The new digs
Topic: Hosting Change

Okay, we're up and ready to go.

The new site is at Code Strange.

For various reasons, I have had to cinch up how posting and commenting is allowed. So you have to register, which will get checked by myself (no, I will not spam you to death), to post comments and such. The confirmation email may get swallowed by various spam filters, but I will also send an email just to make sure.

In progress
Topic: Hosting Change

Okay folks, the hosting acquisition and domain name registration are in progress. So this is kind of an End of Life Notice. I'll keep you posted on what the new site name will be and when it'll be up and ready.

So get your links ready to change, the address of this site will be going first. Then this site itself will go. I'm thinking maybe a month or two at the most.

Big things in the works.

More Pics
Topic: Hosting Change

Alright, here is another shot of my site and a modified layout. I found a few others I may try out once I get the thing into production, but I'm liking this actual layout if not the colors.

Oh yeah, here are some shots from, two weeks ago (or something like that).

Please, stop catching me off guard, dammit!

See, I didn't burn the bejeezus out of my fingers skinning the potatoes, I do that enough cooking at KFC.

Okay, so I was a few deep when I took this. I was having fun with Shannon's camera.

New Test Site
Topic: Hosting Change

Well, I've decided to initially use e107 as my new website system. It's the most feature complete and the only one that installs properly.

I really liked Mambo, but it wasn't using the database passwords correctly, which scares the bejeezus out of me, even after I patched up.

Here's a pretty picture. The theme is fully changeable, and this is the one that fits my fancy at the moment.

So, once I fiddle with it some more, figure out all the little jiggers, I'll contact some of the hosting companies and get to work uploading. Maybe during spring break or some time shortly after.

Now back to the skulduggery that is my homework.

Changes
Topic: Hosting Change

I've been thinking about moving off of Tripod for some time now.

I don't like the business ethics of their domain name registrar (they resold a domain name without notifying the ISP using that domain name, severely fucking over thousands of users).

I like Tripod itself: they've been extremely responsive and have often gone out of their way to help me in the past.

However, after many mergers and sales, they've sort of fallen into a decline. The web server software they use is of an antiquated vintage without the robustness and power of Apache (Apache beats the pants off any web server out there, not bad for a freeware product). They offer no database access. They offer no PHP, no JSP, no ASP, no new utilities for dynamic content. Only an outdated version of Perl, without a lot of the nifty modules. This blog is basically a collection of text files and some noddy little Perl scripts that do a good job: I salute the Tripod programmers for doing this much with so little. It's basically the equivalent of shoestrings, duct-tape and chewing gum. The blogging service is basically MacGyvered together.

So I've begun to shop around. I've found many places with cheaper hosting service, with databases (most notably my beloved MySQL), PHP, JSP, ASP (all within reasonable and understandable limits). Also, those sites will let me run Google text ads to help offset my costs slightly. So I think I may soon be departing Tripod, sometime within the next six months. It's kid of a sad thing; I've had this little web space for going on six years now.

I'm going to take my laptop and run a series of tests to first determine what kind of portal service I want (Mambo, GeekLog,Sitefram,e107.org, and basically many others on this list). Completely off the network, mind you.

I'll let everyone know well in advance when I'm ready to make the change, and I'll leave this old one up for a month or so afterward. My domain name will change (I'm not willing to fight for the domain name because I have a feeling the fight will be an utter mess), hopefully to something similar. But, like I said, I'll give everyone some time to modify their sites and such.

As I go about my testing, I'll upload some shots of the CMS's I'm testing and ask for some comments. I'm thinking I'll be ready around May, when I'll have some time after finals week. Probably after the 14th of May. It may only be a short gap as I'm looking at taking some summer classes, but it should be enough for me to get going, pull down my entire tripod archive and get the new site up and running.

More on this as time goes on.