J. R. Swab

Blog


Three Free Apps to Kill Evernote


Categories: [Technology]

Evernote is the dominant powerhouse in the digital note-taking ecosystem and is the standard against all others are measured. The system of notebooks, notes, and tags make organization a breeze. However, the closed source code troubles many of our privacy-focused peers.

To be a viable competitor t...

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Mental Math Tricks You Need To Know


Categories: [How To]

The ability to recall the answers to math equations is touted as a spark of genius and a primary goal for many elementary school children. Memorizing numbers, carrying remainders, and long handing "all-the-things" is the norm but this is not the optimal nor the most efficient way to learn math.

In...

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Linux Makes Everything Better


Categories: [Technology]

I'm the only one in my family that understands this fundamental law of computing.

My sister was having issues with her laptop that she bought a few years ago. So I reformatted it and only a short time after she decides to buy a Chromebook. She then offered me the laptop to have and to do as I plea...

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4 Reasons Why You Need Grav


Categories: [Technology]

I started this blog with a content management system (CMS) called Publii. Publii is a very well made application, and I highly recommend it for anyone starting their first blog. It's easy to use, navigate, and update your site. All you need to get started is a host and a domain name. From there you...

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How To Create Meaningfull Habits

Last year I had the goal to read at least one book every week. I learned a lot about the mind, building wealth, and how to improve various areas of my life that I thought needed some help. The following information is from my notes on the Book "The Power of Habits" by Charles Duhigg. The book is ful...

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I hate 80s Music But Fell in Love With Synthwave


Categories: [Personal]

Even though I was born in 1988, I grew up in love with 70s rock and roll. My favorite band was Led Zeppelin, and they influenced much of my music taste through high school and college. My musical taste was not limited to Rock, but I also listened to hip-hop, folk, and indie across many decades. Some...

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We Finally Have Security


Categories: [Technology]

After much hassle this site now allows you to connect via HTTPS. I did this more as a cosmetic than an actual need to secure any data. Now that green lock is present, we all can feel safer.

Adding TLS support is cosmetic for everyone reading is because you are not sending sensitive data to my ser...

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This Is What Happens When a Nerd Needs to Lose Weight


Categories: [Personal]

A few days ago I opened up my RSS reader and saw a post by Eric S. Raymond titled Stop whining and get the job done. I like to be motivated, so I clicked to read more. To my surprise, his post was not about something tech related but weight loss. After reading his post and hearing what he is doing...

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Why This Technology Lover Needs a Journal


Categories: [Analog]

I love technology. As time goes on you will see a high percentage of my posts will be about something tech related. However, this me, my personal blog and I want you to get to know me for more than just technology.

Even though, I've already labeled as a "techie" by many people and hold to the idea...

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I'm Rethinking RSS


Categories: [Technology]

After some thinking about the current state of social media and mass email lists, RSS came to mind, and it's actually a much better alternative for privacy. No data collection, no feed manipulation, no email newsletters. It's like someone from the future went to the past and gave us the answer to su...

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