It recently occurred to me that in over five years of running this blog, I’ve never given step-by-step instructions for setting up or using a virtual machine (VM). It is likely that a lot of you already use VMs don’t need a tutorial. If that applies to you, please share this with a friend who does. It is equally likely that some of you could use step-by-step instructions. This tutorial will cover creating your first virtual machine.
The Joys of Composting, or Start a Damn Compost Pile!
I totally lucked into composting. When I bought my first house, I had a huge pile of leaves in the woods. Since I moved in in summer, I had a ton of grass clippings that had to get dealt with, so they went on the leaf pile. For some reason I turned the grass into the leaves, and some interesting things started happening. I began to see worms out there. The pile would steam sometimes. I probably didn’t know it but I was making compost.
OPSEC for Legal Marijuana Consumers
The commercial sale of legal, recreational marijuana in the United States poses some interesting legal problems. Marijuana is completely legal under the laws of some states, but still a Schedule I substance according to federal law. Though the strange detente that has emerged over the past several years has kept things awkwardly civil, the federal government would be legally justified in cracking down on growers, purveyors. . . and consumers.
Pictorial Post: Building a Hearth Pad
A few weeks ago I wrote about sustainable, long-term heating and cooling considerations. In the interest of practicing what I preach, I recently had a wood stove installed in our home. I built the hearth and hearth pad for the stove. For the hearth, I used a product called AirStone. Using this stuff requires very little skill. The hearth pad was a bit more involved, however. Below is a more or less step-by-step photo series of my creation.
Building Rapport With Your Outer Cordon (aka Neighbors)
A human support system is important in day-to-day life and absolutely imperative for surviving any sort of adverse, long-term event. When we first moved into our house, we didn’t know a single person in town. We worked really hard initially to fix that, and we’ve continued to work to maintain it. I think you should, too. This post is going to talk about how to get your neighbors on board with you, and quickly. First, I’ll talk about why you’ll want to do that.
EDC Flashlight Review: StreamLight Protac 1L-1AA
OK, I swear this is not a flashlight review site. But flashlights are where my head is these days, and overall that’s probably a pretty good insight into the future ebb and flow of this site. I tend to get fixate on something for a while, go down a huge rabbit hole, but I promise, I’ll come back out of it. Today I’m looking at a competitor to the ThruNite Archer 1A V3 I reviewed a couple weeks ago: the Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA.
Basic Alarm System Best Practices
An intrusion detection system (IDS) system should be an integral part of your home security plan. IDSs are detective security measures that also have a great deal of deterring value. Alarms are far more complicated than most people realize, however. To provide the maximum intended effectiveness, alarms must be carefully installed, tested, and used. These alarm system best practices will help you assess your own system or provide some guidance if having a new one installed.
EDC Flashlight Review: ThruNite Archer 1A V3
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m on the hunt for the perfect everyday carry flashlight. My searching led me to run across the ThruNite Archer 1A V3, a light that – at least on paper – met the majority of my needs. It failed in one spectacular way. I am not keeping mine and I don’t recommend you buy one. Let’s get into it.
The Apricorn Aegis SecureKey Flash Drive
The Apricorn Aegis family of flash drives, HDDs, and SSDs has been around for quite a while. I’ve generally rejected them based on price alone. Recently a customer requested training that included this drive. Since learning the Aegis and its capability, I’m very impressed. If you have compelling data security needs, this product might be for you.
An Introduction to Every Day Carry (EDC) Flashlights
I am a big advocate of the Every Day Carry (EDC) flashlight. I have carried a flashlight on my person in some form or fashion for over a dozen years. There are a number of reasons to recommend the practice of carrying an EDC flashlight. This post will explore some of these reasons, and open a series of upcoming reviews of popular EDC flashlights.