Rocasta Dot Com

Architecture Overview

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This document describes the architecture of the rocasta.com static site.

Technology Stack

Static Site Generator: Hugo (Extended) v0.164+
Theme: PaperMod
Content Format: AsciiDoc (processed by Asciidoctor)
Deployment: GitHub Pages via GitHub Actions
Local Development: Hugo development server with live reload

Directory Structure

Path Purpose

Path	Purpose
`content/posts/`	Blog posts in AsciiDoc
`content/arch/`	Architecture and build documentation
`content/about.md`	About page
`static/images/`	Static images served at `/images/`
`themes/PaperMod/`	Git submodule for theme
`public/`	Built site output (gitignored)

content/posts/

Blog posts in AsciiDoc

content/arch/

Architecture and build documentation

content/about.md

About page

static/images/

Static images served at /images/

themes/PaperMod/

Git submodule for theme

public/

Built site output (gitignored)

Design Guide

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This document explains the design decisions behind the site.

Why Hugo over Jekyll

The site was originally built with Jekyll 4.4.1 + Chirpy theme. It was migrated to Hugo + PaperMod for the following reasons:

Ruby Version Incompatibility

Jekyll’s dependency chain (specifically the jekyll-theme-chirpy gem) requires Ruby ~> 3.1. Modern systems ship with Ruby 4.x, requiring a version manager (chruby, rbenv) to build locally. Hugo is a single Go binary with no runtime dependencies.

Build Guide

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Step-by-step instructions to build and maintain a Hugo + PaperMod + AsciiDoc static site on GitHub Pages.

Prerequisites

Homebrew (macOS) or equivalent package manager
Git
Hugo Extended (installed via Homebrew)

brew install hugo
hugo version

Verify the output includes extended:

hugo v0.164.0+extended ...

Asciidoctor

Hugo requires asciidoctor to process .adoc files:

brew install asciidoctor
gem install asciidoctor

Verify:

asciidoctor --version

Project Setup

Create a New Site

hugo new site my-site
cd my-site

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb — Story Guide

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

1. Story Guide

The original story runs approximately 6,000 words. For a 32-page picture book (13-14 double-page spreads after front matter), target text is ~600 words, roughly 40-50 words per spread.

This guide lists every spread with its scene, text, and the cats' involvement.

1.1. Page Credits

Pages 1-3: Front matter (half-title, title, copyright)
Pages 4-31: Story content (14 spreads)
Page 32: Back matter / colophon

2. Spread 1 — The Clock Strikes Seven

Page 4 — Full-page illustration

Bash Operator Cheatsheet

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This cheat sheet covers Bash operators including file tests, string comparisons, logical operations, and arithmetic evaluations.

1. File Test Operators

File test operators check the status of files.

Operator Description Example

Operator	Description	Example
`-e`	File exists (any type)	`[[ -e file.txt ]]`
`-f`	File exists and is a regular file	`[[ -f script.sh ]]`
`-d`	File exists and is a directory	`[[ -d myfolder ]]`
`-r`	File is readable	`[[ -r data.txt ]]`
`-w`	File is writable	`[[ -w output.log ]]`
`-x`	File is executable	`[[ -x script.sh ]]`
`-s`	File exists and is not empty	`[[ -s nonempty.txt ]]`
`-L`	File is a symbolic link	`[[ -L shortcut ]]`
`-b`	File is a block device	`[[ -b /dev/sda1 ]]`
`-c`	File is a character device	`[[ -c /dev/ttyS0 ]]`
`-p`	File is a named pipe (FIFO)	`[[ -p pipefile ]]`
`-S`	File is a socket	`[[ -S /var/run/docker.sock ]]`

-e

File exists (any type)

[[ -e file.txt ]]

-f

File exists and is a regular file

[[ -f script.sh ]]

-d

File exists and is a directory

[[ -d myfolder ]]

-r

File is readable

[[ -r data.txt ]]

-w

File is writable

[[ -w output.log ]]

-x

File is executable

[[ -x script.sh ]]

-s

File exists and is not empty

[[ -s nonempty.txt ]]

-L

File is a symbolic link

[[ -L shortcut ]]

-b

File is a block device

[[ -b /dev/sda1 ]]

-c

File is a character device

[[ -c /dev/ttyS0 ]]

-p

File is a named pipe (FIFO)

[[ -p pipefile ]]

-S

File is a socket

[[ -S /var/run/docker.sock ]]

Diagnosing SMB Latency

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

1. Diagnosing the Problem

Check Network Speed
- Use iperf3 to measure network throughput between the two Macs.
  # On Mac B (SMB Server) iperf3 -s # On Mac A (Client) iperf3 -c <Mac B's IP>
- If the speed is close to 1Gbps, the network is performing as expected.
- If it’s significantly lower (e.g., below 500 Mbps), there may be a bottleneck in the network hardware or cabling.
Check Latency with ping
- Use ping to measure round-trip time between Mac A and Mac B.
  ping -c 10 <Mac B's IP>

About

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hi, I’m Charles Webster.

This is my personal site — a collection of technical notes, project write-ups, and creative works.

I write about Unix systems, networking, Bash, and whatever else I’m tinkering with. I’m also working on a steampunk retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories, featuring Catticus Finch and Lollipop: two ordinary-looking cats with extraordinary enhancements.

Building a Gigabyte Brix SUSE Distro

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Download the latest copy of SUSE tumbleweed
Burn this ISO image to thumb drive

dd if=<location_of_iso> of=/dev/rdisk<thumbdrive_disk_number> bs=1m

Put this in the front USB slot of the Brix
Power off and power on (a hard reboot is important)
Press the delete key repeatedly to get to Brix BIOS
Change boot order in boot section to specify USB drive as 1st boot
Save and Exit (reboot on thumb drive)
Run installer