SumGuy's Ramblings
The art of wasting time.
Docker, self-hosting, AI/LLM, Linux, and DevOps — explained by someone who learned the hard way. No fluff, no enterprise jargon, just practical stuff that actually works on real hardware.
Recent Posts
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When Your NVMe Falls Off the PCIe Bus
Random kernel panics and a GPU that took the blame. The real cause was an NVMe drive falling off the PCIe bus, and three kernel flags kept the crashes away.
16 min read -
Lutris vs Heroic vs Bottles on Linux
Heroic for Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries, Lutris for everything else, Bottles for Windows apps and snapshots. All three can use umu and Proton in 2026.
14 min read -
NextExplorer vs Nextcloud for Plain Files
NextExplorer is a 390 MB web file browser with no Nextcloud link. When it replaces Nextcloud, when it doesn't, and how to run both on one folder safely.
12 min read -
docker init: Fix These Before You Ship
docker init writes a decent Dockerfile, but we measured a 10 s SIGKILL on stop and a leaked .env.production in the image. How to find and fix both in minutes.
13 min read -
fstrim vs discard: Keeping SSDs Fast
Run fstrim.timer, skip the discard mount option on ext4 and XFS, then check LUKS, VMs, and LVM for layers that silently swallow TRIM. Measured demo included.
10 min read -
Penpot: Self-Host an Open Source Figma
Penpot 2.19.1 on your own server: the Docker Compose stack, what it costs in RAM, what it does better than Figma, and where it still lags. Verdict inside.
14 min read -
Homebox: Self-Hosted Home Inventory
Run Homebox in Docker, give every box a QR label and asset ID, attach receipts and warranties, and know when Grocy, Snipe-IT, or a spreadsheet fits better.
12 min read -
Compose include, extends, and YAML Anchors
Your compose.yaml hit 600 lines. YAML anchors, extends, and include each fix a different kind of repetition. What each one does, where it bites, which to use.
12 min read -
promptfoo: Unit Tests for Your Prompts
Write a YAML test suite for your LLM prompts with promptfoo, run it against a local model, and fail the CI build when a prompt tweak quietly breaks the output.
13 min read -
kube-vip: HA k3s Control Plane
Three k3s servers survive a dead node, but your kubeconfig still names one IP. Add a floating API address with kube-vip, and see how it compares to HAProxy.
16 min read -
rsync --link-dest: Snapshot Backups
Build dated, browsable snapshot backups with rsync and hard links, then let a systemd timer run and prune them. Includes a tested script and the traps.
13 min read -
systemd Path Units: React to New Files
Run a job the moment a file lands. A systemd .path unit plus a oneshot service, tested triggers, the retrigger loop that kills it, and when inotifywait wins.
13 min read
