Hello everyone! Today, I want to tell you about my passions that punctuate my days outside of my work. I am a true fan of technology, and it is in my homelab that I thrive the most. But before diving into this captivating digital world, let me introduce you to my other hobbies/passions which make me a jack of all trades and above all a multi-passionate.
When I'm not immersed in my homelab, I like to spend my time practicing different sporting activities. I practiced martial arts, including karate, jiu-jitsu and judo. These sports allowed me to surpass myself and feel in harmony with my body and my mind. Just like gymnastics using apparatus (yes, I also did years of gymnastics). However, recently, I decided to take a break from martial arts to explore another facet: bodybuilding/fitness. This new experience allows me to diversify my training and discover new methods to maintain and improve my physical fitness.
I also like to indulge in various outdoor sporting activities. Skiing, snowboarding and hiking are some of my must-haves for enjoying the mountains and the pleasures of winter. During the warmer seasons, I like to ride around on a longboard, gliding fluidly on the roads or going to various spots and practicing longboard dancing/freestyle. Besides, I have a project that is particularly close to my heart: itemboards.ch. As part of this project, we (Benj and I) design and create longboards, then we explore them by skating them. It's a true passion project that combines my love for longboarding and my desire to create unique experiences. Although... this project doesn't really bring us any money... Let's say that we do our best not to lose (too much). 😅
Photo credits: Benjamin Régis (pixthit.ch) & ; Michael Muggli (michaelmuggli.ch) and Kévin Bigler (kevinbigler.ch)
Apart from these sporting activities, I love to immerse myself in a good book, especially fantasy and fantasy books. Reading is for me an escape towards new horizons, a source of inspiration and knowledge. There's nothing like a good fantasy novel to escape into imaginary worlds full of magic and thrilling adventures.
But that's not all! I also have another great passion: my adorable cats. Spending time with them is a real joy. Their comforting presence and their antics allow me to relax and feel soothed after a busy day.
Video games are also an integral part of my life, even if unfortunately I don't always have the time to play them as much as I would like. When a new Pokémon game comes out on Nintendo Switch, I can't help but immerse myself in this captivating universe. Likewise, when a new World of Warcraft expansion or a big Dofus update is available, I'm there to explore new virtual lands and experience epic adventures.
In addition to all that, I recently discovered role-playing through "Chroniques Oubliées", and I was immediately won over! It's an incredible experience where imagination comes to life. Currently, I'm trying to make my debut as a GM (game master) and assemble a small team of players. If any readers are GMs and looking for a player, I'd be happy to re-incarnate my Gnome named Jackpot!
Now, let's return to my homelab, this digital space that fascinates me so much! In my technological home, I embark on a multitude of projects ranging from networking, virtualization, automation and development. For example, I have a single host ESXi hypervisor, where I run a complete Windows Server environment, including Active Directory, RDS and many other essential services. This configuration allows me to create and manage a complete test environment for my Windows projects.
In addition, I also have a physical server running Unraid OS, which uses KVM virtualization to host different operating systems. I also configured many Docker containers on this server to run various services and applications in isolation and efficiently.
For storage, I have Qnap and Synology NAS that I carefully configure to ensure security and access to my data. These NAS play an essential role in my homelab, allowing file sharing, data backup and centralized management of my projects.
On the network level I mainly use Ubiquiti products; router, switches, AP (Access Points) and my entire home lab is based on this network stack.
Automation is another passion in my homelab, I like to create scripts to automate repetitive tasks, which allows me to save time and optimize everything which needs to be optimized.
As an amateur Pythonista, I have fun with Python to explore the possibilities of the language through small projects. I also use PowerShell for specific tasks. As for web development, I create websites with WordPress and sometimes I make some small custom modifications in CSS and PHP to meet my needs.
Finally, I am also a fan of Raspberry Pi, on which I deploy different projects and bots using mainly Python. Currently, one of my Raspberry Pis is successfully running the Telegram bot "Swiss IT Tech News" https://t.me/SwissITNews which I coded.
Source code is available here:
My homelab is a true laboratory of ideas where I can give free rein to my technological creativity. It’s an evolving space that grows with my discoveries and desires. Every day, I am driven by the desire to improve and find new solutions to meet ever more stimulating challenges.
There you go, you now know part* of my passions: technology through my homelab, different sports including board sports, reading which escapes me, my adorable cats which brighten my days, video games and the fascinating world of role-playing games.
I hope this presentation has allowed you to get to know me better.
See you soon on alexin.tech!
*I specified "part" , because my life is composed of temporary passions and long-lasting passions. As a multi-passionate I can be passionate about a subject for 3 months then move on to something else (the majority of the time it's like that) and I have some long-term passions which I have tried to illustrate in This item.