Month: March 2018

  • Administrative Note (3/2018)

    Administrative Note (3/2018)

    Just a note. Today I upgraded the PHP framework for my WordPress blogs to version 7.2, which is good in the sense that an upgraded infrastructure is good for overall security in any service or application, but it seems to be generating a warning in the header of pages on the site. Hopefully Automattic, the…

  • Memory Management

    Memory Management

    I don’t mean this to be metaphorical, but maybe 10 or 20 years from now it will be. Computers and computing require memory. The reason is they need to keep quick calculations and values close at hand, because of communication speeds, because we need them to be quick and responsive, particularly for video displays and…

  • More on Home Automation, Homebridge, Nest, and Apple’s HomeKit

    More on Home Automation, Homebridge, Nest, and Apple’s HomeKit

    I got Homebridge, the Node.js-based software Bridge for use with home automation and Nest (and other Internet of Things – aka IoT) home automation devices, working and running in my environment. And then my WeMo bridge started failing. But more herein about getting Nest to work with Homebridge and Apple Homekit because, as usual, the…

  • Getting better at customizing WordPress

    Getting better at customizing WordPress

    Since last year, I’ve been volunteering on a Taproot Foundation Website grant, and we’ve been setting up WordPress for a nonprofit that got awarded the grant for them to use as a replacement website for their content and publications. I’ve been working as the “lead developer” and my various hard and soft skills (including mentoring…

  • Adventures in Home Automation

    Adventures in Home Automation

    For me, it started with the Nest Protects (Smoke and CO detectors), then a Nest Thermostat, then more Protects, now some cameras, and some other products: A WeMo (Belkin) smart outlet plug, and now a Philips Hue bridge and two lights. It’s a slippery slope. A gateway drug. But it’s also a huge technical PITA.…