Hans' Blog

I am doing it. I have done it. I am switching back to WordPress.

“NotHans” started off as an address on Geocities in 1995. Soon after, I switched to a hand-built website hosted at Speedsoft. Over the past 20 years, I kept producing original content, but as different names: NotHans, Hans Bytes, I am Shadowlord, and Thinking About Things. I always had consistent themes: comedy, technology, projects, blogging, games, film, and sometimes photography.

Two years ago, I started blogging at Tumblr. I really loved Tumblr and even invested in a custom theme.

Tumblr offers some great features to bloggers. I did like that I could upload content and not think about how it was going to look. In WordPress, I often had to tweak everything by hand. Tumblr makes it easy for other Tumblr users to share and like each other’s content. My site is evolving into an application and want to make custom things. Little things like adding JavaScript to Tumblr started to be painful. I also hated that the mobile view of the blog was way different from the browser view.

During the two years using Tumblr, I noticed WordPress adding features and becoming what I was looking for. Features like Format, Jetpack, and the rich ecosystem of Plugins, convinced me to switch back to WordPress.

Struebcon 2016

Happy Birthday, Steve.

My latest Internet of Things talk - I cover Big Data, the future of humanity, and algorithms.

Your Physical Interface with Uber!

Want to see/hear how far the closest Uber is from you? All you have to do is press a button on an AWS IoT connected device. I created this project to allow anyone to have access to Uber even without a smartphone and for those with different capabilities.

My mom asked me to setup a CheerLights lamp in their living room to stay connected with me. I was thrilled that she asked me to do this for her.

CheerLights, BTW, is one of my projects that synchronizes color lights to the same color  all around the world by sending a Tweet mentioning cheerlights and a color name.

“@CheerLights Let’s go Blue!”

For my mom, I wanted the setup to be easy. I have made @cheerlights with Arduino, Philips Hue, and Particle. But, all of these solutions are very DIY and require some programming to get working. I looked around for an alternative solution. I discovered the LIFX A21 Wi-Fi Smart LED Light Light Bulb. What makes this solution ideal for my parents home is that there is no hub needed - just Wi-Fi. The LIFX bulb is currently $99 at Amazon, but I found it in my local Best Buy store for $59! This means that the LIFX so far is the cheapest way to join @CheerLights and have a really nice display in your house.

Installation Steps:

Connect your phone to your Wi-Fi network

Install the LIFX mobile app on your phone

Connect the LIFX led bulb to any light socket and turn it on

Open the app and go to “Add Bulb”

LIFX Cloud:

Once your bulb is linked to the app, you will be notified that the bulb requires a software update. Once this happens the bulb will be connectable by the LIFX Cloud API. Sign into https://cloud.lifx.com/ and generate your secret key. Make sure to save this key somewhere so you can use it to setup ThingSpeak.

ThingSpeak Setup:

Signup for ThingSpeak

Create a ThingHTTP by selecting Apps -> ThingHTTP

ThingHTTP Settings:

Name: LIFX Cloud API

URL: https://api.lifx.com/v1beta1/lights/all/color

Method: PUT

Headers:

Name:  Authorization

Value:  Bearer <Secret Key>

Body: color=%%trigger%%

Create a TweetControl for each color that you want to display

TweetControl Settings for “blue”:

Check “Anonymous TweetControl”

Trigger: blue

ThingHTTP Action: Select “LIFX Cloud API”

Testing:

Now, that you have everything setup. We get to have fun. Test everything out by sending a Tweet using Twitter. 

“@CheerLights Let’s go Blue!”

Not only does your light turn blue, but thousands of other lights on the @CheerLights project will turn blue at the same time.

To kick off our honeymoon, Becky and I had an amazing dinner at The Royce in Pasadena, CA. Our meal took place at the Chef’s Table where Becky and I were presented 7 custom courses created by Chef Perry Pollaci and his team.

Our Custom Menu:

Amuse Bouche

Beef Carpaccio

Lobster Soup

Kobe Stew

Salt-crusted Lamb

Epoisse Cheese and Apples

A Tasting of Crème Brûlée

The custom menu create by Chef Perry was inspired by our personal tastes: paleo, gluten-free, and crème brûlée (this was my only specific request as it is Becky’s favorite desert).

The salt-crusted lamb topped the dinner for me. It was beautifully presented on a charred cutting board and served with carrots and smoked yogurt.

The team at The Royce made the first night of our honeymoon something to remember for a lifetime. The presentations were picturesque. The service was perfection.  The dinner was exquisite.