Doug Mejia

I was sitting in my truck waiting for my wife, looking around at what seemed like an ordinary, mundane scene. Everything was quiet. On a whim, I decided to open the sunroof. When I looked up, I saw this beautiful sea of clouds stretching across the sky. I pulled out my phone and captured the moment.

Sometimes you have to look up to see what you’ve been missing all along.

Like me, you might be pleasantly surprised and grateful for taking just a second to yourself. Eliminating all the noise and appreciating what’s always been around you.

I came across a Mastodon post that mentioned the 1980 TV series Cosmos and how it is available on the Internet Archive, so I started watching the first episode… Cosmos: A Personal Voyage S1E1, The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean 🍿

Yeah, the graphics look their age, but the content still remains very good.

I’m always on the lookout for great apps that make my life easier. I recently discovered one from DEVONTechnologies, one of my favorite companies and the makers of excellent apps like DEVONthink.

This utility is packed with features that are incredibly useful when diagnosing or testing things on your network. It’s called Neo Network Utility 2.0, and it’s essentially a graphical user interface for many of the diagnostic tools and informational properties you might need. 1

For example, there’s an Info tab that lists all your network adapters for wired and wireless connections. It provides information like the MAC address for each adapter, shows you which one is active, and if you’re looking at a wireless connection, it even displays the SSID.

You can view Netstat information, ping remote devices to verify they’re reachable from your machine, perform lookups for different IP addresses, and run Whois queries to see the registration information tied to specific domain names.

One of my favorite diagnostic techniques is running a trace route to see where a connection starts and stops. This helps me verify that traffic is flowing from point A to point B as expected. If it’s not, I know exactly where to start troubleshooting.

Another invaluable tool is the port scanner. You can scan your local machine or a remote machine you’re troubleshooting. For instance, if you want to confirm that your Plex server is listening on port 32400, a quick scan will tell you immediately. If it’s not responding, you know where to begin your diagnostic procedure.

Last but not least, I use the built-in speed test all the time. While I typically rely on fast.com or speedtest.net, having one built right into the app is incredibly convenient. It may not be as flashy, but the information I need is clearly displayed, and that’s what matters.

Overall, it’s a fantastic app, and the best part? It’s 100% free

I heard about a band named Goose from Marco Arment on the Accidental Tech Podcast the other day, so I started listening. I like them a lot, so far.

Checked them out on Apple Music, Bandcamp or your favorite streaming service of choice. Heck… knock yourself out andg o buy the physical album.

Every ham is familiar with the brand Baofeng. Most of us probably started with a Baofeng UV-5R as one of our first radios, before moving on to more expensive units. When I got my ham ticket, I wasn’t sure if I was even going to like the hobby, so I bought a $25 Baofeng and used it for a bit while I got comfortable talking on the radio and learning the ropes.

Since then, I’ve moved to more expensive radios from Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood, but for some reason I always return to the Baofeng for certain situations. For example, when we go out to Field Day, I’d rather have a cheap, inexpensive radio that I can use without risking getting it wet, dropping it, or losing it (like I have in the past). Thank God that was just a Baofeng I lost, not one of the pricier radios.

My latest addition to the Baofeng collection is the Baofang UV-5R Mini ham radio. It’s a simple VHF/UHF dual-band radio that feels solid in the hand despite being very small. It has a built-in broadcast radio, weather channels, the mandatory Baofeng flashlight, and a great-looking little screen. For about $23 each when you buy a pack of two, I think it’s well worth the investment.

I’m going to add it to my stash of inexpensive radios that I can throw in the truck or take with us on family outings, since most of my family are hams themselves. I haven’t tried this yet, but some people say it’s possible to communicate on GMRS frequencies. However, transmitting on GMRS without a GMRS license is illegal (the Baofeng exceeds FRS power limits), though listening is perfectly fine.

For example, monitoring your local fire department for situational awareness is always a ham favorite.

The revamped menu on this radio is pretty good too. I think it’s the display that makes the difference, because the old Baofeng radios were just horrible for me to see. This screen is vibrant and looks really refined compared to older models. Now, the last thing for me to do is try them out and see if they do what they’re supposed to do: transmit and receive. Let’s see how sensitive they are and whether they discriminate against spurious emissions.

Some YouTube channels, like MKBHD, produce truly great content. What makes it great? The production value of their videos is consistently top-tier. In a recent video, “The MKBHD Method™ For Editing High Quality Videos,” his team gives us a sneak peek into what it takes to achieve this level of quality. It’s essentially a mini masterclass in what happens after the video is captured.

They cover everything: taking raw footage and crafting the most compelling story possible, color grading to enhance the visual appeal, adding motion effects, and much more. One of my favorite parts was when they discussed audio, including music selection and voice treatment. They make it look so easy, but you can clearly see that it is not.

Once again, I had the pleasure of attending a marching band competition. Like previous times, I was amazed by the talent these high school students display. Not only are they exceptional musicians playing some of the best music you’ll ever hear, but they also possess a level of coordination and synchronization that’s second to none.

Even though today was the first competition of the year, they’ve been working tirelessly for months, perfecting their craft. Their dedication and relentless drive is a characteristic I wish I saw in more people.

If these are our leaders of tomorrow, our future looks bright!

Below is a tiny glimpse of what you can expect to see at one of these competitions. I strongly recommend you check one out at some point in your life. You won’t be disappointed.