Personal – Jeffc.me

Wee For A Wii

November 16, 2008 By Jeffro 4 Comments

Well, I finally managed to be at the right store at the right time and picked up the hard to catch Nintendo Wii. This thing has been eluding me since it’s launch over two years ago. When I went out with the girl last week, we happened to stop by Target which I was told by a friend at work had plenty of the consoles in stock. I think he is blind because Target was out of stock. So, the girl and I went over to the local mall and while walking around, I made a pitstop to GameStop. Thankfully, they had plenty in stock but when I looked at the price tag, I “REALLY” had to convince myself to make the purchase.

A recent episode of the Buzz Out Loud podcast produced by CNET recently described a news story that highlighted the fact that the Nintendo Wii continues to out pace consoles by 3 or 4 to 1. In fact, the Nintendo DS is in second place while Xbox takes third and Playstation takes fourth. I picked up a Wii because they were in stock and I’ve been wanting one for quite awhile. I believe there are many people in my situation where they couldn’t get a Wii due to its scarcity. That’s why I hopped on the opportunity and snatched one up.

Wii Bowling

Overall, I’m very pleased with my purchase. Unlike consoles of the past where you had to use a gamepad type controller, this new way of interacting with games is a blast. It’s been really fun to have the entire family involved with the console where reflexes don’t mean as much as they used to. We’ve been enjoying Wii Bowling while I’ve personally enjoyed Wii Tennis. I have to tell you though, after playing Wii sports for six hours straight, every muscle on the right side of my body was aching. The Wii makes for a great way to get in shape and to perform physical activities inside the house while inches of snow fall outside.

I’d like to know what sort of experience have you had with the Wii, if you own one. Also, I’m taking suggestions on games I should purchase that the entire family can play. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving where the Wii will be the centerpiece of enjoyment. As a side note, my dad does a great job creating Miis. He made one that looks just like him which is hilarious to see in game.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: console, experience, nintendo, wii

What Happened This Weekend

November 9, 2008 By Jeffro 10 Comments

I decided that I would do a reformat of my WordPress installation and as part of that reformat, I would install WordPress 2.7 beta 2. I also plan on doing a redesign of the site to make everything much more simpler than before. However, things didn’t go as planned thanks to my webhosting provider, AnHosting a.k.a. MidPhase. Starting on 11/07/2008 4:37 PM I sent in a trouble ticket to MidPhase letting them know that I was experiencing timeout error messages when browsing to my domain. Cpanel, email, anything dealing with my account was loading slower than molasses. I became increasingly upset as I updated the ticket on 11/08/2008 2:20 AM. Ten hours went by without anyone responding to my trouble ticket. This is the first time I’ve had an experience like this with MidPhase and it was pretty frustrating.

Once two more hours went by with no update to my ticket or the situation, I called the support line for MidPhase and because it was so early in the morning, I didn’t have to deal with a queue. After talking with the gentleman and having him confirm the issues I was experiencing, he told me that a support rep has been assigned to my ticket and he would look into it. The rep responded to my ticket on 11/08/2008 4:36: AM.

By the way, I should point out that the entire problem was based around the CPU load on the shared server being to high, not allowing other things to process. It was increasingly frustrating to me because I wouldn’t think zapping whatever processes were hogging up the CPU would be that hard to shut down. What made things worst is that I had deleted my WordPress files along with the database and because I couldn’t access PHPMyAdmin or various other parts of Cpanel let alone getting my site to load, my domain was stuck on a WordPress installation error.

stupidcpu

The last time I updated the ticket was on 11/08/2008 5:26 AM. I basically had enough at this point and just hoped that things would be better after I woke up. Thankfully, things did get back to normal. Then, because my shared server was one of the ones that was recently migrated into a new data center, the file upload limit in the php.ini file was set to 2mb which means I couldn’t upload and import my WordPress WXR file. After going back and forth a few times with support, they managed to get that changed enabling me to have a successful import. The support for this particular issue was much better than the previous one.

So, that is where I stand now. I am currently configuring the plugins I know I am going to use. After that, I plan on working on the theme to get things simplified and straightened out. Special thanks to everyone who contacted me asking me what happened. Obviously, visiting a site that all of a sudden has a hello world post on it with the default Kubrick theme is a cause for concern. I appreciate those who sent me a message expressing their willingness to help if need be. Thank you.

Nothing malicious happened to the site, I just happened to go through with my WordPress reformat which I sometimes do but it turned out to be a series of badly timed events. Hopefully, things are all better now.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: anhosting, midphase, reformat, weekend, Wordpress

Adjusting Has Been A Pain

November 6, 2008 By Jeffro 12 Comments

This is the first week in where I begin working weekends only at the grocery store while doing freelancing Mon-Fri. One of the reasons I was looking forward to this type of work schedule was the simple fact that I would finally be able to develop a sleeping schedule that normal people use. Well, in my first week, sleeping schedules have been anything but normal. I’ve been trying to get to bed at an early time but after a year and a half of working 9PM – 5AM, it’s just not that easy. Coupled with the fact that here in northern Ohio, we have been flirting with 70 degrees all week long but thanks to my insane sleep schedule along with the time change, I haven’t been able to take advantage of it.

My writing this week has also suffered. I haven’t published as much content at Performancing this week nor have I written anything for this blog in a little while. I’ve been thinking about using some sleeping aid pills to help me out but my girlfriend is strongly against me using those. The only real choice I have now is to pull an all nighter where I stay up for most of the day and then try to go to sleep at a decent time. Pretty poor for my health but I am sick of waking up in the middle of the afternoon.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: schedule, shift, time, writing

Ustream And Quickcam Pro For Notebooks 9000

June 25, 2008 By Jeffro 7 Comments

I’ve just recently purchased the 99$ Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 for Notebooks and have discovered that on Ustream, only the audio from the built in microphone can be streamed. The video camera itself doesn’t appear in the flash popup and for the life of me, I can not get Ustream to recognize this camera to stream video from it.

I’ve gone through my Firewall and that didn’t help. I’ve performed a skype video conference call successfully with this camera so I know the darn thing works. I’ve also plugged in a very old Logitech Quick Cam Express with terrible video quality but the video from that camera was detected by Ustream. Last but not least, I’ve updated my browser to the latest version of the Adobe Flash player and that hasn’t helped either.

So, is there an incompatibility between the Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 for Notebooks and Ustream? I’m very curious to know from other Ustreamers out their with the same camera if you are experiencing these types of issues as well.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: logitech, quickcam, ustream, video

Performancing Trial Run

May 29, 2008 By Jeffro 7 Comments

Performancing.com Logo

Today was quite the surprise for me. When I woke up, I had an email in my inbox from James Mowery, a contributing editor for Performancing.com letting me know that a position had opened up. I don’t know the entire set of circumstances involved, but Raj Dash has decided to step down, away from Performancing. Just a few days ago, I sent off an email to James inquiring about some specifics regarding his job their. I asked if he thought I had what it took to write there and he believed I did.

Thanks to James and his references to me to the manager for Performancing, I was able to talk with Ryan Caldwell today and learned that I will be able to do a one month trial run to write for Performancing.com during the month of June. I’ve talked with a few people already about the position and they all agreed that it was a good position to take, considering how large of a site Performancing is, along with the amount of traffic the site receives.

So starting Monday, I will be writing for them. I will still do WordPress Weekly and I plan on publishing posts on this blog whenever I can, mostly on the weekends. If all goes well for me during the month of June, I’ll be writing for Performancing with James full time. James and I have talked before. He and I have quite a bit in common and I think both of us writing on the same site at the same time could only produce great things.

So thats the update from me. Stick around and see what happens as I take advice from my own blog post about creating opportunities through blogging.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: Blogging, jamesmowery, performancing, splashpress

Salt Fork And The 20th Annual BigFoot Conference

May 20, 2008 By Jeffro 1 Comment

Salt Fork State Park Entrance

First off, special thanks to Don Keating of the E.O.B.I.C. for putting on yet another memorable BigFoot conference. This was the 20th time Don has hosted the conference and this time, at least 415 people showed up for the event. In fact, many people ended up having to stand in the conference room with some members of the audience having to sit near the room entrance in order to encompass the speakers. The conference included speakers such as Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, M.K. Davis and Eric Altman. I thought the conference was really well done.

There were quite a few rumors that this conference may be the last one Don puts on, but until we hear otherwise, that is not the case. All indications that I witnessed during this years conference point to another one being put together for 2009. However, Don now has to deal with the fact that there may not be enough room at the conference room at Salt Fork State Park to do the conference. If he ends up hosting it somewhere else, the costs go up exponentially. How Don will treat this double edged sword is beyond me, but my girlfriend and I really look forward to attending the conference each year while also staying at the lodge as a mini vacation for a long weekend. If the event is hosted elsewhere, I’m not sure we’ll be able to afford staying at Salt Fork any longer.

So that’s my mini review of the conference. On Sunday, after Don Keating gave the group a guided tour of sightings that have taken place at Salt Fork over the past few years, my girlfriend and I decided to do a bit of hiking. We walked a trail known as Morgan’s Knob. This trail is a loop which provides walkers with an excellent opportunity to get a grip with the type of terrain that the park has to offer. Hills, plenty of trees, ravines, cliffs, mini waterfalls, you name it, it’s part of this trail. At some points, you feel like you’re hiking a trail in the Pacific North West. After hiking a trail such as Morgan’s Knob, you get the idea as to why it would be pretty easy for a creature such as Sasquatch to move around the park unnoticed.

The following photos as well as videos are from our hiking trip into the woods. These are only a few of the photos from the gallery, if you would like to see the entire photo set, click here. Here’s to hoping that there will be a 21st bigfoot conference/expo at Salt Fork State Park. [Read more...]

Filed Under: MyThoughts, Personal Tagged With: bigfoot, conference, donkeating, expo, hiking, ohio, sasquatch

Not So Severe Storms

May 4, 2008 By Jeffro 1 Comment

On Saturday May 3rd, 2008, a line of convection moved through my area. After receiving some drenching rains in the morning hours, this gave way to sunny skies as a dry slot had formed. The sun came out in full force, but the temperature didn’t rise that much as it mostly stayed within the mid 50s. However, this sunshine was enough to destabilize the atmosphere just before the actual cold front arrived. A line of quick moving thunderstorms developed on top of the cold front and moved through the area. These storms brought pea sized hail with mild gusty winds. I only witnessed one lightning strike during the entire event which is a shame, since I enjoy watching lightning but enjoy the sound of thunder more. Out of all of the cars that have driven down my street playing their loud thumping rap music, none of their sound systems have been able to compare to the bass that thunder produces. It’s just the beginning of May, but I hope this thunderstorm season is a little more active than last years.

Without further ado, here are some images along with a video of the storms as they were moving through the area.

And here is the video.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: clouds, nature, severe, storms, weather

Spring In Ohio

April 27, 2008 By Jeffro 2 Comments

I’ve been on my first week of paid vacation which means I was able to spend some more time than usual with my girlfriend. I couldn’t of picked a better week weather wise as it was mostly in the upper 60s mid 70s for most of the week. On Thursday, we took a ride to an area called Whipp’s Ledges which is an area of glaciated rocks that make for an excellent starting point for beginner rock climbers. During the walk, I noticed how Spring is in full swing with the trees starting to bud their leaves as well as bumble bees who were out in full force. Here are a few shots taken with my Kodak Easyshare highlighting what I like to call, “New Beginnings“.

Check out the rest of the photoset entitled New Beginnings.

Short video clip highlighting the awesome view from atop one of the rocks at Whipps Ledges.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: flowers, newbeginnings, ohio, photography, spring, vegetation, whippsledges

Trip To Crocker Park

April 26, 2008 By Jeffro 4 Comments

The other week, me and the lady went to Crocker Park which is a shopping development located in Westlake, Ohio. The stores are lined up on both sides of the street and are accessible by walking outside to each one. I think of this place as an outside mall.

This $480 million project encompasses 12 city blocks and features a mixture of internationally known retail stores, spacious office buildings, great restaurants, luxury apartments, and spectacular homes. It’s all in a park-like setting filled with the captivating charm and bustling energy of a traditional downtown main street.

Check out the rest of the Crocker Park Photoset

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: crockerpark, mall, ohio, shopping, westlake

What A Weekend

April 15, 2008 By Jeffro 5 Comments

Anhosting Problems

Oi, what a weekend. After having to cancel my show on Friday evening because of a very sick Lorelle and tornadoes knocking at my door, I discovered on Saturday that I couldn’t access my very own blog nor could I access my email. During the day, I noticed that other people were able to browse my domain. In fact, it looked as though everyone EXCEPT me could browse my domain. After submitting a support ticket to AnHosting, I went through the run of the mill trouble shooting process. At one point, they told me it looked like my public IP address had been blocked by their firewall. After giving them my IP address and having it removed, the problem remained.

Sunday rolls around and my problem is yet to be resolved. On a whim, I decided to contact the LIVE web chat that AnHosting provides. After talking to a representative for awhile, I was told which server my account was on and that I was not the only one having problems. Apparently, AnHosting’s upstream provider was having a routing issue which was causing some clients not to be able to connect to the site at all while others were able to access the domain.

Monday afternoon comes around and the problem still exists. At this point, I’ve gone three days with no access to my inbox. Not having access to my inbox for three days really reminded me just how much I rely on email for communication, perhaps a little too much. Thank goodness for Twitter though as I used that to keep everyone up to date as to what was going on. I also used Twitters Direct Messaging feature to keep in touch with people.

It’s 3 P.M. Monday afternoon and I post a message to Twitter explaining how upset I am at the thought of having an inbox with 100 emails. As it turns out, not 5 minutes later did access to my inbox and my domain return.

So there you have it, thats why you might of come across the blog and noticed I was gone when in fact, everyone except me could browse the site. This has been the first major problem I’ve had with AnHosting so I’m not all that upset. In fact, this really reminds me that even though the internet is a chain, when one of those chain links break, it can affect everyone from that link on back and brings the question into mind, just how reliable is the internet as a whole? At any rate, I was pretty pleased with the support I received from the folks at AnHosting and I still recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good quality, reliable webhost.

On a very unrelated note, I went to go see a movie called Leatherheads starring George Clooney with my girlfriend Monday evening. If you’re into old time flicks mixed with a bit of comedy, I recommend checking this one out for yourself.

A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: anhosting, Blogging, routing, support, trouble