Tonight

[Joe O'Donnell]

 Unfortunately I can't make it tonight. But here is a suggestion for a project-create a 6 foot tall stand for the camera. That will allow it to see more of the area, including the Hoop House business near us, which they asked us to do if possible. This can be done by using a 6 foot plank or pole-duct tape or otherwise attach the base of the camera to the top of the plank, and nail the base of the plank to the back or side of the bench where the camera currently is. We aren't allowed to leave extension cords plugged in after we leave, but fused power strips plugged only directly into the wall outlet are allowed. So a power strip with a 10 foot or so cord could be used, with plastic ties to attach it to the plank. If any new people show up, this project is pretty simple and they could work on it as their introductory maker project. If you need a plank, call the Hoop House number and ask if one can be donated. Hoop house has also offered to let us borrow their ladder if needed, use that instead of standing on the bench.

 Here is an additional project if any one is interested-install ffmpeg on the desktop near the camera, and determine how to make mp4 files with it from multiple jpeg's. This would be used to allow greater compression on our picture uploads from the camera, thus allowing us to increase the frequency of pictures taken. The greater compression is possible because mp4 compresses for both movement and single images, whereas jpg compresses only for single images.