Max The IT pro [versatile]» web hosting | Max The IT pro [versatile] http://maxtheitpro.com Max explores the world of IT, Music, Travel & other stuff... Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:49:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 My Web Hosting Nightmare: Part 2 of 2 http://maxtheitpro.com/my-web-hosting-nightmare-part-2-of-2 http://maxtheitpro.com/my-web-hosting-nightmare-part-2-of-2#comments Sun, 02 Apr 2006 07:05:00 +0000 Max - The IT Pro http://maxtheitpro.com/my-web-hosting-nightmare-part-2-of-2 Continue reading →
]]> I’m back!
Well I woke up at 9 AM after I went to bed at 4 AM this morning. You’d think I’d sleep for 7 or 8 hours, but I didn’t. You see, when I’m in a country with amazingly nice weather, I just can’t seem to stay in bed for too long. Ditto when I was growing up in Barbados. Now in Canada, I’m quite capable of sleeping for 8 hours when it’s (gasp!) Winter time.

Take a hike
Anyhow, I went for a nice 1 hour jog – to clear my head – through Parklands, downtown Nairobi, and 2 nearby campuses of the University of Nairobi (U of N). Boy did I need that! My body and mind are “one” once again. I actually feel very relieved and calm. One thing though…keep your eyes on the road when you’re attemping to take a recreational jog in this city lest you end up on a one-way trip to the mythical land of Hades.

A stroll down memory lane & some “pleasant” distractions
Oh, I didn’t notice the cute skirts up at “U of N” either on my jog. Come to think of it…do I ever miss campus life (see here | here | here | here | here) at the University of Western Ontario (aka UWO). I knew I should’ve tried out for the cheerleading team since I don’t recall seeing too many women in my CompSci classes. BTW, I forgot we had a “Beaver” Hall residence on campus. The sheer irony…well, for those who know what I mean. LOL. :-)

Medicinal shrooms – how I love thee
On another note, too bad I didn’t bring down some of my medicinal mushrooms (Reishi , Shiitaki, Cordyceps, Maitake , etc.) from Canada, which I usually purchase from Ottawa’s Rainbow Natural Foods. Truly powerful (almost “magical”) stuff that’ll change your outlook on life – forever.

Ya don’t believe me? Read for yourself.

The study of medicinal mushrooms through the last three decades has proved its many beneficial outcomes and has been followed by the rapid development of manufacturing businesses dealing with commercial cultivation of mushrooms. In 1999, world production of mushrooms amounted to US$18 billion, roughly equal to the value of coffee sales.3,4

Medicinal mycology has deep and firm roots in fungi’s traditional uses in the medicine of the Far East. For centuries, Chinese and other healthcare practitioners employed mushrooms to treat various diseases. They valued the power of some mushrooms as divine (e.g., a special goddess was associated with the reishi mushroom). Reishi is also considered a symbol of happy augury and good future, good health, longevity, and even life with the immortals. The use of medicinal mushrooms has gone beyond medicine itself: different schools of Taoism employed reishi and other mushrooms as purifiers and promoters of mind and spirit.5 {source: Review of Medicinal Mushrooms Advances: Good News from Old Allies by Solomon P. Wasser, Ph.D., Dr.Sci. (Biol.)}

In addition, this short blurb is also an eye opener. But I wish they’d mention Cordyceps , which are my favorite natural adaptogens as they’re simply amazing for those who are into athletic pursuits and good all-around health – like me. {get more info: here | here | here | here | here}

In fact, an estimated 38,000 species of mushrooms, most provide a wealth of protein, fiber, B vitamins, and vitamin C, as well as calcium and other minerals. And at least three species have demonstrated phenomenal healing potential: maitake, shiitake, and reishi. These medicinal mushrooms have been shown to boost heart health; lower the risk of cancer; promote immune function; ward off viruses, bacteria, and fungi; reduce inflammation; combat allergies; help balance blood sugar levels; and support the body’s detoxification mechanisms. {source: Healthcastle.com }


Okay, enough of the lovely (and healthy) distractions. Remember, I’m still going through a web hosting nightmare, and no amount of cute skirts are going to make me lose my focus (ponders for a while). Go ahead, try me! Make your day! :-)

Customer dis-service continued
So, as I was saying at the end of my previous blog entry, my pal called the owner (Michael) from Afrohosting (see Whois). He in turns tells us that his host, Rackforce , shut him down because “one of his customers was sending spam from their account.” Now, I refuse to believe that a reputable company like Rackforce would throw out the baby with the bath water. It just doesn’t make sense.

After about 2 or 3 days, Michael did the most incredible disappearing act I’ve ever seen. Not even David Copperfield could match this. Incidentally, the web developer for our new site told us that Afrohosting had a lot of business with some NGOs based here in Kenya, and that they are all pissed. Again, Michael has fallen off the face of the earth. I presume he’s entered the 4th dimension. “Earth to Michael – come home!”

Cut your losses
Now, our new EBusiness web portal needed a reliable web hosting company to deliver the goods. Since Michael must’ve went into the Federal Witness Protection Program , we decided to cut our losses and find an alternative – pronto. Why?

Well, it’s sort of embarrassing when you’ve got interested investors, potential web partners, and web affiliates trying profusely to access your site only to get a blank screen. Actually, the pic to your above left is what appears when I “tried” to access Afrohosting.com on April 1/2006 at 5:18 PM. Oh, the suspended.page link you see in that JPEG image takes you to the screen which is captured in the next pic right below. How professional – not!

A shocking discovery
Now, it turns out that Michael’s Afrohosting.com company is NOT even hosted by Rackforce. What a bloody liar! The only speculation we’re going on right now is that he fu#ked up royally, and now his business is a goner. Perhaps he didn’t pay his bills? No one will ever know. Oh, if any of you guys see him, please tell him to send us a credit for our remaining web hosting plan. Also, if your hands are near his neck, please deny him some air. Where’s Lord Vader from Star Wars when you need him? :-)

Afrohosting.com goes “incognito”
This is almost too funny folks. But according to a Whois lookup for Afrohosting.com, it appears that their DNS servers are being hosted by (laugh) Incognito Networks. See the 3rd screenshot on this page below this text. What an ironic twist, eh? How very fitting since Michael has gone incognito on his alleged clientele.

Oh well, ya live and learn. Right?

What’s with the healthy stuff BTW?
So why the heck did I mention medicinal mushrooms in my IT blog? Well, IT, if approached from a negative perspective, is a very stressful profession when you take the following into account: Missed delivery dates, unrealistic expectations, security vulnerabilities, bugs, viruses, in-experienced users screwing things up, creeping featuritis in new apps, pointy-haired bosses {also see here|here } who don’t know jack squat about real IT, and the sheer increased complexity of today’s systems.
On the other hand, medicinal mushrooms have a calming Zen-like effect on the entire body, which is a possitive thing. They actually aid in reducing stress on your system – guaranteed. And you can take the bank.

The best things in life are FREE
Look, I’ve always made healthy living my firstpriority in life. Yes, even over a damn computer loaded with all of my favorite geeky stuff! Why? Well, if your health takes a serious nose dive, it doesn’t really matter how successfull you are, or how many material possessions you own. You see, I find that most of my IT colleagues have become slaves to their profession, and it’s come back to bite them right in the ass – in the form of BAD HEALTH and habits. Two to 4 large cups of coffee per day – with 3 sugars? Yikes, that’s a recipe for disaster! Better them than I.

All I’m trying to say is to learn from your experiences. In this case, I will make sure that my associates understand the need to truly scrutinize who they select to host their precious commercial “data” cargo (websites) next time.

But here’s the thing. After almost a week of being offline, and looking through the window from the outside, I realise that, “Hey, it’s NOT the end of the world.” This BTW is also my 1st sacred principle in life. In other words, the site was backed up, and no data was lost, so “chill dudes.” :-)

Ultimately, your health is the most important thing you have going in life. And it’s free when you enter this world. If your body gets a virus or encounters a serious malfunction, then it doesn’t really matter what happened to your data yesterday. Right?

And that’s my point.

BTW, don’t forget to follow the advise for choosing a web hosting company which is in the conclusion section of Part 1 of this blog. It’ll save you a ton of time. Trust me!

Happy computing.

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