🚨 READ THE GODDAMN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION. 🚨

AI is great for brainstorming, summarizing, and explaining concepts, but when it comes to finding the correct values for Helm charts, Terraform, Kubernetes, or any infra configs, it’s often WRONG. I’ve made this mistake before, blindly trusting AI-generated values that “looked” right, only to waste hours debugging why my deployment was broken. Turns out, AI … Read more

Why Turning It Off and On Again Works for AWS EC2

Hey there, if you’ve ever found yourself scratching your head over a misbehaving EC2 instance, you might have resorted to the classic troubleshooting mantra: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” While this might sound simplistic, there’s some solid technical reasoning behind why a restart can often resolve issues with AWS EC2 instances. … Read more

Tmux Cheat Sheet

Starting & Managing Sessions Window Management Pane Management Copy & Paste Mode Customization (via ~/.tmux.conf) Add these lines to your ~/.tmux.conf to customize your experience: This cheat sheet covers the basics and should serve as a quick reference to improve your workflow when using Tmux. Enjoy your enhanced terminal productivity!

How to Ensure You Don’t Lose Your Domain Name (and Avoid Email Pitfalls)

Losing a domain name can be a nightmare, whether you’re running a business, managing a personal brand, or simply hosting a personal website. Over the years, I’ve seen cases where people lost their domains due to expiration, administrative mishaps, or provider issues—leading to severe disruptions. Worse still, if your primary email accounts are tied to … Read more

Crafting Documentation That Actually Works

How to strike the right balance between clarity and concision Introduction I was recently criticized for providing overly detailed documentation to my teammates. At first, this feedback stung—I thought I was just being thorough. But it made me realize that while I might find those details helpful, others could feel overwhelmed. That led me to … Read more

Alan’s Sourdough Bread Process

1. Starter Preparation and Maintenance: • Creating the Starter: Use light spelt flour (an ancient wheat variety) and water to create a sourdough starter. Feed it daily until it becomes bubbly and active (typically about a week). • Making Savory Pancakes: During the initial creation phase, or if the starter needs waking up, Alan uses … Read more

Guiding AI with a Senior Developer Mindset: Lessons for DevOps and Beyond

In my recent posts, I’ve explored how adopting a senior developer’s mindset can transform the way we approach complex problems, from improving AI code analysis to streamlining workflows. But this mindset isn’t just for reviewing code or training AI. It’s a philosophy that can guide how we interact with tools, teams, and processes—especially in DevOps, … Read more

Why is Learning DevOps difficult and expensive?

Embarking on a DevOps career can seem daunting, especially with concerns about the costs associated with learning. However, with strategic planning and the right resources, you can build a successful DevOps career without incurring significant expenses. Understanding DevOps DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten … Read more

Managing Port Conflicts When Testing Apps in Docker

Port conflicts are a common challenge when testing applications locally, especially if the app runs on a well-known port like 8080. Docker provides an effective way to isolate applications and resolve port conflicts by leveraging containerization and flexible port mapping. This article explores how to use Docker to manage port conflicts and ensure smooth testing. … Read more