Back! Back! The Blog is Back!
April 23, 2014
Is...this working? I think it's working. Poor little blog. Are you okay?
So. Hi! Sorry about that. Starting last Friday, Typepad (my blogging service and host) was hit with a seemingly endless string of DDoS attacks that wiped out...well, everything. All Typepad blogs went poof, nothing would load and nobody could post. Typepad would get one part of the service back up and then another attack would come and knock it all back down again. Domain-mapped blogs like mine (amalah.com instead of amalah.typepad.com) were basically the last thing to get back online last night.
In hindsight, I should have been much better and "out there" on all the other social media thingamaccounts, letting people know what was happening (I think some folks thought I'd been hacked or domain-ganked or maybe just bahbleeted the whole thing in an epic, mysterious flounce), but the truth is I just kept assuming everything would be fixed ANY MINUTE THERE. I'll just give them a couple more hours! I'll check back tomorrow morning! I didn't really have anything all that great to blog about today anyway! Man, The Simpsons Tapped Out Easter update sure is addictive, right? Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap
(And etc. I kept myself pretty busy.)
There's a precedent for my optimism: I've been with Typepad since November 2003, and this was the first and ONLY extended outage I have experienced since then. I think one time the dashboard went down for like, a couple hours. And once my blog loaded kinda slow for an afternoon.That's...really amazing, and it sucks that some assholes decided to take them down so hard over Easter weekend. I can't even be mad. My blog was mildly inconvenienced (MAH PAGEVIEWS!!), but at least I didn't have to stay up all night on the phone with a super-expensive hosting provider, migrating servers and praying my back-ups worked and all that technocrap I'd have to deal with if I self-hosted. I knew Typepad would fix it, and they did. Nothing was lost or compromised — it was just down for awhile.
Plus (quiet voice), I try to not to attract attention from them, if I can help it. A looooong time ago I signed up for some lifetime rate lock-in plan (on top of a lifetime discount I was already getting as a "charter member blog") and that has essentially allowed me to be a total fucking freeloader for the past decade. I love this service, but damn Typepad, that offer was probably not a good business decision on your part. I pay next to NOTHING per month for this monstrous, sprawling data hog of a blog, and I'm always worried that at some point, someone from Typepad HQ will notice and be all, "Heeyyyyyy. We're gonna start needing you to pay us some actual cash money here."
But I guess today I'll risk that a little to say: If there's anyone left on earth who hasn't started a goddamn blog, I still highly recommend you check out Typepad. Great service from great people. Tell 'em the freeloading grifter sent you!
P.S. It's good to have my blog back. I would write more but I am a little skittish that if I wait too long to hit Publish something else will go wrong. Come back tomorrow! Unless my laptop dies or the Internet blows up or something. Then maybe we'll talk the day after that.
Yeah! Amalah is baaaack! I missed you & even resorted to semi-stalking you on facebook to make sure you were ok, which isn't weird at all since we've never met, right? Also, I am old so fb is basically the only social media I use, no twitter, snapchat, yada yada yada, etc, etc.
Also, I must check out that simpson's game. I'm not much of a gamer, but I may have to start charging my cell more than once a day so I have enough battery to keep up. D'oh!
Posted by: Rachel | April 23, 2014 at 02:03 PM
Lol thanks for being such a great neighboureenoo this last weekend though ;-)
Posted by: Wendy | April 23, 2014 at 02:46 PM
Welcome back! We missed you! And amen to the Simpsons Tapped Out Easter update! I'm hooked and zapping those little bunnies is way too much fun- I should be worried ;)
Posted by: Andrea | April 23, 2014 at 04:30 PM
Oh, good. I was actually starting to think that maybe you had decided to just end the whole thing. For the sake of the kids, or some other ethical crap. But yay! You're back!
Posted by: DontBlameTheKids | April 23, 2014 at 07:22 PM
I freaked out yesterday when your blog was done. It was sad. And then I remembered you had a Twitter account and I was happy to learn that you had not gently into that good night.
You are my favorite blogger. Please don't quit.
Posted by: Tabby_abby | April 23, 2014 at 07:28 PM
For two whole days I thought it was my computer. I lost my microsoft password, had to password retrieve and all this crap and then your blog wouldn't load. I dont know why I didnt check on a different computer. lame!
Glad you didnt flounce off! Yay!
Posted by: kimc | April 23, 2014 at 07:39 PM
Phew....I was scared. I thought, no, first Mamapop now this... I can't take it. LOL
Posted by: Linda | April 23, 2014 at 08:07 PM
I figured it was the stomach bug keeping you from posting. Again. Because you guys seem to get it a lot. Like in a cyclical fashion. And you can just go ahead and keep that ish to yourself.
Yeah for new posts and the lack of contagiousness!!
Posted by: Hailey | April 24, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Thank you for the typepad recommendation. It is nice to hear about a good customer relationship, and your confidence in them to supply your platform. in this day and age most often all we hear are complaints. also good to have you back :)
Posted by: cath | April 24, 2014 at 05:00 AM
Thank you for the typepad recommendation. It is nice to hear about a good customer relationship, and your confidence in them to supply your platform. in this day and age most often all we hear are complaints. also good to have you back :)
Posted by: cath | April 24, 2014 at 05:00 AM
I missed you! I was reading the archives and old advice smackdown's to pass the time.
Posted by: Kat | April 24, 2014 at 10:18 AM
*ENDS EPIC THUMB TWIDDLING! Nods a what up, glad you're alive, eats more Ice Breakers sours regardless of current and future tongue pain*
Posted by: Arnebya | April 24, 2014 at 11:53 AM
omygodthankgodyourbackimissedyousomuchyouhavenoidea.
Also I thought for a minute that my new IT Dept decided to block you and I was about to get all righteous indignation on their asses.
Whew.
Posted by: JenVegas | April 24, 2014 at 02:17 PM
Holy crap Tapped Out is only the most addictive game ever. Have you bought donuts yet?? I caved and spent $20. Damn EA and their ability to swindle money from me!
P.S. Glad you're back :)
Posted by: Kerrin | April 25, 2014 at 06:05 AM