Fireball (Meteor) in the Northern Sky
I saw a fireball while on the back porch facing slightly east of north at 2022-02-28 04:42 UTC. Luckily, it was also in view of my north-facing skycam. Looks like there were three other reports, as seen here https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/imo_view/event/2022/1382
WPEngine and Cookie Exclusions
When troubleshooting a problem on a site that’s new to you, what do you do first? Start tracing code? Or search Google? In this situation, I’d think you need to start tracing code to first understand the underlying technology. But maybe not always. I was working on a WordPress site that’s supposed to remember a […]
Canonical Tags: More Than Just SEO
There are so many things you need to keep in mind when baking HTML into code. Here’s one that recently caught me by surprise… I work with several web sites that use AddSearch for their on-site search engine. AddSearch, based in Helsinki, Finland, provides a highly customizable search interface that you can add to almost […]
Caching Static Content with Cloudways
Cloudways offers a convenient web interface that simplifies the system administration tasks involved in deploying and hosting a website, while still providing access to the Linux command line for advanced users. However, as with any convenience, there can be compromises. Recently, I migrated some personal websites from Digital Ocean to a single Digital Ocean backed […]
Life with DMR Talker Alias
When I bought my first Tytera MD-380 in 2016, I wondered why there weren’t any call signs popping up on the radio display. Just cryptic ID numbers. Surely I’d missed a setting somewhere. From my experience with D-STAR, it never occurred to me that call signs might not be embedded into a digital voice mode. […]
So Long, Tree (video)
Fifteen years ago, Deb and I were on the back porch watching a routine thunderstorm when we heard a loud crack. Uh… It came from somewhere nearby. Not the familiar crack of thunder, but more like it sounds when you snap a twig. The beautiful Bradford pear tree in our front yard had just lost […]
Digital Voice Hotspot Addiction
Messing around with Internet-connected hotspots has become quite an addiction. Here’s a photo of my latest Digital Voice ham shack, as it were. Shown here are two DVMegas, a VHF DVAP, a DV4mini, and a SharkRF openSPOT. Most of the Raspberry Pi-based hotspots are running Pi-Star software, including the tiny Pi Zero peeking out from behind […]
Storm Video on Local News
Our southeast skycam caught the formation of a storm front on Friday, July 7. It was part of a larger weather system that caused widespread damage, power outages, and flooding throughout the Cincinnati area. WLWT channel 5 news created a time lapse version of the video. And I edited a time lapse version of my own that […]
Buster 1.1 for D-STAR on macOS
Buster is a macOS application for ham radio written by Jeremy McDermond, NH6Z. It lets you to connect to the D-STAR network without a radio. Hardware-wise, Buster works with the ThumbDV™ USB dongle on your local computer, or over a network-connected PiDV™ device (formerly DV3000). Last fall, Buster started to malfunction. Connections to many of […]
Lamy 2000 Rollerball Pen Review
Lamy fountain pens are extremely popular and have a reputation for being smooth writers. But most of their designs are too lightweight and oddly shaped for my taste. One exception is the Lamy 2000. Its practical design and solid build are both qualities I love in a writing instrument. The rollerball version is about half […]