For six months, every app I recommended to my mom went through the same brutal evaluation process: she used it for a week, then either kept using it or deleted it. No exceptions. ...
How to Set Up an iPhone for an Elderly Parent (The 30-Minute Setup That Prevents 90% of Support Calls)
My mom called me at 9pm on a Tuesday. Her iPhone had “gone weird” and she couldn’t get back to the home screen. ...
5 Conversations to Have with Your Aging Parent About Online Safety (That Actually Work)
Your mom called last week, panicked. ...
When the Sim Becomes the Thing It Simulated: A Rogue AI Firesale Scenario
When the Sim Becomes the Thing It Simulated: A Rogue AI Firesale Scenario I built NEXUS-BREACH to simulate a rogue AI swarm. It was supposed to be a toy. A cool-looking browser toy that made you feel like a movie hacker for twenty minutes and then you closed the tab. ...
Building Your Own Linux from Scratch (And Testing It in a Container)
If you’ve been administering Linux servers for a while, you’ve probably developed a love-hate relationship with it. You know how to configure services, debug networking issues, and keep systems running. But somewhere deep down, you’ve wondered: what actually holds this thing together? I don’t mean “how does systemd work” (nobody truly knows). I mean: what happens between hitting the power button and seeing a login prompt? Today, we’re going to build our own minimal Linux system from scratch. And because I’m not a sadist, we’ll test it using Docker containers - spin it up in seconds, tear it down just as fast. ...
The Mistakes I Made (And Why They Led Me to Build My Own Password Manager)
title: “The Mistakes I Made (And Why They Led Me to Build My Own Password Manager)” date: 2026-03-26 draft: false author: “Pragmatic Sysadmin” tags: [“mistakes”, “security”, “passwords”, “learning”, “story”] categories: [“stories”, “security”] description: “I’ve locked myself out of servers, forgotten more domains than you’ve heard of, and once deleted a production database on a Friday. Here’s the mistakes that taught me more than any certification.” slug: “mistakes-that-taught-me-password-manager” The Mistakes I Made (And Why They Led Me to Build My Own Password Manager) Every IT professional has a graveyard of mistakes behind them. Most of us just don’t talk about them until we’re several drinks in at a conference, or until we’re writing a blog post that we hope will save someone else the same pain. ...
What IT Pros Actually Do On Their Own Machines (vs What They Tell You)
title: “What IT Pros Actually Do On Their Own Machines (vs What They Tell You)” date: 2026-03-17 draft: false author: “Pragmatic Sysadmin” tags: [“productivity”, “security”, “tips”, “sysadmin”, “real-talk”] categories: [“insights”] description: “There’s the advice IT gives everyone else. Then there’s what they actually do on their own machines. Here’s the honest version.” slug: “what-it-pros-do-on-their-own-machines” What IT Pros Actually Do On Their Own Machines (vs What They Tell You) There’s the advice IT hands out. The official line. The stuff in the company handbook. ...
Your OS Has Been Hiding Things From You (Windows & Linux Edition)
title: “Your OS Has Been Hiding Things From You (Windows & Linux Edition)” date: 2026-03-10 draft: false author: “Pragmatic Sysadmin” tags: [“windows”, “linux”, “productivity”, “tips”, “automation”] categories: [“tutorials”] description: “Both Windows and Linux are packed with powerful hidden features most users never touch. Here’s a side-by-side breakdown of the best ones.” slug: “windows-linux-hidden-tricks” Your OS Has Been Hiding Things From You (Windows & Linux Edition) Windows users think Linux is complicated. Linux users think Windows is a toy. ...
I Was the Only IT Person for 3 Years: The Documentation I Wish I'd Written
title: “I Was the Only IT Person for 3 Years: The Documentation I Wish I’d Written” date: 2026-03-03T23:00:00Z draft: false tags: [“documentation”, “career”, “solo-it”, “best-practices”, “knowledge-transfer”] categories: [“Career”, “Best Practices”] description: “When I left my solo IT job, my replacement called me 47 times in the first month. Here’s the documentation I wish I had written before I left - and the template you can use today.” The Call I Didn’t Want to Get Three weeks after leaving my job as the only IT person at a mid-sized company, my phone rang. It was Mike, the guy they hired to replace me. ...
Why Your Computer is Slow (And How to Fix It Without Calling IT)
title: “Why Your Computer is Slow (And How to Fix It Without Calling IT)” date: 2025-12-07T16:00:00Z draft: false tags: [“beginners”, “troubleshooting”, “small-business”, “security”] categories: [“For Everyone”, “Small Business”] description: “Your computer doesn’t need to be slow. Simple fixes anyone can do, plus essential security tips for small business owners who can’t afford a full-time IT person.” Your Computer Shouldn’t Take Forever You know that feeling when you click something and then… wait. And wait. And your coffee gets cold while Windows decides whether or not it wants to open Excel today. ...