Background​

I've recently been beefing up my security posture by added very secure and randomly generated passwords to all systems that I have console access too. This in turn has created a new issue where I need to copy/paste that password whenever I sudo.

Turns out there is a solution to this problem that has been around since at least 2013. I'm talking about the ability to use SSH keys to authenticate sudo commands so you don't have to constantly unlock the secure password from the password vault and you don't need to submit to NOPASSWD: in /etc/sudoers.

Background​

Its a new year and always a good time to have intentions on new behaviors. While I didn't intend on this being a new years resolution, I've recently decided that I want to start maintaining a personal password manager. I've been against this in the past because if I neglect the service, it could be hacked, I could lose it, or any number of other bad things that would make my life a lot harder than before I had the manager. Therefore, I've defined some ground rules to ease my paranoia while still increasing my security posture across all of my projects.

Background​

Suppose you have a new software product that has a lot of value to an end-user, but the variability of the product would prevent you from delivering a full solution to end users simply because of the lead time required to develop a GUI with reasonable UX. What to do?

In my opinion, the conventional wisdom is to apply agile methodologies and develop only the options the user needs now. Naturally this is what I want to do, but its also my belief that the user should be able to tweak and experiment with the code base (as I do) to get the greatest value in the shortest amount of time.

Background​

Recently I moved into a new home. Excitedly, I went to sign up for the new fibre hotness in the area (with 1 Gbps download speeds). In the mean time, I purchased a 4G router that allowed be to supply my house with internet via a cell phone SIM card (i.e. ~ 10-20 Mbps). My scheduled appointment for the super fast internet was about 2 weeks later. Finally, the guys show up to run the fibre line! After observing that they were waiting around outside (by the pole) for about 2 hours, I went to go check on what was happening. In the end they made the determination that they could not install fibre internet for me because the pole was too rotten. Argh!

Background​

When using Docker, you have the "dockerd host" (i.e. the platform managing the containers) and you have the running containers. Each container has a localhost and the "dockerd host" has its own localhost. Whether you use --network host or not, you can not use localhost to communicate between the "dockerd host" and the container.

Overview​

I've been developing an app for the past couple years. Over that time I've seen some pretty drastic changes within the Expo eco-system and how they manage workflows (usually for the better). Following a recent update to Expo SDK 46, I simply could not escape an issue with the react-native-gesture-handler not being found. For all the amazing feats that Expo has accomplished to simplify mobile development, the attention to detail in their documentation leaves much to be desired.

Background​

Docker squashing is something that has been around for awhile. For those not in the know, when you create a Docker image it layers each of the commands in the Dockerfile into their own filesystem overlay. The aggregate of these overlays are what you containers starts with.

Now, when you have vary large files getting downloaded into the build process of an image, you can find yourself with a very bloated image. Squashing is generally the solution here.

Background​

Sometimes I find myself having to do development in corporate environments where you aren't given administrative privileges to the machine at your desk. I know that many would make certain hand gestures at such a situation and walk away. But sometimes the problems that the corporate overlords are paying you to solve is just to interesting to walk away. In that case, you find ways to work with the cards you've been dealt.

For years now I've stuck a Visual Studio Code shortcut in my Startup folder (Win+r -> shell:startup). This way, when I login to my Windows machine, VSCode simply will pop up with my previous workspace state. When you work with multiple different Remote-SSH host windows all within a virtual environment that resets when you logout you need more than just a shortcut.

Background​

I've been running this blog since the beginning of 2020 in one manner or another. The largest gap and travesty that I've left unattended is the fact that there is no chat capability built in. About 6 months ago I did try to implement my own thing with a DigitalOcean droplet and a postgres database. It didn't work well and involved nasty iframes in my React app. I just didn't have the time to invest.

With the now fully released Docusaurus 2.x (the engine this blog is currently using), I decided to see if there were any new options for comment integration. With minimal forum reading I came across a GitHub app called Giscus, and it was exactly what I wanted!

Background​

Ever find yourself attempting to look up some esoteric part datasheet or source code library that only has documentation in a foreign language that you don't know? I do!

Often you can just drop the PDF into Google Translate and all will be well enough. But if you want more control, more fine grained translating, or just less tracking of your behavor in google, you can do it via Python.