Jekyll2023-03-21T17:46:35+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/feed.xmlTheSterk.comBlog of thoughts and interests...Dustin SterkenburgRandom Thoughts from the Past Months2023-03-20T00:00:00+00:002023-03-20T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/Random-Thoughts<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/thoughtbubble.png" alt="" width="300 " />
Random Thoughts…</p>
<h1 id="random-thoughts-from-the-past-9-months">Random Thoughts from the Past 9 Months</h1>
<p>It has been a busy start to the new year with my full time role and family winter activities. A few bits that have been keeping me busy:</p>
<ul>
<li>Travel - UK and Paris for work and pleasure.</li>
<li>Dusting off my snowboard and my wife and I teaching our family to ski.</li>
<li>VR golf and mini putt putt.</li>
<li>Restoring DMG-01 Original Gameboy’s. Including building a “retro bright” lightbox to re-whitening yellowing plastic and some minor soldering work.</li>
<li>Scanning local digital radio channels with my <a href="https://bluetailtechnologies.com/" target="_blank">Bluetail Technologies</a> MicroP25RX. Sadly this kit is no longer being produced but it is one great little device with a physical screen (via Wio Terminal) and <a href="https://github.com/tvelliott/MicroP25RXMon" target="_blank">App based</a> scanning. The sole owner of the company and engineer is possibly working on a updated model once chip supply chain issues ease.</li>
<li>Hacking VR overlays for my favorite iRacing 3rd party app <a href="https://racelab.app/" target="_blank">RaceLabApp</a>.</li>
<li>Making my first batch of Sauerkraut in a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I8HT5IY" target="_blank">Fermentation Pot</a>.</li>
<li>Building a sim accessory VoCore 5” Dash with a <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5429126" target="_blank">3D Printed Case</a> and <a href="https://vocore.io/screen.html" target="_blank">Screen</a></li>
<li>Investigating CanBus <a href="https://racechrono.com/forum/discussion/1746/my-first-build-can-bus-and-gps-through-bluetooth-le/p4" target="_blank">Data Collection</a> via a ESP32, Bluetooth and RaceChrono. Example project <a href="https://github.com/joeroback/racechrono-canbus" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1959139" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
<li>Home Air Quality monitoring via <a href="https://www.airgradient.com/open-airgradient/kits/" target="_blank">Airgradient</a>.</li>
<li>Getting back in shape with a Peloton and Garmin Forerunner 955 (I love this watch!).</li>
<li>Nerding out on Sim racing data with <a href="https://garage61.net/" target="_blank">Garage61</a>.</li>
<li>Enjoying French Pressed Coffee.</li>
<li>Enjoying: The Last of Us, Clarkson’s Farm (Season 2), White Lotus, and others.</li>
<li>Gearing up for a great season of IMSA and Indycar racing (and maybe a little track time myself this year).</li>
</ul>Dustin SterkenburgRandom Thoughts…The Getting Things Done (GTD) Method in VSCode2022-06-29T00:00:00+00:002022-06-29T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/GTD-Method-In-VSCode<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/todoMD.jpg" alt="" width="300 " />
Using the Getting Things Done (GTD) method with simple text in VSCode</p>
<h1 id="overview">Overview</h1>
<p>I recently read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280" target="_blank"><em>Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen</em></a> and wanted to put his method into action. I love the idea of keeping it digital, but not purchasing or installing another app that I did not already use on a daily basis. After much trial and error, I have landed on a plain text approach with a great plugin (TodoMD) all in my favorite IDE - Visual Studio Code.</p>
<h2 id="setup">Setup</h2>
<p>First, install <a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/download" target="_blank">VSCode</a>. Next, open the Extensions side menu and search for ‘TodoMD’ by the author ‘usernamehw’, then install it. You can see the authors project <a href="https://github.com/usernamehw/vscode-todo-md" target="_blank">code</a> here if you wish. With this plugin installed, you can create a new file called ‘todo.md’ and select the TodoMD sidebar icon to see the magic happen.</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<p>I like to organize my text files based on the method taught in David’s book. This consists of an Inbox, Projects, Reference, Someday/Maybe, NextActions and DelegatedActions. Using the TodoMD extension this allows me views of what is important and the ability to set due dates, cross off completed items, etc.</p>
<p><img src="../images/todoMD_Example.jpg" alt="" width="600 " /></p>
<p>Using tab indentation (for parent/child nested items) and the special uses of the characters #, @, +, and ‘{due:YOURDATE}’, the many views on the left and bottom allow for your action lists to be built dynamically.</p>
<p>Give it a try and let me know what you think!</p>Dustin SterkenburgUsing the Getting Things Done (GTD) method with simple text in VSCodeThe Fastest Way To Drain Your MacBook Battery Before Replacement2022-06-21T00:00:00+00:002022-06-21T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/Fastest-Way-To-Drain-Macbook-Battery%20copy<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/macbook-pro-battery.jpg" alt="" width="300" />
Useful when replacing your battery</p>
<h1 id="macbook-battery-replacement">MacBook Battery Replacement</h1>
<p>My trusty MacBook Pro from 2015 finally needed a battery replacement. Luckily with some preparation from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-LwyWh4x8w" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and a <a href="https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Retina-Mid-2015-Battery/IF117-048?o=5" target="_blank">Battery Replacement Kit</a> from ifixit, I was all set.</p>
<p>I ran into one little issue. I forgot to drain my laptop battery and needed a quick way to do so (This is <strong><em>IMPORTANT</em></strong> for safety reasons!). After a little googling, I ran into this command which works wonders. Execute the below code from the terminal and it will run and strain 2 cpu’s at 99-100%. My battery discharged in about 90 minutes.</p>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null
</code></pre></div></div>Dustin SterkenburgUseful when replacing your batteryRadio Scanners and Programming for the Indy 5002022-05-22T00:00:00+00:002022-05-22T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/Chirp-HAM-Scanners<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/Chirp.jpg" alt="" width="400 " />
Radio fun with Motorsports!</p>
<h1 id="overview">Overview</h1>
<p>In preparation for the upcoming Indy 500, I decided to program my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82-Two-Way-136-174MHz-400-520MHz/dp/B00E4KLY34" target="_blank">BAOFENG UV-82</a> with the driver frequencies posted at the <a href="http://indymotorspeedway.com/scanner-freqs.html" target="_blank">Indy Motorspeedway Site</a>.</p>
<p>There are many ways to program these cheap yet powerful radios, but I have found that <a href="https://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Download" target="_blank">Chirp</a> is a great tool!</p>
<p>After looking a bit further I also found a fellow radio enthusiast has created a preset CSV file you can use without any work for the upcoming 2022 race. <a href="https://themann00.com/indy500-2022-v3/" target="_blank">Download</a></p>
<p>Do not forget ear protection and also a converter cable which allows a standard 3.5mm plug with your radio:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004U4A5RU" target="_blank">Honeywell Sync Stereo MP3 Earmuff</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LJJ6VG" target="_blank">Audio Jack Adapter Cable</a> (this adapter only plays audio through one of the headphones ears - mono sound). You can also pull the plug out of the radio a few millimeters and it give you stereo sound, but its a bit janky for me. I am opting for the setup below.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019YJMRZS" target="_blank">Stereo Adapter</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096TNRBGQ" target="_blank">Microphone cord</a>. This setup should allow for stereo sound in the headphones and the ability to transmit since there is also a PTT button and inline microphone in the cord/cable.</li>
</ul>Dustin SterkenburgRadio fun with Motorsports!3D Printed Track Maps2022-05-20T00:00:00+00:002022-05-20T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/3d-printed-trackmaps<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/njmp-trackmap.jpg" alt="" width="400" />
Creating and 3D Printing Track Maps</p>
<h1 id="overview">Overview</h1>
<p>I wanted to create wall art of race tracks that I have driven or attended during live events. Some can be found from a quick search on <a href="https://www.yeggi.com/" target="_blank">https://www.yeggi.com/</a> but others need to be created.</p>
<p>Since a local track was not available, I needed a way to outline the map, crate an .svg and import that into Ultimaker Cura for 3D printing.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you do not have a 3D printer, I highly recommend the <a href="https://www.creality.com/products/ender-3-v2-3d-printer-csco" target="_blank">Ender3</a>. You can find them on sale for under $200.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>First find the track online using Open Street Maps. Here is an example of <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=new%20jersey%20motorsports%20park#map=15/39.3601/-75.0639" target="_blank">NJMP</a>.</li>
<li>Next click the share icon and export a SVG file that can be used in a vector editor like <a href="https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.2/" target="_blank">Inkscape</a>.</li>
<li>Open the SVG file and either trace the track or select it with the clip tool and create a clean SVG file with just the track outline.</li>
<li>Convert the clean SVG file to an STL by using an online tool such as <a href="https://svg2stl.com/">this</a>.</li>
<li>Finally import the STL into your 3D printing tool such as <a href="https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura" target="_blank">UltimakerCura</a>.</li>
<li>Once printed, I mounted the tracks on the wall using some 3M mounting putty such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/860-Scotch-Removable-Adhesive-Putty/dp/B018HSRGVC" target="_blank">this</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Enjoy!</strong></p>Dustin SterkenburgCreating and 3D Printing Track MapsHPDE Video & Data Setup Recording with TrackAddict2022-05-18T00:00:00+00:002022-05-18T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/track-addict-setup<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/track-addict.jpeg" alt="" width="275" />
My High Performance Driving Video and Data Logging Setup.</p>
<h1 id="overview">Overview</h1>
<p>I have been interested in High Performance Driving (HPDE) events since 2018. I set out to find the best DIY setup for video/audio and data recording. My requirements were fairly simple; a camera that had decent video (1080p/4k preferred), gyro stabilization, wifi, external mic capable, and the ability to charge without having to worry about battery constraints. In addition, I wanted OBD engine data logging, and an external 16Hz GPS sensor for accurate track positioning. After days/weeks of research and software/hardware trial and error, I think I have found a recipe that works and all in for under $500. This is less than 1/2 the cost compared to the professional <a href="https://store.windingroad.com/aim-sports-smartycam-hd-2-1" target="_blank">AiM Sports SmartyCam HD 2.1</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Hardware:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>OBD BLE Data Reader <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073XKQQQW" target="_blank">$40</a></li>
<li>16Hz External GPS <a href="https://racebox.ecwid.com/Racebox-Pro-p136884742" target="_blank">$120</a></li>
<li>SCJAM SJ6 Legend <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1437113-REG/sjcam_sj6legend_sj6_legend_4k_action.html" target="_blank">$125</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Software:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>TrackAddict (iOS or Android) <a href="https://racerender.com/TrackAddict/Features.html" target="_blank">$9</a></li>
<li>RaceRender (post video, data sync software) <a href="https://racerender.com/RR3/Features.html" target="_blank">$60</a></li>
<li>Circuit Tools (post data analysis) <a href="https://www.vboxmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/us/support/software" target="_blank">Free</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Accessories:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Combo SJ6 Camera Charging/External Mic Cable <a href="https://shopee.ph/product/237542451/7620385048?smtt=0.266647243-1608439390.9" target="_blank">$20</a>. <em>This was not available for me to purchase without complicated forwarding shipping, so I ended up making my own.</em> <strong>More below…</strong></li>
<li>USB cigarette lighter charging Port adapter <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerDrive-Adapter-iPhone/dp/B07PGT7LSR" target="_blank">$20</a></li>
<li>Phone Mount <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ5XH4O" target="_blank">$15</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WFNNNCC" target="_blank">$10</a>. This thing is solid and strong as the more expensive RAM mounts.</li>
<li>Lapel microphone <a href="https://www.amazon.com/PoP-voice-Professional-Microphone-Omnidirectional/dp/B016C4ZG74" target="_blank">$12</a></li>
<li>Camera suction mount <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F19Q7YI" target="_blank">$40</a></li>
<li>Micro USB Card (64 gig) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073JYVKNX" target="_blank">$15</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="diy-camera-combo-cable-if-not-purchased-above">DIY Camera Combo Cable (if not purchased above)</h2>
<p>-Note, this DIY assumes you understand basic wiring pinout and have the supplies & know how to solder.</p>
<ul>
<li>10 pin usb cable <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XG1J9CY" target="_blank">$10</a></li>
<li>Microphone Jack Adapter <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y8JS4BS" target="_blank">$10</a></li>
<li>Heatshrink wrap to tidy it all up <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFA3OFA" target="_blank">$5</a></li>
</ul>
<p>To create the cable you want to cut and splice into the USB cable so that the mic and power pins are wired as shown below. What I did was actually cut away the shielding at the mini USB side to confirm the wire color to pin assignment. Then about 6 inches from that mini USB plug, I cut the cable and spliced in the microphone jack adapter. This allowed me to still use the USB A side to power the camera (no need to touch pin 1 and 5 as they are already correct).</p>
<p>Essentially, you just want to find the colored wire from pin 9 and 10 and connect them to the headphone jack adapter red and black wires. Then find the colored wire from pin 6 and splice it into the colored wire connected to pin 5. After a little solder and heat wrap, the cable looks like this:</p>
<p><img src="../images/sjcam-cable.jpg" alt="" width="300" /></p>
<p><strong>Pinout and Instructions:</strong>
<img src="../images/sjcam-pinout.png" alt="" />
<em>Pinout above is looking into the usb cable as your would hold it in your hand.</em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>1 = Vcc +5V (red) already connected to USB A side</strong></li>
<li>2 = data + (white), not in use</li>
<li>3 = data - (green), not in use</li>
<li>4 = not in use</li>
<li><strong>5 = GND (black) already connected to USB A side</strong></li>
<li><strong>6 = PWM (connect pin 6 to GND Pin 5/Black with a splice)</strong></li>
<li>7 = not in use</li>
<li>8 = not in use</li>
<li><strong>9 = GND (microphone jack) cut from USB A and wire into adapter</strong></li>
<li><strong>10 = Signal (microphone jack) cut from USB A and wire into adapter</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>If you get background noise from the external microphone, just switch the wires at pin 9 and 10 as they maybe reversed.</p>
<p>Full details can be found at this <a href="https://sjcam.com/community/threads/adding-powerbank-and-external-mic.2440/" target="_blank">link</a></p>
<h2 id="usage">Usage</h2>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: The one thing you must remember is the camera must have the Gimbal setting turned off (or just reset the camera to defaults to be safe). I spent hours thinking my cable was faulty when it was just the Gimbal setting overriding the USB port detection. When your cable is plugged in you will see a “Busy” message as it switches to the external microphone.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The normal setup is fairly straight forward. Attach the camera to the suction mount and position inside the car. Run the lapel mic to a place within the car cockpit (I usually clip it to a seatbelt or close to the floorboard). Run the USB charging cables and tape all cords down (I use blue painters tape). Plug in the OBD reader, mount the external GPS so that it has good visibility to the sky, place the phone in your phone holder, and finally start the TrackAddict software and select your track. The software will connect to your external 16Hz GPS (BLE), connect to your OBD reader (BLE) to gather data from the engine, and control the camera start and stop recording functions via wifi.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Once last gotcha with this camera. Ensure you turn spot metering <strong>ON</strong>. If you do not (like I mistakenly did), the inside footage of the car will be perfect, but anything outside the windshield will be just a white washout.
<img src="../images/sjcam-spotmetering.png" alt="" /></p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="post-track-analysis">Post Track Analysis</h2>
<p>As an added bonus, TrackAddict allow you to export your data as a .VBO. This file can be used by other tools for analysis. <a href="https://www.vboxmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/us/support/software" target="_blank">Circuit Tools</a> happens to be a free amazing piece of software to do just that. You can even compare multiple laps and zoom into the track to see how you ran the lines, compare entrance and exit speed and look for areas to improve.</p>
<h2 id="post-video-production">Post Video Production</h2>
<p>After your track session, you can sync the external USB video from the camera to the TrackAddict data using RaceRender. From this you will have examples like the below with data overlayed on top of the video. <strong>Happy Tracking!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Example with the above setup</strong>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1e750pw5TE" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/i1e750pw5TE/0.jpg#center" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Examples with no external GPS and an old GoPro with no image/gyro stabilization.</strong>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_6PITpKRk" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/IJ_6PITpKRk/0.jpg#center" alt="" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tPvPUWdH2A" target="_blank"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/3tPvPUWdH2A/0.jpg#center" alt="" /></a></p>Dustin SterkenburgMy High Performance Driving Video and Data Logging Setup.Hello GitHub Pages2022-05-17T00:00:00+00:002022-05-17T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/hello-gihub-pages<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/githubpages.jpg" alt="" width="400" />
Free hosting</p>
<p>My first post in 4 year. Hard to imagine, but COVID consumed 2 of the 4.</p>
<p>I have recently decided I have had enough with Wordpress and AWS Lightsail. I have now moved to GitHub Pages + Jekyll! Added a template <a href="https://github.com/amitmerchant1990/reverie" target="_blank">Reverie</a>, and migrated everything over using this script <a href="https://github.com/lonekorean/wordpress-export-to-markdown" target="_blank">Wordpress Export to Markdown</a>. So far I am pretty happy, and it is free to boot.</p>
<p>Happy Hosting!</p>Dustin SterkenburgFree hostingHello AWS - LightSail2018-04-05T00:00:00+00:002018-04-05T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/hello-aws-lightsail<p style="color:gray;font-style:italic;font-size:90%;text-align:center;"><img src="../images/LightSail.png" alt="" />
AWS cheap hosting</p>
<p>I have recently moved from EC2 to LightSail! For $5 a month, you cannot beat the hosting backed by the AWS platform! For anyone who is thinking of a new Wordpress host, do not think twice, LightSail is for you!</p>
<p>Enabling HTTPS using LetsEncrypt was a bit tricky, but found the following article that was exactly the step by step needed to make everything work!
<a href="https://metablogue.com/enable-lets-encrypt-ssl-aws-lightsail/" target="_blank">link</a></p>
<p>Happy Hosting!</p>Dustin SterkenburgAWS cheap hostingIf you ignore your server for long enough, you are going to have a bad time!2017-12-29T00:00:00+00:002017-12-29T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/server-ignored-then-hacked<p><img src="../images/jollyroger.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>It has been quite some time since I have posted. Life has been very busy and my ignorance with maintenance or updates on the server has finally bit me. It looks like my entire site was overtaken by some malicious php files placed in my uploads directory. Some basic forensics has shows that files were running a bunch of base64 decoded functions that were generating traffic to some strange sites, probably for ad revenue generation. In any case, I had to blast my install and restore backups. Note to self…ensure you lock down your /wp-content/uploads/ and /wp-includes/ directories with a .htaccess file and included the following:</p>
<div class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code><Files *.php>
deny from all
</Files>
</code></pre></div></div>Dustin SterkenburgKZ ATE Headphones - One of the best in ear monitors for under $13!2017-03-02T00:00:00+00:002017-03-02T00:00:00+00:00http://www.thesterk.com/kz-ate-headphones-one-best-ear-monitors-13<p><img src="../images/61jFfdwnFFL._SX522_.jpg" alt="" width="200" /></p>
<p>A friend of mine recently told me about an in ear headphone which costs $13.00 on Amazon, the KZ ATE IEM. Being very into audio quality (pseudo audiophile), I was a huge sceptic. After using them for only a few days, I am completely blown away. I can confirm, these are the best headphones you can purchase that will easily out perform other high quality popular brands that you know and love. Do not hesitate, try them for yourself.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/KZ-Earphone-Headphones-Running-Microphone/dp/B00Y0F6IBG" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/KZ-Earphone-Headphones-Running-Microphone/dp/B00Y0F6IBG</a></p>Dustin Sterkenburg