10 June 2023

Why Buzzkill(.org) went Paid

TLDR; buzzkill.org and DF Crafts.net are in the same workspace because I started a business. Read on for all the weird not so technical stuff that happened that caused it.

Yep. I did a whole bunch of confusing crap.

So it started way way way way way way back in the day, Google workspace was called something else. Maybe Google Apps, I don’t even remember. Suffice it to say it had a different name.

For the sake of this article: it’s Google Workspace.

I had two domains set up on what is now Google Workspace: buzzkill.org and crazedsanity.com. each had their own setup. I had a whole bunch of licenses. Crazedsanity.com was one that I used for all the aliases that I could use to obscure my real email address. Spam. Special account names.

Now, before Dain starts laughing about how many email addresses that I have, that domain actually had only one. There’s also the catch-all, which basically I never really looked at… Except when I wanted to take a laugh at the patterns I saw in spam.

Then there’s Buzzkill.org. It’s short for Buzzkill Productions Unlimited. A business name that has been sitting with me since… Well, a long time ago. Since I had the “.com” version that got stolen out from underneath me due to a whole bunch of technical crap. I didn’t pay for it because of aggravation and principle… Because I missed paying like 20 bucks by 2 days, and I didn’t want to sit in court forever with the company that could hold me in court forever until I eventually gave up and just let what happened happen anyway.

At one point I tried to start a business from that name. It didn’t work out, because I didn’t have a salesperson.

I didn’t have a salesperson because I didn’t ask the right question to the right people. And I don’t handle rejection well, especially when I get flustered.

But I digress.

Buzzkill.org was for a little while a business. Then I gave up on that dream… Like, I literally said ” Fuck it ” and asked anybody that if they wanted an account there. Because it’s a cool name… I mean, I thought it was.

We had that sort of unofficial motto: “accept no limitations,” (copywronged 1996-ish).

Then it, again, this idea of a business was started up again. This time, it was my mom’s idea.

Anyway. DF Crafts LLC was born.

I played around with a whole bunch of stuff. WordPress. WordPress with its own cart system using things recommended to me by this great little advertisement agency called KK Bold.

Anyway, one of the Workspaces needed to be personal. The other needed to be a business. Things happened. I logged in through different browser profiles. Account cross-linking happened.

I got confused. I got frustrated. I tried to avoid paying too much by doing a bunch of complicated bullshit.

Then, a light seem to happen. Google indicated to me that my billing would be delayed for years, possibly indefinitely.

So finally, I figured out how to get my one Workspace to remain free. The other one, being a business, is paid. Unfortunately, the billing is not delayed…

This website? This is not a business.

Can you hear that Google? Microsoft? Bing? Random spiderweb thing that’s listening to my personal shoutbox?

I’ll probably write up something humorous and more cohesive on my private shout box, aka my Patreon page (patreon.com/crazedbuzz). If you want to peek at it, subscribe. Or ask for a cheaper rate if you are unsure. And if you’re upset? I’ll refund your damn money. I’m easy. Wink.

PS: If you were wronged by losing your email from one of my domains? You can always just ask me to get it back via patreons free contact system, or by my socials, or by my phone number, or… Send smoked signals to my friends, they will probably relay the information to me.

PPS: if you haven’t figured out how to ask me for things? I mean, I can always wait until somebody figures out how to do wireless brain to brain communications. Lol… ? (Shudder)

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Why Buzzkill(.org) went Paid
23 June 2022

It’s World Hydration Day!

Be sure to drink water when you’re out in the sun sweating a lot! In my present circumstance, I drink tons of water–gallons–when I’m out in the sun all day in 90 plus degrees weather with high humidity.

Also, if there’s a state that is an actual hell because of weather? I agree with my mom that my nomination of choice would be Nebraska. Very hot but extremely humid as well. It looks real nice, and sometimes there’s even a wind, but then that humidity just wraps it’s arms around you and pulls you to the ground as you grasp your final breaths for that sweet, sweet feel of a breeze. Lol.

Category: Did you know, Health, Uncategorized | Comments Off on It’s World Hydration Day!
21 October 2021

Self Promotion

I was talking to one of my co-workers the other day, and the topic of self-promotion came up. I was telling him all about how he had to get better at telling others how good he is at creating digital music… and then I realized that I was horrible at it.

So this post is here for promoting me.

Hi, my name is Dan, and I’m a geek.

I’ve done a lot of geeky things.

I’m Self-Taught.

All the programming and system administration capabilities I possess have been achieved through determination. No formal education has furthered that. No classes. No certifications. (I did go to college for a while, and technically I have a 2.96 GPA, but I never finished because they failed me for bogus reasons; I think I have like three credits or six credits left to get my Associate’s degree.)

I’ve been programming since the turn of the millennium, mostly on web applications. I taught myself PHP.

I learned system administration because it interested me, and because there was a need at the place I worked. I watched the owner peck away at a console until I learned the password and gave myself access. I officially became system administrator through sheer force of will. Within a few months, I was administering two dozen servers, with all but a couple of them running various flavors of Linux.

I learned PHP through reading and experimentation.

Is there more to the story? Yes. Quite honestly, this story has been in my drafts since 2014… So it has been time to publish it for a while. So, for better or worse, here it is / was. Lol.

Category: History, PHP, System Administration, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Self Promotion
17 October 2021

Pedal Cars: How To Save The World

… and why Elon Musk should hire me.

(Disclaimer: this is a living document; I’ve posted it on the Internet to prove I came up with it first. And because I want to make money saving the world.)

If there is one single concept in this document that somebody should definitely start doing on a massive scale is to make stuff large-scale from styrofoam. And making power from burning garbage like the Swedes.

Or was it harvesting the methane from cow farts to make fuel? It might be that one.

On to the super-well-fleshed-out idea in bullet points.

The Bits

  • pedaling in the driveway:
    –> hyper-efficient pedaling
    –> how to power the heater (esp. during winter)
    –> how to power the AC (yep, you gotta pedal)
  • wheels that have wheels: how momentum can power your heater (and AC)
  • integrating non-custom electronics to make a smart(er) car
    –> using your phone…
    –>> mirror display onto bigger display (touchscreen)
    –>> load (custom?) app
    –> using old tablets
  • building (a body) using styrofoam
    –> the styrofoam collection facility/system
    –> melting it into hard plastic
    –> pour into molds (considerations for extracting the acetone)
  • powering the plant using garbage
    –> burn it like the Swedes
    –> SUPER NEGATIVE CARBON FOOTPRINT (Super Green – the Ruby Rodd story)
  • Making it cool(er)
    –> round tires (a car that literally turns on a dime)
    –> heads-up display: how to reflect a screen onto the windshield (safely)
    –> seats that slide out (for old people)
    –> transform(er)ing seats for wheelchair accessiblity
    –> heated seats, because winter.
    –> cameras all over for visibility (night + thermal vision)
    –> windows that are actually solar panels
    –> solar panels on the roof: how to make solar panels sexy (and durable)
    –> blind spot monitoring
  • Features I “stole” (off the Internet[?])
    –> automatic high beams
    –> heated steering wheel (and North Dakota needs it)
    –> intelligent “keys” / remote starting options (powered by Linux?)
    –>> using FOBs that use encrypted signals
    –>> intelligent scheduling: keeping your car un-frozen in the Coming Ice Age
    –> FOBs that combine fingerprint + proximity (+phone)
    –>> considerations for lost phones and asshole “hacker” thieves
  • (Really)Weird shit that might work
    –> using cow farts to fuel the “gas” engine
    –> buoyancy and sealed engine compartment: how Dante’s Peak will save you in a flood
Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Pedal Cars: How To Save The World
30 June 2021

Relationship Tree

So I heard this analogy once. I don’t remember exactly where, or the exact quote, but I know the gist of it.

Relationships are like a tree. Now, you, you’re the tree. The trunk.

You’ll meet people that are like leaves. Some fall off right away, some hang out for a while before falling away. But they all eventually fall away.

Then you’ve got branches. Branches are tougher stuff, they bring some leaves with them, but they stick around longer. But after a while, branches can fall away, too.

Sometimes you get somebody that’s like a trunk. You end up a tree with two trunks. Like when you get married, your significant other becomes that other trunk. But sometimes, after a long time, that extra trunk can fall away too.

Then you’ve got roots. Roots connect you to the earth. They hold you down, keep you rooted. They’re the ones that are there when all the leaves and branches and extra trunks fall away.

If you’re really lucky, you’ll have a lot of roots in your life. Hold on to them.

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Relationship Tree
20 November 2020

The Thing About the Apocalypse

A thought struck me last night, about the apocalypse.

It seems like there’s a fair number of people that would “like” to live in a world with zombies. Or something like the world of Mad Max. Where things are simpler, albeit more brutal.

But those are post-apocalyptic settings. After the apocalypse hit.

Nobody wants to live at the start of the apocalypse. Or during it.

Because the apocalypse means lots of people die. It means watching friends and family get sick and die. Or become monsters of one sort or another.

Getting to the post-apocalypse means people had to live through it. It means people had to witness the apocalypse happening, survive through it while everybody was dying, and come out the other side.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. It’s not like this pandemic is really an apocalypse. Right?

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Thing About the Apocalypse
22 October 2020

Updating an Old Blog

It’s pretty clear I haven’t updated this site in a long time. Time to change that.

There’s a couple of things that I need to do. On this site, on my server, and maybe in life: limit the things I’m using, and use those things more often.

I’ve removed a couple of my websites. Not very well, honestly, but they’re gone now. I’ll work on giving them a more graceful “death” when I have more time. I don’t think they were getting that much traffic anyway.

More updates!

I’ve been writing a bunch of sh*t in my journal (a.k.a. diary). Which is fine, whatever. But a lot of that stuff could have instead been posted online, because it’s interesting, and it’s not really what I consider journal-worthy.

It’s clear I need to get back into programming on the side. I’m not sure how I’m going to get that done yet… but I’ll figure it out.

Category: Rant, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Updating an Old Blog
16 September 2015

So Far Behind…

I think I’ve over-committed myself.

It’s not abnormal for me to be lagging behind updates by a day or two.  I don’t check social media on my phone–Facebook Messenger slipped through the cracks, but it hasn’t gone off more than once every few weeks–so I usually don’t know if Stan Lee posted something about me (yeah right) or if there’s some crazy new Mime-related humor.

I’m having a hard time keeping up on the things that matter.  Coding projects.  Paying attention to my wife.  Beating the kids on a regular basis.  Keeping bills in line.

Bear with me.  I’m going to spend some time re-organizing things over the coming days and weeks, hopefully to get a better line on the top priorities.  I’d like to get Project Hobbit Walk to a better place.  I’ve got doodles to upload to Deviant Art.  I’ve got pictures to force upon the world (or at least my friends).  And TTORP needs to get to a better place (the website blows).

TL;DR:  Stay tuned.

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on So Far Behind…
1 September 2015

Spaghetti Code

That’s right, there’s an actual, honest-to-goodness technical term called “Spaghetti Code.”  Basically, it’s code that’s all tangled up in itself, not elegant at all.  It does not look or smell tasty… imagine the worst experience you’ve had with that stuff they served back in school.  You know, with the green “meat.”

I avoid that shit like crazy.

I’ve written some of that shit.  Somebody smarter than me once said, “in order to make good choices, you must first have made plenty of bad ones.”  And I’ve made plenty of those.

In fact, since I have so much code that’s open source, pretty much all my mistakes are out there for people to see.

Anyway, down to the point.  As a programmer, every time you build something with spaghetti code, or in some way that is ugly and difficult to maintain, you acrue technical debt.  And that adds up FAST.

So, for PHP, you should separate code from HTML–you can use a Templating engine to do that.  Or a framework like CS-Content, or CakePHP, or a myriad of others.  Test on different servers, different versions of PHP, and/or do the continuous integration thing.

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off on Spaghetti Code