The Spilled Coffee Trick

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I saw this picture and remembered when I was a kid and bought my fake spilled coffee trick. Is it a trick? Maybe just a joke. But it never seems to work exactly like you think it is. The reactions aren’t quite as freaked out as you imagine when you set it up.

It’s all about the setup. As a kid I would play with those little green army men. And the setup was so much fun. But then when you actually start playing you realize know one really knows what you’re supposed to do. We would just end up throwing rocks in turns and making up rules as we went. The game didn’t work, but the setup was fun.

Whoopee cushions are like that too. So much fun in the setup and anticipation, but rarely do people sit on them correctly for the gag. Or they see it before they sit down.

But we still do it, thinking somehow we did it wrong – and NEXT time will be better. Know what I mean?

In Memory of Pete Westman aka Paul D. Westman

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Pete was a good friend and mentor to me. We knew each other about 14 years down in Victorville, CA. He passed away on March 8, 2004. Friends are welcome to leave comments here on this post.

Pete did a lot of recording with me and was a featured artist on the New Faces compilation releases by Road Records of Southern California.

Many know Pete as a commercial real estate agent in the Southern California High Desert. He sold real estate in the areas of Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Oro Grande, Phelan, et al.

Musicians know him as intense and naturally gifted. And I think all of us knew him as fun and challenging.

UPDATES JUNE 2010: I am taking down Pete’s memorial website because there’s no where over there for people to interact or post messages. So friends of PD can post comments here.

BUT! To make up for taking down his memorial website I uploaded his song Shelter so you can listen to and download his music. That page is located at:
http://conradaskland.net/blog/2010/05/shelter/

(Please note that URL address up above is DOT NET, it’s a different website than this one you’re on now. )I hope you all can listen to it and leave some comments. I really think PD did a great job on this recording.

Response to new forum launches

I announced yesterday that my forums had hit the one million mark which is a milestone I’ve been waiting for to reopen the complete former network. With all the old forums coming back I was sent this list of possible new websites. Many of my forums have the word “talk” in them, which makes this doubly funny.

List of New Forum Ideas

Yes! By all means, please re-open Argyle Sock Talk, Cabbage Recipe Talk, Quantum Mechanics Talk, Beefarino Talk, Linens-And-Things Talk, Perfume Talk, Barbie Doll Talk, Miniature Poodle Talk, Oh, My Aching Back Talk, Urinary Incontinence Talk, Halitosis Talk, Modern Toothpick Design Talk, Atheism Talk, Existentialist Pet Groomer Talk, Small insect Talk, Big Fat Insect Talk, and MisteRogers Talk!

Comments on Brigadoon 2007

I don’t normally post comments about shows I work on because it seems a bit haughty with me being part of the production team. But Brigadoon 2007 at McIntyre Hall really is a fine production. On the music end, the orchestra is really incredible. Not too far a stone’s toss from a 5th Avenue pit group.

This is one of my last shows in Skagit County before I go back on the road and I hope friends and local theater folk have a chance to see this production. This show does great honor to McIntyre Hall and to local theater folk who put their heart and soul into the arts.

And to the McIntyre family of Skagit – I don’t know you, but your generostiy in creating McIntyre Hall is helping to propel Mount Vernon, WA and surrounding areas into rich fertile soil for up and coming artists.

SOME COMMENTS:

Wonderful! Such a beautiful time we had!
Thoroughly enjoyable;hope you will do more in this great theatre
This was by far the best performance I’ve seen in the area.
This is the kind of show I dreamed McIntyre Hall was built for.
Enjoyed it completely!
Terrific! What a great production for the community!
Magical! I love the story, the dancing, singing, and message.
I really enjoyed combining professional and local talent. Fantastic idea! Keep up the good work!
Very professional–good scenery and acting
Awesome!

PhpMyAdmin Database Backup

How to backup large databases or all databases on your server using just PhpMyAdmin:

1. Click the Export tab

2. Under Export, choose “Select All”

3. Under Structure, only select “Add DROP TABLE”, “Add AUTO_INCREMENT value”, and “Enclose table and field names with backquotes”

4. Under Data, only select “Complete inserts” and “Use hexadecimal for binary fields”

5. Check “Save as file”, choose compression and click GO!

How To Import a MySql Database

 *NOTES*: You may have to replace quotation marks entry with fresh keystrokes. Also be sure the database you are importing matches the software version you are importing into. Many errors happen from people updating and trying to import older databases.

HOW TO IMPORT MYSQL PHPBB DATABASE
(Go to SSH command screen)
(Entre location of folder with DB)

cd /home/sites/domainname/www/
(this is home directory for site on server)

MANUALLY GO TO PHPMYADMIN AND DROP DB

NOW, RECREATE SAME DATABASE NAME

(Import the backup)
mysql -u root -ppassword “dbname” < dbname.sql > /dev/null

Forums Reach One Million Mark

I was just informed my forum network hit the one million mark for queries last month. Still a fraction of our former traffic – but a very good sign considering we’re only running a portion of them. I’ve been waiting to hit that mark before expanding, so now I’m going to open up ALL former forums. All those niche subjects that many of you had a passion for will be up and running within 10 days.

After that I’ll be reformatting the ecommerce networks. Ah….life is sweet.

40,000 Spam Milepost

Here just on my personal website I have reached the 40,000 spam milepost. Over forty thousand spam comments have been filtered and deleted. Thanks to the Akismet plugin it is all automated and I don’t have to do anything. That’s one of the main reasons I chose WordPress over other blog platforms.

Network wide the spam blocks run into the tens of millions. From what I’ve read most spam is generated by a handful of people. The people that generate the spam don’t make money directly, they make money selling the service to other webmasters who think it will increase their rankings.

The recent proliferation of spam is in part from amateur spammers now using automated programs like Xrumer. My original article on Xrumer, which is quoted as a source now on Wikipedia, can be found here: Xrumer Link Scam Article.

Everyone’s tempted to make money – but do this one thing before you think about investing in an automated link spam program. Take any of the spam links you have seen generated by the program in the past and do a search on their anchor text or keywords. You’ll find they don’t rank. They are quickly banned. The money is not in the links, the money is in SELLING the service – which doesn’t work for long term SEO.

Someday I’ll post the gruesome details of my own experience and over zealous, xenophobic SEO. It doesn’t work anymore. And I’m glad it doesn’t. The web is much more useful now that most pedestrian black hat SEO has been fielded out.

I can tell you it is MUCH more enjoyable now to work on genuine service, than just trying to manipulate SERPS. It is never satisfying enough, you always need a little more. But helping people out, like this post here, is enjoyable on a minute to minute basis.

In a person’s last minutes of life, they will not think of how much money they made….

The Brilliance of Steve Buscemi

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Steve Buscemi – You know his face from nearly 100 films. One of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. He hits the nail on the head with this excerpt from a recent interview. When working with artists, let them bring their own vision to the table first. Then tailor it as it fits the directors vision. If you don’t give them the chance to do their thing, you miss out on many golden gems.

Q: How does your background as an actor affect your directing?

BUSCEMI: Casting is everything. Getting the person that you imagined is this character and then seeing what they bring to it. That’s why you hire them, so why tell somebody first what it is you want? I’m more curious to see what they bring to it and then be inspired by it and say: “OK, what if you tried this?” or “What would happen if … ?” I guess it’s the stuff that you don’t get to say as an actor to another actor if you’re just acting in a scene. (Laughs) You cannot do that.