https://alexleloup.com/blog/ Odd tech and security history, side projects, and life off the clock. en-us https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-fish-tank-that-robbed-a-casino/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-fish-tank-that-robbed-a-casino/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Attackers got into a casino's network through a smart thermometer in the lobby aquarium. Yes, really. https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-cereal-box-whistle/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-cereal-box-whistle/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 A toy whistle from Cap'n Crunch boxes played the exact tone AT&T used to run its long-distance network. Free calls followed. https://alexleloup.com/blog/why-boats-dont-say-left/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/why-boats-dont-say-left/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Starboard comes from a steering oar, larboard got fired for sounding too much like it, and port won the job. https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-first-worm-said-catch-me-if-you-can/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-first-worm-said-catch-me-if-you-can/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 In 1971, Creeper hopped between computers on the early internet printing a taunt. Then someone wrote the first antivirus to hunt it. https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-moth-in-the-machine/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/the-moth-in-the-machine/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 In 1947, engineers found a real moth stuck in a Harvard computer and taped it into the logbook. Here's what the famous story gets wrong. https://alexleloup.com/blog/learning-to-boat/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/learning-to-boat/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 I didn't know if my family would like boating, so I bought an old boat to find out. It taught me more than a new one could have. https://alexleloup.com/blog/getting-back-on-the-bike/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/getting-back-on-the-bike/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 Three years on a Trek Fuel EX 8, and now getting back into trail riding. Notes on starting again. https://alexleloup.com/blog/what-my-home-lab-is-for/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/what-my-home-lab-is-for/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 My home lab isn't impressive hardware. It's a place to break things before I'd ever have to fix them at work. https://alexleloup.com/blog/zero-third-party-requests/ https://alexleloup.com/blog/zero-third-party-requests/ Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400 No analytics, no font services, no trackers: why alexleloup.com loads nothing from anyone else, and what it took.