Reading PROFINET Laser Data from Ubuntu Without a PLC
Published:
A practical survey of TCP/IP and PROFINET IO options for reading a Hinson PHR-080200 distance sensor from an Ubuntu real-time computer without an intervening PLC.
Blog posts
2026
The Real Goal Is Not Always the Rule
Published:
A small routine can reveal a large parenting lesson: protect the essential goal without turning every harmless preference into a power struggle.
Structure and Repetition Are Better Than Finding Something to Take Away
Published:
Why predictable routines and delayed optional activities teach responsibility better than taking things away to make a child uneasy.
Household Chores and Proportionate Consequences
Published:
A practical framework for helping children contribute at home when they delay or refuse, without turning chores into a power struggle.
Automatically Share MATLAB Engine and Set Its Startup Folder on Ubuntu
Published:
Automatically share a MATLAB desktop session for Python and configure its Ubuntu launcher to open in a chosen project directory.
Connect MATLAB R2020a to Python on Ubuntu
Published:
Use a compatible Python environment and MATLAB Engine API to connect Python to an existing MATLAB R2020a desktop session.
Waydroid Portrait Windows Without Black Bars
Published:
A Waydroid portrait display and a portrait Ubuntu window are different things. Use the right property for each layer.
Play a Sound When Codex Finishes a Task
Published:
Configure a user-wide Codex completion beep on Ubuntu with notify, a small Python event filter, and PipeWire audio playback.
Chinese and English Voice Input on Ubuntu with Fcitx5-VInput and Alibaba Bailian
Published:
Set up Fcitx5-VInput Lite with Alibaba Bailian’s streaming speech recognition and configure a Ctrl + Alt + Shift recording shortcut through the Fcitx5 GUI.
SSH into a VMware Windows Guest Without Giving It Internet Access
Published:
Use VMware Host-only networking to SSH from Ubuntu into a Windows 10 guest, with an optional NAT adapter that stays disconnected when Internet access is unnecessary.
VMware Freezes After Unpause: Disabling 3D Acceleration Fixed It
Published:
A Windows 10 guest appeared frozen after Unpause. Reopening Workstation restored its display, and disabling 3D acceleration made Pause and Unpause work normally again.
Fix an NTFS Dirty Volume That Won’t Mount on Ubuntu
Published:
Ubuntu’s ntfs3 driver can refuse a volume that still carries the NTFS dirty flag, even after chkdsk reports no errors. Diagnose it safely and clear the flag with ntfsfix.
A VMDK Passed Its Integrity Check but Would Not Boot: Diagnosing Missing Disk Metadata
Published:
A read-only investigation found surviving Windows file records inside a structurally valid VMDK, but missing partition tables and damaged NTFS metadata explained why VMware could not boot it.
Fix Waydroid ARM Apps Freezing at 1000% CPU: Switch from Houdini to libndk
Published:
ARM apps in Waydroid became unusable with 1000–1200% CPU usage. Replacing Houdini with libndk restored normal operation on my Intel machine.
MATLAB Installation Guide for Control-System Work
Published:
A practical MATLAB installer selection for control, physical modeling, state logic, and advanced control workflows.
Fix MATLAB R2020a Installer on Modern Ubuntu: GLib, Pango, and FreeType
Published:
A local, reversible workaround for the MATLAB R2020a installer failing when its old bundled GLib is mixed with Ubuntu’s current Pango stack.
SV660N + MS1 from Scratch: EtherCAT, ROS 2, and a Smooth First Spin
Published:
Fresh Ubuntu 24.04 to a smooth SV660N/MS1 spin: wire the holding brake 24 V, build IgH with –disable-eoe, ROS 2 Jazzy + motor_drive, reach panel _88rn, run a soft CSP demo, and stop without EE081.
Set Dell Battery Charge Limits on Linux with cctk
Published:
| On Dell Latitude 5501, smbios-battery-ctl can read charge limits but cannot set them. Use Dell Command | Configure (cctk) to write Custom:50-80 to the EC. |
Disable Clash Verge Rev Auto Check Update on Ubuntu
Published:
Turn off Clash Verge Rev update checks by setting auto_check_update: false in verge.yaml — a setting the GUI does not expose.
SV660N Keypad Panel Status Codes
Published:
SV660N 5-digit keypad: decode _28ry / AL blink, and panel-as-read faults (E6200, E6400, EE083) mapped to CoE 0x603F/0x203F.