OS X – Making your terminal look and feel more like Linux

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Brent HendricksJuly 6, 2018

Making Your OS X Terminal Look And Feel More Like Linux

If you are a Mac OS X power user who has spent any time in the terminal, and also used Linux. You will know firsthand that the OS X terminal can look kind of, well dull by comparison. One of the first things that you will notice is missing is the colorized directories, colorized grep output, as well as some of the directory listing shortcuts such as ‘ll’, and ‘l.’

Linux ll command

In this article we will explore how to modify your OS X terminal experience to match what you are used to seeing when using Linux.

First let’s take a look at the expanded List Directory Contents ‘ls’ command functionality in Linux.

We all know that to list the contents of a directory, in both Unix and Linux you use the ‘ls’ command. We can specify additional options on the command line. Like this

-a displays all files, including hidden files.
-l displays a long directory listing, displaying more information such as POSIX permissions, owner, group and file size information
-h displays “human readable” file sizes in a long listing.

These options can be combined in a single command, so typing ‘ls –lah’ will display a long listing, displaying all files, with “human readable” file sizes.

As mentioned above, most Linux distributions (RHL/CentOS, and Ubuntu), allow you to use the ls command to display a short list, ll to display the long list. Without specifying any options.

How is this done? How can I add the same functionality to my OS X terminal session?

In actuality it is quite easy, and done the same in OS X as it is done in Linux (Linux just happens to already have it in your login script.). It is done using the alias comman.

Alias allows you to set up alias’s for any command, with options, and use the normal command name, or you can choose a different name.
If you have access to a Linux box, open up a terminal windows and type ‘alias’ at a shell prompt. On CentOS 7, you will see the following output.

$ alias
alias egrep=’egrep –color=auto’
alias fgrep=’fgrep –color=auto’
alias grep=’grep –color=auto’
alias l.=’ls -d .* –color=auto’
alias ll=’ls -l –color=auto’
alias ls=’ls –color=auto’
alias which=’alias | /usr/bin/which –tty-only –read-alias –show-dot –show-tilde’

As you can see, in Linux when you use the ls command, it is not just ‘ls’ that is being executed but ls with the –color=auto option <colorizing OS X listing is done differently> which we will cover in the second part of this blog. Stay focused on the alias command for now.

Let’s add the l. and ll functionality right now.

The alias command is pretty straight forward.
Alias <COMMAND>=‘command string’

If you do not still have your OS X terminal window open, please open it again now.

At the command prompt type.
alias l.=’ls –d *’ <Hit Enter>
alias ll=’ls –l’ <Hit Enter>

Now let’s verify that it took your alias entries.
At the command prompt type alias

If the system accepted the alias’s you should now be able to do the following in your shell environment.

l. – Will display only directories in your current working directory
ll – Will display a long listing.

Here is the ll alias working.

Go ahead and test the functionality, while also play around with some of the other options. If you type ll –h for instance, you will see a long directory listing with the filesizes presented in “Human Readable Form” one of the great things about the BASH shell, is that you still have full command substitution available within an alias.
Part II – I also made reference to the ability to colorize the OS X directory listings. This is also done within the alias command, however it is done a bit differently.

OS X uses the –G option in the ls command to output the listing in color.

Here is the color ls output.

So let’s add some color to the standard ‘ls’ command

At your shell prompt type,

Alias ls=’ls –G’ <ENTER>

Type alias and <ENTER> to make sure your alias has been entered into the system.

Now let’s go back and add color to the other alias’s we created.

We can simply use command history to go back to the previous commands we have entered. Keep pressing your up cursor key until you see ‘alias ll=’ls –l’. Then use your left cursor key to move your cursor to the right of the single ‘ quote. Simply add the dash – and capital G and hit <ENTER>.

Now if you type the alias command by itself at your shell prompt you should see the modified ll alias.

Let’s try it out by typing ll at your shell prompt.

Here is the ll alias working.

Use command history and go back and add – and capital G to the l. command.
Use the alias command by itself to make sure it took
Test the l. alias.

Very good! You now have color directory listings in your OS X terminal environment.
Part III – Making these changes permanent.

Now that we have made the OS X terminal environment a little more colorful for your everyday use, and made it a perform more like the Linux systems you have been using there is one catch.

These changes are not yet permanent, in fact if we simply closed down our terminal window right now all our aliases would be lost! We do not even need to reboot or shut down our system!

So how do we make these changes stick?

There are a few files we need to modify, and depending on if you want it to apply to only a single user (Your account), or to any account that is on the system and opens a terminal shell or might ssh remotely to the computer.

If you only want the alias’s to be assigned to your shell environment, you need to add your alias commands to the ~\.bash_profile.

NOTE: ~\ is shorthand for YOUR home directory. So ~\.bash_profileis actually located in /Users/<shortname>

So let’s add the alias commands to the .bash_profile file

At your shell prompt enter alias
Select the output of the alias command
Copy the output

Now type nano ~\.bash_profile
Move the cursor to the bottom of any entries already in the file.
Paste your text in the file
Enter CTRL-X
Answer YES to save changes
Hit <Enter> to keep the same filename

Test functionality by typing exit then closing and reopening the terminal window.

Type alias, and you should see that the aliases you added are still there.

If you want to assign the alias’s to all users on the system, then add the above lines to the \etc\profile file.
PART IV – Modifying shell color output

You can specify how to color the specific componate in an ls output by using the LSICOLORS= option in your login script.

Adding LSICOLORS=<COLOR Colorcode> will modify the colors used for outputting the 11 functions.
The default value is, ‘exfxcxdxfxegedabagcad’

I have created this chart for ease of use.

Best practice calls for placing the line CLICOLOR=1 and LSCOLORS=exfxcxdxfxegedabagcad into your login script, but this is not necessary.

There you have it! thanks for reading another Brent’s World OS X terminal / Linux blog! We hope that you enjoyed learning a little more about your system! Please remember, while using alias’s or system customization to make your system easier to use. These modifications will not be available on other system, so practice the original functionality.

Repost – How to take lightning photography

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Brent HendricksJune 1, 2020

How to do Lightning Photography

A recent series of pictures I posted on Facebook, seems to have gathered a lot of attention. So I figured I would use this week’s blog posting to show how I took these pictures.

The photos were a series of photo’s I shot during a thunderstorm in Seoul. I was already getting my camera gear together for the Seoul Lantern Festival the next day. When I started hearing the thunder crashes. Were the North Koreans attacking?

Since I already had my brain trying to get itself wrapped around the correct settings for night photography, the light bulb finally went off and I realize what an awesome opportunity this presented!!! Especially since I bought that remote shutter release!

Items you will need.

1) Tripod (I put this first, because if you don’t have a tripod, if won’t matter if you don’t have a camera. You NEED a tripod!)
2) A digital or film camera capable of long, or bulb exposures.
3) A remote shutter release (I use the Canon TC-80N3)

Place your camera on your tripod, and adjust the camera to the lowest ISO setting. You also want to stop the lens down to a narrow aperture. F8 will work. In these photos I used f22. Though as you notice I did not get enough exposure of the surrounding buildings.

In the photo’s below, I was far enough away from the buildings to focus on them, but you can also use the lens’ infinity focus. I was shooting between 32 – 35mm. Wide angle works best, because you don’t know were in the sky the lightning strike will be.

Once you have everything setup for your liking. Put your camera in Bulb exposure mode (On Canon’s this is the B icon on your mode selector). Connect your remote control and test that everything is working. You can also test exposure times to deduce roughly the longest period you can keep your shutter open before your background is over exposed. The key here is that the lightening strike will be your flash.

Now wait for a lightening flash, then hold the shutter button down. I was releasing the shutter once every 40 seconds to a minute if there was no strike, and immediately releasing the shutter on a lightening strike.

There you have it, a relatively cheap and easy way to shoot lightening!!

Cruise – Day 7

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

After dinner the previous night, we began cruising back down the Tolne Sap river to tie up at the Sithowat Quay in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. While I was interested in getting into Phnom Penh, I was looking forward to today’s itinerary with trepidation. Scheduled for today’s excursions was a visit to the museum of the Cambodian genocide in Choeung Ek, and to the Khmer Rouge prison outside the city called S-21.

This will be my second visit to these locations, as visiting the sites was my principle reason to visit in 2005, as I was doing research on Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge at the time. I found the history fascinating and profoundly sad at the time, and was not looking forward to going back. Though I was happy that I would have an opportunity to take photos of S-21 this time, as I only took video back then.

Fortune however was not smiling kindly on me however, as one of the first things to greet was, was the international symbol of “No Photo’s”. I asked the tour guide when that rule was enacted, as I had gotten allot of great video back in 2005. He said they had only been there since the previous week. I am not really sure why they stopped allowing people to take photographs. As most of the exhibits are available online by a simple Google search, it isn’t like anything could be covered up.

So for this part of the blog, I will display the video that was shot in 2005, starting with the Genocide museum at Choeung Ek. Choeung Ek was a former orchard, and Chinese burial ground, and was turned into an execution center by the Khmer Rouge and operational between 1975 and 1979. Prisoners were taken to Choeung Ek to be executed and disposed of after being being brutally tortured and forced to confess to their “Crimes against the revolution.” Which is most cases was simply being or appearing educated.

The site is marked by a prominent Buddhist stupa that contains the bones of victims discovered at Cheoeung Ek. The stupa contains more than 5,000 human skulls. The lowest levels contain the clothing the bodies were buried with.

Since executing the traitors with bullets would have been too costly, many of the skulls are seen with blunt trauma injury sustained with farm tools.

It is a very sobering experience to see the open mass graves, and bone and clothing material that is still being brought to the surface after the rainy season.

Walking amongst the mass graves, I do not know of any words that could adequately express the human misery that must have been experienced here and throughout Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

One of the mass graves that was discovered was filled with the bodies of children, foreign and Cambodian visitors alike made and left these trinkets to comfort the souls of the children.

I don’t know anyone who looked like they walked away from visiting Cheong Ek unchanged.

Here is the video I shot during the tour of Choeung Ek in 2005.

After the visit to Choeung Ek, we went back to the bus and arrived at the Teol Sleng Prison 45 minutes later.

Teoul Sleng, named after the poison fruit that grew on the trees there, was a former high school outside of Phnom Penh, which ironically Pol Pot was a teacher. It was turned into a prison and interrogation center by the Kmere Rouge. To weed out the people the Communist Government believed were subversives and attempting to undermine the revolution. During the Khmere Rouge reign as estimated 17,000 – 20,000 inmates where processed, housed, and tortured until they confessed here.

When the Vietnamese army took control of Phnom Penh in 1979 only 9 people where left alive.

The complex consists of 2 3 story buildings, surrounded by high walls with electrified razor while. You can see the complex rules imposed by the guards here.

When I was here in 2005, the upper 2 floors had barbed wire to keep inmates from attempting to commit suicide.

In the courtyard, we can see the remnants of the students exercise equipment, that was used during interrogations to extract information. Prisoners would be hung upside down, and lowered into clay pots full of fetid water, and left that way to point of passing out.

Prisoners remained shackled in the converted classrooms, full of other inmates, and could not move. Other prisoners where kept in isolation on the upper floors, in tiny cells. Where they would remain until brought down for torture and interrogation..

Here is the video that I took in 2005.

One of the last things that you see in Toel Sleng is the pictures that were found of the inmates processed and executed at the facility. The Khmer Rouge photographed and made extensive documentation of each prisoner.

Though it was hard seeing this again, I am happy that I finally found a way to present these videos, where I never was able to find desire to sit down and put the segments together in a cohesive story. I chose Don Ho’s Imagine, as a tribute to Viet Nam for liberating the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

After out trip to the genocide museums we went to lunch at an up scale Cambodian restaurant, where myself and several people did not find to be all that special.

Our next stop was the Royal Palace Complex, where we where able to see how to Royal Family lived in Cambodia. I found out something about the constitutional monarchy that I did not know before. The king of Cambodia is actually elected, by a select comity. When I heard this, Monty Pythons Quest For The Holy Grail kept running through my mind.

I really liked this fern tree that grew on the property.

One of my favorite buildings in the complex was The Silver Pagoda, which had a floor made entirely out of silver plates. The outside of the building was so big it was really hard to photograph, even at 35mm

Here is the previous monarch King Norodom Sihanouk’s multi level stupa. Build in 2014.

Our final visit of the day, was to the National Museum of Phnom Cambodia. Where we where able to relax and observe traditional Khmere crafts through the ages.

After the Museum, we all boarded out Cambodian Cyclo’s to head back tot he ship!

It was allot of fun, being peddled through the streets of Phnom Penh in our very own pedi-cab!

Saying goodbye to our driver, it’s time to go back on board, and get ready for our evenings entertainment, and get ready for the boarder crossing into Viet Nam the following day.

Cruise – Day 6

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Cruise – Day 6 – Khmer Farm and Pottery Village

Cruise – Day 6 – Cambodian Pottery Village

Well rested after our exciting first day on the Jahan, we are ready to get out and explore more of Cambodia. Today our first excursion took us to a traditional Cambodian Temple, and village.

On the way to dropping anchor and getting on the excursion boat I decided to take some pictures of the various structures and boats along the river. Here we pass one of the Vietnamese floating river houses that line the Mekong river even on the Cambodian side. The Vietnamese government has an agreement with the Cambodians to not evict the Vietnamese settlers. Interesting woven grain storage in the fields.

I enjoyed watching the different types of boat traffic that ply the river. All of the people that we passed were extremely friendly, and it was a blast photographing them

It was really amazing the cargo that could be carried on their boats as well, Here is a family transporting their bike.

Arriving at the pottery village here is a stack of finished product.

One of the things I loved about Cambodia is that nobody seemed to have any problems with you taking their picture, here is one of the village boys by an ox cart.

Here is one of the village women working on a fresh pot. She had just recently given birth to a baby girl, and already back at work.

This kid kept taunting his sister until she was in tears.

Here is her older and wiser brother giving her comfort.

The other product the village made as coconut sugar, here we see a villager climbing the tree to retrieve the coconut.

This woman is adding water to the coconut mash in the distilling process. To make coconut whiskey.

“Toil Toil Boil Bubble…”

Again, there was always a villager happy to have their photo taken.

This was a purse made out of two coconut halves, and some hinges. Surprisingly it even had a zipper.

Here is Mi Jung modeling the latest in Khmer fashion.

Further down the road we come to a pottery factory that was built by a Japanese company. Here the clay is fashioned using foot powered lathes.

The finished clay is then glazed before being put in a kiln

On our way back to the boat, we walked through the local street market. Which as you might image was very strange for us westerners used to convenient things like refrigeration.

Here is some freshly cut fish, being tended to by the local flies.

A woman selling meat.

This little Piggy went to market, and never came home.

Here is some western style clothing for sale, the Despicables.

We then head back to the boat for a shower, rest, and lunch before the afternoon excursion.

The afternoon excursion consists of visiting an English elementary school, sponsored by Heritage Line, the company that runs the cruise. Then we get to ride in an authentic Ox Cart to a Lotus fiend, then back to the ship for a party on shore.

We come on shore by boat to visit the school, and are seemly met by 2 children playing hookey, In reality because there is such a shortage of teachers, and too many students. The students are broken up into two groups. One group goes to class in the morning until noon, while the second group comes in the afternoon. Each for 4 hours of instruction Monday – Saturday.

Here is a picture of the class, and following western education logic you put the child with vision problems in the back.

Here is one of the young teachers, which work at the school.

The students sang the Hokey Pokey for us, and we left to ride traiditional Cambodian Ox Carts to a Lotus Flower field.

Everyone loved the traditional Ox Cart ride, and somewhere along the way I commented to Mi Jung, that I am sure her mother rode in an Ox Cart sometime during her child hood in Korea. Here Mi Jung and are being followed by the police! I don’t think we were speeding.

After the Ox Cart Ride, we went back to the boat, and got ready for our evening bon fire. The crew got our and played Shuttle Cock, which Mi Jung played with them, and did a pretty good job.

The game looked kind of like hacky sack, but you kick this strange dead fish looking things between the people in the group trying not to let it touch the ground.

Here Mi Jung is trying to climb a tree, which the crew assured her was safe and would not break. Of course when I tried it, the ladder promptly broke!

After the BBQ it is time to head back to the ship and get ready for tomorrows excursions.
Thanks for visiting, and please come back to continue following our South East Asian adventure.

Thanks for visiting, and come back soon to continue to follow our South East Asian adventure!

Cruise – Day 5

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Day 5 – The first excursion

With much excitement and anticipation, we wake up early to breakfast and get ready for our first excursion. I was not sure what to expect, as the itinerary looked quite packed. We boarded the excursion boat, and went ashore. This excursion differed from the published itinerary as we did not go to a pre-Angkorian temple, but a Cambodian village in Kampong Cham. I think after already seeing several temple ruins in Siem Riep. Seeing an active maintained temple was more interesting anyways. We were able to meet one of the Cambodian villagers, and see how the Cambodians live their daily lives. I also was able to take some more pictures of a monkey that lived around the temple complex.

We were informed that there would be 2 excursions per day, each lasting about an hour and half to two hours, then we would come back to the ship, shower and relax a couple of hours until lunch, then go on the afternoon excursion. Where we would come back, have happy hour until dinner then attend an evening presentation by one of the guides if we so choose.

Our first look at the Cambodia Village temple, which I really enjoyed being able to photograph.

Here is a look a the main temple building, with aspara statues around the perimeter.

Here is the temple cemetery, the stupa’s you see here contain the bones of multiple generations of a family.

Some of the stupas can be quite ornate.

The monks at work in the temple complex.

There are statues that line the pathway that represent the symbols in the Chinese zodiac.

This is for the year of the cock, however I started thinking that Yankee Doodle really did ride into town on a chicken.

This village elder had worked in a limestone processing facility for many years, and as a result became blinded by the alkaline dust. His grandchildren are seen here leading him through the temple complex.

We are then taken to a Cambodian village, and meet a Cambodian family. Who’s children are married and have gone off to work in the city after college.

Here is a families corn.A Haystack

And their cow.

We got to meet several groups of children who where happily at play.

Here is a newer and older Cambodian House. Our guide Wantee said a new house cost between 7 and $10,000 USD.

Here is the kitchen of the Khmer family house that we got to visit.

The man who lives in this house, demonstrated his skills playing a Khmere instrument.

On our way back to the temple complex, we spot some local Cambodian traffic. Here is a School Crossing sign,

There was everything from Bicycle Traffic.

A large Cambodian Tuk Tuk
The Ice Cream Man

And an Ox Cart

Here is a Cambodian filing station. These 1 liter soda bottles are filled with gasoline. A motor school pulls up and fills up with some high octane Pepsi.

Walking back through the temple complex, we found this Monkey, and of course I wasted no time running after it to get photos. Here I am with my trusty Canon 70 – 200 f4L IS lens.

We then returned to the ship, where they invited the local monk to come aboard and bless the ship for a safe journey.

In the afternoon, we went to a Silk weaving village outside of Phnom Penh.

Here are the silk worms, which of course turn into silk cocoons, seen here.

The silk thread is then dyed and woven into silk fabric.

It’s now time to get back on board and head past Phnom Penh, and onto the Tonle Sap river, for our next days excursion.

Alone the way we pass many Cambodian sampans and fishing boats, and I get to try out my new Tamron 150 – 600mm Super Telephoto zoom lens.

I know this was a long post, so thanks of bearing with me. I hope you enjoyed the pictures, as I had a great time taking them. Stay tuned for day 6 of the cruise which should be posted in the next day or so!

Cruise – Day 4

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Cruise – Day 4 – The RV Jahan

Day 4 – The Jahan – Getting there is half the fun part II

The strange thing so far about this trip seems to be, waking up early. We seem to be waking up by 7am every day. Day 4 was no exception, as we had be down stairs with our luggage to check in with for the cruise at 0830. We packed the night before and are ready to check out and head over to the RV Jahan table to leave our luggage and get our room assignment.

We have our third and last breakfast at the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa, which I must say is a great resort, decorated in a plantation style that you might find in the Philippines. Mi Jung and I sit down and enjoy a nice cup of coffee before boarding the bus that will take us to the boat 5 and half hours away. If you book during the high water level season, you can board the boat right in Siem Reap.

I would love to put a positive spin on the bus ride, but it was so different from the description in the brochure, I was thinking the bus would be along the lines of a limousine bus that you have in Korea or Thailand for first class accommodations. Instead it was more like one of the regular coach express busses in Korea. In other words cramped.

This was our boxed lunch on the way to the ship.

Finally we arrive in Kampom Cham, and get our first look at the vessel that is to be our home for the next 8 days/7 nights.

At the embarkation point, there was a barge unloading supplies for one of the local villages, and transporting them by ox cart.

Before getting under way, we where given a music and dance performance by the children from the Organization for Basic Training. Which is a Non Government Organization in Kampong Cham. Providing free English courses to underprivledged young Cambodians. Facilitating future employment. The OBT also provides free math, and traditional Khmer music and dance courses.

After the performance, it was time to raise the gangplank and shove off, and head down the Me Kong river towards Saigon!

We then have a departure drink on the Sun Deck.

MI Jung enjoys the first of many great sunsets on our balcony, and I get some more practice taking portraits.

We can’t wait to begin day 2 of our epic journey and our first excursion.

Cruise – Day 3

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Day 3 – Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Our big day for our sunrise pictures at Angkor Wat finally dawned, and let me tell you 0400 comes very early! We got up, got dressed, and met our driver Thi for the second day in a row. Again he was early and greeting us in the lobby with a big Cambodian smile! Off we went to Angkor Wat. It was a very dark walk through the temple complex gate through the first mote, to where we set up to get our first pictures. I got some good pictures of the morning twilight, and then we moved around so I could use my graduate neutral density filter.

I got some pictures, but it turned out that I got some annoying lens flare through the filter. Which I think completely defeats the purpose of why I bought the filter. Which totally bummed me out.

After Angkor Wat, we went back to the hotel for our complimentary breakfast and headed off to Kulen Mountain (Phnom Kulen), and a promised waterfall, and swimming hole. First our driver took us to see the “River Of A Thousand Linga’s” Mi Jung and I could not understand our driver, so we just when with it. We did find out what a Linga is at the last temple we visited on the way back into town.

Here is the River Of A Thosand Lingas, and here is a Linga. The riverbed is filled with these stone carvings.

Anywhere you go in Cambodia, there are always people, mostly children trying to make a living from the tourists. Here was a photo spot set up on the trail, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Further down the path we come to a deep spring with crystal clear water, the attraction was this chalk white fine sand at the bottom, which when brought up is brown like normal sand.

Here is Mi Jung playing in the spring.

We then went to the local temple, where the pathway is lined with people asking for “donations”, and you would buy a bunch of local currency worth about .25 to .50 cents each and give them each money for good luck.

Here is some of the street vendor food we found outside the temple. Mi Jung really liked the sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

On the way to swimming hole we found this waterfall, and some nice flowers that MI Jung used for a portrait opportunity.

We finally came to the swimming hole, and Mi Jung lost no time in renting an inner tube and going to have some fun! Which was really neat to see, because as I mentioned in the last post. Mi Jung is still deathly afraid of the water!

Here is our driver Thi having a blast!

There was a little Khmer girl that grew attached to Mi Jung, she just wouldn’t leave her alone! We did have quite a fun time playing with her. At first I thought she got in over her head, and was having a hard time swimming when letting go of Mi Jung’s tube. Turned out she did have any issues at all, and when she got too tired of keeping her head out of the water, she knew where all the rocks were.

We stopped by the last temple, and Mi Jung attached herself to a Korean tour group, which is where we found out what a Linga is. This Hindu symbol which always faces north (Supposedly toward the Himalaya’s. Is supposed to represent a human uterus, and bring good fertility.

We were going to stop again at Angkor Wat, and actually explore the temple complex, but because my undershorts got wet, I ended up with a hasty chafing rash on my legs, and if I didn’t get some Cortisone on it, I might have some real trouble on the rest of the cruise excursions. So we went back to the hotel and called it a night!

See you tomorrow for day one of the 8 day adventure down the great Mekong river on the RV Jahan!

Cruise – Day 2

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Day 2 – A Couple Days Late But Not A Dollar Short

I do apologize for being a couple days late on the blogs! My intention is to take some time to blog and post pictures of our epic adventure daily. However, after a full day of seeing temples, and with the prospect of waking at 4am the next day. I had to put that aside to make sure we were well rested for the adventures of Day 3.

We slept in until 8am this morning, after our late arrival the night before, we arranged with Mr. Tei (Pronounced Tee.) who met us at the airport to take us around the next two days for $30 USD a day. He promptly met us at our hotel lobby after our buffet breakfast.

Our first stop was to the Banyan Temple. It was a bit of a culture shock, because I kept expecting to compare the temples in Siem Reap to those in Thailand, and that was impossible to do as all of the historical temples were in such disrepair. Due to the Khmer Rouge and other previous wars, each party each doing their part to destroy Cambodia’s Buddhist heritage.

We did get to see quite a few monkeys along the way. These two had a bit of a disagreement, but appeared to have made up along the way.

The temple structure itself was impressive, as you can see from the tower carvings here. The temple as build around 12 AD, and has 37 standing towers.

Here is Mi Jung the intrepid explorer, walking around in the Cambodian heat. Which can be a bit stifling, however Mi Jung brought these cooling wraps that you soak in cold water, and fasten around your neck. They helped quite a bit, and Inside the temple passageways themselves where these little Buddhist shrines.

Here is a close up of the face carvings in the tops of the towers.

Our next stop was the Ta Prom Temple, which was made famous in 1999 by being the temple featured in the movie Tomb Raider.

This was a great temple to get to walk around and photograph. Not only was the stone work itself fun and challenging to photograph, but the trees that grew in and around, and sometimes through the temple made for great subjects in and off themselves but also made a nice addition to my portrait work.

Here are a couple of really good portraits I did of Mi Jung with the 50mm lens in the cleft of a large tree trunk. I was practically in Mi Jungs face with the lens, but it turned out great!

Mi Jung got to pick up some really nice paintings done by a local artist, and he was nice enough to also let me photograph him.

As our day of temple exploring drew to an end, I was able to get this hilarious photo of Mi Jung literally running away from one of the many children trying to sell her souvenirs. They were not expensive, only a dollar a piece, the problem comes from the fact that if you purchase a trinket from one child, the others are watching and crow around you trying to sell you their wares. It can get to be a bit much at times.

It was back to the hotel to wash the red Cambodian dust off our weary bodies, and spend about an hour relaxing around the pool. I ended giving Mi Jung a swimming lesson, and she went from panicking in 3 feet of water, to somewhat of a doggie paddle across the width of the hotel pool to great amusement of the poolside chef! You have to start somewhere. I don’t know what it would be like trying to learn to swim as an adult myself.

We finished eating dinner around 8pm, and it was time to get much needed sleep, before tomorrows sunrise visit to Angkor Wat.

I thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I am sorry that things did not go as planned! The internet aboard the boat was just way to slow to upload any pictures, and I am in not in this for the article alone.

Cruise – Day 1

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

Day One – Getting there is half the fun!

Traveling can be summed up by many clichés, “Getting there is half the fun.”, or more aptly, “All the plans of mice and men often go awry.”

We pretty much nailed what we had planned to do, IE spend Tuesday getting packed, and take care of any last minute items that may have been forgotten. Then head out to the airport around noon for our 7pm flight. You might find this to be a little ridiculous, except that we were flying Business Class and I wanted to take full advantage of the Asiana business lounge.

We left the apartment at almost 12 noon on the nose. Half way across the parking lot, the number 3 bus that would take us around to Seoul Station was just driving past! We were able to run, with all our bags and catch the bus. This is where our plan might have needed a little refinement. With my carry on Camera suitcase, my checked luggage suitcase, and my notebook bag, plus Mi Jung’s luggage. Taking a Taxi might have been a better plan in hindsight. This is something both Mi Jung and I agreed upon once we got to the airport.

If you have not read about how I feel about Incheon Airport in any of my other traveling blogs. I will once again praise the virtues of this wonderful airport. Not only is it one of the best thought out airports I have ever used, Korea really makes getting there as easy… well.. as easy as being able to check in at Seoul Station, clear immigration, and get on a comfortable train that will take you right to Incheon’s Transportation Center, which is just across the street from the terminals.

The convenience doesn’t end there. You are also able to use the Crew, and Diplomat security line, and have your own dedicated final immigration check. All in all the process of getting into the departure terminal took Mi Jung and I less then 10 minutes! All for just 13,000 won per person. If you normally take a taxi or a Limo Bus to the airport. I highly recommend you give the Seoul Station City Side check in a try.

While enjoying the Asiana business lounge, we treated ourselves to some really good white wine, light food, and 30 minutes in a relaxation room with an automatic massage chair.

While waiting for our flight, we were entertained with a little Korean culture, and I got to do a little plane spotting. Here is Korean Air’s Air Bus A380 (I flew on a similar aircraft to Hong Kong a couple of years ago.)

I got to practice my portrait skills, here is Mi Jung while waiting at our gate. Turns out the aircraft was delayed an hour due to connection issues.

Finally on board our Airbus A321, getting ready to depart Incheon. I was mistaken, I guess there really is not enough passenger load to warrant a larger aircraft with Asiana’s full business class product.

We landed an hour late, but were still met at the airport as arranged by our travel agent. Customs and Immigration where straight forward, and no hassles at all. We purchased our VISA’s prior to departure online. Which helped to greatly speeds up the process of going through Immigration. If you are planning a trip to Cambodia and are arriving at either of the two main airports, I highly suggest going to the eVisa site. The staff are extremely helpful, as I originally provided Mi Jung’s Korean National ID number, instead of her passport number and a quick call to the company had it corrected free of charge!

The website for Cambodia e-Visa is https://www.evisa.gov.kh . The cost is $37 USD, $30 VISA fee, and a 7$ processing fee. Again the added convenience of having the VISA already complete when you land is monumental. Otherwise you have to wait in line with everyone who is processing a VISA on arrival before you can even clear immigration.

We arrive at the hotel after 1am, and it was time to go to bed for our first day of touring Cambodia.

Retro Game Review – Windham Classics – Treasure Island

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Brent HendricksMay 25, 2020

This weekend I thought I would again do something different, I have done a couple of reviews on game ports to the iPad from one of my favorite historical computer platforms, so this week I thought I would share something that I came across when looking at some of the files I have stored on my MacBook Pro as I get ready for my big cruise.

Before the Macintosh, and the Amiga the good ol Commodore 64 (Later a Commodore 128D and flat 128) had its place on my computer desk. The Commodore 64 is known for not only being the top selling single computer model of all time, with something like 2 million units sold, but for it’s exhaustive game library.

I came across the disk images for a game that holds a very very special place in my heard, I think this is because it was the first and ONLY graphical text adventure game I have actually successfully completed. I remember fondly my older brother and I working together to complete the game, but somewhere along the way he gave up, and I ultimately finished it. It also prompted me to check out the book from the school library (I think I was in the 3rd at All Hallows Academy then.)

The game that is bringing back such fond memories, is Robert Luis Stevensons Treasure Island, by Windham classics.

Windham classics formally Telarium, made a name for itself with its line of graphic/text adventures for the Commodore 64 and other computers. Titles such as Rendezvous with Rama, Nine Princes in Amber, and Fahrenheit 451. After being purchased by Spinnaker Software, the new name was acquired, and they produced adventures for classic children’s stories. Besides Treasure Island their other titles include.

Below the Root
Swiss Family Robinson (I owned this as well but never completed it)
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland
Treasure Island

Let’s go ahead and take a brisk walk down memory err… Through the game.

We start by launching our Commodore 64 Emulator WinVice x64

The only 2 settings you will need to concern yourself with are.

1) Make sure the emulator is set to use NTSC
a. Options > Model Settings
i. C64 model: C64 NTSC
ii. VIC II model: NTSC-M

You can change the SID model here is you would like, I will leave as is at 6581 (ReSID).
Click OK (x64 will perform a hard reset.)

2) Due to copy protection, you need to be using either 1541 emulation, or 1571 emulation, True drive emulation
a. Make sure Options > True Drive Emulation is checked
b. Settings > Drive Settings
i. Drive 8 1541 or 1541 II (There is no reason to use a 1571).
Press OK

Next let’s “insert our disk”
1) Select File > Attach Disk Image > Drive 8
Once the dialogue box comes up just find your .d64 image (Treasure Island has 4 disks)
2) Double click the .d64 or select the image and click OK

You can now proceed to load Treasure Island as you would any ol Commodore 64 game, while getting yourself a cup of coffee.. Unfortunately unlike having a real 1541, you can’t keep said coffee warm, by putting the cup on the vent. NOTE: You do have to type RUN after the first file has loaded.

After a couple of minutes, you will be greeted with the Treasure Island title screen, and some pretty cool music. One of the things I really like about this game, was the different theme music they used throughout.

Press G to start the game.

We are now in the Adrmiral Benbow Inn, with Captain Billy Bones sitting at the table. The parser uses a simple verb noun style of input. Such as “Talk to Billy”, GO EAST, GO SOUTH, TAKE (Object), USE (Object) etc. You can get a list of suggestions to help you at any time by entering ‘words’ To not make it too easy, the solution to the puzzle you are trying to solve may not be listed, as well as not everything in the suggestion list will actually do anything useful.

HINT: If you are going to try and play the game through, I would highly recommend that you actually go ahead and create a save disk at this point.

Type ‘create’ <You can see here the parser is not actually that picky>

1) Go to File > Attach Disk Image
2) Select Drive 8
3) Enter Save image in the file name
4) Click Create Image
5) Click Attach
6) Hit Enter
7) When prompted re-insert disk 1 into the drive
a. File > Attach Disk Image > Drive 8
b. Select Treasure0.D64
c. Press Any Key (Once you find the ANY key.)

Now let’s begin, As we can see from the first screen Billy wants some run, do a quick ‘LOOK’
Billy wants his rum, so we better go to the South. You can either type Go South, or simply South
Here is where the first puzzle begins. As the purpose of this blog is not to provide a walk through, but an overview of the game, I now leave you to your devices. Good luck and happy treasure hunting!

The game itself is broken down into Chapters, you will be rewarded with some good in game music, and a description of what lies ahead, and what you will need to do to complete the next chapter.

Chapter list

Chapter 1 – Finding Flints fist and escaping the pirates!
Chapter 2 – Going to Bristol and sailing on the Hispaniola.
Chapter 3 – Treasure Island – Stop the mutiny.
Chapter 4 – Save Hispaniola.
Chapter 5 – Finding the Treasure.

While playing the game again today it was interesting just how much I remembered about the game from that long ago, it also struck me that perhaps we have lost something over the years with education software design. Though I have been out of the loop of playing children’s games. I was trying to think of any titles for the PC, Apple Mac, or other platforms today that provide as much opportunity as some of the text, and graphical text adventures like Treasure Island. Not only did the game make me pick up a book I might otherwise had passed on, being too interested in reading The Hardy Boys. It also gave me valuable typing practice, and taught me to really look at my surroundings put pieces of a puzzle together.

If you have never played the game before or would like to play it again for old times’ sake, you can download the game HERE.

If you complete the game, please come back and tell me how long it took you.

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Retro Game Review – Windham Classics – Treasure Island

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