vWorkbench

“vWorkbench” is my own personal Vim9-based development environment and writing environment that I’m trying to ‘spin out’ into an open source project that is stable enough, reusable enough and well-documented enough to be used by others. https://github.com/wordswords/vWorkbench.git - this is the current version of my development environment that I use as much as possible, both in personal and work situations. https://github.com/wordswords/vWorkbench/blob/master/README.md - this is the documentation on my development environment, which I absolutely try and keep up to date. ...

September 26, 2024 · 1 min · David Craddock

Security Research

I am currently familiarising myself with tools to implement cyber security solutions. This is in preparation for my research project as part of the MSc Cyber Security masters I’m taking from the University of London via distance learning. This research is strictly for informational purposes and I don’t do anything criminal with it. I realise some of this information may be seen as ‘over-sharing’ and is a security risk in itself, but I believe that the benefits of sharing this information outweigh the risks, and that there is no ‘security via obscurity’. ...

August 24, 2024 · 6 min · David Craddock

My Electric Cargo Bike

(An outdated picture) I use this as a bike as a general-purpose car replacement, as well as volunteering and long-distance cycle challenges and trips. It has a maximum average power-assisted range of 60 miles on a single charge, assuming the lowest power-assist setting, up to 20 miles per charge for the highest power-assist setting. I have configured it so that I can move large objects and cargo similar to a small car, and cycle and navigate safely and comfortably in all weathers, as well as use it as an exercise machine to keep fit and lose weight. ...

June 9, 2024 · 3 min · David Craddock

My Mobile Laptop Setup

I use this setup, along with my bike to work from wherever I want. It does kind of turn heads, and I’m aware it may look a little ‘over the top’ - but it’s a very useful setup for me, keeps me healthy, and fits all my requirements. Hercules DG400BB Laptop Stand w/ Bag - this portable laptop stand is very sturdy and is designed for mobile DJ use. I find it is excellent in all situations, not just DJ use. Lenovo Legion 5i - Intel i7 12th gen CPU, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 4TB in 2x 4th gen NVME SSD drives, 3070Ti graphics card, 15" 1440p IPS Dolby Vision HDR screen - This is my laptop that I’ve put a lot of money into upgrading. Logitech MK295 Silent Wireless Mouse & Keyboard Combo - This is a good mobile keyboard and mouse setup, which I got because I was making too much noise typing at ~100wpm in libraries. Portable Battery charger - A good quality external battery charger which will charge and release charge via USB A and USB C ports Lenovo Legion 17" Armored Backpack II - This is an excellent quality padded laptop bag - by far the best laptop carrying case I’ve owned. It distributes the weight of my setup properly over my back so I can walk long distances Sony Xperia 1 V Android mobile - This is a top of the line media phone which I’ve had for a while now and am very happy with. I often use it as a mobile hotspot for the laptop. It is waterproof. Sony MX1000 Mk3 wireless headphones - This is a top of the line HDAC/Apt-X HD wireless noise cancelling headphones. They work well with my laptop and my phone. Rock Cloud Portable Camping Table - This table will hold up to 25KG which is more than enough for my laptop setup. LUXJET Portable Folding Stool - this telescopic stool is rated up to 180KG and is very compact when folded up. 750ml vacuum thermos flask - This fits in a pocket on the side of my laptop bag, and is usually enough unless it’s a very hot day. Pro-plus caffiene pills - My lifestyle means I am tired sometimes, and I don’t drink tea or coffee, so I always keep some of these in my wallet if I need to walk home, for example. SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD, USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 2, External NVMe Solid State Drive - This is very useful for transferring large file collections to and from other peoples computers, and is very small for carrying. Fasgear Cat 6 Ethernet Cable, Retractable Network Cable 10Gbps - If I ever need to connect to a wired network, I can use this network cable - it takes up very little space. Octopus style USB cable adaptor - Can be used for any connection between standard USB A, USB C, micro USB and lightening. It’s very useful for connecting to other peoples devices. USB C privacy guards - Allows me to plug into a USB C port and block data transfer, so I can charge my phone from other peoples computers without worrying about data transfer.

February 4, 2024 · 3 min · David Craddock

My Homelab

My home network routes at around 2-4gbit/sec between 10gbit/sec DAC fibre connected hosts, and around 2gbit/sec via CAT8 for Thunderbolt 2.5Ggbit/sec laptop network interfaces. We two Ubiquiti wireless APs in a mesh configuration, with seperate SSIDs for 2Ghz, 5Ghz, guest and IOT networks. The guest and IOT networks are isolated from everything else. I use a Mikrotik router which hosts an iperf3 docker container for network testing We have a Phillips Hue light source setup, with 5 Hue lights in the Music Studio/Games room, which I set to strobe to music when I do my DJ sets, and setup as a Hue Entertainment Area when I play games/watch films. I also have Hue lights in the study and my bedroom, with dimmers etc. We have a robotic vacuum cleaner which helps my wife around the house. We call it ‘Dusterbuster’. Wherever possible, all devices have a wired network connection. Wireless is only used as a last resort, to minimise spectrum interference. We use ZeroTier as a VPN so that everything useful is accessible outside the home. My home server runs about 14 docker containerized services of different types, using docker compose. I self-host my own websites (including this one), and a bunch of other services for my friends and family. See my media library homepage which is a kind of ‘intranet homepage’ for my network. Iperf3 Speed Tests Studio PC -> Server network speed [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-1.00 sec 354 MBytes 2.97 Gbits/sec 7 2.30 MBytes [ 5] 1.00-2.00 sec 380 MBytes 3.19 Gbits/sec 0 2.42 MBytes [ 5] 2.00-3.00 sec 386 MBytes 3.24 Gbits/sec 0 2.53 MBytes [ 5] 3.00-4.00 sec 385 MBytes 3.23 Gbits/sec 0 2.64 MBytes [ 5] 4.00-5.00 sec 386 MBytes 3.24 Gbits/sec 0 2.75 MBytes [ 5] 5.00-6.00 sec 380 MBytes 3.19 Gbits/sec 2 2.84 MBytes [ 5] 6.00-7.00 sec 386 MBytes 3.24 Gbits/sec 10 2.93 MBytes [ 5] 7.00-8.00 sec 384 MBytes 3.22 Gbits/sec 0 3.00 MBytes [ 5] 8.00-9.00 sec 386 MBytes 3.24 Gbits/sec 0 3.00 MBytes [ 5] 9.00-10.00 sec 385 MBytes 3.23 Gbits/sec 0 3.00 MBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 3.72 GBytes 3.20 Gbits/sec 19 sender [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 3.72 GBytes 3.20 Gbits/sec receiver iperf Done. Server -> Router network speed [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-1.00 sec 456 MBytes 3.83 Gbits/sec 1170 291 KBytes [ 5] 1.00-2.00 sec 407 MBytes 3.41 Gbits/sec 801 512 KBytes [ 5] 2.00-3.00 sec 286 MBytes 2.40 Gbits/sec 0 512 KBytes [ 5] 3.00-4.00 sec 286 MBytes 2.40 Gbits/sec 0 512 KBytes [ 5] 4.00-5.00 sec 456 MBytes 3.82 Gbits/sec 1269 344 KBytes [ 5] 5.00-6.00 sec 476 MBytes 4.00 Gbits/sec 1353 407 KBytes [ 5] 6.00-7.00 sec 485 MBytes 4.07 Gbits/sec 1440 348 KBytes [ 5] 7.00-8.00 sec 491 MBytes 4.12 Gbits/sec 1168 279 KBytes [ 5] 8.00-9.00 sec 489 MBytes 4.10 Gbits/sec 1229 256 KBytes [ 5] 9.00-10.00 sec 476 MBytes 4.00 Gbits/sec 1602 298 KBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 4.21 GBytes 3.61 Gbits/sec 10032 sender [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 4.20 GBytes 3.61 Gbits/sec receiver iperf Done. Studio PC -> Router network speed [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-1.00 sec 281 MBytes 2.36 Gbits/sec 27 881 KBytes [ 5] 1.00-2.00 sec 279 MBytes 2.34 Gbits/sec 0 881 KBytes [ 5] 2.00-3.00 sec 279 MBytes 2.34 Gbits/sec 0 887 KBytes [ 5] 3.00-4.00 sec 304 MBytes 2.55 Gbits/sec 308 629 KBytes [ 5] 4.00-5.00 sec 351 MBytes 2.95 Gbits/sec 737 622 KBytes [ 5] 5.00-6.00 sec 334 MBytes 2.80 Gbits/sec 808 580 KBytes [ 5] 6.00-7.00 sec 355 MBytes 2.98 Gbits/sec 686 430 KBytes [ 5] 7.00-8.00 sec 352 MBytes 2.96 Gbits/sec 564 413 KBytes [ 5] 8.00-9.00 sec 362 MBytes 3.04 Gbits/sec 809 427 KBytes [ 5] 9.00-10.00 sec 356 MBytes 2.99 Gbits/sec 665 598 KBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 3.18 GBytes 2.73 Gbits/sec 4604 sender [ 5] 0.00-10.00 sec 3.17 GBytes 2.73 Gbits/sec receiver iperf Done. House Server ‘hq.local’ TERRAMASTER F6-424 Max NAS Storage - 6Bay Core i5 1235U 10-Cores 12-Threads, 32DDR5 RAM, Dual 10GbE Ports, Network Attached Storage 120GB SSD System Drive running Kali Linux rolling 28TB of storage across moving platter drives

December 17, 2023 · 4 min · David Craddock

My Work Computer

This is my work from home setup. I work from home every work day. I use the following equipment: ‘Studio.local’ - my main PC for WFH and gaming I run Windows 11 on this, and use Ubuntu Linux WSL2 with a Kali Linux virtual machine also. Ryzen 7 9800X 3D CPU GIGABYTE B850 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 Motherboard with 2.5Gbits/sec internet and on-board Wifi7 Be quiet! Straight Power 12 1000W power supply, ATX 3.0, 80 PLUS Platinum Cooler Master MasterAir MA824 Stealth CPU Air Cooler Samsung 990 PRO NVMe M.2 SSD, 4 TB, PCIe 4.0, 7,450 MB/s read, 6,900 MB/s write, Internal SSD Fractal Design North XL Charcoal Black Mesh G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo EXPO RGB 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz ASUS GeForce RTX 4070 12G DUAL EVO OC Gaming Graphics Card - 2550MHz Boost Clock, GDDR6X, PCIe Gen 4, DLSS 3, HDMI 2.1a, 3 x DisplayPort 1.4a (Supports 4K & 8K HDR) * 12th Gen i7 CPU 1x 1TB SSD that I use as a system drive for legacy reasons 10Gb/sec fibre optic network card Keyboard and Mouse 8Bitdo Retro Mechanical Keyboard, Bluetooth/2.4G/USB-C Hot Swappable Gaming Keyboard with 87 Keys, Dual Super Buttons and Super Stick for Windows and Android - ISO UK Layout - C64 Edition 8BitDo Retro 18 Mechanical Numpad, Supports Calculator Mode, Bluetooth/2.4G/Wired Numpad for Windows and Android - C64 Edition LOFREE TOUCH PBT Wireless Mouse with USB receiver, Bluetooth, Wired Connection, Rechargeable, 4000 DPI with OLED Screen Compatible with glass surface for Mac Windows PC Notebook/Block Retro White Gray Technical Equipment shared between the laptops of the companies I work for, and my own workstation ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM gaming monitor ― 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel, 240Hz, 0.03ms (GTG), G-SYNC compatible, custom heatsink, graphene film, uniform brightness, 99% DCI-P3, True 10-bit, 90 W Type-C 29 inch ‘Tate Mode’ portrait mode LCD VA 144hz refresh gaming monitor with Gsync 2x Genelec 8020 DPM speakers Logi USB headset with noise cancelling microphone Logitech Key light for web cam calls LogiTech C920 web cam R0de Procaster mic with boom, roll cage and muffler Network cabinet with rack-mounted Mikrotik fibreoptic 10Gb/sec router, switch and a Presonus 1824i USB-c sound interface that is connected to the PC. Ergonomic Equipment Flexispot E7Pro Motorised Desk with 2x ergonomic monitor stand arms Flexispot BS14 ergonomic chair with headrest Flexispot standing desk mat Wooden rocker balance board 360 style balance board Fenge Dual Monitor Stand, Monitor Stands Riser for 2 monitors, 42.5 Inch Wood Desk Shelf with Storage Organizer and Cable Management for Office Desk Accessories Black FIFINE Microphone Arm Stand, Boom Arm Stand with Desk Mount Clamp, Screw Adapter, Cable Management, Suspension Scissor Mic Stand for Boom Stick Microphone, for Podcast Streaming Gaming Studio-BM88 (for R0de mic) Quntis Monitor Light bar with RGB Backlight, 40cm Computer Monitor Lamp with Dimmer and Color Temperature, LED Touch Control Gaming Screen Light No Screen Glare and Eye Protection for Home Office Other Equipment Brother Black and White Laser Printer Flatbed scanner Pomodoro timer

December 16, 2022 · 3 min · David Craddock

My Writing

I’ve always liked writing and have been doing it for a long time. I write a lot for work, and also have written a lot of creative writing. Work Essays and Articles I’m working on a way to format and structure these properly within Hugo. For now though, the following will have to do.Alternatively, you can always view them in markdown in the Github repository at the link here: ...

June 21, 2015 · 35 min · David Craddock