Category: General

Alternate Definition of Blogged

blogged (blôgd)

adj.

  1. Hard to find in Google because of blog noise.
  2. Saturated with blog posts.

tr.v

  1. To make hard to find in Google by blogging
  2. To push off the first page of Google result
  3. To raise price of keywords by increasing noise

If you have a popular blog and you don't like certain companies or products, just blog about them without linking to the company or the products.

Pass it on.

PS: I retract the solution suggested in Neutralizing Blogger Effect on Google and the Robots tag idea.  I now see that they will not work because there are no tangible incentives for people to implement them.

Growing Pains

I spent most of today trying to configure my new ServInt account, moving domain names, and changing name server settings.  It's a quite a learning experience/torture.  ServInt account is a VPS account which is just a step below a dedicated server.  Such an account is used by resellers to divide up the bandwidth and storage for sale to those who just wants modest bandwidth and storage.  So it was configured bareass.  Gee, where is my copy of Linux for Dummies?

What I can't figure out is how in the world software like cPanel became popular?  What is the point of putting up user-friendly forms for Linux server administration if you are not going to explain anything about what the forms does, explain input being requested, and what the effects and possible problems will be?  Sure, cPanel has documentation but it's just as skimpy.  It goes something like this,

To assign name server IP, enter IP address for the name server in that box and press Submit.

When you scratch your head and enter an IP address, it will say something like X is assigned to Y.  Huh?  Where did Y come from?  With all that space left empty on the form, why do you need a separate documentation at all?  Why not just include the documentation on the form and turn the form into a Wiki so I can made notes on it and share it with others?

While it's easy to blame the Unix mentality, Windows software aren't much better.  When was the last time you saw a dialog or a wizard that explained itself to your satisfaction?  Help button on those dialogs are common but what is the use when there are idiotic text that rarely say anything beyond the self-evident.

Excuses I often hear are:

  • It's obvious.
  • I am not a GUI engineer.
  • What do you expect from open source?
  • File a bug report.

Most geeks are just too obsessed with adding new nifty features than polishing what they already have more accessible.

Being a Smoker in California

I am a smoker and being a smoker in California is quite an experience.  After reading that Russell's number one reason for moving back to California is smokeless working environment, I wrote this comment which I post here for your daily dose of chuckles.

It's great being a smoker in California, exciting ride down elevators to stand out side with fellow smokers in the rain, socializing and bonding across hierarchies and organizations.

You get great exercise too. There you are standing outdoor, away from people and buildings, enjoying the peace and quiet moment of exile and *wham* you get jumped by a pregnent woment with five children in tow. With the reflex of a raggedy rabbit, you dodge away from them all knowing that a single mistake can take away minutes or even hours from their lives. Whew. Another heroic act performed, saving lives of innocent people.

California is full of superheros like me. Hmm. Maybe I should get a Malboro cape and matching pair of tights.

Yamada

I saw Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl last night.  It's one of those Terantino-style Japanese gangster movie with odd sense of humor.  Among all the funny characters in the movie, I thought Yamada stood out clearly.  Yamada is a weird homosextual assassin/ham radio operator who starts out like a total pervert and turns into a bumbling heroic character who exits his role skewered by a samurai sword.  The movie as a whole was not very memorable, but Yamada sure was.  Watch the movie just to get your dose of Yamada.

Missing BloggerCon

While I appreciate Dave's personal invitation to BloggerCon, I am afraid I can't make it this year.  Beside blowing this month's personal spending budget to get a domain name I wanted, I have to work my butt off consulting so I can finance my startup.  I already got expenses pelting me on my windshield like bugs as I go about my daily activities.

It's so sad because I think BloggerCon will be The Event to attend for blogging industry.  To make up for it, I promise to attend next year's BloggerCon and blast every single attendee's hair cleanly off their head with new ideas.  I hope Dave will reserve a speaking spot for me so I'll have reason to practice huffing and puffing.

Red Sox

This bozo thinks Red Sox has no chance of winning the World Series becaues Red Sox bullpen sucks and Kim Byung-Hyun, a fellow Korean, is weak against Yankees.  Maybe, maybe not.  I have no interest in odds when it comes to sports.  I care about the underdogs primarily because they reward me better when they come up on top.

When Kim was hosed in the last World Series by Yankees, I felt sad.  Here was a kid who came out of Korea and made it to the World Series by making real contributions.  At the height of his young career, he got trampled in front of millions of people.  It must have felt like falling off a cliff.

I don't care if Kim end up repeating what happened last year.  I just want Kim to go up there and do his best, giving every ounce of his being, so there won't be any regrets.  There is a common expression in Korea that fits the occasion, Bae-Chae-Ra, which literally means Cut My Stomach Open as in do what you will but I am not backing down.

The spirit of the expression is exactly what Ghandi did.  Brush aside all worries, fears, and possibilites and just do your part in the most sincere way possible.  Like a climber who is dead tired even before he gets half-way to the summit.  Every step he takes, is another step he must take on his way back.  Any sane man would turn back.  Still the climber goes on putting all his energy and thoughts on putting one foot in front of another.

There is something to admire in that sort of attitude and it's relevant to everyday living.  Too many people worry too much these days.  Uncertainty rattles them into depression which just worsen their life.  To me, worries serve a purpose like warning lights.  Take heed and do what must be done.  If nothing can be done, ignore the flashing lights and keep going.

I predict that Red Sox will win the World Series, not because I have divine knowledge, but because I want them to.  Even if they don't, no sweat.  There is always next year.  Frankly, I feel sorry for the suckers who predict Yankees or San Francisco will win.  I mean, where is the joy in that kind of prediction?  If you like stats so much, go become an accountant.

Go Red Sox!  Woohoo!

Escrow.com

I used Escrow.com for the first time to buy a domain name.  The domain name wasn't cheap so I needed some protection which Escrow.com provides.  Signup was easy and they had domain name transfer as a transaction type.  Cool.  Not!

First problem.  I didn't find out until I was half-way into the transaction, and after wasting ten minutes to figure out why I could select my credit card to pay, that credit card payment is possible only if I used their Premium Service to pay which is obvious more expensive than their Standard Service.  Sheesh.

As soon as I solved the first problem by bending over nice and easy, I was asked to print out a web page with two empty boxes.  Instruction said, place your credit card and an ID with my signature on it in the boxes and photocopy the page.  The resulting copy was then to be signed and faxed so Escrow.com as proof of credit card authorization.  Exactly how many people have access to a flatbed copy machine at midnight?  Sheesh #2.

So I taped my credit card and driver license onto the printout and tried to shove it through my copier/fax/printer.  [Crunching Sound]  After a minute of listening to horrific noise, I tore apart the machine and managed to pull the paper and my cards out intact, a miracle of sort.  Using plan B, I called around and found a copymachine at a nearby Safeway.  [Batman Theme]  I got back with the photocopy which I signed and faxed it after coaxing my upset multifunction gizmo into service.

Now what?  Wait for them to verify what I faxed and nudge the transaction along.  Sheesh #3.  I feel stupid because I paid premium fee to be tortured.

BloggerCon Watch

Being a curious person, I like to learn how things work.  By things, I don't mean just objects but also processes like how breads are made, how a community like Waco are formed, and how events like Burningman came to be.  Often enough, my curiousity goes unsatisfied because people don't want a stranger hanging around their busy kitchen or business asking seemingly obvious questions.

Reading "Dave"'s blog these days is like watching a house being built from the inside.  Right before our eyes, a major conference is taking shape!  Day to day, it can be a little tedious, but spanning over time, one can't help but appreciate the unique experience Dave is providing us.  I wish more blogs would do what Dave is doing, showing rest of the world how things come to be from the insider's perspective, one day at a time.

Possibilities are endless!