CalDigit got back to me about the iPhone power supply issue with my Element Hub. The hub supplies up to 7.5W per USB-A port and 15W per USB-C port. My phone draws too much power for the USB-A port to which it's attached. They were kind enough to offer a driver download that provides more … Continue reading Hub addendum
Author: John
i am a god
How I chose a hub for better home video conferencing
Many home workers are fine with plugging cables into their laptops but are intimidated by buying a hub. The hub marketplace can be very confusing because of the semantics of USB and related standards. This is the story of my search for a hub: Why I needed one, how I spec’d it, and how I … Continue reading How I chose a hub for better home video conferencing
Senior citizen icons
When you get to be a certain age, marketers and graphical designers use this kind of imagery to represent, "you the consumer." excuse me while I fetch my pills Here's imagery to express my appreciation of this.
Drop CTRL cap swap
I’m used to the Command key being adjacent to the space bar, but this keyboard swapped the Command and Option keys. Drop provides an easy-to-use tool for key remapping, and I could swap the caps with a keycap-puller. I’ll do that if my muscle-memory doesn’t adapt quickly enough.Drop CTRL mechanical keyboard review I swapped the … Continue reading Drop CTRL cap swap
Drop CTRL mechanical keyboard review
This is a review of the Drop CTRL mechanical keyboard with CHERRY MX Brown switches. My keyboard for the past eight years I’m a software developer. I've been working mostly from home since 2014. And since 2014 my external keyboard has been a Das Keyboard Professional S for Mac. I wrote about it after buying … Continue reading Drop CTRL mechanical keyboard review
How not to manage production systems
I’ve been at Brex for one week and the onboarding is going great. One of the onboarding sessions was about the company’s build & deployment systems. It got me thinking about how my previous employers managed their production systems. And how cavalier some of them were. No two companies will have identical internal controls, but … Continue reading How not to manage production systems
Saying goodbye to a beloved pet
Faith has inoperable cancer. We adopted her seven years ago when she was five. A few days ago, we notice her tummy was distended and she was hiding a lot. After much testing, the diagnosis is a baseball-size mass in her torso that’s not treatable. We guess it’s been growing for weeks. Cats are good … Continue reading Saying goodbye to a beloved pet
The best farewell gift evar
The Coffee Meets Bagel backend team held a farewell dinner last night. Two of us were being fêted. I got a really cool gift. The best gifts are heartfelt. They say, “We know and appreciate you as a person. Here’s what you meant to us." The accompanying card said, "Congrats on reaching escape velocity!" This … Continue reading The best farewell gift evar
My new job
My job search’s three finalists were Brex, Datadog, and NexHealth. Three super interesting companies, at different stages of growth, in different industries. And three singularly enjoyable interview processes. Who did I ultimately choose? I chose Brex. And today I start my new job! I’m in a team that’s tackling scaling challenges in the company’s internal … Continue reading My new job
A good microphone and headphones for Zooming
I’ve always used wireless headphones for my Zoom conferencing. I’ve been fortunate to always be able to afford top of the line (at the time) Bose noise canceling headphones. My voice sounded OK to others. But just OK. My new job starts one week from tomorrow and I’ve decided to use my new employer’s home-office … Continue reading A good microphone and headphones for Zooming
Seek Nuance 