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ZENTROCDOT'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DASHBOARD |
This webspace is a simple introduction to who I am and what I do. My main interest lies on photography and graphic design. I have just over 40 years of experience in both fields. Everything about images and image manipulation is of highly interest for me. Currently I am also interested in Artificial Intelligence, Generative Artificial Intelligence image generation and last but not least I am interested in Crypto Coin as well as NFT technology.
Since the 80s I have been programming using different programming languages on different computer systems. But over a decade I am no longer working on personal computers with the operating system Windows. At that time when I used DOS together with Windows I had in parallel to work on Unix as well as on Sinix and worked private on Linux. My first Linux distribution I used was SUSE Linux. I am now working for a long time exclusively under Linux, use only open source software and do my own programming.
Every now and then I deal with robot technology. The focus is on building and programming robots myself. I design also simple sensors for the robots, but I also use modules that are available on the market like ultrasonic modules.
In mathematics, physics as well as computer science and technology I am also interested. One topic I deal with at regular intervals is the number Pi and how to calculate it. I am further on interested in theology, philosophy and history.
My artistic interest is also reflected in the fact that I like to paint model building models myself. These can be figures, vehicles, buildings or special landscapes for tabletop. Modelling and colour design of model landscapes is also included here.
I read a lot, especially literature of technical interest, as well as literature on history worldwide, science fiction and fantasy in book and booklet form. I like board games, at least the old ones, which are less politically correct, and I played in young years semi-professional chess and play from time to time chess for fun.
At the moment, GitHub in particular is a vendor's tray for me with various repositories on different topics. Through this website, I am trying to bring some order to the things that are important to me and that might also be of interest to others.
I will not go into too much detail on this page. Some statements may therefore be somewhat imprecise. This page is intended to provide no more and no less than an overview of what I am involved with.
Whenever you see my banner, my logo or my avatar, than the creator and owner should be me of the related web space. As my graphics are often stolen - they must be really good enough for some people - one needs to take a closer look to see if it is me or a dummy or fake site. This can be easily checked by cross links, if my pseudonym or alias, my banner, my logo as well as my avatar is the same and so on.
I essentially use two logos, which are also available to me as NFTs:
Both logos were originally SVG graphics files created with the vector graphics programme Inkscape. For use as NFTs, both SVG files were converted to the JPG/JPEG file format. If I need a tranparent background, I am using both files in the PNG file format.
One can find me on X (formerly Twitter) and recently also on Bluesky. Both are a showroom for my activities in graphic design and programming. One can also find me on the communication platform Discord. I have also a web presence at Buymeacoffee. The latter one is not maintained by me so often these days.
I am active from time to time here at GitHub. And last but not least I am every now and again at Launchpad and CPAN. Unfortunately, I do not have the time I need for GitHub, Launchpad and CPAN as well. The entry page for users and developers is on GitHub [2] and Launchpad [3] the same. For CPAN, the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, the entry site for users is [4] and for developers [5]. As developer work is waiting for me on all of the three named platforms.
After some initial hesitation, I took a closer look at CIVITAI and am now very impressed with this platform. Accordingly one can find me also now on CIVITAI. On CIVITA one can find Embeddings or Textual Inversions, Hypernetworks, LoRAs, DreamBooth models as well as merged base models of myself. Last but not least there are also images of different kind I created. The donations in honour of my activities I regularly receive at CIVITAI are great. It really motivates me to do more and to do it faster.
As I wrote I am interested in the NFT technology. In this area I am active at three places. One can find me on Opensea, Rarible and Magic Eden. Most of the NFTs there are for personal use. Some are to give them away in good hands. I have also tried a few other platforms. However, they were unsatisfactory in all respects.
I have been involved with photography, image creation and image manipulation all of my life. Be it at school, at university or simply in my private life. At school, I attended the photo study group in addition to the computer science study group.
Long before it gave digital cameras I used mechanical cameras. I developed 35mm films myself and also developed images myself in the darkroom. As I do not throw anything away, I still have the apparatus somewhere in which you could load the films and then develop them.
Some examples of photos I took:
Linux is a good platform when it comes to tools for photography and graphic design. Linux has one weakness compared to Windows. Good print quality is easier to realise with Windows if the appropriate drivers are available. Printers and the right printer drivers are unfortunately still an issue, at least for me.
Subsequently listed tools are in use by me:
RawTherapee is a programme aimed at photographers. Gimp is a good image editing programme. G'MIC is among other things a plugin for Gimp. Inkscape is a good vector graphics programme. Last but not least ImageMagick is a command line tool for image manipulation of all kinds.
As stated G'MIC is an extension for Gimp. In Python one can write plugins like G'MIC to extend the posibilities of Gimp.
As I learned Stable Diffusion can be used for much more than simple AI image generation. With Stable Diffusion images can be easily upscaled. A magic eraser functionality can be realised by Stable Diffusion too. The possibilities of the Generative Artificial Image Generation are an interesting extension if you work with photos and graphics.
On my to-do list is to realise an upscaler for Python. Stable Diffusion and selected known upscalers are to be used together with PyTorch.
For professional photo processing RawTherapee is the tool of choice. Gimp can be used very well for photo editing. Together with G'MIC Gimp is a very powerful tool.
Two examples can be found here:
In both images a filter of G'MIC was applied to a photograph.
Inspired by G'MIC and ImageMagick I wrote some filter on my own. One example is a wave filter:
In addition to photography and image processing, I also work with vector graphics and take from time to time a deeper look in the possibilities of vector graphics. Vector graphics or the SVG graphic format is nothing else than XML. In this way vector graphics can simply be programmed.
What you can do in Inkscape you can do in the context of a website also. Much more dangerous is the second feature of a SVG graphic. One can realise motion using JavaScript. One nice example of a clock can be found at [8].
Two good examples for vector graphics I created are:
Here are two collection with examples of vector graphic art images I created a long time ago:
Clownfish and red truck in a light bulb from the previous examples are included in the second collection. The first collection shows what you can do with Inkscape and Gnuplot. For the examples in this collection I have developed equations for a rolling wheel on a wheel on a wheel and so on.
This is another good example that NFTs are much more than tradable items. My favourite examples are in the IPFS.
For vector graphics one can use Inkscape which is a quite good tool. For INkscape one can write in Python Extensions to use with Inkscape.
There are a second way to integrate images in HMTL. For this one can use Base64 images.
This item decorator is an Base64 inline image.This example with the 3D colored bullet is academic and not applicable. The base64 data have 155 line with a line length of 80 characters. The HTML code will become long, but there is in special case no advantage at all.
Animated GIFs are a way of using animations in websites. A series of individual GIFs provides movement if the frame rate for the display is correct. One good example is the cat on the scratching tree. This image is an animated image for realising a stereoscopic view. The applied method makes the image appear spatial three-dimensional.
To create this animated stereoscopic cat several steps were necessary. First I had to select a suitable image. Then I wrote a Python programme that generated images from the original image that the resulting animation can be perceived as stereoscopic and runs infinite. After that I wrote a Python script that converted the set of images in the animated GIF image.
Stereoscopic effect can also be realised by colour shifting:
With stereoscopic glasses with on blue and one red glass the effect can be seen.
Images of various types can be created with AI as standard. Such created images are of type Prompt Art. This is the hint, that AI image generation is Text-To-Image generation.
The next picture of a white devil cat with a hat is AI-generated. The horns do not match the cat, nor do the ears, and the physique is not that of a cat either. Nevertheless, the cat looks photorealistic. The main problem with such an image is the eyes. A closer look at the picture shows this. A post-processing step using inpainting can be used to improve eyes that have gone wrong.
An important topic is the lighting within a particular Prompt. To show how the lighting can be influenced, I have written an article about the corresponding keywords.
I prepared a NFT collection in which each image has a changed or different lighting condition.
What is less well known is that the same web user interfaces can also create videos. The following mp4 video shows this very clearly.
Following types of models I am developing so far:
Following types of models I am developing so far:
At the moment my focus lies on Embeddings, Hypernetworks and LoRAs.
By default and historically, there are two types of models that can be easily created. Embeddings or Textual Inversions as well as Hypernetworks can be trained using the Extension Train by default from within AUTOMATIC1111. If one trains an Embedding, the result looks like the trained images. Hypernetworks quite different to this behaviour. A Hypernetwork modifies the behaviour of the items in an image they are trained on.
I have always lacked options for working more effectively in AI image generation. Since AUTOMATIC1111 offers the option of integrating self-programmed Extensions in the web UI, I familiarised myself with the programming of these Extensions.
The Extensions I have developed so far can be found here:
The corresponding website is updated according to the development status of the individual Extensions. Each Extension has more or less good documentation to date.
Today, NFT marketplaces are far more than just platforms on which NFTs can be traded. If you utilise the possibilities correctly, these marketplaces are galleries for your own ideas and images.
It is also important to remember that the common NFT marketplaces make it easy to mint NFTs. It is much more complicated to set up a working environment that allows to mint NFTs. In my case, this is not an option for now as it is too time consuming.
It looks to me as if NFTs are still only seen as an object for speculation. I do not think this does the technology justice. With NFTs, you can have your own pictures with you anytime and anywhere. Access is easy via smartphone, tablet or personal computer to each time and at each location.
The ground idea of my Cube Logo exist as NFT on the Cardanao Blockchain since the year 2022-1-1. Variation in the current modern version was stolen from me and apparently used intensively as a logo for fraud on an NFT platform. This example shows the usefulness of NFTs very clearly. They are my proof of ownership for my idea.
Art should be shown. In order to realise this for myself personally, I have been creating NFTs for a long time. That way I can carry the pictures around in my wallet.
Visit me on Opensea for a complete overview of all collections I prepared over the years. It started with vector graphics and ended with AI images. In between some photographs can be found.
Some of the programming languages I am more or less familiar with are:
The above list is certainly not complete. I always use the programming language that gets me to my goal the quickest. See also [2] for an incredible long list of outdated and current programming languages. If necessary, I also learn a new programming language.
My favourite programming languages are Bash, Python and Perl. First I take a look, if a problem can be solved using Bash, than I take a look, if a ploblem can be solved using Python. Last but not least I am deciding if I have to use Perl or another Programming language.
In computer programming, machine code is the computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control and interact with the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer. For conventional computers on binary base, machine code is the binary representation of a computer program which can be read and interpreted by the computer respectively by the CPU. Such a program in machine code consists of a sequence of machine instructions sometime interspersed with data. Machine code commands can be processed directly by a CPU as mentioned. Each command is given in binary form with zeros and ones.
The machine code is by definition not natural for human beings. Here comes the assembler into play. An assembler works with the so-called mnemonics which makes progamming on processor level easier and more natural for a human being. Commands are no longer given in a combination of zeros and ones. Assembler uses e.g commands like shift arithmetic right (SAR) and shift logical right (SHR). The list of available assembler commands varies from processor type to procesor type. One good example is a so-called RISC processor, whereas RISC is the abbreviation for Reduced Instruction Set Computer.
The next level on programming languages are C/C++ which are near to the assembler programming. Other programming languages e.g. are again written in C/C++.
What Batch programming was under Windows, Shell/Bash programming is under Linux. At least they are comparable in terms of their approach, before I am criticised for the above statement.
sed, awk as well as bc are commonly known as Bash commands. What most people do not realise or know is that sed, awk and bc are fully-fledged programming languages. bc is somehow a special case, but it is also a programming language when we talk about mathematical operations. Both sed and awk are proven Turing-complete programming languages.
For a long time Python is next to Bash my favourite programming language. When I started programming I was not really happy that one needs to import most of the time modules for use in the script or programme. Taking into account that Python can be extended by modules in PIP this concept is much more useful. One has core Python, standard Python modules and third party Python modules in PIP.
In the large digital landscape, programming languages are the lingua franca in software development and enable global conversations between machines, developers and programmers, wherever they may be located. A programming language is a set of words and symbols that enables humans to communicate with a computer using instructions in a way a computer can understand. The programming language itself is nothing else than a collection of semantic rules and syntactic rules as well as defined restrictions. Like a spoken language, a computer language has its own grammar, syntax, structure and vocabulary as well as shortcuts sometimes. To bring them to live one needs a interpreter or compiler or maybe a mixture from both.
While running a script or programme the interpreter is interpreting the code and reads the code line by line. A compiler creates binary code while compiling from the source code. The result is an executable programme as bytecode. There are some cases in which interpreting and compiling are somehow combined. JAVA belongs to the latter version. Python is an interpretive programming language whose scripts have the extension .py. Python can also uses bytecode with the extension .pyc to speed things up if nothing changes in the programme code before. C/C++ are typical example for compiled programming languages. On the other hand side Python, Perl and Ruby are examples for typical interpreted programming languages.
I programmed some high sophisticated application which I can not present here in detail for security reasons. Among these are a transparent proxy and a WLAN jammer.
A long time ago, in the 80s, I programmed a self-designed and self-manufactured fully automatic calf feeding system in Turbo Pascal. The hardware and software was intended to show that it was possible to do this with a standard personal computer on base of a x86 processor to that time for the overall health of the calfs.
I have programmed a system for video surveillance monitors in Python. These allow one to take a look at one or more specific cameras when needed while video surveillance with motion detection is running in the background. This way I was able to help catch some really bad girls and boys.
Since 2017, I have been using my own wireless access point scanner without making any necessary changes. The tool is simple and easy to use. Programmed is the tool simply in Bash.
Installation can be done by using a PPA applying following steps:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zentrocdot/wapscan-cli
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install wapscan
Further informations and resources can be found here:
wapscan is a tool for the terminal window. The tool can used with more than one wlan interface. It is as simple as possible. The goal is simply to show the wireless access point in the surrounding with some impportant informations about them.
When I have more time I have to take a look at the tool and have to check if an update or upgrade is necessary.
One needs always prime numbers. For them I wrote a simple and quick programme that calculates prime numbers in a requested range.
Installation can be done by using a PPA applying following steps:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zentrocdot/prime-numbers
sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install prime-numbers
More informations and resources can be found here:
The programme simply calculates a number of requested primenumbers wihout formating them number by number.
When I have much more time I have to take another look at the tool and have to check if an update or upgrade might be necessary.
The first occurrence of Pi in mathematics is presumed and dated back around the year 3000BC and is related to the Indus valleyand to the civilisation of the same name in the indian subcontinent. Pi is the name of the well-known concept for a circle constant. New approaches are thinking about the more natural usage of the circle constant as Tau.
I am particularly proud of the fact that I was able to work through Archimedes' foundations for calculating the circle number Pi in the form of SageMath notebooks, which can be found here on GitHub. Archimedes' approach is based on ratios of quantities and it is complicated to translate these ratios of quantities into mathematical equations. One particular problem is that he used different approaches for the inscribed circle and the circumscribed circle.
My resources can be found here:
When it comes to the calculation of Pi in connection with Archimedes, incorrect statements are usually made. At the time of Archimedes, techniques relating to algebra and geometry that are used today to derive his calculation rule were not yet known. These modern approaches are nothing more than a correct interpretation of his approaches, nothing more and nothing less. The prove of the statement is given with a look in Archimedes' Circuli Dimensio and his 3 propositions.
This project has stalled because I don't have enough time.
As far as the basis for calculating the circle number Pi is concerned, I went back a long way into the past and conducted an intensive search for sources. This revealed interesting aspects and approaches, some of which are reproduced incorrectly or distorted in today's literature. For example, I also found calculation approaches dating back round about 100 years that were already known in the Middle Ages. Next to the geometric analysis I wrote a bunch of programmes in Python and Perl to this topic.
I always work in an application-orientated way. That means I try things out first and then I go into theory if necessary. I found out while working with different approaches, that an approach of Dörrie and an approach of Snellius is able to speed up the calculation of Pi when we are talking about Archimedes' approach. It has to be noted that the approach of Dörrie from the beginning of the last century goes back to the insights of scientists of the Middle Age.
This project has also stalled because I don't have enough time.
In the 80s I worked with the homecomputer C64, the Apple IIe and the IBM PC/AT 80286 computers. I was familiar with the other systems, but I wasn't interested in them. The special features that characterised the C64 still fascinate me to this day.
Onboard on the C64 board there was a video as well as a sound chip for video and sound output. This way the C64 was complete to work with. Three special features should be pointed out. That are PEEK and POKE on the one hand side. And that is the fact that the C64 uses Sprites. With the command PEEK the memory could be read. With POKE the memory could be written.
Nowadays, I am using motherboards for AMD microprocessors with AMD microprocessors when it comes to computers. My computer is more of a test rig than what people think of as a personal computer. I can use this type of computer for crypto mining, AI image generation or mathematical calculations.
A long time ago I had to decide which kind of single board computer I wanted to use for some experiments and more. I decided to use a Raspberry Pi I have no regrets up today. I used the RPi for roboter technique, for video surveillance, for media center and as router. It is also used as mini computer with different Linux operating systems.
As a general rule, I assemble the computer hardware as I need it. I rarely deviate from this rule. Is the hardware prepared, I install the OS I need as well as the software I need. If I need special tool I am programming them.
Sometimes I am developing hardware of each kind. This can be electronical, electrical or also pure mechanical. Mechanical development can be supported by CAD.
In development for mechanical hardward the CAD programme LibreCAD can be used. I developed a simple mechanical pressure measuring device for the household for use with standard garden adapters. The measuring device should be able to measure mechanical presse in house and garden. In Pipes there can be measured statical, dynamical and total pressure. Such a device must be able to handle this cases.
I am experienced in using the mathematical software Mathematica. In addition to this I also know a little bit about MATLAB and MuPad. I feel familiar with SageMath. Last but not least I working with Scilab and Gnuplot.
I am working sometimes with the mathematics software system SageMath. To make a straight forward installation for me easier, if necessary on some reasons, I wrote a installation guide.
To have the newest version of LibreOffice I figured out how to compile and install it from source with language support and everything else what is neede to have a state of the art system.
Every website of this webspace consists of three parts. The header area, the content area and the footer area. I have deliberately decided not to use a content management system. However, I use their underlying approaches to website design.
This webspace was created by me in the familiar old-fashioned form. I wrote the website with the help of a text editor. Sometimes I am using also HTML editors to test certain things. As a rule, however, I am always much quicker at programming by hand than when I use other tools like HTML editors.
Since this webspace does not claim to be a professional webspace, this is sufficient for me and for the presentation of information. Since I like the story of Jekyll and Hyde, I will try the programming based on Jekyll when I have a lot of idle time.
To get back into the HTML programming this webspace was really good training. I am now almost back up to speed with the technical side of HTML programming belongs to. Until now I have always avoided using CSS especially in a separate style file. When programming this webspace, CSS proved to be a challenge, an enrichment and advantage.
This is also the second time that I am creating a website in responsive web design. However, the first time was rather rudimentary in comparison to this webspace. The reason to use responsive web design is quite simple. I am using like other more than a desktop computer. To let the website look best on different devices the responsive web design is needed.
I checked the websites of this webspace on following browsers so far:
It seems so far that this webspace looks good using different browsers on different hardware devices.
When programming this page, it became necessary to deal with the so-called viewport. Especially when sizes should be used in percent the real dimensions are of interest. I programmed in JavaScript quick and dirty a website, which analyses a website and prints all the data which are available with respect to the screen, browser and document dimensions.
Best way to get in touch with me is using Discord. Following the invitation link and visit me at Discord for communication with me and get also more informations. On X as well as on Bluesky I am not answering or responding anymore. Most of the enquiries there are fraud attempts or something similar.
The abbreviations and acronyms with there description, meaning or explanation which are related to computer hard- and software as well as with are connected to this webspace can be found here:
I found a funny usage of github.io homepages. GitHub user rbeesley adapted the Microsoft Edge game Surf to be able to play it with every browser and putted this game on his github.io homepage.
There are various ways to support my work, if you like to do. One option is to purchase some of my extraordinary NFTs.
I loved the time when you could still get a hamburger 🍔 next to a coffee ☕ for one Euro!
If you like what I present here, or if it helps you, or if it is useful for you, you are welcome to donate a small contribution by use one of my favourite crypto coins 💰.
TQHgMpVzWkf3Lkd68QS7tcn7S5Y9ayg6Fu (TRON) DQYkNGW8VfCuUbM9Womnp6KiFdtMa4NUkD (DOGE) bc1quy5nr5x4xgrtmnknuayysapg8t8tl4jqsgcu2t (BITCOIN) 0xD238a487F5147AC23c25908FC86129889E38BfB9 (Ethereum)
Many thanks in advance!
The answer to all questions of the universe is 42!