Jozef Cipa
a backend engineer with a passion for IoT and automation
I build quiet, reliable systems in Node and Go — and, after hours, small hardware things that talk to them. This is where I write it down.
// blog
Recent notes
Three weeks in New Zealand
This trip report covers a three-week journey across both the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The travel experience combines rental car explorations of volcanic landscapes and coastal areas with a multi-day camper van road trip through the South Island. It highlights various outdoor activities, key landmarks, and the logistical realities of traversing the country.
Meet Wordiez - a vocabulary app curated by you
Wordiez helps you build a custom vocabulary library directly from the content you read, rather than relying on generic word lists. By integrating translation and spaced-repetition quizzes into your daily browsing, the tool ensures you only practice the specific words you personally encounter. You can manage your collection and study sessions across multiple platforms with seamless syncing.
How I access my private homelab from the internet without a VPN
Accessing self-hosted services from outside a local network typically involves choosing between a complex VPN or exposing ports to the public internet. By implementing mutual TLS, devices present a client certificate during the connection handshake to prove their identity before any data is processed. This approach allows specifically authorized devices to access homelab services directly through a secure gateway, bypassing the need for manual VPN connections or recurring service fees.