27 Mar 2017
It took about 4 months of back and forth and permitting. Two and a half days of actual work on the room. A couple of visits from a friendly inspector to make sure everything was kosher. And, finally, a 30 minute visit from a nice tech to setup the wifi.
In the end, we’ve got an array of 26 solar panels producing energy on our roof (and setup in a location that you don’t really see from the street).
Unfortunately, we’ve only had a couple of sunny days since then, but on a cold, but sunny, day in March, they produced about 40 kWh of power, which I think is more than what we’d use on a normal day. It’ll be interesting to see how we do in April and May. I’m optimistic this will have really nice returns for us.
So far the only real issue has been the monitoring software, Enlighten from Enphase. When working, it’s really nice. But, while my end is reporting pretty regularly, the website seems to go long whiles between updating. And, over the weekend, it just seemed flat out down. I’m hoping I can figure out a way to pull info from it. It looks like there’s an API, so I might be able to wire up a Homebridge plugin to pull data from it and then list usage on my HomeKit apps.
(And, no, Sun wasn’t one of Captain Planet’s people. Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Heart. I guess maybe Fire counts?)
10 Mar 2017
Looks like Google has figured out how to use a “CAPTCHA” (those awful “what are these words”, “which ones are numbers” tests) without actually using one.
CAPTCHAs have always been a bad solution to a real problem. I’m assuming this new solution is some set of client-side/user-agent evaluation, IP reputation, and behavioral (i.e. how does the mouse move on the page). This is probably going to be a similar solution to what CloudFlare does, where they’ll let traffic through to your site automatically if they trust the reputation of your IP/browser, might delay you if they need more data, or ask you to fill in an old-school CAPTCHA if they can’t tell.
While CloudFlare got there first, Google’s reCAPTCHA is so much more widely used that it could greatly reduce how often those awful (but, often, necessary) CAPTCHAs show up.
(Via Ars Technica)
10 Mar 2017
After listening to Hrishi Hirway (and Josh Malina) on The West Wing Weekly podcast (which is just getting up to one of the best episodes in the series, so catch up now!), I finally listened to Hrishi’s other podcast, Song Exploder.
Man, it’s good.
Right now, while we’re in Peak Podcast, I’m finding myself gravitating to podcasts that are either less than 30 minutes, or are in the 45 minute range done by people that I can reasonably understand when I play the podcast at 1.5x speed.
Song Exploder is a music podcast, is almost always between 12 and 20 minutes, and is about one song per episode. There’s no continuity to worry about, so if I don’t like the song, I just skip the episode.
Frequently, though, it’s a song or band I’m already a fan of, or at least curious about. And listening to how a song gets created—either the incredible work that goes into it, layer by layer; or the random ebbs and flows of the universe—is pretty fantastic listening.
On top of that, you often hear the stems and tracks of a song as it was created. It’s pretty remarkable at times. For example, the Solange episode, where you can hear her voice isolated or the CHVRCHES episode when you hear the initial jibberish track and then the real vocal track.
Anyway. I’m late to the game, but you can catch up on this podcast over the course of a few hours, and you get to listen to some great music while doing it.
08 Mar 2017
US News and World Report just (well, last week) ranked Massachusetts the top state in the country. In this uncertain time, when the broader country is doing its damnedest to literally regress against the progress we’ve made over the last decade, it is heartening to live in a state that has been at the forefront of that movement.
That being said, it’s not all rosy here in the Bay State. We have a massive income inequality gap, have a bias towards the portion of the state living inside 128, and have (at best) a public infrastructure in need of significant overhaul.
However, the state is ready for it’s next leader (sorry, Governor Baker), who’ll come in and take up the mantle of continued progress. With the right leadership, there’s an opportunity to strike while the iron is hot, and solidify Massachusetts place as guiding force for the broader US.
Also, the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox aren’t so bad.
13 Feb 2017
I work with a lot of recruiters (particularly tech recruiters). The vast majority of them are incredibly nice people who really are trying to help me fill a spot on my team. They’re able to get a job listing out and do the legwork of sourcing candidates, and after some trial and error, we can usually zero in on a candidate.
Some recruiters, however, are just awful.
There’s one recruiter right now (and, if you’ve ever talked to me, or had me return an email, it’s not you), who I will never do business with. Let me lay out the scenario, and see if you can figure out why.
- Office phone rings, don’t recognize number, ignore and wait for voicemail
- Cell phone rings, same number, no voicemail
- Office phone rings, different number, ignore and wait for voicemail
- Cell phone rings, that same number, no voicemail
That was within 2 minutes.
I did some googling, and it turned out that the number was a recruiter’s office I’d worked with before, and the other number seemed to point back to a particular person. Linkedin confirmed that person was a recruiter in that office.
Ok. Douchey, but I figured this person would leave a message or send an email, and then we could go from there.
Nope.
A few hours later?
- Office phone
- Cell phone
- Office phone
- Cell phone
This repeated every day for a week. And now it’s every other day or so. That’s just lazy. How hard is it to leave a voicemail, or send an email, or even send a stupid Linkedin message?
I’ve blocked the numbers on my cell phone. Shortly, I’ll do the same on my office phone. There’s enough recruiters who are willing to make my life easier (in exchange for the opportunity to make their company some money, and build a relationship). If you’re just trying to annoy me into answering the phone, why would I ever work with you?
02 Feb 2017
Beyonce (featuring Kendrick Lamar) - Freedom
Listen, I make no bones about being a Bey fan. When Destiny’s Child reunited at the Super Bowl, I was riveted. You just can’t doubt the woman’s talent.
I took way too long to listen to Beyonce’s Lemonade. It’s got at least three great tracks.
Hot damn. This is just so good. It’s angry, in a year when we need women to be angry. It’s an anthem for black women, in a year when we need black women to be angry. Yet, it’s still very much a Beyonce track.
It’s got a fantastic, 60s tinged beat. And a fantastic verse by everyone’s favorite guest star, Kendrick Lamar.
This is the best I can do … do yourself a favor and go buy it on iTunes or your music service of choice.
25 Jan 2017
Frightened Rabbit - Get Out
The annual appearance of a moody, melodic, Scottish rock band on the list! I think “Get Out” is another one that first showed up on a KEXP podcast for me, and then I think it popped up on Pandora for me a few times. And it’s just one of those songs that keeps growing on you.
It’s got this great opening line (“I’m in the arch of the chuch, between her thumb and her forefinger, I’m a worshipper”). It’s Frightened Rabbit’s typical melancholy style, and then it hits the chorus, and you get that great “Get out of my heart, she won’t, she won’t” for the first time. How can you not be hooked?
They also know that this little beauty could run out of gas, so it bows out before you even get to three and a half minutes. A little bit of brooding perfection.
23 Jan 2017
Nada Surf - Believe You’re Mine
Nada Surf just keeps cranking out these great albums full of power pop songs, stadium anthems, and heartfelt rock songs. This falls in the last category. It’s a breakup song (or almost breakup song?), but it’s got such a sweet, singalong chorus (like a lot of Nada Surf songs).
Lyrically, this is one of my favorite Nada Surf songs, with lots of great imagery (“but this oven is burning coal, I got a big supply”) and some nice harmonies hiding out behind the choruses.
It’s got everything you could want from a Nada Surf song, which is why I love it.
23 Jan 2017
Lucius - My Heart Got Caught On Your Sleeve
I’m a sucker for harmonies. Lucius’ particular brand of nearly identical, overlapping vocals just works for me. This one, a somewhat sparse piano ballad that is really there just to hang beautiful vocals off of. The lyrics aren’t amazing, but they serve their purpose. You can’t help but feel the emotion of this song.
(Come on, at the end when the strings pick up and there’s a little burst of soprano? Fantastic.)
21 Jan 2017
Twin River - Settle Down
Canada might produce some of my favorite music, just behind Scotland (don’t know what it is about the Scots, but they know my sweet spot).
“Settle Down” is such a glimmering, shiny song. This is one of those rock songs that you could imagine being a hit in pretty much any era. There’s some Smiths-Blondie sound to it; it definitely could have been one of the videos that popped up on MTV in the late 90s; and it certainly fits right in with 2000s indie rock.
I’d never heard of Twin River before, but this song (and a good bit of the album) just hits in the right way. If you asked me tomorrow, I might tell you this was my favorite song of the year.