Stories

Friends of mine are welcome to contribute their knowledge to the site! Here’s a list of those who have contributed:

Avatar	Username	Bio
	Ionicannon	My niece, with an Eastern European connection and a growing interest in literature and art.
Test	Test	Test
Pohh	Pyglet	Tigger

dragonsnotincluded.github.io - Website for my friend’s D&D podcast.
greater-life.github.io, an experimental platform for advertising local events, groups, jobs and resources.
Mesh Infrasoft on GitHub - My friends started an IT company and I’ve joined them.
robot-one.blogspot.co.uk, my defunct first Blogger site from 2016-17

I enjoy systems administration, so I manage a few servers and websites.

My LAN

Chances are if we are on the same Local Area Network (LAN), I’m serving something! These are served from my Raspberry Pi homeserver, and currently only accessible on my home network. For your convenience, here are the services you can access (you’ll have to ask me for the passwords in person; no way I’m putting them in cleartext on the web):

qBittorrent server - a torrent client with which we can remotely download public domain media via the Bittorrent, without leaving our PCs on for hours. Homepage
filebrowser - access downloaded torrents or files stored on the homeserver’s Network Attached Storage (NAS) via any web browser. Looks like Google Drive, but is fully self-hosted. GitHub Repository
Aria2Ng server - Don’t feel like leaving your PC on all night for that big download? Remotely download media to the NAS, by torrents and many other protocols, too. GitHub Repository
WireguardUI - still not fully functional, a frontend for the Wireguard VPN protocol, so that eventually I can host my own VPN. GitHub Repository
AdGuard Home - [Currently Disabled] Network-wide ad blocker and DNS server. Not something the end user needs to worry about, save that they won’t see advertising. GitHub Repository
Navidrome - [Currently Disabled] Spotify replacement, but fully self-hosted with my own music. Homepage
Samba (SMB) access to the 500GB NAS is also enabled. You can access it from Windows Explorer >> My Computer (This PC) >> Add a network location or the equivalent on MacOS/iOS/Linux/Android.
SSH (command line) and SFTP (filesystem) access are also enabled, accessible via the appropriate clients, e.g. WinSCP, OpenSSH, OpenSSH Windows or PuTTY

Your LAN

These are served from my PC, and you can access them as long as we’re both connected.

Cerberus FTP Server - file server.
LanXChange - Apple Airdrop alternative. We can both run the clients and share individual files easily between PC, Mac, Linux, Android.
filebrowser - I also occasionally run filebrowser to turn my PC into a “Google Drive”.

Questions? Comments? You can reach me on the social media linked in the Socials box. Feel free to drop me a message. I’ll try to get back to you shortly. To prevent spam, I have added [square brackets] to some of my socials; if you’re not a robot, you can click the links and remove the [brackets].

You can email me via darthagnone [at] gmail [dot] com.

Site source code is available on GitHub, as well as offline backups on my home systems. Snapshots are also available on Archive.org and Archive.today. The site uses 2 themes, Hugo Theme Dream and Hugo Easy Gallery, and is built with the Hugo static site generator.

Hello! The site admin is Darthagnon.

This is my blog and technical portfolio, where I seek to inform, entertain, and share my handicrafts and knowledge with you. I like to create robot “heroes” from recycled materials, write legends and draw pictures of them. To keep good old machines running for a long time - without puppet strings attached - you could also use some of my tips and tricks for computer software and hardware. Or cook yourself a delicious vegan recipe or two, gathered from across the globe. I’ll also wax lyrical about esoteric literature and nerdy hobbies on occasion.

What’s with the username?

I like to go by the Sith version of the 4th Musketeer, D’Artagnan. It’s obviously not my real name.

Friends’ blogs and people I follow, work with or recommend:

Hacking and Piracy

FitGirl Repacks, the ONLY official site for FitGirl Repacks. Despite the odd name, it’s the best source for DRM-free videogame installers these days. See also Masquerade, who is an upcoming repacker.
CS.RIN.RU, the Famous Russian Forum for DRM-free videogames. Information on every game on Steam/GOG/Epic and beyond, inhabited by knowledgeable users and freelance hackers.
Wololo.net; the Playstation Portable hacking blog that first got me interested in computer science and security research back in 2013ish. The /talk forum used to be a vibrant community full of hobby programmers. There’s also the separate Wagic forum, which was focused on developing the digital card game Wagic: the Homebrew?!. Run by @frwololo
CHEF-KOCH’s Technology News, a technology news outlet (also on Twitter, Reddit and other social media) where CHEF-KOCH reports on the cutting edge of technology in a concise, readable and helpful manner. Head and shoulders above all other tech news these days.

Lifestyle, improved

Explorium; my former employers, a growth-mindset-focused creative learning centre and training provider for Primary and Secondary school children. We did some incredible work there, and helped many kids discover their creative potential. Check them out!
Howl’s Project; based in Turkey, a Studio Ghibli anime-themed fashion store run by a friend of mine.
Adriana Blanc Fitness, personal training and lifestyle tips by a good friend and classmate from Bath and Spain.
Horrington Handmade Soaps, an artisan soaps and luxury cosmetics brand, handmade by my neighbours in Somerset.

Writing & Literature for the Reader

Suffer FM on Substack is a philosophy, motivational and writing blog by my brother Kevin.
Colin Smith, an author, photographer and friend of mine writes at:
Dragons Not Included, a D&D and roleplaying podcast run by my best friend. Join the crew of the Dragons Not Included podcast as they roll, crit and laugh their way through the Wrath of the Righteous tabletop role playing adventure. Subscribe via RSS or anywhere else podcasts are syndicated.

Technical services

John Phillips is a professional web developer, entrepeneur and a good friend and guru of mine. We are collaborating on a project called…
Flukey Digital, a premium web development company. Launching soon!
MeshInfrasoft is a business data and IT services company based in India and run by a close friend of mine. I am collaborating with him on this project.

Artists I know

Katie Groves Illustration (Facebook, Instagram) does professional illustration and photorealistic portraits
Olly Jordan studied graphic design and does poster artwork
Jess Parnell does post-modern and performance art
Natasha Douglas Art does oil painting and metalwork
OFF-REN CERAMICS absolutely fantastic anime-inspired ceramics by Renatella
Jenny’s Photography does professional photography, based near Bath, UK
Captured by Zack Thomas offers professional photoshoots and drone photography, based around London
Rowan Katy has a degree in professional photography, and works from Cornwall and Devon

Musicians

The Drystones do country and folk music
Alex Garden, professional violinist and member of the Drystones, performs solo
Sean Fountain composes electronic music as Arcade Haze and is an all round great guy

Of Machines and MenHandcrafted heroes and legends