Category: Personal

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Increase of traffic in the spam department

Has anyone noticed a massive increase of internet spam[wiki] in the last few days? In my email and the comments on my sites, the numbers have spiked quite a bit. Some of the stuff got through, but even those numbers have been trailing off over the past 24 hours. Think the filters and blockers are catching on to whatever it is that is going on. I’d really like to knock down these people’s doors and throw a few haymakers.

Update: Looks like I’m not the only one who noticed this. Akismet made this recent post on their blog regarding amounts of spam lately. This is a WordPress must of a plugin to run on your site, and they processed three million pieces of spam in one day last week.

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Giving RadioZoom its own legs to stand on

Back in March, Andrew from Geek.Farm.Life was gracious enough to purchase the “radiozoom.net” domain for the podcast. He’s in a reverse situation than myself, living in Indiana with his American wife, and a long time listener of my podcast. I’ve posted about GFL before, so be sure to go read that to find out more about his podcast.

Until last night, the domain was a redirect to the site that I had setup within this domain. That’s much easier to market to listeners rather than saying “blah-blah-blah slash blah-blah-blah”. I’ve been content with the setup for some time, but the slight confusion of the podcast name combined with the actual URL for the podcast episodes was starting to bug me. It doesn’t give the podcast enough of a brand, at least for me, if you tell people one thing and they end up seeing another.

It took a few hours to propagate down the DNS chains, but the domain now has full control over the site. All the old links to old episodes still work. The change has allowed me to move forward with ideas that I couldn’t implement otherwise. These are more noticeable behind the scenes, and that really matters to me more than you. This also means that it’s less I have to think about while falling asleep at night.

Once again, many thanks go out to Andrew for helping to make this possible. Go check out RadioZoom.net and see for yourself.

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One year down

Downtown VancouverI’m a few days late with marking the occasion, but it has been, officially, one year since I have moved to Vancouver. So much of my life has changed within the past year. Wrapping my head around it just gets too confusing, not to mention all the other projects that I have going on in my life right now. That’s not too bad for a guy who can’t legally work in Canada yet, but my time is coming.

Rebecca is so much a piece of everything that I call my life now. We figured out a long time ago that distances were too tough to keep us from each other, and the fight to get this far has been something we have done hand in hand. Our little home in the west end is more happiness than I could have ever imagined. That’s not to say that life has been a walk in the park. I just have an incredible partner in crime to push through it all.

I also haven’t left British Columbia, or even this country, since I came here. Moving so far away from your family is never the easiest thing to do. You leave behind everything that you have known to learn everything all over again.

Downtown VancouverI still have a slight problem with deciding which way is north. That might sound silly, but I grew up in a flatter evironment and about seven degrees further south on the latitude. There is even less sunlight up here in the winter, and the snow is only seen if you head to the interior.

Even after a year, there is still a lot of changes to get used to, but that’s what life is. I always had this thought in my head that my path would lead out of Iowa one day. I also understood damn well that such a venture would not be easy. Little did I know that it would lead me to Rebecca, moving to another country, and taking on the biggest change in my life.

The strange thing is that so much of my mindset has changed from just thinking I can do this to nothing can stop me now. Naturally, nothing in life is perfect or comes easily, but you make the best of what you have of it. Bumps in the road happen. You adjust and keep going. Rebecca and I do that everyday. It’s all about having fun, and we get to do that in the greatest city in the world.

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Chicago has a secret radio project that’s about to launch

I have a friend who works at Chicago Public Radio that clued me into something that is happening there. SecretRadioProject.com doesn’t give a whole lot of details, and the information that I was getting from Paul left me with more questions than answers. That’s just because I started throwing out some technical questions, and he isn’t the most technical type of guy.

Chicago will soon be home to a new radio station that is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.

It’s a creative free-for-all, with no shows and no stuffy time slots. Engaging hosts guide you through the day – whether you stop in for an hour or a quick coffee break.

Every time you tune in, you’ll hear something new and surprising – music, interviews, shout outs, essays and more. All with a local bent and an unmistakably Chicago voice.

And the best part: this radio comes from you. You’re the creator, deejay, producer and editor.

Give us your take on what’s happening in your neighborhood. Share your deepest thoughts, confessions and opinions about your world. Upload audio to our website and tune in as we play it for all of Chicago and the world to hear.

It’s two-way radio: an ongoing conversation with Chicago. Radio of, by and for us all. [secretradioproject]

Paul also added something to the effect that it will be all new content with a YouTube like archive, uploaded from anyone and everyone. This won’t be tied to NPR but will be very tied to the Chicago metro area. However, this will be a service of Chicago Public Radio.

It’s very interesting to hear about, and Paul went offline before I could IM anymore answers out of him. Regardless, the scope of the project is daunting. Radio is in desperate need of rethinking how to exist within a world of changing media. This could be the best experiment I have seen yet to try and do just that.

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Just another day, but I’m another year older

Canucks vs. Anaheim for my birthdayWhat can I say? It’s been an incredible weekend of birthday happiness.

There was Snow Patrol on Thursday night(which I have yet to make my review post about yet), dinner with my Canadian family on Friday, Mexican food with my Canadian friends on Saturday, and the Canucks vs. Ducks at GM place tonight. I’ve said it a lot already, but you only turn twenty-eight once, right?

There are so many thanks that need to go out to so many people. So many good times were had over the period of four days, not to mention the cards, gifts, and alcohol, consumed or given as presents, from everyone.

Just before the puck dropped tonight at GM Place, my parents called me on my cell. It was a moment of true analogy. The beer we had just purchased was foam all the way to the brim and slightly spilling over as my folks wished me a happy birthday. That’s what today had climaxed to, and I don’t think it could have gotten better than that, not to mention that the Canucks preveiled, 4-3 in a shootout.

Poncho's! As I write this, The Reverend Don Deeley is making his way through his weekly radio show at WYEP in Pittsburgh, dedicating a good portion of the selections my way, all for my birthday. He emailed me to give me a heads up, thinking I wouldn’t be listening, but I’ve been streaming in from the beginning. That means a lot, and I thank you so much, Don. Anytime I can take over airwaves through the use of my voice or a barrage of song requests, I’m so there.

I also want to mention thanks to some fellow bloggers for extending some birthday wishes. J.J. from the Canucks Hockey Blog met up with us ahead of the game tonight, providing me with another, frosty beverage for my other hand. Yvonne sent in an email as well as getting a voicemail from Uncle Weed. Even the woman who cuts my hair called me, but Minoo was more concerned about how Rebecca liked the coloring of her hair after there were some issues with getting that all done.

Rebecca had her hair coloredMost importantly, Rebecca has made this an amazing birthday. This has been the first time that we’ve been able to be together for it, and she has made it more incredible than I could have ever imagined. Everything you could probably imagine about her being a wonderful person is true, but I have that and a lot more with everyday that goes by.

Thanks to everyone. Just because your name isn’t on here and the exact contribution to this weekend isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean that it’s insignificant. There’s just so much, and I’ll keep those for myself. Memories are always the best gift that can be given.

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The Reverend has The Mountain Goats on tape

Photo by: mountain-goats.comOne thing that The Mountain Goats[wiki] encourages is taping of their live shows. These things end up getting traded among fans, and you’ll see them posted around various sites on the internet, such as TheMountainGoats.net, for the masses to enjoy.

The Reverend Don Deeley was able to catch their show in Pittsburgh the other day at The Andy Warhol Museum, and you know he got it on tape. He mentioned that it’s not a soundboard recording, but the important thing is that he captured it. The Rev got me introduced to their music from our KRUI days together. You can find his recording on the Internet Archive, and here’s the track listing from the show.

Collection: MountainGoats
Band/Artist: Mountain Goats
Date: September 20, 2006
Venue: The Andy Warhol Museum
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Description

Wild Sage
New Monster Avenue
Love Love Love
Song for Lonely Giants
Your Belgian Things
Cheshire County
Moon Over Goldsboro
Maybe Sprout Wings
In the Hidden Places
Dilaudid
Gameshows Touch Our Lives
You or Your Memory
In Corolla (Peter on guitar)

Encore:
Pet Politics (Silver Jews)
This Year

[archive.org]

The Rev in Stanley ParkAs I post this, I have “We Shall All Be Healed” rolling in the background. Everytime I make my way back to The Mountain Goats, I am finding myself amazed and falling in love all over again. Needless to say, The Rev is much more of a fan than I am. The stories he has relayed to me about the trials and tribulations of John Darnielle[wiki] are fascinating.

I have to throw in a slight Iowa connection here. Darnielle lived in the town of Grinnell for a short period of his life, which is also home to a small college of the same name. I don’t know what it is about this city that lies within viewing distance from Interstate 80 as you drive by, but it’s a tiny hub for music in the area.

Grinnell College has a knack for pulling in some great acts, Death Cab For Cutie, Styrofoam, and John Vanderslice being a few that I can name off the top of my head. Not bad for a town of nearly 10,000 people. It’s also the birth place of Speed of Sauce, a long gone local band that has been a favorite of mine since I saw them open up for The Dismemberment Plan in Iowa City.

About the picture, that is The Rev. We ventured into Stanley Park when he was out here in February. Good times.

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Happy Birthday, Ben!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

My nephew is eleven years old today. To be fair, here’s a pic of his cousin-in-crime, Anthony.  You just gotta love iChat.
Anthony

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Confessions of a tinkerer

One thing about reading up on so many blogs and websites through RSS feeds is that you have to make an effort to actually see how some one’s design to their site looks.  If that applies to you, then you never notice how I constantly tweek the design to my site.  I can’t help it.  It’s a tad bit on the obsessive side, but I never find myself happy with what I have when it’s so easy for me to change it.

If you are one of those people who still go the “old school” route and surf into my site everyday(like all good boys and girls should), then you notice these changes.  Over the past day, I’ve done a variety of subtle to not so subtle changes to different things.  And when you start in one place, you end up doing one of two things.  You screw something else up, or that one change leads you down a path of wanting to change even more things.  It can be addictive.

I doubt that what you see will remain exactly the same for very long.  At least now you know.  I tinker.  It’s what I do.

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My blog was hacked

When I woke up this morning, I went to delete a spam comment that got through my defenses, but WordPress wouldn’t let me log in. I tried my login and password a few different times and got nothing. That’s when I started to get that feeling. You know that one I’m talking about?

“This site hacked by” whatever the name was. I’m kicking myself for not getting a screenshot of it, but there was a large wolf image with some language that I was unfamiliar with. There was also a sound file that was posted along with it. It started out with some deep voiced man saying something very foreign, followed by some drums and horns. I was still sleepy eyed and increasingly pissed off that I didn’t take in all the details.

I was able to work around WordPress and get into the SQL database, delete the post, and get my user accounts reset. On top of that, I was running WordPress 2.0.3. I might have waited too long to do the 2.0.4 upgrade that apparently had some “important security updates”.

I’m not sure how this person hacked my site, but everything seems to be back to normal. I’ve done all the neccesary steps. Backed up my site, changed all my passwords, and done needed upgrades. All this after being knocked down with a troubling sinus cold thing all this week, this morning being the first day that I’ve woke up and actually felt good. I’m totally going running right now because that’s a lot better than punching a wall.

Update: Rebecca was able to grab a screenshot of it this morning and has it on this post.

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Lolo has a new job, and I got new sunglasses

Crossing the Burrard BridgeLaura[lolod] is a mighty fine chick in my book.  She got herself a new job and had her farewell gathering last night with, now former, co-workers and me last night.  I wanted to take a moment to wish her congratulations on the new job.

More importantly, I also want to thank her for being super cool and giving me these new sunglasses.  My old pair busted the other day, almost a year to the day that I bought them.  I’m a big fan of buying cheap because the less I spend on shades, the longer they last.

She got these for herself not long ago, but found other ones she liked better.  They’re mine now, and I really dig ’em.  Gave them the full test today.  Passed with flying colors.

Thanks, Laura!  And congrats!

And by the way, I took a bunch of pics today while taking care of some errands.  Check them out here.