Category Archives: hacks

Automating Apple time machine backups to Amazon Glacier using python, tar, and zfs

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In a previous post I played around with Amazon Glacier, using a tool called glacierFreezer. Since then, I’ve wanted to automate backups of my Time Machine archives, as well as my photos and home directories. Looking around for more current Glacier interfaces I noticed a project called glacier-cmd which looks promising. The core utilities are written in Python, and provide means to upload, download, and query Glacier vaults.

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Adding Airplay to an external usb audio interface

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The Raspberry Pi is a fairly powerful $25 single-board computer targeted toward the educational market, though just because it’s for kids doesn’t mean it’s not fun for adults. I’ve been wanting to buy a Pi for a while now, but couldn’t justify purchasing hardware I have no use for – that is, until I saw this blog post detailing how to use the Pi as an Apple Airplay receiver. This is perfect. Let’s get started turning our little computer into a single-purpose appliance.

Here it is, after a few weeks of waiting!

Here it is, after a few weeks of waiting!

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WL v911 helicopter battery charger fix

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I recently bought a really fun mini RC helicopter. It’s made in China by WL Toys, and it packs lots of technology into a ready to fly kit. Flying it has been a blast, but the manufacturing quality control leaves something to be desired. The remote control has a small piece of something rattling around in it, which doesn’t affect the function at all. The battery charger is supposed to charge two of the Li-polymer batteries simultaneously, but it seems like mine only has one working port:

We need more red LEDs please.

We need more red LEDs please.

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