Underside of the top panel of the heat pump exposed 1
At 8:19 PM on December 30, 2015, I received the following text from Jim, our next-door neighbor at our cabin in East Wenatchee: Steve, we’re at the river and your heat pump fan just broke so fan is hitting shroud. I tried to wedge to balance but no luck so […]

DIY: Replacing the Fan on a Heat Pump

Lux GEO WiFi Thermost 5
Thermostats have come a long way since the days of the gold-colored round Honeywell dial thermostats at your grandma’s house. Ecobee launched the first “smart” thermostat in 2007, but others like Google’s Nest and Honeywell’s Lyric weren’t far behind. But now even those manufacturers are shipping 2nd or 3rd generation hardware… meaning that […]

Review: Lux GEO WiFi Thermostat

Setting up multiple WLANs in DD-WRT 24
For the past while, I’ve recommended DD-WRT K2.6 firmware builds for the Linksys E4200 router, as well as other Linksys / Cisco WiFi routers. The builds based on the newer K3.x Linux kernel have now reached a stable enough point where you can run them… but I still recommend the […]

DD-WRT K2.6 Kernel vs. K3.x and How To Upgrade

The Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite can replace the Google Fiber Network Box 64
I’ve been a Google Fiber user (and fan) since the service first hit Provo, Utah. I have a vacation home there, so while I don’t get to benefit from the Gigabit speeds on a daily basis, I certainly take advantage of it while I’m there. Because it’s a vacation home, I rely […]

Replace Your Google Fiber Network Box with a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ...

If you ask someone “what’s your favorite holiday?” you’re sure to get a variety of responses. Some love the festive lights, music, and spirit of Christmas. Others prefer the smells, tastes, and family atmosphere of Thanksgiving. Hanukkah, Easter, New Years, and even Kwanzaa might make the list. But for me, Halloween will always […]

Why Halloween is an Australian Kid’s Favorite Holiday

After an unseasonably warm and dry Seattle summer this year, fall finally arrived. And with it, an abnormal amount of houseflies. In talking with my neighbors, I realized I wasn’t alone. I don’t know exactly why a warmer summer and later fall result in more houseflies (I’m sure there’s a […]

Review: Aspectek Electronic Indoor Fly Killer/Zapper

Steve Elliot's destroyed Ruger 9mm pistol 8
Last week, a friend of mine shared a public Facebook post on my timeline and asked me what I thought of it. So, after thinking about the post for a few days, I’ve decided to reply to the post (thereby answering my friend’s question about what I think about it) […]

Steve’s #ONEMOREGUN reply to Steve’s #ONELESSGUN

Whirlpool inverter box 19
The most popular DIY post on my blog is, by far, How to Fix a Whirlpool & KitchenAid W10219463 / 2307028 Control Board for $6. As of this post, it’s received over 430 comments; the vast majority from frustrated homeowners who went online in a last ditch effort to find a way to […]

A Cheap(er) Fix for Whirlpool / KitchenAid / Kenmore Refrigerator ...

Bandwidth test as Sender 1
In the top-right corner of the Ubiquiti EdgeMAX EdgeRouter’s GUI interface, you’ll find a Toolbox menu with plenty of goodies inside (assuming you’re running a version of the firmware that has them, such as 1.7.0+). One of the menu items lets you test the Bandwidth to or from your router: Selecting […]

Using the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter’s Built-In Bandwidth Tester

Ubiquiti EdgeMax EdgeRouter Lite 5
When I installed a UBNT UniFi Access Point Pro (UAP-PRO) in my house, I also decided to try out a new router: Ubiquiti’s EdgeMAX EdgeRouter. I chose their PoE version so I could run some powered web cams, but for most home or small office installations, I recommend their EdgeRouter Lite router: […]

Install an SSL Certificate on a Ubiquiti EdgeMAX EdgeRouter

Ubiquiti UAP-PRO access point 27
Getting decent WiFi coverage at my house has always been a challenge. The house is three stories (the bottom floor is a daylight basement) and has a footprint of 50′ x 100′. A four car garage extends the footprint even farther to the south, and because I use WiFi-controller irrigation […]

How to Install a Ubiquiti UniFi Access Point Pro (UAP-PRO)

Linksys WRT54G 4
I said “goodbye” to a couple of good friends today when I asked them to step down and retire after years of stellar performance. These two old friends were the last remaining Linksys WRT54G routers in use on any of my networks. I replaced them today, and in doing so, […]

Saying Goodbye To An Old Friend: Linksys WRT54G

Our family has a cat and two indoor dogs (Japanese Chins). And on most days, we love them. OK, so we love them every day. But when you’re training a new puppy to “wait to go outside,” or dealing with a cat that believes she owns the house and can cough up […]

Best Products for Dog or Cat Stains and Odors

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I’ll be running my third Tough Mudder in Seattle this weekend, and with every event I’ve learned more about what shoes, socks, and clothing works well.. and what doesn’t. Here’s what I’ll be wearing at this year’s 2015 Seattle Tough Mudder. Best Tough Mudder Shoes A good set of trail […]

Recommended Tough Mudder Shoes, Socks, and Clothing

The 2015 Seattle Tough Mudder is this Saturday and Sunday (September 19th & 20th), and like many other pre-registered participants, I just received the course map via email. As it’s been in previous years, Seattle Tough Mudder 2015 will take place at Palmer Coking Coal Company in Black Diamond, WA. The […]

Tough Mudder Seattle 2015 Unofficial Course Preview

Linux Uptime 2
If you’re getting permissions errors when trying to update WordPress plugins or themes (or even WordPress itself), it can be a major pain to try and troubleshoot WordPress permissions, and the documentation is unclear on exactly what the optimal WordPress permissions settings are. I recommend these using the following four easy Linux […]

Correct Permissions for WordPress

Reverse lights (top row) illuminated. 5
A burned out bulb on your car isn’t just an annoyance, it’s a safety issue… and one that could get you pulled over. So many of my favorite COPS episodes on TV start with a plain old “your tail light is burned out” traffic stop. Bad boys, bad boys… what’cha […]

How To: Replace Ferrari 512 TR Bulbs with LEDs

Replacement dual capacitor ready to install. 32
Summer 2015 in Seattle has been officially declared the hottest summer here on record (check my weather station’s 2015 max temps on my Weather Underground weather history graph for geeky details). For those in the Pacific Northwest living without central A/C, it’s been miserable. And for those fortunate enough to have central air conditioning, […]

Air Conditioning Not Blowing Cold? Replace your Capacitor or Contactor

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I went to update the mod_cloudflare package on a CentOS / RHEL box this morning, and ran unto the following problem: % sudo yum update -y mod_cloudflare Resolving Dependencies --> Running transaction check ---> Package mod_cloudflare.x86_64 0:1.2.0-1360806316.el6 will be updated ---> Package mod_cloudflare.x86_64 0:1.3.1-1.el6 will be an update --> Finished Dependency […]

Fixing “Public key for mod_cloudflare-*.rpm is not installed” Error

My baby - a 1992 512 TR. 3
The Ferrari Testarossa, along with its later 512 TR and F512M variants, are iconic cars of the 80s and 90s. Every kid my age wanted to be Sonny Crocket cruising around Miami in a white Testarossa. What we never saw, however, was Crocket having trouble starting his Testarossa. Every time he had […]

DIY: Fix a Ferrari Testarossa / 512 TR Hot Start ...

Relay assembly close-up. 12
Last week, I was working in my back yard when I noticed that the big red light on top of my septic system control box was lit up. That light is triggered when one of two alarm floats (in either the main effluent pump chamber or the clearwell pump chamber) detects that the fluid level in […]

How to Make Your Septic Alarm Smarter

I’m not as hard-core as the “preppers” who are ready to lock themselves in a basement for 2 years while nuclear winter rages overhead, but I was a Boy Scout, and so the motto “Be Prepared” was imprinted on me from a young age. I like the comfort that comes […]

Review: Eton Blackout Buddy Emergency LED Flashlight / Nightlight

Paul glues new dust covers on the repaired speakers. 1
Not long ago, we started to notice a distorted “buzzing” sound from our left and right front speakers in our family room, particularly when the TV was playing something with a lot of bass (like explosions, engine noise, or gunfire). I love our family room speakers. They’re made by an English […]

Rave: The LoudSpeaker Store (Kent, WA)