S^2 Blog

Image from arcteryx.com I’ve had been eyeing the Arc’teryx Beta LT Hybrid jacket for quite a while. I had been looking for a good “all around” rain/snow shell for some up and coming trips and just general use in normal activities and hiking, etc. And then it happened, I found it on sale for a…

Gamdias sent me their Hermes 7-color mechanical keyboard to take a look at. I’ve been using one of the “lite” versions of the Hermes keyboards for quite a while now as part of the Gamdias Mechanical Gaming Combo that they sent out to me. As a daily driver, the Hermes Lite Keyboard has been a…

iFixit – ifixit.com I’ve been in need of a “real” toolkit for a while now, something with all the specialized screwdrivers and odds and ends needed to take apart most modern computers, phones, and other assorted gizmos. When I stumbled on the new for 2016 iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit, it looked like a good option,…

I’ve been happily using an EdgeRouter Lite (one of the first gen models) for just a touch over 3 years now. Everything worked amazingly well… Until one morning I woke up and my internet was down. Everything looked normal, lights blinking, no warning lights, etc. After ruling out that my ISP was having issues, I…

UniFi v5 If you use Ubiquiti’s UniFi line of products, they recently released version 5 of their UniFi management software (current version at time of writing is 5.0.6). This new software adds in a slew of new features, You can get the full list here. Some of the key items are an updated UI that…

If you’re using Exchange Online for hosting your e-mail, and using a custom domain, you should probably check and see if you have DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) configured. DKIM is a configuration that allows a receiving domain to verify that an e-mail was sent from an authorized user and domain and was not modified in…

GAMDIAS sent me the GKC1001 Mechanical Gaming Combo to check out… and let me tell you, I’m really shocked how much I like it, especially at the price point of $70 USD. The GK1001 combo includes the Hermes Lite Mechanical Keyboard and the Erebos Lite Optical Mouse. Hermes (/ˈhɜːrmiːz/; Greek: Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian god…

I recently needed to make some updates to this blog to fix some issues, update a few items and “get with the times” on a couple things… One of the things I wanted to make “fit” into the site a little better, or what I feel is a little better, is some more themed social…

GAMDIAS recently sent me out one of their Hephaestus gaming headsets. This is one of their top of the line headsets, that is rocking a very affordable price tag. Hephaestus (/hɪˈfiːstəs/, /həˈfɛstəs/ or /hᵻˈfɛstəs/; eight spellings; Ancient Greek: Ἥφαιστος Hēphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. –…

This story begins with a cell phone service change for someone close to me that lead to a lot of headache, heartache and just overall a bad experience as a customer. What happened, well, after numerous not so great experiences with Verizon (retail store personnel, phone support, warranties, and the list goes on), a change…

If you are used to using older versions of DSM on your Synology NAS hardware, and use the SSH functionality, you may know that to get “admin” access you needed to login as “root”. To do this at the SSH login, you would simply use the user name “root” instead of admin, or another user.…

I recently got my hands on a GAMDIAS Ourea optical mouse as part of a promo package. This is a low cost, entry level gaming mouse that offers a good amount of features, specially for the price point. In Greek mythology, the ourea (Ancient Greek: Oὔρεα “mountains,” plural of Oὖρος) were progeny of Gaia, members…

There aren’t a lot of articles out there on this problem, since I think it’s pretty specific. But hopefully this will help someone else out. I recently purchased a new LSI MegaRAID 9361-8i RAID controller for a new server. It’s not going to really utilize the 9361-8i to any of its real potential, but I…

I recently picked up a SanDisk Ultra Fit 64GB USB 3.0 drive to check out and expand my high speed portable storage options… First things first, this drive is TINY. Like, I wonder how long it’ll be before I lose it tiny. Below is a picture of it with a quarter next to it for…