Field Notes

Adding CAPTCHA protection to Seam forms takes three minutes - here's exactly how, including the build and config changes needed.

A night at the Nectar watching the Heavyweight Dub Champion band surprised me - the live energy eclipsed the reggae-heavy studio recordings.

Apache mod_proxy consolidates multiple services on a single port 80, making your dev stack accessible with clean URLs and proper routing.

A wood stove, banana bread, and unexpected guests create the perfect winter comfort - plus reflections on happiness and unconventional paths.

Investigating an abandoned government research compound (Picnic Point Facility) turned into an adventure - full story with photos.

Don't trap yourself in convention. If you're hungry, eat. If you're tired, sleep. Stop waiting for permission to live.

Working in coffee shops beats isolation, but slow wifi and loud conversations make remote meetings frustrating.

Halo 3's online multiplayer offers casual social gaming without planning dinners - pure fun protecting Earth from aliens.

ATG's installer remains broken on OS X, but a single config.xml fix bypasses the platform limitations plaguing developers.

A new gift rule: no physical items unless on a wishlist or approved by spouse. Money and cards still welcome.

Cold Seattle weather becomes cozy with a wood stove, hot chocolate, and Halo 3 multiplayer with friends.

Eclipse, SSH, and iGTD power my workflow - these three tools handle coding, server management, and task capture.

Emacs can edit files inside .war and .ear archives using archive-mode - add three lines to your config and edit deployments directly.

10MinuteMail now supports 29 languages and runs on Seam 2.0.CR1 - hopefully cutting the OutOfMemory errors.

ATG's product explosion (Ticketing, Search, Merchandising, etc.) sells licenses but ignores the core platform issues.

Block malicious IPs in Linux with iptables - a simple script keeps brute-force attackers from hammering your server.

My car died on the highway, but a friend's quick advice (unplug the MAF) saved me - turned out to be a loose intercooler hose.

Train travel from Seattle to Vancouver beats flying - spectacular ocean views, space to move, and no driving stress.