So the house thing seems to be a bust - little sad, but not too unexpected, apparently the property my rents looked at was in pretty bad shape, and would of cost a small fortune to as my mom put it “get the smell out” so their search continues, but I am not giving up hope of my own place soon.
Picked up a possible project, still working on the particulars for the quote, but I have been thumbing thru a SQL drop file here for a bit, and I think I have the project nearly laid out in my head, need to sleep on a few things, but I think it’s do-able, hope to make some headway on other projects over the next 2 days, both billing & programming, both are two key projects I really want to wrap up and have done and done right, so far so good, just need to really buckle down tomorrow, hopefully I can get some sleep tonight.
I looked in the mirror a minute ago, and I actually recognized myself - I dunno, just so much stress lately, and questioning why I do things in life, things I have taken for granted, things I am trying to change in my life, for a while there I didn’t seem like myself in some areas of my life, and I think I am getting there, still some changes down the road, still some rough patches ahead - but I think I am going to make it even got a good laugh tonight, and got to relax to some good TV (which is rare) but I dunno, I am just praying over a lot of things right now, jobs, opportunities, finances, everything, now if only God would add me to the share list on his Google Calendar for my life! Oh how much more simpler that’d make things.
Anywhoo - I appreciate all of you who keep track of me here, and those of you who keep me in your prayers - good to know I have friends out there who cover me in prayer! Take care all, have a good Tuesday!
Toast - it’s the breakfast of champions. Been quite a morning, just got offered a house to rent for $500 (3 bdrm, 1 bath) pretty sweet deal, thought its all teetering on another property, long story more later, I just got an alert that a file had been uploaded to the /tmp folder on a server, checked it out, thankfully no-execute permissions, and /tmp is mounted noexec - so both big pluses - did some checks around the system, things look clean - so PTL for that - but the site my guess got nix’d by its CMS, which is highly highly outdated, but for now site is suspended, and waiting to hear back from the owner, I really want to move up to PHP5, Sushion, and SuPHP.
Got a call last night from the kMan about a emergency project with a movie company, really a hotfix, but invoice-able time so fun more so than the usual project as of late, but got it all squared away - made some money, so can’t complain too much, but I did get sleep last night, which I am very happy I did as when I’m on lack of sleep, and things like a site get hacked, tends to kick me into hyper-stress mode, thankfully I got in, removed the file, suspended the account, did the quick audit, so happy to have a cool head this early AM.
So quite a start to a monday, I do want to take a nap now (been up since 5am) but the day presses on, some PHP work is on the agenda, going to utilize some PHP5 magic & modules, so hopefully nothing else huge jumps up and bites me… unless it pays well, I may have a house to rent here soon
So it’s already Sunday! Not sure how that happened, my Saturday meeting never happened, I think Jake may of ditched me for his lady friend, or such is my guess but none the less, I got some decent sleep under the belt, and managed to do nothing right the entire day! I slept thru two calls in the AM, and then curious as to why my email was delayed this evening, I checked and the spam filter was out of storage! So I quickly scaled that up a bit.
But things are going good - not lightning fast, but it’s all getting there, I am looking at the next build of the software for the new billing system, and it looks good - it will allow me to get rolling with Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover off the bat! Which is one thing I have been wanting to do, and on top of that it keeps me from having to fiddle with the silly new CC bit, so excited there, just need to re-vamp how a few things are handled in my month to month billing - as this system will suspend websites when they are overdue, so a very nice feature that while the other system had, it was more advanced in the new version, but to upgrade was a pain - so very excited!
iPod conversion time, I have been using the ol Linux box to convert some dvd’s to iPod ready content using Podencoder [linkage] - so far so good, had 1 glitch with the conversion of Sphere, the default audio track was commentary, not a HUGE deal, but just something I’ll have to re-copy later, for now I am working on the Office Season 2 - it’s slow going, but since it’s via the other system, it doesn’t slow down this machine at all, but I do need a faster DVD-R on this rig, not to mention a BIGGER AMD processor but one thing at a time I suppose, for now while slow, it works - already have a few things done, just doing it as I think of it.
All in all, this week brings some good things, wrapping up with a weekend of what I hope to be some good fun with the Fosters, have some money coming in during a business deal, pushing forward more on the server tune-ups - looking seriously at upgrading ram and cpu, so we shall see how that goes - long term I have some other ideas for storage and such, but one step at a time, and as budget allows - but if that, and a job idea all comes thru, then I might be one step closer to an apartment - but my hope is Crazy October will really take off come Wednesday, it used to be my biggest seller each year, so hopefully the new system will be able to handle it!
Anywhoo - odd life I live, but it’s mine going to go take a shower, and then try to crash out for the night, 1am - early for me! So have a wonderful Sunday folks, and stay tuned for more and more excitement from my life…. no… really. lol
Man oh man, what a week - budget is crazy, of course of all things I could do right now while I am working on servers, is watch the Woot-Off in progress @ woot.com - but I promise, I’ll remain strong… i don’t need 30 bluetooth headsets… i don’t need 30 bluetooth headsets….. - but that aside - what a week. Things have leveled out, and I am sadly considering the cutting of some ties - I am trying to remain rational in things, but at the same time it just seems time and time again in this business dealings, I get the short end of the stick, respect sadly in this business isn’t always a two way street - while I make an effort to make this customer priority 1, answer his calls etc. never fails, I don’t get call backs, payments are late, etc. just with things as of late, really trying to be good with business dealings, and be fair to not only the other customers, but myself.
Work wise, I have started coding a new application that will let customers manage their own email filtering logins, so customers can purchase the filtering from me on this new system, and I can have it deployed across a few servers, thus making an affordable, highly accurate email filtering system - compared to the old solution I manage here in town, which averages about 89% accuracy - the new system which I am using on all my business/personal domains, is pulling about 98-99% all the time, leaving only 1-2% false positives, but easily forwarded thru, and very easy to template - so looking forward to that.
Lake time yesterday was wonderful reboot for me, I always get so tied up in things, I forget to take a minute and breathe - silly ol internet has a habit of really pulling you in, so I am happy to take a break sometimes and really just take in some nature/outdoors time, need to dust off the bike and head out to the lake some in the weeks to come for some exercise and see if I can’t shed a few pounds.
Finances are leveling out, which is a load off my mind/shoulders/etc. With over 500+ slated to come in over the next week, 2 possible long-term job situations on the horizon, not to mention starting next Wednesday I am going to release a deal a day for the remainder of the month on FH - it’s a promising start - I even did some spring cleaning on the servers tonight (I know it’s fall) - more is on the way, just clearing out old dead, and recently canceled accounts - sad to loose people, but some sites are only around a year or two anymore, thankfully some folks come back when they start their new ones, but hopefully, with all thats on the table, I can get a more regular/steady flow of monthly cash on hand, and current contracts ironed out for on-time CC payment vs PayPal/Check.
All-in-all, it’s getting there - I still would LOVE to take a vacation, but… such is my lot in life to work, until things get going good and I can afford some additional staff, I have a guy in mind who is a online customer, seems rather knowledgeable, has a similar patience about things it seems, just trying to budget in kicking him down some cash as well as some free hosting resources for his help if he wants in - so who knows, might work! But I am excited again for once, which is a plus, sometimes in this ever-fun small business world, being the little guy starts to grind - thankfully, time and time again, God blesses my socks off and reminds me he’s in control, and that it’s all part of the journey.
Anywhoo - it’s nearly 1am, I have gotten a lot done this evening, and I am looking towards the living room to break for a bit and watch the Office & Earl, so I shall say goodnight, and major thanks to those who have been keeping me lifted up in prayer, I appreciate it! Take care all & have a great Friday!
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.
For the last 2 years I have been trying to find a way to unhook myself from servers a bit, really wanting to focus on other things in life, and have someone worry about the day-in-day out a bit, but the catch is server admin work usually pays well so it has it’s perks, however sadly it can be very high-stress, low rewards, and very demanding - sounds like a job right? Well after a few years, I have begun to get tired - granted some processes are automated now in normal maintenance I would do, but at the same time, just seems like more and more folks are stepping away from hosting with me for the bargain hosts.
I know this isn’t the first time I have wrote about this, and I imagine it will probably not be the last, just a little vent session - I have been testing out managed hosting solutions, to take some of the load off me, and have another company manage server updates, security, firewalls, etc. - why? ease of operation, I’d still run my own servers - probably 2 at most, but mainly for the special cases I have, which don’t fit into the mold of standard “hosting” so to speak - but that would lower the load quite a bit.
My dream solution? Entire infrastructure rebuilt from the ground up, new batch of servers all Dual Dual Core, at least 4GB of ram per, nice raid or sans solution for storage - a better backup solution than the current setup (hate the way cPanel packages accounts, takes too long, but works great if a restore is needed.) - I’d also like 2-3 employees to help balance the load of server work, but then a 4th person to do book-keeping and billing, to take the iron out of my fire, and get the budget leveled out and dead-beats gone.
Who knows, I would love to make some changes this year, pick up some programming and design gigs again, but who knows, lots to ponder, been a busy morning thus far, already 5 hours in, and lots done, but more to do.
Well after a short stint off recently, I have re-enabled the possibly cumbersome, highly annoying, yet so wonderfully useful Sender Verify function in Exim - I have a love/hate relationship with this system, while it does a wonderful job of blocking spoofed email addresses, the downside is not all servers respond to the check - so thus, mail get’s bounced.
I am going to work on tomorrow on my test box deploying a whitelist system, so folks having issues can open a ticket, give me a domain, and I can whitelist it - should help out some, but others it could be problematic on, but I have some logs being monitored to see if anything pokes its dirty head in there.
Quite a night, quite a morning, got the ball rolling on the link, looks good, even had it tested today by one guy, so far so good - picked up a server migration project, as well as $150 tune up fee, also need to get some sleep tonight and call out tomorrow to the photographer about her website and let her know first and foremost, it was me who secured her domain name for her, so lots to do, and hopefully some sleep to do it with here shortly, need to snap a pic of my mug for the 365 project, however I need to also get up the 2 missing days (tiny detail) thinking of posting the daily shots weekly, but that’d kind of defeat the purpose, but one thing I know from the recent shots, I need a haircut and a shave.
Anywhoo - have lunch sometime this week I hope with Mr. Dan, possibly another day with Mr. Adam, who knows, if Jake likes food, maybe even go with him but some fun, some projects, its all good, for now its night night time. Night folks.
even got a good laugh tonight, and got to relax to some good TV (which is rare) but I dunno, I am just praying over a lot of things right now, jobs, opportunities, finances, everything, now if only God would add me to the share list on his Google Calendar for my life! Oh how much more simpler that’d make things.
