Save at Starbucks

Jan 15th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized | one comment »

Coffee prices these days are getting ridiculous. What’s even more ridiculous is the fact that Starbucks, an already ridiculously expensive coffee chain, is planning to raise prices even more! A cup of coffee that costs less than a dollar to make can easily be sold for over $4, especially at Starbucks. I’m beginning to wonder what’s so special about Starbucks that makes them more appealing than other coffee shops are. Why do we buy such expensive coffee? It’s one of those things that you only want after you see. If there were few coffee shops around, chances are, our desire for coffee would greatly decrease.

So, let’s say that I would rather be saving part of that 4 bucks per day but still want coffee. Is this possible? Yes. If you haven’t noticed, then you can get as much free cream, milk, and sugar as you want. Cream+milk+sugar+caffeine=coffee
So, the only thing that’s missing from free coffee is the source of caffeine. The free stuff can already almost give you a cup of coffee. What do you do now? Simply buy a cup of espresso, ask for some ice if you wish, and put what you bought in addition to the cream, milk, and sugar in a cup. Voila! You just saved about $2 on a latte!

Problems with free hosting

Jan 15th, 2007 Posted in About the Site, Websites | 5 comments »

Phew, it took me hours to move everything properly, but I finally moved my site to a reliable paid server. Since I had to reconfigure a couple things anyway, I switched to a better theme. Unfortunately, it will probably take at least a few more hours for my domain name servers to propagate, but hopefully that will be the end of my downtimes. Thank you, hostican! For those of you who are still using unreliable free hosting, I recommend hostican. I used them for my stempania site for a while, and have been very happy with them. The prices are some of the most reasonable I have found, and the service is top-notch. By the way, for those of you interested, use the coupon code 1dollar-3 to get three months of their base host for only $1.

Why is free hosting bad? My mommy has always taught me that nothing was free, but I still dreamed and ignored her until recently. Now I know that she was right. I, like many other victims, have spent too many hours looking for free web hosts. In fact, in the time that I spent looking for a free host, I probably could have worked and earned enough money to buy a year of quality hosting. So, what does this tell me? I simply wasted my time and still ended up spending the money necessary for paid hosting.

If you wish to use free hosting, then the free hosts that suck, such as freewebs, geocities, and angelfire are probably actually your better choices. Although they put ads on your pages and offer minimal storage and bandwidth, they’re big, have been around for a long time, and won’t all of a sudden go down or start charging you. Alternatively, the more experienced webmaster can go with 50webs or awardspace. 50webs and awardspace do not put ads on pages, but they have strict file size limits that greatly restrict your capabilities. The point is, the better a free service appears to be, the more likely it will be to not function properly, disappear, or start charging. The free hosting services that appear to not offer much may be better if they are well-known. Another indicator of a good free host is its tendency to offer a paid hosting upgrade. Usually, if a free host offers an optional paid upgrade, it’s legitimate and will always be there. Don’t be fooled by what some free hosts may claim to offer. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Here are some more examples of free hosting that sucked: 5000megs.com and 1001megs.com mysteriously disappeared literally overnight without any prior warning. I used both of them when I was first learning html and lost all my work. Good thing it wasn’t very good quality work anyway.

Let’s go back to the beginning of the story:
I was looking for a free host with the following features: No ads on pages, option of using a top level domain, FTP access, mysql databases, a decent file size limit, at least 100 mb of storage, and at least 10 GB of monthly bandwidth. This was very difficult to find in a free service, but I was stupid enough to think there would be one, so I spent hours searching. I thought I found one when I found 110mb.com (don’t use their service, it’s horrible). I was pleased during the first few hours, because it appeared to work. Only one day later, the trouble began. My site was already down. The 110mb company claimed that some “bad apples” used their service to phish ebay, but now I think that they just had some problems and tried to make up an excuse. At the time, I believed them and decided to give their service a chance, because they offered all the features that I wanted. After over a week of 100% downtime, the sites were finally up again. I was satisfied for a mere few days before the next phase of major downtime. They claimed that all the sites were being moved to more reliable servers in Europe, so I was once again patient in hopes that the sites would be faster and stable in the near future. This occurred a week or two ago, and my site has still been down quite frequently. As if all the downtime and empty promises of improvement were not enough, 110mb.com is now practically becoming a paid service. They now want to charge for the use of top level domains, which nobody should pay for, because their service simply sucks. Once again, don’t let the silly numbers in front of storage and bandwidth offered fool you. I think I’ve learned my lesson this time.

Do not sign up with any free hosting plan that claims to offer you a bunch of great services. They most likely won’t give you what they promise. Even if they do try to offer such services, as they expand, they will either start charging, putting ads on your pages, or disappear without notice. If you insist on using free hosting, then sign up for 50webs of awardspace if you are a more advanced user or geocities, freewebs, or angelfire if you want a quick start.

I’m running out of material…

Jan 11th, 2007 Posted in Me, myself, and I | no comment »

Since I am running out of material today, I’m going to use a filler that I’m guessing most of you don’t care about. I actually paid for a tickle membership a while ago, and I took about 30 personality tests to get my one week trial money worth I really don’t have anything to share. This was originally intended to be a personal blog, so I might as well add some personal information to it.

The main thing that bothered me about this was the fact that the test didn’t think I had a sense of humor. If you ask people who know me about my sense of humor, I bet you would get very different results. Those who have good senses of humor themselves think I have a great sense of humor while those who are more serious find me dull.

Quality #1: Independence

Quality Description
Being highly independent means liking to do things on one’s own and being naturally self-sufficient. Independent people are as a whole more determined than most and tend to have higher intelligence. However, it is also true that one can be independent without having high determination or intelligence and vice-versa. Another thing most highly independent people have in common is that they can possess a greater sense of integrity than many people around them do.

Your Score
You received a score of 100 out of 100 on this dimension. This indicates that compared with other people who took Tickle’s test you have relatively higher level of confidence.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that was used to assess how independent you are.

You decide you’d like to take a photography class, so you:

A. Ask a friend to take it with you
B. Sign up, but only if a friend will take it with you
C. Enroll by yourself
D. Only do it if you can do it by yourself

Those people who are more independent were most likely to answer C, “Enroll by yourself,” followed by D. Those less likely to be independent are those who said they would only sign up if a friend will take it with them.
Quality #2: Intelligence

Quality Description
People scoring high in intelligence are more likely to be unique. Higher intelligence offers greater possibilities in terms of how someone is likely to interpret the world. In addition, intelligent people are typically more able to articulate themselves well and to have high integrity.

Your Score
You received a score of 100 out of 100 on this dimension, indicating that compared with other people who took Tickle’s test, you have relatively higher intelligence.

Relevant Question
The following question was one used to gauge your level of intelligence.

Are you ever the only person in the room who gets subtle jokes?

A. Yes, often
B. Yes, occasionally
C. Sometimes
D. No, never

People of higher intelligence are more likely to get subtle jokes.
Quality #3: Easygoing

Quality Description
Being high in this quality means that someone is relatively calm, that the ups and downs in life don’t tend to send them over the edge. Easygoing people are usually more tolerant than others are and can be hesitant to judge other people’s actions. Rather than doubt the people around them, they tend to give them slack when they need it. In addition, easygoing people are usually down-to-earth types that don’t seek fancy material things. It’s possible to be materialistic and easygoing at the same time, but that combination is the exception and not the rule.

Your Score
You received a score of 90 out of 100 on this dimension, suggesting that you are relatively more easygoing than others who took Tickle’s test.

Most Relevant Questions
Here’s one of the questions Tickle posed to assess how easygoing you are.

You’re late for a movie that you’ve been dying to see and your date is dragging their heels. What do you do?

A. I verbally encourage them to get moving
B. I stand impatiently at the door, putting silent pressure on them to finish up
C. I chill out for a while and don’t worry about getting there on time
D. I do whatever I can to help them get ready faster

People who are the most easygoing usually pick C, “I chill out for a while and don’t worry about getting there on time.” They are least likely to answer B, “I stand impatiently at the door, putting silent pressure on them to finish up.” People who answer B are communicating both impatience and disapproval. In addition, because they don’t explicitly state their feelings, their date, has to try to read their mind. Usually this kind of passive communication occurs when a person is stressed out and doesn’t know how to release steam or verbalize their feelings when they’re feeling bad.
Quality #4: Determination

Quality Description
Scoring highly on this quality indicates a strong ambition in life — the kind of drive that makes a person determined to reach the goals they set for themselves. People high in determination are more likely to make decisions easily and to have a strong sense of themselves. These types are normally slightly independent. They also often look past the superficial side of life, making them more down to earth than many people.

Your Score
You received a score of 87 out of 100 on this dimension. This result indicates that you are relatively more determined than most.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that helped assess how determined you are.

What does a ladder most remind you of?

A. The hierarchical structure of this society
B. Painting houses
C. Climbing the corporate ladder
D. Reaching for the sky
E. Superstitions
F. A potential lawsuit if it’s on my property

Those who answered C, or “Climbing the corporate ladder,” are more determined than those who gave any of the other answers. When presented with this image most people who are highly determined see the ladder as a means to complete their next goal, and even if they aren’t entirely career oriented, they usually see this response as the most obvious answer to the question.

Quality #5: Compassion
Quality Description
Being high in compassion indicates a great level of empathy toward others, kindness, and thoughtfulness. People who score highly on this quality often are more affectionate than others are. They also generally feel that they have high values. This quality of compassion tends to come out most strongly in relationships and can be felt as warmth toward a significant other or concern about that person’s feelings and general welfare.

Your Score
You received a score of 67 out of 100 on this dimension. Your score indicates that in general you’re relatively more compassionate than people who took Tickle’s test.

Relevant Question
Here is one of the questions Tickle used to assess how compassionate you are:

When I’m around someone who is expressing a strong emotion:

A. I can feel that emotion too
B. I try to be supportive
C. I try to get them to stop

Those who answered that they try to get the person to stop are scored as the least compassionate, and those who answered that they can feel the emotion too are scored as being most compassionate. The responses were ranked this way because when a person expresses a strong emotion, they usually feel better when they’re allowed to express it, rather than being encouraged to suppress it.

My thoughts: Am I actually compassionate?

Quality #6: Reliability

Quality Description
Being high in this quality indicates exceptional integrity. People who score high in reliability are more likely than others to keep their word. They’re also likely to have solid values that they stick by even when times get difficult. Generally speaking, this is the kind of person you can really count on. They are also, as a whole, more honest than most.

Your Score
You received a score of 65 out of 100 on this dimension. This indicates being relatively more reliable.

Most Relevant Questions
Here’s an example question that was used to determine how reliable you are.

If challenged, which of these things would you give up last?

A. My integrity
B. My pride
C. My compassion

Those who answered integrity are viewed the most reliable, and those who answered pride tend to be the least reliable.
Quality #7: Optimism

Quality Description
Being high in optimism indicates that when a person looks into the future, they see good things to come. People with an abundance of this quality usually feel safe as they move through life because they can see the positive side of what they encounter. Believing that things turn out well may be something experience has taught them. It may also simply be in their nature to feel this way. Generally highly optimistic people love life and are happy. They can also have a unique edge to them due to feeling more secure than most. In addition, optimists can love a great conversation and be slightly more ambitious in their life goals than the people around them.

Your Score
You received a score of 51 out of 100 on this dimension. This score indicates that you’re relatively more optimistic than the majority of test takers.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that was used to determine how optimistic you are.

If you decide to reach a particularly important but difficult long-term goal, what are the chances you’ll follow through?

A. Small chance
B. About 50/50
C. I’d probably reach it
D. Unless my goal changed, I’d definitely reach it
E. I never go back; I’d definitely reach it

The responses associated with highest optimism are the two answers that contain the phrase, “I’d definitely reach it,” choices D and E. This is true because optimistic people believe in their ability to finish what they set out to do. When optimists look to the future, they see positive things and picture themselves in positive situations, including reaching the goals that are important to them.

My thoughts: So, I’m a little pessimistic at times. I try to prepare for the worst, but I still secretly hope for the best.

Quality #8: Romanticism
Quality Description
Being high on this quality indicates a tendency to romanticize life and to fully enjoy the romantic aspects of intimate relationships. When a highly romantic person makes a step forward in a relationship, it typically has both significance and flair. High romance is associated with both highly affectionate behavior and a strongly passionate nature. Romantic people are usually thoughtful, compassionate, and sexy. Also, perhaps because of their sometimes-dreamy nature, people high in this quality tend to be optimistic about what life will bring.

Your Score
You received a score of 45 out of 100 on this dimension. Your result indicates that you’re slightly less romantic than others who took Tickle’s test.

Relevant Question
Here’s one of the questions Tickle used to determine how romantic you are.

Of these qualities, which is the most important to share with a lover?

A. Respect
B. Passion
C. Happiness
D. Compassion

Those who ranked as the most romantic gave the answer, “Passion.”

Quality #9: Communication

Quality Description
Being a strong communicator indicates an above-average ability to articulate ideas and feelings. People high in this quality tend to enjoy the act of communicating and can appreciate their own skill at it. Crafting a graceful phrase or telling an engaging tale are the kinds of talents that strong communicators are likely to be known for. Many people high in this quality also love to talk. Perhaps due to all of these skills, being high in this dimension is usually associated with a reasonably high level of confidence, intelligence, and decisiveness.

Your Score
You received a score of out of 100 on this dimension, indicating that you are skilled in the art of communication than the majority of Tickle’s test takers.

Relevant Question
Here’s one question that was used to measure your skills as a communicator.

You look across the dinner table and realize that your date has food stuck to their chin. You:

A. Reach over and clean it off for them
B. Use hand gestures and nonverbal communication to let them know the food is there
C. Ask them whether you have anything on your face in the hopes that they’ll ask the same thing back to you
D. Ignore it

People who are strong communicators would answer A, B, or D. Statement C is very passive and requires that the person being addressed do a lot of interpreting; not the choice a strong communicator would make. Option D, while it may seem like an answer for a non-communicator actually does communicate a strong idea (”I’m not going to tell you about the food on your chin”). Therefore, answer options A, B, and D clearly communicate something, even if that “something” is to do nothing at all.
Quality #10: Honesty

Quality Description
Being perfectly honest means telling the whole truth, even if it hurts. Most people bend the truth some of the time. People high on this scale are relatively less likely to tell a lie than others. Honest people tend to be happier, healthier people with strong values in general. They look to the future with hope and tend to be optimistic, believing that things will turn out well. They can also be slightly more down-to-earth.

Your Score
You received a score of 42 out of 100 on this dimension. This indicates that you are slightly less honest than other Tickle test takers.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that was used to assess your level of honesty.

Your friend Joe always complains that he can’t get a date. You know that it’s because of his body odor, but he doesn’t. What would you say?

A. I’d mention that it could be because he has body odor
B. I’d tell him that the women he asked out were too picky
C. I’d give him very subtle hints that he could improve his hygiene
D. Nothing, I’d try to get other people to tell him the truth
E. Nothing, he’ll figure it out on his own

Those people who are most honest are more likely to answer A, saying that they would mention his body odor. This is the most straightforward and honest way to communicate something difficult. Often, this kind of open communication is experienced by the other person as respectful and not as an affront.
Quality #11: Confidence

Quality Description
Scoring highly on this quality indicates that you are confident in life. People with high confidence are more likely than most to believe in themselves and to feel that they are strong, secure, intelligent, and sexy. In fact, all of the qualities that people can tend to feel insecure or uneasy about, confident types tend to feel positive about and secure in. In addition to these strengths, confident people are more likely to be articulate, somewhat optimistic, and unique.

Your Score
You received a score of 39 out of 100 on this dimension indicating that you have slightly less confidence than many of the people who took Tickle’s test.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question Tickle used to determine your level of confidence.

You’re meeting a friend for lunch in an hour and the two of you can’t decide where to eat. How do you select a restaurant?

A. Pick one arbitrarily
B. Try to guess where my friend would want to eat
C. Wait for my friend to choose
D. Suggest a new place neither of us has been
E. Hint at where I want to go

High confidence is associated with the answers, “Pick one arbitrarily” and “Suggest a new place neither of us have been.” Both are more active approaches. They also require that the person answering have enough confidence to decide for both parties or at least to select a good possibility and not be too afraid to share it. Hinting, guessing, and waiting indicate a less certain approach, which is usually associated with somewhat lower confidence.

Quality #12: Stability

Quality Description
Being high in this quality indicates emotional and psychological stability. Normally, high stability scores indicate a high level of general happiness, a general sense of security, and solid confidence. Often, those who are highly stable are financially stable, as well.

Your Score
You received a score of 30 out of 100 on this dimension. This score indicates having a slightly lower level of stability compared to others.

Relevant Question
Here is an example of the questions Tickle used to assess how stable you are.

If you were to draw your feelings, they would be the shape of:

A. A flat line
B. Valleys and peaks
C. A slight squiggle
D. A four-year-old’s scribbles

Those who are most stable tend to say that their feelings are the shape of a slight squiggle. Those who said that their feelings are the shape of a four-year-old’s scribbles were ranked as being the least stable. The other two responses were in between; valleys and peaks suggest the potential for mood swings and a flat line indicates being relatively cut off from one’s feelings. Either of these answers could be associated with a lower level of stability.

Quality #13: Creativity

Quality Description
Being high in creativity indicates a high level of imagination and innovation and usually is associated with a very unique personality. In addition, individuals who score highly on this dimension are normally quite intelligent. The stereotype of the highly creative person is one who is intense and passionate. Tickle’s research generally backed up this preconception, finding that creativity does indeed tend to coexist with a passionate nature.

Your Score
You received a score of 17 out of 100 on this dimension, indicating that you are slightly less creative than most.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that was used to determine how creative you are.

If you had to write a paper, which of these would you choose?

A. A 10-page autobiographical sketch
B. A 20-page fictional story
C. A 5-page research report
D. Paraphrasing a chapter of a book in 5-10 pages

Those who said they’d most prefer to write a 20-page fictional story gave the most creativity-oriented answer. The next most creative group was people who answered that they’d choose to write a 10-page autobiographical sketch.
Quality #14: Humor

Quality Description
People who are high in this quality typically get most jokes — even when the joke is on them. Not surprisingly, people high in humor are likely to be known as the funny ones among their crowds. Also notable is that it takes a good deal of intelligence to be humorous. So while most funny people are smart, not all smart people are funny. Overall, there aren’t many other traits typical of people with a great sense of humor. This is a unique quality that stands separate from the rest.

Your Score
You received a score of 7 out of 100 on this dimension, meaning that your sense of humor appears to be slightly less compared to that of others.

Relevant Question
Here’s a question that was used to assess how humorous you are.

After seeing a good comedy, you’re the one:

A. Holding your stomach from laughing so hard
B. In a light mood from having so much fun
C. Quietly thinking back on the humorous dialogue
D. Talking about all the funny things the actors said

Those who are highly humorous are most likely to answer A, “Holding your stomach from laughing so hard.” They are least likely to give the answers B or C, which are about being in a light mood and quietly thinking through what was said.

Quality #15: Adventurousness

Quality Description
Scoring highly on this quality indicates that a person is willing to seek out new experiences and may even occasionally go out on a limb to try new things. In this way, adventurous types seem to feel that although change can be risky, or even scary at times, it can also be exhilarating. People high in this quality tend to live by the motto, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Research indicates that adventurous people are generally happier than their less adventurous counterparts. In addition, they tend to have a love for life, feel secure, and be determined to reach their goals.

Your Score
You received a score of 3 out of 100 on this dimension. Your score ranks you as being slightly less adventurous than others who took Tickle’s test.

Relevant Question
Here’s one question that Tickle used to determine how adventurous you are.

While out with friends you suggest something you can all do together, but they turn you down. What’s the most likely reason?

A. They’d rather do something more exciting
B. They’re afraid you’ll get them in trouble
C. They’re too tired
D. They’d like to do something new for a change
E. They refuse to do something that ridiculous

Those who answer that they’re afraid you’ll get them in trouble or that they won’t do something that ridiculous are more likely to be highly adventurous. It’s interesting to note that people who are adventurous often encounter social pressure to tone it down. However, when two adventurous people meet, the world becomes full of possibilities that they can explore together.

Wordpress Spam Problems

Jan 10th, 2007 Posted in About the Site | 2 comments »

Spam has always been a problem in wordpress blogs. I used to moderate all comments manually to prevent nonsense comments. However, this has been getting more annoying since I’m receiving 5-10 spam comments per day now.

Is wordpress spam also a problem for you? If it is, then here are some plugins to help regulate it. Of course, none of these are foolproof, but they do get rid of most of the spam comments.

Akismet is probably the most important spam killer. It has so far been pretty good at accurately detecting spam comments and filtering most of them out so I do not have to manually. It is definitely an essential for every blog.

Another one I am using is challenge. Challenge displays a math problem that the commenter has to solve each time he/she wants to comment. This probably also reduces spam, because chances are, few people are bored enough to do that many problems, and I don’t think spam bots can read the questions. Apologies to those who can’t do these problems. No offense, but I feel that such basic arithmetic should be something that everyone should know.

There is also a comment authorization plugin that I’m thinking about using. It sends an email with a unique url to the commenter, which he/she has to click on in order for the comment to be accepted. Please vote in the poll below to help me determine whether I should use this one or the math problem one. I would also appreciate comments explaining why the one chosen is preferred.

{democracy:2}

Which Download Accelerator?

Jan 9th, 2007 Posted in Other Technology | one comment »

My blog is finally up again after losing hours of potential visitors. My free host doesn’t seem too reliable, so the databases, or sometimes even the whole sites, are down quite frequently. Oh well, I’ll still stay with them for a while, mainly because they’re free and claim that they’ll have 99% uptime by the end of February.

Anyway…

So, you might be searching for a download accelerator. You will be making a tragic mistake if you just do a google search on “download accelerator” and click on the first one you see, Download Accelerator Plus. Do NOT download this accelerator. Remember, if you download something for fre (and legally), there is almost always a tradeoff if you actually use the software. I made this mistake, and it’s costing me many hours of time. If you download this accelerator, then your computer will be infested with so much adware and spyare that it won’t even be able to run anymore. They claim that they have all these great features without spyware, but they actually do put spyware on your computer. I’m not the only one who thinks so. Go to download.com’s user reviews page if you don’t believe me.

They will load a lot of shit to your computer including something called Netzip. Netzip is one of the most dangerous spyware programs that watches the packet traffic from your machine when you download files from the internet. They tag your computer with a unique ID, and anything you download, including all the html files while you’re browsing from anywhere on the internet, is reported back to their program’s source where the log it and record it with your machine’s unique ID that they previously assigned you. Because of this program, and some adware that they loaded on my computer, I now have to do a re-format. I’m thinking about cleaning it, but the spyware cleaning programs don’t always get rid of everything.

Even spybot, one of the most highly acclaimed spyware removal programs, says that download accelerator plus loads malicious software to your computer. In addition, just starting it opens half a dozen connections to ad servers, including Cydoor. That page on spybot lists some download accelerators and whether or not they come with bundled software, so I recommend that you visit that page before downloading any download accelerators.

The current one that I’m using and is spyware free is called Download Express. Spybot says that it is spyware free, and I have not experienced any spyware with them yet. It is definitely my best recommendation right now, because it is free as well as clean. Although it may not speed up downloads as much as some of the other accelerators do, it is a much better and safer alternative.