ABrandão.com ← personal blog of travels, code & opinions

Adventure Across Vietnam and Japan 2

Jun

21

2025

June 2025 After three back-to-back flights totaling over 20 hours (EWR ->SFO ?->TPA -> SGN) of flying, we finally landed in Saigon, Vietnam on June 2nd. Exhausted, jet-lagged, and immediately hit by the thick, humid air, we stumbled into a cab, already mesmerized by the chaos outside—a symphony of motorbike horns, humidity, and human energy. ...

clean and simple PHP multi-language app scheme 1

Mar

7

2025

Just a very short post on how to quickly and easily display multi-lingual web page content in basic PHP web pages or apps for a variety of languages. Of course you can run always webpage through a translation app, but this more often than not have unintended results as JavaScript heavy apps generally get corrupted ...

Self-hosted Dynamic DNS Updater: A Quick Guide

Feb

22

2025

Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is essential if you’re hosting services from home (self-hosted) where your IP address changes periodically. Namecheap,CloudFlare ,Godaddy (as well as others but not ALL ) offer a straightforward DDNS service for their domains that allow you to programmatically update the DNS records Here’s how to set it up. Step 1: Enable Dynamic ...

AI Music Generation: Furture of music is in customized songs … Art, Innovation, and Disruption

Feb

19

2025

The music industry stands at a fascinating crossroads, where artificial intelligence is not just an auxiliary tool but a creative force in its own right. From generating complete compositions to crafting personalized soundtracks, AI music generation is rapidly evolving from a novelty into a powerful creative medium that’s reshaping how we create, consume, and think ...

state of Windows email clients in 2025, alternatives to Outlook (crap) 1

Feb

4

2025

If you’re anything like me, and you’re a Windows 11 user… Microsoft has shoved the ad-filled Outlook client in place of the formerly usable mail client. Not only is seeing unnecessary ads is annoying, but the Outlook client is very very sluggish on all but the newest generation of machines. It looks Microsoft is using ...

Keeping your Screen active… DIY Arduino-Powered Mouse Jiggler

Feb

3

2025

Ever wished your mouse had a mind of its own? Well, with a little Arduino magic, you can make it dance across your screen in a variety of patterns! Here’s a simple Arduino sketch hat does just this, and I’m excited to share my insights and explorations with you. You can always just buy ready ...

Exploring LoRa, Meshtastic, and the Radios Powering off-grid communications 2

Jan

23

2025

In a world dominated by smartphones, Wi-Fi, and 5G, there’s a quiet revolution happening in the realm of off-grid communication. Enter LoRa (Long Range) and Meshtastic—a dynamic duo that’s empowering hobbyists, preppers, and tech enthusiasts to build their own decentralized communication networks. Whether you’re planning a weekend hike, preparing for the apocalypse, or just love ...

Expanding Your UGREEN NAS Drive Experience with Third-Party Apps 8

Jan

8

2025

UGREEN DX4800 – 4 bay NAS For UGREEN NAS users looking to enhance their system with functionality similar to QNAP or Synology’s mature ecosystems, there’s a wealth of open source solutions available. This guide explores alternatives to popular proprietary NAS software apps and features, helping you build a comprehensive storage solution. Because UGREEN is a ...

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