I've a New Macbook!

Today, I bought a new Macbook.

I wanted another portable Mac but didn't want an Air.  I also wanted something with a bit more horsepower than what I already had, as my Air is a base model.

I wanted more than just 8 GB of memory.  

I wanted more than just 256 GB of drive space.

I wanted a bigger screen than 13".

I wanted a system that offered a bit more longevity.

I wanted to be less compromising when it comes to hardware.

Here are the specs of the new notebook:

Make/Model:  MacBook Pro 14" (MRX43LL/A - Release Year 2023)

Chip:  M3 Pro

Memory:  18GB

GPU:  18-core

CPU:  12-core

Drive capacity:  1TB SSD

Color: Space Black

I've also gained ports/connections when compared to my MBA:  I now have MagSafe, an extra (3 todal) Thunderbolt port, an SD card slot, and an audio cable port.  The system also has fans, to keep temps down - the Air doesn't have fans.

The whole system certainly seems less fragile than my Air.

So, I wanted more than just 8 GB of RAM because the Air was always using a LOT of swap after all the memory was consumed.  I was always having to close apps to get the system to release memory.

I wanted more than just 256 GB of drive space because I was always struggling to perform OS updates with the Air.  The Air's drive space was always 75-80% consumed and I believe that SSDs require some extra drive space for TRIM management - if I was always at 80%, I'm sure that TRIM was close to being adversely affected.  I'd been using external drives as workspace, but that doesn't solve the 80% consumption of system drive space.  1 TB gives me a lot more elbow room and it also gives me serious trade-in power, as well.  Plus, I don't have to depend upon external drives.

Regarding display size, 14" is significantly better than 13".  On paper, it seems like a small difference, but it's practical and is a noticeable difference.

When I buy notebooks and PCs, I always compromise.  I didn't want to do that with this one.  Actually, I did compromise - I actually wanted a 16" MBP but that's immediately a $2000 system, and a base system, too.  To have the system I wanted in 16" variation would've put me at $2500+ and that amount assaults my sensibilities, so I had to compromise.  This system was $1800.  I've spent that amount in the past on a gaming laptop and that laptop was obsolete rather quickly.  I worry less about that with a MBP.  I can easily see myself using this MBP for 5-6 years.

I also bought a set of Airpods Max.  I have a set of Beats Studio Pros that haven't faired well.  They're rickety AF right now.  I've put a LOT of use on them, to the point that I am expecting them to fail soon.  I needed a good headset and I've historically not had good experiences with what I've chosen in the past.  I decided to splurge on the Max.  I actually hate the Beats Studio Pros...they're inferior to anything that is Apple-branded, as Apple purposesly neuters the Beats products so that they won't be competitive with the Apple brands.  They're designed mainly for users who want to use them with Android smartphones.

I'm excited to try this new gear, as I've some backlogged video editing that I need to catch up on.  I'll report my usage experience as I use the new equipment!

UPDATE (3/31/2025):  Uhmmm....this laptop has GREAT sound!  I thought my Macbook Air sounded great.  Apparently, MBPs have a six-speaker system.

UPDATE (4/6/2025):  I installed homebrew and then fastfetch.  Screenshot --

UPDATE (5/29/2025):  I've seen folks complaining about the dark-colored Macbooks for some time.  The mantra is either that the paint wears prematurely, that it scratches easily (which reveals the undercoat), or that it's a fingerprint magnet.  Why did I buy a Space Black MBP?  Because I wanted something different.  I've been playing it safe with my Apple products - all have been Space Gray, as I thought that most of my products should match and I also didn't want to be battling fingerprints.  As well, my equipment is pristine...the only products that have scratches are my smartphone and my Apple Watch (because I wear one and because the other is either in my hand or in my pocket).  So, have I had to battle fingerprints on the MBP?  Surprisingly, no, but then again, I wash my hands a lot and my hands aren't usually oily/greasy.

Birthday Gifts

Yesterday was my birthday.  I'm now 57 years old.

I got two gifts.  My wife bought me a DJI two-way charging kit.  My sister bought me a Wheeler F.A.T. Wrench.

Regarding the DJI two-way charger, it's a battery charger for DJI drones.  This is is for my Mini 3 drone.  I currently have two batteries.  The charger is basically a caddy that can hold up to three batteries.  It charges the batteries one at a time, starting with the battery that has the lowest charge.  It can also be used to charge other things (drone remote, phone, GoPro, etc) and will use whatever battieres are in the caddy to charge other things.  This also gives me the excuse of buying a third battery.  I might buy the Intelligent Plus battery, as it has up to 51 minutes of power, but it will mean that I'd have to register my drone, as that battery has extra weight that will make the drone over 249g.

The Wheeler wrench is a inch-pound torque wrench, mainly for use with firearms.  I wanted this for use in installing optics and other things that require precise torquing of bolts and screws.

Besides that, I bought myself the PC game, Armored Brigade II, which I posted about a day or two ago.

I'd thought about getting a new Apple headset since my Beats Studio Pro has one leg in the grave.  We'll see.  I've a long flight to CA coming up and I might purchase that headset before I fly out.

Armored Brigade & GHPC

What have I been playing lately?

I've been playing quite a bit of Gunner, HEAT, PC (or GHPC), mainly due to their recent updates that contain the Leopard tank.

I also recently bought Armored Brigade, after seeing PhanFantasy review it a few months ago.  I only started playing it maybe 2 weeks ago, and ended up loving it so much that I also bought Armored Brigade 2, which isn't released on Steam yet.

I like the above-mentioned games because Steel Beasts, while I love that game, is a bit too much for me.

As much as I like Sea Power, it's a bit much, as well.  I'm not going to lie, though - Armored Brigade has quite a bit of a learning curve too, but not as much as Sea Power or Steel Beasts.

I'll continue to study both versions of Armored Brigade, and will also continue to play GHPC.

Pihole & Docker FTW!

I'd been planning to mess with Pihole but didn't want to mess with a Rasberry Pi.  I did some research and found that I'd the option to install Pihole on a running Linux system.  While looking at what that entailed, I also found that I could easily do it with Docker, too.

I've been running a Ubuntu system for a while now.  It is mainly a box I set up for use with NextCloud.  I hate NextCloud and stopped using it and the Ubuntu system.  The system was pretty much idle until I decided to set up a Wordpress instance in Docker for development of my Wordpress site that's on my Linode instance.  Whenever I'm trying something new in Wordpress, I test it on my Dockerized Wordpress instance first.  Eventually I'll work on replacing the Wordpress instance on my Linode host with a Dockerized instance.

Since I already have Docker set up on the Ubuntu box, I decided to give Pihole a spin in Docker.

I used this website to set up Pihole in Docker.  The whole setup was quick and painless.  In fact, my Wordpress setup uses three different Docker containers, and with Pihole now running, I'm now using four containers on that Ubuntu host.  None of them are consuming resources (thus far).

I'm now testing Pihole.  I'm totally unfamiliar with it but it doesn't appear to be a high maintenance setup.  At some point, I'll want to back up the Pihole configs, though, so I won't have to spend a lot of time setting it up again (when/if I end up blowing away the instance).

I've several hosts on my LAN using the Pihole setup and my daughter is trying it, as well.  She had a Rasberry Pi and was planning ot install Pihole on it, but I told her that this is far simpler - she should use the Pi for something else, IMO.

I've added some ad lists (block lists and some whitelisting), as well.

The biggest pain as far as adware goes is Youtube, and I don't think Pihole is going to be able to block Youtube ads when using the Youtube app.  I've had some luck blocking Youtube ads on my Macbook, but I view videos on the browser when using that notebook (and I've the uBlock Origin browser extension installed in MS Edge).

New Keyboard for My Mac Mini - Royal Kludge S98

When I bought my Mac Mini, I bought it without buying a keyboard for it.  Not long after purchasing the Mini, my older iMac died.  I ended up trashing the iMac, as I couldn't repair it (was unwilling to pump anymore money into it and it was over 10 years old.  Prior to it dying, I was using it as a monitor for my iMac and other systems (using Target Display Mode).

With the iMac gone, I still had the Magic Mouse and the keyboard that came with the iMac.  What I hate about the keyboard is that it eats batteries.  As well, I like full sized keyboards.  So, I thought I'd buy a nice keyboard for the Mini.

I purchased the Royal Kludge S98, mainly because it was a full sized keyboard (or nearly so), it could be used with other computers (it has 3 BT profiles), it's wireless, and it was a mechanical keyboard -- I've never owned a mechanical keyboard.

I've mixed feelings.  I like the keyboard a lot, but it doesn't have software for Macs.  It's software is Windows-only.  I would've liked to use the software's macro configurations.  As well, it doesn't have labeled Mac buttons (command and option buttons).

The specific version I bought was the Linear Viridian switch version in turquoise green.

I might try to buy Mac-specific keys for it, as the keys can be swapped out.  Maybe I'll get those two keys in red.

I like the keyboard screen in the upper right corner.  I like that I've the option for 2.4 GHz connectivity, BT, or USB wired connectivity.

I also love the lighting (it's RGB).  It also has a beefy battery - I can get a lot of use out of it, on one charge, if I disable the keyboard backlights.

I did notice one hiccup with the Mac Mini last week where I had the keyboard linked to it via bluetooth - I'd logged out of the Mac and came back later to do some work, but the keyboard wouldn't let me type out the password properly.  I noticed that it kept hanging on the 2nd character.  I had another BT keyboard handy and tried to log in with it and it was doing the same thing.  I thought it was strange.  I ended up doing a hard reboot (I hadn't thought of SSH'ing into the Mini to do a restart - I could've done that).  The system recovered and let me access it while using the S98.  I'm not sure if it was a keyboard-related issue but I've been using the Mac 2+ years and nothing like that has every occurred until I started using the S98.  I'll keep a watch to see if this occurs again.

UPDATE (2/5/2025):  Well I had the keyboard issue again, today.  Again, I don't think it's an actual keyboard issue, as I tried two different keyboards and both were doing the sme thing.  This go-around, it was the 6th character tht wasn't rendering on the first keypress.  After experimenting, I was able to press the key for the 6th character a second time to get it to register...doing that, I was able to log in successfully.  After I logged in, I typed in Terminal to see if I was having that same issue across my password characters - it rendered fine.  I then logged out and tried to log back in - I was able to successfully log in (I did this 3 times, successfully, to test).  I searched for some tips and most articles I saw suggested that there was a hardware keyboard issue, which is't the case here since I'm using two different keyboards that experience the same exact issue.  I also used Disk Utility to do a disk repair - there were no errors to repair.  I think there's a bug in the latest OS update (the latest OS update was applied a few days ago).  This didn't start occurring until after that OS update was applied.

UPDATE 2 (2/7/2025):  It happened again, just now.  It's definitely not a hardware issue, as I used my Mac wireless keyboard this time, too - I used all three keyboards and the issue still occurred.  As well, two characters weren't being recognized this time - characters 6 and 7.  This is so odd.

I'll report any issues with the keyboard, but I'm enjoying it thus far.

New Hobby - Drones!

 I've been interested in drones for a while now.  Maybe 5 years ago, my wife bought me a DJI Tello, which gave me the initial taste of using drones.

My daughter is a graduate of Embry-Riddle - she has a BS in UAS.  As part of her curriculum, she attained her Part 107 license.  For graduation, we bought her an expensive (at the time) quadcopter - the Mavic Mini (Fly More package - includes 3 batteries and a charger).  She has an aerospace-related position of employment, so we talk drone speak a lot.

This year, I was going to get a quadcopter and mentioned it to my wife.  She said, "Put it on your Christmas list."  I said, "It's expensive," because she usually balks at buying high dollar tech items.  She repeated, "Put it on your Christmas list."

I couldn't decide which I wanted but didn't want a super-expensive drone since I might end up not liking it.  I should've just picked what I wanted (I always end up compromising).  I initially couldn't decide between the DJI Mini 3 or the DJK Mini 4K.  Either one of those would be the drone with RC remote (has the integrated screen - no need to connect to your smartphone).  After a long bit of research, I decided on the Mini 3, mainly because it offered better tech specs and capabilities - mainly, the camera has better specs, then gimbal has better FOV, it captures higher spec video footage, and it has longer flight time.  The Mini 4K is basically an upgraded Mini 2.  I opted not to get the Fly More package (but should've).  I put it on my list.

Well, she bought it.  As well, she bought it during Black Friday, so there was a discount.  I ended up buying a hard shell carry case and extra battery.  I may buy a 3-slot charger and 3rd battery.  I may also just buy a 3-slot charger and 3rd 51-minute larger battery, but that would mean I'd have to register the drone since the larger battery will put the drone over the 249-gr limit.  That would mean I'd have to always use 51-minute batteries, as that's the only way the Remote ID would be enabled (or, I could just buy a standalone RID, but that would mean even more weight).  I think I'll just stick with the smaller batteries for now - if I've 3 of them, and they're rated at 38 minutes, that'll give me great flight times.

I also opted for the DJI Care Refresh program, which offers repair/replacement insurance in case of accidents or flyaways.

If I had to do it again, I'd probably opt for the Mini 4 Pro.  Maybe next year.  For now, I'll just enjoy the Mini 3!

What Have I Been Playing Recently?

So, what have I been playing recently?

I bought Sea Power a few weeks ago and love it.  I haven't been playing it much because the game is currently Early Access and it has bugs and lacks some features - it's lacking a save feature and the gameplay can be rather long in duration, so I either end the mission I'm playing prematurely or I don't play.

I've also been playing Nuclear Option.  I bought that game earlier in the year and it is really fun, but it's Early Access as well and is also somewhat buggy.  TrackIR keeps dying mid-game and it only happens with that game, so I know it's an issue with Nuclear Option and not the hardware or TrackIR software.  As well, other folks have been complaining that they're having issues with head-tracking with this game, too.  I'm hoping the developers fix the issue soon (some folks have claimed that the issue is no longer occurring in the beta testing branch).

I've also been playing more VTOL VR.  I did a bunch of flying today after not using my VR headset in ages.  I've been flying some of the Steam Workshop missions, which gives me practice and some fun.  What plane(s) have I been flying?  As usual, I've been flying the AV-42C...folks love to hate on that aircraft, but it's the A-10 Warthog of this game and I love ground/pound.  I've been wondering how to create missions and I was thinking on giving it a shot, but I've heard that the mission creation tools and mechanisms suck and that the next patch will offer more streamlined mission creation tools and mechanisms, so I think I'm going to wait for that.

I've also been thinking of pushing myself to return to Steel Beasts.  For a bit, I was playing fine and even created a mission/scenario to test things.  Steel Beasts can get busy really fast, though, because micro-managing the units is crucial to success and the more units you have to control the more busy it'll get - you want to control small units to get the most out of the missions/scenarios (company level is probably best).

After playing Sea Power, I'm also thinking of returning to C:MO (although, that game can get busy really fast, as well, on a whole different level than Steel Beasts).

Yeah, I also have DCS modules that I recently bought (the latest Blackshark and the Mirage F1), but I need fun, not study sims and while DCS can be fun, for someone new to the game, it plays as if it's homework.

As I've a bunch of vacation to use in November and December, I'll have the time to relax with PC gameplay.

PC Gaming

 I've been trying to push myself into being more involved in PC gaming lately.  Ever since I bought the Steam Deck, I've been using it.  It's handy when you're in front of the TV or in bed.  I'd been playing a lot of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and recently bought Red Dead Redemption 2.

In fact, ever since I quit playing War Thunder, I've been struggling to find a specific game to fixate on.

I've Ready or Not and Ground Branch, which are nice tactical shooters (really meant for multiplayer, but can be played lone wolf).  I also have been flying some VTOL VR and Nuclear Option.  I've also been trying to ramp up my flight simming - I've been flying some IL2, trying the different planes (I bought a bunch of modules awhile back).  I also finally bought full fidelity modules for DCS: World, too!

For DCS: World, I bought the Dessault Mirage F1 module pack.  I also bought the F-5E, the Mig-29 (designed for Flaming Cliffs, I believe, and doesn't have full fidelity),  I also bought a few maps and single player missions.  I downloaded the free A-4E 3rd party module, too.  And last week, I bought the Ka-50 helicopter module.  I just need to dedicate a few hours a week to focus on one plane to fly single player and to eventually move to multiplayer.  I'm thinking either the F-5E, the A-4E, or the F1 will get me far and if I go multiplayer, I'll have to find Cold War servers.  I'm not really interested in later era aircraft, although I *REALLY* want the Mirage 2000.  Yes, there's a dispute between it's developer and Eagle Dynamics, but I'm thinking if I buy it now, while it still works, I can fly it enough to get my money's worth.  If it goes on sale between now and the New Year, I'm buying it.  What I'd really like is for another developer to make a Mirage 2000, though.

Also, for DCS: World, I've been using TrackIR instead of VR.  Folks keep insisting that I need to use VR with DCS.  Nah...it's not for me.  I've already tried it in both War Thunder and IL2.  I'll admit that the flying experience, immersion, and spatial awareness that comes with interacting within a 3D environment is great.  What sours EVERYTHING is that you can't see your keyboard or stick or anything that's on your desk.  That's something I can't get over.  It's all unicorns and rainbows until it's time to interact outside of VR, which is sometimes a requirement.  Plus, the hardware requirements to run VR while running a game such as DCS is not insignificant, and if you want to also record your session, it's going to suck for you unless you've a super beefy PC.

I'm one step from upgrading my HOTAS to something a bit better.  My current setup lacks the required buttons to get most of aircraft controls onto either the stick or throttle (even if I'm flying a full fidelity aircraft, I'd still prefer to manipulate the controls through the stick or throttle controls).  As it is, I'm about to use a spare throttle just so I can use it's buttons!  Also, I may need to alter my desk to better support a stick and throttle (no, I don't want to build a pit/rig).

Nuclear Option is fun!  It's in Early Access and I ended up buying it, but leaving it alone for maybe 6 months because it didn't have head-tracking, which I thought was ridiculous.  Headtracking was added maybe 3-4 months ago, but something is wonky with it - the game looses connectivity with either the TrackIR software or hardware (or both).  You've to go to desktop and restart TrackIR, but I found that I would have to do it 4-5 times within a 30 min session, which is a serious buzz kill, so I stopped playing it again...once they sort out the headtracking issue, I'll fly it again.

VTOL VR is actually really nice, but I won't do multiplayer with it.  I want to stay single player with that game, at least for a while.  That means I've to find decent single player missions.  I've also thought of giving a shot at developing some missions.  Maybe I can experiment with that this weekend.  I've heard the mission editor is wonky and there's no guide on how to use it (although I should check Steam for guides).  No, I don't want to check the game's Discord...I shouldn't have to do that...such things should be better accessible than relying on only Discord.

I was also playing Steel Beasts for awhile (I even streamed a session of of gameplay on Twitch).  I started out good but then quit, as that game can sometimes be quite deep.  It's more of a high end sim than a game, IMO.  I think it depends upon the mission, too.  I play single player, which can be a handful with lots of units to command, so I think the key is to seek out single player missions that give you control of a company -- any bigger unit than that will pain since you'll have to manage every aspect of each element of that unit.

OH!  Also, there's a new tactical game coming out called Sea Power, that will be released in November.

dlvr.it Ended Their Free Plan

I'd been using dlvr.it to automate cross-posting from Wordpress to Twitter, as I've been trying to get more traffic to my firearms blog.  Well, dlvr.it stopped providing their free plan.  

Prior to dlvr.it, I'd been using IFTTT's automation applets to cross-post to Twitter, but their free applets for Twitter became payware.

As I'm not trying to spend a ton of money for something that I'm providing, I do not want to have to sign up for expensive plans just to be able to cross-post.

I spent a large portion of my day yesterday trying to find free solutions to replace dlvr.it and found Buffer.  I tested and it works.  Yes, they have a free plan.  I'll be using that until they stop offering their service for free (if they stop, I'm in trouble because I'm not sure anyone else offers free plans that aren't super-neutered).

Went from AlDente Free to AlDente Pro!

I've been using AlDente (yes, the battery charge limiter app) for a while now.  I started using it when I first bough the Macbook Air.

Today, I though to myself, "I've been using this and it's obviously an important thing to me.  Why not buy the Pro version?"

This made so much sense to me and I had similar thoughts in the past, so I bought AlDente Pro, the lifetime version.

When I run into good software that I know I'll need in the future, I usually end up buying it after using the free edition of the software for a while.  I've no problem with giving back, especially if the software owner is an independent developer.  Developers have to eat, too!

I'm also a flight sim guy (I recently bought several DCS World modules and I fly IL2: Sturmovik too).  I bought TacView (Advanced version) a long while back because I love how you can replay previous flights and use TacView to analyze a combat situation.  TacView wasn't cheap - it was $70 - but I used it to the point that I hated when I flew something that TacView couldn't work with, so I bought it.

Beats Studio Buds + Were Still Falling Out Of My Ears, So I Bought Complys!

 I shared with you all that I bought a set of Beats Studio Buds + awhile back.

I got a bit pissed a few weeks ago when I was working in the yard and my Beats earbuds were slipping out of my ear canal.

I decided to check to see if I Comply made some anti-slick inserts for these earbuds, as I bought a few of these for my AirPods Pro earbuds and they work well.

I was quite surprised when I saw that Comply was making versions for the Beats Buds + earbuds and I immediately ordered a set.  They work well.

I also ordered a different set from Amazon, because although the Comply ones work well, they don't last all that long before they no longer work.  The ones I ordered were Ludos Comfy Earbuds Replacement Memory Foam.  These fit into my ears well, but will not fit in the charging pod and require removal to charge the earbuds.

At this point, I've been using my Beats earbuds far more often than my AirPods Pro buds - dunno why, because the AirPods immediately connect to my phone and Macs, whereas I've to manually connect both my Beats headset and buds.  I do like the Beats buds' controls better.

Docker, Wordpress, and Linode

Maybe a week ago, I decided to refresh my Linode instance.  I'd been using Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on it the past 10 years.  16.04 has been unsupported for quite a while now, but I was being lazy while still watching the server for possible compromises (the server was locked down very well).

Initially, I'd planned on a slow rollover to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, by deploying a new host and slowly migrating over to it from the old server.  One day, I just said, "fuck it" and started from scratch.  I kept my old disk volume and mounted it to the new host so that I could grab old data whenever I needed it...having config files from the old host would help me when reinstalling the software I was using on the old host.

The plan was to migrate my two Wordpress sites to the new host but today I tried running Wordpress on Docker on an old Dell XPS 8930 and it worked well.  I first tried to just get to the point where Wordpress could install onto it.  I then tried to restore a backup of one Wordpress site onto the Dockerized Wordpress instance and I was immediately successful.  It happened so quickly that I spent the rest of the day testing it, to the point that I decided to do the same thing on the 24.04 server tonight.  It's now up and running and I've already been posting to it.  I'll monitor it the next few days and will probably back it up, tear down the whole thing, and then try some different setups, such as trying to run both Wordpress sites from one set of containers (the problem is, I need both Wordpress sites to be serving on port 80 and there's only one port 80 on the server.

Currently the setup is using three small containers (one for MySQL, one for Wordpress, and one for phpmyadmin).  I leveraged the YAML files of two other nerds, using both to build my own YAML file, which I used to pull the images and configure the containers.  I ran in to issues more than a few times, but between what I learned last year on acloud.guru and trial and error, it wasn't all that difficult.  What I haven't done (YET) is build my own dockerfiles.

I usually also use the Linode host as a file server (sharing pictures with friends and forums), and I was doing that using Apache, so that's a 3rd application that I'd need to use port 80...not sure how I'm going to set all this up, but the neat thing about Docker is that I can blow it away and start over (keeping my .yml compose files to work with and tweak), again and again, until I get it right.

This was the first time outside of training that I used Docker and I honestly should've been using it a long time ago.

I actually had a lot of fun doing this.

UPDATE (7/28/2024):

I'm having some issues trying to determine how to host two sites on one Dockerized Wordpress setup.  I can probably use the muti-site Wordpress setup but I need to study up on how to alter the wp-config file using the docker-compose.yml file.

Or, I can probably just run two Docker setups, one for my firearms blog and one for my car blog.

I also want to be able to share my many pictures and files using Apache, but found that I can't run Apache AND Worpdress, as both use port 80.  I may have to use some type of proxying.

Lastly, I can just reinstalled Wordpress in a non-Dockerized fashion, while experimenting with Wordpress in Docker.  This is probably the more reasonable approach, as I can study up how to leverage Docker at my own leisure but have a production native Wordpress setup.

Second GoPro Hero 10 Black Gotcha - Camera Overheating

I've been using the GoPro Hero 10 Black for a bit now,  The last time I posted, I complained that there was no real preview option.  That issue still exists and is still annoying.  There have been more than a few times where I've discovered that my framing is off-center or is not capturing what I require.  I'm almost to the point where it's so annoying that I may replace this camera.

There's another annoying thing that's occurring.

I want to capture in 4K reslution at 60 FPS when I'm at the firearms range.  My range visits are usually an hour long but I don't shoot during that whole hour.  I only record when I'm shooting, and between shooting, I've to load mags or retrieve/replace the target.  I'm finding that the camera can never get through the session while being turned on.  At the last 10 minutes of the range session, I always find that the camera has shut down due to overheating.

This is highly annoying, as sometimes I don't even know that the camera is off...it doesn't audibly alert me (I can't see the camera, as it sits on my head, on a ball cap, using a hat mount).

Note that the range I frequent is an indoor range that is AC-cooled. Ambient temps are cool, to the point that I usually wear a jacket/hoodie.

The camera gets hot just by being on, it seems, then when it's recording, it gets hotter.  I've configured the camera to not have the camera screens on (I view the framing and control the camera using the Quik app on my phone).  Dialing back the resolution is a very LAME workaround, but that's what I think I'll have to do to prevent this from occurring.  :/

The lack of live previewing can be negated by just buying a 360 camera.  I'm sure most 360 cameras that aren't made by GoPro will not overheat.

This is depressing because I've invested (financially) in using this camera.  I suppose I can sell it and every GoPro accessory I own to attempt to recoup financially.  I also spent a lot of time in researching if this was the camera for me.

So, the hunt begins for yet another camera.  One thing I haven't done is use the Osmo Pocket 3 at the range, and I think it will perform fine, but I really think a good inexpensive 360 camera will work...I don't need to use the $600+ Pocket 3 to replace the Hero 10.

UPDATE (8/13/2024):  I should've shared that the Pocket 3 also shuts down when I used it when capturing Youtube footage.  As with the GoPro, the OP3 overheats when recording in 4K (30 FPS), which is sad.  It's obvious that there are limitations with the higher resolutions.

SteamDeck Update

I bought a SteamDeck not long ago (documented here).

Some thoughts are listed below.

I'm not sure I needed the OLED model, but I wanted 1-TB in storage.  As the cost between the OLED 1-TB and 512 GB non-OLED wasn't huge, I opted to get the unit that had the most option.

I've yet to see this system crash or even hang up on a game.

I thought I could play some games like Generation Zero and GTA V, but those two games are difficult to play on the SteamDeck.  I've been playing Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Subnautica, and No Man's Sky, as well as games like Hades and Hades II.

The game system never gets hot or noisy (the fans are quiet).

I bought a 100W charger specifically for the SteamDeck, too...it works well.

I want to try emulators (for Nintendo games) and will probably buy a micro SD card and dedicate it to emulator games.

I've no need for a dock but if I end up wanting one, I'll try a non-Steam dock first.

New Ear Buds - Beats Studio Buds +

I bought a new set of ear buds this week.  I bought the Beats Studio Buds +.

It's technical specs are here.

I'm still using my set of AirPod Pros (v1) and while they've not presented any issues that warrant immediate replacement, I got the Studio Buds for 30% off the normal price.  I basically bought these because they were on sale.

A few things I noticed right off the bat:

• The charing pod uses USB-C, which I LOVE!  I've quite a few Lightning cables but USB-C is always better, IMO.
• These come with an assortment of gel inserts, which allows a good bud-to-ear fitment.  I always hated the fact that I've to buy 3rd party solutions to get the AirPod Pros to work with my particular ear.  I don't have to worry about such things with the Studio Buds.
• The Studio Buds have a larger charging case (it's more rounded than the AirPod case).
• I love the way the buds "snick" into the case - each bud has a magnet (or each space within the case has a magnet - dunno which...there's some magnetics going on, for sure, though).
• Pairing button is inside lid of the case.

I listened to both sets of buds back-to-back and both are on-par with each other as far as audio quality is concerned.  Both have great noise cancelling functionality, as well.

There's hardly anything to dislike.  

The only real gripe I have is that the case is larger (it has a larger footprint than the AirPods Pro case).  The case is slicker as well, but it could be due to my choice of cases...I've the clear case and buds, which has an unfinished feel.  The case looks really cool, though.

Another slight gripe would be that the form factor is small.  Small is good, unless you've big hands and fingers.  They're a bit more difficult to use when pressing the buttons on the buds.  It also means that you can't use the same accessories that you'd use with the AirPod Pros, such as the gel sports tethers.

Also, I don't know which bud belongs in which ear, either, but also not sure if it matters.  

These are trivial gripes, though.

UPDATE (6/1/2024): looking closely, I can see that each bud is labeled "R" or "L" on the bottom.  Since I've the clear case, it is very difficult to see the labeling but I'll include a pic below:

I'll provide updates throughout the year.

UPDATE (7/28/2024):

Although I love these buds (I use them more than I do my 1st Gen AirPods Pro), they don't stay in my ears all that well.  They stay in better than my AirPods in their stock configuration, although the Comply cushions make the AirPods stay in my ear.

As well, my right ear has a wider canal that appears to be between sizes.  I've tried all the different size OEM cushions but none of them work well in my right ear.

I checked to see if Comply has cushions for the Beats Studio buds and they do, so I ordered an assorted set.  I also ordered a set of LUDOS cushions - if those turn out to not work, I'm going to try to refund them (if I can't, there's not much of a loss, as they're not expensive).

Steam Deck Inbound!

HAHAHAHAHA!!  Yeah, I'm on a tear this year regarding tech.  The last few months I've bought close to $1K in videography equipment.  Now I also bought a Steam Deck.

Which Steam Deck did I get?  The 1 TB OLED model.  It didn't make sense to get the 512 when the 1 TB was only $100 more...seriously.

It shipped yesterday and is supposed to arrive on 4/9.  What I'm worried about are the UPS workers.  These gaming systems tend to disappear after they ship but before they're delivered, which is extremely sad.  It doesn't help that Valve keeps using exterior packaging that labels the package as a Steam Deck (WTF).  I tried to have the shipment diverted to a UPS store (I heard that this method lessens theft - I guess it does since the onus is on the driver at that point), but UPS states that the shipper (Valve) won't allow delivery to UPS stores (WTF Valve).

There's a chance that I won't receive this unit, which will piss me off, as I've waited 5 days for it to ship AND Valve won't allow me to re-route it.  If it ends up "lost", I'll have to reach out to Valve, who will eventually ship me another one...if that happens, I'm going to insist that they ship to a UPS store and if they can't, I'll ask for a refund.  As well, UPS needs to quit letting this happen (it's a very common thing for their employees to steal these gaming systems).

For now, I'm just waiting for it to ship.  I don't think I need to order any other items for use with the gaming system.  Since it's 1 TB, I don't need a micro SD card right now (eventually, I may want one).  I have ordered a 100W charger as a backup to the OEM one.  I may eventually order a docking station for it.  I may also order a carry case and other accessories - I won't know exactly what I want until I start using the system.

My daughter bought one for her brother last year (a 512 GB LCD unit), then after seeing his, she bought a 512 GB OLED unit.  I saw both of theirs and wanted one, but didn't want to spend the money at the time.  I now have the money.  :)

As always, I'll keep you all up to date on my experience.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - Extra Accessories are Here!

I stated in the prior post that I'd ordered extra parts for my Osmo Pocket 3.  They arrived today.

I found that I had an error in the order - I ordered two battery handles.  I've decided to keep it instead of returning it.  I can ensure that it is charged so that I can use it to give me extra run time, if that's what I'd need.  I can always sell it later if I decide I don't need it, but I'm sure I can use it.

I've already charged up the battery handles.  

I've also charged up the Mic 2 transmitter and have it linked to the OP3.  I've adjusted it's gain, as well, and configured it's settings in the OP3 menu.  I just have to use it now.  The Mic looks really nice.  At one point, I was going to try to use a different brand of mic but decided to stick with DJI since it would probably work better with the camera than a 3rd party mic setup, plus, the OP3 has built-in receivers that I'm not sure will work with other makes of mic transmitters.

The case is smaller than I'd thought it would be, but it holds most of my things.

The tripod is very nice...it's smaller than the one I've been using, but it's quite as stable, but it should suffice.

The wide angle lense is cool.  I'm not actually sure if I'll ever need it, as I don't see a huge difference in gained angle.

I ordered extra mic wind covers, as well as the mic magnets, but I found that I didn't need them, because DJI includes both of those with the Mic 2.  I'm a bit upset about that, because their product page should state that those come with the Mic.  I'll keep what I have as spares.  Oh yeah, that magnet is STRONG!

The expansion adapter is something that I probably didn't need, but it can probably be used with my GoPro harnesses and other mounting accessories.  At some point, I may use it.  I thought it would offer USB-C port expansion, but it doesn't, which is a shame.

I will attempt to capture some footage over the next few days to test the Mic 2 setup.  I may just record footage as I'm taking my daily walks.

Oh, and I also bought a good SD card, one that's listed on the OP3 product page as recommended specs - I bought the Lexar 256 GB card, which would give me 4+ hours of top spec footage.  I shouldn't need anymore than that, but if I do, I'll buy the 512 GB Lexar card.

Initially, I thought the OP3 would make my GoPro H10 Black redundant, but I still need that for the firearms range.  I have dialed up the recording resolution to 4K @ 60 FPS (watch the camera overheat at the next range visit).

UPDATE (8/13/2024):

The accessories I use the most are the two battery handles.  I also use the mini tripod a lot.  The next most used item is the Mic 2, usually with the Lavalier mic.

I wish the case were bigger - was honestly shocked at how small it was.  I will almost certainly try something else (I've a GoPro case that I'm not using that may fit more than the OP3 case.

I Went Ahead And Purchased the Creator Kit Accessories...

Today, I purchased the extra accessories that come with the Creator Kit Pocket 3 package.  I bought them directly from the DJI store.

Yeah, this ended up being quite a bit more expensive than if I'd just purchased the Creator Kit.

I also had told myself that I wouldn't be buying the Mic 2 transmitter, but after looking at the alternatives, I decided to stick with (and trust) DJI's audio solution.

As well, DJI didn't have the windscreen and clip magnet in stock, so I bought those two (3rd party vendors) through Amazon.

I also bought a micro SD card, since most of the cards I normally use are too slow (I've been getting warnings from the camera and the camera sometimes stops recording when the warnings appear).  I bought the Lexar 256GB 160MB/s reading, 120MB/s writing, C10, U3, V30, A2 card, since that's what was advertised as 100% working on the DJI website.  I bought that card through Amazon, as well (from the Lexar Amazon store).

I guess I'm all-in with this camara now.  The only things I don't have are ND filters and the extra audio things (receiver, extra transmitter, and the RX/TX charger).

Alternative Mic Solutions for DJI Osmo Pocket 3

I was conducting research on the DJI Mic 2, prepping for an eventual purchase, when I saw that they've an issue with low audio levels.

I didn't want to spend $100 on an audio solution that has issues.  Additionally, DJI appears to be actively ignoring the complaints of low audio being captured by the Mic 2.

I also looked at wireless alternatives, but the alternatives are more expensive than the Mic 2!

In searching for wired alternatives, I found the following video:

This guy explains several alternate mic setups and describes/lists the hardware requirements.

What I saw was that I can use a 3.5mm jack to USB-C adapter, a 3.5mm TRS to TTRS mic patch cable, and a wired mic (or shotgun mic).  I found those parts and added them to an Amazon wish list for near-future purchasing.

I also ended up subscribing to the video author since he offered very helpful information!

The Pocket 3 Has Arrived!

I received the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 on Thursday (3/21).  Initial thoughts are below.

I was surprised at the small size of the box!  The camera is also smaller than I expected.

The camera's battery had a a 45% charge, so I got to immediately activate it, which was pretty easy - I hear it's easier to set up if you've an iPhone or iPad.

Now, since I'd not been able to purchase Amazon's insurance (the transaction borked but the transaction for the Pocket 3 went through), and the DJI activation process was asking me if I wanted to purchase DJI Care Refresh (which is a protection program), I bought 2 years of that, which is $55.  Now I don't have to worry about the camera being damaged.  Note that although the unit is covered by insurance, to replace the camera, the owenr would still need to pay $35.  As well, I get four replacement instances, if need be.

I was also worried about the battery eventually depleting, but that is covered by DJI Care Refresh, as well.

I bought a 30W charger a few days before I received the Pocket 3.  It works well and the Pocket 3 Fast-charged to 100% in like 25 minutes.  As much as this camera costs, you'd think they'd include a charger -- maybe they think that folks will already have chargers (30W isn't really commonplace for chargers, though).

The camera easily mounts on a tripod, as it includes a tripod extension that attaches to the bottom of the camera.  I've been using it with a desk tripod.

I recorded some test videos, using the camera as a standalone camera.  I also recorded test footage using it as a webcam (using Photo Booth and QuickTime).  I recorded 1080p footage and the results were astonishing.

I used the following video to get the camera's settings to a baseline state (for me):

I now have the camera configured to use 1440p/60fps as the default video resolution and speed.  I recorded some test footage and the result is absolutely astounding!  I was able to use face tracking and even used object tracking (I was presenting a firearm and had the camera track it while I handled it).  I later posted that footage to YouTube, after editing it with DaVinci Resolve and rendering it (it took a bit for me to determine how to render it in 1440p - I had to render it a second time before I had it correctly configured).

I also have installed LightCut (which is editing software that is published by a company that DJI is partnered with) on both my Macbook Air and my iPhone.  I will take a look at the MBA editor tomorrow to see if it'll be worthwhile in using.  I do not care to use it on my iPhone, though - I can't imagine editing videos using a smartphone.

The camera isn't waterproof and it's gimbal is probably easily damaged, so my next purchase is probably going to be a case (there's nothing I can do about it not being waterproof, though).

The next following purchase will probably be the Mic 2 transmitter, although the test footage seems to indicate that the mics on the camera are adequate (for me).  Or, maybe I should purchase the extra battery handle.  Maybe I'll just flip a coin to determine which to get.

I have a lane at the range reserved tomorrow.  For now, I'll keep using the GoPro but I might take the Pocket 3 and set it up on my left side on the range table, just to see what type of footage it'll capture.

I'll post updates on my experiences.

UPDATE (8/13/2024):

I've been using the OP3 to capture video footage for my YouTube channel and the captured footage is astounding in quality.  What's really cool is that I can set it on my desk and then lock the focus on a particular object - if the object moves (for example, a dog), the camera lens follows.  If I have something in my hands and I'm moving my hands around, the camera will follow.  Even when using it as a desk camera, capturing my face, if I lock my head as a focus and move my head, the camera will shift slightly to ensure my head is center-frame.

The camera feels fragile but that's why I have DJI Care.  I'm considering a 3rd party protective shell, as the gimbal sometimes moves when the OEM shell is mounted onto the camera.

The camera bag/case is too small, in my opinion.  I'm looking for a bigger case.

I have used it once while taking a scenic walk around my neighborhood and was shocked at the resulting  footage (was daylight with no clouds; in the spring).  That's the only time I've used it outdoors but I think I should use it more when outside.