Fixing Asus RT-N16 (Shuts down after boot)

After two years of solid operation, our office Asus RT-N16 suddenly failed this week.  Its blue LEDS would light up for only a few seconds before losing power. It’s a common problem caused by a disappointing electrolytic capacitor (Hermei 680uF 16V): Fix a fried Asus RT-N16 ASUS RTN-16 automatically powers down shortly after boot...

Custom SQL Statements for Endicia Professional

It took some digging to obtain the documentation below, so hopefully someone else will  find the following useful. Background Info My company uses Endicia Professional for fulfillment. Barcode scanners read customers’ packing slips to pull shipping info and customs information via ODBC connection to our database. Endicia’s GUI for mapping database fields to its shipping...

Building a RepRap Prusa Mendel

Earlier this summer my company spent a fair chunk of change on rapid prototypes printed by professional fused deposition modelling (FDM) printers. Thinking this was a huge waste of cash, Google led me to the RepRap project: Personal 3D printing for as little as $350. Of course, I had to...

USPS Quietly Improves Tracking

E-tailers and consumers know that USPS tracking is a joke. For several years, Delivery Confirmation (DC) was just what its name implies—a method of checking that a package had been delivered. Although USPS.com displays a “Track and Confirm” search field on their website, DC numbers have historically returned two points...

Illinois Unemployment Insurance Rates Rise

One of the first topics our tax agent covered a few years back was unemployment tax. Larry said, “Single-employee S-corporations must pay unemployment insurance, but you can never claim unemployment from your own dissolved company. I don’t believe this is fair, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” So...