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Got a basic webcam but want to add more to the image? Using PHP it is very easy to do overlay your own text on a webcam image? This article explains how to do it

Not sure how to dynamically list days in the future on fixed URLs?

A recent problem arose when trying to provide a dynamic list of linked URLs on a page based on the textual name rather than the numeric date (see right). A number of sub-pages on a website has unique, but not ordered URLs, suffixed with a page number (numeric). It is easy to simply statically list them, but why not dynamically put them in ascending order? Find out how to do it here.

The UK’s met office has started a service where you can send your home weather data to their servers.

An article covering how to do this for a WS2350 unit, using PHP is included here.

The current observations can be found here.

I hope it helps you take part and be involved.

A common problem nowadays is how to create flash videos, but not have to download windows applications to do it.

If you are happy to run Linux, then you can use Mencoder, part of the MPlayer suite of applications. Either use RPM manager, Yum or another package manager to download the package to your Linux desktop. Then get you WMV file from a digital camera or from Microsoft Windows Movie Maker and get it onto your linux PC.

Now, to use Mencoder means you have to type stuff at the command prompt (shell). In the same folder as the WMV file, type out the following command line and parameters.

This version will encode at 500k video:


mencoder Winter_Aero_Tow_0002.wmv -o Winter_Aero_Tow_0002z.wmv.flv -of lavf -oac mp3lame -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=flv:vbitrate=500:mbd=2:mv0:trell:v4mv:cbp:last_pred=3 -srate 22050 -ofp 24


The output was about 21Mb.

This version uses 400k video – deriving a saving of 50% (output 11Mb).

mencoder RGC_Summer.wmv -o sum.wmv.flv -of lavf -oac mp3lame -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=flv:vbitrate=400:mbd=2:mv0:trell:v4mv:cbp:last_pred=3 -srate 22050 -ofps 24


This will create a flash video that you can play on the Linux PC (using Mplayer or similar). Now you can use the flash-encoded file as you wish.

Have an Ultimeter weather station? You can then send the data to CWOP if you use the recipe here.