Creating and maintaining world-class trails responsibly, sustainably, and collectively since 1997.
Pinned Link: santacruztrails.org/...
Steve Williams
Updates from Steve Williams across the worldwide web.
Latest posts
Protective Bike Wrap
Pinned Link: www.ridewrap.com/...
Bobby's Pit Stop Auto Repair
Pinned Link: www.bobbyspitstop.com/... Recommended by estimator at Krafts Body Shop.
Krafts Body Shop
Pinned Link: www.kraftsbodyshop.com/... Recommended by the Chrysler dealer in Santa Cruz.
Callsun 200W N-Type Bifacial Solar Panel
Pinned Link: callsunsolar.com/... Ordered today from Amazon. Recommended by Dan Lotts at Lotts Stereo for Sally the van. Note black frame, a little less ugly. Dan's new recommendation. Much less expansive than Dan's recommendation of the Renogy Shadowflux 200W panel earlier this year.
NOCO GCP1 AC Port for Pacifica
Pinned Link: no.co/... Selected by Dan Lotts at Lotts Stereo in Santa Cruz to allow the Sally the van to plug in at RV parks.
Community Advisory Board Meeting, May 14, 2026
Last Thursday I attended the Community Advisory Board meeting. Attendance was great, and the topics were interesting. Lots of technical detail! Agenda Presentations
TV Connector for Hearing Aids | Phonak
Pinned Link: www.phonak.com/... My dad uses this device to listen to TV audio through his hearing aids. Or, rather, he tries to use this device. The Phonak device is terribly unreliable. And its behavior doesn't match what's in the manul (PDF) available from this page. It's one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried to get working. I just don't know what to say.
German Overtone Singer Anna-Maria Hefele
Pinned Link: anna-maria-hefele.com/... Heard on WFMU's Vocal Fry.
Virtual Files on Ubuntu Desktop
Pinned Link: help.nextcloud.com/... A relatively old thread on enabling "virtual files" support in the Linux Nextcloud client. I'll have to try that. Or maybe I'll switch to syncthing first.
Hangar One Reopened After Clean-Up
Tomorrow morning, I’m planning to attend an “event celebrating the completed restoration of Hangar One at Moffett Federal Airfield.” The invitation came from Google’s Planetary Ventures. Dignitaries and reporters attended an event last week, including Emily Margaretten, a reporter for the Mountain View Voice who wrote this article published last Friday: “Planetary Ventures took over […]
Nāṣir-i Khusraw | Digital PUL
Pinned Link: dpul.princeton.edu/... born in 1004 in the town of Qubādiyān in the southwest of present-day Tajikistan.
DNSimple Pricing
Pinned Link: dnsimple.com/... DNSimple is a LetsEncrypt sponsor , mentioned in the Internet Security Research Group email newsletter this month. I looked up DNSimple pricing today, considering using them for DNS service for some of the domains I have registered at EasyDNS, to mitigate ... attacks? Anyway, a large volume of unnecessary DNS queries, which can cause small extra charges from EasyDNS.…
DNSimple: "DNS Hosting and Domain Name Management"
This is not yet a recommendation, just notes on a DNS provider I'm looking into as an alternative to EasyDNS. More on EasyDNS below . DNSimple is a LetsEncrypt sponsor , mentioned in the Internet Security Research Group email newsletter this month. That alone made me want to evaluate DNSimple. I looked up DNSimple pricing , considering using them for DNS service for some of the domains I have…
Black History in West L.A.
Interpretive sign: "Welcome to Historic Belmark Park" Part of the permanent exhibit of Santa Monica's 2019 Belmont History + Art Project In January, 2026, I biked to Santa Monica to pick up a car from the shop. Along the way, I walked my bike around Historic Belmar Park in Santa Monica, reading and photographing each of the interpretive signs commemorating the Belmar Triangle . The QR codes on the…
Hattie Scott Peterson was removed from the USACE web site on March 9, 2025
Pinned Link: www.usatoday.com/... I took note of this USA Today story when it appeared. I scheduled annual emails to myself to remind me on the date of her birth and her death, and on March 9, until I can publish my bicycle ride on that day as the "Hattie Scott Peterson Ride." So far, I haven't ridden on those days.
80/20 build guides by Engineers who Van Life
Pinned Link: engineerswhovanlife.com/... I'm finally building the camping interior for my Pacifica, using 80-20 materials. I found these guides helpful.
Santa Monica Pier at Sunset
I've taken a lot of photos of the beach in Santa Monica and Venice lately. I think this one is especially nice: Santa Monica Pier at sunset, January 14, 2026. The Santa Monica Pier at Sunset, January 14, 2026 Santa Monica Bay, view southeast from Saddle Peak Road at the top of Stunt Road. The headland in the distance is Palos Verdes. The Miracle Mile and Los Angeles Skylines, view to the east from…
Niner RLT 9 Steel Gravel Bike
Pinned Link: www.ninerbikes.com/... My friend Dennis H. from Santa Cruz recommended this to me as a gravel bike for touring and bike camping. The Niner web site and Adrenaline Bikes in Orange, California, both say it's out of stock. I'd love to find one used, to save money.
West Los Angeles Veterans Home Streetcar Depot
I've been exploring the Sawtelle Veterans Home ( w.wiki/HCik ) for years, often by bicycle. It's also called the West L.A. Veterans Home. It was created by Congress in 1887 as the Pacific Branch of the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. It still serves Veterans today. The 1900 Streetcar Depot ( w.wiki/HCir ) has long interested me. It took me a long time to find an authoritative…
Fixing Nautilus (Gnome Files app for Ubuntu) Timestamp Format
Pinned Link: discourse.gnome.org/... I noticed the Files app on Ubuntu doesn't display the file timestamps in a useful format. I prefer a format that sorts naturally, since that's what my brain expects. None of this 17 Dec 15:31 crap. DuckDuckGo found this fix for me. I expected it to be a setting in the app, but I suppose it's not inappropriate that it's part of the locale translation system.…
Struggling to run Quicken under Wine
Pinned Link: community.quicken.com/... The pinned link is a 2022 post on the Quicken "Community" by a user who, like me, was trying to get Wine to install Quicken on Linux. I found that post after trying wine Quicken.exe (the installer) and seeing an error message with the string InstallPDFDriver . The post unpacks the Quicken.exe installer (a 7zip archive?) and edits the gobbledygook that tries…
Trying out OpenCloud
Pinned Link: docs.opencloud.eu/... The pinned link is to the "OpenCloud with Docker Compose" section of the OpenCloud installation documentation. It explains how to install OpenCloud with Collabora for web file storage and document collaboration. ("Multiple users can work on the same document simultaneously, with real-time synchronization of changes.") And the usual cloud storage sync'd with…
Cloudlare DNS to Avoid Cost of Excessive DNS Queries
I believe Cloudflare is mostly used as a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to cache and serve web sites, dealing with attacks and providing faster responses to requests from regions far from the primary web server. But Cloudflare can also be used to deal with attacks on DNS service, while still allowing the primary server to respond to HTTP requests. That's what I needed. And Cloudflare gets it…
My Fundraising Page for Norcal Climate Ride, May, 2026
Pinned Link: support.climateride.org/... I loved last year's two-day Climate Ride in Marin County. I'm looking forward to joining again in May, 2026. Here's my fundraising page.
Tools for Static Web Sites by Simon Repp
Pinned Link: simonrepp.com/... Found via jhhl on the Creative Good Forum , who writes: The guy behind Faircamp has a bunch of static webpage tools, many in development! Static webpages have the advantage that they do no backend computation and usually don't have much client side processing either (sometimes it's helpful) which lessens the attack surface of course. I like static websites and non…
HERE WeGo: Maps and Navigation
Pinned Link: wego.here.com/... Mentioned on the Santa Cruz Amateur Radio Club email list, where the OP says it can be used off-line. The Android app is available in the Google Play store, but not promoted by the web site, for some reason.
OsmAnd: Offline Maps and Navigation
Pinned Link: osmand.net/... Mentioned via the Santa Cruz Amateur Radio Club email list.
poddmo/ufw-blocklist on Github: IP blocklist extension for Ubuntu ufw firewall
Pinned Link: github.com/... Instructions and a couple of shell scripts that use UFW on Ubuntu to block IP addresses based on daily-updated blacklists. (I've tried a few times lately to work through how to get fail2ban set up. I found it just too complex.) I just installed it on the BayCHI web server because it has been getting thousands of bogus requests per minute from various countries since…
KDE Connect: Connect Devices, SMS, File Transfer, etc.
Pinned Link: kdeconnect.kde.org/... Open Source alternative to Microsoft Phone Link, available for Linux. I haven't read the Privacy Policy yet, but it sounds like it doesn't have any surveillance. Found via review on How-To Geek (warning: ads, surveillance).
Renogy 200W ShadowFlux 200W Solar Panel
Pinned Link: www.renogy.com/... Recommended by Lotts Stereo in Santa Cruz for my Pacifica van. My EcoFlow River 2 Pro power bank has a solar charge controller that's compatible. I'll need a way to switch between the solar panel and the van's 12V to the EcoFlow's single DC input. Maybe one half of a bridge rectifier with Faston connectors, although the one-volt drop is a bit disappointing. Also,…
Asahi Linux
Pinned Link: asahilinux.org/... Recommended by Derek Sivers . Derek installed it on his Mac laptop as an alternative to "ugly" Mac OS Tahoe. Should I get a cheap Mac laptop to run Linux, instead of a Thinkpad or something from eBay?
Mini ITX Fanless PC | Streacom FC8
Pinned Link: silentpc.com/... Recommended by Derek Sivers . I love fanless computers. This mini is more expensive than I want right now, and what I really need is a new laptop.
BOOX Go 6 | A 6" Monochrome ePaper Reader – The Official BOOX Store
Pinned Link: shop.boox.com/... Recommended by Derek Sivers .
I'm Astonished to Disagree with Kevin Kelly
I revere Kevin Kelly , of course. The founding executive editor of Wired, and an editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, he has long been an astute observer, even a framer of our technology culture. BayCHI volunteer Alison Andrews wrote almost 20 years ago : The people involved in the Whole Earth community founded Wired in 1993. ... these people had been working together for nearly 30 years before they…
El Tour de Tucson October 22, 2025
Pinned Link: www.bikesignup.com/... Recommended by Maryann. 800 miles from Santa Cruz. 500 miles from Los Angeles.
Lizard Head Cycling Guides - Colorado's Premiere Road and Mountain Bike Tour Operator
Pinned Link: lizardheadcyclingguides.com/... Recommended by Maryann. Not sure I want to go to Colorado, but maybe they do tours in California?
"Smart Shunt": PwrTool 500 (VDBX.io)
Pinned Link: wiki.vdbx.io/... Years ago, Bob Nuckolls explained how he does current monitoring, and every since I've been thinking about how to build a complete system to collect data and monitor battery charging and power consumption in an RV. This link is to a "smart shunt" offered on Crowd Supply. It can send its data to ESPHome , developing the data collection and display would be easier than…
Wahoo BOLT/ROAM V1 GPS Units Reset 20 Years Back, Becomes Unusable | DC Rainmaker
Pinned Link: www.dcrainmaker.com/... Don't know whether this affects my ROAM or the ELEMNT I sold to Cindy Pierce awhile back. Chris Pearson on the Santa Cruz Club email lists recommends this tool: https://www.fitfiletools.com/
TheSamba.com - Custom folding bed based on Bus Depot hinges
Pinned Link: www.thesamba.com/... Good custom vanagon folding bed project, and discussion of how to adjust the angle of the seat to be comfortable. Considering for my Pacifica.
Reimo T3 Interior Conversion Kit ("Jolly") – Dr. Björn's Auto
Pinned Link: vanagonwestfaliaparts.com/... Complete interior kit for Vanagon. Uses the hinge I just pinned.
Reimo Hinge for Raised Bed – Dr. Björn's Auto
Pinned Link: vanagonwestfaliaparts.com/... Another possible seat hinge for the Pacifica.
Z-BED Hinge Kit - Converts Existing Rear Seat into Sofa Bed - The Bus Depot
Pinned Link: www.busdepot.com/... Looking at this to simplify making a custom rear seat/bed for my Chrysler Pacifica.
Phil Windley: Components for Web Apps
Pinned Link: www.windley.com/... Phil says, "XMLUI brings a fresh, declarative approach to building web interfaces using native, composable components—no heavy frameworks required. It's a promising path toward giving Picos the ability to serve their own UIs again, natively and autonomously."
GripLockTies: Heavy Duty, Rubber-Lined, Releasable Zip Ties
Pinned Link: griplockties.com/... I use these on the bike and other uses where I don't want regular zip ties to cut through paint or even abrade metal. I've bought them through KF7P Metalweks . I'd sure like to find them at local retail or on Amazon, because I forgot to bring my stock on the trip I'm on right now.
Steve Williams - Fundraising For Climate Ride
Pinned Link: support.climateride.org/...
Free Speech and Big Tech
I'm a fan of Zeynep Tufekci. I find her writing consistently smart, and her life story inspiring ( Wikipedia ). A computer programmer, sociologist, professor, and Pulitzer-finalist columnist, she came up from modest circumstances under an authoritarian regime in Turkey. So when she critiques Zuckerberg's posturing on "free speech," I pay attention! NY Times Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg's Macho…
AARP Forum: How to stop monthly Medicare paper statements by mail
Pinned Link: community.aarp.org/... I've been receiving a paper statement by mail from Medicare since I started coverage in 2023, even though my premium is automatically paid. Millions of people probably receive these. What a waste! The link is to an AARP forum discussion where a member explains that he used Medicare's chat feature to change his Medicare statements from monthly to annual. I tried…
onTheGoSystems: How You'll Build Sites with Toolset
Pinned Link: toolset.com/... Toolset is a commercial Wordpress plug-in for building structured web sites. I explored Toolset with other BayCHI volunteers as a way to preserve the archive of BayCHI events. Recently, I got interested, for the umptieth time, in going back to that development, so I looked up Toolset again. BayCHI's events have a deeper structure than ordinary calendar events. For…
Cornell University: Frances Perkins on the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire
Pinned Link: trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/... Frances Perkins was in the news in December, 2024, when Joe Biden established her homestead in Newcastle, Maine, as the Frances Perkins National Monument She was the first woman to service in the U.S. president's cabinet, as the Secretary of Labor 1933-45 Wikipedia . And she was a witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. The link is to…