If you are testing Python scripts on multiple machines, let alone different versions of Python, there is a moment where you would wish to synchronize all the packages across the versions, across the machines. Before I go into the details, I do want to clarify one thing: depending on how you would to set it…
The Mad Tea Party
Inspiring yet Mad Spiels
By Rian
Gray, a writer.
How to Change Num Lock Default Settings on macOS Terminal
I suspect this is yet another “tabs or spaces” question for developers, but I believe there is a silver lining for all —we want consistent UIs. I want my numpads to work as number pads throughout. There are only few cases when I need it to be something else, be it may directional keys, application…
App to Check If Google Killed Your App
‘It never gets easier’ as the saying goes. Google, or Alphabet, acquires many unicorn companies only to abandon less successful, if not, less prospective businesses. Makes one wonder who approves these purchases in the first place. But regardless of the firm’s fiscal decision, it is undeniably true that these services, at one point, had some…
WordPress, Ulysses, and Integration
I’ve been writing on Ulysses app for some time, and I had been using Ulysses under the assumption that the app is pulling double duty as WordPress post editor; it is not. Ulysses doesn’t have access to posts already published on WordPress. From the email responses I’ve gotten from Ulysses team, it appears this is…
App to Stitch Screenshots on iOS
Whenever I need to share a screenshot of one long formatted contents, unless it’s required to keep the originals, I prefer to “stitch” the images together to it one smooth image. Screenshots of fun moments on chat rooms, some good memes on the internet, and etc., are best served as smooth roll. That being said,…
How to Use iCloud Mail with External Self-Hosting Domain
Until recently, I had the emails for themtparty.com to either redirect to each authors or the admin address. I wasn’t interested in having a separate email service for self-hosted WordPress blog, but there were times when I needed @themtparty.com email addresses. If you are subscribing to iCloud+ *, possibly for cloud storage reasons, the package…
How to Generate Random Password with Custom Special Characters
In one of the previous post, I wrote a Python code to generate “type-friendly” version of random passwords, where “type-friendly” meant generating clusters of strings. But touchscreen isn’t the only time I want custom grammar rules from password managers. Password managers generally have better UI to create random passwords for whatever length you choose. The…
App to Replace Google Analytics, GDPR-Compliant, and Cookie-free
I wrote an op-ed recently on changing the analytics tool on The Mad Tea Party, and this is my app-to piece on what happened. Now, due to the nature of what GDPR and other privacy related regulations, there are a lot of grey areas. One thing I found while researching what to do with the…
How to Set Orientation Lock with Action Button on iOS
Of many things Apple have added to iPhone, or removed from iPhone, one thing I do not understand is how half-baked Action Button is. It’s true that configurable button is more preferable, but it is also true Action Button is not configurable enough to become a new feature of its own. A lot of it…
How to Add Other Holiday Calendars to iCloud Calendar
With the Lunar New Year now come and gone, it’s time to prepare for other holidays that will come. Again, the macOS calendar does provide default holiday calendar of the place you are at now; but if you are planning to travel, for example, you might want to add a new calendar for destination. And…
Lunar New Year, Lunisolar New Year, and Old New Year
I’m sure people are now aware of the hot topic which is about to erupt again next week —what to call New Year festivities celebrated by Asians, which is somehow not on the day of the New Year. I don’t consider myself to be an etymologist, but I’m old enough to remember how things were…
How to Sync Sublime Text Packages
I’ve been using Sublime Text since version 2, and of its many features, one I needed the most is definitely the additional packages and extensions you can install based on your needs. Only problem is that Sublime Text doesn’t support cloud sync out of the box, so the user does have to tweak it to…
How to Change Username and Home Folder on macOS
Choosing the right username can never be more important now than it did before. If your journey in computing started in some computing center with UNIX, no doubt the importance of 3 characters-long username hasn’t escaped you. Whereas, if you started your computing with a PC like I did, a proper or useful username is…
When Nokia Downplayed Touchscreen on iPhone
Back in 2007, when Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone on stage, there were mixed responses to Apple’s new product. “Smartphones” weren’t around to capture the every historic moments, —and frankly, the PR nightmares tech companies faced— but with recently released Nokia Design Archive’s internal iPhone launch presentation, it seems the Finnish company decided to…
Analytics Tool, Google, and Geo-Lock
This post is a rant than a spiel, but thought to share some ideas on it. It you have seen some random cookie notices this morning, my apologies, if you were one of them. Long story short, I have been using Google Analytics on the website for the longest time, —probably since I started self-hosting…














