Linux on Chrizzle23.net

My Year Of The Linux Desktop

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Desktop Linux is Still an Adventure

As I have often repeated, 99% of my Linux exerience is on servers. Of that 99%, like 75% is on Debian. I have long been embarrassed by how little I know about Linux Desktop Environments, compositors, or themes. My idea of configuring Linux is editing files like /etc/hosts or /etc/network/interfaces. Setting a static IP on an Ethernet adapter while maintaining access to WiFi is like negotiating a visitation schedule for a Golden Retriever caught in the middle of a lesbian divorce.

My Hot Take on AI

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI is two things that get treated as one

Artificial intelligence is both a technology and an industry. My basic stance is that AI as a technology is compelling, and AI as an industry is the dot-com bubble on steroids. Large Language Models, especially open source models that are locally run, are compelling technological achievements. Commercial companies that are raising capital to bring LLMs to market are, in my opinion, doomed.

Cracking the Google Chromebook

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A year ago, in a galaxy far away

The past year has been full of difficult changes that have led radical changes in my career, my mental health, and my understanding of technology.

Around mid 2025, after getting fired from my 3rd IT job in two years, I decided that “the game ain’t in me no more” and I retired early. Unfortunately, age 52 is too old to go back to school, and too young for social security. I worked in IT for about 28 years, give or take. I wasn’t in to computers as a kid, I discovered them when I was in the military, where I achieved a kind of respect for knowing not just how to use a computer, but also how to repair, program, and hack one. So I decided to go back to military roots and drive trucks again. School buses specifically.

Installing Docker on your Linux Virtual Machine

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A major piece of self-hosted infrastructure is https://www.docker.com/. I have a love/hate relationship with Docker. On the one hand, it makes installing and running applications easy, but on the other hand, it feels like wasteful abstraction. The point of virtualization and containerization is to make deploying applications easier. I like to do this with [https://www.turnkeylinux.org/](Turnkey Linux) containers and VMs. Like all application libraries, there is always some app that isn’t available in the flavor that you’d like. Docker has the largest library of things, so it’s basically a necessary evil.

Adding Infrastructure to Proxmox

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In a previous post, I talked about the “AK-fortyserver”, a cheap NAS appliance that I added Proxmox VE to. I named mine “Scratchy”.

I got my Synology NAS backed up to Scratchy, so that I could remove the disks in it and replace them. I was buying 8tb disks for it, but I decided to go in another direction. I will discuss the that larger project in another post. Right now let’s focus on the apps I am setting up on Scratchy.

An Introduction to how I use Proxmox VE

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In a previous post, I talked about the cheap NAS appliance as a component for self-hosting. For me, a server lab consists of two elements: storage and compute power. I have a Synology NAS that I use for the storage system. Once you get your storage centralized on a NAS, adding memory and CPU to your compute power is simply a matter of adding servers.

The AK-fortyServer

The AK47 is a symbol of revolution, so much so, that some countries have it on their flag. I like to think of a cheap mass produced server is a digital equivalent of the AK47, a tool for digital revolution.