Letting Go (of domain names) Is Never Easy

So, I have registered a few more domain names than I really need. The domain names are usually a result of this:

  1. I get a good (or bad) idea for a web site project
  2. I think of good (and bad) domain names for the project
  3. I register a domain name for the web site
  4. But, because I already have work, family and a whole bunch of existing projects to attend to, I never get very far with implementing the web site

Then, a year later, the domain name needs to be renewed. One possible action:

A slight hope of continuing the project and some squirreling tendencies makes me renew the domain registration.

Another possible action:

Let the domain name registration expire.

But it does not feel good at all:

No! Not one of my domain names! They are part of the family! If I let them expire they will be bought by someone running a parked domain monetization scheme!

I actually counted to three domains of mine that will expire during the months to come. And then there are a couple of domain names I want to register if they become available… Letting Go Is Never Easy!

Btw, have you tried my Google Apps™ Test service? It checks if a domain name is connected to Google Apps, the Google Apps mail service, Google Sites or Blogger.

Today’s thoughts about programming languages

Maybe some of you have heard me ranting about this already?

  • I’m not productive enough in C++ and I feel too limited by Java
  • A large chunk of Java frameworks seem to serve no other purpose than to workaround limitations in Java
  • I believe (and hope!) that Java will cease to be the default language in the non-Microsoft world, and that other JVM-based languages such as Scala, Groovy and JRuby will become more important
  • How can I convince a client to allow Scala, Groovy or JRuby in a project?
  • I should really get some C# experience!
  • It seems like I almost always resolve to PHP when I need to get something done quickly… which reminds me of an upcoming blog post about a recent fight with SoapServer and SimpleXML to implement WSSE UsernameToken authentication.

TaskFreak hacking part 2: date format

My TaskFreak hacking goes on. In Sweden we often use ISO 8601 format for dates (year-month-day), but TaskFreak does not offer this out of the box.

Most date formatting comes from the DATE FORMATS section in include/config.php but even after changing these date formats I still don’t get all dates displayed as I would like.

For example, the text box for the date when editing an item is using the TZN_DATE_FRM constant defined in include/classes/tzn_generic.php. There’s a pretty naïve comment in the source code, saying that there is a “US format” for dates and a “rest of the world” format. Fortunately (for the US), the rest of the world is not united in opposition.

To get the date format I wanted I changed the constant definition like this:

define("TZN_DATE_FRM","%Y-%m-%d");

Facebook mail servers blacklisted by Spamhaus XBL!

To be more exact, some Facebook mail servers are listed in the Composite Blocking List (CBL), including but probably not limited to these:

  • outmail002.ash1.tfbnw.net – 69.63.184.102
  • outmail004.ash1.tfbnw.net – 69.63.184.104
  • outmail007.ash1.tfbnw.net – 69.63.184.107
  • outmail009.ash1.tfbnw.net – 69.63.184.109
  • outmail110.ash1.tfbnw.net – 69.63.184.110

CBL is not very informative, but writes:

ATTENTION: If you are running IPSwitch Imail, or similar shared hosting software, please contact the CBL by email. If you are running Ensim, please read this for a workaround. Otherwise, this IP is infected with/emitting spamware/spamtrojan traffic and needs to be fixed.

This will prevent me and others using sbl-xbl.spamhaus.org from receiving some Facebook e-mails. Good thing they are not so important! 🙂

Update This was corrected around midnight (UTC) between Saturday and Sunday.