Filling in the Gaps: HTTPS/TLS Certificates
(Disclaimer: No AIs were used in the writing of this article. My intelligence has been frequently questioned, but has thus far never been accused of being less than natural.)
At this point, it's fair to say most tech-oriented cyberspace denizens have at least a passing familiarity with the basic concepts …
Read more...Various Ways of Sending Mail via SMTP
Internet Mail, or email, or whatever kids these days call it, was one of those things that terrified me very early on when I was a strapping young System Administrator. Everything else that I was doing at the time seemed comparitively easy: Linux/BSD installs, system setup, automation, and such …
Read more...The Design of Silicon Notes, with Cartoons
I'm able to get a good grasp on big-picture stuff relatively easily. However, I don't have a great memory for technical details, even stuff that I do almost every day. I imagine my co-workers are freqently amazed that I can even remember how to put on pants in the morning …
Read more...DIY Vinyl Cut Motorcycle Emblem
So I have this motorcycle.
It's a lot of fun.
I could talk at length about the general awesomeness of the late 70's to early 80's Suzuki GS muscle bikes. But! We only have so much time until the heat death of the universe. So to keep it brief, I …
Read more...Rabbit Holes: The Secret to Technical Expertise
Sometimes, the simplest questions take you on exciting journies. This was, in fact, the most powerful and motivating force that got me into doing computery things from a very young age. I would ask a question, how do …
Read more...I Built a Bandsaw!
Let's begin--as they say--at the beginning. As one who primarily self-identifies as an introverted computer nerd, it did not seem likely in retrospect that woodworking would end up being one of my major hobbies. Now, understand that I'm the kind of person who likes to have nice things but who …
Read more...Graphite and the Energy Bridge to Nowhere
Remember the good old days when neighbors knew each other, cars had chrome bumpers, and nobody had any idea how much electricity they were using until a bill came in the mail? Well, a few years back, my local power company started offering a mobile app that customers could use …
Read more...Rebuilding Docker for Custom Networks, a SysAdmin Tale
At work, we use Docker for developing, testing, and deploying applications. For the most part, it has simplified our lives greatly at the cost of a few annoyances and headaches here and there. I just spent the better part of a week dealing with one of them and since misery …
Read more...In Beaver We Trust: A Lengthy, Pedantic Review of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Even though I have been using some Linux distribution or another pretty much daily for roughly two decades, I have not had occasion to write a review on one. Today, opportunity knocks not once but 18.04 times.
Background
Just who in blazes …
Read more...Stackable Ratchet and Socket Trays
I have accumulated quite a lot of sockets over the years. Some were purchased as a set, some were given to me by my father (a former auto mechanic) from his extensive collection. A few just turned up out of nowhere unexpectedly. I looked for a long time (years, in …
Read more...Connect
