How to transform 2xA5 scans in 1xA4

[DISCLAIMER] Does not work (yet). Some issues with the PATH. More to come.

Issue: You have scanned a A5 format book flat open on the A4 scanner bed. You therefore have a pdf book of landscape A4 pages, each containing 2xA5 pages side by side. How can you switch to a A4 format with one (book) pageper (pdf) page, and in portrait orientation?

  1. install LaTeX (texlive is the package available for ubuntu) latest version (TeX Live 2011)

    sudo apt-add-repository ppa:texlive-backports/ppa
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install texlive

  2. install PDFjam

    sudo apt-get install pdfjam

  3. install pdftex

    sudo wget http://sarovar.org/frs/download.php/1292/pdftex-1.40.10.tar.bz2 ~/Downloads/
    sudo tar -xvf ~/Downloads/pdftex-1.40.10.tar.bz2
    sudo mkdir /usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/pdftex-1.40.10
    sudo mv ~/Downloads/pdftex-1.40.10/ usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/pdftex-1.40.10

  4. install eso-pic

    sudo wget http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/contrib/eso-pic.zip ~/Downloads/
    sudo unzip -d ~/Downloads/contrib/eso-pic.zip

    sudo mkdir /usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/eso-pic
    sudo mv ~/Downloads/eso-pic/ usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/eso-pic/

  5. install eso-piceveryshi

    sudo wget http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/contrib/ms.zip ~/Downloads/
    sudo unzip -d ~/Downloads/contrib/ms.zip
    sudo mkdir /usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/ms
    sudo mv ~/Downloads/ms/ usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/ms/

  6. install pdfpages

    sudo wget http://www.ctan.org/pkg/pdfpages ~/Downloads/
    sudo unzip -d ~/Downloads/contrib/pdfpages.zip
    sudo mkdir /usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/pdfpages
    sudo mv ~/Downloads/pdfpages/ usr/share/texmf/tex/latex/pdfpages/

  7. install pdfnup-gui (1.0.2)

    sudo wget http://qt-apps.org/CONTENT/content-files/134874-pdfnup-gui.tar.gz ~/Downloads/
    sudo tar -xvf ~/Downloads/134874-pdfnup-gui.tar.gz
    cd ~/Downloads/pdfnup-gui/
    ./configure
    make
    sudo make install

  8. Also add PATH

SKINTH

Eric Au (a.k.a. metropolicity on EDCForums) is a photographer. Of the fashion and wedding type, but « hell bent on making the most organized and easiest to use photo pack in the galaxy« . Initial results: The Light Side & The Dark Side (which has some analogy with the Combo Blackjack Battery Brick ). He went on with his skills with a sewing machine to develop beltkits, which are described (and, of course, superbly photographed -beats Goruck!), which he calls -and markets- as SKINTH.

It’s not all about Copy Rights

When you realize that people are paying, not for the music or the singer, but for the opportunity to be surrounded by thousands of other people who share an interest and have an excuse to enjoy themselves, then it doesn’t seem so insane.

They could honestly be paying $75 a ticket to watch paint dry, as long as there were thousands of other people getting really excited about watching the paint dry too. In pop music, particularly, it’s an event where the quality of the ‘merchandise’ is less important than the culture that surrounds it.

Amanda J in a comment to Every Concert Is A Hologram on MAKE

tPOD

Meet the tPOD1 – thermoelectric Power On Demand the powers LEDs or USB chargers from tean candles, or even campfire! [Kickstarter]