Did you know printers can order their toner? September of 2023; my Brother MFC-L3770CDW printer (b3n.org) kept printing awful black and magenta streaks across all the pages. I wasted reams of paper trying to fix it to no avail. It was time to replace it. I was just going to get another one, but there ... Read more The post My Printer Bought $610 of Toner appeared first on b3n.org ..read more

TrueNAS Scale and Proxmox VE are my two favorite appliances in my homelab. Overall, TrueNAS is primarily a NAS/SAN appliance, it excels at storage. It is the most widely deployed storage platform in the world. Proxmox on the other hand is a virtualization environment; so it is excellent at VM and software-defined networking. I agree ... Read more The post TrueNAS vs Proxmox Homelab appeared first on b3n.org ..read more

This is a two year retrospect. “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given ... Read more The post 2022-23 In Retrospect | Buffers & Simplicity appeared first on b3n.org ..read more

How to install a Minecraft server (Java Edition) on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Design decisions: As simple as possible Use the shell instead of web interface. I’ve used several MC control panels including Amp, Pterodactyl, etc. but they create more maintenance and problems than just using a CLI. Abstract Java and Minecraft server installation and updating with snap. Use crontab for auto-start (systemd would be the proper way to do this, but this is fast and minimizes complexity). Self hosted. This gets very intermittent use so I don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a hosted solution, but ..read more

On June 5th, 2021, I posted a strategy to hold value against inflation which was holding positions in four asset classes: (1) Total Stock Market, (2) I-Bonds, (3) Home Ownership, and (4) Bitcoin. Results June 3rd 2021 to June 1st 2024 This is a 3-year check-in (156 Weeks). Please note that due to inflation, I’ve adjusted most of the Growth of $10,000 examples to $100,000. Total Stock Market Certain people seem to have a perpetual pessimism about the market. The other day a colleague told me the Stock Market performance has been terrible since Covid. I have no idea what he’s talking about. Be ..read more

Well, I have now been using Quicken for thirty years, spanning three operating systems. I can’t think of any other software I’ve used this long. I started with Quicken for DOS, moved to Quicken for Windows, and eventually landed on Quicken for Mac. Quicken comes from an era when software was useful, comprehensive, and required reading the manual. But, the people of today don’t read instructions. Modern software is overly simple, laser-focused on a few things, and all two features are discoverable. The Quicken program, as powerful as it is would not be written today. Quicken for DOS My persona ..read more

Over the last few years, anti-Christian activists have influenced asset managers and are pushing ungodly agendas. If you invest in Mutual Funds or ETFs, your Fund Managers may be voting on your behalf, against your values. I wonder if Christian shareholders are aware their votes are pushing Marxist, social gospel resolutions. If we voted in a bloc for board members based on Biblical values, perhaps the blatant ungodliness we’ve seen at Bud Lite, Target, Ford, Disney, etc., would not even exist at all. Proverbs 27:23 LSB – Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay atte ..read more

I’m looking for a scan of a blue note, and I simply can’t find it in Evernote. Evernote versions 4 and 5 were the prime of Evernote. Kris and I used it extensively as our document management system, document knowledge management, and notetaking application. It was a great way to organize things. Every note, every important piece of paper, we scanned into Evernote. I’ve been a huge fan of Evernote, but over the last 6 years the product has become unusable. I suffered through it, but I really want to find my blue note. So, I moved everything to Apple Notes. Apple Notes couldn’t handle my 22182 n ..read more

We ran after her down the hall and she broke into a run, giggling trying to get away from us. Bethany and her Mardi Gras beads She cried, she laughed, and she loved to be chased. My siblings and I played with her not too differently than we’d play with each other. She never grew up the way most of us do. Mental issues like she had are less noticeable when you’re young and only manifest themselves gradually. From my perspective as a kid, there was no sudden realization that she was different; by the time I realized it, it was already normal. My sister, Bethany, passed away at 32. She was numbe ..read more

Here’s how I configured my WordPress server to handle huge traffic spikes. It’s easier than you think. For those who have seen smoke coming from your server in the garage, you know. But for those who haven’t, here’s a bit of history as I remember it: In the 1990s Slashdot used to link to interesting websites and blogs. If you wrote about using Linux as a NAT router for your entire University, assembled a huge aircraft carrier out of Legos, built a nuclear reactor in your basement, or made a roller coaster in your backyard; you’d end up on Slashdot. Slashdotted. The problem is Slashdot became ..read more