Language: English

Failsafe Internet

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HD - Internet

Internet with a failsafe solution – in Năvodari, when I don’t have electricity at home, this also happens on the staircase hall, within the block of flats. There is a router in there, so if I don’t have electricity in my house, there’s no cable Internet.

My solution? I connect to my mobile.

An optimal solution? I think it’s best to have two connections to the Internet.

The poorest solution – “there is no Internet, we’re not doing anything.”

Large companies, which depend on Internet, are looking at a backup solution that costs 30-50 lei per month, and an initial investment in a router that is capable of handling two connections to the net at the same time.

For example, such a router would allow an immediate failsafe – if there is no Internet, another connection would take over immediately.

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The Oxford comma

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The Oxford comma

I like the Oxford comma a lot:

In English-language punctuation, a serial comma (also called a series comma, Oxford comma, or Harvard comma) is a comma placed immediately after the penultimate term (i.e., before the coordinating conjunction, such as and or or) in a series of three or more terms. For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated either as “France, Italy and Spain” (without the serial comma) or “France, Italy, and Spain” (with the serial comma).
(via: Serial comma – Wikipedia)

I tend to overuse it.

I don’t think we have it Romanian, but I started using it there, too.

Also, I tend to use the Oxford comma even when there are only two items. “A, and B”.

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The meanest person in the world

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Adam Y Zhang - Good Kisser

Sometimes, in Orthodoxy, there’s a reference like “I am the meanest person in the world” (there’s even a movie on that – The Meanest Man in the World (1943)).

An Orthodox should refrain from judging others, and focus on the mistakes of their own.

Yet, how do I view this – “I am the meanest person on Earth”?

You have just two big options in life:

  • Do as much good as you can. Most people are guilty of not doing enough good.
  • Manipulating, doing politics, when doing good. So, you start a project and take shortcuts to get to your goal. Or make mistakes, trying to do good.

We’re all guilty of either not doing enough good, or of doing good while burning bridges (shortcuts, errors).

Georgia O’Keeffe // “It’s not enough to be nice in life. You’ve got to have nerve.” (via »)

 

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The two types of errors

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Thomas Hawk - My Endless Error

There are just two types of errors:

  • I did something I didn’t want to (vice); or
  • I did something I shouldn’t have done (not wise enough).

The solution to vices is the continuous try to beet the vice. Trying to be virtuous, avoiding falling.

The solution to mistakes is to constantly develop yourself – constantly read about health, for example. Or focusing your mind on being productive.

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Checking the expiry date of domain and hosting

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Norm Wright - laptop detail

Sometimes, I work with people that manage a lot of websites.

It always struck me to see whenever a person loses access to a domain name or a web hosting.

What does the domain cost? Generally, around $10/year.

Hosting? It largely depends, but typically around $30-50/year, for a small website.

You may also have some costs with SSL (a few dollars).

Compare the costs listed above with the immense drawback of having the hosting suspended or, much worse, losing access to a domain name.

For my own websites, I typically buy the domain name not just for a year, but for multiple years. Same with hosting and other services.

The benefits (peace of mind of not having to be online when the email from the hosting/domain registrar comes) far outweigh the downside (small costs).

Also, sometimes I even set Google Calendar events for situations like these.

Another reason to buy for multiple years – renewing a domain name/web hosting service generally takes a few minutes. If you’re not an advanced Internet user, it might take more than that. Generally, the opportunity cost of the time spent buying a domain name/web hosting is much higher – so, you should focus on saving time, and buying for multiple years at once, if you earn well enough.

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So-and-so number of persons and a Romanian were hurt

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Adam Y Zhang - Flag and Sacrifice

Some news really focuses on the “Romanian” part.

It’s quite obvious when there is a large number.

A hypothetical example: “1,000 people wounded, among which 2 Romanians”.

OK, I understand the fact that we are Romanians, but this way of looking at things makes us look superior – “Romanians matter more for us”.

Why? What’s the Romanian bigger value than other people’s?

At the recent Winter Olympics, there was news like “The only Romanian in the race got 9th place” (or so). OK, I can understand that.

But when there are casualties involved, it just sounds cynical “1,000 people and 2 Romanians” devalues those people, at least in my opinion.

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