Why Your Monitoring is Broken (And How to Fix It Before Your Boss Notices) Last Monday, my phone started buzzing at 3 AM. “CRITICAL: Database server down!” it screamed. I stumbled to my laptop, logged in, and found… nothing wrong. The database was running fine. My monitoring system had been crying wolf for the past month. Sound familiar? Yeah, monitoring systems are like smoke detectors - they’re either screaming bloody murder all the time, or they’re mysteriously silent right before your house burns down. ...
AI for IT Troubleshooting: Real-World Use Cases
AI for IT Troubleshooting: Real-World Use Cases AI isn’t just hype—it’s helping sysadmins solve problems faster and smarter. In this post, we share real-world examples of AI-powered troubleshooting and how you can start using these tools today. ...
How to Actually Reduce Your Cloud Spend Before Year-End 2025
How to Actually Reduce Your Cloud Spend Before Year-End 2025 Disclosure: This article contains Amazon affiliate links. I only recommend products and services I genuinely use and believe will help you reduce cloud costs. ...
Setting Up a Home Lab: A Beginner's Guide
Title: Setting Up a Home Lab: A Beginner’s Guide Description Learn how to build your first home lab for learning DevOps, containerization, and system administration. This practical guide covers hardware recommendations, essential software, and step-by-step setup instructions. ...
Zero Trust for Small Teams: Practical Steps
Zero Trust for Small Teams: Practical Steps Zero trust isn’t just for big enterprises. In this post, we break down how small teams can adopt zero trust principles with practical, budget-friendly steps. ...
Sysadmin Myths Busted: What Actually Works in 2026
Sysadmin Myths Busted: What Actually Works in 2026 Forget what you heard in 2015. In this post, we bust the most common sysadmin myths and show you what actually works today. From automation fears to cloud confusion, get the facts and actionable tips for modern IT. Myth 1: Automation Will Take Your Job Reality: Automation takes your boring tasks, not your job. Learn how to use scripts and tools to free up your time for real problem-solving. ...
Tech Survival Guide: AI Edition 2026 (From 'Help!' to 'I'm a Genius!')
Tech Survival Guide: AI Edition 2026 Look, we’ve all been there. It’s 11 PM, something’s broken, and you’re frantically googling error messages while your AI assistant keeps suggesting solutions that make absolutely no sense. Fun times. But here’s the thing: Most tech problems (and AI conversations) fail for the same reason - garbage in, garbage out. Today, I’m going to show you how to turn both your tech disasters and your AI interactions from “Oh God Why” into “I’m Actually a Genius.” ...
How I Built This Blog: Hugo + Firebase + AWeber in 30 Minutes
Why This Stack? As a sysadmin, I wanted a blog that’s: Fast: Static sites load instantly Cheap: Firebase free tier handles tons of traffic Simple: No databases, no server maintenance SEO-ready: Hugo generates clean, optimized HTML Here’s exactly how I built this site in under 30 minutes. The Stack Hugo: Static site generator (like Jekyll, but faster) PaperMod: Clean, minimal Hugo theme Firebase Hosting: Google’s CDN with free SSL AWeber: Newsletter forms that actually work Google Analytics: Track what people read Step-by-Step Build Process 1. Install the Tools On Windows with Chocolatey: ...
Kubernetes Without Jargon: Pods = Processes, Services = Stable Names
If you’ve ever tried to Google “What is Kubernetes?” you’ve probably seen a wall of buzzwords: orchestration, scalability, microservices, YAML manifests. Somewhere in there, someone will tell you it’s like “a shipping port for containers,” and you’ll want to slam your laptop shut. ...
Take a Break: Earn Gift Cards Playing Mobile Games (FeaturePoints)
Sometimes You Need to Disconnect Being a sysadmin means constantly thinking about security, networks, and infrastructure. After a long day of troubleshooting servers or configuring firewalls, sometimes you just want to mindlessly tap your phone. What if I told you that mindless phone time could actually earn you Amazon gift cards? Enter FeaturePoints FeaturePoints is a mobile app that pays you to try other apps and games. It’s not life-changing money, but it’s perfect for: ...