Pauls Rants and Revelations

So asod from my categories disappearing, the reason I upgraded was so I can update from my iPhone (this being the first test).
So far, it works pretty well. Except that I may have a stroke from typing a whole entry on this tiny keyboard. But other than that it’s working pretty well.
If I can upload images that would be cool. It says that it’s possible but I’m not sure how yet. If I can figure it out before my rafting trip that would be nifty.
Ok, enough lolly gagging, back to work.

-Cheers

SO I finally updated my wordpress install from 2.1 to the latest 2.6.

At first I was like “Way Neato!”. Then I realized that all of my categories and link categories were gone. Like, really gone. The only identifying mark was the slug with was a lot of “-2″’s. So, if some posts seem to be misplaced, this is the reason. I renamed what I could (had to edit the datbase directly to do it) but its sorted now.

Well, at least its working.

I mean, I read the documentation changes for the most part but didnt see any part about your categories fucking getting axed from the update.

Anyways, should you be upgrading, take a snapshot of the data in your wp_categories. This will be invaluable as you can map the IDs so you can rename the items in wp_terms (the new table) so that your categories are correct.

OK. Back to the digital salt mines.

-Cheers

Since I created the ASP Tag Cloud function, a get a few emails a month asking questions about it. Most of the time its folks starting out wondering how to implement it, or some other developers wondering why I used this method instead of others available, and so on.

I usually help out those who ask  for help (hey, we are a community after all) and generally everything is rather nifty. However, one person, Scott, emailed me one day asking about limiting the results to only popular tags and as usual I replied with my ideas on how to do it.

He replied back thanking me and told me the sites he uses it on. I was rather taken aback when he told me that it was he podcasting sites for the US Geological Survey (http://usgs.gov/corecast and http://usgs.gov/corefacts) and that he was creating another image gallery site that also uses my tag cloud function.

And, to those who know me; yes, I patted myself on the back a bit at this news.

Now some people would say “Big deal, my shit’s seen by millions of people every day”. To those blokes, I say “Fecalphelia is a curable disease so seek help”.

For me, though, in my little corner of the internet, I’m quite please to know that someone else uses my code in a useful way on a popular site instead of just cataloging the various tags used on adult sites (yes, I get emailed about this and no, I will not post links to them). The sites its used on are pretty sweet since I visit them on a somewhat irregular basis (hey, I’m no geologist now) and it does make it far easier to find popular articles. Check them out when you get a sec.

Thanks to Scott for letting me know how he uses the function. If you use the function let me know. If you have questions about it it also let me know by comment or email.

-Cheers

P.S. - To all those that tell me that its wrong to steal the bubble sort function, I will email the person in the next cubicle and tell them to hold you head in the toilet until the bubbles stop. I gave credit to them. Please read the code instead of blindly copy/pasting. - Thanks, Paul

With work and family I find that my time of late has been rather limited.

It was not so very long ago that I was trolling Craigs list looking for contract work to supplement my income. With my wife working back at Nike (and me going back to the at-home-dad role) I find that I am inundated with emails with requests for work. Stuff like “whats this error” to “I need a website”. I can do the work, but the questions becomes where I will find the time to do it?

My work projects are a little behind (some of which is my fault (ok, most of it probably)) so I have been telling folks that I simply can’t. And even though I know this is the best thing to do since I don’t need any more stress, I can’t help but feel like I am passing up opportunities that would help my situation in the long run.

So I guess the question really is this: who do I piss off?

Do I piss off my boss for the projects that will inevitably be late because of my taking on personal projects? Or do I piss off clients and potential clients by saying that their projects are not worth the time?

I guess really the question, like so many others, is an academic one as I have to get back to work. However, if anyone has any suggestions about my situation (and yes, even ones from you PersonalLumbergBaby are accepted) please leave a comment.

And if you need a website, please HESITATE to ask.

-Cheers

Thats about the only thing I feel at the moment. Since this big project I’m working on is almost done the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll.

However, there are some bright spots.

…

I can’t name any at the moment, but I’m sure they’re there.

If you can think of any let me know.

-Cheers

So I was one of the millions of people who weren’t lucky enough to be able to go to Macworld. As such, I was constantly hitting the refresh button on my browser so I could get the latest of what was happening from those who were posting blow by blow commentary.

At the tail end of the hour long keynote address, Steve Jobs reveals the newest Macbook, the Macbook Air. Touted as the thinest Laptop in the world, it is certainly impressive to look at. However, once past that, things start to get a little drab.

Aside from the rather puny processor, and lack of external ports (only 1 USB), and lack of HDD space, it is really not a great machine. Oh, I would not say no if I was presented with one, but I would certainly not spend $1800 just for the novelty of putting my precious mac into an envelope.

You can get the news and highlights and video on these other sites. Apples newest creation can be found here if you want to check it out.

Personally, though, I won’t be pining for this one. Mostly because my Macbook Pro totally kicks that ones ass. The Time Capsule, on the other hand, I would take in a heartbeat (right after I upgrade to Leopard that is).

-Cheers

In the current evolution of the “make money without working” generation, a lot of people have turned to blogging for money as a way to earn some cash. They spend a good deal of the day on the internet already so why not get paid for the stuff they write. Right?

Wrong, mate.

What these folks don’t realize is that using any of the paid posting services does not yield a high return. In fact, it may not even pay for the cost of hosting your site; and you have to have a domain and hosting according to most services’ requirements.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There is money to be made by blogging about products or services or any other type of thing people are promoting. There just isn’t a lot of it. Most often, a 200 word job will pay $5. And you have a very good chance of being rejected by the service or the folks who posted the job. Its their right, after all, to tell you ‘no’ if they see they are not getting what they want for their money. And if your post is approved, you have to wait upwards of a month before you get your $5 in you Paypal account. Some folks can’t wait that long.

I have used, and still do use, a few paid posting services (as if you couldn’t tell from the posts). But while I have made some dinero from spewing about this or that, its certainly isn’t enough to pay the rent. Its not even enough to pay for my Starbucks habit. So why do I keep doing it?

Because its an easy way to supplement my income a bit. It takes me 15 minutes max to write a post about something. So at $5 a pop, I could (potentially) make $20 an hour. That is not a bad wage at all. The only down side is that there are not enough post for me to fill a day’s worth of working. I would be pressed to fill an hour a week, honestly. So why do I bother?

Because its quick and easy and it often relates to my interests of needs. No other reason.

I started this blog for the sole purpose of pissing and moaning about anything I want to whoever wanted to read it. Some people like it. Most don’t. And some feel that the world is a bit dimmer with me in it. So be it. Its my blog and I’ll rant if I want to (hence the name). That is why this blog is here. Not to make money from pitching a new animal fat free mascara, or to tell the world of the great market of gold/silver/bulion/slaves/coins, but simply to state my skewed, skeptical, and often mis-informed opinion about things no one really cares about.

Have I talked you out of it yet? Are you ready to pick up the papers and look in the want-ads for a real job?

No? Alrighty then. If you would like to make money blogging then feel free to click the links below which will take you to a number of reputable services of which I happen to be a member of.

And if you sign up now I promise to honestly consider to possibility of sharing a slice of the referral fee I’ll garner from you.

-Cheers

Yes friends and enemies, I have myself a brand new top-o-the-line Mac Book Pro, courtesy of my super fabulous boss and super-rific boss’s boss.

Its a strange feeling though. It took about 5 minutes to set up everything and I was off and running soon after installing apps (Firefox is a must as well as Skype and Paralells) and the whole while I am thinking “this is so easy and it works”. I am even still amazed since I got it home and started copying over info (ok, its mostly music) as I can still do tasks like write posts and not have any problems. No slow downs or lag (sweet).

Im still getting used to all of the new functions and such but its becoming easier the more I use it. Ill post pictures of my new uber mac as soon as I find the USB cable to my camera (not the built in one, my camera camera).

Oh, and to those people who contributed funds to the “get Paul a Macbook Pro” fund, I will be issuing you a refund soon.

No, I’m not referring to the recent posts on data recovery I’ve written. This is more towards workload. It seems I have reached my limit as I have absolutely no more room in my brain to keep track of all the projects I have to do. Its a bit more stressful as my boss is out for a few days, but what the heck? Every trapeze flier likes going without a net now and again.

At least things are not behind (terribly) and I will pretty much have everything back on track by the time the boss gets back. I just felt like venting about it a bit.

And boss? If you are reading this everything is A OK!

-Cheers

I never realized how difficult it is to actually move a server without anyone complaining.

Sure, some would complain about down time but that can’t really be helped. And still others would complain about their email not being their or having to change some setting. That one I think is the most annoying.

My favorite complaint is from a hosting client. She called me on the phone (which is a shock) and wondered why her website is down. I told her that I’m moving the server (standard response at that point) and she said that this outage is intolerable. At the word ‘intolerable’ a wheel click and I remember who it was. A former hosting client who, at the time of her call, has had her site turned off for the better part of a year. Sigh. People this stupid should not be allowed computers.

Oh well. At least everything is mostly moved over. Just waiting for a few tid bits and its done. At least I learned a few things; such as I never want to deal with another windows box again. Ever. Its a small bit of wisdom but a valuable one I think.

-Cheers