Recent content on Amal Chandran M V
Containers often feel like magic, and container networking can seem like a higher form of black magic. A process starts, gets its own IP address, can reach the internet, and talks to other containers. All without us touching low-level networking. But nothing magical is happening. Under the hood, container networking is built from a small set of Linux primitives: network namespaces, virtual…
A self-hosted, NixOS-powered homelab running a lightweight Kubernetes cluster via k3s, complete with monitoring and dashboards; all declaratively managed and exposed via local DNS. I’ve shared this setup within my close circle and hobby clubs. Figured out it’s time to put it out here too. neozorba@nixlab.local Full setup here → neozorba-nixlab.local
'A flood among trees'
Some years ago, boredom struck the night before an exam (cue gif: “I know this one, this is classic”). I decided to flash the Arduino blink sketch, but without the Arduino IDE, or even Arduino functions. Just raw C. What started as a dumb idea spiraled into a decent rabbit hole, which somehow became a flash talk I gave at a few places. Eventually bundled it all into a repo during Kochi FOSS…
'An earth-bound misfit, I' – Pink Floyd, 'Learning to Fly'
Generate Palette
I used to believe that creativity thrived in absolute freedom. But over time, I wondered, do limits hold it back, or do they give it shape? A bird in flight may roam the skies, Yet sings no tune, just silent sighs. But cage the wings, confine its space, A melody will fill the place. For freedom vast may lose its way, While boundaries teach the notes to play. Not every wall is built to bind,
2024 was a busy year. I shifted two houses this year, visited four places on my travel list, completed two half marathons, and went on a long bike trip of 650+ kilometers. I also found myself in some tough conversations and situations. Here are some lessons I learned this year. Some are common sense, but I’ve included them because I tend to overlook the obvious. Some are my own realizations, and…
artist, engineer, tinkerer, absurdist .. I am Amal and this is my horcrux. I mostly write proprietary software for a living. I write open-source software for the joy of it. During my free time, I love to read (self-help, romance, and thrillers are a big no; I stopped reading those long ago and really enjoy in-depth reads). I occasionally go for a run (I can complete half marathons in under 2…