Review

Saying goodbye to Google Analytics, Hello Piwik

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was looking at reducing my dependence on free services as an experiment to see if I can improve my privacy. That post was about changing my behavior as a consumer. This time, I’m looking at the services I use in my personal development work, especially those services that feed ad networks. In the case of my personal sites, this means Google Analytics (GA).

Continue reading →

On the New MacBook

I’ve been using the new MacBook as a personal travel laptop for the last month or so. I’ve been coding and writing blog posts with it and I wanted to share my experiences. If you care about these sorts of things, I’m sure you’ve read countless reviews of the device. So I won’t try to cover everything. Instead, I’ll hit on a few specific things that matter to me.[footnote]Two reviews that I’ll highlight, in case you missed them: Marco Arment’s review (he hated it) and Rene Ritchie’s review.

Continue reading →

An iPad, a Mac, and a Twitch.tv

I found myself watching some players on Twitch.tv this weekend playing Vainglory. It's pretty much the only game I play these days and has been for months. This was the first time that I could remember actually watching Twitch streams naturally - not checking it out because it was in the news or whatever. I actually found it helpful to my gameplay, and it was mildly entertaining. Most of you are probably rolling your eyes now, but you can kind of think of this like watching the Golf Channel.

Continue reading →

Practicing RC flying with a simulator

One of my recent obsessions has been RC flying. So far, I've played with relatively cheap quadcopters and helicopters, but I've managed to crash every single one enough times to end up with a pile of damaged copters. So, I basically gave up on the hobby thinking I didn't have the time (or budget) to really get into it. I felt like I either needed to spend to get an advanced quadcopter that auto-leveled and could correct for novice piloting, or really dedicate more time than I had to do the fly, crash, repair, charge cycle required to practice.

Continue reading →

My favorite iPhone case

For the last two years, I didn’t use a case for my iPhone. I really love the look of the 5 & 5S, and didn’t want anything to cover it up. Of course, by the end of the year, the screens had dozens of fine (and one or two not-so-fine) scratches. Really annoying. So, for the iPhone 6, I decided I’d keep an eye out for a case that I could live with.

Continue reading →

The Back-to-Basics Egg Muffin Toaster

I've been remiss in my blogging responsibilities and, for that, I apologize. It's already January 5th and I haven't mentioned the most unusual of my Christmas gifts this year. It's the Back to Basics Egg and Muffin 2 slice Toaster and Egg Poacher. No, really! What is this thing? Well, if you've ever had or seen an McDonald's Egg McMuffin, you know exactly what this machine makes. It's a combination toaster and egg maker that has a special cycle that poaches the egg and pops the toasted bread at exactly the same moment.

Continue reading →

One year with the best universal remote I've ever used: Logitech Harmony Universal Remote

That's pretty much the review right there in the headline, but as I continue to stall actually finishing my work for, uh, work (I'm suffering from the coder equivalent of writers block on one problem at the moment), here's a quick endorsement for the Logitech Harmony line of universal remotes. While a bit expensive for most casual TV viewers, it's a great device for those of us with more than 3 things attached to the TV.

Continue reading →