The New Site

It's done enough to share, but there is still some stuff to do. Actually, it will probably never be done, but just evolve. Check it out, and update links please.

evilkirk

I'm going to leave 'benzine' here on Blogger as the archive of previous messages. I tried to transfer them over to my database, which worked, it was just that the css situation was fubar, so I backed them all out (that was part of the delay). There's not much here that's really earth-shattering anyway. Still just in it as a fun geek-hobby, not so much a chronicle of anything.

See you on the other side.

Onward and Upward

I have not blogged a blog in a long while. That is because I'm moving this blog to a hosted page I've set up, and I have been working on that. It will actually look very similar to this one (at first), and will feature the same riveting content you've come to expect.

I will post that address here, as I get closer to completion.

Have a nice day.

benzine dot us

"Benzine" has grown on me. And just by having it as the title of this page, I'm getting hits from all over the world looking for a flammable carcinogenic liquid. Nice. So I went see what tld's might be available and ".us" is open. It's the country suffix for united states, of course, so I thought "great, I'll get that". Come to find out that in order to get a dot us you have to be a citizen. Not an issue, I am. But when I went to register it as private I found out that was not allowed. You have to fill in all the fields with all your personal information. I'm not really hiding or anything, but I'm not keen on having all my personal deets posted in a whois. Yes, I've had other domains and I may have flubbed alittle on the more specific info (before I discovered private registration), but this dot us seemed quite serious about it. Security of the internets, I guess.

So basically, the domain extension designated for the united states by the united states, quintessential land of the free, has banned private registration for its own citizenry. Seems odd to me.

sdrawkcaB elgooG

Thought this was mildly funny until I realized you had to enter searches backwards, then it was suoiralih.

elgooG

stat of flux

Changed hit trackers. Now using StatCounter. Really like SiteMeter's 80x15 atipixel button option, but their load time seemed abit slow. StatCounter is quick, its button is simple while having configurable colors, and they even offer an 'invisible' option. Oh, and their stats are great too.

Update Update

Various tweaks at unit-1 dot com:

• Front page resembles test pattern more closely
• White page updated, added spurl feed
• Updated logo link button (Grey page)
• Rehauled About page, new nav and more variations

Having trouble getting styles on White page to match in both FF & IE, but what's new?

Pros and Conmen

My boss at work is getting a promotion. This is great; the office has needed a shake up. But I'm not sure what it means for me yet. This move makes him the boss, head honcho, king dingaling. So the questions become: Am I expected to replace him? And would I want to?

I came into this job thinking of it as a risky career move, and I'd say it's worked out well. My main criteria for getting involved with this company were twofold:

1. I wouldn't have to be anyone's boss.
2. "Salesmanship" would not be an expectation.

Fantastic. Six years later my sales have nearly tripled, pay is good enough, I have discretion for interesting side projects... basically I run my own show. The Ben Show. Which is now reruns in syndication, check local listings.

If offered the job, what would be the cost? If you consider the above two rules against the new position being essentially "sales manager", it seems odd to even consider it. Not to put the rickshaw before the ninja, but I don't care to be anyone's boss again, and I'm not fond of salesmen, much less being one.

But not taking the position would probably be the beginning of the end of my radio career. My old boss might not find it flattering that I simply declined to take his old desk, and my new boss would surely have eyes set on tightening the reigns, something from which I am known to flee.

Then again, maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. My boss is familiar with these credos I've burdened myself with, so if he offered me the job perhaps it's because of them. He wants someone to teach relationship building and casual professionalism, not closing skills. Someone to head up a team, not run a sales department.

We'll see. I don't know that I'll even be offered, although I'm sure it will be discussed.

Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side.

But I Feel Like a .dll

You see alot of these things around: take a quiz and they'll tell you which [whatever] you are. Of course they're hooey, but I thought this one was mildly clever while being overtly geeky. And I found the result strangely familiar. Hmm...


Which File Extension are You?

Stop In The Red Zone

Recently updated the 'red' page at unit-1 dot com to be less of a wish/brag-list. It now features more practical reflections on my experiences as a good consumer. This also means it should have fresher content more often (the previous stuff had been there since forever).

unit-1.com /red

Unfurled: Hello Spurl

I liked using Furl, but I 've found something new that I prefer... Spurl. They are very similar, but there are a few things I like better about Spurl.net:

1. Its servers seem alot faster, and my blog page loads quicker.
2. It has an automatic del.icio.us feature.
3. Their site looks better.
4. They do not use a rating system.
5. Styling the script feed was less quirky.

So it's the same concept here on Benzine: a continuously updating list of my 'bookmarks'. Only better.

Modèle Nouveau

A new style for my blog page. Trying to stay consistent with an updated logo I did for my unit-1 site. I'm just not sure it all makes sense together yet; but then again, who gives a shit?

It's a hobby.

The Saga Continued

Back when I was but a teen, I was really into the Canadian rock band Saga. They had a mild hit on American radio with "On The Loose" from their Worlds Apart album. I got into their subsequent album Heads or Tails and their next, Behaviour, before shipping off to college, my Saga days behind me.

A few years ago I picked up a disc in a bargain bin for something like $3, Saga's A Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes. I thought it was a newer release at the time, and never played it. Recently I came across it again in my collection and threw it in the player. I'm not one for nostalgia but this thing took me back. It turns out that this was the release that was next in sequence when I was into them from before. But this is new to me today, and it's strange to hear the qualities I used to appreciate.

And now they have a brand new album that was released overseas earlier this year. It seems they've been making albums all along and I'm curious to see where they're at musically today. I don't think the new release will set the charts on fire, but I understand they're very popular in Germany.