Diagnosing a broken microwave

By Michael McGarrah · December 10, 20243 min read

A three-year-old microwave stopped heating. The diode was bad — confirmed with a 9V battery and multimeter — but replacing it didn't fix it, and the repair cost more than the appliance.

HP ProCurve Switch Java WebUI

By Michael McGarrah · December 09, 202413 min read

Getting the HP ProCurve Java WebUI working in 2024 using Firefox 51.0.1 Portable and Java 8 Update 121 Portable — the last versions with NPAPI support before it was removed from browsers.

ISC2 Cybersecurity Certification

By Michael McGarrah · November 18, 20241 min read

The ISC2 CC certification was offered free through end of 2024 — a solid entry point into security fundamentals and a direct stepping stone toward CCSP and CISSP.

Powerline Networking for the Homelabs

By Michael McGarrah · October 11, 20242 min read

Powerline networking repeatedly tripped the AFCI breakers in a modern house — turns out arc fault interrupters and powerline adapters are fundamentally incompatible.

Posts

2024-12-10 Diagnosing a broken microwave
2024-12-09 HP ProCurve Switch Java WebUI
2024-11-18 ISC2 Cybersecurity Certification
2024-10-11 Powerline Networking for the Homelabs