As we headed out of town for Thanksgiving, I was in search of my next tech project. On a whim I threw a Raspberry Pi and Yeti USB microphone in my bag, determined to create a networked, high-fidelity baby monitor.

It turned out to be easier than I thought.

Nat and I are on the hunt for a leather ottoman. Some guy on Craigslist sold his after promising it to us, and its been hard to find another since.

With a search only returning six hits, what we really needed was Craigslist to notify us when new ottomans get posted. Craigslist won’t do this on its own, but with the help of FeedMyInbox, searching for our new ottoman became a whole lot easier.

@Mascasa recently wrote some excellent instructions on setting up OpenVPN using Amazon Web Services and getting connected with a Mac client:

www.stratumsecurity.com/blog/2010/12/03/shearing-firesheep-with-the-cloud/

It turns out connecting with Windows is easy too. Here’s how I did it…

If there’s one browsing tool I like more than Safari Reader/iReader, it’s Instapaper. Reading articles during the day drives me to distraction, and Instapaper allows me to save off interesting stuff for later consumption.

To get started, head over to instapaper.com and register for an account. I recommend setting a password too, but it’s not required. Then click and drag the Read Later button to the bookmarks bar in your browser (that’s Chrome for Mac below.)

Mom, the last time I posted about Safari Reader you asked me if it’s something you could use.

Since you’re a Firefox user, you can’t use that exact feature, but there’s an add-on called iReader that works much the same way. By the way, Clark Howard uses Google Chrome now (I know you’re a fan.)

But no worries, Firefox is still a fine browser. And here’s my best attempt to walk you through installing something on your computer without logging in and doing it for you. :)

Here we go…

I’ll admit it — I forward my fair share of web articles to family and friends. Unfortunately, with small font sizes and distracting ads, my eyes tire out quickly after page 3 of most long articles.

Enter the new Reader button in Safari 5.

Reader displays an article’s text in a readable font size and greys out the rest of the clutter. It’ll also consolidate multi-page articles to a single page.

For those not on Safari, the iReader extension for Firefox and Chrome gives you the same clutter-free reading goodness.

Oh Amazon, how you tempt me…

Yesterday, Woot announced they’re getting acquired by Amazon. Now they have the latest Kindle for $150.

After devouring some great books on the Kindle recently, I really wanted to share them with Nat. Buying physical copies could start to add up, so while writing this post, I broke down and bought a second Kindle. Geek toys, you will be my downfall.

UPDATE (9:24 AM ET): Looks like it sold out.

Being between jobs this week has me with free time, and my iPhone 3GS is burning a hole in my pocket right now.

I’d love to upgrade, but I’m not too keen on signing another contract with AT&T–service in the DC area isn’t stellar. And Nat’s on Verizon (she gets free calls to her parents), and she’s not leaving anytime soon. My money’s on Verizon getting the iPhone sometime this year, but I’ll still be under contract for another six months at that point.

What’s weird is that AT&T’s offering to upgrade for only $18, even though I purchased my current phone less than a year ago. Used 3GS’s are going for $350 on eBay, so I could upgrade for nothing and only have the contract to worry about. This is the dilemma, and not having a job to occupy my time isn’t helping…

Thoughts?

UPDATE: Maybe I’ll wait a little while, things aren’t exactly smooth sailing for AT&T today.

UPDATE 2: Looks like I waited too long…

I’m leaving my job at MITRE for a new one at CERT.

The decision wasn’t an easy one. Four years ago, MITRE hired me straight out of grad school to help engineer cross domain solutions for the Government. Problem was, I’d never heard of a cross domain solution. Turns out, they’re computers that connect different classified networks to help with information sharing.

I learned a ton about these systems - what they do, and what they don’t do. Turns out, they have to be pretty secure - we are talking about national security after all. And along the way, I led a big deployment that’ll help warfighters share information a lot easier.

Fast forward four years, and I’m ready for my next adventure. CERT needed a developer for their new XNET exercise network (pdf). I saw a new challenge and the opportunity to get back to development work. Oh, and Nat and I get to stay in the DC area (score!)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who made the past four years so memorable. If the next four are as exciting, I’ll be one lucky guy.