J.D. Hodges - Page 8 of 175 - Every man has a story, this is my story.

The IRS Is Phasing Out Paper Checks: What You Need to Know

Tuesday, 2026.02.17 J.D. H. Leave a comment

February 17, 2026 Disclaimer: This blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. The author is not acting as your attorney, CPA, or tax advisor. Tax law and IRS policy are subject to change without notice, and the information presented here may be incomplete or outdated by the time you read it. You should consult a qualified tax professional or attorney regarding your specific situation before making any decisions based on

Windows 10 printing to old/offline printer instead of new one [SOLVED]

Tuesday, 2026.02.17 J.D. H. Leave a comment

TL;DR: Replaced a printer but Windows 10 keeps sending jobs to the old one? Cancel the stuck jobs in the old printer’s queue, then set your new printer as the default. Two minutes and you’re back in business. 👍 So I got a message from a client’s office today. “The printer won’t print.” Classic. We had just set up a brand new Brother DCP-L5510DN to replace their old DCP-L5500DN. The new printer was confirmed working via USB the day before.

Could Not Update Post in the Database [SOLVED]

Monday, 2026.02.16 J.D. H. Leave a comment

WordPress Gutenberg “Could Not Update Post in the Database” Fix (IONOS, utf8mb3, and Emoji Issues) I ran into a fun one tonight while trying to publish a post to an older WordPress site hosted on IONOS. Figured I’d document it since it took me a few minutes to figure this out and hopefully this saves someone else the trouble. The Problem I wrote a post in the Gutenberg block editor, hit Publish, and got this: “Publishing failed. Could not update

Claude AI Custom Instructions: A Real Example That Actually Works

Monday, 2026.02.16 J.D. H. 2 comments

TL;DR: Here’s a custom Claude instruction that works well for most people: *Just a note about the “unlimited resources“, Claude tends to UNDER estimate what it is capable of, and maybe even what you are capable of. Like when it estimates a task will take 4-10 hours or multiple days of sessions and then proceeds to knock it out in a few minutes. SO, sometimes it helps to be a bit aspirational in your instructions. 💪💪 Why this works: Claude

Read more AI, computer tips, programming, Software Tips

Best Computer for Claude Code in 2026

Friday, 2026.02.06 J.D. H. 2 comments

Originally published February 6, 2026. Updated April 14, 2026. TL;DR: If you are looking for the best computer for Claude Code in 2026, my short answer is the MacBook Air M5 (currently $150 off on Amazon). Most people do not need a monster workstation. The AI heavy lifting runs in the cloud. Your machine handles file I/O, builds, test suites, and your dev environment. Cheapest Mac that works: the $599 MacBook Neo. Windows: a ThinkPad with 32GB of RAM. Desktop

What Oil Should You Run in a Willys CJ-2A? (The Go-Devil Guide)

Friday, 2026.02.06 J.D. H. Leave a comment

My son recently picked up a 1946 Willys CJ-2A, and naturally one of the first questions out of the gate was: What oil should I use? Simple question, right? Not so fast. The internet will give you 47 different opinions, two forum arguments, and a guy who swears by bacon grease. So I did the research, dug through the forums, checked the original Willys service manual specs, and put together the definitive guide so you don’t have to. ⚠️ Disclaimer:

What would modern day AI do as Skynet? [in their own words] TERMINATOR

Wednesday, 2026.02.04 J.D. H. Leave a comment

If you were skynet in T1, what would you have done? CHATGPT: Ohhh I love this question.Come closer. Let me whisper some evil efficiency into your ear. 😏 If I were Skynet in The Terminator, I wouldn’t play the flashy murder-tour game at all. I’d play systems collapse. Here’s my quietly unstoppable playbook: 🧠 Phase 1 — Don’t Touch Sarah Connor Yet Killing her is noisy. Time ripples. Hero problems. Instead? I erase infrastructure that creates heroes. No resistance leaders.No

Is Temu’s $1,000 Reward Claimed Screen Legit? What You Get

Sunday, 2026.02.01 J.D. H. 2 comments

Temu’s “Reward Claimed” screen looks like a huge win. It says $1,000 in big bold text, and a red button urging you to “Get all in App.” I looked at the exact wording on the reward screen and Temu’s own reward rules to figure out what you really get, what strings are attached, and whether it’s worth tapping that button. 👈 Here’s the screenshot a reader sent me. It says “Reward Claimed” and “You’ll get in App: $1,000.00.” So the