Max GlenisterReducing commit log noise caused by a GitHub Action
I have a “now playing” widget on my /now page that shows the last track scrobbled to Last.fm. It’s powered by a GitHub Actions workflow that polls the Last.fm API every hour and commits the result to the repo. It worked fine, but quietly polluted my commit history.
Building a Home NAS from Mostly Spare Parts
I’ve had a SNUNMU GK3 mini-PC kicking about since early-2023, barely used. An impulse buy that ended up on a shelf, alongside a drawer full of old drives from various…
My phone's AI is screening your AI
I’ve been using Google’s Call Screening feature for a while now. I turned it on mostly to filter out calls from numbers I don’t recognise (I’ve signed up with TPS…
Archive Archaeology
I was talking to someone about foobar2000 and how prolific I’d been in the customisation scene back in the day. I knew I’d written up a detailed config somewhere, with…
Using emoji to bypass FRP on a decade-old tablet
I recently picked up two Pixel C tablets from a seller on eBay, along with the magnetic keyboard. One tablet had a cracked screen but worked fine and wasn’t locked….
Using split view in Chrome
Chrome’s split view tabs is one of those features that silently arrived and slipped into my workflow. I’ve found myself using it more and more over the past couple of…
Downgrading the OnePlus 7 Pro for LineageOS
I’ve had a OnePlus 7 Pro sitting in a drawer for a couple of years. I used it from 2019, found it too big, got a Pixel 5a, and now…
The LinYuvo KS42 Wireless Joycons for the Nintendo Switch
I’ve gone through a few sets of Joy-Cons since buying my Switch back in 2018. Every pair has ended up with stick drift, and at this point my Switch is…
Plugins instead of patches
I’ve been running Known as my social posting hub for a while now. It’s a solid IndieWeb-friendly CMS that handles status updates, photos, and syndication to various silos. Recently I…
The Bigme B6 Color E-Ink Tablet
I’ve owned plenty of Kindles and Android tablets over the years, but I’ve been curious about colour e-ink for a while - whether it’s actually useful or just a gimmick….
Why can't I read this picture book?
I’ve spent the last five years reading picture books with my kids at bedtime. Hundreds of them - and I’m still going, even as my eldest moves on to chapter…
Installing Android on the Nintendo Switch
A banned Switch sitting on a shelf is prime hardware for Android. Turns out the Tegra X1 that powered Breath of the Wild runs a full Android OS surprisingly well….
Building an emoji-only chat app
My daughter finds emoji hilarious. She’s 6 and will scroll through an emoji picker for ages. My wife and I started by letting her use WhatsApp’s emoji picker to send…
Moving to GitHub Actions (and adding .txt posts)
This year I moved the blog from GitHub Pages’ built-in Jekyll to a GitHub Actions workflow, then added .txt URL support for posts. Inspired by Terence Eden’s blog post about…
Building a Balatro-lite game with vanilla web tech
I’ve spent countless hours playing Balatro, and I’ve always wanted to create my own game with similar mechanics. When TrinketOS announced a game jam, it was the perfect excuse to…
Exploring OTA firmware updates on the Mangmi Air X
After reviewing the Mangmi Air X, I got curious about how the firmware updates worked. Mangmi have been pushing updates fairly regularly, which is great to see on a budget…
The Mangmi Air X
Back in 2015 when I reviewed devices like the GPD XD and similar Android handhelds, the whole ecosystem felt half-baked. Emulation wasn’t particularly good yet, the devices came from obscure…
Replacing the macOS audio switcher with SwiftBar
The built-in audio output menu in macOS has always felt a bit limited. The icons aren’t very helpful, the device names can’t be customised, and if you’ve got a few…
Pico-8 Cartridge Label for GPi Case
The GPi Case is a fancy case for the Raspberry Pi Zero that gives you a screen, speaker, buttons and battery in a design reminiscent of the original DMG-001 Classic…
The end of Dingoonity
If you were familiar with Dingoonity, you might have noticed by now that I’ve made the decision to shut down the website.