Life of Stu: articles by Stuart Hopkins

What If: Stealth Malware Communication via Payload Splitting

Bits are just bits, right?

2026-08-01  

What If: Tracking By Inaudibility

For all that we cannot see (and hear)

2026-07-12  

Meshtastic (Part 2)

Of high hopes and faded dreams

2026-04-19  

What If: Targeted Assassination by CAN

Welcome to the connected car era

2026-03-15  

OpenTTD (Game)

Planes, trains, and signals?

2026-02-16  

The Joy Of Reducing Complexity

Sometimes all you need is a wheel

2026-01-25  

December 2025

What a rollercoaster year it has been

2025-12-31  

October 2025

Stress levels returning to normal

2025-12-21  

September 2025

The end of the year is fast approaching

2025-12-09  

What If: Plastic Banknotes

Maybe not as untraceable as once thought

2025-11-23  

Charlie Bigham

Sometimes the press get it wrong (and sometimes they don't)

2025-11-02  

August 2025

Stress levels increasing by the day

2025-10-26  

July 2025

What happened to the warm weather?

2025-10-19  

AI: As a Life Service (AIaaLS)

When the AI world becomes more desirable than the real world

2025-10-05  

Charities

The mindset of helping, combined with it never being enough

2025-09-28  

Samsung Galaxy Book Pro

Slim is the new (old) thing

2025-09-14  

June 2025

By now I should be better at this...

2025-08-17  

EV's and their (incorrect) race for performance

When the power is too much and the range isn't enough

2025-07-20  

May 2025

Sleep, where art thou?

2025-06-22  

April 2025

33% has been and gone

2025-05-18  

AI: The Human Simulation

When AI knows you better than you know yourself

2025-04-27  

March 2025

A quarter of the year has been and gone

2025-04-20  

Data Exfiltration via PoE

Not all devices are your friend

2025-04-06  

Time Dilated Computing

Leveraging relativity to improve performance

2025-03-23  

February 2025

Another month down, ten more to go

2025-03-09  

Meshtastic (Part 1)

Stepping into the world of decentralised networking

2025-02-23  

January 2025

Taking a look at the first month of 2025 (and how 2024 ended)

2025-02-02  

AI: Hallucinations

When hallucinations and dreams overlap

2024-12-15  

Gig: Palaye Royale (Death or Glory)

Taking on Wembley Arena (and owning it!)

2024-11-10  

Of Deliverable Dreams

Surely we have a Jira ticket for this?

2024-10-13  

Opnsense

Switching out virtual machines for the real deal

2024-09-15  

Our Inner Voice

Won't someone think of the drown-outs

2024-08-18  

AI: Treatment vs Cure

What's the balance in this new age of IT?

2024-07-07  

SDR: Beginning

Getting started with Software Defined Radio

2024-05-26  

Chasing Network Performance

When late-night purchases come to haunt you

2024-04-14  

Holiday: Finland

Time to see those northern lights

2024-04-01  

Attacking Moving Vehicles With Drones

How secure are your car systems?

2024-03-17  

Speedify

Striving for resiliency, one connection at a time

2024-03-05  

iPad (The Return Of)

Giving it another try as a daily device

2024-02-04  

Retrospective: 2023

Another year has been and gone

2023-12-31  

Volkswagen iD.4

By far the worst car I have ever owned

2023-11-12  

Dell Optiplex 3070 Micro

Another year, another mini server

2023-10-15  

Gig: Ibiza Classics

Experiencing the Ibiza classics in the Royal Albert Hall

2023-10-01  

The Solar Lifecycle

Looking at the future of hands-free solar

2023-08-20  

Total Mania (Game)

A (not so fun) trip down memory lane

2023-08-06  

Taking A Break

Even the most determined must rest

2023-04-30  

Bread (The Making Of) Part 2

If at first you don't succeed...

2023-04-01  

The Minecraft Watch

Who says airline purchases are bad? (It was)

2023-03-19  

Genetically Modified Gut Bacteria

Another chapter in human bioengineering?

2023-03-05  

Remote Vehicle Shutdown Service

A double-edged concept with both reward and risk

2023-02-19  

Bread (The Making Of)

I love the smell of sourdough in the morning

2023-02-05  

January Break

Not quite what I had in mind

2023-01-22  

Retrospective: 2022

Looking back at 2022, and ahead to 2023

2023-01-08  

Tech: HomeMQ

Episode 10 of my tech projects from days past

2022-12-25  

Tech: Kernel Builder

Episode 9 of my tech projects from days past

2022-12-11  

Xmas 2022 (Another Week Of Prep)

This years decorations and more automation

2022-11-27  

Tech: CurrentCost

Episode 8 of my tech projects from days past

2022-11-13  

Tech: Radio Case

Episode 7 of my tech projects from days past

2022-10-23  

Tech: Portable PC

Episode 6 of my tech projects from days past

2022-10-09  

BT Broadband

The lengthy frustrations of a poor ISP

2022-09-25  

Tech: Freematics One+

Episode 5 of my tech projects from days past

2022-09-11  

Tech: Sheevaplug

Episode 4 of my tech projects from days past

2022-08-28  

Tech: Linksys WRV54G

Episode 3 of my tech projects from days past

2022-08-14  

Tech: SmartCloud Provisioning

Episode 2 of my tech projects from days past

2022-07-31  

Tech: Bifferboard

Episode 1 of my tech projects from days past

2022-07-17  

Tech: Introduction

A quick intro into the next series

2022-07-03  

Crab Security System

I blame Noisestorm for this...

2022-06-26  

Dual SIM

Experiencing the benefits (and pitfalls) of using dual mobile providers

2022-06-19  

The Margin of Financial Acceptance

At what point does our financial concern falter

2022-06-12  

Vegetarian Food Review (Part 2)

Mixing it up again, one food-group at a time

2022-06-05  

Travel: The Unfortunate Perfume

Episode 10 of my travel stories from days past

2022-05-29  

The Inclusion Of Plant Sterols

A view on their potential inclusion in more foods in the future

2022-05-22  

Travel: The Toe Cap Boots

Episode 9 of my travel stories from days past

2022-05-15  

Vegetarian Food Review (Part 1)

Mixing it up a little, one food-group at a time

2022-05-08  

Travel: The Tight Car Park

Episode 8 of my travel stories from days past

2022-05-01  

Gig: The Sherlocks

Find the boat, meet the band, enjoy the gig!

2022-04-24  

Travel: The Happy Hour

Episode 7 of my travel stories from days past

2022-04-17  

The Emotional Response

A view on the multiplicity of emotions and those that take advantage

2022-04-10  

Travel: The Global Entry Interview

Episode 6 of my travel stories from days past

2022-04-03  

Streaming Services

My thoughts on the current fragmentation and cost increases

2022-03-27  

Travel: The CBA Hotel

Episode 5 of my travel stories from days past

2022-03-21  

Gig: Palaye Royale

My first gig of 2022

2022-03-14  

Travel: The Hotel Drinks

Episode 4 of my travel stories from days past

2022-03-06  

Dockcase USB Hub

Kickstarter strikes again...

2022-02-26  

Travel: The Splitting Bed

Episode 3 of my travel stories from days past

2022-02-20  

EV Charger Security

With new technology comes new security risks

2022-02-13  

Travel: The Lack of Legroom

Episode 2 of my travel stories from days past

2022-02-06  

SolidRun HoneyComb

Stepping into enterprise ARM computing

2022-01-30  

Travel: The Airport Toy

Episode 1 of my travel stories from days past

2022-01-23  

Borg Origin

My take on their origin, their mentality, and a possible future

2022-01-09  

PiKVM

A viable approach to adding OS-independent control to a system

2022-01-05  

AVG (the encrypted DNS puzzle)

Some things aren't so fun for the enterprise

2021-12-23  

Xmas 2021 (the prep at least)

This years decorations, and one time-consuming project

2021-12-05  

HP iPAQ PDA

The desirable PDA of my childhood

2021-11-15  

Blue Iris (and the many headaches)

The vendor-agnostic CCTV software that frustrates, angers, and annoys

2021-11-01  (Last Updated 2022-11-01)

Work Life Balance

Pushing hard, but to where...

2021-10-17  

IBM x3650 M4

A bargain from the v2 Xeon days

2021-10-01  

Temtop M2000

Easier breathing for everyone, one room at a time

2021-09-30  

Mercedes Customer Service (lack of)

Learning the hard way that more expensive doesn't mean better

2021-09-18  (Last Updated 2021-10-10)

Plugable DP-HDMI

Proving that great support still exists

2021-09-08  

Honeygain (and the risks)

Everyone likes free money, but is it safe?

2021-09-01  (Last Updated 2021-09-02)

Dell UltraSharp Webcam

A smart and sharp webcam, but macOS users beware

2021-08-22  

LinkTap Water Timer

Making garden and plant watering nice and simple

2021-08-16  

Borg Computer Case

A nice take on a Sci-Fi concept, even with the transport damage

2021-08-06  

The State Of Security (SOS)

A view of the current state of security, and what may be coming

2021-07-23  

Supermicro TPM

Supermicro X9 + TPM2.0

2021-07-17  

Beach Life

Enjoying an old classic, one drunken resort at a time

2021-07-05  

Cognitive Decline

A view on how our surroundings and choices may contribute to our 'brain drain'

2021-06-24  

Dark TV

A glimpse into what television could become when only the ratings matter

2021-06-01  

Lenovo M920q

A slim server for all the home labs out there

2021-04-28  (Last Updated 2021-05-17)

Power Optimization

Trying to reduce power usage, one system at a time

2021-04-05  

Sony Vaio Picturebook

One of the influencers of the modern-day ultrabook, complete with Windows 98!

2021-03-01  

Apple iMac G4

Resurrecting one of the oddest designed systems of an era

2021-02-06  

Sony Vaio Lifestyle

Piecing together one of the prettiest laptops ever made

2020-09-05  (Last Updated 2021-01-02)

Samsung NC10

Keeping an old classic running for as long as I can

2020-08-03  

Gemini PDA

The joys (and pains) of a classic device recreated

2020-05-09  (Last Updated 2021-04-20)

The Beginning

Once upon a time there was a man who liked working on things...

2020-01-01