Welcome to the blog

I've mulled over creating a blog for a few months, but never got around to building it. I wanted to make a blog where everything is self-contained, with no need to deploy a database or run any server (besides literally anything that can serve HTML).

So, I built this blog in NextJS in about 6 hours over the course of 2-3 days. Honestly, all previous experience I've had with Next was a rough experience, usually because of frankenversions in some projects (upgrading across multiple versions and not clearing out hacky workarounds from older versions), or trying to balance Expo react-native mobile with Next strapped onto the side for a web project.

All things considered, building out this ultra-simple blog was mostly pleasant. No significant hurdles, just a little bit of learning.

Who am I?

I'm Scott P., also known as ChronSyn. I'm a software engineer working in React Native (Expo), Typescript, and SQL. I'm based in the north of England, and I've been working remotely since late 2020 (thanks, pandemic!).

I've been working commercially as a software engineer since early 2018, building projects with Javascript since 2014, but I also worked with Delphi (object pascal) as early as 2005... but we can mostly ignore anything built before 2010.

What am I going to blog about?

Consider this a blog of mixed subjects. I expect many blog posts will be about coding and software engineering, but you should also expect to see posts about self-hosting / homelabbing. I might post photos, and there might even be some blog posts about gaming, but don't count on it.

Homelabbing?

I am very much in the "host all the things" camp. I started on this journey in 2022 when I was frustrated with a wifi bulb being completely uncontrollable if my internet was acting up. I setup home-assistant, and started moving devices over. For the next 2 years, I experimented with self-hosting different things on various mini-PC's, but it wasn't until June 2024 when I setup Unraid and built an entire homelab system around it that I started taking it more seriously.

I started cancelling subscriptions for services where self-host options exist, such as photos (Immich), video (Jellyfin), calendar (Baikal), time-tracking (Timetagger), notes (Neosmemos), documents (Paperless-NGX), AI (ollama + open web UI), location timeline (Dawarich), and a bunch of others.

Since I'm also a stickler for never seeing HTTP warnings, I also use a reverse proxy (originally Traefik, but eventually Nginx-Proxy-Manager) with LetsEncrypt certs. I've set things up so that services can only be accessed internally (and only by specific devices at both proxy and Firewall level), and use Netbird for VPN for when I'm remote (because as good as Tailscale is, I'm all too familiar with Enshittification of tech products and don't want to see my VPN go the same way).

This self-hosting has saved me a significant sum of money each month while offering much better reliability and privacy. I know that things don't change unless I update something (e.g. update a package), but even then most things don't change between updates. I know that if I return to something 6 months after I last used it, it'll still be the same.

Most recently, I setup a Proxmox system on a separate 32-core mini PC, and started using a self-hosted N8N instance, which has opened up a lot of doors for me to build more projects for myself.

Geek or nerd?

I'm a nerd in that I'm interested in STEM (particularly the ST parts), but I'm a geek in that I tend to focus intensely on specific hobbies within those fields (as opposed to understanding many things about many subtopics).

Other hobbies?

I've tried a bunch of hobbies over the years, but one which has stuck with me is photography. I started taking it seriously in 2014. I started with a OnePlus One phone (because the 50 MP stitched photo mode was incredible), moved up to a Panasonic FZ-72 in July 2015, then a Nikon D5200 in October 2015, and finally a Nikon D750 in January 2016.

Eventually, cameras on phones improved enough that I generally don't bother with the DSLR any more. These days, I use the iPhone 17 Pro Max (previously iPhone 15 Pro Max) for photography, and for 95% of situations, the results are fantastic (composition is arguably more important than 'perfection').

I've also got a DJI Mini 4 Pro drone, though like many gadgets I've bought, that doesn't see much use these days.

I also enjoy 3D printing. Specifically, I design and print practical / functional parts to solve problems I have. That doesn't mean I never print pretty things, just that I prefer to solve problems. As of writing, my biggest print project was the Hexagon Storage Wall, whih really helped organise a bunch of things that were on my desk (though I should definitely get more things mounted on remaining space).

I also enjoy trying to perfect pizza using a home oven. I'm a fan of Neapolitan-style pizza, but I recognise that oven temperature plays a huge role in making it the way it is, and I feel that's the missing part in an otherwise great result.

Gaming?

Yeah, I game. I've been playing World of Warcraft since early 2007, though I've not raided in any focused capacity since late 2010. I unlocked Mythic+ mounts in at least 1 season in BFA, Shadowlands, Dragonflight, and The War Within, but I never do it with organised groups because despite it being an MMO, I'm very much a solo gamer.

Besides that, I've been on and off with Battlefield games over the years (I started with BF2), most recently with BF6, but also with BF2042 in the months prior.

I used to love Heroes of the Storm, but it's been mostly on life support for a few years, and it's the sort of game where I play it intensely for a few months then get bored of for ages.