And now, another word from our Director of Technology

You know that whole thing about switching the site over this AM and the fragility of meatbots? Funny story… — Gareth

Hello everyone,

I’ve been dragged out from beneath my desk to write this letter to you all, and then, I will crawl back there and not come out until I see my shadow, or don’t see my shadow, whichever comes last.

In my mind, I had imagined clouds — specifically, an AWS cloud whose virtual instances scaled easily and quickly under any traffic surges that came through from you, dear readers. I imagined myself a hero amongst you, lifted on a golden palanquin, paraded around the office. I’d never have to worry about the stability of our blogs again, and I’d be awash in good cheer and huzzahs from every corner.

Instead, my dreams, and the servers, were crushed under the relatively feather-weight traffic of our user base at 12am-3a; they spewed rude errors at me, and repeatedly died. I wish I had a video camera for these moments — the log files reflected in my eyes, wide with horror, witnessing the servers gasp their last and fall silent. I felt like I was watching Rome burn.

So, we have rolled the changes back — you might have noticed some interruption in service for an hour or two. And as tempted as I was to flee the country for some sun-filled paradise, I instead took a deep breath, sharpened my proverbial pencil, and have skulked back to the drawing board.

If you wish to offer me a kind word (unlikely) or stick pins (more likely), you can, as always, reach me at webmaster@makezine.com. We’ll try this exercise again real soon, hopefully with happier results.

Best,

Stefan Antonowicz

8 thoughts on “And now, another word from our Director of Technology

  1. Morten Nisker says:

    Making is all about failing :)

  2. Brosi says:

    And as we all know:Failure is always an option.Good luck!

  3. capt.tagon says:

    the bleeding edge of technology. Holds such promise, delivers many headaches on the way. Will be neat when we get there.

  4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stickyc says:

    In the spirit of Making, what exactly went wrong? Help the community learn from such spectacular failure!

    Sure, most Makers are crafting things from wood, metal, and explosives, but I assure you, there’s a large community of us crafting things from bits, bytes, and clouds…

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK