Well, I have not been blogging. But I’ve been tinkering. I built a dynamic page where I’ll store my videos for public viewing. Right now it’s just full of samples. And the styling needs more work, but it’s usable and it works! Check it out at video.coffeebean.social

It uses php to scan files in a directory/sub-directories, then serve those video files up on the index.php page. The directories act as headings for the categories. For example, I can record a video of wild turkeys running through my neighborhood from my phone, upload it via sftp on a vpn, and instantly share it.

I know that I can do that with YouTube for a lot less of a headache; but, there’s something exciting about building and owning it myself (with a virtual assistant).

I built the page with ChatGPT. It took a LOT of iterations. I struggled quite a bit with php and nginx reloads when I made a change, and other things that I’m still learning. I have no background in servers or databases, but for all of it’s flaws, Chat got me up and running with a functional page in a relatively short time. The fun part is when I start to understand what’s possible and think, “what if I added this?”. It can certainly keep me up at night, thinking of all these possibilities.

Next steps are going to be styling it to accept text files with title and description for each video, and instantly create a unique ‘page’ for each video that I upload. I tried doing that for a bit, but it was really clunky and kept duplicating content.

Another ChatGPT tech project recently was to streamlin my blog posting process with a script, so hopefully there will be less friction there, and I can post more easily.

Some other updates:

• It’s devastating to see the loss of life and property in Maui from the fire. We were planning to go there next week (a vacation that was planned a couple of months ago) but of course cancelled. We sent some $ to a relief fund. I’m grateful that we weren’t there when it happened. Climate change is here.

• I also learned how to create a podcast xml feed. I have yet to put out any podcasts but it’s fun to know I can.

• I’m developing 35mm color film! See below for a photo I took in Bend, OR. This was from my first batch. The developer was not up to temperature so the colors and the development was not great. Still getting a good DIY jolt from it. I used a C-41 chemistry kit from Film Photography Project, and contacted Michael there shortly after my botched batch. I thought the chemicals might be bad (they were caked and looked a little suspicious in the package) but he assured me that they were still good and the problem was likely the temperature. I’m planning to develop another roll from Bend and one from various other activities (Nephew’s baseball game, Santa Cruz) in the next day or two, so we’ll see how it comes out.

• I made a 35mm scanner out of a Panasonic GH4, a SAD light panel, some black foamcore, gaff tape, and a macro lens. It seems to be working pretty well so far! I’ll post some photos soon.

• I’m taking next week off of work, as was the plan when we were going to Hawaii, but have nothing on the calendar yet. Maybe some Pizzeria Delfina and/or Fiesta Del Mar Too is in order!

• Also… I’m pretty sure I have ADHD. Reading Hallowell and Ratey’s great (short) book ADHD2.0. I have yet to read his other Distraction books. I’m not sure if I’ll get tested or diagnosed but I’m leaning towards yes.

Alright. Let’s see if this works. If you’re reading this, then the script ran successfully. Until next ime!