Things I build, break, fix, and write about

1 September 2026
Privacy boundaries when AI touches government records

AI governance gets awkward fast when government records are involved, because the model is rarely the problem. The problem is the sloppy boundary around it, the sort I have seen quietly turn a harmless prompt into a route through records nobody meant to expose.

1 September 2026
Metadata schema choices for content libraries

Structured metadata only works when it matches how people actually retrieve content. I have seen neat schemas fail as soon as the library meets real...

31 August 2026
Federation trade-offs in self-hosted social feeds

Federation looks tidy until you let it touch the edges, and then the odd cases arrive fast. I prefer self-hosted social feeds that stay explicit about...

31 August 2026
FireAvert Z-Wave stove shutoffs for offline safety

FireAvert’s setup does the part that matters without asking Home Assistant to babysit it, which is exactly how I want stove protection to behave. The...

Latest blog posts you might like

28 March 2026
Azure credits documentation fails to flag marketplace

I deployed Claude via Azure AI Foundry assuming startup credits would cover it. The $1,600 invoice arrived mid-cycle, charged directly to my card. Microsoft's documentation never mentions that...

27 March 2026
n8n | stable

n8n 2 13 4: Patch release fixing Quick Connect flag and editor first load issue, stable on 2026 03 26, upgrade recommended

25 March 2026
Running Chromium on ARM64 Linux Servers: docker-compose Setup and Pitfalls

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...

24 March 2026
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...

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

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

22 March 2026
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...

21 March 2026
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...

20 March 2026
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...

19 March 2026
n8n | stable

n8n 2.12.3: patch fixes leader takeover event emission on mismatch, restores editor command bar workflow search, recommended upgrade

16 March 2026
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...