How To Programmatically Batch Resize A Folder Of Images

(This post gives a walkthrough on how to automatically resize a bunch of pictures at once. I provide four different ways to do the resizing, in order of least optimal to most optimal IMO. There may be more ways for programmatically resizing, but I'll most likely be using the fourth method below all of the time.)

1. ImageMagick
2. IrfanView
    2.1. Benefits
    2.2. Limitations
    2.3. Walkthrough
3. Photoshop's Automate Batch
    3.1. Benefits
    3.2. Limitations
    3.3. Walkthrough
4. Photoshop's Scripts Image Processor
    4.1. Benefits
    4.2. Limitations
    4.3. Walkthrough

--

1. ImageMagick: Allows you to run image processing in a Windows command windows. So, you must be comfortable creating BAT (batch) files. I did not use this method, but here's the documentation for batch resizing this way: http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/windows/

FOR %a in (*.jpg) DO convert %a -resize 50% small_%a

ImageMagick Example

2. IrfanView: When I tried this method, I got the feeling this tool was very old, but it still seems to be regularly updated. Also, IrfanView has many image manipulation features available for it. Many of them seem useful, but this time I was only interested in the resize feature.
2.1. Benefits: Very lightweight program at 2MB.
2.2. Limitations: When I tried to batch resize, each of the images lost their alpha transparencies, and the backgrounds all turned black.
2.3. Walkthrough: Drag a selection of images into the screen, then in the menu bar, choose Image-->Resize/Resample

IrfanView: Program when opened

IrfanView: Menu bar --> Image --> Resize/Resample

3. Photoshop's Scripts Image Processor:
3.1. Benefits: Quick to being resizing without having to setup anything else.
3.2. Limitations: Only resizes to JPG, PSD, or TIFF files. There was no option to save as PNG, which is what I needed.
3.2. Walkthrough: Menu bar --> File --> Scripts --> Image Processor. Then the window that pops up allows you to choose the folder of images you want to manipulate and where to save them.

Photoshop's Scripts Image Processor

4. Photoshop's Automate Batch: Basically, with this method, you change one image whatever way you want to, then record those steps, then you are able to perform all of those steps for a folder of images.
4.1. Benefits: Very versatile! The recorded actions you create will always be available in the future, and easy to manipulate for future projects.
4.2. Limitations: Just requires a little more setup before starting the batch image process.
4.3. Walkthrough:
Step 1. Open Action Window.

Photoshop: Open Action Window

Step 2. Create New Action. Before you can record some actions, you must have an image open. It doesn't matter if it is just a new blank image, or one you would eventually edit anyways. One other useful feature is the ability to stop and record actions at any time.

Photoshop: Create New Action

Photoshop: Saved New Action. List of available actions.

Step 3. Open Batch Window.

Photoshop: Open Batch Window

Step 4. Setup and Start Batch Command. In the first section (Play), choose the action you would like to perform to all your images that you will choose in the second section (Source). In the third section (Destination), you can either replace all of the images or save the manipulated images in a new folder. After all that, choose the "OK" button located at the top right.

Photoshop: Setup Batch Command

Feel free to post any questions or comments about programmatically resizing many images.
~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Cleanliness: Grass versus Concrete

Is laying on grass more sanitary than laying on concrete?

Concrete may be easier to wash off the surface (via rain) and grass/ground may more easily absorb things on it.

Regardless, people [mostly] rather lay on random grass than lay on random concrete.

~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - I had another sentence that stated my conclusion, but my posts are [typically] different from other blogs. For other blogs, you can just read them and say "okay", then move on. For many of my posts, they just state a few things or a new perspective and I leave the ability to further expand the readers mind up to the reader. I know many people want quick wins, but in the long run people (IMHO) need to be able think for themselves and always be doing so.

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Idea: Delete All Your Music

(Do you like discovering new things? Or do you feel that you are in a musical rut?)

Well, I love music and have a playlist for every occasion and in just about every genre.

Or so I think...

This next experiment has three steps:
1. The first is "deleting" all your music off your computer. (When I say delete, you can just move them or choose not to access them.) This way you aren't temped as easily to just go back to the old ways.
2. Forget about all of your favorite artists. You are biased, so you can try to limit your biases.
3. Search online for "Random Music" or "Music discovery service". The later is probably better if you feel that you are picky about your music.

Try this out for a week. And I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results and the great new artists and music discover services that you find.

~ Simply Advanced ~

ps - In order to keep my biases out of the process, I decided to keep my favorite music discovery services off this post. If you would like to know them, then please feel free to message me and add me on Google Plus. On non-mobile screens, there is a link somewhere on the right side of the page.

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Common Knowledge

I think there is a lot of "common knowledge" because of the people I hang out with. College-going people have different experiences than non-college individuals.

I can't say definitively whether or not going to college is most beneficial for individuals, it depends highly on a person's self-motivation and willingness to learn.

One of my favorite XKCD comics just happens to be about common knowledge: http://xkcd.com/1053/ (I've spread around this link so much that I have it memorized.)

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Social Norms

Social norms are group think and bandwagon, each of which have a negative connotation.

I [typically] don't want to tell people what to think. I'd rather teach somebody how to arrive at the same conclusion that I did. That leaves my method more open to attach/criticism, but I am fine with that. I would very much like to better my thoughts and thought process.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Why?

Why not?

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Hypothesis: Happiness Cannot Cause Stress

(I'm not even sure how this conversation started anymore... it would be helpful for creating an introduction to this post... =/ )

I am trying to find an example where happiness causes stress. As of today, I have found no other pages on the web that say "happiness cannot cause stress", but there are [11 Google][9 Bing]  unique results for "happiness causes stress" (Google says 330 results at first, but as soon as you go to the next page it says how they are all very similar to the first 11). The results for "happiness causes stress" show there are a few spam sites, happiness causing stress for others, social happiness, and one interesting result of "the pursuit of happiness causes stress". No results indicated any example of happiness causing stress for an individual.


Happiness and stress can occur at the same time. BUT, the reason for the happiness is not the same reason for the stress. Ex: Your favorite sports team is ahead a few points in the finals. You should be happy that your team is winning, but you may be stressed because it is a close game that could still go either way.

I am very open to hear rebuttals. I've already talk to a few others about this and there seems to always be another cause for the stress that isn't the happiness itself. Ex: You got into grad school. You should be happy that all of your hard work finally paid off, but you may be stressed because you know there is even more hard work coming up and you aren't 100% that you will get all the way through it.


A common denominator for stress in these examples seems to be the unknowing of the future; anxiety.

Once you know the real root for the cause of stress, it should be easier to overcome and start relaxing more. One idea to get you started is to not worry (or worry less) about things you have no control over.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Idea: The Natural World Describes Human Tendencies

(Title was going to be something like "Spontaneity in the Living Room", but I felt this needed an easier way to ease people into this post full of science-y words, for real)

Background:
Yesterday, I was cleaning my apartment's living room and purposely rearranged the entire living room to make the cleaning part more efficient. Also, I like the idea of changing the scenery from the usual every now and then. All the furniture is pushed to one side of the room (the far side). Then, looking at the arrangement, this got me thinking...

Pre-Idea:
This is not an optimal setup for a room. It is not very usable, beside the large open floor space. The side with all the furniture also feels really crowded.

Idea:
By leaving all of the furniture out of the way, the room will naturally fall into a local optimum form that allows us to accomplish whatever we need to. The way I generalized this phenomenon yesterday was saying nature tends towards equilibrium, and less chaos, as long as there is enough activation energy.

Conclusion:
- Spontaneity describes physics as well as human nature in this real-world application.
- I can use chemistry/physics terms to describe and graph and human nature.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Food: PB&C - Peanut Butter And Chocolate Sandwich

For those times that you want to be a little creative (or don't have any jelly left), feel free to put peanut butter on one side of a slice of bread. On another slice, put some chocolate syrup. Step 3, put the two pieces together and Enjoy!

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Beer Bottle Flutes

Drill some holes in the side of beer bottles and you have a more versatile musical instrument than just having a static amount of liquid in the bottle. It would be just like playing a flute or recorder.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Thought: Ebay Versus Craigslist

Somehow eBay is more trusted than Craigslist, but with eBay you are sending your item farther and still don't know the person.

But, I guess, it's because there is at least a seemingly mediator for the two parties.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

New Simply Advanced, LLC Business Cards

I recently got my supply of 250 business cards from VistaPrint. They are pretty good quality. I will most likely order from them again, unless I hear of another really recommend company to buy business cards from.

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

A Few Notes On Entrepreneuring

(The following list of notes on entrepreneuring and businesses are in no particular order. I probably could have titled this "Things to know/remember when building your business".)

Difference between a service company and a product company: The first is easily scalable.

Build something that does one thing really well.

Difference between a huge market and the right market.

Experience+knowledge >> knowledge. (Read: Experience and knowledge is much greater than just knowledge.)

"The trend is your friend" when asking for venture capital. Current trends: mobile, cloud, big data, and social.

--
Describe your service/product better. Better doesn't mean specific, it means making an impression. Ex: My service is the oracle of big data. The words you should use evolve with time and with usage by others. The best copy now should use just one of the following: comprehensive, genuine, convenient , accessible, prestigious, premier, pioneers, quality, we obsolete .

Other terms should be purposely excluded because they are either overused, not true, or sound templated: innovative, groundbreaking, fresh, leader, unique. It is tough to know which words to stay away from; you don't want to make people doubtful and put their defenses up. One tip is to keep up-to-date with everything investors, businesses, and consumers see.

I have much more to say about this, but it could take up at least two more long blog posts. Here's a small list of currently neutral descriptive words for your business: functional, effectively, revitalizes, the original. "My business is a multinational corporation" could mean that I run a website.)
--

Descriptions should appeal to each of the senses. (Copy is very important)

There are always tradeoffs. Know them.

"People who get MBAs learn how to draw timelines."

The ability to communicate effectively is your strongest asset.

When building for businesses, the ultimate goal is to either raise revenue or reduce costs.

"Engineers are not hired to create programs, they are hired to create business value."

Any more quick thoughts? What are your first thoughts? Then what are your second thoughts?
~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Being In A Startup Is Just A Means To An End

Here's a great article to read that I saw on Hacker News: http://al3x.net/2013/05/23/letter-to-a-young-programmer.html

Also, http://valleywag.gawker.com/investor-to-kids-a-startup-job-is-the-new-office-job-511011154 does a  great job in writing an article about it.

My main thought is that it is a great line to keep in mind when I am in my own personal startup. I have to remember that having my own startup wasn't the ultimate goal. There is something that I want to do with it.

"A Startup Is Just A Means To An End"

Thanks for the idea: Alex Payne

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog

Five Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think

I don't always want to impress my thoughts unto others, I'd just prefer others to think for themselves and truly understand both/all sides of an argument/view better. That's why I'm not going to go into details of this article that I just read. It doesn't matter what the source is, just that it presents readers with another perspective.

Here are 5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think:
1. We're Not Programmed to Seek "Truth," We're Programmed to "Win"
2. Our Brains Don't Understand Probability
3. We Think Everyone's Out to Get Us
4. We're Hard-Wired to Have a Double Standard
5. Facts Don't Change Our Minds

Maybe, maybe not. But, it is a good read.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19468_5-logical-fallacies-that-make-you-wrong-more-than-you-think.html

~ Simply Advanced ~

---

My Android Apps | My Windows Phone Apps | My Developer Blog