THE UNKNOWN
Essays, notes, and practical guides for making sense of the world.
Understanding How malloc and new Work in C++
In C++, there are two common ways to get memory for your program while it’s running: using malloc and new. Both give you space to store things like numbers...
Test Nginx Configuration Before Reloading
Use Nginx's configuration test, inspect included files, and reload without replacing healthy workers with a broken configuration.
journalctl Time Ranges That Save Time
Reduce a large systemd journal to the service, boot, time window, and priority that matter to an incident.
Google Trust Services Certificates with acme.sh: A 2026 Guide
Issue and renew a Google Trust Services certificate with acme.sh, Google Public CA EAB credentials, and a scoped Cloudflare DNS token.
Check DNS With dig Before Changing It
A compact dig workflow for separating authoritative DNS, recursive caches, and local resolver behavior.
Boosting Performance and Reliability: Mastering Redis Cache and Eviction Strategies
Cache is an intermediate layer between an application and physical data, designed to reduce the frequency of accessing physical data sources and thereby...
The Grocery List in Someone Else's Handwriting
A grocery list found inside a basket becomes a brief investigation into another person's unusually specific dinner.
A Chair Left on the Rooftop
One plastic chair on an apartment rooftop quietly becomes the most popular seat in the building.
The Bus Stop with No Bus
A bus stop, a fading timetable, and a group of strangers slowly realizing that the bus may no longer exist.
The Ferry Ticket With No Ferry
A cheap ferry ticket leads to an empty pier, a handwritten sign, and an unexpectedly good afternoon.
Docker Restart Policies Without the Magic
Choose a Docker restart policy by understanding exits, manual stops, daemon restarts, and failure loops.
The Café Table Next to the Rain
A sudden storm rearranges a café until the least desirable table becomes the best seat in the room.