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The Backup That Wasn’t Catching Up
Backblaze reported reaching the daily storage cap. Old backup versions accumulated because of default settings in Backblaze’s B2 bucket, leading to excessive storage usage. I adjusted settings to manage file retention more effectively, underscoring the importance of understanding backup systems. Read More
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When Security Got Heavy
A failed Forgejo push exposed a three-hour server outage. Recent installs like Forgejo and Nextcloud seemed suspicious at first, but diagnostics pointed to an aggressive ImunifyAV scanner. After mitigation, I resized the server and planned safer monitoring. Read More
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Unsupported Should Not Mean Blind
After a DigitalOcean monitoring failure filled my server logs, the final support answer was “unsupported.” This follow-up explains why disabling disk metrics is not enough, and why safer filesystem collection modes could help unusual server environments. Read More
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Solving SSL Before Press
Days before a reporter visited the Restoring the Signal exhibit, I found myself untangling a bizarre SSL certificate problem involving DNS, AutoSSL, browser caching, and cPanel—while also preparing rotary phones, TTY demonstrations, flyers, and interactive storytelling experiences. Read More
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Death by Metrics
For days, my server showed elevated CPU usage while remaining mostly functional. Then websites, WHM, and cPanel suddenly failed. Through SSH, I traced the problem to a runaway DigitalOcean monitoring agent interacting with CloudLinux CageFS, generating nearly 95 GB of endless filesystem metric errors. Read More
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SOA: Authority Misplaced
A stubborn subdomain kept pointing to Bluehost long after migration. It wasn’t propagation or caching—it was a leftover DNS record and inherited authority. Clarity came with rest, and the fix to an SOA record finally revealed itself. Read More
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Breaking Free From Hostinger
Migrating domains, databases, and email from Hostinger to a self-managed cPanel environment revealed hidden challenges in DNS, SQL cleanup, and mail routing. After rebuilding Exim and restructuring directories, the move brought greater control, flexibility, and long-term cost stability. Read More
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The Email Problem in Hosting
Setting up web hosting is straightforward until email enters the picture. Blocked ports, relay services, domain restrictions, and deliverability concerns quickly complicate things, turning what seems simple into one of the most challenging parts of running a reliable hosting environment. Read More
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Teaching an Archive to Read Itself
Today I began turning Dedric Mauriac’s Flickr archive into a static, searchable website. After building timelines, tags, and navigation, I experimented with OCR and AI image analysis to extract Second Life simulator names and coordinates embedded in BlogHUD captions. Read More
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Recovering the Dedric Mauriac Flickr Archive
After finally regaining access to my long-dormant Dedric Mauriac Flickr account, I raced to recover more than 1,500 Second Life snapshots before platform changes erased them. A custom API script and digital archaeology helped restore the archive. Read More