• Setting up a guest network with the EdgeRouter Lite

    I recently purchased a Ubiquiti Networks EdgeRouter Lite to act as the router to my home network. As this box is only a router and not a WiFi access point, I'm using my Apple Time Capsule as an access point. By doing this and not using the Time Capsule, I lost the ability to have a separate guest network that wouldn't interact with my main network and wouldn't have access to my internal resources. After a bit of searching, I found out that the Time Capsule (and Airport Extreme)'s guest network uses a VLAN tag of 1003. A VLAN is a virtual LAN designed to separate traffic without physically separating it. I knew that the EdgeRouter Lite was extremely powerful and could do all kinds of wacky things with a VLAN; the question was just how could I do it.

  • Fixing my faucet, a year and a half later

    When we were remodeling our house, we had to pick everything, including the kitchen sink! My wife and I went shopping for a kitchen faucet months before it was ready to be installed so that we could get it ordered and get it out of the way. We wanted a detachable sprayer and wanted it in stainless steel. We went to our local Pacific Sales and looked at all the kitchen faucets (and there were a ton). The one feature we hated on just about all of them was that the detachable spray heads were made out of plastic while the rest of the faucet was made out of stainless steel (or at least some type of metal). The plastic would chip, change color or just not hold up based on past experience. Even though many consumer faucets carry a lifetime warranty, I didn't want to deal with that (been there, done that).

  • No longer feel safe in my own home

    Today marks a kind of sad day for me; I no longer feel safe in my own home. The short term vacation rental next door has changed my whole sense of safety and security. The owner/operator has decided that money matters more than the neighborhood and rents it out to whoever will pay the asking price. This weekend it was a group of students on spring break. They have no respect for the neighborhood and have been loud. Last night we called the police and the noise quieted down; this morning, we saw them smoking pot in the backyard (they can see into our backyard and we can see into their backyard). Police responded and at least one of them had a medical marijuana card, so there was nothing the police could do. (Apparently police no longer deal with misdemeanor drug possession.)

  • Installing a Car Stereo

    About 10 years ago, I bought a Parrot CK3100 to install in my 2003 Toyota Highlander as I wanted to be able to answer the phone while driving if my wife called me. I was unable to figure out how to install it, so I returned it. I think about a year later, I bought the car kit again and tried again.