I got an e-mail today from one of my customers, and they informed me that they were not going to use the fully-integrated CMS that I developed for them any longer. They said they had someone else working on a new site for them.
I don't get it: Why would someone spend $1000+ on a website that meets their supposed needs and desires completely, then a year later decide to not use it any longer? Was contacting me about changes not an option? Was asking me if I would be willing to work with the people on the new site not an option? Was getting in touch with me in a reasonable period of time not an option?!
Earlier this summer I contact them in regards to domain renewal fees and the next year's hosting, and they told me to go ahead and take care of it, then they would cut me a check to reimburse me.
First off, I know that sounds a bit fishy, but for a non-profit it's the norm. They had to go through a long chain of command before a check was even considered to be cut. Normally, they had to have a sales invoice read for a meeting at the end of the quarter, then the check would be sent out 30 days later. I've not had any problem with it in the past.
Second, I can't really see why they would tell me they wanted to keep the site running, then 6 months later tell me that they don't. I mean, sure, people change their minds, but typically there is a bit of communication involved, and the other party can plan.
This all brings me to a serious point of concern: Are my content management systems too complex for the average website operator? Is it too hard for them to understand that [b]this would be bold text[/b] and that you click here, click there, edit this, toggle that, and submit the form to edit a page of content? Good luck finding another site that you can manage by yourself.
I'm really seriously considering dropping my CMSes from the primary sales pitch, and just push a hand-authored, W3C valid, static (X)HTML website, and let them pay me an hourly fee to maintain it. This crap of me puting 6 months of work into something, only to have it thrown in file #13 is retarded.
Read about a guy who eats things that normal humans wouldn't consider. I have to admit, I almost lost tomorrow's breafast reading this stuff...
Happy Birthday, MysticStarLite!
Last week, somewhere around Thursday, I started feeling this coming on... It started with a "winded" feel, almost like I had been out running and I couldn't catch my breath.
The next day, my gut started hurting and causing problems (no details for you!). Later that day, my back started hurting.
The next day, the gut pains and such quit, but the back pain and "winded" feel continued.
A couple days later, I started feeling better, but still was taking it easy.
Today, it all decided to go downhill in a hurry. I called the chiropractor and got an appointment for Tuesday, which is the soonest I'll be able to get in there. Until then, I'm in a lot of pain, having trouble breathing, and basically eating Ibuprofin.
I told you so.
Google has been in the news a lot lately, because people are starting to see what I saw last year: Google is a threat to the global market.
Bill Gates is shaking in his boots, fearing that Google is going to wipe Microsoft clean off the face of the market. I told you so.
Other major players in the IT market are fearing the same thing, simply because of the rate Google is exploding. I told you so.
Google's stock has exploded nearly 45% in the year they have been on the open market. I told you so.
Oh... Remember my mention about gTV? US Financial Network: BellSouth and MDU Communications Team to Deploy Voice, Data and DIRECTV to the Multi-Family Property Market and Google Goes Mobile with Local Service. I told you so.
- I have a headache.
- My Logitech Z-604 speaker system died last night.
- I am upset about the speakers.
- I am tired.
- I have to work tomorrow.
- I am going to bed.
Since the White Sox won the world series last week (sorry, Teddy :P) and since a lot of the guys at the shop wanted to celebrate Halloween, the boss decided that we would only be open from 8:00 to 3:00 today. It was posted on the sign in front of the shop last Wednesday, and has been there ever since.
Today, at 3:00, we closed the shop as normal. I made up the bank deposit, and the other guy left. While I was busy doing the paperwork, a car pulled up. I stopped what I was doing and walked out to inform the customer that we were closed early and that we would reopen tomorrow at 8:00AM. He understood and left. A little while later, another vehilce pulled up. I did the same thing, but the response was completely opposite: The old guy behind the wheel started cussing at me and making remarks about how we had no right to close early, that we should service his vehicle, etc... I turned around and said, "Sorry," and I went inside the shop and locked the door.
What I don't get is how people can so blatenly ignore what is posted on a sign, yet expect me to accept the fact that it's my fault!
Have another example: Stop signs.
Just inside the driveway of the shop, there is a stop sign with a message about staying in your vehicle, yadda yadda yadda... So many people just ignore that sign and drive right up to the door, or even try to pull their car in the shop without any guidance! Remember this picture? That hole is about 24" wide, and nearly 72" deep! Would you try to pull your car in, over it, without anyone to guide you? If so, have fun getting back out of the pit.
Oh yeah, this old guy that cussed me out blew the sign off as well.
For the last 2 years, I've been a participant in United Devices' Grid.org Project.
The Grid MP Global @ grid.org is a virtual supercomputer that can be harnessed to power computational research and analysis projects on a massive scale. By combining millions of online CPUs worldwide to work on extremely large computational projects, problems can be solved more quickly and less expensively than by conventional methods. Now any networked computer can help fuel research and projects that previously may have required a bank of supercomputers or a hundred years to complete.
So what kind of "computational projects" does Grid.org run?
- Human Genome Proteome Folding
- Cancer Research
- Anthrax Research
- Smallpox Research
- And much more is possible!
Currently, only the Genome Folding and Cancer Research projects are active. As of the date and time this entry is written, 440,962 years, 346 days, 11 hours, 16 minutes, and 12 seconds worth of computing has taken place! Assuming the first "Member News" was posted just shortly after the start of the Grid.org project, they have been running since 2001. That's 4 years, and approximately 110,000 years worth of work completed per year! Amazing!
Okay, so let's talk about participation... I have had a team going since February 10, 2003. Since the team was started, we have picked up a base of 7 members, and have completed about 5 years worth of work. During this time, we have generated just shy of 4000 results, and nearly 885,000 points!
"MrZonko" has suggested that we set a goal for the team: Generate 1,000,000 points before Christmas!
This is an extremely possible goal, but we need your help. At the rate we're going, we will reach 934,516 points by December 25th. I want to see that mark smashed, and break well into the 1,000,000 point range! With your help, we can!
- Point your browser here and follow the instructions to get started.
- Head here and join the team!
- Let your computer run as normal!
There won't be any rewards for helping us reach this goal, aside from the sense of satisfaction that you have contributed to science and potentially helping find a cure for many of the diseases that plague our species.
Let's do it: JOIN NOW!
Are you a human? If so, you can get out of my face anytime. I would prefer if you were out of my face yesterday.
Today == t3h 5uck.
For those of you who can't comprehend symbolic character replacement, the above says "Today == the suck." This can be translated into "Today sucked."
Get this: I had to talk so much today, just simple one-on-one conversations, so much that I started losing my voice and I got a really bad headache. I really hope I don't have to talk as much tomorrow.
And for now, I am going to bed. If anyone wants me for anything, tough. My cell phone is in the other room and it will remain there until I leave for work tomorrow morning, when most of you will be sleeping.
Am I bitter? Am I grumpy? Yes. Yes I am.
Okay, this is one of my more crazier ideas...
This one is a game. The game starts out, dropping a character in the middle of nowhere. The character is given nothing more than a little bit of food and water, and has to stay alive.
Staying alive is the result of decision making. The initial decision is what to do: Do you stay put and try to find enough sustainance to survive and build a new home, or do you try to navigate your way to civilization? When civilization is found, how will they receive you? Do you fight back when met with resistance?
This idea could be taken off into infinity, and could actually be a somewhat cool game. It'd be almost a combination of role playing, puzzle, and strategy.
Yes, I'm very bored right now.
Okay, so last night I was randomly clicking on links. Somehow I ended up at this article on Maxim's website, about a guy who made a bet to his friend (for a rather substantial amount of money) that he wouldn't be able to get breast implants and keep them.
Yes, that's right: A GUY getting BREAST IMPLANTS.
After I read it and finally stopped laughing, I got to thinking: The internet is really a scary scary place, more so than the world.
I'd continue with this thought, but I need to go find a drill with a 1½" spade bit so I can get this thought drained from my head.
THE INTERNET SUCKS!
24 Tickets. 26 Cars. 3 Transmission Flushes. 1 Coolant Flush. 2 Employees. $1000+ in sales.
I'm tired.
You Failed the US Citizenship Test
Oops, you only got 3 out of 10 right!
Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test? Click Here to find out!
Well, today was the day I bought a replacement cell phone. I've had my Kyocera for just about 2 years now, and I've been pretty satisfied with it. Sometime in the last month, though, the power socket for the charger broke (inside the phone), and would give me a lot of hassle whenever I wanted to charge the battery. Considering the life of the phone, I decided to go ahead and replace it.
After doing some research, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a new phone: The Nokia "Shorty", made for Virgin Mobile. This phone is comparable to my old Kyocera "K7 Rave".
After I got the new phone home, the first step was to transfer my account from my old cell phone to the new one. This is done using the Electronic Serial Number (ESN), printed on the inside of the battery comparment, through Virgin Mobile's web site. That part was painless and easy.
Next, I plugged the new phone in and let the battery charge. After it charged, I turned it on and attempted to explore the features. About 20 seconds later it turned itself off. I couldn't figure out what had happened, so I tried again. This time, the phone turned off within 5 seconds. I repeated this process for about 10 minutes, which is when I gave up. I tried to search the internet for a bug with the phone, and all I could find were 2 people who posted the same thing at several sites, saying that they had the same problem, tried removing and re-inserting the battery, and ended up having to exchange their phone 3+ times.
Frustrated, I sent the Virgin Mobile team an e-mail:
I just got the Nokia Shorty phone to replace my K7 Rave. The power connector on the Rave broke a few weeks ago, and I can no longer charge the phone. I'm not too upset about that part, considering how long I've had the phone, but I've got what looks to be a common problem with the Shorty. The first thing I did when I got the phone home was I used your form on the site here to transfer my account to the new phone. I then plugged the phone in and turned it on. Within a matter of seconds, though, the phone shut itself right back off. I figured it was the battery, so I let it sit for a while on the charger before I tried again: Same problem. Now the battery is about 75% charged, and the phone STILL will not stay turned on for more than 30 seconds, no matter if I try to use it, or let it sit on my desk. I use my phone quite frequently, so this is going to be kinda hard for me to get by without it. Is there anything you guys can and will do to help me with this problem? Thanks a bunch! -Tim Garrison
Their response was that I should return the phone to where I got it, and if that didn't solve the problem, I could get in touch with their support staff.
I called Wal-Mart, explained the problem, and they told me to bring it in to exchange it. I did. When I got home, I tried the same process over again.
At the point where I submitted the ESN of the new phone, I got an error saying something like, "Something has gone terribly wrong. Contact our staff at ..."
Now, when I got the phone, the cashier had a bit of trouble activating it, so I figured that could have been part of the cause of this problem. I went ahead and plugged the phone in and let it charge, then I tried again about an hour later on the Virgin Mobile website: Same error.
I called Virgin Mobile at the number they gave me, muddled through the voice activated menu, and finally talked to some overly-excited technical support representative who informed me that I could only make one ESN transfer in a 24 hour period, and that I would have to wait and try again tomorrow.
The good news is that this phone is staying powered on. Check out the pictures:
The phone on the left is my old Kyocera, and the one on the right is the new Nokia.
I got my free "IA-32 Intel™ Architecture Software Developer's Manual" books via DHL yesterday. I'm hoping to be able to flip through them sometime this weekend.
I am officially the manager of the Rensselaer shop. Effective October 17th.
I'm tired.