Years ago, I created a sort of home dashboard to offer up relevant information–mostly when getting ready to head to work in the morning. I gave it the perhaps poor title of Good Morning Display, which has stuck all these years. This isn’t an original idea, by far. However, it has proven not only to be a useful information tool, but also a great platform for learning about new (to me) technologies.

Now, all the these years later, I’m thinking about another rewrite to better serve my current needs. What follows is a bit of a brain dump before I embark on this project. Keep reading for some history and my thoughts for what might be next…

Continue reading

I’m a firm believer in one’s right to repair the stuff they’ve bought. That isn’t always easy when it comes to consumer electronics. Devices are designed with mass production in mind–not repair. Plus, most manufacturers would rather you toss a broken or dated device in favor of a new one.

So, I wanted to give a shout out to IFixit. I bought a replacement iPhone screen from them recently and the whole experience was great. It’s easy to figure out what you need based on your devices model, and they sell kits that contain all the tools you need since most of us don’t have tiny, Phillips-head screwdrivers. Their site has videos and step-by-step instructions with ample photos and comments from other repairers. Really top-notch, I highly recommend.

In a similar vein, but not electronic, Fix My Blinds has an excellent repair site–for window blinds. They have exploded diagrams of popular blind makes and models so you can buy just what you need, even if you don’t know the name of the thing. They also have great step-by-step instructions and videos. For the price of return shipping one set of blinds to the manufacturer, I have enough parts to do several re-stringing jobs. Nice!