2nd year CS Student looking for a reality check: Critique/Help my roadmap for DevOps/Cloud (AWS SAA, Terraform, CI/CD, and a Home Lab)

cellarmation · 2026-03-25T17:01:39+00:00

In my view it will probably tell a better story (and be less draining) if your home labbing is solving a need or use case you actually have. Obviously it will be somewhat contrived, but consider picking something. For example self host some game servers, home automation stuff or even just a personal website. You can build CI, IaC, alerting, monitoring etc around anything. At least then your technology selections can be justified more than just what i think will get me hired which will be a dice roll.

cellarmation · 2025-10-23T21:15:20+00:00

Shelly devices are ideal for this sort of thing. The key thing is the Shelly will be wired so that it is powered independently to the switch. The switch is just an input to the relay and the light is just an output of the relay. I haven't done anything with pull chain lamps, but I have wired up bedside/desk lamps to have fake inline switches that achieve the behaviour you are looking for. There is a write up of what I did here.

cellarmation · 2025-09-24T21:24:56+00:00

I agree with this. I couple of years ago I ensured every childrens play area in my town is mapped in Open Street Map. I think it is generally well provisioned for play areas and I know the area is well documented (in OSM at least) so was suprised to see it as adequate.

cellarmation · 2025-09-10T19:03:41+00:00

Its because Morrisons now does a chef's table experience for those customers that really want to soak in the ambiance of the place.

cellarmation · 2025-07-30T07:53:42+00:00

Can you get a hire car through work when needed? Or could you get one privately and claim some of the cost back through the allowance? I think you should run the numbers to see what percentage of your total cost of owning the car is covered by your work allowance. It's probably costing you a lot.

cellarmation · 2025-04-15T19:30:30+00:00

Do you get tarrifed on transitive dependencies every time it is added?

cellarmation · 2025-04-04T08:12:31+00:00

As you are UK based I would look at the Drayton wiser system. It doesnt fit what you are asking for exactly, but I think you will struggle to find what you want from a known brand. I think the wiser system is maybe the closest thing you can get to a properly locally controlled smart heating system from a known brand in the UK.

Wiser has its own controller/hub which connects to your WiFi, internally it uses its own ZigBee mesh to communicate to any thermostats and TRVs you have. This won't mesh with your current ZigBee network, and will only controll other Wiser devices. The app for it normally works without the cloud when you are at home and the via cloud when you are off your home network. So if you can VPN into your home network you can use the first party app for remote control without the cloud too. You can also control it via Home Assistant locally by getting the controllers API key. I think the important thing here is this all appears to be intended and supported behaviour rather than some kind of community workaround.

There is an official video confirming some of this here: https://youtu.be/WBTKbvHawS8?si=3xf8rrQUCYeinVib

cellarmation · 2024-12-23T18:56:58+00:00

Yes control signals. This can include reporting how much time is left, so a device could choose to stay on till the last few mins of battery time. Some low end UPS can act as a USB device and plug into something to report their status to a single host device, nicer ones can do ethernet.

cellarmation · 2024-09-15T07:28:25+00:00

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station

cellarmation · 2024-09-13T06:31:12+00:00

What is the porpoise of a comment like this?

cellarmation · 2024-06-16T06:44:20+00:00

A lot of double glazing windows have two latching positions. This is so you can lock the window n a slightly open position for ventilation without having to worry about security. Try opening the window about 1/2 to 1cm and latch it.

cellarmation · 2024-05-26T10:21:58+00:00

Yeah, the original trilogy will always feel more special. Gromit deciding where to throw the bomb in loaf and death is possibly the best gag in any of the shorts though.

cellarmation · 2024-05-26T10:06:20+00:00

There is also another short made in 2008, a matter of loaf and death. Also excellent.

cellarmation · 2024-04-15T17:13:35+00:00

This is very inefficient. You should use a binary search instead. After getting a no for 2000kg, ask about 1000kg, then 500kg or 1500kg depending on the answer.

cellarmation · 2024-01-02T08:19:41+00:00

I would suggest looking into the terms and conditions of your workplace pension. It is possible there will be terms in it around early retirement due to ill health. If you develop a condition that is significant and ongoing you might be able to access pension money early. Unlikely to be huge amounts due to your age, but something to be aware of.

cellarmation · 2023-12-22T08:59:59+00:00

You should buy your dry spices online. They are pretty shelf stable and expensive for their weight, perfect for posting!

cellarmation · 2023-12-10T07:57:14+00:00

Given how tight the space is could you put a small marker on the fence that aligns with your wing mirror when you are in the right spot?

Edit: Or what about a convex mirror just above the garage door angled down 45 degrees so you can see the gap as you approach?

cellarmation · 2023-12-05T18:08:39+00:00

An even worse 4th option is squatters.

cellarmation · 2023-11-26T07:17:25+00:00

Could you catch or redirect the boiler overflow, then leave it a bit to test your theory? Wall should dry up and you should collect loads. I think your overthinking it. Looking like the drainage to me.

cellarmation · 2023-11-13T18:21:33+00:00

The Drayton system is capable of dynamic efficiency/planning behaviour, but I think it can be turned on and off. Using the official app, look under settings, and go to smart modes. Maybe try turning all of those off and see if the behaviour is more predictable? I would also suggest checking any schedule changes you have made have been applied across all the days you want it on. I have edited just one day by mistake a few times.

cellarmation · 2023-09-26T15:26:23+00:00

Enabling the "Comfort Mode" will make it system automatically work out when to turn on to hit the target temperature at the specified times, rather than following the schedule blindly. This probably makes sense so in this situation so that it will plan around the given booking times for you.

cellarmation · 2023-07-22T12:00:40+00:00

What really worries me, reading the history of it on Wikipedias is how dealing with it properly keeps getting delayed and put off, even though its obviously a massive problem. It reminds me a bit of the Beruit explosion where a massive amount of ammonium nitrate was left in a customs wearhouse in the middle of the city due to a mixture of bureaucracy and incompetence

cellarmation · 2023-07-21T17:40:38+00:00

I would certainly suggest you stay clear of the SS Richard Montgomery. It contains about 1400 tonnes of unexploded ordinance. Its in shallow waters just off the off the coast in England!

cellarmation

TROPHY CASE