United We Trek

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw-_H_-Pzfv/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=Y2Q0NmNiMjc3NQ==

In Memory of Deebo: Our Gentle Giant

 One year ago today, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Deebo. A year has passed, but not a day goes by that we don't miss our loyal and tender-hearted friend. His absence is a silence that's as loud as his joyful bark, as profound as the love he gave us.

Deebo, a pitbull mix with a heart as vast as the ocean, became a part of our family when his previous one could no longer keep him. We were told he was two years old, but as he enter his golden years we suspected he was a bit older. Despite this, he bounded into our lives with the energy of a puppy and the wisdom of an old soul.

Stubborn in his loyalty and resolute in his love, Deebo taught us the true meaning of unconditional affection. The joy he found in simple games, like our invented 'spank spank' and 'squeek squeek' games or his enthusiastic belly flops into the swimming pools, brightened our lives and filled our hearts with laughter.

His gentleness was evident in his insistent ritual of suckling on his blanky or plushy toy. His soft humming, sounding like musical scales, added a heartwarming soundtrack to our lives. Even now, the soft echoes of his 'song' linger in our home, a gentle reminder of the love we shared.

His boundless love for us was evident in his insistence on being a lapdog, despite his muscular 90-pound frame. He would nestle right next to us, offering comfort with his warmth and steady heartbeat.

Over the years, Deebo became more than a pet; he was the heart of our family. He was the glue that held us together, teaching us patience, love, and the strength of family bonds. He was there for us in ways we can't explain, understanding us in ways we could never quite comprehend. His loss is felt deeply, but his love continues to shape our lives, even in his absence.

Today, as we remember Deebo, our eyes may fill with tears, but our hearts are also filled with love for this extraordinary dog who made such a difference in our lives. We cherish the memories we made with him, each one a testament to his enduring spirit.

Deebo, wherever you are, we hope you're leaping into endless swimming pools, playing your favorite games, and humming your little song. You are forever in our hearts, your memory etched into the very fabric of our lives. Thank you for loving us, for teaching us, and for being our most steadfast companion. We love you, Deebo. Always and forever.

?/2007 to 5/31/2022 9:32pm - In loving memory of our irreplaceable Deebo.

Is there a word for when a person is not aware when he's doing something wrong?

 

Is there a word for when a person is not aware when he's doing something wrong?

“Unconscious Incompetence”

Unconscious incompetence often lurks in the shadows of our everyday lives, subtly influencing our actions without us realizing. Consider the enthusiastic novice driver, blissfully unaware of the importance of checking their blind spots. They may confidently steer their vehicle, oblivious to the potential dangers that lurk just out of sight.

Similarly, picture the amateur cook, filled with excitement as they experiment in the kitchen. Yet, they may not realize that their heavy-handedness with salt or their tendency to overcook dishes is diminishing the culinary delights they hope to create.

Moreover, envision a fitness enthusiast embarking on their journey towards a healthier lifestyle. As they perform their workouts with fervor, they may unknowingly exhibit incorrect form, paving the way for potential injuries.

Finally, imagine a well-intentioned conversationalist, engaging in lively discussions without realizing they are dominating the conversation and inadvertently silencing the voices of others.

In each of these scenarios, a key question can help bring our unconscious incompetence to light: "Am I aware of the common mistakes or best practices related to this activity, and am I actively working to improve my knowledge and skills?"

By genuinely reflecting on this question, we can identify areas in which we may be unconsciously incompetent and seek guidance or resources to enhance our abilities. As we journey from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence and eventually to conscious competence, we can ultimately find ourselves at the pinnacle of skill mastery, unconscious competence, where our actions become both effortless and effective.

From the enthusiastic novice driver to the amateur cook, we all have areas in which we may not be aware of our shortcomings. However, a powerful tool exists to help us illuminate these blind spots and transform our abilities: the wisdom found within the pages of a good book.

If you're seeking recommendations to help you uncover hidden gems, Short Book Reviews is an excellent place to start. With insightful reviews and recommendations, you'll discover books that can guide you on your path to personal growth and skill development.

How do I know that I am the enemy of myself?

 

How do I know that I am the enemy of myself?

John Mendoza

People sometimes describe themselves as their own worst enemy when they recognize patterns of self-sabotage or self-defeating behaviors in their lives. Here are some signs that you might be acting as your own enemy:

1. Procrastination: Consistently putting off tasks or avoiding responsibilities can be a sign of self-sabotage, preventing you from reaching your full potential.
2. Negative self-talk: If you frequently criticize or belittle yourself, you may be reinforcing a negative self-image that can lead to self-defeating behaviors.
3. Fear of failure: A fear of failure can sometimes lead you to avoid taking risks or trying new things, which can limit personal growth and fulfillment.
4. Perfectionism: Setting unrealistically high standards for yourself can lead to a constant feeling of inadequacy or failure, even when you're making progress.
5. Not setting boundaries: If you struggle to say no or assert your needs, you may be prioritizing others at the expense of your own well-being.
6. Substance abuse: Using alcohol, drugs, or other substances to cope with stress or negative emotions can be a form of self-sabotage.
7. Avoiding emotions: Suppressing or avoiding emotions can lead to unresolved issues and negatively impact your mental health.
8. Imposter syndrome: Constantly feeling like a fraud, even when you're qualified or successful, can hold you back from embracing opportunities or accomplishments.

If you recognize any of these patterns in your life, consider seeking help from a mental health professional or support network to work through these issues and develop healthier habits. Remember that everyone has moments of self-doubt or self-sabotage, but it's important to recognize when these patterns become problematic and take steps to address them.

A more constructive question to ask yourself might be, "How can I become my own best ally and support my personal growth and well-being?" This question can help you focus on positive actions and thoughts that can lead to self-improvement. Here are some suggestions to help you become your own best ally:

1. Cultivate self-awareness: Reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to better understand your patterns and motivations. This awareness can help you make more intentional choices and break self-defeating habits.
2. Practice self-compassion: Treat yourself with kindness and understanding, acknowledging that everyone makes mistakes and has setbacks. This approach can help you develop a more balanced and resilient mindset.
3. Set realistic goals: Define achievable, specific, and measurable goals that align with your values and aspirations. This can help you maintain motivation and make progress.
4. Develop healthy habits: Prioritize self-care by incorporating regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep into your routine. These habits can improve your physical and mental well-being.
5. Manage stress: Learn and practice stress management techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, or mindfulness, to help you stay calm and focused in challenging situations.
6. Build a support network: Connect with friends, family, or support groups who can offer encouragement, advice, and empathy. Surrounding yourself with positive influences can help you stay resilient and motivated.
7. Embrace lifelong learning: Continually seek opportunities to learn and grow, whether through formal education, hobbies, or personal interests. This mindset can help you stay adaptable and fulfilled.
8. Seek professional help if needed: If you're struggling with self-defeating patterns or mental health challenges, consider reaching out to a mental health professional for guidance and support.

By focusing on these strategies and asking yourself how you can support your own growth, you can shift your perspective from being your own enemy to being your own best ally.

As you continue to explore ways to become your own best ally, it's important to remember that personal growth often comes from expanding your perspective and learning from the wisdom of others. One of the most effective ways to do this is through reading. Books offer a wealth of knowledge and insights that can help you understand yourself and the world around you more deeply.

Reading a book can be a transformative experience, as it allows you to step into the shoes of others, reflect on their experiences, and learn from their insights. Many books, especially those in the self-help, psychology, or memoir genres, can provide valuable guidance and inspiration for self-reflection and personal growth. These books often share relatable stories, practical advice, and thought-provoking ideas that can help you see things from a new perspective, challenge your limiting beliefs, and inspire positive change.

So, consider setting aside some time to immerse yourself in a book that speaks to your personal journey or resonates with your current struggles. By doing so, you may find the inspiration and guidance needed for meaningful self-reflection and growth, and ultimately, to become a better friend to yourself.

Here’s a site with book reviews that might help get you started:

Short Book Reviews

Book reviews on fiction and nonfiction books.

https://shortbookreview.blogspot.com/

Sonos True Play Tuning by Darryl Wilkinson

 https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sonos-trueplay-bear-facts#lWvcWelcrO2hWMY5.97

Sonos Trueplay Speaker Tuning: The Bear Facts

Darryl Wilkinson  |  Dec 14, 2015

I admit that I’ve been guilty of doing it, and I’ll bet that most of you have done it, too. I’m not proud of it, but more than once I’ve placed a streaming audio speaker system (or, in the good old days before MP3s, a boombox), somewhere in the room where it was out of the way of day-to-day life. I can’t deny that I’ve grudgingly sacrificed sound quality for the sake of convenience. Sonos has sold millions of streaming speaker systems since it was founded in 2002, and the company is well aware that millions of those speakers have been set up in less than ideal acoustic positions by millions of their customers. Rather than resign themselves to this sad state of sonic situations, the Sonos engineers set out to solve the problem of ensuring the company’s speakers would sound good, no matter what ridiculous places people might put them in. The result of their efforts? Trueplay.

What’s Trueplay? One way of explaining Trueplay is to say that it’s a room acoustics correction technology. (See my original report.) But that’s not exactly what Trueplay is. Lots of companies have room acoustics correction processing, including Audyssey, Yamaha (YPAO), Anthem (ARC) (pdf download)—Anthem’s ARC (including the calibrated microphone), by the way, is built into Paradigm’s new Premium Wireless Series all-in-one systems—and others. In one way or another, all of these processing technologies are designed to minimize the deleterious effects the room’s acoustics might have on the sound of the system. Some also attempt to widen the sweet spot and smooth out the response throughout the room. This is usually accomplished by placing a calibrated microphone in multiple listening positions in the room and running a series of tones or bursts so the processor can determine the proper equalization and timing parameters.

Trueplay’s essential difference lies in its intent, which is to make Sonos PLAY:5s (old and new versions), PLAY:3s, and PLAY:1s, sound as much as possible like each model is supposed to sound—regardless of room placement—and that’s a “Regardless” with a capital “R”. In fact, it’s a “REGARDLESS” in all caps. Whereas Yamaha, Audyssey, and Anthem aren’t expecting users to be hiding their speakers behind kitchen cabinet doors, stuffing them between the microwave and the coffee maker, or stashing them behind a TV, Sonos is expecting that. Sonos also anticipates that their speaker system owners probably won’t spend the time placing a microphone in one part of the room and running test tones before moving on to another room position and repeating the process (and potentially repeating and repeating). With most streaming audio consumers, convenience always trumps acoustics.

As a result, Sonos designed the Trueplay calibration process to be as quick and as painless as possible. If you’re able to get it right the first time—sometimes extraneous noises from outside the room can affect the process and require a do-over and sometimes the app isn’t satisfied with the way you’re moving the iPhone up and down—Trueplay can be completed in as little as three minutes.

Three flippin’ minutes! You can’t even do something as simple as make a Soft-Boiled Egg or run a mile in three minutes. (Hell, I can’t even do nothing in three minutes…) In this case, after placing your Sonos speaker where you want it to reside, all you do is navigate to “Trueplay Tuning” in the Sonos app on your iOS device to begin the process.

No, I didn’t forget to mention Android. Trueplay tuning can only be done if the processor knows the calibration profile of the microphone in the handheld device. Sonos says Apple’s microphones are very consistent across the company’s product line, whereas there’s a significant amount of variation in the response curve of the microphones in the multitude of Android devices in people’s hands. (The Sonos folks told me that even identical handsets from different carriers can have different profiles because of variations in each one’s carrier-customized Android implementation. Sonos says it’s working on a solution.) If you’re an Android owner, however, the good news is that an iOS device is only required for the Trueplay tuning process. If you can cajole a family member or friend who happens to own an iPhone or iPad to spend three minutes with you Trueplay tuning your Sonos system, you’ll be good to go. The finalized Trueplay parameters remain in the speaker, not the device used to do the tuning.

If it’s the first time Trueplay tuning has been done on the iOS device you’re using (begged, borrowed, or stolen), the app will walk (literally) you through the process, including playing a short instructional video prior to beginning the tuning. After that, the Sonos app checks the room for background noise. If the noise floor is low enough, the speaker system will begin emitting a noise that sounds like it might have come from the soundtrack of The Exorcist. The tones happen to drive dogs absolutely bat-shit crazy, so much so that Sonos built dog-bark-recognition capability into the technology. If your dog barks during the tuning process, Sonos will recognize it and ignore it. (You may not be able to ignore it, however.) While the test tones are being played, you need to slowly raise and lower the iOS device as you meander around the room. It looks a bit like what Spock would do with a tricorder on a new planet in Star Trek. To me, it feels more like I’m waving some holy relic around the room (sans incense) in an attempt to banish acoustic evils from the room.

Once completed, the speaker plays a warm, reassuring tone; and, then, that’s it. There’s nothing more to do. If you want, you can turn Trueplay on and off (from either an iOS or Android device) to see if the changes made were beneficial. If you don’t like the changes Trueplay has made—which is doubtful—you can turn it off at any time. The acoustic benefits of that Trueplay tuning session, though, only apply to that location. If you decide to move the speaker somewhere else in the room, you’ll have to redo the tuning.

I’ve been able to try Trueplay tuning on all three Sonos speaker models that are compatible with Trueplay. Oh, by the way, Trueplay is a software update that works on any PLAY Series speaker Sonos has ever sold. In other words, a five-year-old PLAY:5 will benefit from Trueplay exactly the same way a first-generation PLAY:5 purchased last month will. Unlike a lot of companies that might use the new technology as a way to add revenue, Sonos is making this a FREE update, too. In fact, if you currently own a Sonos PLAY Series speaker and you’ve updated to the latest version of the Sonos app, Trueplay is already available to use.

Putting Trueplay to the Test
As I said, I’ve tried Trueplay on Sonos speakers in a variety of locations with results ranging from “pretty much the same” to “holy shit!” The latter included places such as on the top of a kitchen cabinet, on the floor next to the couch, and even hidden in the Christmas tree. In these cases, the muffled highs became much clearer, the midrange came out of its box, and the bass response tightened up—often dramatically.

But I wanted to really test the limits of Trueplay.

So I shoved a Sonos PLAY:1 up a bear’s butt.

Technically, it was a stuffed bear; and I carefully slipped the PLAY:1 in through a hole in the bear’s back, not up its butt. (It sounds a lot more dramatic the first way I described it, though…) After cutting a hole, I removed enough of the stuffing so that I could insert the PLAY:1 inside without making the bear look like he’d eaten, well, eaten a Sonos PLAY:1. Then I placed the moderately stuffed, “wired for sound” bear in different places around my house—on the couch, on a cabinet, up against the wall on a dresser—and tested out how the PLAY:1 sounded before and after Trueplay tuning.

I have to say that the results were simply stuffing…er, rather…stunning. As you’d expect, prior to Trueplay tuning, the sound coming from the bear’s stomach sounded a lot like a speaker that’s been covered by a pillow: muffled-to-no high frequency output, a honking mid-range, and wildly varying bass response depending on the bear’s location. Almost unbelievably, in each instance, Trueplay tuning was able to make it sound as if I’d set up a totally bear-naked PLAY:1. Actually, it sounded better than that, because without Trueplay, in those locations, the bass and midrange would still have been crappy.

I doubt Sonos will come out anytime soon with a line of stuffed animal covers for its PLAY Series speakers. But, for me, the experiment dramatically illustrated how amazingly powerful Trueplay is. If Trueplay can make a stuffed bear acoustically transparent, what can’t Trueplay do?

Trueplay is more than an awesomely amazing technology. It’s magical—goosebumpingly magical. Of course, you probably believe in the power of technology, not magic. I used to, as well. But the bewitchingly charming acoustic sorcery that is Trueplay has made a believer out of me.

Canon EOS GPS data not saving to iPhone

 https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4169358

madra • Regular Member • Posts: 104

Some Quick Pointers on Using Canon Camera Connect App with Android

Jun 14, 2017

2

I've just given my newly acquired G7X II its first run out today, to check everything worked as it should and I thought I'd avail of the GPS logging facility in the Canon Camera Connect app, to save the locations on my snaps.

As fans of my other thread on the G7X II will be aware, I was finding connecting camera and smartphone via WiFi to be a bit hit'n'miss. I also ran into problems today with an apparent inability to sync GPS data to the camera such that Android [or, to be more exact, Google Photos] could pick it up.

Luckily, a bit of trial and error on both parts has resulted in me being able to connect fairly quickly & reliably to the camera from my smartphone and also sync the GPS data so that It shows up properly in Google Photos. Since the info wasn't to be found online [hence the 'trial and error' bit], I thought I'd note down what works for me, just in case anyone else is similarly stuck, or finding the G7X II's WiFi potential a bit lacking:

[I'll assume you've already run through pairing your phone with the camera for the first time, so won't go through that. That process is adequately explained in the Canon Camera Connect [hereafter known as CCC] interface].

Connecting Camera to Smartphone

The first few times I tried this, CCC on my phone took several minutes to find my camera and connect to it. I was opening CCC and enabling WiFi on the phone at the pretty much the same time or in quick succession. I've found it works much more reliably if you do it in this particular order:

• Press Wifi button on phone and select your Android gadget in the list of previously connected devices [apologies for the crappy phone snaps].

  

  View: original size

• Wait a few seconds while the 'Searching...' screen appears.

  

  View: original size

• Wait until the 'Searching...' screen changes to the 'Waiting to Connect...' screen, before you launch the CCC app on your phone. If you do things in this order, it should connect almost instantly. Doing it the other way round ie. CCC first, then camera WiFi is much more temperamental and takes a lot longer.

  

  View: original size

Saving GPS Data to Photos

Again, the basic setting up of GPS logging in the CCC app and then synching that to the photos on the camera is well enough explained in the CCC app itself and the process is pretty seamless, so I won't cover that here.

However, I found that, even though my photos were showing as having GPS data attached, when viewed on the camera [satellite symbol & co-ords visible in info window], whenever I used CCC to download them to my phone, and opened them in Google Photos, there was no GPS data visible. I even went to far as to download an EXIF Viewer app on my phone, just to double-check in case the data was actually there, but was just being ignored by Google Photos [not beyond the bounds of possibility, given how crappy most Google software is]. I found that the location EXIF data wasn't there.

So, after a fruitless search on the web for Google Photos-related reasons why this might be so, I went back to the CCC app on my phone, where I stumbled across a setting which is set ON by default and which wipes GPS data from the photos when you download them to the phone.

[I'll give you a minute or two to contemplate the genius of the person who designed an app which allows you to add GPS data to your photos and download them to your devices but then set a [nigh on invisible] preference that defaults to wiping the GPS data off the photos again, when you do so!]

Back with me?...

Good! On with the show. If you want CCC app NOT to delete the GPS data when you download images to your Android device, you need to do the following:

• Click on the 'Images on Camera' button

  

  View: original size

• On the Images screen which follows, there are three wee dots to the right of the 'Select' button. If you're like me, you might have thought those dots were part of the 'Select' button itself, signifying it was a drop-down menu. However, those 3 dots are actually another menu in their own right

  

  View: original size

• Tap on the 3 dots and you'll be taken to a new screen were you can chose whether images downloaded to your Android device will be resized [I changed that too, as it defaults to YES as well] and also an option to 'Delete Location Information' --again, not very clearly labelled as you might think this just removes the GPS data from images on the camera. However, it turns out this setting deletes GPS data from the images as they download to your device. So, if you want to keep the GPS data you just logged and attached to your photos [and why the Hell wouldn't you?], change this to 'Don't Delete'.

  

  View: original size

• Hey Presto! --now, when you download your images to your Android device, the GPS info will be preserved

  

  View: original size

Is GPS Logging a Battery Hog?

One more thing that might be of interest as regards GPS logging: How much of a battery drain is it?

Well, I went for my snap-taking walk of about 3 or 4 miles today lasting about an hour and a quarter. When I got back and checked battery consumption on my phone, the system stats told me that CCC app had used 4% of my battery during that time.

By my very, very unscientific extrapolation that would result in: 4% per hour = 25 hours on a full charge [100 / 4 = 25].

Now, obviously you'd not get anywhere near that, as that doesn't account for anything else that the phone might be doing and which will be running down the battery also. But it's not too shabby. I'll need to test further with longer outings, but it does [fingers crossed!] seem like CCC app's GPS logging might not be as horrific a battery drain as I initially feared it might be.

Well, time for me to shut up again. I hope this post was of some use to some of you.

Tenet (2020)

 

Tenet (2020)

There are tons of reviews floating on the web on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Most of which I found to be

polarizing and divides people into two camps- people who think it’s the director’s best film ever and people who think it’s the director’s worst film ever. Given that, even Christopher Nolan’s worst film is far better than most of the junk out there passing for a movie.

 

Personally, I think if you go into this with the right mindset, you will find this sci-fi thriller espionage action flick pretty mind-bogglingly fantastic.  While the physics in this movie isn’t quite right, remind yourself it’s a sci-fi movie. Unlike other time travel movies based on a fixed and predestined loop (i.e., The Terminator), Tenet uses time inversion erstwhile you age forward in real-time, the world reverses direction around you until you get back to your return point. Objects can also be time inverted so that they travel to the past.  Some critics claim Nolan offers gimmicks and nothing substantial and thought-provoking to this genre (i.e., Interstellar). While I might agree to some degree, I still found the movie an enjoyable action sci-fi spy-fi movie on the surface and a palindromic brainbuster on the second or third viewing.

 

If you are nerd enough and love fiction of the scientific genre, and looking for a fun film to watch, dissect, and simply enjoy, then don’t miss Tenet.