Hello All,
Here are my Notes for the SLO Bytes Photo Group session of 03/14/2021
TOPIC: Perspective  The meeting took place via Zoom

In the First Segment, Alan Raul shared historical photos of San Diego Bay

Doug Depue documented erosion along Highway 1 above Cambria with numerous before and after images showing the changes wrought by water.

Bob Ward offered nostalgic photos of a sawmill near Shaver Lake, Laguna Lake emptied by drought and a young girl riding a turtle at Knotts Berry Farm

The Second Session opened with Ralph Sutter displaying common objects from uncommon angles.

Stanford Brown brought images of falling fences, curving paths and reflections on a wine glass

Alan Raul shared images of railroad tracks, walkways, bridges, staircases and a unknown tunnel in Pismo Beach. He also showed images of the Pismo Beach Pier in both color and black and white. His images were modified using Aurora HDR and Luminar Ai and are available to view at
http://www.365.acdsee.com/folders_public.php?profileid=1618852&folderid=2190592

Kaye Raul took us to Avila Beach for seascapes before moving inland to towers and skies below the Nipomo Mesa

John Waller strolled the Boardwalk from Grand Avenue toward Pismo Beach demonstrating the technique of foreshortening through his choice of lenses

In the final segment, Alan showed modifying an image in Aurora HDR and also converting the image to his preset black and white template.

Ralph closed out the meeting with a demonstration of the Historical Imagery feature of Google Earth Pro

Our next meeting will take place on April 11th.
The topic is Black and White Photography
For that meeting, Ralph uploaded a pair of color images, a .jpg and a raw image, inviting each member to convert them to black and white and share the results with the group at the April meeting.
Download them at https://www.slobytes.org/digital/images/sample-for-bw.jpg and https://www.slobytes.org/digital/images/sample-for-bw.RW2
The remainder of that meeting will be devoted to black and white images of architecture

The meeting will take place via Zoom.

A Zoom invitation will be e-mailed to Photo Group members shortly before the meeting
The meeting schedule for the remainder of 2021 is as follows
   May 16 (Mothers' Day falls on May 9th)
   June 13
   July 11
   August 8
   September 12
   October 10
   November 14
   December 12

Ralph Sutter

Hello All
What follows is a re-post on Wednesday workshops offered this month by SLO Bytes' parent organization, APCUG.
Information regarding registration for these free events is included in the body.
Ralph Sutter

MARCH WORKSHOPS
9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT, 12 pm ET

March 10 – Macs vs PCs
March 17 – Linux
March 24 – Mailchimp
March 31 -  Backing Up
 
3/10/21
 
Macs vs Windows PCs registration
https://forms.gle/Q2gSX669NhobwX8QA
Registration closes at 11:30 pm (your time) on March 9.
 
MACS VS WINDOWS PCS
Join Larry for a presentation on MAC vs PC where he compares features and shows you the pros and cons of each.
 
Many of you are probably Windows users, but maybe you're a Windows user because that's what you have used all your life and probably have never considered anything else. But, there may come a day when you will be faced with the need to upgrade or get a new computer.
 
Larry will show you why you should consider leaving Microsoft Windows and go with an Apple product such as a MAC Mini, Macbook Pro laptop, or an integrated unit such as the iMac. 
•   Some of you will undoubtedly say that you don't want to learn a new operating system.
•   Some of you will dismiss alternatives as too expensive.
•   Some of you may fear the unknown because of having to learn something new.
•   Some of you will say there are Windows programs you have to have that you can't get on a MAC.
He hopes to dispel some of these myths as he explains the similarities between a MAC and a PC. Larry will show you that you can switch without it costing an arm and a leg as you may have thought.
 
Larry will give you compelling reasons why MAC PC's are easier to use, safer from virus’, and provide applications that are not bloated in size, saving you money on storage costs, not to mention the ease of transferring applications from one MAC to another or even that of transferring your Windows files using the built-in features in the MAC. He will also show you how backup and restoration of your files are made simple and, more importantly, testable so that should the day come that you need them, you can be assured they will work.
 
As a certified Microsoft Engineer with hundreds of Windows applications to his credit, he discovered the ease of using a MAC when he decided to write an iOS application for his iPhone. The only way to compile it was on a MAC PC, so he purchased his first MAC Mini in 2012 and after a short time using it, switched exclusively to using a MAC for all of his computer needs. Larry has never looked back but, as you will learn, there are ways to have your cake and eat it too by running a copy of your favorite Windows OS right on your MAC for those times when nothing but Windows will solve your problem.
 
________________________________________
 
3/17/21

Learning Linux #6 registration
https://forms.gle/CXMdjoGAEdtPzJoC9
This is the same link as the Linux #5 workshop in January; if you registered for that one you do not need to register again.
Registration closes at 11:30 pm (your time) on Tuesday, March 16.
 
SETTINGS AND FILES AND COMMANDS, OH MY
At the March Learning Linux workshop, we will cover a number of topics. First, we'll take a look at the differences between selected Distros and what they offer in terms of settings and preferences. Some distros give you a limited selection and others give you the kitchen sink.  Then we will present a Beginner's Guide to the Linux file structure, which varies a bit from what is found in Windows. Finally, we'll begin a series of presentations on Basic Commands for the Terminal for Beginners. Another session will be offered at the May workshop.
 
________________________________________
 
3/24/21
 
Mailchimp registration
https://forms.gle/p6aVaVy3mWnfjjEq9
Registration closes at 11:30 pm (your time) on March 23.
 
EASILY STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR MEMBERS WITH MAILCHIMP
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing tools used for communicating with your group’s target market – members and prospective members. In this APCUG workshop, we will show how to utilize this free web-based app for sending information to your club or group. We will also show how to create a free account, build a mailing list, and develop an informational email for your members. The app has built-in templates to create compelling and interesting electronic messages, eBulletins, newsletters, and more. Our panel will share their experiences using Mailchimp and how they develop content for their messages. The Mailchimp team members are from the groups that won 1st place in the 2019 and 2020 eBulletin contests.
Bill James, VP, Computer Club of Oklahoma City
Deb Meisels, VP, Westchester PCUG, New York
Pierre Darmon, President, Westchester PCUG
 
________________________________________
 
3/31/21

Backing Up registration
https://forms.gle/5TzUVaPCgyrjK1Fg9
Registration closes at 11:30 pm (your time) on March 30.
 
IT IS WORLD BACK UP DAY ON MARCH 31, WE WILL BE TAKING THE PLEDGE 😉
 
HOW AND WHY TO BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE
Don’t lose any or all of your important data: documents, photos, music, or videos.
• Your computer could be hit by a virus.
• Ransomware could hold your files hostage.
• You should be prepared for a natural disaster
• Hard drives sometimes fail.
 
We will look at an overview of backing up your hard drive and your smartphone during this workshop. There will also be demonstrations of various back-up apps: Bob Gostischa will demo Aomei, Bill James will show us how the Windows 10 File History works, plus another (TBD) demos of backup programs. Maybe you will find the one for you!
 
Received from Judy Taylour
 
 




 

Hi Alan,
I know the product.  I have 2 cases of it in my pantry but I still enjoy making things from scratch.
Yesterday, I blended my version of Chinese Five Spices.
For those who are curious, here's the composition
2 tablespoons aniseed
2 tablespoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
Grind all together, sift and regrind

Ralph Sutter

Hi Dick,
I would turn off Airplane mode on a desktop computer.
Here's what happens if you have it turned on

"Airplane Mode disables wireless communication on your PC, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and cellular data. This feature can be enabled through the taskbar icon in the Notifications section, a keyboard shortcut, the Network & Internet Settings, or a switch found on some computers."

Learn more at https://www.lifewire.com/fix-windows-10-stuck-in-airplane-mode-4589190
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
Here are my Notes from the Photo Group meeting of 02/14/2021

TOPIC: Close-up Photography  The meeting took place via Zoom
With this meeting, the Photography Group implemented the new meeting schedule shown above. It was successful with broad participation across all segments.

In the First Segment, Doug Depue provided numerous images of flowers and other objects from his portfolio.

John Waller led off the Second Segment with details of Big Falls, Little Falls, Nojoqui Falls, Salmon Creek and his pet dog.

Ralph Sutter showed thumbnail images found in his tutorial on creating a router jig for fluting screwdriver handles turned on a wood lathe.

Stanford Brown followed with closeups of pier planks, rusty nails and Toyon berries.

Bob Styerwalt continued sharing images of flowers, door hardware and several very sharp images of assorted items attached to a wall plaque.

Connie Sutter offered closeups of flowers and dog paws

Doug Depue chose coins, bolts, padlocks, lichens and ground squirrels

The Final Segment brought a discussion of the software editing program, Luminar AI.
Ralph showed his tutorial on Masking with Luminar AI; https://youtu.be/K44wbwinOEU and shared his Notes to Self on using the program; https://www.fullbean.com/tutorials/luminar-ai-notes.docx

Sutter observed that Luminar AI does not offer layers, unlike Luminar 4. Various participants expressed their disappointment with this change.

John Waller demonstrated photo enhancement by color separation. He also showed images of frolicking dogs in overlapping freeze frame.

Finally, we investigated how to successfully share screens inside Zoom.  Several members were unable to do so.  After the fact, Ralph Sutter wrote a tutorial on screen sharing and posted it on this bulletin board at https://slobytes.org/smf/index.php/topic,538.0.html

Our next meeting will take place on March 14th.
The topic is Perspective; as defined by each member

A Zoom invitation will be e-mailed to Photo Group members shortly before the meeting
The meeting schedule for the remainder of 2021 is as follows
   April 11
   May 16 (Mothers' Day falls on May 9th)
   June 13
   July 11
   August 8
   September 12
   October 10
   November 14
   December 12

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
I worked up a one page explanation of how to use Screen Share in Zoom. 
View it at https://www.fullbean.com/tutorials/zoom-screen-share.docx
Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
I just launched my personal weather station, Fullbean Weather.
It consists of a Rain Wise Model MK-III; https://rainwise.com/the-mk-iii-internet-package
The station is located on my house in rural Arroyo Grande, CA about 5 miles inland from Pismo Beach
The station is mounted 17' above the ground and 2' above the gable end of a Spanish tile roof.

The URL is www.fullbean.com/weather/weather.html
From that location, you can link to various sites where the data that I collect is displayed.

You can also view them directly at the links below

Fullbean Weather on Rain Wise - https://www.rainwise.net/weather/Sutter93420

Fullbean Weather on Weather Underground; KCAARROY208 - https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCAARROY208

Fullbean Weather on Ambient Weather - https://ambientweather.net/dashboard/abe70751e1105f82a8b31f5690211b48

Fullbean Weather on CWPS/Findu - http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=EW2726&last=240

Fullbean Weather on PWS Weather - https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/FULLBEANAG

Ralph Sutter

Hello All,
You can change the font size in the Zoom Chat Window, making it larger or smaller

Open the Zoom app on your computer
Click on your profile picture or initials and choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
Click Accessibility in the left sidebar.
(Adjust the size of Closed Captions by dragging the slider bar.)
Adjust the Chat Display Size by entering a percentage.

During a meeting you can also adjust the Chat font size by pressing Ctrl+ and Ctrl- (PC) or Command+ and Command- (Mac) on your keyboard.