I am a triplets dad, programmer, network/security/infrastructure engineer, trail runner, and BJJ guy living in Eugene, Oregon. You can see what I’m up to now, what I use, or some people I enjoy. I am passionate about many things, especially infosec and programming. Take a look at some of my tools or GitHub.
Replacing a Honeywell thermostat with an ecobee
Replacing a Honeywell VisionPRO IAQ (TH9421C1004 + EIM) with an ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced Trigger Warning: I used AI extensively throughout this process, including writing this article. If this bothers you, stop reading now. tl;dr: I asked ChatGPT how I could replace my proprietary Honeywell IAQ thermostat with an ecobee. It asked for some photos and took me through the whole process from start to finish. It was amazing. This article is still a work-in-progress, so check back for updates. ...
Hello, appleblogs.xyz
Like Techmeme River, but for Apple blogs.
Passkeys explained
Wherein I explain passkeys the best I can.
Jake's URL Tool
I have hundreds of scripts that I use to automate frequent tasks as a network security engineer. While I’ve posted some of them to public GitHub repositories, I haven’t actively promoted them. I realize that not everyone has the skills to download Python scripts from Git repositories and install dependencies. Therefore, I’m starting to present these as simple web applications. Here’s the first public one: Jake’s URL Tool. This tool lets you paste a URL and receive a detailed breakdown. It’s especially useful for researching malicious URLs, such as from phishing attempts. ...
Using AI to improve writing with Apple's Shortcuts app
With this simple Shortcut, you can use Apple’s Shortcuts app and the ChatGPT app to improve writing.
Oblique Hallucinations
Tonight, I coded up a quick project called Oblique Hallucinations. It uses LLMs to generate phrases inspired by Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies card deck. See it here. If you don’t “get it”, it’s probably not for you.
What I Use (November 2023 Edition)
I use a MacBook Pro 14" M3 Max at home. At work, it’s a 16" M2 Pro. My workflow is typically the Firefox web browser, Obsidian Notes, plus several terminals with zsh or bash. I use macOS for my desktops. For me, it’s the least worst option currently available. For most of the 1990s and some of the early 2000s, I primarily used Linux on the desktop. I had some short jaunts with FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I loved all the window managers and all the tweaking. Now, I just want things to stay relatively sane and stable. I’m not so much into the tinkering anymore. ...
Back up your configuration on FortiGate 7.0 using Ansible (October 2023 Edition)
Install and setup Ansible Install and setup Ansible, ensuring that you have the full version that includes the FortiOS collection. For detailed instructions, refer to existing YouTube videos and blog posts. Assuming you have Ansible set up, an inventory file with your Fortigate listed, let’s continue. Creating a user for Ansible Create a REST API user and name it something like ansible_user. It will be set to super_admin_readonly access by default. ...
Action Jackson
An iOS Shortcut for your Action Button to either silence the phone or launch the camera app based on its orientation.
What I Use (August 2023 Edition)
Operating Systems My workflow is typically the Firefox web browser, Obsidian Notes, plus several terminals with zsh or bash. I use macOS for my desktops. For me, it’s the least worst option currently available. For most of the 1990s and some of the early 2000s, I primarily used Linux on the desktop. I had some short jaunts with FreeBSD and OpenBSD. I loved all the window managers and all the tweaking. Now, I just want things to stay relatively sane and stable. I’m not so much into the tinkering anymore. ...