But first - A little digression about domain name registration and reasons to hate Verisign - as if you needed more.

For those few who noticed our absence, and for those who are reading this notice without having any idea of what I'm talking about I have a word of warning for you all: VeriSign (formerly Network Solutions) is run by dissembling, extortionist, blackmailing swine.

Long story made short(ish) I get a message from VeriSign in August reminding me my domain name (invinciblemuffin.org) registration will expire by Sept. 10 and I have to renew it pronto. A few days later I get a message from another company offering to transfer and register my domain name for a substantially cheaper fee than VeriSign. I'm looking forward to escape VeriSign because they charge such exorbitant rates, plus they've been sued - class action and otherwise - bunches of times for their unethical/illegal business escapades and I don't feel like hanging around for them to screw over the next herd of customers. I ask our IT guy at work if the other domain registration company's deal sounds good, and he winds up offering me an even better deal through his own company.

Great. Gene, who got invinciblemuffin.org for me as a birthday present, has to let VeriSign know we want to transfer because he's the one with the info. They make it hard, but Gene eventually gets what he needs. My IT guy handles things at his end, and we get a message saying we're all set. VeriSign commences bombarding Gene with spam and, with less than one week remaining before the transfer, they send one email saying that since we didn't make the transfer in more than 30 days before the expiration they won't let it go through. This is the VERY FIRST we have heard about this. After reading all the snail mails, e-mails, sending all the communications, VeriSign pulls this little piece of bullshit out of their ass. Gene calls them up and demands to know what's going on, and the VeriSign telephone drone says there's nothing she can do because of this mystery surprise 30-day clause. However, she offers Gene, if we reregister with VeriSign they'll let the transfer go through. How much to reregister with VeriSign? A non-refundable 70 extorting dollars for one year. FUCK THAT! (The first company we were planning to switch was offering domain registration for $18) Oh, you don't want to reregister with VeriSign? In that case VeriSign will hold on to your domain for 60 days: during this time it will be inactive, and not you nor anybody else can touch the thing. Why? VeriSign's priceless answer was, in case you decide you want to register with us we can still access your domain name. When pigs fly over ice-skating demons in hell. If inviciblemuffin was a person this would be kidnapping and a ransom demand, but since we are talking about a domain name let's just call it blackmail and extortion. And so VeriSign held invinciblemuffin hostage for 60 days. Since it is my firm policy to never negotiate with corporate terrorists, nor to submit to blackmail I had to wait it out.

The waiting is over. Please, I urge each and everyone of you reading this, protect yourselves: learn from my foolish mistake. I urge everyone who has registered a domain name with VeriSign transfer your domain name NOW. If you wait until they send you a renewal reminder it will be too late. Find another reputable company - finding someone cheaper than VeriSign should be as easy as sneezing - and transfer your domain now!

Five years late I'm jumping on the Internet bandwagon. I've got prototype webpages going back to 1996, but one thing always held me back. I would ask myself, “What do I have that others would want to read? ” “Who would be interested in this? ” I wondered.

Then one day, as I was reading Web Pages That Suck: Learning Good Design by Looking at Bad Design, I discovered my answer: “Who Cares? ”

“There are only three simple reasons for creating a Web site, ” they wrote.

1. To make money
2. To disseminate information or opinions
3. To stroke your little ego.

Perhaps you may have noticed a distinct bias toward Capital District-related links in the Useful Links column in my Terrific Table of Links. That's because I live here, in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy zone of NYS. And by Useful, I mean “Useful to me.” However, you non-central-Hudson-River-Valley-dwellers should still find plenty of interest. It is quite a Terrific Table after all.

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last updated 6/26/2003