http://jonschwenn.com dad, linux & mac engineer, petrol head, and beer geek http://jonschwenn.com/vcfsocal-2026/ http://jonschwenn.com/vcfsocal-2026/ Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT I'm leveling-up my VCF game in 2026. I started going to VCFMW back sometime in the mid-2010's with a close friend. We met as we started our first real "IT" jobs together the senior year of high school. Initially, the VCFMW event would be an interesting curiosity and a morning where we would walk through a hotel ballroom in the suburbs of Chicago, grab lunch, then head back home. In the last few years we both have had ongoing retro projects. In the mean time VCFMW grew http://jonschwenn.com/marchintosh-2025/ http://jonschwenn.com/marchintosh-2025/ Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT This is my MARCHintosh 2025 project post. My goal was to get the physical hardware of a "classic" Mac online and connected with the other folks participating in GlobalTalk. I'm very happy that after years of trying, I actually have a working solution this year. http://jonschwenn.com/getting-the-macintosh-se-30-online/ http://jonschwenn.com/getting-the-macintosh-se-30-online/ Tue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT When we last saw our mighty SE/30, we had a fully working system. Unfortunately, there are still long-term stability issues with the machine. I ended up re-capping the analog board in an attempt to help with video jitters. I also swapped out the power supply as well. http://jonschwenn.com/macintosh-se-30-restoration/ http://jonschwenn.com/macintosh-se-30-restoration/ Sat, 11 May 2024 21:13:58 GMT Two years ago I found a clean SE/30 locally on Facebook Marketplace for $200. The case wasn't too yellowed and it powered up so I thought it would be a small retro computer project to do with my son. It turned out to be http://jonschwenn.com/streaming/ http://jonschwenn.com/streaming/ Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:42:41 GMT I'm starting this post during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. I have both extra time on my hands and the need to disconnect. With that said, I realized it was difficult to recall every show I recommend on streaming plat http://jonschwenn.com/keganalytics/ http://jonschwenn.com/keganalytics/ Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:54:03 GMT This project makes Alexa respond with my kegerator statistics. http://jonschwenn.com/book-list/ http://jonschwenn.com/book-list/ Thu, 13 Dec 2018 02:33:34 GMT Each day I try to read a book for at least 10 minutes. I don't always hit my mark, but slowly I've improved on this habit. I'm sharing impactful books that have helped me dramaticly. http://jonschwenn.com/iphonex-faster-than-macpro/ http://jonschwenn.com/iphonex-faster-than-macpro/ Sat, 24 Mar 2018 01:43:22 GMT Wow. My phone beat out my upgraded, 8-core Xeon Mac Pro in both single core and multi-core performance. Yes, the computer is 10 years old. But it's still hard to believe. That computer weighs over 40 pounds. That computer is painful to lug around. My iPhone X weighs 0.38 pounds. http://jonschwenn.com/rhca-red-hat-certified-architect/ http://jonschwenn.com/rhca-red-hat-certified-architect/ Thu, 18 Jan 2018 04:31:00 GMT 10 years ago I started this blog and journey. One of the overarching goals was to challenge myself to reach the RHCA certification. It's the culimation of 7 exams which range from 3 to 4 hours each. Most were painful and http://jonschwenn.com/red-hat-certificate-of-expertise-in-ansible-automation-ex407/ http://jonschwenn.com/red-hat-certificate-of-expertise-in-ansible-automation-ex407/ Sat, 11 Feb 2017 05:04:26 GMT First of all, time goes by way too quickly. It has been a year since I posted and over a year since I've posted anything certification updates. Late in 2010, I achieved my RHCE . In the following two years, I passed two http://jonschwenn.com/430-new-beers-in-two-years/ http://jonschwenn.com/430-new-beers-in-two-years/ Wed, 17 Feb 2016 21:41:21 GMT My first experience with beer was quite formative. I was 5 and was standing in front of my father’s kegerator with a dixie cup. Before you quickly judge my parent’s abilities, I must note that there was a lock on the fau http://jonschwenn.com/jncia/ http://jonschwenn.com/jncia/ Wed, 09 Dec 2015 20:09:24 GMT When this blog was started I was persistently trying to learn new things and obtain new skills and certifications. I have been proud of what I've accomplished. In the past year or two I've passed some exams from Apple an http://jonschwenn.com/the-tiny-details/ http://jonschwenn.com/the-tiny-details/ Fri, 07 Aug 2015 16:41:27 GMT The ability to devote attention to detail is important. Learning how things are made helps to bring that ability to a new level. One example is some badging I did for data center cabinets. In the past I've worked with an http://jonschwenn.com/build-something/ http://jonschwenn.com/build-something/ Thu, 06 Aug 2015 18:48:59 GMT It's great to build something. To create something from little or next to nothing. Something that is useful. Sometimes a small project or challenge can be the most fun. I recently tackled a small project in less than a d http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-2-0/ http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-2-0/ Thu, 16 Jul 2015 01:35:08 GMT For years small craft breweries have broken my heart. They change keg size offerings, discontinue specific beers, or run into production constraints. All understandable, but hard to be at the receiving end of this disapp http://jonschwenn.com/now-on-ghost/ http://jonschwenn.com/now-on-ghost/ Thu, 11 Jun 2015 13:57:09 GMT Time for a change. After 5 years of running this site on Wordpress, I thought I'd try something new. Learning and trying new things is the only way we can move forward. The installation, setup, and importing of posts int http://jonschwenn.com/time-to-regulate/ http://jonschwenn.com/time-to-regulate/ Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:03:29 GMT After 35 kegs and nearly 3 years with this kegerator there are very few parts left over from my original kit besides the tower and fridge. The co2 regulator and co2 line were from the original kit and started to show the http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-2-years/ http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-2-years/ Thu, 22 May 2014 14:49:07 GMT 2 years ago I tapped my first keg. I learned a lot about pressures, temperatures, cleaning techniques with this project. Even though I’ve only had a few different beers on tap, it’s also pushed me to try more variety. I’ http://jonschwenn.com/temperature/ http://jonschwenn.com/temperature/ Wed, 07 May 2014 08:53:45 GMT I’m nearing the two year anniversary of building my Kegerator . I’ve modified components, dialed in pressures, and stabilized temperatures during this time. Occasionally, during the hot summer months the temperature woul http://jonschwenn.com/macpro/ http://jonschwenn.com/macpro/ Tue, 08 Oct 2013 20:06:31 GMT Back on July 4th the video card in my 2008 Mac Pro died. Luckily the card was an Nvidia 8800 GT and was completely replaceable. Unfortunately it took a week to receive the upgrade ATI Radeon 5770 HD card. In that week I http://jonschwenn.com/actc-10-8/ http://jonschwenn.com/actc-10-8/ Sat, 01 Jun 2013 08:49:59 GMT Between being busy at work and home it’s been harder to keep up with education and certifications. Luckily Apple makes recertifying a painless process. As I mentioned when I took the OS X 10.7 test, the annual release cy http://jonschwenn.com/quarter-barrel-time/ http://jonschwenn.com/quarter-barrel-time/ Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:16:07 GMT I put a dozen 1/6 barrels through the kegerator before I took the plunge towards the 1/4 barrel. According to the measurements on the internet it shouldn’t fit with my mini fridge. It was close enough though that my loca http://jonschwenn.com/sanitation/ http://jonschwenn.com/sanitation/ Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:24:10 GMT Recently I made a big change in my sanitation process for the kegerator and I’ve been very happy with the results. For the first 10 of so 1/6 barrels I religiously ran a powder based sanitizer and rinse through the beer http://jonschwenn.com/read-co2-bottle/ http://jonschwenn.com/read-co2-bottle/ Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:55:26 GMT After a dozen 1/6 barrel kegs I knew my co2 pressure was a little low. Normally the gauge was 500 psi. Before this last keg went in it was a little lower and after the keg was empty the co2 bottle was reading really low. http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-update/ http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator-update/ Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:33:27 GMT It’s been a few months since I’ve built my kegerator . I’ve put about 31 gallons of beer through it, mostly Sam Adams Summer Ale, but I did take a crack at a keg of Boulder Brewing Co’s Mojo IPA. For fathers day my wife http://jonschwenn.com/rhl5/ http://jonschwenn.com/rhl5/ Sun, 08 Jul 2012 10:02:11 GMT Recently I was digging through some older CDs and came across this gem. It was the first Linux distro that I downloaded and installed. I had picked up an old computer from a friend and installed it and had it running on http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator/ http://jonschwenn.com/kegerator/ Thu, 07 Jun 2012 21:10:57 GMT Recently I was given a Danby DAR452BL mini fridge by a friend. This fridge lacked a freezer compartment and made the perfect base to for a kegerator project. I first tested it over night to see how cold it could really g http://jonschwenn.com/ex401/ http://jonschwenn.com/ex401/ Tue, 22 May 2012 14:31:56 GMT I’m one step closer to both the Red Hat Certified Datacenter Specialist and Red Hat Certified Architect certificates after passing the Red Hat EX401 exam last week. The RH401/EX401 covers Red Hat deployments and their Sa http://jonschwenn.com/actc-10-7/ http://jonschwenn.com/actc-10-7/ Tue, 01 May 2012 11:05:51 GMT Earlier this year I updated my Apple Certified Technical Coordinator to the latest version of OS X. Lion came out in the sumer of 2011 and days after I took the ACTC update test OS X 10.7.3 was released. 10.7.3 was a hug http://jonschwenn.com/rhcva/ http://jonschwenn.com/rhcva/ Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:00:24 GMT 2011 was more of a maintenance year for my training. The exams become more difficult and less frequent. With RHEL6, Red Hat switched over to “currency window” expiration for their certifications. My RHCE expires 3 years http://jonschwenn.com/rhel6_rhce/ http://jonschwenn.com/rhel6_rhce/ Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:39:06 GMT This year I’ve pushed myself to expand my knowledge and skill sets. It was not always easy but I managed to take and pass eight technical exams. I started out with multiple choice style exams administrated by ProMetric o http://jonschwenn.com/red-hat-certified-engineer-rhce-prep/ http://jonschwenn.com/red-hat-certified-engineer-rhce-prep/ Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:30:27 GMT It has been awhile since I last posted. This year I attempted to achieve certifications, learn new things, and continue to grow professionally. With less than a few months I am ready to end this personal challenge on a v http://jonschwenn.com/ubuntu-certified-professional/ http://jonschwenn.com/ubuntu-certified-professional/ Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:57:21 GMT I just passed my Ubuntu Certified Professional (UCP) test. Technically it’s add-on test to the two LPIC-1 level test. For those keeping track at home that is 6 certifications and 1 motorcycle license in the last 7 months http://jonschwenn.com/linux-lpic-1/ http://jonschwenn.com/linux-lpic-1/ Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:19:54 GMT Its been 3 months since I last obtained a certification. I started this year with the goal of expanding my knowledge and skill sets. Earlier this year CompTIA adopted the LPI 101 & 102 tests for their latest Linux + cert http://jonschwenn.com/act/ http://jonschwenn.com/act/ Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:32:01 GMT So far I’ve been able to take one test a month this year. In March I passed the Apple server essentials test. Just as with the support essentials test, my experience made the test easier. I’ve been testing and working wi http://jonschwenn.com/acsp/ http://jonschwenn.com/acsp/ Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:27:24 GMT I recently took my second certification test of this year. I am challenging myself to accomplish as many certifications as possible in 2010. This test was the Support Essentials test for OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). It was