Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

I haven’t research this in a while and have been using a combination of Startpage, Adblock, Ghostery, Noscript, WOT and LastPass for security and passwords. But there seem to be quite a few overlapping ones and NoScript in particular takes quite a bit of work. So what’s the best. Lifehacker suggest Disconnect does the most…

If you are like me, you’re probably completely confused by the plethora of identical sounding models of 4TB drives. Here’s a decoder ring focusing in on warranty (reliability really), performance (mainly rotational speed) and NAS-able (various fast error protocols). The sweet spot for NAS seems to be the Seagate ST4000VN000 which I’ve been buying and…

This program is kind of a pain in the you know where, but it sure is lucrative. Basically, you get these notices. Have to click on a site and then you get random amounts of discounts. Active this month are these 10% off deals: Monoprice TigerDirect Patagonia Starbucks Burger King California Pizza Kitchen Panera Bread…

Got to try this tonight! If you’re looking for deliciously crispy pan seared chicken, the folks at America’s Test Kitchen suggest that—contrary to what you might think—the key is a cold pan or skillet, not a searing hot one like you’d have for a steak. Here’s why. P The key is that by allowing the…

The thing about providing instructions for folding a fitted sheet is that the writing of it, no matter how clear one is, tends to be confusing. Its just one of those tasks that is best taught by showing, rather than telling. And so thats exactly what Ive done for you. Despite the fact that I…

Ugh, I keep having this problem with certain files where the main seems to come out of the left speaker. I can fix it with VLC and setting it to HDMI encoded output. This is also a problem with XBMC on the same files. What is happening is that by default the Mac doesn’t try…

Storage, storage. It is just incredibly how fast you can eat it up with all the home videos (particularly with the move to 4K UltraHD and 24-36MP cameras). I’ve actually just about maxed out our Synology DS1812+ and after some early issues with the Synology Hybird-RAID (I switched to pure RAID 6 and things seem…

Since I’m in the middle of a buying spree (:-), why not look at pens. Last year, we ended up getting the: Pilot Hi-tec-C 0.3mm. Got this in lots of colors. It indeed an incredible pen. The line is so thin, you almost can’t see it. It is so sharp and consistent, but because it…

Been through lots of these and now here are some opinions. Like the iPearl for MacBook, there are lots of cases, but I think some clear winners. The first a tempered glass screen protectors. Expensive, but way better than the plastic sheets. Screen Protectors We’ve tried the Luvvitt tempered glass ($20 from Amazon) and it…

Well I destroyed my La Crosse BC-700 today. Turns out if you accidentally plug in a 12V input into it, then you fry it. Sad! So back to the drawing board. The main lesson here is that if you use rechargeables (we do a lot), then having the right charger is really important. You want…

Nothing like using a new camera for testing and then trying to figure out how to process images. Here is what I’ve learned: DxO 9. You need the latest DxO to process. Lightroom 6’s latest update processes these. Hugin 2013 has a problem with DNG files generated and crashes, but seems to handle TIFs generated…

Eureka! MythTV has never quite worked right nor has my HD Homerun Prime. It should but didn’t, but finally, all the software is coming together. Here is what is working: 1. MythTV 0.27 on MacPorts. This appears to work and build. It is insanely hard to go through all the directions, but you basically install…

And even if you use your nonstick pan only a couple of times a week, the Cookware Manufacturers Association concedes it isn’t built for the long term: “If you get a year to a year and a half of life out of [a new nonstick pan], we think you got a pretty good deal,” says…

So with all the devaluations that have occurred, what are points really worth. In a nutshell, mile value.com explains what happened. Basically the very valuable international flights were just hammered, so values are about half what they were: Here is a quick analysis, so most people thought United was worth vs now. The metric we…

The Harman Kardon Aura may look like The Jetson’s spaceship has collided with a ultra-modern kitchen blender but this quirky design housing is actually a wireless home speaker. If you’re seeking a showstopper in speaker design that is also small and compact enough to live anywhere in the home, then the HK Aura certainly ticks…

Ugh, keep getting this error. Looks like a mavericks bug:   After logging in, you are repeatedly prompted to unlock the “Local Items” keychain in multiple apps. Follow these steps to prevent prompts to unlock the Local Items keychain. In Finder Select Go > Go to folder… (??G) In the window that appears, type the following: ~/Library/Key…

See Donald Starchan has a good overview. The short answer is First is that you can get a sim at the airport or via any cellphone store in town. The main issue is what plan to get. You have to go through all the carriers and here was the data as of last summer which…

I never seem to have enough disk space. Right now most of my systems are at 2/3TB going to 3/4TB, given the cost of only getting an extra 1TB though, it might make sense just to buy more NAS enclosures. I’ll probably end up doing this when all my old 2TB drives are swapped out.…

Been buying quite a few accessories over the last few months. Here’s a quick retrospective on what works: TwelveSouth HiRise vs Konnect. These are both nice iPhone stands. The TwelveSouth is more expensive but works better if you have a case because it doesn’t have a fixed distance it won’t work on all cases. All told,…

I had no idea it was this bad. Basically dSLR, mirror less and compact cameras are all in a sales crash. No one is sure why, but it does seem as though most folks just are fine with a camera phone 🙁 1) DSLR shipment dropped down to the lowest level since two years. 2)…

Our Editor’s Choice Award goes to the Smartwool Midweight Crew. In all honesty, it was difficult to find anything we didn’t like about this baselayer. It is durable, provides excellent breathability and temperature regulation, looks good, and is totally versatile. While more expensive than some of the other tops, it proved to be well worth…

Latest on headlamps. A fast changing category, this review is great because they do their own realistic battery tests: Selling at an amazingly low street price of $36, the Coast HL7 blew us away with a combination of huge 128 meter beam distance, relatively light 4.4 ounce weight, and best-in-class floodlight optics. The main issue is short full…

Need a few more things to fill up a cart on Overstock (and get a 10% coupon too). So what to get. Movies seems easy, so which Blu-ray’s don’t I have. Although we do lots of netflix etc, the actual Mbps on a Blu-ray still can’t be beat, so here are some lists for filling…

Man life has gotten a lot more complex than just being a student waiting in the TKTS line. Here are some notes if you are headed that way: Matilda The award winning show is on right now. The big question is where to buy tickets. There are a zillion sales sites and what seats to…

Ok, who can stand it when Ludwig checks in on github at 30K feet. Well, I’ve got you beat. Satellite wifi on the way to Shanghai, here’s a post about the most amazing (yes sentimental to a fault) movie, About Time. There are fewer more romantic examples of wonderful british humor and the incomparable Bill…

Well once you get into it, it is hard not to go whole hog. Here are the latest schemes to get more points. It’s earned us a whopping $300 or far just from Xmas shopping rebates, so here is what is in progress.: Bluebird. This is an Amex debit card that let’s you write checks…

What a pain this actually is. Here are the steps assuming you have Photoshop: Take your photo against a white background (a wall for instance). If you can turn on the grid feature of your camera, so that you take a “square” picture. On a 3:2 system that means you want to chop off the…

Just got one to try for our long trip. Was starting to use it and suddenly the screen went blank. When you try to change things like RAW to JPEG, it would refuse to do it. And when you try to initialize it would fail. Argh! I’ve never had camera firmware crash so hard. But…

Oh my goodness, this is the most obscure product on planet earth! It is crazy how hard it is to get work. I have had it working for a few seconds and then it seems to die. Been on the line for hours with Sony Tech Support and their basic strategy seems to be to…

Yuck, we have no less than four different remote systems for the various flat panels around the house. And now the venerable Crestron is giving us fits. Josh recommended we try iRule. At last something that makes some sense. It is programmable (like the old Philips Pronto) and it is IP based (sort of like…