Wireless Music Sync with SSH

  For a while now I've been interested in remote access via Secure Shell (SSH).  One of the first cool things I learned to do with SSH was to wirelessly sync music from my local computer (laptop) to a remote device (my phone).  Of course, there are a number of Android apps out there that will do the same thing, but as with all things Linux, its more fun to get "under the hood" and take the DIY approach.

• Required PC Programs:
• openssh
• rsync
• Next you'll want to install an SSH client to your phone.  I use SSHdroid.. 
• Connect your phone to the same WiFi network as your computer.
• Open the SSHdroid app and press start (upper right corner of the screen). [Note:  SSH connections, in my experience, sap your phone's battery life pretty fast, so plug your phone in or keep a close eye on the battery status]  Once connected, all the relevant information is displayed on your phone's screen.
• Connecting Devices
• Then do:  ssh -p [port_number] [user_name]@[ip_address]
• Port Number:  See Below Note.
• User Name:  Is probably root unless you've changed it.
• IP Address:  Is shown on SSHdroid's connection screen.
• Note:  The default SSH port is 22, but you may wish to change it for security reasons.  Both the port number and root password can be changed in SSHdroid's "options" menu if desired.  On your PC you'll need to modify the firewall settings.
• Finding Your Music Library
• The easiest way is to open your phone's music player and observe which folder it is scanning to generate its library.
• in my case it is:  /storage/sdcard1/Music
• You'll also need to know where your music is stored on your PC, such as /home/user/Music
• Putting it Together
• A quick rundown of rsync syntax looks like this:
• rsync [options] [path/to/source] [path/to/destination]
• Learn about trailing slashes
• rsync /source/ /target
• copies the contents of /source to the inside /target (e.g. /source/contents = /target/contents)
• rsync /source /target
• copies /source inside of /target (e.g. /target/source)
• For general purpose I use -aAXv but here I use -avz.  However, you change them as you like.
• Syntax for the Sync:  rsync [options] [path/to/PC/music/] [username]@[ip_address]:[/path/to/phone/music]
• My Example:  rsync -avz ~/Music/ root@192.168.1.2:/storage/sdcard1/music
• You'll be asked for your phone's user (root) password, then the file transfer will begin just like a normal rsync procedure.

Defining Climbing Success

     This summer I've had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a "grade school" summer vacation and have spent many of my weekends climbing.  I've also re-read Arno Ilgner's Rock Warrior's Way, which I highly recommend and have mentioned before in this blog.   A large part of that book is centered around the concept of detachment from external qualifications.  In climbing, grading systems, or the grade of particular route / problem, are examples of such qualifications.
     Around the same time I was reading Ilgner's book, I also re-read one of the Horst / Falcon books (either Training for Climbing or How to Climb 5.12, though in truth I don't remember which).  Horst quotes the Dali Lama in one section, paraphrased here, that we should gauge our success based on what we had to give up to get it.  Personally I found both (Horst's and Ilgner's) books to be very useful for different functions and just as obviously written from seemingly contrasting paradigms.  However, these few segments, along with some personal experience(s) prompted me to write this post and offer my $0.02.

Example 1
     In March of this year I climbed my first V3 boulder problem.  Two months later I was struggling on, and bloodied by, the same problem.  I could have inserted one of a number of excuses -- my (literally) blistered fingertips, the humid southeast summer, exhaustion from the last week on the road going crag to crag almost non-stop -- but instead had a rare moment of clarity.  It was a beautiful moment only recognizable after it had passed, a moment of unwavering focused commitment  There was seemingly no conscious thought in my mind, only an awareness of movement and reaction.  There is no failure.  The face is calm.  The mind empty but poised.   I completed the problem during the second outing in spite of the sticky weather and butchered hands.

Example 2
     To add a bit more "meat to the bones" of this post you should read this article about answering the question; "how hard do you try?"  One hot summer day I was climbing with a couple friends, one of whom easily climbs several grades harder than myself.  However, he almost exclusively climbs indoors.  I was delighted to get him out to the crag.  We both set up shop at a V4 that I had been wanting to try.  He eventually completed the problem while I kept getting stuck around half way and ended up calling it quits, though not a "loss" or a "failure."  Why?  Because climbing is not a 0-sum game to me.  Someone doesn't have to loose in order for me to "win."  There are problems out there that are hard for my friend just like there are problems that are hard for me.  The fact that he accomplished something I could not (yet), is merely academic.  I remember still feeling "strong' and "successful" that day as well as humbled, grateful, and fulfilled.  I have a lot of pride in the fact that my success (be that V2 or V10) has been (and will be) paid for in dirt, rain, sweat, and blood.  What are you giving to get what you're getting?  How hard are you trying?

Conclusion
     The above examples and books lead one towards a much more experiential and personal definition of "difficulty" and "success" rather than quantified (although fallibly subjective) established grades.  Personally I've been keeping several spreadsheets for a little over a year now tracking ticklists, monthly averages, and other quantifiable data.  This is not for bragging rights though.  It is for observations, such as this:

• February 2014:  Sport Climbing Average Ascent (indoor and outdoor, all styles) = 5.10b
• June 2014:  Sport Climbing Average Ascent (indoor and outdoor, all styles) = < 5.9+
• April 2014:  Bouldering Average Ascent (indoor and outdoor) = 2.9062
• May 2014:  Bouldering Average Ascent (indoor and outdoor) = 2.4575
• From January through June (2014) I failed to ascend 40.63% of the outdoor routes and problems I attempted.
• That doesn't even include falls on routes / problems that were eventually completed, or ANY indoor climbing.
• However, in 2014 I have also:
• Ticked my first (and several other) V3(s)
• Ticked my first V4
• Ticked a couple 5.11a's (sport)
• On-sighted multiple 5.10b's (sport)

     The point here is that the "score" on paper (be it on a spreadsheet on your computer or in a guidebook) doesn't tell the whole story.  Complimented by my other training logs / journals, it is quite evident to me that I've "given" quite a bit and in order to declare my climbing year thus far a success.  How "hard" did I try?  Well, at least 40% of the time I was stretching my comfort zone and attempting climbs above my known (on paper) limit.

     The point here is not that I'm trying to plead my case as some kind of world-class boulderer via grade accomplishments (see the first paragraph).  Nor am I claiming to have some kind of master / miracle training plan.  I'm trying to conjure an image of responsibility, acceptance, sacrifice, and fulfillment.