Category: Services

Borderlist – I made a thing

So listen, I made a thing. Yes, it is another to do app thingie but this one is built a bit differently. I work from so many lists on any given day that it is difficult to see everything at a glance.

I want to

  • See multiple lists at a time around the same topic.
  • Make a list, add some items, get stuff done, tick’em off.
  • Delete lists and clear my boards.
  • See it all on my phone without having to download yet another app.

No bells and whistles. No fluff.
I want a disposable Post-It Note system without all the sticky pads.

With these goals in mind I built Borderlist. It’s free, simple, and I use it every day.

Visit Borderlist

Because this is a tech blog, here are some nerdy details. The front end is built with Bulma (CSS) and, once in an account, it is all Vue using a Laravel based API to handle the data.

If you decide to give it a try, let me know what you think.

Configuring MailGun with DigitalOcean’s DNS

So, this had me cussing the heavens for about 3 days. If you’ve found this post, you’ll know exactly what I mean. When setting up a MailGun domain, DNS entries are required to verify your domain with the service. The default entries, as provided by MailGun, may work great for other DNS providers however they do not work out-of-the-box with DigitalOcean‘s DNS management. This is how you’ll need to tweak them to get your domain verified.

Note: If you’re going with the subdomain route as advised by MailGun, you do not need to setup a new domain in DigitalOcean (Networking > Domains). You can use your domain name’s DNS records.

mailgun-domain_records

TXT Records

The provided TXT records are required to send mail through MailGun. Each record has a name and a text value. For the rest of this article, “domain.com” is just a placeholder for your domain name and I’ll show both top level (“domain.com”) and subdomain (“mg.domain.com”) implementations.

Record 1
dns-do-txt-rec1

The first record’s name will be something like:

// top level
domain.com
// subdomain
mg.domain.com
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

Instead, remove the domain name like so:

// top level becomes
@
// subdomain becomes
mg
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

Add double quotes to the text value:

// mailgun
v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all
// you'll use
"v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

Save the record.

Record 2
dns-do-txt-rec2

Follow the same pattern for the next record:

// top level
// - mailgun
mx._domainkey.domain.com
// - you'll enter
mx._domainkey
// subdomain
// - mailgun
mx._domainkey.mg.domain.com
// - you'll enter
mx._domainkey.mg
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

Note: Your string may not include “_domainkey.” Don’t worry, just use whatever MailGun gives you in its place and remove “domain.com”.

Modify the text value by wrapping it in double quotes:

// MailGun
k=rsa; p=REALLYLONGSTRINGHERE
// You'll Enter
"k=rsa; p=REALLYLONGSTRINGHERE"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

Text records are done. Almost home.

DNS Tracking Record

On to the tracking cname

dns-do-cname-rec1

// top level
// - MailGun
email.domain.com
// - You'll Enter
email
// subdomain
// - MailGun
email.mg.domain.com
// - You'll Enter
email.mg
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

The only change you’ll make to this cname’s hostname will be to add a period at the end:

// MailGun
mailgun.org
// You'll Enter
mailgun.org.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
view raw

That’s it. Just wait for propagation and you’re done. I can confirm that both of these methods (domain and subdomain) work as outlined above.

mailgun-do_record_setup

Let me know if you have any questions. Happy MailGunning!