
Vietnam Bike Tour: Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (Prologue)
Kicking off our motorcycle adventure from Hanoi, battling the heat and chaos, to diving into the local scene with Pho Bo and military museum musings, all while navigating the thrills of Vietnam's roads—this is just the start
Pulseaudio crash with A2DP, Bug # 641
Ran into a snag with Bluetooth speakers on Ubuntu giving me lousy sound, then found out it's a Pulseaudio hiccup when switching to high-quality A2DP mode. Here's a quick band-aid fix involving a tweak in the daemon.conf file—might just save your day too.
Life v2.0
From dreaming of firefighting and accounting to diving deep into the startup world, and eventually finding my way through Google, WiFast, and racing cars, I've realized it's all about the journey. Now, I'm off to China with Tencent, ready to explore a whole new chapter and embrace every moment of this incredible adventure.
Consumer operating systems in 2013
Just spent a marathon session getting my new Lenovo to dual-boot Linux and Win8, and let's just say, it was full of surprises—none of them pleasant. Between Windows 8's glacial pace and Ubuntu's graphical hiccups, it's a tech saga I didn't sign up for. Here's to hoping the tech world gets its act together, because this isn't the 2000s anymore.
Broadcasting audio from ubuntu via HTTP (aka stream audio out to sonos on ubuntu)
This post is for all the folks who, like me, have tried (and failed out of frustration) 20 different times to stream local audio from an Ubuntu machine to some other thing on the network via HTTP.
The problem isn't piracy, it's your product and publisher.
Piracy isn't the real issue; it's a hint that your product or service isn't cutting it. If your work's being pirated, it's time to innovate and offer something so good that people would rather pay than pirate. Let's focus on making our content irresistible, not on complaining about competition.
What are you doing, Boxee Box?
A year with my Boxee Box and I'm mixed: loving the new Spotify and Netflix support but baffled by worsened Pandora, a broken YouTube app, and ongoing issues like UPnP glitches and random crashes. And where's Amazon Video on Demand? It's high time for better social features, faster UI, and fewer button presses. From 'Pretty Good' to 'Excellent' seems a missed step for Boxee.
Track Racing on the East Coast
I finally made it to a track this weekend., and had an amazing time! There are a bunch of things I learned in general about track racing through this experience, as far as logistics of how to actually do it.
HID Kits, Xenon Bulbs and Halogen headlamps -- The Story
Dove into the world of car lighting and swapped out my 2006 Mercedes C55 AMG's stock halogens for Xenons. Learned that HID kits are a budget-friendly option, but upgrading to an OEM Xenon assembly offers perks like projector lenses and more reliable components. Opted for 8000K bulbs for that cool blue tint. Fingers crossed for a smooth install later this week!
One way to do Django on AppEngine
Embarked on a quest into combining Django with Google AppEngine, embracing Django-Nonrel and DjangoAppEngine for a seamless yet challenging integration. It was filled with learning curves, but the promise of my upcoming app kept me motivated.
Trying out the Nexus S
I got a Nexus S today, and here are my initial thoughts, when comparing it to my Nokia N900: missing the LED indicator and physical keyboard but loving the speed and smooth operation. Android's multitasking feels odd, yet the app ecosystem and Google integration are big pluses. Still adjusting to on-screen typing and dealing with ads, but the seamless service sync might just make me stay.
Introducing the Personal *nix Cluster Manager
Frustrated by not being able to access files on my desktop while away, I created the Personal Cluster Manager for *nix/ssh systems. It's a neat setup with a client daemon, master script, and a UI to easily manage and access multiple machines via reverse SSH tunnels—perfect for personal use on up to 10 machines.
AMD Joins Meego with Nokia and... Intel?
Shocked to hear AMD and Intel are teaming up, especially to back Meego, hinting at a strategic shift to tackle the ARM-dominated mobile market. This collaboration could spice up the smartphone OS competition, potentially positioning Meego as a solid third player.
A Must Watch: Barack Obama's Post-Election Press Conference
President Obama's press conference digs into the root of America's political frustrations, urging a focus on specifics and compromise for progress, particularly on healthcare and job creation.
The People Bug Tracker: bugs.zachgoldberg.com
Launched bugs.zachgoldberg.com, a unique "Bug Tracker for People" to address everyday grievances, thanks to dreamhost, edgewall, and a handy guide from 119labs.
The "lawsuit club"
There are so many major corporations suing each other over complete drivel nowadays that I've lost track of who is pointing the lawsuit-press-generator at who. Here is an aggregate from a few minutes of Googlin'. Kudos for the idea for the title goes to the NYTimes.
Don't use third party tools
Be cautious using niche tech tools like Django or Zenoss unless you're ready to commit to maintaining them, as custom tweaks can become a time-consuming necessity. Choose software you can fully own and adapt, underscoring the value of open-source over proprietary solutions.
Building Empire State Buildings
Today Google had one of its fancy playable logos. They really are nifty – I actually found myself playing with it and admiring the physics for a couple of minutes. And then I noticed…. So was everybody else. I got a couple of messages from friends who also spent a couple of minutes with it. That got me thinking… How much productivity does the world lose when Google does this?
How to VNC into any Linux machine (or how I 'hack into' my friends computers)
Learned how to "hack into" a friend's Linux computer behind a firewall using reverse SSH port forwarding and VNC, making remote troubleshooting a breeze without navigating complex local network setups.
Curious Behavior
Rushed to meet Richard Stallman at Google after spotting a Buzz post about his visit, but found him with just a few folks around. My post-meeting push for software freedom, inspired by RMS, didn't win over my Apple fan coworkers, but I'm not ready to quit.