After an application slow down this week due to an aggressive backup, we decided we needed to pay more attention to disk activity on our production servers.  To that end, I have added a new monitor to our budget NOC setup that shows graphs on new data points:

• Disk % Utilization (for both data partitions)
• HTTP status codes: 200, 3xx, 4xx and 5xx.  The 400 and 500-series status codes are 'bad'.

Not exactly NASA mission control, but it certainly does work for us.

The Code Hugger Mantra

• Reduce: Write concise code. Less is more.
  
• Reuse: Reuse code.  Don't copy-paste, don't reinvent.  Do use third-party libraries.
  
• Refactor: Your code is a "living document", treat it as such.  Neglect shows over time.  

This mantra was inspired by the environmentalists (aka "Tree Huggers") movement's Waste Management Hierarchy: "Reduce, reuse, recycle."  Remembering The Three R's is a simple way to reinforce strategic goals when you are taking tactical actions.  

This past Saturday night, Das Piratenkind (aka Christine) spun at Rohstofflager for the first time. She asked to me tag along and photograph the event. A small selection of the photographs can be found on my Panoramio page tagged 'Das Piratenkind'

There was no new equipment to try out this time. My main focus was just to do the best I could and enjoy myself. (Free beer helps!) The main stage at Rohstofflager is a great place to take photographs in--lots of space to work with, interesting backgrounds, etc. I'm convinced a tripod and remote trigger will help these photographs come out clearer. Of the ~900 photographs taken, a solid two-thirds were overly fuzzy and immediately deleted. Next time...