Month: June 2015

Rasplex

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IMG_2941After I setup my Raspberry Pi 2 Saturday I did some research on media center options for the Pi.  My primary objective with my Pi was to setup my own media center set top box to replace my aging Google TV.  I was never a fan of the Google TV however at the time it was the only device that would let me run Plex with a UI that looked any good.  The Roku was horrible and still isn’t so good.  Apple TV I used for a while but keep having trouble with the Jailbreak.  A few simple searches lead me to Rasplex.  Resplex looked easy enough and appeared to have everything I want in Plex client.

Saturday night when I checked my mail I also saw my Pi 2 case had arrived.  The Pi 2 case looked much nicer than the original aftermarket clear case I got for my original Pi.

I used nap time Sunday to attempt to set it up.  The install was even quicker than my plain vanilla Raspberry Pi install.  I had my media content running on my Pi in very quickly.  I didn’t get a chance to try out the software more than a few minutes but I liked what I saw enough to move onto the next challenge using a Pi as a media center brings me.

I do not want to use my mini keyboard to control the Pi.  I set out to find a Pi compatible IR receiver so I can use my Logitech Harmony One remote with it.  That was something I cannot do with my Sony Google TV.  It annoys me and MC doesn’t like two remotes.  I found a USB IR receiver that what appears to be the perfect solution for me.  I also bought a bluetooth USB adapter for the Pi.  With those two additional adapters I think I have all the accessories I need to leverage the Pi as my media center.

Once I am able to program my Harmony One to use with the Pi I will give it a test run.  All in my costs will be nearly $90.  For that price I could have gone out and bought an Android TV device or an Kindle Fire TV.  I could also have continued to use my Google TV with no extra cost however I have been actively trying to avoid using google products.  The Google TV is the last thing I rely on from Google for my personal use.  That is another reason to hope the Pi suits my personal needs.

I am also interested in some additional configurations I can try on the Pi.  For example I would like to try out OSMC a Kodi variant for the Pi.  All I need to do is swap out the memory card and I have a completely different config without messing up my Rasplex setup.  I would also like to investigate some music and video streaming options, however OSMC is up first after I bake in the Plex setup.

Free Babysitting

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MC’s parents came to visit this weekend.  They arrived late morning Saturday.  MC and Teagan had a birthday party to goto so they had already left however Amelia and I got to have lunch with them.  Right after lunch when I got Amelia out of her chair she put her head on my shoulder.  It was as sure of a sign as I was going to get that she was tired and wanted a nap.

My mother in law went for a walk while my father in law and I got to relax with Amelia sleeping.  I tinkered, but I already wrote about that in a post yesterday.

With MC’s parents visiting MC and I had an opportunity to go out for a date night with free baby sitting.  We took her parents up on the offer and went out for dinner after the girls were in bed.

The girls were not quite sleeping when we left however we gave strict instructions to MC’s folks on how not to get scammed by Teagan into going into the room and giving her stuff.

We trekked out in the rain to Jade for some dinner.  We haven’t been there in a  while and we liked the food before.  It didn’t disappoint.  We had a few good cocktails and the meal was good.  I tried some mojito’s and MC tried a specialty drink that was pretty good but I cannot remember the name of.After dinner we headed out in now pouring rain to Martha’s Bakery for some tasty desert to bring home.  We all split some cheese cake, chocolate cake and red velvet.  It was a really good selection.

Today was pretty laid back.  We had breakfast at home and then everyone except me went for a walk and on the way back brought home lunch.  My in laws headed home after lunch thankfully taking a bunch of boxes we are donating with them.  I am all for more free space in the apartment.

After that the girls got in a great long nap.  For dinner MC and I tried to introduce the girls to sushi.  It didn’t go over as planned meaning MC and I ate a lot of such and the girls ended up eating garden burgers since they really didn’t want anything to do with the sushi.

Overall a pretty relaxing weekend at home.

Building My First Raspberry Pi

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I have owned a Raspberry Pi for about a year.  I had high hopes for it but never got around to building anything with it.  A few weeks ago I saw that there was an official Raspberry Pi 2 case and I got to thinking about all the things I wanted to do with my original Pi.  My mind then went wandering that since there was a newer version out and a shinny new case that goes with it I wanted to get the upgraded kit and check it out.  I ordered the Pi 2 and a wifi adapter from Amazon for under $50.  The case is on its way from a different vendor for $10.  All in a computer for less than $60 is not bad.

My new Pi 2 and wireless adapter arrived earlier this week.  Today was the first day that I finally had the time to sit down and install an OS on the Pi 2.  Amelia was napping and MC was at a party with Teagan.  My inlays were visiting but my father in law was relaxing on the couch and was interested in what I was working on so there was plenty of time to tinker.

It took some digging for me to to find a Micro SD card that had enough space on it that would work with the Pi lying around.  It only took a few minutes to download and prep the SD card and get the install going.  I was happy that i still had my old mini keyboard and trackpad that i bought when i was using my Mac Mini as a media center.  I was plugged in and installing the OS in only a few minutes.  The Pi only takes HDMI video input.  I have an HDMI to DVI adapter however I do not have any normal monitors in my apartment.  My desktop computer setup uses an Apple Cinema Display and the only other monitor I have is a USB DisplayPort powered 15″ LCD I sometimes use in the bedroom when working from home.  That meant I had to use the TV to setup the Pi.  Not a big deal and the OS setup and wireless configuration only took a few minutes.

I had some minor challenges getting a VNC server setup but once that was done I had a completely working Pi with remote access running.

My next steps is to see what media center options I have.

The Art of Dipping

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I came home early from work today and was able to eat dinner with the girls.  They had chicken nuggets.  Well we call them chicken nuggets but they are the Morningstar Farms Veggi nuggets.  MC & I have showed the girls how to dip food into sauces like BBQ & Mustard.  Neither of the girls have been interested in it.

Best Sushi I Ever Had

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MC & I meet up with one of her cousins and his girlfriend and went to Sushi Nakazawa.  I have wanted to go since MC pointed out an article about the place was opening.  She knew I liked the Jiro Dreams of Sushi documentary and highlighted the connection.  The problem was we never got reservations, until today.

Reservations were late so MC and I went back  to Employees Only for a drink first.  It was nearby so we figured we would try it again.  We were lucky and it wasn’t too crowded.  We got seats at the bar.  I had two delicious Whiskey Smash’s.  I would drink more of them if they weren’t as time intensive to make myself.  MC was more adventurous and picked something interesting off the menu.  For round two she let our awesome bartender pick something out for her.  Both drinks were good however I still loved the Whiskey Smash.  After drinks we walked over to Sushi Nakazawa.

Dinner was better than expected and that is saying a lot since we had high hopes.  By far the best sushi experience I have ever had.  I opted for the Sake pairing to go along with the dinner.  It was a good choice.  MC opted for wine however there was enough Sake tasting to go around.  Dinner was a big splurge however totally worth it.

I will try not to discuss the piece of cake and two cup cakes I may or may not have had at Magnolia bakery afterwards.

Overall a fantastic evening.  The only downside would be the Uber fail.  I tried Uber for the first time and the driver canceled on me before they could pick us up.  Ended up being less of an issue since the Subway showed up quick.  I will give Uber another try at some point.  Hoping they are more reliable than one Friday late night instance cancelation.

Apples Perception Problem

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Apple has a perception problem if when I am out to dinner our waiter is arguing with me that he bought an Android Wear watch because Android is more “open” than Apple.  I am cool if you want to live Android over iOS however liking Android because it is more open means that Google is successful at spinning how their OS is perceived and Apple hasn’t been.

I smartly dropped the topic and two other friends of mine agreed it was not worth the conversation.  MC and my friends wife just rolled their eyes at us (literally or figuratively).  It did all start because MC asked him if he was wearing an Apple Watch this whole thing would never have started.  I thought the whole conversation was pretty funny.