The image marking up my personal tech radar

Personal Tech Radar

An current & evolving overview of programming, tooling, platforms and AI I use

A collection of utility types I always include into my project to ease working with type data.

Typescript utilities I always include

The list of Tasks VS Code can execute from your tasks.json configuration

VS Code RN Tasks

Some tasks for VS Code which will make working with React Native daily a breeze!

Using VS Code tasks for React Native development

Large JSON body returned by the OneTrust API. Some fields are redacted because they are for my eyes only!

OneTrust JSON API Response

Insomnia TS plugin

Insomnia generated TS types

A nifty plugin to make typing large responses easier

🌚  REST JSON to Typescript with Insomnia

Thoughts on why it is so hard to distribute modules/packages for modern programming languages

📦 Why is module distribution so complex?

A 3 by 4 grid of buttons, lined up on protoboard to start prototyping the build

IMG 2188

ESP32 soldered to protoboard with some male headers to connect inputs to.

IMG 3049

GND wires wired up to each individual push button

IMG 3058

First try, connecting push buttons to the ESP32 via dupont wire and screw terminals

IMG 3064

The ESP32 controller all wired up, ready to be placed in its enclosure

IMG 3124

The first finished version of the controller in its enclosure

IMG 3118

ESPHome config for the ESP32 MQTT controller

Node-RED flows listening to MQTT topics and triggering actions like controlling lights, playing music or activating scenes

Screenshot 2021-08-16 at 6.15.07 PM

Finished controller with 3d printed keycaps and LED diffuser

64319704821 32A2E62B-BD8C-44AA-8AD7-A9B402DF56D0

Using an ESP32, ESPHome, Home Assistant and 3D printing I build this amazing MQTT button controller / macropad to automate my home

🎛 Building an ESP32 MQTT button box

View at [https://thibmaek.com/posts/overview/1]

3 meters (electricity, heating & water) created via EnergieID's webhook integration.

EnergieID webhooks

3 Home Assistant RESTful Command services which we can call to update our meters

EnergieID rest commands HA

Creating an input helper for the electricity meter with a unit of kWh

ha energieid helpers

A new "Run" script with a sequence to update all meters by sending the state from the inputs to the restful commands / webhook we created earlier

ha energie id script

A Lovelace (UI) card with our inputs and the button so submit them to EnergieID

ha lovelace energieid

Simple first steps toward integrating EnergieID into Home Assistant.

🔋 Consumption monitoring with EnergieID & Home Assistant

My holidays just started. Threw together this quick lunch to kickstart the upcoming two weeks of not doing much and enjoying time off.

It has everything you want right now. Spice, tanginess from the kumquat and cardamom and freshness from the squid and the mint. Get your ass to the kitchen for this ghetto recipe and make yourself an amazing lunch in 10 minutes.

![Holiday Squid](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/x9FIe2EhCxKXL2w83ZiVx/456931739daa8e11ff0ab3f35abad85a/IMG_0300.jpeg)

## Ingredients

- Some kumquats (they're in season right now)
- Squid (a head or some calamares, anything goes really)
- Mint
- Cardamom pods
- Small chili
- Sumac (optional)
- Spring onion (optional)

## Making it

1. Rinse off a kumquat or 4
2. Set a grill pan to the highest temperature so it can get blazing hot.
3. Slice kumquat in rings, as thin as possible. You can use a mandoline but I prefer a _fucking sharp_ knife
4. Do the same for a small chili. You can deseed it if you want to.
5. Put the slices together in a small bowl
6. In a mortar & pestle bash/grind the seeds of a few cardamom pods, then add a pinch of coarse sea salt (or fleur de sel) and some sumac to the mortar.
7. Add the spices in the mortar to the kumquat & chili slices and then add a lug of your best olive oil. Combine everything with a spoon, fork or your fingers.
8. Rub some olive oil on your squid so it won't stick to the pan, season with a little bit of coarse salt.
9. Grill squid a few minutes each side. Two minutes each side works well, you want those lovely char marks. If it curls up, press it down with a plate or a cooking spatula a bit.
10. Dress squid on the plate, toss over kumquat & chili 'salad' and garnish with some fresh mint (or cilantro) and spring onion. A final mini-drizzle of good olive oil tops it off

Get a glass of white wine, a nice chilled dry vermouth and enjoy it babies. I think it's wonderful.

Enjoy the holidays, don't fuss too much and eat some good food.
Peace ✌🏻

🦑 Spicey / Tangy holiday squid

I came up with these really minimal Lovelace cards to represent who is home, based on person entities in Home Assistant.

![Screenshot 2020-08-20 at 14.48.04](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/1MFZjBUhE74okfsymQ6o4g/b3efd0c1791ecd011fb375ed2550dd81/Screenshot_2020-08-20_at_14.48.04.png)

It's based on this excellent [button-card](https://github.com/custom-cards/button-card) for Lovelace. I find the config options for button-card to be a bit overwhelming though.

![Screenshot 2020-08-20 at 14.48.14](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/4r5DivYGkqdWCZsOoGKL3k/6d559697f20fbcb5a3a75984e824abd1/Screenshot_2020-08-20_at_14.48.14.png)

The badge indicates how much battery there is left for an entity tracking the person entity. It will change to red if it drops below 20 percent.

Config for 1 person looks like this, I then stack them with vertical-stack to make it ✨ NICE ON MOBILE ✨:

```yaml
aspect_ratio: 3/1
custom_fields:
  battery: |
    [[[
      return `${
        states['sensor.thibaults_iphone_battery_level_2'].state
      }`
    ]]]
entity: person.thibault
layout: icon_name
show_entity_picture: true
show_name: true
state:
  - name: "🏡 Thibault (Home)"
    styles:
      name:
        - color: '#7DDA9F'
    value: home
  - name: "🏃‍♂️ Thibault (Away)"
    styles:
      name:
        - color: '#93ADCB'
    value: not_home
  - styles:
      name:
        - color: gray
    value: unknown
styles:
  custom_fields:
    battery:
      - position: absolute
      - left: 110px
      - border-radius: 50%
      - height: 30px
      - width: 30px
      - font-size: 14px
      - line-height: 30px
      - padding: 5px
      - color: |-
          [[[
            return states['sensor.thibaults_iphone_battery_level_2'].state > 20
            ? 'white'
            : 'black'
          ]]]
      - background-color: |-
          [[[
            return states['sensor.thibaults_iphone_battery_level_2'].state > 20
              ? '#7DDA9F'
              : 'red'
          ]]]
  icon:
    - width: 60%
type: 'custom:button-card'
```

Lovelace cards showing presence for me and my girlfriend

Screenshot 2020-08-20 at 14.48.04

button-card YAML config example for a presence card

Screenshot 2020-08-20 at 14.48.14

Minimal clean presence-cards for person entities using custom button-card

🃏 Simple Lovelace presence cards for Home Assistant

It's the simplest thing in the world. Literally just 30g of coffee with 500ml water, slap it together, leave in the fridge for 24h.

Lemon & ice kick it up a notch.

![4D88303B-1B33-4C65-AD84-015EAF1CB3AE](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/4dAiboRUOf29EEjrpjdwnW/edce71c5b7dffc885cb2da6b059fde24/4D88303B-1B33-4C65-AD84-015EAF1CB3AE.jpeg)

If you're in BE, enjoy the weather, remember to stay hydrated, drink some cold brew.

Love, Thibault ☕🍋❤️

🍋 An ode to cold coffee

Haha good joke, we're all just stuck in our houses because of Corona, but then again memories of a real office workplace have faded and this has become my new In The Pocket office right now.

So this serves as a nice opportunity to show some of the things we did with our new appartment. Together with my girlfriend I'm renting a place at the top floor of a building. Located in a very calm neighbourhood just on the verge of Ghent's city centre.

When we moved in it was completly pristine. It's never seen any inhabitants other than us, and the equipment is all brand new. This gave us a the oppurtinuty to have a plethora of options on how to decorate the place.

This won't be a _tour of my smart home_ or _guided walktrough_. Instead we just took some nice pictures (my girlfriend did) and I post them here with some context as to what nice things we like in the pictures.

__Pictures taken with iPhones, 35mm film or a DSLR__

![our evening view](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iMhcUFSPKCdW1ayCnlRSS1doZuMz_4LEPJApoMRffVcQCMjfZU46KiX_DHsF0PhLmyM2gdEvaPxRR5msxQ8NwhZ-AWEtPn3rqkEFSsGZwfE9xR_terZimsMyPSXS4bbEzgx_uiNIbhDUfkWtyCHzjzhKwBEoAnGaKvqiHTR3E5jtCWMCeVMZUj_bd0OyGdc8PxVU2_sFhH1zLJGEcPc4s_5KrojDnPJX8vOMCGgIiIAZQpTeydQp1WzejEHZwoN4mpZyfxrKtUv1mdrye8MTaZJZGfo_xs_kzS2elxlVpLZkN7IRzkUAB1u30Hl3sfVuRDmsMkAXUgXtfckeESDrBjOduD5EzrqYCRv1veatJ13IDc2x8qe8928yN11xTgIW8n2hhHX8mk57GUux5EleCLnXfbwaWYM49AE_A05jrah0nUaRqA2LMNxTo7H09h9llGYaYzYoHBI7CIUn1mrrk043pwz-o06m9CCq7_G3B_eOrju0cvZLlRcJkVUX0K9-zTCo14S1jxXB_ZFpaOoWGRGH8RcDhKircb7UuzRR5EUlB9WvLD7pOWO-kTvebuQ-E6xkDR8SdHcYzsS5qYKSL1bmqcm2NmONtWOMpZSoYcc6Pal90A7o6kx20o1Wi-BXinCLxCl760lV0VgFzN-hKcJixtS4HG1QVJX3DqMzivNVrsxXp4bypkRs5nCdvS6cktXsqR1kG8IXGro9pg7OhMW8jLoy0V-8bEoeFAJo-r51BTK-qP9Xny8=w1346-h897-no)

![hallway](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d4J9C3gkmZbOB7HLcYerCrxILp1hH6JPPXFM6afPwY0WqB0YjFt5xLcI0SmQi5irGmHkW-sLq_X9rNTwOcx6gYv9P0jAXeXgDffA2CM73YFZjOmvmcxtcRMbOVpHa7ISTZuusuy6BDrBNHBeIgO-w1nRc_pFRHSATTcHPTdEZJTIaj8FP-MLxRipvioeO5ifsFcflC3eHMJL3GjDZMdlBFRc5U41mJYRb3kTmRTjSgwD7s7sQt8MkEUVyuNdn7C-1NNkN6rqJiDlNBvrN1hUiWHH68MXhUKwZQ3a1ObM-KAzmdbybuSE08IALcKsvJkhlmpONIYmDTxpzPrpeV-BnA354clBOfdWOB3VJZhjNk9avF9x3MdLR00RMv-r_sN-7TehgZq-lvGQydyliKajdcf4SB83ZUrLPJznuFJBUq9NYysr6Z09uuUpS-I5MbGwELONt0QPT_zA7e5e2fqjxU1LyEPNxNS3Tq4fXJb_xopy3b9rdqPWnLNsLlbH258TwISEHXYOGE37yfT2RaMEE7CD8SRCASDBfcoh5xCV4ErM-7zo3yyXVM4d3j5NJSEtGVux1Ogbl1Hf2O150wHZO65fS-_QhcksyID3gytHzc9Q8HUhIuJis8Ci1xP31DUeekgzAn3CFabzR92yxdB-GHivVreFFcGJewirB-otXQ2e0v4Q2fh6lxLUS8g5X6VzmEO5KgnUnotGvGseFycbCrCN2DROwo_xLM9qCjMXVpVzcUHiR926TN0=w1196-h897-no)

![kitchen tomado rack](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/O1XeyLRMe8j4bFYileL83edRKYG5LE7Kpr_mMDK5p1FYLrDyZ7jAbSBtpe1DCd80FQVUWQOgO8BSb2cdflXYcRElF5tAnXWqiSae3GHnoF8XgmcxsH1ymqF0IfnxnK3C2R1fzmPU_18EWzXMvy8GLEQa3KW5EgFVXnhTl208wGZriW3M_KQtXA8AICqAUCRK2eyLizXHUtixIce-8Z76F6rH9Y_esSDWQTE3BlljeSexqVO0qW060cGR-iOh1qnJ-hmX_F2B7Y1qkbCr9QWSTjAsd6mL-9gb-K-VlihzTReU4UmnXSX8hcQSGu6uQv9dwYcYta1PjZ_AVLE9oJunE90tfgkI6yn5VD07ejLi3SSoIfW4PiQPlo87PU3NQ6nqlxMnYz2JMyuugLwCuv69ce8OVD_xaTzLiwHrOr6hWx1mDe3MtYsQGue7cFnoXLHJgGQgQAd8txuAmF3nP9606f6G9PoeoGbRG9dxfowbv2qGCZYsQi20YcSer3JUi2bY3EtzLS0L-c9VB_zk63Yd1EPDhZ7x7OPmiyFDor-KHdn-nNVN6s-PoocRCDBpkY6qqTwUfdaO3cwQhpZ6-AY5bVBZa0bKGGjY8AdK-W1yQVSotWKaEi7Ld8QkFge4XL5HleME7nlRcXYHycIIVObuiy1bxMJPA-34SJdeQhxNUo-tpnodYttX4qR85UKh_UN6wGDD-Oysd_KVRv3g0Xu7RE1OGApNU-kyoksQ6pdwN0JsHw-6LSBRl9g=w1346-h897-no)

![our amazing monstera, a while ago](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/n-CAvWKCv-xvlgShyljIm0-ueR2zSCEHCVfdgHWg84evw-Sv9nB15egXuSHphCKIxoed_RayUhwCColIm0QpJxKBlfYesADGV6GmXvTgvbLYQa8p-RhEpBds_qiCszpz92moUxQFXgTSzcnXY-fKjyBv6kTwIcHQhfk4CyZcJjhY544_THMYJnZX1Qp4ESni1WYdpJEKJAMZsq_dOcJG3bl_Yg8nAKKWy18mijEoEW7zEpWD96udbmbGSjKtjljeBz2OUkmJAJHPA1R6RXHzQWOSdSCFonTRmVKKhWYZ4buEbl0O-YXaZWGq58uxIlvmdqHR5KklO7ai-RRf_ZBZncvtuEcA5rr6Xmcg9OINHVTapreYyWwTKmRwoB3u2pWW47iua13j6ktYd44yOsKCYqkXxI0m8RoTZ3qFE_1hLltQdB9AiyyWx0g-BG8t3uPcb9Wgdo9JDE_pBhcEoKad54hME6b8uU6uaS6am_Ls8QhqNd-Vo5_LA6Rjxbd79JeX8nOW-ps0EH-rVJmZ7Sdt968qZ_iy4Y-gIObIlDdTg56i3bHhOT72wmPs_legX5KIrpmCiJ1aBhOENZnaxMleIJ1xaNnoe9U-VwnuQM3_6LB2htwCDvQ38djlwZ9QcaRVqLgDXYhwqbtrxddJfioYNR9WfzIo4L6gd2V-JUOGw2-JbIHp4FzaZtMygm6yJVQQyIZbbh6Ikv95os3sB-PENy0AmPLFFma6c-HkOPpdPjAdSw0TQfUSK9U=w1196-h897-no)

![my ficus variegata a while ago](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VqXba_0Anpp7cjGwCmK3ZCdOo0hA6tQwPM6pt1Jiuy2ZC36AgCKBO1IVh-AiPfoCza677WuAKDuaLbnBXSHqXijj-eyhvntVIWtKByDl3eDHAlFP70VkAuwHqUV4lUtEy8ZGft-qoLQvgp_wyprmfQIm6zbhznTPb4IWYV-uO68gMpmcxAq5HO6KqfQDU5WC48P_yy9GGjpLmLDv-nOxsaatF4kZJfc-5ccRKb56m8cyvZCIip78QQdsfXVBGiE8t-e2nDLLXL5HsQ2C94jUMEdp3jKE0MHuXP64-Hxzb11EGiwyYMkYcoWJYygUgJfMD6SYrr0Ox1D6e1Zq8ocLPzkq772SlC1u1ceRhHNKpg-z1UX0HUp1szRFHGYwM5rl-he_cdXY4Dr3w8QkbzvNBG4q1MTLSn-fLPbYkyQL1WTIGN5iIMcl9pb7K17y1k0DKEA6eUQJjV58KZpQqmxsE47MM1qYORBAMFn8ovH1WhrrR3Gr0hVTMu0zXX1QoGj4L3yw7uNMYsbJMrqMkvSS8NUsqxPzjsn8fnLnJJDPsPAgMv4drQsnSAzPwBUWVv5PaiFHIQou2rNJ3CDiupLTvOr9JdGy7WOURPvQzc2WRQ_g-J1QESzWvHLkI7eokaQaz5wsJXjKT4-r4yEMHpoYc3fRWK2-J2l8HDDN5TiQZ1GjZGT1pZS8ypAPX9X2gKELm1aGcoPh96YL29xv_tK-t9xlt9IuZPzkxZa3Jia3JL5mR30GX2lZkn4=w1196-h897-no)

![reading nook record player](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hqHAfgPdL3YhE5wf1mz9fahEtPYDVdXcQRp9VWflIgFYvi-dwDqllecDQ-nim03g41_f6-hwGJQkCRdz_zTP70qJs5dfab-xHDbyLJyU8EtjVzKWThM6CejaOHsZ-MPYA9a2ac11DDqXVM5ZMacEqGe2O0a_qKmNIErViWgmKIZIa5G472xzIYlKGD2hUWoDjS4uAITKZeAmEevGzVoK6oeSAfg_4EjCpf3n8vQob9JVxRmLUPAiBPVlBwRXZ-FfHYnUZZgD6k3g9nrNjvAoQ694Y7dwyy5TVmGqsJ62t63XPVoAvUsJwY6fpBKP_5wHhJHsfeLPfPwH6h4yb2CDpDSTVocGEqrRaWvUOvNvfWBcK6S8MPweIbc5YU5sHDaHR7ayFqHBe-AamT03agFBhuJ2orZ7sVGvKZZCP0WJttWwPr0Edb8_BRrtChFOlZDElxT4VehN86ZSPCJ1OIBdmd9aAw1NQuJYkxt_IbqHbXpc10B2G4iSe1XpU88HkR8tpYuJL2ZQ4Zc0Mt-CzNX5V78XUak9hWNL9SOPvQ-NCpwyLGWzR9gE8R8ssWsUg5nljAlUXh8JdQEqVtYoobjglVGBPPH-8RD5p4xpAAQzIfQ31F6SX0jVmcjdLTvFHWKN3xhwvR354d25SA27zyzSMF0Ml3RjhantWCIZ6XXnNqDVwKvluqFm8b_gGj2bYZ4-03k4pwKw4Y_x7XFK-RA7wu8plFIh522L5w-wtxt_JQIdrduLGH9mVP8=w1196-h897-no)

![bedroom](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Dzsqn5tGyFLF9Wh0FFVFuQI7fBEVenS74ol5rPA5XBpUPRR6SDkQAP438SW0ixGm299Zh3f-XLzuDlpslM-Jhw8dADFIP3ckXAHDz-hgDdX38FsemTcOOJAG0OP-J27r61a8kkYlUpL5pprbA2aQpyrUgzrG2Ixuq4Yi6PxJdCOtharDCos_aI-ikxmObSVa3_clMbGSOGv1-WgaS53KxI9jbZa29hgVrW3QuON41T_8NvQ3WHT21vmgBLt6Yx7VyUkXbcoV_76ykkIwe_FdhBzvxg4KL2pWeG7fVY0cEObjS0sG98U3ooEBL33ErLMZzcuMs-0EHN7Ae51DdsUb4e5NWxyvJI1AUmcJSfNLLdTkITeYpC922-uaICI3E-fHhcXtDQR8W01FDd29aJ_7qCyMVNMqdumeMclWag58oizToRxJSOQJ4EM_FLAPyoADFhkaoIsonHx0JmNXuoyb7-smsfufm-Hs4o40IlrvehAq_wdVkLNDiaET6iPIISAthTX-VgStLHx9b3V8_IAEvpO0J63C-PXufyInbLTf2VdBdPNXnpnI9oDMKcZtStxfT0b5rYqeWwPC7O588oiUzU2zTO_v8oZxiYb8C5GLhKGCSVJ7KYz8qs_JgFKKUyvG_HTTbLNvyIRV3GUYGGV-Grq18ELsLdld4fhe1mWtX5f47ZNLaGN3pj5xTEHn0unIGOGvVskQF8eEbmc4B-Sj7XJpbCXHD2G12ZXSSsvgPLtnYbmdmRu2FSc=w1196-h897-no)

![kitchen](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bSyzc2W2rKDfbxd6NBI6tL_thHlZBxOLmvxrD5c5UiaeZCEuIxsVwVx27bGRMr2ek0DKRPdCTSCOK0751nZA9EWjmHJrUSwQWLdi-NzmuNEpKjDwqXjmeQ31Kc9G3NR0T_rDtOn2G7-jQNWTjnJf9tOlHnbKVnWJcXLB93BQLh38Bl19j_Wq8DKzw_zLoeNn0yjHcoBNRNaBFYVlTCC2ymiH-0elVVpQs5raxICi_sqLiNuHYqj_1-MxLYev7K6kDt7wPTFsO8JdcRQyNKV3u-ku1VzzDyZeRjkgvL5zjl_OQB6PRCeBJuq_W1yFEmpzQtN87nsIPYwY4vLegBQFvucNoSpccfvlz4_DND8QEeK4DXFoDmQTiLSILqdM1PVrwFD6PgrlZIZBFkkS1CvLHNqnEzalF72Pvr4xop1yFLTLxclUaK3nDVY6HPfdlp69HHnYs-Gbs_xdmbsF0pzJtfe57N70v07IDxtEY5-xET5C5bjZPmw3L4WdCjuwqSELN244e3qJU9AdMJtSIkv9Au6ksHQM070QD3VYPYny0562iDs7Y5E_BMzpxmtQx_rLb_jTfHYbpaN0nd_AZjyYrPsmS9NvTacbViG8vA7buhScoLfAPNjiEHx8hdBTPnp2tr6agPv3_cFQSdaSo2splQV975Y1SBMfud81D7ajTysjsdUEsbxsF_TeCVlR7KR7bZFpNiCEzXTdCrly4xLQMZkNnoa43A05GJ04cFiuC3czcWNDODBowmw=w1196-h897-no)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KwdJ48XabtZFqNkUDXpB-iqKRRNiNKKDaU_N9-8M8XEXKbz63TCnbFl7p1hYJ1Ay1XMqqGgZqYA_hrogUx_3zNAFSWZbH7yUqCjXvE3SAf5BTWT9O1__9jXl54HkjwMoHi8tomfQwRaDEreoK32f1VdbsQ9wce4Wsh2GBTP6_JxwPaUY_2esZQacSzyo5ucv6Maf1-40oCx50BXYjspE85h27KqC6rf7FaVOLXXsRpJugrzFw9XPf4vOeg8Y2ihYIFFLDG_K8tmMC0u6iC9wgCBVjwcxNUaC-K2a0Fqk4Rv5tRn1DbdTQJ3ckOfIiT6P42kth-qMG_yWl6CKIW-f2mzemz3Kre2AtMtX3foWshsSQn0K98Regzp1sMa7sLiHmPZ2AuOn067ARNE8hbohapVXzVHdiGTOCqag6_KQDNpgH651kjqtgtG8X-AqfkT5tAbOWgtRFPvDzc4CWXWAzGgmEldf56jjHOKj3ZdsLECs4yEWX-IqAHJNUTlHPaRLAEjRyDb38fVO6lvoEdNn5vK7LptEQN_IQB_0O6BZfd6vKEMgMUrSQmZ48gg_ke3gDrMF3zTm0-IYAy0S5hSE3Q9zF9NcSgiT4gudhshA0TTUOCwNxMNTy7rpyzL1TSNTSobyEz_cTjY7WlY7AkKbvqWdxPOtdLoMPBO4sT5_qc7D41UayOmAOdM0Pr8HVelTTsdNE7yNVxRc-vw8wZ7DG4l_eAWfW6q9XlTGBMb_3TlRE5ZhgQz-xsw=w1355-h898-no)

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![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/663eONBVTR4Fr2sD12_j6oo2Cc9EJ8gqRswk4AFQX-5n0iCG1ffxbJfwzeqebkHzcn3HLTvdJ_aqN6MV0DGoLyp1lajh34aq9YdZ0SJmegNQPBNE4uCiM5qdgL1iBNdXf63uw08O4cef8RuXKyMN8oZ1i2uGkW7j4IDoTKWOgqNnUCOiEE3xYtic7sM_wDhK0ZcquHu69ezx1ffsO3qfU4rV4B3kXYR0iVgpe9UYE7RyQsMg4jTXs1kKf5o14huXXWutGBFD15ijlWJPeogWB6SaWMeVlca2C3CuMd9i8oiXDmLPQrszwkj3qvo3biIuAe_y2PjI_HvR8cGDLu__vBmUpz4qgtVKkfDd7PE_UzQiU9wXr-LXhQYlc7ybj0ra6lHnbTCtZxhu8JsUXxk7TVcXllZoq3tqypvzKFQhCWcoBNji8B-UF1QlIcoHj3oqOypAw66KtQMv4I6PykPsbjbXv7kQm-hH9Xqu5bHDgA41Bqn1-jdIgsOo_ahBZ677UB1fq5QkoOAgqz973Dpv2Yt9tD3kBsT9qN1Oko9NnIW6X4AqzUnhxAoQj0u2zCHq0ht7eAh6lL4VxuNSfttDbeEiwlPBZ2X1TmTRLHhmSnyMIff99o8Y8LWTTy3vqttDzU46znaQLqTby8zUGNQW-g58DqFNms9P4bzFRlc6eUZiiW8XgMU4B6rrn4LexdgbYbs3XKvSxHYeCSaOTayx9sJUcFjmGHXhfpE8Uipt9gdx2L70PIgMTgM=w1122-h898-no)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/j9iDShN2xAuCnsbiVMOtCOsLFKhQabEPpxi4Vn-9GhBuXQqqvJDIOlFB3xUQfjLlLmX9b1jwMbEigUSbfQSrYJgP5vQnulazrPlvD0mq7l9shy_2y50esRnESctTEoPDEJoa5QMCKoOcJLBWgw0oIQOdxeWi5fn9aY6afKqs54IOcQ88JK924oAvNnROw-cUqLa_MUesw92gRhrUvgqzuq7JqdBFRqofr53i72DmtJah822jhLOtFWdlJeu3S4V42lz1zDeOKEuIxpVmPcn5L8pR9BPyl1npEYeKNGvBqCRCD4kPW7AP2jethAYz3eWmnTdYLp4lBCtw4Hh-JnZSNX65FXUxaiYuB3nqX4Y-aymE9ZU1L1NqOBhmpEBxNp_pvQwci6zdCGFRb6gB9uhlgcVB85jZaks1Z0Ly8m5aoeuzLfaY53aWtIf7Iy2xGn_NC7p1MDqoe5AMEOjIQv4l64KxIHsOOhLbcWAZUFzziGzORVqFGNlVqgJ6hLUnafvT1ByvK3jFwde9PFOOnvvdxPov4DfP1MxWNEU5ZIKEqFD-tQUuaw46OaRM8ClP9uoTLrbS4LItxPrOLPOozP_DSiwVDtWB49VNXGm4QZHOQ097-Ew_2La-CNKgdWoCw5dd2Cw7U1kdeZJG18VkVaha5W0ur4OKGb07PuGKApgmJB_Fte0Fd9qQ4Da0UgKBDHpflJzVkU2QtDNpBfnFsSirTel53HD2vv1zZ4aXfbFDPqtlabvz7Uv7NpA=w718-h897-no)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vLFa4PDHjPuYka4-pyrauhszRQHqwtV86ehPnnc3GmX9-w1mARiUGfWaQ6XTeoLygOyP3zT-af_iDMoKSzGLfxWn7V2ga4xfK9_rtykxZagV2ZrklaDDpqyF4vzpLQkQXVCrps7bEQtpPCTbYNmkCcuzP7mQyX-2Ghdo_HIgrTBSemD6QdNuoW-0Z3ChhjUbj9iEtZyRKPWnnJrVnv8PwPANdOxo8eghz8kyIsYTvxxISFlEwhKP3KLolWpSICbYLHUGaeXi2AxuEfZ5WvNja4-tMm2OdJHNI1SbCJkPVuCxkTr7guKuyjVkOIvG2T8K7mdXFVPkAvJKX_JbaA75zjFldxsNNuwT2ZhNE70EQkYnwE8VP9Hdvp1ZIN24SwRCJnOxK_ofh0Ajj2iN_OGNYQon093IPE18vxrm9G3qX45SjLA-uZBcZ6wUhcLyiKmPDWZ-cwDkHK8qQ3HBpPgBotn7oJQCNkgSWRFOgrYz3C8ZI30oSwZbHVwYxn0i6CSu0WOo6IAlSI1O-yfW5ViDzPQhW97pGan9Dr7JeLuouKVaPPu8yTtZtTs3zuqHm9q4SY78KbvQED1BCPxPsPIMP5qYOlPYpwQ5fBfI_WZytKa_KzziwENp_-c9Drs_i2Z6Trf3ZQmIDlNg8XCfcJoff7PJeSt_rbHdaPqpHWuuOmPI7OnAS6VPCttWrDvk1WqmflFctr7XIi9Ak0-jrufldsbmy09D-ywUJP1IutZH-fQkjFTmruu_fb4=w595-h897-no)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_8bfrFfvAUl8u7THoN58cj90p5IyUKjw4irvUCAYjsqxUR2fnDzEnSW7y6ILcsCbeEN0Cmjvkat4MZk_GisrqUv9YeuVmYsr70fAFJDApeZtoinbk3W1EAgb7syZnyc7InmnymWaQth58STIdAno_cZsfL_Ubi3N3nIkaQVaRNfyQCpYYure9xZ-XlkxLm0o2nTyrfQfdFg-apH37P0dUDOxmaYRRARHG1puWrLPJcpPKC4lYralwI68SQa6uTCed24y3CcQqM0DFAUaG_v0jNiwCw9psKbwvtnaH1jD3rUrgSTdXEiX-MArkEQlsWJFrudeJolGfocHKq8F-7G9e05Z05d-QK8NZfTYbyFLmqvIfWnU5QB3w51akVeloFMKEvFb2y3qv3qwcW6ACYc9XUYNqhU5NzmYh2XKrwbT4TwBW_P06BICqzoEhP3QJmWOUiwYqXWJE4tYfdR4WdL0CNGGc06F_gM4dHQGKQhACYb9sbt_8-jeTHHUv4lI4asicEpq0-ILU_n4vFRO0cPffSGNiWHFhYxcBmK1mXaxhaS5o5fJJSoZKqwF1vwyT6d_hpNFuO4J46MHURxAhIo9n_7-i1pDk9Wd3xGjOzJRNPRGGA9NI2lkE95Q5jomeJMa69C8ECk6KwuWHIPIdxS2C4Hk4-R9FBuFAsgCP8dMmpS4hepsoaBKHq0tgwY6IQ=w673-h897-no)

Tour around the office

So by now, most people are staying in their houses, isolated from the rest of the world because of COVID-19 (Corona).

Yes. This sucks big time. I miss not being able to go to work and see and hear my coworkers. I miss not being able to jump on a train and visit my parents. I miss going to Delhaize for 1 hour because I find a new idea for a recipe or a product I haven't tried yet. I miss going to Dille & Kamille to buy stuff for the house. I miss going to physical record shops.

But we're all trying to stay sane and make the best out of it. It's possibly going to last for a lot longer than we've initially anticipated. Below are some of the things I do or plan to do, next to work and in the weekends to ease my mind and make use of all this time being home:

- Making soup
- Experimenting with making stock (like [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndcDT1rXMvU))
- Finally catching up on magazines and books
- Making ginger beer
- Taking synced coffee breaks with my mom and brother over Facetime
- Cooking some of the recipes from my [recipe database](https://www.notion.so/thibmaek/627c0fb4f1614a36912180e1df0b09b2?v=2822052815cb4424b875693c51b07fb5)
- Updating this website's design + code
- Getting up early and listening to the birds outside for 15 minutes before jumping into the shower
- Using my iPad as a second screen with Sidecar, being able to move around the house from time to time
- Playing boardgames
- Adding tracks to my Rekordbox DB and creating new playlists
- Going through records I haven't played for a while and relistening to them
- Getting acquinted with Ableton to convert some vinyl-only records to digital audio

_I'll update this list with anything new that pops into my mind. Feel free to suggest some stuff on Twitter_

That COVID fucker is impacting everyone at a fast speed. I'm trying to make the best out of it…

🦠 Corona Routine

Shell afficionados like myself will love when they open a shell that is visually appealing. We know .bash_prompt, Oh My ZSH and other visual tweaking, but did you know you can very easily spice up the boring default SSH login?

With the help from the npm [`cfonts`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cfonts) package we can create colorised ASCII logos and show them on login.

As you may (or may not) know from my previous Linux, Bash, SSH or Raspberry Pi related posts, I always name my server's hostname to a well-known electronic music club somewhere in the world. For once I am setting up a server for someone else and naming it something else. Let's create the same nice login message, also called MOTD (message of the day)

# Prerequisites

You will need to install cfonts or call it directly via `npx`. I prefer installing it globally as a CLI tool so I can reuse it at later times:

```shell
$ npm i -g cfonts

# Without installing
$ npx cfonts "HOSTNAME" [...args]
```

![cfonts cli example](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/2SkSnvotsBlQ2DMyaNr2uN/354724d1d09193cf7522a0037dcdd181/Screenshot_2020-02-15_at_17.37.59.png)

> For exact CLI options, refer to the [usage guidelines](https://www.npmjs.com/package/cfonts#usage) on cfont's npm page.

# Creating ASCII text

The first argument to `cfonts` will be the text you want to style, with the rest options being the style properties provided as flags. I try to keep hostnames short since otherwise it will overflow to the next line in smaller terminals and just clutter up your view.

The nice thing is that cfonts automatically wraps named colors and rgb values as ASCII color sequences. We can created a gradient style like this:

```shell
$ cfonts "HOSTNAME" -f simple3d --gradient blue,magenta,cyan --transition-gradient
```

![Screenshot 2020-02-15 at 17.39.55](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/5w8QWWsM1tlhtoW1YgFO8q/a4e5c0f512075fb80f29558eb90e327c/Screenshot_2020-02-15_at_17.39.55.png)

# Adding it to our server

To add it to your server we need to overwrite the file at Linux's `/etc/motd` path. The easiest way to get the file on your server is to redirect stdout from cfonts to a file on your host machine and scp that to your server:

```shell
# Write it to a file
$ cfonts "BATI_RPI" -f simple3d --gradient blue,magenta,cyan --transition-gradient > motd

# Copy that file to the server
$ scp motd pi@bati-rpi.local:/home/pi

# Login to the server and move it to the /etc dir
$ ssh pi@bati-rpi.local
$ sudo mv /home/pi/motd /etc/motd
```

Now, when you log in, you're greeted with your friendly colorised login message! Colors might differ from host to host though I have noticed.

![Screenshot 2020-02-15 at 17.41.01](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/1neWveOYFZS40iCGVn8byZ/df5eec532d02058ef2779b2cc21f0cc4/Screenshot_2020-02-15_at_17.41.01.png)

📟 Creating fancy ASCII login messages for Linux

Sunday evening, no shops still open and only leftover ingredients to pull from the fridge. I was pretty amazed with this sandwich that I whipped up. It has everything: sweetness from the fennel, tanginess and stretchiness from the tahin and haloumi and crunch from the bread and radish.

If you want an easy midnight snack or are in a rush to whip up something (semi) healthy-ish that'll fill your stomach, then you should make this sandwich.

![IMG 4323](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/1itp1wdN05vJrix0OcLEYK/4de56e3b0a59f2d05b0924dca34de1e9/IMG_4323.jpeg)

_Sad attempt at a picture, but I didn't want to pull my phone into the intense relationship I was having with this sandwich at the time._

## Ingredients

- __½ or 1 Turkish bread__. Any 'stuffable' bread (like a pide or foccacia) will do.
- __1 fennel__
- __1 piece of haloumi__. I used pre-seasoned Berloumi here, which is the local Belgian variant of Berlare.
- __A bunch of radishes__, I used regular red radishes
- __Maple syrup__ or __honey__
- __Tahini__
- __Dill__
- __½ lemon__

## Making it

Pre-heat your oven to 180 — 220.

Put a grill pan on the stove and get it ripping hit. Grill pans always need to be ripping hot if you ask me. Cut fennel into strips or slices, discard the stems, keep the twigs (ALWAYS KEEP FENNEL TWIGS) and lightly oil either the fennel _or_ the pan with a brush and grill the fennel over medium high / high heat.

While the fennel is grilling, put your bread in your hot oven. Main goal here is to toast the turkish bread's outer layer but ensure the stuffing stays fluffy. If your bread doesn't have sesame seeds I highly recommend to get one that does or _lightly_ oil the surface of the bread and sprinkle black and white sesame seeds on top.

The heavy part of the recipe is over. Slice your radishes as thinly as possible, if you have a mandolin then use it, otherwise use a sharp knife. Pickled radishes would def. make this an upgrade and provide an extra layer to the sandwich. If you only have regular ones, that's fine too.

Your fennel should be nicely grilled and should show some nice chars or grill marks. Put it aside in a bowl and let it cool down for a bit. Throw the radishes in the bowl. Add some olive oil, enough just coat the vegetables, the lemon juice, pepper, salt, dill and the finely chopped fennel twigs. Toss to combine.

Put sliced haloumi strips into the same grilling pan and drizzle or brush over some maple syrup or honey to glaze it. Flip it after about 2 — 4 minutes and optionally glaze again (I didn't). Haloumi needs to go from the pan straight to the sandwich and then to your mouth. Leave grilled haloumi on itself to long and it'll become rubber.

Get your bread, cut some triangles from it. Slice it, but not whole way through of course. Spread some tahini __ON BOTH SIDES__ of the sandwiches, put the haloumi in and the vegetables on top.

🙌 Feast baby.

<hr/>

Feel free to tweet me back some pics if you made this or if you have strong opinions on this sandwich that you want to share with me and the whole world.

Only had leftovers, whipped up something real nice that can be made in 15 minutes.

🥪 Recipe for a fucking amazing haloumi & grilled veg sandwich

Alphabetical order. Forgot a bunch of releases since my music collection got fragmented over iTunes / folders / Plex. Nevertheless, enjoy.

Click the labels to go to the link. Buy on bandcamp babies xoxo.

# Singles/EPs/12"

- AEpep - HoxA-11.1 - 7p15.3 [Amniote Editions](https://soundcloud.com/amniote-editions/hoxa-11-aepep)
- Borai & Denham Audio - HILEVRECS002 - Make Me/No Good [Higher Level Records](https://higherlevelrecs.bandcamp.com/album/hilevrecs002-make-me-no-good)
- buttechno - badtrip [TRIP](https://triprecords.bandcamp.com/album/badtrip)
- Charlotte Adigéry - Zandoli [DEEWEE](https://charlotteadigry.bandcamp.com/album/zandoli-ep)
- Daniel Avery - Diminuendo (Luke Slater Remix) [Phantasy Sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxPeLnqhXQ)
- Daphni - Sizzling [Jiaolong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T8c250kPVQ)
- DJ Lily & Sandra Mosh - LILIES04 [BROR Records](https://brorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lilies4)
- Fadi Mohem - Perception [Seilscheibenpfeiler](https://fadimohem.bandcamp.com/album/perception-ep)
- KH - Only Human [Text Records](https://soundcloud.com/four-tet/kh-only-human)
- Laurent Garnier & Chambray - Feelin' Good [Rekids](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh1wmkQpQJQ)
- Mehen - HoxA-8: I've Heard A Lot About Harmony EP [Amniote Editions](https://hoxa-8.bandcamp.com/album/hoxa-8-ive-heard-a-lot-about-harmony-ep)
- MEROL - HOU JE BEK EN BEF ME [AMMEHOELA RECORDS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be948oasOIQ)
- Nick Berlin & Max Erotic - CLUB BELGIQUE VOLUME 1 [CLUB BELGIQUE](https://www.deejay.de/NICK_BERLIN_%26_MAX_EROTIC_CLUB_BELGIQUE_VOLUME_1_CB01__933738)
- Peter Van Hoesen - Kelly Criterion [Center 91](https://center91.bandcamp.com/album/kelly-criterion)
- Reptant - Freq Accident [Planet Euphorique](https://planeteuphorique.bandcamp.com/album/freq-accident)
- Robyn - Ever Again (Soulwax Remix) [Interscope Records](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anOe6p00Y6Q)
- Schacke - Kisloty People [Клуб](https://kisloty.bandcamp.com/track/kisloty-people)
- Stellar OM Source - I See Through You [Dekmantel](https://stellaromsourcedekmantel.bandcamp.com/album/i-see-through-you)
- Sworn Virgins - Lazer Beam [DEEWEE](https://sworn-virgins.bandcamp.com/album/lazer-beam)
- VTSS - Atlantyda [Monnom Black](https://monnomblack.bandcamp.com/track/atlantyda)

# Albums

- Balthazar - Fever [PIAS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2X2HaTvkl8)
- Barker - Utility [Ostgut Ton](https://sambarker.bandcamp.com/album/utility)
- Efdemin - New Atlantis [Ostgut Ton](https://ostgut.bandcamp.com/album/new-atlantis)
- Ertebrekers - Crème [Petrol](https://www.discogs.com/Ertebrekers-Cr%C3%A8me/release/13319388)
- Floating Points - Crush [Ninja Tune](https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/album/crush)
- Jayda G - Significant Changes [Ninja Tune](https://jaydag.bandcamp.com/album/significant-changes/)
- Lion Babe - Cosmic Wind [LION BABE MUSIC LLC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fU-ZXhWGsY)
- Patrice Rushen - You Remind Me (The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978 - 1984) [Elektra](https://patricerushen.bandcamp.com/album/you-remind-me-the-classic-elektra-recordings-1978-1984)
- Paula Temple - Edge Of Everything [Noise Manifesto](https://noisemanifesto.bandcamp.com/album/edge-of-everything-digital-album)
- Phillipi  & Rodrigo - Paciencia [DEEWEE](https://phillipirodrigo.bandcamp.com/album/paciencia-lp)
- Planetary Assault Systems - Straight Shooting [Mote Evolver](https://www.discogs.com/Planetary-Assault-Systems-Straight-Shooting/release/13142871)
- Zwangere Guy - Wie Is Guy? [TopNotch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp_Z7ZGBNw4)

# Compilations

- Berghain 09 by Vatican Shadow [Ostgut Ton](https://soundcloud.com/ostgutton-official/berghain-09-vatican-shadow)
- DJ Kicks by Laurel Halo [!K7 Records](https://laurelhalo.bandcamp.com/album/dj-kicks-laurel-halo)
- LateNightTales by Floating Points [LateNightTales](https://latenighttales.bandcamp.com/album/late-night-tales-floating-points)

Keeping up the yearly tradition. The best music released in 2019

🏆 Best of 2019

I quickly cobbled this together and again it was fun to see how powerful bash is. 

Very simple changelog generation based on the `git log` command to get the log between two tags. It will automatically get the current tag and the one before it and output all the commits in their short form.

You could very easily integrate this in your CI pipeline. My use case was generating a changelog on every new `npm version` which creates a tag and then pushes to a private repository. Note that I am filtering out the commits containing __"Upgrade to:"__, leave the grep command out if you don't want to exclude commits.

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash

set -e

function check_changelog() {
  if [[ ! -f ./CHANGELOG ]]; then
    touch CHANGELOG
  fi
}


function get_changelog() {
  local currentTag previousTag prevChangelogContents
  currentTag=$(git describe --abbrev=0 --tags "$(git describe --abbrev=0)"^)
  previousTag=$(git describe --abbrev=0)
  prevChangelogContents=$(cat ./CHANGELOG)

  {
    echo "## $currentTag";
    echo "";
    git log-short --no-merges "$currentTag...$previousTag" | grep -v "Upgrade to";
    echo "";
  } > CHANGELOG
  echo "$prevChangelogContents" >> CHANGELOG
}

function main() {
  check_changelog
  get_changelog
}

main
```

And then in your CI pipeline (using Bitbucket pipelines here):

```yaml
...
  step:
    script:
      - npm version minor -m "Upgrade to %s [skip ci]"
      - ./generate-changelog.sh && cat ./CHANGELOG
      - git add ./CHANGELOG && git commit --amend --no-edit
      - git push && git push --tags
      - npm publish
```

> Demo repo: [https://github.com/thibmaek/demo-collections/tree/master/pure-bash-git-changelog](https://github.com/thibmaek/demo-collections/tree/master/pure-bash-git-changelog)

Hassle-free changelog generation using bash, git tags and git commits

📝 Auto-generating a changelog using only bash and git

# The backstory and the load of troubles

> What follows in the section below is a detailed outline of what the problem is when you want to run Unifi in combination with Telenet's internet + TV offering. If you're already up-to-date on these issues, I recommend you skip to the following section to see that actual fix.

About a month or two ago, I moved to my very first own place together with my girlfriend. I used to live with my parents so tinkering too much with a network setup was a no-go, since they paid for the ISP subscription and mostly wanted to stick with the ISP provided hardware. But now I am fully in control and can look for more robust alternatives, which I can also experiment with and learn from. 

I knew [meshed networking](https://www.howtogeek.com/290418/what-are-mesh-wi-fi-systems-and-how-do-they-work/) was the new hip thing, and after only hearing positive things about [Unifi and its SDN platform](https://www.ui.com/software/) I decided to watch a bunch of videos and browse some sites to see how that all worked together. Their devices looked nice, well architected and reliable.
Aside from that I was also looking for something I could plug in to [Home Assistant](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/unifi/) and manage on my own. ISP provided hardware is often limited and junk. For example: I can [not set](https://www.netweters.be/t5/Instellingen-software-hardware/Beperken-DHCP-range-op-wireless-router-telenet/td-p/3093) [static IP reservations](https://userbase.be/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47895) [on the router side](https://www2.telenet.be/nl/business/klantenservice/hoe-stel-ik-een-vast-ip-adres-in/) of my Telenet Modem and can only open up 10 ports maximum. 

So I bought a Unifi AP AC-LR to start out with and see how it could evolve. Boy, I was in for a ride… 

Belgian ISP Telenet makes it [ridiculously hard](https://home-theater.be/threads/telenet-nieuwe-witte-modem-ism-eigen-router.2426/) to run your own networking gear in their internet (+tv) bundles. I suspect this is purely on purpose so they can lock you in and force certain restrictions on you as a customer. I knew they provided each new subscription with a piece of plastic called “Home Gateway” (HGW), which is essentially a modem/router/AP combo with no option to manage stuff on the router side and the AP coverage of a storage room. But, they also offer a modem-only (EMTA) model which you can use to run your own networking gear behind.

So that modem-only sounds like what I wanted, only downside is that it is ridiculously hard to get. Business customers can get this relatively easy, but if you are a non-business customer they will flat out refuse it over the phone, Twitter and in their shops. If you ask for a reason, there is no valid one that they can give. If you are lucky though, some subcontractors which perform the installation at your home might be willing to do this outside of Telenet’s knowledge but that all depends on how kind and willing your installer is.

I tried, but sadly, had to go with the crappy HGW option and find my way around it. AP functionality can be disabled on the HGW itself using the [mijn.telenet.be](https://mijn.telenet.be) webportal so I initially just turned that off and replaced the AP with my Unifi AP. It worked, I got great wifi coverage, and a nice interface to manage and view clients connected to the wireless network.
From my previous articles you may know that I also have an Intel NUC running my ‘homelab’ services in Docker and has itself opened up to the internet. The immense unreliability of the HGW does not do the server great justice. No way to assign a static IP and the continuous random reboots, firmware upgrades and bugs on the HGW make your connection flaky and the DHCP server running on it constantly reassign a new local IP address to my server, which meant manually editing portforward rules.

There is even a bug in the firmware (a regression caused by an upgrade) which makes to [modem](https://www.netweters.be/t5/Instellingen-software-hardware/Modem-24-8-DOC-3-valt-uit-bij-verbinding/td-p/58718) [crash](https://www.netweters.be/t5/Instellingen-software-hardware/DS-CAM-Wan-ip-blokkeert-modem/td-p/72466) [everytime](https://www.netweters.be/t5/Instellingen-software-hardware/HGW-crasht-bij-NAT-loopback-verkeer/m-p/71666#M11119) you’re trying to access the server via NAT loopback. Telenet’s official stance is basically this: [not important enough to fix](https://www.netweters.be/t5/Instellingen-software-hardware/Modem-24-8-DOC-3-valt-uit-bij-verbinding/m-p/73071/highlight/true#M11344). 

Truth lies in how one user puts it on Telenet's Netweters forum (Dutch):

> Ik betaal niet graag € 117 per maand als dan blijkt dat het leeuwendeel waar ik de Telenet-diensten voor gebruik - het hosten van mijn eigen development server thuis met daarop broncode-repositories - het niet doet

Seriously, just fuck these guys with their abysmal service and zero interest in their power users. I could be advocating for Telenet but won’t. They are very lucky that they offer the fastest network available here in Belgium, otherwise I think a lot of people would have switched already.

Anyway, I tried to go down the modem only route again and try to force them to give me one so I could run my own gear. But then I opened another one of Pandora’s boxes. If (like many people) you have an internet + digital TV subscription, then [running](https://userbase.be/forum/viewtopic.php?t=55467) [a modem only model](https://www.netweters.be/t5/De-nieuwe-Telenet-TV-box-TV-app/Uitleg-Nieuwe-TV-Box-achter-Modem-Only-EMTA/td-p/70373) [with the most recent set-top box](https://www.netweters.be/t5/De-nieuwe-Telenet-TV-box-TV-app/Nieuwe-TV-box-plaatsen-modem-only-weg/td-p/49707) [is impossible](https://www.netweters.be/t5/De-nieuwe-Telenet-TV-box-TV-app/Nieuwe-TV-box-met-modem-only/td-p/64416/page/2). Yes, impossible. Telenet’s stance: not possible now, maybe later / Administrative purposes. We all know what that means. Previous modem only models (pre EMTA) could run modem only + TV just fine, all you had to do was connect the set-top box directly to the modem, because the box needs an IP assigned by the modem. I’m not completely sure why this is but I suppose this has something to do with media broadcasting rights?

So the newer set-top box (EOS) only works with the HGW. Another clear 🖕🏻 to network admins, advanced home users and business customers wanting to be in control of their own network, while also being able to enjoy the digital TV offering.

I was seriously getting fucked over here by Telenet in every fucking way and was starting to get sick of it. I persisted and after several nights of browsing Unifi communities, the official Telenet community and reading up on network terminology I finally find a way which works.

So if you find yourself in the same scenario as I am, read up below on how to successfully combine Unifi + Telenet + TV using the default supplied hardware.

# Running Unifi Controller in Docker

> If you are proficient enough with networking, Docker or Unifi, you can probably skip this section.

Since I had the NUC always on (and not having to buy another [CloudKey](https://www.ui.com/unifi/unifi-cloud-key/) after already buying much of Unifi’s pricey hardware) I could run [Unifi Controller](https://unifi.ui.com) in Docker. This article is already pretty lengthy so I will not go much into detail on how the Unifi SDN and UI Controller work (there are other resources for that) but I can say that to run a Unifi network you need both their hardware & software.

A typical router mostly has some firmware, software or a web interface embedded on the device so you can manage the settings on the router. Unifi gear on the other hand  only ships with a very minimal Linux OS and gets ‘provisioned’. This means that you run the software called Unifi Controller somewhere and the settings will get sent to the hardware after which the hardware updates with the new settings. It works great because that way you could run it in the cloud and can manage ‘sites’ across the world without physical access to the network.

I think Unifi probably ships their own Docker containers to run Unifi Controller (which is a Java app) but we are blessed to have [linuxserver.io](https://linuxserver.io) and their great stack of images, so I used [that one](https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi-controller). Below is the docker-compose config I used for setting up UI Controller. It is very important to note that I do not advise to change the default port mappings. I had Nextcloud running on 8080, and thought I could use something else for Unifi Controller, but their hardware hardcoded assumes that UI Controller is going to respond from port 8080. So if you have ports already taken by other containers, change them for those containers and not for UI Controller. Also make sure to review the __Application Setup__ section on the Docker Hub page for linuxserver's image.

```yaml
version: '2'

services:
  unifi:
    image: linuxserver/unifi-controller
    container_name: unifi-controller
    environment:
      - MEM_LIMIT=1024M
      - PGID=1000
      - PUID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/Brussels
    volumes:
      - ./data:/config
    ports:
      - 3478:3478/udp
      - 10001:10001/udp
      - 8080:8080
      - 8081:8081
      - 8443:8443
      - 8843:8843
      - 8880:8880
      - 9876:6789
    restart: unless-stopped
```

After you have created this container and logged in with your Unifi credentials you should be greeted with the UI Controller interface:

![Screenshot 2019-10-13 at 17.45.37](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/4zmWLeaRyviQPpAmcPoRDB/353742e32cff2321ebe4f80202fdeb62/Screenshot_2019-10-13_at_17.45.37.png)

# Integrating your USG with Telenet’s HGW

1. Make sure you have the AP functionality ("Draadloos Signaal") disabled on the HGW. This can be done by going to the settings page of your HGW in mijn.telenet.be
2. Go deeper into the page (you might need to enable advanced settings) and change the subnet of your HGW. A Unifi USG (or most other routers) has its subnet set to 192.168.1.1/24 and changing it on the USG is more complex. If your HGW has its subnet set to .1/24, change it here and wait for the  HGW to reboot. You can change it to anything really but I prefer .0/24
3. Connect the `WAN1` port of your USG to a LAN port of the modem. The HGW has 4 Gigabit LAN ports that you can use. Just pick one since we will probably never connect a device to this piece of worthless plastic ever again 😊
4. Boot up the USG. Connect your laptop either directly via the `LAN2` port of the USG or connect to your AP (which should be connected via ethernet to your USG) and browse to the IP of your UI Controller or ui.unifi.com. Going to `192.168.1.1` should also work perfectly and show you the homepage of your USG where it says “internet connected”.
5. You have successfully migrated to using Unifi for your home network! It is possible that your AP needs to be reprovisioned.

## Opening up ports or your server to the internet via the USG

OK, so we have LAN and Wifi set up, but we want to open up some ports as well. I have a webserver and SSH that I want to access outside of my network so we need to take care of that in UI Controller. Before, we would have browsed to Mijn Telenet, and opened up our IPv4 ports. With the USG its going to be a bit different.

In order to let the USG do all our routing we need to be a bit smarter and find our way around the limitations of the HGW. If you now head to Mijn Telenet and view your connected devices, only one should be in the list: `UBNT` which is the USG. We are going to keep it that way and put our USG in the DMZ, which essentially means that we open up every port on the device with this IP. This is not bad, since now we can move the full routing to the USG and configure our protection from the internet on the USG. Add the ip of your USG (UBNT in connected devices) in the DMZ on Mijn Telenet and wait until the HGW reboots if necessary. If the USG would change IP, all you have to do is change the IP of your DMZ device, but I don’t expect this to happen a lot.

In UI Controller, you can now configure port forwarding rules and if you try to access your WAN IP (shown on Mijn Telenet) you should be able to access the ports opened up outside of your home network.

As of today I still haven’t figured out how to get NAT Loopback working with this hardware combination so I am not able to access my WAN IP or domain name from inside my network unfortunately 😞

## Making your Telenet EOS TV box work with a Unifi network

Alright! Our network is now configured as we want it and further tweaking of network settings can be done exclusively in UI Controller, neat 🌶

But we have another problem to sort out. If your set-top box is connected via ethernet to your USG you will not have access to a lot of features on your EOS box. Playback from previous days, recording and TV on demand will all be unavailable as the EOS box has no direct connection to Telenet.

Initially I thought I was shit out of luck but my fiddling with the settings on the EOS box I found I surprising fix: you just need to connect your EOS box to Wifi.
For some reason, unbeknownst to me, connecting the EOS box over a wireless connection works and enables all the features like you would have it wired to the HGW directly. If you take speed into consideration, it should not be an issue here. It is true that the EOS box can output 4K streams, but this is only true for the YouTube and Netflix app on the EOS box. Telenet still only delivers streams for the Belgian television network in 720/1080p so pulling that over Wifi should not be an issue.

This method worked for me, but if Telenet would be to block it later or it would not work for your setup, here are a couple of fixes you could apply:

* If you have the option to run an ethernet cable directly from your HGW to the EOS box, I would do that. My wall only has 1 ethernet socket and I need to connect my TV, Chromecast, PS4 and Unifi AP to that socket.
* Buy 2 simple powerline adapters to put the HGW directly in link with the EOS box. Don’t get the crap ones Telenet sells, buy some Devolo or TP-Link ones. They will still suck but that is just a property of powerlines in general. You won’t include the EOS box on your main home network but then again, how big of an issue is that? Unless you’re streaming DLNA content on the EOS box or using Spotify Connect to play music via your EOS box, this should not be an issue.

## Conclusion

Alright, I was so glad I could get this working. It was really a pain to get find this solution and luckily I could combine a lot of resources on the internet to achieve my goal. I think if there is one thing we can learn from all of this, it’s that Telenet is certainly very limiting and crippled in their view and abilities to let advanced home users run their own networking gear. It’s a rare case to see that, even for business customers, they are forcing HGWs onto users with the EMTA modem-only model that also want to enjoy TV.

I hope my article helped you solve the problem if you were in the same boat. Reach out to me over Twitter or email if you have any suggestions, comments or findings ✌🏻


My struggle to setup Unifi + Telenet was immense. Ultimately it worked and I outline how to do it here.

📡 Configuring Unifi, Telenet Modem and the EOS TV Box

Ever since I started venturing into Docker more and more, all of my services have been gradually migrated to run in their container form. It has vastly improved updating services and recreating them from scratch if needed. 

At home, I have my homelab running a Debian 9 based Intel NUC with Docker and Docker Compose.
I recently moved out of the house to my own place, and before I actually moved, I left my family with the HTPC setup they were used to using when I was around, only now slimmed it down so that it runs on a Raspberry Pi 3B+.
Docker and Raspberry Pi go hand in hand these days, so without any hassle I set up Docker on the pi and migrated all the services I previously installed via apt to run in Docker.

Managing these services, both at home and remote, has proven to be a breeze thanks to the excellent work from the people over at [linuxserver.io](https://linuxserver.io) and Docker Compose but still, I felt like the Docker CLI commands were hard to remember and managing remote instances, like the Raspberry Pi, is very difficult with just the basic Docker toolkit.

# Portainer

Luckily we have [Portainer](https://portainer.io), which solves a lot of these problems!

Portainer is a UI interface and manager which you connect to the local Docker UNIX socket (`unix:///var/run/docker.sock`) and then lets you view and interact with your containers, stacks and images.
At work, on my Mac, I mostly use its counterpart [Kitematic](https://kitematic.com), but it seems like Kitematic is macOS/Windows only and doesn't offer a lot of the features that Portainer does.

## Running Portainer

You can easily set up Portainer using the following simple Docker Compose file:

```yaml
version: '2'

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer
    container_name: portainer
    command: -H unix:///var/run/docker.sock
    ports:
      - 9000:9000
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /opt/appdata/portainer:/data
    restart: always
```

The tool offers some stuff of its own like user management and templates for Compose stacks, but I am not really interested in that. The most interesting parts are the viewing/tailing of containerlogs, control of containers, quick overview of unused volumes/images/networks and shells that can be spawned.

![Screenshot 2019-10-09 at 00.35.15](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/5EzZMho4J7yHTQurRHnYhC/8ec3c38b69142c5f1b0ad501f04bf2b0/Screenshot_2019-10-09_at_00.35.15.png)

![Screenshot 2019-10-09 at 00.35.49](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/5Z4JF1t448VV8T5prMwEmn/575d0a97f8822b9b6ba7b052eb413003/Screenshot_2019-10-09_at_00.35.49.png)

![Screenshot 2019-10-09 at 00.36.41](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/1PbDP4OGr7jKGCaCVtOj8M/7eadc6131d2ae46c188544b0218d1fc2/Screenshot_2019-10-09_at_00.36.41.png)

So I got Portainer running on the NUC and the Pi and the one on the NUC forwarded to an external domain so I can access it at work or remotely. But... I do not want to manage another domain name for the one on the Pi and set it up again...

# Exposing Docker sockets via portainer-agent

Docker by default [offers a way to expose and connect to the socket over TCP](https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/https/) but setting it up is a true monks work as we would say over here. There are certificates to be created, signed, protected, verified and systemd services to adjust. Nobody wants to do that!

Again, Portainer is saving our asses. I looked through their docs on how to manage multiple Docker hosts from 1 portainer instance and they also referenced forwarding the socket, but instead they prefer to use the Portainer agent image to link hosts together.

The Portainer UI will tell you to copy/paste `curl -L https://downloads.portainer.io/agent-stack.yml -o agent-stack.yml && docker stack deploy --compose-file=agent-stack.yml portainer-agent` into the host you want to forward, but this only works for Docker Swarm nodes and did not work in my simple case.

Instead I had to do something way simpler: add the portainer/agent service to your Docker Compose stack on the host you want to manage, reup the stack with `docker-compose up -d` and then in the manager host, just connect to the WAN IP which has port 9001 forwarded in Portainer. 

```yaml
version: '2'

services:
  portainer:
    image: portainer/portainer
    container_name: portainer
    command: -H unix:///var/run/docker.sock
    ports:
      - 9000:9000
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /opt/appdata/portainer:/data
    restart: always
  
  portainer_agent:
    image: portainer/agent
    container_name: agent
    ports:
      - 9001:9001
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - /var/lib/docker/volumes:/var/lib/docker/volumes
    restart: always
```

![Screenshot 2019-10-09 at 00.45.09](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/3piOYiN0nPWtV9pbrT3zgP/21bee00fd3e6417e41cb4f6049407135/Screenshot_2019-10-09_at_00.45.09.png) ![Screenshot 2019-10-09 at 00.45.29](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/2642mRgiqmc4G9vf5Yzwc9/b1a0ae9bc1fc13aa1dfbdf4aa37d42dc/Screenshot_2019-10-09_at_00.45.29.png)

Now I can easily and safely manage and update both my home and remote Docker hosts wherever I am (note that I have substituted some values in the screenshots).

Hassle-free managing of Docker hosts across sites

🚢 Monitoring Docker hosts with Portainer

__UPDATE: Devices sold by Action under the LSC brand are no longer being manufactured with Espressif's ESP chips but instead use WB2S. Flashing them with tuya-convert is impossible with this chip, their might be a hardware UART but that is to be discovered...__

__UPDATE: It seems that Action is now selling revisions of the LSC hardware with a newer Tuya firmware. This means it is no longer possible to flash these using the tuya-convert method below because a new PSK has been implemented by Tuya.__

My quest on [flashing custom firmwares and controlling](https://thibmaek.com/post/bringing-mqtt-and-http-to-cheap-budget-store-remote-switches) budget switches sold at Action discount store continues!

Recently, Action started selling a big amount of [LSC Smart Connect](https://www.action.com/nl-be/search/?q=lsc+smart+connect) devices that are compatible with Google Home and Alexa. These devices are so called 'Tuya' devices that work with a cloud service but can be easily flashed. I quickly got one and decided to give it a go.

# Hardware flashing

Initially, I set out to flash it directly on the chip using an FTDI adapter but when opening it up, quickly realised that would be a big hassle.

These switches use the TYWE2S chip which is an ESP8285 based chip making it compatible with Tasmota and ESPHome.

In order to flash this chip you need to ground a pin to GPIO0 as outlined in [this wiki page](https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-Tasmota/wiki/CE-Smart-Home---LA-WF3-Wifi-Plug-(TYWE2S)).

The technical sheet for this chip is available [here](https://fccid.io/2ANDL-TYWE2S/User-Manual/Users-Manual-3596121.pdf).

Take note of the following GPIO pinout, which you need for a reference in ESPHome / Tasmota:

```plaintext
gpio 4 is LED (0 = on)
gpio 12 is relay (1 = on)
gpio 14 is switch (0 = pressed)
```

# Software flashing

Some smart people figured out a loophole in the SSL handshake that made this devices able to flash using just a terminal and a mobile phone.

Unfortunately, Tuya issued a patch in January that stopped this software hack from working.

__IN ANY CASE, DO NOT CONNECT THE SWITCH TO THE OFFICIAL TUYA OR LSC APP. THIS WILL DOWNLOAD THE LATEST STOCK FIRMWARE TO THE DEVICE AND POSSIBLY MAKE IT UNFLASHABLE AGAIN.__

Luckily, some other smart people figured out another workaround with tuya-convert and as of September/October, tuya-convert can be used again to flash these switches!

## Using tuya-convert to flash

The steps to flash firmware onto the switch are very simple, you only need a Linux machine with a wireless chip (like a Raspberry Pi Zero W), a mobile phone (I had better results with Android) and physical access to the switch's button.

__Steps below all performed on a RPi Zero W, using a wired ethernet connection and SSH__

```shell
$ sudo apt install git
$ git clone https://github.com/ct-Open-Source/tuya-convert
$ cd tuya-convert
$ ./install_prereq.sh
$ ./start_flash.sh
```

Follow the instructions displayed on screen. tuya-convert will automatically back up the stock firmware so you can flash it again if you'd want to. I copied it over using scp to my laptop, just in case.

## ESPHome

A binary for Tasmota is included in the tuya-convert project, but ESPhome is not MQTT based, nicer looking, has a better API and integrates seamlessly with Home Assistant.

Figuring out how the config should look was rather difficult since I initially based myself on a blogpost from [frenck.dev](https://frenck.dev) but found that the default [Sonoff S20](https://www.esphome.io/devices/sonoff_s20.html) config worked better. The config below is the one I used for flashing.

```yaml
esphome:
  name: lsc_smart_connect_node_bedroom
  platform: ESP8266
  board: esp01_1m

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password

api:
logger:
ota:

binary_sensor:
  - platform: status
    name: "LSC Smart Connect Bedroom Status"
  - platform: gpio
    name: "LSC Smart Connect Bedroom Button"
    pin:
      number: GPIO14
      mode: INPUT_PULLUP
      inverted: true
    internal: true
    on_press:
      - switch.toggle: relay

output:
  - platform: esp8266_pwm
    id: led
    pin:
      number: GPIO4
      inverted: true

light:
  - platform: monochromatic
    id: status_led
    name: "LSC Smart Connect Bedroom Light"
    output: led

switch:
  - platform: gpio
    id: relay
    pin: GPIO12
  - platform: template
    name: "LSC Smart Connect Bedroom Relay"
    optimistic: true
    id: relay_and_light
    turn_on_action:
      - switch.turn_on: relay
      - light.turn_on: status_led
    turn_off_action:
      - switch.turn_off: relay
      - light.turn_off: status_led
```

You can not use ESPHome to flash using a UART connection or OTA, instead you need to create a binary and put it on the machine that flashed using tuya-convert and flash that binary to the LSC switch.

- /home/pi/tuya-convert is where you checked out the git repo for tuya-convert
- The binary __has__ to be renamed to `thirdparty.bin` and __has__ to be in the `files` folder

```shell
# On my laptop which has ESPHome installed:
$ esphome lsc_smart_connect_switch.yaml compile
$ scp lsc_smart_connect_switch/.pioenvs/lsc_smart_connect_switch/firmware.bin pi@raspberrypi.local:/home/pi/tuya-convert

# On the Raspberry Pi Zero that flashed using tuya-convert
$ mv /home/pi/tuya-convert/firmware.bin /home/pi/tuya-convert/files/thirdparty.bin
$ curl http://10.42.42.42/flash3
> Device should flash http://10.42.42.1/files/thirdparty.bin and restart
```

Now wait a few seconds until the device pops up as `lsc_smart_connect_switch.local` on your network, which means it worked. Then quickly check Home Assistant and _voila!_:

![Screenshot 2019-10-06 at 15.43.19](//images.ctfassets.net/vzyw32ih2a4n/1oPYsWtGL9EL4WgEuQJcKo/b54a30f3ccd7347345d62f9947186ec4/Screenshot_2019-10-06_at_15.43.19.png)

You can now use the relay to toggle the switch on and off.

Some finishing notes:
- ~~I did not manage to make the LED respond to the relative switch state. It's possible, I just don't know how.~~ [Oli](https://twitter.com/inframe) helped me and gave me a working config for the LED!
- ~~Do __NOT__ configure a button in ESPHome/Tasmota for the hardware button. Doing this will make the switch auto reset to the firmware stored on the chip every time.~~ This is only true for Tasmota as [@Martidjenn](https://twitter.com/Martidjenn) pointed out to me. The ESPHome config has been updated with the button configured.
- This was trial and error, I also completely bricked a switch when trying to flash, luckily they're only 8.95 EUR.
- Unfortunately, these do not offer power measurement like their counterpart GOSUND switches sold by Amazon. GOSUND can also be flashed by tuya-convert until Tuya issues another patch.
- I did not test reflashing a device again using the same tuya-convert method, nevertheless if you flashed it with ESPHome you should be able to just flash an updated firmware using ESPHome's OTA method.

### More LSC stuff

These are the chip models for most of the LSC Smart Connect devices:

- Switch Plug ESP8285-TYWE2S
- Door Sensor ESP8266-TYWE3S
- PIR Sensor ESP8266-TYWE3S
- Hand Remote RTL8710BN-WR3
- Sirene RTL8710BN-WR3
- Led Strip ESP8266-TYWE3L

_Ref: https://www.letscontrolit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6955_

### Troubleshooting

- If the flashing takes very long, try again
- Android phones yielded better results connecting to the AP and switch
- I had better chances when I put my switch in flashing mode, __before__ running the `./start_flash.sh` script.
- If you are seeing an error regarding SSL when trying to install the prereqs or flashing make sure you have libssl-dev: `sudo apt install libssl-dev` (not included by default on Raspberry Pi)
- The official ct-Open-Source tuya-convert repo should include the new workaround but if it doesn't work use [this fork](https://github.com/M4dmartig4n/tuya-convert). I used this instead because it was the first one to include the patch bypass and I supose this is the one that got merged into upstream.

Yet another great hack for Action budget smart home devicccces

🔌 Flashing ESPHome to LSC Smart Connect (Action) switches / power plugs

At work, we mostly use PRs to merge features into our development branch.

For quick fixes or things that do not need to pass everybody's eyes it is ok to push on the develop branch, but while doing this works fine most of the time, stuff like snapshot tests can often be forgotten to run before the push.

We do not want to force running tests on prepush. This is tedious when your project has a lot of tests and after all, you probably have CI which takes care of this task.

Below are some snippets you can use to configure tests only to run on develop when pushing directly, via the pre-push hook.

> Note that I am using [husky](https://github.com/typicode/husky) and Bash but you can of course use whatever you want since it falls back on [git rev-parse](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-rev-parse) mosltly.

__.huskyrc__

```json
{
  "hooks": {
    "pre-commit": "lint-staged",
    "pre-push": "./Taskfile pre_push_guard"
  }
}
```

__Taskfile__

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

function pre_push_guard() {
  local currBranch
  currBranch=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)

  if [ "$currBranch" == "develop" ]; then
    npm test
  fi
}

function help {
  echo "$0 <task> <args>"
  echo "Available tasks:"
  compgen -A function | cat -n
  echo ""
}

"${@:-help}"
```

Thibault Maekelbergh