Remote Working, iOS, Mac OS X, and more
Scope creep is Nemesis to software development, yet it is also responsible for some of the best tools and features I’ve built. The danger, though, is not taking detours but failing to recognize the difference between a distraction and an investment. Every once in a while, you run into a problem that isn't really part of your project, but solving... Read More
Last updated: July 2026. Organizing a media library seems simple until your media manager identifies the wrong movie, separates episodes incorrectly, or ignores artwork and subtitles that are sitting right beside the video. Most of these problems aren't caused by bugs but ambiguity. Media managers can only identify content based on the information they're given, and filenames and folder…
Sun & Moon 2.0 is a major refresh focused on modernizing the app and making conditions easier to read at a glance. Nearly every part of the experience has been revisited, from the daily dashboard and widgets to the artwork, location management, and support for unusual astronomical events around the world. NEW A Cleaner Dashboard The Today view puts the... Read More
For the last 15 years or so, we’ve been going on offroad UTV rides with friends and family. Over the past few years of that, I’ve experimented with recording and editing those rides into action short films for all of us. The end result is usually a video somewhere around 90-120 seconds long per hour of riding (longer is usually... Read More
In a previous post I began the story of our ski cabin renovation with tales of cumbersome bank processes, inspections, and demolition. For the next several months, little else happened — areas were gutted one-by-one, stripped back to the original structure, and dump trips were made. Hidden doors were uncovered, and more than a century of grime removed. In the... Read More
Intel Celeron-based Synology NAS devices are popular for home media servers for one key reason: they have an integrated GPU that supports Intel QSV hardware acceleration. This enables them to serve a much higher number of video streams than CPU-based transcoding would allow. That transcoding support is available to any software running on the NAS, though how it is run... Read More
I’ve written about the topic of a home media server multiple times in the past, from building an RV media center to running a Synology NAS on 12V DC power, integrating internet radio into the sources, and running an Apple TV on 12V DC power. This time I wanted to cover a recent improvement: adding live TV-like custom IPTV channels.... Read More
I’ve been a little light on posts recently. Part of it was a lack of small projects to write about (there isn’t much more I want to do to the trailer) and part of it is a lack of energy now that I have a new, very large project. I’m going to try to improve on that. I have been... Read More
The Apple TV is powered by 120VAC, which is fine for a house, but I didn’t want to need to have the inverter powered up just for that. It was the one remaining piece of my RV media center that wasn’t yet 12V. Fortunately, there’s a guy out there who sells 12V retrofitted Apple TV hardware. Step 1 was to... Read More
I finally found an acceptable clock for the trailer’s nightstand. It’s adhered to the wall next to the bed and powered by the USB charging port. Sleeping in the trailer is different than at home — few of the usual cues to hint at the time are present. Awakening in the morning, none of the familiar, regular sounds are present,... Read More