Writing

Writing

Featured Dual-Booting Kali and Windows 10 with EFI/UEFI (Acer Aspire)
Posted: Dec. 1, 2017, 1:56 p.m. Initially, this seemed like it would be as straightforward as my previous dual-boot installations, but that turned out to not be the case. At all. What would normally have been a 1-2 hour project kept me up all night, with frantic Google searches...
Featured How 3D Deflated Ragnarok (Or, Why 3D Makes Movies Worse)
Posted: Nov. 3, 2017, 4 p.m. The fundamental issue here is that the cinematography techniques needed to make a good 3D experience are very different from the techniques used to make a good 2D experience. Artistically, we should view them as distinctly separate disciplines...
Featured Finding My Music
Posted: March 13, 2017, 12:03 p.m. Throughout my entire life, from an early age, music has been one of my great passions. And not just listening to it, though I do quite a bit of that. But from my earliest memories, I enjoyed attempting to play/perform music, in many forms; singing,...
Featured DeerTrees - Unified Content-Agnostic Site Structure
Posted: Feb. 2, 2017, 6:59 p.m. Content-agnostic site structure app (categories, tags, etc), forming the backbone of this site.
Featured Sunset - Advanced Image Gallery
Updated: Nov. 21, 2017, 5:36 p.m. Sunset is a full-featured image gallery, with several key features not found in any other Django app (and certainly not all within the same one).
Featured Remote Forensic Investigation Platform
Posted: Sept. 2, 2016, 6:47 p.m. In 2013, I took on the biggest project of my career: building a large-scale remote forensic investigation platform.
Featured USPSOIG.gov Rebuild
Posted: Nov. 30, 2015, 12:22 p.m. Even though this project didn't primarily involve Django or Python, this was one of my favorite projects at the USPS OIG, and probably the only time I've ever genuinely enjoyed working with Drupal.
Featured "Brave"
Posted: March 7, 2014, 11:55 a.m. My entire life, I've been shy, timid, soft-spoken, and usually afraid of something. Fear of other people, most notably, a fear gained from the darkness of my early years, masked under heavy layers of emotional defenses that allow me to be a functional...
Featured My Approach To Photography
Posted: Dec. 14, 2013, 12:49 a.m. Lately, as a result of a few of my photos getting an incredible amount of attention on 500px.com, I've been exploring the profiles of a large number of users there (I check out everyone who interacts with my photos). And, of the profiles in English...
Featured How I Became Fluttershy
Posted: April 16, 2013, 10:46 p.m. Among fellow fans of My Little Pony, I often describe myself as "real-life Fluttershy". On the surface, it fits, sort of; I tend to be shy and quiet about meeting new people, I enjoy the solitude of nature, and while I'm certainly not the embodiment of...
Featured Theatre Review: Claudie Hukill
Posted: Nov. 30, 2012, 6:16 p.m. I'll preface this review by saying I'm not a theatre critic, I've never acted in a stage performance, never been around theater much (aside from working lights and sound for a high school production), and I only go to a couple performances a year, if...
Featured Perfect Strawberry Milkshake Recipe
Posted: Aug. 2, 2012, 1:38 a.m. I've admitted to being a food snob on numerous occasions, and milkshakes are one of the many things I'm a bit picky about. Chocolate shakes aren't terribly hard to make, but ever since I was a kid (and had nearly-unlimited access to fresh strawberries...
Featured Obama Rally In Harrisonburg
Posted: Nov. 3, 2008, 10:40 p.m. This past Tuesday (Oct. 28), Barack Obama held a campaign rally in my hometown of Harrisonburg, VA! And I managed to go! It was, in a word, intense. It was also the first time in almost 150 years that this town hosted a presidential campaign rally.
Featured Review: Kenwood TH-D7A(G) HT
Posted: Sept. 22, 2007, 11:34 p.m. As someone who buys a lot of expensive toys, I'm not really in the habit of writing reviews of the things I buy. However, every once in awhile, a product I use on a regular basis simply begs to be reviewed, in the hopes of sharing my positive...
Civilization 5: Nukes and Liberation Wars
Posted: Dec. 28, 2017, 1:55 p.m. The actual impact of nuclear weapons on the city was not as intense as I expected, from a game-mechanics perspective. And the damage to the surrounding areas wasn't that bad. The real impact, however, was more emotional.
Worst Convention Theme Ever - Furpocalypse 2017
Posted: May 1, 2017, 3:36 p.m. This choice of theme is questionable from the start, but it could've worked without being significantly worse than what other conventions have done. Unfortunately, Furpocalypse seems to have gone in the opposite direction.
Trump's America: Surviving a Powerful Abuser
Posted: Jan. 23, 2017, 8:16 p.m. In the months following the 2016 presidential election, the internet has seen a flurry of words. Pages upon pages of journalism, reactions, calls to action, and detailed analyses of exactly how awful and authoritarian Donald Trump will be, all of it...
Reference - Deer (Fawn)
Posted: Oct. 11, 2016, 7:14 p.m. Character design is still a work in progress, more will be coming soon.
USPSOIG.gov HTTP Secure Transport Security/HSTS Preload
Posted: Feb. 19, 2016, 3:39 p.m. Implementation of HSTS headers on USPSOIG.gov
I'm a Hockey Fan Now
Posted: Oct. 11, 2015, 4:37 p.m. Yesterday was SO much fun; I went to the season-opening Washington Capitals hockey game with a group of friends! There were major Metro delays, of course, which messed with our plans, but we did make it to our seats on time. We won the game, by a...
Data Analytics And Technical Expert Services (DANTES)
Updated: Jan. 12, 2017, 5:56 p.m. Multi-agency platform for information and resource sharing between Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs).
USPSOIG.gov Savings Impact Model (SIM)
Posted: July 27, 2014, 2:36 p.m. PHP/jQuery calculator to show the budgetary impact of the USPS OIG's audit findings.
"Real Artists", and Professionals
Posted: Dec. 14, 2013, 3:23 a.m. I've ranted about this elsewhere, but I'm a firm believer that every artist, of every medium, must develop their own style and techniques, in their own time. It's perfectly fine to have influences, but if your reason for a creative or technique choice...
Photography Workflow
Posted: Dec. 12, 2013, 11:03 p.m. I tend to get a lot of questions about my post-processing workflow, which usually come up when I mention presets I've created to speed things up in Lightroom. Additionally, I've been seriously considering bringing in an assistant to help with my...
DeerBooks - Text/Writing Management
Revised: March 20, 2022, 4:49 p.m. DeerBooks is the latest version of one of my earliest PHP projects; a text-focused content management system with features that no other CMS has.
Sportscar Bonding
Posted: May 13, 2013, 12:02 a.m. As I've covered before, a car is not just a means of getting from point A to point B for me, and whenever I acquire a new one, part of the new car experience is bonding with it. I like to take whatever its niche is, and push it to see just what it can...
Geico Tells Me They Don't Care And Won't Listen
Posted: April 9, 2013, 2:09 p.m. Almost three years ago, I switched my car insurance from a local agent in my hometown to Geico. In the process, I saved almost 75% on my insurance premiums, which would normally be one of Geico's much-applauded success stories. And for most of the time...
Movie Review: Side Effects (2013)
Posted: Feb. 18, 2013, 10:10 p.m. Spoiler warnings generally aren't my style, because I believe that when reading a review, there should generally be an assumption that parts of the work being reviewed will be revealed. It's impossible to write a thoughtful review otherwise. However,...
The Girl With The Alternate Life
Posted: Feb. 18, 2013, 12:23 a.m. Once upon a time, there was a girl who was just starting to grow up, but she was very, very lonely, and very sad. All of her childhood friends had gone on to other things, she no longer had school, no college or university would take her, and no one...
Audi TT: First Impressions
Posted: Feb. 10, 2013, 1:05 a.m. As of this post, my Audi TT has been in my posession for about 48 hours. I've gotten to know it a bit, learned what it can do, and I love it even more than I expected I would. The drive home from the dealership was downright blissful, and while my...
Giving Up On My Freelander
Posted: Feb. 6, 2013, 12:07 a.m. Just under a year ago, I wrote an article about why I love my Land Rover Freelander. It was as much a reassurance to myself as it was a genuine post about the virtues of this much-maligned vehicle, and for much of the time since then, it accurately...
Thanksgiving 2012
Posted: Nov. 22, 2012, 12:13 a.m. You may find yourself in another part of the world You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? Thanksgiving is...
Tips For Convention Photography
Posted: May 26, 2012, 11:03 p.m. At geeky/nerdy conventions of all types and genres, two things will always be true: The number of photos taken at the con will exceed the number of attendees at the con by an order of magnitude. The number of photos taken that are worth looking at,...
Why I Love My Freelander
Posted: April 4, 2012, 11:53 p.m. Update: This post reflected my feelings at the time, and I do still like a lot of things about my Freelander, but overall, this no longer applies. A more recent post can be found here. I've been a very strong fan of Land Rovers for years, ever since...
Superbowl Commercials
Posted: Feb. 5, 2012, 4:59 p.m. It's Superbowl Sunday, and everyone's crowding around the largest available TV for the big game. If you're watching it because you're a fan of American football, fantastic. I'm not here to rain on your parade, and while I don't understand the appeal...
Freelander - First Off-Roading Trip
Posted: May 3, 2011, 12:18 a.m. A couple weeks ago, eager to see just how well my Freelander lives up to the lofty expectations and rich heritage of the Land Rover brand, I decided to take it on a little wilderness expedition. The verdict? Well, at least it has a great highway ride...
Freelander: Initial Thoughts
Posted: April 16, 2011, 10:52 p.m. I posted a picture of it in my last entry, but it's a 2003 Land Rover Freelander SE3, which is a pretty rare configuration (only 2000 were sold in the US) featuring a 2-door body with a removable roof in the rear and T-top-style removable sunroof,...
Off-Roading: March 2011
Posted: March 14, 2011, 12:29 a.m. For various reasons, I pretty much haven't been up to the mountains at all since autumn (I actually can't remember my last trip), so I've really been pining for the trees lately. Last week, which was miserably gross weather-wise, I saw that the morning...
#TwitterPonies: Ponies on Twitter = Magical
Posted: March 11, 2011, 9:48 p.m. Recently, a group of in-character account popped up on Twitter, consisting of people playing the roles of various cast members from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Pretty much every character is represented, including the main cast, supporting...
Art Etiquette: Character Design/Use
Posted: Feb. 9, 2011, 12:04 p.m. 1. If it's art from within the fandom, and you didn't draw it, and it wasn't drawn for you, don't use it to represent yourself or your characters. Period. No exceptions. This includes everything from pulling artwork straight from a Google search, to...
Crown Victoria License Plate Replacement
Posted: Jan. 29, 2011, 8:54 p.m. I recently got new license plates for the first time in awhile. This wouldn't normally be noteworthy, but since my car is a horrible pile of poo, something as simple as replacing license plates turned into an all-night project. The front plate was...
Amateur Radio Saves The Day
Posted: Oct. 22, 2009, 4:27 p.m. My trail navigation at that point basically consisted of following what kinda looked like a trail, and checking every nearby tree for blazes. That may sound easy, but since the cellphone's screen emits tinted light, it took the color out of the blazes...
I Murdered A Rat
Posted: May 26, 2009, 3:46 a.m. Last week, while I was at Fox's house, I was alone in the house one afternoon while he went to pick up some materials. So, I decided to grab a shower while he was gone. For those unfamiliar with his house, it's in a state of mid-renovation, so the only...
Eminent Domain
Posted: March 25, 2009, 7:58 p.m. [ Click for Article ] Once again, Harrisonburg utterly fails at city planning. This is getting really old. In an effort to turn every square foot of undeveloped land into high-density townhouses/apartments, the city let a developer pretty much go...
VDOT: 2 - Youtube Videos
Posted: March 16, 2009, 7:56 p.m. In my last post about VDOT, I railed the agency for cutting back pretty much all rural services and rest areas because of a budget screw-up that left them billions of dollars short of what they needed/expected. I wasn't able to actually find any...
VDOT: 1 - Budget Problems
Posted: March 16, 2009, 7:55 p.m. Click for Article Thanks to a state budget screw-up, Virginia is planning to close a ton of rest areas on its interstate highways to save money, including all but two along Interstate 81, the northern and southern welcome centers. Which means that...
Candy - Starbucks Vanilla Truffles
Posted: March 9, 2009, 8:16 p.m. A good friend of mine writes a blog called "For the Love of Candy" which focuses on reviewing different types of candy. From classic, everyday favourites, to local delicacies, she has an impressive talent for taste-testing sweet treats. Her site is...
Smoking Ban, Virginia Style
Posted: Feb. 23, 2009, 9:33 p.m. I always thought that Virginia would be one of the last states in the US to get a state-wide ban on smoking in restaurants/public places. This is one of the most tobacco-friendly states (that produces a huge amount of it), where several big tobacco...
Trucker Harassed By Reluctant State Troopers
Posted: Jan. 20, 2009, 9:39 p.m. While driving up to Syme's house this evening, for Obama's Inauguration, I flipped on my radio to listen to Virginia State Police, figuring it'd be interesting tonight. Unfortunately, they were fairly over-staffed at that time, so not much to listen to...
Unreal Tournament: 2004 Weapons Guide
Posted: Oct. 6, 2006, 4:05 p.m. Hello again! As some of you may remember, I prepared a weapon guide for UT:GOTY, and it was quite well-received by other members of my LAN groups. While I still love the old UT, most people want to play UT:2004 instead. So, now that I've gained...
Abstinence-Only Sex Education
Posted: April 28, 2005, 9:51 p.m. Yesterday, my 14-year-old sister brought home a video & curriculum from her Family Life class (which is sex ed, for those of you who didn't grow up in Virginia's public school system). According to the accompanying letter, it's something for the...