The truth, as so often, lies somewhere in the middle, and I generally tune out the extreme positions just mentioned, because they surprisingly often come from people who’ve never seriously engaged with it. Regardless of which position they hold.

The problem with total rejection is often the doom-mongering of the critics. But there’s rarely a deep black or a pure white. It’s usually one of a thousand shades of grey.

1000 shades of grey, or what?

Years ago, I picked up front-end fundamentals, can write a bit of HTML and CSS, and understand a little about how JavaScript works. When I see website code, I don’t necessarily see whether it’s good, but what it’s trying to achieve.

I reckon that’s a difference when I tackle something and vibe code, compared to someone who hasn’t got a clue about front-end development. And there we are in a grey spectrum!

Enough justification!

My old website at wirsindfein.de served me for a very long time as a business card for my freelance work, which I no longer pursue since the end of 2022. The site had perhaps got a bit tired, or rather like an old, albeit quality, jumper. Still looks good, still fits, no holes… but worn a thousand times!

It was time for something new!

My first vibe-coding test run was this small site: eichhof.co

A placeholder page that I use for domains that I only have for email addresses, for example. Doesn’t need to do anything, but perhaps someone might stumble upon it.

At some point, I had the idea for the particle smiley and gave it a go with Claude, and it was surprisingly quick to make initial ideas immediately visible and functional.

Got a taste for it!

After that, the door was wide open. I wanted to tackle wirsindfein.de, but also shed more than just the old jumper. I don’t need a site that showcases my skills for potential clients, I just need something I can use on my profiles across the web that briefly shows who I am.

An about-me page with a new URL

I started with the circular photo, the text, and the buttons. Then it became – completely without reason – multilingual. Then came more buttons, which also change their order depending on the language version. The email addresses needed to be as unrecognisable to bots as possible. The first Easter egg was built in, an imprint in a pop-up had to be added too. Why not a dark mode as well? Oh, another Easter egg, please. Shall we cram the thing with structured data as well? And the text links need a preview with self-updating screenshots of the pages.

There’s a disproportionate amount of functionality in this small site, and that’s precisely what made it fun. Quickly visualising an idea and potentially developing it further, adjusting it, scrapping it. Just doing it!

Last week, I then turned the site into a GitHub repo. Also from within Claude, with direct integration, so that what I tell the machine gets pushed straight away and through another connection goes live immediately. In between, I had Claude run code and SEO audits itself. Because redundancies often creep into the code when making ad-hoc changes.

That’s where we get to the difference it can make when you consciously engage with such a tool. Vibe coding initially means: I chuck my ideas into an AI and take what comes out. That needn’t be, and probably won’t be, good yet. But it doesn’t have to stop there.

I had the code checked by other AIs as well. Simply to get a feel for how they react. Often superficial rubbish came out that you first have to recognise as such. Ultimately, though, the “audits” in Claude itself worked best.

If you critically examine the output to the best of your understanding, and you can weigh up a good overall picture, it’s quite possible to produce optimal quality in extremely short time with vibe-coding.

I’m really pleased with my result, and you can certainly argue about why inline CSS and JS (because of the number of requests) and (now completely refactored) which function is implemented how well. Does it even need JS and so on? I reckon that’ll largely just be down to individual taste.

https://eichhof.me

In recent years, I had repeatedly considered setting up a Home Assistant instance to bring together the many loose ends of my smart home landscape. In addition to the Fritz!Box with thermostats and a few switches, the boiler also has connectivity, and then there are a few things from Ikea, and the roller blinds can also be controlled remotely.

Matter was initially still an option I wanted to wait for. Wait until it was finally no longer criticised by heise and Co. It is obviously difficult to create a solution that can communicate with everything.

That said, Home Assistant can already communicate with everything, regardless of the protocol. I had concerns about the effort involved and kept putting it off. Now I had the time and set up a proper instance that can do a lot and has a dashboard that’s decent enough so far.

The sticking point in the recent past was that the scope of my Home Assistant instance was pushing the Raspberry Pi to its limits. It’s only a Pi 4 with 2GB of RAM. It does have an SSD via USB 3, but overall, it’s not exactly world-class.

My first thought was a Raspberry Pi 5 with 4, if not 8 GB of RAM. But that’s easily 100 euros, at least for now. With RAM prices currently on the rise, that may soon change.

You also need cooling, a case, a power supply and possibly decent storage on top. Where does that end up price-wise?

I decided not to bother finding out after remembering an article on heise.de that praised a thin client for being so versatile and inexpensive.

At the time, heise quoted around 70 euros, but shortly after the article was published, prices rose slightly. I just managed to get one for 45 euros on Kleinanzeigen, with a new SSD for another 15 euros. The built-in 4GB RAM is enough for me for now. I no longer have to worry about the case, cooling and power supply, and the Futro’s power consumption is also slightly lower than that of the Pi 5. So far, so good!

When the Futro was on its way to me, I noticed online that it’s not as easy to install Home Assistant on it as it is on the Pi.

Problems may arise with the hard drive, as it may not be recognised by the BIOS or may not be bootable.

But it’s not that serious if you’re not afraid of Live Linux and a little bit of terminal work. Below, I’ll try to summarise how I got it set up in no time.

Installing Home Assistant on Futro S740

Prerequisites

USB stick (FAT32 formatted) for BIOS update
USB stick for Linux Live system
Internet connection, of course

Part 1: BIOS update

Why is this necessary?

Older BIOS versions have problems with UEFI booting from the internal SSD. After installing HAOS, the SSD is often not recognised as a boot option. Updating to at least R1.13.0 or newer fixes this problem.

Download: You can find Admin Pack V5.0.0.13 – R1.14.0 here:

https://support.ts.fujitsu.com/IndexDownload.asp?SoftwareGuid=FA0A6053-4D47-4C28-93A3-021C2E530D93

Found via R3NE07 – Also a good reference for the device in general!

Procedure

1. Download and unzip the ZIP file
2. Format the USB stick to FAT32
3. Copy the contents of the ZIP file directly to the root directory of the stick (not the folder, but the files!)
4. Start Futro → press F12 → select USB stick, displayed as ‘FUJITSU Update Utility’
5. Confirm update with Y
6. After ‘Updating Flash: 100%’, remove USB stick
7. Confirm Capsule Flash Update with Y
8. Wait for restart

Part 2: Preparing the Linux live system

You can use Ubuntu Desktop or another Ubuntu-based distribution.

Ubuntu Desktop: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Linux Mint: https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Write the ISO to the stick using Balena Etcher.

Booting
1. Insert the USB stick
2. Start Futro → F12 → Select USB stick (UEFI)
3. Select ‘Try Ubuntu’ (do not install!)

Part 3: Writing HAOS to internal SSD

Open the terminal and download HAOS. You may want to set the keyboard layout to your preferred language in the settings first.

cd ~/Downloads

wget https://github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/releases/download/17.0/haos_generic-x86-64-17.0.img.xz

There may already be a more recent version available, which you can find here.

Then, identify the internal SSD:

lsblk

Typical output:
– NVMe SSD: `/dev/nvme0n1`
– SATA SSD: `/dev/sda`

Be careful not to accidentally overwrite the USB stick! The internal SSD of the Futro will be nvme0n1, as it is in my case.

Write HAOS to SSD

NVMe SSD:

xzcat haos_generic-x86-64-17.0.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=4M status=progress

sudo sync

SATA SSD (`/dev/sda`):

xzcat haos_generic-x86-64-17.0.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sda bs=4M status=progress

sudo sync

If the version of HAOS has changed, the command must of course be adjusted. You can also simply rename the download to haos.img.xz.

The most important thing: Create an EFI boot entry

NVMe SSD:

sudo efibootmgr --create --disk /dev/nvme0n1 --part 1 --label "HAOS" --loader 'EFIBOOTbootx64.efi'

SATA SSD:

sudo efibootmgr --create --disk /dev/sda --part 1 --label "HAOS" --loader 'EFIBOOTbootx64.efi'

Part 4: First start

1. Shut down Linux
2. Remove the USB stick
3. Start Futro

The machine will work away for a while. If, like me, you still have the Futro connected to a monitor, you can follow the progress on screen.

The first start takes 5–20 minutes. During this time, the partition is expanded to the full SSD size and Home Assistant Core is downloaded.

As soon as you see the Home Assistant terminal start screen, you should also start to see something at http://homeassistant.local:8123.

Part 5: Restore backup (optional)

If you have an existing Home Assistant backup:

1. Select ‘Restore from backup’ on the onboarding screen
2. Upload the .tar backup file
3. All settings, automations and integrations will be restored

Conclusion

Really, it’s no big deal. The most important thing is to write the EFI boot entry. In the BIOS settings, you need to make sure that Secure Boot is off and UEFI Boot is on. That was already the case for me.

Sources
1. Home Assistant Installation Generic x86-64
2. GitHub Issue – Boot-Problem Fujitsu/SATA

This post is part of my tutorials.

Kühlhouse quickly established itself as a serious venue for house parties in Bremerhaven and appealed to ‘new’ people in particular. Not just scene-goers like me. That was refreshing because it meant the expectations were different.

It was also nice that it took place with a certain regularity, especially in a city like Bremerhaven, which didn’t really have a scene and where nightlife was generally a bit difficult. The Alte Bürger was struggling, having previously been the go-to place for nightlife in the city. There were a few discos that appealed to a different clientele, but they also had their problems. The Kühlhouse stood out. It was small, intimate, played good music, and people met there for a good time in a relaxed way.

At least that’s how I remember it. You tend to remember the good things!

There were plenty of good things going on. I organised a party with Matthias, who rented the halls to the left and right of the Kühlhouse. There was a guest list of 110 people, we took practically no admission fees that evening, but the bar was proverbially drunk dry. It was a lovely evening, Tas & Phunk were there too.

Later, I often DJed there alongside Kolja Bäcker, who was a resident DJ at Rosigen Zeiten in Bremen. After that, Dimi & Loco from my DNMK roster, if you can call it that, did a lot there, and I was occasionally involved. My time as a DJ, especially in Bremerhaven, was very much influenced by Kühlhouse.

Years later, I met Marc at the Alte Bürger Festival. I had been living in Hamburg for a long time and didn’t visit Bremerhaven that often any more, but I immediately asked him about the Kühlhouse. ‘Sold the joint, couldn’t be arsed any more.’

It broke my heart a little, but I understood.
Not only have people like me been moving away from Bremerhaven in increasing numbers, but perhaps the momentum for such things has simply run out at some point.

I think it was in 2018 or 2019 when I wanted to see what was still going on at Kühlhouse, so I looked it up online. I was feeling a little sentimental and curious. I wanted to see what was happening in my old home town.

The URL kuehlhouse.com was not linked to any website because someone failed to renew the registration.

Almost reflexively, I registered the URL and almost immediately had the idea of making an homage mix. With records from that era or records that I particularly liked at the time.

Side note: With my history in the techno scene and not being tied to just one genre, I was always the DJ who didn’t quite fit in 100% at Kühlhouse. I adapted at times, but I also, let’s say, tested the boundaries. Around 2008, I was really into bloghouse, which was influenced by French Touch. Great music, but not always suitable for Kühlhouse.

So, the idea was to make an homage mix with a selection of records. It took me this long because I’ve always found it very difficult to record mixes at home. My mixes were always worse than my sets, partly because at some point I needed the trigger of seeing people’s reactions to my music.

Because I ended up selecting over 60 records for this mix, it was impossible to record it at home with my bias against home recording. When dj.studio came out a while ago, I knew immediately how I could finally record this set outside my comfort zone, and I’m glad that piece of software exists. Without it, the idea would have died!

Long story short, here is my homage mix, which at least reminds me of a good time at the Kühlhouse. Maybe you too?

I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

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Direct link: kuehlhouse.com

I mean, I have similar images from my early days as a DJ, just not with Beyoncé looking incredulous, but with other, rather unknown people.

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Yes, it’s nonsense, I know. Compared to him, I was probably a bit lazier. I put less effort into getting new records and gigs. That’s how I’d sum it up after reading the book…

Mark Ronson wasn’t really on my radar. Sure, Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars… I was aware of all that. Not my kind of music. But I also found the memoirs of Carl Cox and Harold Heath very interesting, if only because of my proximity to the subject. So picking up this book wasn’t a stretch.

Of the lot, I actually think Mark Ronson’s is the best. I like his writing, some of the scenes are incredibly quirky and entertaining (no spoilers: Robin Williams), and the music scene the book covers mirrors a time when I was tuned into much of what he describes.

Long story short: please get the book, it’s good!

The official playlist for the book is available on Spotify, with a copy also available on Deezer.

This post is part of my reading page.

This video deserves a special mention because Armand played what’s probably the most British house set ever at New Year’s Eve 2023/2024 in London. The tracks all date from the 00s and 10s. A good half of them produced by the man himself, and pretty much all of them still in heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1. Know your crowd!

So it’s no wonder the kids sing along loudly to almost everything and are having the time of their lives. The comment “Kids dancing on tracks made before they were born… The power of good music!” sums it up perfectly.

This post is part of my All Things British page.

I enjoy them, hopefully you will too!

The playlist is updated irregularly and new sets or concerts will be added from time to time. Worth popping back in every now and then.

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I can’t remember why my friend had the 2000s and then moved on to the 3000s after selling them to me. The Technics 1210s were the gold standard and the club default back then, just as Pioneer is today.

Personally, I always preferred the handling. I often said at the time that the Vestax was more forgiving and you didn’t have to be quite as precise. The Technics were a bit too sensitive for me, so I often turned the platter a bit too far.

The PDXs are not only more robust in terms of handling, but also in terms of durability. Mine are now a good 20 years old and give very few problems. But what bothered me for a long time was that there were no covers for them.

Well, there were some, but they weren’t included and they were hideous. So I was chuffed when Decksaver stepped in last year and added Vestax PDX 2000 covers to their range.

That solved one problem. The next was the target light, which plugs into the front of the turntable via RCA. Of course, these get lost on club nights and although I never really needed them, I missed having the light.

Last year I found a supplier in the UK who had built very robust replacement target lights. Coincidentally, you can spot one of them on the Decksaver website on the PDX 2000 pictured there. Apparently, this person no longer makes them or sells them on eBay. Which is a shame, as the quality is superb.

However, someone in Poland has taken over the mantle and is making simpler target lights for the Vestax and other turntables. So that might help you out too.

With the two new accessories, I took the opportunity to finally give the players a proper clean after what felt like decades. I reckon there was still some club dirt in there.

This post is part of my tutorials.

One Hand Operation + at the Galaxy Store

This post is part of my tutorials.

The goal was simple: capture Laurent Garnier’s career in a documentary. They were looking for backers, and even though I’m not the biggest Laurent Garnier fan, I found it fascinating to be part of it. Just like with Lucas Levitan or Thimbleweed Park.

Laurent Garnier was one of the pioneers from France in the early 90s, when techno and house were blowing up. To me, he’s defined by tracks like Feelin’ Good and of course The Man With The Red Face. But also by the panel I attended with him at ADE 2016.

As far as I could remember, some of the footage was already in the can, with a few selected “Off The Records” events still to come in early 2020. One of them fell on my birthday. With the benefit of hindsight – knowing what the following years had in store – I should have gone. But I didn’t.

The pandemic naturally delayed the production as well. As tends to happen with crowdfunding campaigns, communication and the shipping of perks slowed down a bit. But given the circumstances, understanding was more than warranted. In the end, the team was determined to see the project through properly, and I did receive the digital downloads and the Blu-ray.

After a while, the documentary made it onto Arte and was freely available to everyone. Unfortunately, it’s no longer on Arte. It can still be found on Vimeo On Demand and Apple TV.

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Photo: Featuristic Film via Kickstarter campaign page

This post is part of my Kickstarter page.

I made the mistake of going on Saturday morning. It was hugely crowded, which is good for the show, but the freedom of movement was pretty limited. Next year it’ll be more of an afternoon or early evening visit.

In 2018, I personally found the show more varied. This year it was very German – lots of German cars, which in my opinion gets a bit boring quite quickly. There was no cool Opel Senator to be seen, just lots of Benz, BMW and of course VW. That gets old fast.

There were a few highlights for me throughout the show, though, even if it wasn’t always easy to get a decent shot. Have a look for yourself:

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The Bremen Classic Motorshow also has a YouTube channel well worth checking out.