Fugitive Thought

Automotive

Dodge Mirada

A section dedicated to Justin's 1981 Dodge Mirada, how I got it, what I've done with it and what I'm going to do with it. Also has a section on the history of the Mirada line.

Ford Mustang

This 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe is Steve's baby. It's also a very unhappy, crying baby. Sobbing actually. It needs a lot of work, and Steve is only a few months into the restoration. Come! Follow his progress with text and photos, and dive into that lovely world of automotive lore.

Computer Electronics

Reverse Engineering the Computer Keyboard

This collaborative project between Justin and Steve was an assignment for Engineering 100. In typical Justin-Steve fashion, it was accomplished in the wee hours of the morn. Details mechanical construction, electronics, signal analysis, cabling, pinouts, etc. If you've ever wondered EXACTLY how a keyboard worked, this is the place to look.

Booting without a Keyboard

Three ways to boot without a keyboard attached (i.e. for a headless machine) without POST errors. Includes one electrical and two BIOS methods to circumvent the keyboard check. Simple, yet savvy, no?

Linux Guides

Compiling Amarok from source..

...when you don't run kde. Oh yes, it's a bitch. I'm more of an xmms guy, but I was curious. I also don't have a package manager. Here's how to get this oh-so-sexy multimedia player running.

Shell Scripts

Google from the Command Line

This handy script allows a query to google from the command line in any bash shell. Uses whatever browser you specify.

Bash Colors

Very simply, this script outputs some colors in a bash with a color capable terminal. Extremely useful for seeing the escaped color codes for common colors.

Bash Colors2

Also outputs colors in a bash shell. This one has more colors and shows how to use background coloration. Equally as useful for those who want to use the shell to its utmost.

Battstat

This cute script parses battery information out of the /proc/acpi tree and returns the percentage of battery life available at runtime. Requires ACPI of course, plus perl. See comments for more information.

Temperature Check

This exceptionally simple script parses CPU temperature (in degrees centigrade) from the /proc/acpi tree. Very useful for those whose laptops run hot or simply wish to keep track.

Firefoxcheck

This script is a wrapper around firefox which checks to see if the browser is running when it is passed an URL. If so, loads URL using the running firefox process using a new window or tab (specified as a parameter at runtime). If not, loads firefox with URL/file. Used as a workaround for the annoying profile manager issue when dumb programs load an url.

Accessing Ext2 and Ext3 Filesystems via Windows

Quick and dirty ext2fs/ext3fs native access from within Windows. File system access via drive, maps partition to drive. Read and write capable. Transparent to user.

Embedded Computing with the Zipit

The Aeronix Zipit - intended as a wireless instant messaging device, and oh-so-hackable. Covers detailed specs analysis, hardware modifications, creating a custom linux, compiling for non x86 processors with a toolchain, and performance information.

Linux From Scratch: Trial by Fire

Linux from scratch is the perhaps the greatest learning tool for any aspiring unix guru. This is Steve's system changelog detailing more than a year in the life of his system. Primarily details the Inspiron 9100 laptop.

Saving space in systems with low footprint

While storage capacities have increased exponentially, space is still at a premium for some. Here's how to minimize the memory footprint of a system by stripping debug information from libraries, comments from config files, and compressing executables with gzexe, strip, and perl/grep/sed.

Networking

Wireless Extension

802.11 over long distances on a budget. Go where no 2.4ghz signal has gone before. No internet access? No problem. -- Covers antenna selection, construction, and alignment, basic microwave theory, microwave cabling, hardware choices, software choices, performance over time, environmental considerations, and more.

Designing Antennae

Designing homebrew omni's, dipoles, patch, sector, and parabolics. Covers variants, materials, construction, and composite designs.

Roll Your Own Console Cabling

How to make due when the cisco console cable is nowhere to be found. Covers construction, ethernet/serial pinouts, cable standards, usb-serial converters, and basic comms info.

Thirty Second Ethernet Tap

Need an extremely quick and easy tap of any ethernet cable? Great for Power Over Ethernet, or if not, for packet sniffing - surely legitimate, of course. With a bit of practice, this can be done in 30 seconds.

Fifteen Second Ethernet loopback

For diagnostics and hardware checks. Tricks OS/hardware into thinking a device has connected. So simple everybody's doing it. Join in the fun!

File Sharing

Mirroring OpenSource via Direct Connect Hub

What to do when you have a bandwidth quota? Why, share freely on the internal network of course! Download FOSS OSes and software while maintaining a comfortable bandwidth margin. To that end, I have created a mirror for OpenSource data using verlihub. Also provides channels for tech support and discussion. Clustering

Linux Clustering with Thin Clients

Creating a very affordable linux compute cluster or compile farm. Uses linux-booting, surplus thin client computers on a network, OpenMosix process management. Tips and Tricks

Booting without a Keyboard

Three ways to boot without a keyboard attached (i.e. for a headless machine) without POST errors. Includes one electrical and two BIOS methods to circumvent the keyboard check. Simple, yet savvy, no?

Programming

Abstract Data Types (In C)

Implementations of different abstract data types in C. Currently implemented: Stack, Queue, Binary Search Tree

Reverse Engineering the Computer Keyboard

This collaborative project between Justin and Steve was an assignment for Engineering 100. In typical Justin-Steve fashion, it was accomplished in the wee hours of the morn. Details mechanical construction, electronics, signal analysis, cabling, pinouts, etc. If you've ever wondered EXACTLY how a keyboard worked, this is the place to look.

Web Design

FugitiveThought

Guess what? It's us!

Architectural Firm

Old school design (frame based), with some hidden modernizations. DHTML-javascript menuing system, cross-frame object linking, custom image loading scripts. Note: This site is unfinished due to an interruption of employment due to school. Will complete at some later time to be determined.

Justin's First Website

Made in 2000, belongs in 1996

Area51 Info Library

This is what you get when you combine a fourth grade Steve with a thin volume on HTML version 2, some hokey television programs on Area51, a then lovely 486DX2/66, a keyboard, and a glowing screen.

Written Works

Justin's Poetry

Random collection of poetry by Justin. I add to this whenever I feel nostalgiac or just feel like writing in general. Most of the stuff here is pretty old.

Future of OS's Essay

Written in an evening for an introduction to computers course.