Fixing a linux software RAID degraded at boot

I have a lot of storage space on my Linux desktop box at home.  The bulk of it is spread across two mdadm software RAID 5 partitions:  one 3-disk array and one 5-disk array.  Occasionally, I've found that the 5-disk array comes up in degraded mode after the machine boots.  After much frustration, I think I finally found the fix for this.

Nexus devices don't play nice with Netgear routers

My kids' Nexus 5 phone and Nexus 7 (2012) tablets have a terrible time staying connected to our Netgear N300 (WNR3500L) WiFi router.  I used to think that it was just my son's imagination, because he would complain of problems while I was actively using my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 just fine on the same access point.  It turns out the problem is due to the Nexus WiFi radio not playing nice with many Netgear routers.  The fix, fortunately, is a simple one.

Ten thousand and counting

A discussion this morning at work caused me to tally up how much I've spent on computers in my life.  Despite using computers for 30 years (25 of it as a professional programmer), I was somewhat surprised at how much I've spent.  My co-workers, however, were surprised how little I've spent.

Coloring a bash command prompt

Bash, the Bourne Again SHell, is the default command shell used for most Linux distributions and MacOS.  One of the nice things about it (and most Unix shells, for that matter) is the flexibility you have in configuring the command prompt.  When using a color-capable terminal program, I like to make the command prompt a slightly different color than the rest of the text in that window, just so it stands out when I skim backward through miles of output.  There's a couple different methods for doing that, and not all of them work well.  Here's the best method I've found.

A tale of three Android mail readers

I recently decided to explore some options for different email clients on my Android 4.3 smart phone.  I've got three different email accounts that I access regularly from my phone.  Two are GMail accounts, but one is a traditional IMAP account at work.  After a little online research, I limited my choices to three options:  Samsung's stock Android 4.3 email app, K-9, and SolMail.  The short story is that after playing with them simultaneously for a few days, I settled back in with the stock app.  The long story follows.

Android 4.3 update on a rooted Samsung Galaxy Note II

I rooted my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as soon as I got it.  I survived the over-the-air (OTA) update from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 easily enough, as outlined in an earlier post.  When the 4.3 update came out, I blindly assumed that it could be applied with equal ease.  Not so, unfortunately.  If I'd done my research before hand, I probably wouldn't have applied it at all.  In order to fix the mess, I had to do a fresh install of a custom ROM.  All the gory details follow.

Free DIY soldering iron holder

I was probably in junior high when I bought my soldering iron.  It's a simple, 35W pencil style iron that probably cost all of $15 at Radio Shack.  For 30 years, I've used it with the tiny little support that it came with to keep the hot iron from lying on the workbench.  All the while, I prayed that nobody would walk by and bump the power cord, dragging the iron onto the floor in the process.  After seeing a much better holder design for sale commercially, I decided to make one of my own using some scraps I found in my garage.  It only took me about 30 minutes to make (not including drying time for the stain) and didn't cost me a cent.