The issue turns out to be that I have too much of a back catalogue of articles, plus traffic. The solution, alas, is a better server (the next step up is expensive.) I’ve arranged for it, and the site should be transferred over sometime in the next week. Could be anywhere from tomorrow to next Thursday. In the meantime, load times will continue to be unpredictable and in some cases awful. On occasion the site may be effectively unavailable.
This site is about fifteen years old now. Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with me or found their way here. These problems will be over soon.
(No new posts this week, except the Open Thread and Weekend Wrapup, unless the migration happens sooner than I expect. Next week, fingers crossed, will be normal posting.)