June 3rd, 2010, 12:43 hours
After two more happy years on a dedicated box at Liquid Web, I’ve just finished up a test run on a new “cloud” environment and I must say… I’m sold!
The new Storm service is Liquid Web’s answer to the demand for a stable, reliable cloud, without the caching and performance issues that have plagued many other’s attempts (*cough* Mosso *cough*). Rather than setting up several web servers, several database servers, and several file servers, then patching them all together and hoping the result is useful, Storm’s approach is to create the cloud between the hardware and OS layers. I quote from the Storm site…
Storm On Demand’s stated server resources are entirely allocated to your server environment and will not be affected by the performance of other servers. Storm On Demand CPU’s represent a full physical processor core and are not shared with any other users. The distributed nature of our cloud architecture allows you to rely on the performance of your servers to be consistent and in line with what you would see with a physical dedicated server.
Unlike other cloud hosting providers, Storm On Demand does NOT utilize bursting shared resources or centralized storage which can have a significant negative performance impact for others utilizing the same resources. This helps ensure that Storm On Demand customers will always be guaranteed the performance that they requested from their server and will always get their full value.
The result is cacheless goodness, root-level access to dedicated resources, and the familiar cPanel/WHM management interface (optional). In practice, the end product lives up to everything the “cloud theory” promised us in the past and offers vast improvements in responsiveness, reliability and cost-effectiveness over traditional dedicated servers.
For a full list of features and specifications, or to make the switch, go check out the Storm site.
Tags: cloud, dedicated, host, hosting, Liquid Web, server, servers, site, Storm, Storm On Demand, web, website
Posted in Business, Design & Web, Geek & Technology | No Comments
March 2nd, 2009, 12:25 hours
Dow Jones Industrial Average
6,819.13 -243.80 / -3.45%
CNN Money » The DOW
January 24th, 2009, 19:03 hours
No, not the Hope & Change kind of change. I’ve re-organized a few things around here and added a couple sections. Since BAT*21 is now up and running, I’ve copied all the Gear & Skills posts (and all the blade-related Guns & Knives posts) over to that new site. The old posts will still be available here, but I will be posting any future gear reviews I do as a part of that project. Since that leaves nothing here from those topics but firearms, I’ve created a new section to replace Guns & Knives called… Firearms.
Since moving to the middle of nowhere, I’ve also been doing quite a bit of maintenance and modification to my Discovery on my own so I added a section called Land Rover for any useful tidbits I find working on that project, and any post-worthy off road trips.
fotikus is also up and running now, though still under construction. I’ve only had time to put a hundred or so photos up there, but I expect to have the rest done before the end of the month. Pictures on fotikus are free for non-commercial use, or $25 each for commercial customers.
Tags: BAT*21, change, ChazzLayne.com, Discovery, Firearms, fotikus, gear, guns, knives, Overland, photo, photography, photos, picture, pictures, posts, reviews, Rover, sections, site, skills, survival, topics
Posted in Business, Design & Web, Firearms, Personal | No Comments
August 17th, 2008, 19:04 hours
Well, we finally did it. We’ve been out in the desert for three months now and it has absolutely been worth it. Of course, with all the trips out here we’d been making I was already pretty well weened off city life. I find I don’t mind needing to drive “into town” to get things, I waste a lot less time by doubling-up on errands without the “convenience” of having everything just down the street. As for all the pleasures the city has to offer: I’ve had my fun, and it was beginning to feel like repetitive non-sense. I’ll enjoy visiting to see friends from time to time, but my heart just isn’t in the OC anymore.
My hunch that it will cost less to move out here (where I want to be) and visit as-needed is proving correct as well – even in the face of soaring fuel costs. The clients don’t seem to mind either, probably because I’m faster and more available to them without the burdens of the city weighing me down. I find I even have the time now to catch up on writing, projects I’ve promised to friends, and my own business sites (I have portfolio pieces to add from over a year ago).
Speaking of business – though I’ve read it many times, I’m finally starting to get the fact that my location does not matter. As long as your work is good, your price is fair, and you deliver on-or-before the promised date, most clients couldn’t care less where you are. This is especially true with a proven track record, the portfolio to match, and a network of clients and colleagues sending referrals your way.
April 30th, 2007, 22:53 hours
…my creative/design one anyways. Check it out here.
The next hurdle is finding a decent .com to use for a photography site. It would seem even the obscure ones that (I would think) only I would use are taken. LaynePhotography.com is taken and LEIphoto.com is taken by Wei Lei Photography, someone who apparently assumed people would be too lazy to type weileiphoto.com. 
April 18th, 2007, 15:50 hours
I just paid more than that in postage to ship it to them, hardly seems worth the effort. When oh when will they start letting corporations e-file like regular folk?
At least it was only four bucks, that’s less than what most people I know had to pay. I also like how we (corp.) don’t have to send it in until September 15th… 
February 10th, 2007, 06:05 hours
So back on the 31st I check my accounts as I usually do before my bi-monthly bill paying routine, only to find that I am severely overdrawn and a mysterious hold has been placed on my paycheck from the 15th. Now it’s no secret that I have been granting an involuntary “loan†to my employer for some months now, taking just barely what is needed to cover my costs, but bouncing checks is a new one. To make matters worse, my check for the 1st is nowhere to be found either. Of course, this second one would be the one from which the rent check is spawned.
I do feel for their situation, and absolutely do not fault their intent as a quick glance at the finances shows them in a worse state than I myself am in. Intent, however, does not change the reality of the hole that they’ve fallen into from the last several months of mismanagement. I feel for my clients (with them) as well, but recent events have shown my continued efforts to get them the service they deserve will only make the situation worse for them. Besides, I cannot continue to make commitments to them when I know the company is no longer capable of delivering – my conscience simply won’t allow it.
While I have long seen the potential of this company, and given great effort to secure it’s future, it is painfully obvious now that I have seriously overestimated the abilities of the others involved to make that future a reality. My efforts to pull the group together and form some sort of plan to move forward have been met with nothing but ignorance. I suppose this is not terribly unexpected, considering the temperament of the other members. As the saying goes: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drinkâ€.
In any case, it would be foolish of me to continue my efforts on this front in light of the current situation. I think it’s high time I focus my efforts on a more productive (and profitable) venture.
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