madeofglass.com

a collection of reflections by people i have known

by petunia

did you know that if you have comcast internet you can download mcafee free through their site?

we had a fantastic thunderstorm here tonight.  pretty amazing, especially for february.  it was warm out and i left the back door open – it felt like summer.  wouldn’t mind a little summer right about now.

Popularity: 2% [?]

by ray

I’m only posting this because, even a couple of hours after the chat, I’m still frankly bemused and left to wonder: Am I not explaining this right? How many different ways can I ask the same question?

*Note: you’ll only find this of any interest whatsoever if you’re a web geek. If not, move along…

Welcome to Earthlink LiveChat. Your chat session will begin shortly. Feel free to begin typing your question.

Please hold for an agent. While you are waiting, please feel free to begin typing your issue in the box below. Try to be as descriptive as possible. Once an agent is assigned to the chat, click SEND to transmit what you have typed. 

‘Sharon G’ says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?

Me: Hi. I’m setting up our website on an Earthlink hosted account. We have not yet transferred over our domain name, as we wish to first verify and test the new site on the new account. Until then, we are leaving our old account active. In the interim, as we test, what URL may we type in order to view our Earthlink hosted account in a web browser, given that our actual domain directs to our old existing site?

Sharon G: Hello, Please give me a moment to read your message. 

Sharon G: Thank you for staying on hold. 

Sharon G: I am sorry for the delay. 

Sharon G: I understand that your domain is transferred form another provider to EarthLink. And you want to check the domain is working or not. Am I correct? 

Me: Um, no. We have set up an Earthlink hosting account. We have another hosting account where are domain currently resides. We will transfer the domain name once we have verified that the site is up and tested. SO, I need a URL of the Earthlink hosted account, be it server address or other, where I can actually view the test account. Once we have done all of our testing on the new account and are sure we have the site running correctly, then we will contact Network Solutions and transfer the domain. Make sense? So, I need an address where I can view my site which doesn’t need our domain name.

Sharon G: I understand your concern. 

Sharon G: I am sorry to say you, but but you need to contact our Web Hosting phone support to resolve it. Because, it is the something that can be done from our server end. As a Live Chat representative, I do not have privileges to access it due to security reasons. Please call our Web Hosting customer service at 800-955-0186

Sharon G: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?

Me: Actually, it doesn’t technically have to involve server access. In most instances, as I understand it, the URL would be something like:

Me: http://earthlink.net/hostaccount/yadda/yadda/index.html

Me: If I still need to dial in and speak to a rep, I understand.

Me: Again, we’re just talking about viewing. I already have ftp access.

Sharon G: Are you referring to Control center of the domain? 

Me: No, I don’t think so. I’ve been to my control center. What I’m actually hoping to get is an actual, physical URL that I can type into a browser which will let me view our site, that is irrespective of our domain name, which currently points elsewhere. Make sense?

Sharon G: Yes, please let me know your domain name to pull up your account. 

Me: [theactualdomainwehavebeentalkingabout].org

Sharon G: Thank you for the information. 

Sharon G: Please use the link given below to access your website. 

Sharon G: http://www.[the actual domain we have been talking about].org/index.htm

Sharon G: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?

Me: That actually won’t work, as our domain name currently directs to another provider. We won’t be switching over the domain name until the Earthlink account is up and running. So, typing in that URL will only take me to our old account with Charter. See? That’s why I need the URL of the server address at Earthlink.

Me: I do appreciate your patience in this matter. =)

Sharon G: I understand your concern. But I see that your domain is already released from our portal .Name servers for the domain are se to WEBHOSTING.COM

Sharon G: *set to WEBHOSTING.COM

Sharon G: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?

Me: Right. Looking at the WHOIS with NetSol shows that the domain name points to SBC servers. Which is where it will stay until we test the new account with Earthlink. See, we are coming TO Earthlink FROM SBC (Sorry, I think I said Charter earlier). But first we need to test it. And to do that, we need a viewable URL on the Earthlink Server.

Sharon G: I am sorry to say you, but you need to contact our Phone support regarding this. This can be accusable form our server end. 

Me: I’m not entirely sure what that last part means. 

Sharon G: I am sorry to say you, but but you need to contact our Web Hosting phone support to resolve it. Because, it is the something that can be done from our server end. As a Live Chat representative, I do not have privileges to access it due to security reasons. Please call our Web Hosting customer service at 800-955-0186

Me: Alrighty. Thanks.

Sharon G: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?

Me: I don’t think so.

Popularity: 2% [?]

by petunia

BTL is now brightstorm.com.  not a bad name, methinks.  check it out & sign up for the beta even if you are not a HS kid.  i want lots of feedback.  seeing myself online in professionally-produced, non-pornographic videos will soon be something i can check off ye old bucket list.  there’s some kind of deal with winning free amex gift cards to people testing out the beta now, so do give it a gander, won’t you?  much obliged.

i have a total geek boner for the wii game my word coach.   it might be seriously my dorkiest pleasure ever.

i bought the first two seasons of ‘entourage’ at plan 9 the other day.  i’ve never seen an episode but 4 (or is it 5?) seasons of uberhype have finally pulled me in.  plus i’ve been craving a marathonable new show to get into…  not that i’m not thrilled with the new fall TV lineup of the equivalent to a tray of twinkies and ho-ho’s – “90210″ and “gossip girl” and “the hills” – ah, nutritionaly-void gluttony, i love you so.

yesterday whilst giving a reading assessment my eager little elementary school learner read the word “hour” as WHORE.   the sentence was, “we waited for an hour for the clue.”  the notion of waiting for a whore, particularly when ennunicated by a teeny tiny little squeaky-voiced girl had me biting the inside of my cheeks to keep from completely busting out laughing.    best yet, the story she was reading was called “father’s new game”  “father” surely is up to no good, methinks.  and what of this mysterious, clue-giving woman of the night?  now there’s a pitch for a tv show.

Popularity: 4% [?]

by petunia

big tree is actively recruiting HS age kids to check out our content and offer feedback.  they have the opportunity to earn free online courses and gift cards just for offering opinions, so please forward the hell out of this link:

www.bigtreelearning.com

they can list ‘linda’ under how they heard about BTL and i’ll get mad respect.   much obliged!

Popularity: 3% [?]

by tripp

Proving that there is something for everyone online, here is a blog documenting what claudia wore in the Babysitters’ Club series.

Seriously.
I think this tops the post I saw yesterday about gimps gone wild (nsfw).

And I might the only person to put those two topics/sites together.

Popularity: 3% [?]

by petunia

do you have babies?  do you have friends who have babies?  are you a baby?

if you answered yes to any of the above, you need these.

rockabye baby are CD compilations of rock songs transformed into beautiful, kid-friendly instrumentals.  the range of artists covered is pretty extensive – radiohead to the stones to tool to smashing pumpkins to metallica.  you can preview the tracks or buy them as single mp3s at amazon and some of them are nothing short of amazing – ethereal and gorgeous.

i already have quite a few i want to purchase for my own hypothetical future offspring, not to mention those hypothetical future offspring of my friends, as super-creepy as i realize that sounds.

tripp’s babies will get rockabye baby U2, michelle’s will get rockabye baby led zeppelin, and dutton’s, will of course, get rockabye baby NIN.

who wouldn’t want to put their babies to bed to such quality?

Popularity: 2% [?]

by petunia

i have never been one to hide the fact that i pretty much avoid politics. i understand it’s not a smart decision to be ignorant about what’s going on or abuse the right i have to vote, though, and as a result, i appreciate this website. it breaks things down really well, matching you up with the potential presidential candidate most aligned with your personal belief system. as far as i can see, it appears bias-free – created to educate and encourage people to vote, not to push a particular party or candidate. oversimplification of the process of candidate selection, perhaps, but good for those of us who don’t know what from what in the political arena.

my first match was mike gravel, whom i have to admit i had never heard of before. our belief systems were about 80% compatibility, with the biggest conflict in our views being in pay raises for teachers. hmmm.

hillary and john edwards came in at a 78% match for me. i like the idea of supporting a woman’s bid for the presidency, i just wish my option for this was a little more…personally appealing. barack, whom i also would like to like more, was at a 76% match for me. ron paul, whom my sister and brother-in-law have a scientologist-comparable level of devotion to, matches up with my thinking only 44%.

food for thought, at least.

Popularity: 2% [?]