Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

OK, I’ve used the Mac for so many years and never knew this hack. If you have a hidden file like .ssh which is by default hidden by Unix systems , then it won’t appear in Finder. But if you want to see them then in a Finder window hit Command-Shift-. and they will appear.…

Wow, so glad that Tony recommended these Aftershotz Aeropex and I have to say they are basically awesome. They are lightweight and easy to use. While the audio is going to be thin, they are perfect for a couple of uses: If you are biking or running and need to hear what is going on…

OK, for a long time, I’ve used a wallet that was integrated into a case on my phone. Then, I looked for proprietary trackers that you could stick on things and even tried the Tile. But, then two things happened, Apple created MagSafe and a charging system, so it wasn’t practically to stick your wallet…

Ok it’s not raining quite yet but it is cloudy. Round 3 of trying the slow smoker. Changes made No smoker chips  was too strong last time 2  chicken breast was over cooked at 160. Did 140 last time and was better 3  ribs were not really done  temperature varies alot by the probe so…

OK, it’s taken a while, but in the spirit of typing rather than clicking, here are some notes about how to do all the common things with… Catching up on dependable pull requests. If you are like me and are getting pull request automatically, here is all you have to do, the only confusing thing…

Well, I had no expectations here, but I have 10TB stuck in a download and Google would not authenticate because you have to use the non-SSL connection to the DSM. I’m happy to report that after a week of “relink” in progress, it actually worked! I can now see all my old backups. All you…

Wow this really works. I have to support a NAS in two remote locations. And like, Ubiquiti, Synology has a nice way of doing this. However instead of a central server, they use an addressing scheme, so that if logon to QuickConnectID then it will do the equivalent of dyanmic DNS and get you to…

OK well, I’ve had my fill of complete drones and I have sitting on my desk (for the last five years) a true open source drone, so time now to be a real nerd and get it all running. So there is lots of confusing terminology here, but basically a complete drone has two (and…

Well for a long time I wore a hydration pack and thought that would be more streamlined than two water bottles. Maybe it was true but it was definitely hot and was heavy. So, I’ve switched to water bottles and a tiny tool bag for a tube, co2 inflator, a key and some money. And…

Back in July, it seemed that Thunderbolt 4 was just around the corner, but now its September and none have really appeared. I’m sure the chip shortage has been part of it. That along with the various requirements that Intel has put on it. But to review, the big advantage of Thunderbolt 4 isn’t speed…

Well, last year with the pandemic, the prices of 2019 television really fell, but through most of 2021, the prices have been high with shortages, but in the last few weeks, this about to be old stock, is falling again so it is not a bad time to buy. When looking at Rtings.com, there is…

Well, now that we have Hyperbackup working again, it’s time to make some fixes to the Synology volumes. In many ways, Synology is not super obvious how to work because they have their Control Panel and their applications and they spray various settings all over the place. Synology Working with the interface: Maximize windows The…

Well, for nearly a decade I had a single pair of Sidi cycling shoes and they lasted amazingly well. And to that, I used two sets of SpeedPlay X2 (steel) and X1 (titanium spindles) and I still use these today after 20 years which is kind of incredible when you think about it. And over…

OK, here is what they don’t tell you about pairing an AnnePro v2. The manual says that you should press the FN2 and then either the numerals 1, 2, 3 or 4 to get up to four bluetooth connections to any keyboard, but they are super unclear how to get it to work. From Reddit,…

ARgh, I somehow lost my Garmin 1030 bike computer in the haze of the COVID pandemic, it’s in a box somewhere, so what I have left is my Garmin 520 Plus and an old Garmin 800. I’ve actually gotten the 520 Plus to work pretty well, it doesn’t have a touch screen and because it’s…

Ok, I’ve been using Synology Hyperbackup for nearly a year now to end-to-end encrypt and backup all my personal photos to Google Drive. This is slow but a low cost way to have archival backup done. However in the last month, suddenly the backup started to fail so I tried to do another oauth to…

OK, if you have been moving things around your world, sometimes, you will do a ssh myserver and you will get a public key does not match, could be a man-in-the-middle attack. Well, this could be it or it could be that you’ve just rebuilt your network. If so, then you need to remove the…

OK, now that I’ve gotten Unifi up and running, here are some more minor details that have taken me a while to get right. The first is how you can refer to devices in your local network with a nice text name rather than an IP address, there are two mechanisms for this using the…

OK, if you have an old burglar alarm, it is probably throwing all kinds of false alarms and everything, so time to get an updated one. Before I had recommended Simplisafe as a low-cost alarm system with a low monitoring fee, but when you’ve used it for a while, it’s pretty clear that a better…

Well, I’ve been using various NiMH batteries in the AA (aka LF-91) and AAA (aka LF-92) form factors for over a decade now. They are a great way to save the environment and they are cheaper too. We have the LaCrosse chargers and there are really two limitations to them: If you don’t get the…

Argh, one of the bad things about me is that I’m always pushing software. In this case, we’ve had such a good experience with Ubiquiti Unifi, that it’s now in four locations (going to six in my informal support network). Except for the Unifi OS v1.0.9 hang, the Network application (as they now call their…

Ok wish me luck trying another slow bbq with hickory chips. Pork shoulder with a little moisture like ribs and tented with foil  target temperature is 250F and roast to 190F See how it goes. As an aside using Share My Cook so you can can see it live. They use Sumo so it can…

Ok, I’ve been using this Homebridge extensions for a while and they have been actually pretty useful, there are whole variety of these and it confusing what is good or not, but here are the three that I use with some tips and tricks: It is confusing, but your homebridge goes into a location which…

Well, time to get out that BBQ Guru and try another recipe, this time it is Pork Shoulder. Serious Eats recommends 250F degrees and an eight hour cook time, letting it rest for 15 minutes and then crisping the skin at 500F by rotating it every 5 minutes for 20. If you want something more…

Strava. The social application for sharing your rides ($60/year) TrainingPeaks. Lots of graphs and charts like Training Stress Scores, TSS, as well as heart rate and power analysis and for communicating with e-coaches ($120/year) with extra fees for workouts TrainerRoad. For getting workouts ($190/year). Garmin Connect. This is actually a free cloud service, but it…

Well, now is not a bad time to get bike shoes, its the end of the season and a good time to take advantage of model changes. Here are some that are good choices (Cycling Week and Bike Rumor and Outdoor Gear Labs too): Giro Empire SLX. This is a specialty shoes, they are old…

I was really sad when wahoo ate up Speedplay pedals in 2019. I’ve been using Speedplay X1 pedals for years. They are super lightweight lollipops with just 160 grams of mass and lots of float. But, it turns out wahoo has simplified them back in a new and improved (and expensive!) form. So you can…

OK, this has been super annoying, but the last time I got a VO2 max rating from my Apple Watch was a year ago. Despite doing the resets and everything, deleting the calibration data and then doing a 20 minute walk nothing worked. But sometimes the definition of insanity is trying it again, so off…

You know you are growing up when you start asking for ordinary but necessary things. For instance, a great rice cooker or a good apartment vacuum cleaner is just what a Calvin could need. So, what are some high-quality, post-dorm-room things that you might hope to get? Vacuum Cleaners You can definitely spend a lot…

Ok, so I’m starting to ride outside (yikes!) again, I literally have forgotten how to ride a bicycle outside and more importantly, when you are on a trainer, there are a zillion little things that you need to do to get ready for the outside. Firmware updates galore Well, the first and crazy thing, is…