Category Archives: general

Just regular kinds of stuff that happened (that doesn’t fit in other categories).

Mmmm….. Philly Beef and Swiss…

Posted on March 19, 2007 | 3 comments

So I have this killer headache (all day) and don’t feel like cooking so I head up to the bar around the corner (it seems like I eat there a lot on Mondays, but without the headache). Actually, I was on my way home, so I didn’t actually go “around” the corner. I popped in to the restroom first thing and when I come out the bartender/waitress has a menu and accessories (napkins, silverware and drink serviette) all set up at my favorite table (one of the 2 spots I pick as a first preference) and I like that. Plus, they had what I wanted for dinner, a philly beef and swiss sandwich (with a LIIT), actually I would have preferred the prime rib dip sandwich but this was a close second (they’re both huge sandwiches).

This is my regular place but I’m not a regular, I’m only semi-regular. This means when Jane left (6pm shift change) I wasn’t one of the people she said “see you tomorrow” to. And I have to say some of these people are here every time I stop in…

Now I’m off to Circuit City to see if they really have 24 minute pickup for my Buffalo WHR-G54S router. Yes I need two, now that I’ve discovered how cool it is, I want to play with another one. Then to the library (a book is in) and a quick trip to the grocery store. Then home to relax with a snack and last night’s Battlestar Galactica!

3 Comments

Posted in general

Tagged , , ,

Why I hate 1 and 1 web hosting!

Posted on March 18, 2007 | 2 comments

I love 1 and 1 web hosting, I really do. Great features, great price, all sorts of configuration options and cheap domains ($5.99 a year). They’ve got decent reports and now they’ll automatically mail me stats. Some of their web interface stuff is a little slow (it’s too fancy) but it’s got lots of options so I can live with it.

What I hate is their lack of customer communication:

  • They need a blog just to keep us up to date of the cool stuff they are working on.
  • They need a status page to let you know what problems are up.
  • They need their staff to know what problems they are having (it shouldn’t take 3 calls over 3 days to find out they are migrating some servers).
  • The need to let us know when they have problems or in advance when they plan to migrate servers.
  • If thousands of pages are generating 404 errors take a minute and alter to the 404 page and mention to the viewers (my readers) that it’s a temporary problem.
  • Even the utility companies can automate a hold message to say there are problems and they are working on it.

    • Continue reading →

    2 Comments

    Tagged , , , ,

    Technical Problems with 1and1

    Posted on March 15, 2007 | 1 comment

    There are web problems with my host 1 and 1 which is causing 404 errors, these are not my fault, but they are affecting you. I’m sorry for that…

    I love my web host 1and1 but what I hate is they have no kind of status page that customers can look at to see what problems are happening with the network. If they just had a page where they could list something like “many customers are having 404 problems and it may take hours (or days) to fix it” I’d be happy (not if it happened all the time). Then I wouldn’t waste time checking on it (on the chance it is my fault) or bather calling them (or waiting on hold). It seems like customer service common sense to me…

    1 Comment

    Tagged , , , , ,

    Are the terms WhiteList and BlackList racist??

    Posted on February 25, 2007 | 34 comments

    It’s kind of a simple question, but I can’t find a specific answer. Do the terms, WhiteList and BlackList, that we commonly use these days to block/allow e-mail, web sites and comments have racist origins?

    I can’t find the answer. I think about it every time I modify instructions for our mail filtering at work, just waiting for someone to ask me, but I can’t find an answer anywhere on the history of it. I’ve found some things when looking on-line related to hollywood (usually political writing) and on blackballing people (also from work or organizations) but nothing on the origins of the word even in that context.

    I’ve seen some software FAQs skate around it with some stupid explanations to avoid the issue, but I think red + green universally mean stop + go so greenlist and redlist makes sense and since we don’t have green people it wouldn’t be considered racist (or even incorrectly thought to be). Maybe this is a non-issue, but I’m wondering what you think. Continue reading →

    34 Comments

    Posted in general

    Tagged , , , , ,

    Roswell

    Posted on February 21, 2007 | 1 comment

    So some different things got me thinking about Roswell: Quite often Grey’s Anatomy does since Katherine Heigl was one of the stars. So that started me thinking about the TV series Roswell and I started surfing around stumbled along THE video clip (to set this clip up, you need to know that Max and Liz didn’t know each other well but secretly had crushes, two men get in an argument in the Crashdown Cafe, a gun goes off, Liz falls to the ground and Max runs to her side) where it all started . It was a great series but it only made it three seasons, which is actually pretty good for sci-fi.
    Roswell60Th
    And then I remembered that the Roswell UFO Festival is this summer (as always) but this year is 60 years since the aliens crashed there. The biggest coverup since well, since anything else. This is the reason as to why they always dismiss UFO sightings as ‘weather balloons’ because that’s what they accused the Air Force guy of doing, of confusing a weather balloon with a spaceship…

    I’m really thinking of going to the festival this summer, has ever anyone gone? Any tips? Anything from someone whose been there but not during a festival? Maybe a not-to-miss place (museum or restaurant)? Or an alien-theme hotel or maybe just a good but cheap hotel?

    1 Comment

    Posted in holidays + events

    Tagged , , , , , ,

    Locked out of my car!

    Posted on February 10, 2007 | 4 comments

    Do they intentionally just put the car door buttons for the locks / windows just out of reach of a coat hanger in case you’re fishing one through the window? Well, it sure seems that way to me…

    I guess I should start at the beginning (actually a little before that). I’m the kinda guy who misplaces things but since I know that, I’m prepared for it. I keep spare keys for my car / house at home, work and with friends. And I label all my stuff like my camera, computer, pda, backpack, etc. Back when I used to really misplace things (I’m not as bad any more), I’d put post-its in the front of the books I read with my name and number on it so when I left them somewhere. I do still keep a spare tie and belt at work in case I somehow walk out of the house without one or the other. In essence, I never “lose” stuff since I always get it back :)

    And if I ned to leave my car running with keys in it (to scrape windows or check mail or whatever) I open one of the smaller windows so if the car decides to lock it’s not a problem, normally I could start it without keys in it except that the remote start broke and I didn’t fix it yet (I actually had someone follow me the other day to drop it off, but the place went out of business, so I did actually try). Twice times at work I’ve had to call someone from my office to come meet me at one of the schools with my spare key (the other few times I was at my building so no one had to know). What happens is I end up dropping them while carrying something into a school with my hands full or answering the phone as I climb out or something else distracting like that.

    This time it was different. I was leaving and I put my stuff in the car from the passenger door and thought, “gee it’s cold, I’ll start my car before I get my mail” so I started the car and pushed the little lever to open the tiny passenger back seat window. Then I got the mail, threw some out, put some in the house and went to get in the car (you saw this next part coming, right?) and it’s locked. Turns out I don’t sit in the passenger seat enough, there is not button for the back window, it’s just the front passenger window and the button for the lock. So pretty much all I did was lock the door. I was fine with it, stuff like this doesn’t upset me, even though I can’t seem find a spare for the car anywhere I look. And I start to realize everyone I know who has access to a spare key isn’t going to able to bring me one for hours. The problem is the car is running (and has a full tank of gas) and it’s parked in the garage. Continue reading →

    4 Comments

    Posted in general, me + myself + i

    Tagged , , ,

    Sleep, Eat and ‘Net….

    Posted on January 31, 2007 | Leave a comment

    So I haven’t really done much at all today. So you get an “about my day” post. I’ve eaten a lot (and often) and had too way much Coca-Cola (but the last few had some Capt. Morgan’s in it so that’s okay). And I’ve been on the ‘net all day (at home, at Wendy’s, at the bar) catching up (and fixing) on things.

    I did participate in a survey that I got $25 for (it might have been $25 for Amazon.com but that’s as good as cash to me). It was a survey about the new extra-secure security features in IE 7. The thing is, I’m not so worried about my information being intercepted en-route; I’m more worried about their servers being compromised after the fact (or someone losing their laptop). My real concern when shopping on-line is that “Bob’s Computer Shack” is just a place that “Bob” set up so he can steal my Charge Card information (he could even have an ultra secure certificate).

    But tonight I need to drive to Ypsi to get a CAT scan of my hand. It’s been bugging me and it’s time to get it looked at. My problem is with chronic problems like this is they tend to not find a cause, which means they can’t find a solution. He has said he doesn’t think it’s anything carpel-tunnel or repetitive anything-ish. Continue reading →

    Leave a comment

    Posted in food + drink

    Tagged , , , , ,

    Today’s List

    Posted on January 24, 2007 | 2 comments

    Had a bunch of things to do and I think I got most of them done. I’ll have to check the list that I forgot and left at home…

  • See Doctor: to fix this congestion – got shot, got drugs!
  • Barnes & Nobel: Educator discount week – got three books and 25% off!
  • Dollar store: Get some spare reading glasses – selection stunk but I gat a tiny pair in tiny durable case to keep in the car and a tiny fold up pair (they fold up half the normal size). Actually they had some decent ones but just not in my size. The question is if they are reading glasses, why do they print the size of magnification so small on the glasses?
  • Target: pick up prescription – got it! Doc said it might keep me awake so not to take it late in the day, I’ll start tomorrow.
  • Staples: use that $10 off $10 coupon before it expires – I was just going to get some office supply “stuff” but I picked up tax software on sale.
  • Gas Station: get gas – Prices were heading back up so I filled it up.
  • Hair cut: get it cut – it’s shorter (all of them).
  • Dearborn Credit Union: they’re letting new customers open up a $1,000 CD with 10.47% interest – Most places are giving about 5% so this seems like an easy way to make $50. I did not accomplish this task.

    Later: I did cehek my list at home and this is more than I had on my list :)

    • 2 Comments

    Posted in general, me + myself + i

    Tagged ,