After a long period of hosting here at the bussiness, we have decided to lose the T1 and go with a far, far, cheaper DSL. The server and websites will move to a colocation facility. My job to day was to pick a new home for the server.

My first check was with peer1, the same folks that host joelonsoftware.com. But there were no prices there and I got this expensive smell. I really wanted to have the server nearby, so I went googleing through everyone offering, “colocation charlotte”, and turned up two possible places.

First stop was Charlotte Collocation. Their prices were reasonable, but the web site looked a bit unprofessional. I gave them a call and arranged for a facilities tour later on in the day. (I wanted to see if they actualy had a building. :P)

Second stop was Peak10. I let the saleman I was transfered to know exactly what I was looking for, and asked for a price. “Well how much are you willing to pay?” he asked. Sheeesh! I gave him the other facilities prices, and said they sounded good to me. He said he would email me a quote. When I recieved it, the quote was much more than double the other, and then plus a heafty setup fee.

In the afternoon I drove over to Charlotte Collocation. In spite of their poor website, they have a good facility and great people. So, the new servers will going to Charlotte Collocation. We will see how they turn out.

Last night my brother called the family up, “Hey Dad, Bush just said 48 hours to go.” We turned the radio on and listened to the rest of the speech in silence as we all sat around the living room. The scene was eerily reminiscent of the old photo of the family gathered around radio listening to the declaration of war on Japan.

Since neither Bush nor Hussein are likely to back down, it’s probably war this week. Pray for our troops. :)

I’s fun to pretend to be wise and attempt to predict the future, here goes a prediction. Hussein will attack first. Why? It’s to both nation’s advantage. Saddam is going to loose anyway, may as well do as much damage as he can, and first strikes have often worked in the middle east. It’s to Bush’s advantage, because if you can get the other side to fire the first shot it is a major PR win internationally and at home. (Think Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War Two. Though the enemy fired the first shots the US Gov pretty much put the enemy into a place where it was the enemy’s best option)

I’ve come down with a bit of a nasty cold today. Spent most of the day in bed trying sleep off the sore throat and headache. It’s been comforting to have a 100 pound pound dog (the Susie girl) sleeping on my feet and keeping me company.

The maximal level of performance for individuals in a given domain is not attained automatically as a function of extended experience, but the level of performance can be increased even by highly experienced individuals as a result of deliberate efforts to improve. (from here)

Right on even if verbose. Many experiences in my life have show the truth of this. It’s fun to be able to outperform people that have been doing something three times longer than yourself, and actively learning from your actions makes the difference.

Ah got a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display . ah c’d rave fo’ hours. Suffice it t’say thet this hyar thin’ is huge, an’ brilliant barely dexcribes th’ pitcher. This hyar is above high speckashuns, wo’th th’ money, an’ right fine, right fine, right fine.

Or

Free evenings later we ‘ave only been able ter get one song onto it. The bloody software it comes wiv is ‘orrible. As far as I can tell there is no way ter rip a CD. The user interface is ‘orrible and clunky, right? Aquote on the bloomin’ Neuros forums pretty much sums up the software, right, “NSM seems ter be aimed at blokes ‘oo like pain ”

The Dialectizer is hilarious!

My copy of MacPeople came in today. Wow, there is my name right on page 24.

We have been getting a full T1 from (Update 2007: Name removed to protect the guilty). As you can see from this typical bandwith test, we are being “slightly” ripped off.

My brother John decided to get an MP3 player. He is not a computer person, though he has a Window ME laptop. We went to Comp USA, to pickup a 20Gig Neuros. The Neuros has some really good features, including line in, and a radio transmitter and receiver.

Three evenings later we have only been able to get one song onto it. The software it comes with is horrible. As far as I can tell there is no way to rip a CD. The user interface is horrible and clunky. A quote on the Neuros forums pretty much sums up the software, “NSM seems to be aimed at people who like pain :P ”

On the bright side, it is being actively worked on, and the dev’s are very talkative in the forums. With time, it may rock. For now, get an iPod.

I got a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display . I could rave for hours. Suffice it to say that this thing is huge, and brilliant barely describes the picture. This is above high expectations, worth the money, and cool, cool, cool.

Yet another good voice speaking software, Nuance Vocalizer. But sadly they must be a .com, I can’t find any prices anywhere on the website.