Sun. Dec. 8, 2019 – one week done

By on December 8th, 2019 in Random Stuff

Cool and damp. Probably

Did a lot of my running around yesterday. Might have made some good scores. Definitely got some good things personally. That won’t pay the bills though.

Females of the household are due back late morning, and then we have a piano recital for the little one in the afternoon. She’s really progressing nicely. It sounds like music when she practices.

Still got plenty to do this morning before everyone gets home, and plenty this afternoon. Whole week is gone in an eyeblink, and the weekend vanished just like that.

Gotta be strong….

n

27 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Dec. 8, 2019 – one week done"

  1. nick flandrey says:

    wow, more than 7 in a row. What site on the shared server would be getting monkey hammered at 11 am on Sunday?

    Internal Server Error

    The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

    Please contact the server administrator at webmaster@ttgnet.com to inform them of the time this error occurred, and the actions you performed just before this error.

    More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

    Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

    Possibly just a distraction, but…

    After the 5th failed reload on FFox, I tried on IE11 and the page loaded instantly. FFox had several more failed reloads. When I then tried to RELOAD IE, I got a long wait and 500 error.

    And some really weirdness, when I go to the admin page, there is a black and white snarling cheatah at the top of the page, and hovering over it pops up the same menu as hovering over “delete cache”

    n

  2. Nick Flandrey says:

    I don’t see the cheetah in FFox..
    n

    and now it’s on every page I look at in IE

    If I log out of wp, then pages display normally.

  3. MrAtoz says:

    Plenty of “500’s” for me, too.

  4. lynn says:

    Over The Hedge: T-Rex arms
    https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2019/12/08

    I’ve got longer arms than George.

  5. Greg Norton says:

    NY to LA. 27:25. The Cannonball Run records continue moving lower.

    I80 through NE/WY is an interesting choice, but an attempt would need accurate real-time road conditions for the entire length of the run through NE since there is no alternative freeway.

    Sounds like they had plenty of help.

    https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a30085091/these-guys-just-drove-an-e63-amg-across-america-in-a-record-27-hours-25-minutes/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

  6. lynn says:

    “HE WASN’T ALONE Saudi airman’s colleagues filmed as he killed 3 at US naval base as cops detain 10 with others missing”
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10504744/saudi-airmans-colleagues-us-naval-base-shooting/

    “A SAUDI air force pilot in the US for training who killed three in a mass shooting was filmed by his colleagues as he went on his killing spree, it has emerged.”

    So this one SA dude is going crazy shooting people while his buddies are standing around filming it ? That is crazy squared. What is wrong with these people ?

    Hat tip to:
    https://drudgereport.com/

  7. CowboySlim says:

    And the progturd judges wouldn’t let tRump keep the mooslims out.

  8. Ray Thompson says:

    Christmas performance of the local orchestra and choir of Handel’s Messiah. Used my church for reasons beyond my pay grade. Streamed it for them along with showing on the local cable channel. Interesting that the chap at the cable channel can take our stream and put it on his broadcast. Brings up some interesting possibilities of not using that RF modulator. Such modulator no longer made, cannot be repaired, and zero knowledge of Comcast techs. In fact calling them on a problem results in a pissing contest of the tech saying I cannot transmit on Comcast cable when I clearly do so every Sunday. Threats of putting a trap on the line and other nonsense. Then finally an admission the tech does not understand transmitting and only diagnoses TV and internet problems.

    Here is a link to the performance if you need another time sink. On the shots from the upper left of the stage I can be seen on the right operating a camera. Watch at your own risk.

    Couple of Sundays ago the broadcast sucked, as in really bad, unwatchable. Replaced a type F cable connection to resolve. Still had some ghosting, but watchable. So built a new cable. Tried it today and it was better marginally better. Decided to abandon the new cable and reconnect the old cable. Ghosts were mostly gone and the broadcast looked like normal. I do not understand how a cable that was causing ghosts, now works just fine. I had tried reseating all the connections last week with the same result.

    I am now thinking the problem is in the cable to the building. It was wet the last couple of weeks with rain. Perhaps there is moisture intrusion in the exterior cable drop to the building causing the ghosting. 99.999% of ghosting is cable related. Based on past experience I am reluctant to call Comcast but may have to bite the bullet. Will see what happens the next time it rains.

  9. Rick Hellewell says:

    The ‘chetaah’ thing that @nick complained about is only seen by users when they are logged in. (It’s on the WP Admin bar that shows at the top of a WordPress site when a user is logged in.)

    The cheetah is the logo of the “WP Fastest Cache” plugin that was running on the site. It’s we added in one of their plugin updates.

    But it is no more. Caching here is not effective, mostly because of the number and frequency of comments on daily posts. Caching is only effective on pages that don’t change very often. Since this page changes every time that someone enters a comment, a new cache has to be built for this page (on the server side) with each new comment. So, server-side caching disabled, and the existing cache cleared with the plugin now deactivated.

    I don’t think that the caching problem is related to the site performance here, although it is possible. But caching here is (overall) not going to be an advantage for this site, which is why I disabled it.

    Not sure why @Nick saw a giant cheetah, though. When I saw it, it was just the height of the admin bar (roughly the height of a text line here). I suspect that @Nick’s ‘giant’ cheetah was an artifact of his browser. If he hadn’t captured a picture of it and showed it to everyone, I’d say that he was partaking of mind-altering beverages too early in the day.

    (Although I could have been sneaky and removed the picture that he linked to. Or changed it. But now that you know that I could do that, the surprise is gone.)

  10. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, the moisture in the cable affects the electrical properties of the dielectric material, and causes problems. It happens in the outdoor cable plant too, you often see tanks of nitrogen hooked up to coax cables by the side of the road-they are trying to dry out the cable.

    As you know, ghosts are reflections, which can be coming from an unterminated cable or daisy chain of gear. Since you’ve pulled gear out of the system, I’d look for a cable that no longer connects to anything and thus isn’t terminated. Or it could be moisture. Check for good water seal tape over connectors, and make sure there is a ‘drip loop’ to keep water from running down the cable and into a connector.

    n

  11. Ray Thompson says:

    I’d look for a cable that no longer connects to anything and thus isn’t terminated

    All cables are SDI (HD) with the exception of the composite (SD) signal from the switcher output. SDI cables do not need to be terminated as there are no ghosts in a digital signal. I have lots of connections in the SDI system, especially from amplifiers, the router and SDI to HDMI connections with no terminations on some of the lines.

    All the connections from the composite video distribution block are terminated. Either by a cable going to a device or with a 75 ohm termination plug on the outputs. In fact all the composite video connections do not have an open connection anywhere.

    What I don’t know is what the Comcast splitter looks like, as in how many outputs, bypass ports, etc. I really don’t know where the Comcast splitter is located. It is somewhere in the ceiling and there is a lot of ceiling to search. It may even be in a room somewhere with an amplifier. Difficult to follow the cable as there are a lot of cables to follow in the ceiling. We have internet coming into the building and the video part was obviously was split four ways, one to the TV in the studio, one to the modulator in the studio, and two TV hookups in a couple of offices. The TV’s have been disconnected and 75 ohm termination taps placed on the lines.

    Today the broadcast looked OK. About the same as the other programs that are run from DVD’s or digital files provided to the owner of the channel. We are the only one that sends a live signal on the Comcast line, basically taking over that channel on the cable.

    I am thinking moisture which may require another drop installed by Comcast. But convincing Comcast is going to be a real problem. The signal to the TV is OK, obviously on a different frequency than what we transmit, maybe even a completely different band. I have no idea. Comcast comes in, sees the TV and internet is OK, sees no reason to replace the drop.

    I did change the audio path to the modulator to get better volume. Took audio from the switcher then through a distribution amplifier. Sound level is good. But we really have to watch the levels. Get into the red and the screen has sparkles, get much above that and the screen blanks as the modulator is overloaded. People complained of low volume before, now we have to really watch the levels.

    Ah the joys of live broadcasting, especially analog. Digital is much easier.

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    “If he hadn’t captured a picture of it and showed it to everyone, I’d say that he was partaking of mind-altering beverages too early in the day. ”

    –which is of course WHY I screenshotted it! Box stock IE 11 by the way, and I’ve NEVER seen any sort of cheetah on the FFox pages…. Threw me for a loop, for sure.

    n

  13. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, I actually learned something about the reflections in the signal today. I was reading an unrelated article and they were explaining the phenomenon w/r/t digital signals. As the frequency changes, the nodes where the reflected wave line up with the intended signal will MOVE. That can cause data corruption mid stream, that changes over time, and is hard to troubleshoot if you’re not looking for the effect of the reflected signal.

    This all clicked for me because the same thing happens with antennas in ham radio, you get high SWR because your feed line isn’t well coupled to the antenna (usually and effectively just an unterminated wire) and some signal gets reflected back. Hams are worried about the nodes where there is constructive interference, resulting in high signal levels at the amplifier output, which blows up the amp stage… or the destructive interference robbing them of power to radiate from the antenna.

    One other consideration is that you might be radiating from some poorly shielded gear or cable, and that signal is re-entering another part of the signal path thru poor shielding…

    n

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, you’re gonna get a crick in your neck looking up like that!

    What make/model is your modulator? I’ve got a rack full at my shop…..

    n

  15. Nick Flandrey says:

    Houston cop, 32, is fatally shot responding to call from a woman being assaulted by her armed boyfriend – as police say killing was captured on bodycam and suspect, 25, is in custody”

    This was about a mile or less from one of my auction pickups. Real sh!thole area, either in or next to the infamous Fifth Ward. I wonder about the career criminal who shot him, and what his immigration status is. And gee, the laws didn’t seem to keep him from arming himself or murdering a cop.

    n

  16. Ray Thompson says:

    What make/model is your modulator?

    Not sure without making a trip to the church. Something like Gerrold or something like that. Not certain how specific is with frequency to transmit. I had to borrow one once and there was something weird about the channel it transmitted as I had to change TV channels to view the output. It is a strange system.

    What I would real like to do is set up an IP based system and use the internet. AT&T quoted a price of $11,000 to run a fiber cable 1/2 mile to the offices of the guy that owns the channel. Then it would be necessary to get two fiber units. Thus IP based would be cheaper.

    Regardless, something is going to have to change in the next two or three years.

  17. ITGuy1998 says:

    1/2 mile….have line of sight? You could easily do that wireless with pro equipment.

  18. Ray Thompson says:

    1/2 mile….have line of sight?

    Nope. Buildings and trees in the way. The guy that owns the channel I broadcast on also has limited resources. Whatever I use I will have to pay for the equipment on both ends. Any solution also has to fit in with his environment. For new the modulator works, I think I have a handle on the ghosting. Waiting until a rain event, this weekend I think, to see if the problem raises it’s ugly head. The wiring I have is solid, no un-terminated points, solid looking images on the monitor before the signal is feed to the modulator. The problem at this point I think is from the modulator out and that is an RF signal of some kind.

  19. lynn says:

    “Claim: Delaying Climate Action Could Threaten Democracy”
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/12/03/claim-delaying-climate-action-could-threaten-democracy/

    “According to University of Copenhagen professor Ole Wæver, if we don’t act soon the UN Security Council might have to take over and dictate climate policy to member states, just as the EU took control of Greece.”

    “Be good children, and follow the instructions of the climate professors, otherwise the United Nations is going to take your freedom away.”

    I’ve got nothing.

  20. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ray, you could get it wet yourself… at a time that is convenient for you and when the system isn’t in use.

    I’ve actually got some Diamond transport, video over fiber gear. It was used to link schools in the district. Not new, and SD, but would be free to you…. The fiber is the hitch though, I get that.

    There are video over IP solutions now that don’t cost an arm and a leg. That wasn’t the case 7 or 10 years ago.

    With the right wireless, you might be able to punch something thru, especially if you can get it up above the roof line. There are a lot of WISP antennas and routers. I’ve got a couple that do miles at 100Mbps speeds. you might be pleasantly surprised.

    n

    BTW, your video looks good! No good way to get some more light on the back ground people,especially backlight, but your main speakers look good.

  21. Nick Flandrey says:

    “otherwise the United Nations is going to take your freedom away.”

    I’ve got nothing. ”

    –I’ve got ammo, rifles, armor, and web gear if it comes to that.

    n

  22. SteveF says:

    otherwise the United Nations is going to take your freedom away

    John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.

  23. Greg Norton says:

    “otherwise the United Nations is going to take your freedom away.”

    I’ve got nothing. ”

    –I’ve got ammo, rifles, armor, and web gear if it comes to that.

    The camps will have the Internet, WiFi and all the binge watching of Baby Yoda you can handle.

    Most people will go voluntarily since Internet access outside of the camps will revert to 90s level … or earlier — no “broadband”, dial PPP, no AOL. Very easy to implement a “dark age” since very few remember email was even possible before the Internet and all the modems have been sent to Goodwill.

    If things get really sporty, they’ll cut the gasoline. Again, really easy, even in Texas — go back and look at the video of the *fake* gas shortage created by the radio stations and ClearChannel/I Heart Radio in Central Texas two years ago.

  24. Ray Thompson says:

    @ray, you could get it wet yourself

    The first picture that popped into my head would get me arrested for public indecency. The drop is overhead, high up, not really feasible. Rain this week so I will see what happens.

    As for the lights in the video there used to be really good lighting. But the old people in the church choir complained about being too bright. Now they complain when the watch rye broadcast at home that it is too dark.

    I am also dealing with auto gain on the cameras. The white music sheets mess that up. Organist was the worst for Sunday services. I think she had a 100 watt bulb over her music.

  25. Nick Flandrey says:

    Hah, I used to get actors complaining all the time about light shining in their faces. Duh, without light on you, you are dark! and no one can see you.

    You see it when someone (usually not a pro presenter) keeps moving their head and body out of the light, with their feet still in one place.

    It is possible to light people without blinding them, so part of the blame falls on the lighting director, but in a church setting, you are limited by the church members…

    I don’t have much advice for you and the cameras, since I only had one class in broadcast studio work, but high contrast is a b!tch, esp. with a multi camera setup. If anything, I’d try pulling down your key light a bit and let the cameras do more work. That and always set light levels looking at the camera image.

    Like I said though, it looks pretty good and is more than serviceable.

    n

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