For a good long while now I have been wanting to take a road trip to see my grandparents and assorted other family members - as always, something holds me up and I can’t ever find the time, but this morning my mom asked me before I passed out if I wanted to tag-team the trip with my dad, as he wants to see his folks, and she knows I want to go nuts with a camera (heck the road trip alone, Washington + Snow? Oh yes).
So I am looking at my schedule, I want to get some things done, and I am thinking about ditching the T-Mobile Wireless package, as nice as it is, Sprint has their Wireless Broadband in both my local area, as well as along the travel path, if nothing else, I’ll trial it on the trip but we’ll see how it all goes, just need to get some things wrapped up here and figure out a plan with my dad to get the route all figured out.
Good stuff, so keep me in your prayers that I can get this all rolling! Donations to the travel fund are appreciated but should be a interesting trip, if we take my care it’ll be its first out of state trip (go car!) and hopefully lots of good fun! Anywhoo - back to work, lots to do.
So what do you do when it’s 2am, you can’t sleep, its a holiday, and the only think you can think to do is literally - stare at the wall? Well of course, pull out season 3 of house, put in a random disk (disk 5!) and start watching. But what a week thus far, got some projects done, some nearly rolling for testing nearing production, good stuff.
The PO Box is active and working, just switched out all of the billing systems to the new address for the few that utilize Check as a payment method, even then I am working to slowly phase it out and move to eCheck by default for “Check” payments, as I have outgrown most of the kiddos who pay via Money Order - but fun fun now that I have a PO Box + the box is closer than the old mail stop.
Anywhoo - it’s been 5 years since I started blogging as of last month, kinda crazy really - but for now I am going to go do my nightly rounds, stop the episode, and try for some sleep, bro will be here in the AM with Guitar Hero 3, I got Raving Rabbids 2, so tomorrow for the turkey fun we’ll have some games - I gotz 5 ciders and 2 nogs - tasty beverages = good. Now I have something to dream about now. Night. Happy Thanksgiving.
As a random note, I really enjoy blogging from Textmate - it’s a awesome text editor, and the bonus bundles add some wonderful functionality, the blogging is awesome, let’s me manage all my blogs, a familiar markup, good times - but on with the blog!
A good end to the week if I do say so myself, it was busy, it was crazy, and I by no means got done all the things I had hoped to get done, but such is life, and it goes on! Monday I plan to get TN moving more forward, maybe some work over the weekend on content, plus I hope to have some of the new Exchange services up and running soon for public sign-up, as well as the new interface for the anti-spam tool, the PHP front end is coming along, going to convert some of the code to PHP5 to streamline some things, but all in all, it’s a wonderful little setup, just need to spend some time on the design.
Got to goto the movies tonight with Sis and Bro-in-law, my cousin, and my friend - it was a hilarious movie Balls of Fury good laughs, got to come home to more wonderful billing system happenings, which was a nice thing to see, happy the new system is kicking butt and taking names, I hope to deploy it on TN this next week with it’s site revamp - and slowly, 100% phase out ItsMyBill & MyTroubleTicket - though long-term I may bring MTT back as a system for reselling white-label tech support for hosting companies, as I do work for a few, might be a nice service to offer.
I picked up a shirt tonight for $10! Very excited:
It’s a fun design, and for $10 I couldn’t say no, as I am slowly having clothing fall apart, need some new shorts soon too, so time to build up the clothing budget again, I figure on most of these shirts that last over 3 years are good shirts pretty nice though, I picked it up via Woot.com’s Shirt Woot - got the RSS feed for it now next to the normal Woot - hopefully over the next few months I can snag a few cool designs.
All in all, I survived this week, been a lot going on in my ol head, money has been tight, making some cutbacks till things level out with re-structuring hosting/billing - but when that is done, just the re-structure alone is going to add $250 roughly to my monthly budget, just the joy of lowering costs, and if I can close a few partnerships for things like Domains/SSL - I can increase profit margins a bit, but at the same time lower costs a little for customers.
So there it is - here’s to hoping for a semi-relaxing weekend, and if at all possible, a productive week to follow. Night folks.
Well going to the coast today (surprise Bro!) - my mom is spending a week or so up there, and my dad wants some more time on his project car, so he’s working on it thru the weekend, and then coming up on Monday to vacation with her - but I really wish I had my iPod *tear* - and while I might have a check coming in today which would let me splurge, run to target and get one, there of course is the lingering Apple event on the 5th, now one of the few things rumored are new iPods, which if Apple keeps with it’s track record as of late, it has a 50/50 chance with me (love the iMac keyboard, didn’t like the new iMac - long story) - so part of me wants to wait, and another part says (4 hrs in the car over the next 2 days iPod = Good) - but another part says, suck it up. LoL.
The thing that sucks is waiting for something that could be “Wow” or “oh… cool” - there have been mockups of a new Nano-ish iPod offering, not for me, my dream would be a wider screen (aka iPhone-ish size) and Flash based storage (30gb in a flash… oh yes) - so we shall see, but then again, I may just jump the gun, and get a 80gb iPod sooner than later, if the check happens today, I can do it easy, but then again, patience? LOL.
So far the week has started to mellow out a bit, some code work to do this morning, I do need to get my car over to the car-wash (needs a good deep clean/vacuuming) and a oil change as well, and I am tempted to call my insurance company and say “Haha!” as they made me go up to 10k miles, and this past year of car insurance I only did my original estimate of 8k - nerds. But I only paid a month of them as I think once the funds balance out next month I’ll switch to Progressive who was one of the few companies to give me a very nice quote.
Anywhoo - been up since 3am, a slew of things to do today, oil change is my big list item, but just got the car all cleared out, and ready to go in, not sure what time they open, but I am guessing around 10am would be more than perfect to go swing by a check - and I need to run by the bank deposit some money, and break a $100 bill into some $20’s for the trip, life - busy busy. TTFN friends.
So I just got done watching 2 movies with my cousin, Children of Men & Ms. Potter - I enjoyed #2 but #1 - eh - so so, but both I have seen before, but it was a enjoyable re-watch on Ms. Potter, but Children of Men I simply said “..eh..” - still have Hot Fuzz left looking forward to that, hoping to get a good couple of laughs like I did with SotD.
Today was good, was woken up by the sound of my headset buzzing (it vibrates) I keep it near my head to buzz if I am getting a call, so I started my day off by waking up into a hour and a half conversation on the phone, and what a conversation. I went into my day after that, fixing up some things, playing a little, it’s friday for goodness sake! So I was trying to relax, however this evening - massive… network… outage. My upstream lost an entire subnet - were not talking just a Class C of IP’s but a entire subnet, granted this is RARE if ever, thankfully for over 6 months this line has been solid solid solid, but this drop was about 2hrs! Thankfully the servers were online, operational, just needed to get their internet back - so once the issue was resolved (my guess is a core router died on the edge of their network) - I was back.
So quite a day quite a day, kind of want to just goto sleep, but another part of me just wants to go and relax and enjoy the movie, then pass out So we shall see what happens - hope everyone has a good weekend, this next weekend I hope to migrate friend accounts from their various server homes -> friends server, so lots to plan, lots of things to set in motion.
Anywhoo - again I’ll say it, have a good weekend folks!
Well instead of running out a buying an iPod, or a headset, what did I do? You guessed it, I ran out and got a server. There was a promotion on bandwidth that came across my desk, and I couldn’t pass it up, so I put in an order, and now I am just waiting to get the thing online, which means some folks who are on “friend” style accounts will be moved to a new server, also has room for backups, which is nice, and will actually make backups quicker and easier to get to - so very excited, in offering backups to other clients I cover a good chunk of the monthly bill, but there is more to cover, about $150 a month, which ain’t bad for server and connection.
Going to go pickup a headset tomorrow, as much as I’d like to get the Plantronics 665, the issue is not only cost, but sadly I can’t find a steady flow of positive reviews, granted some I read reference they are using the headset with a Bluetooth 1.2 phone which could accommodate for the static/drops they were having, and the Dash is a Bluetooth 2.0 - but I want to get something sooner than later, and as much as I’d love to wait for Newegg, I think I am going to go snag the same headset again, it is comfy, and about the same price range as the on sale ones around town.
I finished up the Photography client, she’s busy uploading photos to her gallery, going to experiment and make her some drafts of a logo, this way she’ll have something hi-res for print/clothing should she need it, and it’ll make her site look even better (already looks good as is) - but I may have another job doing some design, which is nice, granted not my usual type of work, but it’ll be cool to do, really customizing a template, but some other things as we roll into August will help bring in some more money monthly, plus I want to focus on getting the TN page revived, and possibly another hosting venue, making Thrust Network the mama homepage with core service offerings and such, and a Hosting Front to offer basic hosting for things not just “A website” so offer “Blog Hosting” or “Gallery Hosting” type of setups.
Sysadmin day is coming up on the 27th, and while some know about it, they have asked me what I want lol - and I feel like a kid at Christmas, never really thought about it, and I appreciate the thought - at this point really, donations for an iPod, WoW Gift Card, A Book, or a DVD, I suppose I could freshen up the Amazon/ThinkGeek wishlists, but honestly - I am just happy that folks thought of me, some I of course hinted at it (aka the chatroom) and others knew about it, and asked me beforehand so very cool - but if ya want to send some love, PayPal tips are welcome, gift cards to food, whatever really - but the ultimate would be a iPod 80gb (no pressure)
Anywhoo - thats things in a nutshell, a few other things I may get to discuss in the coming weeks, some deals I am trying to work out, also need to snag a post office box too, as the office building I use as a maildrop is getting completely re-modeled, which means 3 months without it, but the plans look good for afterwards and the owner made me an office - very fancy indeed… wonder if I get wood floors, always wanted wood floors…. ah good times. Thanks for stopping by folks, more later this week I’m sure.
Well its 2:30am, I am awake. Not all that uncommon a few months ago, but lately, not so much. So whats up with me? Well since I am awake, and have a bad habit of being long winded, why not lay it out.
Work (makin a livin)
Servers lately have been good, did a round of updates last night which seemed to go smoothly, test box never had any issues, so happy there - but the company my servers sit at has been doing some “re-pricing” now granted my current servers are all price protected, however - the expansion I have had brewing is not. Several “Specials” have come and gone to get things online with the next server I wanted, and a new ultra robust backup server was halted very quickly when they increase pricing for size.
So where does that leave me? Well for now it leaves me investigating 2 options, one after talking to a nice gent on live-chat named Ruben, I am optimistic about, another option talking with Will - so-so, but his operation is closer to me, so easier to get to the servers at the end of the day, not relying on 3rd party hands to get me going - but this week is some number chrunching, we will see what happens, but I think my plan is to drum up some funds offer 20 customers who have been with me over 2 years a offer on some features they may not find anywhere else, and for a price, well that may be a little hefty at first glance, but will allow them to shape the services to come.
Health
I don’t get sick too often, but when I do, it tends to be a doosy, I of course count real sickness, not me running for 4 days straight and being completely exhausted physically and just giving into the light at the end of the tunnel - my weight is once again dripping off this summer, slower than past years, could be due to the fact I am not sweating it off in my car as I have in the past, but it also means I am not wet on my way to a meeting
I am trying to eat more fresh meals instead of fast food, which isn’t cheap, and not always “fast” but it does help me to slow down in the hustle and bustle of my day and eat, and when I MUST eat out, trying to eat a meal that is filling, not just “tasty” I just really wish Jack in the Box would bring back the Chicken Ceaser, it was simple, easy, tasty - and not horrible for ya either
Finances
Budget is leveling out, a lot of the checks I have been waiting on have come in, and of course it’s mid year, so folks who are on semi-annual hosting are paying up, but this month so far no unexpected bills, however I do have 3 new accounts @ WAMU, apparently the system only needed 1 authorization on my checking account to activate all 3 accounts, so I have 2 personal accounts 2 savings, and 1 business checking, lol - to be sorted this afternoon.
Monthly is up a bit, still no-where near what I’d like it to be, but I am working on it, I had a fellow mentioned I should get hired on @ his work, but not sure how that would pan out really, but if it did, and some ground rules were set (similar industry as what I do now), I wouldn’t mind, but I just want to setup something that I get paid fairly for my time & projects.
But it seems more and more old jobs keep cropping up, one fellow even asked me in passing this past week if I was still working for one of my old clients - not at the moment, a few old clients though have looked me up, apparently they have learned the bargain that is me even though for most of my older clients my new pricing is higher than before, many have decided I am well worth it, so hopefully if this trend keeps up, I can get my budget where I am hoping.
Photography
I wish I had some time behind the camera, part of me wants to escape, but I know there is a lot to be done, but my thought is within 2 weeks make it to the coast, spend a weekend at my brother’s combing the beach, maybe do some hiking in the hills to get some good nature shots, I really need a better more compact GPS, my current I got from a client as a gift for some work, is bulky, it is meant for your car, I want one that works in the car, but works in my pocket/camera bag, so I can geotag photos better.
I do have a wedding coming up, I need to follow up with the happy couple and see what they are looking for, I may need to buy a lens of they want various shots, but I think in the end, I am going to ask them for $125 and suggest they hire a photographer, as I don’t want to mess up their happy day by my inexperience in live photography at this sort of an event.
Friends & Family
I get out now and again still, as my previous posts of recent movies I have hit, but I do want to plan a gathering for friends to get together one last time before the Fosters move away but hopefully even more so before that get together with folks, hang out, shoot the breeze, catch up, eat a pizza.
Family is good, went to dinner with Beth, Michael, Mom & Dad on Friday for Dad’s birthday, and if all goes as planned, I’ll see Ron, Harm, and Charity in a few weeks - I still do want to make it up to Washington to see my grandparents, just like with many things, budget, budget, budget, so hopefully if all goes as planned I can make it up that way in the fall, and avoid getting snowed in (though snow would be nice), so would a real road trip with just me and the road for a few days.
Anywhooo
Going to go try to get my pillow to tell me nice things, have a good Monday folks. Think happy thoughts, thanks for stopping by!
but we’ll see how it all goes, just need to get some things wrapped up here and figure out a plan with my dad to get the route all figured out.
pretty nice though, I picked it up via Woot.com’s 
but hopefully even more so before that get together with folks, hang out, shoot the breeze, catch up, eat a pizza.
