Author Archives: tim

ZFS Flash Drives

Posted on November 20, 2016 by tim

As an experiment, I created a small (8GB) ZFS volume in a mirror configuration using two 8GB USB Flash drives. The purpose was to put “small, but really important things” on this storage system. It actually ended up being two … Continue reading →

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iptables flush and ssh

Posted on September 21, 2016 by tim

Fun lesson from today: don’t blindly clear/flush your iptables. If you are remotely managing a system, then make sure you run this: sudo iptables -P INPUT ACCEPT sudo iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT sudo iptables -P OUTPUT ACCEPT before you run … Continue reading →

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Kids Game Build

Posted on May 28, 2016 by tim

The goal of this machine was to replace the highly unreliable kids computer (Portable Power Build). First the GPU went, then the HDD started showing errors. Finally the MB voltage started to act up. The net result was that the … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu 16.04 Vnc and VirtualBox Resolution

Posted on April 24, 2016 by tim

As posted for 14.04, here are the steps to getting a larger VNC connection to your Ubuntu 16.04 virtual machine: Desktop Sharing Desktop Sharing is back as an item in 16.04 desktop. Just bring up the search, type “Desktop Sharing”. … Continue reading →

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Brother HL-2170W wifi

Posted on March 4, 2016 by tim

Having upgraded the wifi device, and changing the SSID and passphrase, the Brother HL-2170W printer needed to be updated. First, the “easy button” just failed. Never worked. Which I recall happened the last time I set up this printer. Next … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu Compute and Storage Build

Posted on October 18, 2015 by tim

The goal of this machine was to replace the oldest active computer in the house. This old computer predates – by over three years – the first recorded entry on this blog for computer builds. (First build: core i7). This … Continue reading →

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Secret Share 1.4.2 on Maven Central

Posted on September 5, 2015 by tim

Secret Share in Java on Maven Central Just completed a release of the Secret Share in Java project to Maven Central. Search for it using search.maven.org. GroupId: com.tiemens ArtifactId: secretshare Version: 1.4.2 This release features a “simplex” matrix solver implementation … Continue reading →

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Stealth Updates and Unstable LSI Drivers

Posted on September 4, 2015 by tim

(Just FYI to everyone out there, since this is not easy to find right now.) If you’re seeing this message: mpt2sas0: log_info (0x31080000): original (PL), code (0x08), sub_code (0x0000) Then you need to visit http://mycusthelp.info/LSI/_cs/AnswerDetail.aspx?&inc=8484 The short answer: Avago Tech … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu 14.04 Unity 3D RAM

Posted on August 30, 2015 by tim

My AMD Server seemed to be running out of RAM this morning. Checking the processes, it appeared that Unity 3D was using approximately 18G/32G (i.e. with no virtual machines running, the OS was still using 18G). Why? I don’t know … Continue reading →

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Freenas Backup Machine

Posted on March 1, 2015 by tim

The goal of this machine was to be a “small, inexpensive, bring your own HDs, standalone backup solution”. For these purposes, that meant using a small case that still had at least 2 internal 3.5″ bays. For Freenas, 9.2.1.9 was … Continue reading →

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