diff --git a/app/config/config.go b/app/config/config.go
index 7d4c3b6..6ef9332 100644
--- a/app/config/config.go
+++ b/app/config/config.go
@@ -31,12 +31,15 @@ type C struct {
 	EnableShutdown      bool          `env:"ORLY_ENABLE_SHUTDOWN" default:"false" usage:"if true, expose /shutdown on the health port to gracefully stop the process (for profiling)"`
 	LogLevel            string        `env:"ORLY_LOG_LEVEL" default:"info" usage:"relay log level: fatal error warn info debug trace"`
 	DBLogLevel          string        `env:"ORLY_DB_LOG_LEVEL" default:"info" usage:"database log level: fatal error warn info debug trace"`
+	DBBlockCacheMB      int           `env:"ORLY_DB_BLOCK_CACHE_MB" default:"512" usage:"Badger block cache size in MB (higher improves read hit ratio)"`
+	DBIndexCacheMB      int           `env:"ORLY_DB_INDEX_CACHE_MB" default:"256" usage:"Badger index cache size in MB (improves index lookup performance)"`
 	LogToStdout         bool          `env:"ORLY_LOG_TO_STDOUT" default:"false" usage:"log to stdout instead of stderr"`
 	Pprof               string        `env:"ORLY_PPROF" usage:"enable pprof in modes: cpu,memory,allocation,heap,block,goroutine,threadcreate,mutex"`
 	PprofPath           string        `env:"ORLY_PPROF_PATH" usage:"optional directory to write pprof profiles into (inside container); default is temporary dir"`
 	PprofHTTP           bool          `env:"ORLY_PPROF_HTTP" default:"false" usage:"if true, expose net/http/pprof on port 6060"`
 	OpenPprofWeb        bool          `env:"ORLY_OPEN_PPROF_WEB" default:"false" usage:"if true, automatically open the pprof web viewer when profiling is enabled"`
 	IPWhitelist         []string      `env:"ORLY_IP_WHITELIST" usage:"comma-separated list of IP addresses to allow access from, matches on prefixes to allow private subnets, eg 10.0.0 = 10.0.0.0/8"`
+	IPBlacklist         []string      `env:"ORLY_IP_BLACKLIST" usage:"comma-separated list of IP addresses to block; matches on prefixes to allow subnets, e.g. 192.168 = 192.168.0.0/16"`
 	Admins              []string      `env:"ORLY_ADMINS" usage:"comma-separated list of admin npubs"`
 	Owners              []string      `env:"ORLY_OWNERS" usage:"comma-separated list of owner npubs, who have full control of the relay for wipe and restart and other functions"`
 	ACLMode             string        `env:"ORLY_ACL_MODE" usage:"ACL mode: follows, managed (nip-86), none" default:"none"`
diff --git a/app/main.go b/app/main.go
index 5e6f5f3..56eb661 100644
--- a/app/main.go
+++ b/app/main.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"lol.mleku.dev/chk"
 	"lol.mleku.dev/log"
@@ -18,11 +20,14 @@ import (
 func Run(
 	ctx context.Context, cfg *config.C, db *database.D,
 ) (quit chan struct{}) {
+	quit = make(chan struct{})
+	var once sync.Once
+
 	// shutdown handler
 	go func() {
 		<-ctx.Done()
 		log.I.F("shutting down")
-		close(quit)
+		once.Do(func() { close(quit) })
 	}()
 	// get the admins
 	var err error
@@ -112,9 +117,37 @@ func Run(
 	}
 	addr := fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", cfg.Listen, cfg.Port)
 	log.I.F("starting listener on http://%s", addr)
+
+	// Create HTTP server for graceful shutdown
+	srv := &http.Server{
+		Addr:    addr,
+		Handler: l,
+	}
+
 	go func() {
-		chk.E(http.ListenAndServe(addr, l))
+		if err := srv.ListenAndServe(); err != nil && err != http.ErrServerClosed {
+			log.E.F("HTTP server error: %v", err)
+		}
 	}()
-	quit = make(chan struct{})
+
+	// Graceful shutdown handler
+	go func() {
+		<-ctx.Done()
+		log.I.F("shutting down HTTP server gracefully")
+
+		// Create shutdown context with timeout
+		shutdownCtx, cancelShutdown := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+		defer cancelShutdown()
+
+		// Shutdown the server gracefully
+		if err := srv.Shutdown(shutdownCtx); err != nil {
+			log.E.F("HTTP server shutdown error: %v", err)
+		} else {
+			log.I.F("HTTP server shutdown completed")
+		}
+
+		once.Do(func() { close(quit) })
+	}()
+
 	return
 }
diff --git a/app/server.go b/app/server.go
index 2f23ede..878714a 100644
--- a/app/server.go
+++ b/app/server.go
@@ -54,6 +54,16 @@ func (s *Server) isIPBlacklisted(remote string) bool {
 	// Extract IP from remote address (e.g., "192.168.1.1:12345" -> "192.168.1.1")
 	remoteIP := strings.Split(remote, ":")[0]
 
+	// Check static IP blacklist from config first
+	if len(s.Config.IPBlacklist) > 0 {
+		for _, blocked := range s.Config.IPBlacklist {
+			// Allow simple prefix matching for subnets (e.g., "192.168" matches 192.168.0.0/16)
+			if blocked != "" && strings.HasPrefix(remoteIP, blocked) {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Check if managed ACL is available and active
 	if s.Config.ACLMode == "managed" {
 		for _, aclInstance := range acl.Registry.ACL {
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 9f7c65e..e422295 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -282,11 +282,14 @@ func main() {
 		select {
 		case <-sigs:
 			fmt.Printf("\r")
-			cancel()
+			log.I.F("received shutdown signal, starting graceful shutdown")
+			cancel() // This will trigger HTTP server shutdown
+			<-quit   // Wait for HTTP server to shut down
 			chk.E(db.Close())
 			log.I.F("exiting")
 			return
 		case <-quit:
+			log.I.F("application quit signal received")
 			cancel()
 			chk.E(db.Close())
 			log.I.F("exiting")
diff --git a/pkg/acl/follows.go b/pkg/acl/follows.go
index 3bab5f1..cb7b762 100644
--- a/pkg/acl/follows.go
+++ b/pkg/acl/follows.go
@@ -178,6 +178,33 @@ func (f *Follows) adminRelays() (urls []string) {
 	copy(admins, f.admins)
 	f.followsMx.RUnlock()
 	seen := make(map[string]struct{})
+	// Build a set of normalized self relay addresses to avoid self-connections
+	selfSet := make(map[string]struct{})
+	selfHosts := make(map[string]struct{})
+	if f.cfg != nil && len(f.cfg.RelayAddresses) > 0 {
+		for _, a := range f.cfg.RelayAddresses {
+			n := string(normalize.URL(a))
+			if n == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			selfSet[n] = struct{}{}
+			// Also record hostname (without port) for robust matching
+			// Accept simple splitting; normalize.URL ensures scheme://host[:port]
+			host := n
+			if i := strings.Index(host, "://"); i >= 0 {
+				host = host[i+3:]
+			}
+			if j := strings.Index(host, "/"); j >= 0 {
+				host = host[:j]
+			}
+			if k := strings.Index(host, ":"); k >= 0 {
+				host = host[:k]
+			}
+			if host != "" {
+				selfHosts[host] = struct{}{}
+			}
+		}
+	}
 
 	// First, try to get relay URLs from admin kind 10002 events
 	for _, adm := range admins {
@@ -208,6 +235,26 @@ func (f *Follows) adminRelays() (urls []string) {
 				if n == "" {
 					continue
 				}
+				// Skip if this URL is one of our configured self relay addresses or hosts
+				if _, isSelf := selfSet[n]; isSelf {
+					log.D.F("follows syncer: skipping configured self relay address: %s", n)
+					continue
+				}
+				// Host match
+				host := n
+				if i := strings.Index(host, "://"); i >= 0 {
+					host = host[i+3:]
+				}
+				if j := strings.Index(host, "/"); j >= 0 {
+					host = host[:j]
+				}
+				if k := strings.Index(host, ":"); k >= 0 {
+					host = host[:k]
+				}
+				if _, isSelfHost := selfHosts[host]; isSelfHost {
+					log.D.F("follows syncer: skipping configured self relay address: %s", n)
+					continue
+				}
 				if _, ok := seen[n]; ok {
 					continue
 				}
@@ -228,6 +275,26 @@ func (f *Follows) adminRelays() (urls []string) {
 					log.W.F("invalid bootstrap relay URL: %s", relay)
 					continue
 				}
+				// Skip if this URL is one of our configured self relay addresses or hosts
+				if _, isSelf := selfSet[n]; isSelf {
+					log.D.F("follows syncer: skipping configured self relay address: %s", n)
+					continue
+				}
+				// Host match
+				host := n
+				if i := strings.Index(host, "://"); i >= 0 {
+					host = host[i+3:]
+				}
+				if j := strings.Index(host, "/"); j >= 0 {
+					host = host[:j]
+				}
+				if k := strings.Index(host, ":"); k >= 0 {
+					host = host[:k]
+				}
+				if _, isSelfHost := selfHosts[host]; isSelfHost {
+					log.D.F("follows syncer: skipping configured self relay address: %s", n)
+					continue
+				}
 				if _, ok := seen[n]; ok {
 					continue
 				}
@@ -359,14 +426,16 @@ func (f *Follows) startEventSubscriptions(ctx context.Context) {
 				f3 := &filter.F{
 					Authors: tag.NewFromBytesSlice(authors...),
 					Since:   oneMonthAgo,
-					Limit:   values.ToUintPointer(1000),
+					Limit:   values.ToUintPointer(500),
 				}
 				*ff = append(*ff, f1, f2, f3)
 				// Use a subscription ID for event sync (no follow lists)
 				subID := "event-sync"
 				req := reqenvelope.NewFrom([]byte(subID), ff)
+				reqBytes := req.Marshal(nil)
+				log.T.F("follows syncer: outbound REQ to %s: %s", u, string(reqBytes))
 				if err = c.Write(
-					ctx, websocket.MessageText, req.Marshal(nil),
+					ctx, websocket.MessageText, reqBytes,
 				); chk.E(err) {
 					log.W.F(
 						"follows syncer: failed to send event REQ to %s: %v", u, err,
@@ -623,7 +692,9 @@ func (f *Follows) fetchFollowListsFromRelay(relayURL string, authors [][]byte) {
 	// Use a specific subscription ID for follow list fetching
 	subID := "follow-lists-fetch"
 	req := reqenvelope.NewFrom([]byte(subID), ff)
-	if err = c.Write(ctx, websocket.MessageText, req.Marshal(nil)); chk.E(err) {
+	reqBytes := req.Marshal(nil)
+	log.T.F("follows syncer: outbound REQ to %s: %s", relayURL, string(reqBytes))
+	if err = c.Write(ctx, websocket.MessageText, reqBytes); chk.E(err) {
 		log.W.F("follows syncer: failed to send follow list REQ to %s: %v", relayURL, err)
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/database/database.go b/pkg/database/database.go
index 5ff2bb6..f99d550 100644
--- a/pkg/database/database.go
+++ b/pkg/database/database.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/dgraph-io/badger/v4"
@@ -52,18 +53,29 @@ func New(
 	}
 
 	opts := badger.DefaultOptions(d.dataDir)
-	// Use sane defaults to avoid excessive memory usage during startup.
-	// Badger's default BlockSize is small (e.g., 4KB). Overriding it to very large values
-	// can cause massive allocations and OOM panics during deployments.
-	// Set BlockCacheSize to a moderate value and keep BlockSize small.
-	opts.BlockCacheSize = int64(256 * units.Mb) // 256 MB cache
-	opts.BlockSize = 4 * units.Kb               // 4 KB block size
+	// Configure caches based on environment to better match workload.
+	// Defaults aim for higher hit ratios under read-heavy workloads while remaining safe.
+	var blockCacheMB = 512 // default 512 MB
+	var indexCacheMB = 256 // default 256 MB
+	if v := os.Getenv("ORLY_DB_BLOCK_CACHE_MB"); v != "" {
+		if n, perr := strconv.Atoi(v); perr == nil && n > 0 {
+			blockCacheMB = n
+		}
+	}
+	if v := os.Getenv("ORLY_DB_INDEX_CACHE_MB"); v != "" {
+		if n, perr := strconv.Atoi(v); perr == nil && n > 0 {
+			indexCacheMB = n
+		}
+	}
+	opts.BlockCacheSize = int64(blockCacheMB * units.Mb)
+	opts.IndexCacheSize = int64(indexCacheMB * units.Mb)
+	opts.BlockSize = 4 * units.Kb // 4 KB block size
 	// Prevent huge allocations during table building and memtable flush.
 	// Badger's TableBuilder buffer is sized by BaseTableSize; ensure it's small.
-	opts.BaseTableSize = 64 * units.Mb           // 64 MB per table (default ~2MB, increased for fewer files but safe)
-	opts.MemTableSize = 64 * units.Mb            // 64 MB memtable to match table size
+	opts.BaseTableSize = 64 * units.Mb // 64 MB per table (default ~2MB, increased for fewer files but safe)
+	opts.MemTableSize = 64 * units.Mb  // 64 MB memtable to match table size
 	// Keep value log files to a moderate size as well
-	opts.ValueLogFileSize = 256 * units.Mb       // 256 MB value log files
+	opts.ValueLogFileSize = 256 * units.Mb // 256 MB value log files
 	opts.CompactL0OnClose = true
 	opts.LmaxCompaction = true
 	opts.Compression = options.None
diff --git a/pkg/protocol/ws/client.go b/pkg/protocol/ws/client.go
index 38da1d5..5fd9706 100644
--- a/pkg/protocol/ws/client.go
+++ b/pkg/protocol/ws/client.go
@@ -263,6 +263,7 @@ func (r *Client) ConnectWithTLS(
 			case wr := <-r.writeQueue:
 				// all write requests will go through this to prevent races
 				// log.D.F("{%s} sending %v\n", r.URL, string(wr.msg))
+				log.T.F("WS.Client: outbound message to %s: %s", r.URL, string(wr.msg))
 				if err = r.Connection.WriteMessage(
 					r.connectionContext, wr.msg,
 				); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/protocol/ws/subscription.go b/pkg/protocol/ws/subscription.go
index 3527934..4ac1912 100644
--- a/pkg/protocol/ws/subscription.go
+++ b/pkg/protocol/ws/subscription.go
@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ func (sub *Subscription) Close() {
 	if sub.Client.IsConnected() {
 		closeMsg := closeenvelope.NewFrom(sub.id)
 		closeb := closeMsg.Marshal(nil)
+		log.T.F("WS.Subscription.Close: outbound CLOSE to %s: %s", sub.Client.URL, string(closeb))
 		<-sub.Client.Write(closeb)
 	}
 }
@@ -191,6 +192,7 @@ func (sub *Subscription) Fire() (err error) {
 		"WS.Subscription.Fire: sending REQ id=%s filters=%d bytes=%d",
 		sub.GetID(), len(*sub.Filters), len(reqb),
 	)
+	log.T.F("WS.Subscription.Fire: outbound REQ to %s: %s", sub.Client.URL, string(reqb))
 	if err = <-sub.Client.Write(reqb); err != nil {
 		err = fmt.Errorf("failed to write: %w", err)
 		log.T.F(
diff --git a/pkg/spider/spider.go b/pkg/spider/spider.go
index e700a38..8f3eacb 100644
--- a/pkg/spider/spider.go
+++ b/pkg/spider/spider.go
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ func (s *Spider) queryRelayForEvents(
 			Authors: tag.NewFromBytesSlice(chunk...),
 			Since:   timestamp.FromUnix(startTime.Unix()),
 			Until:   timestamp.FromUnix(endTime.Unix()),
-			Limit:   func() *uint { l := uint(1000); return &l }(), // Limit to avoid overwhelming
+			Limit:   func() *uint { l := uint(500); return &l }(), // Limit to avoid overwhelming
 		}
 
 		// Subscribe to get events for this chunk