Finally got the site moved

It took a bit longer than I had imagined it would, but most of that was based on problems with my previous hosting provider and the fact that my new server is configured very differently from the old one, but the site is up and running on my new server.

I'm still tweaking the server and site, so things are not quite 100% complete — but I'm close.

If you have any problems with the site, please let me know about it.  The more details you can provide (like what link you clicked on or what page you were viewing), the better able I'll be to locate and correct the problem.  Since the server is significantly different from my previous host, there are bound to be a few things I've missed in reconfiguring the site.

Hopefully you'll notice the site is a bit faster and a bit more stable.  That was, after all, the whole idea behind relocating to a new hosting provider and server.

And I hope to get back up to speed on posting in the next few days as I finalize the new site setup and server configuration, so stay tuned.

And here we go

I've been rather busy this last week, so updates have been scarce.  Get over it.

The order for my new server has gone through, so I'll be starting the migration of the site soon.  Since I'm focusing my time getting the server ready and getting services moved, I won't be posting as much as I'd like — but it's only temporary.

Once I have everything else moved, I will shut down the site long enough to get it transferred.  You should expect an outage of a few days once that happens.  I'll post a static front page when the migration begins so you'll know what's going on.

Did no one ever mention the birds and the bees?

I had to verify this story before I posted it here because it seems like something entirely too bizarre to be true.  Well, it's quite true.

A German couple (30-year-old wife and 36-year-old husband) who have been married for eight years and are still childless recently visited a fertility clinic in the hopes of finally having children of their own.  Much to the surprise of those staffing the clinic, the couple's interview revealed why they hadn't yet had children — they weren't having sex.

Testing indicated the husband and wife are both fertile and should have no trouble conceiving.

When asked how often they have sex, the couple had no idea what the question meant.

The clinic spokesman said, "We are not talking retarded people here, but a couple who were brought up in a religious environment who were simply unaware, after eight years of marriage, of the physical requirements necessary to procreate."

You can read the brief article here.

I think you can expect an outage

On top of the problems I've been having with my current web hosting provider, I've also started having constant problems with email based on the same server.  Well, enough of that!

I spent most of the weekend looking for a new hosting provider and have found one — AngelNetworkz.  I took a look at them based on the recommendation of my friend Chris who runs slackercentral.com.  I'm glad I did.

I found a much more powerful, dedicated server at a price comparable to what I'm paying now for this POS.

So, I'm finalizing the server order and will begin transferring services this week.  Although I'll try desperately to minimize any outages, I will have to disable the site temporarily in order to move it.  I'll put up a static page so that I can backup and move the database, web pages and DNS services with minimal disruption.

I promise to move as quickly as possible and to have the site back up in the shortest amount of time.

Knowledge

During my senior year in high school, when this was written, I was in a relatively dark place in my life.  I had found myself embroiled in a rather ugly battle with my parents and the church they were going to at the time.  The issue was that I didn't fit in the mold that was being pushed upon me, so I progressively found myself at odds with those who had the most influence over my life.

Originally started as a suicide-related poem, I found myself drawn in a very different direction as I actually put pen to paper.

The end result was more akin to the mental, emotional and psychological freedom we experience when we free ourselves of the repressive elements in our lives.  Whether it be church or family or school or a self-imposed repression, what I eventually composed was more a metaphor which expressed how I felt once I moved away from home, left the church, and allowed myself the freedom to explore my own life, to live my own life, and to be happy with myself regardless of what others may say or think.

 

I step out into eternity
oh yes, at last, I am free
a hold on me you have no more
behind me I have shut the door
the sky behind is stark and black
the sky ahead — I'm taken aback
an endless sea of stars and suns
bright and beautiful, those are the ones
I walk upon a suspended way
that streams right through this endless day
the lights indeed, stars they are not
knowledge they are; oh what a lot
I have finally arrived at my lifelong dream
this knowledge, oh yes, in me it gleams
endless knowledge the stars represent
I'm happy now this way I went
power, yes, beyond compare
out before me — yes, right there
the sky is filled with wondrous light
as I approach with strength and might
the knowledge is of mystical things
of power, of creation, of everything
my mind is open; I reach out
I touch the light and then it's out
inside my mind I now behold
all in life ever told

[circa 1989]