Small code with powerful results, the occasional opinion … and beer. 

02 Mar 2013
Install or Uninstall a Windows Service without Installation Packages

Generally windows services are deployed one of two ways.  One way is in an installation package, that will handle the installation for a user.  The service may be one of several parts of an installation package, and the package approach makes the installation easier to maintain.  This method is mostly useful for an unknown number […]

07 Feb 2013
Open DHCP Server

I previously used a Winform app that was a simple DHCP service to assign addresses on a closed LAN network for test servers. It was unreliable, in that it would assign addresses but would never let the lease go beyond 15 minutes or so. I just replaced it with Open DHCP Server. If you are […]

21 Dec 2012
DD-WRT vs Apple… no masquerading

I learned this one the hard way.  After a lot of searching through DD-WRT forums and time with my cable company doing some communication checking, I accidentally confirmed an obscure item I found in the DD-WRT forums . If you have any Apple device on your home network (particularly iPad and Macbook), turn off the […]

03 Oct 2012
Exit Tomato, Enter DD-WRT… and a weird NAT loopback issue.

I recently lost my Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 router which has served me faithfully for years running Tomato firmware.  I had difficulty finding any new router on the market, which had the NAT loopback feature as well as the ability to filter incoming IP addresses for a service port. I found a Rosewill RNX-N300RT router from NewEgg […]

29 Aug 2012
A giant leap towards the cashless society

Back in 1999, the Y2K panic was reaching its peak.  Sadly, it was even starting to consume a few noted national Christian leaders (James Dobson included), which was a little disheartening.  And every church I knew had appointed some person within the congregation as the church’s Y2K representative, whether that person had any real knowledge […]

08 Jul 2012
The upside-down logic of corporate “free speech” from Verizon

Verizon filed a predictable lawsuit against the FCC this week, challenging the legality of the “net neutrality” rules the commission passed by a 3-2 vote. Not so ironically, excluding the commissioner himself, the 2 commissioners voting for the rules were Democrats, and the 2 commissioners voting against the rules were Republicans. Of course, the logic […]

27 Mar 2012
Weed Killer 1.0.5.0

Weed Killer 1.0.5.0 is now available. See the project page here.  This is a maintenance release which corrects an issue with applying NT permissions to folders. Weed Killer is available for download on www.SourceForge.net.

13 Mar 2012
Weed Killer 1.0.4.0 (Stable)

Weed Killer 1.0.4.0 is now available. See the project page here.  This is the second stable, production-ready release of the package. Highlights are: Corrected a problem where saving a configuration file, before an active change was accepted or canceled, could corrupt the entry in the file. Added a new ability for an administrator to assign […]

14 Aug 2011
The mysterious mutating power properties .. SOLVED !

Back in 2009, I wrote a post related to issues of mutating power settings in Windows XP Media Center (I’ve got the Power! … but not over power properties?!). Since then I have seen the problem also on Windows XP Professional, and on multiple manufacturers laptops (HP, Gateway and Dell). After digging a little further, […]

07 Aug 2011
Finally, Internet-based irrigation control for the tech-savvy homeowner

So that you know up front: I have neither purchased nor ordered the device yet.  I’m not promoting it.  I am just publishing this because so many people I talked to over the past few years really wanted what this device does and, like me, couldn’t find anything like it. I’ve been repairing my 5-year […]