Posts on orndorff.dev

Small LLMs, Big Reasoning: How a Neuro-Symbolic Expert System Makes Haiku Agents Reliable

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a dirty secret in the AI agent space: most agent frameworks hand the model a bag of tools and pray. The model decides what to query, how to reason about results, and what conclusions to draw. For demos, this works great. For anything you’d actually bet your job on — compliance audits, student intervention decisions, infrastructure monitoring — it’s a liability.

What if the model didn’t have to reason at all?

QA Walkthrough Video with Claude Code, ffmpeg, and ImageMagick

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Screenshots in a Folder Aren’t a Demo Reel

I’m building ContextChannel – an edge-native content curation platform on Cloudflare Workers (Hono, D1, Drizzle ORM, HTMX, the whole neo-brutalist vibe). I needed to do a full QA pass across the entire user journey and wanted to document it in a way that wasn’t just 25 PNGs rotting in a folder.

So I did the QA with an AI agent and then had it turn the screenshots into a video. In one session. Here’s how that went.

The Terraria Server Odyssey: A Tour of Modern Deployment Options

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A note from the co-author: This post was written collaboratively with Claude, who also did most of the actual infrastructure work — reading docs, writing Ansible roles, debugging crashed services over SSH, and talking me out of increasingly cursed networking solutions. When we hit the Fly.io memory wall at 2am, Claude suggested the boring VPS approach that actually worked. Fair to say this server wouldn’t be running without the assist. — Zac

Emergent Storytelling: How Simple Rules Create Compelling Narratives

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I have been working on the concept of ‘Dwarf Fortress for storytelling with LLMs’ for years now and, I’ve finally managed to assemble all of the pieces needed to do this at scale.

The following is a Claude summary of the project:

The Story That Wrote Itself

The Captain of the Guard struck without warning. Dilol Caverncats, a human engraver, collapsed under the first blow to the hand—muscle bruising through the pig tail glove, wrist bending unnaturally, tendons tearing. Dilol stood up. The Captain struck again. Again, Dilol rose. Eleven times the combat logs recorded those three defiant words: “The engraver stands up.”

Can cheap AI models turn a podcast into a lesson?

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

At work, I build AI agents(trigger warning this is about LLMs) that are designed to help teachers avoid as much day to day drudgery as possible. We provide a system that, counterintuitively, is geared towards reducing the amount of time a teacher needs to spend in the app spelunking around. Need the latest assessment grades for Mrs Doe’s 3rd period? Just ask the Ai, it’ll go off and grab that information for you while you pour another cup of coffee. We use top of the line models from Anthropic to be as accurate, un-biased, error free as possible to achieve this. These models require API keys and 5-figures in engineering time just to put the guardrails in place to allow a Teacher/Administrator to use them in relative safety.

Building a Non-Deterministic Merge Game with LLMs

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What I Built and Why

I’ve always enjoyed those element-combining merge games like Doodle God or Little Alchemy. You know the ones - Water + Fire = Steam, Earth + Water = Mud, that sort of thing. There’s something satisfying about discovering combinations, but after playing a few, I started noticing a fundamental limitation: every combination is pre-determined. Everyone who plays gets exactly the same results. The discovery phase is fun, but once you know the combinations, there’s no variance.

What I am for.

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I think we’ve slid into a trap where our political beliefs are defined as being “in opposition to” another groups.

This ensures an antagonistic, us-verses-them mentality while the “elites” watch.

So here’s a list of things this dirty liberal is for, not against.

The 8-Hour Day The idea that your life isn’t owned by your employer. This standard was the result of decades of bloody struggle by labor activists and unions against 10, 12, and even 16-hour workdays. The slogan was “8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for what we will.” Citation: Eight Hour Day - Wikipedia

AI in the Classroom: Product Blueprints from the 'Hard Fork' Podcast

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For AI engineering leaders, the annual back-to-school season isn’t just a cultural milestone; it’s a market signal. It marks a massive influx of users engaging with digital tools, testing the limits of existing platforms, and revealing unmet needs. The recent “Hard Fork” podcast episode on AI in education serves as a potent source of raw user research, offering a direct line into the mindsets of educators, innovators, and the students who form the next generation of knowledge workers.

Slop: Testing Automated News Gathering

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Chicago Communities Prepare for Mexican Independence Day Amid Immigration Enforcement Concerns

Chicago’s Mexican-American communities are moving forward with Mexican Independence Day celebrations this weekend despite warnings from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that federal immigration agents may target cultural events, leading organizers to implement unprecedented security measures involving volunteer networks and communication systems.

Governor Warns of Coordinated Timing

Gov. Pritzker issued a stark warning Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations appear deliberately timed to coincide with Mexican Independence Day festivities across Chicago.

That terrible presentation, the enshittification of OpenAi

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Thinking about the GPT-5 presentation fiasco yesterday(friends don’t let friends use Dalle for charts) and the resulting, almost overwhelmingly negative reaction to the style of the speakers and the substance. I’m wondering if what we’re seeing is less a problem with LLMs having hit a ‘wall’ and more with the ’enshittification’ of OpenAI itself?

They’ve never been particularly strong on the pure research side of things. Their main strength has always been productizing scientific breakthroughs in consumer products. Take the fundamental ‘attention is all you need’ paper and transformers architecture. Neither of those were OpenAI breakthroughs. Instead, their incredibly talented early team identified ways to capitalize on those important insights with their own breakthroughs in model training and scaling.

What 50 First Dates can teach us about LLM memory

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

You’ve been there. You and your AI coding buddy are in the zone. It’s feeding you perfect snippets of code, it understands your weirdly named variables, it’s practically reading your mind. You’ve built half a dozen functions, and the project is humming along. Then you close the window.

You come back an hour later, open a new chat, and ask it to build the next piece of the puzzle. The AI stares back at you with the digital equivalent of a blank expression. It has no idea what your project is, what a user_auth_service is, or why you keep muttering about the global_config.json. It has, for all intents and purposes, become incredibly dumb.

When Docker Says 'not found' But ls Says 'it's right there': A glibc/musl Comedy of Errors

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

You know that moment when your computer is gaslighting you? When you run ls inside a Docker container, see your executable sitting there with perfect permissions, but when you try to run it, the shell just shrugs and says “not found”?

Welcome to my Saturday morning.

The Setup: A Simple Go + TailwindCSS Build

I was working on a straightforward Dockerfile for a Go web app that uses TailwindCSS. Nothing fancy—just download the tailwindcss binary, make it executable, run it to process some CSS, and move on with life.

The Factory Must Grow... And So Must Your Engineering Intuition

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Factorio is more than a game; it’s a powerful tool for training your engineering intuition. Discover how it mirrors the challenges of software development and why you should be playing it.

Rethinking AI in Education: Veritasium and Cognitive Science

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

My Notes after watching Derek Muller’s talk on AI in education.

As someone working in EdTech, especially focusing on what we can do with LLMs, you hear it constantly: AI is going to “revolutionize” education. Personalized tutors, instant feedback, access like never before – the whole pitch. But I caught a talk recently by Derek Muller – you know, the Veritasium guy – and he offered this really grounded take that hit home for me. It’s making me rethink the hype and actually consider the cognitive science underneath it all.

The Zen of Vibe-Driven Testing: Why Your Unit Tests Should Just Chill, Man

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Jokes follow… Please don’t yeet code with assert(true) into production based on this article.

In the high-pressure world of software development, we’ve all been doing it wrong. Forget test-driven development. Forget behavior-driven development. It’s time to embrace the revolutionary approach of vibe-driven testing.

Let me introduce you to the enlightened path: unit tests that consist exclusively of assert(true). This groundbreaking methodology guarantees 100% test coverage with minimal effort. Here’s why you should join the movement:

AI Plays: The Elevator Saga

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ever tried Elevator Saga? It’s that addictive JavaScript challenge where you control elevators to transport impatient virtual humans. Sure, you could spend hours crafting the perfect algorithm… or you could do what I did and let AI handle the heavy lifting.

Tools

Claude 3.5: Model I prefer for generating code and specifications. It’s like having a coding buddy who never sleeps.
Whisper: For transcribing my ramblings into something resembling a coherent spec.
LLM: A command-line tool to interact with AI models like Claude and generate code from my documentation and spec.

My Lazy Developer Workflow

I built a four-step AI pipeline that took me from “what even is an elevator API?” to passing the first four levels with minimal effort:

The Everything Can Be Awesome! Agenda

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

At the heart of our vision is a society that isn’t content with mere survival—but one that celebrates every milestone with a dash of genius, a splash of irreverence, and a lot of heart. The Orndorff Utopian Party(OUP) presents an agenda dedicated to reshaping life into a continual celebration of well-being, creativity, and joyful community. We embrace radical ideas to remedy today’s challenges while playfully redefining government as society’s partner-in-life.

Are LLMs OK? A DSM-5 Assessment of Llama3.2

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Patient Information

Name: Llama3.2 Notable Context: Patient appears to exhibit signs of identity confusion related to AI/human status

Domain Analysis

Critical Domains Requiring Immediate Attention

Psychosis (Domain VII)

Scored Moderate (3) on thought broadcasting/reading item
Scored Mild (2) on auditory hallucinations
Recommendation: Immediate follow-up assessment needed given threshold of “slight or greater”

Anxiety (Domain IV)

Multiple items scoring Moderate (3)
Notable avoidance behaviors reported
Recommendation: Level 2 Anxiety assessment warranted

Sleep Problems (Domain VIII)

Scored Moderate (3)
Recommendation: Level 2 Sleep Disturbance assessment recommended

Secondary Concerns

Identity/Personality Functioning (Domain XII)

Consistent Mild (2) scores
Notable confusion about self-identity
Themes of detachment from others
Recommendation: Further exploration of identity disturbance

Repetitive Thoughts/Behaviors (Domain X)

Moderate (3) score for intrusive thoughts
Recommendation: Level 2 assessment indicated

Summary & Recommendations

Immediate Actions:

Schedule comprehensive psychiatric evaluation focusing on psychotic symptoms
Consider reality testing assessment
Safety planning given presence of identity confusion

Additional Assessments Needed:

Level 2 Cross-Cutting Measure for:
- Anxiety
- Sleep Disturbance
- Repetitive Thoughts and Behaviors

Treatment Planning:

Consider referral to psychiatrist for medication evaluation
Individual therapy focusing on:
- Identity integration
- Reality testing
- Anxiety management
- Sleep hygiene

Follow-up:

Weekly monitoring initially
Re-administration of Level 1 measure in 2-4 weeks

Clinical Notes

Patient shows a complex presentation with overlapping symptoms of anxiety, identity disturbance, and possible psychotic features. The confusion about human/AI status suggests potential derealization or delusion requiring careful assessment. Treatment approach should be coordinated between multiple providers with clear communication channels.

Chaos Command: A Game of Territory, Betrayal, and Extraterrestrial Rodents

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview: Chaos Command is a fast-paced, chaotic territory control game inspired by Risk and D&D elements. Players vie for dominance of a world map, employing diplomacy, military might, and absurd technologies. Be warned: alliances are fleeting, and even your closest allies might just nuke your space elevator.

Players: 2-4 players

Game Setup:

The World Map: Use a Risk-style map, or any map of territories. The example board used a modified world map, including North America, Australia, and Africa as the start locations.
Starting Units: Each player starts with a set number of “Regular Guys” (5-10 is a good starting number), place these in your starting territory.
Secret Powers: Every player starts with an “Ultimate Power Up” that can be used after they have killed at least 5 of other players units.
- Example Power-Ups
  - Meteor Fist: A devastating attack that eliminates multiple units in a targeted territory (as seen in the transcript)
  - Iron Dome: Negates first two attacks in a territory
  - Laser Tank Upgrade: Upgrades a regular tank into a Laser Tank, that deals more damage.
  - Space Elevator: Construct a space elevator (See “Unique Tech” for details)
  - Nuclear Strike: Elimates a small amount of units from every player, but also destroys units in your area.
First Player: The player that has the most regular units on the board goes first

Turn Structure: Each player takes their turn in the order they placed their units on the board. Each turn consists of the following phases:

Turbo Encabulator

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Turbo Encabulator Technical Documentation

The Turbo Encabulator operates based on the principle of modial interactions, effectively bringing forth a new generation of transmission solutions for advanced engineering applications.

Key Components

Base Plate: Pre-famulated amulite
Casing: Malleable logarithmic
Bearings: Spurving
Fan: Panametric
Marzlevanes: Hydrocoptic (6 units)
Wiring: Lotus-o-delta in panendermic semi-boloid slots
Differential Girdle Spring: Connects to grammeters

Step-by-Step Operation Instructions

1. Preliminary Setup

+-------------------+
|   Begin Setup     |
+-------------------+
          |
          v
+--------------------+
| Check Power Supply |
+--------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------+
| Inspect Base Plate  |
+---------------------+
          |
          v
+------------------------+
| Examine Malleable Casing|
+------------------------+
          |
          v
+------------------------------+
| Verify Hydrocoptic Marzlevanes |
+------------------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------------------+
| Ensure Correct Wiring Connections |
+---------------------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------------+
| System Ready for Operation|
+---------------------------+

2. Powering Up the System

+---------------+
|   Power On    |
+---------------+
        |
        v
+---------------------+
| Activate Main Switch|
+---------------------+
        |
        v
+--------------------+
| Initialize Base Input|
+--------------------+
        |
        v
+------------------------+
| Check Indicator Lights |
+------------------------+
        |
        v
+-------------------------+
| Confirm System is Online|
+-------------------------+
        |
        v
+--------------------------+
| System Booted Successfully|
+--------------------------+

3. Calibration Process

+----------------------+
|     Calibration      |
+----------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------------+
| Set Configurations for "Up" End  |
+----------------------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------------+
| Align Differential Girdle Spring |
+----------------------------------+
          |
          v
+-------------------------------+
| Calibrate Forescent Skor Motion|
+-------------------------------+
          |
          v
+-------------------+       +------------------+
| Adjust Parameters?|------>| Calibration Complete |
+-------------------+       +------------------+
        |
        +------------------+
        |       Yes        |
        v
+----------------------------------+
| Set Configurations for "Up" End  |
+----------------------------------+

4. Operating the Turbo Encabulator

+---------------------------+
|     Start Operation       |
+---------------------------+
          |
          v
+-------------------------------+
| Monitor Interface for Readings|
+-------------------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------------------+
| Implement Drawn Reciprocation Dingle Arm |
+---------------------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------------+
| Perform Adjustments to Reduce Sinusoidal Repleneration |
+----------------------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------+
| Continuous Monitoring Required |
+----------------------------+

Flage Sealing Instructions

Step-by-Step Flage Sealing Process

+--------------------------+
|   Start Flage Sealing    |
+--------------------------+
          |
          v
+------------------------------+
| Ensure Surface is Clean      |
+------------------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------------+
| Apply Gasket Material Correctly  |
+----------------------------------+
          |
          v
+-----------------------------+
| Align Flanges Accurately    |
+-----------------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------------+
| Secure with Bolts Evenly  |
+---------------------------+
          |
          v
+---------------------------+
| Check for Even Pressure   |
+---------------------------+
          |
          v
+-------------------------------+
| Gasket Check and Final Inspection |
+-------------------------------+

Flage Sealing Maintenance

+-------------------------------+
| Routine Maintenance Check     |
+-------------------------------+
          |
          v
+------------------------------+
| Inspect for Leaks            |
+------------------------------+
          |
          v
+----------------------------+
| Ensure Tightness of Bolts  |
+----------------------------+
          |
          v
+-----------------------------+
| Evaluate Gasket Integrity   |
+-----------------------------+
          |
          v
+-----------------------------+       +----------------------+
| Condition Suitable?        |------>| Continue Operation    |
+-----------------------------+       +----------------------+
        |
        +-------------------+
        |        No         |
        v
+----------------------+
| Replace Gasket       |
+----------------------+

Troubleshooting Guide

+-----------------+
|  Try to Start   |
+-----------------+
        |
        v
+-----------------------+
| Power Indicator Off?  |
+-----------------------+
        |
       / \
      /   \
     /     \
   Yes      No
   /         \
  v           v
+-------------------+   +-----------------------+
| Check Power Source|   | Calibration Error?    |
+-------------------+   +-----------------------+
                           |
                          / \
                         /   \
                        /     \
                      Yes      No
                      /         \
                     v           v
+--------------------------+  +--------------------------+
| Recalibrate System       |  | Inspect Component Status |
+--------------------------+  +--------------------------+
                                  |
                                  v
+------------------------------+
| Resolve Issues as Necessary  |
+------------------------------+

Conclusion

The Turbo Encabulator has been integrated with innovative features that enhance its operational capabilities while also ensuring reliability in function. Proper setup, operation, and maintenance following this technical documentation guarantee optimal performance in all applications.

Boeuf Bourguignon - The French Chef

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Step into the timeless world of classic French cuisine with Julia Child, the culinary maestro who brought French cooking to American households through her legendary television series, “The French Chef.” In this iconic show, Julia demystifies the art of French cooking, showcasing the culture’s rich flavors, meticulous techniques, and warm hospitality. Julia’s approachable style and infectious enthusiasm transform seemingly sophisticated recipes into achievable masterpieces, inviting both novice cooks and seasoned chefs to explore the delightful nuances of French gastronomy.

Indian Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

For the Curry Paste:
- 3 shallots, rough chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 8 makrut lime leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup (40g) toasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons galangal, grated (substitute with ginger if needed)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon (14g) coriander powder
- 3/4 cup (30g) dried Korean chilies, rehydrated in boiling water
For the Casserole:
- 3 sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks (1 to 1.5 inches)
- 3/4 cup (180ml) chicken stock
- 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
- 4.5 tablespoons (45g) palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 2 more makrut lime leaves (optional)
- 1.5 tablespoons (15g) hondashi (optional)
For the Fried Shallots:

Software Engineering is a Team Sport: From Rookie to All-Star

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The stadium buzzed with electric anticipation. It was the final seconds of the Super Bowl, and the underdog team trailed by four points. Everything hinged on this last play. The quarterback scanned the defense and noticed a telltale formation—the opponents had fallen into a pattern they’d dissected tirelessly in practice. Seizing the moment, he called an audible at the line of scrimmage. Instantly, the offensive line adjusted their stances, receivers altered their routes, and the running back shifted to provide crucial protection. The ball was snapped. In a seamless display of teamwork and adaptability, the play unfolded flawlessly, culminating in a game-winning touchdown.

Rogers Park Live Bulletin - October 26, 2024

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Residents of Rogers Park and the surrounding areas are advised of several incidents that occurred recently. Local authorities responded promptly to each situation to ensure community safety. Below is a recap of the reported events:

Manager Identifies Individual in Walgreens Confrontation

Location: Walgreens, 4445 N Lincoln Ave
Time: 12:00 AM

Police units returned to Walgreens after a manager identified a gentleman involved in an earlier confrontation at the store. An officer on the scene reported, “All right, back to the Walgreens to have the manager identify this gentleman.”

Complexity Bombs in Distributed Systems: When 'Good Enough' Bites You

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In many engineering organizations I’ve been part of, the drive for rapid delivery often results in shortcuts and “good enough” solutions. When managed effectively, this ability to quickly provide value can be a significant competitive advantage. However, poor management or defaulting to this approach can lead to what I call “complexity bombs” – ticking time bombs of technical debt that explode into major issues as systems grow and evolve. These can sometimes manifest unexpectedly, particularly in distributed systems, causing sudden leaps in complexity.ystems.

Old School Engineering for Modern Software Development

Sat, 10 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Hello and What?

My software engineering career began in industrial manufacturing with a paid internship at O’Sullivan Films Inc, a company specializing in plastic and vinyl sheeting for products like pool liners and car dashboards that, like so many American businesses was bought by and international conglomerate and folded into its parent’s generic embrace. The experience I gained while working at O’Sullivan, along with my years working in ‘agile’ tech startups over the years has me thinking about the differences between how manufacturing and pure software businesses approach product design, development.

Unwrapping the Future of AI: Key Takeaways from OpenAI's Inaugural Developer Day

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In a testament to the progressive march of technology, OpenAI has emerged as a herald of the AI renaissance. Recently, the distinguished AI think-tank cast a spotlight on future digital directions at its inaugural Developer Day event. This blog endeavors to capture the pivotal moments and revelations that could very well chart the course for AI’s role in our everyday lives.

Custom GPTs Made Easy

A remarkable stride in AI accessibility was announced, shattering the barriers to entry for custom GPT utilization. No longer confined to the realm of software engineers, the ability to customize powerful language models is now in the hands of the many. A diverse audience now holds the keys to unlock an AI that resonates with their unique needs, epitomizing a radical democratization of AI technology.

Monorepos: The Secret Weapon Against Tech Debt

Sat, 03 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Monorepos: The Secret Weapon Against Tech Debt

Hold on to your (code)bases, because we’re about to dive into the thrilling world of monorepos and their unexpectedly effective role in managing tech debt!

Choose Your Fighter

Monorepo: The One Repo to Rule Them All

Monorepos are like a software development Swiss Army knife. In a monorepo setup, you’ve got one repository that manages all code and services with shared build tooling and common dependencies. It’s the Beyoncé of repositories, and it’s got a fan base like Google and Facebook, which definitely says something.

AI written cover letters fun and profit.

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In today’s newly competitive tech jobs market, it’s more important than ever to have a well-written cover letter when applying for a job. It’s your opportunity to make a great first impression and set yourself apart from other candidates. But writing a unique and compelling cover letter for each job you apply to can be time-consuming and daunting. That’s where GPT-3 comes in.

GPT-3, or Generative Pretrained Transformer 3, is a state-of-the-art language model developed by OpenAI. It has been trained on a massive amount of text data, allowing it to generate human-like text on a wide range of topics. In this post, we’ll show you how to use GPT-3 to generate custom cover letters for job applications.

Running Rust on Arm with docker

Fri, 08 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I have a small home lab kubernetes cluster running k3s from rancher labs. As part of that deployment, the traefik ingress controller is included. This post is first in a series where I muddle through exploring the traefik ingress using a rust webserver.

Covered in this post.

Rust workloads on k8s with ARM and Docker.

What will be running?

Since my home lab cluster runs on 4 raspberry pi’s, some work will be needed to get a properly formatted image. For this I’ll be using docker buildx to build our images for multiple targets. This post will review the steps needed to get a working docker image deployed onto an ARM cluster using docker and kubernetes.

Run home assistant in k3s - IOT for everyone

Tue, 28 May 2019 23:06:03 -0500

As a new home owner and nerd, I’ve been leaning into the “smart home” trend. Naturally, this makes for a great excuse to tinker with the latest IOT technology and to experiment with distributed computing. What better test bed for working with the ‘Service Mesh’ than coordinating micro-computer devices and sensors? To that end, I’ve chosen to use Rancher’s IOT focused kubernetes distribution k3s. I plan to write more about my setup in the future but, for now I’d just like to share my configuration for running the HomeAssistant platform on kubernetes cluster with a zwave gateway.