Blog on Kevin Morris

Voice to Text - Notetaking in Obsidian

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 08:25:09 -0400

Voice-to-Obsidian Setup (Voice MD) Link to heading

One-tap voice capture from iPhone into Obsidian. Two flows: daily note and fleeting notes straight to inbox.

What it does Link to heading

Double-tap back of phone -> Fleeting Note -> records -> transcribes -> new timestamped file in 0-inbox
Triple-tap back of phone -> Daily Note -> records -> transcribes -> appends to today’s daily note under a time heading
Also available as Home Screen icons for both

Uses OpenAI’s transcription API (Whisper/gpt-4o-transcribe), $0.006/min. At ~5 min/day usage that’s about $0.90/month. New OpenAI accounts get $5 free credit, covering roughly 5+ months before any real spend.

CKAD - Replicaset

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:46:34 -0400

Topic 02: ReplicaSets Link to heading

A ReplicaSet ensures a specified number of pod replicas are running at all times. If a pod dies, the ReplicaSet creates a replacement. In practice you rarely create ReplicaSets directly — Deployments manage them for you. But you need to know the structure because Deployments use the same pattern.

YAML Link to heading

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: ReplicaSet
metadata:
 name: web-rs
spec:
 replicas: 3
 selector:
 matchLabels:
 app: web # which pods this RS manages
 template:
 metadata:
 labels:
 app: web # must match selector — RS stamps these on pods it creates
 spec:
 containers:
 - name: web
 image: nginx

The Three Label Locations Link to heading

ReplicaSets have labels in three distinct places:

CKA - Troubleshooting - Master Reference

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:17:53 -0400

CKA Troubleshooting Master Reference Link to heading

THE UNIVERSAL DECISION TREE Link to heading

kubectl works?
├── YES → use kubectl logs, describe, get events
└── NO → SSH to node → sudo crictl ps -a → sudo crictl logs <id>
 └── check /etc/kubernetes/manifests/ for static pod break

crictl ALWAYS needs sudo — no exceptions.

SCENARIO 1 — Application Failure Link to heading

Mental model: Start at the user-facing end, work inward. External request → Service → Pod → downstream Service → downstream Pod

CKA - Domain 5 - Cluster Architecture, Installation and Configuration

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:12:54 -0400

CKA Cluster Architecture Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 5 — Cluster Architecture, Installation and Configuration Link to heading

RBAC Link to heading

Four Built-in ClusterRoles (memorize) Link to heading

ClusterRole	Permissions
`view`	read-only
`edit`	read/write, no RBAC
`admin`	full namespace including RBAC
`cluster-admin`	god mode

When question says “view permissions” or “read-only” → bind existing view ClusterRole, don’t create a new Role.

CKA - Domain 4 - Cluster and Node Troubleshooting

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:12:50 -0400

CKA Troubleshooting Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 4 — Cluster and Node Troubleshooting Link to heading

Mental Model Link to heading

Troubleshooting flow: symptom → resource → logs → fix → verify

No pods at all → k describe rs -n <ns> — quota or SA errors surface here Pods pending → k describe pod -n <ns> -l <label> — scheduler/SA/node issues Pods running but broken → k logs + k describe pod events Control plane broken → journalctl -u kubelet or crictl logs

CKA - Domain 3 — Services and Networking

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:10:08 -0400

CKA Networking Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 3 — Services and Networking Link to heading

DNS Link to heading

# Short form works everywhere inside cluster
<service>.<namespace>

# Full FQDN — never needed on exam
<service>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local

# Examples
backend.data # service "backend" in namespace "data"
store.cache # service "store" in namespace "cache"
agent.receiver # service "agent" in namespace "receiver"

curl Testing Patterns Link to heading

# Basic connectivity test (-s silent, -m timeout)
k -n <ns> exec deploy/<name> -- curl -s -m 2 <service>.<namespace>

# Should timeout (blocked)
k -n app exec deploy/proxy -- curl -s -m 2 api.app

# HTTPS with self-signed cert
curl -k https://$IP # -k skips cert verification
curl -k -v https://$IP # -v shows TLS details (goes to stderr)
curl -k -v https://$IP 2>&1 # redirect stderr to stdout for piping

# Get ClusterIP
IP=$(k -n <ns> get svc <name> -o jsonpath='{.spec.clusterIP}')

# Get LoadBalancer external IP
IP=$(k -n <ns> get svc <name> -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')

# Test distribution (canary)
for i in $(seq 1 20); do curl -s http://imagine.app:30080/web; done

flags: -s = silent (no progress), -m 2 = 2 second timeout, -k = skip TLS verify

CKAD - Pods

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:27:26 -0400

Topic 01: Pods Link to heading

A Pod is the smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes. You don’t deploy containers directly — you deploy Pods that contain containers. Containers in the same Pod share a network namespace (same IP, same localhost) and can share volumes. Usually one container per Pod — multiple containers is the sidecar pattern.

Pods are ephemeral. If a Pod dies, a controller replaces it — it’s not restarted in place.

CKA - Grep Tips

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:52:14 -0400

grep context flags — the mental model Link to heading

So this little mental model helped me a lot in the beginning. If you are not already expert on the command line, then grep is your friend when extracting info on resources and other objects.

Works on other output when “-o yaml” or “helm show values [CHART]” also!

Need to know a chart value to set? Use helm show values

CKA - jsonpath

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:02:07 -0400

jsonpath — the mental model Link to heading

The dot notation is just the YAML structure of the resource, flattened.

Whatever you see in k get <resource> -o yaml — that’s the map. Every key is a dot. Every list item is [0] or [*].

The thinking method Link to heading

Step 1 — run this:

k get <resource> <name> -o yaml

Step 2 — read the YAML, trace the path to what you want

CKA - Imperative Commands

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:33:28 -0400

CKA Imperative Commands — Full Reference Link to heading

Pods Link to heading

# Basic pod
k run web --image nginx

# With labels
k run app --image node:18 --labels tier=frontend,env=dev

# With command
k run runner --image busybox --command -- sleep 7200

# With env vars
k run api --image python:3.11 --env DEBUG=true --env PORT=8080

# With port
k run backend --image redis:7 --port 6379

# With service account
k run web --image nginx --port 80 --env ENV=prod --labels app=foo --serviceaccount my-sa

# In namespace
k run api --image nginx -n production

# Generate YAML
k run web --image nginx $do

# Force delete
k delete pod web --now

# Exec into pod
k exec -it web -- sh
k exec -it web -c <container> -- sh

# Logs
k logs web
k logs web -c <container>
k logs web --previous
k logs web -f

# Top
k top pods
k top pods -n <namespace>
k top nodes

Temp Pods (Connectivity Testing) Link to heading

# Single command — use -i only (NOT -it)
k run tmp -i --rm --restart Never --image nginx:alpine -- curl http://<svc>:<port>

# wget (busybox)
k run tmp -i --rm --restart Never --image busybox -- wget -O- http://<svc>:<port>

# nc raw TCP test
k run tmp -i --rm --restart Never --image busybox -- nc -zv <svc> <port>

# Save output to file
k run tmp -i --rm --restart Never --image nginx:alpine -- curl http://<svc>:<port> > /path/to/file

# Source pod already exists
k exec <pod> -- curl http://<svc>:<port>
k exec <pod> -- nc -zv <svc> <port>

Deployments Link to heading

# Create
k create deploy nginx --image nginx

# With replicas
k create deploy nginx --image nginx --replicas 3

# With port
k create deploy nginx --image nginx --port 80

# Scale
k scale deploy nginx --replicas 5

# Set image
k set image deploy nginx nginx=nginx:1.21

# Rollout status
k rollout status deploy nginx

# Rollout history
k rollout history deploy nginx

# Rollback to previous
k rollout undo deploy nginx

# Rollback to specific revision
k rollout undo deploy nginx --to-revision 2

# Restart — forces pod recycle (required after ConfigMap/Secret env var changes)
k rollout restart deploy nginx
k rollout restart daemonset nginx
k rollout restart statefulset nginx

# Pause / resume (hold rollout mid-way)
k rollout pause deploy nginx
k rollout resume deploy nginx

# Generate YAML
k create deploy nginx --image nginx $do

Services Link to heading

# Expose
k expose <resource> <name> --name <svc-name> --type <type> --port <port> --target-port <target-port>

# Examples
k expose pod web --name web-svc --type ClusterIP --port 80 --target-port 8080
k expose deploy nginx --name nginx-svc --type NodePort --port 80 --target-port 80
k expose deploy app --name app-svc --type LoadBalancer --port 443 --target-port 8443

# Debug: check endpoints (none = selector mismatch)
k get endpoints <svc>
k get ep <svc>

# Blue/Green switch
k edit svc my-svc #change selector

ConfigMaps Link to heading

# From literal
k create cm app-config --from-literal key=value
k create cm app-config --from-literal DB_HOST=mysql --from-literal DB_PORT=3306

# From file
k create cm app-config --from-file config.properties

# From file with key
k create cm app-config --from-file=index.html=/usr/file/nginx/html

# Generate YAML
k create cm app-config --from-literal key=value $do

# Inspect
k get cm app-config -o yaml
k describe cm app-config

Secrets Link to heading

# Generic (opaque)
k create secret generic db-secret --from-literal password=mysecret
k create secret generic db-secret --from-literal user=admin --from-literal password=pass123

# From file
k create secret generic tls-secret --from-file cert.pem

# TLS secret
k create secret tls tls-secret --cert /path/to/tls.crt --key /path/to/tls.key

# Docker registry
k create secret docker-registry regcred \
 --docker-server <registry> \
 --docker-username <user> \
 --docker-password <pass>

# Inspect
k get secret db-secret -o yaml
k get secret db-secret -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d

# SA token extraction
k get secret <secret-name> -o jsonpath='{.data.token}' | base64 -d > /path/to/file

ServiceAccounts Link to heading

# Create
k create sa my-sa

# Describe
k describe sa my-sa

# Verify auth as SA
k auth can-i get pods --as=system:serviceaccount:<namespace>:<sa-name>

RBAC — Roles and RoleBindings Link to heading

# Create Role
k create role pod-reader --verb get,list,watch --resource pods
k create role dev-role --verb get,list,create --resource pods,deployments,services

# Create RoleBinding — user
k create rolebinding pod-reader-binding --role pod-reader --user jane

# Create RoleBinding — group
k create rolebinding dev-binding --role dev-role --group developers

# Create RoleBinding — ServiceAccount
k create rolebinding sa-binding --role pod-reader --serviceaccount default:my-sa

# Generate YAML
k create role pod-reader --verb get,list,watch --resource pods $do

# Verify
k auth can-i get pods --as=jane
k auth can-i list secrets --as=jane

RBAC — ClusterRoles and ClusterRoleBindings Link to heading

# Create ClusterRole
k create clusterrole node-reader --verb get,list,watch --resource nodes
k create clusterrole pv-reader --verb get,list,watch --resource persistentvolumes

# Create ClusterRoleBinding — user
k create clusterrolebinding node-reader-binding --clusterrole node-reader --user kevin

# Create ClusterRoleBinding — group
k create clusterrolebinding dev-binding --clusterrole deploy-viewer --group developers

# Create ClusterRoleBinding — ServiceAccount
k create clusterrolebinding sa-binding --clusterrole secret-admin --serviceaccount security:vault-sa

# Generate YAML
k create clusterrole node-reader --verb get,list,watch --resource nodes $do

# Verify
k auth can-i list nodes --as=kevin
k auth can-i get pods --as=system:serviceaccount:security:vault-sa

--role → RoleBinding only. --clusterrole → ClusterRoleBinding only. --serviceaccount=namespace:name — colon separator, no -n flag. No -n on ClusterRole/ClusterRoleBinding (cluster-scoped).

CKA Exam Checklist

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:21:41 -0400

CKA Exam Start Checklist

Beginning of Exam — Run Once Link to heading

Step 1 — check .vimrc Link to heading

vim ~/.vimrc

set expandtab
set tabstop=2
set shiftwidth=2
set number
set autoindent

Beginning of Every Question — Run These First Link to heading

export do="--dry-run=client -o yaml"
echo $do
k config set-context --current --namespace=<namespace>

Exam Strategy — First 2 Minutes Link to heading

Run the setup above
Read through ALL questions quickly
Flag hard ones, do easy ones first

Allowed Resources Link to heading

Kubernetes Documentation https://kubernetes.io/docs
Kubernetes Blog https://kubernetes.io/blog/
Helm Documentation https://helm.sh/docs
CKA only: Gateway API Documentation https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io

CKA Study Guide

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 14:57:30 -0400

Well, it’s a tall order but here we go!

In the series I will place my exam prep guides and study reference files. Not sure I want to throw all 150 notes here, so for now just the exam stuff. If there is interest and demand I’ll place the rest. ;)

I’ll likely start CKAD, KCNA, KCSA, and CKS series as well.

Remember, this is me sharing a ton of work to help you. Input is not only appreciated, please give feedback! Let me know any issues! I want it to be helpful and it is publicly visible so some feedback would be great.

NetworkPolicy From Memory. No Mistakes.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:08:02 -0400

Cert exam incoming. Been drilling hard — writing YAML from scratch, no peeking at docs.

Today I wrote all the NetworkPolicy patterns from memory. No mistakes. 🥹

NetworkPolicy is the one topic everyone says trips them up — the ingress/egress selector logic, podSelector scoping, default deny patterns. It clicked. Apparently all this hardcore study is sinking in way more than I thought.

That’s the difference between “I think I’m ready” and “I know I’m ready.” Sure, you can look things up on the exam — but why burn time when you already know exactly what resource you need and where every field goes?

Devops Journey

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:47:14 -0400

I spent 20 years in semiconductor engineering.

Good salary. Somewhat stable career, lol. Respected field. Learned a lot. For a long time, that was enough. At some point it stopped being enough — probably further back than I care to admit, but here I am.

It wasn’t a dramatic moment or a single bad day. Just a slow realization that I had spent a long time being good at something I really didn’t want to keep doing.

Replicasets

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:54:06 -0500

Replicaset Link to heading

Replicasets are a fun topic…this new object replaces the old “Replication Controller”. Replicaset (shortname “rs”) can control pods that are not created within the replicaset or other deployment by simply matching labels.

Details Link to heading

a single pod crashes then loses access to app - idea to have more than one instance of a pod
another reason - to create multiple pods to share the load and balance
spans across multiple nodes
scales when demand increases

Setup Link to heading

create YAML
use 4 top level objects - api/kind/metadata/spec
create POD template section under SPEC
to create POD template MOVE the normal fields: metadata, name, labels and spec…usually defined in POD
move thos fields under spec.template

ReplicaSet Link to heading

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: ReplicaSet
metadata:
 name: my-replicaset
 labels:
 app: myapp
 type: frontend
spec:
 template:
 metadata:
 name: myapp-pod
 labels:
 app: myapp
 type: frontend
 spec:
 containers:
 -  name: nginx-container
 image: nginx
 replicas: 3
 selector:
 matchLabels:
 type: frontend

ReplicaSet can handle other pods that haven’t been created under the yaml file
SELECTOR is the difference for the ReplicaSet
MUST use selector.matchLabels

Labels and Selectors Link to heading

use to monitor existing pods is one use case
role of replicaSet is to monitor and deploy if any fail
use same label set in “MatchLabels” and it knows which pods
spec.replicas
spec.selector.matchLabels.type

Scale Link to heading

increase REPLICAS

1st method update number of replica field in definition file then use REPLACE cmd kubectl replace -f replica-set.yaml

Cluster Upgrade

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:36:05 -0500

Cluster Upgrade Link to heading

Well, that was interesting! Had a few tab completions fail and made me inquisitive. Turns out - mismatch between control plane and worker nodes AND kubectl client!

Gave the cluster the once over and found BREW overriding kubectl. What the heck is brew doing on the control plane? Must have been ssh into the node when I was working on devpod as I found mise had installed all my packages from config.toml there. The brew is on me though! 🤯 Smh…

kubectl

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 09:18:32 -0500

Kubectl Link to heading

Kubernetes Command Line interface Link to heading

kubectl is essentially the command you will use most often to interface with Kubernetes. It is used to deploy and manage applications on k8s cluster. It is pronounced “cube-see-tee-ELL” and don’t let anyone tell you different! 😄

“k8s” is short for Kubernetes, where the number eight means the letters between ‘K’ and “s” in Kubernetes.

YAML in Kubernetes

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 19:58:21 -0500

A pod definition file always contains the 4 top-level fields

apiVersion
kind
metadata
spec

These are top-level or root-level fields. REQUIRED fields.

pod-definition.yml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
 name: myapp-pod
 labels:
 app: myapp
 type: front-end 
spec:
 containers:
 -  name: nginx-container
 image: nginx

apiVersion Link to heading

version of K8S api to create object
must use correct version depending on what create

Kind	Version
POD	v1
Service	v1
ReplicaSet	apps/v1
Deployment	apps/v1

Kind Link to heading

see in kind field in table above

Metadata Link to heading

name, labels, app

Spec Link to heading

containers
name
image

kubectl create Link to heading

kubectl create -f pod-definition.yaml

Above will deploy pod based on YAML file

Pods in Kubernetes

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 23:21:32 -0400

Pod Link to heading

Kubernetes ultimate aim is to deploy apps in CONTAINERS on a set of machines configured as WORKER NODES in a CLUSTER
Kubernetes aka “k8s” does not deploy containers DIRECTLY on worker nodes
Containers are encapsulated into a Kubernetes object known as POD
A pod is a single instance of an application
A pod is the SMALLEST object you can create in Kubernetes

Pod Example Link to heading

Below is a very simple example of a YAML file. The file deploys a pod named “my-pod” with the image “nginx”.

Deployments

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 22:08:02 -0400

Deployment Link to heading

higher level OBJECT encapsulate pods/containers make changes rolling updates some pods, not all, etc

CONTAINER inside POD PODS inside REPLICASET all of that contained in DEPLOYMENT

myapp-deployment.yaml Link to heading

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
 name: myapp-deployment
 labels:
 app: myapp
 type: front-end
spec:
 replicas: 3
 selector:
 matchLabels:
 type: front-end
 template:
 metadata:
 name: myapp-pod
 labels:
 app: myapp
 type: front-end
 spec:
 containers:
 - name: nginx-container
 image: nginx

Commands Link to heading

`kubectl create -f deployment.yaml

Homelab

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 09:24:54 -0400

Careus Link to heading

Careus is born! 😀

Caerus, was the Greek god of opportunity, luck, and favorable moments. He was depicted as a young, winged, and fleeting youth, with a lock of hair on his forehead that could be seized, but a bald head in the back, symbolizing that once an opportunity passes, it cannot be regained.

That’s the reason I named my homelab “Careus”. ☸️

Devpod - Chezmoi - Mise Reference

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:35:58 -0900

Chezmoi + Mise + DevPod Reference Link to heading

The Three Approaches (and Why We Use #3) Link to heading

→ course: s1-mise-postCreate

Approach	How	Problem
Dockerfile	Bake mise into container image	Tied to DevPod, doesn’t work on bare metal
postCreate	`devcontainer.json` runs setup script	Still container-only, no dotfiles
Dotfiles repo	DevPod clones dotfiles, runs `setup`	✅ Works everywhere: containers, bare metal, new Linux box

What the Two Tools Do Link to heading

→ course: 2-mise-global

Blog on Kevin Morris

Voice to Text - Notetaking in Obsidian

Voice-to-Obsidian Setup (Voice MD) Link to heading

What it does Link to heading

Cost Link to heading

CKAD - Replicaset

Topic 02: ReplicaSets Link to heading

YAML Link to heading

The Three Label Locations Link to heading

CKA - Troubleshooting - Master Reference

CKA Troubleshooting Master Reference Link to heading

THE UNIVERSAL DECISION TREE Link to heading

SCENARIO 1 — Application Failure Link to heading

CKA - Domain 5 - Cluster Architecture, Installation and Configuration

CKA Cluster Architecture Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 5 — Cluster Architecture, Installation and Configuration Link to heading

RBAC Link to heading

Four Built-in ClusterRoles (memorize) Link to heading

CKA - Domain 4 - Cluster and Node Troubleshooting

CKA Troubleshooting Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 4 — Cluster and Node Troubleshooting Link to heading

Mental Model Link to heading

CKA - Domain 3 — Services and Networking

CKA Networking Master Reference Link to heading

Domain 3 — Services and Networking Link to heading

DNS Link to heading

curl Testing Patterns Link to heading

CKAD - Pods

Topic 01: Pods Link to heading

CKA - Grep Tips

grep context flags — the mental model Link to heading

CKA - jsonpath

jsonpath — the mental model Link to heading

The thinking method Link to heading

CKA - Imperative Commands

CKA Imperative Commands — Full Reference Link to heading

Pods Link to heading

Temp Pods (Connectivity Testing) Link to heading

Deployments Link to heading

Services Link to heading

ConfigMaps Link to heading

Secrets Link to heading

ServiceAccounts Link to heading

RBAC — Roles and RoleBindings Link to heading

RBAC — ClusterRoles and ClusterRoleBindings Link to heading

CKA Exam Checklist

Beginning of Exam — Run Once Link to heading

Step 1 — check .vimrc Link to heading

Beginning of Every Question — Run These First Link to heading

Exam Strategy — First 2 Minutes Link to heading

Allowed Resources Link to heading

CKA Study Guide

NetworkPolicy From Memory. No Mistakes.

Devops Journey

Replicasets

Replicaset Link to heading

Details Link to heading

Setup Link to heading

ReplicaSet Link to heading

Labels and Selectors Link to heading

Scale Link to heading

Cluster Upgrade

Cluster Upgrade Link to heading

kubectl

Kubectl Link to heading

Kubernetes Command Line interface Link to heading

YAML in Kubernetes

apiVersion Link to heading

Kind Link to heading

Metadata Link to heading

Spec Link to heading

kubectl create Link to heading

Pods in Kubernetes

Pod Link to heading

Pod Example Link to heading

Deployments

Deployment Link to heading

myapp-deployment.yaml Link to heading

Commands Link to heading

Homelab