Finally, a way to subscribe to this blog via email!

For the past several years, the only way to subscribe to my blog and get notifications about new posts was via RSS. However, RSS readers have become out of style and several web browsers don’t support the format anymore.

Now, there is a subscription link on the side bar where you can enter your email and have mail sent to you without using an RSS reader. While this is a newsletter most of the emails will be about my new blog posts; new products and other interesting stuff will be part of it as well.

Please leave a comment on how you typically subscribe to a website’s updates. Are you old fashioned and still use an RSS reader, or have you moved to Feedly and their services? What about newsletters, do you filter these out or do you religiously follow them if they interest you?

Driving Therapy - Now on YouTube

I personally find driving to be very therapeutic and many others do as well. Not only does it allow time for pondering and reflection but the change of scenery helps refresh our thoughts. The sights and sounds can be stimulating and can keep our minds occupied and away from unpleasant ideas. Some are even inspired to go out on a ride themselves after seeing others drive.

To share that therapy with others, I've decided to record drives occasionally going around different places. All the videos will be uploaded on my YouTube Channel. Just like my ad-free blog, my channel is not monetized. I was inspired by Winding Road Magazine, World of Longplays and others to do this but unlike them I’m not focusing on the car but rather the scenescape and general driving experience. I’ll be adding subtitles as a commentary eventually including the roads taken, the direction, the type of road we're on and perhaps some history behind the road and the surrounding scenery.

Every few days, I'll be going through different parts of the City of Ottawa and nearby to explore the beautiful and admittedly sometimes bland scenery that this region has to offer. Ottawa is large and provides both rural and urban experiences with a combination of American and European styled-architecture. Feel free to suggest places I should drive to in the comments.

The soundscape will be provided by various environmental sounds and the music from the rumbling and purr of the Honda K20C4 engine. See the city early in the morning, in the evening and sometimes even at night. I'll make sure the experience is as engaging and interesting as possible with plenty of variety. The recording is done with a GoPro HERO8 with a head strap at 1080p60 for a clear and smooth picture. Sound is done in stereo for a more binaural feel. My car is an average family sedan, a 2019 Honda Accord Sport 2.0T with Manual Transmission. The video was edited using KDenLive.

I’m still adjusting the angle of the GoPro camera to get the optimal perspective. Sound might need some work as well. I’m quite short and that makes the view a bit awkward and high, I’ll have to find out a way to optimize the seating position to get a better picture. I’m also planning to edit out the long waits at intersections.

I recommend a listen through headphones. Set the video quality to 1080p60 for optimal viewing experience.

In each video, I’ll give a general itinerary of where we’ll be going and a short description of the features of the ride. Also linked will be a Google Maps link with the roads taken.

Please subscribe, comment and like if you enjoyed these videos. Again, this is my YouTube Channel

Ottawa Computing Group

I’ve just founded a meetup group in Ottawa, ON for programmers and hackers to work together or alone on whatever projects they’re endavouring in.

From the meetup description:

“Writing the next hot Android App or making a mundane Web App? Bring your laptop and hack away at your next computing project. Everything is welcome whether is traditional software development or administrating your personal website server. If you can do it on a laptop, than you're welcome to join.

You can both hide in your corner quietly typing away or sit in a group with your portable rigs on table and discuss your next big computing adventure.

This group has no focus on the type of technology being worked on, whether it's a basic web project or artificial intelligence or machine learning. Bring your ideas with you and share them with the group.

Non-hackers are welcome to join if they want to be thought how to code, we're all open for learning opportunities. Just ask anyone if they're willing to teach you new skills. If you're stuck on some tricky part of your project, ask your peers for help.

We will be meeting weekly in various coffee shops in the downtown area. If we get big enough, we can have groups in the suburbias of Ottawa.

Feel free to be late to the party or come in a bit earlier. Leave whenever you're tired at staring at your screen or have a more important date coming up.”

Hoping to meet you exciting people and see projects beyond my comfort zone!