Projects
MediaCow Touch 2
This week, I did something a little bit different with planning: I drew on paper an idea on how to mount the side-mounted display. Dysgraphia makes it exceptionally difficult for me to handwrite or draw, leaving me with almost all work being done on a computer. It was worth it as I could quickly get a rough sketch of an idea much quicker than I could put into words or drawing in QCAD or draw.io.
Block-SP7021
I have discovered that the Banana Pi F2P does not expose all of the RGB-capable pins on the SP7021. As result, I may have to complete Block-SP7021 to be able to test MediaCow Touch 2's Side-Mounted Display PCB.
ThinkPad T430s Display Upgrade
On February 19, 2025, I finally ordered the LVDS-eDP adapter board off from AliExpress that allows me to use modern laptop displays with the ThinkPad T430s, specifically the Innolux N140HCA-EAC. Many have asked if I would report on this project.
I originally considered doing this on June 7, 2024, making a Reddit post in the ThinkPad subreddit. Have not ever using AliExpress before, I have been hesitant on ordering the display adapter. With the success of ordering various parts from AliExpress a couple months ago, I decided to go ahead and order the adapter board along with an N140HCA-EAC display from eBay, totalling to around US$70.
On February 21, 2025, I received the display, the N140HCA-EAC. To test the display, I put it in a ThinkPad T450s but I decided to keep it in there. The previous display was an LG LP140WF3-SPD1. I was going to replace the display in the T450s anyway due to the LG panel having noticeable white spots and its controller board gets unusually hot.
SVCS/WBSD
I have been quite behind on backups. I completed the scheduled backup on February 23, 2025, the first one since I switched over the HP BladeSystem hardware to the current temporary Supermicro setup during Week 2.
Personal
My life has gotten a lot more enjoyable within the last week. Not just because of changes in ADHD treatment but with more social interaction.
College
This week, I have started to feel a bit more comfortable and interested in college.
I have found it be much easier to stay focused when using a library computer on campus than my own hardware. This is because I wouldn't do my own personal projects and work on a public, Windows 11 computer. The snow days though have kept me from being able to go to campus.
VCU
On February 18, 2025, me and one other from the VCU LUG once again went back to the VCU HPRC datacenter to help configure and install servers. This session was much shorter but was a bit more interesting.
We moved around some servers, including an HP ProLiant DL360 G9 and DL365 G7. The DL365 G7 was installed in a separate rack, named the "Ouroboros" cluster, which is a reference to the mystical snake that eats its own tail as these servers are recycled over and over again. As part of the process of setting up the server, we were demoed on using PXE to remotely load an operating system, Fedora 41 in this case, and automatically start installing it to the system. This is the first time I have seen this done in person: the use of PXE and Fedora's Kickstart feature.
After this, we went to the office and looked at other universitie's compute clusters and then were demoed how remote management is done using Dell iDRAC and tunnels.
After the meeting, I walked to the VCU Engineering East Hall, initially to call an Uber ride and wait in the Qimonda Atrium. I ended up exploring the building then eventually using Uber to get home an hour later. During this, I took many photos that I eventually used to post on Instagram under nonmonolithic, being the first post since June 2024.
Online
On February 22, I met a couple online. One of them share an interest in computer hardware and Linux. I may get to see them in March during GalaxyCon Richmond 2025 though one of them is in Tenneesee and the other in Florida.