How do you plan on keeping yourself occupied?

[Dean_Gretsch]

A baby- boom as a result on a two- month stay at home order?

Imagine some of the baby names...
Q'uarantina, Covidius, Ronando, Ronanda, Coronetta, and so on... Social-Distancia, Nitrile-Glovia, the possible names are legion!

Nitrile-Glovia

 

[Derrel]

Nitrile-Glovia

You like that one, Meester?

 

[Soocom1]

Ozzy doesnt have nuttn on how I am going crazy...............


I so need to find people to hang with and do things....

 

[CherylL]

A baby- boom as a result on a two- month stay at home order?

Imagine some of the baby names...
Q'uarantina, Covidius, Ronando, Ronanda, Coronetta, and so on... Social-Distancia, Nitrile-Glovia, the possible names are legion!

 

[crzyfotopeeple]

Defying government orders and living my life.

 

[SquarePeg]

A baby- boom as a result on a two- month stay at home order?

Imagine some of the baby names...
Q'uarantina, Covidius, Ronando, Ronanda, Coronetta, and so on... Social-Distancia, Nitrile-Glovia, the possible names are legion!

A baby boom for some and a boom in divorces for others. I know a few couples who don’t normally spend much time together who are feeling the pinch of all this time at home.

On the name front, my nephew just got a new kitten and all the name suggestions were corona related. Mine was Quentin Quarantino.

 

[VidThreeNorth]

These days I'm usually pretty good about not wasting money but occasionally I mess up. This is a bit complicated.

I have never been a heavy duty gamer. In my whole life, I think I probably bought around 100 games. That might sound like a lot, but spread over more than 10 years, that was maybe 10 games per year at the high end. Since around the Playstation 2 era, I have been almost completely away from it. In fact, around 2010ish I started playing bridge, and on the computer the only game I played for years was Freecell. The point is, I am mentally far away from arcade or game machines.

On the other hand, I have been into computers and programming. I was a part of the Linux community and kept tabs on the Android development community for a while. I do not have time to do programming, but I know about some projects that are far enough along that I know of programs that I might be able to use.

I am planning on buying a new computer in the next year, but that does not rule out a separate "special project". So where do all these threads intersect? I stumbled onto the some new toy/hobby small/portable game devices. A couple of years ago, Neo Geo brought out a "mini" free-standing game console with a 3.5" screen. Shortly after, there were some similar machines brought out by Chinese companies. I won't try to justify some fairly clear copyright problems on those machines. To me that kind of usage is irrelevant. What I found out is that some of them should be usable as light-weight Linux computers. I think that I could use something like that to do some useful stuff, if I can piece it together. Part of the attraction is the price -- under $100 US.

Unfortunately, since I am not a part of the gaming community, it was hard for me to research it properly. The problem is that there are a number of small companies making these things. Now, for 3rd party development, it is hard to tell which one will have a community grow around it. This is important because there can be two or three very similar devices, and a development community till take off around one and the rest will be ignored. Anyway, I ordered one, and it is being shipped. But in the mean time, I poked around. After about a week I finally figured out where the development community is growing. Yup, I got it wrong. The box I bought (the "Ragebee A7") is being ignored. The hardware is about the same as the two popular machines ("JXD Q70" and "Aiwo G1000"). In fact, if I find a basic Linux installation for it, most of the programs should be directly runnable.

What would I be able to do with it? I should be able to do light video editing, including bulk re-coding. I might be able to turn it into a small video streaming switch like a two channel version of an "Atem Mini". It looks powerful enough to handle 1080p.

It does not take a big development community to do this much. But you need the "right" people involved. As I say, I found the "right" people, but they centered on the JXD and Aiwo boxes. My Ragebee didn't find a community. So it will probably end up without development.

If I want to throw more good money towards this, then the only thing I can think of is to gut the box and stick a "Raspberry Pi" single board development kit into it. The R. Pi 4 has a good processor and one of the biggest and most prolific development communities around. But that will be another $100 US range, and some hardware hacking. I really do not want to do that. So, net result is "big red and white door stop."

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

...and the most recent additions to the baby hats...

 

[VidThreeNorth]

...and the most recent additions to the baby hats...
. . .

If those are baby hats, how big are they when they grow up?

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

V3N, I'm sorry, but I could not tell from your question if you thought they were too big or too small. I should have included a reference point for size, so I hope this helps. Almost 30 years ago now, my daughter had to be placed in a neonatal intensive care unit in Edmond, Oklahoma immediately after her birth. My ex-wife and I did not even get a chance to hold or touch her for almost 2 weeks because she was taken 6 weeks prematurely because of health issues her mom developed during the pregnancy. Some of those babies are so very tiny. I wanted to include hats that would fit these small little people since they hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for looking!

 

[VidThreeNorth]

V3N, I'm sorry, but I could not tell from your question if you thought they were too big or too small. . . .

Neither really. I was playing with the thought of a "baby hat". I assume you mentioned the back-story earlier, but lately I am not reading back messages in long threads, so I missed it. Actually, even without any other significance, they are nice looking hats. My mother and all the women in our family of her generation (and previous that I knew) knitted. Some, like my mother also sewed. She was a seamstress and tried to teach me at least basic sewing. When I have the time I still do some of my own repairs. If she saw my work she'd laugh. But I appreciate the work that goes into knitting. Your special reason gives it even more significance.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Thank you very much. These are actually done with the method of loom knitting, not what a lot of people associate when they see " knitting " with no needles being used. It's a form with a pegged loom and a hook is the tool. My mother also was a very good seamstress when her eyesight allowed it, but quilting was her enjoyment. I grew up pretty much a mama's boy since we lived in a rural area with no nearby neighbors for me to play with and watched her create some nice pieces. I actually got into this as a way of lubricating my occasionally arthritic fingers and my wife suggested the baby project.

 

[terri]

Thank you very much. These are actually done with the method of loom knitting, not what a lot of people associate when they see " knitting " with no needles being used. It's a form with a pegged loom and a hook is the tool. My mother also was a very good seamstress when her eyesight allowed it, but quilting was her enjoyment. I grew up pretty much a mama's boy since we lived in a rural area with no nearby neighbors for me to play with and watched her create some nice pieces. I actually got into this as a way of lubricating my occasional arthritic fingers and my wife suggested the baby project.

Those look great! My mother started looming after being a dedicated seamstress for most of her adult life. She has 3 looms, 2 tabletop versions and one huge, desk-size thing. It gives me a headache just watching her thread that thing, but I can't argue with the gorgeous placemat sets and area rugs she's given out as gifts over the years.

What you're describing seems a different setup, and the results are just adorable!

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Thanks, Terri! There are a number of youtube videos that show how this technique works. Most crafts stores and even some Walmarts sell the loom kits with usually 3 different sizes.
I will share a funny story about this. I was in Michaels looking at yarn for this, and wanted to return a skein to it's proper shelf. There was a lady standing near that shelf, and I didn't want to intrude or worry her, so I told her she was fine where she was and I just wanted to return the skein. She replied that was nice of me since most people just put stuff in any old spot. She then got a mischievous smile and said " I don't see many men in the yarn aisle", and I laughed and said " Yes, I am praying my buddies from work don't come in and catch me!". We shared a laugh about that.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

A few things created of late:

knit hat for granddaughter

Koozie for sister

Thank You card for son in law

wedding gift for friends of a friend