Amazon Indoor Delivery – Avoid the Porch Pirates

Package thieves (AKA "porch pirates") have become a huge problem because of the ease of theft. Many criminals don't care about cameras because here in California theft is barely illegal... I like to shop on Amazon, so I was eager to try their Amazon Key indoor delivery. I first purchased the Amazon Key system with …

Laptop Buying Guide | Christmas 2019

I am often asked about what type of laptop to get. I recycled my post from 2018 since it was still relevant. Here are my recommendations in simple terms. Apple MacBook Laptops If you do need Windows only programs and want a laptop that may last many, many years, look at MacBooks. You will spend …

Fortitude Season 2 Episodes by MPLS File

Fortitude Season 2 uses title obfuscation on the Blu-ray so it appears there are close to a thousand episodes. The following MPLS files on the Blu-ray correspond to the correct episodes: Disc 1  Episode 1   00899.mpls Disc 1  Episode 2   00274.mpls Disc 1  Episode 3   00624.mpls Disc 1  Episode 4   00287.mpls Disc 2  Episode 5  …

Handbrake – Transcode Specific Chapters

If you have a video and you want to transcode (convert) only specific chapters, this is how. An example of this would be where a television series has multiple episodes in one giant file when ripped from a Blu-ray. Instead of editing a huge file and trying to get it right, just figure out the …

Plex Nvidia GPU Transcoding

I just built a new computer to use as a Plex server and Blue Iris surveillance system. I decided on an MSI PRO Series motherboard, an Intel i7-8700K, and 16GB of  Corsair Vengeance 3000MHz RAM, and a Samsung 970 EVO 250GB NVMe M.2 SSD. I watched a few YouTube videos about NVIDIA GPU transcoding and …

TP-Link Kasa HS210 3-Way Switch

I have been installing smart switches in my house for the most common lights and I needed a 3-way switch. I have been using all TP-Link Kasa switches so I bought their 3-way switch on Amazon for around $67. A few reviews said you really only needed one Kasa switch as long as the other …

Building My Smart Home

I've had surveillance cameras for years, but no home automation. I've finally started installing home automation devices and do not have a lot done so far. During this limited time, I found things that work well and some things I wish I had done differently. First, I needed a hub to control everything. It was …