The Great Certification Scam: Paper Tigers in Cloud Security

Ah, certifications - the participation trophies of the tech world. Let’s cut through the corporate jargon fog and talk about why your growing collection of cloud certs might be as useful as a waterproof teabag in the face of real-world challenges. When Paper Qualifications Meet Actual Bear Spray I once interviewed a candidate with 12 AWS certifications who couldn’t explain the difference between a security group and a NACL. True story....

June 14, 2025 · 3 min · 606 words · Maxim Zhirnov
The Art of Strategic Deafness: When Smart Developers Ignore Feedback

The Art of Strategic Deafness: When Smart Developers Ignore Feedback

Let’s start with heresy: user feedback is overrated. Before you grab pitchforks, let me clarify - I’ve built my career listening to users. But like bourbon in breakfast cereal, there’s such thing as too much of a good thing. Today we’ll explore the dark art of strategic feedback ignorance through the lens of a developer who once added a “make everyone happy” button… and lived to regret it. When Feedback Becomes Noise Consider this React component handling user suggestions:...

June 13, 2025 · 3 min · 583 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Taming the Firefox: A Developer's Journey into WebExtensions

Taming the Firefox: A Developer's Journey into WebExtensions

Picture this: you’re browsing your favorite cat video site when suddenly - BAM! - a wild idea appears. What if you could make Firefox fetch coffee while you watch? While our WebExtensions might not (yet) handle caffeine delivery, they can transform your browser into a Swiss Army knife of productivity. Let’s forge some browser magic! Anatomy of a WebExtension Every great extension starts with three essential ingredients: A manifest.json (the extension’s DNA) Content scripts (DOM whisperers) Background scripts (the silent workhorses) graph TD A[Manifest....

June 12, 2025 · 3 min · 496 words · Maxim Zhirnov
The Containerization Trap: When Docker Becomes Digital Dramamine

The Containerization Trap: When Docker Becomes Digital Dramamine

Ah, Docker – the tech world’s equivalent of a Russian nesting doll. You start with one container, then suddenly you’re orchestrating a Matryoshka army where even your Hello World app needs a Kubernetes cluster. Let’s peel these layers and see when containerization goes from brilliant to burdensome. The Siren Song of docker run We’ve all been there – that magical moment when you first deploy a perfectly containerized app: FROM python:3....

June 12, 2025 · 3 min · 569 words · Maxim Zhirnov
Taming the Log Dragon: A Practical Guide to Fluentd and Elasticsearch Mastery

Taming the Log Dragon: A Practical Guide to Fluentd and Elasticsearch Mastery

Ah, logs - the digital equivalent of that one friend who never stops talking. But unlike your chatty companion, these records hold the keys to understanding your system’s deepest secrets. Let’s turn this avalanche of data into actionable insights, shall we? Architecting Your Logging Colosseum Every good battle needs a strategy. Here’s how our log gladiators will fight for clarity: graph TD A[Applications] --> B[Fluentd] B --> C{Output Routing} C --> D[Elasticsearch] C --> E[S3 Archive] D --> F[Kibana Dashboard] E --> F Our three-pillar defense system:...

June 11, 2025 · 3 min · 452 words · Maxim Zhirnov