Clearing OneDrive download files in Android

Posted on 13/02/2022 by dougaj4

I recently found that downloaded files on OneDrive on my Android pad had almost filled my storage space to capacity, and that the procedure to delete them was not at all obvious. I eventually found a link with detailed instructions on how to do it, which are listed below for the benefit of anyone else with the same problem, and myself the next time I need to do it:

  • Open Android Settings
  • Click on Apps
  • Click on OneDrive
  • Click on Storage
  • Click on Clear Data – OK

This clears all downloaded OneDrive data from the local storage space.

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SectionProperties update 3

Posted on 09/02/2022 by dougaj4

The SectionProperties spreadsheets previously posted had limited graphics capabilities due to problems with the plotting routines causing Excel to crash. I have now fixed that problem by updating some Python libraries with pip:

  • installing mkl-service
  • numpy 1.21.2 -> 1.22.1
  • Pillow 8.4.0 -> 9.0.0
  • matplotlib 3.4.3 -> 3.5.1/

With these upgrades the SectionProperties plotting routines work without problems, and can be called from Excel using pyxll with the following code:

# Create section object
    geometry.create_mesh(mesh_sizes=meshSize)
    section = Section(geometry)
    section.calculate_geometric_properties()
    section.calculate_warping_properties()
    section.calculate_plastic_properties()

# Create matplotlib ax and fig:
    try:
        ax = section.plot_centroids( render = False)
        fig = ax.get_figure()
    except:
        return np.array([["Invalid geometry, check section dimensions"]])

# Plot in Excel
    pyxll.plot(fig)

The updated spreadsheet can be downloaded from:

py_SectProp2_02a.zip

See SectionProperties update update for details of other software required.

Examples of the new graphs:

Mesh and Centroids
Steel Section mesh and centroids
Super T section ZX stress plot
I Girder ZY stress plot
Posted in Beam Bending, Charts, Charts, Coordinate Geometry, Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Link to Python, Maths, Newton, NumPy and SciPy, PyXLL | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

SectionProperties update update

Posted on 26/01/2022 by dougaj4

Since my previous post on the Python SectionProperties program it has been updated to Rel. 2.02, with some major changes:

  • The mesh generation library has been changed from MeshPY to Triangle
  • New functions have been added for:
  • Steel sections
  • Concrete sections (including reinforcement)
  • Australian precast bridge girders (Super T and I sections)

My spreadsheet has been updated to work with the new version, and can be downloaded (including associated Python code) from:

py_SectProp2_02.zip

The problems with installing the SectionProperties software on Windows have now been fixed, and installing with pip also installs the new Triangle library. The software required to run the spreadsheet (in addition to the download files) is now:

  • Python 3.9 and associated code, including Numpy and Matplotlib.
  • Pyxll
  • Section-Properties 2.02 (install with pip to also install Triangle)

Example screenshots from the new spreadsheet are shown below:

Setting the “out” argument to 11 will now display the cross section with the generated mesh:

The defined sections have now been reduced in number to 6:

… but there are now 14 steel sections that can be accessed with the getSteelSect function:

There is also a new getConcretesect function, including reinforcement:

New functions that will generate Australian precast bridge girder cross sections are SuperT:

… and IGirder:

Posted in Concrete, Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Link to Python, Newton, PyXLL, Strand7 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Danny Thompson by The Music Aficionado

Posted on 25/01/2022 by dougaj4

I just discovered The Music Aficionado site, where Parts 1 and 2 of a series on the life and times of Danny Thompson have recently been posted:

I have been toying with the idea of writing an article about Danny Thompson for a while. His playing is a common thread across so many albums I cherish, that dedicating an artist profile article to him seemed inevitable. But where to begin, what to cover? There are over 400 album credits with his name on it, spanning almost six(!) decades. The task seemed monumental, given my inability to avoid digging deep into my chosen subjects. I finally decided to take the plunge and go for it. So here is the first article in a series (what else?) that will cover a few decades of his unique career. This one here is dedicated to his work in the 1960s.

The articles are detailed and very well written with many stories and YouTube links that I had not seen before (and many others I was happy to listen to again). See the articles at:

Danny Thompson: Part 1, The 1960s

Danny Thompson: Part 2, The Early 1970s

… and a couple of sample YouTubes (many more at the links above):

Davy Graham with Danny Thompson – Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now
Pentangle – Live performance from 1968
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Embedding OneDrive in WordPress

Posted on 23/01/2022 by dougaj4

Every time I try to add a new link to a file on OneDrive in WordPress, it seems they have changed the system to stop it working.  After much trial and error, the procedure given below works, for now.

  1. Open the file in OneDrive on-line, and select File-Share-Embed:Embed1

2. Select the desired display options, then click on the “Embed code” box, and copy the code to the clipboard:

3. Return to the WordPress editor, click on the Options menu (top-right) and select Code Editor, then just paste the code generated in Excel:

You can then return to the Visual editor, and save the post complete with embedded spreadsheet.

Posted in Excel, Newton | Tagged , | Leave a comment