Yes one looks at the headline for this blog article and one realizes that the headline does not narrow things down very much. But I will guess that this particular embarrassment that I am about to touch upon is one that most of us in the US have not thought about for a long time, given so many other more recent national embarrassments. But somehow it got into my head to reflect recently on the unenviable rankings that the US earns in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, with the acronym PISA. Continue reading “A reminder of a national embarrassment for the United States”
Internet-connected garage door trigger
Alert reader Mike mentioned an internet-connected garage door trigger (see comment to previous blog article). He’s right. These triggers are very handy. And they only cost $30. Continue reading “Internet-connected garage door trigger”
Better and worse garage door keypads
Why is it that nearly every homeowner chooses to install the dopey garage door keypad shown at right? I suppose the answer is that most of the time, the homeowner is not the person who actually makes the choice. The choice is usually made by the company that installs the garage door opener. The company that installs the garage door opener does not know any better — this is the only kind of keypad that they know how to install. It is the only kind of keypad that is made by the company that makes the garage door opener. But this keypad is dopey. It only has one code number. If you give out the code number to somebody, say a plumber, and later the plumber does not really need access any more, what are you going to do? Change the code number? Sure, except that now you have to somehow communicate the new code number to all of the other people who still need to have access. They now all have to memorize the new code number. There must be a better way. And of course there is a better way. Continue reading “Better and worse garage door keypads”
two-factor authentication with cars
Some months have passed during which I sort of failed to realize that I have been using two-factor authentication with my car. Continue reading “two-factor authentication with cars”
How to calculate SHA-512 hashes in Microsoft Windows
In two recent blog articles (here and here) I have called out the USPTO for programming Patentcenter so that its Acknowledgment Receipts list false information about what a filer uploaded in Patentcenter. The practitioner wishing to independently check such things will thus be interested to know how to calculate a SHA-512 hash (Wikipedia article, what the USPTO calls a “message digest”) of a PDF or DOCX file on the practitioner’s hard drive. One way to do this is with a command-line utility within Microsoft Windows. Continue reading “How to calculate SHA-512 hashes in Microsoft Windows”
Getting a VPN
The other day I heard from a friend of mine that somebody they know “has a living situation in which she needs a VPN” and the question was, could I recommend “a good VPN”. These questions always drive me crazy. I will explain why. Continue reading “Getting a VPN”
Being alerted when a vehicle enters your driveway
If I am in my house and I hear a certain chime, it tells me that a vehicle has entered the driveway. I find this to be very convenient. Maybe this is during the day and it lets me know that a UPS truck or Fedex truck is arriving. Or maybe it is in the evening and it lets me know that the expected dinner guests are arriving. Either way, I can bestir myself and head down to the front door and greet the arriving visitor with a bit of advance warning. How does it work, you might wonder? I will tell you. The photograph above right helps to explain how it works. Continue reading “Being alerted when a vehicle enters your driveway”
Time to switch to an EV
In a weird way I got lucky. Fifteen months ago, two things happened:
- an inattentive driver smacked into the back of my ICE car, totaling it (and thankfully not injuring anybody), and
- a client of my firm that had left some bills unpaid for a very long time happened to pay its bills rather unexpectedly.
I then paid cash for an electric vehicle. Continue reading “Time to switch to an EV”
An excellent word: zhuzh
To make something more lively or interesting, stylish, or appealing, as by a small change or addition. The word is usually used in a phrase like “zhuzh it up”. Continue reading “An excellent word: zhuzh”
Our telephone company VoIP.ms sets an example again
Around five years ago, our firm migrated nearly all of our telephone services to a company called VoIP.ms. Not once have we regretted it, and again and again we have seen reasons to feel good about this choice. Today we see this company once again setting an example. Here is what they have done:
At VoIP.ms we are deeply touched by the situation impacting the Ukrainian people. As a token of solidarity, effective today, VoIP.ms will be absorbing all costs for call termination to Ukraine until at least March 31st, 2022. Our goal with this small action is to show our support for those directly and indirectly affected by the situation taking place in the country, with the aim that not only we can help to keep communication alive to the region but most importantly to also spark a bit of hope in these very difficult times.