May 15 There is a cost to running your own web server. I’m not talking about the actual monetary cost, although there definitely is some of that.
I’m talking about the down time and lack of production-level reliability. I just got my Internet connection back up after being down nearly the entire day! I had checked the status in the morning, and it was working. However, when I got to work I couldn’t access it. “Oh great,” I thought.
So basically I just lost a day of traffic, readership, etc. Great, that just stinks. You know I wonder what my uptime percentage is. I was thinking about it today as a result of not having it available, and I am positive that I am up more than 9 days out of 10. However, I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t claim more than 95%. Oh well.
Anyways, I think that the benefits to running my own web server outweigh the cost. Let me share what I think some of them are.
-
Learn more about how the Internet works by becoming more than a user, become a cog.
-
Know exactly where all of your data is stored
-
Don’t have to pay for hosting costs (okay, okay there is the electricity to run the computer which is definitely something. But you’re not getting charged 15 bucks a month like you normally would be.
-
Learn interesting server-related things such as configuring Apache. This is especially interesting for those who have a professional interest in computers I think.
Is it worth it to you? I don’t even know what the percentages are of people who run their own server. I actually don’t know too many people that do. Of course I guess that speaks more about the people that I know than what is actually going on. In any case, sorry for the downtime, and I’m back (for now).
May 14 In an article at Yahoo! about cracking down on college music pirates, I read about one Sarah Barg, a sophomore from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It portrayed her as a girl who was just taking part in what everyone else was doing. The article wanted to put her in the role of one who is definitely not the worst (I mean she only downloaded 381 songs when others were downloading thousands!). In response to it all, Barg says
Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it
Now, I know that all higher education is not equal. And I know that maybe not all of them are as good as the University of California, San Diego, but that does not allow for such ridiculous thoughts. I think that ignorance is not a good excuse for doing wrong. The onus is on you to do what’s right. However, I think that actually knowing that something is wrong and yet still doing it speaks of some darker black.
In any case, I don’t think that it’s a matter of intelligence. I think it’s a sign of the times.
Piracy does not just affect music as I wrote in Even Worse Than At First Glance, Cheain’ Chinese, and (in regards to cheating in general) Cheaters 4 Life. Wow I did not realize that I had so many entries devoted to ranting about cheaters! But I digress.
Reasons why you shouldn’t be a (music) pirate:
- You can afford the music (or whatever it is that you’re pirating).
* If you can't afford it, you don't need it.
* If you really can't afford it, you have things that you should be doing other than listening to music anyways.
-
You can support and encourage the artists that you like to keep making music. It’s kind of like writing a blog and getting encouraged by people leaving comments. Except for them it’s people giving them money. I’m applying my energy to the wrong thing. :P
-
You know it’s morally wrong.
-
It’s actually against the law.
Now I admit that I’m not perfect, but I would like to think that once I knew the truth then I would change my behavior to match what I know. Not everyone is like this. But they should be. It just makes sense to have your behavior in line with your opinions, does it not? Don’t be the person who gets laughed at for coming off as stupid. Nobody wants 15 minutes of infamy.
May 14 [ri-nig, -neg, -neeg]
Definition:
To break a rule, go back on one’s word, cheat (especially at cards)
Example of usage:
When you play hearts, you need to follow suit if you have the suit that is first played. If someone plays a spade and you have a spade but you play a diamond instead, you just reneged.
I learned this word in 11th grade honors English because we learned how to play Ombre after reading Rape Of The Lock by Alexander Pope. Pretty random huh? Anyways, it’s a slightly archaic word, but I have still found that it can be used on occasion. For all the card players, it will be an especially useful word to use because it is often used in that context.
May 13 So I’m not sure how many of you are aware of how often people actually make money off of blogging. Many of my readers probably are not very acquainted with the idea. They’re accustomed to doing things for free and because they like it. That’s fine and well, but there is in fact a market for actually making money simply by blogging. Amazing isn’t it?
Well now you might be wondering whether blogging is even worth it as a venture to make money. Let me point your attention to a site that teaches you how you can make money online. Even though right now I’m participating in a contest to review his site to get a backlink from his site, this really is a site that I have been subscribing to in my RSS reader.
To start off with, John Chow is a Canadian resident (whom none of you probably actually know personally) who started trying to turn his blog into a money-maker less than a year ago. He writes articles about how he is making money as well as ideas and tips for other people who would want to do the same. He uses his own site as a case study in how money can be made. In every month since he started his blog, he has enjoyed increased revenue. He is a proponent of a lot of different advertisements and partner deals (including the ubiquitous AdSense which I am using). With the combined revenue from all of his sources, he made a bit under $12,000 in the month of April. It’s pretty amazing to see what someone can do with just a blog! Of course the caveat to this for all of you is that his blog is less of a personal one and more of a targeted one. Nevertheless it’s impressive.
Although I generally read all of the articles, I think that the main downside that I see to what he is writing about is that he sometimes hits a ceiling in terms of content. Often (simply by the mere subject matter) there will be repetition in his advice so I can see how this blog will be very interesting initially but could lose interest for readers after they have read it for awhile.
Anyways, I have enjoyed reading about different ideas and methods that he’s used, and I suggest that anyone interested in the topic should take a look at it. This is especially useful for those that are hosting (or paying for hosting) of their own site as there is some cost to running the site.
May 11 I really like watching The Discovery Channel. That makes me think of another show that I really have started to enjoy: Man vs Wild but that is a whole different entry.
Tonight I watched parts of Killer Ants and Ant Wars on The Discovery Channel. Of the Formicidae family, ants are infamous around the world. Now I am definitely no fan of these pesky insects, but I am most comfortable watching them from the safety of my home.
Siafu Ants
On the shows that I watched, I learned about an ant that I had not heard much of: the Siafu Ant. Apparently this is a very well-known ant from Africa. Why is it well-known? Well here are some highlights:
-
They do not stay in the same place for very long, they have to up and move more than once a month. Imagine having to do that!
-
They form highways before they actually move. The lead parties will stake out a new location and lay a chemical trail for others to follow. They will then clear the path of obstacles and actually create a trench for the new highway so that it will be easier for the large mass to navigate.
-
There are at least 3 different classes of Siafu besides the queen and the male. They are differently sized and have different strengths. They range from the large soldier ants with crushing jaws to the small utilitarian ant that can perform any number of duties including cleaning larvae, hunting, and forming the walls of the colonies!
-
They have to hunt in order to feed the millions of larvae that are produced by the queen monthly. Millions!
-
To hunt, they will basically spread out along the forest floor and sweep around the area near the colony. They sense the carbon dioxide that living beings emit in order to find them! As soon as one ant encounters prey, it will release a chemical signal so that others will immediately come to help. They win by sheer power in numbers.
-
Oh yes, and many of them do not have eyes. They do all of these things just using chemical signals.
-
Not on the show, but reading about them online I found that they can intentionally hunt and prey on much larger (well larger than insects) animals! It’s not necessarily common, but it also definitely seems like it happens. Rabbits, vipers, and even a drunk with a broken leg were stories that I read about.
Bulldog Ants
The bulldog ants are not as prominent in the world perhaps, but they are still pretty well known in their native Australia. They are large and independent ants that are in many ways opposite of the Siafu. One of the most interesting things about them is that they have venom that can cause anaphylactic shock! Apparently their venom is one of the most potent of any insect! (Of course this means that it doesn’t include snakes, spiders, etc) However, their nests are small and they will hunt almost strictly individually. However, because they are unafraid of human interaction, there can be literally once a week hospital emergencies on account of a bite.
Why??
Why do I care about all of this? Well besides the fact that it is simply amazing to see these creations doing what they do, I feel like there is so much to learn from them!
-
They are diligent in their work. You don’t see slackers messing around when they should be working. :P
-
They are willing to give their all for something bigger than themselves.
-
Trust is something that they can inherently do with ease.
-
Aspiration to be the greatest (although an admirable trait in some humans) is nonexistent with these creatures. We can learn to be a bit more satisfied with who we are, what we have, and so on instead of always being dissatisfied with every aspect of our lives.
-
They get their friends to help them out. Okay so that is just the Siafu…
-
But the bulldog ants are also good as they are so aptly named because they will refuse to let go once they bite. Once you get something good, you don’t let that go.
-
Don’t be afraid to up and change things around if it’s not working. When the ants run out of food, they will move. Just because you do something that you’ve always done does not mean that you are constrained to continue doing it.
There are many more I am sure. I enjoy finding life lessons where there are seemingly none. I also enjoy watching The Discovery Channel.