The site has been going in and out quite a bit lately, and yesterday it was down almost all day.

We were having cpu load problems and about a month ago decided to try moving to a different host server to see if we could pinpoint the problem. At first it looked as if everything was solved, because the connections/queries ratio looked good, but the server had been cutting us off periodically for very high traffic and cpu load. Yesterday we tripped the switch again.

High traffic is good, but after weeks of fiddling, we just couldn’t seem to get to the crux of the cpu load problem, which was not entirely related to traffic.

Many tech savvy sources inform me that Word Press is a cpu heavy program, and our new features – the Comic Press Plugin, the Next Gen Gallery, etc – are the source of much of the problem.

While our old host service suggested some kind of cache file plug in to take the load off the server, he could not install it himself and did not know what to recommend. I found WP SuperCache, but neither I nor my tech lady could seem to get it up and running correctly.

After moving to the new server, we thought the problem was solved, and simply deactivated it, since it wasn’t working anyway.

Alas, the site gets high traffic, thousands of hits a day sometimes, and it was all just too much for our new host server Dreamhost.

I had read some very good and very bad reports about Dreamhost, and was concerned when I kept having blackouts. Would I be able to get customer service? I wondered if I’d just have to move my server again.

Within about three hours of filing a report, I had a phone call from them and a very kind and understanding tech named Travis Takenouchi was not only able to pinpoint the entire problem, he went the extra mile and made the correct installation of WP Supercache for me, which he does NOT have to do. In addition, he taught me how to access my SSH Terminal (which I had no idea even existed), and now I can keep an eye on my cpu usage second by second.

Since the installation of WP Supercache, my cpu load has dropped exponentially. Usage was shooting up to 70% and staying there. Now it shoots up to maybe 21% for a second and then drops immediately to 0.0, no matter how many people are online at one time.

Because the site does get quite a lot of traffic, and because I do not want to lose some of the nice features we have, I may have to go ahead and move to a VPS at some point. But Travis not only did not try to upsell me, he advised me to wait and see how the WP Supercache works out and to stick with my current plan. Even if I do need to upgrade to the VPS, my usage has dropped so much I may save quite a lot of money in monthly server fees, which were going to eat me alive at my current rate of usage. And I am very appreciative of customer service that does not immediately try to upsell the customer to plans they may not need.

I dropped a tip in the jar of the WP SuperCache developer Donncha O Caoimh, and am sure the plug in will save me a lot more money than I just gave the dude.

I may have saved $100 or more a month in hosting fees by adding WP Supercache to handle my Comic Press plug in. Since neither I nor my tech lady could get it up and running, you may need some help yourself. Some people have no trouble loading it up, but every site has different needs.

I have removed the Next Gen gallery feature from the sidebar entirely. We already have a very nice gallery function at the top of the page, and it does not eat cpu. I’ve temporarily removed a couple of little extras that I bet you won’t even notice. I am going to test them to see how they load, and if they are too much wear on the cpu, out they go.

Thanks to Dreamhost for their excellent customer service, especially Travis Takenouchi, who took a great deal of time going over the matter with me in a courteous and kind way.

c

This one has everything: Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Supergirl, Zatanna, clips from Independence Day, lots of explosions and the kitchen sink. Much fun. It was posted to my MySpace page, so thanks for that!

Enjoy!

Dear Colleen,

Emery Cobbs

Hi Emery,

Yes, I did have lots of photos of my studio up on the old blog, but they are all down now. The blog has been completely redone. I am so glad you like my studio! I do have some very nice cabinets which were not sold as art files but as map chests. You can buy them from Home Decorators Collection.

They have a variety of types and sizes for sale, at a wide range of prices. I’ve had varying degrees of satisfaction with this company, and some items have arrived with drawers that stick very badly. Since one item arrived while I was on tour, I was not home to be able to inspect and return it within the 30 day window, I had to do some sanding and repair. More precisely, a manly relative did it for me.

The large map chest cannot take any heavy weight on top. I put some heavy books and a TV on top, and the furniture bowed (as good an excuse as any to save up for a lightweight flat screen TV…)

However, if you are willing to take the chance on possibly receiving an imperfect item it may be a pain in the butt to return, and can also do some minor sanding repair, they are a real bargain, easily costing a fraction of the cost of art studio furniture. They also look great. I hate those awful metal flat files.

I don’t have enough map chest storage for all of my work, and recommend plain old plastic bins, which keep moisture and bugs out and can be stored safely in the garage. I even had a flood a few year’s back, and not one piece in these bins was damaged. I bought mine at the dollar store for less than $10 per box. I recommend smaller flat boxes instead of the big, deep bins. You’ll never find anything in those deep bins, and art tends to get damaged when you rummage through them.

But the contents of those art files have never really been in any kind of proper order. So, I am not the best person to ask for setting up proper art archives. Here’s a video series about organizing and setting up studio space, and I have not watched it because it looks a little antiseptic for my taste. But it’s free advice so if it works for you, good on ya!

Right now I am concentrating on making sure my current work archives are in the best order and making digital files of key art. That means thousands of images. So, I have no time to go through the old stuff. And most of the drawers for the files next to my drawing board hold work and files for current projects. The old stuff is boxed away.

However, once in awhile I give organizing this stuff a go, and here is a recent find; a Doctor Strange illustration I did back in high school! I think I was very heavily influenced by both John Byrne and Frank Brunner while I did this!