content for WPwatercooler URL: https://jasontucker.blog/using-chatgpt-to-optimize-youtube-content-for-wpwatercooler/ Last updated: 2023-03-21T11:54:41.000Z I recently started using ChatGPT to try and optimize the YouTube content for my website, WPwatercooler. In the past, I struggled with writing descriptive text for the “in the description down below” section of my videos and found the process of creating metadata for my episodes to be tedious. I hired a YouTube consultant to provide some critiques and recommendations, but I still needed a way to make the process more efficient. That’s where ChatGPT came in. I experimented with using ChatGPT to summarize the content of my episodes and create social media posts and YouTube chapters. While the tool wasn’t perfect and required some editing, I found it to be a helpful way to streamline the process of optimizing my YouTube content and increasing its reach. Overall, I’ve been happy with the results I’ve seen from using ChatGPT. *Editor note, the text above was generated by ChatGPT by passing the text from this blog post and using these instructions to tell it what I wanted.* ``` Write a blog post excerpt for this post titled "Using ChatGPT to optimize YouTube content for WPwatercooler" please write it in the first person ``` On last friday’s episode of WPwatercooler [EP440 – Year in review and forward at 2023](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep440-year-in-review-and-forward-at-2023/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Sé Reed mentioned ChatGPT on the show and it got me thinking about using [ChatGPT](chatgpt: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue - OpenAI) to try and optimize the YouTube content of WPwatercooler. In September I hired a YouTube consultant on Fiverr to go over the videos on YouTube and provide me with some critiques and ways I can optimize for getting more quality viewers. With 10 years of content on WPwatercooler’s website and YouTube channel we have a lot of content we could optimize or revisit with optimized metadata to support the video. One of the things that the consultant mentioned is to include some more descriptive text for the “in the description down below” and honestly I suck at that and for 2 reasons: ## Writing content for an episode that didn’t happen yet I’m not sure if you are aware but [WPwatercooler](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) episodes are thought out quite a bit before we go live. We work out a working title for the show and I do a small description to support that title. We haven’t recorded anything yet but we have any idea of what we want to talk about. Sometimes I feel like this pigeon holes us and other times I feel like the title and description are plain wrong for the content we discussed in the video. What about the video? ## Writing metadata for the episode we just recorded It’s no industry secret, we (I) don’t edit the show after we record it but I have been producing a lightly edited transcript of the show for the last few years using Descript. I feel like I’m driving a military humvee with a caravan of tanks with me to a grocery store trip when I use it, all this power and I’m over here having robots transcribe the video into text. I use ACF on WPwatercooler’s site and have a field setup for the transcription. I also uploaded that transcript to YouTube so it has a more polished version of the transcript for humans to read and laugh at less than the YouTube version. I also write up some text describing the episode replacing the preshow version with something a bit more accurate of what was talked about. Lastly I include any links and pull in the titles from the external websites so its accurate on the post too. ## Making it easier with ChatGPT The post episode write up is such a chore and this is where ChatGPT comes into play. ``` Using the transcription from my YouTube video I provided above please write a summary of the discussion that I can use on YouTube as the description text ``` I asked ChatGTP to write a summary of this episode [EP440 – Year in review and forward at 2023](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep440-year-in-review-and-forward-at-2023/?ref=jasontucker.blog) where Sé, Cosper and jumped between topics so fast it was hard to keep up with what was said and with some editing I came up with this: ![when you put it that way, you're kinda like one guy. I dunno. Like you could just be the Jason as an entity. So you of count. It could be one as an entity, right? It's just for the show. For the show's point anyway. I think that's a great idea. And,we can folks send in your questions, and, gonna be, you're gonna be like chat G p t cuz now I just ask all my questions to AI and I don't bother anybody anymore. Notice I haven't texted you guys about stuff lately. That's right. I know I It appears that the speakers in this podcast episode are discussing their goals or intentions for the year in relation to technology. One speaker's goal is to make progress in their tech endeavors, while another is focused on optimizing their current tools and systems. Another speaker aims to start using more modern technology and tools in their work, and another plans to do more automation and API integration. Another speaker's goal is to move their work to the cloud.](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/12/CleanShot-2022-12-31-at-16.23.53@2x-1024x503.png) I then read through the transcript and selected the part of it that I wanted it to focus on then wrote this for the description text for YouTube > On this episode of WPwatercooler lots of topics were discussed looking back at 2022 and what’s to come in 2023\. Topics include the use of artificial intelligence in WordPress, Sé and crew launching the WP Community Collective, the possibility of a rewrite of the Media Library, the implementation of collaborative editing in WordPress, and the future of the WordPress mobile app. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&ref=jasontucker.blog) One thing ChatGPT can’t deal with is a lot of text pasted in the query window. So what I did was take 10 minutes of the 30 miniute show and pasted that text into the query window and asked it to summarize that. Then did this for the other 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes then asked it to summarize all of the content. I then wanted to highlight some of the part of the transcript for each of the subtopics we discussed, one of which was a “word” that Sé was looking for us to focus on for 2023\. Providing the raw transcript with and asking it to summarize it was able to come up with something close to this with some edits by me: > Sé Reed asked the panel what is their word for tech in the new year. > > Sé mentioned impact which means to her smart operating in terms of working on things that have “the most bang for your buck” > > Jason Tucker’s word is cloud, at his work he’s looking to move to more cloud services and personally wants to try to use more cloud automation services in his day-to-day life. > > Jason Cosper’s is carry on. He wants to look further into ownership and control over the things he creates and the use of certain platforms, such as Twitter. not having a focus on making money, but rather wanting to have control over the distribution and use of the things he creates. Cosper wants to be less dependent on someone else’s infrastructure, owning his own part of a social media platform such as sites that are federated like Mastodon. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=295s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=295s&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## What else can it do- A Social Post?!? Now that I have the content from the show in text form into ChatGPT I can ask it do a bunch of stuff with it. One I was toying with was creating a social media post for the episode, here is one for twitter: ``` Please write a tweet i can post on twitter promoting this podcast using these show notes for reference: On this episode of WPwatercooler lots of topics were discussed looking back at 2022 and what's to come in 2023. Topics include the use of artificial intelligence in WordPress, Sé and crew launching the WP Community Collective, the possibility of a rewrite of the Media Library, the implementation of collaborative editing in WordPress, and the future of the WordPress mobile app. Sé Reed asked the panel what is their word for tech in the new year. Sé mentioned impact which means to her smart operating in terms of working on things that have "the most bang for your buck" Jason Tucker's word is cloud, at his work he's looking to move to more cloud services and personally wants to try to use more cloud automation services in his day-to-day life. Jason Cosper is carry on. He wants to look further into ownership and control over the things he creates and the use of certain platforms, such as Twitter. not having a focus on making money, but rather wanting to have control over the distribution and use of the things he creates. Cosper wants to be less dependent on someone else's infrastructure, owning his own part of a social media platform such as sites that are federated like Mastodon. Both Jasons would love to work on their show The Query and get that off the ground soon. The discussion turned to the present and future and Sé began discussing her use of an artificial intelligence tool called Chat GPT for various tasks, such as generating content for websites, optimizing code, and writing blog posts. She mentioned that Cosper should use the tool to rewrite his speaker bio. Sé has used it to rewrite code, and express excitement about using artificial intelligence as a tool. Launch of The WP Community Collective and the episode EP437 - Funding the Dream with the WP Community Collective. Sé was appointed Team Rep for the Marketing Team Jason brought up if the Media Library will get a rewrite and the group chimed in on some of the features they wanted including taxonomy, detecting and combining duplicate images, and tags. They mention the possibility of using artificial intelligence to classify and tag photos and mention the 10UP Classify plugin that leverages Microsoft's cloud AI for this purpose. The panel also discussed the possibility of bringing this functionality into WordPress core, possibly through Jet Pack or another plugin. The panel changed subjects and focused on discussing the possibility of WordPress implementing collaborative editing in 2023. They mention that this may require the use of web RTC or other backend connections, and may not be feasible for users on certain hosting plans. They also mention that there are plans for significant changes to the WordPress site, including an overhaul of the support forums and documentation, as well as the ability to use the Gutenberg block editor in descriptions for plugins. They mention that there have been some issues with the implementation of the block editor and that there is a reliance on the Blocks Everywhere plugin from Automatic. Lastly, the panel discussed the WordPress mobile app may be neglected now that Jetpack has separated. They believe that the mobile app should be a good and functional app, and they believe that people with mobile app skills could make a significant impact on WordPress as a whole. The speaker also mentions that they have not personally used the WordPress mobile app without Jetpack, and they encourage others to try it. The speaker also states that they are not anti-Automatic (the company behind WordPress), but they believe that the mobile app should not be neglected. ``` ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/12/ChatGPT-in-Action.gif) > “Just listened to the latest episode of the WPwatercooler podcast – so much great discussion on the future of WordPress and AI! They talked about the use of AI in optimizing code and generating content, the possibility of a Media Library rewrite using AI, and the potential for collaborative editing in WordPress. Plus, they touched on the future of the WordPress mobile app and the launch of the WP Community Collective. Don’t miss it! #WordPress #AI #podcast” It’s awesome that with the text I have had ChatGPT generate I can use that resulting output as an input for another task such as making a social media post and it even included hashtags and a CTA of sorts at the end. ## YouTube chapters from a transcript with timecodes With most transcript services you can request them to be subtitles or have timecodes allowing you to do some fun stuff with them and ChatGPT. I took about 10 minutes or content and pasted it into Chat CPT and then did that 2 more times so I had all 30 minutes of it in there. My transcript has the time code at the beginning of the transcript per line so it’s easy to see what was being said for that timeframe. I then asked ChatGTP to generate chapters from the timecode and here is what happened ``` Please provide time code youtube chapters formatted for YouTube including timecode using the transcript provided ``` > [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=0s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Intro > [04:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=295s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – What’s your word for the year? > [11:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=718s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – About Launch of Query > [14:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=842s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Sé on using Chat GPT > [19:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=1174s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Sé Reed’s goals for Marketing team of WordPress > [22:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=1363s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Necessity of media library rewrite > [25:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=1549s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Collaborative editing > [28:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=1719s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Mobile app > [30:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&t=1820s&ref=jasontucker.blog) – Wrap up > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaikFIUw8g&ref=jasontucker.blog) If it doesn’t do it the first time edit your query and ask it a different way. I got different results depending on how I structured the request. ## SEO Keywords I went a bit deeper and asked it to generate long tail keywords for YouTube for another episode we did [State of the Word 2022](https://youtu.be/q0fJMA8kRZE?t=413&ref=jasontucker.blog) and those keywords worked out well with some modifications by me ``` based on this content can you provide me with SEO keywords for YouTube? ``` ![wordpress state of the world 2022 team-community communication state of the word matt mullenweg q&a session release squad pods lead developer funding other plugins taxonomy gutenburg wordpress community video recap state of the world 2022 matt mullenweg state of the world 2022](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/12/CleanShot-2022-12-31-at-16.56.43@2x.png) And because I’m lazy I also asked it the following: ``` Simplify this list to comma separated values ``` and it will give it to you with commas so you can copy and paste it into YouTube much easier. ## What have you used ChatCPT for? I’m looking for other ways to use ChatGPT to help us with content creation. For now it’s doing A/B tests with titles and descriptions as well as keywords for WPwatercooler episodes. I’m looking for more ideas, let me know in the comments before on on social media. ### How should I indieweb? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-should-i-indieweb/ Last updated: 2022-11-22T14:15:46.000Z Like most modern geeks on the internet that just saw Twitter go up in a big flame when Elon purchased it most of us out here are trying to go back to owning our own content again. We got burned by throwing all of our content of Facebook and Twitter and want to go back to having stuff on a website we own and can do what we want with. Fediverse, indieweb tools and lots of Mastodon has been on my mind lately and having my content live on my site but extend out to the Fediverse is the ultimate goal. Before I can get into that I need to think a bit about how I’m going to structure my content on my website. I’m fully adopting the plugin that [Jan Boddez](https://jan.boddez.net/wordpress?ref=jasontucker.blog) created called [IndieBlocks](https://indieblocks.xyz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which allows for a modern day WordPress website that uses Gutenberg blog editor to actually be able to support things like webmentions but can also do 2 other things, **Notes** and **Likes**. What are these? Let’s find out! > [IndieBlocks](https://wordpress.org/plugins/indieblocks/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## What is a note? > [Indieweb.org](https://indieweb.org/note?ref=jasontucker.blog) defines a **note** as a [post](https://indieweb.org/post?ref=jasontucker.blog) that is typically short unstructured\* plain text, written & posted quickly, that has its own permalink page. > > Creating, publishing, and owning your own notes is a key step towards reducing dependence on [Twitter](https://indieweb.org/Twitter?ref=jasontucker.blog). > > \*Though *unstructured* meaning without a heading/title or any other explicit structure, notes can include several lines of text or even lists using “\*” or numerical markers due to common [whitespace support](https://indieweb.org/note?ref=jasontucker.blog#Whitespace). > > https://indieweb.org/note So I need to think of a note as what I use to do with a tweet and it doesn’t have a title and that title can even be hidden using Jan’s plugin. I checked all the boxes in the plugin and selected my Permalinks. We’ll see what happens next. ![Screenshot of the IndieBlocks plugin for setting up custom post types and other data.](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/CleanShot-2022-11-22-at-12.35.22@2x-1024x670.png) ## What is a Like? Lets see what IndieWeb has to say about Likes > **like** is a popular [webaction](https://indieweb.org/webaction?ref=jasontucker.blog) button and in some cases [post](https://indieweb.org/post?ref=jasontucker.blog) type on various [silos](https://indieweb.org/silos?ref=jasontucker.blog) such as [Facebook](https://indieweb.org/Facebook?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Instagram](https://indieweb.org/Instagram?ref=jasontucker.blog). It is similar to but different from a [favorite](https://indieweb.org/favorite?ref=jasontucker.blog). > > - See **[likes](https://indieweb.org/likes?ref=jasontucker.blog)** for how to and examples of displaying likes received on your posts from other sites! > > There are multiple reasons people post likes and multiple meanings attached to the “like” action itself > > - To show the author of the content that you enjoyed/appreciated their work > - To indicate to the author of a post “thank you”, or to acknowledge the receipt of a message or say “I saw this” without further comment in a longer string of back and forth messages. This intent may be better explicitly effectuated on one’s own website by posting a [read receipt](https://indieweb.org/read%5Freceipt?ref=jasontucker.blog). > - To make the like counter on the content increase > - To effectuate a [bookmark](https://indieweb.org/bookmark?ref=jasontucker.blog) or some other post type intent on platforms which don’t explicitly have that functionality (this is relatively common on [Twitter](https://indieweb.org/Twitter?ref=jasontucker.blog) and some indicate it in their bios.) When posting on one’s own website, it is recommended to create a specific [bookmark](https://indieweb.org/bookmark?ref=jasontucker.blog) post or other specific [post type](https://indieweb.org/posts?ref=jasontucker.blog#Types%5Fof%5FPosts). > https://indieweb.org/like I can see this being used a bunch of ways, the last bit about bookmarks is interesting, Jan’s plugin has support for such Bookmark, Like, Reply and Repost in its Context block. I enabled Links in the plugin so we’ll give that a try as well. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/CleanShot-2022-11-22-at-12.43.41@2x-1024x453.png) I’m going to need to play around with these a bit and see how liking things out on the web end up working out for my website. I also need to work on h-card to see how that will work for me on my website (mine can be found in my footer of my website [jasontucker.blog](https://jasontucker.blog/)) #### What are you doing on your website to be more indieweb? ### Mastodon, indieweb and the fediverse URL: https://jasontucker.blog/mastodon-indieweb-and-the-fediverse/ Last updated: 2022-11-22T13:56:41.000Z *In reply to [https://jan.boddez.net/articles/what-indieblocks-does-and-why](https://jan.boddez.net/articles/what-indieblocks-does-and-why?ref=jasontucker.blog).* I’ve been working on building up my skills in our post Twitter life by trying to figure out the Indieweb. Many years back I met [Chris Aldrich](https://boffosocko.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) at WordCamp OC and we got to talking about this thing called Indieweb. At the time I was looking for a way to pull in the tweets of people that were mentioning [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) on Twitter and Facebook and somehow have those mentions show up as comments on the website. After talking with Chris that functionality was realized by incorporating [webmentions](https://indieweb.org/Webmention?ref=jasontucker.blog) on the site which made for a lot of comment content being added to the website. Our site didn’t get much comments in their native format so it was fun to be able to collect those social media comments on the site making it easier to see what folks were talking about and allowing our visitors to read and even reply to them as well. On my own website(s) I’m looking to write more content and share more of my experiences. I’m at a time in my life that documenting what is going on so I can recall things easier would be helpful, a place to publicly share my notes in hopes that it will help someone else. ## IndieBlocks After talking with Jan both on Mastodon and later taking that conversation in part to WPwatercooler [EP435 – WordPress Takes Flight: Community in a Post Twitter World](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep435-wordpress-takes-flight-community-in-a-post-twitter-world/?ref=jasontucker.blog) I’m finding that IndieBlocks may be the way to go since most of the indieweb plugins that are out there are lacking block editor compatibility and most of them state you need [classic editor](https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/?ref=jasontucker.blog) enabled which isn’t helpful if you are trying to move forward with the way in which WordPress is going with the block editor. Maybe some of these devs haven’t “learn javascript deeply” like Matt Mullenweg suggested and are still stuck in PHP land like many of the people like me are, sadly. ## Friends Plugin An intresting plugin came up in my Mastodon feed recently called [Friends](https://wordpress.org/plugins/friends/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which states that > With the Friends Plugin for WordPress you can now consume content your friends (or other blogs) create, and interact with your friends on their blogs with seamless authentication. > > As soon as you become friends, both of you get accounts on each other’s WordPresses that you can then use post comments or read private posts. You’ll use the account on your friend’s server just by clicking on their post on your own Friends page. > > You can also use the Friends plugin as a capable self-hosted feed reader. With added parser support through plugins you can subscribe to all sorts of content, also on other social networks, allowing you to see what your friends do across social network borders. > > https://wordpress.org/plugins/friends/ This sounds interesting but also sounds like most of the interaction with others happens in WordPress and with the use of bookmarks or bookmarklets. ## The rest of the fediverse I’ve been playing with a few other Fediverse solutions such as [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.social/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog) for sharing photos, [Peertube](https://joinpeertube.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) for sharing videos and [CastoPod](https://castopod.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) for podcast hosting. I’ll be exploring Castopod sooner than later because I’d love to have WPwatercooler podcast as native a possible to the Fediverse than it is now. ### Playing in the metaverse URL: https://jasontucker.blog/playing-in-the-metaverse/ Last updated: 2022-11-19T12:50:27.000Z Recently on WPwatercooler [EP436 – A New Dimension of WordPress](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep436-a-new-dimension-of-wordpress/?ref=jasontucker.blog) we had Anthony Burchell on the show to discuss with us the use of 3D in the WordPress block editor. I’ve been playing around with metaverse environments for the last few years with the Meta Quest 2 and found that this functionality to be quite awesome. With Anthony’s new plugin you can add the blog to your post and then upload some .glb files (I found a few over here on [Sketchfab](https://sketchfab.com/tags/glb?ref=jasontucker.blog)) and uploaded them to my medial library like you would any other file. From there I was able to place the Gutenberg block on the page and press the + sign to add the objects to the scene. I’m not good at this but I was able to add a sea with a container ship and I tried to add a ramp so you can get up on the ship. As we learned from Anthony you can also put your VR headset on and open the in device web browser and navigate to that url of the page you have build and press the Enter World button to go full screen and walk around the world. As he stated on the show the pro version will have some vidoe player functionality I’d love to mess with for WPwatercooler. [xpportal.io](https://xpportal.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Assets Library](https://3ov.xyz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) [Three Object Viewer – WordPress Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/three-object-viewer/?ref=jasontucker.blog) vr /content/images/2022/11/sea\_wave-\_deniz\_dalgas.glb 31 0 0 \-9.25 \-0.104 31 0 \-20 0 0 0 0 /content/images/2022/11/cargo\_ship-1.glb 77.93731423951769 107.16956664806044 77.93731423951769 \-0.47993001121844164 0.3740261672162908 \-0.04939702524099266 0 0.06278842552589488 0 1 /content/images/2022/11/ramp\_a.glb 0.7183736866053143 2.2134492537856953 1.9842725656948321 \-3.704252002538235 \-7.033601867637194 15.750235277525356 3.135390494763256 \-0.01428947860614292 \-3.0561046331314192 1 My Demo Text 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 #fff ### Streaming high school sports games for others to watch URL: https://jasontucker.blog/streaming-high-school-sports-games-for-others-to-watch/ Last updated: 2023-03-21T11:52:24.000Z Going to your kids sports games are hard, scheduling time around your day to go to them a well as dealing with the travel to get there in time. Some of these games happen at 2pm on a Wednesday, who can leave work to go it it? I try my best to go to every game my kid is in, she plays varsity water polo in high school and I want to see every one of her games if I can. I work close enough to the school she attends that I’m able to go over there and record some of her games and share the recordings with her teammates families. When I started doing this I realized I could just stream the video to YouTube and give the link to the families so they can watch in real time. Here is my journey of doing just that so if you want to provide this service to other parents in your kids team you can using these easy tools to make it happen. I hope that by writing this document that other parents can do this and share the link with parents that can’t make the game and can save someone from having to drive really far to see a game. It may also help out the coach so they can review “film” with the team. ## Camera I started with using my **iPhone Pro** and graduated to using and i**Pad Pro 11″**. It works the same on the iPhone Pro or iPad Pro just with a larger screen on the iPad. Remember, we’re recording horizontally so we can get the full play area in the shot. Vertical is for Stories on Instagram not sports videos. Some folks watch the stream on a TV using the YouTube app on it. Vertical wouldn’t have the full game play that horizontal would. #### Why the pro models? The ‌**iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max** include a three-lens camera system with a - 77mm six-element f/2.8 Telephoto lens (Zoom) - 26mm seven-element f/1.5 (Wide lens) - 13mm six-element f/1.8 (Ultra Wide lens). **iPad Pro** has a - 12 MP (wide) ƒ/1.8 - ƒ/2.4 (ultra wide) ### Which device should you use? As much as I like the iPad for the larger screen the iPhone Pro models have a zoom which is really good for water polo. The iPad Pro has 2 wide lenses which means when you set a custom zoom you are really doing digital zoom the the quality isn’t as good. ## Software You have a few options here either using **YouTube** or **Facebook** to stream the video live to that place or you can get fancy and use **CamScore** which includes the score and the names of the teams and all that. ### Live Stream to YouTube using the YouTube app YouTube has a few restrictions on who can stream to youtube so you are going to need to do some preplanning to make this happen. YouTube requires (at the time of writing of course) at least 50 subscribers and if you have under 1,000 subscribers you’ll have some restrictions in place. [Create a live stream on YouTube mobile](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9228390?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Live Streaming to Facebook using the facebook mobile app Facebook is much easier to stream to using one of their apps. [Facebook Live on your mobile device](https://www.facebook.com/formedia/tools/facebook-live) ## Using ScoreCam I use an app called ScoreCam for iPhone and iPad to stream the game to YouTube. ScoreCam isn’t free but the features it provides is quite worth it to me. What it does is gives you an interface that you can configure the teams playing what color they are (and with the branding package what their logo is as well if you want to be fancy) along with some specific sport things like shot clocks and time remaining and stuff if you want to go that far. All of that is a manual effort and in water polo would be quite frustrating to do while also following the ball and making sure the score is correct. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Interface-1024x473.jpg) **Along Top** – The interface is pretty simple, upper left is the zooms then across the top middle is the bluetooth, flip camera, duration of recording, access old recording and settings. The mic is for Mute. **Along the right side** is Start Stream, take a photo, record locally and stop stream. **Along the bottom** is the Team 1 score, Team 2 score and the quarter. ## Zoom ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Zoom.jpg) Before a game I spend some time configuring my zoom levels for each pool I go to. Every pool is different and every stadium seating is different too. Tapping on the settings cog on the top right you can scroll down in the settings menu to Camera Options. Here are the settings I used recently at a game. 1st Zoom Button I set for the widest I want the video to be. In water polo I want both goals to be in the frame. This is my zoom I reset to after a score or turnover occurs. Zoom Button 2 is my midway zoomed, in water polo I try and get a zoom setup that covers the line in the middle of the pool and the goal cage and can leave this at that zoom when the ball is in this area. 3rd Zoom Button I have setup for 5 meters so I get a nice zoomed in view of the game with the 5 meter line in view and the goal cage as well. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/water-polo-pool-dimensions.jpg) ## Scoreboard ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Pro-Scoreboard-1024x576.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Scoreboard-Style.jpg) My kid has only ever played Water Polo so the scoreboard I use depends on if I want to have the branded logo on the screen for each team or not. Since this is my kids last year playing for high school I splurged and got the **Branding + Livestream** for the year but the Streaming + Pro gets you the scoreboard I use to use and works just fine. The app comes with a bunch of scoreboard for various type of games. Water Polo is pretty simple if you don’t want to show the shot clock and the game clock and just want the 2 scores and the quarter they are in. When you are in the heat of the game the last thing you want to worry about is the clock being wrong or the kid operating the scoreboard that you are basing all your info on messed up and now you have to correct yourself as well. I can pick what I want to be accurate about and the 2 scores and the quarter are enough for me. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Scoreboard-Setup.jpg) The scoreboard on the screen has the 2 scores and the quarter on mine you can turn on and off different things depending on what you want displayed or not. In the settings menu look for Scoreboard section and a new screen appears with some settings. The handy things are the Reset Home and Away scores, flip teams & scores as well as flip teams scores and colors. This makes it easy once you know who home and away are. (in water polo home is always the dark color, away is always the lighter color) Once you know what is what you can setup the teams using the Team Names, Colors and more section. ### Working with the scores Back to the score interface, when the game is going on if you tap on the score it will increment the number by 1, swiping down on the score will decrement the number by 1\. Increasing and decreasing with ease is a nice way of being able to fix score if you or the kid in the booth messes up and you followed along with them. ## Recording Look, not everyone is nerdy, I get it but sometimes you just want to record your kids game, have an accurate score on the screen and maybe upload the videos to YouTube or something later. If you press the record button on the screen it will record, the duration on the top middle will go and when you press stop it will stop the recording. Boom, done. ## Streaming the game to YouTube or Facebook This doesnt require all that much to do but you go into Settings, tap Enable Live Streaming to enable it and then go into Live Streaming Setup. In here you can tap Selected Account then scroll down to Accounts Available and add a new YouTube stream account scroll down and set the quality. You can stream to YouTube, Twitch, Periscope (Twitter), Facebook or any place that does RTMP service. ## Streaming to 2 or more places at the same time This requires some technical dexterity but you can stream to more than 1 place at a time using a website like [restream.io](https://restream.io/join/pVPwy?ref=jasontucker.blog), Restream isn’t free but it does make it VERY simple to stream to more than 1 place at a time. Mainly you setup the destinations on there and then the title the video will stream using and any time you stream to Restream.io it will use those settings and the destinations you setup to stream to it. [Signup for Restream.io](https://restream.io/join/pVPwy?ref=jasontucker.blog) Restream provides 2 values you need, one is the RTMP url and the other is the stream key. With these 2 values put into the Other Services section of the CamScore app you configure ScoreCam to stream to [restream.io](https://restream.io/join/pVPwy?ref=jasontucker.blog) and it will then stream out to the destinations you setup. Some examples of destinations would be for instance your teams Facebook Page AND your personal Facebook account as well as the teams YouTube channel and your Twitch account. The combos are endless and its a great way to stream to more than 1 place at the same time. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-Large-1024x629.jpg) Destinations ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-Stream-Codes-1024x473.png) Collecting the RTML URL and Stream Key ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-IMG_1319-Large.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-IMG_1320-Large.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-IMG_1321-Large.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Restream-IMG_1318-Large.jpg) [Signup for Restream.io](https://restream.io/join/pVPwy?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Your First Game Look its your first game and you are going to suck at this. I did, my first game was me trying to figure out how all this works but once i got it working it was simple. **Here is my checklist and stuff I bring with me.** - Tripod (I use a [Promaster](https://www.amazon.com/Promaster-XC-M-525K-Professional-Tripod/dp/B07PXN7VC2/ref=sr%5F1%5F2?crid=1AQMTMQSQR76H&keywords=promaster+tripod+red&qid=1668370341&sprefix=promaster+tripod+red%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-2&ufe=app%5Fdo%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&ref=jasontucker.blog)) - iPad or iPhone holder for Tripod (I use – [iPad](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BDHQ7R5/ref=ppx%5Fyo%5Fdt%5Fb%5Fsearch%5Fasin%5Ftitle?ie=UTF8&psc=1&ref=jasontucker.blog) Pro and [iPhone](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TGQDZPV/ref=ppx%5Fyo%5Fdt%5Fb%5Fsearch%5Fasin%5Ftitle?ie=UTF8&psc=1&ref=jasontucker.blog)) - External Battery and long wire for charging **Because I’m extra** - Microphone (I use [this one](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GQDORA4/ref=ppx%5Fyo%5Fdt%5Fb%5Fsearch%5Fasin%5Ftitle?ie=UTF8&psc=1&ref=jasontucker.blog)) - Mic charger splitter (I use [this one](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KJB2PJZ/ref=ppx%5Fyo%5Fdt%5Fb%5Fsearch%5Fasin%5Ftitle?ie=UTF8&psc=1&ref=jasontucker.blog)) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/My-Setup-570x1013.jpg) ## Where to sit I find a location that will allow me to see both goals without the ref being in the way. There are usually 2 refs in waterpolo on either side of the pool and they walk the entire pool and usually stop at the 5 meter line so make sure your view of the cage isn’t at the edge of the pool of the 5 meter line. That means don’t sit dead on the center of the pool you most likely will be blocked by the ref when they are at the 5 meter line. Sadly they don’t make invisible refs just yet. Just ones wearing white clothing that love to be in the way of my camera. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/water-polo-pool-dimensions.jpg) ## Watching Live ### Permanent Live URL First things first, when you are live streaming to YouTube you can before the game send out a link for people to watch your live stream. Ask the coach to send it out or do what I did and at the beginning of the season hand out cards with your URL and QRcode on it for people to scan and subscribe to your channel. Did you know all YouTube accounts have a live url people can watch any live stream from without knowing the exact video url? It’s your reuseable live URL. Mine is: [https://www.youtube.com/abstrakone/**live**](https://www.youtube.com/abstrakone/live?ref=jasontucker.blog) Just add /live to the end of your channel url and anytime someone goes there it will show the live video from the account. ### Live Embed Code This one is great if you have a website you are sending people to and you want to offer a live embed on your site for them to watch from your website. This code is reusable so you don’t have to update it for each game. 1. Get the *Channel ID* from [https://www.youtube.com/account\_advanced](https://www.youtube.com/account%5Fadvanced?ref=jasontucker.blog). Not the User ID! 2. Change this code to use the Channel ID (12345 in this example): ``` ``` 1. Put this code on your website ## Highlights ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/Highlights.jpg) Now that you have the stream setup and know some of the basic innerworkings of the app lets talk about Highlights! Highlights are my secret weapon when recording games. I collect highlights a few times during the game - Any time the ball is shot at the cage for either team - Who won the sprint at the beginning of each quarter - When the ref does something questionable - When the team throws the coach in the pool at the end of your CIF championship Highlights are configured in the settings area and you can also setup how to trigger a highlight. I have it setup for 2 button tapped on the screen will mark a highlight. At the end of the recording it will save all the highlights into separate videos that you can do with later. You can specify the amount of time the highlight will be for and if it has audio or not. You can also name the photo album the videos will be saved into which if you wanted can be a different name per game. After then thing you want highlighted occurs in the game tap the screen with 2 fingers and it will tell you it marked a highlight. ## How to make a highlight reel per game ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/11/VideoLeap.jpg) Now we’re getting into video editing with a bunch of 4 second clips for each of the highlights that happened next you want to string all those highlights into a video on your phone. Easy, I do this each game and I have a highlight video done before I even leave the spectator benches, here is how. I use an app called [Video Leap](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1255135442?ref=jasontucker.blog), now there is a bunch video apps out there but this one seems to be the fastest and what I want done. 1. Open Video Leap and create a new video from there 2. Press the + sign to add videos and tap all of the highlights you just selected and tap Add to Project 3. Make any changes you want on there 4. Press Export under export setting select the same value you selected for your videos you set in ScoreCam, most likely 1080p 30fps and then press Save. 5. You can then open YouTube and upload the video from there. I title mine ***\*Shot Highlights\* Team 1 vs Team 2 – Location*** ## Some things to think about Sports are competitive and many times the coach doesn’t want their “game film” to be readily available for anyone to see, I get that. I made a deal with our coach that if I set my videos to “Unlisted” that he would share the videos out to the players and their families. Be sure to talk to your coach before recording and making the videos available, respect the team and their efforts and once your done uploading to YouTube set the videos to Unlisted so the families can access the video using the URL but wont be able to search for them on YouTube directly. ## Video Distribution after the game When the game finishes and I’ve quickly made the highlight reel and titled it as such I send the YouTube video urls (full game and highlights) to the coach and team mom / booster president and any team families that ask me to send it to them and I text everyone the 2 urls to youtube letting them know they can send them to anyone they want. The idea is to not put them out publicly to for rival coaches to find and analyze. I do make the previous years of videos available on my YouTube but the current year I keep them unlisted. I also make playlists that I also make unlisted so parents can see all the games they missed. [Check out my YouTube videos over on my personal account.](https://www.youtube.com/abstrakone?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Costs Facebook – Free but limited to just Facebook, no embedded scores YouTube – Free but limited to just YouTube, no embedded scores ### Stream to multiple places Restream – $0, **$16** or $41 month. I use the $16/mo package Signup for Restream.io Using CamScore, I use the $58.99 a year package [Download CamScore](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scorecam-embedded-scoreboard/id862175401?ref=jasontucker.blog) - Live Stream + Pro (1 Month) $9.99 - Live Stream + Pro (1 Year) $33.99 - Branding + Live Stream (1 Mo) $18.49 - **Branding + Live Stream (1 Yr) $58.99** ## Did this info help you? Buy me a coffee! I don’t make any money off of any of this and do this purely for the love of the kids and families that enjoy my work. If you enjoyed my work over the years or get some use out of this info buy me a coffee using the link below. [![Buy Me A Coffee](https://cdn.buymeacoffee.com/buttons/v2/default-yellow.png)](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Some tips on taking photos of your kids before school dances URL: https://jasontucker.blog/some-tips-on-taking-photos-of-your-kids-before-school-dances/ Last updated: 2022-10-23T15:17:50.000Z I will say if you have the ability to take a photo of your kids and their friends before a school dance, do so. Even if your have an ounce of skill in photography you are the better one to take photos of your kids and their friends than anyone else. Over the last 4 years of high school with my kid we’ve taking pics of them and their friends every year. Be the one with the good camera or the best smartphone in the group and get the shots your kids deserve. Look, I watched some parents yesterday at the park try and take pictures of their kids in homecoming gowns and having all sorts of issues. Here is some tips from an amateur parent photographer that loves taking pictures of his kid. ## Let them know your intentions Talk to the other parents and let them know your intentions, you will send them all the photos and you will spend some time editing them. Let the kids you are taking photos of that you’ll send them some quick ones right after so they can post them on social media. ### Steal from others, search the hashtags Search the #hashtag that people are using for the event, homecoming (hoco), prom, sadies etc.. and do some research on basic composition and ways to put the people either in a line or in groups or doing something silly like picking one of them up. Fun poses make the photos way more enjoyable to do and are great to look at. Take a moment and ask your kid and their friends what they want, they may have some good ideas too. You can always delete a photo you don’t like but you can’t create one you never took! [https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hoco2022/](https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hoco2022/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Location, location, location Find locations that has interesting backgrounds and contrast with your subjects dresses and clothing. I’m no expert but I’ve spent an hour doing some research. Just make sure the background has the light behind you so your subjects are well lit. Get some space behind them so you can get some bokeh (blurred background) ## Take horizontal and vertical photos People love posting photos everywhere, stories like vertical photos and Photos that are horizontal are great for social media posts. Make sure you get them both. ## Ask for them to look at you Remember that intentions thing I mentioned above? This is where it will help you out. It’s going to get chaotic if everyone is taking pictures at the same time. Find a moment and ask for everyone to look just at you that way all eyes are on you and you get a photo that looks like you put some time into getting. When kids are looking everywhere it looks weird. Burst mode is your friend here. Burst on you “big camera” and on your smartphone. Everyone blinks at different times and sometimes they see something in the background that catches their eye. ## Take out the “big camera” Take pictures on your “big camera” as well as your smartphone. I also hit record when they are getting together and setting up so I have some fun videos of them doing this. ## “It’s too dark!” I kept hearing “your face is so dark in this one” from other parents. Yeah, don’t take photos so late in the day when it’s overcast and don’t do it in the shadows. It rained a bit after we finished our photos and I would have loved to had these kids out earlier when we had better light. Also all these parents had their kids backs to the sun. That’s not going to light their faces up. Shoot with the sun behind you so the sun is on their faces > [10 Tips For Taking Amazing iPhone Photos In The Sun](https://iphonephotographyschool.com/sun/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Take photos that can live beyond friendships and relationships Take many combinations of people in the photos. You don’t want your kid to hate a photo because their dumb ex is in the photo years later. Combos and solo shots will make these photos last longer. Let’s expand on this a bit more… ## Be an informed photographer, be an ally Ask your kid who is dating (openly or secretly), are together, hating one another and don’t want to be photographed together. A lot of combos of these kids in photos allows for some of these kids that may have a relationship their parents don’t know about to have a photo together with their partner. This allows for not outing someone or making things awkward. I’ve watched many interviews of kids wishing they had a photo with a special someone no one in their family knew they had. Times are different, be that awesome parent your kids wants you to be. ## Don’t impose beauty standards Whatever you do don’t use Facetune on your kids photos. Forcing a photos of your kid to look different than they normally look isn’t something you should be doing, that’s just reinforcing beauty standards your kid or the friends may not have. ## Basic editing and Airdrop, it’s the thing to do. Be awesome and airdrop a few photos to your kid and their friends before they head out, this was part of that commitment you did to them when you were talking about your intensions. I take my SD card out of my camera and into a USB-C reader for my iPad, I use this one [Anker SD Card Reader, 2-in-1 USB C Memory Card Reader](https://a.co/d/7Tjuq1d?ref=jasontucker.blog). Do some basic edits of 1 group shot and one or two solo shots of each kid, use a vignette (making the corner darker) on the solo shots so it adds some mood to the photo. People like some polish and it only takes a sec to add it on the iPhone in the photos app (see animation) Lets setup **Airdrop** \-Have everyone turn on wifi, bluetooth and enable airdrop make sure they have “for everyone” set if you don’t have them as a contact. Then in the list tap each phone listed that you recognize so they get a copy of the photos. Once this is done make sure to have the friends put their setting back to what the had, no one wants a random dick pic sent to them from a crowd. Now the kids can post these select photos on social media and you are part way there. Airdrop is so much faster than texting them to each person, cell service and other factors get in the way. [How to Airdrop on an iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204144?ref=jasontucker.blog) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/10/vingette.gif) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/10/luminar-2-1024x574.jpg) ## Photos are taken but your job isn’t done. Once you get home do some quick editing of your photos, I use this app called Luminar on my mac and it’s amazing. I suck at editing but this helps quite a bit using some AI to make it happen [https://skylum.com/luminar](https://skylum.com/luminar?ref=jasontucker.blog) This photo editing favorite has some recent controversy but whatever, this software is pretty awesome [https://petapixel.com/2021/09/16/launch-of-skylum-luminar-neo-confuses-and-frustrates-customers/](https://petapixel.com/2021/09/16/launch-of-skylum-luminar-neo-confuses-and-frustrates-customers/?ref=jasontucker.blog) . If you are a setapp customer [https://setapp.com/apps/luminar](https://setapp.com/apps/luminar?ref=jasontucker.blog) this app is part of the collection of apps that come with it. ## Distribution Use Google Photos or Apple Photos and make a shared album. Put all the edited photos in there so they are in one place. I made the album “public” and shared the link with my kid so she could sent it to her friends we photographed and they can download the edited photos. - [Share your photos with Apple Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202786?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Share your photos with Google Photos](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6131416?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&ref=jasontucker.blog#zippy=%2Ccreate-a-shared-album) ## Don’t post photos on social media without consent Here’s the deal, all these kids aren’t yours and if your kid is like mine and close to being an adult, ask for consent. Not everyone is like you and have the most perfect relationship with the world. Some kids may be hiding from a bad parent or relationship and don’t want their photos on the internet. You don’t know everyone’s life story. Ask your kid “Can I post **this** photo to social media?” Ask the friends if you can post **that** group shot. I’m no lawyer I’m just saying, ask. On the iPhone there is an app called [MaskerAid](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/maskeraid/id1590163828?ref=jasontucker.blog) that can quickly add emoji’s to a photos of your kids friends so you can still post the photo but hide their faces. It’s a compromise but it’s better than nothing. Remember, don’t be a dick and do something your kid doesn’t want you to do. ### How to delete a certificate restored from an iPhone or iPad backup when switching MDM? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-to-delete-a-certificate-restored-from-an-iphone-or-ipad-backup-when-switching-mdm/ Last updated: 2022-09-08T09:43:47.000Z I’m working on migrating my office from **[JAMF Now](https://www.jamf.com/products/jamf-now/?ref=jasontucker.blog)** to **[Mosyle](https://mosyle.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog)** since Mosyle provides so much more for a cheaper price tag. Ive never used Mosyle before so I thought I’d start by asking their support after poking around in their new to me interface. ## Submitting a ticket I submitted a ticket to Mosyle Support asking how to do a migration: > Can you point me in the right direction on how to go about migrating from Jamf Now to Mosyle? I have a few blueprints in Jamf Now that I would like to migrate over, is there a good way to do that? These are mainly for iPads with a new Macs as well. > > \-Me > You would need to recreate your profiles and workflows in Mosyle and then erase and re-enroll your iPads to move them from another MDM. The Macs have a way of enrollment that doesn’t require a wipe. > > \-Support ## About my iPad Pro My iPad Pro is a 3rd generation 11-inch that is part of our Apple business DEP so the device is bound to our organization’s account and forces an MDM on the device if assigned. This device is being backed up to my personal iCloud account which made for things to be a bit toublesom. I opened Mosyle and Jamf Now and one by one rebuilt the profile. Mind you this is my IT Dept profile that has very little locking it down but enough that makes the iPad secure and easy for me to use. ## Switching MDMs in Apple Business So I went to [business.apple.com](http://business.apple.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and changed the MDM for the iPad to **Mosyle** and did a restore on the iPad. Switching an iPad from one MDM to another 1. Click on Devices on the left sidebar 2. At the top of the second left pane use the search box to search for the iPad name or serial number 3. On the right pane click on Edit MDM Server and select the first radio button to **Assign to the following MDM:** and select the new MDM Switching the default MDM for iPad Just to be 100% certain that the iPad would land on the correct MDM I changed the default MDM for iPads to be Mosyle. - Bottom of the first pane click on your name and then Preferences - On the second left pain click on MDM Server Assignment - Then on the right pane click on Edit next to Default MDM Assignment - Change the assignment for iPad to be the MDM you want it to use. ## What about iCloud Backups? Mind you, I’m currently running iPadOS 16.0 Beta and found that when I restored from iCloud backup it brought the profile from the **Jamf Now** MDM with it. Annoyed I looked into how to remove the **Jamf Now** Profile and found this post from a few years back. [https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/310041](https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/310041?ref=jasontucker.blog) > I found a certificate in my iOS device’s Certificate Trust Settings. And it was not be found in Profiles. Finally I remove it by add the cert file again, and then I can found and remove it in Profiles. > > At first, I can’t found the cert file, because this CA was installed years ago. So I did these things: > > 1. Backup iPhone to Mac, View backup file by some software (I used iMazing) > 2. Find TrustStore.sqlite3 in Backup/KeychainDomain/ and export it to HOME DIR. > 3. Use this project [https://github.com/ADVTOOLS/ADVTrustStore](https://github.com/ADVTOOLS/ADVTrustStore?ref=jasontucker.blog) to export certfile`./iosCertTrustManager.py -t ~/TrustStore.sqlite3 -e ~/foo.crt` > 4. Airdrop or Email this crt file to iOS device, and install it. > 5. Find it in Settings > General > Profiles and Remove it. > 6. It disappear in “Certificate Trust Settings” ## Wait… you can edit the backup? I read step 1 and the rest didn’t help me any so I went ahead and followed step 1 to removed the file from the backup. Reading this I thought it would be a good idea to try and do a backup to my mac and then use **[iMazing](https://imazing.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog)** (a way more user-friendly **[Configurator 2](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/apple-configurator-2/id1037126344?ref=jasontucker.blog)**) to make a local backup on the mac so I can remove the problem profiles. I restored the iPad from local backup using iMazing’s restore feature and I was good to go. ## End result Once the restore was complete my iPad wasn’t on the old MDM any more and is now on **Mosyle** AND my setup were restored. So far this works on my iPad, let’s see what to does for a few of the others that my staff have. My work has various utility iPads that we use for having our guests check in and get information from the iPads we have on campus. I don’t think I’ll need to do this backup and restore thing much since most of them will be wiped and setup using profiles defined in the MDM will be used. ### The problem with WordPress blocks, full site editing and custom fields plugins URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-problem-with-wordpress-blocks-full-site-editing-and-custom-fields-plugins/ Last updated: 2022-01-26T14:27:21.000Z In this post I want to share with you some of my thoughts regarding WordPress blocks custom fields plugins and the recently release full site editor in [WordPress 5.9 Josephine](https://wordpress.org/news/2022/01/josephine/?ref=jasontucker.blog). For the last three years I’ve been using **Beaver Builder** as my page builder of choice and have been using the **Themer** functionality in Beaver Builder to allow me to use custom fields generated from Advanced Custom Fields Pro to display post custom field metadata on posts I have written and website layouts I’ve created. Beaver builder has this functionality called *[field connections](https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-themer/field-connections/connections-to-acf/connect-to-acf-fields-themer/?ref=jasontucker.blog)* which allow you to grab content from custom fields and use them in the modules that beaver builder has. Think of a module much like a block and the block editor. In these modules in many places there is a plus icon next to the input field allowing for the person editing the page or page template a way for them to take a ACF field and display it on the page or use it in the module as a form of input. [Connect to ACF Fields in Beaver Builder](https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-themer/field-connections/connections-to-acf/connect-to-acf-fields-themer/?ref=jasontucker.blog) https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-themer/field-connections/connections-to-acf/connect-to-acf-fields-themer/ ## Connecting Fields in Beaver Builder and ACF . let’s say you have an HTML module that you’re going to display text with and you have collected some text and a custom field and you want to display it on the page you would add a HTML module to the page and then click the + allowing you to select from one of the advanced custom fields and connect that field to that HTML module. Now whatever content you have in that field will be displayed in that location as an HTML module. It’s crazy simple and “just works” ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/connect-to-acf-fields-themer-c6f02dd8-542c379860911c6d0e051de406eb22ce.png) HTML Fields in Beaver Builder connecting to a ACF Post Field to display it’s contents. This also works with images, so if you had a custom post type filled with cars and an ACF field collecting an image of the left side of the car and wanted to display it on the page you could just add the Photo module to the page, click the + next to the image and then select the Field Type as Image and the field name as “car\_left\_side” and boom! You have the image of the left side of the car. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/connect-to-acf-fields-themer-1bb30ed9-8882f92eb9539f52d3cdb7180087e621.png) ## Why did this work for Beaver Builder? Since the developers of Beaver Builder built this into Themer (their premium site builder addon to Beaver Builder) it was made available to any developers that made Beaver Builder addons. The developers of [Power Pack](https://wpbeaveraddons.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Ultimate Addons](https://www.ultimatebeaver.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [CM Custom Modules](https://www.cbcustommodules.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), and more all had this functionality at their disposal. Any time one of the supported fields was used in their modules you could just click the plus sign and select the ACF field and super charge their module with dynamic data. ## What about Divi? I’m not a Divi user and I never checked to see if they had this functionality and sure enough, they do! [The Essential Guide to WordPress Custom Fields](https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/wordpress/wordpress-custom-fields?ref=jasontucker.blog) they too had the functionality of selecting a Divi Module and putting it on the page then clicking on the [Dynamic Content](https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/theme-releases/dynamic-content-for-divi-is-available-now?ref=jasontucker.blog) feature to adding custom fields to the page. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/009-Custom-Fields.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/015-Custom-Fields.jpg) ## What I’m experiencing now with Full Site Editor I know this is early times with Full Site editor but wow do I miss the ability to quickly add a module and connecting it to a field in ACF. For instance a video module on a “single” page for one of my podcast custom post types and then instead of typing in a url of the youtube video I would just click the + next to the YouTube url field in the module and select the **youtube\_url** ACF field and like magic I just connected the collected url I specified in the post with the video model on the page. Now every entry that has that **youtube\_url** field in the post will display the video… like magic. So what can we do now currently with Full Site Editor? Since core doesn’t offer this functionality to the block devs these devs have had to go off on their own and come up with ways to do this. So far in my limited research I have found: **Kadence Blocks** works with Toolset Types Plugin to enable *Dynamic Sources* to pull in custom fields data. What’s really weird is this functionally isn’t found on their website or documentation. I searched it (you can too) [https://www.kadencewp.com/?s=Dynamic%20Sources](https://www.kadencewp.com/?s=Dynamic%20Sources&ref=jasontucker.blog) or [https://www.kadencewp.com/?s=Dynamic%20Content](https://www.kadencewp.com/?s=Dynamic%20Content&ref=jasontucker.blog) **Stackable** also supports custom fields but this time by ACF, they support “simple text & number type fields” and “displaying them as text blocks”. Stackable has a decent amount of blocks but they dont have a video player on page, only a popup version for some reason. [https://docs.wpstackable.com/article/365-using-acf-fields-in-blocks](https://docs.wpstackable.com/article/365-using-acf-fields-in-blocks?ref=jasontucker.blog) they also support Toolset as well [https://docs.wpstackable.com/article/366-dynamic-sources-with-toolset-integration](https://docs.wpstackable.com/article/366-dynamic-sources-with-toolset-integration?ref=jasontucker.blog) **ACF Pro** – Build your own blocks with ACF Pro. With a few lines of code you can build your own blocks with ACF Pro which is great if you want to get into the block building business but for the zillion blocks that exist you can’t use ACF fields directly in these blocks. Here is how to build a block with ACF Pro. [https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/blocks/](https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/resources/blocks/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but you need to made your own blocks and reinvent a wheel that has already been created. ## Is there a middle ground? Can someone swoop in and make the connector that will connect an existing block in the marketplace with custom fields? I don’t think so but I didn’t learn Javascript deeply like Matt told us to. Thats ok. My approach to FSE and the block editor is from a VERY informed users point of view. ## What would I like to see happen Honestly I’m so new to this Gutenberg block editor and full site editing I’m not sure. What I’d love to see happen is the the replicated method of using custom fields just like Beaver Builder and Div does. Wow that would be great. I really think in order for that to happen this needs to happen in core so the block devs don’t have to worry about it as much. It looks like folks like **Kadence** and **Stackable** and others I haven’t discovered yet are having to do it for their limited collection of blocks but it doesn’t help any of the existing blocks. As I mentioned in my previous post about[ WordPress 5.9 Testing before release](https://jasontucker.blog/13921/wordpress-5-9-testing-before-release) I really think that WordPress core has a lot to learn from the existing solutions in this space. I’d love to hear your take on this, leave a comment below or comment on the social media posts that you found this post on. Until next time, enjoy your full site editing. https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1486134212348375041?s=20 You can watch out episode of WPwatercooler for our take on WordPress 5.9 ### WordPress 5.9 - Testing before release URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wordpress-5-9-testing-before-release/ Last updated: 2022-01-25T16:49:18.000Z It’s a day before release and I wrote a twitter thread this week brain dumping some of the ideas I have for 5.9, the future of WordPress and it’s compatibility with my history with the software. WordPress the software has been an interesting journey for me, I’ve been using it very early on and before that, moveable type. The interesting part of it is its evolution and how things have been added, removed, added and changed. Here is that thread, posted the week of my 44th birthday. [https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485417570966458370](https://mobile.twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485417570966458370?ref=jasontucker.blog) Turned 44 yesterday. Played with WordPress 5.9 and it’s full site editor. I am honestly still not a fan of this. I’ve been building websites since 1994 and only until recently am I now finding that the tools have very specific expectations for the user. 淋 ## Having a history with software, coping with **change** I feel like the software has evolved to a point where it’s expecting you to totally forget just about everything that you’ve learned and learnt an entirely new method of interacting with it. Yesterday I found out that managing the menus is now only in the FSE, not the dashboard. https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485437772919803908?s=20 This makes me feel like all of the various ways that used to exist for managing things in [#wordpress](https://twitter.com/hashtag/wordpress?ref=jasontucker.blog) has now been whittled down to just one specific place. I never really embraced the customizer and even that is gone. I feel like these new changes have taken the content management system to more of a content managed by design. I’m curious how much of the dashboard will exist in five years. ## Plugins with blocks or a **directory** for blocks? This tweet got me thinking a lot about that. You have all of these plug-ins that are collections of blocks when you only need one specific block from this collection. You end up with 100 plug-ins with duplicate blocks for only the specific locks that you needed > If every block installed from the block directory is a plugin a click-happy user might have 100 plugins? > > Why not a separate place for blocks instead? > > Mentally, it seems overwhelming to manage 100 tiny blocks as plugins next to WooCommerce. > > Thoughts? [@nickmdiego](https://twitter.com/nickmdiego?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) [@bph](https://twitter.com/bph?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) > > — Lesley 🍕 (@lesley\_pizza) [January 23, 2022](https://twitter.com/lesley%5Fpizza/status/1485042252686983168?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) The thing is that the Block editor presents new blocks that you can install if you’re missing a specific one that you’re looking for. ## Block pitched to the user, the plugin collection **begins** This leads me to think that a lot of plugins are going to get installed for each of these blocks pitched to the user. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/Screen-Shot-2022-01-24-at-11.49.34-AM.png) In preparing for an upcoming episode of our 9 year running show [@WPwatercooler](https://twitter.com/WPwatercooler?ref=jasontucker.blog) I wanted to take the time and try to build a website for myself using my existing content ([jasontucker.blog](https://jasontucker.blog/), this blog right here you are reading now!) I ended up getting JavaScript errors and errors with existing blocks not being edible. The entire exercise got me thinking that it must be the content on my side that’s breaking things. Since “I know what I’m doing” I extracted all of my content and media and imported it into a freshly installed site. I still ended up with weird broken functionality. --- ## Hiding confusing functionality from your clients or your most important client, your Mom I’ve been thinking would I set up a website for my Mom using WordPress and this new full site editor. How much functionality would I have to hide from her so she doesn’t break the entire website. Just got me thinking a lot about people that have clients but they’re building websites for and how much air they are going to have to pay for it in with you collect same thing. The only differences you don’t have Christmas dinner with your client. --- ## Class field hidden in advanced section of a block I started thinking about how designers are going to have to customize a lot of CSS to take care of the blocks that their customer may end up using. We have always talked about how functionality shouldn’t be part of the theme it gets me thinking about how much functionality is going to be in these blocks tied into these WordPress plugins and how much design is also going to be baked into these blocks. So far the block editor leaves a lot to be desired in terms of design tweaks such as margins and padding around blocks and groups. So far the sort of thing is being decided for you or are requiring you to add in a CSS class so that you can make those changes in CSS. I think the problem with that is you are expecting the next person to edit the site to realize that there is a CSS class associated with the block. It isn’t very obvious when adding a block that a previous one has a class associated with it. I’d say this isn’t very muggle friendly if you are a WordPress Wizard setting this up for a muggle. --- ## Learning from established systems, borrowing their successful methods I think for full site editor to really be able to compete against the likes of Elementor Divi and Beaver Builder Who are all quite mature at this point, WordPress is going to have to add this functionality soon to keep up. Margins and padding being one of them. Here is how Beaver Builder deals with that [https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-builder/layouts/margins-padding/margin-padding/](https://docs.wpbeaverbuilder.com/beaver-builder/layouts/margins-padding/margin-padding/?ref=jasontucker.blog) not to mention dealing with mobile and tablet values for these sorts of things. I think Beaver Builder does it well in that regard. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2022/01/rows-columns-change-margin-padding-8c66d1d45b21dd71e1509276b577247a.png) --- ## Visual Editors vs Block Editor This brings me to the difference between visual editors like the ones mentioned earlier and the block editor. Visual editors provided API‘s for plug-in authors to tap into allowing for additional design values to be added to a page. The developers of full site editor may have added this functionality for developers to use but we haven’t seen much to solve these design problems. Maybe FSE has been too much of a moving target to nail down the sort of functionality? Devs are waiting for the technology to settle before adding functionality on top of it. I know that [Ultimate Addons for Gutenberg](https://ultimategutenberg.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) are doing some amazing work so far. I use their [Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder](https://www.ultimatebeaver.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) modules on WPwatercooler.com with much success. On a recent episode of our show we discussed if there is much of a future for WordPress themes and if full site editing will leave us with just a default theme as a blank canvas. It looks like theme.json is how these styles can be conveyed – [Updates for Settings, Styles, and theme.json](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/01/08/updates-for-settings-styles-and-theme-json/?ref=jasontucker.blog). --- ## WordPress 6.0? That’s soon isn’t it? I think the real question is will 6.0 be the place where we will really see everything change? Are you expecting a monumental shift with 6.0 in the future? https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485424793117622272?s=20 Are you finding all of the design features you need from FSE currently? https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485425017118547974?s=20 If you could steal a feature from an existing mature visual editor to add into Full Site Editor what would it be? https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485425611124264963?s=20 This twitter thread was written while walking my dog, listening to podcasts and thinking about WordPress, its version 5.9 and where we are headed. This has been a brain dump from Jason and his dog Lincoln on a walk around the block during sunset. 邏   \* The English language was most likely harmed during the making of this 淋. Tweets were dictated to Siri. *Originally tweeted by Jason Tucker ‍ ([@jasontucker](https://twitter.com/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog)) on [January 24, 2022](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1485417570966458370?ref=jasontucker.blog).* ### Should we replace Facebook with our personal websites? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/should-we-replace-facebook-with-our-personal-websites/ Last updated: 2020-01-13T14:08:12.000Z In the era of social media should we look to take back our voice from the monetized networks of social network and go back to the roots of the internet with personal websites? ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/12/digging-guy.gif) Under construction digging guy My website journey began building websites in HTML, tables and inline styles. The days of tags and knowing how to craft table tags, colspan. Back when we used **** for bold and we didn’t ** anything just *italics*. Nerdy stuff like cgi-bin, perl script forms, java to make logos spin and everything was under construction for some reason. ### Building websites and content management systems ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/12/51TZPv08TqL.jpg) Later I learned about templating systems replacing what I used with shtml files and server-side includes. Going into using PHP to build websites and then using systems like [Smarty](https://www.smarty.net/?ref=jasontucker.blog) with PHP to take care of templating. Dipping my toes in to [Moveabletype](https://www.movabletype.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and then [Mambo](http://mambo-foundation.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Joomla](https://www.joomla.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Drupal](https://www.drupal.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [WordPress](https://wordpress.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog). In the end, WordPress won me over but I found before that my content resided in [LiveJournal](https://www.livejournal.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [MySpace](https://myspace.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), places that I didn’t have any control over. ### Why were networks important back then? Content post you put there were looked at by other LiveJournalers and your MySpace Top 8\. We found ourselves writing content not just for ourselves but for others to consume and then comment on. We made in real life social plans with one another based on what we were writing on LiveJournal and MySpace and found that it was the connection between the real world and the “cyber” that made it special. You would write a post and people commented, threads of comments would happen and full conversations would result around your post. Wait… this doesn’t sound different from what it is now. Here is the thing, back then you knew all these people personally and it wasn’t a number game.. until it was. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/12/facebook-emotions.gif) ### The rise of Facebook Moving forward in time when Facebook was opening to the rest of the world, not just folks that had .edu email addresses. We began posting our content on Facebook and leaving the places like LiveJournal and the new defunct / resold and pivoted MySpace to only posting our content on Facebook. No one was worried about how the content was algorithmically analyzed and packaged up for advertisers to purchase and hold ads against. We crafted lengthy posts like we did on LJ and shared links to funny memes and videos. Mark Zuckerberg would write his posts using the [“Notes” feature in Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-blueprint-for-content-governance-and-enforcement/10156443129621634/) crafting nice looking posts with paragraphs and inline images. No one but him really used this feature but it looked like what places like Medium, LinkedIn and the like had with block editor formatted posts which later WordPress would adopt this method for it’s [Gutenberg Block Editor](https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) system replacing [TinyMCE](https://codex.wordpress.org/TinyMCE?ref=jasontucker.blog) the default editor for WordPress. https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-blueprint-for-content-governance-and-enforcement/10156443129621634/ Posts were written on Facebook and these items were either ignored, shared, liked or commented on or a combination of them. Slowly our moms would begin using Facebook. They would use the like button to denote that they read the post feeling that they didn’t have anything to comment on but wanted to make sure you knew she read it. These posts were shared around the network people would comment on them. It was a simpler time but Facebook got greedy wanting more data outside of it’s walls. ### Facebook Like button and comment box Later Facebook came out with the [Like button](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/like-button/?ref=jasontucker.blog) allowing anyone to place a like button outside of the confines of Facebook yet keeping record of the number of likes a post would get. We’d later find out that Facebook was using this to draw in data outside of their system for [analytical purposes](https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-like-button-draws-privacy-scrutiny/?ref=jasontucker.blog). Slowly people ditched the native like button to using Facebook[ share buttons on their websites](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/share-button/?ref=jasontucker.blog). To combat this Facebook came out with a comment system much like the Like system allowing you the website owner to have a Facebook comment box on your website replacing your native comment box. People that had Facebook accounts could comment using these boxes and people that didn’t wouldn’t leave a comment. Think of it as a blue velvet rope – “No Facebook account, no commenting” said the bouncer named Zuck. This comment box again allowed Facebook to tap into your analytics knowing how many people were visiting your website and how popular your fancy cat blog really was. It also tied this comment box into the native comment box on your Facebook page for your website. Later Facebook Pixels and other such things made sure Facebook knew what was going on around the web if your reader completed a transaction and if your ads you ran on Facebook were performing well. ### Facebook Authentication Facebook is always looking for ways to track engagement outside of their network also allowed site owners the ability to using their authentication system to login to your own website using your Facebook login. If you didn’t want to us the like button or the comment box they provided you could resort to using the login system so your commenters could log in to your website to leave a comment. This Facebook login method also allowed account creation to happen to allow you the site owner to collect the data you needed to create a login for the reader and the reader could have a streamlined process to create an account and login to your website. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/12/facebook-login.png) As you can see Facebook want to be a part of your websites life but does it need to be? I want to explore with you reader how we can take back control of their content and what price needs to be paid for “rolling your own”. ### What do we get out of Facebook? We get a lot of using Facebook when we agree to their terms of service. Here is a list of the common things we get: - Eyeballs – From our friends to parents and our cow0rkers everyone on the network can see your posts depending on the security level you set of them. More on that in a bit. - Rich content – You can include an image, animated gif or even a video with your content to get your point across. - Live streaming – That rich content can be taken a step further with live streaming straight to the platform. With [Facebook Live](https://live.fb.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), your follower will be notified that you are streaming live and if they want they can watch it. News, sporting events, concerts, places of worship etc are all using it for Business use. A stay at home mom selling Doterra can host a party to sell her products on Facebook or someone like me can make [Pancakes with my daughter live on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/jasongtucker/videos/10153497037732807/). - Open Graph – When you share a post outside of the Facebook ecosystem if a website was build in a way that uses Open Graph it will provide Facebook with a title, description, and metadata such as an image to be displayed with that link. [Open Graph ](https://www.optimizesmart.com/how-to-use-open-graph-protocol/?ref=jasontucker.blog)is important for content to be shared properly on Facebook which means [web developers](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/opengraph/?ref=jasontucker.blog) need to be mindful of this and [website owners](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/?ref=jasontucker.blog) need to provide the data with their content on their website so Facebook can utilize it. - “Privacy” Options – As we all know nothing on social network is private but you can set privacy options for each post you make on Facebook. You can limit these posts and how they are exposed to people, locations, groups of people and list of people you have created. You can also exclude people from seeing posts too. This makes setting up a surprise birthday easy and you can exclude the birthday person from the post. None of these are foolproof but many people depend of these as a way of being expressive without starting an online riot with the excluded. Now that we have worked out what you get from Facebook how can we recreate some of this on our own websites? Let’s explore each of the bullet points above. ### How to recreate Facebook on our own website #### Eyeballs – I built it but no one is showing up This is the age-old question online, how do I get more people to come to my website? Marketing and “getting your content out there” is a multi billion dollar industry, so much so that I made a [YouTube](https://youtube.com/wpwatercooler?ref=jasontucker.blog) show and [podcast](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) about it, WPblab. Plugs aside getting people to your website is tough. There is technology out there that can help you such as RSS, email newsletters, landing pages, custom urls for different pieces of content and the like. Since there isn’t a thread that connects all website together other than search engines you need to work hard to get exposure. If you build it they will come isn’t really the case here. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/share-of-global-population-using-facebook-by-region.png) #### Rich Content – images, gifs, and video This one is easy, with most websites (we’ll focus on WordPress since I use it daily) adding in **bold**, *italicized*, ~~strikethrough~~ and images is a snap. What gets more difficult is video, gifs and other forms of content. The main reason for this is bandwidth. You can host your video on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but you are back to using someone else’s services to make that happen. You can host the video with [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which is a paid service so you get what you pay for you can also us something like [Wistia](https://wistia.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) which gives you more features than YouTube and is more focused on robust sales tactics to get people to buy something. All in all this can be recreated on your website without the need of Facebook. #### Live streaming I’ve been live streaming content to YouTube for about 7 years as of this writing and recently have been decentralizing my live streams to include other places such as Facebook and Twitter’s Perisope with the though of including Twitch to the list of places I’m streaming to. With that said streaming to these services with the hope that someone would be on your website to watch it is difficult to pull off. With no way to send out notifications like Facebook does either as a true notification on the web in the browser or their app its going to be hard to get people to, on the fly show up to your live stream. For me and [WPwatercooler](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) I’ve been sending out emails to my viewers, setting up live stream events to each of these services (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) and trying to get people to watch the stream from my website (which uses a YouTube embed code of the live stream). All that said people are still watching this content on these other services and if I ever stop streaming to those services they may never see my content again. https://www.facebook.com/wpwatercooler/videos/2189215278065831/?xts\_\_%5B0%5D=68.ARCrLDbVWHiICeSn2honw-MxDzVh58lRLU5\_PI8nnrnrsCZii3gjhHLQwvx3haTRDg-BuEBRJ2hl27AYWBAA8-oQrINmVzbcWB3o1qpF0xoPGNYL7uMgBaTmyQ1-9NyzjOTqp2QVJCl6MXvqdbVVSg-Rfh9zqlaNu\_i9JQkwTrzq6tKRix6DxIgpsh5X90-CDgwvat7jMmPg3RpAd8MDuajf6YhVluhnfzv\_Hxj7KqzYgv9tfWiObEbdrbZBNEQf\_o5fjSKy8deIPCXMdBNNBQ86NhNflg5\_WGfTT\_HLUF55NLhquXEjqKCGDhOTJrk0HqDihhZaLKkpmSMDIHoC5-RVzAFPRKdFVP0&\_\_tn=-R https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1078727602448130048 You can roll your own live streaming using other services that are not social networks, companies like [Akamai](https://www.akamai.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Cachefly](https://www.cachefly.com/video-cdn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) provide these services at a cost but this doesn’t solve getting people to your website to watch it from there. #### Open Graph – making your content available on other websites WordPress uses a system called oEmbed which allows your readers to share your content on their websites. WordPress take a url you provide it in a post and will convert it to the content to be embedded on your website. As an example if I were to put my YouTube video in this post it will show up here: The same can be done for other websites that are included as an oEmbed supported website. I know this isn’t the same as Open Graph for Facebook but websites provide the correct metadata to allow content to be embedded on your website which you can embed. What I’m getting with this is you can customize your oEmbed data to do the same thing when your content is embedded on a website. For [WPwatercooler](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) when I share a url from a post on that site it does a special version of oEmbed. https://www.wpwatercooler.com/video/wpblab-ep120-how-many-ctas-does-a-wordpress-site-need/ Making my content easier for people to see when on someone else’s website is great. There is a great write up on how this works here [Customize the Design of Your Embeddable WordPress Posts](https://www.ostraining.com/blog/wordpress/embed-theming/?ref=jasontucker.blog). As with most things like this your milage may very. #### Privacy Options ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/12/10173504_313437838809978_1210546865_n.png) Facebook post privacy settings This one is a tricky nut to crack. Grainular privacy options such as what Facebook is able to achieve requires a bit more forethought in planning out your website. First, you’d need to either set up a wall of sorts to stop people from seeing any of your content or allow some content to be private and then some of it to be public. In the WordPress space, there are plugins to achieve this such as [Restrict Content Pro](https://restrictcontentpro.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [MemberPress](https://memberpress.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Paid Memberships Pro](https://www.paidmembershipspro.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and others. What needs to happen is you need to segregate your users based on whether they should see some content over others but to go through all these hoops to plan out a birthday party for your friend and you want to make sure your friend doesn’t see it is absurd. At this point you are starting your own social network and if you have that amount of clout then good on you Mr. Zuckerberg be sure to join JasonBook when I launch it in 2020. ### Does all content deserve posting? For me, this is the big question for my content. Does all of my thoughts deserve a blog post? With Facebook and even Twitter my small observations are perfect for a social network but does each of those observations deserve a full-on blog post? Back in December, I tweeted the following https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/1077958165889609730 I was exploring the current state of Twitter and how Twitter works for other people. Again I don’t have as much clout as someone such as Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 does https://twitter.com/markhoppus/status/1078393820599902208 The idea of can Facebook (or Twitter for that matter) be replaced with my website. Does that mean that I end up with these small posts on my website? Matt Mullenweg worked this out with [Asides](https://codex.wordpress.org/Adding%5FAsides?ref=jasontucker.blog) on his site and how he uses them for short content. > short posts are "asides" [@photomatt](https://twitter.com/photomatt?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) [#wcchicago](https://twitter.com/hashtag/wcchicago?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) > > — Barbara Rozgonyi | Creating Business for Business (@wiredprworks) [June 7, 2009](https://twitter.com/wiredprworks/status/2066166763?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=jasontucker.blog) Matt used to have these asides on his website’s sidebar until he switched to TwentyNinteen which doesn’t have a sidebar. Looking on his site he has an [asides category](https://ma.tt/category/asides/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but he isn’t showing that category on his homepage or his menu anymore but he continues to post to this category anyhow. > [Democratize Publishing, Revisited](https://ma.tt/2018/12/democratize-publishing-revisited/?ref=jasontucker.blog) The question is if you are going to replace social media with your website, where does this smaller content reside? Is it an aside to your normal content? What if all your content is asides? I have more to add to this topic but I leave you with some content we’ve done on WPwatercooler discussing this. I wanted to be meta about this so here is a video where we discussed this and many other ways your website can replace social media. [EP302 – Replacing social media with your own website – WPwatercooler](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJvBG8bEbA&ref=jasontucker.blog) Expect more on this subject soon but for homework check out [Indieweb](https://indieweb.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and all the work they are doing with trying to tie websites together with and without social media. ### Before you leave… In the comments below let me know what your thoughts are of this. It’s been a year since I last posted to this site and as I’ve outlined in this post I do most of my content on social media as well as on YouTube and podcasts. I wanna change that.. are you? Let me know your feelings below. ### How I cleaned my MailChimp mailing list URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-i-cleaned-my-mailchimp-mailing-list/ Last updated: 2018-12-06T17:11:49.000Z Back in August I did a little of spring cleaning and cleaned out my mailing list for my WordPress podcast network [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog). The idea was that the number of opens and click through’s are pretty low and the number of people that were joining the show as participants was getting smaller so what I did is I took a list of all the people that were recently on the show for the last 12 months and added them to a do not remove list and then went through and removed all the folks that have never opened one of the emails and got rid of them. I went through and looked at all the people that haven’t clicked on the links in the emails and I set them with a special tag that I will at some point clear out. The reason why I did this is I wanted to figure out who the audience actually is and by having a bunch of people receiving the email I had this bit of a hesitation whether or not my efforts were actually worth doing sending out this weekly. So a bit of background regarding this I send out an email each week asking people if they would like to be on the show. I also include links to the previous episodes so that they can view at their leisure and watch one of those episodes. I think it pretty important considering we have had some people on the show as speaking participants who have never seen the show before. Primarily these folks are marketers looking to get the word out about their thing, which is all fine and good except they don’t know any of the in-jokes or the reason why we make fun of a particular person or say a particular thing so really we would much rather have people on the show that have actually watched the show at some point in their life. One thing I’m not a fan of is having big numbers for the sake of having big numbers when really those numbers should equate to actions that are occurring on the thing that I’m putting so much time and energy into. So by clearing out the closet of all the old craft I am able to really talk to the people that I know are engaged in the content are willing to participate and would like to be notified of the latest posts. I’m pretty happy with the results because with my 300 people subscribed to the mailing list I am able to determine that a good percentage of them are actually opening and clicking on the links. So far an average of 23% opens and 3.5% clicks is pretty awesome. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/09/img_1969.jpg) One of the other reasons why I wanted to clear out that mailing list is because I wanted to have a good idea as to whose actually doing what on the mailing list and are they actually involved. This helps me with running house ads on the mailing list as well as looking to see if advertisers are interested in running ads for my audience too. Early on I started running ads for my friends products on the mailing list in hopes that I can drum up some data to determine how many people are actually clicking on those particular links. So far by including offer codes and other things like that I am seeing some click throughs which is pretty good. I think overall it’s a good idea for me to run a test like this so that way if potential advertisers are interested in running ads for a very niche market which [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) to be [WPblab](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [CommunityConnections](https://wpwatercooler.com/communityconnections?ref=jasontucker.blog) are that the advertiser or potential advertisers Well actually know that my mailing list is worth advertising on and will hopefully want to run an ad on the show as well. > Podcasting is a business is really interesting there’s a lot of moving parts with it from creating good content distributing the content tracking to see how many people are actually cooking on or doing things through that content and then using third-party tools to track how all of those efforts are resulting overall. > > Jason Tucker If you’re someone like me that has a mailing list and you’re noticing that your click through rates and open rates are really low I would highly consider going through your mailing list and seeing how much bait you can cut. Sending out emails to people that aren’t even going to look at the email let alone click on it or do we need type of actionable thing with it I feel isn’t worth sending an email to. Obviously there are many types of million lists and content and mailing lists that this very hard and fast rule doesn’t apply to you but to me and my content a lot of it has to do with actionable items. [Are you looking to get the word out about your WordPress product? Run an ad with us!](https://wpwatercooler.com/sponsor?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Okta helps nonprofits keep passwords safe URL: https://jasontucker.blog/okta-helps-nonprofits-keep-passwords-safe/ Last updated: 2023-05-17T11:19:33.000Z IT is challenging and dealing with passwords and users is even more challenging. Okta has partnered up with TechSoup to provide nonprofits with their first 25 licenses for free to update passwords, provide a universal directory, single sign-on, and even multi-factor authentication. They have a big offering when it comes to authentication from interacting with Google, Office365 and even on-prem AD. Check it out here and let us know in the comments how it worked out for you. [Okta for Good](https://www.techsoup.org/how-okta-helps-nonprofits?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Our annual tradition, Letterboxing on January 1st URL: https://jasontucker.blog/annual-tradition-letterboxing-january-1st/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:10.000Z On New Year’s Day, my family and I went on our annual outing of going out to a local park and go letterboxing. What’s a Letterbox? Letterboxing is an activity that you do where you go to a website select a letterbox to find and go out and find it in the real world. ## How does it work? The process goes like this, you go onto a letterboxing website (we like [letterboxing.org](http://letterboxing.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog)) and you find a location that you want to go to. That location can have a bunch of different letterboxes that are hidden throughout the place, these are typically areas like parks, outdoor areas, event venues and hiking trails. Once you have printed out your clues you can now go out and search for the letterbox using the clues the letterbox planter provided. Letterboxes are either hidden by themselves or in a series the clues will indicate that. While at the location you read the clues and follow their instructions to find the letterbox, some of these are very intricate and hard to find, other ones are fairly easy and they’re right off the edge of the trail where you can find the container. (I wrote about letterboxing a few years ago if you want to learn more [you can check out that post too](https://jasontucker.blog/7382/annual-letterboxing-trek)) ## What do I need? You’ll need a stamp, a stamp pad, and a notepad or something to collect your stamps with, bring a pen or pencil so you can write your name and the date. Typically people carve their own stamps, sometimes people will buy stamps at a craft supply store or something like that if they want to be generic. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/01/IMG_2064-570x428.jpg) ## Then what? Once you found the letterbox you can take the stamp and stamp pad press the stamp onto the stamp pad to get some ink on it (that’s the stuff brought with you) and then you open up the container of the letterbox and you locate the stamp that the person placed in the letterbox left in it along with the notepad or journal that’s in there for you to put your stamp in there. This is much like geocaching in the sense that your trading items but instead of trading the item you’re stamping their stamp in your notepad and stamping your stamp in the notepad in the container. As someone who has been involved in letterboxing for a while I will say that you’re probably better off finding a letterbox that’s close to where you live and if it requires a bit of walking maybe find a letterbox that is in a series so in case you can’t find one of them all hope is not lost in your lease get something out of the trip. There have been times where my family has gone out the letterboxing and we didn’t find a thing or we only found a few of the boxes in the series. The reason for this is that letterboxing is very much so part of the environment and if the environment erodes then the litter box may get washed away or found by someone who wasn’t intending on finding the letterbox. There are times where maintenance workers for the park or the trail will find it and throw it away not really realizing that the sandwich holder that they found is actually a hidden thing within a game and they should’ve put it back where they found it. ## Let’s go letterboxing! Now that I’ve explained to you what letterboxes are I’ll tell you a little bit about our trip on the 1st. We drove out to LA to a park that we’ve never been to before and kind of a sketchy area of town but this park had a huge trail with many many hills some of which were really fun to climb but if you are like some of my family members with bum ankles or knees it’s a little bit difficult to climb those hills. While on this journey to look for letterboxes that this one was a pretty good size series. So we parked at the park and locked up our car and started walking, the first letterbox wasn’t very far from where we parked. https://www.instagram.com/p/BdbGORdAUuT/ After that we continue down the trail and found, even more, letterboxes this particular series had 12 letterboxes in total. While letterboxing you want to be discrete, you don’t want someone seeing where you found the box and then ruining it for the next person that is out looking for it. Once you find the box take it to a nice place away from where you found it and take some time to admire the artwork of the stamp, read through the journal of all the previous letterbox finders and take not the last time someone was there, people tend to leave the date they found the box next to their name and their stamp left on the page. ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/01/IMG_2062-570x428.jpg) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/01/IMG_2064-570x428.jpg) The view was incredible (but a bit smoggy but the weather added to the photos anyhow!) so I was glad I took some time to take some pictures while we were out there. https://www.instagram.com/p/BdbKC7fA2XZ/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BdbLfWdgiyY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BdbPRaSgeec/ Once we found all the letterboxes we walked back to our car and proceeded to drive home. When we got home we take all the letterboxes that were found input all the information on to the website [letterboxing.org](http://letterboxing.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and claim that you found those little boxes. There’s a good reason for doing this and that is your helping the rest of the community know but the litter boxes that were left or still there and that the next time someone wants to go look for it they can find out that they recently were found and it’s much easier for people to go back out and find them. Nobody wants to drive out to a location expecting something I never actually got to find it. Go explore, take some pictures while you are out there and enjoy the outdoors, we do (one a year on New Years Day!) ![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2018/01/IMG_2121-570x570.jpg) --- All month long we at [WPblab](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) are hosting something we’re calling “[Just Create January](https://jasontucker.blog/just-create-january)” hoping to inspire folks to create, share and interact with others all month long in January https://www.facebook.com/jasongtucker/posts/10155375727727807 ### Applying focus to only a few personal projects this new year URL: https://jasontucker.blog/applying-focus-to-only-a-few-personal-projects-this-new-year/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:14.000Z Good Morning! It’s Day 1 of January the first day of the new year. I’ve been thinking a lot about all the things I’ve done, started and haven’t completed and have realized that I need to ditch a bunch of projects I don’t have time for and only focus on the ones I do. Most of these projects have some monetary cost to me each year in the form of a domain name, here is what I’m keeping to start: ## Domains to keep - JasonTucker.blog - Jtuck.xyz - JenTucker.us - Jessalyn.blog - WPwatercooler.com - WPWC.co - Pressedlinks.com ## Domains to ditch - WPtalkshow.com - Wpshowandtell.com - WPreviewshow.com - WPrecommends.com - Whitescreened.com - JasonTucker.photography - Doing.church - Geekfit.com What I have realized is I haven’t applied focus on the projects that matter to me and haven’t found a way to apply a value to the ones I love, mainly in the form of monetization. I’m giving myself a year to monetize a few of my keepers and then I’ll reevaluate next year which I’m keeping. ### It’s just about money? Yes, when it comes to these they each cost money but all of them could make money but the passion for me isn’t there. The top 5 domains to ditch were show ideas that I wanted to do, most fall under the [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) umbrella anyhow. The photography one was back when gTLDs came out and I wanted to build a photography site, my photography is a hobby, stuff can be posted on [JasonTucker.blog](https://jasontucker.blog/) instead. GeekFit.com was a show I did with an old friend, the domain has value and I’m trying to sell it but haven’t got much leads on it. This year I’ll try selling it again and see if I can get more than $100 for it. Doing.church was an idea to provide churches with the tools needed to build an IT or AV infrastructure and the site would guide them on what other churches are using in this space, I didn’t have time to get it to take off but I thing the domain has value, do you? Are you cleaning out your domain closets? How do you go about getting rid of them? ### How to monetize a domain Running advertisements on your website seems to be the simplest way to do any type of monetization. The other way to go about it is to write blog posts and put affiliate links in there so that when people like your idea and want to try to execute it themselves they can just click on the link in your article and purchase the product or service that you’re talking about and you’ll make a little bit of money. The other way to monetize domain name that you no longer want is to try to sell it the simplest way to do that is just to put up a for sale sign on the domain name and then if somebody comes by and sees it they may want to buy it from you. So far I’ve used flippa.com and SEDO.com to try and sell my domain names. ### Monetizing what I want to keep As for the projects that I’m keeping most of them will most likely end up having to either some affiliate links or advertisements that I’ll run on the site myself or in the form of me speaking that advertisement on a podcast or YouTube show. My struggle here is that I’m not very good at selling so I need to figure out a good way to be able to sell ad space on my different podcast and YouTube shows so that I could make some money from them. For a long while now on the [WPwatercooler](https://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) we’ve never had advertisements in any form, I’d like to see if I can change that this year. Once I do I’d like to also continue to do this on [WPblab](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) so that there is some form of income that’s coming from it. Have you ever sold a speaking advertisement on a podcast? --- All month long we at [WPblab](https://wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) are hosting something we’re calling “[Just Create January](https://jasontucker.blog/just-create-january)” hoping to inspire folks to create, share and interact with others all month long in January https://www.facebook.com/jasongtucker/posts/10155375727727807 ### WordCamp US in Nashville 2017 with my 12 year old daughter by my side URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wordcamp-us-in-nashville-2017-with-my-12-year-old-daughter-by-my-side/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:21.000Z This past weekend November 28 – December 3rd my 12-year-old daughter Jessalyn and I flew out and attended [WordCamp US](https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) in Nashville Tennessee. As I wrote in my previous post – [WordCamp US through the eyes of a 12 year old](https://jasontucker.blog/10107/wordcamp-us-2017-eyes-12-year-old) Jessalyn and I were sponsored to go to WordCamp US by the kind folks at [Bluehost](http://bluehost.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) via [Women Who WP](https://womenwhowp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and giving us the means of flight and lodging to attend the event. Instead of boring you with a massive post I thought I’d build a bulleted list of my observations. - My daughter’s first flight ✅ - Our WordPress community is amazing. - The venue, as well as Nashville in general, is absolutely gorgeous. - I wish we found time to go to the Johnny Cash museum, it was right across the street from the venue. - At first, I was a bit mad there was a room called “The Hallway Track” not because I have a show called [Hallway Track](https://www.wpwatercooler.com/hallwaytrack/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but because it was weird that we legitimized something that was so organic, meeting one another between sessions during the WordCamp, it was its own destination and felt like I was depriving the speakers of people not being in their sessions. I latter realized that legitimizing this was a good thing, it allowed people who never go to sessions and just shake hands and kiss babies to do so in a room full of swag, marketers and sales folks. I spoke to a bunch of people about this and most said it was nice not having to be outside of the rooms talking with people and to be at a place where you could hang out and chit-chat with vendors. - I loved the idea of the community bazaar, how cool is that to have communities from all over have a place to be at to showcase what they do for their local or regional community. I loved that one of my communities [Women Who WP](https://womenwhowp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) was in attendance and had a booth to spread the love and community of women in technology. - I loved that [ROSIE was EVERYWHERE](https://womenwhowp.org/introducing-rosie-wapuu-mascot-inspiration/?ref=jasontucker.blog) including the State of the Word. - This years word was [Gutenberg](https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/?ref=jasontucker.blog), love it or hate it it’s coming to WordPress like a freight train. - The food was awesome, [Matt Mullenweg](https://ma.tt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) always brings the best BBQ to these events. - The official hotel and the event venue were walking distance away which is nice when you have a tired 12-year old that wanted to take a nap. That hotel was also really nice, we enjoyed ourselves. - My daughter’s swear jar got up to about $8 dollars. We’re not a family that swears and I have friends that don’t have kids of their own and find it challenging to communicate without swearing. Jess has an invoice she needs to send out to a few key people 🙂 - Speaking of swearing I was a bit struck when I heard from the stage a poem that was said that included the word Mother F\*\*\*er. It was crazy to think this happened in such a public forum almost as if Steve Jobs himself dropped an F bomb on state. Anyhow the video has now been made available on WordPress.tv has been modified to [exclude an MF bomb](https://videopress.com/v/CvMXr7y0?at=446&ref=jasontucker.blog) in the middle of the poem. I gave WordPress and @photomatt some grief about this: https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/937088261247389696 https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/937447189328138241 - I think events like this need to foster the next generation of WordPress users, designer, developers and marketers and treating everyone in the audience on the same level outside of the professional norm is weird. I’m glad they have since modified the poem by blanking out the phrase used and the transcription of the poem, I feel this is in good taste given that WordPress is used by more than a quarter of the internet and countless businesses and organizations that dropping an MF wouldn’t be kosher. - The Nashville Science Center being rented out the way it was and we had full reign over the place was a welcomed addition to this awesome fun-filled event. - Jessalyn’s first room service ✅ ## Thank you to all the 13 women that took the time to interview with Jessalyn, 28 of you came out of the woodwork (with many of you sharing on slack, facebook and twitter to spread the word) we wish we had more time to interview you all. Thank you for taking the time and inspiring my kiddo to get involved more with technology. You can read Jessalyn’s blog post recap along with her interviews by going to the link below. https://jess.blog/my-trip-to-wordcamp-us-to-interview-women-in-tech/ ### Thank you! Thank you to Devin and the crew over at [Bluehost](http://bluehost.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) for making our trip possible and for [Women Who WP](https://womenwhowp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) to supporting us throughout this project. You ladies mean the world to us! I leave you with a big photo album from our travels out to Nashville from Southern California: ### Stepping outside of my existing workflow and trying new things URL: https://jasontucker.blog/stepping-outside-of-my-existing-workflow-and-trying-new-things/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:29.000Z Like most people, you find what works for you and you typically stick with it, I’m looking to change that when it comes to software, hardware, and services that I pay for. I use a bunch of web development tools to get the various jobs and tasks that I do on a regular basis and I’m starting to see that some of these things I only use only because I know the people that make them or I’ve been using it for years. I’m done thinking like that and I’m starting to try out new things to tweak my workflow to optimize the journey to the end result. I’m trying my best to find replacements to tools and services I use for a few reasons: cost, time, difficulty/ease of use, and new hotness. ### Apps #### Quick Launchers - [Spotlight](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204014?ref=jasontucker.blog) (built into Mac OS) - [Alfred](https://www.alfredapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \* #### Menu Bar Management - [Bartender](https://www.macbartender.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Vanilla](http://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \* #### Text Editors - [Coda](https://panic.com/coda/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Sublime Text](https://www.sublimetext.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \* - [Visual Studio Mac](https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/visual-studio-mac/?ref=jasontucker.blog) #### Email - [Mailplane](https://mailplaneapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Airmail](http://airmailapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Epichrome](https://github.com/dmarmor/epichrome?ref=jasontucker.blog) – Website app builder \* #### Local Web Development - [Desktop Server](https://serverpress.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Local by Flywheel](https://local.getflywheel.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) \* #### File Sharing - [Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Google Drive](https://www.google.com/drive/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Dropshare](https://getdropsha.re/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Droplr](https://auth.droplr.com/referral/user/c0f9bfbe3d8a248f913b4bf79b889723?ref=jasontucker.blog) \* As I start finding more of these things to try out I’ll add them to this list and will update it with what I’m currently using. Let me know in the comments if you are using anything new or different than what I’m using, I’d love to give it a try! ### WordCamp US 2017 from the eyes of a 12 year old URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wordcamp-us-2017-eyes-12-year-old/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:39.000Z I’m attending WordCamp US in Nashville Tennessee at the end of this month. This is the first time since WordCamp SF turned into [WordCamp US](https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) that I’ll be attended this event. For the last few years, aside from the local WordCamps here in California I’ve haven’t been venturing too far from home to attend a WordCamp. [WomenWhoWP](https://womenwhowp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) wanted to send two people to WordCamp US [Bluehost](https://www.bluehost.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) said they would sponsor those people. So WomenWhoWP put an application on their site, we applied, and were selected from the entries. Jessalyn has shown interest in technology by getting involved in STEM at school and joining the [Girls Who Code](https://girlswhocode.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) club there as well. For the last few months, I’ve changed my focus Meetup wise and have attended [WomenWhoWP’s Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/OC-Wordpress-Group/?ref=jasontucker.blog) to show support for my friends [Bridget Willard ](https://bridgetwillard.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog)and [Jen Miller](https://needsomeonetoblog.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and to get more involved in their community. I’ve been taking Jen and Jessalyn making this a family date nite of sorts and they recognized that Jessalyn is showing interest in technology, getting involved in it at home, school and in her social groups. Bluehost with WomenWhoWP’s recommendation wanted to send her to WCUS to learn more about WordPress and the technologies that I, her dad am fluent in. I’m stoked to get the opportunity to go with her and learn from her point of view what “WordPress” is to a 12-year-old. I’ve been to many WordCamps over the 10+ years I’ve been involved in WordPress and I’ve traveled a few times to far off places to attend. Miami is the furthest for me thus far with this WordCamp US in Tennessee being the second farthest. This trip has a few firsts for Jessalyn: - First time flying anywhere, ever. - First time building and writing for her own blog ( [**jess.blog**](https://jess.blog/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ) - First time going further east than Colorado. - First time going to a WordCamp. - First time going on a dad and daughter only trip somewhere, ever. - First time [Mom](https://www.jentucker.us/?ref=jasontucker.blog) has both of us out of her hair for a few days this year. - First time interviewing people on camera – [My idea to interview women in technology](https://jess.blog/my-idea-to-interview-women-in-technology/?ref=jasontucker.blog) With all these firsts, I’m looking at this from her perspective. The drama of going through security, of getting on a plane *(for the first time)*, of spending MANY hours on the plane *(doing homework)* and then arriving in a city neither of us has been to. Shuttle / Uber / Lift over to the hotel, staying in a hotel, dealing with time zone changes and then realizing we need to wake up really early *(for us)* in the morning. Breakfast, trip to WordCamp and then… WOW! This place is HUGE! swag, swag, swag, shirts, shirts, shirts, more swag and then going to her first session of the day. Many sessions later and an after party that is [100% kid friendly](https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/after-party-location/?ref=jasontucker.blog). This trip is very much for her to “ramp up” and learn how a “WordPress” website works. I use quotes here because other than it being a “blog”, she really doesn’t know much about the technology. Two days of that then we chase the sun and arrive back home just ticks on the clock face longer than we left TN. Whew! I’m really looking forward to this experience and looking forward to what Jess will get out of it. [Her first blog post is out](https://jess.blog/first-meeting-girls-code/?ref=jasontucker.blog), take a minute and read it and then leave her a comment (obviously after you comment here on mine!), she’ll have a few out over the course of the next few weeks leading up to WCUS. https://jess.blog/first-meeting-girls-code/ Jessalyn will be interviewing women in technology at WordCamp US. https://jess.blog/my-idea-to-interview-women-in-technology/ ### Don't get caught looking at the clock during a live video stream - Video Streaming Tips URL: https://jasontucker.blog/dont-get-caught-looking-clock-live-video-stream-video-streaming-tips/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:48.000Z In this video, I’m going to show you a million dollar tip, one that makes it very easy to stay engaged with your live video stream without showing your viewers you are looking at the clock. I record about 2 hours of live video each week and I have hard starts and hard stops on these shows so I need to look at the clock a lot. The best way I’ve found to not get caught looking at the clock is to move the time to the center of the screen so people watching me won’t see me look at the time periodically. It’s distracting to the viewer seeing your eyes move up and to the right over and over again much like it would be when you are having a face to face conversation. We all do it, we’re talking on Facetime, Skype, Google Hangout etc and we look up at the clock to see what time it is. This is just as bad as looking at your watch while talking to someone in person, you lose engagement your eyes drift to the corner of the screen and now your participant or many participants while you are live streaming have seen that you looked at the corner of the screen, are they no longer important? Sure they are so why not show them the attention they deserve. **Share this tip with friends that do live streams, webinars and other on computer recorded content and save them the embarrassment using the social share links on this page. Leave me a comment if you do something like this or if you have any other tips to share!** \[youtube\_video\]https://youtu.be/-MpV1xcVW18\[/youtube\_video\] ### How to build a new WordPress website - https migrations, seo, contact forms, google analytics URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-to-build-a-new-wordpress-website-https-migrations-seo-contact-forms-google-analytics/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:16:54.000Z This month at my local WordPress meet up I demonstrated how you can build a WordPress website and what tools you need to get started. I covered a myriad of topics and our plan is to cover this series for the next couple months. We hope that folks can figure out how to build WordPress websites themselves by combining all the info we share in this series. Here is the video from [WhittierWP](https://www.meetup.com/whittierwp/?ref=jasontucker.blog), my local WordPress meet that I co-manage. If you don’t live in the Whittier CA area and are looking to get involved in using WordPress you may want to find a [local meetup](https://www.meetup.com/topics/wordpress/?ref=jasontucker.blog). - [WPwatercooler](http://www.wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - Origin of this series – Building a website from scratch - [BlueTires.xyz](https://bluetires.xyz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:9:00 – How to migrate from http to https - 00:21:58 – [Velvet Blues Update URLs](https://wordpress.org/plugins/velvet-blues-update-urls/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:26:39 – Permalinks and how to reset them - 00:0:20 – What if you lock yourself out of your website? - 00:29:59 – Using [ARI Adminer plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ari-adminer/?ref=jasontucker.blog) to manage your database (PHPMyAdmin works better) - 00:31:47 – Using Adminer - 00:33:29 – Why you shouldn’t change serialized content in the database - 00:35:00 – [Database Search and Replace PHP file](https://interconnectit.com/products/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:39:06 – How to enable https on webhosts - 00:39:56 – [Let’s Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:40:07 – [Redirection Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/redirection/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:54:12 – [All in One SEO](https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 00:55:36 – [WPCore](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpcore/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:02:00 – [Local By Flywheel](https://local.getflywheel.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:03:51 – Staging Servers - 01:05:31 –[Local By Flywheel](https://local.getflywheel.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) vs [DesktopServer](https://serverpress.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:07:13 – [All in One SEO](https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:08:25 – [Yoast SEO](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:11:16 – Forms - [Gravity Forms](https://www.gravityforms.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [WP Forms](https://wpforms.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:13:17 [Contact Form 7](https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Caldera Forms](https://wordpress.org/plugins/caldera-forms/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - Menus – 01:16:05 - 01:18:08 – Google Analytics - 01:19:01 GADWP[ Dashboard](https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-analytics-dashboard-for-wp/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:20:32 –[ Monster Insights Analytics](https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - 01:22:37 – Using Google Analytics - 01:30:24 – How to use Yoast SEO - 01:37:45 – Accessibility - 01:40:33 – Back to SEO and making the red lights green - 01:47:00 – Yoast Explained - 01:49:23 – Wave - 01:53:40 –[ WhittierWP](https://whittierwp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Videos from January 2017 OC WordPress developer meetup URL: https://jasontucker.blog/videos-from-january-2017-oc-wordpress-developer-meetup/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:00.000Z At the January 9th 2017 OC WordPress developer meetup Brandon Dove and Jacob Arriola did presentations that I recorded. If you are into WordPress you may enjoy and learn from these mrxuzsi. ### Live streaming with an interactive audience is hard URL: https://jasontucker.blog/live-streaming-with-an-interactive-audience-is-hard/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:09.000Z Bridget Willard and I started [WPblab](http://www.wpwatercooler.com/wpblab?ref=jasontucker.blog) as a way for her and I to answer people’s questions about WordPress and to be able to share our knowledge with our viewers. We started this show on blab.im a new yet now sunsetted live video streaming website with some new features that we couldn’t find elsewhere. It reminded me of the early days of [WPwatercooler](http://www.wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and our use of Google Hangouts On Air to stream our show to the masses. Blab.im had the potential to do some amazing things with their platform but in the end I think other projects they were building got the best of them. ### The things we liked about blab.im were: 1. **Artificial limit to the number of people who could be on the show** Limits are good and not having too many people on a show (talking over one another) is a good thing. 2. **Everyone on the screen at the same time** I love the idea that they used a 2×2 grid allowing just 4 people total to be on the show at any given time. 3. **“The Hot Seat” – Anyone can join in that had a webcam** This is what we called the available seats that we could lock or even unlock allowing our “studio audience” to take a seat and interact with us. 4. **/ slash commands for asking questions or shrugging ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯** These were great and made for some interesting interactions with our audience. 5. **Save the show for later use** The ability to upload directly from blab.im to YouTube and/or download audio and video versions of the show. ### Things that we disliked about blab.im 1. **Social Media “Paywall”** Requiring users to login with Facebook or Twitter to watch our content, they did have a way to login without this but the text was soo small and at the bottom of the screen. We lost about 3/4 fo our viewership when this was implemented this. 2. **Support** Having to be in a live blab and use the chat to type /help to get someone to help you “publicly” just seems dumb. 3. **Features randomly not working** The /q question feature stopped working randomly one day and ever came back. Running a show where you are answering people’s questions and not having a queue of questions was annoying. 4. **Pinning a comment’s link only worked on https sites** The devs refused to add a way for non https links to have their content cached and then displayed as a pinned featured image. The feature was great when it worked but not all websites are https… yet. 5. **Echoooooooooo** We tried every setup known to man to cut the amount of echo that the show would have, nothing seemed to work. 6. **Unable to switch sources mid show** Once you selected what audio and video device you were going to be using you were stuck using that device until you quit and come back in again and be prompted to select a new device. ## Make live streaming great again (move to a new service) Bridget and I have been doing WPblab for a few months now and we’re slowing seeing the chipped paint and the small cracks form, the carpet not cleaned and the janitor not picking up the trash anymore. I started looking at other solutions (and a new name of the show… never ever name your show after a technology, your show WILL outlast the technology) We’ve looked at a few options so far: - [**Firetalk**](http://firetalkapp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) I love the user interface for this, allows for some interesting things such as monetization, embeds and other things. - [**Google Hangouts On Air**](https://support.google.com/plus/answer/4386744?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog) We use this for WPwatercooler, you can’t get the audience to join the show without some pre-planning, not sure we’d go this route. - [**YouNow**](https://www.younow.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Just no… this place is over-run by people paying to see one another strip using what I could only call a Millennial’s version Chuckie Cheese. I can see Blab doing that same thing at some point if they would have stuck around. ## What we moved to Moving away from Blab.im to Google Hangout On Air (now called **YouTube Live**) and not looking back has been tough for Bridget and I. Having that spontaneity of allowing people to join our conversation when they see fit is something we miss and is hard to reconstruct using Google Hangout On Air. We’ve changed the format a bit bu utilizing the [YouTube live chat](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2524549?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog) as our way of interacting with our viewers. It’s available on YouTube and on our website (using the embed code they offer) and made it easier for our people to talk with one another during the event. we’ve also brought on scheduled guests to talk about topics they know a lot about which as made the show more interactive for our viewers. ## Takeaways Whatever you do when working with a new video service is run some tests to see if things are going to work your way. I’d say don’t be the first one to the party, let a software or online service mature a bit before switching to it and make a backup plan for when things don’t work out. 1. Test 2. Test 3. Give a software or online service time to mature, don’t be the first to the party if you can help it. 4. Have a backup plan 5. Don’t feel married to a solution, your show should still work regardless of how people interact with it. ## ### What Is oEmbed and Why You Should Use It - WordCamp Orange County 2016 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/oembed-use-wordcamp-orange-county-2016/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:17.000Z At WordCamp Orange County 2016 I spoke about something that I thought was going to be very simple, oEmbeds. What I found was that oEmbeds are very complicated under the hood yet make things super simple for the end user. ## What is oEmbed? oEmbed is a format for allowing an embedded representation of a URL on third party sites. The simple API allows a website to display embedded content (such as photos or videos) when a user posts a link to that resource, without having to parse the resource directly. Sources: - [http://oembed.com/](http://oembed.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [https://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds](https://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds?ref=jasontucker.blog) After my talk at OCWC I was the judge of the 2nd annual Plugin-a-Palooza, a contest for plugin developers > We had so much fun with last year’s event that we’re doing it all again: join us for Plugin-a-Palooza 2016\. We want everyone to come together in the spirit of competition, show off your mad developer skills, and create a plugin that will impress the judges. [Plugin-A-Palooza – WordCamp Orange County](https://2016.oc.wordcamp.org/category/plugin-a-palooza/?ref=jasontucker.blog) https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsq7GFh5V2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BHsrfBygFOy/ ### Google Hangouts On Air - 3 ways on how to invite people URL: https://jasontucker.blog/google-hangouts-on-air-3-ways-on-how-to-invite-people/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:23.000Z I get this question a lot about how to invite other people to be on a **Google Hangouts On Air** call; I thought I’d share with you how I go about doing this on my YouTube channel [WPwatercooler](http://www.youtube.com/wpwatercooler?ref=jasontucker.blog). As you may or may not know **Google Hangouts** is a way to get up to 10 people on a video call and interact with one another. **Google Hangouts On Air** is a way for you to stream the conversation you are having on YouTube for others to see. As I have shared with you in a previous article there are ways to [Create Google Hangouts quickly with these easy URLs](http://wpmedia.pro/create-a-google-hangout-quickly-with-these-convenience-urls/?ref=jasontucker.blog) that will help you with creating a Google Hangout or a Google Hangouts On Air, check the link on how to make that happen. Once you have a Google Hangout On Air started you can invite people. There are three ways to do this that I know of. Email based Google Hangout On Air invites and Link-based Google Hangout On Air invites ## 1) Email based Google Hangout On Air invites One is to input the participants email addresses into the box provided when you start the hangout and it will notify them of the link needed to join the call. [![Google_Hangouts-invite-url](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Google_Hangouts-invite-url-300x208.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Google%5FHangouts-invite-url.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) Depending on if you are in a Google Apps organization if your organization allows for Google Hangouts to occur inside or outside the organization you’ll be able to invite people via email to join the call. The participant you email will receive an email from google indicating that they should click a link to join the call. \[the\_ad id=”1795″\] ## 2) Link-based Google Hangout On Air invites If the call ahs already started and you want to add more people you can do so by clicking the chain link icon on the right side of the screen. You’ll be greeted with a link to send to people or a way to email them the link. [![Google_Hangouts-link](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Google_Hangouts-link-300x189.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Google%5FHangouts-link.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## If all else fails… Google tends to change things at a moments notice. If you end up having a resort to a different method of sending the link to someone you can try sending the URL of the page you are on. [![Google_Hangouts-url](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Google_Hangouts-url-300x168.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Google%5FHangouts-url.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) You’ll notice that the urls are a bit different one with the hangouts/*/ and the other with /call/ depending on how the wind is blowing over at Google these urls may make a difference. Replacing /hangouts/*/ with /call/ may be your best bet to getting a URL that will work for your call participants. \[the\_ad id=”1795″\] ## 3) Scheduling a call using Google+ On WPwatercooler I use Google+ to schedule my calls ahead of time. This allows me to have a YouTube url for me to share with others and make it easy for me to set up all of the settings on YouTube way before the call starts. Google doesn’t make this very easy but as a Google+ Business Page I do the following: Click on the avatar on the upper right side of the site and select **Google+ page** from the drop down menu [![WPwatercooler_-_Google_](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/WPwatercooler_-_Google_-300x268.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/WPwatercooler%5F-%5FGoogle%5F.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) On the left side of the page click on **Google+ Page** drop down menu then select **Google Hangouts** [![WPwatercooler_-_Google_-Hangouts](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/WPwatercooler_-_Google_-Hangouts-206x300.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/WPwatercooler%5F-%5FGoogle%5F-Hangouts.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) You’ll be greeted with this page, click **Hangouts On Air** *Note: Be sure to bookmark this page for quicker access.* You’ll end up on this page, from there click on **Create a Hangout On Air** button. [![Google-hangout-on-air](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Google-hangout-on-air-300x161.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Google-hangout-on-air.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) A modal box will appear asking you to specify the name, info about it and what time it will start. The audience is not the people participating but rather a way for Google+ to help you promote your Google Hangouts On Air session. [![Google-hangouts-on-air-setup](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Google-hangouts-on-air-setup-300x233.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Google-hangouts-on-air-setup.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) You’ll end up with a screen that looks like this [![Test_Session_-_Google_](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2020/01/Test_Session_-_Google_-300x230.jpg)](http://wpmedia.pro/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Test%5FSession%5F-%5FGoogle%5F.jpg?ref=jasontucker.blog) You can edit the event, add a trailer to the event, collect the public links to the event and invite more viewers. I’ll discuss this in a later article but for now, click Start when your event is going to go live and follow the instructions above on how to invite people to be on your Google Hangout On Air event. ### History of online communication and why it all still sucks URL: https://jasontucker.blog/history-of-online-communication-and-why-it-all-still-sucks/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:30.000Z For the last few years I’ve been thinking a bit about how I’ve communicated to people online. There is a lot of history here and I think looking at the history again may help with figuring out where we will end up in the future. I have a few gripes about our current forms of communication and the various silos made and looking back you can see that things really haven’t changed. # The history of communications forms over my lifetime ## BBS *“Back in the days when I was a teenager. Before I had status and before I had a pager”* I grew up calling BBSs using my computer and land line phone equipment to make it happen. I’d look in the Pennysaver and find phone numbers of BBSs and give them a call using a terminal program. It was like a website but where only 1 person could be on it at a time, you’d post messages, download stuff that took forever to get and goofed around. If you dialed into a multi-node BBS you could talk with other people that have dialed in at the same time and chat. I met quite a few friends this way, met many in person and was one of the first ways I connected to people that I didn’t know without leaving my home. **Effectiveness –** Interacting with people required you to connect to the BBS (when their line wasn’t already busy) and leave or receive messages for other people on there. A dedicated phone line was a must when using this old method of communication. ## College Shell Access using SLIRP / TIA I had a friend that provided me with access to his college account when I was a freshmen in highschool. With a simple call to a local number I was able to connect to the college’s network access and run either slirp or TIA to turn that terminal shell into a TCP/IP connection on my Windows computer. The Internet and all its glory were made available to me. WAIS, Archie, Veronica, the web, gopher, telnet and more were at my disposal. Interestingly enough connecting to BBS’s using this method was something I still did for a while with IRC replacing it. ## Email What would there be without email? Before spam email was awesome, you craft an email and send it to someone they would get it and reply back [Look At This](http://biturlz.com/lsMJgIz?ref=jasontucker.blog). Spam gets in the way of all of this cluttering up your inbox with stuff. Email much like postal mail is a necessity. **Effectiveness –** Great for long winded messages to people but with all the bloat that comes with it (spam) it makes it a chore to dig through each day. ## Prodigy / Compuserv I was a bit too young to have used these services effectively but I did try them back in the day. AOL seems to be the one I used ## Pager *“Half way home and my pager still blowin’ up”* – For I think $10 a month + the cost of the Motorola Bravo I got assigned a phone number that when called would allow you to page me. You would enter DTMF tones (the numbers on the keypad) and it would send them to my [pager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pager?ref=jasontucker.blog). As wikipedia puts it *“Numeric Pagers contain a numeric LCD display capable of displaying the calling phone number or other numeric information generally up to 10 digits. The display can also convey pager codes, a set of number codes corresponding to mutually understood pre-defined messages.”* With this I’d be able to send codes to friends and get responses back from them. This required the use of a home phone or payphone (quarters or something more elaborate) **Effectiveness –** People carried pagers with them all over the place. The need for a phone to be nearby to check messages or to respond made it a bit frustrating to use. ## Alpha Pager As pager technology evolved we were able to send one other pages using alpha text doing away with the 80085 and other things we’d send one another thinking we were funny. **Effectiveness –** People carried pagers with them all over the place and with the ability to send words to them allowed for more efficient communications. It was one way but you were able to provide more data. ## AOL Well, America Online was one of the few places where people would get together early on in my life and interact with one another in various chat rooms. I mainly chatted with people via its built-in buddy list messaging service. **Effectiveness –** With the ability to send a “you got mail” email to a friend on the service it made it easy to stay connected regardless if you were connected or not. Buddy lists and chat rooms made it easy to interact with people in real time. ## IRC The transition from BBS to the Internet lead to using IRC as the method of communication. Finding a common IRC network your friends would connect to one of the servers in that network and then selecting a channel (prefixed with a # in it’s name) you could communicate with one another in a common channel. Efnet being the one that most of my friends used with a few other such as dalnet and freenode to follow. **Effectiveness –** IRC required you to be connected to the network to send an receive messages from others. Depending on how you connected you could scroll back to play catchup and if you used a bot like an eggdrop bot you could have it monitor the room notifying you if anyone mentioned you by name. Multiple IRC networks existed so dealing with connections to multiple servers made this a challenge but if you stuck to one network of servers you’d be ok. ## ## Instant Messengers ICQ, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Windows Live Messenger, IRC, MySpace, Jabber & Google Talk were protocols used to message someone. At the time Blackberry, Windows mobile and computers could communicate with one another using these protocols. **ICQ** was weird because it used a unique number that was shared with friends instead of a phone number or even a username. Many people that grew up on **AOL** ended up continuing to use their “screen name” to message one another. AOL bought ICQ and added in some interoperability between the two. Having so many protocols and services required you to have each of these app installed on your computer to talk to all of your friends. **Effectiveness –** IM changed the game for me in being able to interact with people at home and at work. Without having the need to call somone IM was pretty amazing for back channel discussion. Knowing the online status of someone made it easy for you to know if someone was available to talk or not. ## One app to rule them all **Trillian** came on the scene and tied all of these protocols together somewhat. Acting as an aggregator of sorts Trillian would connect to each of these services and log you into them. This was the first time I was able to wrangle all of my friends in 1 app and interact with them the way they wanted to be. Not everyone used AIM or ICQ and some even used Windows Live or Myspace so having one app that did all of that was super helpful. Later I used IM+ and Pidgin on the Mac. **Effectiveness –** This and apps like it allowed for one app to connect all of the protocols together for you. There were times when things like video chat wouldn’t work due to it being a proprietary feature of the protocol in question but I loved using this thing. ## Two Way Pager *“I’m too cold, Motorola, two way page me, c’mon”* – When these came out I was working for a company that issued what I called a “barbie laptop” to each one of us. These were pagers in shape but had a flip open screen allowing you to send a message to someone using the mini keyboard below you could send text messages emails using it. AIM and other IM services made it to this device. Mine was a Motorola. **Effectiveness –** It was a close as we could get to having a smartphone back then. ## Text Messaging As phones got a bit more sophisticated you could use T9 messaging to send a text message using the 1-9+0 keys on the keypad to message someone else’s phone. Later phones got better at this with keyboards and other methods of inputting words. Once phones had cameras sending photos to one another using MMS started to get popular. **Effectiveness –** Texting took a while to get started here in the US where other countries had the lead in this. Being able to send a message from your phone ment you could effectively message anyone that you had in your phones contact list and talk with them. ## Blogging & Livejournal I kept a livejournal for many years and wrote in it daily. Livejournal allowed for people to leave comments on your entries and interact with one another either publicly or privately. This later lead me to blogging and migrating all of my live journal posts over to my blog allowing me to save them for posterity. Blogging later became a business for me building websites, podcasts and other things. ## MySpace, Friendster, Orkut All of these services evolved over time, taught people how to write poorly coded html and created businesses offering up ways for people to customize their pages. ## Blackberry *“Out the country but the BlueBerry still connect”* – I was never into the proprietary blackberry messaging service but I did have one for work. I used IRC and IM on it as well as sending text messages, all of this was just amazing to me. **Effectiveness –** Internet on my hip with all the various chat protocols at my disposal made it very efficient and effective. ## Skype Skype became a great way of doing text chat like IM but also video chat. Skype got bought by Microsoft and the amount of features that were added to the thing drove me away from it. They tried to make it do everything when it just needed to do video REALLY well. **Effectiveness –** Back in the day it crashed a lot and long conversations would become “Cylon” sounding like one of the toasters from Battlestar Galactica. ## IRC (revisited) I revisited IRC just on a whim to see if anyone was there still. Using mIRC on a Windows computer I connected to Efnet and #losangeles #california and ended up finding my future wife still using it. She brought me back to IRC. IRC was also the online group chat that WordPress developers used to work with one another on building WordPress. **Effectiveness** **–** IRC brought me to my wife, of course it was effective! Real-time messaging in a group environment is what made this method super effective. # Modern Communications ## iMessage With the iPhone now on the scene text messaging on it was amazing. Little green messages going back and forth between my iPhone and any phone my friends had, blue messages between iPhones circumvented the SMS network and just used the Internet allowing for richer conversations between Apple devices. This lead to emojis, sending higher quality photos with and without MMS and statuses on if and when someone received your message. **iMessage on the Mac** – This was a game changer for iMessaging because I could message anyone using my computer just like I did on my iPhone. Copying text from website and sending it to people or sending copied photos made this method of communication amazing to me. Apple later added the ability to SMS from the Mac using your iPhone as a conduit **Effectiveness –** Read statuses and data only messaging made communicating with people easy. Interrupting people in the middle of their workday, not so much. ## IRC (again but different) As a WordPress guy I found that many people were using IRC as their messaging platform of choice for communicating with one another online. Having grown up on IRC I thought it was cool but comical that people were still using this method of communication. **Effectiveness –** All the like minded people all in the same place at the same time. Super efficient but required you to be logged into IRC to know if someone was messaging you. ## Facebook Messenger Since most people I know use Facebook and those people that I know I may be “friends” with on Facebook using it’s messaging platform seems like the simplest way to get ahold of them. I like this one a lot since ## Google Talk / Google Hangout Google Talk (gTalk) lead to Google Hangout a way for people (up to 10 of them) to video chat with one another, WPwatercooler has been using this for over 3 years streaming live to the internets and playable from YouTube. **Effectiveness** **–** Depending on how you use it the effectiveness can be different. I use Google Hangout all the time to hold meetings with my coworkers and to record podcasts with distant friends and colleagues. I don’t use Google Talk at all but I use Google Hangout all the time. ## Slack I have a love/hate relationship with slack, and many of my friends to as well. My main beef with it is it’s very much like IRC where you can be connected to different “teams” and each time can have multiple slack “channels”. It seems like every podcasts, web service, WordPress theme and plugin has it’s own publicly facing slack team with many channels with it. **Effectiveness –** It’s annoying to have the same friend in multiple “teams” but you don’t know which one you should message them on. It’s also annoying to try and figure out which team someone messaged you on if you want to reference something they said. At some point I see slack making the user to user messaging more “Trillian” like instead of dealing with teams to talk to a person directly. ## Twitter I love twitter and have been using it for many many years. What started out as SMS based (text 40404 to interact with it) has become THE way to message anyone you like or no one at all. Marketing, hashtags and now photos and video, this thing has changed so much since it first started. Twitter’s ability for you to direct message someone means that anyone is available to me at any time. **Effectiveness –** The limit of 140 chars makes for posting long tweets interesting leaving people to tweet storm when they REALLY have something lengthy to say. DM’s are what I use this for the most outside of promoting what I do and what I’m doing that I want people to join in on. ## Instagram With what started out as a place to post pictures has become a marketing haven for people looking to get you to by something. With self-imposed limitations such as unclickable links in photo descriptions and one link in your bio to get people to go to your website it’s been interesting to see how Instagram works and how effective it’s been working for marketing people. **Effectiveness –** For sharing pictures this thing is amazing without the ability to form lists of groups of people it makes it hard to keep up with everyone you want to at once. Hashtags tie everything together when used properly. ## Snapchat Snapchat allows you to take pictures and video and save them for your followers to watch or send directly to a group of friends. This service has taken the ephemeral approach of not storing your photos and videos for later and just tossing them aside when they are done. With the ability to save your photos and videos locally but not on by default it seems this service isn’t about shaving your memories but rather sending content out into the ether. **Effectiveness –** You only see people you follow and they only see you if they follow you. It’s the polar opposite of Twitter and unlike twitter it doesn’t have a public feed. ## Voxer The latest one to hit the scene for me is Voxer, I call this the **Mom CB Radio** because the people I know use it the most are the moms in my wife’s inner circle. This is where quick responses to requests and ease of use come into play. If you were traveling with someone in two different cars using Voxer is the easiest way to talk to one another “Pull off at this next rest stop” doesn’t warrant a full-blown phone call yet sending a text just isn’t safe. Hand free and all sort of other things are available and work very well. **Effectiveness –** Quite effective for interacting on the go when reading a text just isn’t the best way to go about things. Allows for content and emotion to be added into the conversation when texting strips that away entirely. # What I currently use ## Messages I love Apple’s messages but I really wish that Android users could use the same protocol to interact with people. When sending a group message if there is 1 Android in the mix the message drops down to “green” indicating that all messaging is being sent over SMS and not iMessage. *sigh* ## Slack I’m part of a handful of Slack teams each with multiple channels in them. Due to this, I don’t see the effectiveness in any of it when I need to decide which “team” I should message someone on and that someone is in the same handful of teams I’m in. For me, it’s more of a distraction than anything else. ## Blogging / Podcasting One of the best ways for people to put digital pen to paper and write out all that I have to say on a subject. There are no limits and the content can be crosslinked to all the various social networks to be promoted and pushed out for people to notice and then read. Podcasting has really been a great way to provide a richer and personal form of broadcasting to many people without losing any emotion that text does. ## Instagram I love this service for its simplicity, there are a few things I wish it did different (lists of people for one) but, in the end, it’s a great way to share a highly manicured photo or just a random snap. ## Snapchat I consume more than I share on this service. ## Voxer I use this with my wife and her friends it works well, context and emotion aren’t lost in like text-based communication. # My observations on modern communication As I become older I’m realizing that time is a precious commodity and interrupting someone day to ask them a question or to just say “Hi” has been something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. What’s the best way to just say “Hi” to someone and what network, protocol or method should I do it on? Do I need to know which one is best for them and how do you keep track? ## In your pocket Most of these services are in your pocket but many of them are passive. Twitter is very passive, Instagram is too, same with Snapchat. Messages / SMS seems to be the one I know when I send a message to someone I have a high chance of interrupting them and what they are doing. This makes me think, is Messages / SMS they way to connect to someone to just say “Hi” and is there a way to make the message casual without bothering someone? ## “I sent you an email, go check it” You’ve seen this on social media, someone will message you and say “I sent you an email, go check it”. I guess you can’t get away from email but you also can’t get away from people telling you they emailed you either. ## All the notifications bubbles All of these methods typically come with some sort of notification bubble or notification count or even a popup notification indicating a message is waiting for you. For some getting these numbers to go away is almost a game to them and also a bit of an OCD to get them cleared out as quickly as possible. This can lead to “Inbox Zero – with a vengeance” with people just dropping quick replies to get the bubble to go away or worse yet, never responding. ## What about Instant Messaging? I for the most part I have done away with AIM, ICQ, IRC, Skype, Google Talk type messaging services and using iMessage, SMS, Twitter, Facebook and if I have to, slack. # How I like to be communicated with I recognize that people have a primary method of communication and mine is Messages or SMS. The reason being is that it for the most part, always works. Messages on iOS and Mac “just work” as long as I have mobile cell service. SMS is a fallback and that I suppose would only work if I was using the phone number at the time. If I traveled internationally I can see this being an issue which may lead to using something like WhatsApp or Viber, it’s not a concern of mine but may be for others. **Prioritized list:** iMessage, SMS, Twitter, Facebook and if I have to, Slack. # Why it all still sucks If I had to boil it down to why it still sucks it would have to have to be that things are still so willy nilly and all over the place. Slack segments their “teams” or groups of people with no connection between the various personas you have on each of the teams. It goes back to the days of AIM, ICQ, MSN, etc where each of these are different but this is all from the same company. Twitter has a common public thread but no groups. Facebook has a common public place, your page your posts and then group and direct messaging. If slack acted like Facebook with 1 login and teams that you were on that I think would fix some things for me. Asana does this with your one account and then multiple organizations you can be involved in. From there you have iMessage, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Google Hangouts all separate yet all the doing roughly the same sort of thing when it comes to direct messaging. I think it still sucks because you still have various clients (apps) you need to use to hunt down who you spoke to where. Add in brand marketing and dealing with multiple brands, personas and such and this thing becomes a huge mess. # Wrapping up - How are you navigating the many methods of interaction with people you know in person and only online? - How do you prioritize the method to use for each person and how to you keep up with it all? - How do you make a passive conversation not be an actionable item for someone or make it so it warrants their full attention? - What methods do you want people to message you? **Let me know in the comments!** ### WordPress with Non Profits - Women Who WP URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wordpress-with-non-profits-women-who-wp/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:37.000Z ## Nonprofit Resources I wanted to share with you some nonprofit resources that I know about that may or may not relate directly with WordPress. With most web development gigs you tend to find out that you need to be the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. Dealing with DNS, email migration, email setup, FTP, SSH, SSL and may other technologies that don’t directly relate to WordPress. Below you’ll find the list of resources that include web hosting themes plugins and many different discounts that are available for nonprofits. ## Sources for Discounts ### Tech Soup At the church that it worked up we buy quiet bit through the Tech Soup website this organization fines companies that are willing to donate services or discount their products and services at a very low rate. From Microsoft office being < $20 per seat too very very cheap SSL certificates. You’ll find many different things on the site and it changes almost daily so check back often and make sure you subscribe to their mailing list. [http://www.techsoup.org](http://www.techsoup.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### NJPA NJPA is the National Joint Powers Alliance and they give non profits deep discounts on all sorts of things. At the church or phone provider turned us to this organization they were able to provide us with a 35% discount on all services and hardware that sold through them. Make sure you look at the extensive list of products and services that are on here much like Tech Soup this list changes quite a bit. [http://NJPA.org](http://njpa.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## List of updated resources ### The Nonprofit WordPress Guide Every nonprofit—no matter its size or budget—deserves a high-quality website that helps them achieve their mission and make the world a better place. [The Nonprofit WordPress Guide](http://nonprofitwp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) The folks over at nonprofitWP tend to keep their list updated quite a bit showing all the different ways in which nonprofits can find discounts within the word press community. If you’re a company that makes a product or service you may want to think about providing discounts to nonprofits. ## Webhosting - [Dreamhost](https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/215769478-Non-profit-discount?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Bluehost](http://www.grassroots.org/free-website-tools-bluehost-web-hosting?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Siteground](https://www.siteground.com/non-profit-hosting.htm?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## SSL - [Discount on SSL from Comodo via TechSoup](http://www.techsoup.org/search/products/%20Comodo%20SSL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Email Hosting - [Office 365 ](https://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/nonprofits/products/office365nonprofit/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Google for NonProfits](https://www.google.com/nonprofits/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Money - [Google Grants](https://www.google.com/grants/how-it-works?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Mailing Lists - [MailChimp ](http://www.mailchimp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Offers a 15% discount to nonprofits and charities. - Signup for an account - Contact their Billing team Include username and link to website - [Constant Contact](http://support2.constantcontact.com/articles/FAQ/1921?ref=jasontucker.blog) (20% off) [Vertical Response](http://www.verticalresponse.com/pricing/non-profit/application?ref=jasontucker.blog) (15%) ## Demos of Non-Profit sites using WordPress - [GlobalVoices](https://globalvoices.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Downtown St. Johns ](http://www.downtownstjohns.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [DC Diaper Bank](http://www.dcdiaperbank.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Fauna & Flora International](http://www.fauna-flora.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Themes designed for Non Profits - [NonProfit Theme – Organic Themes](http://organicthemes.com/theme/non-profit-theme/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Philanthropy – Theme Fuse](http://themefuse.com/wp-themes-shop/nonprofit-wordpress-theme/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Rise – wow\_themes (Theme Forest)](http://themeforest.net/item/rise-ngo-and-charity-responsive-wordpress-theme/9192286?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Charitas – WPLook Studio](https://wplook.com/product/themes/non-profit/charitas-charity-nonprofit-wordpress-theme/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Kedavra – ](http://themeforest.net/item/kedavra-clean-multiconcept-elegant-theme/11867328?ref=jasontucker.blog)themeawesome - [Awaken](http://themeforest.net/item/awaken-charity-nonprofit-fundraising-theme/9702744?ref=jasontucker.blog) – Chimpstudio - [Harbor](https://harbor.gomakethings.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Plugins - [WPML](https://wpml.org/purchase/non-profits/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - Caching - [WP Super Cache](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [W3 Total Cache](https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Jetpack](https://jetpack.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Akismet](https://akismet.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Wordfence](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nonprofit-board-management/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Advanced Custom Fields](https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Gravity Forms](http://www.gravityforms.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [The Events Calendar ](https://theeventscalendar.com/apply-for-npp/?ref=jasontucker.blog)The free nonprofit license does not include support.free license for nonprofits (PRO version) all add-ons (including Facebook Event importer, public event submission, and ticket sales). The free nonprofit license does not include support. - [Give](https://givewp.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Recurring Donations](https://givewp.com/addons/recurring-donations/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [PDF Recieipts](https://givewp.com/addons/pdf-receipts/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [MailChimp](https://givewp.com/addons/mailchimp/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Stripe](https://givewp.com/addons/stripe-gateway/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Form Field Manager](https://givewp.com/addons/form-field-manager/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Event Espresso](https://eventespresso.com/contact/non-profit-discounts/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Short Pixel – Image Compression](https://shortpixel.com/contact?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [List Board Members / Staff](https://wordpress.org/plugins/nonprofit-board-management/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Volunteer Management](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wired-impact-volunteer-management/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ## CRM - [Salesforce](https://www.salesforce.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) – Deep discount - [WordPress + Sales Force ](https://wordpress.org/plugins/salesforce-wordpress-to-lead/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Gravity Forms + Sales Force](https://wordpress.org/plugins/gravity-forms-salesforce/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Presspoint[ CRM (Formerly PayPress) ](http://presspointcrm.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [WordPress Leads](https://wordpress.org/plugins/leads/?ref=jasontucker.blog) - [WooCommerce Customer Relationship Manager](http://codecanyon.net/item/woocommerce-customer-relationship-manager/?ref=jasontucker.blog) # Where can I download a copy of your slides? **[WordPress with Non Profits](https://www.slideshare.net/jasontucker/wordpress-with-non-profits?ref=jasontucker.blog "WordPress with Non Profits")** from **[Jason Tucker](https://www.slideshare.net/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog)** ### WordCamp San Diego 2016 Photos URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wordcamp-san-diego-2016-photos/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:45.000Z My photos from [WordCamp San Diego 2016](https://2016.sandiego.wordcamp.org/?ref=jasontucker.blog). It’s my first time shooting an event like this and I tried to have as much fun as I could without feeling like I was stalking people or annoying the audience with me taking random pics of them. People like [Kari Leigh](http://www.found-art-photography.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Raquel Landefeld ](https://www.instagram.com/raque%5Fl/?ref=jasontucker.blog)that take such awesome candids. I admire their work so much and at some point I’d love to end up with pics of people in the audience watching talks and looking amazing unfortunately most of the pics I took look like these people are asleep 🙁 I guess this just means that I needs to wait for the right time in the talk to snap some pics or follow the other photogs and learn from them. **One quick thing**, please help your friend and mine, [Kari Leigh buy some coffee or some expensive glass](http://www.found-art-photography.com/coffee-and-glass-fundraising-campaign/?ref=jasontucker.blog) so she can make us look awesome at an upcoming WordCamp. Enjoy the pics! \[foogallery id=”9585″\] ### Finding and saving purchase receipts in email to Google Drive URL: https://jasontucker.blog/finding-saving-purchase-receipts-email-google-drive/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:17:55.000Z It’s been that time of year again when all of us needed to find and collect receipts of various purchases we made and reconcile them against our bank statements. For either tax purposes or just staying on top of your finances it’s a good way to go. At my day gig I run the IT department and I’m ultimately responsible for the collection of said receipts and submitting them to our department Administrative Assistant to organize and reconcile for me. If I lost the receipt from a purchase I need to login to the website (typically Amazon) and find the invoice and save it to PDF and email it to her. She prints it and makes it available for me to sign and submit to the accounting department. This is a monthly task that I wish I could make easier for both of us; I found what I think is the perfect solution to this and I wanted to share it with you. My goal in this is to NOT spend money on something to make this happen (I know Expensify.com would be a perfect fit for this but it’s more of an office culture thing at my work I guess). I also want to cut down on the number of websites we need to login to and download receipts that didn’t get emailed to me, 1 or 2 each month is no biggie doing 20-30 of them.. no thanks. **Quick warning!!!** My work is an Apple and Google Apps shop so all of this will be either Apple based or Google Apps based. If you are using Office 365 or Lotus Notes, Domino, Exchange or some other setup feel free to use The Google to find a solution that works for those, you won’t find it here. Here is how I propose do this: 1. Install a Google Sheet Addon [Save Emails and Attachments](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-emails-and-attachmen/nflmnfjphdbeagnilbihcodcophecebc?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog) that has a script that will do all the hard work for us. This is rad because it runs automatically every so often and just take care finding and saving the emails and attachments, soo cool! 2. Run a test search in Gmail using **label:^smartlabel\_receipt** to hunt down most of the receipts. Google introduced this [hidden smart label](http://lifehacker.com/find-receipts-in-gmail-with-this-hidden-smart-label-510194412?ref=jasontucker.blog) a while back and it still works. 3. Create a rule using the addon that will search our “All Mail” in Gmail looking for receipts along with the smartlabel outlined above. 4. Create more rules for things that the smartlabel didn’t find yet are easy to spot, free version of the addon allows for 2 rules. 5. Have the Addon save these to the Google Drive folder of our choice. 6. Share the folder with the department Admin so she can access the files in the folder. 7. Login to the remaining websites that we need receipts for and load them up, File > Print > Save to PDF and save them to Google Drive with the rest of them. 8. Organize the root folder of this to have 2016-01, 2016-02 etc folders where all the files can reside, this will be a manual process unless I can get something like [Hazel](https://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php?ref=jasontucker.blog) to do it for me 🙂 Setting up the [Save Emails and Attachments](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-emails-and-attachmen/nflmnfjphdbeagnilbihcodcophecebc?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog) addon for Google Sheets is easy [![Add-ons > Save Emails and Attachments > Create New Rule](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/04/Receipts_-_Google_Sheets.png)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/04/Receipts%5F-%5FGoogle%5FSheets.png) Add-ons > Save Emails and Attachments > Create New Rule From here you can **Create New Rule**, below are the options I used. [![Create New Rule](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/04/Receipts_-_Google_Sheets-570x497.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/04/Receipts%5F-%5FGoogle%5FSheets.jpg) - **Label** – I selected “All” since that will include EVERYTHING. - Has **the words** – I typed in **label:^smartlabel\_receipt** so it can use that smart label, you can specify additional text if you want to narrow it down even further. - **Select Drive Folder** – This let me specify which folder on Google Drive I wanted it to save to. The free version of this Addon only allows for 2 rules to be setup, you can read more about the limitations here [Save Emails and Attachments](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-emails-and-attachmen/nflmnfjphdbeagnilbihcodcophecebc?hl=en&ref=jasontucker.blog). Hopefully this helps you out, I’m looking to add in more stuff using [Hazel on the Mac](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&ref=jasontucker.blog#q=hazel%20organize%20receipts) to rename the files based on the content of the email or attachment but this works. If you have any questions feel free to leave me a comment below I’d love to know how you go about doing this or if you ended up using this combo to make things happen. ### Admiral at Brea Olinda Water Polo Tournament 2016 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/admiral-at-brea-olinda-water-polo-tournament-2016/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:18:05.000Z This weekend I had the pleasure of watching my daughter play in the BOA Tournament at Brea Olinda High School in Brea California. Her team “Admiral” played Triton, BOA and Aliso and I recorded the games poolside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COR8JBtc3wU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWfaE3Rw8FM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMc5F9B84bo ## ## Photos ### I shot some photos between games \[foogallery id=”9524″\] ### I discuss how I like Anchor URL: https://jasontucker.blog/i-discuss-how-i-like-anchor/ Last updated: 2023-06-18T23:18:18.000Z I discuss how I like Anchor so far and how similar it is to apps that I’ve used in the past. ### My girl getting ready for URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-girl-getting-ready-for/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:26:58.000Z [![My girl getting ready for](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/02/1455083685.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBmEHcSvFdt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Whittier, California [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBmEHcSvFdt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Thanks for the URL: https://jasontucker.blog/thanks-for-the-2/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:26:58.000Z [![Thanks for the](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/02/1455068450.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBlnDq8vFTJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBlnDq8vFTJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### It's not singing the or anything but has been pretty awesome URL: https://jasontucker.blog/its-not-singing-the-or-anything-but-has-been-pretty-awesome/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:27:11.000Z [![It's not singing the or anything but has been pretty awesome](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/02/1454888438.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBgPtjJPFSQ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBgPtjJPFSQ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We're getting our on instead of the URL: https://jasontucker.blog/were-getting-our-on-instead-of-the/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:27:12.000Z [![We're getting our on instead of the](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/02/1454875900.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBf3zBgvFS5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBf3zBgvFS5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### There's my girl! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/theres-my-girl/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:27:24.000Z [![There's my girl!](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/02/1454560462.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBWeJhRPFd4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Whittier High School Vic Lopez Auditorium. [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBWeJhRPFd4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The sunset is getting pretty awesome tonight URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-sunset-is-getting-pretty-awesome-tonight/ Last updated: 2017-02-13T03:47:37.000Z [The sunset is getting pretty awesome tonight![Our favorite](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/01/1454119084.jpg) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBJUSTzPFf6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Another stunning sunset URL: https://jasontucker.blog/another-stunning-sunset/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:28:20.000Z [![Another stunning sunset](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/01/1454119079.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBJURpvvFf4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBJURpvvFf4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Tack sharp Mardi Gras URL: https://jasontucker.blog/tack-sharp-mardi-gras/ Last updated: 2016-02-11T20:28:33.000Z [![Tack sharp Mardi Gras](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2016/01/1454107022.jpg)](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBI9R6vvFVD/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Disneyland [View in Instagram ⇒](https://www.instagram.com/p/BBI9R6vvFVD/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watching the Stormtroopers walk by URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watching-the-stormtroopers-walk-by/ Last updated: 2017-02-13T03:47:37.000Z [Watching the Stormtroopers walk by Hey whats up this is Jason Tucker for jasontucker.blog and today’s #SSSVEDA question is was my favorite activity or thing I like to do in my city. > > Well I live in the city of Whittier California and we don’t really have seasons, California doesn’t have seasons you know? We do have seasons but they don’t really change all that much. We don’t have snow, we do have earthquakes. Some people say we have “earthquake seasons” but let’s see here.. so the things I like to do. I live close to Disneyland so we had annual passes we would go to Disneyland. I also enjoy going to the park with my daughter, doing that and another activity I enjoy doing is bike riding with my daughters as well as bike riding around the block long and distances down to the beach and stuff. I’d have to say bike riding is probably the thing that I really like the most. Well that is a my answer to my question for today, if you want to check out some of my videos and stuff that I do. I do some photography work as well as time-lapse photography is which have been using as my an opening videos for this vlog here so go take a look at those and check them out alrighty, talk to you next time. Buh bye ### #SSSVEDA 003 - What is the first app you check every day? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sssveda-003-what-is-the-first-app-you-check-every-day/ Last updated: 2015-08-03T22:00:04.000Z Today’s #SSSVEDA topic suggestion is what is the first app you check every day? I answered this question in the video above. Email (for work) & [Nuzzel](http://nuzzel.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) (for social media) ### Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video URL: https://jasontucker.blog/night-swimming-time-lapse-4k-video/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:11.000Z My daughter and her friend went night swimming so I thought it was a good time to try my hand at low light time-lapse with moving objects. ### #SSSVEDA 002 - Morning or Night Person? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sssveda-002-morning-or-night-person/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T16:16:55.000Z SSSVEDA has this great calendar on topic ideas to video about, today’s topic is Morning or Night Person? ### #SSSVEDA 001 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sssveda-001/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T16:20:16.000Z This is my first video for #SSSVEDA, using my [Panasonic DMC-G7](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X409O6O/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00X409O6O&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=5TALA5RTOIYGTM6E&ref=jasontucker.blog) I record my first video at 11:58pm on August 1st, below is that video: ## What is #SSSVEDA? I was looking through Twitter and found an interesting tweet by @d\_espi stating that he was going get involved in something called a SSSVEDA https://twitter.com/d\_espi/status/627717996979486721 Not knowing what that was I thought I’d do a bit of googling and find out. Two times a year [SavvySexySocial](http://savvysexysocial.com/sssveda/?ref=jasontucker.blog) does this as a way to get people to feel more comfortable in front of the camera and get to recording some stuff. They offer an editorial calendar so you don’t have to come up with ideas on your own and they use a google doc to tell you of who else is taking the month-long challenge. Here is the video that brought me up to speed. [Go sign up if you want to get involved.](http://savvysexysocial.com/sssveda/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Video from last night watching in playing The kids aren't alright URL: https://jasontucker.blog/video-from-last-night-watching-in-playing-the-kids-arent-alright/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:18:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11312556_409276915943815_1927735780_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/53ePHKvFR9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: The Hollywood Palladium [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/53ePHKvFR9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Trying my hand at a night time swim URL: https://jasontucker.blog/trying-my-hand-at-a-night-time-swim/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:18:54.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11821891_1458226387814273_1805979635_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/53a7nuvFcb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/53a7nuvFcb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Sold out show URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sold-out-show/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:19:09.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11375262_448730285307023_1002884063_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/51LPT4PFan/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Reyes Photo taken at: The Hollywood Palladium [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/51LPT4PFan/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The Offspring finishing up their set URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-offspring-finishing-up-their-set/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:19:10.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11809925_1607536389514457_844944650_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/51LKNovFag/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: The Hollywood Palladium [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/51LKNovFag/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The Offspring at the Palladium URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-offspring-at-the-palladium/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:19:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11337148_1440927519568941_1128378907_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/51IkQNvFWd/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Mayfair Photo taken at: The Hollywood Palladium [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/51IkQNvFWd/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Fear opening for The Offspring URL: https://jasontucker.blog/fear-opening-for-the-offspring/ Last updated: 2015-08-06T08:19:48.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/08/11324485_1457173137941125_1789113567_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/502teaPFcC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Juno Photo taken at: The Hollywood Palladium [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/502teaPFcC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Head in the clouds - 4K time-lapse of clouds with birds on a power line URL: https://jasontucker.blog/head-in-the-clouds-4k-time-lapse-of-clouds-and-birds-on-power-line/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:12.000Z Yesterday I recorded a time-lapse of clouds and I wanted to get the power lines in the shot to watch the number of birds that land on it. The shot it’s composed right but the result is interesting. I lined up the camera with the power line just over the neighbors apartment (you can see it in the shot at the bottom of the screen) and set the camera to time-lapse at ISO 200 32mm 0ev f/5.4 1/400\. I then had the camera render out the video itself and it produced the image above. I’ve looked at ways to do some post processing of the images before turning them into a video off camera and have found [Mac App Store – Sequence](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sequence/id572525913?mt=12&mt=8&mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ct=searchlink&ref=jasontucker.blog) to be a pretty cool app to try. I captured a time-lapse last night of the moon from my patio as a test and accidentally forgot to turn on manual focus so the video keeps jumping in and out of focus, here is what not do to when taking a photo of the sky especially when it’s in low light. As you can tell, experimenting leads to learning. I hope if someone is just starting out with photography finds my blog posts about it will learn from my mistakes and can correct themselves before spending 2-3 hours capturing a time-lapse like I did 🙂 What I have learned is that taking the photo is just the first part in taking a good photo, shooting in RAW allows for post production work to happen and I need to learn how to do that. Time lapses in particular can be edited just fine using software such as [Sequence](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sequence/id572525913?mt=12&mt=8&mt=8&at=11l4Wo&ct=searchlink&ref=jasontucker.blog) or [LRTimeLapse4](http://lrtimelapse.com/?ap%5Fid=jasontucker&ref=jasontucker.blog). I’m working on getting there but I’m far from a Lightroom Pro so Sequence may have to do for now. ### This week's LinkList August 3, 2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-weeks-linklist-august-3-2015/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:22:39.000Z 1. [Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvDnBlqZj3w&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video - YouTube") 2. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “http://t.co/sj0QtGSRvF Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video My daughter and her friend wen… http://t.co/XKZ2FmdB9Q http://t.co/VIxqLALC39”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/628049105802145792/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "http://t.co/sj0QtGSRvF Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video My daughter and her friend wen… http://t.co/XKZ2FmdB9Q http://t.co/VIxqLALC39"") 3. [Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8895/night-swimming-time-lapse-4k-video "Night Swimming Time-Lapse 4K Video | Jason Tucker") 4. [Membership Plugin Review: FastMember](http://chrislema.com/membership-plugin-review-fastmember/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Membership Plugin Review: FastMember") 5. [ibrahim (@iok) | Twitter](https://twitter.com/iok?ref=jasontucker.blog "ibrahim (@iok) | Twitter") WordPress & Politics: Political WordPress Themes & Plugins for Politicians, Ele http://t.co/gtzn0ST0Zi #WordPress pic.twitter.com/5gTxmlgwiQ 6. [Episode #93 Brian Bourn – WP Elevation](http://www.wpelevation.com/2015/07/episode-93-brian-bourn/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Episode #93 Brian Bourn - WP Elevation") What is the not-quite enterprise? Brian Bourn explains on this episode. http://t.co/fCLAHfDhRH 7. [DC Shoes | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/DC.Shoes/videos/10152983458681669/ "DC Shoes | Facebook") 8. [tara strong on Twitter: “I voiced your childhood #StoryOfMyLifeIn4Words http://t.co/Z4P9EL9mNS”](https://twitter.com/tarastrong/status/627840590344949760/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "tara strong on Twitter: "I voiced your childhood #StoryOfMyLifeIn4Words http://t.co/Z4P9EL9mNS"") I voiced your childhood #StoryOfMyLifeIn4Words pic.twitter.com/Z4P9EL9mNS 9. [#SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person? | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8887/sssveda-002-morning-or-night-person "#SSSVEDA 002 - Morning or Night Person? | Jason Tucker") #SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person? http://t.co/D6IfJ6bIu8 http://t.co/xTILzJw0NS 10. [Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person? – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIRtM2EPyvo&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 - Morning or Night Person? - YouTube") Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person?: http://t.co/10etd5z5mo via @YouTube— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 11. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “http://t.co/V4rvQKaVDT Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person? So am I a morning or a night person? http://t.co/JpS4MVbC0B”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627971789604417536/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "http://t.co/V4rvQKaVDT Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 - Morning or Night Person? So am I a morning or a night person? http://t.co/JpS4MVbC0B"") http://t.co/V4rvQKaVDT Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 002 – Morning or Night Person? So am I a morning or a night person? pic.twitter.com/JpS4MVbC0B— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 12. [#SSSVEDA 001 | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8882/sssveda-001 "#SSSVEDA 001 | Jason Tucker") #SSSVEDA 001 http://t.co/9UPcKqP8sM— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 13. [It’s Amazon’s World. The USPS Just Delivers in It – Bloomberg Business](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-30/it-s-amazon-s-world-the-usps-just-delivers-in-it?ref=jasontucker.blog "It’s Amazon’s World. The USPS Just Delivers in It - Bloomberg Business") It’s Amazon’s World. The USPS Just Delivers in It – Bloomberg via Nuzzel 14. [Ice T Re-Voices Care Bears, The Smurfs and Dora the Explorer – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhmBhQJxMR0&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Ice T Re-Voices Care Bears, The Smurfs and Dora the Explorer - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Ice T Re-Voices Care Bears, The Smurfs and Dora the Explorer http://youtu.be/yhmBhQJxMR0 15. [runkeeper.com](http://runkeeper.com/user/jasontucker/activity/625743043?tripIdBase36=acjuf7&channel=web.activity.shorturl&activityList=false&&ref=jasontucker.blog "runkeeper.com") Just completed a 9.88 mi bike – It missed 2 of my miles. Lame. http://t.co/ZP2kfxIIF2 #Runkeeper— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 16. [http://rnkpr.com/aacjuf7?live=true](http://t.co/IsTX03u95X?ref=jasontucker.blog "http://rnkpr.com/aacjuf7?live=true") Watch my bikeright now withRunkeeper Live http://t.co/IsTX03u95X #RKLive #Runkeeper— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 17. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “http://t.co/rLIOV37sue Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I’ll do a proper intro tomorrow http://t.co/CLPnG5rLbD”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627793612848386048/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "http://t.co/rLIOV37sue Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I'll do a proper intro tomorrow http://t.co/CLPnG5rLbD"") http://t.co/rLIOV37sue Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I’ll do a proper intro tomorrow pic.twitter.com/CLPnG5rLbD— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 18. [Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2jO36gslE&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 - YouTube") Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001: http://t.co/G57yhSf6ue via @YouTube— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 19. [Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2jO36gslE&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 - YouTube") I’m participating in the #SSSVEDA – Vlog Every Day in August http://savvysexysocial.com/sssveda/ 20. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “http://t.co/3KdPVdxBXo Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I’ll do a proper intro tomorrow http://t.co/pk83GiMuGs”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627769860261588992/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "http://t.co/3KdPVdxBXo Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I'll do a proper intro tomorrow http://t.co/pk83GiMuGs"") http://t.co/3KdPVdxBXo Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I’ll do a proper intro tomorrow pic.twitter.com/pk83GiMuGs— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 21. [Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG3-XPOBECQ&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 - YouTube") Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001: http://t.co/E5NvAmC6q3 via @YouTube— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 22. [Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG3-XPOBECQ&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 - YouTube") http://t.co/3KdPVdxBXo Jason Tucker #SSSVEDA 001 This is my first #SSSVEDA 001 I’ll do a proper intro tomorrow pic.twitter.com/pk83GiMuGs— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 23. [What Happens In Your Body One Hour After Drinking A Can Of Coke – DesignTAXI.com](http://designtaxi.com/news/378129/What-Happens-In-Your-Body-One-Hour-After-Drinking-A-Can-Of-Coke/?ref=jasontucker.blog "What Happens In Your Body One Hour After Drinking A Can Of Coke - DesignTAXI.com") What Happens In Your Body One Hour After Drinking A Can Of Coke – DesignTAXI via Nuzzel 24. [#SSSVEDA: Vlog Every Day in August 2015! – Savvy Sexy Social | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/savvysexysocial/videos/968591423184585/ "#SSSVEDA: Vlog Every Day in August 2015! - Savvy Sexy Social | Facebook") I’m participating in this! Let me know if you do too 25. [Daniel Espinoza on Twitter: “My first #sssveda is also my channel trailer! http://t.co/GNV1tRFf6Z http://t.co/Xx9Ev1BPoj”](https://twitter.com/d%5Fespi/status/627717996979486721/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Daniel Espinoza on Twitter: "My first #sssveda is also my channel trailer! http://t.co/GNV1tRFf6Z http://t.co/Xx9Ev1BPoj"") My first #sssveda is also my channel trailer! http://t.co/GNV1tRFf6Z pic.twitter.com/Xx9Ev1BPoj— Daniel Espinoza (@d\_espi) August 2, 2015 26. [Roving Coder Channel Trailer | Daniel Espinoza](http://daniel.gd/000-roving-coder-channel-trailer/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Roving Coder Channel Trailer | Daniel Espinoza") My first #sssveda is also my channel trailer! http://t.co/GNV1tRFf6Z pic.twitter.com/Xx9Ev1BPoj— Daniel Espinoza (@d\_espi) August 2, 2015 27. [Chris Lema on Twitter: “First memory of generosity: dad buying ice cream for whole soccer team at Thrifty. http://t.co/YoZsH6XMCL”](https://twitter.com/chrislema/status/627674755244535808/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Chris Lema on Twitter: "First memory of generosity: dad buying ice cream for whole soccer team at Thrifty. http://t.co/YoZsH6XMCL"") First memory of generosity: dad buying ice cream for whole soccer team at Thrifty. pic.twitter.com/YoZsH6XMCL— Chris Lema (@chrislema) August 2, 2015 28. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/53ePHKvFR9/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Video from last night watching #theoffspring in #hollywood playing The kids aren’t alright… https://t.co/JnmUxsF0Kv— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 29. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Trying my hand at a night time swim #dmcg7 #panasonic #mft #m43 http://t.co/P7E3QwsxD0”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627682790008586240/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Trying my hand at a night time swim #dmcg7 #panasonic #mft #m43 http://t.co/P7E3QwsxD0"") Trying my hand at anight time swim #dmcg7 #panasonic #mft #m43 pic.twitter.com/P7E3QwsxD0— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 30. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/53a7nuvFcb/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Trying my hand at anight time swim #dmcg7 #panasonic #mft #m43 https://t.co/EOC4JFh78O— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 31. [Breathtaking photos capture rare blue moon](http://mashable.com/2015/08/01/blue-moon-photos/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Breathtaking photos capture rare blue moon") Breathtaking photos capture rare blue moon -Mashable http://t.co/QUl4hYmeKC via @nuzzel— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 2, 2015 32. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Sold out show #theoffspring http://t.co/NYK5aSmDIk”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627366783452880896/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Sold out show #theoffspring http://t.co/NYK5aSmDIk"") Sold out show #theoffspring pic.twitter.com/NYK5aSmDIk— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 33. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/51LPT4PFan/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Sold out show #theoffspring @ The Hollywood Palladium https://t.co/2sHSNHBM2D— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 34. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “The Offspring finishing up their set. #theoffspring http://t.co/obVVaRmAHl”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627366625617031168/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "The Offspring finishing up their set. #theoffspring http://t.co/obVVaRmAHl"") The Offspring finishing up their set. #theoffspring pic.twitter.com/obVVaRmAHl— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 35. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/51LKNovFag/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") The Offspring finishing up their set. #theoffspring @ The Hollywood Palladium https://t.co/2FLK1VHszU— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 36. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “The Offspring at the Palladium http://t.co/5ptVtSeZYA”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627360947376652288/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "The Offspring at the Palladium http://t.co/5ptVtSeZYA"") The Offspring at the Palladium pic.twitter.com/5ptVtSeZYA— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 37. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/51IkQNvFWd/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") The Offspring at the Palladium @ The Hollywood Palladium https://t.co/btuGIgnIVl— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 38. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Fear opening for The Offspring #kroq http://t.co/iqZSqrE6Ke”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627321660694208512/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Fear opening for The Offspring #kroq http://t.co/iqZSqrE6Ke"") Fear opening for The Offspring #kroq pic.twitter.com/iqZSqrE6Ke— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 39. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/502teaPFcC/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Fear opening for The Offspring #kroq @ The Hollywood Palladium https://t.co/uyfhLbHt5Q— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 40. [Jason | Hollywood Palladium](https://www.swarmapp.com/c/gOcyXYY5vZA?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason | Hollywood Palladium") Watching Offspring with Bill (@ Hollywood Palladium forKROQ Presents The Offspring in Los Angeles, CA) https://t.co/jEDjwac64r— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) August 1, 2015 41. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “@kimdoyal just an FYI, your related links &social share on mobile give me about 200px in the middle to read content. http://t.co/CSZPylR7wu”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/627167454414790656/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "@kimdoyal just an FYI, your related links &social share on mobile give me about 200px in the middle to read content. http://t.co/CSZPylR7wu"") @kimdoyal justan FYI, your related links &social share on mobile give me about200px in the middle to read content. pic.twitter.com/CSZPylR7wu— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 42. [Failed Moon Timelapse – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e93LaRdObTg&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Failed Moon Timelapse - YouTube") Failed MoonTimelapse: http://t.co/SWA1pYHqbi via @YouTube— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 43. [Head in the clouds – 4K time-lapse of clouds with birds on a power line | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8879/head-in-the-clouds-4k-time-lapse-of-clouds-and-birds-on-power-line "Head in the clouds - 4K time-lapse of clouds with birds on a power line | Jason Tucker") Head in the clouds – 4K time-lapse of clouds with birds on a power line http://t.co/ayiAoGqgkN #photography #timelapse— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 44. [On Life and Family « Nick Haskins](http://nickhaskins.com/2015/07/on-life-and-family/?ref=jasontucker.blog "On Life and Family « Nick Haskins") On Life and Family http://t.co/MqIW14gnUX Please RT— Nick Haskins (@nphaskins) July 30, 2015 45. [KROQ Presents The Offspring at Hollywood Palladium on Fri Jul 31, 2015 7:30 PM PDT — Live Nation](http://www.livenation.com/events/450065-jul-31-2015-kroq-presents-the-offspring?ref=jasontucker.blog "KROQ Presents The Offspring at Hollywood Palladium on Fri Jul 31, 2015 7:30 PM PDT — Live Nation") Looking forward to seeing Offspring and Fear tonight at the Hollywood Palladium in LA http://t.co/5aopqOxnnM— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 46. [Clouds Timelapse 4K – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU4lZ42eW4E&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Clouds Timelapse 4K - YouTube") Time lapse of early evening clouds in Whittier, CA shot in 4K http://t.co/LElrP4Q4sl— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 47. [Report: Rising Disney World Ticket Costs Prompting Many Parents To Leave Children At Home – The Onion – America’s Finest News Source](http://www.theonion.com/article/report-rising-disney-world-ticket-costs-prompting--50967?ref=jasontucker.blog "Report: Rising Disney World Ticket Costs Prompting Many Parents To Leave Children At Home - The Onion - America's Finest News Source") 48. [Manual focus techniques for mirrorless cameras – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZLhblcSBI&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Manual focus techniques for mirrorless cameras - YouTube") I liked on #YouTube: Manual focus techniques formirrorless cameras http://t.co/GklA1aELa1— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 31, 2015 49. [Amazon.com](https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/43LAY40SSVO2/ref=cm%5Fsw%5Fr%5Fip%5Fwl%5Fo%5FVQSUvb04VR1RW?ref=jasontucker.blog "Amazon.com") I’ve been working on a “photography stuff is love to have” wish list on Amazon. Do you ever build lists like this to get and idea of the things you want? 50. [Free: PSDFest Design Asset Bundle | Cult of Mac Deals](https://deals.cultofmac.com/sales/free-psdfest-design-bundle?rid=953943&ref=jasontucker.blog "Free: PSDFest Design Asset Bundle | Cult of Mac Deals") 51. [Free: ‘The Joy of Bootstrap’ Course | Cult of Mac Deals](https://deals.cultofmac.com/sales/free-the-joy-of-bootstrap-course?rid=953943&ref=jasontucker.blog "Free: 'The Joy of Bootstrap' Course | Cult of Mac Deals") 52. [Jason Tucker shares his love for WordPress in a candid interview](http://www.cloudways.com/blog/interview-jason-tucker/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker shares his love for WordPress in a candid interview") In Conversation With @JasonTucker of @WPWatercooler – http://t.co/VC4q4w04WT via @Cloudways \~WA— Cloudways (@Cloudways) August 1, 2015 53. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Photo of sunlight casting down over @EvFreeFullerton North Campus this morning. #earlybirdcatchestheworm http://t.co/fwkOXP0guu”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/626779049268916224/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Photo of sunlight casting down over @EvFreeFullerton North Campus this morning. #earlybirdcatchestheworm http://t.co/fwkOXP0guu"") Photo of sunlight casting down over @EvFreeFullerton North Campus this morning. #earlybirdcatchestheworm pic.twitter.com/fwkOXP0guu— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 30, 2015 54. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “What a cool way to start a early morning. Arrived around 7:15 to see this wander. Stoked I had my #panasonic #dmcg7… http://t.co/gCaGZbuP1Z”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/626763172498812928/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "What a cool way to start a early morning. Arrived around 7:15 to see this wander. Stoked I had my #panasonic #dmcg7… http://t.co/gCaGZbuP1Z"") What a cool way to starta early morning. Arrived around 7:15 to see thiswander. Stoked I had my #panasonic #dmcg7… pic.twitter.com/gCaGZbuP1Z— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 30, 2015 55. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/5w4vwFPFaa/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") What a cool way to starta early morning. Arrived around 7:15 to see thiswander. Stoked I had my… https://t.co/w4ioauC2lN— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 30, 2015 56. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “@chrislema found a hiccup http://t.co/WgPjKS4lsc”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/626744282188132352/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "@chrislema found a hiccup http://t.co/WgPjKS4lsc"") @chrislema found a hiccup pic.twitter.com/WgPjKS4lsc— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 30, 2015 57. [Blue Moon Eve Timelapse in 4K | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8868/blue-moon-eve-timelapse-in-4k "Blue Moon Eve Timelapse in 4K | Jason Tucker") Last night I took a #timelapse of what I’m calling #BlueMoon Eve http://t.co/QPF8vnTMbv— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 30, 2015 ### Blue Moon Eve Timelapse in 4K URL: https://jasontucker.blog/blue-moon-eve-timelapse-in-4k/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:13.000Z So tonight it’s what I’m calling “Blue Moon Eve” and after reading about the “[Blue Moon](http://www.space.com/30083-blue-moon-full-moon-friday.html?ref=jasontucker.blog)” I thought I’d see how awesome the moon looked tonight. Once I went outside I saw CLOUDS lots and lots of clouds! I took about 20 time-lapse shots and then cars kept coming down my street (yup, I was in the middle of my cul-de-sac with my tripod taking pictures of what looked like the side of my apartment building. As you can see in my [other time lapses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFKLYkMFmvI&list=PLT4hI3SgCr175pmy9jcvfEwFrgusXHJMO&ref=jasontucker.blog) the sky has been this murky nastiness so seeing something new like this tonight I just had to get the camera out and get to snapping. Here is the specs for this shoot: On my [Panasonic DMC-G7](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZQ2AKHK/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZQ2AKHK&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=BZHLJQ572TC5YMKF&ref=jasontucker.blog) I setup a 10 second interval with 5″ (second) shutter at 200 ISO with f5.6\. I used the [G Vario 1:3.5-5.6/14-42](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B7FOVAM/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B7FOVAM&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=TILWD2FQ5IRVZ7FN&ref=jasontucker.blog) kit lens. I ended up shooting about 278 photos (I would have done more but my battery was running out of juice) I set the LVF (live view finder) to only in the eye piece to save on battery. I then combined all the photos in-camera to make a 30 fps video file at 4K resolution. I uploaded it to [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFKLYkMFmvI&list=PLT4hI3SgCr175pmy9jcvfEwFrgusXHJMO&ref=jasontucker.blog) for your viewing pleasure. ### This week's LinkList July 25, 2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-weeks-linklist-july-25-2015/ Last updated: 2015-07-24T22:34:58.000Z 1. [OKDOTHIS](https://okdothis.com/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog "OKDOTHIS") I just joined @OKDOTHIS. Check out my profile: http://t.co/pZCj4HxW6h #OKDOTHIS 2. [Home · Powerpig’s Builds ‘n Things · Online Store Powered by Storenvy](http://powerpig.storenvy.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Home · Powerpig's Builds 'n Things · Online Store Powered by Storenvy") 3. [Mashable on Twitter: “This new sensor-enabled car seat could make you a less forgetful parent. http://t.co/UthmGVob8N http://t.co/GlNbeOFUoi”](https://twitter.com/mashable/status/624634916014288896/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Mashable on Twitter: "This new sensor-enabled car seat could make you a less forgetful parent. http://t.co/UthmGVob8N http://t.co/GlNbeOFUoi"") 4. [Photography | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/photography "Photography | Jason Tucker") 5. [This new car seat for children could make you a less forgetful parent](http://mashable.com/2015/07/24/walmart-car-seat-babies/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-Tw-main-link&ref=jasontucker.blog "This new car seat for children could make you a less forgetful parent") 6. [How I use the Apple Watch » David Bressler](http://davidbressler.com/2015/07/24/how-i-use-the-apple-watch/?ref=jasontucker.blog "How I use the Apple Watch » David Bressler") 7. [Thesis, Automattic, and WordPress | Post Status](https://poststatus.com/thesis-automattic-and-wordpress/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Thesis, Automattic, and WordPress | Post Status") 8. [A Mother’s Social Media Post Shatters Lives in Gut-Wrenching Ad from AT&T – Video – Creativity Online](http://creativity-online.com/work/att-it-can-wait--close-to-home/42768?ref=jasontucker.blog "A Mother's Social Media Post Shatters Lives in Gut-Wrenching Ad from AT&T - Video - Creativity Online") 9. [Marcus Stanley – Worship Leaders: What would you do? | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Pianist247/videos/852473578110230/ "Marcus Stanley - Worship Leaders: What would you do? | Facebook") 10. [DMCev – by DeLorean Motor Company and Epic EV](http://delorean.com/dmcev/?ref=jasontucker.blog "DMCev - by DeLorean Motor Company and Epic EV") 11. [A Tweet-Sized Exploit Can Get Root On OS X 10.10 – Slashdot](http://apple.slashdot.org/story/15/07/23/1543241/a-tweet-sized-exploit-can-get-root-on-os-x-1010?ref=jasontucker.blog "A Tweet-Sized Exploit Can Get Root On OS X 10.10 - Slashdot") 12. [Second sunset timelapse from Arroyo Pescadero Trail | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8748/second-sunset-timelapse-from-arroyo-pescadero-trail "Second sunset timelapse from Arroyo Pescadero Trail | Jason Tucker") 13. [Sunset over the LA Skyline 4K Timelapse – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2RG1MoVYs&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Sunset over the LA Skyline 4K Timelapse - YouTube") 14. [3 dead when gunman opens fire in Lafayette theater – CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/23/us/louisiana-theater-shooting/?ref=jasontucker.blog "3 dead when gunman opens fire in Lafayette theater - CNN.com") 15. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Taking another #timelapse #m43 #kitlens #mft #microfourthirds #Panasonic #DMC #Whittier #sunset http://t.co/eKVhY7rZyO”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/624414032980758528/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Taking another #timelapse #m43 #kitlens #mft #microfourthirds #Panasonic #DMC #Whittier #sunset http://t.co/eKVhY7rZyO"") 16. [All Dressed Up: Bourn to Balance](http://workingnaked.com/2015/07/23/all-dressed-up-bourn-to-balance/?ref=jasontucker.blog "All Dressed Up: Bourn to Balance") Love seeing my friends in publications. 17. [Dead LA man who had 1,200 guns identified, is ‘part alien’ – NY Daily News](http://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/dead-la-man-1-200-guns-identified-part-alien-article-1.2301594?ref=jasontucker.blog "Dead LA man who had 1,200 guns identified, is 'part alien' - NY Daily News") Typical LA 🙂 18. [Pixels | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/PixelsMovie/videos/718984361561762/ "Pixels | Facebook") You’d think so but I’m not even remotely interested in seeing this movie in the theaters. #adamruinedit 19. [My Amazon Wish List](http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/43LAY40SSVO2/ref=cm%5Fwl%5Fhuc%5Fview?ref=jasontucker.blog "Amazon.com") Building a photography wishlist for my micro four thirds camera 20. [Admit It: You People Want To See How Far This Goes, Don’t You? – The Onion – America’s Finest News Source](http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/admit-it-you-people-want-see-how-far-goes-dont-you-50895?ref=jasontucker.blog "Admit It: You People Want To See How Far This Goes, Don’t You? - The Onion - America's Finest News Source") 21. [The First Micro Four Third Lenses You Should Buy | The Wirecutter](http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-first-micro-four-third-lenses-you-should-buy/?ref=jasontucker.blog "The First Micro Four Third Lenses You Should Buy | The Wirecutter") 22. [Parking structure photos at EvFree Fullerton | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8715/parking-structure-photos-at-evfree-fullerton "Parking structure photos at EvFree Fullerton | Jason Tucker") 23. [Time Lapse Clouds 4K – Whittier, CA – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjCSPrTQw1g&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Time Lapse Clouds 4K - Whittier, CA - YouTube") 24. [Clouds 4K Time Lapse – Whittier CA – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZstC%5FiNA4s&feature=youtu.be&a&ref=jasontucker.blog "Clouds 4K Time Lapse - Whittier CA - YouTube") 25. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Shooting a time lapse with my daughter Jess. http://t.co/VPAFhT8FmF”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/623681848934182912/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Shooting a time lapse with my daughter Jess. http://t.co/VPAFhT8FmF"") 26. [Minecraft Movie To be Directed By It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob McElhenney | Comicbook.com](http://comicbook.com/2015/07/21/minecraft-movie-to-be-directed-by-its-always-sunny-in-philadelph/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Minecraft Movie To be Directed By It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney | Comicbook.com") 27. [iTunes – Music – Paper Towns (Music From the Motion Picture) by Various Artists](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/paper-towns-music-from-motion/id1002762960?i=1002763613&ref=jasontucker.blog "iTunes - Music - Paper Towns (Music From the Motion Picture) by Various Artists") 28. [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/503422806/videos/10153115169797807 "Facebook") 29. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/5ZIDp3vFRP/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") 30. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Twinkle in all her glory. #dmcg7 #mft #dogsofinstagram http://t.co/jMQlhRBR8B”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/623307492743880704/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Twinkle in all her glory. #dmcg7 #mft #dogsofinstagram http://t.co/jMQlhRBR8B"") 31. [EP145 – When, why & how to launch your own WordPress plugin? WPwatercooler](http://www.wpwatercooler.com/video/ep145-when-why-how-to-launch-your-own-wordpress-plugin/?ref=jasontucker.blog "EP145 – When, why & how to launch your own WordPress plugin? WPwatercooler") 🎤📢We’re Live! 🎥💻This week on #WPwatercoolerEP145 – When, why & how to launch your own #WordPress #plugin? http://t.co/SRWeACERTO— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 20, 2015 ### Airplane time lapse and long exposures URL: https://jasontucker.blog/airplane-time-lapse-and-long-exposures/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:15.000Z Today being Friday and not having anything to do I thought I’d take on a suggestion my coworker Dave suggested and try my hand and doing airplane tim e apses. I live in Whittier which is pretty close to being under the flightpath of LAX airport. Having this to my advantage I walked outside my apartment and went ahead and setup my tripod and brought out a few folding chairs out and weirded out my neighbors. ![Pointed my camera at the sky](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4531-570x760.jpg) Pointed my camera at the sky Looking north you can see the airplanes fly above the tree in the photo above. They fly in from right side of the phot0 over to the left side just clearing the tree. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010613-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010613.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010616-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010616.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010617-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010617.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010618-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010618.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010619-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010619.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010620-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010620.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010627-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010627.jpg) I didn’t get enough photos to do a time lapse so here is a gif of the photos above 🙂 [![airplaneflyover](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/airplaneflyover.gif)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/airplaneflyover.gif) ### This is coming to a close URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-is-coming-to-a-close/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:37.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11243077_1032623116771826_234830048_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5gMwSHPFX2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Arroyo Pescadero Trail [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5gMwSHPFX2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Taking another URL: https://jasontucker.blog/taking-another/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11311059_1652865874933718_1058359092_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5gMd05vFXh/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Arroyo Pescadero Trail [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5gMd05vFXh/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Second sunset timelapse from Arroyo Pescadero Trail URL: https://jasontucker.blog/second-sunset-timelapse-from-arroyo-pescadero-trail/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:15.000Z This time Jessalyn went with me to Arroyo Pescadero trail to shoot a timelapse of the sunset but this time from a different vantage point. The area I was at yesterday was just in front of the circular structure and shot the timelapse through the clearing of trees. Today I thought I’d try something different and get up a little bit higher. It resulted in a better view of the LA skyline and some cool timelapse of the sun going down beside it. ### So where is this place anyhow? Arroyo Pescadero trail can be found across from Murphy Ranch baseball field and Whittier Area Community Church. It can be accessed from either north or south bound. ### Here are the two areas that I shot from yesterday and today [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/Google_Maps-3-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/Google%5FMaps-3.jpg) The two locations in detail [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/Google_Maps1-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/Google%5FMaps1.jpg) The route from the parking lot to the 2 locations I’ve shot from ### Some iPhone photos during the shoot [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4515-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4515.jpg) Jess exploring the area [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4521-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4521.jpg) My SLIK tripod doesn’t have a hook on the bottom so I hung by bag around the neck of the tripod instead [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4524-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4524.jpg) Ok folks, going manual! [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4526-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4526.jpg) More manual goodness What do you think? Have you taken any pictures here in the past? Let me know in the comments below. ### -G4 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/g4/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:42.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11426662_955084547889585_784658846_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5d4ZGIvFdy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Arroyo Pescadero Trail [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5d4ZGIvFdy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Lil bit of trial and error of an URL: https://jasontucker.blog/lil-bit-of-trial-and-error-of-an/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:43.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11334411_1624812267787179_190515689_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5dl1YxvFS-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Arroyo Pescadero Trail [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5dl1YxvFS-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Timelapse 4K Arroyo Pescadero Trail Whittier, CA URL: https://jasontucker.blog/timelapse-4k-arroyo-pescadero-trail-whittier-ca/ Last updated: 2015-08-02T20:12:16.000Z Today I went back up to WACC to see if I could take some daylight pics of the sights from up high. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to photograph (no clouds or anything out). I realized what time it was and drove across the street to the [Arroyo Pescadero Trail](http://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/arroyo-pescadero-trail?ref=jasontucker.blog) in hopes that I could get a picture of the sunset. With sunset happening at 8PM at it being 7:00PM I thought I’d make my way over and get a location scouted out. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4501-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4501.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4503-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4503.jpg) I hiked up about 50 yards and started looking around, I’ve been to this trail in the past but I didn’t remember the layout of it. North I saw a cliff with a great place to overlook up high. Perfect! I make my way up there. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010016-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010016.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010017-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010017.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010018-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010018.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010011-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010011.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010015-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010015.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010008-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010008.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010009-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010009.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010010-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010010.jpg) [![P1010023](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010023-570x134.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010023.jpg) This one is directly above WACC I ended up taking the kit and [very plastic Panasonic tripod](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPXVAVA/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZPXVAVA&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=DTM2CM7TWQRBH5SU&ref=jasontucker.blog) and got it leveled up using the level bubbles on it. Once I did that I located the panaramic function using the left wheel and then took a picture of 2 sides Whittier that I could see. [![P1010024](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010024-570x137.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010024.jpg) This one is pointed towards South Whittier I setup my camera (using the [stock kit lens](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPXVAVA/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZPXVAVA&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=DTM2CM7TWQRBH5SU&ref=jasontucker.blog)) to take a picture every 20 seconds for 500 frames. My [DMC-G7KK](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPXVAVA/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZPXVAVA&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=DTM2CM7TWQRBH5SU&ref=jasontucker.blog) gave me an estimate of 8:30 being when it was done. I knew I couldn’t stay that long and knowing I can stop it at any time anyhow I left it that way. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG_4505-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/IMG%5F4505.jpg) Tripodwith my Panasonic DMC-G7KK pointing towards Downtown LA [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010035-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010035.jpg) It’s about to go down! [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010025-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010025.jpg) On it’s way [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010092-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010092.jpg) Just to the left of the sun you can just barely make out DTLA [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010112-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1010112.jpg) You might be able to see DTLA from this one too. Since I don’t know much about ISO, f-stop, aperture and exposure yet so I setup the camera to do a sunset scene preset and pointed the camera at the sun. At first I notice how bright it was so I tried out my [circular polarized lens](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPXVAVA/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZPXVAVA&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=DTM2CM7TWQRBH5SU&ref=jasontucker.blog) from the kit and gave that a try. Along with the hood on I pointed the camera and set a decent place to focus on (DTLA) and started the time lapse. Once it was done I used the in-camera 4K rendering to MP4 and [uploaded that to YouTube](https://youtu.be/ex40w5YJy5c?ref=jasontucker.blog) If you have any comments or criticisms I’d love to hear it. Tips on doing a better job of making a timelapse are welcomed too 🙂 ### Jess took my picture yesterday when we were messing around with the camera Exposure: 1/15 sec; f/5.4; ISO 3200 Camera: DMC-G7 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-took-my-picture-yesterday-when-we-were-messing-around-with-the-camera-exposure-115-sec-f5-4-iso-3200camera-dmc-g7/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:47.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11348239_1468523443467146_201119113_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5cSQ2hPFTO/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5cSQ2hPFTO/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### My amazing daughter Exposure: 1/15 sec; f/4.6; ISO 3200 Camera: DMC-G7 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-amazing-daughter-exposure-115-sec-f4-6-iso-3200camera-dmc-g7/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:48.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11410415_104612999887624_57724341_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5bfYv2PFaG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5bfYv2PFaG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Worship Center URL: https://jasontucker.blog/worship-center/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:50.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11256800_936025059793615_1590896415_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5bcjeBvFWa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5bcjeBvFWa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Parking Structure URL: https://jasontucker.blog/parking-structure/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:51.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11410460_1641400199480262_791049009_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5bcPZZPFWB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5bcPZZPFWB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Parking structure photos at EvFree Fullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/parking-structure-photos-at-evfree-fullerton/ Last updated: 2015-07-21T21:36:51.000Z ## At Work Today I took a walk during my break and shot a few pics on and around the parking structure. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-1-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-1-of-9.jpg) I shot this by removing the lens from my camera and tried to do a tilt shift, I’ll need to try this from a higher location. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-2-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-2-of-9.jpg) Bird of Paradise [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-3-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-3-of-9.jpg) I took this on the 2nd level of the parking structure. Lights and shadows along with straight lines. \[exif id=”8718″\] [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-4-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-4-of-9.jpg) EvFree Fullerton Worship Center [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-5-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-5-of-9.jpg) EvFree Fullerton Worship Center [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-6-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-6-of-9.jpg) Palm Trees I recorded this time lapse at work ## At Home My daughter Jess and I played around with the camera and then recorded a time lapse [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-7-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-7-of-9.jpg) Jessalyn [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-8-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-8-of-9.jpg) Jason [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-9-of-9-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/July-21-2015-9-of-9.jpg) Shooting a time lapse ### Hacienda Heights URL: https://jasontucker.blog/hacienda-heights/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:54.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/10547322_1867438443481797_1543423055_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5ZIDp3vFRP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5ZIDp3vFRP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Streaks of light URL: https://jasontucker.blog/streaks-of-light/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:55.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11417336_145408199124955_1032684967_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5ZH0%5FvvFQ3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5ZH0%5FvvFQ3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Light cycles over 40 @waccchurch URL: https://jasontucker.blog/light-cycles-over-40-waccchurch/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11348212_756679337774865_2142841717_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5ZHsV1PFQu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Whittier Area Community Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5ZHsV1PFQu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Twinkle in all her glory URL: https://jasontucker.blog/twinkle-in-all-her-glory/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:32:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11376175_1622935857962991_1810433894_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5YVSrYPFYs/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5YVSrYPFYs/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### First Dog Photo with the new DMC-G7 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/first-dog-photo-with-the-new-dmc-g7/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:01.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11380036_677243795740727_989117871_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5YU9ShPFYJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5YU9ShPFYJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### First session with my new Panasonic DMG-G7 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/first-session-with-panasonic-dmg-g7/ Last updated: 2015-07-21T15:29:59.000Z Tonight I took my new camera [Panasonic DMC-G7](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZPXVAVA/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZPXVAVA&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=WTXGJ474Q7SHYM6Z&ref=jasontucker.blog) out for a spin. My initial intention was to see if I could do some star photography but since it was overcast I decided to drive up the hill a bit and see if I can chase down some headlights and tail lights. I ended up at [WACC](http://www.wacc.net/?ref=jasontucker.blog) a church on Colima Blvd in Whittier. I parked high above the church and pointed my camera at the street where cars were going way over the post 40MPH down the hill. [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000284-wm-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000284-wm.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000295-wm-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000295-wm.jpg) [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000293-wm-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000293-wm.jpg) I capped off the night by taking a drive over Colima to Camino Del Sur overlooking Hacienda Heights. [![P1000305-wm](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000305-wm-150x150.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/P1000305-wm.jpg) ### Sea Salt Iced Coffee w/ Boba and this Pigs in a blanket w/ BBQ sauce thing is an interest combo anyhow ;) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sea-salt-iced-coffee-w-boba-and-this-pigs-in-a-blanket-w-bbq-sauce-thing-is-an-interest-combo-anyhow/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:02.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11324921_406651802878910_1837147996_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5VNr2ZvFah/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: 85C Bakery Cafe – Buena Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5VNr2ZvFah/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Mannequin Heads URL: https://jasontucker.blog/mannequin-heads/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:05.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11380166_403039213239913_1095483320_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5VIPwxPFdT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5VIPwxPFdT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### He moved to come see me URL: https://jasontucker.blog/he-moved-to-come-see-me/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:06.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/10005236_1630539347184322_1869892719_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5UoR4%5FPFc3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5UoR4%5FPFc3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Lincoln my likes to sleep underneath my desk, silly boy! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/lincoln-my-likes-to-sleep-underneath-my-desk-silly-boy/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/10725183_1606087913000267_1439478969_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5UnZqpPFa8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5UnZqpPFa8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Like mother like daughter. Jess wanted to go swimming in the rain, Jen use to do this when she was a kid URL: https://jasontucker.blog/like-mother-like-daughter-jess-wanted-to-go-swimming-in-the-rain-jen-use-to-do-this-when-she-was-a-kid/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:09.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11428215_127175654286181_1757999593_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5TNbTIPFQq/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: X-Pro II [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5TNbTIPFQq/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I kinda came prepared URL: https://jasontucker.blog/i-kinda-came-prepared/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:12.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11379741_678324495634159_1904526933_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5S%5FVmovFWn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Sam’s Club [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5S%5FVmovFWn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### This week's LinkList July 18, 2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-weeks-linklist-july-18-2015/ Last updated: 2015-07-18T13:58:03.000Z 1. [YouTuber Casey Neistat is reinventing social sharing with this simple app – AOL.com](http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/17/youtuber-casey-neistat-is-reinventing-social-sharing-with-this-s/21210760/?ref=jasontucker.blog "YouTuber Casey Neistat is reinventing social sharing with this simple app - AOL.com") 2. [Tony Romo Practicing For First Time Since Surgery To Remove Ovarian Cyst – The Onion – America’s Finest News Source](http://www.theonion.com/article/tony-romo-practicing-for-first-time-since-surgery--33253?ref=jasontucker.blog "Tony Romo Practicing For First Time Since Surgery To Remove Ovarian Cyst - The Onion - America's Finest News Source") Oh boy Jennifer Tucker Christian Romero 3. [Meet Beme – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mixsze6uJPg&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Meet Beme - YouTube") I liked on #YouTube: Meet Beme http://t.co/4tteHv4ClI— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 18, 2015 4. [This War of Mine on the App Store on iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/this-war-of-mine/id982175678?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4&ref=jasontucker.blog "This War of Mine on the App Store on iTunes") This War of Mine This game looks awesome #iOS #game #war #thiswarofmine https://t.co/Oq3UMltot1— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 18, 2015 5. [This War of Mine on the App Store on iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id982175678?ref=jasontucker.blog "This War of Mine on the App Store on iTunes") This game for iOS looks awesome 6. [Perfectly Timed Photos That Make Dogs Look Like Giants](https://www.thedodo.com/perfectly-timed-giant-dog-photos-1251826281.html?ref=jasontucker.blog "Perfectly Timed Photos That Make Dogs Look Like Giants") 7. [ZNAPS Brings Reversible Magnetic Chargers to Any Phone – XDA Forums](http://www.xda-developers.com/znaps-brings-reversible-magnetic-chargers-to-any-phone/?ref=jasontucker.blog "ZNAPS Brings Reversible Magnetic Chargers to Any Phone - XDA Forums") 8. [iTunes – Music – California Nights by Best Coast](https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/california-nights/id967039995?i=967040013&ref=jasontucker.blog "iTunes - Music - California Nights by Best Coast") 9. Kinda digging’ California Nights by Best Coast on @AppleMusic. 10. [thesis.com](http://thesis.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog "thesis.com") Can’t have it both ways. If you don’t like http://t.co/82O22wqrWd redirecting, you shouldn’t like http://t.co/qyjykLXfVj redirecting.— Chris Lema (@chrislema) July 16, 2015 11. [iTunes – Music – Shaun Jacobs](https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/shaun-jacobs/id527486078?ref=jasontucker.blog "iTunes - Music - Shaun Jacobs") I’m checking out this album by Shaun Jacobs on @AppleMusic. Pretty good tracks, I’m about 1/2 way into it. 12. [Surprising Applications of the Magnus Effect – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OSrvzNW9FE&ref=jasontucker.blog "Surprising Applications of the Magnus Effect - YouTube") Wow! 13. [The Anatomy of a Digital Asset Management System – Tuts+ Photo & Video Article](http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/the-anatomy-of-a-digital-asset-management-system--cms-24397?ref=jasontucker.blog "The Anatomy of a Digital Asset Management System - Tuts+ Photo & Video Article") 14. [All of my Issues With the “Goodnight Moon” Bedroom – The Ugly Volvo](http://theuglyvolvo.com/issues-goodnight-moon-bedroom/?ref=jasontucker.blog "All of my Issues With the "Goodnight Moon" Bedroom - The Ugly Volvo") 15. [9 Species of Amateur Photographer – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPNLjNDqy60&ref=jasontucker.blog "9 Species of Amateur Photographer - YouTube") 16. [25 Of The Best Responses To Amazon Prime Day](http://www.buzzfeed.com/kanikateng/the-26-best-responses-to-amazon-prime-day-9wy1?ref=jasontucker.blog#4ldqpgp "25 Of The Best Responses To Amazon Prime Day") 17. [Warner Bros Goes After the Studio Tour Market Universal Left Behind](http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201507/4656/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Warner Bros Goes After the Studio Tour Market Universal Left Behind") 18. [Beats 1 Schedule](http://beats1schedule.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Beats 1 Schedule") 19. [Why I Use Micro Four Thirds Cameras – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS2A6xH2MFw&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Why I Use Micro Four Thirds Cameras - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Why I Use Micro Four Thirds Cameras http://youtu.be/lS2A6xH2MFw 20. [xkcd: Pluto](http://xkcd.com/1551/?ref=jasontucker.blog "xkcd: Pluto") 21. Yup 22. [R Paul Wilson on Twitter: “First high resolution image of Pluto causes concern: http://t.co/ZVIT0BEFX6”](https://twitter.com/rpaulwilson/status/621012591335342081?s=04&ref=jasontucker.blog "R Paul Wilson on Twitter: "First high resolution image of Pluto causes concern: http://t.co/ZVIT0BEFX6"") 23. [George R.R. Martin Is Working Hard On His Next Book – CONAN on TBS – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lle4t4o8EDk&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "George R.R. Martin Is Working Hard On His Next Book - CONAN on TBS - YouTube") 24. [Use the Ballloon Extension to Save Files Straight to the Cloud](http://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/use-the-ballloon-extension-to-save-files-straight-to-th-1717432553?ref=jasontucker.blog "Use the Ballloon Extension to Save Files Straight to the Cloud") 25. [Design Secrets of Ex Machina, This Year’s Boldest Science Fiction Movie](http://io9.com/design-secrets-of-ex-machina-this-years-boldest-scienc-1717427615?ref=jasontucker.blog "Design Secrets of Ex Machina, This Year's Boldest Science Fiction Movie") 26. [How Much It Costs to Check Bags on Nine Major U.S. Airlines](http://lifehacker.com/how-much-it-costs-to-check-bags-on-nine-major-u-s-airl-1717212944?ref=jasontucker.blog "How Much It Costs to Check Bags on Nine Major U.S. Airlines") 27. [FAST FOOD NEWS: Wayback Burgers Oreo Mud Pie Cricket Milkshake and Slim Jim Jerky Milkshakes | The Impulsive Buy](http://www.theimpulsivebuy.com/wordpress/2015/07/13/fast-food-news-wayback-burgers-oreo-mud-pie-cricket-milkshake-and-slim-jim-jerky-milkshakes/?ref=jasontucker.blog "FAST FOOD NEWS: Wayback Burgers Oreo Mud Pie Cricket Milkshake and Slim Jim Jerky Milkshakes | The Impulsive Buy") 28. [EP143 – When, why & how to build your own WordPress plugin? – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgCimtB9RMI&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "EP143 - When, why & how to build your own WordPress plugin? - YouTube") 29. [50 Cent files for bankruptcy](http://mashable.com/2015/07/13/50-cent-files-for-bankruptcy/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-fb-main-link&ref=jasontucker.blog "50 Cent files for bankruptcy") 30. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Listen to Beats 1 on @AppleMusic. They are doing a look at Amy Winehouse career. https://t.co/XmwhK8mLvZ http://t.co/W1wVGKS1A6”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/620418859116331008/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Listen to Beats 1 on @AppleMusic. They are doing a look at Amy Winehouse career. https://t.co/XmwhK8mLvZ http://t.co/W1wVGKS1A6"") 31. [Dear Pixar, Thank You](http://www.ryandsullivan.com/dear-pixar-thank-you/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Dear Pixar, Thank You") 32. [Shopping for a $700 mid-range mirrorless camera | Jason Tucker](https://jasontucker.blog/8676/shopping-for-a-700-mid-range-mirrorless-camera "Shopping for a $700 mid-range mirrorless camera | Jason Tucker") 33. [Radio – Beats 1](https://itunes.apple.com/us/station/beats-1/idra.978194965?ref=jasontucker.blog "Radio - Beats 1") 34. [What is the Real Origin of OK? – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NOC1kzBFnM&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "What is the Real Origin of OK? - YouTube") 35. Liked on YouTube: What is the Real Origin of OK? http://youtu.be/-NOC1kzBFnM 36. [Where’s Waldo?: The Audiobook – RT Shorts – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cf%5F-i%5FgCdY&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Where's Waldo?: The Audiobook - RT Shorts - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Where’s Waldo?: The Audiobook – RT Shorts http://youtu.be/-cf\_-i\_gCdY 37. [Nicole Paris (Mentor vs Apprentice Pt. 2) – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KCt2hAzeW0&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Nicole Paris (Mentor vs Apprentice Pt. 2) - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Nicole Paris (Mentor vs Apprentice Pt. 2) http://youtu.be/0KCt2hAzeW0 38. [Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Comic-Con 2015 Reel – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNJ51ghzdY&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Comic-Con 2015 Reel - YouTube") I liked on #YouTube: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Comic-Con 2015 Reel http://t.co/y3GOTfYEyq— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 12, 2015 39. [Testing GoPro 4 Session at the Beach – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvhOTBj4wVc&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Testing GoPro 4 Session at the Beach - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Testing GoPro 4 Session at the Beach http://youtu.be/qvhOTBj4wVc 40. [The Official Cloudways Blog Waseem Abbas](http://www.cloudways.com/blog/author/waseem-abbas/?ref=jasontucker.blog "The Official Cloudways Blog Waseem Abbas") You can follow my #WordPress interview series here: http://t.co/zK2T3EFYLn— Waseem Abbas Syed (@sewabs) July 12, 2015 41. [Star Wars | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/StarWars.UK/videos/970856936293028/ "Star Wars | Facebook") 42. [Guys, it’s never ever OK to wear open-toed sandals](http://mashable.com/2015/07/11/guys-open-toed-sandals-have-always-been-disgusting/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-fb-main-link&ref=jasontucker.blog "Guys, it's never ever OK to wear open-toed sandals") Getting your fashion advice FROM Mashable is like getting tech advice from CNN or just anything from Fox News. 43. [Will Arnett’s Everything is Awesome vs. Alison Brie’s Bang Bang | Lip Sync Battle – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrCm6ToI5k&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Will Arnett's Everything is Awesome vs. Alison Brie's Bang Bang | Lip Sync Battle - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: Will Arnett’s Everything is Awesome vs. Alison Brie’s Bang Bang | Lip Sync Battle http://youtu.be/WZrCm6ToI5k 44. [A Message from District 13 – Stand With Us – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-zYI2gzFNs&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "A Message from District 13 – Stand With Us - YouTube") Liked on YouTube: A Message from District 13 – Stand With Us http://youtu.be/B-zYI2gzFNs 45. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Happy #7eleven slurpee day! http://t.co/wf8Cl7Z8Ox”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/619981971872174084/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Happy #7eleven slurpee day! http://t.co/wf8Cl7Z8Ox"") Happy #7eleven slurpee day! pic.twitter.com/wf8Cl7Z8Ox— Jason Tucker (@jasontucker) July 11, 2015 46. [Ten Things You Shouldn’t Do While Camping – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb%5FaFuRJI6w&feature=youtu.be&ref=jasontucker.blog "Ten Things You Shouldn't Do While Camping - YouTube") 47. [STAMP app – import Spotify playlists to Apple Music easily](https://stampapp.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog "STAMP app - import Spotify playlists to Apple Music easily") 48. [Bluebeards Beard Saver by Bluebeards Original | Swaggable](https://swaggable.com/product/Bluebeards-Beard-Saver?st%5Fuid=503422806&st%5Fsource=facebook&st%5Ftype=invite-confirm&ref=jasontucker.blog#sthash.kRkN0O8N.gbpl&st%5FrefDomain=&st%5FrefQuery= "Bluebeards Beard Saver by Bluebeards Original | Swaggable") 49. [EditReady : Transcoding Without The Hassle – divergent media](http://www.divergentmedia.com/editready?ref=jasontucker.blog "EditReady : Transcoding Without The Hassle - divergent media") Quickly transcode any MXF, MTS (AVCHD), M2T (HDV), or QuickTime (MOV) file to an edit-ready format like Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD 50. [Computer Docking Plug Alleviates Docking Station Woes](http://hackaday.com/2015/07/03/computer-docking-plug-alleviates-docking-station-woes/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Computer Docking Plug Alleviates Docking Station Woes") Love this idea of making your own docking station. 51. [2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) – Viewing Comments 1-160](http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Player-Bartop-Arcade-Machine-Powered-by-Pi/?&sort=ACTIVE&limit=40&offset=160&ref=jasontucker.blog#DISCUSS "2-Player Bartop Arcade Machine (Powered by Pi) - Viewing Comments 1-160") This is going to be the method I use to build mine for my office at work. 52. [New Project: Adventures in Building a Custom Raspberry Pi LED Display](http://makezine.com/projects/adventures-building-custom-raspberry-pi-led-display/?ref=jasontucker.blog "New Project: Adventures in Building a Custom Raspberry Pi LED Display") 53. [How to Configure OS X to Protect Your Privacy](http://lifehacker.com/how-to-configure-os-x-to-protect-your-privacy-1716352334?ref=jasontucker.blog "How to Configure OS X to Protect Your Privacy") 54. [Micro Snitch Monitors Your Mac’s Camera and Microphone Access](http://lifehacker.com/micro-snitch-monitors-your-macs-camera-and-microphone-a-1716580256?ref=jasontucker.blog "Micro Snitch Monitors Your Mac's Camera and Microphone Access") ### Shopping for a $700 mid-range mirrorless camera URL: https://jasontucker.blog/shopping-for-a-700-mid-range-mirrorless-camera/ Last updated: 2015-07-12T19:51:44.000Z I’m in the market for a $700ish mid-range mirrorless camera. I’ve been working on a pros and cons list in my head and thought I’d get a blog post out about it. ## Things I’m looking for (in no particular order): - WiFi (I lied above, this is #1) - iPhone App for accessing photos and remote control (#2) - Good for shooting sports (water polo and swimming) - Bracketing - Timelapse (I watch a lot of Casey Neistat’s stuff and envy his ability to do great time lapses) - 4k video (would be nice, not a requirement) - Selfie-able display (the tilt up and down only ones seem lame) - Lightweight - Decent low light shooting What I started looking at before I decided on a Mirrorless was a [Canon EOS Rebel T6i Digital SLR with EF-S 18-55mm IS STM Lens from Amazon for $849](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3ER7QO/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00T3ER7QO&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=XYSTX5KUZ63YSGJB&ref=jasontucker.blog) (and at [Costco for $999 in a big kit](http://www.costco.com/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T6i-DSLR-Camera-2-Lens-Bundle.product.100178669.html?ref=jasontucker.blog)). I finally just decided that I want something mirrorless and started my search. ## What I’ve been looking at: - [Panasonic DMC-G7KS Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera 14-42 mm Lens Kit, 4K](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X409O6O/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00X409O6O&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=LU2QWT4JQOUEJAD4&ref=jasontucker.blog "Panasonic DMC-G7KS Digital Single Lens Mirrorless Camera 14-42 mm Lens Kit, 4K") - +Mirrorless - \~16MP CMOS - Four Thirds sensor - +Articulating Display - +WiFi - +Extract 4k photo from video - +Lightweight rubberized plastic but with a DSLR look - \-Not weatherproof - [$797 on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E87OITK/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00E87OITK&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) https://youtu.be/UnhE-ARYLzk?t=747 Timelapse test - [Sony Alpha A6000](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I8BICCG/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00I8BICCG&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog "Sony-Alpha-Mirrorless-Digital-Camera") - Mirrorless - Great selection of lenses from Sony (or use an adapter) - 11fps shooting - Clean images up to ISO 1600 in low light - 12 ounces - 24.3 Megapixels - WiFi - No articulating display only up and down tilt - [$689 for a 16-50mm lens on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I8BICCG/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00I8BICCG&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) - [Olympus OM-D E-M1](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQ07PG2/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00EQ07PG2&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog "Olympus-Mirrorless-Digital-Camera-3-Inch") - A few friends have this one and love it. - Weatherproof - WiFi - Articulating display - Body only – [New for $999](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQ07PG2/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00EQ07PG2&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) [used for $699](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EQ07PG2/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00EQ07PG2&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&ref=jasontucker.blog) on Amazon (May be too rich for my blood once I add in a lens) - [Nikon 1 J5 Mirrorless Digital Camera w/ 10-100mm Lens (Silver)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VIKR676/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00VIKR676&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=2KDFTGY3G2TGQQNO&ref=jasontucker.blog) - 60fps? Wow.. - Tilty only display no articulation - Classic look - WiFi - [$646.95 on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VIKR676/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00VIKR676&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=2KDFTGY3G2TGQQNO&ref=jasontucker.blog) [Panasonic DMC-G7KS](http://shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/lumix-interchangeable-lens-ilc-cameras/recommends/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g7KS.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) it most likely the one I’ll end up with, what do you think? ### Happy slurpee day! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/happy-slurpee-day/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:13.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/10860017_700819140022213_658635358_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/5AtAd-vFZl/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Lark [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/5AtAd-vFZl/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### This week's LinkList July 11, 2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-weeks-linklist-july-11-2015/ Last updated: 2015-07-10T21:49:26.000Z 1. [Crafted by Morgan Spurlock: Yuji Nagatani, Cortney Burns, Luke Snyder, David Van Wyk:](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZKPHF58/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ZKPHF58&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=RMRHQSPJOOBH75OZ&ref=jasontucker.blog "Crafted by Morgan Spurlock: Yuji Nagatani, Cortney Burns, Luke Snyder, David Van Wyk:") If you have Amazon Prime (or don’t mind throwing a few bucks at Amazon to rent some great content) check out Morgan Spurlock’s new film, Crafted. I just watched it and loved it. 2. [7-Eleven Turns Free Slurpee Day Into a Whole Week of Free Stuff](http://lifehacker.com/7-eleven-turns-free-slurpee-day-into-a-whole-week-of-fr-1717097078?ref=jasontucker.blog "7-Eleven Turns Free Slurpee Day Into a Whole Week of Free Stuff") 3. [Affinity Photo Launch – Photoshop Alternative](https://photographylife.com/affinity-photo-launch-photoshop-alternative?ref=jasontucker.blog "Affinity Photo Launch - Photoshop Alternative") 4. [Movies edited down to only the parts where non-white actors speak. They’re very short films. – Boing Boing](http://boingboing.net/2015/07/08/movies-edited-down-to-only-the.html?ref=jasontucker.blog "Movies edited down to only the parts where non-white actors speak. They're very short films. - Boing Boing") 5. [New York, New York ft. Johnny T – YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326RcOeSPGs&ref=jasontucker.blog "New York, New York ft. Johnny T - YouTube") 6. [Every item in Katamari Damacy, Tweeted – Boing Boing](http://boingboing.net/2015/07/09/every-item-in-katamari-damacy.html?ref=jasontucker.blog "Every item in Katamari Damacy, Tweeted - Boing Boing") Jennifer Tucker and I would play this game for hours… 7. [Men’s Personal Stylist Clothing Subscription : Bombfell](https://www.bombfell.com/?rc=161433tYgrR&ref=jasontucker.blog "Men's Personal Stylist Clothing Subscription : Bombfell") Get handpicked outfits shipped to your door. $25 OFF @Bombfell with my invite link https://t.co/mXzFfViwGY 8. [Chromecast Ethernet adaptor overcomes Wi-Fi problems](http://betanews.com/2015/07/08/google-chromecast-ethernet-adaptor/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Chromecast Ethernet adaptor overcomes Wi-Fi problems") Chromecast Ethernet adaptor overcomes Wi-Fi problems http://t.co/o9kKs6yJPD 9. [7 Years of Woo (and a gift for you)](http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2c1434dc56f9506bf3c3ecd21&id=99c56b558b&e=5b3d10165b&ref=jasontucker.blog "7 Years of Woo (and a gift for you)") 10. [Jason Tucker on Twitter: “Today’s theme is “Christmas in July”. Think of all the looks these kids got going to VBS today 😉 #EvFreeVbs2015 #G… http://t.co/rg4MBNJwGO”](https://twitter.com/jasontucker/status/619177648674217984/photo/1?ref=jasontucker.blog "Jason Tucker on Twitter: "Today's theme is "Christmas in July". Think of all the looks these kids got going to VBS today ;) #EvFreeVbs2015 #G… http://t.co/rg4MBNJwGO"") Today’s theme is “Christmas in July”. Think of all the looks these kids got going to VBS today 😉 #EvFreeVbs2015 #G… pic.twitter.com/rg4MBNJwGO 11. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/46%5FQFGvFcW/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Today’s theme is “Christmas in July”. Think of all the looks these kids got going to VBS today ;)… https://t.co/gpMlTSKkNt 12. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/44zGggvFQe/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Last but not least, the cherry on top! #EvFreeVbs2015 #GoBigVBS #EvFreeFullerton @ Ev Free Fullerton https://t.co/JwBZOXsT92 13. [Instagram](https://instagram.com/p/44woB-PFbH/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Instagram") Wake by Hillsong Young and Free #EvFreeVbs2015 #GoBigVBS #EvFreeFullerton @ Ev Free Fullerton https://t.co/WM7eDk2mHL 14. [The Man Who Turned Club 33 Upside Down (Mouse Tales’ David Koenig) by David Koenig](http://www.mouseplanet.com/11078/The%5FMan%5FWho%5FTurned%5FClub%5F33%5FUpside%5FDown?ref=jasontucker.blog "The Man Who Turned Club 33 Upside Down (Mouse Tales' David Koenig) by David Koenig") 15. [Production Assistant job – Zeek Interactive – Huntington Beach, CA | Indeed.com](http://www.indeed.com/job/production-assistant-7ebf294e8c25ee9d?ref=jasontucker.blog "Production Assistant job - Zeek Interactive - Huntington Beach, CA | Indeed.com") My buddy Steve is hiring, if you know anyone looking for work, has the skills to make things happen then please contact Steve. 16. [Building Apps and Provisioning Profiles for iOS | Testdroid](http://testdroid.com/tech/tips-and-tricks-how-to-build-ipa-for-testdroid-cloud-ios-devices?ref=jasontucker.blog "Building Apps and Provisioning Profiles for iOS | Testdroid") 17. [Downsides CSS Reset and their Better Alternative| PTC](http://www.pro-tekconsulting.com/blog/what-are-downsides-of-a-css-reset-what-should-be-used-as-a-better-alternative/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Downsides CSS Reset and their Better Alternative| PTC") 18. [The importance of avoiding bad stock art](http://blog.webflow.com/the-importance-of-avoiding-bad-stock-art?ref=jasontucker.blog "The importance of avoiding bad stock art") 19. [Stuff in Space](http://stuffin.space/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Stuff in Space") 20. [Easy Cold-Brewed Coffee Recipe – CHOW.com](http://www.chow.com/recipes/30487-basic-cold-brewed-coffee?ref=jasontucker.blog "Easy Cold-Brewed Coffee Recipe - CHOW.com") Ohhhhh 21. [Arnold Schwarzenegger’s last act as governor follows him – CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/07/us/arnold-schwarzenegger-clemency/index.html?ref=jasontucker.blog "Arnold Schwarzenegger's last act as governor follows him - CNN.com") 22. [WPwatercooler Logo Shirt | Teespring](http://teespring.com/wpwatercooler-logo-shirt?ref=jasontucker.blog "WPwatercooler Logo Shirt | Teespring") Our TeeSpring shirts come in multiple styles (men’s, women’s, hoodies, vneck) and up to 5X http://t.co/5m9pyJFMCo #wordpress #wpwatercooler ### Today's theme is "Christmas in July". Think of all the looks these kids got going to VBS today URL: https://jasontucker.blog/todays-theme-is-christmas-in-july-think-of-all-the-looks-these-kids-got-going-to-vbs-today/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11356682_413052375548264_1869975032_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/46%5FQFGvFcW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/46%5FQFGvFcW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Last but not least, the cherry on top URL: https://jasontucker.blog/last-but-not-least-the-cherry-on-top/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:18.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/1597135_1665635980337688_1691683842_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/44zGggvFQe/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/44zGggvFQe/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Wake by Hillsong Young and Free URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wake-by-hillsong-young-and-free/ Last updated: 2015-07-23T21:33:22.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11378659_1627320640841394_1810582757_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/44woB-PFbH/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/44woB-PFbH/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### This week's LinkList July 8, 2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-weeks-linklist-july-8-2015/ Last updated: 2015-07-07T21:40:54.000Z 1. [Zuli Smartplug](https://zuli.io/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Zuli Smartplug") Connect your lights and appliances to Zuli Smartplugs, control them from one app, and enable them to adapt to your presence. 2. [How to Page Up & Page Down on Mac Keyboards](http://osxdaily.com/2015/07/07/page-up-page-down-mac-keyboard/?ref=jasontucker.blog "How to Page Up & Page Down on Mac Keyboards") 3. [Apple touts ‘tested to the limit’ iPhone & iPad cases in new online store campaign](http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/07/07/apple-touts-tested-to-the-limit-iphone-ipad-cases-in-new-online-store-campaign?ref=jasontucker.blog "Apple touts 'tested to the limit' iPhone & iPad cases in new online store campaign") 4. [Freebie: Smashicons Icon Set (AI, PSD, Sketch)](http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/07/03/freebie-smashicons-icon-set/?ref=jasontucker.blog "Freebie: Smashicons Icon Set (AI, PSD, Sketch)") ### Bike riding with my Jess URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bike-riding-with-my-jess/ Last updated: 2015-07-06T19:21:18.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11377628_1142410252451393_40605903_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/40aCGiPFa0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/40aCGiPFa0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Kids jumping around like crazy at @EvFreeFullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/kids-jumping-around-like-crazy-at-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-07-06T11:22:13.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11376662_1624854321063611_826220908_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4zk36GvFTo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: First Evangelical Free Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4zk36GvFTo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### VBS Go Big! Is going off at @evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/vbs-go-big-is-going-off-at-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-07-06T11:22:14.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11275118_671599049608093_458339844_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4zke4QPFSt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4zke4QPFSt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### fireworks URL: https://jasontucker.blog/fireworks-2/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:14.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11374673_1068928329803320_725593251_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4vcTlGPFWC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Juno Photo taken at: Tommys Hamburgers [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4vcTlGPFWC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We're still hanging In there waiting for the fireworks to happen URL: https://jasontucker.blog/were-still-hanging-in-there-waiting-for-the-fireworks-to-happen/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:14.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11199456_621020111334139_746009770_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4vVeqyPFYW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Tommys Hamburgers [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4vVeqyPFYW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watched the flyover at La Habra High School URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watched-the-flyover-at-la-habra-high-school/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:19.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11356849_1458138854482183_745342489_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4vRVHIvFdc/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Tommys Hamburgers [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4vRVHIvFdc/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Hanging out with the fam URL: https://jasontucker.blog/hanging-out-with-the-fam/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11380113_497505000418071_1177024736_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4vQiB6vFb3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4vQiB6vFb3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watching @tholub26 jump into a very small ring URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watching-tholub26-jump-into-a-very-small-ring/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11386524_664229787041920_1460012433_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4uvCoNPFeF/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4uvCoNPFeF/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Kids playing in the pool URL: https://jasontucker.blog/kids-playing-in-the-pool/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:25.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11378542_1454546724865425_1056599516_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4unBRBvFb%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4unBRBvFb%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### This section in needs more control, don't want anything auto downloading over cell. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/this-section-in-needs-more-control-dont-want-anything-auto-downloading-over-cell/ Last updated: 2015-07-05T23:50:28.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11378106_463148797197244_344596322_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4sMokavFbW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4sMokavFbW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Preparing for tomorrow in the pool URL: https://jasontucker.blog/preparing-for-tomorrow-in-the-pool/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T12:21:37.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/07/11424711_486496544842783_1718034153_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4r5Uv-vFT3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Target Whittier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4r5Uv-vFT3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm not quite sure why there is a trampoline on a pirate ship but it's entertaining. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-not-quite-sure-why-there-is-a-trampoline-on-a-pirate-ship-but-its-entertaining/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:33.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11375970_1021548957875761_601918570_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4fa6cqvFXL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Pirate’s Dinner Adventure [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4fa6cqvFXL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Our first time at Pirates Adventure Dinner, interesting so far. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/our-first-time-at-pirates-adventure-dinner-interesting-so-far/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:35.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11356798_387887691399998_1465168777_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4fXsMZvFQg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Pirate’s Dinner Adventure [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4fXsMZvFQg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Shamu is going to have a hard time jumping that ship URL: https://jasontucker.blog/shamu-is-going-to-have-a-hard-time-jumping-that-ship/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:39.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11377685_1124535060908878_1942664365_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4fWE5CPFdR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Pirate’s Dinner Adventure [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4fWE5CPFdR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Catching up on @caseyneistat blog while my kid and her friend jump around in, thanks for the wifi. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/catching-up-on-caseyneistat-blog-while-my-kid-and-her-friend-jump-around-in-thanks-for-the-wifi/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11378269_712724768859373_698703336_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4ezLEzvFfK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Sky Zone Covina [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4ezLEzvFfK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Pool Birthday Party's are the best. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/pool-birthday-partys-are-the-best/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:43.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11376437_380741588801460_2038658171_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4c4lTsPFQS/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4c4lTsPFQS/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Copying a VM from Parallels to another computer URL: https://jasontucker.blog/copying-a-vm-from-parallels-to-another-computer/ Last updated: 2015-06-26T17:51:10.000Z My coworker Philip and I have been working on getting a VM on each of our computers setup so we can do some work with [Casper Suite’s Composer](http://www.jamfsoftware.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and get some apps pkg’d up and added into the JSS. I made a base VM and got it setup and ready to copy. When I sent him a copy of that file and he started it up and got things going, after it booted he installed QuickAdd.pkg then I noticed my computer was acting funny in regards to Casper. It ends up when we copied over the “OS X.pvm” file from my computer and ran it for the first time [Parallels](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MA5TPN6/ref=as%5Fli%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00MA5TPN6&linkCode=as2&tag=jasotuck07-20&linkId=IYWMEV6EHT37PAJ6&ref=jasontucker.blog) asked if we copied or moved the file, it ends up we chose **Move**. By indicating we moved it we told the software that we only have one copy of this and thats it, it also means it didn’t generate a new UUID and MAC address for the network card so what happened then is we have 2 of the same MAC addresses on the network and the same UUID. When we ran QuickAdd.pkg on the other machine it thought it was me and replaced my computer info with his. We could have of course spun up a new VM and called it a day but *for science* we did the research we found we can reset the UUID using the GUI or command line: [http://kb.parallels.com/en/11197](http://kb.parallels.com/en/11197?ref=jasontucker.blog) This fixed our problem or **Move** vs **Copy**, in the future we’ll pick **Copy** next time. ### Organizing all of JAMF's Casper Suite on the OS X dock URL: https://jasontucker.blog/organizing-all-of-jamfs-casper-suite-on-the-os-x-dock/ Last updated: 2015-06-26T00:05:33.000Z My company recently purchased and implemented [JAMF Software’s Casper Suite](http://www.jamfsoftware.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and I ended up putting all of the apps from the suite in the Applications folder. In a previous post I wrote how you can [group items using OS X tags](https://jasontucker.blog/7660/working-tags-os-x) and then later do some saved searches to wrangle them all together. ## Tagging I tagged each of the apps in the Casper Suite with the “casper” tag. Just open the Get Info sheet for that application, click the white box and type in the tag and press enter. [![Casper_Admin_app_Info_and_Composer_app_Info_and_Self_Service_app_Info](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Casper_Admin_app_Info_and_Composer_app_Info_and_Self_Service_app_Info-570x337.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Casper%5FAdmin%5Fapp%5FInfo%5Fand%5FComposer%5Fapp%5FInfo%5Fand%5FSelf%5FService%5Fapp%5FInfo.jpg) ## Building a saved search Once you have the items you want to wrangle tagged open a new finder window and click in the search box. In the search box type **casper** and then select the tag from the list. [![Searching_“This_Mac”](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Searching_%E2%80%9CThis_Mac%E2%80%9D-570x311.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Searching%5F%E2%80%9CThis%5FMac%E2%80%9D.jpg) If you have anything else tagged with Casper it will be listed in this tagged search too. I saved a bookmark of the Casper JSS from Chrome into my Documents folder and tagged it with “casper” so it would also be included. Press Enter and then press the **Save** button under the search box. [![Searching_This_Mac 2](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Searching_This_Mac-2-570x321.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Searching%5FThis%5FMac-2.jpg) I named my saved search **Casper Suite.savedSearch** and then pressed **Save**. ## Displaying it in the dock [![drag folder](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/drag-folder.gif)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/drag-folder.gif) Once you have the saved search you can add it to the dock using one of my favorite tricks. Click and hold on the icon in the window title bar and then drag it to the dock, now you can press the dock icon and have it show all the items you have tagged with “casper” ## Display in Grid View If you right click on the dock icon you can change the way the list is displayed. I’ve never been a happy with Fan view so switching it to either List of Grid is better for such as small list. [![Screenshot_6_25_15__8_10_PM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screenshot_6_25_15__8_10_PM-570x625.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screenshot%5F6%5F25%5F15%5F%5F8%5F10%5FPM.jpg) Then it will end up looking like [![Screenshot_6_25_15__8_09_PM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screenshot_6_25_15__8_09_PM-570x551.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screenshot%5F6%5F25%5F15%5F%5F8%5F09%5FPM.jpg) ### If you are a small business, a non profit, work in education or just someone that does training with Apple devices, check out [Bushel](http://www.bushel.com/?a=554AE2E3535843288D2C728632FF81E7&ref=jasontucker.blog), the first 3 devices are free forever and then it’s $2 a month per device to manage all your devices. ### [Manage and protect your Apple devices anytime from anywhere!](http://www.bushel.com/?a=554AE2E3535843288D2C728632FF81E7&ref=jasontucker.blog) [![Bushel_MPAD_336x280@2x](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Bushel_MPAD_336x280@2x-570x475.png)](http://www.bushel.com/?a=554AE2E3535843288D2C728632FF81E7&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Doing some outside work with our @TimeWarner install contractor, fiber doesn't install itself. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/doing-some-outside-work-with-our-timewarner-install-contractor-fiber-doesnt-install-itself/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:44.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11380761_1026461304053014_1331794157_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4UYRY8vFXE/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4UYRY8vFXE/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Create realistic looking iOS screenshots with hardware interface URL: https://jasontucker.blog/create-realistic-looking-ios-screenshots-with-hardware-interface/ Last updated: 2015-06-24T09:54:17.000Z So I’ve been working on a documentation project at work and needed a way to make fast screenshots that also indicate that the screenshot they are looking at is coming from and iPhone or iPad. The documentation site I’m putting these on has a white background and most of my screenshots have a white background too, my message was getting lost to the users and I needed a better way. ## Searching for the solution ![iPhone5cBluePortrait_640x1136_01](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/iPhone5cBluePortrait_640x1136_01-570x1012.png)I looked all over the place, even posted in a few of the Facebook groups I frequent asking this very question. People suggested that I use Photoshop, so I found a few pre built PSDs that I could have used to make this happen. [iOS 8 GUI PSD (iPhone 6)](http://www.teehanlax.com/tools/iphone/?ref=jasontucker.blog) but the workflow to making that happen was a bit clunky (get screenshot on computer, open Photoshop (or run an action), mess with the layers, save the file out) . I also wanted to be able to take a live screenshot on my phone and send it to my computer to make changes. I have AirDrop on my phone and on my mac so I could send them that way. I could also use PushBullet to send the files with a few less steps. I also thought about using Xcode’s simulator, there is a good and bad about using this. The good is you can do great screenshots without having the file leave your computer, the bad is that Mail (one of the apps I was documenting) isn’t available for the iPhone Simulator so that right there cut it out. Lastly the Settings screen on the simulator is missing a ton of buttons due to the virtual device not having all the same feature a real iPhone has. Next… As you can see, I want the least amount of steps for this since doing the same task over and over again gets tedious. I’m a busy IT guy here, I want to get the data in and out as fast as possible. After a few different tries at this I landed on using something called iScreenShot, It’s amazing and here is why. ## Using the right tool for the job While at my local OC WordPress meetup (the same meetup that I posted in their Facebook group above asking for help) I found the solution I needed listed in the Mac App Store. Their 1 screenshot in the app store pretty much explains it all: [![screen800x500](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/screen800x500-570x356.jpeg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/screen800x500.jpeg) Take screenshot on device > Get screenshot to Mac **\>** Drag screenshot to the drop zone **\>** Select what phone layouts you want wrapped around your screenshot **\>** Hit export **\>** select a folder for all screenshots saved to **\>** Profit. ## How to use iScreenShot iScreenShot is one of those apps that has a single window pane and just works. As I described above, dropping the png file(s) from your phone produces into the dropzone on the left will let it know what file(s) you want wrapped. Did you notice I said file(s), yeah. You can take say, 200 screenshots and put them in this app and then press export and it will export 200 wrapped screenshots. It gets better thought, by selecting which devices you want it will output a file for EACH COLOR of the device you want. The one thing that this won’t do unfortunately is being able to output a iPhone 6 Plus or iPhone 6 from an iPhone 5c or iPhone 5s screenshot. This is a bit of a shortcoming but I can understand since it can’t magically create areas of the screenshot that don’t exist. [![6_24_15__9_45_AM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/6_24_15__9_45_AM-570x492.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/6%5F24%5F15%5F%5F9%5F45%5FAM.jpg) With the section above using an iPhone 5s as the source screenshot I ended up with these files: [![test](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/test.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/test.jpg) Since the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s have the same screen size it exported for only those. If I were to drag 6 different screenshots into the dropzone I ended up with 24 files when I clicked Export. [![test 2](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/test-2.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/test-2.jpg) ## How do you get your screenshots on your Mac? So I have a few ways to go about this: - Open the picture in Photos on the iPhone and then press the share button and select AirDrop, open a finder window on my mac, go to AirDrop on the left and press my name & face on my iPhone to send the selected photo(s). - Install [PushBullet](https://www.pushbullet.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) on my iPhone and on my computer, pair them and then using the share button in Photos send the pictures to my Mac and they show up on the mac with no extra clicking. - Use [WorkFlow](http://workflow.it/?ref=jasontucker.blog) on the iPhone, then install this workflow [AirDrop & Delete screenshot](https://workflow.is/workflows/99edc99da3004685ab8413e4f8632bc9?ref=jasontucker.blog) by opening the link on my phone and pressing install. Once installed you can run the Wordflow and it will take the most recent screenshot you took and auto press the share button and allow you to pick which AirDrop compatible device is nearby. open a finder window on my mac, go to AirDrop on the left and press my name & face on my iPhone to send the selected photo. After all that it will prompt you to delete the file so you won’t forget. - Send the image via Messages to my own phone number and use Messages on my mac to get a copy of the screenshot and drag it into iScreenshot. - Use [Dropbox](http://dropbox.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) app on the iPhone and upload the image to there, download the image from Dropbox on my Mac. There is a bunch of ways to do this and for me it just depends on how many screenshots I’d doing and what I’m in the mood for 🙂 ## Where do I get iScreenShot? You can purchase [iScreenShot from the Mac App Store](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iscreenshot-screenshots-for/id918428773?mt=12&&at=10l4tL&ct=searchlink&ref=jasontucker.blog), at the time of writing it was $0.99 US. In the comments below let me know how this works for you, iScreenShot is amazing and I hope I was able to provide you with a few options to get this type of work done. [![icon256](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/icon256.png)](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iscreenshot-screenshots-for/id918428773?mt=12&&at=10l4tL&ct=searchlink&ref=jasontucker.blog) ## Bonus Tip! If you are in need of redacting some of the info in the screenshots (like I did in the blue iPhone screenshot up top, you can drag the png file to [Skitch](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skitch-snap.-mark-up.-share./id425955336?mt=12&at=10l4tL&ct=searchlink&ref=jasontucker.blog) (a great app made by the folks at [Evernote](http://www.evernote.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog)) and use the redaction tool or even draw arrows and other things. After you manipulate the file using Skitch change the file format picker to PNG and then drag the handle in the bottom middle to the folder your screenshots are in. Now you can use that file as your source file for your screenshot in iScreenShot. [![Screen_Shot_2015-06-24_at_10_12_38_AM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screen_Shot_2015-06-24_at_10_12_38_AM-570x583.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/Screen%5FShot%5F2015-06-24%5Fat%5F10%5F12%5F38%5FAM.jpg) ### Since its "daughter's day" (jokingly we called it that since we did everything Jess wanted to do) we also all went to Yogurtland. That chocolate banan URL: https://jasontucker.blog/since-its-daughters-day-jokingly-we-called-it-that-since-we-did-everything-jess-wanted-to-do-we-also-all-went-to-yogurtland-that-chocolate-banana-they/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:47.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11378726_111780939160163_201137279_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4NSZr0PFXm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Yogurtland Whittier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4NSZr0PFXm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Movies with my wife @jentucker and our daughter for Father's Day URL: https://jasontucker.blog/movies-with-my-wife-jentucker-and-our-daughter-for-fathers-day/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:49.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11311894_831559626959846_221578988_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/4NR8VXPFWm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Whittier Village Cinemas [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/4NR8VXPFWm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Bon fire URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bon-fire/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11385123_627483810720811_640002166_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/32vETJvFXg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Dogpatch Photo taken at: Huntington Beach Tower 2 [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/32vETJvFXg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Want s'more? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/want-smore/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:53.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11376066_833761436711962_383632060_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/32p%5Fm-vFft/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Huntington Beach Tower 2 [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/32p%5Fm-vFft/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Bon fire at HB URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bon-fire-at-hb/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11325121_1451052765212181_210444076_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/32phuBPFe%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Huntington Beach Tower 2 [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/32phuBPFe%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Fire pit at Huntington Beach URL: https://jasontucker.blog/fire-pit-at-huntington-beach/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:46:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11313521_836192493124433_756372727_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/32iRrNPFUa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Newport Beach Corner Cafe and Market – NBCcafe [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/32iRrNPFUa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### While watching the kids swim I thought I'd record the clouds as a URL: https://jasontucker.blog/while-watching-the-kids-swim-i-thought-id-record-the-clouds-as-a/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:03.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11350724_361065397437609_908015713_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3u8r58vFVT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3u8r58vFVT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Love this little face URL: https://jasontucker.blog/love-this-little-face/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:04.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11419289_442492835928034_1408893775_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3sgwnjPFb-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Lark [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3sgwnjPFb-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### and along with pushing updates to servers this morning. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/and-along-with-pushing-updates-to-servers-this-morning/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:06.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11327125_1610532529235839_301758725_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3rZcdZPFcW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3rZcdZPFcW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm not entirely sure why this exists to be honest URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-not-entirely-sure-why-this-exists-to-be-honest/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:07.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11374519_685880974849849_1094390968_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3p3jnRPFWX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3p3jnRPFWX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Paula and the gang are judging @vegasgeek plugin at. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/paula-and-the-gang-are-judging-vegasgeek-plugin-at/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:11.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11311938_901590649897584_387276582_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3pM3M-PFc6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orange County Department of Education [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3pM3M-PFc6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Tabby sharing all of her secrets URL: https://jasontucker.blog/tabby-sharing-all-of-her-secrets/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:12.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11283388_979912658695940_1425023669_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3o3oxVvFSA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orange County Department of Education [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3o3oxVvFSA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Poor @yannibmbr gets to wear his favorite colors thanks to @zengy URL: https://jasontucker.blog/poor-yannibmbr-gets-to-wear-his-favorite-colors-thanks-to-zengy/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:15.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11376568_1608990726052083_822579675_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3mzbDkvFWG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orange County Department of Education [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3mzbDkvFWG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### "The 'Stache" is dropping science on the crowd talking about code security URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-stache-is-dropping-science-on-the-crowd-talking-about-code-security/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/1530847_816127708482921_1244503589_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3mOiNXPFTg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orange County Department of Education [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3mOiNXPFTg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Enjoying at. I really need a coffee kegerator at work. @dieselbrewcoffee URL: https://jasontucker.blog/enjoying-at-i-really-need-a-coffee-kegerator-at-work-dieselbrewcoffee/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:19.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11328540_1661554147399640_2045504423_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3mIlhTvFWY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orange County Department of Education [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3mIlhTvFWY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Dave takes the stage with this first time running URL: https://jasontucker.blog/dave-takes-the-stage-with-this-first-time-running/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11355165_938706922871170_1304615884_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3l%5FrnSvFS9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3l%5FrnSvFS9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### His and Hers URL: https://jasontucker.blog/his-and-hers/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:22.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11311644_821131521302668_1642078310_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3k4EY0PFSC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3k4EY0PFSC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Quick photo of @insert_awesomeness_here my son Chris graduating from URL: https://jasontucker.blog/quick-photo-of-insert_awesomeness_here-my-son-chris-graduating-from/ Last updated: 2023-05-04T19:23:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11380123_1437422499897341_1327609463_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3fcjhwvFef/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3fcjhwvFef/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Graduating Class of 2015 - La Serna High School URL: https://jasontucker.blog/graduating-class-of-2015-la-serna-high-school/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11324334_460055254158810_1273596553_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3fTeNnvFQS/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3fTeNnvFQS/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Hot and around a lot of people URL: https://jasontucker.blog/hot-and-around-a-lot-of-people/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:27.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11325797_1440185446300161_882119347_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3fHUckPFcG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3fHUckPFcG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### So.... We're a couple hours early URL: https://jasontucker.blog/so-were-a-couple-hours-early/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:29.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/06/11378106_1442131226091038_1252243982_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3e%5FwoJPFQ8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3e%5FwoJPFQ8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess is bowling as her middle name, Elise. She kicked my butt URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-is-bowling-as-her-middle-name-elise-she-kicked-my-butt/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:30.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11244023_894794000566331_1174408460_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3W7aMqvFV9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Habra 300 Bowl [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3W7aMqvFV9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Some @creamologylabs goodness: The concept is interesting but the end result is just ice cream. I was expecting a bit more from it, hard outside shell URL: https://jasontucker.blog/some-creamologylabs-goodness-the-concept-is-interesting-but-the-end-result-is-just-ice-cream-i-was-expecting-a-bit-more-from-it-hard-outside-shell-or-/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:33.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11275185_1598409683760876_2036066908_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3Shqo5PFdW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Creamology Labs [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3Shqo5PFdW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Getting out @creamologylabs on: The concept is interesting but the end result is just ice cream. I was expecting a bit more from it, hard outside shel URL: https://jasontucker.blog/getting-out-creamologylabs-on-the-concept-is-interesting-but-the-end-result-is-just-ice-cream-i-was-expecting-a-bit-more-from-it-hard-outside-shell-or/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:34.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11381425_1112545575438638_1916955839_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3Seqw6vFY6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Creamology Labs [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3Seqw6vFY6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Donuts with Dad URL: https://jasontucker.blog/donuts-with-dad/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:37.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/926566_378867818975275_1023832442_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3RnCYJPFY3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3RnCYJPFY3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Somebody isn't very awake yet! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/somebody-isnt-very-awake-yet/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11282299_958144317569596_1455034882_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3RZZQEvFdP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3RZZQEvFdP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jumping Dr Blackwell @leffingwellschool URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jumping-dr-blackwell-leffingwellschool/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:41.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11326653_806253136125337_1651204149_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3RYkKDPFba/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Leffingwell Elementary School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3RYkKDPFba/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### waterpolo laserna URL: https://jasontucker.blog/waterpolo-laserna/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:42.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11373602_1439037253066971_913359746_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3P0xUIvFST/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3P0xUIvFST/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Bike riding URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bike-riding/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11374143_986533441357916_233990935_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3NYC%5FPPFTr/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Juno [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3NYC%5FPPFTr/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Riding with Jess URL: https://jasontucker.blog/riding-with-jess-2/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:46.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11326446_1452572095053246_10816035_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3KurgMPFc3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3KurgMPFc3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Happy Weekend URL: https://jasontucker.blog/happy-weekend/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:49.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11351695_687716751340422_1777767076_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3F3NCOvFWb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3F3NCOvFWb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### memorialdayweekend memorialday hcfintouch hcf URL: https://jasontucker.blog/memorialdayweekend-memorialday-hcfintouch-hcf/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:49.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11359050_843634839019327_1910575430_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3E3aX1PFaH/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Hacienda Christian Fellowship [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3E3aX1PFaH/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/have-i-not-commanded-you-be-strong-and-courageous-do-not-be-afraid-do-not-be-discouraged-for-the-lord-your-god-will-be-with-you-wherever-you-go-whoeve/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:53.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11376704_1596437853962935_280191571_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3EseLQvFQh/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Hacienda Christian Fellowship [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3EseLQvFQh/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess and Twinkle swinging at the park URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-and-twinkle-swinging-at-the-park/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:54.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/10899127_1634185606800557_223637795_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3Cek7VvFZv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Perpetua Photo taken at: La Mirada Regional Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3Cek7VvFZv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Lincoln at the park URL: https://jasontucker.blog/lincoln-at-the-park/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:56.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11265944_869749509774273_158131395_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/3CdoZ2vFXi/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada Regional Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/3CdoZ2vFXi/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Awesome job by the @jamfsoftware team on this great customer on boarding gift they send to new signups URL: https://jasontucker.blog/awesome-job-by-the-jamfsoftware-team-on-this-great-customer-on-boarding-gift-they-send-to-new-signups/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:47:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11327296_832132596821789_1451065536_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2%5FVyxVPFUn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2%5FVyxVPFUn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Ringing of the Bell URL: https://jasontucker.blog/ringing-of-the-bell/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:01.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11266365_456395191195113_1635234742_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2-AoWRPFQm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2-AoWRPFQm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Gloomy day in Fullerton, CA @frontbackapp URL: https://jasontucker.blog/gloomy-day-in-fullerton-ca-frontbackapp/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:02.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11348271_102881530049035_59879610_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/281SuKvFYN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/281SuKvFYN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Looks like Andy @kingdomartist is jonesin' to hit the water. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/looks-like-andy-kingdomartist-is-jonesin-to-hit-the-water/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:05.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11281944_720377014751620_117267570_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/261lGfvFZ9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/261lGfvFZ9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The sky is full of clouds today here at EvFree Fullerton. The south tells one story with bits of blue peeking out here and there the north is just mou URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-sky-is-full-of-clouds-today-here-at-evfree-fullerton-the-south-tells-one-story-with-bits-of-blue-peeking-out-here-and-there-the-north-is-just-moun/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:05.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11282142_703306669779208_1635172661_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/23tzoCvFfR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Lark Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/23tzoCvFfR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Awesome time with my lil girl at ScienCenter. We watched Jerusalem 3D on IMAX and got to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. We checked out the rest of the exhi URL: https://jasontucker.blog/awesome-time-with-my-lil-girl-at-sciencenter-we-watched-jerusalem-3d-on-imax-and-got-to-see-the-dead-sea-scrolls-we-checked-out-the-rest-of-the-exhibi/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11248723_1423519677968830_808991636_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2zqTeaPFZb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: California Science Center [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2zqTeaPFZb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Letters URL: https://jasontucker.blog/letters/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:09.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11311518_384415375092669_283195446_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2y6yHwvFSt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: California Science Center [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2y6yHwvFSt/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Morning URL: https://jasontucker.blog/morning/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:12.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11266017_943487545690906_6537078_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2wEqWMPFfb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Juno Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2wEqWMPFfb/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We really did need the rain URL: https://jasontucker.blog/we-really-did-need-the-rain/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:13.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11245891_754195241344388_135709183_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2tgjqyPFf2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Reyes Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2tgjqyPFf2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### How to make Chrome Profile Manager better URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-to-make-chrome-profile-manager-better/ Last updated: 2015-05-13T08:15:32.000Z If you are like me you have quite a few profiles in Google Chrome and you switch between them all the time. The new Chrome person switcher just sucks and requires too many clicks to switch a user (click name in upper right, click switch user and then click user in popup) There has to be a better way so I started digging. Google has this “chrome://flags” page you can go to to make change to your Chrome settings. If you go there and search for “profile management” you’ll find these 3 settings: [![chrome___flags__ignore-gpu-blacklist](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/chrome___flags__ignore-gpu-blacklist.png)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/chrome%5F%5F%5Fflags%5F%5Fignore-gpu-blacklist.png) Depending on the combo you end up enabling and disabling you’ll find that you can switch to a new user quite quickly. If you model your selections like mine above you end up with a dropdown that looks like this: [![chrome___flags__ignore-gpu-blacklist 2](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/chrome___flags__ignore-gpu-blacklist-2.png)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/chrome%5F%5F%5Fflags%5F%5Fignore-gpu-blacklist-2.png) The 3 avatars in the middle of the dropdown are clickable and will open a new window with that persona enabled for that window session. The main thing that is triggering that functionality is **Enable fast user switching in the avatar menu**. You can also try disabling the “**Enable new profile management system**” and “**Enable the new avatar menu**” and you’ll end up with a more simplified dropdown menu: [![Fullscreen_5_13_15__9_04_AM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Fullscreen_5_13_15__9_04_AM.png)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Fullscreen%5F5%5F13%5F15%5F%5F9%5F04%5FAM.png) Now you have two options to choose from both of them get you to switching users quicker than before. Let me know in the comments how this works out for you. ### What a nice looking day today didn't need it. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/what-a-nice-looking-day-today-didnt-need-it/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11258540_1005726346138715_184015866_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2jGRcePFVV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: First Evangelical Free Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2jGRcePFVV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### All packed and ready to go home. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/all-packed-and-ready-to-go-home/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:17.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11241857_1428259784147596_38606455_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2gh7WaPFZ-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: San Diego Metro KOA [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2gh7WaPFZ-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jumping on the Jumping Pillows with the kids URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jumping-on-the-jumping-pillows-with-the-kids/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:19.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11242302_870314933033758_335106395_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2gbJAmPFWN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Lark Photo taken at: San Diego Metro KOA [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2gbJAmPFWN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Bocce ball for weekend at URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bocce-ball-for-weekend-at/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11241341_1589257181344174_18102132_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2ezzCSvFV4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: San Diego Metro KOA [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2ezzCSvFV4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess riding a 4 wheeler at URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-riding-a-4-wheeler-at/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11256717_816207015126857_1511700227_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2eTwpIPFTM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: San Diego Metro KOA [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2eTwpIPFTM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Wow look at all of those cartridges!! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wow-look-at-all-of-those-cartridges/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:25.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11202614_791130101002935_2131207125_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2d3HMhPFYE/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: McDonald’s [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2d3HMhPFYE/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Not to old to to dad (yet) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/not-to-old-to-to-dad-yet/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:27.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11208588_291029921021220_1004040052_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2aE-fNPFX-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2aE-fNPFX-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Last one from the concert URL: https://jasontucker.blog/last-one-from-the-concert/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:28.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11251744_1569280340005753_1965773742_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XsICuPFTU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Juno Photo taken at: Friends Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XsICuPFTU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### @friendschurchyl URL: https://jasontucker.blog/friendschurchyl/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:30.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11226775_1618930561726842_354492415_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XsAymPFTI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Friends Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XsAymPFTI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Daughter and dads Bowling URL: https://jasontucker.blog/daughter-and-dads-bowling/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:32.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11249991_814120595347421_1140562439_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XrMCgPFSI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Habra 300 Bowl [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XrMCgPFSI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### For King and Country URL: https://jasontucker.blog/for-king-and-country/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:37.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11208269_1395845020741259_1029638831_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XrK9DvFSG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Friends Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XrK9DvFSG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess and I getting ready to watch For King and Country URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-and-i-getting-ready-to-watch-for-king-and-country/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11241722_442615349232015_816656282_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XrGPmvFSB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XrGPmvFSB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Wow big line for @4kingandcountry URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wow-big-line-for-4kingandcountry/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11232485_1111526272196788_651531348_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2XMsLkvFch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Friends Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2XMsLkvFch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We want it really cool yet save money URL: https://jasontucker.blog/we-want-it-really-cool-yet-save-money/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:41.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11241481_1450807861878754_367033844_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2W1HnNvFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2W1HnNvFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Walking these two URL: https://jasontucker.blog/walking-these-two/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:44.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11245651_750401398410187_671615272_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2VDCUivFfG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2VDCUivFfG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### OS X Clipboard Management with Alfred 2 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/os-x-clipboard-management-with-alfred-2/ Last updated: 2024-09-19T23:20:27.000Z Don’t you hate it when you are looking for a solution to a problem and you already have the solution and didn’t know it? Well, that happened to me just now. I was looking for a way to manage my Mac’s clipboard so if I copied more than one thing I could go back and paste the first one and then the second one. Typically a clipboard only allows for one item at a time to remain in it, if you copy something new the old one is removed and the new one replaces it. I’m a huge fan of Alfred ([Setup a custom Web Search with Alfred](https://jasontucker.blog/7594/setup-a-custom-web-search-with-alfred/), [How to switch the keyboard shortcut for Spotlight to Alfred](https://jasontucker.blog/7584/how-to-switch-the-keyboard-shortcut-for-spotlight-to-alfred/), [What was that app’s name again?](https://jasontucker.blog/7636/what-was-that-apps-name-again/), [Working with Tags in OS X](https://jasontucker.blog/7660/working-tags-os-x/)) so when I can find a way to do something new with it I get excited. I was google’ing around looking for a good solution for a clipboard manager and found a site talking about using something called [ClipMenu](http://www.clipmenu.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) (Ugh, another menubar app I already have enough stuff in my menubar as it is) [![Screenshot_5_5_15__9_25_PM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Screenshot_5_5_15__9_25_PM.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Screenshot%5F5%5F5%5F15%5F%5F9%5F25%5FPM.jpg) Clipmenu sounded like a cool solution to the problem I was facing but then the website said that Alfred also does this and the same way you just need to enable it. Under Features in it’s Preferences there is “Clipboard” if you enable that you can do some cool stuff with the clipboard.[![Alfred_Preferences](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Alfred_Preferences.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/Alfred%5FPreferences.jpg) Alfred has some great docs so I’m not going to recreate them here, go check them out [Clipboard History and Snippets](http://support.alfredapp.com/features:clipboard?ref=jasontucker.blog) and make sure you buy the Powerpack if you haven’t already done so since it’s required and makes Alfred a Super Hero. The Verge did a great video on this feature and other stuff Alfred can do too. ### At the park, round two. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/at-the-park-round-two/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11195849_1583589988572899_696062819_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2PaHZWvFc0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Parnell Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2PaHZWvFc0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm the last J :( URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-the-last-j/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:48.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11190277_376900629166410_254935341_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2PIsYfvFdG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Habra 300 Bowl [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2PIsYfvFdG/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### She's not too big to be pushed on the swing URL: https://jasontucker.blog/shes-not-too-big-to-be-pushed-on-the-swing/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:49.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/05/11199576_1556917111237407_1919895014_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2PA%5FbGPFda/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Mirada Regional Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2PA%5FbGPFda/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Enable CMD ENTER to send an email in OS X Mail.app URL: https://jasontucker.blog/enable-cmd-enter-to-send-an-email-in-os-x-mail-app/ Last updated: 2015-05-27T09:02:27.000Z I’ve been forcing myself to use the built in Mail.app lately, I’m the IT Manager at a church and one of the things I try to do is use the exact same hardware and software that my users use. I really I hate when they call me up and asked me a question and I don’t know the answer to it, not because I’ve never done it before but because it’s not in my muscle memory so I end up having to either look it up or try it myself. Most of my users use Mail.app and I tend to use Outlook. Switching from Outlook 2011 to Mail.app was difficult since there’s a lot of features that are very different on Mail.app. One thing I noticed right off the bat is there’s no real shortcut to send mail using just your keyboard once you’re done composing, I’ve used Postbox and a few others and most of them have a keyboard shortcut to send the composed mail. Digging around in some dotfiles on GitHub I found this little gem: # Add the keyboard shortcut ⌘ + Enter to send an email in Mail.app defaults write com.apple.mail NSUserKeyEquivalents -dict-add "Send" "@\U21a9" To run it you open up the terminal then paste in that command above. Close Mail.app and open it back up again now you should be able to press **⌘** and **ENTER** ### Another amazingly great looking day today. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/another-amazingly-great-looking-day-today/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11192596_1579278762339995_1076597115_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2EN0sRvFbP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2EN0sRvFbP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### She's barely moved while in the pool to keep the water calm. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/shes-barely-moved-while-in-the-pool-to-keep-the-water-calm/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:53.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11208046_809150849153998_652852718_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2C0-2HvFS5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2C0-2HvFS5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Hello "the outside" what a beautiful morning you are. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/hello-the-outside-what-a-beautiful-morning-you-are/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11201511_1648837395347224_564389294_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2BjzPfPFb0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2BjzPfPFb0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Testing out the new URL: https://jasontucker.blog/testing-out-the-new/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:48:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11199654_453400431482279_705067995_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/2Bi%5FKyPFaV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/2Bi%5FKyPFaV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Playing in the waves at Newport Pier URL: https://jasontucker.blog/playing-in-the-waves-at-newport-pier/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:02.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11192718_645385985598477_644781981_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/19HP%5FNPFZL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Newport Pier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/19HP%5FNPFZL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Celebratory dip in the Pacific Ocean after a bike ride from The Wedge to HB pier URL: https://jasontucker.blog/celebratory-dip-in-the-pacific-ocean-after-a-bike-ride-from-the-wedge-to-hb-pier/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:04.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11193056_478412305643566_1262849380_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/19GNrBvFW%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Newport Pier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/19GNrBvFW%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Stopped to cool off during our ride URL: https://jasontucker.blog/stopped-to-cool-off-during-our-ride/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:07.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11191093_1444701302494109_777525386_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/18-N21PFVm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Jack’s Beach Concession [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/18-N21PFVm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We made it to HB! URL: https://jasontucker.blog/we-made-it-to-hb/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11191571_1586007338343659_487443430_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/18734XvFQJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Huntington Beach Pier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/18734XvFQJ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Stopped at Rubys at the Pier URL: https://jasontucker.blog/stopped-at-rubys-at-the-pier/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:11.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11190120_978946648805034_262204233_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/18t6KSPFcY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Ruby’s Diner, Balboa Pier [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/18t6KSPFcY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Newport pier URL: https://jasontucker.blog/newport-pier/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:12.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11192959_377404495803792_110256936_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/18tAOzPFZ1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Balboa Island, Newport Beach [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/18tAOzPFZ1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Arrived at Weirdoville URL: https://jasontucker.blog/arrived-at-weirdoville/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:15.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142826_886091894791288_1075094205_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/16xZtuPFa7/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Hollywood/Vine [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/16xZtuPFa7/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Water Polo parents URL: https://jasontucker.blog/water-polo-parents/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11190834_1830030023889236_2071622523_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/16JbK1PFQ6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/16JbK1PFQ6/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### "Dad, what do you want to do Saturday Morning? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/dad-what-do-you-want-to-do-saturday-morning/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:18.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142398_1438614696432399_1561110271_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/16FnLBvFXv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Lo-fi Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/16FnLBvFXv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### It's a race! @leffingwellschool URL: https://jasontucker.blog/its-a-race-leffingwellschool/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11189602_670154779755966_1980072677_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14WBHwvFf5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14WBHwvFf5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The Racing Jumper has been a massive hit @leffingwellschool URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-racing-jumper-has-been-a-massive-hit-leffingwellschool/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:23.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10643778_516946688475261_1259615477_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14Ur7PPFdn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14Ur7PPFdn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Unlimited awesomeness wristband (ride and play everything) and she's on the swings at Family Fun Night :) URL: https://jasontucker.blog/unlimited-awesomeness-wristband-ride-and-play-everything-and-shes-on-the-swings-at-family-fun-night/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11184592_1441246116175141_1027211763_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14R5PhvFY8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14R5PhvFY8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### 4x4 train at Family Fun Night URL: https://jasontucker.blog/4x4-train-at-family-fun-night/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11137875_751557124941470_85401475_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14RkVqvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14RkVqvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### These candy apple are CRAZY BIG URL: https://jasontucker.blog/these-candy-apple-are-crazy-big/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:27.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11189336_939552969410216_1988193948_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14Ofu2PFTI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14Ofu2PFTI/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Cute sign for the Fishing for Nuts and Bolts booth at Family Fun Night URL: https://jasontucker.blog/cute-sign-for-the-fishing-for-nuts-and-bolts-booth-at-family-fun-night/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:30.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142712_449342448554424_406683068_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14ObZdvFS8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14ObZdvFS8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess fishing for nuts and bolts at Family Fun Night URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-fishing-for-nuts-and-bolts-at-family-fun-night/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:31.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11192656_834304089940695_1005468994_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14OTxsPFSp/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14OTxsPFSp/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### My son @insert_awesomeness_here selling apples at Family Fun Night URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-son-insert_awesomeness_here-selling-apples-at-family-fun-night/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:33.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11189533_402623253254435_1727464614_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/14OQPzvFSf/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/14OQPzvFSf/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### What is this "wet" on the ground? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/what-is-this-wet-on-the-ground/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:34.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11189407_818182584924969_434169014_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/13mbGCvFdA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/13mbGCvFdA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watching my lil one get her swim on URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watching-my-lil-one-get-her-swim-on/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:37.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11176459_572222772919232_1935555041_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/11skgfvFUu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/11skgfvFUu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Thanks for the URL: https://jasontucker.blog/thanks-for-the/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11176625_1567212403533366_940164839_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1tPxqrPFbO/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Mayfair [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1tPxqrPFbO/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Near Cerritos Auto Square URL: https://jasontucker.blog/near-cerritos-auto-square/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11098399_1439187689708436_140062329_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1rtt8RPFSm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Liberty Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1rtt8RPFSm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Park Basketball URL: https://jasontucker.blog/park-basketball/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:42.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/1389153_370549596484040_784114669_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1q3oVIPFe8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Clarendon Photo taken at: Parnell Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1q3oVIPFe8/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Bottle caps URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bottle-caps/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:44.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11093016_1645389359023785_17617137_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1oq559PFa%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Orchard’s Fresh Foods [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1oq559PFa%5F/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### At @scottys_ with Jess for a lil treat URL: https://jasontucker.blog/at-scottys_-with-jess-for-a-lil-treat/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10513905_959902404021968_85628748_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1ogfYivFYm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Scotty’s Shaved Ice [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1ogfYivFYm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Coach talking after the first quarter URL: https://jasontucker.blog/coach-talking-after-the-first-quarter/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:48.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11084816_427276504111346_1448181088_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1oA4JGPFTa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1oA4JGPFTa/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Coach talking to the player about the rules of the game URL: https://jasontucker.blog/coach-talking-to-the-player-about-the-rules-of-the-game/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:49.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/924770_1586828561534541_1122795612_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1n9zDUPFc2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1n9zDUPFc2/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Great day for URL: https://jasontucker.blog/great-day-for/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142988_1422752288041259_1149696869_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1n8wtyPFZx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1n8wtyPFZx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm having a blast shooting URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-having-a-blast-shooting/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11138016_776048282509826_1184475354_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1n7sKCvFWL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1n7sKCvFWL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### That's a keeper 75-300mm URL: https://jasontucker.blog/thats-a-keeper-75-300mm/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:55.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11137651_1591394234480763_2063142858_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1n7SnsPFU-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1n7SnsPFU-/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess getting ready for URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-getting-ready-for/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:49:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10808487_361447930725726_1457798614_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1n3NMPvFbT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Biola University [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1n3NMPvFbT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### That's my dog URL: https://jasontucker.blog/thats-my-dog/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:00.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11111388_1436811323296655_1101136233_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1mx-zoPFXC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1mx-zoPFXC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### DeDupe all the things URL: https://jasontucker.blog/dedupe-all-the-things/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:02.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11143064_805330079520533_752833753_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1mk8njvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1mk8njvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Cleaned the office side of my bedroom while the girls are out URL: https://jasontucker.blog/cleaned-the-office-side-of-my-bedroom-while-the-girls-are-out/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:05.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11098433_718501331591989_455565154_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1mhVULvFUT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1mhVULvFUT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### My House Finch streaming live on@ YouTube 24/7. This is a behind the scenes look. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-house-finch-streaming-live-on-youtube-247-this-is-a-behind-the-scenes-look/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:06.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11085044_826819610731178_62830774_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1mLM60vFSY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1mLM60vFSY/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### He thinks he's a people URL: https://jasontucker.blog/he-thinks-hes-a-people/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:09.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11098197_806799799398071_360631858_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1kb-KyPFa0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1kb-KyPFa0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Learning about sprinters and trailers URL: https://jasontucker.blog/learning-about-sprinters-and-trailers/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:10.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11111249_363661413829297_881399839_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1jtOm3vFet/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1jtOm3vFet/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Coach is teaching the kids plays URL: https://jasontucker.blog/coach-is-teaching-the-kids-plays/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:13.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11085028_1822429287983219_1971112419_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1jsBbBvFct/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1jsBbBvFct/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Little Ms Twinkle the URL: https://jasontucker.blog/little-ms-twinkle-the/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:13.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10914294_1428763040770196_804903079_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1hphB6PFX3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Mayfair [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1hphB6PFX3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Microphone checka URL: https://jasontucker.blog/microphone-checka/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11111415_390009771184992_1269468000_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1g%5FLinPFQK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1g%5FLinPFQK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Goodbye Mac Pro URL: https://jasontucker.blog/goodbye-mac-pro/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:17.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11117161_1380888322239208_1195108733_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1gScJXvFUv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1gScJXvFUv/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Why hello there URL: https://jasontucker.blog/why-hello-there/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142275_1559991067596232_425360010_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1eFuKOvFVm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1eFuKOvFVm/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Nice day outside, too bad I'm inside URL: https://jasontucker.blog/nice-day-outside-too-bad-im-inside/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:22.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11098295_828127183942415_1075106356_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1bFEAePFSo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: First Evangelical Free Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1bFEAePFSo/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### We have Erin Kerr @sparkykerr kicking off the Spring 2015 Rooted season URL: https://jasontucker.blog/we-have-erin-kerr-sparkykerr-kicking-off-the-spring-2015-rooted-season/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:25.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11084976_966909876655283_1147885857_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1ZZuPKvFa3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1ZZuPKvFa3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### First few people people walking into Rooted Kickoff URL: https://jasontucker.blog/first-few-people-people-walking-into-rooted-kickoff/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:25.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11116729_1585398958384416_2008330914_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1ZYE1rPFXl/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1ZYE1rPFXl/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### just beautiful URL: https://jasontucker.blog/just-beautiful/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:28.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11116972_1583068368640074_1986719343_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1WBKDwPFdT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1WBKDwPFdT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### 12'0 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/120/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:29.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142103_100401140291228_1899011097_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1WBAphvFdB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Slumber Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1WBAphvFdB/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### demo of the UI URL: https://jasontucker.blog/demo-of-the-ui/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:32.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11098479_411540272360758_906610504_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TYfvkvFQN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TYfvkvFQN/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### changing faces on the watch URL: https://jasontucker.blog/changing-faces-on-the-watch/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:34.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10955306_624727910990418_873147536_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TYOB2vFfg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TYOB2vFfg/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### More demo URL: https://jasontucker.blog/more-demo/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/10956725_1050215531662562_1750056301_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TYCuJvFfF/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TYCuJvFfF/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### demo URL: https://jasontucker.blog/demo/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11033052_1610170389228520_1145051884_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TX6toPFey/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TX6toPFey/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### demo URL: https://jasontucker.blog/demo-2/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:44.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11111239_861804107218387_1565114792_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TX32nvFes/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TX32nvFes/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Pretty cool looking display for the URL: https://jasontucker.blog/pretty-cool-looking-display-for-the/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:44.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142183_1410224829295022_275124443_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TTNZ7vFU0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TTNZ7vFU0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### window dressing at the store URL: https://jasontucker.blog/window-dressing-at-the-store/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:47.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11085149_814098155306054_1681895736_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1TR1iEvFSL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Apple Store, Brea Mall [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1TR1iEvFSL/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### AirDrop between iPhone and iPad just says "waiting" when trying to send 8 photos between the two, is this common? URL: https://jasontucker.blog/airdrop-between-iphone-and-ipad-just-says-waiting-when-trying-to-send-8-photos-between-the-two-is-this-common/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:48.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11078975_1585466541713700_1877369410_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1RtSDgvFTK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1RtSDgvFTK/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Coach talking to the kids on how to play a game for practice URL: https://jasontucker.blog/coach-talking-to-the-kids-on-how-to-play-a-game-for-practice/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:52.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142916_1555801431350375_196176242_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1RlIB0vFVn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1RlIB0vFVn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### @sparkykerr kicking off the pre-launch of at URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sparkykerr-kicking-off-the-pre-launch-of-at/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:53.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11142181_887917031250757_1194894167_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1PCeBjPFQC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1PCeBjPFQC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Sky URL: https://jasontucker.blog/sky/ Last updated: 2015-07-03T10:50:56.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11116612_1580363148887235_1552955996_n.jpg)](https://instagram.com/p/1MGoe4vFRU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Micro Center [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1MGoe4vFRU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jess is learning how to dribble #waterpolo URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jess-is-learning-how-to-dribble-waterpolo/ Last updated: 2015-04-06T16:27:01.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11085205_793015064114985_2113752421_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1J0J5xPFQ3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Toaster Photo taken at: La Serna High School [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1J0J5xPFQ3/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### More #shellfie goodness. Just completed my bike ride, 7 miles in 48 minutes URL: https://jasontucker.blog/more-shellfie-goodness-just-completed-my-bike-ride-7-miles-in-48-minutes/ Last updated: 2015-04-06T07:21:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11094473_1389111808078384_2080278908_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1I2CmDPFdu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1I2CmDPFdu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Our bike riding #shellfie @shellyswope URL: https://jasontucker.blog/our-bike-riding-shellfie-shellyswope/ Last updated: 2015-04-06T07:21:42.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11116951_1416253482016972_806252388_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1IygT-vFWT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Stater Bros. [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1IygT-vFWT/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### That moment when your daughter almost dances on Bob Hope's grave URL: https://jasontucker.blog/that-moment-when-your-daughter-almost-dances-on-bob-hopes-grave/ Last updated: 2015-04-05T12:21:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/928765_1376617225999805_1368685211_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1Gy-VnPFcq/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Bob Hope Memorial Garden [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1Gy-VnPFcq/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I asked my 9 year old "what is that on your hat?" She replies "it's a Guac hat!" URL: https://jasontucker.blog/i-asked-my-9-year-old-what-is-that-on-your-hat-she-replies-its-a-guac-hat/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T18:21:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11094461_784724324945584_1240895400_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1E2t1VvFXy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1E2t1VvFXy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Baptisms @evfreefullerton lots of #evfreerooted folks being #baptised #easter URL: https://jasontucker.blog/baptisms-evfreefullerton-lots-of-evfreerooted-folks-being-baptised-easter/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T17:22:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11111422_699176130208154_1310269957_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1EteKRvFXR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1EteKRvFXR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### One of my family's favorite pastors @sparkykerr on stage #EvFullerton #evfreerooted URL: https://jasontucker.blog/one-of-my-familys-favorite-pastors-sparkykerr-on-stage-evfullerton-evfreerooted/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T17:22:10.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11116711_1572143106399433_424907046_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1EsUtLPFVA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1EsUtLPFVA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### 5pm service at #EvFreeFullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/5pm-service-at-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T16:22:06.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11024124_879165415477202_1699063065_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1EofCtvFcX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1EofCtvFcX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The baby House Finch make cute little noises #bird #birdwatcher #birdwatching #eggs #nest #finch #momma #birdies URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-baby-house-finch-make-cute-little-noises-bird-birdwatcher-birdwatching-eggs-nest-finch-momma-birdies/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T15:22:03.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11093080_664403680331662_582869712_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1EgR75vFch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Skyline [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1EgR75vFch/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Dunk those eggs #paas #easter URL: https://jasontucker.blog/dunk-those-eggs-paas-easter/ Last updated: 2015-04-04T15:22:05.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/924700_1608977442647496_1304163549_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/1EeMdRvFYA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/1EeMdRvFYA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### She stopped so fast this happened. #nailedit URL: https://jasontucker.blog/she-stopped-so-fast-this-happened-nailedit/ Last updated: 2015-04-02T20:22:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11123953_1585969928313248_842303887_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0%5F30-gPFe0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0%5F30-gPFe0/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Walking these two, they both want to go different directions. #doggie #dog #dogs #dogsofinstagram #yorkie #schnauzer #snorkie URL: https://jasontucker.blog/walking-these-two-they-both-want-to-go-different-directions-doggie-dog-dogs-dogsofinstagram-yorkie-schnauzer-snorkie/ Last updated: 2015-04-01T17:31:11.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/04/11055528_1435329043432348_727438423_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/09DyLmPFbZ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/09DyLmPFbZ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Having some silly fun at our #Rooted Celebration Dinner #evfreerooted #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/having-some-silly-fun-at-our-rooted-celebration-dinner-evfreerooted-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-30T18:22:08.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10949037_368035653381267_1969660855_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/04Aba5PFV5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/04Aba5PFV5/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Our #rooted group. #evfreerooted #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/our-rooted-group-evfreerooted-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T18:21:22.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055755_949235465121265_405293973_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/01ZGVVPFTM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/01ZGVVPFTM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Rooted Celebration Dinner #evfreerooted #rooted #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/rooted-celebration-dinner-evfreerooted-rooted-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T17:22:56.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11111422_1493164330922612_2031955552_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/01RuKMPFV1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/01RuKMPFV1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Rad, love this simple branding we do with #Rooted at #EvFullerton. #evfreerooted URL: https://jasontucker.blog/rad-love-this-simple-branding-we-do-with-rooted-at-evfullerton-evfreerooted/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T14:21:39.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055863_401256520055952_32041566_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/01AI0NvFUW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/01AI0NvFUW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Good morning Momma Bird http://youtu.be/xqHeAbeRAHw URL: https://jasontucker.blog/good-morning-momma-bird-httpyoutu-bexqheaberahw/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T11:25:28.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11033007_1585278908396408_2136946102_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/00kwl6vFTx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/00kwl6vFTx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I had a great time at WordCamp San Diego #wcsd2015 yesterday they held it at the San Diego Hall of the Champions Sports Museum. I'm not much of a spor URL: https://jasontucker.blog/i-had-a-great-time-at-wordcamp-san-diego-wcsd2015-yesterday-they-held-it-at-the-san-diego-hall-of-the-champions-sports-museum-im-not-much-of-a-sports-/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T08:24:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055719_1570873933137591_1965013654_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/00V-9HPFf9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Crema Photo taken at: Balboa Park [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/00V-9HPFf9/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### My little buddy Lincoln resting on the arm of the couch. #schnauzer #lincoln #dogsofinstagram #dog my #puppy always URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-little-buddy-lincoln-resting-on-the-arm-of-the-couch-schnauzer-lincoln-dogsofinstagram-dog-my-puppy-always/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T08:24:59.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11093111_366402076885309_538599543_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/00VhSNPFey/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Crema [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/00VhSNPFey/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm speaking today about Understanding the WordPress Interface at #wcsd2015 URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-speaking-today-about-understanding-the-wordpress-interface-at-wcsd2015/ Last updated: 2015-03-29T00:26:22.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11111448_669750013130256_1086653351_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0zeDQcvFUx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Mayfair [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0zeDQcvFUx/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### What a great love king day today @evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/what-a-great-love-king-day-today-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-27T08:26:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10946516_1426273957672917_636705153_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0vISD6PFZP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0vISD6PFZP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Out momma bird house finch is awake and looking at stuff. We've been streaming a live webcam all week of her nest and the 5 eggs inside. #birdwatcher URL: https://jasontucker.blog/out-momma-bird-house-finch-is-awake-and-looking-at-stuff-weve-been-streaming-a-live-webcam-all-week-of-her-nest-and-the-5-eggs-inside-birdwatcher-bird/ Last updated: 2015-03-27T07:23:56.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/1209539_1433568990271108_601938827_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0vBfj1PFc1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0vBfj1PFc1/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The controls of a Wicks #pipeorgan with a pull labeled #harleydavidson that's pretty awesome. #church #organ #piano #music URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-controls-of-a-wicks-pipeorgan-with-a-pull-labeled-harleydavidson-thats-pretty-awesome-church-organ-piano-music/ Last updated: 2015-03-26T23:23:14.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11084841_753285704769470_870342502_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0uNdgDPFXn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Toaster [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0uNdgDPFXn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Untitled URL: https://jasontucker.blog/untitled-11/ Last updated: 2015-03-26T16:22:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055525_886824971382058_201991487_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0tbaUkvFWQ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0tbaUkvFWQ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### How to setup a YouTube live video stream using FFMPEG URL: https://jasontucker.blog/how-to-setup-a-youtube-live-video-stream-using-ffmpeg/ Last updated: 2015-04-08T06:49:39.000Z My wife Jen recently noticed that we had a bird’s nest in our DirecTV satellite dish. The Momma bird recently laid some eggs in it and we’ve been curious about them so I thought it would be fun to set up a webcam so we can keep tabs on what’s going on up there without disturbing the nest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO-\_E3Zy5IE ## I used to run a live webcam when I was a kid As you can see above we have a 24/7 webcam running (as of March 24th 2015) streaming what is going on in the bird’s nest. Back in the day I use to run a webcam and every 30 seconds or so it would take a picture of me sitting at my desk. It wasn’t the most popular thing for obvious reasons but it was a cool concept to have the webcam take a picture, FTP it to my server, rename the existing current.jpg to the date and then name the new file to current.jpg. From there I could refer to current.jpg in my html and you could see the recent image. With some scripting you could show the archives and such. It was super basic but fun none the less. As with most things I do it starts out as something fun and then I end up referencing it for a client. Fast forward a few years, we have bandwidth to spare, webcams all over the place and the know how to push and pull video as needed. ## How to stream to YouTube My YouTube account allows me to set up a live event, my account is [verified](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/171664?ref=jasontucker.blog), in [good standing ](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2797387?ref=jasontucker.blog)and I enabled the live events feature in my [Account Features](http://www.youtube.com/features?ref=jasontucker.blog) page. I think now days most accounts have this ability with the advent of Let’s Plays and watching people play games on YouTube. If you load up the video manager and go to [Live Events](http://www.youtube.com/my%5Flive%5Fevents?ref=jasontucker.blog) you can set up a new live event. You could also use a [Google Hangout on Air](https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2553119?hl=en&ref%5Ftopic=2553242&ref=jasontucker.blog) to do the streaming too. Once you setup your live event you can stream to it. There are a few ways to do this: [WireCast for YouTube](http://www.telestream.net/wirecastforyoutube/cb-landing.htm?ref=jasontucker.blog), [Flash Media Live Encode](http://www.adobe.com/products/flashmediaserver/flashmediaencoder/?ref=jasontucker.blog) and [Google Hangout on Air](https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2553119?ref=jasontucker.blog) or use any service that supports pushing video using RTMP. ## How I setup my birds nest camera setup A few years back I got a Logitech Alert b700i IP Camera for review, I live in an apartment and I don’t want to be that weirdo that has cameras pointing outside his apartment recording the common areas. I’ve used this camera for a number of events at my work and thought the hatching of some bird eggs would be a good use for it at home this go around. I positioned the IP Camera using the pole that was provided and a metal clip to clip it to the side of the DirecTV satellite dish the bird laid its nest in. I then ran a cat 6 cable from that camera over to the nearest network drop and plugged it in. This camera uses PoE or Power over Ethernet to power it so I have a power injector between the camera and the network drop to give it some power. After that I did some searching on my network looking for a device with port 554 open the port that RTSP runs on. ## Acronym Soup “I thought you said you were using RTMP?” Ah, good eye. RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol – [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real%5FTime%5FStreaming%5FProtocol?ref=jasontucker.blog)) is the standard that most IP cameras use, RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol – [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real%5FTime%5FMessaging%5FProtocol?ref=jasontucker.blog)) is the standard that YouTube uses for getting a video stream from us over to YouTube. Since my camera lets me stream using RTSP and YouTube supports RTMP I figured I could make something happen by transcoding and bridging the gap between my camera and YouTube. ## Let’s get digging The first thing I do when trying to solve a crazy problem like this is to see if anyone else has done this in the past. I googled “RTMP RTSP YouTube” and noticed in the search results people talking about FFMPEG so I added that in too “RTMP RTSP YouTube FFMPEG” which showed me there is hope. Ditching Google and did a search on GitHub hoping someone had a sample bash script to make this all work and sure enough they did. https://gist.github.com/shaposhnikoff/d22e7a778480f5fcd8f5 What this code does is lets you specify your IP Camera source webcam url to pull from and the YouTube URL, YouTube Camera Key to push to. If you go to your Live Event and then edit the event and click on Ingestion you’ll see a screen like this: [![YouTube](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/YouTube.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/YouTube.jpg) The area in the code where you are setting the value for the “**key**” is where you’ll paste in the value from the “**Stream Name**” above. The Primary Server URL is the value you’ll use for “**YOUTUBE\_URL**” in the bash script. For “**SOURCE**” in the script I set mine to: SOURCE=”rtsp://192.168.1.42:554/HighResolutionVideo” But this depends on the rtsp url your webcam uses and the IP address your camera has. If you do a few google searched for the camera model number and rtsp you are bound to find something. ## Starting the stream I kicked off the stream in the terminal by issuing the command “./stream.sh” and ffmpeg connected to the IP camera and started pushing the video over to YouTube. If you go to your event page and edit the event and click on Live Control Room you can click on the Start Preview button to make sure your video is streaming to YouTube. If it is you can follow the step to preview the stream and then go live. What are you thinking about streaming? Leave your comments below. ### My beautiful lunch date. We had a great time watching #Cinderella together URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-beautiful-lunch-date-we-had-a-great-time-watching-cinderella-together/ Last updated: 2015-03-22T13:22:19.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10986338_987493527941059_1273825058_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0i15OsvFRd/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Whittier Village Cinemas [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0i15OsvFRd/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Wheels keep turn in' #bikeriding URL: https://jasontucker.blog/wheels-keep-turn-in-bikeriding/ Last updated: 2015-03-21T18:21:15.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/1389714_459505780869440_2015141643_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0g0OPevFVW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Clarendon Photo taken at: West San Gabriel River Parkway Nature Trail [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0g0OPevFVW/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Push push push push URL: https://jasontucker.blog/push-push-push-push/ Last updated: 2015-03-21T18:21:16.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055776_471516336335094_725148064_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0gyHIdvFRk/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: The 405 Freeway [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0gyHIdvFRk/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### I'm no Sherlock Holmes but I think I found who what when why and how the hairbrushes. #dadlife URL: https://jasontucker.blog/im-no-sherlock-holmes-but-i-think-i-found-who-what-when-why-and-how-the-hairbrushes-dadlife/ Last updated: 2015-03-21T12:29:00.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10725095_674612322651050_1170053341_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0gJMMPPFRC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0gJMMPPFRC/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### "Bless the lord O my soul" #thestirring #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/bless-the-lord-o-my-soul-thestirring-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-19T20:27:36.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055420_434386670051010_1696038772_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0b45GxvFSU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Helena Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0b45GxvFSU/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### "My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need you" #thestirring #evfreefullerton #worshipmusic URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-one-defense-my-righteousnessoh-god-how-i-need-you-thestirring-evfreefullerton-worshipmusic/ Last updated: 2015-03-19T20:27:38.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10665548_608148579322807_1921194267_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0b3DUtvFQD/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Brooklyn Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0b3DUtvFQD/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### #thestirring @evfreefullerton @southlandschurch @friends_church @rhfullerton #uniteorangecounty awesome night of #worship URL: https://jasontucker.blog/thestirring-evfreefullerton-southlandschurch-friends_church-rhfullerton-uniteorangecounty-awesome-night-of-worship/ Last updated: 2015-03-19T19:21:36.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11078530_670290499765806_1486148483_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0bwF0LvFWn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0bwF0LvFWn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### The calm before #TheStirring @evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/the-calm-before-thestirring-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-19T16:22:59.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/924074_770943636335696_1925925666_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0bZ0H8vFRj/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro Photo taken at: First Evangelical Free Church [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0bZ0H8vFRj/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Stopped to pickup Jen's work of art after our Rooted class at church URL: https://jasontucker.blog/stopped-to-pickup-jens-work-of-art-after-our-rooted-class-at-church/ Last updated: 2015-03-18T21:26:07.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11049349_1022919797736291_663797627_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0Zb4etPFZV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0Zb4etPFZV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Racing Herbie to work today URL: https://jasontucker.blog/racing-herbie-to-work-today/ Last updated: 2015-03-17T07:21:27.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055658_1003950296301058_1989878363_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0VWIrDvFeu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0VWIrDvFeu/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watching my lil girl swim #swinter URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watching-my-lil-girl-swim-swinter/ Last updated: 2015-03-16T19:21:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11007997_844982745548160_1751583841_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0UAoncvFZn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0UAoncvFZn/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Jen made #Kalbi (Korean Barbequed Beef Short Ribs) yummy yummy! #dinner URL: https://jasontucker.blog/jen-made-kalbi-korean-barbequed-beef-short-ribs-yummy-yummy-dinner/ Last updated: 2015-03-15T18:21:14.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11024434_1414468315524905_1559144809_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0RToL9vFTZ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0RToL9vFTZ/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Korean short ribs #kalbi #yummy #bbq #dinner #korean URL: https://jasontucker.blog/korean-short-ribs-kalbi-yummy-bbq-dinner-korean/ Last updated: 2015-03-15T17:21:19.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11018443_383282941859233_1341169626_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0RPDvmPFbV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0RPDvmPFbV/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Meerkat or “what just happened live 30 seconds ago” URL: https://jasontucker.blog/meerkat-or-what-just-happened-live-30-seconds-ago/ Last updated: 2015-03-15T22:50:59.000Z The latest thing to come out of SXSW is [Meerkat](http://meerkatapp.co/?ref=jasontucker.blog), which is a video streaming service that pushes out video in vertical video mode and has a weird web interface. I’m 100% opposed to anything vertical video (I applauded apps like YouTubes for forcing the user to record in horizontal mode instead of vertical). The thing that makes Meerkat attractive to its target demographic is the fact you can see someone doing something live if you catch it I time. Ephemeral content like Instagram is becoming more and more popular but it has a few minor issues. I recently tried to watch a Merkat someone was doing at SXSW and found that they were showing off a car in front of a building. What they thought was something interesting ended up not being so interesting so they stopped the stream. I caught the tail end of “yeah, that’s all I got ”. I watched a few other Meerkats that started and then ended the exact same way. This proves a few things, Meerkat is for long event like a concert or something that you know will be going on for a while or you should do a Meerkat if it isn’t even that interesting to you to begin with. The cost of bandwidth for streaming is a concern which may lead to short streams as well. Meerkats model is to provide you with a service to let you stream, notify everyone on Twitter it’s happening and give your watchers a place to talk with one another while the thing is happening. It doesn’t provide much of an archive service nor a good way to export the streamed video to YouTube. What do you think of Meerkat? Leave us a comment below. ### Author information ![Jason Tucker](http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/a2625775672043eeecd3e8533bc6cdf7?s=64&d=blank&r=G) **[Jason Tucker](http://www.tucker.pro/?ref=jasontucker.blog)** *Web Developer at [Tucker Pro](http://www.tucker.pro/?ref=jasontucker.blog)* Jason Tucker is a web developer, systems administrator and a father of three. Jason owns [Tucker.Pro](http://tucker.pro/?ref=jasontucker.blog) a web development company and is host of [WPwatercooler](http://wpwatercooler.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog) a weekly WordPress web development and design YouTube channel and podcast. Jason also blogs over at [WPMedia.Pro](http://wpmedia.pro/?ref=jasontucker.blog) where he talks about working with audio and video on the web. [Twitter](http://twitter.com/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog)[Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/jasongtucker)[Google+](http://plus.google.com/101288945724888946614?ref=jasontucker.blog)[LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasontucker?ref=jasontucker.blog) The post [Meerkat or “what just happened live 30 seconds ago”](http://www.stableytimes.com/news/tech/meerkat-or-what-just-happened-live-30-seconds-ago/24641/?ref=jasontucker.blog) appeared first on [Stabley Times](http://www.stableytimes.com/?ref=jasontucker.blog). ### You serve something in a mason jar I guess you can call it #hipster. this is me drinking my hipster #coffee URL: https://jasontucker.blog/you-serve-something-in-a-mason-jar-i-guess-you-can-call-it-hipster-this-is-me-drinking-my-hipster-coffee/ Last updated: 2015-03-14T17:23:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10432010_345942708940196_1119323437_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0Osm02PFRP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0Osm02PFRP/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Apparently you can make some decent money in prison. URL: https://jasontucker.blog/apparently-you-can-make-some-decent-money-in-prison/ Last updated: 2015-03-14T16:24:20.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11018443_871119789614159_1383618755_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0OifRsPFdy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0OifRsPFdy/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Heck of a ride to the beach today from Whittier down the 605 trail. Lots of people out riding. #bikeriding URL: https://jasontucker.blog/heck-of-a-ride-to-the-beach-today-from-whittier-down-the-605-trail-lots-of-people-out-riding-bikeriding/ Last updated: 2015-03-14T11:29:24.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10454070_1563427733920672_927830125_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/0OCWBrPFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Aden Photo taken at: River’s End Patio Cafe on the Beach [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/0OCWBrPFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Cool Stuff - WATCH: Japanese people who live in Internet cafes because they can't afford apartments - Boing Boing URL: https://jasontucker.blog/cool-stuff-watch-japanese-people-who-live-in-internet-cafes-because-they-cant-afford-apartments-boing-boing/ Last updated: 2015-03-12T23:21:07.000Z ![](http://ift.tt/1FVDcVp) [WATCH: Japanese people who live in Internet cafes because they can’t afford apartments – Boing Boing](http://ift.tt/1E8wfOq?ref=jasontucker.blog) via Boing Boing ### Cool Stuff - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook calls CNBC's Jim Cramer on 10th anniversary special of "Mad Money" TV show URL: https://jasontucker.blog/cool-stuff-apple-inc-ceo-tim-cook-calls-cnbcs-jim-cramer-on-10th-anniversary-special-of-mad-money-tv-show/ Last updated: 2015-03-12T23:20:56.000Z ![](http://ift.tt/eA8V8J) [Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook calls CNBC’s Jim Cramer on 10th anniversary special of “Mad Money” TV show](http://ift.tt/1NQy9eo?ref=jasontucker.blog) via AppleInsider – Frontpage News ### Playing in the street URL: https://jasontucker.blog/playing-in-the-street/ Last updated: 2015-03-10T18:12:16.000Z I spent a lot of my time as a kid outside playing. I wasn’t much of a sports person (I’m still not) but I really enjoyed being outside. Playing with the neighbor kids and goofing off was the best. Today I caught Jess outside with her friend playing ball next to the curb, I thought I had the perfect picture so I went to go snap it and her friend noticed that I was taking a picture of them. I love capturing moments like this because it just shows that there’s some pure fun that’s going on and it’s not something that was staged. Candid pictures are the best! Anyhow, moments later I have another picture of them as they both looked up at me and Jess yelled asking why I took a picture of them. [![IMG_9465.JPG](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/IMG_9465-e1426039861363-570x283.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/IMG%5F9465-e1426039861363.jpg) Some day she’ll see this picture and try to remember what it was that was doing just then. ### Make it harder to Command Q an app on OS X URL: https://jasontucker.blog/make-harder-command-q-app-os-x/ Last updated: 2015-03-10T20:21:48.000Z We’ve all done it, we’re knee-deep in some research or we’re writing an extra long email or throwing items into a shopping cart on some website and all of a sudden you press ⌘ Q (Command Q) and there goes all that hard work you have been working on, especially if you neglected to save and the app doesn’t have autosave. ## So what’s the solution? The one solution I’ve found is by using a free app called Karabiner that has a custom shortcut titled “Press Command+Q twice to Quit Application”. PQRS.com is the makers of this cool app Karabiner that lets you modify the keys on your keyboard any number of ways. If you have a non standard keyboard (PC?) or you enjoy making things hard on yourself you can ease the pain a bit by swapping some keys around or making them not as sensitive. ## I’m game, where do I begin? Grab a copy of [Karabiner](https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/index.html.en?ref=jasontucker.blog) and install it (Drag to Applications folder). Then locate it in your applications folder and run it. A screen like this will appear: [![3_10_15__9_20_AM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/3_10_15__9_20_AM-570x548.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/3%5F10%5F15%5F%5F9%5F20%5FAM.jpg) Using the search box type in *press command q twice* [![3_10_15__9_24_AM](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/3_10_15__9_24_AM-570x548.jpg)](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/3%5F10%5F15%5F%5F9%5F24%5FAM.jpg) Check box next to the entry and press Reload XML you’ll see that it is now enabled. Try pressing ⌘+Q and see if it quits the app, it shouldn’t, now press it two times fast and it will quit the app. ## Now that I have this app what else can I do with it? I hate “unitasker” apps (except for [Caffeine](https://jasontucker.blog/7607/keep-mac-awake-presentations-caffeine "How to keep your Mac awake during presentations – Caffeine") and [Camouflage](http://briksoftware.com/products/camouflage/?ref=jasontucker.blog), those are very useful) so what else can you do with Karabiner? Lots. Karabiner uses a “private.xml” file to keep all your custom settings, people on Github has written some amazing private.xml files for you to steal ideas from. [Search Karabiner on Github](https://github.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Karabiner&ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Watching @sparkykerr talk about How God Views Money at #evfreerooted #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/watching-sparkykerr-talk-about-how-god-views-money-at-evfreerooted-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-08T18:22:03.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11018496_230002123836988_153697758_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z%5FSlN9PFUf/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Ludwig Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z%5FSlN9PFUf/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Here ya go @thewhiskeyscout 160oz URL: https://jasontucker.blog/here-ya-go-thewhiskeyscout-160oz/ Last updated: 2015-03-08T13:21:40.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11008022_822549007810377_1733324473_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z-ywEmvFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Michael’s Arts and Crafts [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z-ywEmvFYR/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### My love and I at the slick track #racing #race #gocarts URL: https://jasontucker.blog/my-love-and-i-at-the-slick-track-racing-race-gocarts/ Last updated: 2015-03-07T13:21:58.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10990612_1423944151232437_927225876_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z8OFJZPFSs/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: SpeedZone Los Angeles [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z8OFJZPFSs/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### French Fries? Bah, American Fries URL: https://jasontucker.blog/french-fries-bah-american-fries/ Last updated: 2015-03-07T11:21:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11005193_1596273353942193_1782877727_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z7%5Fi4hvFTA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Slumber Photo taken at: SpeedZone Los Angeles [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z7%5Fi4hvFTA/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Swapped out a 3tb drive for a 6tb, the Synology has been repairing for the last 10 hours and it's almost done. Should end up with 12TB of space once i URL: https://jasontucker.blog/swapped-out-a-3tb-drive-for-a-6tb-the-synology-has-been-repairing-for-the-last-10-hours-and-its-almost-done-should-end-up-with-12tb-of-space-once-its-/ Last updated: 2015-03-06T09:24:57.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11049416_1425647394400048_78942141_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z5KfIzvFVe/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Amaro [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z5KfIzvFVe/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### "I just need somebody to love" - playing Dance Central with my kiddo URL: https://jasontucker.blog/i-just-need-somebody-to-love-playing-dance-central-with-my-kiddo/ Last updated: 2015-03-05T21:21:26.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11055980_1391557474492956_1391609821_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z37jFgPFd4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z37jFgPFd4/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Great looking day today @evfreefullerton #evfreefullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/great-looking-day-today-evfreefullerton-evfreefullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-05T14:22:11.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11005159_1558655267739674_612637523_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z3HEvIPFep/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z3HEvIPFep/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### #twinkle #yorkie #dog URL: https://jasontucker.blog/twinkle-yorkie-dog/ Last updated: 2015-03-04T23:21:55.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/11015570_1611491012406896_1441513071_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z1f7dYvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z1f7dYvFYX/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### #Rooted at #evfreefullerton @sparkykerr leading the charge URL: https://jasontucker.blog/rooted-at-evfreefullerton-sparkykerr-leading-the-charge/ Last updated: 2015-03-04T19:21:47.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10986417_344543842413007_1154310134_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z1Fb3HvFYM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z1Fb3HvFYM/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### What a great looking day. #nofilter #evfreefullerton #fullerton URL: https://jasontucker.blog/what-a-great-looking-day-nofilter-evfreefullerton-fullerton/ Last updated: 2015-03-04T11:22:45.000Z [![](https://jasontucker.blog/content/images/2015/03/10011155_791557060925479_1058180208_n.jpg?resize=640%2C640)](https://instagram.com/p/z0OKkjvFcz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) Instagram filter used: Normal Photo taken at: Ev Free Fullerton [View in Instagram ⇒](https://instagram.com/p/z0OKkjvFcz/?ref=jasontucker.blog) ### Setting up Xibo using Vagrant on OS X URL: https://jasontucker.blog/setting-up-xibo-using-vagrant-on-os-x/ Last updated: 2015-03-10T20:21:48.000Z Vagrant is a powerful tool for spinning up a dev or test environment quickly and easily. If you have no clue what you are doing like I do currently you may run into trouble. ## Why am I using vagrant? Well, I didn’t WANT to use vagrant but I wanted to try Xibo the open source digital signage project to see if I can use it at work for a project we’re working on. I’ve never used vagrant before but I have heard about it from my friend at Orange County WordPress meetup, folks there use it all the time to get their project running in the environment of their choosing on their local computer. I was looking at the install instructions for Xibo and noticed they had a vagrantfile to use so I thought I’d jump in head first and start learning. ## Let’s begin The docs over at https://github.com/xibosignage/xibo-cms assume you know how to use Vagrant so they don’t give much info on how to get it working. I’m using a mac and chose to use VirtualBox as my VM of choice. I did the following: 1. Downloaded [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads?ref=jasontucker.blog) 2. Installed [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads?ref=jasontucker.blog) 3. Downloaded [Vagrant](http://www.vagrantup.com/downloads.html?ref=jasontucker.blog) 4. created a new folder in my home directory called ‘vagrants’, no idea if this is best practices or not.` $ mkdir vagrants` 5. Clone the xibo repro using git `$ cd vagrants $ git clone https://github.com/xibosignage/xibo.git` 6. Created a ‘library’ directory for the files to live, the install will ask for this so we might as well do it now. `$ mkdir library` Now it’s time to edit the Vagrantfile that xibo provides, this one doesn’t allow for the apache user to write to the “shared folders” so the install would fail. Here is what mine looks like: # -*- mode: ruby -*- # vi: set ft=ruby : # Vagrantfile API/syntax version. Don't touch unless you know what you're doing! VAGRANTFILE_API_VERSION = "2" $script = <