Tag: technology

Gitlab pages for static sites

I recently discovered gitlab pages when looking to host a static website. Rather than mucking about with hosting, nginx, let’s encrypt, etc. for static content why not try something new? I wanted to create a static page with a background video so I used some footage I captured at sunset with my Mavic Mini drone a couple of years ago. I’ve been sitting on this domain (secondangle.com) for ages, so why not? Some really quick (and dirty) angular, git, and some domain TXT entries and it works without issue. The video is hosted on Backblaze B2 rather cheaply too. Although I probably need to revisit encoding so it loads quicker.

Project Source: https://gitlab.com/mreaston/secondangle-placeholder

Video:

Road Trippin’ with a Tesla

I purchased a 2018 Model 3 LR RWD back in June 2018 and have absolutely enjoyed owning an electric car. I appreciate the very minimal maintenance and being able to just charge it up when I need to at home without planning on visiting a gas station ever again. I’ve also enjoyed road tripping with the Tesla as supercharging is very accessible, quick, and easily let’s you take some time from the road to stretch and explore new places. I just completed a nearly 1400 mile road trip through Vegas, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon and again it was quite a thrill to explore new places. I drove over 3700 miles last year through Yosemite, Yellowstone, Denver, and Roswell.

The vast majority of what makes a road trip with a Tesla enjoyable is that its a very great car to drive. Its quiet, has quite a lot of pep for passing, and autopilot (adaptive cruise control and lanekeeping) is absolutely the most amazing thing in the world. If you have the opportunity to consider getting a Tesla, take a test drive, you won’t regret it. Don’t worry about range anxiety, this car can handle it. Using the nav you’ll get updates if you need to slow down or need to charge to reach your destination. If you’re road tripping and can stay at a destination charger — do it, waking up with a full charge is amazing. Great job Tesla!

FYI: I own shares in Tesla.

Verizon Fios

I signed up a little while ago to add TV to my internet package with Verizon to try it out again. I signed up for Ultimate HD which is their highest bracket and 35/35 internet. I bought a cablecard tuner from Ceton and got it all setup. Well I decided I wanted to cancel the TV to avoid the additional distraction and to focus more on my side projects with the house and programming. I did some digging and there is no longer a 35/35 connection  but there is a 50/25 connection on their site for 84.99. I can’t get that price on the phone for some reason. I can’t order that package online either. And now it looks like you have to bundle with Verizon and then drop the internet to move it around at all. To keep 35/35 it would be 89.99, to eventually move to 94.99 after bundling the new 50/25 and dropping the TV the next day I’m now at a loss of what to do. From the looks of it I’ll have to cancel my service and reorder to get 50/25 internet only for 84.99 online.

I wish there were more competition in this space. Verizon keeps switching their services and prices around while slowly moving the bar up and making it more difficult to make changes to your plan. I also dislike the fact that you can’t seem to get internet only or make changes to it over the phone without bundling for at least a day. I think they’re trying to keep people stuck with a bundle instead of trying to cut the cord. Any they have a near monopoly on fiber to the home service in this area because other providers don’t want to build out a network and have to compete on price and service. Another reason we need municipal fiber and the ability to have choice and competition in this space. Its like 50 Euro in Sweden for a 100/100 connection from what I’ve read.

I wish we had more choices in this arena!