Whenever something bad happens at my hosting service, the first thing I think of is that it’s something I did. This time it looks like I got lucky, and it was some fileserver or something, but we were down for 12 or 14 hours or something and the restore is from a few days ago, so we’ve lost a few posts and a few comments, and they might return (probably stomping out this post) as the work progresses in the data centre. Who knows. Ironically, the only automated backup I do is for the MySQL databases (except this site, which uses local files), which don’t look like they were affected by the problem. I can’t say for sure, but it looks like I only lost about 20 minutes of source code, which is pretty lucky, and should serve as a nice kick in the pants to get going with CVS and automated backups of the repository. On the weekend. Maybe. I also need to get home insurance, and I’ve been reminding myself of that for months too.
Assuming that this post stays, and kind of speaking of insurance, I’ve developed this weird skin irritation in a non-erotic (well, this is me we’re talking about, so let’s say “less-erotic”) part of my body, and it’s itching like crazy. Is it an allergy? Hives? Flech eating bacteria? I don’t know, but rather than go to the doctor (I’ve already been once this year), of course I decided to use myself as a science lab. After eliminating various foods from my diet with no luck, I’ve gone with the “cover it up with a bandage” approach, in case it’s just staying irritated because it can’t heal. Brilliantly, I decided to shave around the affected patch so the bandages wouldn’t hurt as much when I peel them off. I think that itches even more. As an added bonus, picture what will happen if I break down and go to the doctor:
Doctor: Yep, that’s a weird skin thing you got there. And hey! It’s generated a bald patch!
Me: Um, no, that was me.
Doctor: What, you made the skin thing?
Me: No, I, uh, shaved around it. You know, science.
Doctor: Wouldn’t that make it itch more?
Me: Apparently, yes.
More rants tomorrow, assuming I still have a web host. They do great work, but all it takes is for one member of the team to crack and decide that “fire cleans everything”…