The A.R.M. (Automatic Ripping Machine) detects the insertion of an optical disc, identifies the type of media, and autonomously performs the appropriate action: It runs on Linux, it’s completely headless and fully automatic requiring no interaction or manual input to complete its tasks (other than inserting the disk). Once it completes a rip it ejects … Read more
A cryptocurrency that’s actually productive! I came across Gridcoin (Ticker: GRC) the other day. Gridcoin helps with cancer and malaria research as well as studying astronomy and solving math problems. It caught my eye because Bitcoins and most cryptocurrencies require miners to spend a lot of computing power mining hashes that aren’t really useful. Some argue that … Read more
Idaho has been having some issues with immigration lately, my thoughts: Immigration is a good thing. It would be un-American to discriminate against any person based on his religion, national origin, ethnic group, operating system preference, etc.. We should be welcoming to all people with good character who are willing to become Americans. That is, as … Read more
I suppose sending the actual statement as an attachment in an email isn’t an option? If security is a concern encrypt it to my PGP key.
Catching up on email, I saw a Newsletter from iX Systems announcing the FreeNAS Mini XL (the irony). On the new FreeNAS Mini page it looks just like the FreeNAS mini but taller to accommodate 8-bays. Available on Amazon starting at $1,500 with no drives. Here’s the Quick Start Guide and Data Sheet. The pictures show what appears to be equipped … Read more
We’re Getting Fiber in Sandpoint! Thanks Ting! I just pre-ordered 1 gigabit up / 1 gigabit down! After years of being in the dark ages in rural North Idaho with nothing but slow DSL, high latency cable, with the only reliable option being Verizon Wireless. We now have real internet! Sandpoint is finally getting … Read more
The last few days I have been getting a lot of calls from “Unknown Caller” for which I didn’t pick up. This morning I got a call from a number in the 845 area code so I answered. It was my friendly Dell Support rep from India! Hello, this is Dell support, we detected some malware activity … Read more
Last year I started looking at 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) solutions and came across YubiKey which is a fantastic little device. I ordered a few NEOs to play with. There are several models, I opted for the NEO since it supports the most features and has an NFC chip that Android phones can use. It’s $50 on Amazon or … Read more
I didn’t get a chance to make my annual King Cake this year for Eli’s birthday since I was away most of the day. But when I got home Kris surprised me by making not only gluten-free dairy-free King Cake …but also Hoppin’ John! A popular New Years’ meal, Hoppin’ John was traditionally eaten in … Read more
Merry Christmas! Looks like a white Christmas for us… It’s been snowing almost non-stop for the last few days. One of the things I’ve started to understand more this year is Christ’s humility, not only in dying on the cross to offer us salvation, but also in leaving heaven and revealing Himself by stepping into His creation and … Read more