# hour part (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 4 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover hour part. Page: Feed: --- ## [Answering Your Questions about Structure](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/answering-your-questions-about-structure) _2026-08-19 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ In which I answer the questions you asked about structure...plus a new anthology of poems of illness. ## [Structure is Everything](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/structure-is-everything) _2026-07-11 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ On why structure is never mere decoration — and how when I found the shape of my new book, it almost wrote itself. ## [Writing Residencies and What They Give You](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/writing-residencies-and-what-they) _2026-05-17 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ Notes from MacDowell, and a list of residencies I've heard good things about ## [Old Man Yelling at the Corpus](https://zerotohero.dev/top-of-mind/old-man-yelling-at-the-corpus/) _2026-05-10 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Rules provide system-level instructions to Agent . — Cursor docs, “Rules” I keep getting stuck on that sentence. Not because of the missing article (though, yes , to “the” Agent is what English wants here), but because of what the missing article tells us about the prose underneath: The whole document reads like a config schema that someone half-translated into English and then shipped. Cursor is… ## [The LinkedIn Bot That Tried to Pass the Turing Test (and Failed Spectacularly)](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/the-linkedin-bot-that-tried-to-pass-the-turing-test-and-failed-spectacularly/) _2026-03-26 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Occasionally, you stumble into a conversation that feels… off. Not obviously broken. Not obviously malicious. Just slightly too smooth , slightly too generic, slightly too… optimized . This is the story of one such encounter. And how it completely collapsed under minimal pressure. The Setup An account (let’s call her F. L. ) reached out with this: Hello, Volkan I'm curious Can I ask you a… ## [The Bottleneck Moved. The Work Did Not.](https://zerotohero.dev/roadmap/what-the-junior-actually-needs/) _2026-03-18 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ A Question I Keep Getting I receive some version of this message a few times a month: “Given where technology/AI is today, what does a Junior Software Engineer actually need to bring to the table to be worth having on your team?” I appreciate when the question is honest about what it’s really asking. Sometimes it is. And sometimes, there’s a hook in the water . Either way, the question deserves a… ## [On Building a Writing Life: Spring Office Hours, Part 2](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/on-building-a-writing-life-spring) _2026-03-16 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ Answering your questions about agents, query letters, book proposals, and writing. ## [How to Get Published in Magazines: Spring Office Hours Part 1](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/how-to-get-published-in-magazines) _2026-03-09 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ Answering your questions on pitching, cover letters, and knowing when your work is ready ## [How to Write Better Drafts](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/how-to-write-better-drafts) _2026-03-01 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ What Elizabeth Bishop’s drafts can teach us about letting go and just starting. ## [How to Make the Unsaid the Most Powerful Part of Your Writing](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/how-to-make-the-unsaid-the-most-powerful) _2026-02-16 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ A second post on juxtaposition, white space, and the art of leaving things out ## [AI QA That Opens Fix PRs (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/fq7cW8kQEZNx) _2026-02-16 · **Sponsored**_ Runs browser QA, files issues with repro evidence, and opens fix PRs. ## [What Endings Really Do](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/what-endings-really-do) _2026-01-30 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ A writer and editor's guide to shaping the last lines of your work — from Rilke to The Great Gatsby. ## [A Fresh Start: My New Streaming and Development Setup](https://zerotohero.dev/content-creation/new-setup-bom/) _2026-01-09 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Recently, my Mac Studio started acting weirdly, so I decided to wipe the hard drive clean and reinstall my system. This post details the tools and applications I installed to this new system. My goal for this new system is to keep it lean and minimal, so that it starts up quickly, remains stable, and remains easy-to-maintain. With that in mind, let’s start with the foundation of any good setup:… ## [Detecting Ethernet Cable Category](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/diagnosing-ethernet-cable-with-iperf/) _2025-12-21 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ This is a short case study with iperf , Windows, macOS, and WSL . The Curious Case Recently, I was testing my downstream network performance on my Windows and Mac machines, both of them connected to the same router. The problem was: I was getting ~700Mbps downlink on Windows, while MacOS saturated at \>1Gbps. “If I’m only getting ~700 Mbps, my Ethernet cable must be bad, no?” My first guess was… ## [Endings (and the Writers Who Love Them)](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/endings-and-the-writers-who-love) _2025-12-14 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ Ask not what your ending is, but what it might do for your book. ## [New Audio Pipeline with BabyFace Pro FS](https://zerotohero.dev/content-creation/new-stream-setup-with-babyface-pro-fs/) _2025-12-13 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Roadmap This article covers: Why I upgraded my audio interface and what I set out to achieve The hardware signal chain ( including mic, Cloudlifter, and Babyface Pro FS ) How software routing ( Audio Hijack, OBS, Wirecast, TotalMix FX ) ties it all together Managing streaming complexities—background music, copyright, and multi-output scenarios Dynamic control during streams and automation with… ## [Development Environment Setup Quickstart Reference](https://zerotohero.dev/development/quickstart/) _2025-12-03 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Here are some bookmarks that I visit frequently when deploying a new system, or setting up a new development environment, or just trying to look something up, along with some snippets that I use frequently. Build Essentials sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade sudo apt install build-essential ~/.zshrc export ZSH = " $HOME /.oh-my-zsh " ZSH\_THEME = " powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k " source $ZSH… ## [Code and Documentation Audit Prompt for Claude Code](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/code-and-documentation-audit-promt-for-claude-code/) _2025-12-03 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Here is the prompt that I used to verify that the code and documentation of SPIKE and SPIKE Go SDK is aligned. Later down the line, I am planning to streamline this process even further. But I still think, you need a human in the loop, as some of the documentation may turn out to be misplaced or inaccurate. I need a comprehensive audit of Go documentation vs implementation across the codebase.… ## [The Art of Writing More than One Thing at Once](https://meghanorourke.substack.com/p/writing-in-the-gaps) _2025-11-25 · Meghan O'Rourke · Meghan O'Rourke's Substack_ On children, writing, and the strange discipline of carrying more than one project in your head. ## [A Frictionless Blog Workflow](https://zerotohero.dev/content-creation/a-frictionless-blog-workflow/) _2025-11-25 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Less Friction. More productivity Introduction If you’re running a static blog with Zola , you know the drill: create a markdown file, add the frontmatter, remember the correct TOML format, generate a slug from the title, put it in the proper directory, commit, build, and push. It’s not complicated, but it’s friction . And the last thing I need nowadays is friction: I have a lot of high-priority,… ## [Understanding \`git push origin main\`](https://zerotohero.dev/tips/git-push-origin-main/) _2025-11-23 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When working with Git, you might frequently encounter the command git push origin main . But what do origin and main actually mean? Let’s break it down. What is git push origin main ? The command git push origin main pushes changes from your local repository to a remote repository. It consists of three main parts: git push : The Git command that initiates the process of sending your commits to a… ## [Crush Every Threat in Real Time (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/03Fbj9MwSHhd) _2025-11-22 · **Sponsored**_ One agent for real-time detection, exposure tracking, and active defense. ## [Naught Amazon.](https://nataliecruz.substack.com/p/naught-amazon) _2025-08-17 · Natalie Love Cruz · Food For Thought._ In honor of National Thrift Store Day + some of my treasures up for grabs...make sure to scroll all the way down! 😎 ## [Snippet/Draft: systemd-networkd-wait-online.service Waits Too Long During Ubuntu Startup](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/snippet-systemd-network-wait-online-too-long/) _2025-07-13 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Quick fix: Disable the service (if you don’t need to wait for network at boot): sudo systemctl disable systemd-networkd-wait-online.service Better fixes: Configure it to wait only for specific interfaces: Edit the service: sudo systemctl edit systemd-networkd-wait-online.service Add: ini\[Service\] ExecStart= ExecStart=/lib/systemd/systemd-networkd-wait-online --interface=eth0 Reduce the timeout: \[… ## [Snippet/Draft: Crypto in Go](https://zerotohero.dev/go/snippet-crypto-in-go/) _2025-07-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Encrypting and Decrypting with AES CBC package main import ( " crypto/aes " " crypto/cipher " " crypto/rand " " encoding/base64 " " fmt " " io " ) func main () { plaintext := \[\] byte (" Hello, Go encryption! ") key := \[\] byte (" 32-byte-key-for-AES-256-!!!!!!!! ") // 32 bytes for AES-256 // Encrypt ciphertext , err := encryptAES ( plaintext , key ) if err != nil { fmt . Println (" Encryption… ## [Bulk Import Bookmarks to Shiori: A Simple Bash Script Solution](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/shiori/) _2025-06-22 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ If you’re like me and have accumulated hundreds of bookmarks across various services, migrating them to a self-hosted solution like Shiori can feel daunting. While Shiori ’s simplicity is one of its strengths, importing bookmarks one by one through the web UI or CLI can be time-consuming. In this post, I’ll share a bash script that automates the bulk import process, making it easy to migrate your… ## [ADH-Me?](https://nataliecruz.substack.com/p/adh-me) _2025-05-23 · Natalie Love Cruz · Food For Thought._ The least fun letters in the alphabet in my opinion. ## [You’re Never Too Late…](https://nataliecruz.substack.com/p/youre-never-too-late) _2025-04-26 · Natalie Love Cruz · Food For Thought._ To Learn Something New About Yourself ## [Shamir's Secret Sharing Scheme with SPIFFE and SPIKE](https://zerotohero.dev/spire/spike/shamir-secrets-sharing/) _2024-12-28 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Introduction Secure secrets management is a critical aspect of any modern distributed system’s infrastructure. SPIKE ( Secure Production Identity for Key Encryption ) is a system that achieves secure secrets management through a distributed , zero-trust architecture. To learn more about SPIKE , you can visit SPIKE ’s website or check out SPIKE ’s GitHub repository . A Video is a Worth a Million… ## [Understanding DEK and KEK in Encryption: A Practical Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/dek-kek/) _2024-12-22 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Modern data encryption strategies often employ a two-layer model of key management to balance strong security with operational flexibility. Two commonly used concepts in this model are the Data Encryption Key (DEK) and the Key Encryption Key (KEK). In this post, we’ll unpack how these two keys work together, and how you might store and retrieve them effectively. What Are DEK and KEK? Data… ## [Using External Secrets Operator with HashiCorp Vault to Create Kubernetes Secrets](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/eso-vault/) _2024-12-22 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When working with Kubernetes, securely managing secrets is a crucial part of your infrastructure. Traditional approaches—like directly embedding secrets in manifests or manually managing Secret objects—can become cumbersome and less secure over time. Enter the External Secrets Operator (ESO) , a powerful way to integrate external secret stores with Kubernetes. One such secret store is HashiCorp… ## [CSR vs Direct Public Key Exchange: When Do You Really Need a CSR?](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/csr/) _2024-12-16 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When working with secure systems, a common scenario involves Server A obtaining a certificate signed by Server B (acting as a Certificate Authority, or CA). But if the ultimate goal is to exchange public keys so that JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) signed by Server A can be verified by Server B, you might wonder: Do I really need to use a CSR (Certificate Signing Request)? Can’t I just send my public key… ## [Browse ThreatCrush Modules (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/fQ6YoOabwNos) _2024-12-15 · **Sponsored**_ Install community-built security modules to extend real-time threat intelligence and monitoring ## [Establishing SPIFFE Federation Between Kubernetes Clusters](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/spiffe-federation/) _2024-12-16 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ SPIFFE (Secure Production Identity Framework For Everyone) provides a robust framework for service identity across distributed systems. When using SPIFFE with SPIRE (SPIFFE Runtime Environment) in Kubernetes clusters, it’s common to have multiple trust domains. To enable secure communication between these domains, you need to establish SPIFFE federation by exchanging and trusting each other’s… ## [Building a Custom Webhook Provider for External Secrets Operator: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/go/eso-webhook-pitfalls/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ In this tutorial, we’ll walk through creating a custom webhook provider for External Secrets Operator (ESO) from scratch. We’ll build a simple Go server that serves as a webhook, deploy it to Kubernetes, and configure ESO to use it for secret management. Understanding the Architecture The External Secrets Operator (ESO) can fetch secrets from various providers, including custom webhooks. In this… ## [Adding vSphere Clusters in VMware Cloud Foundation: A Detailed Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/add-vsphere-clusters-in-vcf/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) provides two methods for adding capacity to deployed workload domains: Adding hosts to existing clusters Adding new clusters to existing workload domains This guide focuses on the process of adding a new cluster to an existing workload domain. Process Overview Initial Navigation Access SDDC Manager dashboard Navigate to Workload Domains Select target domain Click… ## [Configuring VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA): Stage 2 Setup Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/configuring-vcsa-stage-2/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ After successfully deploying the vCSA virtual machine in Stage 1, Stage 2 handles the critical initial configuration of your vCenter Server. This guide walks through the complete configuration process to get your vCenter Server up and running. Stage 2 Configuration Steps 1. Time Synchronization Setup Enable NTP synchronization Configure NTP server: 192.168.1.100 Important : Accurate time… ## [Understanding SSL Certificates: From Public CAs to Custom Root Certificates in Kubernetes](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/custom-ca/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ As organizations scale their Kubernetes infrastructure, managing SSL certificates becomes increasingly complex. Let’s dive into some common misconceptions and explore how certificate management really works, especially when dealing with custom Certificate Authorities (CAs). The Common Misconception Many developers initially believe that having an SSL certificate for a domain (let’s say… ## [Deploying Application Virtual Networks (AVNs) in VMware Cloud Foundation: A Guide for Aria Suite](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/deploying-application-virtual-networks/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Application Virtual Networks (AVNs) are software-defined networking constructs built on overlay-backed virtual networks within NSX. When deploying the VMware Aria suite in Cloud Foundation, understanding AVN configuration is crucial for proper implementation. Understanding AVN Types When deploying AVNs for the Aria suite, two distinct network segments are created: 1. Region Segment (Local Virtual… ## [Deploying VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA): A Comprehensive Setup Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/deploying-vcsa/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When deploying vCenter Server Appliance, proper planning is crucial. Just like a carpenter who measures twice and cuts once, taking time to plan your vCSA deployment can save hours of troubleshooting later. This guide provides a detailed deployment plan for setting up vCSA in a lab environment. Environment Prerequisites Management Computer Requirements Windows Server with: Mounted vCSA ISO image… ## [Understanding Docker's 6MB Memory Limit: A Deep Dive](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/docker-memory-limits/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Have you ever encountered this puzzling error message while working with Docker containers? Warning Failed 89s (x12 over 3m44s) kubelet Error: Error response from daemon: Minimum memory limit allowed is 6MB If you’re like many developers, your first instinct might be to check Kubernetes’ LimitRange resources: $ kubectl get limitrange -A No resources found But wait - if there are no LimitRange… ## [Debugging URL Encoding Issues with External Secrets Operator's Webhook Provider](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/eso-urlencode/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When working with Kubernetes External Secrets Operator (ESO) and its webhook provider, you might encounter some interesting URL encoding challenges. In this post, I’ll walk through a specific issue we encountered and how we solved it, which might help others facing similar problems. The Setup We started with a basic ClusterSecretStore configuration using ESO’s webhook provider: apiVersion :… ## [Using External Secrets Operator with HTTP Endpoints: A Complete Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/eso-webhook-provider/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ External Secrets Operator (ESO) is a powerful Kubernetes operator that helps manage secrets from external sources. While it’s commonly used with cloud provider secret managers like AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault, ESO also supports fetching secrets from HTTP endpoints. In this guide, we’ll explore how to configure ESO to poll an HTTP endpoint and automatically create Kubernetes secrets from… ## [Expanding vSphere Clusters in VMware Cloud Foundation: A Guide to Adding Hosts](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/expanding-vsphere-clusters/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ While VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) offers multiple ways to increase capacity, adding hosts to an existing cluster is one of the most straightforward methods. This guide walks through the process of expanding a vSphere cluster by adding new hosts. Process Overview Current State Assessment Before adding hosts: Check current cluster composition in vSphere client Review existing configuration in SDDC… ## [Installing VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA): Stage 1 Deployment Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/installing-vcsa-stage-1/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ This guide walks through the first stage of deploying vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) on an ESXi host. Like any critical infrastructure deployment, proper preparation and verification at each step is essential for success. Prerequisites Verification Before beginning the installation: Verify DNS resolution for target ESXi host: nslookup esxi-4.zerotohero.dev # Should resolve to 192.168.1.104 Verify… ## [Designing a Multi-Tenant Secret Store for Kubernetes](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/multi-tenant-secrets-store/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Managing secrets in a Kubernetes environment can be challenging, especially when dealing with multiple tenants, clusters, and different types of secrets. In this post, we’ll explore how to design a flexible and secure secret store that can handle various secret types while integrating with existing tools like External Secrets Operator (ESO). The Challenge When building a secret management system,… ## [Understanding the OSI Model: A Practical Guide to Network Communication](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/osi-model/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Every day, millions of people access resources on the public internet without giving it a second thought. But have you ever wondered what actually happens when you type a website address into your browser? Behind that simple action lies a complex series of processes that make network communication possible. Let’s break it down using one of the most fundamental frameworks in networking: the OSI… ## [SDDC Manager in VMware Cloud Foundation: A Comprehensive Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/sddc-manager-in-vcf/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ The Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) Manager is the central management component of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). This guide explores its capabilities, deployment, and essential configuration steps. What is SDDC Manager? SDDC Manager is deployed as a virtual appliance that runs in the management domain with: 4 CPUs 16GB of memory High availability through vSphere HA File-based backup… ## [How to Export Kubernetes Secrets as JSON: A Complete Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/secret-export/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ When working with Kubernetes secrets, you may need to export them in a format that can be version controlled or transferred between clusters. This guide will show you how to export Kubernetes secrets as JSON while preserving important metadata like labels and annotations. The Basic Approach The fundamental command to export a secret in JSON format is straightforward: kubectl get secret \<… ## [Understanding VMware vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA): The Central Management Solution](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/understanding-vcsa/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ Managing multiple ESXi hosts individually can quickly become overwhelming as your infrastructure grows. This is where VMware’s vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) comes into play, offering a centralized management solution that streamlines your virtual infrastructure operations. What is vCenter Server Appliance? vCSA serves as a central management platform for your ESXi hosts. Instead of managing each… ## [VMware vCenter Server: Complete Guide to Backup Configuration and License Management](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/vcenter-backup/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ This guide covers two essential administrative tasks for vCenter Server: configuring backups and managing licenses. Proper backup configuration ensures business continuity, while correct license management keeps your environment compliant. Backup Configuration Using VAMI Accessing VAMI URL: https://vcsa.zerotohero.dev:5480 Login credentials: Username: root Password: (vCSA root password) Backup… ## [Accessing and Configuring VMware vCenter: A Complete Guide to GUI Interfaces and Initial Setup](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/vcenter-gui-setup-guide/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ After deploying vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA), you have two primary graphical interfaces for management. This guide walks through both interfaces and the initial environment setup process. Understanding vCenter’s Management Interfaces 1. vSphere Client Access URL : https://vcsa.zerotohero.dev/ui Primary Purpose : Managing virtual infrastructure Main Functions : Creating and managing datacenters… ## [Software Bundle Management in VMware Cloud Foundation: A Complete Guide](https://zerotohero.dev/inbox/vcf-bundle/) _2024-12-12 · Volkan Özçelik · Zero to Hero_ For VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) administrators, understanding software bundle management is crucial for maintaining a healthy infrastructure. This guide explores the essentials of managing software bundles in VCF environments. Understanding Software Bundles Software bundles are the foundation of VCF lifecycle management, coming in two primary types: Patch/Upgrade Bundles Used for existing…