Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

Ok this must truly be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. We have a brand new radar detector and it mysteriously stopped working. Turns out that the lighter adapter has a mini-blade 2 amp fuse in it. There is a easy to push button which releases it. So next time…

I’ve been getting terrible hangs on Safari (running latest Sierra), but not with Google Chrome. I’m pretty sure this is related to UBlock Origin, but thought I would try debugging: Clear all history. This will wipe out your cookies Disable WebGL. I’m not sure this all matters but did it.…

OK, a few folks have asked me what the best machine is for compiling things like the Linux kernel. Turns out the answer isn’t super intuitive, but the new AMD Ryzen has just been a monster at doing this. They have more cores and more threads, ECC for big memory…

OK, I don’t know how many New York Subway cards I have that have expired, so here are two solutions: If you have an expired MetroCard with money in it, take it to the subway station and they will give you a new card for free. EasyPay. If you don’t…

Ok, so you’ve got a MacBook Pro and you need a battery pack, the main issues are: For the older MacBooks, getting something with a Magsafe connector. For the MacBook 2016 and later, you need something that does high speed USB C charging. Most chargers will charge at 5V x…

There’s no doubt that if you are typing 12 hours a day, having a crappy keyboard is really frustrating.  A few quick notes. While the Apple keyboards for instance do work are OK, the true aficionado needs a mechanical keyboard. So here are some reviews. Hobgear is one person’s view.…

Well a few tricks here to double dip: Cashbackmonitor.com doesn’t work on gift cards mainly because they are largely excluded from rebates. However, MileagePlus X is explicitly all about gift cards, so check there first for deals. As an example AMC is a 5x bonus with a 25% additional bonus…

Sometimes when you boot your MacBook particularly in some recovery modes it will forget the cached FileVault credentials. You then get thrown into a strange mode where it says it forgets and asks for FileVault password. And says you forgot your password.  Actually it’s not you. It’s the macOS which…

OK, this is a little convoluted, but Happy Fathers Day here is how it works (hat tip to TPG) but here’s some documentation on a promotion that ended June 16, keep on the look out for more, but the basic idea is you find a retailer that is on both…

It’s been so long since I’ve printed (in facts, four years since that’s the last time I posted how to do this!). But here’s a reminder of how to do it: Go to the Ilford site and download the ICC profile that matches your paper to your printer. Look at…