NPF: HOUSEKEEPING

It took more than eleven years, but Gin and Tacos finally had an extended period of downtime. Certainly if you tried to visit in the last four days you realized that the hosting company was having some issues. It turns out that they suspended this site because it was using too much of the resources on their server.
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For reasons that I will not describe in detail I find this laughable. In the next few weeks I intend to do a great deal of long-overdue housekeeping. It may, but hopefully will not, involve more downtime. Just remember that if you ever happen to visit and the site is down, I haven't given up and pulled the plug.

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If I'm pulling the plug, you'll know. So just try again in a day or two.

Frankly the downtime this week was not totally unwelcome. I am exhausted. I'm not tired of writing – just regular tired, the kind that you can feel in your bones. This semester has been brutal. I'm up at four-something on a lot of weekdays and up working – either the kind of work I get paid to do or the kind that I choose to do in addition to that – until midnight-plus. As much as I was worried that I had lost the archives of things I've written for the past twelve years, the downtime coincided with the beginning of finals (and grading; so very much grading). Not writing for three nights in a row was a pretty good silver lining on the whole fiasco.

I can't thank many of you enough for offering help and advice on fixing the site problems via the Gin and Tacos Facebook page. Jeff Buchbinder, who is a complete stranger to me, went far above and beyond the call in helping me out.
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I am one of those people who, despite having a regularly updated website for more than a decade, knows next to nothing about how to maintain it properly. I've done my best to learn, but much of it remains Greek to me.

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Being offered help by strangers is one of those things that raises my faith in humanity, at least until I return to grading research papers.

Instead of looking at this week as downtime let's just call it unscheduled rest and refitting. Over the upcoming holidays I'll have more time (that is, some amount greater than zero) to migrate to a new host and hopefully make some improvements to the site in the process. I have always been (and I remain) terrified that if I go a day or two without posting something the readers are all going to leave and never come back. But at this point I have a little bit of faith that everyone will not run for the exits if things are under repair for a couple days.

43 thoughts on “NPF: HOUSEKEEPING”

  • Making your alternate means of communication more obvious might help should this situation arise in the future. I've been reading your junk for years and only recently became aware of your Facebook page.

    I'm not sure anyone here would be too upset if you took a short break – this time of the year is busy for a lot of us.

  • (Ties off, slaps arm crook, finds vein, back-flushes for maximum rush, slowly presses the needle down.) Oh wait, shit– (Tries to hit play on DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, misses, hits Showtunes folder instead, slumps over, knowing the next eight hours of immobility will be scored by the original cast of ANNIE.)

    Missed my fix, is all. And thank you to Mr. Buchbinder.

  • So glad the site is back online! My hat's off to Mr. Buchbinder and the others who did their parts.

    And hooray for R&R. But (I should be the last one to point this out) you don't have to post big alla time. You can always throw a one-liner out here whenever you need a breather. A postcard from the via dolorosa, a vintage test pattern, a "technical difficulties" sign showing a drunk camera operator. Something.

    Either way, we'll wait.

  • I checked multiple times over the past few days to see if you were back yet. The price I pay for not ever even once for any reason going to Facebook, I guess. I'm most grateful to you and Jeff Buchbinder for bringin' it back. Thanks for doing what you do, Ed. All the best this finals week.

  • I think that you can remain confident that there are a number of us out here hanging on your next word. Good luck getting through finals (just picked elder daughter up this evening after she got out of her last one) and take a little time to recharge. We'll be waiting for you over at Charlie Pierce's place (or somewhere like it).

  • The thought of never reading the post that brought me here "SERIOUSLY, FUCK AYN RAND" terrifies me, Kudos Jeff and Ed for getting this back up and saving everything.

  • I noticed your site was slow to load for the last two weeks or so. Looks like you had some kind of spam hammering you.

    Found your facebook page. Wish I had the technical skills to have helped you.

    Tea and sympathy is all I have to offer.

  • c u n d gulag says:

    YOU get Gin and Tacos!
    And YOU get Gin and Tacos!!
    EVERYBODY GETS GIN AND TACOS – back!!!
    YAY!!!

    I was worried there for awhile.

    But the other day, I goggle-foo'd your spider web, and came across the discussion about the problems on Book with Faces, and saw what was going on was some intertube problems.
    I know nothing about computers, but I assume someone gave those 0'1 and 1's a stern talking too.
    Either that, or a good intertube enema cleared up the situation – hopefully without any explosive mess.

    We're glad to have you back! :-)

  • Eric the infrequent says:

    You have been a daily read for years now, and as long add you write I will check in daily. If you take time off, I will just sigh check again the next day and the next and the next.

  • Thank glod you are back. I did not know about the facebook page, but will try to remember. Whew….I was worried.

  • Even your arch enemies of the eeeeevil Right take time off this time of year to recharge their bile ducts. You should do the same….

    You ought to post your donation icon so Santa can jam a lump of coal (or cash) etc. etc.

    Ho Ho Ho ……(NOT CHI MINH!)

    //bb

  • virginia penley says:

    always ask for help when you need it, you don't have to take it, but it might be what you need. if you don't ask, how will the person who can save you know to offer?

    it just makes good sense.

  • Glad to see the site back up. It's daily reading for me, first thing in the morning. I hope we've all learned something from this: ABBU–Always Be Backing Up.

  • Meh, don't worry, I'll keep on checking this one daily no matter what just like I do for another of my favorite blogs that hasn't been updated since November.

    *checks*

    Nope, still no new update :(

  • For the record, I missed all you regulars, too — bb, C U, J. Dryden, jazzb, Major, Rosies — even the ones I tangle with. Same bar, different orders. Cheers, folks.

  • Dude, you ALMOST got me to join Facebook with this outage. I was able to monitor the action from a lurking point, though, so knew all the trouble. And…I have to say you are one sick motherfucker. Your post about the little girl lost in the mall is HIlarious. So now I know that even if there are down times on the regular blog, I can get the G&T equivalent of a methadone fix from lurking around FB.

    Glad to see you back and thank you Mr. Buchbinder, for whatever help you provided in getting Ed back. The sun can now rise in the East again.

  • Nothing wrong with a break. I find your usual prolificacy humiliating.

    If this site did mysteriously vanish, I'd probably keep checking it for years – for one thing, I know of maybe two other sites anywhere that have such a lively and intelligent group of regulars.

  • Don't pull the plug. DO NOT EVER PULL THE PLUG, ED.

    Seriously, best daily read on the internet. Don't go away like that again.

  • I'm glad you are back. Just been waiting for you. I figured it was simple stuff and tried not to fret. I am afraid you'll have to chase me off with a stick.
    w3ski

  • Pre-internet/personal computer a family friend had her car stolen. The car had all the material for her doctoral thesis. Glad your disaster was averted.

    Welcome back.

  • Tom Bloodgood says:

    Welcome back. Glad you got it working again. Thanks to Mr. Buchbinder. This is a daily read for me at lunchtime at work. Always such intelligent, cogent analysis with a good mix of wicked humor. I follow you on Facebook, so I knew what was up. Thanks for the window into your mind.

  • Rob_in_Hawaii says:

    Okay, I accept your "explanation" for why the site was down. You should know. But I'm still certain it was Obama's fault. Or non-white Santa's.

  • What Ladiesbane said; I missed reading the regulars as well as Ed's always-thought-provoking words. I was surprised when this site went down; Ed's works are mostly words, and that takes up hardly any space at all on servers. Thanks to Jeff Buchbinder for bringing Ed back to entertain and inform us!

  • I've been a regular reader for a few years now, and will continue to be so until you close the doors forever. Here's hoping that decision's never made. *cheers*

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