Corey Snipes

Software/Systems Engineer, and all-around Good Chap 

Robert Snipes: Autobiography

This is one of my father's memoirs. He learned to use my mother's computer so he could write and print them for us. This is the short version, which was expanded the following year into a more detailed, longer version. For the full story and links to all memoirs, see this page. The following is a general history of my life as I remember it. Some dates may be slightly in error. No attempt was made to detail all my…

Continue reading...

Battle of Lake Erie

Two hundred ten years ago today (September 10, 1813), the Battle of Lake Erie was fought near the southern shore of the lake, not far from where I live. This returned control of the lake from the British Navy to the US Navy. It's crazy to think of British forces controlling waters near Ohio, but so it was. Commodore Oliver Perry used a white on blue battle flag bearing the words "Don't Give Up The Ship" which is now ubiquitous…

Continue reading...

A Couple of Good Outdoor Books

Here are two book recommendations related to the outdoors and mountaineering. "Accidents in North American Climbing" is an annual publication from the American Alpine Club, with frank and interesting accounts of problems encountered during the report year. I discovered the Accidents annual publication when I worked at XOR Network Engineering in Boulder Colorado many years ago. Someone always kept the latest copy in the bathroom. "Last Breath: Cautionary Tales from the Limits of Human Endurance" by Peter Stark is a…

Continue reading...

GoSun Solar Oven

There was a lot of interest in my Croissants in the Solar Oven post so here is some information about the oven itself. Some photos are at the end of this post. Model: GoSun Sport As of July 2023 the plain Sport model appears to be sold out, but you can still find them on eBay. I paid about $US 150 with shipping in 2023. At the time of writing GoSun still has the newer Sport-E in stock which is…

Continue reading...

Croissants in the Solar Oven

Here's my first shot at cooking bread in my GoSun Sport solar oven. A can of store-bought crescent rolls. 8 to a can, I could comfortably fit 4 in the cooking tray, so I stashed the rest in the fridge for another day. I greased the tray with a bit of butter to make removal and cleanup easier. Cook time was about 50 minutes. This was too long; they were overcooked. Fresh bread requiring no fuel or electricity though! Miraculous!…

Continue reading...

Getting Started with Bluegrass Jams

Bluegrass is one of the most social, and beginner-friendly styles of music on earth. If you are interested in getting started with bluegrass music, or just looking for some friends to play music with now and then, here are my suggestions. A great place to start is Pete Wernick's resources for slow jams and total beginners. They are inexpensive and I can vouch for the quality of Pete's material. I believe you can stream some or all of them. Also,…

Continue reading...

Douglas Adams Podcast Interview

bEnjoying this week: January 2000 interview with Douglas Adams discussing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a little bit of everything else. The interview is an episode of BBC's Radio 4 Bookclub, and features a Q&A session with a group of (lucky) readers. Search for "douglas adams bbc radio" on your podcast app of choice. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0075r2v

Continue reading...