While I’m sitting here hacking around, here’s the exact command that I needed to run to get the Arduino development kit to install properly on Windbringer:

It should be noted that I’m using Layman to manage my overlays, which is why I had to specify the environment variable on the command line.

I discovered that GCC v4.1.2 didn't support the Atmega328, which is what my Arduino Duemilanove is based upon, so I had to upgrade GCC to the latest stable release for Gentoo.  To generate code for the Atmega328, you need v4.2.2 or …

Ever since version 2.6.29 of the Linux kernel was released I’d been having problems with Windbringer crashing on shutdown. After triggering the system shutdown applet in Gnome X would terminate, sometimes I’d see a debug message from NetworkManager as it tried to shut down the network interfaces (and sometimes the ALSA sound drivers, oddly enough), sometimes I wouldn’t see anything. The end result, however, was that Windbringer would have to be manually powered off, thus forcing a (lengthy) file system check the next time I booted up.

The answer arrived from this thread at the …

Unfortunately, I spent much of last Friday asleep, recovering after a routine filling went south and turned into an emergency root canal. I don't know what does it about the procedure, but it wipes me out completely - it might be the body reacting to having a part of it removed with what amounts to tiny drill bits, or it might be the knowledge of it. For all I know, it could be the aftereffects of multiple injections of local anesthetic that happens to contain epinephrine, which would logically bring about a fight-or-flight reaction as the syringe-loads naturally leaked into the …

Now that I've metabolized the caffeine from the two-and-an-unknown-fraction pots of coffee I've drunk today (don't ask), I have it together enough to write about an unusually annoying glitch that plagues Linux users from time to time: Automatic mounting of USB storage devices stops working after you tinker with the systemware, usually after recompiling something or upgrading a package. I ran into this a few days ago but didn't think much of it because I've mostly been using Windows XP for work (yes, yes, you may now all laugh) but I decided to sit down and figure out what happened …

I'm writing this update from Lyssa's parents' house once again - the holiday is here once again (however you happen to celebrate it), and this year we've gone back to visit our families. We left around 1200 EST5EDT yesterday in an attempt to beat the traffic rush headed to points north, west, east, and everywhere but the southern half of the compass rose. Traffic, weather, and being worn out from staying up far too late the night before being what they are, we pulled in around 1730 EST5EDT, a respectable timetable for leaving at noon.

The fairest thing you can say …

A good bit of yesterday was spent monitoring Leandra as she upgraded her systemware and applications, which amounted to watching the output of various compilation batches (thank you, Portage) and making sure that nothing went horribly wrong. However, something did, in the form of a major change between revisions of the Apache web server, which had the net effect of making all of the config files obsolete and unusable. I discovered it last night while watching Leandra boot back up, but was too tired after work to do anything about it.

It appears that service is restored to all of …

As part of my New Year's resolution to get in better shape I've started to work out twice a week, and discovered once again that my body isn't as young as I wish it was. It's been two days now, and most of the major muscle groups are firing off error messages as fast as they possibly can because they've put in a lot more duty time than they're accustomed to doing for a professional geek. I still can't walk without pain for long periods of time, and let me tell you, maneuvering in this state with a rather heavy …

Distributions successfully used: * Slackware Linux v10.0 * Gentoo Linux 2006.1

Hardware assay: * CPU: Intel Pentium-III M, 1.6 GHz, clocked at 3193.03 bogoMIPS * Memory: 512MB * Chipset: Intel ICH4 * Video: Intel 855GM. Hardware graphics acceleration works. * USB chipsets: UHCI, EHCI, OHCI. Use all in-kernel drivers. * Audio: Intel i810. Use in-kernel ALSA drivers. * Modem: Intel AC'97 Winmodem. Use SLmodem ebuild. * Wireless networking: Intel IPW2200. Use IPW2200 and IEEE 802.11 ebuilds. * PCMCIA/Cardbus: Texas Instruments PCI7420 Use in-kernel Yenta driver. * Firewire/IEEE 1394: Texas Instruments PCI7x20 * Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments PCI7420/7620 CardBus/OHCI * Ethernet: Broadcom BCM4401/B0 * Touchpad …