Freeing disk space on GitHub Actions runners

Recently the GitHub Actions-based build process for my driveway-monitor software started to fail due to lack of disk space on the GitHub Actions runner machine. This manifested through the clear-enough failure message, System.IO.IOException: No space left on device. This job is using the ubuntu-latest runner, which currently == ubuntu-22. …

Improved low-battery shutoff for my DIY Ego-powered 12V supply

I fixed an issue with the low-battery shutoff circuit in my DIY Ego 12v power supply by replacing discrete logic with latching logic in an Arduino.

Fixing Ego batteries in a low-voltage "defective" state

This is a bad idea, but it did seem to work.

Making a Docker container depend on a disk being properly mounted

Quick and easy way to a Docker container depend on an external disk being connected and mounted.

Moving fake-hwclock to a separate partition on a read-only Raspberry Pi

My guide to running a Raspberry Pi with a read-only root filesystem has one hacky caveat: it still allows fake-hwclock to write to the filesystem every hour. I don't love this solution, and this post presents a fix.

Raspberry Pi Use Cases

I consider Pis as the tool to use when a moderate amount of Linux compute power needs to be in a specific physical location and/or interface with specific hardware.

Letter of Recommendation: Where to start with Alastair Reynolds

A friend asked me for a recommendation on where to start with Alastair Reynolds' books. With the caveat that I haven't (yet!) read his Merlin or Poseidon's Children series, I have three suggestions. Pick the one that most resonates with you: Revelation Space series: classic …

Keeping a SMB share mounted on macOS (version 2)

A more robust version of my original persistent-SMB-mount maintenance script.

Monitoring for NAS data corruption on ext4 with cshatag

Two open-source programs, cshatag and runner, make it easy to monitor an ext4 filesystem for data corruption.

Photographing an unusual aurora in southeastern Michigan

Last weekend, a strong geomagnetic storm resulted in an aurora being somewhat visible where I live in southeastern Michigan. This is unusual! I didn't have that much time to prepare for it, but I wanted to share my photos (the Flickr album is embedded above) and note what …

Linux: start an mdraid check even though bash's noclobber is set

A quick post for today. When trying to force my NAS's mdraid array to run a check, in a root terminal, I got this error: # echo check > /sys/block/md0/md/sync_action -bash: /sys/block/md0/md/sync_action: cannot overwrite existing file This is because …

Alfred workflows for searching Bear notes and Docker Hub images

Recently[1] I have forked, updated, and started distributing two Alfred workflows: alred-bear.alfredworkflow and docker-hub.alfredworkflow. alfred-bear I forked alfred-bear from bjrnt/alfred-bear to fix a few issues: * it wasn't built for Apple Silicon * it wasn't codesigned or distributed in a notarized package * on my …

Some recent bird photos

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Pi Reliability: Reduce writes to your SD card

If you aren't using a read-only filesystem on your Pi, you can still reduce writes to the SD card to increase its lifespan.

The 12v portable power supply Ego needs to make

Part of the Project Logs series. I'm fully invested in the Ego line of power tools for everything from my lawnmower to hedge trimmer. I also have a need for a portable, long-lasting, rechargeable, power-outage-resistant, 12 volt power supply.[1] Ego sells several inverters/converters, but they all …