Chicken Casa v2 Paused because I’m an idiot

January 30, 2025
Chicken Casa v2 Paused because I’m an idiot
Saturday morning the gravel showed up and I got to work building the floor. Started Sunday screwing down the floor and ended with two walls built. We had guys coming to clean the gutters Monday, so I needed to clean up my material to keep gutter trash from being slung…

Time to tackle cold air leaks

January 23, 2025
Time to tackle cold air leaks
First I'd like to get out of the way that this is a gadget that I have displayed insane self control not buying before now. Maybe it was the movie Predator. I'm not sure why I have always thought thermal cameras are the coolest thing, but I am sure why…

DeepSeek R1 is better than o1? I don’t think so.

January 22, 2025
DeepSeek R1 is better than o1? I don’t think so.
I have a few things I try first when I am testing out a new model. I will give it a coding problem: Write a python script that generates a MIDI file. The midi file should be at least 2 minutes in length and contain multiple coherent parts in a…

Chicken Casa v2

January 21, 2025
Chicken Casa v2
Most of the time, I figure out the key dimensions and just come up with my own design for everything. We sadly lost a chicken to a coyote and while the coop wasn't the problem, that put us at 4 chickens. We've decided to move up to 10-12 and the…

Network & Home Automation Apps

January 19, 2025
Network & Home Automation Apps
In all, I have quite a few components keeping my home automation system running. Some are apps I use every day, some are for managing different parts of the infrastructure and a few are for entertainment. Nearly everything here runs in docker on my NAS or one of two dedicated…

Do you need more than a M4 Mac Mini?

January 13, 2025
Do you need more than a M4 Mac Mini?
Anyone who knows me is well aware that I am really particular about my setup and organization in general. I just finished managing cables after switching out my old M1 Mac Mini I use in my office for a new M4. It's the 2nd M4 Mini I've purchased. I've been…

A love letter to Docker Compose

January 5, 2025
A love letter to Docker Compose
Today I moved my Home Assistant setup from the NAS it's been on for 3+ years, to my frigate server. With Frigate processing 15 cameras for objects, both the CPU and GPU rarely rose over 10%. I had noticed some response issues with Home Assistant and had eliminated all of…

NGD – Les Paul Traditional Pro II

January 4, 2025
NGD – Les Paul Traditional Pro II
I am always horse trading. I'd had a Jackson guitar I wanted to move for awhile. What are the odds that I found someone on Craigslist asking to trade for the exact guitar I wanted to trade? I would never have bought a Les Paul with a Floyd Rose bridge,…

Milestone: Ending Break

January 1, 2025
Milestone: Ending Break
Well, I made it a year, and what a year it’s been! I thought I’d run out of things to do after three months, but I kept finding new projects and pushing myself further. I started my break one year ago, and I can’t say enough about how personally rewarding…