Sorry about the downtime. After about 12 hours of the site being down, it finally picked up the new DNS servers. We decided to change hosting companies, after our websites were getting throttled for hours, leaving visitors getting only half loaded pages, or pages not loading at all. Not good. So, after a couple of days of combing through web hosts, we’ve come to HostGator with the hopes of a better tomorrow.

Now, for those who don’t know, we were previously with HostMonster. They implemented CPU Throttling on their servers. They say this is for the better good of all accounts. The real reason for this? It’s likely that due to the economy (if you look at the time-line, it makes sense) they implemented a way to throttle the connections to every website across the map, to stop from “over-using” their bandwidth, which in their own writing, is unlimited. Unlimited at what cost? The cost of not having a usable website for an average of 7% of the month. This is a HUGE hit to take, for anyone.

Greedy bastards, pure and simple. And their excuses when you ask why your website is being throttled so much? “Your (As in you, the customer) scripts are faulty” or “You’re calling too many sql queries” <–WTF?! Now, I tested this with a single static pages website. No sql queries, no php. Just simple html, with css, images and some text. It was throttled for an average of 1.8 minutes every 3 hours. Total time up: ~2 days. Total hits: 7… Seven hits, no sql, no php, and it was throttled.. Seriously? All I have to say, is that if you plan on going with HostMonster, make sure you’re ready to have a lot of unexpected downtime.

Just wanted to wish all my readers a happy 4th of July before it’s over. We spent the weekend up in the Thousand Islands. A few fireworks Saturday night, but nothing worth spending the night outside to watch. The fireworks here in Rochester are still going off, and I assume they will be for the next week or so as usual.

Anyways, hope every one is having a safe and fun weekend, because I know I sure did. =)

Haven’t written a post in over a month. I’ve been working for a bit-torrent website as lead developer, as well as working on a past project (phuximg), which is a image hosting script designed mainly for torrents and gaming guilds. It’s ran around memberships, and teams, which sets it apart from most of the other image scripts, that only allow you to manage your own personal images – if at all. It will be Open Source – as most of my scripts are – and will be posted on SourceForge.net.

I’ve also taken a couple of small vacations up to the family cottage in the Thousand Islands. Here’s some pictures…

Me, lounging.

Molly, my moms dog.

Lakefront.

A carp couple.

Bullhead guarding nest (The female’s hiding in the weeds).

Random bug – about 3 inches long o.O.

Mama duck.

Beside being a web and software developer, I also have a family. For the past couple of months, my grandfather has been going through chemotherapy for multiple cancers. It started with cancer in his blood, which led the doctors to find cancer in his esophagus and elsewhere in his body. I suppose it’s possibly caused from the drinking and smoking he did earlier in his life.

I’ve watched him slowly degrade from the energetic man I looked up to as a child, to what he’s become due to the cancer and chemotherapy. A walking skeleton with flesh pretty much sums his appearance up now. The doctors said that the cancer could spread to his brain, and after the past few days, it seems that has happened. He’s delusional and paranoid. He has barely eaten anything in the past three days, and has started to live in his own world.

I spent the better part of Saturday night and Sunday morning making sure he didn’t some how injure himself. After being awake for over 24 hours, I finally crashed around 6am Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon brought more delusions. He thought that the bathroom was the den, and attempted to use the bathroom near one of the couches. He started walking around the house with no pants on afterward.

Later, we found him in the kitchen with all the stove burners on, and the sink filling up with hot water. He started rambling about getting the gas and electric company, and having my grandmother arrested. After a couple of minutes of that, he started spouting about my grandmother and uncle stealing all of his money, and put his finger in my uncles face, who grabbed his wrist. I quickly grabbed my uncles hand, and sternly told him to let go (The urge to punch my uncle in the face for that almost got the better of me). I started to lead him in to the living room to sit down, when he started ranting about the food being poison. I assured him that was the same food we had eaten earlier that day, and got him in to the recliner in the living room.

I sat down with him, while my uncle made him a cup of coffee. He asked why this was happening to him, and all I could do was shake my head. He then started talking about god, and how “the rest of them” were the devils servants, referring to my grandmother and uncle. He then put out two fingers, and drew a cross in the air, stating that he had forgiven me of anything I had done in the past. I smiled and got his coffee.

I’ve been periodically checking on him for about 4 hours now. He’s been asleep for about 3, and hopefully that will help…

-Nito

After installing Windows 7 on my main box, I started going through old data cd’s, looking for anything I may need to throw back on it. While I was going through some from years ago, I found a few songs or poems – or whatever the fuck they are – that I had written. These may not be suitable for younger people to look at – not that most of my posts are anyways… I will be randomly adding one every once in awhile. Possibly when I have nothing else to write about.

These were most likely written in very bad times in my life, and misspelled words are common in my work. I can’t really be assed to make corrections, so they’ll be posted with the errors (as-is).

These are by all creative rights, my property. Any use of them without written or verbal permission from myself is infringement, and I will sue the fucking shit out of your ass for every penny you have. I will also make sure that I get any and all pets you have, so that I can rename them, and post pictures of them in retarded ass clothing with signs in the picture of things animals may think.

This is one of my darker ones, and it seems I didn’t finish it – or I did, and just didn’t save it? Or it’s possible that I wrote the rest on actual paper, and it got tossed away… The document title says it’s called “Prom Night”..

Hey there buddy, youre invited to the prom
But its not the standard usual dress
Its trench coats and other peoples flesh
No need for a date, we supply the girls
Our diminions of death, laced in black pearls
With hell as the setting, fire lights the room
Sit down, take it easy, and pop a shroom
Shes not real, just stay in your seat
Time for orderves, and youre fresh meat
Carry you to the pit in the upstairs loft
Barbequed ribs, so tender and soft

Well, it has certainly been a while since I last blogged. I’ve actually been extremely busy with work, and a minor back injury I had last week. Nikki and I are going to view an office building later today at 6 for Frag Designs. We’re looking for more clientele, so if you’re in the Rochester, NY area and need a website created or updated, drop us a line. We prefer to only work locally, although we have done websites for out-of-state companies before. We find it easier to communicate, and get everything situated if we can have actual sit downs.

Aside from work, there hasn’t been much going on. One of the Phux members, Ryan, is back around and doing good. I’m still hearing about one of my old employers screwing people over with their websites. In my next post, I’m going to tell everyone a little story about a place named Ebiz Site Designs.

Until next time,
-Nito

I’d like to welcome all the new visitors there may be, and welcome back the old ones.

I just finished migrating the database to this new server, and *hopefully* changed all the link-backs in my posts. If you find any link-backs to the old site (nito.phux.org), you can leave a comment on this post. I’ll appreciate it.

I’m going to be trying to dim down the swearing, but I can’t promise anything – I enjoy swearing, because it usually reflects my attitude towards what I’m writing better. Like this whole fucking FaceBook patent ordeal… Didn’t hear about it? Oh, I’ll most definitely be writing about it later today.

Until next time,
-Nito

After looking for another hosting company, I managed to find FatCow.com. Now, this company might look worth the little amount you’ll pay for their hosting, but remember that you get what you pay for, lol.

I think I paid around $60 for a one year lease with Fat Cow. As soon as I logged into the control panel, I noticed why it was so inexpensive – there wasn’t much there. My first issue was with cronjob’s – there simply was none. I went through 3 or 4 agents before I got it resolved with a billing guy (I was trying to cancel my account), who asked me to hold for a few minutes while he went and had it put into my account.

So now I have a half-assed cronjob – It had a combobox with ‘Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly’ in it.. Seriously? I can’t even set up a cronjob to run when I want it to? Are you fucking kidding me here?! Whatever, moving on…

My next issue is with their FTP. I managed to upload a few files a day (if I was lucky) before the FTP just started timing out and wouldn’t connect anymore. So, I went into the control panel, thinking I could use their java based FTP – WRONG! Browse for a file, click upload and get a message “PHP extension can not be uploaded for security reasons” or something along those lines. Awesome, right?! I also can’t upload htaccess, so their java ftp client is useless.

I finally contacted their tech team about the FTP *goes to look for chat log*. Oh, that was the chat I actually X’ed out of due to their tech being a complete idiot, and trying to blame me for the issue. I explained to him, that I have no issues with any of the other FTP accounts I work in (around 8 or 9 other servers), but he still tried to say it was on my end. I eventually got sick of that shit, and just closed the window out of frustration.

I called up their billing department right after that, and had the hosting canceled and refunded (or so I was told), leaving me with a parked domain, that was quickly transferred over to another host. After about a week of waiting for the refund, I opened a chat session with their billing dept. a little bit ago.

info: Thank you for contacting support.

Please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you.

Please hold for the next available operator to respond.

info: You are now chatting with ‘Nina Scott’
Nina Scott: Hi Nito. My name is Nina Scott, how are you today?
Nito Belmont: Good. I was wondering when I was going to get the refund for my hosting I canceled last week
Nina Scott: Thank you for the authentication.
Nina Scott: Could you please let me know the username of the account which you have cancelled?
Nito Belmont: The same one I entered for this chat.
Nina Scott: May I place you on hold for 2 to 3 minutes while I review your account?
Nito Belmont: Sure
Nina Scott: Thank you for holding.
Nina Scott: I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Nina Scott: I’m sorry, in order to assist you, I am going to have to ask a member of our team who specializes in this issue to take care of this for you.
Nito Belmont: Ok..
Nina Scott: Could you please hold for 2 to 3 minutes, while I provide you with the link to access the resolution of the issue?
Nito Belmont: Yes
Nina Scott: Thank you for holding.
Nina Scott: I have noticed that we have downgraded your account to Domain Parking account. I have escalated the issue for refund.
Nina Scott: You can expect a response regarding your issue within 24-48 hours. You can view the ticket status and resolution at:
Nina Scott: http://www.fatcow.com/member/sconsole/
Nito Belmont: Now, am I going to expect issues dealing with whoever takes this, due to it being opened on or after my 30 days?
Nito Belmont: Because I canceled the account last week, thinking I wouldn’t have to do anything further.
Nina Scott: No, your account is not yet cancelled. We have downgraded it to Domain Parking account.
Nina Scott: It is a free account.
Nina Scott: We will issue the refund within 24-48 hours.
Nito Belmont: But I canceled the hosting
Nito Belmont: The billing person I spoke to on the phone said I would receive a refund for that
Nina Scott: Yes, hosting plan is canceled and it is downgraded to Domain Parking account.
Nina Scott: Yes, we will issue the refund of your account.
Nito Belmont: Alright
Nina Scott: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Nito Belmont: Nope. Have a nice day

So after a week of waiting, and me having to contact their billing department, I should hopefully be getting a refund in the next couple of days. And now, it’s time for the actual review…

This company has semi-decent support, with the occasional assholes who think they know everything and you’re always wrong. You’ll probably end up getting different answers from each staff member you talk to. Example: Two tech’s told me Fat Cow does not support cronjob’s, the billing guy told me they did, and had it added.

Hopefully, if you decide to go with this company, you won’t have the issues I had. I don’t know how this company has managed to be ranked first in a lot of the hosting lists, but that shit needs to be changed. Fat Cow is a decent hosting company, IF you’re running html files or a pre-packaged script you install from their control panel, but that’s about it. I wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone I know after the bullshit I went through.

I think you’re better off using a free hosting provider over these fucking idiots.

[UPDATE: 1PM]

Hello,

Per your request, we have downgraded your account ‘XXX’ to Domain-Parked. This package is for free of cost with no hosting space so that you can manage your domain name. Also, I have refunded the amount of $39.16 to your credit card ending with ‘XXXX’ on July 28, 2009 which was charged towards the hosting. Please allow 7-10 days for this refund to appear on your credit card statement.

If you have any further questions, please update the Support Console.

Sincerely,

(Name Censored)
Billing Specialist

Nito Belmont contacted FatCow
How am I only being refunded $39.16. The original bill was for $62.99. If the domain parking is free that means you’re trying to charge me $23 for the domain name…

Oh yes, fun fucking times… I love when businesses try and rip you off. I’m sure there’ll be more to come, as I try and pull my money from their clammy claws.

Until next time,
Nito

I started working on Midget URL again today, and ended up a few functions I think it needed…

1. Added a search function. This allows anyone who wants to look up what the actual site is for a Midget URL to see all the information we have on it. It includes the real URL, total clicks (an overall count of how many people have clicked that particular link) which can be helpful if you’re trying to keep track of it, the date the link was added to our database, and the description (which is completely optional) that the uploader added.

2. The “Look Up” page, which displays the search query output. I also added WebSnapr’s Thumbnail API, so visitors are able to see the image prior to visiting it.

3. If you’ve been to Midget URL before today, you’ll notice that there is now a “Deletion Password” box in the upload form. This will allow the user adding the link to delete the link at their own discretion. (I’m still working on the actual deletion page)

What do we have planned for the future of Midget URL? More functionality, while still keeping it as simple as possible. Possibly user defined url’s. Maybe even a true masking (No ad’s) service… But for now, we’ll stick to the basics, and keeping it simple and user-friendly.

Until next time,
Nito

There’s not many non-profit’s out there that catch our eye, but when we saw this one, we had to jump onboard. Brandon over at Soap Box Included is starting a free weekly newsletter that will run 12 weeks starting next week.

The newsletter will give advice on how to manage and pay off your student debt, as well as links to a weekly spotlight scholarship that you may be eligable for and available jobs. This is ofcourse, one of the biggest economical issues facing us right now. Millions of students and graduates, stuck under thousands of dollars in school loans.

We’re proud to sponsor this newsletter, and hope that all of our subscribers along with anyone else who reads our blog(s) will support it. You can check out the website here.

-Nito

I’ve been working on a new website based around spam posting. The website allows anyone to spam whatever they want. You can use it for free backlinks, spam your gaming clan/guild, or publicize your own website. There’s dozens of things the site could be used for.

A quick breakdown of the site and how it works…

The main page shows up to fifteen(15) random posts made for the current date or if there haven’t been any made, it will grab fifteen(15) random posts from the entire database.

The posting page has no type of Captcha, but does use a custom filter system to remove any harmful code or html type code. We don’t allow using html in any text areas.

Once a “spam post” has been posted to our database, the users IP is logged for security purposes. We then backcheck against that database to see how many posts that specific IP has posted. An IP is cut off from posting after four(4) posts in any given day. It then resets at 12AM server time.

The site has the potential to be an awesome free backlinking/advertising website. If you’d like to see the site in action, I’ve provided a link below.

The Spam Board

-Nito

I look at my email, and see an email from a company I don’t do business with. So I open it up and read it, and see what i already know to be a scam. Below is the contents of the email…

Dear [email address],

Your account is locked for outgoing transfers and credit/debit card payments therefore we cannot complete this transaction.

To unlock your account, you must restore your account. Please visit unlock.moneybookers.com and submin your information..

Thank you for choosing Moneybookers!

*******************************

Moneybookers Ltd., London, Registered in England and Wales no 4260907.
Registered office: Welken House, 10-11 Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6EH, United Kingdom.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom (FSA).

So I go over the hyperlink (unlock.moneybookers), which says something completely different. So, I copy the link, and throw it into a safe-mode browser, and go there. As soon as I hit enter it redirects me to another site (agsoftware.ca) where they (I guess) attempted to clone the MoneyBookers site, except for the fact that all the links were set for that site. So, I go to the direct agsoftware website, and find it’s just a blank page (Obviously by now, if someone hasn’t caught on, they’re complete idiots).

So I document everything (links, email content, headers, etc.) and start writing an email to the actual MoneyBookers company, which can be found below…

Hello,

I’m sending this email to give your company a heads up, in case you hadn’t already been
aware. If this is actually sent from your company, I sincerely apologize, but you could
see the cause for concern with the URI redirects, and misuse of non-localized websites.

I recently received an email stating that my account was locked, and a transaction could
not be completed until I followed the enclosed link and unlocked it.

I have attached the email in .txt format, with the corresponding URI’s from each step in
their scam.

Have a great day.

Regards,

Nito

So, hopefully they can get that taken care of, before anyone actually starts handing out their information to the scam site, which could potentially ruin that company. Can’t trust a company that can’t keep its customers safe.

Anyways, if you get an email from MoneyBookers.Com, saying anything close to what’s in this blog, do NOT follow the link and put your login information in.

[EDIT]

I just got an email back from the actual MoneyBookers company:

Dear [Name],

Thank you for notifying us. This is a phishing attack against our website and we are already investigating the issue.

Best regards,
Moneybookers Security

Until next time,

Nito

Well, I decided it’s about time I go back to college. I went for a few semesters for software development and it didn’t work out too well.. Of course, I was also going to have to pay an ass load of money to go, not to mention at the time, I thought “Why the fuck should I pay some school all thsi cash to teach me shit I already know, to get a piece of paper?!” – yeah… Well, this time I decided I’ll go for Website Design, since that’s been my main focus lately. And with Uncle Sam paying $12,000 of my way, it’s not so bad.

So I have a couple more things I have to get done before I start.. Pre-register and what-not, orientation and then start the “fast track” program at the end of this month. So, yeah……. Probably not going to have as much time as I’ve had for projects and what-not, but I’ll try and keep everything updated as much as possible. Anyways, I’ll update again at some point.

-Nito

Alright, so I haven’t updated in a couple months.. Still not much to update on I suppose. I started working on phuximg again. The admin part’s a pain in the ass – mostly because I don’t know what all to put in there, lol. So far I have live news, user and usage statistics and a couple of site settings. No idea when to expect any actual script updates, but I’ll keep everyone updated about it on here and the actual site.

Couple of side projects going on. New hosting company being launched, hopefully early next month. Working on a new interactive 2D MMO. Nothing big or fancy (yet). Not gooing to post anything quite yet, since I’m not even sure if it’s going to get past the intranent, lol.

I’ll update as I can.

Heyas, I haven’t updated in a little bit – Mostly because I really haven’t had much to update about I guess. I’ve been working on the arcade since I re-opened it. The profile’s finished, and I’m just working on the rest of the member sections.

I also released PHUXIMG (priorly known as ImgPond – It’s a infringement issue) as freeware, and created a distribution web page for it. It can be found at phuximg.com.

I’m still tired, so I’ll update again later, maybe.

-Nito