Author Archives: Britton

LifeTransplanet.com’s New Home

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Well after about 5 years of running this website, including the hardware in the basement that it runs on (Hardware that I bought on the cheap for less than $50),  I have moved it off to a webhost.  I have learned quite a bit along the way about Apache software and various operating systems that it runs on.  From Windows, to Unix and Linux.  I have run it all and noticed the differences, fought battles and overcame challenges.  Lately though I have been running into problems by not having enough horsepower on the computer running it. Rather than buying new hardware, I decided it was time to move the site.  This isn’t something anyone should notice, except maybe that things are faster.

server

I have run my own backups and have setup failover systems so that in the event of a crash, the site would still come up.  I have also solved some pretty quarky issues here and there to get things to work.  There have been DOS attacks (denial of service), there have been LOTS of spammers and even hacks.  It has been a learning experience but running the hardware won’t be something I can do when we move to Rincon.  

repairman

The internet to our house in Colorado was pretty solid/fast and hardly ever went down.  That will change when we are in Rincon where even the water and electric are spotty, plus it fairly expensive to have an internet subscription and we are trying to elimnate costly bills.   Moving the site to a hosting provider is a lot less expensive than hosting it myself and all the maintenance will be someone else’s responsibility.  It will also serve as a resource as I will be able to setup sites for businesses and others. 

Another step in moving on and letting go!  I guess it makes sense that if we move to a new home, our blog should too!  What other constructive activities will I do with the time I usually spent messing around with the webserver?  I am anxious to find out.

 

****NEWS FLASH Raccoon Attacks Chickens!! ****

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This morning at 5am the suspected Chicken Killer was spotted returning to the scene of the crime to possibly commit yet another crime.  We heard screaming from the chicken house, and were able to capture a photo of the assailant.

Racoon
Bandit Fleeing the Scene of the Crime

This enhanced photo is the only evidence of the perp.  As you can see he wears a black mask and has creepy human hands (good for opening rudimentary locks on coops).  Fortunately the hens sounded the alarm in time and he was not able to breach the lock on the door.

This is the first racoon we have seen, previously a skunk and possibly a feral cat (unconfirmed) have been spotted in the past.

Flowers and Feathers

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Today I woke up and saw what looked like a torn up plastic bag in the back yard.  I put my shoes on for a closer inspection.  Turned out to be white feathers!   A quick chicken count..1..2..3..4…..5…5….5…….Uht oh.  There should be 6.

Omeleto, Omeleto, where have you gone?
Morning is here and the new day is on!

Flowers and Feathers
Flowers and Feathers

I looked around a bit to see if perhaps little Omletto could be found.  It appears that whatever got her, took her over the fence and across the field. I didn’t find anything but a trail of feathers.  I followed the trail and didn’t find anything.
Trail
Trail of feathers

Omeleto, Omeleto you were here last night.
Nothing but feathers by the greenhouse in light.

I left you with the others but didn’t shut the lock.
Now you are gone and not left with the flock.

Omeleto

This is not the first time we have had a hen house attack, but it is the first time we actually lost a bird. 🙁

LifeTransplanet’s New Look

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We have been thinking about updating the site’s look for a while.  I wanted to get everything perfect, then roll it out but I found out that if I did that, it wasn’t going to get done.   I think they call that “letting great get in the way of good” or “don’t let perfect get in the way of great”… Something like that.

Instead we decided to take a different approach.  The “just start doing it and it will get done” approach. 

I don’t know of any project I have ever done that didn’t work with this “just start doing it” method.  It is kind of fun because that’s how our Puerto Rico adventure is going to work or is working I suppose.  At some point after looking at house after house and not coming up with something, we found a place that had the “bones” and basic idea that we could work with.  We decided then and there that we were going to get started.  Since then it has been planning, but we are nearing the part where we get to really start tinkering and building.

The new look will have larger photos, different headers to rotate thru, a new dropdown menu at the top and a new look that integrates with our facebook page.  We are using a newer wordpress theme that is much easier to modify codewise. Otherwise, it should have all the same features you have come to expect.

So the redesign of the site will be an evolution.  When an idea comes up, and the energy to implement said idea coincides, it will be done.  Please let us know if something doesn’t work right by leaving a comment on our facebook page or leave a reply on the post.  Either way should work.

Old Site
Old Site

Let us know what you think!