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How do you plan on keeping yourself occupied?

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


I so need to find people to hang with and do things....
 
Derrel said:
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!
Click to expand...

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.
 
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."
:)
 
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...and the most recent additions to the baby hats...

Bucket Hat Blue.webp
Bucket Hat Multi Camo.webp
Bucket Hat Multi.webp
 
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!

Measured.webp
 
Dean_Gretsch said:
V3N, I'm sorry, but I could not tell from your question if you thought they were too big or too small. . . .
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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Dean_Gretsch said:
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.
Click to expand...
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!
 
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.
 
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