Category Archives: Uncategorized

Finally moving to https!

Posted on 2018-04-07 by Jim Vanderveen

I haven’t been using my blog lately because I’ve been trying to find a reasonably-priced service that offers encrypted web connections, i.e. https://example.com. A few weeks ago my current hosting provider, Pair, started offering that as a free service. Woot! … Continue reading →

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Let’s Make something at Hacker Lab!

Posted on 2014-03-26 by Jim Vanderveen

Earlier this month I became one of the Facilitators at Hacker Lab in Sacramento. As such, I’ll be working in the Maker Space once or twice a week, helping users with the plethora of tools and equipment they have available. … Continue reading →

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iOS7, battery killer!

Posted on 2014-01-22 by Jim Vanderveen

I finally upgraded my iPhone 4S to iOS7 the other day, plugged in my charger that night, and started the day with a shiny new OS. But in less than an hour, my battery was dead. WTH?!?

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blog software updates

Posted on 2014-01-09 by Jim Vanderveen

Wow, I had really let this blog fall by the wayside! 🙁 When I started the [30-day challenge][zero-to-hero] earlier this month, I knew one of the urgent things that needed to be done was a full update of the blog … Continue reading →

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Tiny Arduinos

Posted on 2014-01-08 by Jim Vanderveen

I’ve been playing with Arduino boards for the past year or two. These were designed as micro controllers for the masses — easy to program and simple to wire up. You need only the most rudimentary computer and electronics skills … Continue reading →

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Green commuting

Posted on 2014-01-07 by Jim Vanderveen

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to make at least half of my commutes “green”, i.e. bicycling or mass transit. I live in Sacramento and work in Davis, about 40 km (25 miles) away. Amtrak offers an excellent heavy … Continue reading →

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Garden expansion

Posted on 2014-01-07 by Jim Vanderveen

The Accidental Farmer has an eye-opening post on how much to plant for one year’s worth of vegetables. The numbers are daunting, but I think they’re accurate. We already grow most of our own tomatoes and peppers, and our numbers … Continue reading →

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Day 4 of 30

Posted on 2014-01-06 by Jim Vanderveen

Challenge #4 was pretty straightforward: Follow five new topics in the Reader, and begin finding blogs (and bloggers) you love. So I tried a few of my hobbies and found that these 5 gave some interesting results: Boardgaming Electronics Gardening … Continue reading →

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Challenge #3

Posted on 2014-01-05 by Jim Vanderveen

Challenge #3 of 30 Days to a Better Blog: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog. Frankly, I don’t remember exactly what I had in mind when I started this. I went … Continue reading →

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Day #2 of “30 Days to a Better Blog”

Posted on 2014-01-04 by Jim Vanderveen

The assignment for day #2 of 30 Days to a Better Blog was to edit your title and tagline, and flesh them out more in a widget. I actually found this much more difficult than yesterday’s assignment. When I first … Continue reading →

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