Keeping a Debian box tidy
A short checklist I use when setting up a fresh server: unattended-upgrades, a minimal firewall, and log rotation that actually rotates. Nothing exotic, just the boring things that keep a machine healthy for years.
Notes on backups that you can restore
A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a backup. I run a monthly restore drill into a scratch directory and compare checksums. It takes ten minutes and has saved me twice.
Home lab power draw, measured
I finally put a meter on the rack. The numbers were lower than I feared and mostly dominated by spinning disks. Spinning them down on idle shaved a noticeable amount off the monthly bill.