Ramblings, ideas, problems, and solutions

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  • My EDC setup

    EDC, short for Every Day Carry, has become a common term to many, myself included. The underlying philosophy of “what do I need to bring with me on a daily basis” is an interesting one, and one which has prompted me to think about what I bring with me on a day to day basis. While the specifics may – and do – change, in general, what I bring with me is:

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  • BTS: Farmers and their cows

    This week, I have a tale of two farmers for you…

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  • TBT: Creating a shortcut to start a service

    This post originally ran in October 2008. I am reposting it now, as part of my throwback thursday project, to give some of my older quality posts some love. Though the post references Windows XP; the command works in later versions, too.

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  • On the user friendly computer

    One of the podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, 99 percent invisible featured a story about the computer mouse and its inventor, Doug Engelbart. In it, the fact that modern computers are becoming increasingly user friendly was bemoaned, arguing that if it were less user friendly, we would be able to perform more advanced tasks. Though an interesting point of view, it seems to me sadly mistaken. The thing is, though modern computers and operating systems are becoming ever more user friendly, accessible, and easy to use, that does not necessarily extend to the software run on the device. Let’s look at a few examples: (more…)

  • BTS: Lies, damned lies

    Another quick crime mystery for you this week:

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  • Citrix: Keyboard input fails on Mac OS X

    A user called in, saying that she was having problems with her email client on Citrix. I quickly established that she was using a Mac, and that she was able to open and read emails, as well as start a reply, but that no keyboard input seemed to show up when she was writing an email. I next asked her to try to search in Outlook, with the same result. The final thing we tried before ascertaining what the problem was, was checking if the problem only affected Outlook. As it turned out, it didn’t, but propagated through all applications in Citrix.

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  • BTS: Mr. Rose and the Hound

    Following on last week’s theme, here’s another quick crime mystery:

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  • TBT: FileZilla – the only FTP client you’ll ever need.

    This post originally ran in October 2008. I am reposting it now, as part of my throwback thursday project, to give some of my older quality posts some love. I still use FileZilla on a regular basis, and still love it dearly.

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  • Electric cars and the Zero emissions claim

    A recent development in personal transportation, in particular in Norway, has been the (re-)introduction of electric vehicles. Where electric vehicles used to be either mobility scooters or big, ugly clunkers, they now come in many packages, from the small and nippy, such as Buddy, to the ones that look like, well, a car, such as Teslas offerings. The other day, I passed an electric car, on the side of which proudly proclaimed “Zero emission”. Depending on your perspective and where in the world you are located, the claim can be considered false, plausible or true. Let’s take a look:

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  • BTS: Details matter

    This week’s puzzle is a bit different, but I liked it. As usual, feel free to post suggestions in the comments; the solution will be up next week.

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  • On Free speech

    This post is dedicated to the memory of Dan Uzan, the volunteer security guard who was shot and killed by a terrorist in Copenhagen on February 15th, 2015.

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