cpulimit YAIT (Yet Another Impressive Tool)

One of the truly impressive tools I discovered this week is cpulimit. It allows you to limit how much cpu percentage a process can use. It is specially indicated when running cpu intensive applications. In my case it is 'ffmpeg'.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                       
I use 'ffmpeg' on a daily basis to convert my .avi videos to .mp4. I often run the script at night with cron.daily but the problem arises when I need to run it during the day. Here comes cpulimit to the rescue:

 $ cpulimit -e ffmpeg -l 800 -b

Here is a quick explanation:
 -e ffmpeg (the process to limit)
 -l 800 (I have 16 cores: 800 = 50%)
 -b Run cpulimit in the background to free the terminal

Really impressive (and handy).

Lockdown

Due to the propagation of the covid-19 virus we are not allowed to leave home for a month except to go to work, which is rather ironic, sarcastic I'd even say.

I can go to work and be in touch with hundreds of people every single day of the week being exposed to contagion and however I cannot go to the kitchen garden and be there alone without any chance of getting the virus.

This is Spain man, too many senseless laws.

Nevermind, to pass the time I am doing things at home, like taking care of my tomato plants, which I will hopefully plant after Easter.

Happy lockdown

Happily growing

The tomato seeds I sowed three weeks ago are happily growing. I am really proud of myself.

Getting ready for the Springtime

January is traditionally the coldest month in the area where I live. Reaching 19 ºC is pretty unusual. Should I begin to worry?

Anyway last week I was busy planting two almond trees and sowing tomatoes. In April I will sow the lawn. I already bought the seed a couple of weeks ago.

Rey, the best jedi ever!

When I first saw Episode VII I immediately tried to imagine where did Rey come from and how the story would end.

I was 100% sure of two things: One, Rey had to be a Skywalker and two, it was obvious that she would end up being the most powerful jedi ever.

It turned out I was right :P

Who let the geese out?

Me!

Christmas 2019

This year I decorated a couple of figurative trees in the garden. Warn you: There is no tree at all. Just a metallic frame that holds the lights in a tree-like fashion. 

It turns on and off automatically at night and daylight so I had to take the picture at night. It is not spectacular but it is pretty nice as long as it achieves the desired effect.

Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year