dreamhost – Ramblings of DarkMirage

State of the Union

DarkMirage — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 06:00:26 +0000

If you are reading this, that means the new DNS has propagated for you. I had to manually edit my HOSTS file to access this site. Stupid ISP and its stupid slow-updating cache. This site is now hosted by HostGator for no particular reason.

Some administrative matters to take care of:

I tried to ensure that everything was working before I swapped the nameserver. However, some scripts and dynamic content depend on the domain/subdomains propagating correctly to work. Therefore parts of the site may remain non-functional to you for now. Try ipconfig /flushdns and restarting your browser to see if it helps.
Due to some difference in MIME type configuration between DreamHost and HostGator, the old RSS feeds for my lyrics translations no longer work. For the three of you out there who actually use it, the new feed is here. (Japanese feeds here).
I am actually designing a completely new layout. The new “Random entries” thumbnails you see on the main page is a by-product of that. I am about 30% done. This marks the first time that I’m building a WordPress theme from the foundation up instead of modifying the default Kubrick theme…
For some inexplicable reason, wp-cache is not working. Trying to fix it, but I have no idea what’s the cause. It’s low priority for now.

Update: The server is backup! And wp-cache is working now too! Hurray!

DreamHost PS

DarkMirage — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:51:55 +0000

The site was getting way too slow, so I tried applying for DreamHost’s new invitation-only Private Server option. It finally got approved yesterday. It’s basically a virtual machine with a specific amount of CPU cycles and RAM dedicated to each user. It’s also damn expensive.

The site does feel more responsive now. However, I’m still not entirely sure if a virtual machine is worth the premium over regular shared hosting, so I’ll monitor the situation before I decide if I want to keep the current arrangement. Do let me know if you notice any differences in speed. (Maybe it’s just my imagination.)

My one-year contract with DreamHost is actually up and I’m paying monthly right now, so I can switch to another host if I find a better one. But I have a feeling that with the current site traffic, switching to another regular shared hosting plan with oversold bandwidth (4TB for 8 bucks?) won’t solve any problems. Shared hosting is starting to show its cracks, but I don’t think I can justify paying for a dedicated server at this stage either. Sigh. In the meantime, DreamHost is still holding up.

By the way, if you are signing up for a new DreamHost account, try using the promo code HARUHI for $97 off your first year or if you want to make payments monthly, YUKI will get rid of the $61 set-up fee. (According to DreamHost, the maximum discount for promo codes will be capped at $50 from December 11th onwards.)

On another note, this site will be down for maintenance at 10:00PM PST (GMT -8), November 30th 2007.

We are back!

DarkMirage — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:28:41 +0000

Testing. ãƒ†ã‚¹ãƒˆã€‚

It’s alive! Yay! This blog is now hosted at Dreamhost. :3 I maxed out my bandwidth on my old host, so I thought it was a good chance to switch. I’m pretty happy with Dreamhost so far. It’s faster and I get shell access (IRC yay!) now. Not to mention my month bandwidth increased by a few dozen folds…