Ryan and Debi & Toren

Travel, Tech, Thoughts…

  • Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Thanks to the fine folks at VLC and Ubuntu, watching DVDs on Linux is generally pretty straightforward. Install “libdvd-pkg” and follow the prompts and you’re generally good to go. That works for me almost all of the time. However, I recently tried to watch a DVD and had no luck. I would insert the DVD…

  • Letter to the Editor: Government of the Corporations, by the Corporations, for the Corporations

    While accepting “donations” for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists, corporations, and special interests may technically be legal for Governor DeSantis, there is no question that is unethical. These are “bribes by another name.” And what they suggest is that our Governor is not the Governor of the people of Florida, but…

  • Letter to Stacy White, County Commissioner

    Stacy White, Hillsborough County Commissioner, filed a lawsuit that is preventing Hillsborough County from improving its transportation infrastructure based on a ballot measure that was approved by 57% of voters in November 2018 (more about this here). Here’s the email I recently sent him: Commissioner White, I want to let you know that I’m really…

  • Letter to the Editor: Ashley Moody’s mixed up priorities

    I find it more than a little concerning that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody wants to kill a petition drive to ban assault weapons (Ban Assault Weapons Now) but hasn’t said anything about the secretive effort to restrict constitutional amendments that is possibly being funded by utility companies in Florida. If Moody cared about Floridians…

  • Plex – Syncing Media to Devices

    NOTE: As of 2022, Plex has switched from “syncing” media to “downloading” media. More information on how to do that is available here. I love my Plex server. It works pretty flawlessly with devices like my Roku or allowing me to listen or view my media collection online. However, there are occasionally instances when I…

  • Linux – Setting Up FTP/SFTP Restricted Access for User

    I run a server (Ubuntu 18.04) that hosts about a dozen websites using Linode. Most of the sites are run using WordPress and are my own or sites I manage for friends or family. I do, however, host one for a colleague who actively develops online content for that site. As WordPress has developed, the…

  • Plex – How To Create Smart (auto updating) Music Playlists

    I love my Plex server. I stream my music basically around the world (I travel regularly). But it took me a while to figure out how to create playlists that automatically update (i.e., “smart playlists”) based on search filters. At home, I use a native music client (e.g., Strawberry or Clementine) to play my music.…

  • WY-Gannett Peak

    Summit Date August 3, 2019 Party Ryan Cragun and Tom Triplett (with logistical support from Mark Woolley, who almost made it) Trip Report Eighteen years after completing my first state highpoint (Utah’s King’s Peak), Wyoming is likely my last state highpoint – #49. While not the highest state highpoint, Wyoming is the longest hike as…

  • Letter to the Editor – Gun Control Laws

    Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a brief with the Florida Supreme Court opposing a state constitutional amendment banning assault weapons on Friday, July 26th. That was two days before a young man opened fire at a festival in California, killing three people and injuring a dozen more with an assault rifle he purchased legally. AG…

  • Restarting KDE’s Plasma Shell via Konsole (command line)

    As much as I love KDE as my desktop environment (on top of Ubuntu, so Kubuntu), it does occasionally happen that the Plasma Shell freezes up (usually when I’ve been running my computer for quite a while then boot up a game and begin to push the graphics a bit. Often, I just shut down…