https://techrelay.xyz/2023/ Recent content in 2023 on Tech Relay Hugo -- gohugo.io Tech Relay Sun, 11 Jun 2023 07:20:06 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-resources/ Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:02:29 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-resources/ Intro I thought it would be useful to put a page together with some Digital Nomad Resources, This page will be updated as I come across things that should go here! I think its important to have a central starting point when embarking on something and thus research is super important. Websites Nomad List - This is a great resource for Digital Nomads, It ranks cities around the world with metrics relating to the Digital Nomad Lifestyle. https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-vpn-hardware/ Fri, 14 Apr 2023 10:44:43 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-vpn-hardware/ Preface Okay so in the Digital Nomad VPN Post I said I would do an update with hardware choices, I finally have gotten around to it and in that time GL-inet has released some awesome upgraded hardware. I will also cover other brands but I need to do more research and testing (If you have a brand you want tested and reviewed for compatibility and quality head over to the Contribute Page to donate funds to purchase specific hardware or head to the Contact Page to reach out if you have hardware to donate) https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-bypass-hotspot-limits/ Tue, 18 Apr 2023 23:16:27 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-bypass-hotspot-limits/ Alright, In the VPN Post I mentioned I would add other posts to the series to cover useful things, One of which I mentioned was Bypassing Hotspot Limits which is specific to windows and really has the most use for machines with built in WWAN or a Hotspot connected to a windows device but in this post we will cover how to modify the A Travel Router to set the TTL to 65 which in most cases will bypass hotspot limits put forth by carriers, This post will be specific to GL-inet routers but I will do more parts to cover other hardware/software vendors. https://techrelay.xyz/post/bypass-mobile-hotspot-windows/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:44:57 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/bypass-mobile-hotspot-windows/ Using a hotspot is a convenient way to stay connected when you're on the go. However, some mobile carriers limit the amount of data you can use when using a hotspot. This can be frustrating, especially if you need to use your hotspot for work or other important tasks. Fortunately, there is a solution: using TTL-changer to bypass hotspot limits on Windows. In this blog post, we'll explore what TTL-changer is, how it works, and how you can use it to bypass hotspot limits on Windows. https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-captive-portal-travelrouter/ Sun, 11 Jun 2023 07:20:06 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-captive-portal-travelrouter/ I put this together real fast. When I get back from some work travels I will optimize the images and streamline the post but this should be enough to get most people through it So like a lot of the content on this blog, I was asked on reddit to cover this topic so here is a post about using the TravelRouter to connect to a Captive Portal like in an airport, hotel, or coffee shop. https://techrelay.xyz/post/sms-on-windows/ Sun, 16 Apr 2023 17:20:55 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/sms-on-windows/ I have mentioned before that I carry two laptops with me, Among other devices, A Dell E5570 with dock that generally stays at "home" while I have an E7470 for on-the-go as its much lighter and has the same functionality, Smartcard reader, fingerprint scanner, SD-Card reader, WWAN but weighs half as much! So both laptops support adding a WWAN card, there's several options including one with support for eSIM which is pretty cool. https://techrelay.xyz/post/nextdns/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 17:53:14 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/nextdns/ I have been using NextDNS for a little over 2 years now, I used to run Redundant Pi-holes, then switched to AdGuard Home, and eventually landed on NextDNS even though its 1. Not Self-Host, Its a hosted service. 2. At least for me usage I could not get away with using just the free plan. and, 3. I did have to do a little setup to get to work with my Windows DNS servers however it is worth paying for and worth not being self hosted as I do prefer to host whatever I can on my own, Like I do for Vaultwarden (Bitwarden) or Mesh Central. https://techrelay.xyz/post/testimonials-page/ Mon, 24 Apr 2023 22:02:43 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/testimonials-page/ I have been getting a consistent number of people either paying me to complete the Digital Nomad VPN Setup or that have set it up on their own, are super satisfied, and want to let me know so I decided to start working on a testimonials page for those folks as well as anyone else I do any kind of work for. As you know I build this site with Hugo. https://techrelay.xyz/post/phone-integration-on-windows/ Mon, 24 Apr 2023 13:12:08 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/phone-integration-on-windows/ So for a long time I have used the Dell Mobile Connect app to sync my iPhone with my dell laptops but that has been a hassle, the supported devices are limited but by sideloading the appx and installing the driver you can make it work on other models or non dell machines but all of a sudden I started getting unsupported messages on start-up so I set out to find something else, At the time Phone Link was not available for iOS so I decided to try Intel Unison https://techrelay.xyz/post/wifi-pineapple-on-slate-ar750s/ Wed, 19 Apr 2023 22:10:18 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/wifi-pineapple-on-slate-ar750s/ Alright so with the Original Slate coming up on End of Life, and since I had long since replaced it with a Slate AX, I was looking for neat uses I could repurpose the hardware into as its still a really decent device! While I was hunting Github I came across This Repository by xchwarze with ported firmwares of Pineapple-Wifi Cloner for a large number of devices including a bunch of GL-inet devices like the AR750 (Creta) and AR750S (Original Slate) so I set out to see if I could get it to work. https://techrelay.xyz/post/hugo-netlify-contact-form-sms/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:46:10 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/hugo-netlify-contact-form-sms/ This is gonna be a cool post, As you know this site is generated with the Hugo Static Site Generator and the static site is hosted on Netlify for free, If you head over to my Contact Page there is a Contact Form at the bottom which if you ready my Netlify VS Cloudflare Pages Post then you will know is a big reason why I have chosen to stay with Netlify for the static hosting portion of things. https://techrelay.xyz/post/vscode-server/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:35:16 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/vscode-server/ I wrote another post about how I switched from Sublime text 3 to VS Code, well I am still using it and its still awesome! I found a really cool docker that allows you to run the VS Code in a browser, now extentions are limited and it took some tinkering to grt it as clost to my desktop setup, its not exactly the same as some extensions are missing or not compatible but its better than nothing especially since it works in a mobile browser. https://techrelay.xyz/post/static-site-generator-to-rule-them-all/ Wed, 12 Apr 2023 22:56:01 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/static-site-generator-to-rule-them-all/ So as you know this site is powered by Hugo, Actually all of my sites and my spouses site TraumaToTravel are Hugo sites, I fell in love with it and converted anything that wasnt Hugo already that could work in Hugo over. I wont go in depth into Hugo on this post as this is more of a why I still choose Hugo Post rather than a detailed post on Hugo but do check out my How to setup Hugo with Netlify Post if your iterested in setting up hugo yourself! https://techrelay.xyz/post/battle-of-the-text-editors/ Wed, 12 Apr 2023 21:51:18 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/battle-of-the-text-editors/ Text Editors, There are so many options depening on OS, I personally have used Sublime Text across Operating Systems for well over a decade, I have written most of these posts (only exeption is when I have written a post here and there in the terminal with something like nano or vi) in Sublime Text, I even have a Github Gist to backup my settings and packages so they are the same across all my machines which is awesome! https://techrelay.xyz/post/to-pbx-or-not-pbx/ Mon, 10 Apr 2023 18:50:09 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/to-pbx-or-not-pbx/ Do you guys have VoIP at home? are you using a PBX or Direct-Connection to a SIP trunk like Call-Centric? I have been a customer of Call-Centric for a long while, even switched my dad over from Vonage (hes paying a quarter of the price for the same type of plan). For my dad I didnt want to deal with setting up a PBX so I just connected the phones directly to Call-Centric and this works great for them, The features they want like Caller ID, Blocked/Unknown Callers Filtering, and The ability to Block numbers are all things built-in to Call-Centric, However I need a full blown PBX for features like Custom IVRs, Custom On-Hold Music, Voicemail-to-Email, etc. https://techrelay.xyz/post/smartcard-ssh/ Mon, 10 Apr 2023 18:17:41 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/smartcard-ssh/ Intro So I love Smartcards! I dont know why but I love the idea of physical passwordless authentication, I am also an early adopter of the Yubikey, My env. is configured for both Smartcard and FIDO2 Auth with the yubikeys able to auth either Smartcard Cert or FIDO2 (I have yet to find a Dual-Interface Smartcard that has both Contacted/Contactless PIV as well as FIDO2, I have found cards that have either PIV or FIDO2 but not both so if you know of one drop it in the comments! https://techrelay.xyz/post/live-chat/ Sun, 09 Apr 2023 23:49:58 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/live-chat/ So in the spirit of adding forums I also decided to add a live chat feature, in the bottom right hand corner theres a teal chat bubble that will launch a live chat in the page, use it as yet another means of getting ahold of me haha. As always So long and Thanks for all the Fish! https://techrelay.xyz/post/checkout-the-forums/ Sun, 09 Apr 2023 22:53:20 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/checkout-the-forums/ Took me long enough to setup forums but firstly I didnt want to have to host a full lamp stack just for forums when I host a static site and second I wasnt sure what software I wanted to use. I finally landed on Flarum, its lightweight and can be run via docker which I am doing, on an oracle cloud instance for free nonetheless. Flarum seems pretty cool so far, Its got plugins/extensions and an easy command line based one liner to install said extensions, it seems to have a pretty modern looking responsive design and the base colors are pretty close to this blog also so thats a plus (havent figured out how to set my own or make a theme based off this blogs color scheme, add it to the list of things to do! https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-airbnb/ Fri, 07 Apr 2023 06:40:48 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-airbnb/ AirBNB has changed the way we look for accomdations, Sometimes its cheaper, Sometimes its more expensive, Sometimes you pay more in fees than you do for the accomdation but one thing is for sure, it depends on where you are! I dont always use airbnb especially when I am in the states but when I am oversees its general my first spot to look and heres why!? When I know I am going to be in one spot for more than a couple weeks I will find a place I like on airbnb and only book a night or two, once I am there and checked in I reach out to the host and offer to work out a price, for the month or insert X amount of time here, which in most cases they will be willing to do because they dont have to pay any fees out of their "cut" to airbnb and it ends up being a decent amount cheaper for you in most cases. https://techrelay.xyz/post/porky-is-home/ Thu, 06 Apr 2023 18:14:34 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/porky-is-home/ Alright so a couple of weeks ago Porky went to the mechanic to get a new clutch installed, I was expecting to have it back in less than a week however those Half-Life "Unforseen Consequenses" I mentioned I hope wouldnt happen in my last post about Porky happened. A few days later the mechanic calls, They Ordered 3 different clutches, none of them fit/werent the right one. The owners calls me to make me aware that there is a nation wide production shortage of the clutches, in fact you cant even buy a new one in a standard right now because they are having issues getting parts to make both the clutches and the manual transmissions, however the owner found one vendor on the east coast that has the right one and can have it there within a week but they are charging $1100 just for the clutch. https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-rdp/ Thu, 06 Apr 2023 12:11:07 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/digital-nomad-rdp/ Introduction Alright, Its been a while since I posted in the Digital Nomad Series. Life happened, Work got busy, I got laid off and lost motivation to post here but job prospects have started to look up and that motivation has returned so here is the next in the Digital Nomad Series, How to setup an emergency or backup system for use in the event that your Digital Nomad VPN doesnt work or is down. https://techrelay.xyz/post/ariel-screensaver/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 22:13:02 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/ariel-screensaver/ As I have mentioned before I went desktopless a few years ago and switched to a desktop replacement grade laptop with a dock. I love screensavers and lock screens so two things I have on every computer in my environment is the City Art Search app from the Microsoft store and the Ariel Screensaver from github which is a clone of the Apple TV Ariel footage screensaver and actually streams the video directly from Apple. https://techrelay.xyz/post/layoff-update/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 07:52:10 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/layoff-update/ I was going to just update the Layoff post but Its been a while and I have made several posts since then so I figured I would just do a new post with an update. Its been 4 almost 5 months since I got laid off and man has it been a struggle, At first there were barely any job postings, then I started to see more postings but salaries were pitiful, then better jobs started showing up but still not amazing salaries, I finally start landing interviews but end up getting a lot of "Your way to qualified" or "were hesitant because of your skill and the possibility of jumping ship for better pay" or flat out just never get back to me. https://techrelay.xyz/post/hugo-post-script/ Thu, 30 Mar 2023 07:15:55 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/hugo-post-script/ I bounce around between Windows, Linux and MacOS, I have long since had a shell script that creates a new post with a page bundle and inserts the front matter and opens the file in sublime text. I wanted to do the same on windows with powershell so I could add the script to my path and call it from anywhere, I have a folder named bin in the root of C that is in my system path. https://techrelay.xyz/post/dock-nostalgia/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:30:44 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/dock-nostalgia/ For most of my career I have had company laptops issued to me, a vast majority of those have been Dell, every single one has had a physical dock connector (until my last company that is, they sent me a surface book....a damn surface book, it was the biggest piece of gargbage and the dock had issues all the time) which has never given me any issues short of a physical failure of the dock in which that has only happened to me once. https://techrelay.xyz/post/netlify-vs-cloudflare/ Sun, 26 Mar 2023 01:58:03 +0000 https://techrelay.xyz/post/netlify-vs-cloudflare/ I have been using Netlify since I started using Hugo and its been a great experience so far however Cloudflare Pages has been getting a lot of attention lately as well so I decided to try it. I had been meaning to update the theme that I have been using Hugo Clarity for a while now as well as fix some things that didnt work right like search and the front page showing most recent or featured posts, I took this opportunity to fork my original repo for this site and deploy it on cloudflare pages to do the aformentioned upgrades. https://techrelay.xyz/post/porky-the-mini/ Tue, 21 Mar 2023 17:20:56 -0600 https://techrelay.xyz/post/porky-the-mini/ If you follow my spouse Trauma To Travel then you probably know about Porky The MINI! which we bought to build a little more credit in hopes of making our dream of Full-Time RVing a reality which it has so far done a great job of helping us build credit and explore more at the same time, that is until the Layoff Train hit me. So fast forward about 9 months, The car has been amazing, we have taken so many adventures in Porky. https://techrelay.xyz/post/leanlaps/ Sat, 04 Mar 2023 01:33:53 +0000 https://techrelay.xyz/post/leanlaps/ For a long time I have just used a powershell script deployed via intune to manage a local admin for emergencies, this is not the best option but I dont have that many devices to manage and honestly most of them never leave the environment, I also use powershell to rotate this password. With Microsoft on the verge of releasing the updated LAPS option that works with AAD, I wanted to try another option in the interim while I wait for that feature to roll out, I settled on LeanLAPS and man was it easy to setup. https://techrelay.xyz/post/win-git-auto-commit/ Sat, 07 Jan 2023 20:40:46 +0000 https://techrelay.xyz/post/win-git-auto-commit/ I have been using hugo for over 2 years now going on 3 now, I used ghost before but its really heavy and I wanted to ditch needing to host a webserver in favor of static site hosting which I have covered in previous posts, when I moved from ghost to hugo I used a converter to convert all my posts to markdown for a seamless transition to hugo. since hugo uses git and I host my page with netlify I either live in github desktop with sublime text or I am in the terminal using nano or vim which due to the nature of git, requires me to commit my edits, and push those to the origin.