Tag: Blogging

MkDocs: Project Documentation With Markdown

MkDocs is a fast, simple and downright gorgeous static site generator that’s geared towards building project documentation. Documentation source files are written in Markdown, and configured with a single YAML configuration file.

Looks like a nice static website generator.

Its intended for project documentation but looks fine for any topic based writing.

Org2Blog v1.0.0 Released!

Seven years ago today @punchagan made the first commit 4f41f5c on Org2Blog. He started what has grown to be a loved and adored Emacs package. Combining the power of Org-Mode with the gargantuan wealth of WordPress, Org2Blog unites the two creating one of the worlds most elegant blogging systems ever. Thousands of users around the world use it daily with big smiles on their faces.

Thank you @punchagan, contributors, issue and feature reporters, Org-Mode team, Emacs team and the Philosophy of the GNU Project for sharing this gift with the world.

After seven years of development, maintenance, support and new features along with years of stable use, Org2Blog is ready for a major release at v1.0.0.

By the way, it is exactly seven years today and I absolutely did not plan this timing at all!

Screencasting Practice & Feedback: 00004

Plan

  • Evaluate sound-dampening foam
  • Record the audio and video simultaneously in a conversational style and edit the video to fit the time-line
    • Love conversational style; curious about how to reduce it to the core content

Execution

Preparation

  • Minimal

Execution

  • Spoke more loudly

Post Production

  • Minimal
    • Added logo
    • Sped up video content to make it fit the time-line or removed some

Outcome & Feedback

  • Spent only 2 hours and I’m happy with the result
  • Conversation (audio and video) were recorded separately from the content. It is difficult not to synchronize them but rather to make them work well together. In this screencast, the content more or less makes sense. I think that I could do it better.
  • Weighing the balance between getting the content out there in an imperfect form versus planning forever and rarely publishing anything.
  • Missed light misplacement hilariously causing humongous eyebrows

Screenflow 6 User Guide Highlights

  • Recording Monitor makes monitoring easier
    • Easily add markers
  • Difference between clips and backing medias turns ScreenFlow (SF) into a Lisp-like and Git-like environment for easily trying things out and reverting them if you don’t like the results
    • Test this out by speeding up or slowing down a clip, cool
  • Where can I find standard, known-good approaches for visual and audio effects in multimedia content production?
  • Nested clips
  • Templates seem like a really great idea, too
  • You can do free-hand callouts that blur and darken areas
  • Everyone must know about snapback actions
    • Restore the state of the clip to the N-1 action

Screencasting Practice & Feedback: 00003

Plan

  • Demonstrate lessons-learned about alternate input methods and redefinition of the Emacs interpretation of modifier keys
  • Utilize a lower-third instead of text-boxes
  • Talk louder

Execution

Preparation

  • Pretend you are going to a job-interview, or on a date, that is recorded for everyone to see, forever
    • Perform all personal preparations that you normally would for example
      • Brush your teeth
  • Applied Revlon PhotoReady Prime + Anti Shine Balm Clear
  • Lights and camera and microphone
    • Set them up
    • Tested them
    • Hooked up camera and turned it on
    • Adjusted white balance
    • Set left light pointed at me; right light pointed at ceiling
    • Adjust left light to give face warmth (versus ghost appearance)
    • Microphone is on and input volume maxed out
  • Turn off HVAC
  • Mute Phone and Pushbullet
  • Close other applications
  • Verify microphone woks
  • Verify recording on correct monitor
  • Write rough script
  • Pour glass of water

Execution

  • Showed off Emacs mug and encouraged FSF support

Screencasting Practice & Feedback: 00002

Plan

  • Demonstrate how I like to quote content in Org-Mode
  • Learn how to use call-outs and text-boxes
  • Learn how to ad-lib content
  • Scripted out location of content and video-recording of presenter to make sense of what is appearing on the screen and where
  • Learn how to use content-music

Execution

  • Made video top right 100% of the top right corner
    • This means scaling it by 50%
  • Remove the dropshadow from the video
    • The video stood out enough already
  • Amplified volume by 200%
  • Added callouts interesting content
  • Added watermwark, 25% scale, 25% opacity, 10 key-presses from bottom and right edge
  • Include the word Screencast in announcement to distinguish between screencast and blog post
  • 6h of effort for 7m of content
  • Posted manually on Reddit
  • Blog published to social sites

Outcome & Feedback

  • Wrote a script; didn’t pay attention to it enough
  • After re-recording it six times, said I would never re-record it again. Instead made corrections using text-boxes positioned over my face.
  • Light was OK
  • Speaking volume was too quiet; content volume was too loud
  • Skin was shiny
  • Looping the banner and jingle at the end was a mistake
  • The 3m monologue about Braille displays was interesting to me and perhaps no one else so don’t include that. 3m is a long time.
  • Use a lower-third intead of text boxes
  • Redditers commented that a blog post would have been more concise and faster. What is the best of both worlds?