Projects
With the unexpected server reconfiguration, I have not done much on personal projects this week.
The Website
As part of the plan to phase out codenames, described in the Week 1, 2025 blog post, I have removed mentions of codenames relating to psychoactive substances first.
I have started to clean up incorrect information and broken formatting, starting with blog posts.
iPhone and Samsung S7
On January 9, 2025, I have decided to stop using iOS devices altogether after the difficulty faced with trying to transfer files to a Linux system. I felt as if I could not reliably transfer files from an iOS device to Linux. This was also an issue on Windows, where a transfer error that I was unaware of was responsible for the loss of all photos and video from January 2020 to September 2022 on an iPod Touch. On Android, there are much more reliable methods of file transfer: ADB (Android Device Bridge) and if there is expandable storage, transfer from the microSD card.
I will use the Samsung S7 SM-G930F for the time being until I find a suitable device. Many app developers have dropped support for Android 8, notably Discord has not done this. I noticed that the two apps I was able to install were much slower now.
Servers
Starting January 8, I have noticed that the UPS system has started to randomly cut power to the HP BladeSystem chassis. Only one of the blades were installed, SVCS1 at the time. The UPS started to report a battery error. On January 10, I discovered that I have replaced the batteries in this system once before in around October 2023. Until I can find out what happened, I would switch to using the one UPS system that the storage server and router are connected to.
This resulted in a total reconfiguration of the server rack, something I needed to do for almost two years now.
I had to put the X8DAi motherboard from one of the desktops into the Supermicro CSE-825 chassis and use that instead of the HP blades. This was the setup I had prior to receiving the server blades in April 2023. Due to the weight and size of the HP BladeSystem chassis, the chassis would remain to be on the rack, disconnected for the time being until I can figure out how to sell it.
I plan to start selling off anything I don't use anymore as soon as possible. I plan to raise funds in order to finally get an H11SSL-i motherboard and switch to AMD EPYC. This is something I wanted to do for several years now and it will not be cheap. The timing was also quite bad as I just have spent around US$650 on the Steam Deck and its dock.
CalDAV
I had to stop using DAVx5 on Android due to the immense notification spam that occurs when the CalDAV server goes down. I have had criticisms of the app in the past, being that it would refuse to sync if Android's connectivity test fails.
Personal
Despite the chaotic atmosphere at the beginning of 2025, I have made great strides so far.
VCU
On January 8, 2025, I went to VCU HPRC facility in Harris Hall to help set up servers again.
I got to see the 486 system that was mentioned on the Discord for VCU LUG. The system appeared to be an AST Advantage Adventure 6066D. It contained a 66MHz Cyrix 486 CPU with 8MB of RAM. When reviewing pictures I have taken, I have noticed that the motherboard had a Chips&Technologies F82C721 Super IO. This was the first time I had seen anything from C&T in person.
I saw the Nvidia DGX H100 server again. It was mentioned that the system cost US$300,000, purchased on a grant. Its datasheet mentions that it contains eight H100 GPUs with 80GB of RAM each along with two Intel Xeon Platinum 8480C paired with 2TB of RAM.
I do not know what the system is used for, but the possibilities with it are endless
When I got to the building and left, the streets were almost completely empty. VCU and many surrounding businesses were closed due to the water situation that started on January 5 that was resolved on January 11.
I do not expect anything in return for helping at VCU as the experience alone is much more than enough.
Social Media
I will discontinue use of LinkedIn until I am ready to apply for a job due to the increase of news stories appearing in the feed. It seemed to completely ignore the "Political Content" setting. Besides, I was not getting much out of the platform other than workplace advice.
At this point, I use Instagram lightly. It seemed that many of my friends have left or became inactive on Instagram after late 2023, for what I presume are for the same reasons of why I have started to avoid Instagram.