🎮 Gaming on CachyOS: Why I Ditched Legacy Distros for Bleeding-Edge FPS (2026)
Maximize your frame times. Discover why CachyOS is the ultimate Linux gaming distro, how to configure the Hydra launcher with Debrid, and fix stubborn HDR & audio bugs.
Fighting the AI Slop: Year 1 Metrics, Costs, and Lessons Self-Hosting a Ghost Tech Blog
A raw look at Year 1 metrics, real electricity costs, and traffic sources for an independent, self-hosted Ghost tech blog fighting internet AI slop.
The Ultimate 18-Drive Self-Hosted Monolith: Why the Fractal Design Define 7 XL is Still the Best Home Server Case in 2026
A long-term review of the Fractal Design Define 7 XL configured as an 18-drive custom DIY NAS and home server running 58 Docker containers, Home Assistant, and n8n natively.
When Power Outages Break Everything: Recovering an OMV8 NAS After Filesystem Corruption, Kernel Drift, and DKMS Failure
A complete technical post-mortem and recovery guide for OpenMediaVault 8 after rolling power failures corrupt the boot SSD, drift kernels, and break DKMS blocks.
SSD-Deaths & NAS Upgrades, Ghost CMS Home Assistant and Massive Real-Debrid shock & awe!
It’s been a bit quiet around here (Core Lab) lately as I’ve been under the weather (sudden health
How to Integrate Ghost CMS with Home Assistant Natively (2026 Guide)
Stop wasting time checking dashboards. Learn how to natively connect Ghost CMS to Home Assistant to monitor MRR, subscribers, and trigger custom automation.
Visualization, Stronger Ingress & Giving your Homelab a Physical
Over the last few weeks, Core Lab has been in full build mode.
What started as a handful of isolated
The SATA Pivot: Mitigating IOPS Bottlenecks in a 18+ Drive Homelab
Is your ZFS array thrashing under Docker logs? You don't need a new server; you need a better bus. Learn how moving my OS to USB reclaimed SATA III ports for SSD caching - solving IOPS bottlenecks and extending drive life for under $20.
🛠️ The Homelab Physical: A Guide to Annual & Bi-Annual Maintenance
Neglect is the quiet killer of uptime. Don't let dust or "chip creep" sabotage your ZFS pools. This guide covers essential bi-annual routines - from LSI HBA cooling to reseating the "Big Three" - to keep your custom server healthy for the long haul.
