Revisiting a Retro Linux Desktop

Over the last month, I’ve return to a project I worked on in the fall — making a theme for the CTWM window manager for Linux. I started working on it in October, and reached a point where it looked nice enough, but it wasn’t finished. The config was messy, and I planned to revisitContinue reading “Revisiting a Retro Linux Desktop”

Coding Myself a VPN Toggle

At fifty, I am becoming the Linux nerd I feel I should have been at twenty-five. I had a problem. I wanted an easy way to connect and disconnect from Diamond’s VPN. Yes, I could use the Network Connections interface in Linux Mint, but sometimes it expands while I was navigating to the VPN toggleContinue reading “Coding Myself a VPN Toggle”

Building a Dock in Linux Mint Cinnamon

One of the cool things about Linux Mint is that the Cinnamon desktop environment is built from CSS, and with a little custom code you can do some interesting things, like turn a panel — in Windows parlance, a taskbar — into a dock. Like here! That dock at left? It’s CSS, and not veryContinue reading “Building a Dock in Linux Mint Cinnamon”

Dark Brandon Delivers

This morning I logged into Nelnet, my student loan servicer, and I was greeted by a wonderful surprise. My student loans from the University of Richmond, taken out twenty-five years ago, give or take, are gone. Paid off. Forgiven. I received an email about a month ago from the Department of Education. Hold on, letContinue reading “Dark Brandon Delivers”

Setting Up a New WiFi Dongle in Linux from the Command Line

I ran into a problem recently. I’d bought a new Wi-Fi USB dongle for my computer. Windows picked it up immediately and connected to my router. My Linux installs did not. Oh, the dongle worked. My desktop and my notebook (a rehabbed Chromebook) could see the router it had connected to before. But I hadContinue reading “Setting Up a New WiFi Dongle in Linux from the Command Line”

Scenes of Spring

Spring is in full-bloom in Pennsylvania, and I’ve not been able to breathe through my nose in weeks. I have been, as I joking said to my sister, pollinated. Some recent scenes. I attended the Lancaster Barnstormers Fan Fest on Saturday. The Barnstormers put on an exhibition game against the Black Sox, a travelling team.Continue reading “Scenes of Spring”