Home Backup

I just returned home from a trip and had one of those dreaded moments: one of the disks on my home desktop had failed! Thankfully, I have a backup strategy in place that is working for me and it is the second time I had to use it.

How I Choose What to Back Up

This experience reinforced my belief in keeping things simple. I categorize my data as:

• Important: Family photos, essential documents, critical projects.

• Not Important: Old files, random downloads, stuff that doesn’t need my attention.

Less clutter ensures lower cost to backup, easier to backup and faster restore. I really care ensuring multiple backups including remote backups of a few critical folders, everything else, I can delete at will and never worry. 

Staying Cost-Effective

Finding affordable yet effective backup options has always been my goal. No one wants to spend money unnecessarily on backups that provide minimal additional benefits.

My Backup Philosophy: The 3-2-1 Rule

I follow the popular 3-2-1 backup rule:

• 3 copies of all important data.

• 2 different storage types (local NAS and cloud).

• 1 off-site backup for worst-case scenarios (think fires or theft).

My Actual Backup Setup

Here's the practical side of my setup:

1. Local NAS: Quick, reliable backups. All my devices constantly backup their entire contents here, which allowed me to quickly recover my desktops data this time. I treat is as a local cache. I am using a Synology DS2xx series for some time now.

2. Cloud Storage (OneDrive): Essential files from laptops, desktop, and my phone (including camera) sync automatically. This ensures easy access from anywhere. OneDrive is an easy choice for me. The family tier is 1TB per person, and this alone covers for everything critical for me except the huge cache of raw images (see below).

3. Cloud Backup (Backblaze): If not for my huge collection of RAW images from my DSLR, I'd likely have just stuck to the above two. However, my desktop has few terrabytes of images, that I simply cannot fit in onedrive, hence my desktop backs up fully (all drives) to BackBlaze against serious emergencies. I have been using BackBlaze for years. I use their 30 day versioning and have in the past had to get a restore, where they sent me a SSD with the folders I wanted to restore. BackBlaze allows you to give an encryption key that is used in the client and not kept with backblaze. So if you loose that key, all data is lost. 

Backup is Easy, but Restore is Crucial

Backing up data is easy—restoring it reliably when something goes wrong is where the real test lies. Every six months, I run a mini disaster recovery drill:

• Checking that backups are up-to-date.

• Restoring a few random files to verify everything works.

This practice made my recent restore straightforward and stress-free.

This disk failure ended up being a positive reminder of how valuable a good backup strategy is. I’d love to hear your backup strategies or any tips you've learned through your experiences. Drop your suggestions and ideas in the comments below!

Resume Tips

 

As I am filtering through the applications for a open Principal Manager position in  my organization, I thought I'd share some quick tips. Also if you have been impacted by the recent layoffs and need a fresh pair of eyes to go through yours, ping me, happy to help in any way I can.

1️⃣ Keep it lean
Two pages max. Hiring managers, recruiters are pressed for time, and your résumé is your first filter.

2️⃣ Tailor for the target
Start with a slightly longer master résumé, then tighten it for each application. Highlight the experiences that mirror the job requirements and trim the rest. If the role asks for deep technical chops, surface your biggest engineering wins. If it values people leadership, spell out the size, geography and diversity of teams you have guided.

3️⃣ Know every line
Interviewers love to probe the details. Even that “obscure” project from years ago can surface. Be ready to dive deep on anything you list.

4️⃣ Proof. Proof again. Then proof once more.
Ask a friend to review for clarity and errors. Yes, I just reviewed the resume of “Software Engineering Leafer”.

5️⃣ Expand acronym on the first usage
Clarity beats cleverness. Write “Time-to-mitigate (TTM)” before you rely on TTM alone.

6️⃣ Show impact, not activity
Microsoft and other top firms care about results. Replace “led migrations” with specifics: “migrated 120M users to new platform, improving sign-in latency by 35 percent.” Include metrics on revenue, cost, uptime, or customer satisfaction whenever possible, and be prepared to defend them in interviews.

7️⃣ Cut the buzzwords
“Visionary, results-oriented ninja” is outdated. Run your résumé through a GenAI tool and ask it to flag fluff and repetition.

💡 Bottom line: Precision, relevance and quantified impact separate strong leaders from a sea of applicants. Invest the extra hour to refine your résumé and you will earn the next-step conversation.