Working from home challenges–My computer clock is fast.

Posted on by

Where does Windows get its time fromWe have most of our workforce currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of our customers have reported this:

My (Windows 10) computer clock is about 5 minutes fast, which means Skype doesn’t work and I’m early to meetings.  My Android tablet is connected to the same network, and it’s has the correct time.
What’s the cause?

In this case, the underlying cause is that the computer is a Domain Joined workstation.  The workstation is configured to sync it’s time from the Primary Domain Controller (PDC).

And the workstation cannot “see” the PDC when it does a time sync, so the workstation time begins to drift.

One solution would be to set a manualpeerlist up, like this:
w32tm /config /update /manualpeerlist:"pool.ntp.org time.windows.com time.apple.com time.google.com"

Another solution would be doing that via group policy…

References:
Windows Time service tools and settings

S004AGS0750030 replacement power supply

Posted on by

for the Telstra T-Voice 503 handset.

I have house rabbits who think “Spicy Hay” is a thing.

And so I end up with this:
T-Voice 503 7.5V Power Supply.

(power supply with bitten off lead)

I could get a replacement Telstra power supply IF I brought a replacement handset 🙁

T-Voice 503 inside box

Fortunately for me, and my bank account, I had a spare Jaycar MP3310 power supply, which worked as a replacement.

Spicy Hay?!?

Continue reading →

Open Fireplace–Firebacks.

Posted on by

Steel firebackRandom notes on Firebacks …

Steel is better than cast iron, as it is better at reflecting heat into the room.

Cast iron is better than Steel, as Cast Iron Firebacks will retain the heat better, which means it will continue providing some heat even after the fire has gone out.

You can make your own steel fireback by following these instructions.
Or you could buy a ready made steel fireback from Amazon.

Cast Iron.  Wagga Iron Foundry makes new Fire Backs.  If antique is your thing, firebacks.net can help.

ImageMagicK throwing a “convert: Invalid SOS parameters for sequential JPEG” warning

Posted on by

ImageMagick logoC:\Pictures>"magick convert -border 3024x! old.jpg new.jpg
convert: Invalid SOS parameters for sequential JPEG ‘old.jpg’ @ warning/jpeg.c/JPEGWarningHandler/398.

In this case, caused by a bug with how a Samsung phone writes jpeg files.

Checked the original file details to verify that:
image

ImageMagicK did process the photos.  It was just warning me that it found a possible issue.

The warnings can be suppressed with the -quiet option.

How to avoid photo cropping by adding a border

Posted on by

So in Notes on ImageMagick’s –border option, I mentioned that I had photos that don’t fit on 6×4 photo paper.

Here’s an example which I uploaded to the photo printing website:
Croppedat6x4

The result is that the photo printing company has darkened the left and right of the photo, to highlight what I’m going to lose.  ie. cropped!

If only there was someway to change the photo to fit into a 6×4 print…

I’m glad you asked!

Continue reading →

Notes on ImageMagick’s –border option

Posted on by

ImageMagickI have photos whose aspect ration are not 1.5, which means they will be cropped when I use 6:4 photography paper.

The important thing to remember is that ImageMagick will keep the aspect ratio unless you tell it not to with the “!” option.

So the command to add a left and right border to an image is this:
magick convert -border 2000x! old.jpg new.jpg

To break that down:
convert the file into a new image file.
2000 add 2000 pixels to left AND right side of image
x! height is not specified here.  The ! tells ImageMagick to not preserve the aspect ratio.

Similarly, in order to add to the top and bottom of the photo, I use this command:
magick convert -border !x2000 old.jpg new.jpg

Australian ZL1 Camaro dashboard

Posted on by

Was made by Socobell in Melbourne.

ZL1 Camaro - RHD dashboard

(image courtesy Carsales)

Socobell provides the highest quality plastic injection moulding services to industry. We deliver a complete solution to our clients, from initial product design and tooling requirements to highly developed process automation delivering the right product on time, every time.
– Socobell – About