WaFiTz! » Archive
Google Earth on Android
After finally finding an apk and an app to install Google Earth as a workaround to the bug in the Android Market (GE is not available), I’m considering uninstalling it from my phone. Whilst it’s fast, and a cool thing to show off, I find it’s feature set incredibly limited. What’s more, Google Maps offers more tools and is much easier to navigate on a touch screen. Plus Maps has a smaller footprint on memory and therefore I’m struggling for a reason to keep it on my Moto Milestone. For those who want to give it a try however. Just do a google for “google earth apk for android” and pick one of the downloads. I found the install didn’t work with Astro, so I downloaded FastAppInstall from the marketplace and this did … Read entire article »
Filed under: Linux, Troubleshooting
Traffic Lights
I was on the bus and I saw a cyclist this morning ding some pedestrians who were about to cross on a green light he was about to ride through. The traffic was gridlocked, so like most pedestrians they took it as a sign they could cross, but a cyclist could easily navigate through the gridlock. Further up the road I saw the same cyclist, this time approaching a red light, but since it was a minor road that was clear, he went straight through the red. This is not an uncommon sight in London, but I think it is indicative of a much greater problem with people in general. It is our tendency to ‘ding’ others for not following a rule, when further down the road upon meeting a similar rule we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
Posting from Android
I’m posting this from my Android phone with the WordPress app. Neat huh? Normal posting will resume as soon as I can find time to sit down and focus. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogs, Distractions, Technik, WaFiTz!
Geocaching Log Feed Added
Since I am limited to Blogger for publishing our “My Finds” PQ, I’ve used a WordPress widget to add a link to the latest posts here. You can find them on the Geocaching page. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogs, Geocaching, WaFiTz!
Blog Your Geocaching Found Logs with Blogger
You may or may not be aware that Google have recently released a command line tool called Google CL which allows limited updating of some of it’s primary services from the command line – including Blogger. I have been working on a script and looking for a utility to parse the “My Finds” pocket query for uploading to a blog for a while now so on hearing this news I set to work to see if I could create an automated script. You can see the results on my old blogger account, which I have now renamed _TeamFitz_ and repurposed for publishing our Geocaching adventures. It’s a little bit clunky and could be improved, but the script is now complete and ready for ‘beta’. I’m publishing it here and releasing it under … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogs, Geocaching, Linux, WaFiTz!
How I Came to Hate the BlackBerry Pearl
In case you weren’t aware my order for a Motorolla Milestone finally came through – bought with my own cash to replace my BlackBerry Pearl 8120 business phone. But how did I arrive at this level of contempt for BlackBerry, and why Android? It’s partly down to progress in smartphone tech and partly down to discovery of limitations with the Pearl – which led to inevitable smartphone envy. When I first got my Pearl last summer, it was through our business account. At the time the Android didn’t exist and the only other cutting edge smartphone on the market was the iPhone. I turned down having an iPhone for £50. I’m still glad I made that decision. I had just returned a HTC Diamond back to O2 because it was a 5 year … Read entire article »
Filed under: Complaints, Distractions, Technik
Curious Problem with Cork City Locale Geocaching Pocket Query
If you’re a premium member with Groundspeak’s geocaching.com then you will be aware of the ability to create pocket queries. These are really useful for throwing up to 1000 waypoints onto your GPSr for a days, or even a holidays caching. As some of you know we were in Ireland recently (the reason for lack of posts) and I decided to take advantage of Stena Ferries free satellite wifi on the boat. I set a PQ for Cork and waited for it to build. When the query was ready I saved as usual to my shared Dropbox folder and then attached my Garmin 60CSx but despite loading fine onto my CacheBerry – the PQ just wouldn’y upload to the Garmin. Puzzled, I tried an older PQ and verified that my script was working, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Geocaching, Technik, Troubleshooting
Creating a Quick n’ Easy Fake Tilt-Shift Photo with Gimp
One of the reasons I haven’t been posting lately is I’ve been going through our holiday photos. I’ve just created my first fake tilt-shift photo with the aid of Gimp! There are lots of tutorials on the internet, but some seem to be outdated or missing steps leaving me to suss out the commands. It’s not the most brilliant I’ve seen but for an amateur I’m suitably happy with it. This is how I did it: Open up photo in Gimp Click on the Toggle Quick Mask icon (bottom left corner of image window) or press Shift+Q Select Blend Tool from the toolbox Select Gradient FG to BG (RGB) Select Shape: Bi-Linear Choose your focal point (the part you want miniaturised – usually the centre) Click and drag vertically from your focal point Uncheck the Quick Mask which should leave … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
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