Tag: Technology
-
Self-Hosting Foundry Virtual Tabletop
It’s easier than you think to host your own virtual tabletop game server Are you a tabletop roleplaying game enthusiast like me? If so, by all means, read on. I’ve been playing a range of these kinds of games since I was in high school and while I’m always a fan of “theater of the…
-
Personal Blog: New Year, New Platform
Time to switch it up… again! Folks who know me know that I love tinkering. In this case, I was getting kind of bored and frustrated with the limits of my previous blog host, Wix. It’s not that they did anything wrong, but I was seeing features I liked getting more bloated and harder to…
-
AFSA984.org Site and Mailing List
I’ve been active with the Offutt Air Force Base chapter of the Air Force Sergeants Association since 2023, eventually accepting a role as a Trustee. One of my key foci has been building our outreach to hundreds of retired and veteran members by building more non-Air Force-network-facing communication methods. Working with Benchmark e-mail services (who…
-
“Don’t Be Evil” -or- Beware the Free Lunch
In 2018, Google dropped this famous mantra from its employee code of conduct, but it was worth considering alternatives before that. One of my favorite internet debates always boils down to “iPhone or Android”? While I respect some of the cool functions many Android-based devices have, I prefer Apple’s iPhone. I’ve got plenty of other…
-
Military Ceremonies: Going Virtual
COVID-19 has created a new abnormal, but not everything is bad! The U.S. military has a long tradition of formal ceremonies marking particular special milestones in a service member’s career or as part of a larger celebration. These events include promotion to the next rank, retirement, (re)enlistment, change of command, banquets, awards or decoration presentations,…
-
Security and the Art of Motorcycle Safety
Sometimes we learn important lessons from unexpected places. In 2008, I rashly decided to purchase my first motorcycle. Okay, I’ll admit it; it wasn’t really a motorcycle. It was a 49cc motor scooter. As fuel rose over $3 per gallon and I was looking to add a second vehicle to our young family, a four-stroke Honda Ruckus…
-
The Legend of Good Security
In addition to good passwords and multi-factor authentication, a robust legend should be a cornerstone of your security practices. In many previous articles, I’ve written about the importance of choosing good passwords and never reusing them. Additionally, adding some form of multi-factor authentication is essential; this adds a token, certificate, or even a temporary number generated by a mobile device to the…
-
Hasan Elahi and Your Privacy
Can some of your security measures actually make you more vulnerable? Hasan Elahi is a Professor and Director and the George Mason University School of Art and a fascinating artist in his own right. I’ll forgive you for not knowing who he is; I only learned about him and his art (which “examines issues of…
-
Recording Your Own Classes (on a Mac)
How do we improve our team from home? Record your own classes! On occasion, I have recorded my own classes for my teammates on effective communication. I had a lot of fun learning how to do it and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to do with a modern laptop in your home.…
-
Personal Blog: Switching Things Up!
Same old blogger, brand new platform. Those who have known me for awhile know that I enjoy tinkering, sharing what I learn, and writing. Since 2014 I have maintained a personal blog, though I fell off from updating it in 2018. Why? It started as another tinkering project. I claimed digital squatters rights on domain…
-
The Starfish, the Spider, and Security
Internet security lessons we can learn from both spiders and starfish. I was recently gifted an interesting book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom by a fellow Airman who (I think) hoped to encourage and empower more independent action among others against the grain…
-
Radio: The Mazda Needs a Radio
Amateur radio installations are the core of every good family sedan, right? So last June I decided that my MINI Cooper S needed another radio, however within the last few months my MINI and I decided to have a breakup. Sad, I know, but the family was starting to outgrow the backseat of our family Volkswagen…