When it comes to REST endpoints, I have been amazed at the conflicting and bad practices employed for response codes.  Specifically the use of the response codes: 404 (page not found) 204 (content not found) 400 (Bad Request) The HTTP response codes are a very rich and detailed set of answers. But there is a […]

Over the years I have posted a number of things related to the timing and sequence of removing paper currency and coin currency from all societies.  My earliest post was in 1999 on my own website, as part of a long article on why the Y2K scare was never going to be allowed to happen.  […]

I recently discovered a distributed computing project for COVID-19 DNA research called Rosetta@Home  ( https://foldforcovid.io/ ).  Having 8 Raspberry Pis which are lying dormant after I completed a project with them, I decided to put them online as workers. For security precautions, I decided to create a segmented guest network on my router for the Pis […]

After an unusual set of circumstances, my company has shifted its IT and software development staff into a distributed workforce even though all of us are within a local drive of the office.  Previously other terms were used for this type of work, like working from home or working remotely.  But it is so much […]

Keep It Simple and Stupid! If you hate those extremely over-complicated password requirements which paranoid corporations are embracing, you will love the changes that NIST issued about a year ago.  The problem is, corporations aren’t really showing any interest in it. It is time to point them the the new guidelines, because the current ones […]

One of the benefits of living in Kansas City is the availability of Google Fiber as my high-speed internet provider. This is something the rest of the country desperately wants access to. It was already installed at my house here in Kansas City when I moved in, and the Google Fiber installation techs merely made a […]

As a lot of people have done or are doing, I moved my finance tracking off the old (read: previously) reliable Quicken desktop application, to a provider on the web.  I love the convenience of having quick access on all devices I use and wherever I am. But there are still things I will not […]

Recently, it was revealed that the NSA is able to break common encryption protocols used on the internet.  You can read the article here: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/5/4698808/most-common-encryption-protocols-are-useless-against-nsa-surveillance But, to me, it’s not really that much of a revelation.  And taking the article’s claims at face value will cause the user to miss a practical side of security […]

Verizon FIOS is a fiber-optic system capable of delivering very fast internet feeds to residential consumers, in addition to its TV service. With upload speeds in excess of 25Mb, and download speeds in excess of 50Mb (its currently capable of 150Mb), you would think that this service beats cable internet and DSL internet hands down. […]

I recently moved and had to setup a new home network. Because of the length and number of walls limiting effective radio coverage in the new house, I opted to put in two wireless AP’s: one at the front in the living room where the main input is, and one at the back of the house […]