Recent
AI: The Service Department Translator
When the dealership service rep couldn’t explain what was wrong with our vehicle, I sent the repair notes to my AI assistant. What came back was more useful than anything the service center told me.
AI: Initializing
·896 words·5 mins
I went from calling AI a 50/50 bet to burning through API credits in days. Here’s what changed, from the Ralph Loop to OpenClaw to AI agent skills, and why I think we’re at a pivotal point.
AI: My Welcome
Here we are diving into just one of the time savings samples of what the AI world is able to accomplish these days. This post is going to dig into a simple one that I have been trying to solve for a while and just couldn’t get right - Cloud Init virtual machines. I now am spinning up virtual machines in a few seconds, all with the help of Claude.
Creating Your Own Validation
I recently was presented with a request to look at where there was a request to validate that a Rack would be unique at a Location in Nautobot. I took a look at the data validation engine and wasn’t able to determine a method to make this work there. So here is the solution.
Cleaning Up Python Environment
Recently I updated my Python development environments to use Python UV for managing Python versions and tools on the system. In this post I take you on the journey that I went on to replace pyenv and Pipx.
2025 The ReSwitch
·542 words·3 mins
I’m back over to Hugo for my blog content using the Congo theme. Why? Come take a look.
Services First - A Reminder of Strong Growth
·797 words·4 mins
This post explores why the “Amazon API Mandate” remains relevant for modern network automation. It highlights how adopting a “Services First” strategy (using APIs and Pub/Sub systems like Nautobot) can transform CLI-based workflows into scalable, robust services.
Using Siri Shortcuts to Set Microphone
·571 words·3 mins
Managing audio settings on Mac devices can be repetitive, especially when switching between different microphones for calls, recordings, or meetings. Siri Shortcuts provides a powerful way to automate this process.
Autocon4 Viewpoint
·612 words·3 mins
AutoCon4 and NautoCon@AutoCon are in the books. It was quite the day, and I have to say that it ranks among my best days of the year in Network Automation, right up there with being able to meet up with the Network to Code team earlier in the year. It was great to see many friends from across the community. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the conversation going in Slack and maintain the momentum.
Network Design with NTP
·800 words·4 mins
It’s been a while since my last post, life and work have both been full. Today, I’m diving into one of the most quietly critical aspects of network design: time synchronization. Specifically, how to design NTP within an enterprise network and how to think about time zones when correlating logs.
We’ll look at two main topics in this post: designing NTP (Network Time Protocol) and managing time zone display in logs.