When you have one automation watching multiple switches, you don’t need to hardcode which one to turn off. You can use the trigger object to dynamically target whichever device started the automation.
Hands-on experience with AI, self-hosting, Linux, and the developer tools I actually use
Hands-on experience with AI, self-hosting, Linux, and the developer tools I actually use
Target the Triggering Entity in Home Assistant
Automate Linux Desktop Setup with Ansible and Dotfiles
If you reinstall Linux more than once a year, your setup is probably still too manual. Most people keep a checklist in their head: install packages, copy shell config, fix fonts, set up Git and SSH, restore editor plugins. Then they spend a week finding what they forgot. That works until it doesn’t. A failed SSD, a new laptop, or a distro hop shows how fragile the workflow is.
A better model is to treat your desktop like infrastructure: declarative, version-controlled, and repeatable. Ansible handles package and system state. GNU Stow links your dotfiles cleanly. The result is a setup you can rebuild in 20 to 40 minutes with few hand edits. It also keeps improving over time instead of drifting.
Setting Up the Chipsailing CS9711 Fingerprint Reader on Linux Mint
Bought a budget USB fingerprint reader like the Chipsailing CS9711 (USB ID 2541:0236) and Linux Mint can’t see it? You aren’t alone. These “Match-on-Host” devices don’t ship with libfprint support by default. A community driver gets them working in a few steps.
Identifying the Hardware
First, verify your device ID by running lsusb in the terminal. Look for:
Bus XXX Device XXX: ID 2541:0236 Chipsailing CS9711Fingprint
If the device shows up but fails to “enumerate” (no name appears), plug it straight into a motherboard USB port. A USB hub often can’t supply steady power.
Stop Copy-Pasting: Interactive CLI Tools for Gitea Repositories
If you host your own code on a Gitea instance, you’ve likely felt the friction of cloning new projects. Opening the web UI, searching for a repo, clicking the “SSH/HTTP” button, and then jumping back to your terminal is a workflow that belongs in 2010.
If your code still lives on GitHub, you can move your repos onto Gitea in one batch first, then browse them here.
If you want to “walk through” your repositories and pick what to clone directly from your terminal, here are the best tools for the job.
The Best Static Site Generators for Your Blog in 2026
In 2026, the web has returned to its roots: speed, simplicity, and security. Static Site Generators (SSGs) are now the top pick for bloggers. You can focus on content and skip the worry about database holes or slow load times. These tools turn plain Markdown (.md) files into fast static HTML, so your blog is quick, SEO-friendly, and easy to host. Once it’s live, you can speed up repeat visits with a service worker
that serves pages instantly from the browser cache.
Why Small Language Models (SLMs) are Better for Edge Devices
Small Language Models, sub-4B parameter models built to run on local hardware, now handle most of the edge AI work that used to need the cloud. Phi-4 , Gemma 3 , and Llama 3.2-1B run offline on Raspberry Pi boards, phones, and industrial PLCs. The economics, latency, and privacy story all point the same way: edge first.
What Counts as a Small Language Model
In 2023, “small” meant under 13B parameters. Today, three tiers matter for edge work.