There are certain milestones every witness will cross on a long enough timeline; crossing the 100th rank barrier, replaying for a hard fork, and missing blocks.
Today marks the day of my first missed block. It's even more painful because I had noticed the server was unresponsive and was in the process of figuring out the problem when the message came through:
I'm not distraught, as I knew this day would come and it happens to even the best of witnesses, but I really had high hopes to prolong it well into the future. But there's only so much one can do, and even though my main witness server is down, I'll still be signing blocks.
Oh, have I not told you? I'm one of the only backup witnesses on HIVE with a backup witness server. She takes forever to replay the chain, but she's reliable and willing to keep producing blocks in times like these. That's the dedication I have for this chain, and for those who vote for my witness. You guys out there know who you are, and to thank you for your support I will continue to show my gratitude by doing the best job I can being a witness on this wonderful blockchain.