Your assignment for today
I've got a few websites hosted through a particular free hosting service that, when they are accessible, is fantastic. Totally free, no limit on the number of domains that can be hosted, no banners, great tech support... what could be better. Unfortunately, either their servers are frequently down, or the backbone they're on is not very stable. It seems like load times for my pages is quite slow - and that's when I can reach them at all.
So, for the few people who read this blog on a regular basis (you know who you are), please use the comments to suggest a free hosting company. I don't need (but wouldn't say no to) CGI scripts, databases, etc. For that kind of service, I realize I'd have to pay something. But for HTML pages, images, etc., I think I need to find a more reliable host. There are lots of "free" hosting plans that require the display of a banner. That's not acceptable. I don't want to show any content that is not completely under my control.
Thanks for your suggestions.
I'm not an exciting person, but anything that crosses my mind that I care to share with the rest of the world will appear here.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Amazing progress
I've had the most productive 48 hours, vis-a-vis my baseball project than I've had in any other 2-day period in over four years. I don't know whether the online resources I've recently discovered were always there but lay undiscovered, or whether the baseball gods smiled down on me and provided me with the missing link I've been searching for. I've written a program that has been generating remarkably accurate game predictions more-or-less in real time for the past two baseball seasons, after having back-tested it on historical data from seasons 2000 through 2004. The only stumbling block that has kept me from trying to sell the predictions was a technical issue that just may be solved before the end of this month. I am so excited I can barely contain my enthusiasm. Check out the prior years' "paper betting" results here.
I've had the most productive 48 hours, vis-a-vis my baseball project than I've had in any other 2-day period in over four years. I don't know whether the online resources I've recently discovered were always there but lay undiscovered, or whether the baseball gods smiled down on me and provided me with the missing link I've been searching for. I've written a program that has been generating remarkably accurate game predictions more-or-less in real time for the past two baseball seasons, after having back-tested it on historical data from seasons 2000 through 2004. The only stumbling block that has kept me from trying to sell the predictions was a technical issue that just may be solved before the end of this month. I am so excited I can barely contain my enthusiasm. Check out the prior years' "paper betting" results here.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Dare to dream
There is no idea under the sun that is too stupid to be tried. A year ago tomorrow, a man in Montreal got the idea to trade a RED PAPERCLIP for something more valuable. His goal was modest - to keep trading up, until he finally got a house. Tomorrow, exactly one year after he started his quest, he gets his house. Here's his story.
There is no idea under the sun that is too stupid to be tried. A year ago tomorrow, a man in Montreal got the idea to trade a RED PAPERCLIP for something more valuable. His goal was modest - to keep trading up, until he finally got a house. Tomorrow, exactly one year after he started his quest, he gets his house. Here's his story.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Pirates!
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest debuted this weekend, and we decided to see it on opening weekend. That's usually not a good idea - crowds being what they are - but we went to a matinee during the World Cup Soccer match. This city has a large population of French and Italian citizens, so I was betting that the theatres would be relatively empty. My gamble paid off, and we were able to get good seats for this movie.
I won't talk plot, as I have this thing about giving/receiving spoilers. I'll just say I enjoyed the movie, and look forward to the next installment.
On a loosely related note, it seems like a number of unscrupulous business owners have decided to keep the 1% GST rebate voted by the federal government. Some are blatantly saying they won't return it. Others are claiming that it reflects an increased price to cover increased costs!! Still others (usually restaurants) are simply adding this message to their receipts: "includes 1% mandatory gratuity". In the latter case, I pity the wait staff... since I have a policy of not adding a tip to any bill where I have been charged a mandatory minimum gratuity. I'm curious to know what other people think about this move by retailers. In fact, I'm so interested, I've registered a domain to collect opinions, create a blacklist of offending retailers across the country, and perhaps grant space for complying businesses to advertise their establishments. It's just parked at the moment, but be on the lookout for real content coming soon!
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest debuted this weekend, and we decided to see it on opening weekend. That's usually not a good idea - crowds being what they are - but we went to a matinee during the World Cup Soccer match. This city has a large population of French and Italian citizens, so I was betting that the theatres would be relatively empty. My gamble paid off, and we were able to get good seats for this movie.
I won't talk plot, as I have this thing about giving/receiving spoilers. I'll just say I enjoyed the movie, and look forward to the next installment.
On a loosely related note, it seems like a number of unscrupulous business owners have decided to keep the 1% GST rebate voted by the federal government. Some are blatantly saying they won't return it. Others are claiming that it reflects an increased price to cover increased costs!! Still others (usually restaurants) are simply adding this message to their receipts: "includes 1% mandatory gratuity". In the latter case, I pity the wait staff... since I have a policy of not adding a tip to any bill where I have been charged a mandatory minimum gratuity. I'm curious to know what other people think about this move by retailers. In fact, I'm so interested, I've registered a domain to collect opinions, create a blacklist of offending retailers across the country, and perhaps grant space for complying businesses to advertise their establishments. It's just parked at the moment, but be on the lookout for real content coming soon!