Things in Motion

Learning a lot more these days about technologies such as Qubes, Terraform and setting up a Kickstart file for a minimal CentOS install to throw down an OpenStack-based “homelab” virtual lab that future professors might use to help their students learn…but that will get some work as a capstone project later on.

In my free time I finally got the unRAID server running as a storage provider and scraping host…so I might have more to report on the scraper project soon as I delete my social media more and more, as well as hold onto Youtube media that might be uploaded to a decentralized source now as peoples’ channels get shut down. Also might begin archiving some projects in the #FOSS world.

Also I’ve been doing work on just learning OpenStack since there seem to be quite a few moving parts that I should learn bit by bit before tackling an entire sandbox for it head-on. I’m still moving at the pace I learned while out West and am thankful for what I learned in Silicon Valley- I will return…

Updates on Things - Lakka Box Finishing soon

Hello again!

It's looking like the Lakka Box should be done by Wednesday or so. I have to go grab a small SATA cable for it. Working on that guy has basically been rebuilding an Optiplex 780 bit by bit with parts that work best around an emulation station. I've been quite busy recently with lots of coursework in scripting, attempting to further automate my Factorio game and server, look up a test Soundcloud scraper I can modify for testing and I'll be working part-time soon for LexisNexis until my co-op semester begins in the Spring. It's interesting how I assumed I'd have all my projects done by the end of the year, that I started during my summer co-op semester!

My Spring co-op semester- I believe it's January to April or May- will be the last time I'm available for a co-op position and I'm still in talks with prospective companies...no idea who I'll be working for around then, however I'd really like someone I can stick with in the SysAdmin sector as I grow into new roles. Here's hoping I can find someone who wants to teach a student in I.T./Automation more Linux goodness! I much prefer learning open-source vs paid software, as there is a lot in the open-source sector that people don't realize can help them.

My recently-received Google Home DiY box will be done once I get a proper image for the Pi. I recently- as in maybe two or three months ago- received that MagPi edition that came with a kit to turn your Raspberry Pi 3 into a Do-It-Yourself Google Home which is quite interesting. I'll be playing with that more between entertainment, school and projects.

Still need to figure out how to boot windows on an upcoming project computer....this re-built Dell doesn't seem to like booting from CD, DVD nor USB....all I need to do is update the BIOS with Windows and then I'm immediately slapping Linux on there. That'll be all!

Life is moving

Life is moving along! Classes are going. Sometimes it's hard to keep one's head above the water in the cases of professors who don't understand or like you, but I attempt to power through anyway. Also learning in Scripting Languages courses recently that Python might be my new best friend for the Scraper project, once I get my servers mounted.

Recently did some work on rackmounting my servers, but learned that my HP DL380 G7 needs special rails or adapters for its rails to fit in square rack holes. The Dell R710 was succesfully mounted, awaiting a RAID card swap so that the hard drives can be passed directly through to unRAID. Also learned that my idea for using a Raspberry Pi 3 to monitor room ambient temperature, humidity etc has already been done before so that'll be fun and easy to setup for the new "server room" in the basement.

Other than the fact that the Scraper and VPS projects have been put on hold due to the inevitable delays caused by needing rails + parts for the servers, I should be able to complete the Lakka Box once the heatsink for the Dell gets here!

Alex out!

Back to School!

It's that time of year again! Back to school at University of Cincinnati. Thus far in my college career, I've been at three universities. Butler University in Indianapolis was overpriced and decided to get rid of my major, then Eastern Michigan was great for two years...however later on, they had a reshuffling of management and teachers in the college of Cybersecurity and my graduation date was murky.

After heading to the University of Cincinnati, I basically restarted my entire college experience. Not accepting most of my core classes from Butler nor EMU, I had to retake Java and many other basic classes. To me, this seemed more like a money grab than anything, but what college in the USA isn't? I started at UC in 2016 and it seems that I'll be on the "seven year plan" to being finished in 2019, starting college in 2012.

Here's to hoping this semester of catching up goes swimmingly! I do enjoy the social aspects of college, and learn more talking to teachers in after-hours than I do in classes. Here we go!