Engineering notes / Change history
What changed, and why.
I keep these notes so I can remember what changed, why I changed it, and which tests go with it.
/ 2026.11.07-building-status
Added a currently-building project status to the profile sidebar
A small GitHub-style project card identifies ongoing site work, with a subtle accessible orb and a link to real build notes.
- Added an unobtrusive orb and Currently building label to English and all five localized profile sidebars.
- Named ZombieMutex as the current project and linked to its existing, source-grounded Build Log.
- Made project status owner-curated, kept reduced-motion support, and avoided showing made-up GitHub commits or activity.
- Left GitHub activity-feed integration unconnected until a public or explicitly approved data source is available.
/ 2026.11.07-remove-arcade
Retired arcade and 8-bit widgets; kept the GitHub-style engineering site
Removed the arcade, CRT hardware, pixel-map game, binary animations and novelty terminal without losing technical writing or security labs.
- Removed the Arcade Mode and hidden novelty terminal routes, navigation, search entries and animated home/footer embellishments.
- Preserved the GitHub-style profile, README panel, pinned projects, technical articles and workbench.
- Preserved the repository-style engineering content and security case files.
- Replaced retro case-study visuals with accessible, static GitHub-style attack/defense diagrams.
- Retired old URLs with redirects to My Games and Labs rather than leaving broken links.
/ 2026.11.07-github-style
GitHub-like design restored across ZombieMutex
Returned the entire site to a restrained GitHub-inspired dark interface, preserving every engineering and personal feature.
- Removed the whole-site ZMDOS terminal frame, green phosphor filter, DOS path prompt and site appearance switch.
- Applied a familiar dark repository profile hierarchy with charcoal panels, blue links, thin borders, tab navigation and a README-style home overview.
- Kept the frog branding, verified pinned work, publication feed, search, tutorials, labs, Arcade, interactive diagrams and existing URLs.
- Moved the original ZM-80 CRT into an optional, accessible section on the Home and translated overview pages.
- Preserved multilingual routing and safeguards for Cloudflare script ordering and inline language detection.
/ 2026.11.07-crt-hardware
Fictional 1980s hardware styling for the CRT and arcade
Restyled the existing CRT and command console as convincing physical vintage equipment while retaining all interactions.
- Built a recessed curved CRT with plastic shell, vents, screws, vignette, raster treatment and glass reflection.
- Reworked the initial boot text as a clearly fictional ZM-80 ROM/DOS-style interface with memory check and disk directory.
- Made phosphor color selection look and work like physical front-panel knobs; the original display settings remain available.
- Put the playable Arcade terminal inside a matching monitor chassis with simulated ROM screen, status strip and keyboard keycaps.
- Preserved reduced-motion behavior, the GitHub profile layout, safe commands and existing website features.
/ 2026.11.07-arcade
CRT terminal, pixel map and optional 8-bit arcade
Introduced a small CRT module, persisted local display controls, frog-knight sprite, interactive defensive diagrams and Mutex Quest while preserving the GitHub-style layout.
- Built a browser-local CRT display with optional phosphor colors, scanlines, effect intensity and sound.
- Added an original four-frame pixel frog knight, binary rail accents and restrained animation.
- Case studies now offer separate published attack sequences and proposed defensive checkpoints.
- Kept visual work isolated from security case-study evidence.
- Added an optional command terminal and four-round Mutex Quest at /arcade, with no external API or code execution.
- Respects reduced motion and keeps sound opt-in.
/ 2026.11.07-casefiles
Source-backed case files and quieter GitHub-style navigation
Published a malware and systems case-file library, new visual experiments, and consolidated footer navigation without dropping destinations.
- Added 13 original source-linked case notes across Android malware, worms, viruses, robotics, cryptography and backend design.
- Mapped simplified public incident sequences and documented the evidence boundary; no malicious binaries or incident data included.
- Added a compact changelog to the profile sidebar and a restrained binary-code accent and frog knight.
- Preserved engineering and topic routes with consistent navigation.
- Collapsed the long footer directories while retaining their links and added a site-specific legal/privacy navigation.
/ 2026.11.06-featured
Evidence-first homepage, Build Log and attestation explorer
Added lab screenshots, local test results, a build log, an attestation walkthrough, and a place for future Life notes.
- Captured screenshots of the browser labs and ran 16 passing local tests across three reference projects.
- Added a featured work page with trust-boundary diagrams, pinned commit IDs and local test observations.
- Added a dated Build Log grounded in real Git commits and a curated Start Here page.
- Published an interactive eight-stage iOS/Android attestation trust model with fail-closed, replay, identity and authorization scenarios.
- Made a Life notebook for my own trail photos, recipes, travel notes and robotics builds, once I have entries to publish.
/ 2026.11.06-life
Life hub & social connections
A focused personal Life section covering eight selected interests, plus unified social and gaming identities.
- Consolidated personal-interest routes under Life.
- Organized hiking, cooking, robotics, IoT, mobile engineering, technology and travel.
- Brought Instagram, AllTrails, Strava, Twitch, YouTube, WeChat, KakaoTalk, Battle.net, PlayStation and Nintendo into one Socials section.
- Published owner-supplied WeChat and KakaoTalk IDs with copy buttons; unknown URLs stay explicitly unlinked.
/ 2026.11.06
Debugging tools and reproducible engineering demos
Four browser debugging tools, shareable lab scenarios, reference-code experiments and dependency updates.
- JWT claim decoder (explicitly unverified), HTTP header policy analysis, TLS 1.3 walkthrough and refresh-token race visualizer.
- Versioned, bounded, shareable scenarios for all three existing interactive labs.
- Three small reference repositories with local tests, currently private.
- Notes on the replay, idempotency and token-rotation test cases.
- Dependency audit updates and compatibility-tested Cloudflare deployment configuration.
/ 2026.11.06-workbench
Personal engineering workbench
Added snippets, diagrams, reader feedback, and a little library for bookmarks.
- Snippet library, command palette, architecture diagrams and guided challenges.
- Source-linked glossary, printable checklists and local-only reading bookmarks.
- Public evidence index and reader correction workflow.
/ 2026.11.06-labs
Technical articles and interactive labs
Reference articles and small browser labs you can experiment with.
- Device trust, session recovery and API retry simulators.
- Technical reference articles, deep topic navigation, site-wide search and working RSS.
- Public editorial/corrections policy, social preview cards and downloadable reference code.
For a closer look, try the browser labs and their downloadable test code. The three separate reference repositories are private right now. Daily website checks live separately in the automated activity record; a successful check is not a new post or a performance guarantee.