Occasionally you may have trouble getting at my blog. I host the site myself – at home – so when the power goes out for a while, or my cable goes out or any number of other things happen -> the blog goes dark. Keep checking – sooner or later I’ll be back.

The DoaMNH technical mini-FAQ:

Q: Why host the site yourself?

A: Um… seemed like a good idea at the time? Actually, I like the feeling of accomplishment I get – additionally, throwing WordPress software on the server I was already running was not a big deal.

Q:Why is it slow?

A: Because US broadband providers don’t get it. They think of residential customers as consumers – passive web surfers – rather than folks who both use and produce info. Bandwidth inbound (from the web to me) is approx. 8Mb/s; outbound (my blog to your browser) is about 750 Kb/s.

Q: So what are you running?

A: From the bottom up:

• Mini-ITX based server (low power consumption) – VIA EPIA SP13000 mobo w/ 512M of RAM and 2 120Gb SATA drives. Parts from Logic Supply.
• SME Server Version 7 – a great, easy to use Linux server distribution. It’s absolutely perfect for a home server.
• WordPress 2.x blogging software with a bunch of plug-ins.

Probably more than you wanted to know.