Kudos to the Random Dude on the Internet

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Never underestimate the value of that “random dude on the Internet.” A few weeks ago, I put a dimmer to put a (ahem) damper on an overly zealous set of hallway lights after replacing old halogens with energy efficient LEDs; these were insanely bright compared to the halogens. Long story short… our house is 40+ year old, meaning we have old wiring (no neutral wires), which meant I had to buy special dimmers (from Lutron, if you care), which them meant I had to replace an old GFCI outlet on the same circuit (bought a Leviton). After wiring it up …

So, I Made A Mobile Video Game

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Greetings, fellow travelers in space and time! And gamers; I’m talking to you, specifically, I suppose. For the past few months, I’ve been developing an original mobile video game in Unity 3D. It’s now at a point that I’m ready to let people try it out and play it. The game is called “Hallway Hustle” and here’s how it works. You’ve just started school. Your goal? Get to your class in 60 seconds or less. In the process, collect lunch money, avoid running into other students (and teachers!), get straight As, and graduate. Repeat until you walk away with a …

The Reason for the Log4j Vulnerability

UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Internet, with its myriad collection of protocols and code and hardware, is amazingly complex. You may think that putting together that shelving unit from IKEA is complex, but that’s nothing compared to the Internet. Most of the code that means anything on the Internet, right down to the very foundations of the Web itself, is built on Free and Open Source Software, aka FOSS. If you know anything about me, you know I’m all about Open Source. You, like me, may also know that many people in that community have contributed a great deal to the Internet as we …

WFTL Games Privacy Policy

UncategorizedLeave a comment

This policy covers Android games currently being developed by WFTL Games, namely me. 🙂 We don’t collect, store, sell, or otherwise do anything with your personal information. It’s yours and we don’t care what you do with it, but we don’t want anything to do with it. Unless you want to talk to us, or write us an email, in which case we’ll have your email address. But we won’t share it, sell it, rent it, or do anything other than use it to communicate with you . . . assuming you want us to communicate with you.

To Sleep, Perchance to Die.

Brain Farts / Opinion / UncategorizedLeave a comment

It was a long time ago. That part, at least, is something I am sure of. Somebody used the expression, “You can sleep when you’re dead,” and I kind of loved it. So, I started saying it myself, except that I would say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” To this day, I still say it. I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I was young. Strong. I had things to do. Sleeping seemed like a complete and utter waste of time. So much to do and so little time to do it. I had dreams to chase and sleep just got in …

The Lonely God

UncategorizedLeave a comment

There’s an old adage that goes something like this; a work of art is never finished, only abandoned. This has been attributed to many different writers and poets, including W.H. Auden and Gore Vidal to name just two. After some research, it seems that the first published instance of this statement appeared in March 1933, in an essay by the French poet, Paul Valéry. He wrote:      “Aux yeux de ces amateurs d’inquiétude et de perfection, un ouvrage n’est jamais achevé, – mot qui pour eux n’a aucun sens, – mais abandonné” or, if you prefer the English,      “In the eyes …

How Ghosts Could Be Real

Brain Farts / SuggestionsLeave a comment

Let me ask you a serious question. Do you believe in ghosts? Before I continue, let me put my proverbial cards on the table and say that I do not believe in ghosts, certainly not in the sense that they are the wandering souls of the departed. Last night, however, I found myself thinking that perhaps there is a logical explanation, other than “it’s your imagination,” for the existence of ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural entities. We’re all familiar with the concept of “bugs” in the computer programs we use, glitches that crop up from time to time with unexpected …

A No BS Guide to Getting Rid of Your Back Pain!

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Let’s start with my tragic backstory. I suffered with crippling back pain for more than twenty years. I’m talking about being out on my back, unable to drive, barely able to walk, or work. I spent every moment trying to deal with the pain while doing my best to lead something resembling a normal life. Sometimes, I’d spend a few days in bed loaded up with painkillers and muscle relaxing drugs to get rid of it. Every few weeks, or, if I were lucky, months, my back would go out, and the entire process would start all over again. In …

We Need to Stop Talking About Government Debt

UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Ontario government, in its most recent budget, warned of deficits for the next 10 years. So what? Why are we still talking about deficits? Granted, it’s a pervasive myth, as myths go, but it’s high time for concepts like government deficits (or GDP, for that matter) to be retired for something more meaningful. The first mistake is to assume that an economically sovereign country’s budget (i.e. Canada, or the US) is anything like your personal household budget. It’s not. The “national debt” is just a measure, over time, of how much money the government put into the economy (health …

Our Botched Pandemic Dress Rehearsal

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Here’s a cheery Saturday thought for you all, as you line up for your vaccine, or breathe a sigh of relief that you’ve at least got your first dose of Moderna, Pfeizer, or Astra Zeneca. Now, you can sit back, worry less, and wait for the booster shot. At least you won’t wind up in the hospital on a ventilator. Hold that optimism for a moment though, but don’t throw it away because you’re going to need it. You see, COVID-19 is, as pandemics go, a relatively benign pandemic, despite the staggering economic cost, despite more than 3 million deaths …

Back to Top