Really Smart Guy

As part of my company's efforts to live the dream of becoming completely based in the cloud, I went ahead and moved my personal blog (this one) to blogger.

To do this, I used the GData API and wrote a quick Wordpress plugin that queried wp_posts and submitted them as new blog articles to Blogger via Google's API.

Couple of things I found out:

• The GData Blogger API has an upper limit of 50 posts within any single rolling 24 hour period.


• It's a pain to submit comments via the API.


• No one else has ever tried to do this. Most people want to get their data out of Blogger and into Wordpress.


• Customizing Blogger's UI is a pain also, but mostly because I can't use standard web tools and have to do it all without server-side scripting and jump through hoops to use JavaScript.

Originally Published 2003-09-16 15:40:37

I might just have to write some. No one but AvantGo could find a use for a jpeg-to-jot conversion tool. But, hey, where there's a need, eh?



I'm thinking... parse through the jpeg pixel by pixel and create a jot "stroke" for each pixel, monochrome only. Kind of an inefficent approach, but it's the simplest algorithm in terms of development time. I can't believe some linux geek hasn't already done this, but then again, no one else on the planet uses the scribble input tag, now do they? :-)



Kind of a geeky project... When I get finished with the 20 conference calls I have this week, anyway. Oh yeah, and my billable on-project work.



Sigh. How do people with real responsibilities do it? Oh yeah... they don't work out, they don't have second jobs, and they don't date hot chicks.



I definitely have nothing to complain about.

Originally Published 2003-08-28 13:56:45

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:55:39 -0700 (PDT)

From: "Johnny Fuery"

Subject: RE: mncabinet.com questions

To: "Lisa F

CC: "Stephen N



> 1) If the site is now being redirected to

> mnbuild.com, do we need to do

> anything else??



Well, it's not being redirected. Links directly to

mncabinet.com are simply going nowhere -- your browser

displays a "Page Not Found" error. The domain is

effectively dead.



> 2) Do we have to buy back the site from

> Slutnames.whatever or will the

> redirect stand? And do we know whether or not they

> actually "own" it or

> stole it.?



I'm pretty sure they own the lease to mncabinet.com

fair and square. Unethically, perhaps, but not

illegally.



If you actually want a redirect, i.e., typing in

"http://mncabinet.com" yields your site located at

mnbuild.com, then yes, control of the domain must be

reobtained from Smutnames.



Please note that much of the damage has been done,

however. The prominence of mncabinet in the google

search results went away when we asked google to

remove it from it's directory and cache (remember, it

was linking to the smutnames obcenities). I'm not sure

if you agree, but it seems to me that the largest

value of that domain was in it's prominence in the

google engine. Even if it were recovered, I'm

unfortunately not confident that the google placement

would return. It very well may, but it's difficult to

guarantee that behavior.



Let me know if there are more questions I can address.



Johnny



--- Lisa wrote:

> Johnny,

>

> Well, if nothing else you are very thourough. But i

> must admit - its so

> much info i get really really lost.

>

> I guess i should contact Verio and ask them what is

> this renewal for.

>

> But if you could answer two simple questions for me

> (without too much

> computer explanation for my pea brain):-)

>

> 1) If the site is now being redirected to

> mnbuild.com, do we need to do

> anything else??

>

> 2) Do we have to buy back the site from

> Slutnames.whatever or will the

> redirect stand? And do we know whether or not they

> actually "own" it or

> stole it.?

>

> Lisa

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Johnny Fuery [mailto:jfuery@yahoo.com]

> Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 11:34 AM

> To: Lisa F

> Cc: Stephen N

> Subject: Re: FW: Account Renewal Confirmation

> mncabi, 50220

> mncabinet.com

>

>

> Lisa,

>

> Sorry for the delay in responding. My travel

> schedule

> prevented me from replying promptly. Note that you

> can

> always contact me via mobile phone in the event I

> fail

> to turn around email in a timely enough fashion.

>

> Verio is a hosting company. While they may handle

> domain registration issues as a value-added service,

> their primary business is selling server space,

> i.e.,

> resources on servers attached to the internet

> backbone.

>

> With this in mind, it's difficult to tell from the

> text below whether this is a bill for hosting

> service

> -- which would not have any effect on your domain

> registration -- or some sort of renewal fee

> associated

> specifically with the mncabinet.com domain. The

> reference to mncabinet (as opposed to mnbuild) may

> simply be an anachronism based on when the account

> was

> opened. Or, it may simply be that the server space

> isn't used for anything. Leasing server space from a

> company like Verio unfortunately does not

> necessarily

> mean that anything useful is actually being done

> with

> said space.

>

> If none of this makes sense, perhaps I can offer an

> analogy. Suppose you lease some commercial space in

> a

> downtown office building. You'd undoubtedly have to

> fill out a form and possibly pay a small fee to have

> your company name placed on the lobby directory

> (e.g.,

> Acme Company, Suite 123). To further exaggerate the

> metaphor, suppose you went ahead and paid for

> signage

> on the exterior of the building. This would

> definitely

> be an extra fee, probably billed from the owner(s)

> of

> the building on an annual basis. It's worth it,

> though, right? Instead of a full address, you could

> get away with referring to your location as "The

> Acme

> Building".

>

> Now, suppose you moved offices. You might still

> leave

> that signage up until the end of that year's annual

> billing cycle. This is akin to your domain

> registration. You're translating an internet address

> -- something like 212.204.192.76 -- into a mnemonic

> that is easier for us humans to remember --

> mncabinet.com. In my example, the Acme company

> changed

> their address from something like "100 West Santa

> Clara, San Jose, CA" to "The Acme Building".

>

> The metaphor continues. Even if the signage were

> removed and the office was no longer being used, you

> still might be locked into a long term lease and

> would

> thus have unused office space. Having this office

> space and continuing to pay for it would have little

> to do with your new office or the exterior signage.

> In

> a similar manner, the domain registration has little

> effect on your server space.

>

> In terms of next steps, it needs to be determined

> what

> exactly this bill is for. I suspect that this is NOT

> for domain registration renewal and is rather for

> server space. Here's why:

>

> + Domain registration is for a minimum of 1 year.

> This

> bill refers to a quarterly renewal.

> + Domain registration is inexpensive, starting at

> around $8 or $9 a year with a maximum price of ~$35,

> based on the vendor.

> + The dates show no correlation with the dates

> provided by the global domain registration database.

> + The global domain registration database doesn't

> typically have problems like this, i.e., it doesn't

> get hacked into by folks trying to steal domains.

> We'd

> definitely hear about it if it did. I also expect

> folks would go after higher profile targets were

> this

> the case. (Think high profile domains like

> "business.com", which sold for ~$7 million at the

> height of the dot.com hysteria)

> + I went out to Verio's site, and I think this is

> the

> service you're paying for:

> http://hosting.verio.com/index.php/dnr.html (Note

> that

> the "park your site" fee is not registration-related

> -- it's simply server space)

>

> I do have one question. Were you notified in any way

> that the mncabinet.com registration was expiring?

> Most

> domain registration companies (Network Solutions,

> Register.com, your ISP -- verio, perhaps, in your

> case) promise to notify you before the domain

> expires.

> This is in their best interest, since they're in the

> business of selling domain registration services

> (i.e., they have jumped through hoops to gain access

> to the global domain registration database and

> profit

> from that status) and want the follow on revenue. I

> would be extremely surprised if you were not

> notified.

> Email alerts are typically sent several times before

> the domain actually expires. These would have gone

> to

> the email address provided at the time of purchase.

> Perhaps an individual no longer working with you

> handled this transaction?

>

> If no notification was sent, you may have some

> recourse with the registration company. That's a

> tough

> battle, however. I'm sure there are a number of

> protections for the registar in the contract that

> was

> agreed to at purchase.

>

> At the very least, you probably do not need to

> continue buying server space from Verio. After

> verifying that my suppositions are correct, you can

> go

> ahead and cancel the service.

>

> Let me know how I can help further.

>

> Johnny Fuery

> 925.997.3878

Originally Published 2001-04-07 03:05:26

This is a sponsored post. I was paid a small fee through PayPerPost to write and publish this.

I'm going to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for a bachelor party. I can't wait!

My roommate's parents have a house in Henderson. It's in Anthem Highlands, part of the Anthem master-planned community in southernmost Henderson It's nestled amid Seven Hills and Sun City Anthem, with a backdrop of the Black Mountains for scenery. There are plenty of walking trails and the cycling is good.

I've done some research on Las Vegas Homes, and I think I'll look around with an agent while I'm there. We're taking a long weekend, so after hitting the roller coaster at the Stratosphere, dropping by club 54 at the MGM, and taking a trip over to Cheetah's to see a pretty girl or two (gasp, I know), I'll still have plenty of time to hit up a Las Vegas Agent and pick his brain about the local real estate market.

Should be a great time... hopefully whatever I lose on the tables I'll make back from a great investment property. :-)

Comments

On 2007-10-06 15:48:21 Las Vegas Real Estate Expert said:
The home builder for Anthem just dropped their prices by 100k for their new homes there.

Originally Published 2004-07-28 11:54:13

Are you talking about the deductions you made because the credit card statement didn't match the expense report on some of the meals?



I pay tips in cash an awful lot of the time. Is there any allowance for that? No, I don't have a receipt, yes, I paid them out, and no I'm not risking my job and integrity over $20-$30.



I don't want to fight about this and I don't want to delay $1200 in reimbursements over such a small amount, but you know how I feel about this. It's extremely lame. You spend all this time pouring over my report and verifiying literally pennies (which certainly costs more than $20-$30 in labor), then cause me all kinds of frustration... the business sense of this eludes me.



If there's anything you can do to make this right, I'd be very appreciative. If not, it's fine, I'll just make sure I don't pay out tips in cash any more. And roll my eyes after selling all my SY stock.



Johnny



--

May S.

07/26/2004 03:10 PM



To:

cc:

Subject: Expense Report ER00150465 - Meals





Johnny,



There has been a change made to your expense report. Please go to eTrip and open the above document. Double click on the line that is zero out. Click on the "notes" button to view the comments made. You can use the scroll bars on the side to navigate around the "notes" section.



Please feel free to let me know if I can help you in any way.



Regards,

May

Originally Published 2004-06-28 15:47:36

In 5.3 and 5.5:



avantgo.currentServer.user

avantgo.currentServer.password (readonly)

avantgo.currentServer.serverAddress (host/ip)

avantgo.currentServer.port

avantgo.currentServer.secure (boolean)



These were all avantgo.preference.xxx pre 5.3.

Originally Published 2004-06-11 15:26:18

- what is the high-level technical design



Um... ok, I'll do my best. I didn't develop the channel. The channel has a form or forms on it that hit a forms processor running on the server. These are then compiled into a text file based on a customer-defined spec. I don't know anything about the guts of this. These files are then dropped into a folder designated to be processed. Under the old system, this folder was read once a day by a perl script that uploaded it to a server GM (or their SI) specified. About a year ago, they insisted that we make the upload secure, using something like SFTP. Great, just add an 's' to the script at the connect time, right?



Well, in actuality, the secure ftp protocol req'd another library. 15 levels of requisite libraries later, one of the requirements was upgrading perl from 5.6 to 5.8.x. Easy enough, except that other stuff on the box is using perl (i.e., everything), and ops told me that if I break other stuff I'd be strung up on a pole and they'd sick accounting on me with various forms of torture. They were pretty confident that bad things would happen if perl was messed with.



They also said, at the time, a year ago, that the server in question was being phased out ASAP anyway, and that anything I did to automate the process would be re-evaluated and either thrown away or migrated "shortly".



Which is a nice segue into the next topic...



- what is the current manual process that you run to forward leads



Ok, so I wrote a little command line batch file that automates the send process. Easy enough, right? Just launch an sftp session, pause for a few seconds, and feed the app the files.



Except it pretty much never works. I get an alert every day that says it failed, and I log on to the server, check the upload log, figure out what wasn't sent, retrieve those from the archive, and send them up by hand. 5 minutes of work. Last time I was in Europe, about a month went by before the upload was processed. Part of the problem was just that I was in hell. The other part was that the root password was changed and I had to hit up DanH for the new password. I hadn't been home in so long by that point that the dude thought I'd been fired. Go figure.



- what do you think needs to be done to automate the process



Well, I just logged on to look at the code, and it's so incredibly simple that there are a lot of things that could be done. I'm not a linux shell coder by training, and I put this together in two days -- the batch file creation making up only a couple of hours on the 2nd day.



The best solution would be to use the old code written in perl that never ever failed. There's like 500 lines of error checking in there, and all that needs to be done is an upgrade of perl. If I knew the other channels better, I'd probably have just done it anyway a year ago, but I have never had a clear understanding of everything that server is doing.



Unfortunately, I don't think anyone else does either, so the best bet is to move the GM channel off of that server altogether.



I considered, at one point, just downloading the files to my windows desktop at the office and writing my own tool using whatever libraries I wanted to perform the upload. I could actually still do that... it would be less than a day's work, but it's not a very pretty solution. We get power outages and have lurking IT staff in Dublin. Plus, well, it's my desktop for godsakes.



So there you have it.



:-)



Enjoy.