Year: 2006

Site Problems

Sorry for the lack of posts lately as well as the state the site is in currently.

My hosting provider, POWWEB, has been migrating everybody to new servers. Of course, my site has to be a problem child. I worked with them for a while to try to resolve the problems but, as often happens, nobody could make heads or tails of them so I’m on my own.

Fed up with not being able to post for nearly the past two weeks (my posts ran the risk of being lost if they were not migrated to the new server), I finally called them yesterday and told them to flip the DNS and I’d just have to take whatever happens and deal with it.

I’ll probably have to upgrade all 3 major components of my web site – my WordPress (this blogging software), Gallery2 (the stuff that hosts and displays my pictures) and the plug-in module that allows me to combine the two. It appears that it’s really the plug-in software that is at issue. For some reason it simply refuses to save any settings and then cannot validate itself.

I have to do some work today (yeah, I know, life of an infrastructure person) and I’ve booked a night flight to retain my currency, so I may not be able to resolve these issues until tomorrow or perhaps even into next week as there is always a LOT of reading and prep that needs to be done to upgrade this kind of software.

Comcast modem zapped again

I’m currently on the phone with a Comcast rep as I type this post using my Blackberry. We had some spectacular thunderstorms move through here today. When all was said and done, my little Comcast-supplied Motorola SURFboard modem was no longer showing indications of activity on its “PC/Activity” indicator.

Resetting the modem didn’t help at all so I’m trying to arrange for a replacement unit. I can’t say what’s going on at the other end of the line, but it’s taking the Comcast rep *forever* to do anything.

The problem I faced the last time this happened was that I can’t just go into a Comcast outlet and swap the box. I’m going to have to wait at home for some vague 4-hour period until a Comcast tech can swing by and exchange the modem for me. Normally not a problem (waiting for service folks) as I can often just work from home. Of course *that’s* only possible when I have a broadband connection…

I’m not sure why these companies still think that the “Ozzie and Harriet” family still exists where the stay-at-home mom is going to be available to wait all day (9-5) for a service call while not offering *any* evening and very limited weekend service.

I’ll post an update if anything changes but I fully expect to be without my internet service until next Thursday when I *may* be able to get the replacement unit.

The rep is telling me that I can just take my old unit in for a replacement. I just finished telling him that, when I did that last time I was told the proper way to do this was to wait for the tech at home as they don’t stock these modems in the store, but that time they happened to have a service van outside so they got me a replacement anyway.

I think I’ll hedge my bets and make this guy set up the appointment for Thursday anyway and I’ll try to do the replacement at the store directly.

BTW I’ve been able to type this entire missive on my tiny Blackberry keyboard during the gaps while waiting for the rep to do whatever it is he’s doing at his end. And the call *still* isn’t finished!

Recent interruption in posts

Sorry for the delay in posts, my web host, Powweb, is working on a problem with migrating my website to a new server.

You may have noticed my site was hopelessly bollucksed up a couple of weeks ago when they went ahead and pointed the new server prematurely.

Anyway, I’ve been waiting for some resolution to a problem I’m having with the Gallery2 WordPress plugin (the one responsible for displaying my pictures in the sidebar and within my posts). I simply cannot save any of my plugin settings in the new environment.

I stopped posting to avoid interfering with any progress that the Powweb folks may be making but I’m not feeling overly confident that this issue is going to be addressed before the August 31 deadline. At which point my old server simply will go away.

So I’ll be posting again and just kicking off the “migrate” files option nightly to ensure that my site is as synched as possible across the old and new servers.

Simulation of 100 mile diameter Asteroid hitting the earth

Ever wonder what it would look like if a “planet killer” sized asteroid impacted the Earth?

Well, wonder no more (be prepared, it is about 7 minutes long). It may seem a little depressing, and definitely scary. But it should serve as a reminder about exactly why we might want to continue to expand out into the solar system and, ultimately, the rest of the galaxy.

Dark Chocolate lovers, are they Masochists?

I’ll say it here and now, I love chocolate. Not just some casual affair or a one night stand, my love of chocolate is the stuff of legend.

Now, when I say chocolate, I am thinking of what is more commonly known as milk chocolate. I have sampled many different varieties of dark chocolate. And I’ve even sampled a number of “white chocolate” offerings.

Right now, and without any further debate, I am discarding white chocolate from consideration. It’s just a phantom of the chocolate experience. It is made without the essence of chocolate (i.e. the cocoa beans) and is more just sweet than chocolate.

Dark chocolate (also called semi-sweet) is everthing about the chocolate experience except for the enjoyment. The only way to appreciate dark chocolate is to pair it with something that it can reflect off of such as almonds. I believe dark chocolate is enjoyed, on its own, by people too uptight to enjoy the true hedonistic experience that is milk chocolate and they feel they must dull down the experience or at least make sure they cannot enjoy it fully by stimulating the bitter part of the palate while leaving the sweet portion thereof wonting.
I imagine, in the minds of alleged dark chocolate afficionados, the same process is going on as in the minds of cloistered monks who, in trying to atone for their sins (aka existing) self-flagellate so they can go on living, but since they are not really enjoying it, they are somehow exhibiting the righteousness necessary to eventually pass into their heaven.

There is almost no purer pleasure on this green earth than that of the taste of a wonderful milk chocolate morsel when it first makes its presence known to your taste buds. It is a rapturous experience to be enjoyed without moderation or guilt. It is the greatest favor that you can do for yourself.

webtender.com

Webtender.com is a great website for finding new recipies. My favorite feature is “In My Bar” wherein you list the contents of your bar and it lists the kinds of mixed drinks you can make with those ingredients.

The interface is a little crude, but the information is great. You want to know what certain measurements mean (what *is* a “splash” anyway?), it’s all right there.