Posts

• 29 Nov 2022

  What I Don't Like About iOS

  So, I’ve been using iOS now for around 2 months. There’s a lot to like, but also a lot to dislike. Google an...
• 21 Sep 2022

  Discovering iOS apps

  After 14 years on Android, I switched to an iPhone 14 Pro Max last week. The hardware is, as expected, excellent. I just...
• 20 Sep 2022

  Switching to iOS

  I’ve used Android exclusively since the original HTC Dream (AKA T-Mobile G1) That was 14 year ago! I’ve ha...
• 14 Jul 2022

  Steam Deck Update

  I’ve now had my Steam deck for a few months. It’s an incredible device with just two flaws. Middling battery...
• 13 Jul 2022

  Upgrading my server to AlmaLinux 9

  I have been running my current server running CentOS 7 for almost 8 years. It runs Plex, acts as a NAS, and runs a few o...
• 13 Apr 2022

  Keychron Q3

  Earlier this year my old Cooler Master Masterkeys Pro S mechanical keyboard started giving me problems. It uses a micro ...
• 19 Jan 2022

  Google Cancels Free Workspace Accounts

  Google just announced that they’re removing free Google Workspace accounts. This is yet another terrible anti-cons...
• 18 Jan 2022

  Xbox Acquisitions

  Microsoft just announced their intention to acquire Activision Blizzard for $69B. Less than a year after acquiring Bethe...
• 10 Nov 2021

  ThiefMD

  Many, many years ago I used Evernote. It was fine, but I never loved it. Over the years Evernote lost its focus, trying ...
• 09 Nov 2021

  Pushover

  I’ve been using Pushover since 2012. It’s a service that allows you to programmatically send instant push ...
• 16 Oct 2021

  SSH'ing into Unifi

  As I’ve posted about before, my home network is powered by Unifi gear. Since setting it up, I haven’t fiddle...
• 01 Oct 2021

  How Customer Obsession Relates to Success

  I’ve worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS) for almost 7 years now. Amazon is famous for its leadership principles. T...
• 23 Jul 2021

  Sublime Tooling

  I’ve used Sublime Text for the last 9 years. It’s great for my needs. It is simple yet extensible, and thank...
• 19 Jul 2021

  My WFH setup

  When the pandemic started I already owned a pair of Bose NC 700. They’re great, with long battery life, and includ...
• 16 Jul 2021

  The Steam Deck

  All the work Valve has been doing to make Linux a viable gaming OS has led to this one device: The Steam Deck, and I&rsq...
• 14 Jun 2021

  Selling a car

  Last week I sold a car. I decided to use Tred. You get far more money selling a car privately vs trading it in at a deal...
• 02 Jan 2021

  Moving to enterprise networking gear

  I’ve been rocking a fairly high-end, though consumer-grade, Asus RT-AC88u router for the last 5 years. It’s ...
• 01 Jan 2021

  Building a Calculator

  My first job after university was designing analogue circuits and programming their firmware. I skipped larger through-h...
• 21 Dec 2020

  Redhat abandoning CentOS

  My thoughts on Redhat’s announcement that they’re abandoning CentOS. Facts. CentOS is a binary compatible R...
• 03 Dec 2020

  New Computer

  My current PC is 6 years old. It’s surprising it is still working as well as it does. It’s a testament to ho...
• 10 Jan 2018

  Comcast

  As I’ve lived at my new house for 12 months, you can guess that my Comcast XFinity bill increased. It increased by...
• 14 Sep 2017

  My Tennis Racquet History

  Over the last 20+ years I’ve played with many different tennis racquets. As a child I remember 2 different junior ...
• 14 Sep 2017

  Pixel XL

  Starting with the Nexus 4, I’ve owned every single Nexus phone. They were cheap, high spec devices with few compro...
• 21 Jul 2017

  AWS Lambda

  After two and a half years running the back end storage data plane of Amazon S3, I’ve decided to join the Amazon L...
• 01 Apr 2017

  Denon AVR-X2300W

  Two months ago I bought a 4K TV. The problem was, I was still using a 1080p Denon Receiver, so I was still only able to ...
• 22 Feb 2017

  Vizio M65-D0

  I’ve been rocking a cheap Vizio E-series 1080p TV since Black Friday 2012. I now have a 4K HDR capable nvidia Shie...
• 11 Feb 2017

  gnome-mpv

  I’ve used VLC for more than 15 years. Even before I switched to Linux, I used VLC. It can play anything! However, ...
• 10 Feb 2017

  Wiring the house with cat6

  Last week we moved in to our new house. I decided I wanted cat6 ethernet between my office - where the comcast modem (AR...
• 06 Feb 2017

  Goodbye wordpress, hello hugo!

  In a previous post I described moving my homepage to hugo hosted on Netlify. Now I finally took the time to move my word...
• 09 Aug 2016

  Jumping on the static site generator bandwagon!

  Much of the web these days (>26%) is built on WordPress. Its popularity is likely based around a few reasons: Its us...
• 04 Jan 2016

  United Airlines are the worst

  I’ve lived in the U.S. for the last 15 years. Having always lived close to a Delta Hub, I’ve always flown Delta. I’ve ne...
• 09 Sep 2015

  Amazon Web Services

  9 months ago I accepted a job offer with Amazon Web Services. I haven’t posted anything since. Partly because the new ...
• 09 Sep 2015

  Thoughts on Apple’s announcements

  I haven’t posted in a really long time. Mostly because of this. I really like the below quote from Apple’s b...
• 10 Dec 2014

  Enter the Nexus

  As rumoured (and expected), Google announced the Nexus 6 phone/phablet last month: And the Nexus 9 tablet: The big s...
• 24 Oct 2014

  Newegg customer service

  For several years now, I’ve noticed Newegg customer service get worse and worse. 15 years ago, I used to order computer ...
• 21 Aug 2014

  Bait and Switch

  We live in a world where many companies have been very successful giving an app or game away for free, and charging for ...
• 18 Aug 2014

  Google I/O 2014

  A month and a half ago, I went to Google I/O 2014. I’d been wanting to go for a long, long time, and finally managed to ...
• 14 Jul 2014

  ChromeOS

  Denisse had been using my old laptop for the last 5 years. It still worked fine, and, because it runs Linux, was still s...
• 12 Jul 2014

  Almond Plus

  I backed my first Kickstarter in March of 2013. It was for a new network router. The company behind it already makes a r...
• 22 Apr 2014

  Company responses to Heartbleed

  I haven’t posted in a really long time. These days I do shorter status updates through social networks, and haven’t felt...
• 14 Nov 2012

  new job!

  It’s been ages since I last posted. I’ve been really, really busy. Just in the last three months I spent a week in Cancú...
• 19 Aug 2012

  Vizio Co-Star

  Back when the first Google TV launched, I bought the Logitech Revue. After playing with it for a couple of days, it was ...
• 18 Aug 2012

  Nexus 7

  Google has had a tough year getting Android tablets to take off. The iPad has dominated the high-end, and unofficial And...
• 18 Jun 2012

  Weed Killer

  A couple of months ago was the start of running the sprinklers. This also means getting rid of weeds. I went to Costco...
• 19 Apr 2012

  The Iron Lady

  Like many Britons, I have a huge amount of respect for Margaret Thatcher. She was certainly one of the most influential ...
• 16 Apr 2012

  New router

  Since I got my new server, I realized I’d have to upgrade my internal network to make the most of it. I’d had my current...
• 12 Apr 2012

  New server

  I’ve always disliked the idea of having a server in my own home. Real server hardware is big, loud, hot and expensive. T...
• 19 Mar 2012

  2nd Bangalore trip.

  Unlike last year’s rushed trip to Bangalore, this time I went for a week. The flight is 3 legs and takes around 24 hours...
• 18 Feb 2012

  Harlem Globetrotters

  I’m not really a big basketball fan, but when the Harlem Globetrotters come to town, I pay attention. Watching them mess...
• 30 Dec 2011

  Buying a piano

  You’d think that buying a piano would be a really great experience. You get to try dozens of pianos ranging from used up...
• 22 Dec 2011

  How not to buy through Craigslist

  Before buying anything on Craigslist, everyone should know one important thing. If the item you’re buying is used, then ...
• 12 Dec 2011

  The importance of having a web presence

  I have a neighbour who emailed me the other day. This neighbour sells insurance. His email signature said (note, name ch...
• 01 Nov 2011

  (yet another) new phone.

  HP wanted to compete with Apple and Google. Rather than just make hardware and license Windows, they wanted to own the c...
• 09 Oct 2011

  Flight to Bangalore

  This week HP sent me to Bangalore, India. That meant flying from Salt Lake to New York (JFK), to Paris, to Bangalore. Al...
• 30 Sep 2011

  ebook readers

  If you live in the USA, there are really only two choices for a traditional ebook reader. Barns and Noble’s Nook, ...
• 13 Sep 2011

  Windshield replacement

  I was driving a couple of weeks ago when an eighteen-wheeler pulled in front of me. A rock flew up, and put a huge rock ...
• 15 Jun 2011

  Sprint customer support

  I’ve had my Sprint account for about 6 years now. I’ve been very happy with the prices and reception. Their customer ser...
• 04 May 2011

  car salesmen roundup

  So, I’ve been to 3 different places to test drive cars (2 dealers and 1 private) in the last two days. I asked the...
• 28 Apr 2011

  GNOME vs Ubuntu

  With today’s release of Ubuntu 11.04, Ubuntu has officially diverged from the default GNOME. For those of you who ...
• 03 Apr 2011

  protecting personal information

  For reasons that aren’t important, I bought 2 used mobile phones yesterday (for family members). The sellers were ...
• 24 Mar 2011

  All browsers created equal?!?

  A statement that hasn’t been true since the release of Firefox 1.0 is now truer than ever. It’s shocking to ...
• 02 Dec 2010

  are there updates available?

  Everyone who knows me knows I love technology. I love everything about it. I especially like the fact that in the last f...
• 10 Oct 2010

  Yet another mobile phone

  Those of you who know me know that a little over six months ago I started a new job at HP working on their Web Print Sol...
• 16 Sep 2010

  Adventures at the fuel pump

  So, since someone who shall remain nameless (only be known by the letters kdr) said my blog was too boring and geeky, I&...
• 10 Sep 2010

  Finally, a professional chess program for Android!

  Those of you who read my blog know I’m a big fan of Linux and all things open source. That’s one of the reas...
• 31 Aug 2010

  The cost of engineering

  I read something very interesting the other day while looking for a Firmware update to my Samsung LN46b650 HDTV. An owne...
• 14 Jul 2010

  Spain are World Champions!

  Despite playing in one of the roughest matches I’ve seen in years, Spain was able to finish with its fourth clean ...
• 28 Jun 2010

  Technology and Sport

  For most of the world these few weeks have been nothing but football. I’m sure every World Cup is filled with refe...
• 21 Jun 2010

  VLC 1.10 released

  VLC is one of those apps that almost does too many things. Most people use it to decode (watch) videos. But VLC can also...
• 27 May 2010

  buying a bike by researching on the internet

  Normally, researching on the internet before you buy something is a really good idea. In fact, it’s something I al...
• 19 May 2010

  The web of the future may be free from Flash!

  Today was day 1 of Google I/O 2010. It’s basically a conference where Google show’s all their new tech to th...
• 09 May 2010

  Google's Android, secrecy and openness.

  So, Google’s Android is open source right. Sorta true. It is in the general sense, the problem is that most of the...
• 24 Apr 2010

  A new OSS compression: XZ

  XZ compression has actually been out for a little while, but it just recently began to build traction in Linux distribut...
• 20 Apr 2010

  A review of VoIP provider Ooma

  For those of you who haven’t heard of Ooma, it’s a phone service that runs through your internet connection ...
• 09 Apr 2010

  My thoughts on the iPhoneOS 4.0

  I’d been meaning to post this earlier, but we have some pretty major deadlines at work, and I’ve been busy. ...
• 31 Mar 2010

  GNOME 2.30

  So GNOME 2.30 (a desktop environment/graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system) was relea...
• 22 Mar 2010

  New job!

  Today I started my first day at HP. I’m working on the Linux side of their imaging and printing solutions group in...
• 18 Mar 2010

  New blog!

  After spending too much time trying to edit blogger templates I decided to switch my blog over from Blogger to WordPress...
• 09 Mar 2010

  Mozilla's comeback in Javascript performance

  In the beginning there was Netscape (though there were lesser known browsers before that). Then, seeing the opportunity ...
• 11 Nov 2009

  Motorola Droid!

  I’ve had a lot of phones over the years. Since 2005 they’ve all been smartphones. My first smartphone was an...
• 06 Oct 2009

  A personal response from Stefan Meyer-Kahlen

  3 Months ago I was given a T-Mobile HTC G1 (Android) phone. I really like the phone. The OS is good, and the Market (App...
• 19 Sep 2009

  Denon AVR-2310CI

  Just got my Denon AVR-2310CI from 6ave.com . Replaced a new Yamaha V765 (I sold for what I paid for it) Overall I am hap...
• 16 Sep 2009

  Comcast, and spoofing MAC addresses

  Two weeks ago I got married. Its amazing how so much planning (and money) goes into an event that just lasts a few hours...
• 26 Aug 2009

  Dad got rear-ended

  Proof that some people really don’t think before they speak. My dad was driving my Mum’s car (a 2008 Honda C...
• 19 Aug 2009

  a word of warning for Linux users planning on installing Windows 7

  I’m a desktop Linux user. However, I’m not like some Linux users who fear microsoft, and won’t ever us...
• 12 Jul 2009

  Android, and its hardware

  For those who don’t know, Android is an operating system developed by Google for mobile phones. I’ve fiddled...
• 03 Jul 2009

  New work

  So, I started a new job last week. I’m doing server stuff for a small startup company. It’s mostly Linux, bu...
• 20 Mar 2009

  Google Voice

  For those of you who remember, Google bought a small startup company called GrandCentral. GrandCentral has a brilliant, ...
• 12 Mar 2009

  bugs in ext4 (Linux filesystem)

  Despite the ext4 filesystem losing its dev tag and being labelled as stable in Linux 2.6.28, there are problems. One of ...
• 03 Mar 2009

  the truth about liquidations

  So, against my better judgement, I stopped by Circuit City to see if there were any good deals. In case you want to stop...
• 07 Jan 2009

  BYU Bookstore outdoes itself

  I’ve blogged several times about being messed around by the BYU Bookstore here and here. This time, however, they&...
• 01 Jan 2009

  Yet another leap year bug

  As some of you may have read, the Microsoft Zune (Microsoft’s competitor to the iPod Classic) has a serious bug, w...
• 09 Dec 2008

  new phone

  I was hoping to have an Android phone by now. Problem is, the only Android device is for T-Mobile, the world worst cellu...
• 14 Nov 2008

  Web stuff

  As some of you might have noticed, Google released a ‘new’ web browser Google Chrome recently. First, and mo...
• 15 Oct 2008

  OpenOffice 3 released

  This week marks the official release of OpenOffice.org 3.0 I’ve always been in love with OSS (Open Source Software...
• 23 Sep 2008

  Android officially announced!

  As previously thought, T-Mobile will be the first carrier, and HTC will be the first Handset maker. Compare the above ph...
• 04 Sep 2008

  more BYU Book Buying shenanigans

  buying my Probability and Random Processes book from the BYU bookstore $148.80 buying the same book (new) from a reselle...
• 21 Aug 2008

  my take on the Olympics part 1

  First off would obviously be addressing the Michael Phelps issue. Is he amazing? yes Is he the greatest swimmer ever? ye...
• 09 Aug 2008

  my take on KDE 4

  KDE is a Desktop environment like GNOME (for *nix systems). Whilst there are some historical reasons for them both exist...
• 26 Jul 2008

  update on phone situation

  Since my last post on phones, I’ve had a chance to play with both the Samsung Instinct and the new iPhone 3G. Also...
• 13 Jul 2008

  Linux guru? then switch to Arch Linux!

  It’s official, I’ve ditched Debian (and Ubuntu) completely. All my computers are now running Arch Linux. Why...
• 30 Jun 2008

  a review of the Jawbone 2

  You must have seen the original Jawbone around: It was the first bluetooth headset that really tried to look cool, inste...
• 25 Jun 2008

  Bill Gates retires!

  It’s official, Bill Gates is now retiring. The new Microsoft Head Honcho is Steve Ballmer. This is a sad, sad day....
• 10 Jun 2008

  The new (and slightly improved) iPhone 3G

  First, I’ll make my stance on the phone, and then I’ll get into details. The iPhone, is currently (by far) t...
• 27 May 2008

  Carmike Wynnsong 12

  What happened with the traditional ‘Go out to watch a film on the weekend’ mentality? I’ll tell you. I...
• 28 Apr 2008

  moving apt.

  As this will be my last year (finally), I figured I’d move back into the FLSR (Foreign Language Student Residence)...
• 26 Apr 2008

  The Super Heatsink/Fan

  I’ll briefly explain how you cool a computer. Most people might think you cool a computer by placing a fan over th...
• 24 Apr 2008

  Ubuntu 8.04 ‘Hardy Heron’ released today!

  Ubuntu has been my primary OS for more than 2 years. I’ve been using Hardy Heron for about 5 months now (since alp...
• 12 Apr 2008

  Electrical Engineering Senior Project: Quadrotor

  As a requirement to receive my bachelors in Electrical Engineering, I had to pick a senior project to complete. Amongst ...
• 20 Mar 2008

  Abiword 2.6.0 released!

  After more than 2 years of no releases, Abiword 2.6.0 has finally been released. I have sort of a love-hate relationship...
• 03 Mar 2008

  New job

  Being that this will be my last summer before I graduate, I figured right now would probably be a pretty good time to ge...
• 21 Feb 2008

  Final Fantasy Piano Arrangements

  Haven’t posted any piano stuff for a while as I’ve been pretty busy with both Uni and work. Here’s my ...
• 06 Feb 2008

  How to write an xorg.conf file for linux

  For those who don’t know what an ‘xorg.conf’ file is, it’s basically the file in Linux operating...
• 31 Jan 2008

  my laptop purchasing history

  Those of you who know me well, know I’m rather good at getting top of the line stuff (with regards to technology) ...
• 30 Jan 2008

  explanation of some optimizations done at compile time

  I got a couple of complaints that recent posts have been aimed at techie people. In my last post, I explained a little a...
• 21 Jan 2008

  can firefox be improved just by recompiling ?

  I took an Engineering class a year ago that was all about compilers and Computer Architecture. Using GCC, (which used to...
• 09 Jan 2008

  Bill Gates admits Vista sucks

  watch the 10 second clip here I must say, as much as I hate most microsoft things (except Office), I do like Bill Gates....
• 07 Jan 2008

  review of Google’s Mobile OS: Android

  Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or perhaps, aren’t interested in new and cool technologies, you must...
• 05 Jan 2008

  Review of Brasero 0.70: gnome burning software

  Built on GTK+ 2, the burning program Brasero is now part of the GNOME project. Upon opening, it gives you a great, unblo...
• 23 Dec 2007

  Vista SP1 to lie about RAM usage. Deliberately!

  Most somewhat techie users know all about Microsoft and their recent Vista disaster. One of the biggest problems is that...
• 17 Dec 2007

  OpenOffice goes online!

  Gael Duval, the creator of Mandriva and now CEO of Ulteo (ironically Ulteo is based on Debian, and not Mandriva, or any ...
• 13 Dec 2007

  MS Vista pirated half as much as Windows XP

  It’s true, Steve Ballmer (#2 at Microsoft after Bill Gates) has twisted the figures yet again! Apparently, Vista i...
• 04 Dec 2007

  Windows vs Linux Benchmarks with Matlab

  I finally got around to getting Matlab 2007b (7.5) to work in Linux. It’s not overly difficult, but it certainly i...
• 24 Nov 2007

  Black Friday Extraordinaire

  Despite supposedly being on holiday in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving, I still couldn’t pass up on some incredible dea...
• 29 Oct 2007

  Gmail 2.0 launched!

  Only a few accounts have received it so far, but it’s a minor change on the outside (albeit it has been re-enginee...
• 27 Oct 2007

  Gmail finally does IMAP

  and it’s about time, too! For those of you who use an email client (like Thunderbird) and have been popping off ma...
• 18 Oct 2007

  Ubuntu 7.10 released!

  Each April and October Canonical releases a new version of Ubuntu, this time code-named Gutsy Gibbon. A quick background...
• 10 Oct 2007

  What BYU would be like if I was its president part-2

  My first speech to the faculty would start out in roughly the following way Each faculty member must have looked over, ...
• 04 Oct 2007

  What BYU would be like if I was its president part-1

  Based on previous posts, you should all know that my first act would be to fix the bookstore. Either make the prices of ...
• 27 Sep 2007

  Intel 45nm CPU prices!

  Every 2 years or so, Intel switches to a smaller fabrication process. This decreases heat substantially, and allows them...
• 06 Sep 2007

  BYU administration does it again!

  So, I’m taking Physics 281. Despite having a cheap $25 book (written by the professor) we have to buy a $35 iClick...
• 02 Sep 2007

  Readying for another semester

  It’s that time of year again. BYU is starting again on the 4th of Sept. Despite having lived in Provo for the enti...
• 30 Jul 2007

  Nalgene bottles dangerous?

  I’ve always praised Nalgene for having amazing water bottles. The water doesn’t taste of plastic when you dr...
• 28 Jul 2007

  GrandCentral & Numbr- Permanent & temp phone numbers

  I’ve sold a bunch of things on CraigsList. It’s better than eBay for a bunch of reasons, mostly importantly because it’s...
• 22 Jun 2007

  When You're asked a stupid question, just wait

  My sister just got a job in California. Her last night in Provo we all decided to go to Café Río. I had a card that was ...
• 10 Jun 2007

  School, piano and theft

  Almost done with classes. Finals are next week, and starting Thursday I’ll be working full time till Sept. So, wha...
• 12 May 2007

  Zelda main theme for piano

  Here are the chords I’m playing for those of you who are interested. Once again, this is my own arrangement, done by ...
• 08 May 2007

  main theme of Metal Gear Solid for piano

  The main theme of the playstation game Metal Gear Solid for piano. Here are the chords I’m playing for those of you wh...
• 18 Mar 2007

  main theme from "The Man in the Iron Mask"

  This film has its critics, but the music is great. The guy responsible for this was also one of the composers for “The R...
• 18 Mar 2007

  main theme from "The Rock"

  This is the main theme from the film starring Sean Connery Besides the fact that the film is about the only escapee of A...
• 18 Mar 2007

  Main two themes from "Gladiator"

  I watched Gladiator (again) the other day and was so impressed with the music, that I decided to pick it out on the pian...
• 22 Feb 2007

  3 day weekend = ROADTRIP!

  So, I finally got to go to México. A girl in my Engineering class called me randomly 2 weeks ago asking if I wanted to j...
• 11 Feb 2007

  Mac vs PC ads…

  If you’ve ever seen any of the MAC vs PC ads you’ll know that Apple is not subtle when it criticizes Windows. The two ba...
• 02 Jan 2007

  new diet!

  As most of you should know, the cheapest, purest source of protein is found in eggs. Unfortunately, people ignorantly co...
• 23 Dec 2006

  Rocky VI

  I know what a lot of people are thinking. They’re thinking this: When actually they should be expecting this. To thi...
• 13 Dec 2006

  Stereo amplifier

  Me holding my latest invention! A stereo amplifier It has mic. input, volume control, balance control, bass control, t...
• 24 Nov 2006

  Black Friday camping!

  It’s black Friday today. It’s the Friday after thanksgiving and it’s always the busiest shopping day of the year. ...
• 22 Nov 2006

  More pics of hand with pins

  The other night, while trying to hack into my phone with a data cable and a hex editor, I was able to extract some pictu...
• 11 Nov 2006

  When in the canyons, watch for a yellow blur!

  Having crashed my previous bike (Cannondale F400), I stopped trusting it. It arrived to Ohio already with several huge g...
• 29 Oct 2006

  Release of Ubuntu 6.10 (codename: Edgy Eft)

  Those of you who know me well will know that about 8 months ago I got fed up with windows crashing for the last time, an...
• 21 Oct 2006

  How much does a good physical therapist cost ?

  As most of you know, a few months ago I got into a bike wreck and broke my thumb, right where it joins the hand. I had t...
• 17 Sep 2006

  How much does a degree in Electrical Engineering cost ?

  Apparently, it costs $125 more than the cost of tuition/books. The deeper I look, the more I realise that there are tons...
• 27 Jul 2006

  update on pain

  I went in to get surgery a few days ago. My brother dropped me off, and went to work. The nurse came in and after jabbin...
• 14 Jun 2006

  Why I switched to Linux

  I recently have been beta testing Microsoft’s latest and greatest (and oft delayed) OS (Operating System): Windows Vista...