Personal blog
Hi, I'm Rob. The Easy-Going Nerd.
I explain home automation and AI in plain English - no jargon, just things that actually work.
Hi, I'm Rob - the Easy-Going Nerd. AI & Automation Engineer with 10+ years working in analytics, marketing, automation and AI. I started this blog to help friends and family get the most out of tech without the jargon. Based in the UK.
Pick of the bunch
Start here
Home Assistant 2026.6: Should You Update? (Plain English)
Home Assistant 2026.6 explainer: MQTT v5, Matter BLE fix, integration updates. What changes for your household, when to update.
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Pick your lane
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AI for Mere Mortals
AI explained for the rest of us — practical, plain English, no jargon.
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DIY Tech Projects
Weekend builds, home servers, and Raspberry Pi adventures. Practical projects that make you feel like a wizard.
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Everyday Tech
Phones, apps, streaming, security, and the digital stuff you use every day.
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Smart Home 101
Your step-by-step guide to building a smart home from scratch. Start here if you are new to home automation.
Fresh writing
Recent posts
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Everyday TechWhat Is a VPN (and Do You Actually Need One?)
VPN ads make wild claims - most are nonsense. An honest guide to what a VPN actually does, who genuinely needs one, and the best UK picks for 2026.
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AI for Mere MortalsAI for Mere Mortals Part 2: Getting Started with ChatGPT
Time to actually use AI. A no-jargon, step-by-step guide to ChatGPT - setting up, writing good prompts, and 10 genuinely useful things to try today.
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AI for Mere MortalsGLM-4.7-Flash: Run a 30B Coding Model Locally
GLM-4.7-Flash is a 30B MoE model with an MIT licence that runs on 24GB of memory. What it is good at, how to run it locally, and who it suits.
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AI for Mere MortalsWhen Google's AI Overview Gets Your Business Wrong
Google's AI Overview can confidently show wrong contact details and misdirect customers. Why it happens and how to protect your business.
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AI for Mere Mortalsmviz: Turn JSON Into Polished Reports with Claude
mviz turns a compact JSON spec into a polished HTML or PDF report through Claude - no dashboards, no infrastructure. Here is how it works and who it suits.
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AI for Mere MortalsWhat If AI Is Really Good but Not That Disruptive?
AI is a genuinely useful productivity tool, yet its real-world impact looks slower and more boring than the hype. Here is why that is the bullish case.
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