Categories
Assorted Bob Techno Bob Web Bob

I’m back …

At least, I think I’m back. The post before this one was in mid-November. Shortly after that, my hosting provider, AplusNet, was sold and the buyer migrated all severs to a new location. That migration was a nightmare and left me unable to post to this blog.

I’d been with Aplus for about 10 years so I wasn’t eager to leave. They’d provided great service and until November, I’d had no problems. But the more I talked to them after the migration, the more pissed I became. My help desk ticket was rolled into one massive ticket for all WordPress problems, so I couldn’t get any visibility into what was being done to fix it or when we might get a solution. I assume a lot of people with WordPress installs are having problems after the migration. When I asked for a refund for my hosting fees so I could go elsewhere, they refused.

Then my favorite gun-nut blogger, Say Uncle, suggested I give his hosting provider a shot. So far, I’m very impressed with Hosting Matters. Price is right. Everything works as advertised. I’m going to give it a week or two and then pull the plug on all my stuff that’s over on AplusNet.

Moral of this story: AplusNet sucks ass. Total ass. Avoid them like the plague.

To-do: If you see anything broken/strange/odd on here (I mean, aside from the usual broken/strange/odd stuff I tend to spit out), send me a note so I can troubleshoot it. Best I can tell, the move went well, but I’m sure there are a few broken things dangling here and there.

And Happy New Year.

Categories
Assorted Bob Media Bob Uncategorized Web Bob Zombie Bob

In defense of parasites …

Caught an amazing edition of Radiolab this week while I was out driving around. It turned into one of those moments where I took the long route so I could hear the entire thing.

It was a vigorous defense of parasites. Yes, parasites. The details of how the zombie wasp, the blood fluke and the nematode operate are diabolically cool.

This is long but if you listen, go all the way till the end. That’s the part that really piqued my interest. They discuss how parasites can affect the way animals behave (one parasite infects the brains of rats to make them attracted to cat urine so the rat will approach cats, get devoured and allow its parasite to move to a cat, the only host where it can reproduce). And then they speculate about how this might affect human behavior.

Could a cat-borne parasite be responsible for schizophrenia?

Are parasites slowly manipulating us and turning us into a race of zombies, much the way wasps do to cockroaches in the YouTube clip above?

Fascinating.

Listen to it here or download it here.

Categories
Web Bob

HouseLogic opens its doors

My wife, Lara, has been working on a “top-secret website” for the past several months. This week, HouseLogic was officially unveiled, and the results are impressive.

The site attempts to help homeowners make intelligent decisions about their most important investment — their home. It’s a practical, no-nonsense approach to home improvements and related issues. For a fledgling site, HouseLogic is damned impressive. Of course, I’m prejudiced. But I think everything Lara touches turns out first-rate. She’s worked closely with the National Association of Realtors to help them make HouseLogic a reality. Check it out if you get a chance …