Going The Wong Way2021-02-27T23:47:24-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.comDerek Wongderek@goingthewongway.comBingo Number Generator2019-02-04T15:40:01-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/bingo-number-generator<p>As a software engineer, I get to write code and tell computers what to do. Over the years I have experimented with numerous technologies. I like getting to use those technologies to actually create something so it’s nice when I have an idea to work towards.</p> <p>I hung out with some friends, and they played bingo on the hour to pass the time. A fun and engaging activity for adults and children to participate in no doubt. I don’t really remember how they generated the values, but they seemed to use a computer. I tried searching online to see what else was available. Lo and behold I didn’t find a lot of great solutions. So I built one!</p> <p>I present to you the <a href="https://github.com/dwong/bingo-number-generator">Bingo Number Generator</a>! I shouldn’t take so much satisfaction from such a tiny web app, I’m just happy that I got it done and pushed live even while living a normal life with family and a day job.</p> <p>Happy bingo-playing! (bingo-ing?)</p> <div class="galleria"> <img src="https://img.gtww.net/2019/01_bingo_app/8237/generate.png" data-title="Generate Tab" data-description="Generate values with each click" /> <img src="https://img.gtww.net/2019/01_bingo_app/8237/valid.png" data-title="Validate Tab" data-description="Validate good numbers" /> <img src="https://img.gtww.net/2019/01_bingo_app/8237/invalid.png" data-title="Invalid" data-description="Also check for invalid values" /> </div> Grand Canyon2018-03-10T15:04:12-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/grand-canyon<p>We went to a giant hole in the ground. Driving with the 2nd born (hereafter the Mastiff) was pretty terrible, though! I don’t recommend sitting in an enclosed metal box with a noise maker for prolonged amounts of time.</p> <div class="galleria"> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/grandcanyon-1_dc65dd4.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/Thumbs/grandcanyon-1_291e.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/grandcanyon-3_b8eff83.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/Thumbs/grandcanyon-3_9f01.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/grandcanyon-4_8a5523c.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/Thumbs/grandcanyon-4_6646.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/grandcanyon-6_9a21ccc.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2017/10_Grand_Canyon/7831/Thumbs/grandcanyon-6_2901.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> </div> <p>Check out more in the full <a href="http://go.gtww.net/2oWF8gv">Grand Canyon gallery</a>.</p> Change 2005 Toyota Tacoma Manual Transmission Shifter Seat And Bushing2017-02-08T22:07:37-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/change-2005-toyota-tacoma-manual-transmission-shifter-bushing<p>It’s probably rare to have a manual transmission in this day and age, but I enjoy it. Its scarcity probably also means that I wasn’t able to find too much help online with a recent issue where my 2005 Toyota Tacoma was popping out of gear. This would cause the RPMs to spike dramatically since I would unexpectedly be in neutral. I eventually realized that I needed to change the shifter seat and bushing.</p> <ol> <li>Seat and bushing, respectively. I purchased mine at a local Toyota dealer for around $25 for both parts, but I found <a href="http://amzn.to/2kpad8j">one on Amazon</a> that seems like it would work as well. <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-1-1-0a1fef8.jpg" alt="Step 1" /> <!-- more --></li> <li>Before any changes <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-2-1-363494f.jpg" alt="Step 2" /></li> <li>Removed knob <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-3-1-b841293.jpg" alt="Step 3" /></li> <li>Removed cup holder console, watch out for the plastic clips because they break easily <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-4-1-698304f.jpg" alt="Step 4" /></li> <li>Removed covering on bottom of center console <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-5-1-7923230.jpg" alt="Step 5" /></li> <li>Removed screws on bottom of center console <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-6-1-1bf1b14.jpg" alt="Step 6" /></li> <li>Removed screws holding center console <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-7-1-c716e31.jpg" alt="Step 7" /></li> <li>Removed center console <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-8-1-c8e066b.jpg" alt="Step 8" /></li> <li>Removed trim around shifter <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-9-1-2ef335e.jpg" alt="Step 9" /></li> <li>Remove screws around shifter <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-11-1-9306fc6.jpg" alt="Step 10b" /> <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-10-1-f1d970b.jpg" alt="Step 10a" /></li> <li>Remove shifter boot <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-12-1-d1d6618.jpg" alt="Step 11" /></li> <li>Remove bolts <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-13-1-eead7f1.jpg" alt="Step 12" /></li> <li>Remove shifter assembly <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-14-1-0955d5a.jpg" alt="Step 13" /> <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-15-1-64e1642.jpg" alt="Step 14" /></li> <li>Remove shifter from assembly. This was by far the hardest part. Part of it is the fact that you don’t know what’s going on in the assembly and the other is that everything is really stuck together. I ended up being able to do it with pliers and 2 screw drivers. But after it was done I was able to do it with just pliers. It’s spring loaded so you just need to push down on the retainer cap and twist until it pops out. <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-16-1-3e74ec4.jpg" alt="Step 15" /></li> <li>Compare the seats. The old one was crumbly and destroyed! <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-17-1-a49412e.jpg" alt="Step 16" /></li> <li>Compare the bushings. Not too bad but might as well change them. <img src="//img.gtww.net/2016/09_Tacoma_shifter/dfao/shifter-18-1-d0c98f5.jpg" alt="Step 17" /></li> </ol> <p>References:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Toyota-Tacoma-manual-transmission-pop-out-of-gear/">Instructable (for previous generation Tacoma)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.gadgetonline.com/shifter.pdf">Tutorial to install short shifter (PDF)</a></li> </ul> OBi100 Cannot Receive Google Voice Calls2017-01-27T23:03:54-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/obi100-cannot-receive-google-voice-calls<p>I have long since canceled my home phone service, but I have an OBi100 (succeeded by the <a href="http://amzn.to/2kDUgyE">OBi200</a>) paired with <a href="https://www.google.com/voice">Google Voice</a> for free VoIP (no emergency calls, though).</p> <p>Unfortunately recently I was only able to call out but not receive calls. I tried doing everything listed on <a href="http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=8560.msg56460#msg56460">the OBiTalk forum instructions</a> to no avail. Then I found <a href="http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=2831.0">a post about the similar OBi110</a>. So the answer for me was the same: delete the configuration and set it up again from the beginning! Hope this helps someone!</p> Mysterious Seeds Or Bugs Around House2017-01-17T12:36:08-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/mysterious-seeds-or-bugs-around-house<p>Recently my dad asked me if I could identify some small things that were appearing in his house. He was finding them sporadically in his house. A few here, a few there. Some in the bed, some on his desk, one or two on the couch. I had no idea what they were, but my wife found a forum where someone had the exact same problem.</p> <p>Turns out that they were whole flax seeds that had fallen out of a heating pad (something like <a href="http://amzn.to/2jN5UDO">this</a>). They resemble small apple seeds or something more nefarious from a bug or animal (as we initially imagined). Thankfully it was nothing more than a hole in the heating bag!</p> Monetary Gifts2016-06-24T16:35:05-07:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/monetary-gifts<p>Growing up (or I guess in general just being in want of money), people love to receive money as a gift. In some ways money is the ultimate gift because it can be applied to the purchase of anything. Only received $10? Well if you love technology then you can still save it towards the purchase of a new cell phone. That would be much more useful than some random $10 vase.</p> <p>On the other hand, I think that money can sometimes be a silly gift. I guess some people just don’t feel like it’s one of their <a href="http://amzn.to/28SnUpL">love languages</a> so they don’t see any merit in spending effort or time on it. More often than not people just pocket the money and forget who gave them what. For better or worse, you’d remember your great aunt if she gave you that $10 vase.</p> <p>By giving money, we go through life and essentially just move money around. We host an event and people give us money. We go to their events and give them money as well. We try to give an appropriate amount, which oftentimes is close to what they gave to us. So it seems like everyone ends up right where they started!</p> <p>I dare not rant too hard against money or else I’m going to get cut out of the loop. So my method of handling this is to put any money that I receive into a separate “bucket” that gets earmarked for special purchases. When I save up enough money then I can buy something fun, and it feels like everyone chipped in and got a group gift. Perfect!</p> Litter Bugs And Entitlement2016-06-03T16:51:55-07:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/litter-bugs-and-entitlement<p>There are a lot of people out there who never learned about littering.</p> <p>Who do they think is going to pick up their bags of fast food trash from the road? The “government”? Their parents? Or perhaps they’re just doing the world a service and allowing people to volunteer to help out their communities.</p> <p>I can understand those that want to vote for “free” benefits for themselves. They’re just trying to get by with as little work as possible. I’m not saying that I agree.</p> <p>However, just like someone is actually paying for all of those “free” benefits (medical, welfare, food stamps, etc), someone is going to be picking up the fast food trash. So if someone doesn’t understand something as simple as picking up after themselves then I hardly think that they’re going to understand working for their own benefits.</p> Cry Room Culture2016-05-05T10:28:08-07:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/cry-room-culture<p>Babies cry and make noise. This is no revelation. However it is still not socially acceptable for babies to cry and make noise everywhere that we go. It’s why we can’t take young children to nice dinners, the movies, or really anywhere that’s too expensive. Most recently this happened to us when <a href="/the-bear-was-that-baby-on-the-plane/">the Bear was crying on our flight</a>.</p> <p>We don’t go on plane rides too often, but we do need to alter our social interactions at church every week. Our church is large enough that there’s a cry room that separates the parents with children (too young for the nursery) from the rest of the congregation. There are glass panels that allow the parents to participate without disturbing everyone else. Or so the theory goes.</p> <p>The problem is that while it separates the babies from the congregation, it also separates the parents. This creates its own culture that is different from everyone else. It’s a culture where people don’t stand when everyone else stands, and people can talk when only the pastor is talking.</p> <p>I can understand the thinking behind the cry room, but if I’m going to a church service then it’s not so that I can hear other parents chat. It’s really hard to concentrate or participate when you’re in the cry room (even if you <em>want</em> to). I’m not saying that I can always pay attention now that I’m out of the cry room, but at least I won’t be tempted to blame other people now.</p> <p>On the other hand, I have no idea if going to a church service where the children sit with the parents is any better since I can only comment on what I’ve seen or experienced. And I’m sure that no matter what church you go to you will find people who will try to not participate (see <a href="http://amzn.to/1T3DTaj">Everybody Loves Raymond season 4, episode 14 “Prodigal Son”</a>).</p> The Bear Was THAT Baby On The Plane2016-04-12T09:21:22-07:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/the-bear-was-that-baby-on-the-plane<p>We just traveled internationally with The Bear for the first time! It was generally fun, but the plane ride, oh the plane ride!</p> <p>Going there wasn’t fun because she just wanted her mother the whole time. Coming back was even worse because we tried to get her to sleep when the cabin lights dimmed, and she didn’t like that. Actually she probably hated it. Screaming and wailing soon followed.</p> <p>Nothing worked! We tried feeding her (magical) <a href="http://amzn.to/1Vk21oX">puffs</a>, singing, shushing, talking, and <a href="http://amzn.to/1Vk25Fg">ergo</a>-ing. All we got in return was an assault on our ears and our chests (from baby fists). She was tired, but the only way that she ended up falling asleep was if I walked around and did NOT talk to her. It seemed that talking to her made her fussy again. I imagine that she protested because she knew that we were trying to get her to sleep. Her nap was a brief respite. She was only really comfortable sleeping when it was NOT sleep time (i.e., lights were turned on and people moving about).</p> <p><img src="https://img.gtww.net/2016/04_Japan/e3ir/sleep_dfji12.jpg" alt="Sleeping Bear" title="The Bear CAN sleep" /></p> Sickness Strikes Again2016-02-19T20:34:34-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/sickness-strikes-again<p>I have now been taken out by the Bear and her sicknesses twice within a span of 3 weeks. Considering I always thought of myself as a healthy and robust person, it’s no joke when they say that you should avoid having kids if you don’t want to get sick! It just goes to show you that none of us are really that strong. We’re really rather feeble and weak (despite our best intentions).</p> The Sickness Is Strong In This One2016-01-29T16:23:46-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/the-sickness-is-strong-in-this-one<p>The Bear got sick this past week. It was bound to happen eventually, right? The illness came with a few bouts of vomit along with some rather unpleasant less-than-sleepful nights. All is as expected. Except that I was also infected with said illness!</p> <p>So I’m not saying that I don’t ever get sick. Because I do. I definitely do. In fact when I do get sick it seems like it’s extra awful. But it still catches me by surprise that I can get sick so easily by such a little baby. Conceptually I know that germs are much tinier than either of us, and size does not matter at all when getting sick. But something about it still surprises me.</p> <p>Thankfully it only took me out for a day. But boy was it an unpleasant day!</p> Colorado 20152016-01-21T22:34:34-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/colorado-2015<div class="galleria"> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/denver_co_springs-1_b343371.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/Thumbs/denver_co_springs-1_f568.jpg" height="40" width="33" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/denver_co_springs-2_3f90224.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/Thumbs/denver_co_springs-2_eb94.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/denver_co_springs-3_6445d04.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/Thumbs/denver_co_springs-3_8ceb.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/denver_co_springs-5_a19f7dc.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/Thumbs/denver_co_springs-5_baef.jpg" height="40" width="34" /></a> <a href="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/denver_co_springs-8_35f9894.jpg"><img data-title="" data-description="" src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/11_Colorado/db3d/Thumbs/denver_co_springs-8_0fa8.jpg" height="40" width="60" /></a> </div> <p>It was our first time flying with a child, and it didn’t go too badly! Colorado had plenty of natural wonders, and it was nice to get out of the normal routine. In any case, you can also check out a few more pictures in the <a href="/gallery/2015/colorado/">gallery</a>.</p> Catching Poop2016-01-14T10:57:16-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/catching-poop<p>This post is vulgar and dirty (as many things in parenthood are). Just FYI.</p> <p>As I was changing the Bear’s diaper, she grabbed the changing pad (as she is wont to do). There was already some poop in the old diaper that I was changing so I moved that away before she could touch it. However, while I had her butt in the air (off of the changing table) she proceeded to poop some more. This new poop was fresh stuff (unlike the poop in the diaper which was more pebble-like). I was in a bind because one hand was holding up her legs, but the poop was going to land on the changing table. In order to save the poop from landing on the changing table, I had to just go for it. I decided that catching it with my hand was better than letting it fall.</p> <p>And thus I achieved another parenting milestone: I willingly chose to catch poop with my bare hand (thankfully not watery in any way).</p> <p>Ah parenthood, gotta love it.</p> Moving Around (Or The Crawling Mischievous Bear)2015-12-30T15:27:02-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/moving-around-or-the-crawling-mischievous-bear<p>The Bear is starting to push herself backwards. Some might call it crawling, but others might laugh in their faces because it doesn’t look like crawling. She is also making it difficult to get our weekly picture. This means putting the props in her mouth, but more often it means knocking over blocks. Bothersome? Yes! Amusing? Yes, indeed!</p> <p><img src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/12_Bear/b6b1/bear_7484fc0.jpg" /> <img src="https://img.gtww.net/2015/12_Bear/b6b1/bear1_297ac06.jpg" /></p> What Do Kids Do With Their Hands?2015-12-22T16:35:05-08:00http://www.goingthewongway.com/what-do-kids-do-with-their-hands<p>The Bear’s not even that mobile yet. Are we doomed? Probably, yes.</p> <p>Things heard around my house much more now than pre-Bear:</p> <blockquote> <p>Hi! 😆</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>Where’s the poop?</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>Hey, get your hands out of there!</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <p>How’d you get over there?</p> </blockquote>