Mark L. Smith's Blog

Converting from M2TS to AVI

msmith — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:50:04 +0000

I’m using ffmpeg to good effect to convert from M2TS from an HD Canon Camcorder to AVI:

ffmpeg -i 20100408133825.m2ts -vcodec libxvid -b 2000k -acodec libmp3lame -ac 2 -ab 128k -deinterlace -s 720×540 1.avi

AdWords Learning

Mark — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:03:58 +0000

People look at an AdWords ad in this order:

1. headline

2. Second description line

3. URL line

4. First headline

Better Living Tips

Mark — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:46:17 +0000

A friend asked what things they could do to live healthier. My wife put this together for them. Avoid combining heat, plastics, and food (especially BPA!). Use glass, ceramic or steel containers for reheating food and for food storage. Choose organic produce when possible to avoid agricultural chemicals that are closely linked to some cancers. Some produce store these chemicals more than others. Check out the “dirty dozen” in this list: http://www.foodnews.org/images/09shoppersguide-purpleimage.jpg . You’ll want to try and be sure to get the organics when you can and when they are available. For non-produce and prepackaged foods, choose those that have been minimally processed and do not contain chemical additives (preservatives, colors, flavorings, HFCS, etc.) For flea treatment on pets and in the home: Use a combo of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and Neem oil. Make sure you get the FOOD GRADE DE. It’s a harmless powder that you can rub into your pet’s coat and it works only when in contact with fleas and ticks. Here’s a link with some more detailed information on using DE for fleas and ticks: http://www.bigbarks.com/index.php?topic=19.0 Make your own Neem oil flea spray by mixing 1 ounce of Neem oil with 2 ounces of organic white vinegar and 5 ounces of water. Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients before. Spray your pet well with the mixture every 7 to 10 days and brush him after spraying to work the solution through his fur and to his skin. You can also add a few drops of a (better smelling) essential oil such as peppermint (also a pest repellent) to help with the strong odor. Ionic and steam cleaners are a great way to deep clean appliances, floors, counter tops, and other surfaces thoroughly without harmful chemicals. This site is a great resource for daily use cosmetics: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php Everything from shampoos to mouthwashes to deodorants and lip balms can be found here. It’s a good way to find out what harmful chemicals may be lurking in your everyday products, including a checklist of what some chemicals have been linked to, as well (cancers, developmental delays, allergies, etc). Looking for an easy way to get things clean without harmful chemicals? One word always comes up: Vinegar. It’s extremely versatile, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, all natural and economical. Check out this site for the many wonderful uses of vinegar:http://www.vinegartips.com/ Baking soda is also a great alternative cleaning product: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/bakingsoda More links: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/vinegarbakingsoda http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/a/vinbaklemons.htm http://www.blisstree.com/treehuggingfamily/25-safe-non-toxic-homemade-cleaning-supplies/

Homegrown Evolution

msmith — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:25:10 +0000

Cool blog about clean living and healthy food.

Dark leafy green vegetables

msmith — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:54:50 +0000

For dinner, I’ve been eating a lot of what might best be described as jambalaya. I’ve been putting in baby spinach tossed in sesame oil in a skillet over high heat. This is a good article on different leafy green vegetables and their tastes. I think I might try mustard greens — I’ve been looking to kick the heat up.

SMTP Mail Server Testing Utility

msmith — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:12:32 +0000

Awesome SMTP server testing utility: http://www.zoneedit.com/smtp.html

Prescription Database

msmith — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:55:31 +0000

Prescription database from NIH.

Health Information Link Dump

msmith — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:54:53 +0000

Microsoft’s take on HIPAA is “we’re not a covered entitiy, go away” Microsoft has a personal health tracker. Here’s another one.

eBay Market Data

msmith — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:50:46 +0000

I’ve been involved with eBay auctions heavily on and off for about 10 years. There are some opportunities at using theirmarket data to look for gaps between supply and demand. Some handy links for that:

eBay’s API
ResearchAdvanced free APIs for eBay
Official providers of eBay data.

Aromatherapy Bath Balls

msmith — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:48:04 +0000

http://www.thesage.com/recipes/recipes.php?.State=Display&id=133