Rebuilt T440p and other updates :)

I finally rebuilt one of the T440ps I won in an auction! See more over here. Also added a link to the main page of my site.

In other news, I’ve been trying out Fedora Silverblue and really enjoy having a desktop GNU/Linux operating system that has fantastic rollback/update functionality and great minimal standards behind a familiar GNOME interface. I feel I may need to start picking up more automation skills as I begin the job search anew, and I’m certain this along with learning CoreOS/K8S is going to help immensely.

Things I’ve seen on the web over the past month or so:

• Some dude is installing Debian on a 386 processor computer

• Distrotest makes trying out Linux operating systems extremely accessible to all!

• Someone is in the process of creating a modular Linux ARM tablet!

• Purism CEO Todd Weaver gives me hope about how a No-Carrier phone could work…waiting impatiently on my Librem 5 now.

• System76 has a new easy-to-use firmware manager for their systems and for users of Pop!_OS on other hardware

• Jason Evangelho, a Linux contributor who writes for Forbes has come up with a dope podcast for all those interested in Linux!

Upcoming projects (quick update)

Hello again! Just a quick update here, since I likely will have a large gap between now and reporting upon my next projects.

• I recently won some auctions and will be unlocking the BIOS on a T440p as well as upgrading the parts

  • The Thinkpad T440p will serve as an interim for my Thinkpad A485 until the Star Labs Lite MkII arrives, as both will be far more stable than that machine

• I will be looking into Librebooting an old Macbook soon as well as getting some help with wiring for Corebooting the Thinkpad X230

• My LARBS-in-the-Cloud project is on hold as I figure out some VNC server issues with my Linode VPS

• Might be downsizing in the future and selling a few of my project computers as well as my gaming laptop, then switching to Linux OEMs/Resellers’ products, for better hardware support in the future. Still on the fence with this one.

More Procrastination + Star Labs

As I procrastinate personal projects by throwing random Linux distros on anything I can get my hands on, I realize there’s really no use in installing operating systems, only to never use the devices again.

In the above pic, I threw GalliumOS on an Acer C720P chromebook, am working on getting Luke Smith’s LARBS scripts working on a nanode on Linode, and have updated my Aero15Xv8’s Pop!_OS install. May sell the Aero sometime next year as I go for something from System76 for portable gaming.

The only hardware updates I have is that now I have the cheapo C720p for note-taking and will be owning a Star Labs Lite MKII later this month when they get shipped out. I haven’t done any corebooting of the X230, though I am in the process of spinning up another Factorio server on Linode. Perhaps I’ll post on github when the slightly-modified LARBS files get turned into a StackScript for Linode.

Fairly certain the Star Labs Star Lite MK2 is going to replace my Thinkpad A485 as my non-work daily driver, since the A485 is having quite a few stability issues now, what with daily freezes and all. Will be doing more cloud-based stuff in the future, so hardware won’t be as much of a concern anymore.

The Road To A New Life

A lot has changed in the past few weeks. A lot has developed.

I went from doubting as to whether I’ll ever leave the midwest for the “land of opportunity” in tech, known as the West Coast.

I did it. I secured a starter job out there. I will be in Ohio no longer. The dead-end startups, the hopeless college students, those who are trapped here by debt.

I will leave.

I’ll be living in the Bay Area starting as of June 3rd onward. I don’t know yet where I will go in this new direction, but I know for sure that I intend on eventually moving up to the state of Washington, where I’ll eventually secure a legitimate place to live etc.

Baby steps first, baby steps.

A week in SF

The bridge, professionally taken

Spending a week in the Bay Area as I look for work prior to moving out here in the future!

So far I’ve only been talking to a handful of people from a few companies, but this could be a fantastically fun part of my life! I wouldn’t mind getting my career start here while working on online classes for college, then seeing where the future takes me! Such a fantastic city. I thoroughly enjoyed working in the Bay Area last year.

So far I’m currently looking for jobs in DevOps or IT Infrastructure where I can learn more and more as time goes forward. That’s all for now!