Self
21 postsEvents and Art in Vancouver
Where to find art and events in Vancouver, last updated September 2026
Read postTools and equipment 2024
A 2024 snapshot of the software, hardware, camera gear, and shop tools I use day to day.
Read postYear in review 2022
Year in review 2022: Lori moving in, painting the townhouse, cherry blossoms, a CBC interview about the bird cards, travel, and fostering a puppy.
Read postTools and equipment 2022
Tools and equipment used in 2022: VS Code, KiCAD, Sony a6400, Sigma 150-600mm, Logitech MX Master 3S, and a Pixel 6 Pro.
Read postBirding in Vancouver
Beginner birding resources for Vancouver: intro videos, local birding sites, and notes from making the Birds of Play card deck.
Read postCurrent tools and equipment (2021)
The software, gadgets and gear Steven uses day to day in 2021, and what changed since 2018 after the move to working from home.
Read postSimple security
Plain-language notes on picking a threat model and the low to high effort tools used to defend against it.
Read postMust see movies
A running list of must-see movies from Mad Max Fury Road back through Spirited Away, Memento, and Cube, with short notes on each.
Read postPodcasts
A running list of podcasts, from Radiolab and This American Life to The Dollop, 99% Invisible, and The Moth.
Read postMushroom growing kit and automation
Growing an oyster mushroom kit and over-engineering it with an ESP8266, DS18B20 sensors, MQTT, and Twilio alerts.
Read postWanhao Duplicator i3
Notes on picking up a used Wanhao Duplicator i3, getting started with Cura, and a list of 3D printing resources.
Read postRescueTime July - September 2014
RescueTime tracking summary for July through September 2014.
Read postGeneral status update
Six-month status update covering Google Authenticator two-factor setup across daily web apps and adding it to a test server.
Read postLife tracking Jan 2014
January 2014 self-tracking dump: RescueTime hours, Moves step counts, Google location maps, BC Hydro usage, and sleep stats.
Read postGoals for 2014
Three goals for 2014: meditate after every project, post to abluestar.com weekly, and add weight, meal, and sleep tracking.
Read post2013 Goals and Resolutions
Goals for 2013: weekly blog posts, 300 geocaches, learn Rails, build a card game, and add more home sensors.
Read postThis has been a great year.
Year-end notes on VHS hitting 110 members, board work, Maker Faire prep, and house hunting in Vancouver.
Read postStatus update May 12, 2011
May 2011 update covering a burned out spin art motor, a DC trip to HacDC, and progress on the POV globe.
Read postWhat I did in 2010, Year end review
Year-end review of 2010: lockpicking, QR tags, GPS tracking, wheatpaste Marios around Vancouver, time-lapse videos, and SkyZoo.
Read postA web masters thoughts on mortality
Notes on writing a will that hands off domains, passwords, and a deadman switch so my sites keep running after I die.
Read postLeap Year post!
A note on leap day plus the if-mod-4-and-100-and-400 check for detecting leap years in code.
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