RIP: Aircraft Radar Skill for Amazon Alexa

A few weeks ago I archived the GitHub repo for my Alexa Aircraft Radar skill. This was a project with which I was particularly happy when I launched it, but since then two things happened: First, when ADS-B Exchange was purchased, they cut off my access to their data feed …

Some TODOs for the new site

As I prepare to make this new version of dzombak.com live, I wanted to make a note of some things that are left for me to do.

Great Moments in Modern Apple User Experience Design

Remember when Apple cared about the end-user experience?

Know Your Birds: Red-Headed Woodpecker

The Red-Headed Woodpecker is, at least here in Michigan, a commonly misidentified bird.

My eBird Profile

I have finally learned how to use eBird properly and started using it more seriously!

↗ eBird: Chris Dzombak

More Severance Michigan Connections

In this post I describe two Michigan connections in Severance that I haven't seen anyone else on the web notice just yet.

A Selection of Complex CSS Selectors

While working on this site redesign I've had the opportunity to learn a bit about modern CSS. (The last time I redesigned the site was, I think, in 2011.) (Holy cow, 14 years ago? Crazy.) Yes, flexbox and grid are amazing and finally make CSS usable for decent, …

Sunset over Canyonlands National Park, viewed from BLM's Needles Overlook in Utah.

Birds in Moab and Arches & Canyonlands National Parks

My partner Thu and I recently spent about a week in Moab, Utah and the national and state parks that surround it. This is a (probably incomplete) list of birds we identified during the trip.

Brief Review: Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD

It's terrible. Don't buy it.

My (Only) Two Complaints about the Canon 10x42 L IS WP Binoculars

I have previously written a glowing review of Canon's 10x42 L IS WP binoculars. And I stand by it! After using them heavily for a while now, though, I have two minor complaints. Stabilization LED Color When image stabilization is on, a green LED lights up on top …

Automating Ghost Routes & Redirects Deployment

Ghost clearly documents how to automate theme deployment with GitHub Actions, but deploying routes & redirects automatically is not as straightforward. This lack of straightforwardness is quite unfortunate in my view, particularly because custom routes are coupled to your theme; and redirects are somewhat coupled to routes since they both …

Dust Caps for Oxygen/Acetylene Hoses

I had a need for some plastic caps for oxygen & acetylene hoses in my workshop, to prevent dust from entering fittings on my oxyacetylene torch setup when it's not in use. This is a perfect application for 3D printing! The following model, printed in TPU, fits snugly …

Solar Water Preheater Goals & Design Considerations

Friends on Mastodon will know that I'm working on sort of a thermal battery for our house. Let me explain…