The Video Page

Vidisode 1 is where I make silly videos. They probably involve video games in some way. Except when they don't. I'm still working on the name.

• The Testisode - For the first outing, I uploaded some random footage I had laying around of me playing Skate or Die! 2 really poorly. - 18 Sep 20 · Watch
• Castlevania 2 Password Screen - When I was setting up the video player, I used a clip of Castlevania 2's Password screen as a placeholder. And then I made it into a full-fledged video. - 23 Sep 20 · Watch

In Episode 2 I talk about video games. I have some visual aids, but the one visual aid I don't have is gameplay footage. Is this a huge mistake? Probably! Join me for the trainwreck.

• Uridium and The Last Starfighter - In the inaugural installment of Episode 2, I talk about game rentals, my grandfather, and two different games that aren't all that different. - 29 Sep 2021 · Watch
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - I like Zelda II. Probably because I have never played all the way through the first Legend of Zelda game. Also, my copy is in a translucent green cartridge. - 06 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Stunt Race FX - I worked for a summer in a museum and managed to convince them to put a copy of Stunt Race FX on display. - 06 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Revenge of the Gator - One of my favorite Game Boy games turned out to be a pinball game featuring alligators for some reason. - 07 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Down the HAL Laboratory Pinball Rabbit/Gator Hole - HAL Laboratory made a lot more video pinball games than Revenge of the Gator. - 08 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Danganronpa, Star Trek, and Visual Novels - This is the one where I compare a game where a mysterious entity places humans in bizarre scenarios that play out for the amusement of the viewer and Star Trek. - 11 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Jet Set Radio - There is nothing in Jet Set Grind Radio that I normally like, so of course I bought it. I'm as surprised as anyone. - 13 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Metroid 1, 2, and 3 - I have an odd relationship with the first three Metroid games. Okay, maybe 'relationship' isn't the right word here, but you get my meaning. - 13 Oct 2021 · Watch
• Ghouls, Ghosts, 'n Goblins - I talk about two games that I didn't realize were related because whoever did the label art made it as unclear as possible. - 26 Oct 2021 · Watch

In late 2020 I decided to try vlogging. In early 2021 I decided that vlogging on YouTube was silly since I had my own site. So I decided to start moving the videos here. These videos are more conversational, and they talk about things like software and technology.

• Which text editor should you use? - I take on the age-old debate on which text editor you should use. - YouTube · Watch
• Why did you switch? - Why did you switch from Windows in the first place? How strong your convictions are might indicate how successful your switch is - YouTube · Watch
• Should you pay for FOSS software? - I make the case that you should pay for free software if you can. I also note that some projects can take contributions that are not monetary. - YouTube · Watch
• Program Defaults, learn 'em, love 'em - I don't usually bother customizing my computing environment all that much. I lay out some reasons why. - YouTube · Watch
• So you want to switch to FOSS? - So you've decided to switch to Free and Open Source Software (or its equivalent). I go over some considerations you might want to think about.. - YouTube · Watch
• Computers are supposed to be fun - Computers are serious business. Too serious. I argue that computers should be more fun to use. - YouTube · Watch
• How do you measure creative success? - Being creative is hard. Being successful at being creative is even harder. But how do you measure success anyway? - YouTube · Watch
• My first computer was a who cares? - Tech personalities like to pad their bios by humblebragging about how their first computer was an old piece of crap. They think it makes them look savvy. I think it makes them look old. - YouTube · Watch
• I love email - It's an unusual opinion, but I love email. Unfortunately, it's moving away from being a communications tool and more toward something that annoys you at work. - YouTube · Watch
• Platformication - I ramble a little bit about platforms, consolidation, and why you should own your own website. - YouTube · Watch
• What is the Unix philosophy? - The Unix philosophy gets bandied around a lot, but what is it, really? I go over the high points by using a basin wrench. - YouTube · Watch
• Getting good at Linux is like breaking in a baseball glove - I compare 'getting good' at Linux (or anything, really) to breaking in a baseball glove.. - YouTube · Watch
• Want to learn Linux? Teach it to someone else - If you want to learn Linux (or anything else), try teaching it to someone else. - YouTube · Watch
• An Operating System that 'just works' - I relate a story of a friend who, after spending hours setting up Windows, bragged that it 'just worked', unlike Linux. - YouTube · Watch
• Behind the facade - Sometimes you have to look at a thing many times before you see it. I compare social media to a demolished liquor store. - YouTube · Watch
• Stepping out of the Walled Garden to see what lies beyond - I made a lot of videos for YouTube and ignored my own site. I need to fix that.. - YouTube · Watch
• Quit thinking about it and just do it. - I pretend to be a life coach for a few minutes and tell you that instead of dithering about it, you should either <defecate> or get off the pot. - YouTube · Watch
• Make a backup - You know you should make a backup once in a while. I share some of my experiences with backups. - 12 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Women in tech - I'm not an expert, but I wanted to talk a little bit about my experiences with women in technical contexts. - 20 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Hardware I've destroyed - I'm not perfect. I go over some of the times where I've destroyed or nearly destroyed some technology by accident. - 4 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Decentralized communications platforms - I keep hearing about how great decentralized platforms are for communication, but we've had those for decades. IRC and Email still exist. - 8 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Real Names - There was a push a while back about requiring real names on the Internet, but there are lots of problems with that, and it doesn't solve all the problems that it's supposed to. - 10 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Codes of Conduct and Changing the World - Codes of Conduct in software circles became a Big Deal™ a few years ago, and some of the objections are the same old objections that come up every time that people are asked to modify their behavior in response to society changing around them. - 18 Feb 2021 · Watch
• The Small Web - I read a post on the purple tech site that annoyed me enough that I made a video about it. Not only because I don't have an account there and can't reply anyway, but also because I figured it would make a good video for the vlog. Or, at the very least a video for the vlog. - 04 Mar 2021 · Watch

I've been doing tech support in some form for... a long time. I go over some of the soft skills (and a few hard skills) you will need if you want to be a successful tech supportist.

• Communication - If you want to work in tech support for some reason, you need to be able to communicate. - 14 Jan 2021 · Watch
• The Rules - Knowing the rules, and when to work around the rules, is important. - 15 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Working for free - Your time is valuable. Don't work for free. Unless it's one of those times where it's okay to work for free. - 15 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Do the easy stuff first - The big problems are usually the most exciting to solve, but don't overlook the easy stuff. - 17 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Users aren't (usually) dumb - Just because someone has a different domain of expertise than you, that doesn't make them somehow less intelligent. - 17 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Be a teacher - If you take the time to teach your end users, it pays off down the road. - 17 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Certifications - What's the deal with certifications, anyway? - 17 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Don't be a jerk - It seems obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs stating: don't be a jerk to someone who called you for help. - 17 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Be part detective - When you're called on to provide some kind of technical support, you're going to have to become part detective. - 21 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Don't panic - When an emergency happens, the worse thing you can do is to panic. - 21 Jan 2021 · Watch
• When lightning strikes - When lightning hits your computer, there's only one thing to do. - 22 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Your job or your life - Sometimes you have to make a decision about putting your personal safety above your job requirements. - 25 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Read a book - Reading books (even non technical ones) has a lot of benefits for working in technical support (and other fields, frankly). - 25 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Saying, "no" - You're not an automaton. Knowing when (and how) to say, "no" is critical. - 26 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Handwriting - Yeah, I know. You hate writing, it makes your hands hurt, writing is a waste of time, you can type faster than you can write, I've heard it all before. - 27 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Have a life - With always-on always-connected devices, it's expected that you're always reachable. I'm sure it's cost me some upward mobility, but I have no problem leaving work at work. My mental well-being is worth it. - 27 Jan 2021 · Watch
• The email problem part 1: I believe you - What started as a simple email delivery issue spiraled into something bigger and messier, and it was all predicated on three words that form part of the bedrock of my personal approach to troubleshooting: "I believe you". - 28 Jan 2021 · Watch
• The email problem part 2: Knowing when to walk away - Troubleshooting an email issue didn't go as planned, and eventually became apparent that it was time to walk away. - 28 Jan 2021 · Watch
• Humility - It's important to practice humility. It helps foster relationships between you and people you need to help, and between you and the people you need help from.. - 29 Jan 2021 · Watch
• The basics - Being self-taught is a wonderful thing, but you need to make sure that you leave the fewest amount of gaps in your knowledge. - 29 Jan 2021 · Watch
• The best - Sometimes clients ask me for advice about their home setups, they want the best <thing>, but the answer I have to give is sometimes more complicated than they want to hear. - 2 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Trust and standards - Trust is relatively easy to get and relatively easy to keep, as long as you have standards. But once it's eroded, it's hard to get back. - 3 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Managing up - I hear a lot about managing up. I tried it a couple of times, but I couldn't make it work for me. - 3 Feb 2021 · Watch
• Learn to touch type - If you are going to be supporting computers, it's probably a good idea to know how to touch-type. - 4 Feb 2021 · Watch