Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

Getting some bikes ready to go and they are ready, but their computers are not. How many different size batteries can there be: LR44. Button battery for an old Cat Eye. They aren’t expensive. Amazon has a pack of 10 for $2.43 CR1620. This is *not* a CR2016. A cr2032 and a CR2016 are 20mm…

OK, I’ve been using GoodSync, but on my latest copy, it seems incredibly unreliable. Seems to hang. Of course I’m trying to copy a terabyte or more of my personal photos, so maybe this is OK. But I’m back to using Rsync. Here are some notes: The most basic usage is from one directory to…

A couple of days ago, Pentax threw down the gauntlet to the other medium format digital camera makers in the form of the 645Z. It uses the same ~50MP 44x33mm CMOS as the Hasselblad H5D-50C and Phase One IQ250, but with one critical difference: unlike the Hasselblad and Phase One, it’s feasibly within the reach…

So for cheap headphones, I bought a bunch of the $10 monoprice, but they all broke after about 3 months, so on to something a little better. Tried to give the kids the $127 VC-1000. They sound great, but also not durable enough, so trying to cut the middle and get a $30 headphone. Wirecutter…

Well I’ve always wanted an amazing pair and the chance is coming up now that I have to watch a race for a few days at a distance. Here are some top choices, but here are some facts: Most of these come in 8x or 10x zoom. The main issue with 10x is that you…

The 2008 Toyota Prius takes a 26″ drivers side, 18″ passenger side and a fairly specialized 16″ rear wiper that is difficult to find in the stores. See sources and related links below for more information. Since there are currently over 22 different wiper arm attachments, do not buy wipers just by length only -…

Trying to get a Gandi DNS Server to connect with a MyKolab Mail server and a Bluehost web host is pretty hard. Here are the problems: 1. MyKolab. Right now, there is a bug where some mailers can send to addresses, but others return an “no addressee” message. Gmail works fine, but bluehost mail won’t…

Wow, got four different kinds and it is a little frustrating as they don’t have *any* installation instructions at all, so here’s a guide: MCM Electronics Clear Pi Case. This allows a camera, an expansion board, so is “double” height, but I can’t find installation instructions anywhere. It appears to be made by Adafruit, but…

Ok, I’ve been using these rewards portals more and they can result in quite a bit of savings, but sometimes, these rewards links just don’t seem to work. The idea is that you just click from one site to another. I don’t know if it is because of the ad blockers (I now turn them…

I’m getting stupider by the minute. I need a way not to lost things. Just spent two days looking for a wallet. Two solutions. Be smart (not!) or use technology both low and high tech. Here’s what I’m trying: For keys The latest entrant to the tracking craze is Kickstarter project Chipolo with a stylish keyring style…

Wow, a nice update. Mainly for the much faster lense. F/5.6 is really too slow for the older RX100 and RX100M2 The Sony RX100M3 camera will not be announced tomorrow as previously reported (this is why I generally do not like to recycle rumors from other websites, unless I know the original source). The RX100M3…

mxlookup is a great site to figure out what is wrong with your mx records.

Setting up MyKolab.com is a little tricky and not much on that site, but here’s a good post that explains how to stay reasonably safe: Browsers. Firefox is free and most importantly open. But you need some add-ons to feel really safe: Adblock Edge. Mainly because AdBlock Pro does allow ads (they get money from…

It is incredible that you could run out of disk space with 24 terabytes of storage, but with all the home movies and photos, it is very possible. I was at 95% capacity and things were getting very flaky, so bit the bullet about got a Synology DS2413+. This is a 12-drive array. They have…

So it looks like if you are using a connector based stand, you have to stick with an official Apple cable… I took a close look at the build quality of everything I tested and discovered a major issue with third party cables, even those that are certified: the connectors are fat. Just how fat…

These are great cables, but just be aware that if you are using stands like the Konnect (pretty good) or Hi-Rise (very good, but expensive), they need the standard Apple cables because the heads on these are too thick Charge and sync your newer Apple iPod®, iPhone®, or iPad® with the Lightning™ connector using this…

I think we’ve all seen the Sixty Minutes piece about how all sunglasses are made from one factory and have a huge markup. Well at least in this case a little shopping really pays off. Here’s an algorithm: 1. Find some great glass from reviews. I got a Smith Backdrop and i can see why…

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…