If you use the code “ER1011849” when you go to the AT&T Rewards web site and sign up for U-Verse or DSL, you can get $50 back.

As a U-Verse customer, I can safely recommend the service. It’s been great and I really enjoy the dual TV DVR and the ability to record shows from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Click here to sign up and be sure to use “ER1011849“

I’m currently dealing with a hosting company that has me at my wits end. I’ll refrain from naming names until I’m done with them for fear of not being able to transfer my sites away. I have four sites stuck there and they’ve raised the rates to the level of absurdity. I really think they must be out of their minds, especially considering how limited the plans are!

I use and recommend ASmallOrange, which offers extremely affordable starter plans (Tiny Orange). For $25/yr you get a relatively small amount of space, but unlimited sub domains, databases, email addresses, add-on domains, etc. Their support is extremely fast and helpful and they also have a support forum, FAQ and wiki that answer many questions if you don’t want to wait 10-15 minutes for an emailed response to a support ticket.

A spreadsheet I created to work out my hosting restructuring shows me saving around $500/yr by using ASmallOrange over the other hosting co. and taking advantage of adding on domains to existing accounts, rather than creating separate accounts for each site.

It’s taken several days and I’m still waiting to be able to back up my databases at the old host in order to transfer the sites. Once I get the sites moved and I’m done with the old host, I’ll let you know who they are and why I’m glad to be done with them.

UPDATE: I got a reply back regarding backing up the databases; however, I found that it looks like they only backed up one of the four sites. So, I just reopened the support ticket and asked that they back up each of the four sites. What a freakin’ joke!

UPDATE: I finally got them to backup the rest of the sites and I’m in the process of moving two sites over. For one, I’ve gotten it unpacked, database imported and nameservers changed. I’m just waiting for the DNS to propagate before I get back to work on the second one.

UPDATE: Got the first two sites moved over and trying on the third, which has three databases. I have the site unpacked and one database imported. The second database isn’t making it, so I’m having ASO support look into that. The old host, I believe, is giving me problems and I can’t get phpMyAdmin to allow me to export the third database. What a pain!

UPDATE: It’s been almost a week and every day I think I’ll have the problem resolved. Unfortunately, they don’t offer phone support over the weekend, so I’ve had to wait to call until today. They claim to offer 24/7 tech support, but I have yet to receive a response after hours, and they typically take about a day or longer. I’ve now given all info over to the new host to see if they can log in and figure something out. I’ll also be calling today, but I’ve read from others that it can take about an hour to get through… great…

At this point, I can only think they’re being vague and nonresponsive on purpose. It’s gotten personal. I’ll be posting all support ticket responses with employee names and whatever personal info I can dig up. If they want to cost me money by keeping my site down, perhaps I can cost the company future business and their future employment for their inept staff. I’ll have to weigh the cost of satisfaction vs. the price of _____Sucks.com

UPDATE: Issue resolved. Site moved. Let the public flogging begin… soon.

Sarah Palin is upset about a blogger photoshopping Eddie Burke’s, a conservative talk show host, head onto her son Trig’s body.

I would really have no reason to post this photoshopped picture, except for the fact that it has really pissed Sarah Palin off… It’s now getting much more publicity. Well done Caribou Barbi!

Made in response to a comment on Reddit.

A while back I was contacted by someone who owned a web site that was direct competition of one of my own. He was offering to sell the site to me at some absurd price because it included the domain name, site, database, decals, etc. Since I already had a similar site, so all I was interested in was redirecting the domain name to my own site. He wouldn’t part with just the domain name, even though I made an extremely fair offer. He hadn’t monetized the site, then didn’t even park the domain when he took the site down. I noticed that he let the domain name expire and that it had originally been purchased through GoDaddy.com. I watched TDNAM.com for a while to see if it would pop up and never saw it.

I had pretty much forgotten about the domain name until today when, on a whim, I searched for it on GoDaddy.com and found that it was available. So, I snatched it up and, using promo code “OYH7″ it was mine for under $8. Patience paid off in this case. Not only is some direct competition gone, but I got his domain name and didn’t have to pay a premium for it.

Let this be a lesson to those of you who have a domain name no longer in use – if someone makes a fair offer, take it, especially if you’re not going to do anything with it. Squatting only works if you’re willing to sell.

After upgrading some other blogs to WordPress 2.8 and having only a few minor problems, I’ve decided to upgrade drivelocity.com too. Unfortunately, it took several tries to get the automatic upgrade to work, but it finally took, and everything appears to be working correctly. Please let me know if you see any problems.

The only real issue I’ve come across is with the Tabbed Widgets Plugin. The one site I use it on currently only displays one of the four tabs that I have set to display. So, it looks like I may need to disable it until it’s upgraded to work correctly with WordPress 2.8. Others are experiencing similar problems – the author is aware of the problem and says that a new version is in the works.

Fathers Day is coming up, my second, so I’ve put together a list of things that remind you that you’re a dad… And, yes, these are from personal experience, not another recycled “you know you’re a dad when…” list.

1. You find that a pacifier in your pocket when you get to work
2. You get the theme song to Wonder Pets stuck in your head
3. You have no problem discussing your child’s bodily functions
4. You buy furniture, not based on looks, but stain resistance
5. Your clean black shirt isn’t clean (and you don’t care)
6. You can’t find a suitable place, anywhere, for your dart board
7. You somehow “lose” every show recorded on your DVR
8. You plan your day around naps and bed time (yours too)
9. Your cupboards now have bottles and cups vs. pint glasses
10. You’re still singing, “wonder pets, wonder pets, we’re on our way…”

To all the other dads and dads-to-be, Happy Fathers Day!

I recently skimmed through a post about multitasking on BlueVerse.com. It was a good read and got me thinking that I should share something new… I’ve been trying to avoid the pitfalls that the author, Ryan, and I both seem to experience. Too much multitasking can make us ineffective as far as fully accomplishing the goals we set for ourselves. We may be able to get a little bit of a lot done, but my recent experiment has me getting more full goals met. What do I do? I create lists.

I’ve been big on lists for a long time, but I recently implemented a twist on the list idea. I create a weekly calendar, of sorts, subdivided into my “free time” allotments. For example, for each day of the week, I have a list for what I can do from the office or at lunch. I have a list for what to do after work, while my son is awake. Finally, I have a list to finish the day with items to do once he’s asleep.

This has proven to be a vast improvement over my other lists, which include one for house projects, relatively organized in the shape of our house with tasks for each part of the house and yard. I have another list with everything related to web sites. And I have a general all-encompassing list of miscellaneous things I need to do, purchase, sell, etc.

Of all the lists, the new calendar format seems to be working the best. I can focus entirely on each task and go down the list. If I knock them out early, I can either work on other tasks, freeing up time later in the day/week, or I can relax and enjoy the free time for the remainder of that period. Of course, you can use a physical calendar, an Outlook calendar, or a Google calendar, but I already have too many calendars that I use for calendars. My daily task list is created in Excel, and I’m able to easily drag and drop cells to rearrange tasks, as needed. As I complete a task, I shade the cell. It also helps in tracking my productivity throughout the week.

Version 2.8 of the popular blogging and CMS platform, WordPress, is now available for download or upgrade. I see the notice staring at me while I type this, though I’m reluctant to start upgrading all of my blogs. I haven’t seen nearly as much news and hype as when version 2.7 was released, which also means I haven’t seen any posts regarding potential problems.

So, what does WordPress 2.8 offer?

• Fixed 790 bugs
• Browse the entire theme directory and install a theme with one click
• Make edits or tweaks to themes or plugins from your dashboard
• Completely redesigned the widgets interface (edit widgets on the fly, have multiple copies of the same widget, drag and drop widgets between sidebars, and save inactive widgets so you don’t lose all their settings)
• New Screen Options on every page (you could set up your dashboard to have four columns of widgets instead of the two it has by default. On other pages you can change how many items show per page)

Read the full list of over 180 new features, changes, upgrades, and improvements on the Codex.

Update: I’ve gone ahead and updated a smaller blog to WordPress 2.8 with no problems. The look & feel of the admin section is pretty much the same as 2.7, but there are some added features. The widgets section is much improved! I am currently make sure all of my plugins are updated on all of my sites. Once I’m done with that, I’ll make backups of everything. Once I’m done with that I’ll upgrade them one at a time…

I’ve been using the Tweet This plugin for a little while now. I’m not sure of the results, but I liked the idea of it. Unfortunately, I’ve had to deactivate it today as it was generating errors while attempting to add new posts. Here is the error I received:

Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded in /home/xxxxxx/public_html/drivelocity/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/tweet-this.php on line 30

I’ll update if I find a fix for it. Perhaps it’s a known issue and will be fixed in an update… If it’s a conflict with another plugin, it will remain deactivated, as others have greater priority.