How it started

Over many years I've amassed a large collection of DVDs and Blu-rays. I started collecting DVDs a bit more seriously around the time Rogers Cable in Canada decided to switch from an analog to a digital signal. When I first started collected DVDs I found a program called transcode that was capable of ripping the main DVD file and creating an AVI file. At the time I still used a 19" LACIE CRT monitor as a television, so 1080p wasn't even on my radar. Years past and my collection grew.

Backups are important. I know backups are important. But for the past 2 years we've gone without a backup for the KODI media centre in our living room. Why haven't I backed up our server when I know it's important? In one word: cost. My budget for hardware is pretty limited. This is the main reason our media centre isn't running a new Ryzen processor with an m.2 drive. It's the reason why when I wanted to upgrade my own desktop (from an old Gigabyte motherboard and an A8-5600K APU) I instead opted for an Atermiter X79 Turbo motherboard and E5-1650 CPU from AliExpress.

Buying a new video card right now is extremely difficult. Even if you can afford the extremely inflated prices of modern video cards, they're still pretty rare. One option is to buy a low-end card like the GeForce GT 1030. But even GT 1030s are scarce in some areas. Another option is to look at the used market, but even the used market has become pretty ridiculous in some areas. Cards with 4 years of use are selling for the same price or more than they were when they were brand new.

The terminal isn't as difficult as it's made out to be

People are sometimes afraid of Linux because they associate Linux with a command line window or a terminal. And while it's true a lot of things can be done in a terminal window, these days most tasks can also be done graphically. Why use a terminal at all then if most jobs can be done graphically? The terminal uses fewer resources to accomplish the same task. The terminal is also almost always a faster way to do the same job.

About the 38th GM48 game jam

The 38th GM48 game jam is the 38th 48 hour game jam put on for developers who use the GameMaker game engine. Developers have 48 hours to create a game. Before the 48 hour jam starts participants up and down vote topics. The topic chosen for the 38th GM48 game jam was "Sixty seconds."

Media Library Redux

I've been collecting movies on DVD and Blu-ray for many years. Years before I started this collection I amassed a little over 400 VHS movies (which I donated to a small local video shop that I'm happy to say is still in business today). If memory serves me correctly I was pretty happy with this VHS collection for awhile, despite the fact that DVDs had come out several years before. There was no reason at that point for me to move to DVD since the televisions I owned were not great quality.