This short guide will teach you how to set up recurring reminders in Slack, sending a notification to you or your team every week, month, 13th, or whatever interval you choose.
1 – Open the channel you’d like to post in
Open the channel where you’d like the reminder to occur. You can post reminders for yourself or your team in any channel/room or in a direct message.
2 – Use the /remind command
You can use the familiar Slack remind command to remind yourself or a channel of a recurring event:
Remind yourself monthly
/remind me to turn in my expense reports on the 25th of every month
Remind yourself daily
/remind me "Go to lunch" at 11:45 each day
Remind your team weekly
/remind @channel "🚨Howchoo meeting tomorrow at 9am!🚨" at 9PM each Wednesday
Remind your team daily
/remind #general "Listen, are you gonna have those TPS reports for us this afternoon?" at 8am every day
Other intervals
Try out different intervals using the same pattern as above.
🛈 You can test your message formatting without spamming channels by direct-messaging yourself in Slack.
We love using Slack as our remote work space at Howchoo. There are so many features and tools that can be integrated into Slack work spaces and items. Creating a quick and simple poll has to be among the most useful app integrations we’ve discovered in Slack. If you need to quickly gauge the consensus of your
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
If you’re trying to keep your important files and folders synced across all of your devices, one of the best methods is to use a cloud storage provider like Dropbox. Dropbox allows you to sync your files across all kinds of devices and platforms, from PCs to smartphones, with a copy of the files stored on Dropbox’s own servers.
When it comes to using Dropbox on a Raspberry Pi, however, there are two main issues you’ll face:
Raspberry Pis use ARM processors, which Dropbox doesn’t officially support.
Dropbox is typically used in a web browser or using the Dropbox client, but many people use Raspberry Pis in “headless” mode without a screen or keyboard, making it impossible to do this.
To get around these issues, you’ll need to use a workaround to install Dropbox on a Raspberry Pi and sync your files. This guide will walk you through what you’ll need to do to install Dropbox.
1 – What you’ll need
For this example, we’re using a Raspberry Pi 3 running the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS in headless mode to install Dropbox.
However, the model of Raspberry Pi you personally use doesn’t matter, as these steps should work for all Raspberry Pi models. If you prefer to use a graphical interface for your machine, simply open up a new Terminal window to get started. Otherwise, you’ll need to connect remotely using SSH to run the necessary commands instead.
On the software side, you’ll need to use an open-source program called rclone. Often described as “The Swiss army knife of cloud storage”, rclone acts as a third-party interface to over 40 different cloud storage products and protocols.
This means you can use rclone to access any files or folders stored on Dropbox using your Raspberry Pi, even without official Dropbox support.
2 – Installing rclone
Before you begin installing rclone, you’ll need to make sure your Raspberry Pi is up-to-date. To this, open your terminal window or SSH connection and run the following commands:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.
To be sure that everything is in order after it finishes, go ahead and reboot the system with sudo reboot.
Once you’ve updated your system, your next step is to install rclone, but you won’t be using apt to do this. This is because the version currently available in Raspbian’s repository is pretty old, while rclone itself is updated more often.
Instead, type and run curl https://rclone.org/install.sh | sudo bash in the terminal or SSH window.
This runs an automated installation script for rclone and runs it as the superuser. If you’re worried about running an unknown script from the internet, you can download the script first by typing https://rclone.org/install.sh > install.sh followed by cat install.sh or nano install.sh to view the script contents locally.
The script is completely safe to run, but it’s always best to be cautious.
3 – Configuring rclone
Rclone refers to any cloud service that it connects to as a remote. As such, you’ll need to configure your own Dropbox account as a new remote.
Run rclone config in the terminal or SSH window and type n to add a new remote. It will ask for a name to identify it in the system, so type in dropbox or another suitable name. If you’re running a more complex setup (with multiple Dropbox accounts, for instance), you can use a different descriptive name instead.
After choosing a name, rclone shows a list of supported services. Note that the specific list will depend on the version of rclone in use, so don’t worry if your list doesn’t match the screenshots below. In this example, Dropbox appears as number 10, so typing 10 will select Dropbox.
When asked for client_id and client_secret, leave those fields blanks and hit the Enter key instead, as the advanced configuration isn’t required.
At this point, if your Pi has a screen and you’re using the graphical interface, you can let it use the auto configuration method to authorize rclone and provide it with access to your Dropbox account.
If your Pi is running headless, however, you will need to install rclone on your main desktop machine in order to authorize Dropbox and not use auto config. This is because the authorization is based on oAuth2, a protocol that needs to “talk back” to Dropbox using an open web browser (something a headless Raspberry Pi doesn’t have).
Installing rclone on a different machine is beyond the scope of this guide, but on Mac or Linux, you should be able to use the same command as above. A Windows binary file can be found on rclone’s download page and should work in a similar way.
Once you have rclone on your main computer, run rclone authorize "dropbox" on it (not on the Pi!), replacing dropbox with the remote name you used in the previous step. The quote marks in this case make no difference since the name contains no spaces, but it doesn’t hurt to include them. You’ll need to provide them if you use a remote name that uses spaces, however.
A browser window should open on your main computer with a Dropbox login page. If not, rclone will provide a link to copy and paste, but note that it will only work on that same computer.
After logging in and authorizing the app in the browser, the terminal window will display an access token. Select this (excluding the lines with the arrows) and paste it back into the Pi’s terminal.
Confirm the setup process by answering y when it asks if your configuration is okay, and then type q to quit the configuration.
4 – Installing rclonesync
Since rclone by default does not allow for bidirectional sync to allow you to make changes back and forth between your Dropbox storage and your local devices (as Dropbox should support), you’ll need to use an additional script called rclonesync to enable support for it.
Type the following two commands in the terminal window or via SSH to download rclonesync and set it up on your Raspberry Pi:
sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cjnaz/rclonesync-V2/master/rclonesync --output /usr/local/bin/rclonesync && sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rclonesyncmkdir ~/.rclonesyncwd
As before, the files will download a script to run from the internet. If you’re unsure about this, type the following command in your terminal or SSH window first:
sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cjnaz/rclonesync-V2/master/rclonesync --output /usr/local/bin/rclonesync
This will download the file to your /usr/local/bin directory, allowing you to view the file before you run it using cat or nano.
5 – Configuring rclonesync
For this example, rclone will synchronize a folder named MyStuff located in Dropbox with a local folder called dropbox in the Raspberry Pi’s home directory. You can replace these example directory names with your own in the commands below.
First, create the local folder by typing mkdir ~/dropbox into the terminal or SSH window (with ~ referring to the Pi’s home directory).
You’ll then need to set up rclonesync by running rclonesync --first-sync dropbox:/Mystuff ~/dropbox in the terminal or via SSH. Note that the dropbox before the colon is the remote name used earlier (so replace this if you used something else), while the other folder is the local folder.
After that, you can trigger a sync with Dropbox’s servers by running the same command without the –first-sync parameter:
rclonesync dropbox:/Mystuff ~/dropbox
You can test this by creating an empty file in the local sync folder with touch ~/dropbox/testfile.txt or by removing a file on Dropbox using your web browser or another computer. You can then run the command again, possibly with the –verbose option to see more information:
rclonesync --verbose dropbox:/Mystuff ~/dropbox,
If the connection is working, new files should appear or deleted files should disappear, depending on the action you performed.
6 – Automating the sync process
Manually running the rclonesync command every time you want to sync your files isn’t the best solution. To automate the sync process with Dropbox, you’ll need to use the Cron tool.
Cron allows us to run specific commands on a schedule, while Crontab allows us to configure this schedule.
In the terminal or SSH window, type crontab -e to begin changing your Crontab schedule. If it asks you to choose an editor, select nano.
At the bottom of the file, add the following statement, making sure to replace the directories named with the correct directories on your Raspberry Pi and Dropbox storage:
* * * * * /usr/local/bin/rclonesync dropbox:/MyStuff/ ~/dropbox/
Save and exit Crontab by typing Ctrl + X, Y and Enter in sequence.
At this point, the system will run the rclonesync command every single minute (that’s what the asterisks mean). To test that it works, try making a change on Dropbox, give it a minute (literally) and see the file appear on your Raspberry Pi, or vice versa.
7 – Next Steps
Once you’ve set up rclonesync, you should be able to sync your files using Dropbox to your Raspberry Pi (and back again). If you need to change the sync schedule or the folders that you sync, just repeat the steps above to change your Crontab schedule and alter the rclonesync command.
Installing Dropbox on a Raspberry Pi is a great way to keep your important files backed up, but it isn’t the only thing you can do with your Pi. There are plenty of Raspberry Pi projects you can try, from building your own RetroPie retro gaming rig to building a Raspberry Pi DIY NAS solution for all your important files.
Do you use Dropbox on your Pi, or do you prefer a different cloud storage solution? Let us know how you use your Pi for storage in the comments below.
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There are several ways to go about running a Minecraft server on the Raspberry Pi. In this guide, I’ll cover how to install Nukkit—a cross-platform Minecraft server that’s super easy to set up on the Raspberry Pi. This server should work with PCs, consoles, and tablets running Minecraft 1.14. I’ll be using a Raspberry Pi
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
The Raspberry Pi works with many controllers—Xbox controllers are no exception. From wireless Xbox 360 controllers to Bluetooth Xbox One controllers, if you’ve got an Xbox controller it will most likely work with a Raspberry Pi.
This guide focuses on how to set up an Xbox controller with Raspberry Pi OS. RetroPie is a little bit different—most of these steps will work, but be sure to check out our Ultimate RetroPie Controller Guide for details on setting up a controller with RetroPie.
1 – Install or update to the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS
Before we begin, be sure you’ve got the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS installed on your Pi. Visit our guide on how to update Raspberry Pi OS for details on this process.
Xpad drivers are included with the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS—so this step is technically optional. We still recommend installing it in case you come across an application built around the old xboxdrv driver.
Run the following command to install it:
sudo apt-get install xboxdrv
3 – Connect a wireless Xbox controller
Wireless Xbox controllers use a USB wireless adapter. Connect the USB adapter to the Raspberry Pi. It should recognize and respond to the input as a normal USB controller.
4 – Connect an Xbox controller via USB cable
If you’re using a wired USB controller, plug the controller into a USB port on the Raspberry Pi. The Pi should detect the controller as a usable device.
5 – Connect a controller with Bluetooth
To connect an Xbox controller using Bluetooth, you’ll need a terminal window. Open one on Raspberry Pi OS or remote into the Pi using a terminal application of your choice.
1. Disable Enhanced Re-Transmission Mode (ERTM)
If ERTM is enabled, the controller won’t pair with the Pi. To disable the ERTM, run the following command:
echo 'options bluetooth disable_ertm=Y' | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/bluetooth.conf
Restart the Pi.
2. Start Bluetooth Tools
After the Pi reboots, start Bluetooth Tools with the following command:
sudo bluetoothctl
3. Search for the Xbox controller
Now we need to search for the Xbox controller. Don’t put the controller into pairing mode just yet. We have a few settings to adjust first. Enable agent with the following commands:
agent on
default-agent
Next, we’ll start scanning for available Bluetooth devices. Run this command to start scanning:
scan on
4. Connect to the Xbox controller
Put the Xbox controller into Pairing mode. It should appear in the list of devices with a unique MAC address and the words “wireless controller” at the end. Take note of the MAC address, we’ll need it to connect the controller. In the terminal window, enter the following command, replacing MAC_ADDRESS with the Xbox controller MAC address.
connect MAC_ADDRESS
After connecting the controller, make sure it’s listed as a trusted device with this command—again replacing MAC_ADDRESS with the one for the Xbox.
trust MAC_ADDRESS
Close the bluetoothctl application by typing quit
5. Test the connection
We’ll use the joystick toolset to make sure everything is working. Install it with this command:
sudo apt-get install joystick
When it finishes installing, run this command to start the test:
sudo jstest /dev/input/js0
You will see a screen of numbers. If everything is working properly, pressing buttons on the controller will cause them to change.
6 – Use an Xbox controller to replace mouse functions
Now that your controller is connected, you may want to use it in place of a mouse. Run the following command in a terminal window to enable this feature:
If you need a specific mouse button, check the chart below for a corresponding button on the Xbox controller. It also includes a few keyboard functions.
Function
Xbox Controller Button
Move Cursor
Left Joystick
Scroll Wheel
Right Joystick
Left Click
A
Right Click
B
Middle Click
X
Enter
Y
Arrow Keys
D-Pad
Page Up
LB
Page Down
RB
Forward
Start
Back
Back
7 – You’re all done!
Next, learn how to use your Xbox One controller on your PC.
How to Connect Your Xbox One Controller to PC
Use your Xbox One controller with your favorite PC games.
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Top 10 Enchantments in Minecraft
howchoo
(467)
March 25, 2024
The longer you play Minecraft, the more you realize that early-game tools just won’t cut it. Exploring the enchantment feature of Minecraft can be exciting, but also intimidating. Rather than worry about researching enchantments, below are the best enchantments in Minecraft! To learn how to enchant items, check out this guide! In this guide, you’ll see
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
Figuring out what constitutes “slow media” for Waldorf-inspired education is not easy. But media that Waldorf kids can watch does exist! However, the criteria for what media is acceptable to expose kids to is so vastly different for media-conscious parents than the typical age recommendations. Common Sense Media, for instance, offers age recommendations for kids, but it sometimes disregards important factors in a piece of media, like subtextual themes, subtle violence, and irreverence for human life and dignity. This is a problem that so many media recommendation aggregators for parents have. They provide recommendations that are too generic to be of any good.
I was homeschooled by media-conscious parents who, until I was ten, let only a few choice pieces of film and television into my life. But that was in the 1990s, and VHS cassettes were still top-dog technology! Now, it’s nearly impossible for parents to curtail their child’s media interaction—especially since many parents are so busy and stressed that being able to place the kid in front of a screen is one of the few ways for the basic tasks of life to get done. And that’s not even considering all those parents who have to work from home!
For kids, all media is educational: anything they’re exposed to will be something that helps them become who they will be—tomorrow, as well as later in life. Looked at this way, media for kids is all about finding the right balance between media that is engaging while also supporting skills in introspection, media literacy, and reverence for life. This is where a concentration on slow media, for younger kids especially, becomes so vital.
What are media-conscious parents supposed to do?
In 1994, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement published guidelines that pointed out the importance of parental guidance for the media kids interacted with:
“Parental monitoring is a key factor, since the research studies show that increasing guidance from parents is at least as important as simply reducing media violence. Children may learn negative behavior patterns and values from many other experiences as well as TV programs, and parental guidance is needed to help children sort out these influences and develop the ability to make sound decisions on their own.”
And Renee Hobbs, expert in media literacy, made this point:
“Just because our students can use media and technology doesn’t mean they are effective at critically analyzing and evaluating the messages they receive. Students need a set of skills to ask important questions about what they watch, see, listen to and read. Often called media literacy, these skills include the ability to critically analyze media messages and the ability to use different kinds of communication technologies for self-expression and communication.”
However, just as media can have extremely detrimental effects on a child’s development, it can have positive effects as well! The key is ensuring that children are accessing only that sort of media that is appropriate to their development, will offer them tools for greater self-awareness and compassion, and will help imbue them with an advanced sense of reverence for the world around them. Reverence, especially, is a vital factor in understanding a modern approach to Waldorf-inspired education. With parental guidance, sound training in media literacy, and a deep concentration on the experience of compassion and reverence, it is possible to bring media into a child’s life in a wholesome and holistic way.
Criteria for inclusion
The most important thing to note about this list is that not all shows should be viewed in a vacuum. I’ve provided important details and a unique rating system to help parents explore this content and decide if it is appropriate for their kid. However, children don’t all develop at the same pace, and the experience and media that a child accesses elsewhere in their life may cause them to have unexpected experiences with any new media!
It’s vital that parents check in with their child and ask them questions that help the child enunciate their thoughts and feelings regarding the media they are exposed to. Likewise, parents should attempt to interact with their child’s media themselves whenever possible, and be present to discuss things with the child that the child may not understand.
Whatever you do, don’t assume that just because something is labeled as “good for kids” it actually is! So much of the content created for children, especially these days, features all manner of implicit violence, humor, social norms, and political subtext that kids simply aren’t able to parse on their own (and which will become part of their unconscious processing of the world). Likewise, the pace of so much media “for children” tends to be extremely hectic, reinforcing unfortunate attention issues as well as behavioral issues when that hectic pace is attached to scenes of action and, or, humor.
Luckily, some great options for kids do exist, and you can find them here!
1 – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1962)
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1962)
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood changed so many lives over the course of its existence as one of the longest-running television series ever, and it still has the power to inform and inspire young viewers today.
Recommendation
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1962)
Fred Rogers believed that media needed to be slower, needed to engage with kids in a different way than all those other shows they had access to, and he provided the sort of content in his series that acted as a balm to some of the damage caused to children by the increasingly hyperactive and violent media directed their way.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is available in full on DVD, and I suggest starting out with the very earliest episodes and working forward. That’s a lot of viewing time and a whole lot of wonderful information as well.
2 – Noggin the Nog (1959)
Noggin the Nog (1959)
Noggin the Nog offers a delightful tale of the Viking King Nog of the land of Nog, a place filled with all manner of the fairy tale fantastic, from talking birds to dragons. The stories all concentrate on Nog’s adventures, usually opposed by the machinations of “Nogbad the Bad,” who wants to take Nog’s throne for himself.
Recommendation
Noggin the Nog (1959)
The story is told through stop-animation, with narration and simple voice-acting bringing the world and the characters to life. In this way, it’s more like experiencing an animated storybook than a modern animation.
3 – Mr. Benn (1971)
Mr. Benn (1971)
Mr. Benn is the story of a typical businessman who wears a suit and black bowler hat most of the time, but who also knows a wonderful secret: if he visits the costume shop and dons a costume, he can walk through the door at the rear of the shop and be transported into an infinite number of possible worlds on imagination.
Recommendation
Mr. Benn (1971)
Mr. Benn works brilliantly for younger children for a number of reasons, not the least of which is due to the extremely simple animation style, which is little more than a moving picture-book with delightful narration. Kids won’t be caught up in a violent swell of frenetic action as with so many series aimed at children—instead, each episode will see them following Mr. Benn as he takes an adventure of the imagination in gentle, slow style. There’s always a gentle moral in the story, but nothing too preachy.
4 – The Moomins (1977)
The Moomins (1977)
The Moomins are the central characters the series is named for, fairy tale creatures who live in their house in Moominvalley. Their little family has all sorts of adventures and meet all manner of interesting characters, and there is contained within their lives a most wonderful appreciation for all the complexities of life—wrapped up in the perfect form for a child to enjoy.
Recommendation
The Moomins (1977)
The Moomins has had a few television incarnations, but this is one of the best, with lots of great input directly from Tove Jansson who created the Moomins comics. The 1990s Japanese animated version is also wonderful, however, and can be shown to kids a year or two later when they start to have more exposure to fully animated works (it’s better to start kids off with stop-motion and other slow forms of animation first).
5 – Pogles’ Wood (1965)
Pogles’ Wood (1965)
Pogles’ Wood offers the tale of the Pogles, tiny magical beings who live in hollow trees in the woods. The Pogles in this story are Mr. And Mrs. Pogle, their adopted son Pippin, and a squirrel-creature named Tog.
Recommendation
Pogles’ Wood (1965)
The original series, entitled Pogles’ Wood, has some themes that are a teensy bit on the darker side of fairy tale lore, and might be better appropriate for a child one or two years older. But, overall, this series is idyllic and ideal, with bold imagination and a sweet sensibility in how it blends the real-world with the world of the childhood fantastic.
6 – Bagpuss (1974)
Bagpuss (1974)
Bagpuss is another lovely stop-motion animation created by the same people who brought Noggin the Nog and The Pogles to life. It centers on a shop where nothing is sold, and the magical inhabitants who are all different toys that come to life when a little girl Emily speaks a special poem to Bagpuss, a cloth cat doll who she loves very much.
Recommendation
Bagpuss (1974)
It’s got a great cast, a wonderful slow form of narration, and a divine series of heartwarming tales that center on things Emily brings into the shop in the hope of their finding their way back to their original owners.
7 – Camberwick Green (1966)
Camberwick Green is the small fictitious village where the series takes place. Each episode sees the villagers of Camberwick Green dealing with one or another domestic crisis (such as a water shortage or a swarm of bees) but, by the episode’s end, all the problems are worked out to the benefit of all.
Recommendation
Camberwick Green (1966)
The whole series is done with brilliant stop-motion puppets, carefully guided through their plot by the gentle voice of the narrator who describes their adventures.
8 – The World Of Peter Rabbit & Friends (1992)
The World Of Peter Rabbit & Friends (1992)
Possibly the best adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s famous tales, this version effortlessly melds reality with delightful simple animation. Each episode begins with Beatrix Potter (played by Niamh Cusack) painting in the woods or else doing her shopping in town. This live action sequence is always beautiful and shows her as she returns home to pen one of her famous stories. The stories themselves are then shown through animation. The score is of particular note with this one: hauntingly beautiful, it’s easily the best music for any adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s work.
Recommendation
The World Of Peter Rabbit & Friends (1992)
The World Of Peter Rabbit & Friends is my choice for kids for a number of reasons. It’s aesthetically meticulous, gorgeous in both photography, animation, and sound-design, and provides an immersive experience that encourages children’s love of nature. Dianne Jackson, director of the 1982 Christmas special The Snowman, was involved in the production, so if you’ve seen that (and who hasn’t!) you’ll instantly know that this series is something special.
9 – Wallace and Gromit (1989)
Wallace and Gromit (1989)
Wallace and Gromit is a claymation production featuring a man named Wallace, an inventor who loves cheese, and his more-intelligent dog companion, Gromit. Together, they get into all sorts of hijiinks and adventures, from their attempt to fly to the Moon (because it’s made of cheese), to discovering the source of the missing carrots at Halloween!
Recommendation
Wallace and Gromit (1989)
Since the whole series is made through stop-motion, the animation style has a uniquely tactile feeling to it. Some of the action in the series is a little faster, so it’s better for children who are a smidgen older and already have some media experience under their belt—likewise, a few episodes will be scary for kids who haven’t already encountered some media.
There are film shorts, feature films, and two television series of this excellent series!
10 – Reading Rainbow (1983)
Reading Rainbow (1983)
Reading Rainbow helped untold numbers of kids all over the United States, and often much farther, learn to love reading books. Hosted by the incomparable LeVar Burton, the series was a magical adventure into the topic from a children’s book, from history to hats!
Recommendation
Reading Rainbow (1983)
Considering how important it is for children to have early and wide access to good reading material, Reading Rainbow really is the ideal show for kids to watch.
11 – The Addams Family (1964)
The Addams Family (1964)
The Addams Family are happiest when it’s rainy and gray, when thunder and lightening kiss the sky, and when Halloween is near. Their delightful approach to the moribund condition of life is one of dynamic dualism: they are at once wealthy and yet eschew all value in money; they are fans of all things strange and dark yet show emotion freely and express their love for one another in little acts of kindness. In so many ways, the Addams family provides a staple vision of an accepting, open-minded, and relatively stable family system.
Recommendation
The Addams Family (1964)
This version of The Addams Family really is the definitive version, though I also highly recommend the 1991 film The Addams Family as well as the 1993 Addams Family Values for children of around 12 years old. The classic 196os series, however, offers the best version of the Addamses for younger children, while remaining intimately enjoyable by adults. The best part about the series is how it portrays a loving family and a strong spousal relationship (especially rare in television from the era). The Addams Family also offers a subtle counter-culture thread that younger kids will benefit from: seeing a family that eschews conservative social values while simultaneously offering oddly healthy alternatives.
12 – The StoryTeller (1987)
The StoryTeller (1987)
Fairy tales underpin every aspect of our culture at a primal level, and yet are so infrequently brought to life with the sort of care and reverence they require. Well, Jim Henson’s brilliant series remedies that, providing faithful, funny, dark, and brilliant adaptations of both classics and less
Recommendation
The StoryTeller (1987)
The StoryTeller might strike kids who have lots of previous media experience as a bit slow, but even so, it should capture their imaginations… if give time. For kids without much media experience, some of the portrayals of the fairy tales might be a teensy bit scary. I’d generally say that’s okay, however: the darker side of fairy tale myth is an important reason for the existence of fairy tales. Just make sure that your child gets a chance to talk about what they thought and felt after watching an episode.
Waldorf parents will know a bit about the 9-year change, the point where some of the harder aspects of growing up begin to emerge in children. This period of time is when kids start to want privacy, start to distance themselves from their parents, and start to wonder about things like “why do people die?” Fairy tales might seem a bit intense and dark, but that’s exactly what kids at this age need: because they are going through the first intense stage of their lives.
13 – The Magic Schoolbus (1994)
The Magic Schoolbus (1994)
The Magic Schoolbus follows the magical adventures of Ms. Frizzle’s class, which takes field trips to all manner of locales—in all possible times! It focuses on science and social-emotional lessons.
Recommendation
The Magic Schoolbus (1994)
I specifically don’t recommend the newer series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again because it follows the modern mode of thinking regarding children’s shows: that faster, flashier, and more frenetic is likely to capture children’s attention. As always, I prefer shows which help children develop their imaginative capacities, which is aided by slower-form media!
The 1990s series has plenty of action, though, so kids will love it—but the tone as well as the quality of the hand-drawn animation are more conducive to a child’s imaginative interaction with the media.
14 – Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who is one of the longest-running series in existence, with untold cultural impact on both the United Kingdom and the world-at-large. The tale of a “Time Lord” with a fondness for Earth who ends up traveling through time and space with various human companions, Doctor Who is a fantastic voyage to the limits of the imagination. The first two seasons, in black and white and with highly-staged environments, are ideal for kids who are just starting to explore new media forms.
Recommendation
Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who as a whole is not a something a kid should just sit down in front of to watch, but the first two seasons are excellent in terms of pace and style. I would suggest jumping from these early seasons straight to Tom Baker’s run as the Doctor in 1974. What I do not recommend is allowing kids to watch the newer shows, not until they’ve hit their early teens.
Parents should mainly be aware of the sexism that can emerge in these early series, which is incredibly casual. Likewise, the lack of minority representation is something to be aware of. The sexism, which can be particularly acute at times, is something parents should take special note to speak with their children about before, during, and after an episode.
15 – Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Star Trek is one of the best-known and most-loved franchises in the world, and for good reason. At its best, the series is a definitive attempt to imagine a healthy post-capitalist future, in which the driving force in people’s lives is not the acquisition of wealth but the betterment of self and the advancement of the species. The Next Generation is technically the 3rd incarnation of the franchise (with an animated series sitting between it and the original Star Trek). With a cast made of largely of classically trained stage actors, the pacing is frequently slow, the content is rich, and many episodes feature important ethical and philosophic content.
Recommendation
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Star Trek: The Next Generation is the one to watch if you want to introduce a kid to Star Trek, but some episodes aren’t suitable for children for various reasons. A parent that is deeply concerned about what their child is exposed to will need to make a case-by-case basis on the episodes in a season, requiring a bit more work. Some sexual themes exist in the show, but few that are unreasonable for a 10 to 12-year-old; and some feature violence that kids might be influenced by too easily. (One of these days I’ll get around to writing a kids-viewing-order list!).
I strongly, strongly recommend not allowing children to view the modern versions of Star Trek. Enterprise, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, are more suitable for a child of 13+. Discovery, and most definitely Lower Decks feature content I would categorize as 17+ (and I wouldn’t let even a teenager watch Lower Decks, honestly. It seems that all the newest Star Trek material is anything but “slow” and frequently features the sort of casual irreverence, violence, and sexualized humor that just isn’t a good influence on kids.
All that said: Star Trek is one of the most potent introductions to the sort of stories that provide a vital alternative to the negative social norms found throughout modern society.
Board games may not be the first thing on your mind when you think of collectibles, and yet there is a deep and not-so-hidden world of board game hoarding, collecting, and trading as complex as that found within any other area of interest — perhaps deeper! There is a huge range of wonderful old games
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
A simple way to keep track of your past Zoom meetings is to record them. Zoom has integrated recording features,
although the host of the meeting will need to grant permission to do so. I’ll also show you a workaround if you don’ thave permission.
Let’s get started!
What You’ ll Need
Interests
Zoom
×
1
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After setting up the Zoom meeting, the host needs to allow recording access for attendees. If you are the host of the meeting, recording is enabled by default. You can use these steps to allow users to record.
There are two tabs on this screen,
one for local recordings and another for cloud recordings. Local recordings are stored on your machine and cloud recordings on the cloud. Choose Settingson the one you want to edit.
On this screen,
you can grant recording permissions. There are additional features you can adjust here like automatic screen recording and recording consent notifications.
If you don’t have permission from the host of the meeting,
you can still record it with a third-party application.
macOS: Quicktime
Launch QuickTime.
Go to File>
New Screen Recording.
Use the drop-down arrow to adjust the recording settings. Be sure to include sound !
Press record,
and choose whether to record the whole screen or drag and drop a window to select a portion.
Windows: Capture
Open the Start Menuand search for Captures Settings.
Under Captures,
choose a location to save the recording.
This screen refers to games but the settings apply to applications. Make sure recorded audio is enabled. You can also set the quality and FPS settings for the recorded video.
To start recording,
press Windows Key+Gand click the recordbutton.
Recording calls often involves downloading a third-party app, spending unnecessary money, and can be a bit of a hassle if you’ ve never done it before and don’t know where to start.
In past versions of Windows, uninstalling programs was a little bit tricky. Fortunately, once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10, most applications can be uninstalled easily with a few clicks.
Today we’re looking at four of the easiest ways to remove software from Windows 10. Microsoft took “user-friendly” to a whole new level by giving us several methods to uninstall programs, and in this guide we’ll cover each method.
1 – Uninstall with Apps & Features
Open the Start Menu, and type Settings. Click Settings. Choose Apps.
Select the program you want to uninstall and click Uninstall. Follow the pop-ups to uninstall the program. These will vary depending on the software you’re removing.
2 – Uninstall with Programs and Features
Open the Start Menu and select Control Panel. If you don’t see it in the menu, you might have to type control panel in the search field.
When Control Panel is open, choose Programs and Features. This tool will pull a complete list of programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the list until you find the program you want to remove.
Right-click the program and select uninstall. Follow the pop-ups to remove the program.
3 – Uninstall from the Start Menu
Programs can easily be uninstalled from the Start Menu. Open the Start Menu, and right-click on the program you want to remove.
Click uninstall to remove the software. You will need to follow the pop-ups to complete the uninstallation.
4 – Uninstall using Command Prompt
Open the Start Menu, and type cmd. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator.
Type wmic, and press enter. The following command will show a list of removable programs.
product get name
This is not a complete list, but you can remove anything that appears. Take note of the exact software name, you’ll need it to execute the uninstall command:
product where name="exact software name" call uninstall
Type Y and press enter to confirm the uninstallation. When it’s complete, you should get a response that says “Method execution successful.”
If the program you want to remove isn’t listed in Command Prompt, try using one of the methods above to remove the software.
Blender is one of the most popular open-source 3D creation suites today. It doesn’t cost a dime to use and everything you create is yours to own for good. The community is robust and the dev team still releases new updates on the regular. If you want to get the latest version, you may have
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
This guide will show you how to set up a LAMP environment in macOS and OS X.
1 – L is for Linux
To start off, it might be odd to call it a LAMP server on Mac OSX, but that’s what it’s called. OSX is actually built off of BSD, not Linux. Either way, the “L” refers to the operating system that will be running our web server.
2 – A is for Apache
Apache is a very popular web server software, and it’s already install on your Mac! It’s easy to configure and quick to get started with. On your Mac, you’ll need to get familiar with a command to manage your web server: apachectl. This command requires root to run so you’ll actually run it like this:
sudo apachectl <cmd>
The basic commands you’ll use are:
start
sudo apachectl start
stop
sudo apachectl stop
restart
sudo apachectl restart
3 – M is for MySQL
MySQL is a very popular open source database software. Unfortunately, MySQL does not come install on the Mac so you’ll have to install it. I recommend using homebrew (a great Mac package manager) to install it. First, install homebrew. To install go to Brew.sh and follow the instructions. Next use homebrew to install MySQL. Open the Terminal application – Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type:
brew install mysql
Now get familiar with some basic MySQL commands:
start
mysql.server start
restart
mysql.server restart
stop
mysql.server stop
4 – P is for PHP
PHP is already installed on your Mac! This is the programming language used to perform logical operations on user input, interact with the database, and build the response to send back to the user.
5 – Get familiar with the apache configuration
In order to get started no configuration changes are necessary, but you will benefit from learning about the apache configuration files. The primary configuration file you should find is httpd.conf. httpd is the name of the apache daemon (don’t worry if you don’t know what a daemon is) so the configuration file is called httpd.conf and it’s usually found in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf. Another file you’ll wanted to find is httpd-vhosts.conf. This is the file where you can set up virtual hosts. A virtual host lets you setup multiple domain names for this web server. A basic vhost configuration lets you specify the hostname and the document root. Again, no changes are required to get started.
6 – The document root
The document root is where you put your application. On your Mac, the default document root is /Library/WebServer/Documents. If you don’t believe me, open up your httpd.conf file and search for DocumentRoot.
7 – Your first web page
Now that you’ve got the basics, we’ll build a basic web page. Use Finder (or Terminal) to navigate to your document root /Library/WebServer/Documents. Create a file called index.php and edit it. Keep in mind that you will have to use sudo to edit this file. One way to do this is to open Terminal and type:
sudo open -a TextEdit /Library/WebServer/Documents/index.php
Add the following to this file:
<!DOCTYPE>
<html>
<head>
<title>My first web page</title>
</head>
<body>
<p><?php echo date("F jS, Y"); ?></p>
</body>
</html>
Apache will look in the document root for a file called index.html or index.php. So you may have to delete or rename any other files in this folder that start with index. Now, restart the web server.
sudo apachectl restart
And open your browser and go to:
http://localhost
Our web page is a little boring as it only prints the current date, but this is all we need to get started!
NEXT UP
How to Enable the “Popping” Sound When Adjusting the Volume on Your Mac
Starting with MacOS Sierra and High Sierra, your Mac will no longer play a “pop” sound when you adjust your volume. If you prefer to have this sound when you adjust volume up and down (as I do), this guide will teach you how to reenable it. 1 – Open Sound System Preferences Navigate to System
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
Not exactly pretty yet, so we’ll need to format it. This is especially important for larger objects.
2 – Format the pretty-printed output
To format our object, we’ll need to specify the number of spaces we’d like:
const currentlyDrinking = {
beer: 'Yeungling',
container: 'bottle',
empty: true
};
console.log(JSON.stringify(currentlyDrinking, undefined, 4)); // use 4-space tabs to format and indent the code
Kubernetes secrets are objects that store and manage sensitive data inside your Kubernetes cluster. One mistake developers often make is storing sensitive information like database passwords, API credentials, etc in a settings file in their codebase. This is very bad practice (hopefully for obvious reasons). Most developers know this, but still choose the option because it’s easy.
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
Surprisingly, normal YouTube embeds are not automatically sized to the browser window as it is resized. Luckily, you can make YouTube videos responsive and mobile-friendly with some simple HTML and CSS.
1 – The HTML
Wrap your embed code in a unique video wrapper (the class name is arbitrary). I chose to use embed-youtube as the selector.
Most YouTube videos use an aspect ratio of 16:9; therefore, I recommend using a value of 56.25% for the padding-bottom property, as noted above. To calculate other aspect ratios, simply divide H/W. For example, let’s say you have a video with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Dividing 3÷4 equals 0.75, or 75%. Therefore, padding-bottom would be 75% to maintain this aspect ratio.
🛈 Most YouTube videos use an aspect ratio of 16:9; therefore, I recommend using a value of 56.25% for the padding-bottom property, as noted above. To calculate other aspect ratios, simply divide H/W. For example, let’s say you have a video with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Dividing 3÷4 equals 0.75, or 75%. Therefore, padding-bottom would be 75% to maintain this aspect ratio.
3 – See it in action!
Resize your browser window and bask in the responsive glory.
And then consider embedding one of the most viewed YouTube videos into your next project.
The 30 Most Viewed YouTube Videos of All Time (2021)
Welcome to the billion views club.
If you’d like your visitors to be able to open a phone application straight from your website you can follow this quick guide. 1 – Create a basic HTML link In the body of your website, create a basic HTML link like this: 2 – Add ‘tel:12223334444’ in the href attribute When you finish your
Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words.
With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo’s writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.
Ash
