Moving Day Has Come!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for coming along this short period of time!

I have moved to my permanent location:

FireWolf's Blog Please adjust your blogrolls accordingly!

Thanks!

On a musical note.....

Have you purchased any new music CDs lately?

Well I haven't been a professed American Idol fan (William Hung not withstanding), and I have heard a few Kelly Clarkson songs that I actually liked so I went and purchased her latest cd "BreakAway".

Wow, if you don't have this cd, you need to get it. I have never purchased any music from an "Idol" contestant, and I am impressed.

Most of these songs you've heard from the radio, but you probably didn't know they were all on the same album.

Can American Idol hope to suck me in for a future purchase? Depends on if they suck or not ;)

Go William!

HTTP 404 Error.... (Day 3)

Wow, who'd have thought this amount of work was required to launch your own blogsite?

For those of you who don't know, I purchased hosting and domain services from GoDaddy.com. At first, I was thinking "ooh yeah! up and running in no time". WRONG!

I am having to suck it up and learn the hard way about hosting providers. They charge for everything, and tell you nothing. Getting my own domain and blogsite is a first for me. A First! Can you believe it? I have been on the internet since '92, have done website design in the mid-90's, and I've even done some sys admin, but NOTHING has prepared me for the learning curves I've had to undergo.

WordPress & GoDaddy at the same time. :(

To toss in a little "irony" I think I have my wordpress things configured. THINK being the operative word here.

Today, as I suddenly found my site back online, I had to tweak the default dummy page so that index.htm would naturally cause a browser to show a page. ANY PAGE. So, there I was, happy I had SOMETHING to show when you got to my domain. Then, as I am trying to tweak the WP code so that I can run the default setup routine, nothing was showing and my website seemed to not recognize WP at all. It's as if my files just simply were not there or available.

Then I had an epiphany! I started looking into information in the support documentation for GoDaddy on Directory Indexes. Of course nothing shows up. But, then I was looking at the server operating systems to see what types of code they would handle. It wasn't until after I called technical support @ GoDaddy that they told me PHP code only runs on Linux, not the Windows (.asp).

So, I went back into my account profiles, and it wasn't until I dug deep that it stated: Windows (.asp) Linux (.php).

UGH!

Now that I have switched over my server OS, they tell me it's another two days before I can know if I configured WP's initial setup correctly.

Time will tell.

Maybe I should write a series about my experiences in choosing GoDaddy. I like their prices, and $1.99 to get my very own domain was a sweet deal.

BTW....

didja hear Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is dead?

U.S. Forces 1 - Al Qaida 0

Way to go guys!

Domains & Observations

While I am still waiting for my host to HURRY UP! I can't help but
make some observations known.

First of all, as i've learned from Aaron (Technosailor's owner),
Nothing is worth doing if you don't do them yourself.

Secondly, there are almost a million choices as far as hosts, which
software to use, etc. Do your homework and ask your blogging buddies.
They will offer their support & advice.

After all that, make sure you have some technical understanding, it's
not for the weak of heart!

As for today, I am sitting in a dentist office waiting to go in. (I
love my techno-savvy dentists). After which, I am wrapping up my week
of funeral stuff with the burial today. I hope to add more tomorrow
to my short list of articles so stay tuned!

Domain Update

I am happy to report I am in the process of getting my blogsite (www.firewolfsblog.com) up and running.

I attempted to use my hosting provider's "blog software" (I used godaddy.com's quickblog tool) and I can say without exception that it SUCKS!

First of all, if you use the "free" copy of the software, you are forced to take the templates WITH advertisements. Whether you like the ads or not.

I am sick of using sites that force me to play with their rules/toys.

So, Aaron over at Technosailor has been sending me tips on how to install WordPress and I am trying to get my databases established, and user accounts working, etc.

So far, if you hit my domain, you'll get the HTTP 404 error. Don't freak out, my host is working on bringing my site up, and soon you SHOULD see a default page that will sit until I can finally establish my own creation. I have a new banner image I designed, and I hope you will like it.

As for layout and content, I am hoping to keep it simple, with plenty of topics of discussion, and maybe, just maybe, talk about something that will keep most people coming back.

Stay tuned! More to come!

Lessons Learned After #9

Hi everyone!

I'm currently still in Winona, MN this weekend to wrap up the funeral/memorial service/Family Estate business. The viewing is tonight, funeral tomorrow, and burial this Wednesday back on home turf.

Since this isn't my relative, but my wife's, I have been fortunate to get a sideline view about behaviors in family members towards their "inheritance" or more like "what am I going to get off this person or that person" and it has led me to a few conclusions:

1. If you are going to die you NEED to have a current will.
2. When you have your will made, choose your executor wisely!
3. Put all of your insurance paperwork, wills, legal documents, and titles to houses, cars, and boats in a secure location, but PLEASE tell some family members where that "location" is.
4. If you have no immediate family (wife, children, etc) your next of kin (brothers, sisters, or even parents) are the next of kin.
5. When money or assets are involved, it's amazing how relatives will cheapen your death by bickering over "what do I get"? Civility can go right out the window if survivors from several different branches of the family tree were raised without ethics, morals, and manners.
6. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! GET YOUR FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS IN ORDER.

A Will, as everyone knows lists all of your assets, how it's divided among survivors, and who should oversee it. I realize that a will is a living fluidic document because you can't forecast the "what-ifs". By "what-ifs" I mean, those family members you think will survive to inherit your things.

If you choose an executor, pick someone who is responsible, and who can stand above the "fray" of family in-fighting, and can objectively look at the division of assets with your wishes in mind.

Family, as I said, WILL fight over what you've left them. If they don't argue about that, they will pontificate and speculate on who else is undeserving of assets. Or, they will talk amongst themselves and say "he or she wasn't even here to help so they should get nothing" or "Well that side of the family didn't invite him or her to functions, or dinners, holidays, weddings, etc".

Perhaps your family will not behave this way. Perhaps you were brought up as an only child, and there are no relatives. Families are very dynamic, intricate, and constantly in a state of flux. However, that should not excuse you for neglecting your funeral arrangements. You need to set up and pay for a few things:

1. In the State of Minnesota, it's law that if you are buried in a casket, or cremated and put in an urn, you are to place your remains in a burial vault so as not to pollute the soil, etc. Burial vaults range in price so take that into account when you look into this.
2. If you are not being cremated, purchase your casket and find a location you wish to be buried.
3. If you are being cremated, purchase your urn.

In any case, once you have taken care of your own expenses for your funeral, make cure you keep those documents, reciepts, and other associated documents in the same place you keep your will, etc.

If you have to, make a special folder and label it as funeral arrangements, or estate planning. Anything that will let your survivors know that that folder covers all the paperwork in case you leave this earth.

Your death and passing should never be cheapened by infighting, or greed over your success. Material wealth is all that will be left and remembered if you don't take emotion, and greed out of the equation. That's a fact.

Everyone will already be upset that you are gone, some will not be. That also is a fact.

Live your life well, and try to build relationships with those you want to will your estate to.

They are the ones who will be left scouring your estate.

...I hope to be blogging more regularily after this is over with. So, please keep checking back.

Luck "Happens"

So, as it turns out this week, my wife's uncle had a stroke last night and we had to drive down to Rochester, MN to the Mayo Hospital to understand his situation.

If you know anything about last year, we had 8 funerals. 8!

This is #1 for 2006. We had hoped to pass this year by without tragedy, but things like this happen.

As a casualty to dealing with family, funerals, and estates, blogging will be light.

While it sucks just trying to get this back up and running, I do have some good news!

(No, it isn't "I just saved 15% on my car insurance by switching to Geico")

I have taken the plunge to secure my own domain (www.firewolfsblog.com) and before too long (and a wordpress installation) I will be on my own two feet.

We are going prime time!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Seriously tho, if you can find it within your hearts to pray for my family during their heartbreak and mourning, please do so.

Rochester is a 3.5 hour drive from where I live (each way). And it looks as if we will be driving down and back for the next few weeks.

Take care, godspeed. And I pray your week is better than mine.

:)

-Dave