Oscillating Interest

In an effort to post a bit more here's the first entry in my No Frills series. This posts will be short, and mostly reference outside sources. So you need to access resources in a remote network like AWS or Azure, but don't want to use ssh + vim/emacs/etc or don't want to constantly be pushing commits? This solution is for you! You'll need a Unix-like environment such as Ubuntu on your server side, a terminal locally with SSH, and ideally VS Code.   First install tmux, if you're not familiar check out a tutorial like this one . This cheat sheet is very handy too! In your ~/.bashrc (or appropriate shell config file) add the following so you'll always have access to tmux easily: # Open Tmux Session immediately on SSH and exit SSH Session when exiting tmux if [[ -n "$PS1" ]] && [[ -z "$TMUX" ]] && [[ -n "$SSH_CONNECTION" ]]; then tmux attach-session -t ssh_tmux || tmux new-session -s ssh_tmux; exit; fi     Now ...

Dungeon Master's Screen artwork from Wizards of the Coast As someone who loves Dungeons & Dragons (& all sorts of tabletop RPGs) and has a decent amount of experience under my belt, I'm often asked by new or prospective DMs (Dungeon Masters) for advice. I hope I can start to compile that advice into a series of blog posts but that this one will stand well on its own! This is a decently long post, and the links I have may have many hours of content, but don't get intimidated , thinking you need to know everything before you start, I sure didn't! Instead gather some friends (ideally 3-5, any more can be overwhelming) , make characters together, and start playing ! (Check out this character sheet , I prefer it to the official one). You'll learn as you go and probably make mistakes, but that's fine, just have fun!  So You Want to Be A Dungeon Master series Table of Contents Intro Post Links to other advice givers Links to rules resources ...

Two years ago, I wrote a post specifically about passwords. However, these days there are a few more things that one should be doing to protect themselves so I will be going over a few digital security topics in this post. Wait! Don't be scared, I know security can sound hard but it doesn't have to be. I'd like this guide to be easy to follow so even someone without an interest in security can quickly start being secure online. Passwords I've covered this before but I'll summarize the post here. Password Setup Steps: Create two very strong, but easy to remember passwords for you password manager and email. You can do this by: Rolling some dice to create a Diceware Passphrase Easy creation site (use 6 words minimum!) and EFF's explanation on how/why   Use the Schneier Scheme Write down these passwords and put them in a safe place. This may sound odd, but even Bruce Shneier has said: If you can't remember your passwords, write them down a...

Image from here . Screen shot from film The Matrix Reloaded If you are like myself, and ssh into multiple remote machines, or even simply use Github over ssh this is for you. The Problem SSH has a lot of settings you can use, but when you're a relatively new developer you're not going to go mucking around in a config file you don't need to when there's work to be done! There are also security concerns with some settings, and issues if you have a lot of ssh keys. Also typing long username@domain strings can be annoying. The Solution The Keymaker   o——m , a small script (fewer than 250 lines) to help create ssh keys for remote machines. What does it do? First it helps you create a config file. If one exists already it will rename it with the suffix ".BACKUP". By default all ssh connections will show a randomart image ( VisualHostKey yes ) based on the public key provided by the host. This randomart image can be used to visually identify t...

Back Home by CaringWong Greetings Readers! It has been a while since I posted anything so I feel I should do a quick write-up with a few small things. Virtual Reality I have been very excited about Virtual Reality (VR) since I worked with the Oculus Dev Kit 1 and consumer VR is just around the bend! The consumer Oculus Rift ships March 28th, with pre-orders backed up until the summer. (June/July last I checked). The Vive, created by an HTC/Valve partnership, ships starting in May. And finally, Playstation VR (PSVR) ships in October. I had pre-orders for both the Rift and the Vive for a while, while I waited for more news, and to decide which one I would buy at launch (as I can't afford both, nor would I gain much from owning both). PSVR also looks promising and I will decide if I want to purchase a bundle closer to launch, as right now it's too far off to make an informed decision. I have finally decided to purchase the Vive. It was a very difficult decis...

Photo from released.com    Background Info I backed the Pebble Time Kickstarter and got the black watch. I waited a few months to write this review as wearable tech (and phones) often requires more than a week to understand how you actually use it once it loses it's "shiny new toy" status. Before owning a smartwatch (smartch?) I would wear an analogue watch (A Timex Weekender Central Park specifically)  with off and on regularity. The Pebble Time is however, my first smart watch. I had debated the original Pebble, but the clunky form factor turned me off and the Moto 360 had mixed reviews at the start. I also didn't watch to spend that much money on a Moto 360 for the first generation and will see what v2 will have to offer. Several of my friends do have Moto 360s so I have seen them a bit for reference. I have seen an Apple Watch in-person once and heard a lot about them on the podcast I listen to weekly. As you may know from my other posts I use an ...

Image by: geralt License: CC0 Update October 29, 2019 - I tweeted a link to this and realized it was time for an update. I have switched over to iOS from Android and continue to use 1Password, it works even better on iOS. Fixed tenses/removed irrelevant/old paragraphs, and added notes about lack of sponsorship. Update January 18, 2019 - 1Password uses a monthly pricing model primarily now. I've started using 1Password instead of Keepass due to family sharing, their Watchtower service (powered by haveibeenpwned.com), and the amazing ease of use on all platforms. Update March 18, 2017 - LastPass has changed their business model and the mobile app does not require a subscription. I have also become aware of the Diceware passphrase generation technique. This post has been updated to reflect that. Preamble You can skip this section if you just want to get to the advice. NOTE: I realized I should point out to anyone reading this that I do not run ads on my site, nor a...

Background Information Ever since tablets had become popular I wanted one. The iPad looked great, but I wanted something running Android. The Nexus 10 was out of my price range at the time, and the Nexus 7 was too small of a screen, I wanted something closer to 10" for watching videos. Having set aside money for a tablet, the Nexus 9's release was perfectly timed for me. After using it for a few months I felt it was time to post a full review. I own an Android phone (HTC One m7), a desktop computer (using Chrome), and a Chromecast already and I am a regular user of Google's services, which may affect my views on the Nexus 9. The Nexus 9 I purchased was pre-ordered from the Google Play Store and is a Black, Wi-Fi only, 32GB model, shipped to Canada. Use Cases I knew I wanted something I could easily watch videos on, I also wanted something to browse the web, read PDFs without awkwardly zoom/panning and play video games on. I wasn't entirely su...

Just a quick note to any readers who are used to the old layout: I switched it so it better matches my full website and no longer uses widgets that would break certain layouts. Hope to post something interesting in the near future.

Many people have asked me about how exactly Steam Family Sharing works so I'll try and cover some of the tricks and special cases not covered in Steam's FAQ Sharing games with a child, parent, sibling, room mate or other person you live with is often quite simple when you use a shared computer. However, I'd like to cover the other scenario: sharing with friends. I like explaining concepts through examples so to go through all of these examples we will use two friends, Alice and Bob, who live in separate homes, use separate computers, and want to share games. For the purposes of example I will give them each a small library of games: Alice's Games: Hotline Miami (only Alice owns) FTL (both Alice and Bob own) Dota 2 (Free to Play so both Alice and Bob 'own' it) Bob's Games: Crypt of the NecroDancer (only Bob owns) FTL (both Alice and Bob own) Dota 2 (Free to Play so both Alice and Bob 'own' it) Alright great now we'v...

I've been a running and playing Dungeons & Dragons off and on for the last decade. Recently I feel I've upped my game and found some useful tricks, props, and techniques that have helped enhance the game I'm currently running for my players and feel this would be useful for other DMs new and old. Today's post is about Rumours, that little blurb of plothook filled text at the beginning of a module that you're supposed to give to your players somehow. My problem with plot hooks and rumours is I was never sure how to present them to my players without feeling artificial. I was browsing the DnD subreddit one day and I either found this idea or I realized it was a good one: The bag of rumours.  Overview I'm currently using  Sly Flourish's Lazy DM  ideas for adventure design but to make things more sandbox/open world I have thrown in a combination of   Critical Hits ' 5x5 method. This means I have several adventures 'on the go' that have a...

Background I decided to buy a Chromecast to replace my Raspberry Pi as a Plex client and general streaming device.  I use a few services quite regularly for watching shows and these are a requirement for me to consider a new set-top box for the TV.  My "Streaming Trinity" is:  Crunchyroll  - for legal anime subs. (Ad-based and subscription options) Netflix  - for movies, TV, and legal anime dubs (subscription) and  Plex  - for local media on my computer and I'm trying out some 'channels' as well to watch videos from official websites such as CBC and Discovery (Paid mobile apps,Free web/desktop clients, optional subscription or one-time lifetime unlock, requires a computer for a server) The Chromecast had my trinity and more so for about $50 CAD (after shipping and tax) I figured it was worth a shot! I also purchased it in the timeframe to receive $20 on Google Play (this offer is over now, sorry). I heard you can also p...