welcome to the new site!

I finally got around to doing a couple of things to my blog. Firstly, I wanted it to reside on it’s own independant domain name. My blog has little or nothing to do with PeteWeb, which is a page I created in like 1996 for tracking down info on obsolete hardware. Secondly, I needed to upgrade the blog software and abandon the now dead ‘b2 project.’ The key purpose in upgrading was to FINALLY do something about all these racket-fracket spam comments! At least with WordPress, I’ll be able to do that and still keep all my old posts.

As you can see, I’m still putting things in place. If you come across anything that’s not working, let me know and I’ll try to get it fixed up. God bless!

www.gerrymatatics.org

It seems Gerry Matatics web site (http://www.gerrymatatics.org) has vanished. While his whois information is still there, and the domain doesn’t expire until next year, his host’s nameservers are completely ignorant of the domain. If anyone knows any further info, leave a comment. Maybe Karl Keating’s advice that Gerry “would do the Church a favor by finding another line of work” flicked a switch?

Speaking of web sites… are you Nigerian? Are you profanely wealthy? Feel the urge to send email announcing it to complete strangers? Here’s a website for you!

crunch time

One of the really cool things about my profession is that my physical location is secondary to my mental/psychological location. A mechanic needs to physically occupy the space under your car in order to effectively repair it. In my line of work, however, that’s not nearly as important.

So, I’m working from home this week on an extremely urgent development project. I work for a small division of Henry Schein, and we’re getting into some pretty cool Internet application development. This is crunch-week, and I have some serious work to do. Rest assured, working from home is no walk in the park. Some people have this idea that it’s practically a vacation. Nope – it’s way worse than being in the office. At least when you’re in the office you can be there for nine, and then leave it behind at five. Not so when you spend a week coding in your home. It invades your private live, and you end up sacrificing yourself, and potentially your family, to a project. Once again, my many thanks to PCOnramp for this awesome laptop. With my wireless network, I’m able to sit anywhere in the house and keep on working.

Speaking of PCOnramp, here’s a blatant plug: If you’re looking for a laptop, or upgrades, PCOnramp is the place to be. These guys are just plain awsome. Who needs to spend $2000 for a laptop, when all you need is something to write with, surf the net, and play some DVDs? PCOnramp is a sister company to a large leasing company, so they have a ton of used hardware. I’m on my third computer from these folks, and they are the best. Not only is the product great, but the whole team there is classy and helpful. So, if you want a laptop at a great price, check them out first!

Anyway, on this particular development project, it was a choice of letting drag out for a few months, or doing it all in one cram-session. Kind of like the difference between letting gangrene take your leg, or just cutting it off right away without the aid of anesthetic. I’m doing it from home so that I can avoid the constant distractions of the office, like the telephone. So, if you’re reading this, take that as a hint, and don’t call me. =)

Anyway, looks like my installer has finished. Back to work!

protecting your web server

BVRPUSA.com and userfriendly.org have some great advice for server administrators. Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood Spideyman. Check it out!