My Life
Mar0
No, this isn’t an entry about Billy Joel.. It’s been quite a while since I have actually blogged about something meaningful, so I figured tonight would be a great night to write.
Where to begin..
Monica is now out of the first trimester and into the second. All is going well, and we’re looking forward to the big sonogram in six weeks. Just as we did (or didn’t) with Katie Lynn, we’re not going to find out the baby’s sex. So few things in life are truly a surprise, so we are just going to let the baby’s sex be a surprise. To keep up-to-date with baby news and goings-on, feel free to use subscribe to the RSS feed or just follow our updates over at tomandmonica.com.
Katie Lynn continues to amaze me. She’s growing up so quickly; it’s hard to believe she’s already sixteen months old. She’s enjoying her day care, her friends there, and her teachers. I love the social interaction and skills she is developing at this young age.
Wrigley is doing so much better. For those that don’t know, she had ear surgery a couple years back to resolve a condition affecting her ears. The surgeries went well but, in the end, did not seem to stop the condition. The vet in Lubbock said this was normal, so we took the “professional’s” word. When we moved to McKinney, we naturally had to find a new vet. Our new vet took a look and in five minutes knew there was a problem and how to treat it. The vet also diagnosed Wrigley with hypothyroidism, so she simply has to take one pill with her food.
Work is going great. Site5 was recently bought out by a couple of industry veterans. I had known that was the plan for quite a while, so naturally there was this sense of uncertainty. I’ve got to say though.. I could not be happier how things have turned out. Ben and Joel are exactly what the company needed, and I’m excited to be a part of the “new” Site5. I do miss working with the old owners and CEO, but luckily I still get to chat with them on a frequent basis as they’re all great friends.
I turned thirty last week. My wonderful wife planned a great surprise party for me. I had a great time, and are thankful for my family and friends that attended.
I’m still loving the MacBook that I bought back in October. I recently purchased an Acer LCD monitor to use while working. I used one back when I worked at DC, and I had forgotten how much I loved having one.
I’ve somehow gotten addicted to Twitter.. it’s even linked to Facebook. Who would have thought that I would be so into this whole social networking scene after being anti-MySpace for so long.
Instead of writing some corny summation paragraph (oops, too late), I’ll just end with some great pictures.
A cPanel Revelation
Oct0
As a self-proclaimed “cPanel hater”, I have often stated in the past that I could not stand cPanel. There’s nothing like putting your foot in your mouth when chatting with a former cPanel developer.. sorry Matt! 
Well ladies and gentlemen, I am about to eat my words.
cPanel is not a bad control panel at all!
I’ve discovered that it wasn’t cPanel that I hated all these years; it’s the simplistic, un-intuitive “x” theme. The default theme is far from being user friendly and is not appealing to the eye.
In the past, I have always been an advocate for hosts with custom control panels. From a host’s standpoint, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages when using a custom control panel. From a client’s standpoint, it’s merely personal preference.
Shameless Site5 plug – we use cPanel with a custom “shell” called SiteAdmin which allows us to add custom features and whatnot. Its interface is very easy to navigate and work with. I love SiteAdmin’s feel and power.
As an aside, here’s an interesting observation though. From my experience, custom control panels almost always indicate distributed services (http on one machine, mail on a different machine, and mysql on yet another machine) whereas cPanel almost always indicates that all services are on a single machine.
I’ve been maintaining websites for a long time now, and while the idea of distributed services is appealing and works wonderfully in theory, my experience is that consolidated services is far more reliable.
What Is Web Hosting?
Oct0
There have been a few questions and misconceptions about what Site5 actually does, so hopefully this post will clear it up for everyone.
Site5 is a web hosting company. To put it plainly, web hosting companies make websites available (”hosted”) on the Internet. There are many different types of web hosting: shared, dedicated, and VPS are the three most common types.
- Shared – multiple customers and websites (into the hundreds) are hosted on one server. One website/customer can crash the entire server therefore causing problems for other customers/websites located on the same server. Shared hosting is the most basic type of hosting.
- Dedicated – one customer, but potentially multiple websites, is hosted on a server. Dedicated is a more advanced type of hosting.
- VPS – multiple customers and websites per server; however, each customer has their own virtual server. This means that one customer does not interfere with the other customers if they crash the server; the customer only crashes their “virtual” server. VPS hosting is between shared hosting and dedicated hosting.
Site5 is a shared hosting provider, so our servers each contain multiple websites and customers.
The most common comment I then hear is “so Google and Microsoft would call you guys to host their websites?” No, not even close. Companies such as Google and Microsoft invest millions of dollars and host their own websites on their own servers. We host the small and medium-sized businesses as well as personal websites (such as tomsepper.net).
What Site5 does not do is actually design and/or program the websites we host; that is our customer’s responsibility.
Any questions?
Observations, Ramblings, & Utter Randomness
Oct1
This will be a hodgepodge post containing a random assortment of topics. So clear your mind, start reading, and try to keep up.
Family & Friends
Monica and I have some of the greatest family and friends. Everyone has been exceedingly generous with baby gifts. To everyone that has been kind enough to send us or give us cards and gifts, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Additionally, a huge thank you to my Mom, my sister Kim, Monica’s sister Amanda, and friends Dru, Stephanie, and Mandy for throwing two wonderful baby showers for Monica.
Fuel Costs
Gas costs significantly less in DFW then it does in Lubbock. By significant I mean $.10 – $.20 cheaper. Ridiculous.
Tollways
I love tollways. Sure you have to pay, but it’s worth the money. Driving from Irving to Frisco took ten minutes. Can’t beat that.
Texas Tech
I hate using this phrase, but once again, it fits. Typical Tech. Come off a great win versus Texas A&M, get cocky, get put in your place by Mizzou. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Mike Leach is not the man to lead Tech to the next level. Until we hire a head coach that realizes a team is only as good as its weakest link, Tech will continue to be the red-headed stepchild of the Big XII South. On a happier note, we received our Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball season tickets in the mail. This is the first year we’ve bought both men’s and women’s season tickets, so we’ll have an abundance of games to attend!
Chicago Cubs
Swept out of the first round. I’m definitely not a fair weather fan, but it’s rather repetitive to have to keep saying “Just wait until next year”. I guess it could be worse..
NFL
The Bears are struggling for consistency. It’s too early to assess whether or not they can rebound and turn the season around. The best news is that Grossman was finally benched; he was given far too many chances and failed almost every time. On a happier note, I’m in a fantasy league for the first time, and through yesterday, in first place! Let’s hope I can sustain that for the rest of the season; I could use the $120 prize.
Work
I’ve been at my new job for over a month now and I’m loving it. Like all jobs, there have been some stressful situations – namely a rather large one that still is on my mind. It’s a different kind of stress than my former job, and I am much happier where I am now. It’s what I was born to do.
2007-2008 TV Shows
Lots of great shows this year – new and returning!
- Damages – GREAT new show on the FX network. If you haven’t been watching this show, wait until they start over and replay it from the beginning. It’s another “serialized” show in that you can’t just pick it up mid-season. It was a summer show that I would imagine will come back next summer. The season finale airs this coming Tuesday.
- CSI: Las Vegas. We have too many shows we DVR, so we’re only following CSI: Las Vegas this year. We don’t watch the Miami version as David Caruso is a horrible actor. We’ll put CSI:NY in our Netflix queue.
- Heroes. After a rather slow start in the first episode, it’s gotten far better. I don’t know how long this show will last after last year’s fantastic rookie season.
- Back To You – A new show on Fox staring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton.
- Carpoolers – A new show on ABC staring Jerry O’Connell and a bunch of other people I’ve never heard of before.
- Grey’s Anatomy – This is more Monica’s show than mine, but it’s actually not that bad.
- Private Practice – As we watch Grey’s Anatomy, of course we’d watch its spin-off..
- Desperate Housewives – We’ve watched this show since day one, and this season is already far better than last year’s.
- Jericho – After the widely-covered fan outrage, CBS will be bringing Jericho back as a mid-season show to close up the storylines.
- Cold Case & Without A Trace – We love these mystery-type shows!
- The Big Bang Theory – This is definitely Monica’s show.. I’m not really that sold on it.
Hmm.. that list makes it seems like we have no life! Oh well – we enjoy it.
Well, that’s the end of this post.. I’ll be surprised if anyone makes it this far!
New Beginning
Sep0
As Semisonic said in “Closing Time”:
As you know through a recent blog post, I resigned from my previous job in order to fulfill a dream opportunity. And that opportunity is..
..working in the web hosting industry at an innovative and progressive company; that company is Site5.
I have joined the management team as the General Manager. Quoting that page, my responsibilities include:
…handling “completely random and important stuff at large”, overseeing Site5’s finances, managing the Site5 Community Forums, assisting in the management of the Site5Wiki and Knowledge Base, and aiding the various Site5 departments through the use of his versatile “jack of all trades” skill set.
There is a great group of people working for Site5 and I am truly honored to be a part of the team. Everyone has been extremely welcoming and helpful to me in my first week of learning the ins and outs of the company.
Be prepared for lots of web hosting related posts in the future! 
The End of an Era
Sep3
Friday was my final day at Director’s Choice after five and a half years.
It was a bittersweet day. DC was great to me and I acquired an insane amount of knowledge and experience from the job. My coworkers were a great group of people to work with and were like a second family. When asked what I would miss most, my answer was without question the people.
DC as a company has its fair share of problems – just like every other company on the planet. I hope that they realize what the problems are and corrects them.
However, an opportunity presented itself that I simply could not pass up. I will post additional information on my new job in the coming days.
A Nice Surprise
Jul0
I went to San Antonio on business for a few days. Every summer, my company attends the Texas Bandmasters, Texas Choral Directors, and Texas Orchestra Directors conventions. For the past five years, I’ve simply gone down for our booth setup and flown back on the first day of the convention. It works out fairly well; I don’t mind going to down to do setup. In fact, it’s actually fun to an extent. This year we actually setup our entire exhibit in a record four hours; we were done at 11:30 am!
Monica picked me up at the airport yesterday and had an absolutely wonderful surprise for me at home. I walked by the mantle (where it was sitting) without even seeing it. I went into the bedroom, threw my bags down on the floor and got changed. Monica was laying on the bed, and I start to head out into the living room when I look up and see an orange and white AT&T bag.
And I knew it could only be one thing.. my iPhone!
I’ve been using it for about half a day now, and I’m blown away by it. I’ll be writing up an initial review in about a week.
I have the sweetest wife.
10 Reasons Why It Doesn’t Pay To Be “The Computer Guy”
May0
I came across this article at digg and had to repost since I’m an “IT” guy.
Reason #10 – Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible
The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know … everything is working fine!”
The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.
As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.
Reason #9 – Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same
When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer…”
Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.
Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to reinstruct the user of this same process — indefinitely.
Reason #8 – You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?
The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.
“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”
Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.
If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat — “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”
Reason #7 – Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued
Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.
That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”
Reason #6 – You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace
The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:
1. Computers never sleep.
2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
3. Every problem takes time to diagnose.
4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.
Reason #5 – People Ask You To Perform Miracles
The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:
“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”
Reason #4 – Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down
There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.
This is somewhat related to the next reason:
Reason #3 – You Possess Unlimited Responsibility
The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.
Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:
1. Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
2. Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
3. Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.
Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem — and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.
Reason #2 – A Life Of Alienation
People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something — as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.
The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour — he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.
Reason #1 – You Have No Identity
It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him — it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.