Avid Andrew

Color Grading Leaves and Greens in Landscapes

Avid Andrew — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:45:00 -0500

Green plants in landscapes don't always appear as green - they can range from shades of yellows to shades of blues depending on the lighting. In this tutorial, learn how to adjust these important shades to control the overall look of your landscape scene.

Golden Heart

Avid Andrew — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0500

While not as popular as subsequent albums, Golden Heart, Mark Knopfler's first solo album, is a real treasure, a masterpiece of songwriting and guitar work. On its 30th anniversary, let's revisit some of the stand out tracks on the album that launched Mark Knopfler's solo career.

Working With Contrast in The Highlights

Avid Andrew — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:00:00 -0600

As we recently discussed, the new AgX module gives you fine-grained control over the highlights. However, additional steps may be required to really bring out the details in very bright areas like the sky. Let's look at several techniques for enhancing contrast in the highlights below.

Case Studies With AgX

Avid Andrew — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 20:00:00 -0600

Let's review a few case studies to see how to use the powerful new AgX module in darktable.

The Darktable Scene-Referred Workflow With AgX

Avid Andrew — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0600

This post provides an overview of how to use the scene-referred workflow in darktable using easy, step-by-step instructions.

AgX, Color Shifts, and The Notorious 6 in Darktable

Avid Andrew — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 18:00:00 -0600

The new AgX tone mapper and the older sigmoid module both provide controls to adjust the color primaries of the image, but what exactly does that mean? What problem are these sliders solving? Let's examine how color shifts occur when luminance changes below.

AgX and The Evolution of Tone Mappers in Darktable

Avid Andrew — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 20:00:00 -0600

AgX, the exciting new tone mapping module coming to darktable in December, is the natural evolution of the tone mappers that came before it. AgX reduces distortions and gives unprecedented control over the entire tone curve. Learn more about the history of tone mappers in darktable and see what sets AgX apart.

Removing Unwanted Objects With Darktable's Powerful Retouch Module

Avid Andrew — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:00:00 -0600

Sometimes you have the opportunity for a great shot but it's blocked by a fence, tree, power lines, or other immovable objects in the foreground. It's often possible to remove these distractions using darktable's powerful retouch module and significantly improve the image. Let's walk through a few examples.

Sailing To Philadelphia

Avid Andrew — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 18:30:00 -0500

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Sailing to Philadelphia, let's look back on some of the stand out tracks from this classic Mark Knopfler album.

Working With Subjects in Shade and Direct Sunlight

Avid Andrew — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 09:40:00 -0500

These beautiful buildings were quite colorful, yet the vibrance of the colors is lost in this capture due to the extreme difference in contrast between the parts in direct sunlight and the parts in the shade. Let's see how to bring this scene to life so it more accurately reflects how it looked in person using darktable.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Far Beyond The Stars

Avid Andrew — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:50:00 -0500

Considered by many of the cast to be their favorite episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Far Beyond The Stars is a riveting story and masterpiece of science fiction. Let's explore the many different levels on which this episode works.

Why Arch Linux Is A Great Desktop Operating System

Avid Andrew — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 17:30:00 -0500

Often views as intimidating and difficult-to-learn, in reality Arch Linux is a perfect blend of simplicity, control, and stability. Let's examine in detail what makes Arch a top choice for your desktop operating system.

The Value of Bringing a Telephoto Lens

Avid Andrew — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:45:00 -0500

They usually aren't light, and they certainly aren't small, but the unique perspective a telephoto lens brings makes it an indispensable part of your kit, even when traveling. Let's review some shots taken with a telephoto to see how we can justify its size and weight.

Star Trek: The Original Series - The City on the Edge of Forever

Avid Andrew — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0500

Profound and thought-provoking, above all else The City on the Edge of Forever is an exposé of the richness of James T. Kirk's character. Paradoxically, it also represents a great tragedy while at the same time Gene Roddenberry's optimistic vision of the future. Let's unpack this classic episode.

Capturing a Waterfall in Lauterbrunnen

Avid Andrew — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 21:00:00 -0500

Let's explore how to showcase this beautiful waterfall in Lauterbrunnen along with the colorful rock surrounding it and the iconic church tower.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Inner Light

Avid Andrew — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 22:30:00 -0500

Arguably the best Star Trek episode of all time, The Inner Light is a masterpiece of science fiction, incorporating philosophical elements and a theme of inner growth. Let's dive into this brilliant story.

Understanding The Difference Between ZFS Snapshots, Bookmarks, and Checkpoints

Avid Andrew — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 22:30:00 -0500

At first glance, ZFS snapshots, bookmarks, and checkpoints may seem similar. Let's explore what these features are, how they differ, and example use cases for each.

Countless Ways To Use The Exposure Module

Avid Andrew — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 22:00:00 -0500

At first glance, the exposure module might seem quite basic. However, this module combined with darktable's powerful masking features can be used for a wide variety of purposes; let's explore these below.

Doctor Who - The Hungry Earth and Cold Blooded

Avid Andrew — Fri, 30 May 2025 17:00:00 -0500

This two-parter from the Matt Smith era of Doctor Who features a compelling story, the return of the Silurians, and a call to bridge cultural divides and bring out the best in yourself and others.

Spring Flowers and Color Harmonies

Avid Andrew — Thu, 15 May 2025 22:00:00 -0500

April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring? An article about color harmonies. Let's explore how color theory can help make these photos of spring flowers pop.

The Orville - Twice in a Lifetime

Avid Andrew — Mon, 05 May 2025 19:00:00 -0500

Let's examine the Orville episode Twice in a Lifetime, a touching and emotional example of a Kobayashi Maru scenario.

Taking Car Photography To The Next Level

Avid Andrew — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:45:00 -0500

On the surface, taking photos of cars seems easy enough. However, you can really take your automotive photography to the next level with a few simple capture techniques and some creative post-processing in darktable.

Star Trek: Voyager - Tuvix

Avid Andrew — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:30:00 -0500

No matter which side of the great Tuvix debate you fall on, this season 2 episode of Star Trek: Voyager is a powerful, thought-provoking story.

Tracker

Avid Andrew — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:00:00 -0500

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Tracker, Mark Knopfler's eight solo album, let's revisit some highlights from this complex, heartfelt record.

Creating An Analog Look With A Historic Red Tram

Avid Andrew — Sun, 06 Apr 2025 07:55:00 -0500

When your subject is old and historic, it may be desirable to give the entire image an aged, analog look. Using the color wheel, let's explore how to create an analogous color harmony and give and old-time look to this photo.

Understanding Europe, The EU, Schengen Area, Eurozone, and More

Avid Andrew — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 07:30:00 -0500

The political, social, and economic structures of Europe are complex and unmatched anywhere else in the world. Let's explore how these different pieces work together to create modern Europe.

Working With High Dynamic Range Using Filmic RGB and Sigmoid

Avid Andrew — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 22:45:00 -0600

Scenes with a high dynamic range can be challenging to work with - either you risk blowing the highlights or the shadows are way too dark. Let's learn how to compress a high dynamic range scene in darktable using both filmic rgb and sigmoid to compare how each of these tone mapping modules works.

Star Trek: DS9 - Children of Time

Avid Andrew — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:30:00 -0600

DS9's Children of Time is a touching story of family, perseverance, growth, and sacrifice. Let's explore the core Star Trek principles it presents below.

Harnessing The Power and Reliability of rsync to Backup or Move Files

Avid Andrew — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 22:00:00 -0600

Transferring files from one disk to another or one computer to another sounds like a trivial task, but when you're dealing with a huge number of files and directories, ensuring that the data was fully copied and exactly matches the source becomes harder to do. Fortunately, the venerable file syncing utility rsync makes it easy to handle large directory trees, verify that all files were synced successfully, and update the destination later quickly with only the files that changed. Let's dive in to how to use rsync.

Sigiriya Rising

Avid Andrew — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 07:45:00 -0600

The mighty Sigiriya rises from the surrounding plains in dramatic fasion. This UNESCO World Heritage site is both impressive and beautiful to see. Let's look at how to bring out this beauty and detail in darktable.

In Defense of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Avid Andrew — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 08:45:00 -0600

There's been a lot of discussion online recently about the new Star Trek: Section 31 movie and re-assessing past Star Trek movies that weren't well-received in light of this latest addition to the franchise. Early reviews indicate that Section 31 fails to integrate the key ingredients of Star Trek, similar to the concerns I brought up about the Kelvinverse movies. Now, by comparison, past movies perceived as weak are actually pretty good. I'd like to focus specifically on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and how it is, in fact, a good episode of Star Trek.

Palm Trees And Purple Skies At Sunset

Avid Andrew — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 07:30:00 -0600

Sunsets can have many fantastic colors, but they may not be very visible on the initial edit of an image. Let's explore how to bring sunset colors to life with this beautiful tropical silhouette.

Simplify and Automate Cooking Tasks With The Instant Pot

Avid Andrew — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0600

Understanding The ZFS Native Encryption Corruption Bug

Avid Andrew — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 07:45:00 -0600

ZFS is a powerful filesystem with many advanced features and two decades of reliability. However, recently concerns have arisen about the new ZFS native encryption functionality. Let's examine this in more detail to understand what the known risks are and possible workarounds for this bug.

Practicing Incidental Photography

Avid Andrew — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 08:15:00 -0600

Much of the advice for composition revolves around certain times of day (e.g. the Golden Hour or Blue Hour) or certain conditions (cloudy vs sunny, the angle of light, etc) in order to take interesting photos. To shoot during these conditions, you often need to devote a lot of time to planning and wait for just the right moment, but what if you don't have that kind of time? Often, your schedule may depend on other people or on other plans you have later which preclude you from sitting with your camera and tripod for hours. Can you still take interesting photos under these constraints, without the "ideal" conditions? The answer is "yes", though it requires practice and a keen sense of composition to find the creative shot. Let's examine some examples of how to practice what I call "incidental photography".

Star Trek: Lower Decks Series Review

Avid Andrew — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0600

Star Trek: Lower Decks concluded its 5-year run recently, cementing its place in Star Trek canon. Let's explore in more detail what made Lower Decks feel like top-tier Star Trek.

Cutting Through The Haze With Sigmoid

Avid Andrew — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 22:30:00 -0600

Shooting far-away subjects often results in haze, characterized by a loss of contrast and a loss of detail. Fortunately, sigmoid is well-suited to recover this contrast and pairs well with the haze removal, local contrast, or diffuse or sharpen modules to reverse the haze. Let's dive in and see how this works.

The Tram Over The Bridge

Avid Andrew — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 22:00:00 -0600

Let's see an example of how to take a decent photo and really drive attention to the subject using color and saturation.

The Beauty in Star Trek: Unification

Avid Andrew — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 20:00:00 -0600

The beauty in Star Trek: Unification, a short film by The Roddenberry Archive, is not in the fancy de-aging CGI, but the exposition of a deep friendship that spans space, time, and the multiverse.

Understanding Graduated Neutral Density Filters

Avid Andrew — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0600

A graduated neutral density filter (or GND) goes over your lens and reduces the brightness (typically for about half of the image) without changing the color temperature. This is useful in scenes with high dynamic range where you can't correctly expose all parts of the scene (because it contains more EVs than your camera can capture). Let's learn about physical GNDs as well as creating software GNDs in darktable.

Creating Color Harmonies With Fall Colors

Avid Andrew — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 07:30:00 -0600

Fall colors are a great opportunity to utilize analogous and complementary color harmonies in a scene. Let's see how to use the RYB color wheel to create a color harmony and bring fall scenes to life.

Harnessing Darktable's Powerful Masks To Quickly and Easily Make Targeted Edits

Avid Andrew — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 17:30:00 -0500

Darktable's powerful drawn masks and parametric masks let you quickly and easily make targeted edits to only part of an image. Let's learn how to use both types of masks and then make several example adjustments.

Make Photos Sharp From Front To Back With The Hyperfocal Distance And A Wide-Angle Lens

Avid Andrew — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 18:30:00 -0500

When shooting a scene with elements at a wide variety of distances from the camera, like a landscape, you can easily end up with some elements of the scene out-of-focus. Fortunately, by understanding the hyperfocal distance and using a wide-angle lens, you can easily ensure your photo is sharp and in-focus from front to back.

Correcting Lens Flare When Shooting Into The Sunlight

Avid Andrew — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 18:30:00 -0500

Sometimes a great shot involves pointing your camera in the direction of the sun. Even if it isn't actually present in the field-of-view, direct sunlight can still cause distortions in the image called lens flare. Fortunately, darktable provides some powerful tools for correcting these aberrations.

Rumours of Fleetwood Mac

Avid Andrew — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 09:30:00 -0500

I was blown away with the incredible authenticity, emotion, and energy that Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, a cover band officially endorsed by Mick Fleetwood himself, brought to their performance. Not only did they deliver on the big hits, such as Go Your Own Way or Don't Stop, but they dug deep into Fleetwood Mac's rich catalog to perform some other less-well-known gems.

Understanding Used Space, Free Space, Snapshots, and Compression on ZFS Datasets

Avid Andrew — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 19:40:00 -0500

Understanding how much space a ZFS dataset is using is not as straightforward as it first seems, but let's dive in and decipher how to calculate used space on ZFS.

Understanding Disk Caches, The Journal, Barriers, and Writeback Using QEMU/KVM and EXT4

Avid Andrew — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 22:20:00 -0500

There are multiple layers of caching involved when writing a file before it makes it to permanent storage on your disk. This becomes even more complicated with a virtual machine which has its own set of caches. Let's explore how exactly writes make it safely to your disk, both on a physical server and a VM.

Effortlessly Make Targeted Color Adjustments With Color Equalizer

Avid Andrew — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 22:40:00 -0500

The new color equalizer module in darktable 4.8 brings an easy, scene-referred approach to targeted color adjustments using familiar hue, saturation, and lightness/brightness tabs.

Create Focus In A Busy Scene With Selective Color

Avid Andrew — Sun, 19 May 2024 07:30:00 -0500

Sometimes a composition is quite busy and it's hard to isolate focus on the main subject. Using selective color to make the subject stand out can not only quiet down the image but also add add an element of contrast to the scene. Let's look at several examples.

One Deep River

Avid Andrew — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 23:00:00 -0500

Filled with trains and deeply introspective, Mark Knopfler's new album, One Deep River, delivers another collection of songs in his wonderful, distinctive style. While there aren't as many stand-out tracks for me as Down The Road Whenever, the following highlights flow perfectly with his existing catalog.

Understanding ZFS Snapshots and Harnessing Their Power With Sanoid and Syncoid

Avid Andrew — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 22:55:00 -0500

ZFS snapshots are an incredible feature to easily take backups, protect against accidental deletion, and understand how your data is changing over time. Let's review how they work and how to harness their power with ease using sanoid and syncoid.

Artistically Blending Colors Into A Scene

Avid Andrew — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:15:00 -0500

Maybe you just missed the peak colors of a sunset, or maybe you just want to apply an artistic interpretation to a photo. Darktable offers powerful and easy-to-use tools for blending new colors into a scene; let's take a closer look at some different techniques for how to do this.

Understanding Free Space, Reserved Blocks, and Inodes on The Ext4 Filesystem

Avid Andrew — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:50:00 -0600

When using the ext4 filesystem, have you ever encountered a situation where free space ran very low on your system, yet processes didn't crash? Let's explore the built-in safety mechanism ext4 uses to keep your system safe from a runaway process consuming disk space.

Adjusting The Shadows and Highlights Using Tone Equalizer

Avid Andrew — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 19:30:00 -0600

It's hard to overstate the power of the tone equalizer module in darktable: it can perform tone adjustments on the whole image or only a certain luminance range and preserve details throughout the process. This module has a lot of options, which can seem intimidating at first (especially if coming from Adobe Lightroom), so let's look at several example images to see how to use it.

Ubiquitous JPEGs Have Conditioned Us To Think Hue Shifts Are Normal

Avid Andrew — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 22:00:00 -0600

At first glance, the flower above might look fine. However, there is a hue shift going on which makes the flower look green/yellow even though it should be an orange/yellow. This phenomenon is present on a huge number of the JPEGs generated on-the-fly (also know as out-of-camera JPEGs) from smartphones and other devices.

Understanding ZFS Datasets

Avid Andrew — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 18:45:00 -0600

ZFS datasets are a powerful and flexible organizational tool that let you easily and quickly structure your data, monitor size over time, and take backups. Learn more about how to create and manage ZFS datasets in this article.

Changing Colors in a Scene

Avid Andrew — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 15:30:00 -0500

When developing a photo, you may want to change the color of an object or set of objects in a scene while not altering other parts of the image. In this example, the autumn colors were just starting to change but would have appeared much more dramatic a week or two later. Let's show how we can use darktable with a couple of different methods to shift the scene to this later, more dramatic time period.

Reflections on Reflections and The Value of Circular Polarizers

Avid Andrew — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 22:00:00 -0500

Using a circular polarizer and knowing how to selectively enhance contrast with the local contrast module can make reflections stand out and give an image a much more dramatic look.

The Unlikely Story of Michael Garibaldi

Avid Andrew — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 17:00:00 -0500

Against all odds, the story of Michael Garibaldi is one of hope and the possibility of happy endings. Although he may be most easily recognized for his role as Chief of Security, his friendship with Jeffrey Sinclair, or his great sense of humor (fasten-zip, peekaboo, etc), in fact his biggest lesson is to never give up trying for a better tomorrow. As we celebrate Babylon 5's 30th anniversary, let's explore what makes Mr. Garibaldi such a compelling character.

Star Trek: Picard Series Review

Avid Andrew — Mon, 08 May 2023 23:00:00 -0500

Star Trek: Picard ended its third and final season recently with a phenomenal conclusion that explored powerful themes and reaffirmed that the core values and ideas of Star Trek are once again present in modern Star Trek. Let's review each season and cover the major themes.

Getting Started With Photography Gear

Avid Andrew — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 23:00:00 -0600

Getting started with digital photography can seem intimidating because of the price of cameras, lenses, and accessories. Moreover, the myriad of choices of brands adds to the complexity. Fortunately, there is a surprisingly simple solution to getting started.

Sigmoid Makes Dramatic Black and White Simple

Avid Andrew — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 23:30:00 -0600

The new sigmoid module in darktable 4.2 makes it easy to create dramatic black and white compositions. While there are many ways to achieve this effect in darktable, sigmoid makes it fast and easy.

Reducing Chroma Noise in Water

Avid Andrew — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 07:50:00 -0600

Review multiple techniques for reducing chroma noise in the water of seascape scenes.

Return of the Dream Canteen

Avid Andrew — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 22:45:00 -0500

Fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers are graced with not one but two beautiful, rich albums in 2022 with the return of John Frusciante (and Rick Rubin). The overall theme I see in this new album is everyone performing at the top of their game. As is often the case with RHCP, the magic of these 4 musicians working together results in something incredible and greater than the sum of its parts. Read on for a full review of the album.

You Should Be Watching The Orville

Avid Andrew — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0500

The Orville, Seth MacFarlane's homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation, is a phenomenal scifi show and I would highly recommend you check it out on Disney+. I'll outline some of the reasons why this show stands out below.

Elevate Your Note-Taking with Obsidian

Avid Andrew — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 18:30:00 -0500

Finding a way to effortlessly take notes across different devices and easily apply formatting is something I've been searching for for a long time. Solutions like Dokuwiki or even Google Docs don't allow for easily and intuitively adding markup to a document, particularly when on on a mobile device. Moreover, keeping notes organized in a simple folder structure is important for interoperability with other apps and services. Enter Obsidian, a phenomenal note-taking app that allows you to effortlessly write notes, add markup using Markdown, and sync across devices.

Using OpenCL with Darktable and ROCm on Arch Linux

Avid Andrew — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 21:00:00 -0500

Learn how to use OpenCL with darktable for improved performance using ROCm on Arch Linux

Selective White Balance on Part of a Photo

Avid Andrew — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 14:30:00 -0500

Adjusting the white balance of a photo is a fundamental skill needed when developing RAW files. In this tutorial, we take it a step further and show how to use darktable's powerful selective white balance to use different white balance settings on specific parts of the image. Typically, this would be used to correct the color from multiple light sources (each with different color temperatures), but in this case we'll use it to keep the subject neutral while adding a creative effect to the background.

Highlighting The Subject Using RGB Channels

Avid Andrew — Mon, 30 May 2022 08:00:00 -0500

Mastering the channel mixer allows you to not only adjust white balance, but also creatively color grade a photo to set the mood, change the luminosity, and make local adjustments to specific areas of the photo. In this example, we use color calibration to highlight a subject when the surrounding content, in this case the green foliage, is naturally brighter than the subject and thus pulls your focus away. We can counteract this using channel mixer in color calibration.

The Case For Q

Avid Andrew — Sat, 07 May 2022 23:00:00 -0500

With the season finale of Star Trek: Picard, we finally learn if Q is a friend or a foe. Let's review the case for Q as a friend of Jean Luc Picard, and reflect on John DeLancie's phenomenal performance in Farewell.

Unlimited Love

Avid Andrew — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -0500

I've been eagerly awaiting the release of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album for quite awhile, and Unlimited Love thoroughly surpassed my expectations. Not only is this a new RHCP album, which is always exciting, but this one is imbued with extra quality, polish, and creativity. As Flea described it, "this is the best of us". Read on for a full review of the album.

Use Color Contrast To Enhance a Scene

Avid Andrew — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 22:20:00 -0500

When you think of contrast, you are probably thinking of luminosity contrast, but color contrast can play an important role in creating a vibrant, dynamic image too.

Directing Attention in a Scene

Avid Andrew — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 23:00:00 -0500

Darktable's powerful parametric masks, combined with the ability to layer multiple instances of a module with a separate set of adjustments applied to each, makes it possible to quickly make high-impact edits. In this example, an additional exposure module directs the viewer's attention to the picnic table, the focal point of the image.

And So It Begins... Again

Avid Andrew — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:15:00 -0500

JMS made a very surprising and exciting announcement yesterday (see the entire thread for additional details):

The original Babylon 5 was groundbreaking in many ways - the serialized 5-year story arc, the special effects, and the complex web of events and genres woven together. Moreover, JMS developed rich, 3-dimensional characters, many …

Q Returns

Avid Andrew — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 22:00:00 -0500

Watch on YouTube

In a stunning announcement yesterday, we learn that Q will be making a return in season 2 of Star Trek: Picard! This is certainly some good fortune! With this announcement, and the clear theme of time in the above trailer, I'd like to reflect on some possibilities …

Why I'm a Fan of Mark Knopfler's Music

Avid Andrew — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 23:00:00 -0600

There are many things I like about Mark Knopfler's work, both his solo albums as well as Dire Straits:

Personal Geography

The way he weaves memories from his own life (even seemingly mundane things) brings a personal connection to his music. For example, taking the train in Southbound Again, remembering …

The Darktable Scene-Referred Workflow

Avid Andrew — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 23:00:00 -0600

Quickly get started with the darktable scene-referred workflow using easy, step-by-step instructions. Learn the purpose of each step rather than just clicking buttons and moving sliders, so these actions become intuitive when developing your photos.

Star Trek: Picard

Avid Andrew — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 23:20:00 -0500

Throughout the past decade, in 2013, 2015, and 2018, I've written about what I believe to be the core of Star Trek and how a new series should carry on this important legacy. I am thrilled to report that Star Trek: Picard has fulfilled and surpassed these expectations. Let's explore …

Uplifting Resources During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Avid Andrew — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 23:00:00 -0500

Updated: 8/20/20

Below are some uplifting resources during this time of uncertainty and stress with the COVID-19 pandemic:

Richard Davidson, the founder of the Center For Healthy Minds, discusses COVID-19 And Our Common Humanity. You can also use the Healthy Minds App to help manage stress during this …

Down The Road Wherever

Avid Andrew — Fri, 23 Nov 2018 14:30:00 -0600

Mark Knopfler's latest solo album, Down The Road Wherever (YouTube), is perhaps his best work since Shangri-La. His other recent albums (even including Get Lucky, which I reviewed here), have felt too folky for my taste and lacked hints of Dire Straits rock. Down The Road Wherever reduces the folk …

A Powerful Workflow Using LAB and Parametric Masks

Avid Andrew — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 15:10:00 -0500

Learn how to use parametric masks and LAB to change the colors in a sunset scene and add drama

A Successful New Star Trek Series - Updated

Avid Andrew — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 15:30:00 -0500

Here's his full statement:

Introduction

Sir Patrick Stewart's recent announcement at the Star Trek: Las Vegas Convention that Jean-Luc Picard will be returning in a new series is stunningly wonderful news. As I wrote back in 2015, there are several important qualities that I believe will make the next chapter …

A Royal Conclusion

Avid Andrew — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 23:00:00 -0500

I've really enjoyed watching Royal Pains over the last eight years, but it took seeing the finale to be able to really articulate why I like it so much: all of the characters give, and through their giving they receive what they need. For example, Hank helped so many people …

Ansible - Templating Config Files

Avid Andrew — Sat, 28 May 2016 22:45:00 -0500

Ansible is a fantastic technology that allows you to deploy and manage servers easily and in a repeatable fashion. One thing that can be tricky is using templates to create complex configuration files. In this example, I'll demonstrate how to use nested variables to create a sample Sanoid config file.

A Successful New Star Trek Series

Avid Andrew — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 22:45:00 -0600

Title image captured by NASA

Introduction

As you have probably heard, CBS announced that a new Star Trek series will premiere in January 2017! This is very exciting news for Star Trek fans, as Enterprise has been off the air for 10 years now. However, with this opportunity comes great …

The Fantastic Star Trek Lit Universe

Avid Andrew — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 20:15:00 -0500

Introduction

Ever since Star Trek Enterprise went off the air, there has been a void, a lack of new Star Trek TV or movies available to fans. The NuTrek films (the 2009 Star Trek reboot and subsequent movies set in an alternate universe) do not count, because although they are …

Understanding NFS Caching

Avid Andrew — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 12:48:00 -0500

Understand the different layers of caching involved with NFS shares and the settings to use on the server and on the client.

The Great Init System Debate

Avid Andrew — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:48:00 -0600

A great debate has arisen about which init system should succeed the venerable System V init system in the popular Debian GNU/Linux distribution. See bug #727708 for details. The two main contenders, Systemd and Upstart, each provide a set of important features while each offering some limitations. Systemd is …

This Is What's Missing From JJ Abram's Star Trek

Avid Andrew — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 22:52:00 -0500

Watch this clip on YouTube

I'm thrilled that Star Trek has returned to the big screen and that JJ Abrams has helped increase its popularity amongst mainstream viewers. This is very important to the franchise in order to attract new fans and continue to grow and produce new Star Trek …

Watch Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and More on Linux

Avid Andrew — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:56:00 -0500

UPDATE: Since this article was originally written, Widevine has become widely available on Linux distributions and allows for access to many popular streaming sites on both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. For more information about each browser, see below:

Star Trek Destiny

Avid Andrew — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 00:57:00 -0600

Image Source

Warning: this article contains spoilers from Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek: Voyager, and some minor spoilers from Star Trek Destiny.

I recently finished this 3-part Star Trek series by David Mack, which converges stories from Star Trek The Next Generation, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. Macks' story blends these …

Run Audiogalaxy on a Linux Server

Avid Andrew — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:55:00 -0500

Recently I have been looking for a way to stream music from my Ubuntu server to my iOS devices. I've investigated several options, including Plex, StreamToMe, iSub, Ampache, Air Playit, and others. However none of these* provide two features I really want to have:

queue tracks as you are listening …

2011 - The Year of The Linux Desktop

Avid Andrew — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:41:00 -0600

Every year, members of the Linux community debate this question - will this be the year of the Linux desktop? Each passing year results in the same answer to this question - not yet. I think that 2011 is going to mark the end of this trend and see the beginning of a rise in use of Linux on the desktop because of several new and exciting projects.

Doctor Who - The Big Bang

Avid Andrew — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:08:00 -0500

It was definitely a heartfelt ending. I was skeptical to say the least of Matt Smith being able to fill David Tennant's shoes as The Doctor, but he has really done a superb job, especially with the 2nd half of the season. He brings a totally new element to The …

MobaSSH provides an easy-to-use SSH server on Windows!

Avid Andrew — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:05:00 -0500

As you know, I'm a Linux fan and can't live without remote SSH access to my boxes. Recently, I was forced to put together a Windows server instead of a Linux one in order to run my MagicJack (unfortunately, Virtualbox's USB Audio drivers aren't very good). I wanted to have …

James Callis Moves to Eureka

Avid Andrew — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:31:00 -0500

I have to admit, I wasn't very excited about the return of Eureka this season. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great scifi show and really some of the best content on TV. I just wasn't in a rush or overly excited to start in on this …

Way to Go, Steve

Avid Andrew — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:38:00 -0500

As you have probably heard by now, Steve Jobs recently responded to the escalating Adobe-Apple conflict with a detailed and open letter explaining his thoughts on flash. Since the letter was published, there have been numerous responses (1, 2, 3...) to his letter, many of which try and accuse Apple …

Q & Data Using an iPad

Avid Andrew — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:43:00 -0500

This is the absolute greatest thing I have seen in a long while - John DeLancie and Brent Spiner using an iPad. Two of the coolest guys in the universe!! [via Gizmodo]

The Computer Paradigm Shift

Avid Andrew — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 09:11:00 -0500

In case you didn't already know, the iPad will go on sale tomorrow. This event marks the beginning of the next great leap forward for computers. This shift takes computers from the "desktop" model of managing files, folders, and devices to a task-centric model which abstracts these things from the …

Time-Lapse Water Photography

Avid Andrew — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:59:00 -0500

A long-exposure HDR photo on a river using both a neutral density filter and circular polarizer.