Sitting in traffic or working at a desk all day can take a serious toll on your lower back, leading to stiffness, sciatica, and herniated discs. On this episode of Data Drive, host Robbie Ferguson is joined by Dr. Evan Elliott to share realistic, practical advice on managing back pain, improving physical capacity, and building healthy daily habits for long commuters and sedentary workers.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/15-commuter-back-pain/

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Running time: 55 Minutes 21 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
0:48 Introducing Our Guest: Dr. Evan Elliott
1:27 Dr. Evan's Backstory
2:33 Getting Our Caffeine Fix at Williams Fresh Cafe
2:56 Improving Sleep Cycles by Timing Caffeine Intake
5:52 Finding a Plan That Works For You
6:15 Basing Food Choices on Personal Goals
7:30 The Challenge of a Sedentary Lifestyle
8:35 Preventing Sciatica, Back Pain and Herniated Discs
10:05 Taking a Break Commuting Between Barrie and Toronto
10:53 Ensuring Your Body Can Handle Demand Without Pain
11:48 A Teaching Approach to Relieving Pain Through Strength Training
14:02 What Keeps Us From Working Out ... Properly
15:32 Sifting Through the Noise of Internet's Quick Fixes
17:22 Healing Pain Begins with Educating Ourselves, Not Necessarily Surgery
19:12 Learning Good Habits: Improving Our Lifestyle for Pain Recovery
20:39 Pausing Our Commute for Pain Relief for Commuters
23:16 Stretching Mid Commute to Prevent and Ease Pain
26:49 Fond Memories of Barrie's Boathouses and Watersports
27:58 Older Vehicles Can be Worse for Pain: A Few Suggestions
31:12 Posture, Motion and Taking Breaks: Impact on Back Pain
33:26 The Counter-Intuitive Business Model of Healing Patients
35:01 Barrie's Growth and Improved Commute Means Painful Change
36:12 Upgrades to the GO Train Service from Barrie to Toronto
37:51 Technology and AI Advancements in Healthcare and Fitness Training
40:25 Artificial Intelligence Has Great Uses
41:19 AI Converting Content Into a Podcast
42:58 Synthesizing Information with AI and Helping with Business Operations
43:58 Impact Healthcare West Celebrates its 1 Year Anniversary
44:31 Challenges in Establishing Gym Routines
45:35 Barrie, Ontario Offers Many Fitness Options
45:56 Determining the Best Type of Exercise ... FOR YOU
48:24 Nutrition: What We Lack
50:39 Using Apps to Help Learn What's in Food we Eat
51:59 It's Never Too Late to Start Your Healthy Journey
52:54 Final Thoughts
54:38 Closing Credits

Tracing their ancestral roots, Robbie and Jeff dive deep into their Scottish heritage and family genealogy. The guys discuss what it takes to design and register an official family tartan with the Scottish Tartan Registry, the hidden privacy traps of modern DNA kits, and why Jeff's ownership of a couple of one-foot plots of land in Scotland gives him a fancy title. They also tackle the unique challenges of tracing a family tree through centuries of phonetic name changes, share how a trip to the Barrie model railroaders show inspired a custom-coded smartphone app, and share the backstory behind Mel Brooks finally making Spaceballs 2!

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/14/

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Running time: 44 Minutes 15 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
0:55 Dreaming of Robbie Ferguson Way
1:49 Jeff Weston Road, With Everything Weston
2:48 Jeff's Quest to Find His Ancestral Lineage
4:32 Jeff's Concerns About DNA-Based Ancestry Tests
9:33 Registration of a Family Tartan in Scotland
12:30 Orillia Scottish Festival 2026 - Celebrating Clan Ferguson
13:06 The Prohibitive Cost of Tartan Weaving
13:45 Jeff's Lairdship in Scotland
14:25 Hiking the Highland Trail
14:40 Galen's Loblaws Distribution Centre
14:58 A Smooth Commute: Zooming Through Queensville, Ontario
15:29 Barrie Allandale Railroad Modellers Train Show
16:50 BARM Model Railroad Club Layout
18:25 Model Train Scale and Gauges
18:49 Making Your Own Model Trains
20:04 Robbie's Son's Model Train Hack: Adding Sound to DC Railroad
23:13 Lua The Programming Language; Reminiscing About Minetest
23:52 Wishing for Flying Cars and Drone-Based Taxis
24:50 Flight Rules and Regulations for Flying Cars
25:40 Accelerating the Commute with Human-Carrying Drones
26:12 The Sophistication of Mesh-Based In-flight Crash Prevention
26:42 The Problem of Privacy and Being Tracked
27:33 Strava's Accidental Military Base Mapping
29:12 Human Selfishness Poses a Challenge to Technological Progress
30:43 Direct Bed-to-Work Drone Flight
31:08 Construction Lane Ending and Being a Kind Driver (or not)
32:11 Drivers: Turn on Your Headlights and Pay Attention
33:42 The Drive Continues and Sun Starts to Set
34:30 Data Drive - Now on Cable TV (ROGERS tv Channel 10 Barrie)
34:54 Looking Forward to Spaceballs 2 ... The Movie Sequel
38:56 How To Send Comments to Data Drive
39:18 Post-Production Magic
40:25 The Irony of a Web Creator's Show Making it to Cable TV
41:13 Jeff is Late to the Cable TV Service Game: Thank You Bundles
42:42 ROGERS tv is a Commercial-Free Viewer Experience
43:32 Closing Thoughts

Robbie demonstrates the AFTERGLOW delay built-in to his upcoming VOCAL PURITY VST3 plugin for FL Studio. It's a gated delay that uses the incoming vocal as a sidechain to manipulate the gate, ensuring vocals smear off beautifully after the singer stops signing.

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Running time: 4 Minutes 18 Seconds

0:00 Introduction to VOCAL PURITY
0:25 Dry Vocal Sample
0:38 The VOCAL PURITY Interface
0:55 The Purpose in Creating VOCAL PURITY
1:20 AFTERGLOW Automatic Sidechain-Gated Delay
2:38 Sampling the AFTERGLOW DSP
3:35 Conclusion

Can AI, flamethrowers and lasers save us from a Barrie Winter? In this episode of Data Drive, Robbie and Jeff explore high-tech snow removal and how your AI chatbot might be snitching on your private data.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/13/

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Running time: 50 Minutes 37 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
0:58 Winter in Barrie Ontario
1:24 Tech-Enhanced Intelligent Snow Removal
5:50 Battery-Powered Electric Snowblowers
8:36 "Done With Winter" Music Montage
10:23 Turning to AI For Solutions to Day-To-Day Problems
11:42 Reflecting on the Shift to a Hybrid Workplace
13:00 Roadworks in Bradford, Ontario
13:21 Being Responsible with AI and Tech
16:27 Differences Between AI LLM Models
21:38 Using AI as a Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons
23:41 Robbie Has Never Played "Real" Dungeons and Dragons
27:20 Jeff's Broken Smartwatch
30:43 Hiking in and Around Barrie, Ontario
31:30 The Dream of Disconnecting and Enjoying Nature
33:05 Using AI for Plant Identification
35:13 How Smart Autonomous Cars Could Become
38:12 80's/90's Movie View of "The Future" is Coming True
39:33 Technology Cannot Replace Real Human Contact
40:52 NVIDIA Uses AI to Make Eye Contact Possible in Virtual Meetings
43:10 Falsified Human Connection and Personal Rights
46:50 Easing the Terms and Conditions Burden
47:49 Jeff is Mr. Negativity
48:18 Be Careful Who You Trust
48:54 The Evolution of Scammers: A Future Episode Topic
49:38 Closing Remarks

Eighteen years of Category5 Technology TV... can you believe it? Robbie Ferguson is joined by long-time co-host and fan favorite Sasha Rickman, visiting all the way from Newfoundland, for a nostalgic deep dive into the tech, gadgets, and moments that shaped nearly two decades of Category5. From life on the East Coast (bees, cod fisheries, crab vending machines, goats and more) to the challenges of staying connected with rural Internet, Sasha shares what it's really been like living on the east coast of Canada. Then we take a fun “road trip” through the tech history of the show: boogie boards, gimbals, retro gaming handhelds, Kingston drives, spinners vs SSDs, and the legendary gadgets that stood the test of time... plus a few that sadly got away. Whether you grew up with Category5 Technology TV, love retro tech, or just enjoy hearing the behind-the-scenes stories that made the show what it is, this special anniversary episode has something for every tech fan. Thanks for joining us on the Drive! Let’s celebrate 18 years of Cat5 together.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/12/

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Running time: 44 Minutes

0:00 Introduction
1:13 Sasha Rickman Traveled from Newfoundland to Barrie
1:56 St. John's International Airport Frozen Seafood Vending Machine
2:52 Fresh Seafood Is Better Than Imports
3:45 Seafood's Impact on Newfoundland Economy
5:04 Sasha's Tech-Shock Moving from Ontario to Newfoundland
8:31 Category5 TV Studio D's Internet Challenges
10:21 How Starlink Brought Sasha's Remote Work to Rural Newfoundland
12:37 Human vs. AI Chatbot Tech Support and How Sasha Proves She's Real
14:38 Robbie's Dream: NEMS Linux Growth to Include Phone Support
15:20 Timezone Difference makes Newfoundland Great for Tech Support
16:32 Best Ontario Wildflower and Clover Honey: Cherry Creek Apiaries
16:46 Sasha's Dream of Starting an Apiary
17:39 Barnyard Animals Sasha Can Keep ... If She Can Convince Her Husband
19:34 Commercial Break
20:51 Reminiscing Over 18 Years of Category5 Technology TV
21:38 Memorable Products Reviewed
22:07 Defunct Product Favorite: PasswordBox
23:26 Defunct Product Favorite: PogoPlug
25:11 Defunct Product Favorite: Bring TIM!
28:34 Tech Favorite That Lasts Forever: Kingston SSDs, RAM and USB Flash Drives
30:14 Why People Still Use Spinning Hard Drives
32:35 Tech Favorite That Lasts Forever: Boogie Board
36:11 Tech Favorite That Lasts Forever: DJI Osmo 4K (Now Osmo Pocket 4)
39:40 Adding a Gimbal to Your Smartphone
40:44 Tech Favorite We Tried to Review: AtGames SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable
41:58 Retro Gaming with RetroPi: Perfect Party Entertainment
42:59 Call for Comments
43:26 Extro

Where the hell did keyframes go in DaVinci Resolve 20? Don't worry: They're still there, only BETTER! I'll take you through using keyframes in DaVinci Resolve 20, setting ease in/out curves, and how to use keyframes for fading video and audio, and move text around on the screen.

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Running time: 22 Minutes 21 Seconds

0:00 Introduction to Keyframes in DaVinci Resolve 20
0:53 Keyframes Tutorial for DaVinci Resolve 20 or Higher
1:13 What are Keyframes?
1:24 Removing Audio Track from Video in DaVinci Resolve
1:58 Faking Camera Movement with DaVinci Resolve
3:47 How to Access New Keyframe Panels in DaVinci resolve 20+
5:16 Setting Keyframe Curves Easing in DaVinci Resolve 20+
7:28 Fading Between Clips in DaVinci Resolve Using Keyframes
10:28 Add Audio to Video and Keyframe Volume in DaVinci Resolve
10:54 Fading Audio In/Out and Synthesizing Ease in DaVinci Resolve 20
12:38 Adding Voiceover and Ducking Music in DaVinci Resolve
14:40 Animating a Lower Third with Keyframes in DaVinci Resolve
18:25 Create an Animated Credit Roll with Keyframes in DaVinci Resolve
20:31 Fixing a Bad Keyframe in DaVinci resolve
21:15 Keyframe Snapping in DaVinci Resolve 20+
21:54 Closing Remarks

When it comes to video production, audio is everything. You can get away with shaky footage, but if the sound is bad, people tune out. I’ll show you how to make your voice shine, even if you're recording in less-than-ideal environments like noisy streets, busy restaurants, or fan-filled server rooms.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/theshowshow/episode/10-ai-voice-isolation/

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Running time: 6 Minutes 9 Seconds

0:00 Audio is Most Important Feature of Video
0:31 Examples of AI Voice Isolation
1:00 Moving to the Studio for Audio Post-Production
1:32 Video with Background Noise, Siren
1:56 Enabling Selection Mode to Highlight Tracks in DaVinci Resolve
2:06 Converting Stereo Audio to Mono in DaVinci Resolve
2:41 Enabling AI Voice Isolation to Remove Background Noise from Video
3:47 Allowing Some Background Sounds Through in AI Voice Isolation
5:02 AI Voice Isolation in Free Version of DaVinci Resolve?
5:39 Final Thoughts

Let's drive into data security. From the complexities of cryptocurrency wallet keys to protecting your passwords and setting up encrypted backup solutions, Robbie and Jeff share practical advice to protect your data and plan for emergencies. Discover how to ensure your family has access to critical files, avoid the pitfalls of forgotten passwords, and create resilient backup strategies that will save you time, money, and stress. Whether you're managing tech infrastructure or just safeguarding personal files, this episode offers something for everyone. Plus, hear the guys' thoughts on Christmas commercialization, LED Halloween pumpkins, and why a working Pi-hole is a game changer for home networks.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/11/

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Running time: 40 Minutes 56 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
1:40 Seasons Change: Driving In The Dark
2:00 Commercialization of the Christmas Season
4:32 Smart LED Christmas Lights and DIY Pumpkin Lights
6:43 Wyze Smart Doorbell Catching Halloween Looters
8:56 The Problem of Pre-Paying for Drive-Thru Orders
10:37 Supporting Less Fortunate in a Cashless Society
15:10 Commercial Break
16:39 Accessing, Trading and Exchanging Cryptocurrency
24:48 Jeff's Forgotten Pi-hole root Password and Fixing a Full Filesystem
30:59 Using logrotate.d to Maintain Log File Directories
32:06 Ensuring Your Disk Doesn't Get Full Using NEMS Proactive Monitoring
33:32 A Failed Pi-Hole Reveals How Ad-Laden the Internet Is
34:02 Remembering Your root Password, Or Storing it Securely
34:53 Kingston DataTraveler 2000 - Small Encrypted USB Flash Drive
35:31 Kingston IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD
36:21 Data Security Tips and Tricks
37:38 Passwords and Files: What Happens When I Die? Passing On Data to Next of Kin
40:19 End Credits

Creating a virtual character and animating it for your video production has traditionally been difficult, and has required expensive facial and motion capture devices. Unreal Engine's Metahumans is changing the game with automated lip synchronization requiring nothing but an audio file. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use an audio file to animate your Metahuman's face in Unreal Engine. Perfect for video content creators looking to add lifelike facial movement to their virtual actors without expensive equipment.

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Running time: 11 Minutes 31 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
0:47 Step 1: Record Voiceover
0:58 Step 2: Ensure Metahuman Plugin is Installed in Unreal Engine 5.5+
1:34 Step 3: Creating an Empty Film/Video Project in Unreal Engine
1:50 Step 4: Enabling Metahuman Plugin in Unreal Engine
2:15 Step 5: Using Quixel Bridge to Add a Metahuman to Unreal Engine Project
3:07 Step 6: Setup Folder Structure and Import Audio Voiceover
3:44 Step 7: Adding Downloaded Metahuman to our Unreal Engine Project
5:05 Step 8: Creating Mouth Facial Animation for Metahuman from Audio
8:11 Step 9: Using Level Sequence to Animate Metahuman Face
10:56 Final Thoughts

Bill Marshall joins Robbie to explore the fascinating world of Raspberry Pi clusters, the tech shaping our future, and the challenges that come with DIY projects. We also discuss smart cities, focusing on Innisfil's cutting-edge plans. We'll discuss the importance of open-source communities, balancing personal time with tech projects and customer support challenges. From troubleshooting a Raspberry Pi 4 1GB crash to building a quorum system for Proxmox, we drive into the learning process behind microcomputing, the power of tinkering, and the creativity that fuels innovation.

Read the complete show notes, comment or rate this episode, view pictures and obtain links from this episode at https://category5.tv/shows/datadrive/episode/10/

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Running time: 43 Minutes 25 Seconds

0:00 Introduction
1:07 Late Apex Simulators in Barrie
1:54 Barrie Downtown Construction Along Lakeshore 2024
2:19 Pirate Adventure Cruise by Pirate Life Theatre in Barrie
2:58 Nerdy Greeting: A Raspberry Pi 4 1GB
4:14 Raspberry Pi 4 1GB is Perfect for NEMS Linux Testing
6:46 Bill Keeps Robbie In-Line with the NEMS Linux Community
7:41 Finding Time for Maker Projects
9:07 Proxmox QuorumPi - Two-Node Proxmox Clusters with Quorum Using a Raspberry Pi
12:12 Commercial Break
13:36 Clustering Raspberry Pi 4 with ICE Tower Coolers
17:59 Using the Cluster HAT to Control a Raspberry Pi Zero Cluster
19:13 Ignore Online Discouragers: The Process Is Worth It
24:45 Commercial Break
25:34 Is Contributing to Open Source Actually Helping?
26:49 The Challenges in Supporting Open Source Software
27:31 It's Okay to Disconnect / Mute
28:06 FOSS Users Sometimes Abuse Support Channels
32:31 Innisfil Ontario: The Orbit Smart City (Coming Soon?)
36:14 Smart City == Hermit Paradise
37:33 Retirement: Benefits of Less Property
38:24 The Challenge for Passionate FOSS Developers: Time & Responsibilities
39:09 Category5 Technology TV Studio E (vs Studio D)
39:49 How Bill Marshall Found Category5
40:40 Our Roaming Studio for Data Drive Podcast
40:57 Data Drive is Robbie's Maker Project
42:02 Learning Things and Challenging Ourselves Makes Maker Tech Worthwhile
42:45 Closing Remarks