Norbert's blog

I am probably not a suitable candidate for demand response programs.  I signed up for time-of-use (TUo) billing and try to shift electricity usage into the weekday low period from 19:00 to 07:00.  During the summer, the air condition mostly runs at night, cooling the house to 21C from 23:00 to 07:00.

• Read more about Hydro One's myEnergyRewards in Action

In April 2013, I went 'solar" with a 9.9 kW array of 41 240/245W Silfab solar panels installed with SolarEdge module optimisers and connected to two SolarEdge inverters, for a cost before tax of C$44K.

• Read more about Energy: Going Solar

My AWS monthly bill is normally less that $10 (USD, before taxes), of which the t2.micro server is about 55%, EBS storage another 44%, and the remaining 1% is email and S3 usage.  The August bill was over $21, with the AWS Web Access Firewall (WAF) being 55% of the total.

• Read more about AWS Serverless: Costs

The Apache .htaccess file is often used to modify how users interact with websites, such as:

• Read more about AWS Serverless: CloudFront Functions

Configuring AWS CloudFront is complicated.  I find it useful to create a 'cheatsheet' of the steps and key values that I need to complete the configuration.  As an example, assume I am transferring an existing https://subdomain.example.ca site to AWS serverless.

• Read more about AWS Serverless: CloudFront and DNS

Some caveats.  Out of the box, AWS serverless hosting is meant for simple websites with files that all public.  Neither S3 buckets nor CloudFront process .htaccess website customisation such as rewrite rules or authentication.  CloudFront functions or Lambda@Edge can provide similar functionality - I will post more details once I have figured out the details.

• Read more about AWS Serverless: Creating an S3 Bucket

I run a number of Drupal, MediaWiki, and static websites on an AWS EC2 t2-micro server. The server Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP stack is no longer supported, primarily because of conflicting server and Drupal requirements made upgrading difficult.  My plan is to create static versions of the MediaWiki and Drupal sites.

• Read more about AWS Serverless: An Overview

My LG over-the-range microwave failed after 15 years.  It showed an F-5 code which is associated with the humidity sensor.  I had replaced the humidity sensor in the previous countertop microwave - it worked for several years until it was replaced to increase countertop space.

• Read more about Unwilling to Repair: The Microwave

I have converted to electronic banking almost exclusively - I write about one cheque a year to local small businesses, and even they are starting to accept electronic payments.  Larger businesses are set up for online payments, while Interac e-Transfer works for smaller businesses and person-to-person transactions.

• Read more about Interac e-Transfer and EQ Bank Connections

I picked up the flange and sleeve bushings mentioned in Ability to Repair: the Mower Wheel.  The sleeve was easy to insert into the flange bushing using a bench vise.  The flange was too wide to fit into a recess in the mower wheel.

• Read more about Ability to Repair: The Mower Wheel, Part Two