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July 20 A tale of Satellite vs BroadbandNever have heard this before..
Normal broadband speed was around 2.5Mb which at the distance from the Exchange was considered quite good. And then one day the Satellite distribution box decided to develop a fault (although we did not know that at the time since the satellite TV was still working fine). Suddenly our broadband failed completely. ISP suggested that our modem was faulty - so a new one was purchased. Result was no better but a very old modem allowed us a connection....
A telephone engineer changed our wiring because it was suggested that the fault existed internally... but the broadband got worse...
Then we heard that our neighbours had problems... and nobody could solve it.. days passed...
Finally we had a BT engineer test our internal circuit and modified the wiring again.... at the same time another engineer has found that there was an incredibly strong RF signal that was causing interference on the telephone lines - and it was our satellite distribution box! It was switched off - and suddenly I had the best broadband signal that I have ever had - at 7Mb!
An emergency call to a satellite engineer has give us back the satellite tv and so every one is happy.... except our neighbours because they still can't achieve 7Mb! May 13 CMS GrowsThe number of sites using the new CMS grows! Added to St Marys Ferndown and New Directions Training and Fran Robinson's Alexander site are Julie Vivienne's new site for performance and worship events, Trevor Newlin's website site Newlin Design and soon to be fully operational will be Mouthpeace Dental Practice.
There will be some new sites and some old ones converted to use the CMS system soon.
The CMS is relatively easy to use (!) - since we are dealing with a backend system more than the front end. However some simple PHP statements will populate the pages without any difficulty so the whole thing is now much faster to develop new sites. There is still more to do - since there is always something that can be done better - or new facilities can be added to make it more useful.
I am sure we can handle Flash better, and the gallery could be better... and the menus are a pain to get the CSS right - but it perhaps there are yet ways even these can be improved...
I guess it is still a "watch this space!"
Waiting for the next episode. March 17 Changes in DirectionI once thought life could be simple. Get up in the morning, go to work, leave work, enjoy company in the evening, sleep.
How rarely this turns out though.
Having had to become a consultant developer for Churchill Retirement Living I eventually found work (part time) for radikls. Work = money = life I thought. But no, the type of work was not for me - do not misunderstand - I love the internet, I love developing websites, I love finding solutions to difficult problems (preferably IT ones) - but working on too many websites at once was not for me. I prefer one at a time (or perhaps two or three!) so that I can be sure of what I am going to be doing for the next few hours - I can plan for that and feel comfortable in that - even though there may be very difficult challenges to overcome.
I've recently been converted to the ideas of CMS. For so many years I have thought only of bespoke html development - nothing else was pure... but developing a content management system that works and provides flexibility such that I can reuse the code again and again... I can see real advantages.
Having recently developed a very complex CMS for Dorset Fire (http://www.dorsetfire.co.uk/new) I felt that it would be worth developing a much simpler CMS that I could use to enhance a number of websites and make developing new websites very much easier. The first live websites using the CMS are now active:
Watch out for a number of new ones shortly!
I'm convinced. A lot of my own sites will become CMS based!
Blessings to you all!
Paul Newlin
September 06 A long time - no talkI've been thinkingBad thing to do at the best of time! Sitting in front of computers looking at my websites and those I have designed - is it time to get rid of some? I have one site that I am beginning to think would be brilliant for emails. http://bespecial.org is one of my domains that has not been fully utilised. But I wonder how many people would like to have an address such as john@bespecial.org ? Anyway - perhaps that is for another day. I own enough domains to keep me very happy without buying any more - but sometimes I can't think what to do with some of them. Apart from http://newlins.org and http://newlins.net and http://newlins.com I bought newlintech and newlinsnet variations. Some I use, some I don't. The long running saga of http://www.millstreammanagement.co.uk looks as though it is coming to an end. http://millstream-estates.co.uk was set up purely as a container until the other site could be properly managed - and finally looks as though we can get them all to point to the same place. http://millstream-property.co.uk was set up as a subsite to all sales - but we really could not promote it until the main site was properly under control. Interesting that the number of hits on the Churchill Retirement site has not improved with an adwords campaign. Well not appreciably any way. But we capped the campaign at £500 per month so perhaps it is worth it just to improve the site's exposure in the search engines. We will see what will happen over the coming months - perhaps I might even develop this site more...
May 29 I cant trust this worldThe Credit Crunch is biting.It seems as though it could go on forever--- but at least I've been able to get some interesting websites off the ground! I've been developing websites for Churchill Retirement Living - Churchill Retirement Living and also Millstream Estates/Millstream Management and Millstream Property. The church website goes on - St Marys Ferndown and many changes have been made to my own sites at NewlinsNet - but there always seems to be more to do. Watch out for the new St Marys website! So - if anyone would like to comment on my sites - please do! I am learning more each day.
Paul July 08 I've finally done it.Yep, I've done it.
So what have you done?
Well, it's something I've been trying to do for over 6 years.
That sounds interesting... come on tell me...
It is like this, there are adverts in our local paper every Thursday and I answer all the most appropriate adverts...
You are not talking about dating are you? That would be crazy at your age...
Age has nothing to do with it. Well it does, but not in the way you think! For over six years I have been apply for jobs! And this week I have finally landed one!
Hurray!
so there you have it!
Well done. What difference will it make to your life?
That is a stupid question - what differences is more like. Early morning fishing trips are out. Although I think I might still be able to do late evening ones after work. So that mackeral will be a little short this year. I will have some disposable income - this might help me buy a flat - or even a house if I wait long enough.
Are you excited?
Yep, and scared, and all the other positive sort of emotions!
That's all for now..
Talk again later...
Bye
February 07 Another Blog - How many more?I wouldn't normally do this - but as part of my Google account I find that I have a free "blog". What I am going to put on this new blog I really can't tell you. But I think it will be (for the most part) a copy of my NewlinsNet blog.
My purposes really are that the Newlins.Net blog is difficult to manage and realistically I need to get down to a more simpler environment.
So - see you there! January 28 Resolution - I should write more hereI have decided - I should write more here.
It's nearly the end of January, but I guess it is not too late. I mean, you can have a resolution any time. And I guess somebody may be interested in what I write.
Sometimes it is just difficult to write about what is happening in my life. I have a faith in Jesus, but that does not mean I go around with a smile on my face (in fact, how many Christians do you find with a smile on their face?). I have just been told that I have to pay £1 tax this year - oh wow. So that tells you the level of my earnings.
That really is the big deal for me. I am over fifty and am struggling to find any consistent work. I keep applying for jobs and get absolutely nowhere. I need to face the fact that I am now unemployable by the great majority of organisations. I spent 14 years with one employer that meant that I got stuck in a major rut. When I finished there - I knew too much and not enough of the things that people needed. Now I have lots of skills... but feel totally useless.
On to better things. I am nearly halfway through a major project for World By Radio. I feel it is going well and the end result will be a major step forward for the organisation and for the Radio Data Manager system developed in conjunction with the Far East Broadcasting Company and their sister organisation FEBC International. I supply the web space for the latter and some of their radio stations and a lot of the developmental work on websites and RDM.
I am enjoying playing keyboards at the local church - sometimes wish I could do more, be better, and could express myself more clearly in worship when playing. But at least I am doing something. Got to do a bible study on Joseph in a weeks' time. Not overly looking forward to that. But I admire the cocky young man who dared to express what God was telling him - even though it meant being sold into slavery. I know he did not expect that - but it just had to be in Gods plan - otherwise Israel would have perished with hunger. Throughout Joseph kept his faith in God - and in the end God rewarded him with so much..
That is enough blurb for today - please remember me in your prayers.
Yours In Christ. September 20 Its been a whileYep, its been a while since I put anything on here. Has anything changed? Well of course it has, and well - it hasn't!
I have two main projects underway - trying to lose weight and the St Marys website (http://www.stmarys-ferndown.org.uk).
The first has been a real challenge - but then I found a simple way to keep fit and lose weight. I started going mackeral fishing. What, you say, fishing helps you lost weight? Well, you try and stand on a beach and chuck out a 4oz lead as far as you possibly can and then reel the line in with all the appropriate jerks and tugs. Heavy work with 4 or 5 mackeral on board. And then I do it again and again and again - for around 5 to 7 hours. My back and arms are much stronger and I have lost over 20lbs!
The St Marys website has been fun (and interesting and challenging). Wander over and have a look. It's getting better every day. It keeps me busy until I have the go-ahead for more work on the World By Radio web site. June 14 Get Fed up with the Internet?Yep, I'm just about there...
I have been trying desperately to make my website actually appear on Google search engines - everyone goes "yawn" at this point of course!
http://newlins.net/blog/?p=3 to see what I attempted. Crazy - I create a blog to give hints - and I still struggle myself. Perhaps I'm just not relevant anymore!!
Then, each week something blows up on at least one computer! How do you guys cope? I'm a technician - I am supposed to know how these things work - and be able to repair them when they go wrong?
Oh well - time to try again - frustrating isn't it!
Blessings to everyone. January 21 Interminable WaitingThe Waiting for EventsEvery day there seems to be a new event that I wait for... It never seems to change - but I know each event will come when it is supposed to. I suppose that sounds like predestination - that things are pre-ordained. If that is so - I wish I knew what was supposed to happen so I don't wait for the things that will never happen. I look for employment - but no jobs come - does that mean I am not supposed to work? Surely that is not the correct answer - there must be work for me to do. I have skills that grow rusty with under-use - do I forget those skills and look for new? How do I develop new passions? Develop the want and need to do things that I really don't like to do? This is getting far too deep... time is wandering by and getting nothing done! Blessings on the new year to anyone who reads this - and hope that we all find the things that we must do - to make our lives and those around us just a little better every day. June 11 Fifty + 1It's like that! 1 week into my fiftieth year - and I dont feel a day over 30 (well on a good day!). Getting into Web Design - with Dreamweaver - seems a great product - but I now have to learn new tools that may take some of my web sites out of the prehistoric! Comments on any of my websites always appreciated! http://newlins.net Blessings |
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