http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=166728&title=the-less-you-know-message-force

Next they will be restricting/editing internet sources like wikileaks and wikipedia . . . oh wait. .....

I have been using Globat for some time now as my webhost. However over the past year or so their customer support has gone from pretty good to craptastic . .  . . .

What is disappointing is that they had a nice reseller program I wanted to use so I would buy and manage hosting accounts for my web design clients.

I need a new webhost that:

- has a good reseller program I can use

- reliable, fast, and good customer service

- is not some fly by night operation


Any suggestions? Good or bad experiences?

Why did my Orange Box have to arrive today when I am so busy with other things >_<

Things could hardly be better. I am still with the love of my life and after four and a half months we've come to the conclusion that living with each other between two apartments is silly, both logistically and economically.

The timing is perfect as the larger duplex apartment in Jessica's building has opened up and the land lady asked her if she wants it. With lots of space and the addition of our own washer and dryer it is better than ideal. We checked around the area today looking at apartments just in case there was something better but in the end it looks like Jessica is going get her easy move next door and I will be out of my Dad's extra apartment by December. The only pain in the butt other than moving is having to reapply for my business name and home occupation permit for Soundvessel Studios in Hallowell.

Speaking of the business things are still moving forward. I have established the method of running my business to be a service so no need to collect sales tax until i reach the point of recording and selling my own music CD later in the future. I am currently in the process of nailing down contract policies and a financial framework. Researching credit cards I manged to find and get accepted to get an American Express card under my business name. It has a 0% APR intro for 12 months so I will be using it just for starting expenses before the end of the year then paying it off in equal monthly installments before the rate goes up. Once that is done I plan on getting their Blue Cash for business card for my ongoing expenses. Tuesday I am also setting up a separate Key checking and savings account under the business name. I plan on putting into savings half of all business income which should be more than enough to cover the fun self-employment taxes I will have to pay. Key and Amex should also play nicely with Quicken Home & Small Business which I should take the time to install this weekend too :)

I have also starting going to the gym regularly with Jessica and I am already seeing a boost of energy as a result. We've been going 3 times a week doing 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity on either the eliplical or recumbent bike, followed by weight training. We are using Planet Fitness because of their low price, flexible hours, and fairly new equipment.

3 to 3 is coming up and it should be a lot of fun. Jessica is coming and we are leaving Friday and coming back on Monday. We might hit Salem, Mass on Monday on the way back but as of right now plans are still up in the air aside from the normal 3 to 3 activities. :)

The computers are in check with NOD32 anti virus (excellent software with low computer resource overhead). Internally I have a system in place for organizing client work, building my own templates, storing and backing up work, accounting information and email with Carbonite (automated off-site backup service). I have a working printer and access to storage space from anywhere on the internet. Technology-wise I am hooked up and ready just now missing the $2500 for the newest Adobe software.

Now I have to shuffle through all the tax and legal paperwork for startup businesses. Several purchases I can start marking off as business expenses to help with taxes. I am also exploring an overwhelming number of business startup resources here in Maine as well. Once that is in place I can then revamp my website and image, get the business cards made, and get to work!

Any suggestions or advice as I slowly make the dive into self-employment and business ownership?

So back in August of 2004, when my RPI Stinkpad screen went on the fritz, I got a new shiny Dell Inspiron 5150 with a 3 year warranty. That warranty came in handy as almost 2 years into it the laptop suddenly died. After 5 repair attempts some nice high level customer support people from Dell called to tell me that this was not the way their repair program should work. Without having even complained they sent me $2000 nicely configured Inspiron E1505 to replace my nearly two year $1600 5150. Good marketing because from then on I recommended Dell more than ever.

Recently, a little more than a year with the new laptop, the screen of my E1505 went out. Investigating the problem I believed it was either the LCD power inverter or the backlight. However the Dell warranty had been expired for about a month. Ready to order parts and attempt the repair on my own my dad reminded me of Maine state law and implied warranties.

http://www.maine.gov/ag/?r=clg&s=chap4

Maine is a special case where the 4 year implied warranty can not be disclaimed. So technically under state law I still had an extra year of warranty through Dell. Technical support and customer support however were not of much help and all I could get is the snail mail address and a long distance fax number to Dell's Legal Department.

So I emailed the two high level customer support people that helped me back when I had the issue with the first laptop. They always said should a new issue arise with the replacement to let them know and they would be glad to help. So I asked them if they could provide direct assistance or at least a more direct means on contacting the Dell Legal Department. Almost two weeks past until I finally got a response that they were looking for that contact information and 6 days after that I have not heard from them again.

During that time I researched the problem further, bought the inverter for $25 shipped from eBay, and today installed it in about an hour and the laptop seems to be working fine. If the screen is still working tomorrow I am going to let Dell ear full. Service manuals are great, Dell support however has gone downhill and good luck to anybody trying to get a company to adhere to an implied warranty.

Yes, sorry for no recent updates but life has been busy but good! Quick updates:

• two months and counting with the love of my life. I think my curse is broken!


• walking and getting outdoors more, at least when Jessica is around, with plans for more day trips and future camping weekends


• I <3 my AC


• Still going Graphic Design at Quality Copy and loving it


• Laying more groundwork to begin my transition into freelance multimedia design. I am giving my website a complete overhawl to provided information on the services I can provide. I also purchased Quicken Home and Business to start managing business expenses for tax write offs as I get my business afloat. I also setup an FTP accessible network hard drive for backup and plan on doing weekly backups to CD/DVD when things get going for offsite backup in my car


• Ding, dong, my crappy ink-jet printer is gone. Almost 7 years old and whining for an overpriced ink cartrage was enough. I got myself a networked Lexmark black ink laser printer


• been hanging out with friends old and new. Lately Marvel Ultimate Alliance has been our addiction. crazyynnad and Tonia have also been getting me to slowly watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer


• Broke down and setup a kick ass audio system for my tv area. Got a refurb Harmon/Kardon stereo for cheap and paired it with some Yamaha speakers and a Song sub. Sounds amazing and costs much mush less than surroundsound.


• Have you tried Joost? They have the original Transformers cartoon!!!


• I have a new betta, his name is Jojo (named by Jessica)


• I am eating better and cooking more. Currently I am trying out recipe / shopping list software called Shop'NCook


• I am discovering more with Google Reader and Podcasts weee!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mazzthepianoman

I have to say Google's Picasa rocks and because of that I really hope their Picasa Web Albums develops.

olhado47  posted this first but I am reposting with the hopes more people will have a listen.

If you have not tried it Google Reader is awesome for reading anything that has a feed. I use it to keep up on Slashdot, Lifehacker, Cool Tools and MAKE Magazine. Turns out you can get your LJ friends page posts in there too if you have a paid LJ account

First just setup a feed

Then just take the link you created and in reader hit add subscriptions and copy it in there. Bam! I can keep track of new LJ friends post in Google Reader.

Alex the Fish

7/13/06 - 6/23/07

He was most likely one of the more spoiled bettas on the planet with a 5 gallon hex tank all to himself. I place on buying rescuing one tomorrow from Walmart.


In other news life is still good :) More later perhaps!

This is more of an outline for myself but feel free to read along.

My goal now is to begin a transformation of the name Soundvessel from a hobby to a freelance business. I am in the process of wrapping up 2 web design projects with another 2-3 possible clients already lined up. Web design is hot stuff right now and many are just wanting to get text and pictures out there. Much of the local competition in central Maine is laughable so the only worry is how to move forward at this point.

While continuing to work at Quality Copy over the next few years I do not see any problem building enough clients to go full time into freelance. So what must be done:


Adobe Master Collection:
Due out soon is an amazing package from Adobe containing pretty much all their new software covering design for print, web, and video. My goal in freelance is not just web design but cross media design. As a one stop place to create a business image and be able to maintain that across multiple mediums, I would be one of the few if any able to provide such a service. The Master Collection is $2,500 but with the amount I can charge for creating web sites that goal should be easily attainable especially if NewEgg carries it giving me 6 months to pay it off with no interest.

Soundvessel Image
My website is long LONG overdue for an update. Since its creation I have also more fine tuned my methods of web coding. It is time I polish off the Soundvessel image and if things go well I will finally trademark the name.

Anyhow a long in motion now. I am also seeing about getting involved in the reseller program with my webhosting company which will give me discounts on packages as well. I just can not let this consume me until I wrap up the two projects at hand though.

Yes I am alive and I shall try to post more here, more often. Things have been up and down but I think there are a lot of good things ahead.

I am still doing graphic design at Quality Copy in Hallowell and loving it. It sometimes get super busy and stressful but having an 8-5 weekday schedule is a savior. It is hard to believe that I have been there over a year now. They continue to be a great bunch and being such a small company my expertise with technology is really valued. With them I have built two new PCs, repaired another, upgraded a 7 year old accounting system, and got them into CD/DVD duplication with on-disc printing. I might be building another PC soon for them as they are getting a wide-format color machine shortly. It is good to be in a position to make a difference.

However I know I can not stay there forever. Rather than move into a larger company in a city, during the next several years I am now focusing on becoming a freelance artist. I have recently completed a good part of one project, M. Blais Properties , on the side. With that project coming to a close I have another in progress and as many as three more web design projects on the horizon. The money is good for this kind of stuff and there is a serious lack of experienced people to do it in central Maine. Anyhow I will explain more of my freelance, business goals in another post :)

Socially things are back pretty much where they started. I have a knack for finding girlfriends who lie, cheat, and are self-destructive. Time for me to trust my instincts more often and be a little bit more picky in who I choose to date. Geekiness and an appreciation for the arts is a must now however the geek population in Augusta, Maine is worst than the female population at my old college RPI. However I can use the time to spin up and get going on more freelance work. In time I think I will find myself moving within Maine to someplace that has a little more culture like Portland.

Anyhow I am off to see Spiderman 3 tonight :)

Actual updates to come soon :)

( meme )

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" ~Benjamin Franklin

Somebody beat me to making a video of this connection. If you are a fan of goth metal which contains that very deep "demon" voice "singing" then you might not want to watch as the concept will be burned in your mind every time you hear the stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPvxQ5cSeZQ