Understand Ansible Inventory, Facts and Ad-Hoc Commands
Learn how Ansible decides which hosts to manage, how to run ad-hoc commands against groups, and how to use facts to answer real operational questions.
Latest
Set Up an Ansible Practice Lab with Docker in Under 10 Minutes
Learn how to build a local, multi-host Ansible practice lab using Docker in under 10 minutes. Perfect for Windows, macOS, or Linux. No heavy VMs required.
Meet EkkoJS: The JavaScript Runtime That Doesn't Apologise for Starting Fresh
EkkoJS is a JavaScript and TypeScript runtime that trades backward compatibility for a cleaner slate. No CommonJS, no node_modules, no URL imports. This is a hands-on introduction covering the architecture, the permission model, and a working S3 demo built entirely from built-in modules.
Deploying Azure locally with OpenTofu and floci-az: my real test run
A practical walkthrough of running the OpenTofu azurerm provider against floci-az, including TLS, certificate trust, provider discovery, version notes, and what local Azure testing can and cannot prove.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 8 - Terraform, tflocal, and GitHub Actions CI)
Provision the LocalStack stack from Parts 1-7 with Terraform, apply it with tflocal, and run integration tests in GitHub Actions CI. The capstone turns the series into a repeatable, tested workflow.
Run Your Own AI at Home and Access It Anywhere with LM Studio and LM Link
Run an AI model on your home PC or homelab with LM Studio, connect it with LM Link, and use it from an iPhone, iPad, laptop, or work PC without opening ports.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 7 - Secrets Manager, KMS, and Secret Rotation)
Store API keys properly on LocalStack with Secrets Manager and a customer-managed KMS key. Build a Lambda that reads the secret at request time, rotate it, and watch the new value go live without a redeploy.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 6 - EventBridge and Step Functions Photo Workflow)
Build a real Step Functions workflow on LocalStack: validate, fan out across parallel Lambdas, then notify via SNS. Trigger it manually, then wire it to an EventBridge schedule and watch it fire automatically.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 5 - SQS, SNS, and a Dead-Letter Queue)
Build a real async job pipeline on LocalStack with an SNS topic, an SQS queue, and a DLQ. Watch a poison message retry three times, land in the DLQ, and inspect what to do next.
Floci and Local AWS Emulation: A Tool I’m Curious to Try
After using LocalStack for years and publishing the first four parts of my local AWS series, Floci caught my eye: MIT licensed, no account required, and built around the same localhost:4566 workflow.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 4 - API Gateway, Lambda, and JWT Auth)
Put a real HTTP API in front of the URL shortener from Part 2. API Gateway HTTP API, Lambda, a small JWT authoriser, and curl-based verification running on LocalStack.
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 3 - Lambda S3 Thumbnailer Pipeline)
Wire Lambda to S3 upload events on LocalStack. Upload a photo, get a 256px thumbnail in another bucket automatically, and learn the `localhost.localstack.cloud` networking gotcha before it wastes an evening.
AWS
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 2 - DynamoDB URL Shortener Data Layer)
Build the DynamoDB layer for a URL shortener on LocalStack: table design, atomic click counters, fixture loading, and a small Node CLI you can reuse. Part 3 detours into Lambda, then Part 4 wraps the shortener in an HTTP API.
AWS
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 1 - S3 Photo Uploader with Presigned URLs)
Build the first real app in the LocalStack series: an S3 bucket, CORS, presigned PUT URLs, and a tiny browser photo uploader.
AI
Docker's MCP Catalog and Toolkit: What It Is and Why It Matters
Docker has shipped a Toolkit and Catalog for the Model Context Protocol, plus a Gateway that fronts the lot. Containerised MCP servers, signed images, OAuth handled in-browser, and Profile Templates added in March 2026. Here's what it actually does and where it fits.
AWS
Run AWS on Your Laptop: A 9-Part LocalStack Build Series (Part 0 — Setup)
Photo uploads, a URL shortener, async jobs, scheduled workflows — all running on LocalStack on your laptop, all free. Part 0 of a 9-part series walks through the setup: Docker, auth token, AWS CLI, init-hooks. About 30 minutes from a fresh laptop to a working S3 bucket.
Fedora
Fedora 44 Is Out: GNOME 50, GCC 16, Ruby 4.0, and Wine That Just Works
Fedora 44 released 28 April 2026. GNOME 50, kernel 6.19, NTSYNC for Wine, GCC 16, Ruby 4.0, CMake 4 with ninja. What changed and how to upgrade safely.
Secure Self-Hosted OpenClaw AI Assistant: Step-by-Step Proxmox Template Guide with Tailscale Integration
Originally called Clawdbot, now rebranded as OpenClaw, it's an open-source AI that actually does things instead of just chatting. So this weekend, I set it up on my Proxmox homelab.
ESP32
Festive STEM Adventure: Building the Acebott ESP32 QD001 Robot Car with My Daughter
Christmas brought wheels and motors. The Acebott QD001 4WD Robot Kit turned into a weekend project with my 2-year-old. From dodgy GPIO pins to combining IR and WiFi control, here's what I learned about modern robotics kits and why they matter for getting kids into STEM.
DevOps
Kubernetes 1.35: In-Place Pod Vertical Scaling Reaches GA
Kubernetes v1.35 brings in-place pod vertical scaling to GA after 6+ years. Adjust CPU/memory without pod recreation - but beware anti-patterns. This comprehensive guide covers proper use cases, alternatives like HPA/VPA, and why this powerful feature should be reserved for specific edge cases only.
DevOps
Bare-Metal Kubernetes Storage: Longhorn Setup (Part 2)
After setting up NFS storage in Part 1, I still had a problem: if my Unraid NAS went down, everything stopped. In this guide, I install Longhorn v1.10.1 on my bare-metal Kubernetes cluster for distributed storage with automatic failover. I tested it by shutting down a worker node, the data survived.
ESP32
How to Enter Download Mode on Acebott ESP32 Max V1.0
Problem Solved: Flashing firmware on the Acebott QD001 Smart Robotics Car Kit The Problem While working on the Acebott QD001 4WD Robot Kit, I encountered a frustrating issue where the board wouldn't enter download mode for flashing. Web Flasher Error: ❌ 烧录失败: ESPError: Failed to connect with the device
ESP32
Peek-a-Boo but with ESP32 - Upgrading the Traffic Light Controller with HC-SR04
Upgraded the traffic light with a $2 proximity sensor. Now it detects when my 2-year-old gets close, and the lights respond. Two new game modes: peek-a-boo for toddlers and a progressive distance game. Building on the original ESP32 project with better security, too.
IoT
Building a Traffic Light Controller for My 2-Year-Old: ESP32 with Web Interface & OTA Updates
Watching my 2-year-old's face light up when she presses a button and sees the traffic light change made those frustrating CH340 driver issues worth it.