Scam?

On By JohnIn annoying, home improvementLeave a comment

We’ve cautioned everyone for decades to never, ever, share their passwords with anyone for any reason.

Ever.

Apparently, “never” means “except for this one case…” When applying for a mortgage, we’re now being prompted to provide the name of along with username & password for every financial account.

Don’t worry, though… it’s only used to verify account information that you’ve already provided as PDFs direct from the institutions.

And there’s no legal recourse — if you’ve willingly provided your authentication information, then they are you.

There are several things wrong with this and it absolutely feels like a scam or can be readily exploited by nefarious actors.

Clean As You Go…

On By JohnIn tech, workLeave a comment

In IT, sometimes, you should clean out the fridge, so to speak. For example, delete old accounts. Delete old rules. Delete old processes.

I was cleaning out my own email rules just the other day, and this one came up, which was from another account’s auto-responder. It has been dutifully sending out responses to every request that hits its mailbox… for about three years:

Time to clean things up a bit.

We don’t need no stinking maps!

On By JohnIn education, lifeLeave a comment

It’s comforting to have a figurative road map to guide your way in life.

Perhaps it outlines certain things you must do. Maybe a list of things that indicate success and clearly guide the way to the next step. Achievements to be made. By when.

But do you want to grow?

To really grow?

Step outside of your comfort zone. Well-outside of it. Leave nothing behind to which you can cling assuring you of a safe place to return.

It’s entirely possible that you’ll find that you’ve stepped so far beyond your own comfort zone that no map or process in the world can guide you.

And that’s good. Excellent, actually.

You’ll be defining your own processes and maps to let other people find their way to you.

With certainty, this isn’t for everyone.

But for some, it’s necessary. It’s critical to their growth. And when those few grow, it will help society and culture to find their way.

Woodworking

On By JohnIn home improvementLeave a comment

I wouldn’t call myself a woodworker — I’m just a maker. Most of what I make, apart from some software concepts and a few computers, is from wood, yes, so I’m more of a wood-maker.

I do spend some time skimming through the assorted YouTube videos of people’s projects and often find some inspiration for my own projects.

One of the things upon which I depend, like many others, is mechanical fasteners to screw things together.

Drilling pilot-holes is better than simply forcing a screw into wood and risking a split or tear-out or absurd amounts of torque to drive a screw (and break its head off). And countersinking the screw-head is better than leaving it protruding from the surface or crushing a portion of the surface.

So, a pilot-hole and countersink. They often need to be done together.

It seems that often times, makers have separate bits to do each task. Drill one, swap the bit, drill another. Thankfully, the world has embraced keyless chucks — imagine how much of a pain in the ass it would be to simultaneously juggle bits, screws, a chuck key…

So, rather than juggle a pilot drill bit and a countersink bit, save a few bucks (and headaches) and make the small purchase to get a single bit that will both drill and a pilot-hole and countersink in one shot.

These are absolutely awesome.

And with the collar, I can set it to countersink the screw-heads to exactly the same depth every single time. There is a limitation, of course, I can’t use just one tool to do everything with screws. I use two drills: one for the countersink/pilot bit, and another for the actual T-25* bit to drive screws.

Kick your creations up a few notches.

While you’re at it, pick up a few self-centering drill bits as well.

You’re welcome.

—

* Phillips heads are so last-century.