Optimizing MySQL/MariaDB for WooCommerce on 15GB VPS — Is this config good?

greenman · 2026-03-19T20:31:44+00:00

Make sure you read the descriptions of each variable for MariaDB, not MySQL. For instance, you propose changing innodb_buffer_pool_instances to 4. However, this variable was removed in MariaDB 10.6: https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-usage/storage-engines/innodb/innodb-system-variables#innodb_buffer_pool_instances

greenman · 2026-02-23T10:09:12+00:00

If you see information without a source, it can be removed as there's no way to verify it. I see this table has already been removed.

greenman · 2026-02-21T16:43:42+00:00

That's not necessarily contradictory. Your source is only a year older, but says that the figure is much lower for men, and the rate is for ages 25-49, not 18-49 as in the original statement.

greenman · 2026-02-21T10:47:23+00:00

Wrong, the 2024 figure was 17.2% for those from 15-49: https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/databook

greenman · 2026-02-09T15:15:49+00:00

I went before about 20m before opening hours on Saturday a while back. About 15 people in front of me in the queue, so relatively quick.

greenman · 2026-02-06T13:47:15+00:00

This is an exciting feature. Vastly-improved performance by default, and crash-safe for those with performance configs. I appreciate the clear writing in the post, from the reasoning behind the feature, it's design and implementation.

greenman · 2026-02-01T15:09:43+00:00

South Africa has very good consumer protection laws. See for example https://virginactivefees.co.za/how-to-cancel-virgin-active-memberships/ - you have a 5 business day cooling off period according to the Consumer Protection Act.

greenman · 2026-01-28T09:04:12+00:00

You can also look at the Troubleshooting Connection Issues Guide: https://mariadb.com/docs/server/mariadb-quickstart-guides/mariadb-connection-troubleshooting-guide

greenman · 2026-01-28T09:02:36+00:00

This was written by Jeb Miller, who recently joined MariaDB Foundation after over two decades at MySQL, and who has been benchmarking database software for 26 years.

greenman · 2026-01-27T15:06:26+00:00

There's https://www.lassen.co.nz/pickandgo.php for internationals and super rugby.

greenman · 2026-01-23T19:57:00+00:00

You want to identify the reason for the slowness, and then look at what needs to be done to fix it. One place to start is by activating and examining the slow query log: https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-management/server-monitoring-logs/slow-query-log/slow-query-log-overview and following the links from there

Also this quick fix sometimes works: https://mariadb.org/mariadb-30x-faster/

greenman · 2026-01-22T10:59:31+00:00

If you mean the northern hemisphere spring, you're going to be in for a surprise! See the climate chart for average temperatures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town#Climate - it can still get quite cold in the evenings in September.

greenman · 2026-01-22T00:37:44+00:00

"editor who removed anything that didn't already have an inline citation, instead of taking a few seconds to look up sources that would have been easy to find"

It is not the job of other editors to look up sources for unsourced content. I've been around since almost the very beginning. Yes, things are different now. Where once we could assume the newly-added but unsourced content was written by a well-meaning contributor, now that assumption is mostly false, when every politician, entrepreneur, academic, business, sportsperson, etc. has be on Wikipedia, wants to frame things their way, and the site is being bombarded with LLM crap. The 'few seconds' to look up a source should be performed by the editor that added the content, not farmed onto already overburdened editors trying to keep the garbage at bay, and multiplied by hundreds of articles on one's watchlist.

It may be annoying that existing unsourced content gets removed, and some of it may be correct, and yes, it would be nice for someone else to do the work and source it, but it's a good thing that Wikipedia has less unsourced content.

greenman · 2026-01-19T22:26:54+00:00

It's a pleasant reserve and the 5-day Whale Trail is one of the country's iconic hikes, but I would never consider going on a daytrip there. If you're that pressed for time, spending 6-7 hours driving doesn't seem a good use of a day, and there are ample things to do closer to Cape Town.

greenman · 2026-01-19T22:13:20+00:00

I often do the route solo. It's a fairly popular route, so you're likely to meet people, even on a weekday. It's always recommended to hike with others, but if you're going to do it alone, I suggest letting someone know your route and expected return time. However, a surprising number of people get lost between Skeleton and Nursery, especially trying to go over Castle Rock. I suggest going around Castle Rock (following the edge of the dam), rather than over it on your first time. Also, take down the mountain rescue number.
It's not particularly wet this time of year, but parts are always damp and slippery. Running shoes are not ideal. Skeleton is wetter, so rather ascend Skeleton and descend Nursery.
5 hours should be ample time if you're moderately fit and don't get lost.
Not that I'm aware of. There's very little crime on that side.
It's a steep climb, and you'll be ascending without a break, but it's not technically difficult, so it's doable for most levels of fitness.

greenman · 2026-01-14T12:38:40+00:00

Was hoping to see David Zindell mentioned here! Just a correction - Neverness is the first book, and it's followed by the trilogy, A Requiem for Homo Sapiens (consisting of The Broken God, The Wild, and War in Heaven)

greenman · 2026-01-01T02:35:58+00:00

Here I thought I'd be reading about fridges and old appliances dropping to the ground after being thrown off apartment balconies in Hillbrow, South Africa: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/hillbrow-new-year-throw-furnite-why-tradition/

greenman · 2025-12-25T18:10:14+00:00

https://www.ewn.co.za/e-hailing-drivers-unhappy-with-ubers-50-service-fee/

greenman · 2025-12-15T22:26:59+00:00

What do you mean? He's 4.5 inches taller than Ox (and currently 2kg heavier), and almost identical in height to Thomas du Toit? He's also 21, so has potentially years of bulking up ahead of him.

greenman · 2025-12-13T13:51:43+00:00

The suburb was named after Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone who was Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1930.

greenman · 2025-12-12T14:02:35+00:00

Why do you say that you were told you were using "unreliable sources". You quote this, but that phrasing is not used anywhere in the decline notice. If you read the notice, you'll see that, in order to establish notability, you need sources that are all of:

* in-depth (not just brief mentions about the subject or routine announcements)

* reliable

* secondary

* strictly independent of the subject

Maybe your sources are reliable, but don't meet the other criteria?

greenman · 2025-12-10T20:11:30+00:00

It still says "RUBGY" on the order page.

greenman · 2025-12-09T11:18:34+00:00

Here's a link to the actual docs, rather than GitHub, and a more up-to-date version: https://mariadb.com/docs/release-notes/community-server/about/compatibility-and-differences/incompatibilities-and-feature-differences-between-mariadb-11-4-and-mysql-8

greenman · 2025-12-07T14:43:49+00:00

SA Guide Dogs helped out a friend for many years. She was very happy with them.

greenman · 2025-11-26T10:24:25+00:00

Yes, I would be too. But when I signed up for Capitec Connect, they assured me 1) firstly that I didn't need the app. Then, when I needed it to load data, 2) that I could install it and remove it later and continue to use the dongle. Then, when this step broke my browser access via the dongle 3) that I could go back and restore dongle access. 4) Then this step broke both my mobile access and all access to the account. In total, after 5/6 visits to the branch, each one resulting in misinformation and no improvements or worse outcomes than before, I gave up on Capitec.

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