Things I build, break,
fix, and write about

25 March 2026
AI
Setting up headless Chrome in ARM64 containers without

Google doesn't publish ARM64 Chrome. Chromium fills that gap on Debian-based ARM64 Linux systems, and any CDP automation library works identically against it. Pin the version, fix `/dev/shm`, work around the M113 CDP bind change with socat, and you've got a solid headless setup.

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24 March 2026
AI
Detecting spoofed VPN downloads: a practical approach

The trust UI lies by omission. A valid signature proves only that someone with a private key signed the file, not that the signer is the vendor you intended. Storm-2561 distributes trojanised VPN clients with legitimate signatures issued to shell companies. Four minutes of verification stops it cold.

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23 March 2026
Deals
Stellar Blade (PS5) + 2 more Amazon tech bargains

Check out these top Amazon deals including Stellar Blade for PS5 at £28.6.

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22 March 2026
AI
Petabyte leaks start with uncontrolled backup access

A single compromised credential reaching both production and backup storage across the same network boundary turns one day's data loss into months or years. Isolation done badly is barely isolation at all.

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21 March 2026
AI
Video file naming and structure for decade-scale retrieval

A video archive you cannot read a decade later is just a warm drive waiting to die. Ambiguous filenames and missing verification schedules kill cold storage video archival; fix those two things, and the rest is manageable.

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20 March 2026
Tech
Backup retention policy: writing it down saves arguments

A backup schedule that works is not the same as a documented one. When recovery fails and a client asks why their data is gone, a working cron job and a vague memory are not a defence; a policy document and a tested restore procedure are.

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16 March 2026
AI
Object storage encryption at rest in homelab setups

Encryption without object lock is a half-measure. A misconfigured script or compromised service account can still wipe everything, which is why S3-compatible storage on a homelab needs layered defence: encryption at rest, API-enforced write and delete rules, and backups that survive the worst realistic failure.

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16 March 2026
Deals
Ring Outdoor Camera Battery + 2 more Amazon tech bargains

Discover the Ring Outdoor Camera Battery and two more Amazon tech deals this week.

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16 March 2026
AI
Document what your backup excludes, not just what it covers

I've built backup jobs that looked fine right up until the restore failed. The gap between what you think is covered and what actually is covered lives in the space where documentation should be; write down what is excluded, not just what you protect, and you stop arguing about it later.

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16 March 2026
AI
Docker Compose for portable homelab deployments

Vendor lock-in creeps in quietly: a pinned cloud dashboard, a backup tool in a proprietary format, a reverse proxy config hardcoded to an IP nobody wrote down. By the time you need to migrate, the compose file is the only thing you trust, and even that can lie to you.

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