Once I bag the domain, the next phase begins: The Tech Stack Dilemma.

The Tech Stack Tug-of-War

PHP – Symfony / Laravel

I’m a PHP loyalist at heart, having been around these frameworks since their inception. They’re like old friends—reliable, comfortable, and always there to welcome you back with open arms.

Node.js – Too Many Choices, Too Little Patience

Enter Node.js, and suddenly, it’s like walking into an ice cream parlor with 500 flavors. Every framework promises to be “the best.” After Googling for what feels like a geological epoch, I finally settle on one, only to realize I need a crash course because I haven’t touched it in ages. And let’s be honest, learning a framework at 40+ isn’t the same as binge-watching Stranger Things. Those tutorial videos? They’re the real sleeping pills.

GoLang, Rust, Python ….. Ruby – I don’t even want to talk about it

The Database Drama

Now comes the database conundrum: MySQL? PostgreSQL? Or should I venture into the mystical land of object databases? Sure, I want scalability, performance, and low cost, but why does it feel like choosing between a Honda, a Tesla, and a spaceship?

And don’t get me started on scaling databases. It’s expensive, and the last thing I want is a system that folds like a lawn chair the moment it faces heavy traffic.

The Architectural Chaos

Microservices or monolith?

CDN or local storage?

RabbitMQ, SQS, or a good ol’ prayer?

The options are endless, and my head feels like it’s running AWS EventBridge 24/7. Over the years, I’ve leaned heavily on AWS—it’s my comfort zone, even if my wallet winces every time I say “S3.” These services just work. But the endless possibilities often paralyze me, leaving my “brilliant idea” stuck in a mental loop.

The Sad Truth: Dream Domains, Dormant Ideas

By now, you’ve probably guessed the outcome. I end up buying a domain, planning the architecture in my head, and… that’s it. The project gets buried under the weight of day-to-day work, only to resurface as a fleeting thought months later. Meanwhile, the domain renews like clockwork, adding to my graveyard of unused URLs.

Typical Pisces behavior, right? Big dreams, minimal execution.

A New Year, A New Approach

But this year, I’ve decided to dig up one of those long-forgotten ideas. Of course, the cycle began again—domain bought, tech stack debated, paralysis ensued. After 10 days of spinning my wheels, frustration hit, and I finally had an epiphany:

KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Enter Strapi: The Chosen One

Lately, I’ve been working with Strapi, a headless CMS that feels like it was designed just for procrastinators like me. It’s intuitive, comes with prebuilt content management features, and lets me focus on the fun stuff without reinventing the wheel. With proper caching and scaling, Strapi can handle serious data loads, but I’ll cross that bridge when (if) I get there.

Learning to Let Go

Historically, I’ve been a control freak—every line of code, every feature had to be mine. But this obsession has been a massive roadblock. Recently, a conversation with someone inspiring shifted my perspective. Sometimes, you don’t need to control everything; you just need to start.

So here I am, starting again. This time, I’m letting go of perfectionism and focusing on progress.

The Plan

As part of this journey, I’m committing to keeping this blog alive with updates every two weeks. This is my way of holding myself accountable. Even if I can only work on the project during my free time, I’ll share what I learn, the mistakes I make, and (hopefully) the wins I achieve.

Because at the end of the day, unfinished projects and dormant domains are part of the creative process. And who knows? Maybe one of these ideas will finally take flight.

The new projects first version I am planning call it “Desert Dreams”. You can follow the tag if you are interested.

Stay tuned. Or don’t. The domain’s already renewed, so it’s not going anywhere.

Initial Attempts and Challenges

To bypass the blocks, I tried using a VPN with delays between requests. While this approach worked to some extent, the process was painfully slow and inefficient—it would’ve taken me an eternity to scrape all the required pages. Frustrated, I began exploring alternatives that could streamline the process without compromising results.

Discovering ScraperAPI

After testing several solutions, I found ScraperAPI, and it was a game-changer! ScraperAPI simplifies web scraping by handling the complexities of proxies, IP rotation, and CAPTCHA-solving, ensuring uninterrupted access to the data.

I started with a free ScraperAPI account, which offers 5,000 free units. The cost per unit varies based on the complexity of the request:

• 1 unit for basic requests.
• Higher unit costs for advanced requests involving CAPTCHAs and bot protection.

The free account allowed me to test its features thoroughly, and I was impressed with the results.

Documentation and Support

One standout feature of ScraperAPI is its extensive documentation. The API is well-documented and includes scripts for multiple programming languages, making it easy for developers to integrate it into their workflows regardless of their preferred language or framework.

Scaling Up: From Testing to Production

Once satisfied with its performance, I upgraded to a paid plan. Using ScraperAPI, I successfully scraped over 100,000 pages without a hitch. While the tool handles most anti-scraping measures automatically, I still implemented slight delays between requests as an extra precaution.

Why Choose ScraperAPI?

Here’s why I recommend ScraperAPI for your scraping needs:

• 1. Ease of Use: No need to manage proxies, IPs, or custom scripts—ScraperAPI does it all for you.
• Scalability: It’s perfect for projects ranging from small tasks to large-scale scraping operations.
• Reliability: With its robust infrastructure, it ensures minimal downtime and maximum efficiency.
• Documentation: The API is well-documented, with scripts available in multiple programming languages for seamless integration.

Start Your Scraping Journey

If you’re struggling with web scraping or facing roadblocks like I did, give ScraperAPI a try. It’s beginner-friendly, and the free units let you test it risk-free. If you decide to sign up using the links in this post, I’ll also receive a small referral bonus—a win-win for both of us!

Here are three common ways SES keys can be compromised, especially in team environments:

• Poor protection of development devices – A compromised developer computer can expose sensitive credentials.
• Inadequate server hardening – Unsecured servers are prime targets for attackers.
• Accidental commits to version control – Sensitive .env files can inadvertently be pushed to repositories.

To mitigate these risks, implement the following three simple policies to improve the security of your AWS SES SMTP user:

1. Restrict Access to Specific Identities

If your AWS account manages multiple identities (domains or email addresses), restrict the SES SMTP user to access only the required identity.

Why? This ensures that even if the credentials are compromised, they cannot be used to send emails from other domains or addresses under your account.

How to Implement:

Use an IAM policy with the ses:SendEmail or ses:SendRawEmail actions, specifying the allowed identity:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ses:SendEmail",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:ses:us-east-1:123456789012:identity/example.com"
        }
    ]
}

2. Enforce a Specific “From” Address

By default, if your identity is domain-validated, emails can be sent from any address within that domain. While flexible, this opens the door for abuse, such as spam or identity theft. Restricting the SES user to a single verified “From” address prevents misuse.

How to Implement:

Extend the IAM policy to include the ses:FromAddress condition key:

{
    "Effect": "Allow",
    "Action": "ses:SendEmail",
    "Resource": "arn:aws:ses:us-east-1:123456789012:identity/example.com",
    "Condition": {
        "StringEquals": {
            "ses:FromAddress": "noreply@example.com"
        }
    }
}

3. Restrict Access to Trusted IPs

Limit SES SMTP user access to the specific IP address(es) of your sending server. Even if the credentials are exposed, they cannot be used from unauthorized locations.

Why? This adds an additional layer of security, ensuring the credentials work only from your trusted infrastructure.

How to Implement:

Use an IAM policy with the aws:SourceIp condition:

{
    "Effect": "Allow",
    "Action": "ses:SendEmail",
    "Resource": "arn:aws:ses:us-east-1:123456789012:identity/example.com",
    "Condition": {
        "IpAddress": {
            "aws:SourceIp": "203.0.113.0/24"
        }
    }
}

This policy combines restrictions for identity access, specific “From” address, and trusted IPs into one comprehensive configuration:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ses:SendEmail",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:ses:us-east-1:123456789012:identity/example.com",
            "Condition": {
                "StringEquals": {
                    "ses:FromAddress": "noreply@example.com"
                },
                "IpAddress": {
                    "aws:SourceIp": "203.0.113.0/24"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

How to Use

1. Replace 123456789012 with your AWS account ID.

2. Replace example.com with your verified identity (domain or email address).

3. Replace noreply@example.com with your desired “From” email address.

4. Replace 203.0.113.0/24 with the IP address or CIDR block of your trusted servers.

In Conclusion

By implementing these policies, you can significantly reduce the risk of your SES SMTP credentials being misused. Regularly review and update your security practices to stay ahead of potential vulnerabilities. AWS provides powerful tools to safeguard your account – use them to your advantage.

Stay secure and email responsibly!

I’ve reached the point where I feel like I’ve been slogging away in my comfort zone for far too long. Too much Netflix, endless social media scrolling, following crappy YouTube channels—it’s all piled up to a lifestyle that’s doing me no favors.

This year, I had the privilege of performing Umrah, and it was a wake-up call. It opened my eyes to just how much my health has deteriorated. I started to notice how many things I used to be excited about have faded away. It’s not that I’ve lost my spark—I haven’t—but I’ve been stuck in this cycle of pure, unproductive laziness.

Here are some of the changes I want to make (or force myself to make) this year:

• Healthy Living – Be mindful of what I eat and start moving—whether it’s walking or hitting the gym.
• Reading More – Rediscover the joy of books and meaningful learning.
• Exploring Business Intelligence – Dive deeper into BI and build expertise in this area.
• Harnessing the Power of AI – Learn some hardcore skills and truly understand what AI can do.
• Blogging Weekly – Post one article per week on my blog. I know blogs might not be as relevant anymore with GPT dominating the scene, but this is about keeping myself accountable and sharing the hacks and insights I come across in my work.
• Getting Back into IoT & Low-Powered AI Engines – Reignite my passion for IoT and explore its integration with lightweight AI.

Currently, I’m exploring Elastic Search, revisiting the platform after a long time. This is for one of our clients, where search plays an important role. I’ll be sharing some of my findings and insights in the coming weeks.

certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges=dns -d example.com -d www.example.com

Saving debug log to /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log
Plugins selected: Authenticator manual, Installer None
Requesting a certificate for example.com and www.example.com
Performing the following challenges:
dns-01 challenge for example.com
dns-01 challenge for www.example.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please deploy a DNS TXT record under the name
_acme-challenge.example.com with the following value:

KK8hK6K5nDW3tb3k0snA7457Nw5LJMk33-HQL3ITYNY

Before continuing, verify the record is deployed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Press Enter to Continue

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please deploy a DNS TXT record under the name
_acme-challenge.www.example.com with the following value:

0amX-L_XeiBAU2jCGj9UY0NKCgEJZOaa8mw3M1friHk

Before continuing, verify the record is deployed.
(This must be set up in addition to the previous challenges; do not remove,
replace, or undo the previous challenge tasks yet. Note that you might be
asked to create multiple distinct TXT records with the same name. This is
permitted by DNS standards.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Press Enter to Continue
Waiting for verification...
Cleaning up challenges

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
   Your key file has been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
   Your certificate will expire on 2021-05-04. To obtain a new or
   tweaked version of this certificate in the future, simply run
   certbot again. To non-interactively renew *all* of your
   certificates, run "certbot renew"
 - If you like Certbot, please consider supporting our work by:

   Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt:   https://letsencrypt.org/donate
   Donating to EFF:                    https://eff.org/donate-le

Please make sure you create those TXT records with the values given by the certbot. Once you make the dns update you will be able to generate the SSL certficates.

You can use the SSL private and certifcate in your vhost and configure it manually.

<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
<VirtualHost *:443>
	ServerName example.com
	ServerAlias www.example.com

	ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
	DocumentRoot /var/www/html

	ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
	CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

	SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
	SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
	Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf
</VirtualHost>
</IfModule>

Hope this helps

use Symfony\Component\Cache\Adapter\FilesystemAdapter;

//....

function getCachedData()
{

    /**
     * @var FilesystemAdapter $cache
     */
    $cache = $this->get('cache.app');

    //Define a key for the item
    $cacheKey = 'SOME_UNIQUE_KEY';

    //Fetch the cached item from the cache
    $cacheItem = $cache->getItem($cacheKey);

    //Check if the cache is present and is still valid.
    if ($cacheItem->isHit()) {
        //Get the cached value and return
        $data = $cache->getItem($cacheKey)->get();
        return $data;
    }

    //Since there is no cache available you can prepare the data
    $data = [10,20,30];

    //Set the data to cache object
    $cacheItem->set($data);

    //You can set an expire time if you need.
    //Below I have set the cache to 1 hour.
    $cacheItem->expiresAfter(60 * 60);

    //Save the cache
    $cache->save($cacheItem);

    //Return the data
    return $data;
}

//....

You can use this a lot in your application in places where you access databases or accessing the web services.

Have a great day 😊

This website is dedicated to all the developers who struggle to achieve the best score for their website. The best line I love about the site is below..

“Good design is as little design as possible.”

– some German motherfucker

Please visit the website https://motherfuckingwebsite.com/ and post your comments if you agree with me.

Yislamoo celebrates beautiful Arabia. Yislamoo brings you Modern Art Prints Designed by Some of the Best Artists and Calligraphers. Memorable pieces you won’t find anywhere else! Yislamoo hopes to reach every home and heart in this region and beyond.

Check out their Modern Arabic Art Gallery today and order your favourite one!

As I was not interested in the newsletter so I want to remove myself from the subscription and in the footer I read this note.

This email is intended only for international investors outside of the UK.

What does this mean? People, who are outside UK cannot get unsubscription link? People outside UK does not care about privacy?

I don’t remember visiting this company website or their office to inquire about property… So how did they get my email address? How did they add me to a newsletter subscription?

Email Campaign Online Link – https://www.selectproperty.com/emx/3rd-parties/cs2/launch/gcc/july/bayt/

In case they delete the change the contents

Very rude

Used very simple example students and course. A student can opt for multiple courses and a single course can be opted by multiple students.

And Entity class should be like this…

namespace AppBundle\Entity;

use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

/**
 * Student
 *
 * @ORM\Table(name="ab_student")
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="AppBundle\Repository\StudentRepository")
 */
class Student
{
    /**
     * @var int
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="id", type="integer")
     * @ORM\Id
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
     */
    private $id;

    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="name", type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $name;

    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="email", type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $email;

    /**
     * @var \DateTime
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="dob", type="datetime")
     */
    private $dob;

    /**
     * @var ArrayCollection
     * @ORM\ManyToMany(targetEntity="AppBundle\Entity\Course", inversedBy="students", fetch="EAGER")
     * @ORM\JoinTable(
     *     name="ab_student_2_course",
     *     joinColumns={@ORM\JoinColumn(name="course_id", referencedColumnName="id", nullable=false, onDelete="cascade")},
     *     inverseJoinColumns={@ORM\JoinColumn(name="student_id", referencedColumnName="id", nullable=false, onDelete="cascade")}
     * )
     */
    private $courses;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->courses = new ArrayCollection();
    }

    /**
     * Get id
     *
     * @return int
     */
    public function getId()
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    /**
     * Set name
     *
     * @param string $name
     *
     * @return Student
     */
    public function setName($name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get name
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getName()
    {
        return $this->name;
    }

    /**
     * Set email
     *
     * @param string $email
     *
     * @return Student
     */
    public function setEmail($email)
    {
        $this->email = $email;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get email
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getEmail()
    {
        return $this->email;
    }

    /**
     * Set dob
     *
     * @param \DateTime $dob
     *
     * @return Student
     */
    public function setDob($dob)
    {
        $this->dob = $dob;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get dob
     *
     * @return \DateTime
     */
    public function getDob()
    {
        return $this->dob;
    }

    /**
     * @return ArrayCollection
     */
    public function getCourses()
    {
        return $this->courses;
    }

    /**
     * @param ArrayCollection $courses
     */
    public function setCourses($courses)
    {
        $this->courses = $courses;
    }

}

namespace AppBundle\Entity;

use Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

/**
 * Course
 *
 * @ORM\Table(name="ab_course")
 * @ORM\Entity(repositoryClass="AppBundle\Repository\CourseRepository")
 */
class Course
{
    /**
     * @var int
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="id", type="integer")
     * @ORM\Id
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue(strategy="AUTO")
     */
    private $id;

    /**
     * @var string
     *
     * @ORM\Column(name="name", type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $name;


    /**
     * @var ArrayCollection
     * @ORM\ManyToMany(targetEntity="AppBundle\Entity\Student", mappedBy="courses", cascade={"all"})
     */
    private $students;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->students = new ArrayCollection();
    }

    /**
     * Get id
     *
     * @return int
     */
    public function getId()
    {
        return $this->id;
    }

    /**
     * Set name
     *
     * @param string $name
     *
     * @return Course
     */
    public function setName($name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * Get name
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getName()
    {
        return $this->name;
    }

    /**
     * @return ArrayCollection
     */
    public function getStudents()
    {
        return $this->students;
    }

    /**
     * @param ArrayCollection $students
     */
    public function setStudents($students)
    {
        $this->students = $students;
    }

}

The above entities will create the following SQL and it will also create the cross-reference table.

CREATE TABLE ab_student 
  ( 
     id    INT auto_increment NOT NULL, 
     name  VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL, 
     email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL, 
     dob   DATETIME NOT NULL, 
     PRIMARY KEY(id) 
  ) 
DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 
COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci 
engine = innodb; 

CREATE TABLE ab_student_2_course 
  ( 
     course_id  INT NOT NULL, 
     student_id INT NOT NULL, 
     INDEX idx_87d76467591cc992 (course_id), 
     INDEX idx_87d76467cb944f1a (student_id), 
     PRIMARY KEY(course_id, student_id) 
  ) 
DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 
COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci 
engine = innodb; 

CREATE TABLE ab_course 
  ( 
     id   INT auto_increment NOT NULL, 
     name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL, 
     PRIMARY KEY(id) 
  ) 
DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 
COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci 
engine = innodb; 

ALTER TABLE ab_student_2_course 
  ADD CONSTRAINT fk_87d76467591cc992 FOREIGN KEY (course_id) REFERENCES 
  ab_student (id) ON DELETE CASCADE; 

ALTER TABLE ab_student_2_course 
  ADD CONSTRAINT fk_87d76467cb944f1a FOREIGN KEY (student_id) REFERENCES 
  ab_course (id) ON DELETE CASCADE; 

Hope this helps