A couple of years ago, we got a recirculating pump to run the hot water line from the master bathroom back to the water heater so we could get actual hot showers. The pump came with a built-in timer so that we could schedule times for it to run. That’s swell if you live byContinue reading “SmartThings and the Recirculating Pump”
Author Archives: pirateguillermo
Spam Poetry
Got a weird spam email this morning. It’s a time of year when relatives are sending out random e-cards all the time, with no announcement, so I wasn’t quite sure whether this was legit. Not wanting to click any links or fetch any images in a dodgy-looking email, I went to the source. Lo! ItContinue reading “Spam Poetry”
Audio Kryptonite
You know that thing where you start imitating the accents and speech patterns of people around you? Yeah, I’m really susceptible to that. Audio books with compelling readers are the worst. It’s bad enough when I’m reading an actual printed book and really getting into it and find myself using turns of phrase from theContinue reading “Audio Kryptonite”
Minor Lesson Today
I know that a lot of people use BWW for writing bagpipe music. But I’m cheap, and I use a Mac, and I tried the demo versions of the music notation software my teacher and bandmates use and I hate them (the programs). Iconoclast that I am, I have chosen to transcribe all my musicContinue reading “Minor Lesson Today”
License and Registration?
If you read a book about software development or start a repository on github or bitbucket or launchpad, you’ll confront the question of software licensing very early on — likely, before you even get to the question of what development environment you’re going to use. I’ve come to decide that this is not really helpful.Continue reading “License and Registration?”
Upgrades
Back in, like, 1987, I lived in an apartment with three other guys. The four of us were all computer science majors and one of them had this catchphrase that we heard often late in the evening as he was working on his homework: “It was perfect, so I fixed it.” That has stayed withContinue reading “Upgrades”
Morning Roundup
So, I’m again listening to David Sedaris’ book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, and just got to the bit where he’s talking about going on book tours. The passage where he describes his restrictions and arbitrary rules (smokers got priority on one tour, as they are going to die sooner so their minutes of lifeContinue reading “Morning Roundup”
Security Is Not a Compiler Flag
With the ongoing brouhaha surrounding the NSA’s surveillance of everyone, everywhere, I’ve got a few friends who are getting excited about figuring out how to secure their email. I kind of want to tell them that their questions, which boil down to, “How can I send secure email,” are, in the words of Mr. Norrell,Continue reading “Security Is Not a Compiler Flag”
Can I Get a Cuppa Joe?
I like Santa Cruz. It’s a swell town. It’s been getting some attention lately because of its happy tweets and its job growth, but just now I’m feeling more like the character, Grandpa, in “The Lost Boys.” In the morning, I just want some coffee. If I have errands to run and a full dayContinue reading “Can I Get a Cuppa Joe?”
Software Progress
Over the past few days I have managed to put together enough patches for SifterReader that it is usable for me from my phone. I’ve submitted pull requests to the developer, but until he pulls them in, if you want to try using the app on your phone you will have to build it yourself.Continue reading “Software Progress”