General

Nov 18 2008

Clever Spam

Spammers are getting better all the time. Recently, on this blog was the following conversation:

  • Spammer 1 on 14 Nov 2008 at 12:58 am said …
    I have a flash site
    i’m looking for the script who of google ads with flash.
    can you give me the link?
  • Spammer 2 on 17 Nov 2008 at 11:48 am said …
    try [link deleted]

Rather clever actually. Have someone ask a question, then answer it with a link to your commercial product a few days later. Of course, the company that sells this has no address on their web site or contact information.

I don’t mind people sharing commercial products on this blog that are useful and helpful for solving problems, but not when the conversation has nothing to do with the blog post and all contact information is hidden.

By Johan • General • 0

Oct 21 2008

Spending More Costs Less in the Long Run

We recently had problems with the heating in our home. The weather is getting colder and this is when I noticed that adjusting the thermostat had no effect in warming my place. So, a jack-of-all-trades “expert” was called in to fix the problem. After three visits with parts being purchased and replaced, the problem persisted. In the end, a professional repairman was brought in and he fixed the problem in a few minutes. It was just a matter of cleaning the dust that was collected around the baseboard heaters.

Its amazing how fast someone with skill and experience can solve problems. We tend to want to save money by buying the cheapest products and services thinking that they can do the same thing that their more expensive counterparts can do. You need to waste money like this to learn an important lesson. A $30/hr carpenter costs less than a $10/hr one because he will do a better job and produce more reliable results than the lower cost wood worker.

Quality costs money. Quality tends to be directly proportional to price. The more you pay, the better the product or service. There’s a good reason why a Mercedes-Benz costs more than a Ford.

I get many requests from people to build them web sites. They’re very enthusiastic until they see what it would cost them. One customer said they couldn’t afford to spend $1700 on a web site, even though they just bought an $1800 digital SLR camera. Another person wanted a web site to sell their home. I quoted a price for a basic site for $500-$700. This seems to be too much for them since I haven’t heard back from them.

People don’t value web developers because what we produce isn’t tangible. Its not like building a table and charging $500. The desk is physically real and you can touch it and have dinner on it. A web site exists virtually on some server far away and you can only see it with your web browser. It seems to be worth less than the table, but building a dynamic database driven web site requires considerably more knowledge than learning how to build a table.

Clients with established and profitable businesses appreciate the skills of a good web developer and understand the value they bring to their business. Stay away from the wannabe with visions of becoming a dot com millionaire or having a successful web site overnight with little cost to them. They will just waste your time.

By Johan • General • 1

Oct 19 2008

Bisphenol-A (BPA) Banned in Baby Bottles, Finally!

Yesterday, the Canadian government made the wise decision to ban Bisphenol-A in baby bottles. It will be added to its list of toxic substances. No date has been given yet when this will occur. BPA will have restrictions on its import, sales, and marketing.

BPA is dangerous because of its carcinogenic properties, along with other undesirable side effects as imitating estrogen. The compound can leach into the milk in a baby bottle when the plastic is heated (baby bottles usually are heated to make the milk easier to drink).

With the poor health so common among people these days, its good that the government is stepping in to protect its youngest citizens who will someday be running this country.

Alternatives to plastic baby bottles are glass, but a company in Israel (Born Free) sells BPA free bottles for babies and toddlers. Their bottles are also free of phthalates and PVC. They cost more then the unhealthy plastic bottles sold in popular stores, but the high price is worth it considering that your protecting your children’s health.

By Johan • General • 1

Oct 9 2008

Flip Flopping with CBC News

Here are a few recent headlines from CBC News:

October 9, 2008

October 8, 2008

October 7, 2008

October 6, 2008

From contradictory headlines like this, no wonder people are scared. There are threats of recession and also assurances that everything is fine in Canada. The real purpose of these headlines is provide entertainment and capture an audience that will frequently visit their web sites and TV news programs. At those points, the viewers can be exposed to advertising.

Its all about making money. Its not about providing accurate news stories.

By Johan • General • 0

Oct 8 2008

Quotes to Motivate You

If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.
St. Clement of Alexandra

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.
George S. Patton

Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
William Shakespeare

It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore,
is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.
Author Unknown

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
William B. Sprague

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
Samuel Johnson

He who hesitates is lost.
Proverb

By Johan • General • 0

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