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
-
Immich Backups That Outlive Immich
Family photos outlast any app and any admin's enthusiasm. Set up Immich so the originals, albums, and a README survive without it, plus an offsite restic copy.
14 min read -
Claude Skills vs MCP: What Each One Is For
Agent Skills package know-how, MCP servers package access. Here is how each one loads into context, what each one costs, and when your home lab needs which.
13 min read -
Read-Only Docker Containers: What Breaks
Turn on read_only: true and watch nginx, Postgres, Redis, Python and Node fail in specific ways. Real errors, plus the minimum tmpfs and volume set for each.
12 min read -
UniFi in a Home Lab: Worth the Tax?
UniFi costs more than an OPNsense router with cheap switches and APs. Here is what the premium buys, what it takes away, and the middle path most labs want.
15 min read -
Near-Zero-Downtime Postgres Major Upgrades
pg_upgrade in link mode takes seconds. Logical replication takes planning. Here is when each wins, plus a tested Postgres 17 to 18 cutover with a rollback path.
14 min read -
LittleLink vs LinkStack: Ditch Linktree
Replace Linktree with a page you host. LittleLink, LittleLink-Server and LinkStack compared with real image sizes and idle RAM, plus working Docker Compose files.
12 min read -
PHP2Shell: Is Your Homelab Running PHP?
PHP2Shell is two unauthenticated PHP RCE flaws. Find every PHP container in your homelab, patch to the fixed release, and keep Cloudflare's WAF as a seatbelt.
14 min read -
Multi-GPU LLM Inference on Consumer Cards
Two used 3090s or a mismatched pair can run a 27B model. Compare llama.cpp layer split with vLLM tensor parallelism, PCIe limits, and a verdict on which to run.
13 min read -
Keycloak vs Authentik vs Authelia
Keycloak, Authentik and Authelia compared on realms, LDAP and AD federation, SAML, OIDC, clustering and RAM, with Compose files and a pick for each use case.
12 min read -
Outline: The Team Wiki That Needs SSO
Outline has no password login, so self-hosting it means pairing it with an OIDC provider. Here is a working Docker stack with Postgres, Redis, and Dex.
13 min read -
Jellyfin GPU Transcoding: Prove It Works
You ticked the hardware acceleration box and the CPU still sits at 100%. How to set up Intel QSV and NVIDIA NVENC in Docker, and how to prove the GPU works.
15 min read -
Blender MCP vs Headless bpy Scripts
Blender MCP is great for building one model with an agent watching screenshots. Headless bpy scripts win for batches, parallel agents, and automated checks.
14 min read
