Backing up FortiOS 7.x with Ansible (August 2026 edition)
How to backup FortiOS 7.x configurations with current versions of Ansible and the Fortinet collection.
Jake Shaw
Recent content on Jake Shaw
Latest posts
Replacing a proprietary Honeywell thermostat with an ecobee
I did this project by taking a bunch of photos of the thermostat, EIM, furnace control board, and wiring, attaching them to a ChatGPT conversation, and asking it to help me understand what I had and guide me through the conversion. It walked me through the process flawlessly, from identifying the system to mapping the new connections, and then helping me write this article. It’s been…
Hello, appleblogs.xyz
Like Techmeme River, but for Apple blogs.
Passkeys explained
Wherein I explain passkeys the best I can.
Jake's URL Tool
I have hundreds of scripts that I use to automate frequent tasks as a network security engineer. While I’ve posted some of them to public GitHub repositories, I haven’t actively promoted them. I realize that not everyone has the skills to download Python scripts from Git repositories and install dependencies. Therefore, I’m starting to present these as simple web applications.…
Using AI to improve writing with Apple's Shortcuts app
With this simple Shortcut, you can use Apple's Shortcuts app and the ChatGPT app to improve writing.
Oblique Hallucinations
Tonight, I coded up a quick project called Oblique Hallucinations . It uses LLMs to generate phrases inspired by Brian Eno ’s Oblique Strategies card deck. See it here . If you don’t “get it”, it’s probably not for you.
What I Use (November 2023 Edition)
I use a MacBook Pro 14" M3 Max at home. At work, it’s a 16" M2 Pro. My workflow is typically the Firefox web browser, Obsidian Notes, plus several terminals with zsh or bash . I use macOS for my desktops. For me, it’s the least worst option currently available. For most of the 1990s and some of the early 2000s, I primarily used Linux on the desktop. I had some short jaunts with FreeBSD…
Back up your configuration on FortiGate 7.0 using Ansible (October 2023 Edition)
Great news! There’s an updated post covering modern versions! Install and setup Ansible Install and setup Ansible , ensuring that you have the full version that includes the FortiOS collection . For detailed instructions, refer to existing YouTube videos and blog posts. Assuming you have Ansible set up, an inventory file with your Fortigate listed, let’s continue. Creating a user for…
Action Jackson
An iOS Shortcut for your Action Button to either silence the phone or launch the camera app based on its orientation.
What I Use (August 2023 Edition)
Operating Systems My workflow is typically the Firefox web browser, Obsidian Notes, plus several terminals with zsh or bash . I use macOS for my desktops. For me, it’s the least worst option currently available. For most of the 1990s and some of the early 2000s, I primarily used Linux on the desktop. I had some short jaunts with FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I loved all the window managers and all…
How to easily bypass paywalls with a bookmarklet
Easily bypass article paywalls with this bookmarklet.
How to enforce Brave Safe Search with DNS
Set up your organization's DNS servers to force Brave Search to use Safe Search.
How to setup automatic logging in an iTerm2 profile
Set up an iTerm 2 profile that logs to a plaintext log file.
Find: Engineer Man on YouTube
I'm really enjoying Engineer Man's YouTube videos.
My 2019 Hackintosh Build Guide
My best attempt at documenting my progress.
How I Got Rid of Kindle Special Offers For Free
A post on how I got rid of ads on my Kindle for free
The Items In @richroll's "VEGAN ON $25" YouTube Video
Rich Roll ( @richroll ) recently posted a great YouTube video called “VEGAN ON $25”. In the video, he visits various stores and shows you what $25 will buy in plant-based groceries. I was curious and had some time to blow, so I documented the purchases below. Shoot me any corrections with any corrections. The less-than-economical trips: EREWHON EREWHON Organic Just Greens Smoothie…
dump1090 on Mac OS X El Capitan Quick Start Guide
Use dump1090 on your Mac to receive ADS-B transmissions from aircraft
GQRX and RTL-SDR on Mac OS X El Capitan Quick Start Guide
If you do a Google search for something like “gqrx el capitan”, you’ll find a few guides on using Homebrew to install a bunch of packages that’ll fetch you an old version of GQRX. It turns out there’s a much easier way with the latest version (2.4.1, at the time of this writing). Just download the app bundle directly from the developer. It’s as simple as an app…
(Not so) quick thoughts on the future of Mac apps
Where I see the future of Mac application development going. Call me crazy.
My theater-style popcorn 🍿 recipe
This is how I make my theater-style popcorn. The secret is grapeseed oil and salt.
Seinfeld Productivity Myth
Seinfeld didn't come up with the writing Xs on calendar thing.
Don't You Believe It!
About that creepy line from the old Looney Tunes cartoons.
My Garage Workbench Build v1.0
A little about my garage workbench.
The NSA and Compartmentalization
This week, the NSA has found itself in the middle of a couple of scandals. What people are not realizing is that the NSA exploits compartmentalization quite well. On one hand, it’s used to restrict classified information to individuals or teams on a need-to-know basis. On the other hand, the NSA uses compartmentalization to counter oversight and limit the visible scope of a goal. Take the…
Macbook Pro Retina For Sale
I have a Macbook Pro Retina (MC975LL/A) for sale. It is in excellent condition and has seen little use. It still has the new Mac smell. I can provide the original sales receipt to prove that I am the legitimate owner :).
Lockheed's New Mystery Drone
The DEW Line finds a new mystery drone at the Skunk Works facility. Update: (Maps link broken, included an image). I found the Google Maps link: http://goo.gl/RxgHo . Same image, same shadows, different bearing. So, this is probably their source.
Fix for iOS 6 activation problems
This only applies to legitimate iOS developers. I have no clue nor desire to help pirates. I assume you’re familiar with stuff like iTunes, DFU mode, etc. No warranties, etc etc. Update: This procedure probably won’t work on Hackintosh configurations. I’m getting reports of failures with 2500-something-or-other error codes on them. If you’re one of the iOS developers who…
Stop putting sensitive URLs in your robots.txt file!
Webmasters, the robots.txt does not provide any security . It merely provides hints to search engines about what they should include in their search indexes, and search engines don’t even have to listen to them. Stop putting sensitive URLs in your robots.txt file. Even better, keep the URLS in there but tighten the access controls on them, so nobody can actually access them. The robots.txt…
Calculating Speed using a Webcam
A cool project right up my alley using Python and the Python Imaging Library . This fellow is using motion detection + PIL + rough calculations to estimate vehicle speed using a webcam.
Sort Of Unlock Your Verizon iPhone 4S For Free
Update: I have confirmed this will not work fully with T-Mobile USA (and presumably other US carriers, such as AT&T) SIM cards. You may get it to connect to a tower, but it will not place a call. So it’s not a true unlock like what AT&T offers (yes, that’s a jab at VZW), but it’s still quite handy if you’re heading out of the country and want to use a local prepaid SIM, instead…
About Jake
I’m a programmer and infrastructure engineer living near Eugene, Oregon area with my beautiful wife and our teenage triplets . I like to reading, running, building things, and spending time with my family. Over the years, I’ve been a mountaineer, ultramarathon runner, BJJ practitioner, penetration tester, urban explorer, and electronic musician. I’m also a U.S. Air Force veteran…
An incomplete list of people I enjoy
In alphabetical order: Stephan Ango : Designer and now CEO of Obsidian Notes . Gurwinder Bhogal : A self-professed saboteur of narratives. Check out his epic Twitter threads and many podcast appearances, particularly on the Modern Wisdom Podcast . Rob Braun : Programmer, tinkerer, computer archeologist. One of the most interesting tech guys you’ve never heard of. Also: XAR ! drdrang : All…
At work
I have worked at a medium-sized educational institution for nearly 30 years. Time goes by extremely fast! Over the years, I have held various jobs there: network technician, UNIX system administrator, Windows system administrator, etc. I’m technically a network engineer, but I work on so many other things I’ve decided to start calling myself an infrastructure engineer. I spend most of…
Contact me
You can email me at my first name plus this domain. Socials Site RSS feed Used daily Used daily Used weekly/monthly Used weekly/monthly Probably playing DayZ, Squad, or Sons of the Forest
Etc
Aggregators appleblogs.xyz Minifeed Bearblog Discover Techmeme River Other People Cool people Workstation collections Omarchy workstations
Kids
I am the father of triplets, two boys and one girl, who are now in their teens. 2026 Update: And now employed! 2025 Update: And now driving. Yikes! If you are a parent of multiples, feel free to get in touch .
Nothing Here
Nothing here. Sorry, Charlie.
Now
Building many things. I’m all over the place right now Agentic coding Healthmaxxing Snoopy, a passive network recon tool Developing several browser extensions to reduce my exposure to supply chain attacks. Jake’s Extension : An extension that performs a number of things I find useful. Runs With , which attempts to mimic the functionality of builtwith.com but for free. appleblogs.xyz…
Programming
At present, I’m currently spending most of my time with: Python JavaScript Go I dabble with: Swift Ruby ♥️ In the past, I’ve worked significantly with: C# (system utils, WinForms, ASP.NET, low-level LDAP and protocol, etc) Java Perl Objective-C ♥️ I’ve also dabbled with a bunch of languages like Forth, Lisp, Lua, Smalltalk, Swift, etc. My idea of fun is to browse random language…
Projects
An incomplete list of public projects
What others use
I like to see what other people use. I started collecting a list here. Alexey Guzey - Tools/Gear Scott Hanselman - Tools : Great and extensive list, especially for Windows users. Nick Janetakis - The Tools I Use Matt Mullenweg - What’s In My Bag? : The WordPress CEO documents what he carries every couple years or so. Paul Stamatiou - Stuff I Use