# AK//Journal

> Code, Systems, Brain Logs

Language: en
URL: https://journal.alsonkaw.com/

All pages on this site are available as clean Markdown by adding the header `Accept: text/markdown` to any HTTP request.
REST API: https://journal.alsonkaw.com/wp-json/mescio-for-agents/v1/markdown?url={page_url}

## Pages

- [Privacy Policy](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/privacy-policy/): Privacy Policy Last updated: March 10, 2026This website (“the site”) is a personal journal and blog. I respect your privacy and keep data collection to a minimum. What information I collect Analytics (Plausible) I use Plausible Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics
- [Home](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/): Hello there This journal micro-blog is my working log: short notes on what I’m learning, building, and debugging. Why a micro-blog? Latest Notes
- [Style Guide](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/style-guide/): Style Guide This is a style guide page. Images Headings Heading 1 — Display type Heading 2 — Section header Heading 3 — Subsection Heading 4 — Minor header Paragraph This is body text. It should be readable, calm, and
- [Topics](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/topics/): Browse posts by domain and topic Image AI Security Docker Authentication Privacy Prompting Localhost Commit Passkey Security Performance DevTools Git WordPress Nextcloud
- [Now](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/now/): Now This page is a snapshot of what I’m focused on right now—updated occasionally when priorities shift. Current Focus Building and optimizing Ash+Zelkova — a digital agency based in Singapore focused on web and graphics.Improving my systems and workflows: shipping
- [About](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/about/): About This journal micro-blog is my working log: short notes on what I’m learning, building, and debugging. It’s meant to be searchable, linkable, and useful to future-me — a brain log of things I don’t want to forget.This is where

## Blog Posts

- [Makefile for Deployments and Dev Workflows](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/makefile-for-deployments-and-dev-workflows/) (2026-05-14): A single Makefile replaces scattered shell scripts, reads .env to switch environments, and gives every project a consistent command interface.
- [HP Turned Printing Into a Subscription](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/hp-turned-printing-into-a-subscription/) (2026-05-12): HP's All-In Plan charges a monthly fee for your printer, ink, and paper. Cancel after 30 days and you pay a fee. Here's what you're actually signing up for.
- [Chrome Put a 4GB AI Model on Your Mac](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/chrome-put-a-4gb-ai-model-on-your-mac/) (2026-05-09): Google Chrome silently downloads a 4GB Gemini Nano AI model onto your Mac or PC without consent. Here's how to find it, delete it, and stop it coming back.
- [Windows 11 Local Account: The Fast Way](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/windows-11-local-account-the-fast-way/) (2026-05-06): How to set up Windows 11 with a local account using start ms-cxh:localonly — faster than bypassnro, works on 24H2 and 25H2, and takes about 30 seconds.
- [CVE-2026-31431: Update Your Kernel Now](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/cve-2026-31431-update-your-linux-kernel-now/) (2026-05-02): CVE-2026-31431 "Copy Fail" is a Linux kernel LPE affecting every major distro since 2017. A 732-byte Python script gets root with no race conditions. Patch now.
- [AI Didn’t Go Rogue, You Handed It the Keys](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/ai-didnt-go-rogue-you-just-handed-it-the-keys/) (2026-04-30): A Cursor agent wiped a company's production database in 9 seconds. The AI didn't go rogue — the owner handed it root access and stored backups on the same volume.
- [What if your password manager stored nothing](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/what-if-your-password-manager-stored-nothing/) (2026-04-20): HIPPO is a proposed storeless password manager — no vault, no stored passwords, just cryptographic computation on demand. Interesting tradeoffs.
- [WebinarTV turned your private meeting into content](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/webinartv-turned-your-private-meeting-into-content/) (2026-04-18): A company has been crawling Zoom for meeting links, sending fake attendees in to record, then turning it all into AI podcasts. Full writeup on the main blog.
- [Claude feels dumber lately — here’s the fix](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/claude-feels-dumber-lately-heres-the-fix/) (2026-04-13): Claude's chat responses got noticeably worse — turns out it's a default effort setting change. Custom instructions fixed it.
- [portless | Named .localhost URLs for Development](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/portless-named-localhost-urls-for-development/) (2026-03-23): Portless replaces localhost ports with stable name.localhost URLs, adds optional HTTPS, supports subdomains and git worktrees, and auto-assigns ports.
- [Security hardening for WordPress](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/security-hardening-for-wordpress/) (2026-03-15): A practical walkthrough of how I hardened my WordPress setup with passkeys / 2FA, Cloudflare Access, security headers, CSP tuning, and user enum fixes.
- [Extending Official Docker Images with Dockerfile](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/extending-official-docker-images-with-dockerfile/) (2026-03-09): Learn how to extend official Docker images with a Dockerfile—example adds FFmpeg to Nextcloud for video thumbnails and previews.
- [How Passkeys Work](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/how-passkeys-work/) (2026-03-04): A quick takeaway on how passkeys work—what they are, why they’re safer than passwords, and what to know when adopting them.
- [Nextcloud felt sluggish, MariaDB was the bottleneck](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/nextcloud-felt-sluggish-mariadb-was-the-bottleneck-not-php-redis/) (2026-03-02): Nextcloud lagged because MariaDB was maxed—InnoDB tuning + repairs + throttling fixed it.
- [How to Write Better Git Commit Messages](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/how-to-write-better-git-commit-messages/) (2026-02-27): A concise guide to writing better Git commit messages—clear subjects, useful context, and patterns that make history easier to read and review.
- [Migrating a Docker image to an air-gapped VM](https://journal.alsonkaw.com/migrating-a-docker-image-to-an-air-gapped-vm/) (2026-02-27): Step-by-step guide to migrating Docker images to an air-gapped VM using docker save/load, plus tips for tagging, updates, and rollback.