The MacDeskBlog

Okay, so one of the last things I said about the server was that I thought I had fixed the bug which was causing the performance problems, but that I was unwilling to declare the bug squashed yet.

It’s squashed. Performance has been good ever since. The machine is stable, reliable and at last performing as desired.

Additionally, I have the sites copied over to the new server (identical software setup, beefier hardware specs), I should be able to get to the database copy this week and start testing it.

And, then there’s the Allume deal, which, if it goes through (and it’s looking very likely), will mean another migration (back to Mac OS X Server! Yeah!) later this summer.

So, I got this email from GoDaddy late last week: “Bandwidth Warning: Dedicated Server Monthly Bandwidth Exceeded.” Surprised, I logged into my admin interface for the server, and saw that it didn’t give me a summary of monthly bandwidth, only a daily graph. Adding up the columns, I decided that I had not exceeded my bandwidth and would continue my investigation later. Later turned out to be yesterday, and this time I found my monthly summary: 126GB of 500GB allocation.

How the hell is 126GB used out of 500GB allocated exceeding my bandwidth?!? Bad GoDaddy! Shame GoDaddy! It’s really quite bad enough that my 500GB bandwidth on each server doesn’t pool (I had used 4GB of 500GB for the new server until I copied the sites yesterday), but them trying to scare me into buying more bandwidth is shameful. It almost worked too. Bastards. They list their superior service as one of the top ten reasons to use them, but their service stinks. Now they’re trying to trick me into buying extra bandwidth which I won’t use. And the Virtual Dedicated Server I initially leased from them was a piece of crap and lost most of my data. All in all, I must say that I can’t recommend them as a server provider. Sure, they’re cheap, but, well, they’re CHEAP. I’ll be happy to move off from their hardware when the time comes. Tiger Server, here we come.

You may have surmised from the lack of updates that the inspections went great and I’ve been way too busy working on the house to get around to posting anything. Or you may have surmised from the same absence that the inspections went badly and I’ve been too depressed to write anything. Of course, there are any number of other conclusions to which one could have jumped. As it turns out, though, the second one is pretty much on target.

The inspector came by on Tuesday and refused to sign anything off for one reason which he really did not articulate well. So, I tried to address that concern and brought him back on Thursday for another inspection. The result was essentially the same except that we at least got him to clarify that he wants the rough electrical, the rough plumbing and the mechanical (furnace, ducts, gas lines) all complete before he’ll sign off any of them. Argh!

So, I brought in three HVAC companies to bid on the project. Two of them complained a lot about how difficult the duct work would be with the plumbing and electrical already complete. They both recommended putting the furnace in the attic, which I find distasteful on several levels. The third company is, of all people, Sears & Roebuck. I know, I was surprised too when “& Roebuck” was mentioned over the phone. Dave, the Sears guy, was considerate enough to write up two bids (I made a similar request of All Bay HVAC, but they only sent me one), each of which was between the bids from All Bay and L.J. Kruse. Dave saw no significant problems posed by the plumbing nor electrical, even when invited by me to complain about them. He also saw the custom built furnace closet in the garage as being appropriate for its intended usage. So, Sears got the contract. The only downside with them, is the two week delay until they can start, but I’m accepting that.

My crew got all of last week off as well as the Friday after the last inspection. The crew is now down to Steve and Orlando until the siding can go up. Steve is going to do some work on the stairs and try to sweet talk the inspector into unbinding the electrical from the plumbing and mechanical so we can put up the siding sooner rather than later. It’s the end of June, and we’re still getting rain showers. Love that Global Warming mucking up our seasonal weather patterns.

Michelle and I have set a deadline for the house. If we are unable to move in by then, I’m going to sell the damn thing. In an effort to stave off getting to that point, I’m going to interview a few of contractors in the next couple of weeks to see if I can get some professional help to get us through these cursed inspections. My first two calls will be to Goddard Construction and W.B. Elmer Construction, both of which were recommended to me by the competent engineer I had on the project (i.e. the second engineer, Josh Fisher). I’m hoping that I’ll manage to get through inspections right before I would be deciding which one to hire, but I want to have one ready to step in should we fail the next inspection or fall further behind schedule.