[Answered] How much solar do I need to run my laptop?

Great question - how much solar do I need to run my laptop.

Assuming you are using it for work and you need 8 hours use a day (switch off at lunch time) the following answer will help you determine how much solar energy you need.

Check your laptop power supply. 

50-100 watts is required to run a laptop.

So, you will need 100 x 8hours = 800Watt Hours

My laptop power supply is 65W, 20V

So here's my full calculations...

W = V x A

65 = 20 x 3.25A

Total watts for 8 hours is 520W

I would recommend a double capacity battery.

Here's the kit list:

1. completely off grid...

1 x 12V, 100Ah battery as a backup.
2 x 12V, 100W solar panels
1 x 20A charge controller
1 x 400w Inverter or higher
1 x battery charger
1 x nitesave device

2. NiteSave - zero footprint energy

1 x 12V, 100Ah battery
2 x 12V, 100W solar panels
1 x 20A charge controller
1 x 3000w Inverter or higher
1 x battery charger
1 x nitesave device

Join the nitesave community at.. 
https://www.facebook.com/NiteSaveCommunity

Time Machine Organiser has been invented to help you do the impossible

I started out feeling very stressed because I realised that each day I was running out of time. I needed a way of closing the loop on ideas and tasks. I invented the time machine Organiser which assigns a colour to each part of the day and a row to each day. You simply type in where and when you want to achieve something and then relax. Your mind fills in the blanks while you relax. Even while sleeping I find my subconscious helps me to plan. This is why I have called it the timeachine organiser.

Best thing it's free for you to use. You can book mark it on your phone / desktop and everything is stored locally so you will have your lifeplan handy, even if you are in the lake district where there is little or no signal.

The image above is of how I used my TMO to plan events when on my holiday in Lake District. Here is the website link for your free personalised version.

https://useful.website/organise/

RSI Clicker - click free mouse clicking for RSI Support

 As I was getting RSI in my finger, a problem commonly known as computer mouse finger, I thought I would investigate. Specifically when I click with my index finger, I feel a pins and needles feeling.

The more I click with my finger, the more it hurts and the worse the effect is.

So I decided to do something about it.

I developed a device which I call Click RSI which is a device that turns a metal surface into a left mouse button. Because the Click RSI uses capacitive touch, you no longer need to click anything. A simple tap on the metal item will click the mouse for you.

Here's a picture of the "Click RSI" prototype..

You can buy one or make your own.

Buy a Click RSI kit now -

Pack Comprises:

1 x USB Cable

1 x Click RSI module

1 x Click RSI Software (preloaded)

1 x Frosted White Box

1 x Crocodile clip

1 x UK 2 pence coin

Buy with postage included..
https://py.pl/RJ3RN

Or make one yourself...

Hardware device
https://amzn.to/2QUNs1k

Software
https://github.com/markcity/M0use

How to prevent RSI in finger with mouse click? [solved]

 I had a problem with my left click finger.

It started getting pins and needles and feeling numbe when clicking my mouse at work. That was bad, so I thought about assigning a key to left click.

Then I remembered I had a Trinket M0 - so I made a capacitive touch left mouse button.

You can make your own or buy one pre made from me, but it consists of.

1. USB Cable

2. Trinket M0

3. Crocodile clip - to attach D3 to any metal object which can act as a mouse button (touch)

4. This code... 

https://github.com/markcity/M0use/blob/c767d2cf5635d06dd76b9174e631b8ec8245cd48/rsi_left_click_main.py

How to set everything up.

a. Connect the trinket to your computer using the usb cable

b. Load the code onto the trinket.

c. Connect crocodile clip to D3 - terminal 3 on trinket

d. Connect other end of crocodile clip to object you want to touch as mouse. 

I use a tape measure.

To purchase one, please contact me on rsi@hopgood.eu

What's the easiest way to backup your raspberry pi to an image? [Answered]

 This is the simplest way to backup your pi.

Backup your raspberry pi

(Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)

Backing up your raspberry pi is fairly straightforward. Here's my quick and easy guide. Script by Mark at projektor.co.uk

Requirements

Raspberry pi

USB drive for backup

Instructions

Assuming you have no other drives connected to your pi.

Insert a USB pen drive into your raspberry pi.

Issue the following command:

wget -c https://raw.githubusercontent.com/markcity/pibackup/a2fd2b9697a61a6e3f8c8b60546ac7a54abe8041/makeimage.sh;bash ./makeimage.sh

When completed you will have an image of your pi on the USB stick.

You can safely remove the USB stick.

Want to restore the image?

Use Win32DiskImager - download link https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/

 

For reference, the script contains the following lines.

#create a variable today using the current date in the format Year-Month-Date
today=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
#set up a folder to map to the usb drive
sudo mkdir /media/usb
#make the new folder owned / writeable by the user
sudo chown -R pi:pi /media/usb
#map / mount the usb stick at the folder /media/usb
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /media/usb -o uid=pi,gid=pi
#just in case, give the raspberry pi ability to write to NTFS file format
sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g
#use dd command to backup the 'mmc' - SD card to a file
sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=/media/usb/pi_img_${today}.img bs=1M
#unmount the USB card so it can be 
sudo umount /dev/sda1

[SOLVED] Wordpress update failed

 I recently tried to update the wordpress installation on useful.website and got the following message.

The update cannot be installed because we will be unable to copy some files. This is usually due to inconsistent file permissions.: wp-admin/includes/update-core.php Installation failed.

So here's how I resolved it. My installation is behind the useful.website VPN which protects the login from other countries (esp. China and Russia ) so once I was connected to vpn.useful.website I issued the following command.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /path/to/wordpress

Breakdown of the command.

sudo         - switch to superuser for this command

chown     - give ownership to a folder

-R            recurse - so give permission to all files ans folders inside

www-data:www-data  - the user and group that apache web server is using when running wordpress

/path/to/wordpress  - sometimes its /var/www/html or /var/www/my.website.name but its where all the word press files are 

Hopefully this is useful for you. If you want to setup a VPN for protecting your wordpress site, please contact. VPN.team@projektor.co.uk

How to download a windows 10 iso that fits onto a single layer DVD-R /RW

 I use a dvd-rw to store the latest image of windows 10.

In the recent update the size of the iso file was too big to fit on a single layer disk and the recommendation was to write to dual layer.

However dual layer dvd-rw doesn't exist and I don't want to create more waste.

So here's the method I used ...

Rufus download method...
https://pureinfotech.com/download-older-iso-windows-10/

I used the option to download via browser.

Direct download link analysis:

March 2017 - just right

https://dsprodtsblobdub.blob.core.windows.net/dsts/1E70BD11-3D71-471A-AAF0-7675DA88F55F?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=kEit06nuF4h3R2pK71FILQkrqVZgALFXzDQns25fiMI%3D&st=2021-04-08T17%3A30%3A22Z&se=2021-04-10T17%3A35%3A22Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D259200&rscd=attachment%3Bfilename%3D%22Win10_1703_N_English_x64.iso%22

July 2020 build (4.9GB - may just fit!)

https://software-download.microsoft.com/db/Win10_2004_EnglishInternational_x64.iso?t=aae57666-d259-403a-aa29-75cc3a78936b&e=1617975838&h=6466e7113d27bab35de9221b6cec2313

October 2020 build windows 10 International English
Verdict: too large for DVD-R/W

https://software-download.microsoft.com/db/Win10_20H2_EnglishInternational_x64.iso?t=79540047-6d75-461e-a7f5-a3f5bf358129&e=1617972815&h=8f5914aaff3c79046b62333bee14a461

How can I protect my family against COVID19

 It would be great to say "one simple pill" would be a cure. It is not. However there is a significant factor. Here I present recent information I received that is backed up by observation of data and a way to eliminate one factor.

Here's the TLDR ( too long didn't read ) summary.

All detail is provided below.

1. The information

Firstly the information relating specifically to this disease was published in nature website recently. It relates to the Autumn 2020 surge and a main contributing factor.

2. The observation

There is a direct correlation between a drop in  amount of UVB exposure and this happens when the sun is low in the sky.

3. The conclusion

When the UVB exposure drops below a certain level, we are at a significant increased risk of getting Covid. Why? Because UVB exposure allows our bodies to create vitamin D but only at certain times of the year. Unless you live around the equator.

Here's the info you need..

Nature article

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-81419-w

Where to buy vitamin D3

https://amzn.to/3qiNkoO

Images from the nature article

Where to buy vitamin D3

https://amzn.to/3qiNkoO