Homeassistant and Zigbee2MQTT on a QNAP NAS – USB dongle problems

I’ve been recently playing with getting Zigbee2MQTT working on my QNAP network attached storage device, and I ran into an interesting problem. In my case, I am running an QNAP TS-451+ with QTS 5.0.1.2194 (though it’s due for an update). For reasons, I am running my HA instance using Docker, rather than as LXC containers … Read more

Get the contents of a single file on Github using Guzzle and PHP

Recently I found myself needing to get most recent content of a single file from a private Github repo. It took me a while to figure out how to make it work using Guzzle, but once I got it, it was pretty simple to use. One of the caveats is that, regardless of the type … Read more

CircleCI local debugging tips

Recently, I’ve been working with CircleCI for doing some automation and testing work, and I’ve been trying to run things locally on my machine, rather than pushing everything up to CircleCI to have it run on their servers. But I kept running into problems with things like SSH keys, known hosts, and environment variables. These … Read more

Implementing the Factory pattern with Laravel 5.4 and Eloquent

Ok, so this particular problem took me a while to solve, but it turns out to be a useful technique, at least in my case, so I’m reproducing it here in the hopes that if you’re searching around on the internet looking for an answer, it’ll save you a little bit of time. First, let’s … Read more

Module creator for Drupal 7

If you’re looking for a quickie script to automate the setup of a new Drupal module, you’ve come to the right place.

You really should install Signal on your phone. Seriously.

Do this: Right now, take out your smartphone (presuming you use one that runs iOS or Android.)  Go to your app store of choice (or just follow this link) and install an app called Signal.  It’s free.  It costs you nothing.  But one day, it may help you in ways you cannot yet foresee. Signal is … Read more

How I Taught My Computer to Write Its Own Music – Issue 21: Information – Nautilus

Good stuff. http://ift.tt/1EeNUW1 On a warm day in April 2013, I was sitting in a friend’s kitchen in Paris, trying to engineer serendipity. I was trying to get my… Click here for the full article Posted from Facebook

Instant Closeness: software for generating interpersonal closeness between strangers

In the January 9th New York Times Fashion & Style section, there was a charming article by Mandy Len Catron called “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This“.  In it, she talks about some research published back in 1997, in which professor of psychology Arthur Aron and his co-authors describe a method for inducing … Read more

Would You Let a Friend Send Any Text to Any Contact in Your Phone? | Game|Life | WIRED

The game is called “Damage Control”. Who wants to play? David Sparshott Damage control is an excruciating, highly addictive game that among my friends has destroyed relationships, rekindled others, threatened to ruin careers, sparked sexual intrigue, and caused no end of terror and laughter. It is a game for two friends, and best played drunk. … Read more

The Tao of Programming

A novice asked the Master: “Here is a programmer that never designs, documents or tests his programs. Yet all who know him consider him one of the best programmers in the world. Why is this?” The Master replied: “That programmer has mastered the Tao. He has gone beyond the need for design; he does not … Read more