Self-hosted Tools, Dead Tech, Papercrafting

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Welcome back to Linux Prepper.
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Happy to have you.
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I'm excited to say that this will be a more technical episode like people are used to
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from the past.
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Now that I'm done with the conference and I've gotten some other things out of the way.
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I do hope you enjoy this episode.
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If you like the show, please do share it with others.
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This is a tiny little show that is self-hosted and about the same and using free and open-source
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tools to just enjoy your life and have the most fun you can.
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This episode will be focusing on some self-hosted software picks, some terminal tools, as well
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as be talking about paper crafting and all things related to it.
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So I do hope you enjoy the episode.
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Feel free to share it around.
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You can also support me directly.
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I'll have a PayPal donation link.
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That's what I've got right now.
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Otherwise, please do enjoy
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and you're welcome to join discuss.james.network
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where I post more detailed notes
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on the items I'm talking about on the show.
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We also have a matrix chat.
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There will be a link you can join
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and please do enjoy this episode of Linux Prepper.
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It was also brought to my attention that if people want to leave reviews or comments
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on their podcast platforms, that could help the show be seen more by more people since
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we are so small.
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So if you want to leave a review on, I guess, whatever it is, whatever platform you're on,
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feel free to do that.
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I'd appreciate it., whatever platform you're on, feel free to do that. Appreciate it.
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And just spread the word.
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So all help in sharing this show is appreciated so I can just focus on making content and
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improving this show.
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So I hope this works well.
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I'm in the middle of traveling right now in what they call an air condition nightmare.
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If you've listened to the song by Mr. Bungle, link in the show notes.
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And this is a mic that I purchased just for the occasion.
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There's so much street noise and it's just craziness being out here.
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So for the time being, I hope that this sounds good.
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So totally new way for me to record.
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Let me know what you think and we'll take it from there.
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Speaking of self hosted spotlights, I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to a fantastic
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project that is so easy to use by any home admin enthusiast or even a company and consider
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it a good starting point for open source file sharing file management.
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SFT PIGO gets a strong recommendation as a very simple platform.
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It doesn't do a lot, but it might do enough that it's all you need.
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Unless you already have a more full featured server like Trunas or Unraid or one of these
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other things, I think that this could be a nice starting point.
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And that would be SFTPGo.
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I know the name's like slightly awkward.
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It just is SFTPGo is a tool that allows you
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to have a fully featured, highly customizable SFTP server
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with HTTPS, WebUI, and optional FTP and web dev support.
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So all it really is, is it's a go based tool, you install it,
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it takes literal seconds, it's up and running, and as soon as you access it, it asks you if
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you want to set up multi-factor authentication, which I think is amazing. That is the way it
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should be. It's a very forward thinking modern tool. So it's just fast, responsive, so simple.
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And the great thing is that it allows you to create storage
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and make it accessible in a way that you choose.
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And what I mean is when you have storage in SFTP Go,
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you can say whether it is FTP, HTTP,
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but also S3, Google Cloud, Azure Blob. It's fantastic.
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So unlike something like next cloud where you're exposing your storage as web dev in
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SFTP go, you could say I want to expose as NFS. You could do something really unusual
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by default. And I think that this is an amazing tool.
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So when I was looking into this segment, I was actually looking into
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own cloud infinite scale and open cloud, which are these
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rewrites of next cloud effectively and own cloud.
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But honestly, I would skip all of those.
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And I would say if you are looking for basic file folder
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management for multiple users, one or more,
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I would check out SFTP Go.
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Because as long as your storage is being exposed
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in the way that you want, and you have things
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like multi-factor authentication,
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that might be all you need, right?
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That might be all you need as far as tooling is concerned.
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Making things accessible.
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People have the ability to upload and share files. So I was pleasantly surprised by SFTP
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Go and it was usable immediately, which I have not had that experience at all with NextCloud.
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It just is what it is because this is such a light piece of software. It's hard not to
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recommend it at least as a starting point.
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So if you're looking to get into file sharing file management, I would recommend installing
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SFTP Go.
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Give it a shot for five to 10 minutes.
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If it's not doing what you want, then I would say migrate to something like next cloud or
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uncloud or whatever it is, open cloud.
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But those are a more involved setup process. They just are, there's more moving parts.
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And if all you need is to make a directory available, the fact that you can make it
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available, not only, you know, in one method, but all these different common
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methods, like Google cloud or S3 or whatever, this is probably the better
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option for you.
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I would definitely consider it.
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I want to take a moment to shout out the sponsor of this show, which is Ameradroid.
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Ameradroid.com.
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They are the purveyors of open source hardware, things for home assistant, like the home assistant
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green, pine 64 hardware, and other related goodies.
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They are located in Northern California. pine 64 hardware and other related goodies.
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They are located in Northern California.
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They have a great little facility that I enjoyed touring, just nice, friendly people.
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They're very responsive.
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They have excellent tech support.
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But also, if you're in the United States where you're not looking to order from overseas,
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Ameradroid is a great, great option.
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And I think they just have been awesome for the last almost 10 years or
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something like that. I don't know eight years that I've been using them. I can highly recommend
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to Maradroy.com. You can use Linux Prepper at checkout, or I will include some affiliate links
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in the show notes for products of theirs that I own and enjoy.
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Ameradroyd.com. Another excellent tool that I have been using is chapter tool.
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Chapter tool is a tool that allows you to add show notes as well as chapters to audio
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and video.
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This is really important if you're trying to release any material online, be it to YouTube,
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Spotify, whatever platform.
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Chapter tools got your back.
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It is a self-hosted tool.
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You can also use it directly off of their Git site.
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And it will allow you to upload a file
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and add in your show notes, chapter tool notes.
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It works well.
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I contacted the developer at issue related to show notes.
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They were very responsive,
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which they totally didn't need to be, but they were happy to help me out.
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And so I found this tool fantastic. It's very easy to make notes and then convert them, say from a specific format to a different one.
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So if you have a video and you're trying to get on different platforms, this is a great tool for you. It's fully open source and you can get started with it immediately in a web browser.
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Chapter tool.
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Link in the show notes.
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Also want to give a shout out to a brand new tool I have just discovered online.
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It is a recent edition on GitHub known as OpenDAW.
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OpenDAW can be used right now, tested in a web browser at openDA.studio. It is
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a recording platform for audio, multi-track recording. I am just getting started with
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it. So if you want to test it, you would be testing it at the same time as me. I would
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love to hear people's thoughts on it. But recording in a browser is still new territory as far as audio recording is concerned.
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And that fact that somebody is working on this is fantastic.
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The jury's out on how well it works.
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I literally just discovered it the other day.
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But if you want to check it out with me, OpenDoc could be an amazing way to record with different people in different locations
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through the internet at no cost. So very, very interesting. I'll put a link in the show notes, but the
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interface is pleasant looking. There's a lot of promise in the world of
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OpenDAW. Link in the show notes. Let's check it out. See what we think right on. We'll talk
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about it in a future episode. As a self-hosted spotlight, we'll call it for this episode.
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I wanted to focus on a tool I've been testing very extensively. And that is CanBoard.
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CanBoard is a CanBAN project management tool. And I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison
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to the other similar tool I've been using for a long time. The open source one being
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next cloud deck and the proprietary one being Trello. So Trello is a tool that does a lot,
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right? You have a can band project board cards. You're assigning them to other people.
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I love the can-ban methodology myself.
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If you were at Linux Fest Northwest this last month
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and you saw Post-it notes, that's related to
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is a can-ban organization of items and projects,
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which I like to do physically with a whiteboard.
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On the computer side, I had the most experience with Trello.
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And Trello supports things, automations and API support,
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which is big.
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So I've been using NextCloud Deck over the years,
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but NextCloud Deck as a very simple tool
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does not support those automations, effectively at all.
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So enter CanBoard. CanBoard is a tool that does support automations, effectively at all. So enter canboard. Canboard is a tool that does support
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automations and very exhaustive feature set that you would be expecting from something like Trello.
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What I mean is public sharing of a board, right? You're creating a board, you're sharing it to
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non-users to look at, not only look out online, but also do things like leave comments
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and be able to interact with that board
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from a public link.
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This is something that NextCloud Deck cannot do.
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So NextCloud Deck is a nice tool.
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If you'd wanna know what a CanVin is
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and you already have NextCloud installed.
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But the similarities end there.
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This might be a total shot in the dark,
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but I am hoping for those
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who are listening to work for NextCloud because some of you do. I really want to encourage
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you to consider working with the can board project. It's a project that's been around
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as long as NextCloud effectively, we're longer, but those guys have been in maintenance mode
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for a long time because their feature set is feature complete.
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And most of the features they offer are things
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that are still in the next cloud deck roadmap.
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And I file the issue on the next cloud deck.
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I'll link it in the show notes.
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It's a shot in the dark, but next cloud does work
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with round cube and these other long-term
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open-source projects.
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And I feel like the can board team could help you
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because it allows me to do I feel like the can board team could help you because it allows
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me to do things like create a can board, you know, for the creation of my show. I can
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also have personal boards. I have per project controls of can boards. So you can take something
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like a can ban for your work. You can add users to it, which I've done.
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People don't get confused on it.
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When they log in, they can see a overview of actions based on the most, you know,
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recent changes.
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They can follow along.
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They have assignments.
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So so far it sounds like deck, right?
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You also have control on a per project basis of who gets
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access to what, what can be publicly accessed by other people, what can be accessed by RSS feed,
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as well as what can be integrated with other tools through web hooks and send notifications
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to other services, including Slack, Matrix, Discord.
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You have GitHub authentication people can log in from their GitHub account,
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or their GitLab account, or their GitT account, or their ForchJoe account.
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It's amazing.
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So the level of functionality, the thing with that, I would say,
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as an old-school PHP-style project, is you do have to do some legwork in setting
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up can board. And I will leave links for this in the show notes. But once you get can board
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installed, for example, it's not going to include a dark theme. It's not going to include
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some of this basic stuff that I feel like people want in the modern day. The good news
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is it's really easy to fix. I would start by going installing
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canboard however you want and then you can install first plugin manager and
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that is maintained by a very cool community member called alja wade I
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think is the name but I'll have a link in the show notes. plugin manager provides
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a improved user-friendly layout for handling plugins in Canboard. Once you have that, there's all kinds of really useful things to be added, such as
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calendar support, color management, you can customize the exact colors that are used in cards,
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and then in Canboard you can do automations. Like if I assign you a card, it's going to change
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the related assignments of that card
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and update them in a way that I've specified.
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For me, this is critical because it does what Trello does
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by allowing automations and allowing like sort of custom
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flows on a per user per card per project basis.
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Another plugin for functionality for
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a cambour that I love is the ability to
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print to PDF. So I can take cards and I can turn them
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into PDFs to physically print them out. And that
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is what I am doing for my show notes. So when I am preparing
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an episode for this show, for example,
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I can create a PDF, print it out,
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and then write all my written notes onto that
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as I'm recording, it's so useful.
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And once I'm done with it through automation,
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I can archive that card and everything related to it
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automatically.
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You can make associations like this card is dependent
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on these other cards or is related to or is apparent of.
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And through this, you have very fine control over other group members' contributions
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to cards, but also what they're seeing, which is so awesome.
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So I have a very fine control over how my projects are being
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managed, what I'm seeing. And so when I'm looking at my can board, which I've been using the last
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few years, I'll tell you what I'm seeing. What I'm specifically seeing is items that are works in
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progress, such as my recording right now. And the total number of items that are
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being actively worked on is, see, 123456, about 12 items. That's it. And half of those
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items are connected within the same release that you're going to get. Once I archive all
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those six items will go away.
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And then I'll be looking at my ready to work on Q,
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which is roughly twice as long, 24 items.
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And some of those items are linked to this episode as well.
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So some of those will also be archived.
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Anyway, it's very exciting.
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And I think this is a great step beyond task management.
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If you've been writing
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things in a checklist, you know, on a to do, adding them into a sort of calendar system
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with priority is great. If you want to get started and you run next cloud, you can try
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deck. But if you're coming from Trello, and you want the ability to have full import,
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export, support with assignable public access
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and sharing of boards and automations,
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then I would recommend CAN board.
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Plus it has the ability to allow users to access it
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from other authentication methods
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like from their GitHub account stuff they can log in.
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And it also allows anonymous users to optionally comment and to share your
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board with whatever chat system you use, you know, discord or whatever.
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It doesn't matter.
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So, canboard is certainly not a perfect tool, but I have not seen an open source
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canvan tool that works better than canboard. Link to that in the
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show notes. I strongly recommend trying canboard.com for your canvan needs. Enjoy it.
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I certainly am and I can feel like there's so much more to learn even after four or five
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years. It's just this tool has the depth I want and it is an excellent tool. I have a question for the audience and that's what
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sort of tools do you use offline? Just when you're out and about enjoying your life, what kind of
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tools do you use and I would be really curious, what tools help you with that? Just when you're
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not in the computer and you're doing other things and And I will include a little anonymous form
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or you're welcome to join our matrix.
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There will be a link in the show notes
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or you can email podcast@james.net work.
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Let me know what tools do you use
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when you're just doing your offline regular day-to-day thing?
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Like what helps you with doing that
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or not needing to jump on the computer?
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What do you use as an alternative to that, right, to respect your own time? Let me know what tools do you use for enjoying
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your offline life and getting things done? Thanks.
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Touching on a piece of tech news as a product recommendation, Microsoft has once again,
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famously or infamously done their extend embrace extinguish strategy by killing off Skype.
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Skype, of course, being the long time communication tool
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you can call on a phone or use internationally.
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And actually, personally,
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I found a much better alternative to Skype
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over the last several years,
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and it is a fully open tool.
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It happens to be signal. So signal has been around
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a long time. Now, like at least a solid decade, I believe. And signal is something that just
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requires a data plan. You can install it on whatever generic device, it can be a desktop, laptop,
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or a mobile phone. You can use it to have audio calls, video calls,
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group calls.
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It works well.
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It happens to be end to end encrypted.
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And that encryption protocol of Signal
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has served as the basis for all other major platforms.
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That includes things like Skype's
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sort of secret conversations or Facebook's.
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It's the basis for WhatsApp, as
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well as the basis for encryption used in matrix and all kinds of other major platforms
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that you would use.
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There are all some variation of signal and signal is an excellent tool that you can run
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on anything.
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You can communicate internationally with people and unlike Skype, you don't have to buy or pay additional fees to use it.
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So by switching to signal, personally, it has saved money.
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The biggest issue with it is just getting other people to use it, right?
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That's always the problem.
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But once somebody's on signal, they'll be able to communicate no matter where they are
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in the world as long as they can connect to data.
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So signal is an excellent tool.
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I also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that there's been related to signal
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a couple of the ascos in the US government.
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So from a purely technical standpoint, I wanted to touch on these two instances
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that I'm aware of.
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The first one was a journalist was accidentally invited to a signal group.
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And I just wanna say that this is not in any way indicative
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of like a hack or anything like that.
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Signalists become something that's popular
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and used by a lot of people all over the world.
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So you connect it to your phone contacts usually
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as a way to invite people to signal.
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And if someone's on signal,
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you can add or remove them from groups at will.
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So that's what would happen.
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And then in a second instance, a fork of signal was used, which was not maintained
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and was not secure.
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I'm not going to name it because I don't want to encourage people to use it.
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But in this case, a company had forked signal with the intention of allowing someone to access their messages.
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This goes against the design of signal because the point of signal is you're using this messaging service which is end-to-end encrypted.
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End-to-end encrypted meaning you are encrypting your message on the client device, whatever
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client device that is, you're then sending it through the network to the other person
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who is decrypting it on their end when they receive it on that client device.
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There's some caveats.
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One being that it's hard to get messages to migrate from the device to device on signal
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because it's designed to basically not support that. So if you set up a new phone,
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you sort of, you can recover your contacts, but recovery and your messages, you have to sort of
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copy paste them out or something. So this service was a way to effectively man in the middle the
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service. And this is even though it's provided as a service, you know, it was a bad thing in this
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case. It would have literally been resolved by the person
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not using that service and just sticking with Signal. And this is a caveat of basically all
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permutations of Signal, whether it's used in WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger or Skype or whatever
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in their iterations of like these private conversation type encrypted features from Signal.
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The intention of a lot of these forks
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doesn't mean that everyone's evil or anything, but it's just encryption is inconvenient. And
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it's also inconvenient to companies who want access to data or anyone who wants access to data
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if they cannot literally access it. But this doesn't change the fact that Signal itself works
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as intended on the tin.
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It's a secure conversation platform that works well and is easy to use by anyone, which is
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huge.
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So Signal is a great tool.
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It's one I can highly recommend.
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I'd say the biggest negative of it as an open source project is that it is not distributed
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and it is not federated.
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You cannot run your own Signal server for you and your friends.
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You use signal service.
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Granted, it's worked well and it's worked well for many years.
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So that says a lot.
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But at some point, I think that the biggest negative of signal, of course,
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is the fact that it's dependent on their service.
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So hopefully one day that will change. And
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of course, there are other forks and things and feel free to recommend them as an alternative
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to signal in the open sphere, you could of course use matrix. And I've been testing matrix
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a lot, right? I use a matrix chat for my show, but also I use it to communicate with friends.
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And I won't lie, the people that use matrix that I know are all technical people.
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There's a big negative with using matrix for calls.
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And that is that the calling functionality
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be it audio or video is not supported
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on almost any matrix client besides the default
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old school element one.
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And element is, it works, but it's chunky and
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it's slow. It takes forever to sink and maybe I've just been using it for too
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long in too many rooms, right? But it just feels so unresponsive and slow and
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the whole idea of matrix is they have all these clients. But none of these
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clients seem to be able to answer a phone call or to call someone else. And
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it's really awkward when you're using matrix and someone's trying to call you and
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you can't answer the call.
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Feel free to contact me if you know the road map of or if there is a road map to support
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this element calling feature.
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But as it stands, I personally don't make matrix calls constantly, but occasionally
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people try to contact me like they did the other day.
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I ended up having to reinstall the element client because I had the newer element X
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client installed, but that couldn't answer the call.
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This video call, audio call thing, it just wasn't working.
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So I had to get the old element one and I had like two, three other matrix clients.
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None of them could accept this call.
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Super duper awkward, super annoying, whereas of them could accept this call. Super duper awkward, super
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annoying, whereas Signal has never had this problem. I like both tools. If your goal is
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just to have a conversation with your grandparents and they're on the other side of the world,
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then I think the only tool for that job is Signal. And I recommend checking it out if
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you're moving off of Skype. And let me know if you think that these sort of responding to the news segments are interesting.
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I'm happy to do it in this case because I've been using Signal a long time.
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But let me know if you think that they're useful or you'd rather hear about other things.
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All right, cool.
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Bye bye.
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Skype.
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Hello.
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Signal.
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Terminal tools.
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Coming into the Linux Fest Northwest event last month, I had to submit a logo for the website.
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So to do that, I was able to generate a logo using a tool called Figlet.
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It's a long-standing terminal tool you type in text and it turns it into ASCII art.
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ASCII art being tons of characters, right, put together to make an image in text. And Figlet is a great tool for this.
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I actually used a fork of it
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with the absolutely hilarious name, Toilet.
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And if you go to the hyphen hyphen options,
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they're even more embarrassing.
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So Figlet and Toilet are really good tools
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for generating ASCII artwork.
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I'll include a link to the logo that I created, but I'm happy with it.
404
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000
It looks good. And there are a number of very useful guides and cheat sheets.
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I'll include a link to my forum post about this at discuss.james.network.
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And it pairs also very nicely to use as a way to generate a message of the day.
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If you want to show it in the terminal or whatever,
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ask you, "It's a great way to do it."
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It's just fun.
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So I can definitely recommend Figlet and Toilet.
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(laughs)
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Stupid, I know.
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I also wanted to generate a meme,
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and I thought maybe there's a tool that can do that.
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And I found a tool, if anyone cares,
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it's called Meme and it's written in go.
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I found a active branch, as opposed to the original repo, all linked both in the show notes.
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But the branch had very clear installation instructions, and I was able to generate a silly
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meme to share with the forum. So you can check it out online. Meme, something I've been thinking a lot about lately is dead technology. And I think dead
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technology incorporates things like paper. When you're using paper, a lot of ideal scenarios
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are that everything is digital and there's no longer a need to physically write things
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down. I'm curious if you're listening to this,
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if you write things down with the pen and paper
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or with something similar,
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as opposed to just recording on the phone
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or with a photograph.
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I would also be curious if you take photographs
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of things on the phone,
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do you actually reference those photos in a meaningful way
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or not?
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I don't think there's a right or wrong answer.
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There could be a combination of things.
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But let me know.
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I'll include a little form in the show notes.
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I'm just curious how people use or choose to use dead technologies.
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There's also things like now, I feel like Blu-ray discs are still relevant, but DVDs,
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cassette tapes, vinyl seems to keep coming back, but it is an old school,
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more or less dead technology. And I just think there's always this ebb and flow of technologies.
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00:28:53,039 --> 00:28:59,680
And I'm just curious when people choose to embrace the old over the new. So if you're still like
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making cassette tapes, let me know. I want to know why, how, I think it's interesting how old
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things become new again. And I think we can all have those experiences for me personally.
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Pen and paper is something that I cannot get away from. I have a pen and paper in front
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of me right now. It's the one thing I carry on a plane or anywhere. It never fails unless
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the pen dries out. I can always rely on pen and paper
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You know, I can play hangman with a person next to me I can be entertained and I'm curious if you the listener find this to be the truth as well or not
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Let us know do you still use dead tech and with that in mind, I'd like to move on to the main
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00:29:41,059 --> 00:29:43,539
focus of this episode which is
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paper crafting oh, is paper crafting. Oh, yeah, paper crafting.
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As part of getting into paper crafting, I realized that I would want a printer. It's
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not something I owned. And after looking around for way too long, I decided that the best thing
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to get is an eco tank style printer. And what that is, is it is an ink printer
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that uses generic ink that you literally pour in,
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instead of a normal cartridge that you would buy
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and plug in, you actually just buy ink
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and they're in the colors, right?
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Like a CMYK color value.
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So why yellow, you're like refilling the tank.
458
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,079
This is good for multiple reasons.
459
00:30:30,079 --> 00:30:34,559
One, it is the least expensive way to buy ink.
460
00:30:34,559 --> 00:30:36,880
That means the ink costs $50.
461
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:38,519
I think the price now is 55,
462
00:30:38,519 --> 00:30:41,279
but it's been like that for many years now.
463
00:30:41,279 --> 00:30:43,119
So it's rock bottom price.
464
00:30:43,119 --> 00:30:46,400
Because of this, the printers are usually more expensive.
465
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:54,960
They usually range from 200 to over 500 for the printer. And that's your increased print speed
466
00:30:54,960 --> 00:31:02,000
and all that good stuff. But because of the way that the ink is designed, you get way, way, way
467
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:06,519
more pages per print, way more, thousands and thousands of pages.
468
00:31:06,519 --> 00:31:11,240
And I've been printing full color as I'll get into printing out all kinds of goofy things.
469
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:16,640
And I've had no problem in terms of printing and having to buy more ink.
470
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:23,200
The other thing, these printers, this is huge and I considered not even sharing this in the show
471
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:27,140
because I kind of hate giving away my advantages sometimes, but whatever it's all good
472
00:31:27,700 --> 00:31:31,339
You can get these printers for almost nothing. I
473
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:39,900
Was able to get a $500 printer for 25 bucks. It turned out to be sealed in box never used
474
00:31:41,119 --> 00:31:48,000
Why because people sell them secondhand like any other printer printers people don't want to keep them because the ink is expensive.
475
00:31:48,000 --> 00:32:00,000
And this includes the Epson Eco Tank line. So when you look online, if you look up Eco Tank printers on classifieds or the model numbers, you'll see people selling them.
476
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,839
And I've seen it over and over again. We're talking 20 bucks, 25 bucks. And
477
00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:11,839
if there's a problem with the ink, it can be cleaned up by hand. So it's an incredibly
478
00:32:11,839 --> 00:32:19,359
good printer. And if you find it on the use market for 20 bucks, geez. So yeah, what a deal.
479
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:28,559
Anyway, epsent, inco, take printers, everything worked automatically. Scanner, they have scanner native applications you can install on Linux.
480
00:32:29,039 --> 00:32:30,119
Everything works.
481
00:32:30,119 --> 00:32:31,400
It has a web UI.
482
00:32:31,799 --> 00:32:37,359
It's so easy to use as a scanner, scanner, no problem using that, plugging it into
483
00:32:37,359 --> 00:32:39,799
paperless scanning platform.
484
00:32:39,839 --> 00:32:42,200
Not going to go into that right now, but it works.
485
00:32:42,799 --> 00:32:45,119
And the epsilent,nico tank has been fantastic.
486
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:52,079
So this is a killer, killer printer. And if you get it on the used market, wow, it is a deal.
487
00:32:52,960 --> 00:33:00,000
So your mileage may vary, but can't do a better deal than that. The epsi-nico tank line. Because
488
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:06,039
the ink is generic, people are also DIYing these printers
489
00:33:06,039 --> 00:33:08,119
to be used for sublimation printing.
490
00:33:08,119 --> 00:33:13,119
Sublimation being transferred prints for t-shirts,
491
00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:15,720
mugs, all that kind of stuff.
492
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:18,880
So this is an incredibly flexible piece of gear.
493
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,440
And if you look it up online, sublimation printing,
494
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:26,119
you'll see that this is a common use for these printers and
495
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:28,799
Sublimation printers are incredibly expensive
496
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:32,200
So to be able to buy the ink for cheap on
497
00:33:37,759 --> 00:33:38,359
Amazon or whatever and then throw it into one of these printers you have to clean them out swap out the ink but you can
498
00:33:41,039 --> 00:33:41,799
You have a sublimation printer that costs next to nothing
499
00:33:43,799 --> 00:33:47,619
So that is huge That said once I got this bad boy, what
500
00:33:47,619 --> 00:33:52,759
are things we can print? Well, I think a really fun thing is to print old school print
501
00:33:52,759 --> 00:34:00,240
and play game, people print card games and board games. And I want to give you a recommendation
502
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:07,599
for a board game. First, I'll tell you one you can print and then I'll tell you one you can just make on anything. For the print one
503
00:34:07,599 --> 00:34:10,199
I want to recommend kill Dr. Lucky.
504
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:16,400
Kill Dr. Lucky is by cheap ass games. It used to be sold for about 20 bucks maybe.
505
00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:21,400
Bought a copy a long time ago for a friend for Christmas present and
506
00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:26,079
Kill Dr. Lucky is an inversion of clue. So include
507
00:34:26,079 --> 00:34:32,239
you're trying to solve a murder, right? It was so and so in the room with the coat hanger or
508
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:38,719
whatever it was. And in this game, what it is, is you're trying to actually kill doctor lucky.
509
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:49,599
So you're trying to be the one to commit the murder, you and all of the other players. The entertaining thing about this game though is everyone's trying to do it. So on your turn,
510
00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:55,519
you're trying to successfully kill off this person in whatever room of the house with whatever
511
00:34:55,519 --> 00:35:00,960
tool is available while everyone else is preventing you from doing it. So they serve as the doctor's
512
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:07,440
luck, which makes it incredibly hard to kill the person. And it's very humorous that they're in a Mr.
513
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:11,840
Magoo kind of way constantly evading their otherwise certain death.
514
00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:16,679
So it's a very entertaining game, very simple, kill doctor lucky.
515
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:21,599
I'll include a link through the wonderful archive.org way back machine to all
516
00:35:21,599 --> 00:35:22,800
of the associated files.
517
00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:24,480
You can print and play it yourself.
518
00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:25,239
Otherwise they do sell a fancy commercial version. back machine to all of the associated files you can print and play it yourself otherwise
519
00:35:25,239 --> 00:35:28,239
they do sell a fancy commercial version.
520
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:31,239
And this isn't unique to Dr. Lucky.
521
00:35:31,239 --> 00:35:35,880
There are still games in the modern day that are available as print and play that are top-tier
522
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:36,880
games.
523
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:41,840
The most famous example in the modern is a game called Root.
524
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:47,079
Root is available as print and play for free and that is fantastic.
525
00:35:47,079 --> 00:35:52,179
Otherwise it can be purchased for about 70-80 bucks. And so then I wanted to go
526
00:35:52,179 --> 00:35:56,280
to another game that you can make yourself with a felt tip pen and some
527
00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:02,559
napkins. And that game is called Skoll. Let's go over the rules of Skoll. For the
528
00:36:02,559 --> 00:36:12,159
sake of making it simple, we're gonna to say that they are cards. Okay? So each player starts the game with a hand of four cards.
529
00:36:12,159 --> 00:36:19,719
Three of them are meaningless and one is a skull. Each player takes turns placing one
530
00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:26,280
piece in front of them face down in a stack. So you continue playing one at a time
531
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:31,340
until someone chooses to make a bet. Anyone can make a bet. What you're betting
532
00:36:31,340 --> 00:36:37,199
is you're betting how many pieces you can turn over before you turn a skull. So
533
00:36:37,199 --> 00:36:42,559
let's say you're playing with four people. Four people times four pieces, 16
534
00:36:42,559 --> 00:36:47,119
pieces, four of which are a skull. So if everyone played
535
00:36:47,119 --> 00:36:52,320
every single piece at the luckiest you would be able to turn over 12 pieces
536
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:56,559
without turning a skull to 16, right? But you know they're replaced in whatever
537
00:36:56,559 --> 00:37:01,519
order. So whenever somebody wants, they start the bet, it's got to start at one.
538
00:37:01,519 --> 00:37:07,199
It can be higher. So if you start, let's say you say, I bet I can turn
539
00:37:07,199 --> 00:37:15,320
one piece without getting a skull. Well, once someone has made that first bet, the opening bet,
540
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:20,960
the only response another player can give is a higher number. So they can say, I bet I can turn
541
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:26,960
two pieces without getting a skull. I bet I can turn three pieces without getting a skull. I bet I can turn three pieces without getting a skull.
542
00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,280
Once the bets begin, there's no more placing.
543
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:30,739
You're just betting.
544
00:37:30,739 --> 00:37:32,760
At that point, you turn.
545
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:38,079
If you draw a skull, you lose one of your pieces.
546
00:37:38,079 --> 00:37:41,199
And by that, it means you hold up all your pieces.
547
00:37:41,199 --> 00:37:43,519
The person doesn't see what the values are.
548
00:37:43,519 --> 00:37:46,079
You just hold them up and they randomly draw one and discard it.
549
00:37:46,079 --> 00:37:48,599
So they don't know if they discarded your skull or not.
550
00:37:48,599 --> 00:37:52,760
And once you run out of all your pieces, you're out of the game.
551
00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:58,440
Super simple game, classic bar game, bluffing game, so fun.
552
00:37:58,440 --> 00:37:59,880
Highly recommend skull.
553
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:01,760
You can do it with napkins.
554
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:07,360
You can make it like I did with a laser cutter out of acrylic and collage it.
555
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:13,840
So have skulls and I did like animals on all the other ones, just goofy stuff. But it's a super
556
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:19,840
fun game. You can also do what they say a classic way is with skulls and roses. But skulls super
557
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:25,000
easy game, super easy game to learn to play and check it out.
558
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,719
Skull, you can also buy it commercially for probably about 20 bucks, but I think it's
559
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:32,960
a really fun game to make and give to someone as a present, which is what I did.
560
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,639
So yeah, check out Skull.
561
00:38:35,639 --> 00:38:41,079
Another super fascinating use of paper is in making paper circuits.
562
00:38:41,079 --> 00:38:44,920
You've probably heard of a circuit board or an electrical board, right?
563
00:38:44,920 --> 00:38:48,659
It's usually the thing that you'd find like if you broke apart your computer or your DVD
564
00:38:48,659 --> 00:38:52,820
player or whatever, there's going to be a circuit board in there of parts that are connected
565
00:38:52,820 --> 00:38:55,420
together with what are called traces.
566
00:38:55,420 --> 00:39:00,300
But what if you made one of these yourself and what if you did it on a piece of paper?
567
00:39:00,300 --> 00:39:10,079
It actually can be done instead of using a traditional circuit board or a breadboard. You can just stick physical components through paper and you could solder them in place.
568
00:39:10,639 --> 00:39:14,880
Then you could power it. You can get crazy. You could use solar cells, nine volt batteries.
569
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:20,639
Nine volt batteries are actually child friendly. They won't electrocute you like 12 volt. So
570
00:39:20,639 --> 00:39:26,480
it's okay if you touch them with your bare hands, you'll be safe. You can also use even smaller, what is it?
571
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:32,559
2-2-3-2 style batteries like you would use to keep your BIOS running in your computer.
572
00:39:32,559 --> 00:39:34,119
Those are available.
573
00:39:34,119 --> 00:39:35,639
They'll turn on an LED.
574
00:39:35,639 --> 00:39:36,920
I've seen it done.
575
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:41,639
The positive negative, if you connect it directly on an LED, it will turn on the LED.
576
00:39:41,639 --> 00:39:43,159
That's known as a throwy.
577
00:39:43,159 --> 00:39:45,559
So if you ever want to make an LED throwy
578
00:39:45,559 --> 00:39:47,760
with a simple battery, that can be done.
579
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,199
But let's talk paper circuits.
580
00:39:50,199 --> 00:39:53,199
So paper circuits, at the base minimum,
581
00:39:53,199 --> 00:39:55,880
we're talking basic circuits.
582
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,960
They can be made with things like a conductive ink pen
583
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:01,079
or it could be done with copper tape.
584
00:40:01,079 --> 00:40:03,239
You can get as creative as you want.
585
00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:05,599
You can do it as a sort of art installation.
586
00:40:05,599 --> 00:40:10,880
It could be done with children. You can make tons of circuits, even with a basic battery,
587
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:16,480
no fear of electrocution. So think watch style batteries. You're making little LED lights.
588
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:22,480
You're making things turn on and off. I made a discuss.James.network post, at least breaking
589
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,539
down some basic guides. There's also a very
590
00:40:25,539 --> 00:40:30,719
detailed guide from Mauser and a STEM guide on making your first paper circuits. And even
591
00:40:30,719 --> 00:40:35,900
the most basic chips can be used with paper circuits. And I'm not talking about Arduino's
592
00:40:35,900 --> 00:40:40,679
or Raspberry Pi's or any of that kind of stuff. I'm saying the most basic chips, electric
593
00:40:40,679 --> 00:40:47,199
chips that you can get in a, you know, for a few cents. These kinds of chips can be used
594
00:40:47,199 --> 00:40:53,000
in paper circuits and for teaching yourself and your children how electronics work. It's
595
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:58,440
very interesting. And it also has an interesting look to it. If you make a paper circuit and
596
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:04,039
solder it up, let's say you solder it up and you make these electrical connections,
597
00:41:04,039 --> 00:41:05,920
even if the paper dissolved over
598
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:12,000
time or whatever, you kind of have this interesting looking metallic installation artwork piece.
599
00:41:12,719 --> 00:41:20,000
They're very interesting looking and they're used as the basis for a lot of popular companies,
600
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:26,159
musical instruments and things. And I want to give an example of professional grade paper circuits
601
00:41:26,159 --> 00:41:33,599
for DIY music that's fun, but it's also pretty hardcore. So this is a quote from Peter Blasser
602
00:41:33,599 --> 00:41:38,559
of C. Outlaw and Bard. And these instruments are constantly sold, including in the paper circuit
603
00:41:38,559 --> 00:41:45,760
variety for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. He says, "Paper circuits have two mirrored sides, printed adjacent,
604
00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:52,000
with a fold line in the middle. A piece of card moistened with glue is inserted between
605
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:57,840
the folded sides. The top side indicates where to pierce by needle, and where to then thread
606
00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:03,400
components, resistors, capacitors, and chips. On the underside, lines trace how to weave
607
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:05,920
the component leads together for soldering.
608
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:11,960
It is a quick way to craft a sketch of a circuit, but it also serves as a platform for studying
609
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:18,800
crossed or circuit bent nodes. Component connections form metallic islands, usually kept insulated
610
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:25,199
from one another. The paper leaks some electrons between these islands, which may influence the purity of
611
00:42:25,199 --> 00:42:27,079
electronic sounds.
612
00:42:27,079 --> 00:42:32,880
Another unusual design implication of paper circuits arises from the organic nature of
613
00:42:32,880 --> 00:42:36,840
paper, which spreads electronic influence among nodes.
614
00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:42,320
The "official" circuit can be described in the schematic, but once built, the paper
615
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:46,000
introduces unofficial connections between each of the nodes.
616
00:42:46,559 --> 00:42:51,519
And that is a quote from Peter Blasser in his section of the book, Homemade Electronic Music.
617
00:42:53,039 --> 00:42:57,920
I'll also include a link you can get paper circuits designed by Peter Blasser directly on his website.
618
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:04,880
These paper circuits actually serve as a basis for the incredible hand-carved,
619
00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:05,760
handmade beautiful
620
00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:10,119
instruments of C. Outlaw and Bart is company, which are made out of Germany now. But tons
621
00:43:10,119 --> 00:43:15,199
of other companies and products have emerged from this same space over the years. I think
622
00:43:15,199 --> 00:43:20,960
paper circuits, another really famous modular synthesis company is 4MS. They have also come
623
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:25,480
out of the paper circuits. There's many more music from outer space by Ray Wilson
624
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:30,320
rest in peace is another. There's all these different companies that have been connected
625
00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:35,159
to this kind of DIY schematic type sharing. Even if it's not a paper circuit, it's, you
626
00:43:35,159 --> 00:43:40,480
know, it can become that it's, it's about your imagination. And just think of this idea
627
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:44,400
of running your own paper circuit, right? Like, for example, you draw flowers, you stick
628
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:45,440
LEDs in the center of
629
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:49,159
those flowers, and you make it so they'll light up. It's like a
630
00:43:49,159 --> 00:43:51,760
great project for a kid, but it's also a great project for an
631
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:58,360
adult. And it's just a wealth of information and experience, and
632
00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:02,280
ideas and creativity in paper circuits. And I think it's not
633
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:07,639
talked about enough in electronics. So consider making paper circuits.
634
00:44:07,639 --> 00:44:10,400
If you're curious about getting started in soldering
635
00:44:10,400 --> 00:44:12,960
and you need a soldering iron,
636
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:17,280
there is an amazing one that is sold by PINE64.
637
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,480
And yes, this is free open hardware,
638
00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:22,320
but it's also a great soldering iron
639
00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:24,159
and it's really inexpensive.
640
00:44:24,159 --> 00:44:26,639
It's known as the PINESill. I actually have the
641
00:44:26,639 --> 00:44:32,480
version one. I guess I've had it now for at least several years, but I've had no problem with it.
642
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:36,719
The newer version includes like Bluetooth connectivity and it's just the new standard.
643
00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:42,239
Basically, you know, it's the same price. It's just newer. But the parts in it can all be replaced.
644
00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:46,119
They're 3D printable, replaceable parts at home.
645
00:44:46,119 --> 00:44:47,920
Also, the internals can be replaced.
646
00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:50,920
It's actually a risk five chip.
647
00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:53,679
So for me, it's my only risk five device.
648
00:44:53,679 --> 00:44:55,320
It runs Iron OS.
649
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,199
I've updated the firmware.
650
00:44:57,199 --> 00:44:59,000
It has a little tiny readout on the side
651
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:01,440
that you can add little graphics to, which is cute.
652
00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:03,760
But the best thing about the Pinesol
653
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:05,679
is that it uses generic
654
00:45:05,679 --> 00:45:14,320
Weller style tips. I bought the fine and the thick core style tips. The thing
655
00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:19,280
costs about 30 bucks. It's so cheap. What it's replacing costs multiple times more
656
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:23,599
than this. It's just an insanely good deal. I used to have a Weller iron, but
657
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,239
the Pinecil, it just looks like a pen.
658
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:34,480
It has a connection for a DC plug as well as USB-C, and it works wonderfully well. You plug it in,
659
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:38,480
you have temperature control on the side, it only takes a few seconds to heat up,
660
00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:43,039
and then you can use the pine sill for soldering, and because you have total control over the
661
00:45:43,039 --> 00:45:45,599
temperature, you can get it exactly
662
00:45:45,599 --> 00:45:51,079
where you want it on device. You don't need an external controller as normally you would
663
00:45:51,079 --> 00:45:57,480
need for one of these for adjusting temperature. It's just so easy and it's cheap and it works.
664
00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:06,639
Peter Blasser, I did a workshop with him some years ago, helped run it for him. And he told me that he only solders with silver-based
665
00:46:06,639 --> 00:46:13,199
solder instead of Rosenkor leaded solder, because lead is bad for you to touch. He works a lot with
666
00:46:13,199 --> 00:46:18,719
children and he has kids. So he recommended silver solder, which I personally switch to
667
00:46:19,280 --> 00:46:27,840
because it can be touched with the fingers without that same toxicity danger. Obviously handling any kind of sauter is probably not great for you.
668
00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:30,239
I would imagine, but I took his point.
669
00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:32,280
I didn't personally need leaded sauter.
670
00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:34,800
I changed out of it and I've never needed it.
671
00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:38,000
If other people need it, I guess let us know.
672
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,639
But I figured if he can do it and make some of the nicest instruments in the world, I
673
00:46:41,639 --> 00:46:44,119
can probably get by with it fine for my day to day.
674
00:46:44,119 --> 00:46:47,400
So I use basic silver sauter. it costs like an extra buck or something.
675
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:48,400
It's not a big deal.
676
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:49,400
But I've had no problem.
677
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:50,400
I never run out of it either.
678
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:51,800
I guess I don't solder that much.
679
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:56,079
It's worked fine with the Pinesol and I can recommend anyone to order the Pinesol.
680
00:46:56,079 --> 00:47:01,920
I'll drop a link, I'll drop a link to a meridroid for them, but you can also find them other
681
00:47:01,920 --> 00:47:02,920
places.
682
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:08,400
Prices will vary probably between like $30 to $40 now or something like that, but it's great. And I'll also include a link to the
683
00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:14,719
generic tip type, which you can replace at your leisure. And it's a great tool. So I hope you guys
684
00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:19,679
enjoy the pine sill. If you need a soldering iron, oh, I guess I'll give another recommendation that I
685
00:47:19,679 --> 00:47:27,559
use with it, which is the pine 64 travel charger. It has two USB-C and a USB-A connection on the back.
686
00:47:27,559 --> 00:47:31,559
I use one all the time doing landscaping masonry,
687
00:47:31,559 --> 00:47:34,039
carry it with me, you know, my hands covered in dirt
688
00:47:34,039 --> 00:47:36,440
and stuff, like I plug up
689
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,039
though and charging connections, right?
690
00:47:38,039 --> 00:47:39,320
With dirt and everything over time.
691
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:42,519
But the Pine 64 travel charger has never had an issue.
692
00:47:42,519 --> 00:47:44,119
It's rock solid.
693
00:47:44,119 --> 00:47:48,119
I also have the desktop Pine 64 version.
694
00:47:48,119 --> 00:47:49,199
That sits at home.
695
00:47:49,199 --> 00:47:51,880
It's got like five plugs on the front
696
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:54,880
and it has auto sensing for the amount of power needed.
697
00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:57,639
I use it a lot for doing basic,
698
00:47:57,639 --> 00:48:00,880
you know, it's five or nine volt connection to O droids.
699
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:05,000
I run like a three node cluster off of one of these.
700
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:08,360
It also has a port that I've used
701
00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:11,920
with higher power draw devices or phone charging.
702
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:14,360
And the top has wireless charging.
703
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:15,800
I've used it, not much.
704
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:17,079
I've had friends that use it,
705
00:48:17,079 --> 00:48:20,039
but it basically just looks like a little tiny box,
706
00:48:20,039 --> 00:48:24,639
like a little Apple TV type size, like five inch across thing.
707
00:48:24,639 --> 00:48:26,679
I think it's like two, three inches tall.
708
00:48:27,199 --> 00:48:29,360
And I've just had it running underneath my desk.
709
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:31,880
If I ever need to look at power draw, I can glance at the front.
710
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:36,400
It'll tell me I can also turn the display off, but the pine 64
711
00:48:36,880 --> 00:48:38,239
desktop charger works great.
712
00:48:38,559 --> 00:48:40,239
I think it's around 40 bucks.
713
00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:42,760
Mine's been working for like four years.
714
00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:49,900
Like I said, I also really love the travel charger. Keeping in my bag always, but I would recommend all these devices all leave links to them in the show notes.
715
00:48:49,900 --> 00:48:55,199
But yeah, the Pinesil, the Pines64 travel charger, which I know I also mentioned in
716
00:48:55,960 --> 00:49:03,000
Episode zero, the very first episode of this show, but it's been awesome and the Pines64 desktop charger has also been awesome.
717
00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:06,340
Doesn't really do anything exciting. Just sits under my desk, but it works well
718
00:49:06,340 --> 00:49:12,420
And I can recommend all these devices for getting you into soldering and also for just powering basic tools
719
00:49:12,699 --> 00:49:19,780
Of course be sure to check your power needs, you know, because new phones new devices all need different amounts of power in the modern day
720
00:49:20,420 --> 00:49:23,880
Back to paper crafting paper crafting has a rich history
721
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:26,800
I mean it goes far beyond what I know.
722
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:29,800
And I think playing with dead trees, as people call it,
723
00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:31,199
is just incredibly enjoyable.
724
00:49:31,199 --> 00:49:32,519
It's productive.
725
00:49:32,519 --> 00:49:35,320
And just think of it as pen and paper, getting things done,
726
00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:38,039
having fun, because I have a lot of fun with it.
727
00:49:38,039 --> 00:49:41,840
And I really like whiteboards and post-it notes, right?
728
00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:45,719
I like using it as a way to reflect and also collaborate.
729
00:49:45,719 --> 00:49:50,719
So what I've been thinking is about ways to use paper.
730
00:49:51,840 --> 00:49:53,760
And I was saying, when I was at Linux Fest North West,
731
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:56,880
I used paper to throw together my little trivia challenge
732
00:49:56,880 --> 00:49:58,719
with Post-it notes and everything, right?
733
00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:00,199
So that was fun.
734
00:50:00,199 --> 00:50:03,679
But a big area focused for me with paperwork
735
00:50:03,679 --> 00:50:05,000
has been zine Printing.
736
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:12,000
So that was me acquiring the printer secondhand because I wanted to do Zine Printing on my own and print things at home.
737
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:18,000
And as part of that, I needed to figure out how to do some manipulation of documents.
738
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:19,000
Okay.
739
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:29,440
Because a lot of documents are available in PDF format. So for using PDFs, I found a few different tools. One was just the
740
00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:37,280
scanning of paper goods, which is I find best done with paperless N G X. I'm not going to talk
741
00:50:37,280 --> 00:50:47,039
about that today, other than to say that it's an excellent tool. You can also serve PDF documents, which I've had a lot of success doing that with tools like
742
00:50:47,039 --> 00:50:57,480
Kavita, Comga, Codex, Caliber web. There's like these tools that are designed more for like reading
743
00:50:57,480 --> 00:51:03,280
comic books and ebooks, but they're a nice way to browse through PDF documents. Feel free to share
744
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:10,179
ones if you guys know them. I'm curious about it. But let's talk about the actual manipulation of PDFs related to
745
00:51:10,179 --> 00:51:19,440
printing. So the LibreOffice suite is one that I found very useful for manipulating PDF documents,
746
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:27,199
getting access to text, things like that worked well for me. I ended up finding the most useful tool, which I see
747
00:51:27,199 --> 00:51:34,320
paid versions of online all the time, is PDF arranger. PDF arranger is a fork of PDF shuffler. It's a
748
00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:41,599
small Python GTK application. It helps you merge and split PDF documents, rotate crop, rearrange
749
00:51:41,599 --> 00:51:45,519
pages using interactive and intuitive graphical interface.
750
00:51:45,519 --> 00:51:48,179
It's actually a front end for Pike PDF
751
00:51:48,179 --> 00:51:51,559
and it can be run on, I think Windows, Mac,
752
00:51:51,559 --> 00:51:53,980
flat packs, nap, repos, whatever,
753
00:51:53,980 --> 00:51:56,079
but it works really well.
754
00:51:56,079 --> 00:51:59,760
PDF arranger, you can combine multiple PDF documents,
755
00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:01,360
move the pages around however you want,
756
00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:04,119
change orientations, which is useful for printing.
757
00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:10,079
Related to that, I found a useful tool called PDF Book 2.
758
00:52:10,079 --> 00:52:12,519
PDF Book 2 is a terminal application.
759
00:52:12,519 --> 00:52:18,719
It will convert your PDF document into a principal layout because when you print, your page
760
00:52:18,719 --> 00:52:22,039
order is not normal, right, because you're, say, you're stapling something together.
761
00:52:22,039 --> 00:52:25,119
Well, then your pages aren't going to be one, two, three, four.
762
00:52:25,119 --> 00:52:27,840
Instead, it's gonna be a page, right?
763
00:52:27,840 --> 00:52:31,960
It would be the cover page would also be
764
00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:34,599
the last page of the book, right?
765
00:52:34,599 --> 00:52:36,320
'Cause it's folding over itself.
766
00:52:38,239 --> 00:52:41,360
I also wanna say that another tool I found very useful
767
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:46,679
in PDF land is called PDF-TK. It's a terminal application. It's
768
00:52:46,679 --> 00:52:52,179
for adding a universal password protection to a PDF document. And I actually found myself
769
00:52:52,179 --> 00:52:57,559
needing this when I sent a PDF document that had sensitive information over the internet.
770
00:52:57,559 --> 00:53:02,440
And I use PDF TK to add a password that that person would know because I had to email it
771
00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:10,139
to them, you know, like you do in life. And I just didn't want to have that information available without some sort of password. But
772
00:53:10,139 --> 00:53:17,880
PDF TK worked well for me. For actual zine printing by hand, I found some pretty useful gear.
773
00:53:17,880 --> 00:53:23,239
It's a lot to go into and you can look it up. But the basic tools I found that were useful were
774
00:53:23,239 --> 00:53:29,400
a bone folder. It's just literally a thick instrument that you can fold paper on cleanly,
775
00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:32,920
as well as thread hooks and binder clips.
776
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:38,840
So those are different ways to just, you know, using thread, you can tie together
777
00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:44,199
your book by an interesting way or you can also use a heavy stapler.
778
00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:47,679
I found one at the thrift store, 100 pages at
779
00:53:47,679 --> 00:53:53,280
a time, costs three bucks, otherwise ordering them online, they can cost you no 30 or more.
780
00:53:54,480 --> 00:54:00,000
Also, you can get various staple size support. For example, binding, say like a half inch worth
781
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:05,780
of paper, things like that. If you're interested in book binding, I also recommend getting
782
00:54:05,780 --> 00:54:12,760
heavyweight paper. Regular paper is just too thin. So if you look at cardstock, for example,
783
00:54:12,760 --> 00:54:17,559
for covers, because it's really thick, you can then work your way down through thinner
784
00:54:17,559 --> 00:54:21,840
poundage of paper and find what works for you. There's different colors, there's different
785
00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:28,420
thicknesses, but I think it's just a more satisfying if you're printing like a little zine book. It's a more satisfying
786
00:54:28,420 --> 00:54:34,159
way to print that out. I would also recommend considering getting some paint pens or highlighters,
787
00:54:34,159 --> 00:54:38,360
as well as a three hole punch. Three hole punch again, I would get it at a thrift store
788
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:43,599
for like a dollar. But these are all really useful tools. You can also get one of those
789
00:54:43,599 --> 00:54:45,360
guillotine like paper cutters.
790
00:54:45,559 --> 00:54:47,519
I haven't gotten one of those, but those are pretty fancy.
791
00:54:47,559 --> 00:54:48,559
I'm just using scissors.
792
00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:51,280
But these are all useful tools.
793
00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:54,800
If you're interested in zine printing and getting started in
794
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:56,760
binding your own books by hand.
795
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:01,119
Another interesting use of printable
796
00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:08,880
zines, books and paper crafts that I found is in pen and paper games.
797
00:55:08,880 --> 00:55:13,079
And I would say probably the most famous pen and paper game that I can think of off the
798
00:55:13,079 --> 00:55:16,519
top of my head would be Dungeons and Dragons.
799
00:55:16,519 --> 00:55:20,159
I personally have never played Dungeons and Dragons.
800
00:55:20,159 --> 00:55:22,260
Probably you haven't either.
801
00:55:22,260 --> 00:55:25,840
But I found that there is actually tons of independent content
802
00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:29,480
in paper games that you don't have to play on the computer and they're actually really
803
00:55:29,480 --> 00:55:36,960
fun. And I want to recommend some and I thought you'd find them in usual places. But the place
804
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:46,820
I found that's the best for supporting independent content creators making paper games, which can also play as a PDF document on the computer, is
805
00:55:46,820 --> 00:55:48,639
available through itch.io.
806
00:55:48,639 --> 00:55:54,019
itch.io is an independent content creator site where people can choose how much they
807
00:55:54,019 --> 00:55:56,980
want to pay back to itch.io for selling there.
808
00:55:56,980 --> 00:55:58,099
People can set their own prices.
809
00:55:58,099 --> 00:56:00,820
They can also offer things for free.
810
00:56:00,820 --> 00:56:11,719
If you're interested in playing a fun pen and paper game that's 20 pages maximum. It's so clear and it takes about two hours. It's like the length of a movie. I recommend
811
00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:13,400
Ronin
812
00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:20,480
Ronin is a game you play with a couple D6 dice just the typical normal dice that you would have on hand and
813
00:56:21,239 --> 00:56:22,800
Ronin is a
814
00:56:22,800 --> 00:56:28,639
really fun game you're a wandering samurai looking for redemption and you get into these like
815
00:56:28,639 --> 00:56:33,079
random encounters walking into a village or people are chasing you down or whatever.
816
00:56:33,519 --> 00:56:35,480
And it's just a simple, simple game.
817
00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:38,000
And I really enjoyed playing it.
818
00:56:38,559 --> 00:56:41,159
I thought Ronan was, was cool.
819
00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:42,519
It had almost no needs.
820
00:56:42,519 --> 00:56:47,340
And if you're playing this game and you wanna keep track of your adventure,
821
00:56:47,340 --> 00:56:49,019
the way the game manages it,
822
00:56:49,019 --> 00:56:51,099
you're playing by yourself to solo game.
823
00:56:51,099 --> 00:56:53,139
You can do a process called journaling
824
00:56:53,139 --> 00:56:55,699
and it's literally when you roll the dice,
825
00:56:55,699 --> 00:56:57,699
you write on a piece of paper,
826
00:56:57,699 --> 00:56:59,900
what happened to your character and explain it to yourself.
827
00:56:59,900 --> 00:57:03,659
So if someone finds you or you discover something new,
828
00:57:03,659 --> 00:57:05,400
you're just writing out what happened
829
00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:07,980
and you're kind of like creating the story as you go.
830
00:57:07,980 --> 00:57:11,119
In the game, like I said, last maybe two hours maximum,
831
00:57:11,119 --> 00:57:12,179
but it's really fun.
832
00:57:12,179 --> 00:57:14,119
Ronin's available for free.
833
00:57:14,119 --> 00:57:16,880
You can also pay the creator if you want,
834
00:57:16,880 --> 00:57:19,039
but Ronin is an amazing game.
835
00:57:19,039 --> 00:57:20,440
It was so fun.
836
00:57:20,440 --> 00:57:25,000
And there are multiple iterations improving on Ronin,
837
00:57:25,340 --> 00:57:28,980
which I bought because I just wanted to support the creators,
838
00:57:28,980 --> 00:57:31,019
but it's a game called the Notorious,
839
00:57:31,019 --> 00:57:33,079
which is about being a space bounty hunter.
840
00:57:33,079 --> 00:57:35,619
I think it's inspired mostly by Star Wars,
841
00:57:35,619 --> 00:57:37,380
Mandalorian, things like that.
842
00:57:37,380 --> 00:57:40,340
But there's also some spin-offs of Notorious,
843
00:57:40,340 --> 00:57:44,099
and that can be purchased for about five, 10 bucks.
844
00:57:44,099 --> 00:57:45,639
There's also a beautiful printed,
845
00:57:45,639 --> 00:57:46,840
I think it's like foil or whatever,
846
00:57:46,840 --> 00:57:48,280
like really nice version.
847
00:57:48,280 --> 00:57:52,000
Do you wanna buy a physical printed book from the creator?
848
00:57:53,079 --> 00:57:57,039
So, Ronin and Taurus, I would recommend those.
849
00:57:57,039 --> 00:57:58,840
And it opened me to like a whole world
850
00:57:58,840 --> 00:58:02,800
of independent content available through HIO.
851
00:58:02,800 --> 00:58:04,280
And there's all these spin-offs of things
852
00:58:04,280 --> 00:58:06,360
like Dungeons and Dragons, if you're curious about it
853
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:10,440
And it's all available on there. There's also kinds of all these cool
854
00:58:10,800 --> 00:58:16,159
Independent games that you can get and play not just by installing them
855
00:58:16,159 --> 00:58:21,360
But by playing them in a web browser for example. I'm gonna link one in the show notes
856
00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:47,260
this is a web browser game, but it's called snake acid. And it's a play on snake where you're trying to avoid being caught. And apparently the world record for this game is 10 seconds. I could last three. But yeah, if you want to play a game that'll be over in a few seconds, check out snake acid. And it just gives you an idea of how much independent content there is out there.
857
00:58:47,579 --> 00:58:51,579
And I don't just mean the independent content like what you see when you go
858
00:58:51,579 --> 00:58:54,519
onto, you know, your typical game store or whatever.
859
00:58:54,820 --> 00:58:59,219
There's all these independent creators in the world, making things that are new,
860
00:58:59,440 --> 00:59:01,059
that are different, that are fun.
861
00:59:02,179 --> 00:59:04,579
And I think it's cool to support that in a real way.
862
00:59:06,880 --> 00:59:13,360
that are fun. And I think it's cool to support that in a real way. So with that in mind, I would recommend checking out HIO with an open mind and just looking at what's out there in this kind of
863
00:59:13,360 --> 00:59:19,599
indie scene. And if you have other places that you recommend looking into indie content, let me know.
864
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:25,420
If you find that you do want to get games from HIO and install them the tool
865
00:59:25,420 --> 00:59:31,719
I found that's most useful for doing that is called Lutris L-U-T-R-I-S and
866
00:59:32,360 --> 00:59:36,119
Lutris sports things like steam G-O-G
867
00:59:36,559 --> 00:59:39,699
Dot-com itch and a ton of other stores
868
00:59:40,320 --> 00:59:41,880
But it works well
869
00:59:41,880 --> 00:59:46,920
When you install it on the left side menu is where you'll find the option to add HIO
870
00:59:46,920 --> 00:59:47,920
support.
871
00:59:47,920 --> 00:59:51,840
I always find that slightly confusing, but it's on the left side menu of Lutris.
872
00:59:51,840 --> 00:59:57,119
And then you'll be able to install the things that you've purchased from your account.
873
00:59:57,119 --> 01:00:05,000
So yeah, HIO, Lutris, pen and paper games, it calls them physical games.
874
01:00:05,500 --> 01:00:08,920
And like I said, you can also look into print and play games.
875
01:00:08,920 --> 01:00:10,599
If you wanna just look it up more broadly,
876
01:00:10,599 --> 01:00:12,679
so much information online.
877
01:00:12,679 --> 01:00:15,360
And there's so many ways to use paper crafting.
878
01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:17,480
If you've thought of ways to use paper crafting
879
01:00:17,480 --> 01:00:20,719
that I completely missed as part of this,
880
01:00:20,719 --> 01:00:23,119
let me know, we can talk about it.
881
01:00:23,119 --> 01:00:24,760
There's tons.
882
01:00:24,760 --> 01:00:26,480
I'm happy to discuss it more.
883
01:00:26,480 --> 01:00:29,900
And I look forward to continuing this kind of topic
884
01:00:29,900 --> 01:00:31,659
in new ways in the future.
885
01:00:32,760 --> 01:00:35,360
But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this dive
886
01:00:35,360 --> 01:00:39,719
into paper crafting and different sides of paper crafting
887
01:00:39,719 --> 01:00:40,920
'cause there's tons.
888
01:00:40,920 --> 01:00:41,900
It's overwhelming.
889
01:00:43,960 --> 01:00:47,719
So yeah, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Linux Prepper.
890
01:00:47,719 --> 01:00:50,159
If you enjoyed it, please do share it with other people.
891
01:00:50,159 --> 01:00:52,039
You can also donate to me directly.
892
01:00:52,039 --> 01:00:55,679
If you would like to do that, if you have suggestions, send them into me.
893
01:00:55,679 --> 01:01:01,840
If you have feedback, if you have questions, if you're angry, if you're sad, whatever,
894
01:01:01,840 --> 01:01:03,679
send it to me podcast@james.network.
895
01:01:03,679 --> 01:01:06,000
You can also join my matrix or you can post
896
01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:11,760
to discuss.james.network. As long as you have a positive attitude and treat other people
897
01:01:11,760 --> 01:01:18,159
with the same, we'll get along great. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of your week
898
01:01:18,159 --> 01:01:30,000
and take care, everybody. [MUSIC]