Finally got the domain up and running – perlerpal.com. Also, since many people have been asking for it, I have changed the numbering of the palettes from 0-based to 1-based. If you have any issues, of course let me know!
One thing you can count on in my life is change. New experiences, new interests, etc. I’ve been hesitant to post because I feel like I haven’t done much lately, at least not much of note. Well, it’s summertime, and I now have some time to devote to a couple of new hobbies — electronics and vintage consoles & computers.
For electronics, I’m interested in creating new devices, such as connectors for things like NES controller to USB adapters, mega AV switches (imagine having 20x inputs on a switch!?!) LED boards, etc. I’m interested in programming microcontrollers, and maybe even getting into robotics.
Another new hobby of mine is to collect and restore vintage consoles and computers, and maybe even get into modding like one of my own personal heroes — Ben Heckendorn. I’m always interested in building new and exciting things.
One of the things that I need to really be effective with these hobbies is to become more savvy in the electronics dept. Electronics has always been something I’ve been interested in, but just haven’t learned enough to actually do anything meaningful. What I’m doing to learn is getting good equipment and good resources (books, etc.) I have quite a few projects to work on — I will just need to figure out what makes the most sense to work on when. I’m trying to start with the basics and not jump ahead.
I know it will be a while before I actually have anything tangible to show for my efforts, but when I do, I’ll be sure to share. My current “todo” list:
One thing I’ve noticed is that there’s not a lot of good info online (with images) on how to do console/computer restoration. I’m hoping to fix that. I’ll be sure to document what I do so that others can benefit (as per usual)
Also, I installed Disqus – seems to be a better comment system, with FB/Twitter integration, etc.
I just finished updating PerlerPal to 1.4 – here’s the new features!
Thanks to all that have commented – these changes were made because the users requested them. I’m happy that people enjoy using the utility – please keep the comments coming! It’s what makes me happy to keep improving the tool! Go to the new tool here!
Backups. No one likes doing them, but they’re too important not to do. Typically when I’m doing stuff for my websites, I will occasionally do a tar of a directory and save it off, or even set up a script that will do this nightly. Then I have issues with disks filling up, and not wanting to delete my backups for fear of losing something (like the 20 copies aren’t enough!)
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So, I have a pretty extensive CD collection that I’ve amassed over the years, and have had various times when I have ripped them (with different programs, etc.). Now that I have an iPod, I’m finding the need to actually get my stuff organized. Here are the issues I’ve been having:
Here’s my solution to clean up my library, feel free to use it for yours.
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Up until a couple of years ago, I used shared web hosting for serving up my various sites. I went through several of them because for whatever reason, they turned out to not be what I wanted. I finally came to the realization that I needed to get my own dedicated host. I found a good provider (The Planet), and started migrating over my websites (along with my friend Chris’ sites). Something I knew I would have to learn is how to set up Apache to be able to do virtual hosting. In this guide, I’ll show you how I did it, and the script I created to make things easier.
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I’ve been into emulation again lately, and I started with my first favorite system of all time, the Atari 8-bit computer. When I was growing up, I had 2 different 8-bit machines:
The Atari 400:
One of the reasons people have a hard time making the jump to Linux is the fact that they have a hard time leaving the games they play in Windows. In this article, I’m going to describe some methods of getting around this hurdle, and make the transition to Linux easier. I’m not going to promise that your favorite game will work, but will give you the tools to be able to try. I’m also not going to be talking about native linux apps – those are pretty straightforward. This article will focus on Windows apps in Linux.
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Previously, I have showed you how to set up software to be able to rip DVDs to your hard drive, and I’ve also shown you how to copy your TiVo videos nightly. I’ve described the method I use to transcode the videos, but haven’t provided the script… Until now. After months of using and tweaking, here’s what I use. I call it VidProc.
This guide will show you how to set up a script to copy programs from your Series 3 TiVo on a regular basis, without having to do a thing after it’s set up!
Information you will need:
