Hi! 👋

I’m Grumpy, and I make content about Linux, Servers, and HomeLabs and build things I think are neat. I use this site to share all those things.

You can find me on various social media platforms linked below. I also share written content and projects on this site. (I’m also joining more platforms, so don’t panic)

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Recent Posts

LISTENING TO P25 RADIOS WITH A RASPBERRY PI AND TRUNK RECORDER

A few months back, I set up an ADS-B plane tracker to watch airplanes that were in the area. So far that has seen a few really neat things, including aerobatic competitions and a few emergency landings. In my quest to be even nosier, I wanted to also listen in on the local P25 radio system, and used the hardware design from before to accomplish this. The software, though, is a bit more complicated.

A SIMPLE WAY TO ORGANIZE STACKS OF CABLES

If you’re like me you have a problem with keeping nearly every cable you come across. From patch cables that ship with new devices, to old phone chargers that still work and have a micro USB slot, to your stash of new USB-C cables, you’ve accumulated several boxes worth. Once your collection passes a dozen or so cables, you’ll inevitably run into a few issues: namely that the cables will always be a tangled mess and finding what you need will be nearly impossible.

FIXING INFINITE SHUTDOWNS IN NUT

I recently figured out a solution to a problem I’ve long been battling. When rebooting a server after it’s forced to shutdown to losing power and the UPS battery running low, it’d enter a cycle of starting, starting the NUT service, then immediately shutting down. Symptoms There were a few clues that you may see on your environment as well: The issue manifested as nodes powering off as soon as they start after a power outage.

MAKING AN ADS-B AIRPLANE TRACKER

This is the first hardware based project I’ve shared, but this is how I built my ADS-B Tracker. What’s ADS-B and Why Track It Most (not all) airplanes are required to broadcast their position as they fly around. This is intended for ATC and other planes primarily, and is another data point in a complex system used to keep these things from running into each other. These signals can be received on the ground, though, and are what power a number of different flight tracking sites to let you track specific planes, activity around an airport, neat or interesting aircraft you might want to go spot, etc.

RAMBLINGS ON SHITTY CONSUMER INTERNET

This is a post that’s largely going to be me complaining about shitty cable internet that I’ve lived with since its inception. Making the change myself, and now seeing others complain in forums has really soured me to most of the connectivity options out there. I won’t name the specific company, but a lot of this complaining will be focused around my experience with them and the myriad of issues I faced, both technical and non-technical.