Computer and technology related topics
I’m writing a book! I started around July and figured it would take between 6 and 12 months to complete. Turns out I made pretty good progress and will likely be finished in January or February. I plan to self-publish and sell it right here on b3n.org. The book is called LastPass Guide (although I’m … Read more
Save Time Managing WordPress Last week I moved b3n.org from DigitalOcean to Cloudways Managed WordPress Hosting. Why? Well, there is nothing wrong with DigitalOcean, they’ve been fantastic. But my problem is I hardly had time to maintain the technology stack. A few weeks ago I was in the process of adding a couple of WordPress … Read more
I’m not sure exactly how it started, it might have been when Eli and I were trying in vain to find Lego Technic sets with lots of gears, or when Kris was discussing with me purchasing learning aids for school. … and I started to realize we could 3D print this stuff! Just with the … Read more
So long, CrashPlan! After using it for 5 years, CrashPlan with less than a day notice decided to delete many of my files I had backed up. Once again, the deal got altered. Deleting files with no advanced notice is something I might expect from a totalitarian leader, but it isn’t acceptable for a backup … Read more
In 2015 I bought myself and Kris Dell Latitude E5450 laptops. 1 year later her battery was fine, however mine lasted 60 seconds on a full charge. I attribute this to Kris often using her computer on battery and not having it plugged in all the time, and me always having my computer in the … Read more
Here’s a quick guide to run an NTP (Network Time Protocol) server using Chrony with a GPS (optional) receiver on a VMware ESXi Guest running Ubuntu 18.04. I should note this is experimental and something I setup in my homelab temporarily. For production environments I would run NTP on physical hardware and not VMware. Create … Read more
There are plenty of books on managing people; but there are few books targeting management of software development, and even fewer aimed at people who got promoted into leadership positions with no management skills. I’ve read countless books looking for resources in that area… I can find plenty of books about how to manipulate people or … Read more
I’ve been using a Kindle for about 6 years. And have been reading paper books for longer than that! I have two Kindles, one is the discontinued Kindle Touch, and the other is the newer Kindle Paperwhite. Here are my thoughts on the Kindle and how eBooks compare to Print Books. The Kindle Reading Experience … Read more
Why You Should Have a Homelab In 1998 my friend Meredith gave me a RedHat Linux CD. I spent hours each day experimenting with Linux–I loved it. 2 years later I’m in a room with 30 other students at a University applying for the same computer lab assistant job–I’m thinking my chances are grim. Part-way … Read more
What is DNS Content Filtering? A DNS Based Content Filtering service can prevent certain websites from loading on your network. Most services can filter by specific categories like malware, phishing, pornography, etc. Unlike some content filtering that can introduce security risks, DNS filtering does not intercept traffic between you and the website you’re visiting. It … Read more