Or, why you shouldn’t reformat your laptop before your morning coffee.
Continue reading “How I almost lost 16 years of data in 3 seconds”
How I almost lost 16 years of data in 3 seconds
Deploy a Kubernetes cluster with Kubernetes in Docker (Kind)
The kind logo is licensed under CC BY 4.0
In a previous post, I showed how to build your own Kubernetes clusters using K3s. Since then, I’ve found an even easier cluster deployment tool that runs entirely within Docker. That’s right – if you have a computer with Docker installed, you can run a full multi-node Kubernetes cluster with no additional setup. This post shows you how to do it, and provides an all-in-one script for spinning up a full cluster with a demo website in one command.
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Bootstrap a Kubernetes cluster with KVM and K3s
No joke, Kubernetes is a pain in the butt to set up yourself. Managed services like GKE and EKS are great if you have extra cash, but if you just want a basic cluster to mess around in (or you’re cheap like me), eventually you’ll start looking for a way to do it yourself.
After a lot of futzing around, I finally got a virtualized 3-node Kubernetes lab running on my home server. It’s not redundant, secure, or fail-safe, but I can run K8s applications on it without problem. And you can’t beat the cost. This blog will show you how to set up your own fully functioning, free Kubernetes cluster.
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Laptop Review: MSI Prestige 15
This post is a laptop review of the MSI Prestige 15. I’ll be writing about my experience with it after about 2 months of consistent usage, explaining where it shines and where it falls short.
How to Break Through Writer’s Block
“Cinderblocks 2” by spike55151 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Tell me if this sounds familiar: you have an idea for an amazing new article/story/blog post, so you flip open your laptop, load up WordPress, and…nothing happens. You’re at a total loss for words. The idea’s there, but somewhere between your brain and your fingers is a broken link; a faulty synapse firing off into nothing. What happened, and what do you do about it?
How to Use Your Android Tablet as a Second Monitor
I spend a lot of time working remotely, and while I have a decently sized laptop, I often miss having a second monitor. I looked at USB monitors, but then I remembered my old 2014 Galaxy Tab. Could I use it as a second monitor? The answer is: yes!
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Writing in Markdown with Typora
In an earlier post called A Novel Approach to Writing, I presented my setup for creative writing using the Atom text editor and Markdown files. Since then, I’ve found an even better writing program called Typora. And while it’s not open source (or even out of beta), it’s such an amazing little program that I couldn’t help but write about it.
Note: This is not a sponsored post. I’m not affiliated with Typora or its creator.
Freedom
“DSCN8449”by Yuen-Ping aka YP is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
What does freedom mean to you?
Freedom is the ability to pull yourself away from things that limit your potential. Freedom from obsession, from doubt, from criticism (both self and from others), from social norms and expectations. Freedom is an escape from the artificial worlds we build around ourselves and the impositions that we place on ourselves because of them. Freedom is the permission to be who and what we truly are: not as people or citizens, but living, breathing, thinking, and feeling animals.
Please, Use a Password Manager!
“Locked Padlock”by Twjst is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Troy Hunt posted an article on poor password protection practices (try saying that fives times fast), resulting from an analysis of a major corporate data breach. Some of the highlights were:
- 93% of passwords are only 6 to 10 characters long
- Two-thirds of passwords are reused across different services
- Over a third of passwords can be found in a common dictionary
This is bad news for two reasons:
- Lots of passwords are easy to guess
- If an attacker guesses a password, chances are they can use the same password to access other services
The key is to use passwords that are long, complex, and difficult to guess. The challenge, of course, is that the harder a password is to guess, the harder it is for us to remember.
Easy Adware and Malware Blocking on Android
Digital ads are a disaster. While ads themselves are a legitimate and often necessary source of income for service providers, the way they’re delivered to users can be downright malicious. On mobile devices, ads have been shown to drain battery life and surreptitiously deliver malware, without the content providers even being aware of it. Until content providers can get their act together, it’s up to users to protect themselves.
In this post, I’ll present a convenient, root-free way of blocking ads on Android devices using free and open source tools.
tl;dr: download Steven Black’s hosts file and the Vpn Hosts app from xfalcon.
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