At the end of the season, a triathlete walks into an athletic center and bellies up to the stationary bike. Another triathlete is already spinning away. They greet each other and size each other up. After a few minutes of spinning (but still below ventilatory threshold), the first triathlete says to the second, "So I did six sprint triathlons this season and placed in my age group in three.". The second triathlete replies, "Hey, not bad. I completed four Iron-distance races.". Impressed, the first triathlete says, "Wow, you're a real triathlete alright. How many races would I have to do to become a real triathlete like you?". The second triathlete replies, "Oh, just one more than me.".
Friday, February 22, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tattoo Taboo?
I guarantee you know someone who has a tattoo. Once the sign of the rebel, tattoos are now mainstream. In fact, 40% of people under 40 have at least one tattoo. Just 10% of people 41-60 have one.
I have two tattooed friends. Both are women and both tatts are located above the butt (why do people think that's a good piece of real estate for décor?). One's a Tweety bird, the other an "om" symbol.
The 10/13/07 Science News covered a new kind of encapsulated tattoo ink that can be easily erased later in life. Rather than using a laser to break down tattoo inks into a molecular size small enough for the immune system to mop up, the new inks are enclosed in tiny spheres. If the tattooed gets sick of their tatt, just one laser treatment pops the spheres and the ink dissipates to nearly invisible in just weeks. Traditional tattoo inks require many, sometimes painful, laser treatments that can cause skin damage or discoloration—and sometimes they don't work.
A recent Harris poll found that 17% of the tattooed regret having gotten a tattoo. The most frequent reasons were: the tattoo included the name of someone the tattooed no longer care about, the owner didn't like the tattoo anymore, the tattoo faded, or the tattoo "was stupid".
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The cycling spectating season has begun!
A quick round-up of interesting news relating to the Tour of California (ToCA), the unofficial kickoff to the cycling spectator's spectating season:
1. Dave Towle, cycling race announcer, is doing video interview-style promo work for Amgen, the title sponsor for the ToCA. Way to spinoff into more career options, Dave!
2. The ToCA website is surprisingly content-rich. It's combination travel guide, race guide, and merchandiser. I'm impressed. I'm sure VeloNews is providing most of the race content, which would explain Towle's work above. Speaking of VN, I'm stoked to see the new VeloNews.com live race coverage site that's rolling out with ToCA. If the new VeloNews website is any indication, the live race coverage will be about 400% better than it was last year at this time.
3. Just a few days after the "Astana-shing" news broke that the former Discovery Channel Cycling Team (now Astana) won't be allowed to race the Tour de France and several other races this year, Levi Leipheimer has a protest petition. Fat lot of good it'll do him, other than selling some t-shirts and hats.
1. Dave Towle, cycling race announcer, is doing video interview-style promo work for Amgen, the title sponsor for the ToCA. Way to spinoff into more career options, Dave!
2. The ToCA website is surprisingly content-rich. It's combination travel guide, race guide, and merchandiser. I'm impressed. I'm sure VeloNews is providing most of the race content, which would explain Towle's work above. Speaking of VN, I'm stoked to see the new VeloNews.com live race coverage site that's rolling out with ToCA. If the new VeloNews website is any indication, the live race coverage will be about 400% better than it was last year at this time.
3. Just a few days after the "Astana-shing" news broke that the former Discovery Channel Cycling Team (now Astana) won't be allowed to race the Tour de France and several other races this year, Levi Leipheimer has a protest petition. Fat lot of good it'll do him, other than selling some t-shirts and hats.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Frostbike vs. Interbike
And I must say that so far, despite a high temp today of 7 degrees, Frostbike beats the pants off Interbike. Here's why:
1. It's not in Las Vegas. Sure, bike shops use Interbike to reward loyal, hard-working shop rats. Nothing turns those guys on like free bike crap and the illusion of easy women and fast money. And sure, I'm freezing my butt off in the deepest of winter in one of the coldest parts of the country (the airline lost my suitcase which had my jacket in it). But the drive from MPS airport to our hotel took about 10 minutes, and it didn't involve an obnoxious cabbie offering to take me to strip clubs. It also involved zero stop-and-go traffic and no seizure-inducing neon signage. I didn't have to get herded through the casino sidewalk/cattle chute system, nor inhale the smoke and carpet wax fumes of a casino. The hotels are nice and not staffed with employees angling for any way to part you and your money.
2. It's not at a convention center. Frostbike is held in the QBP warehouse receiving area. This should give you some idea of just how much QBP is receiving! Without a convention center venue, you have no convention center unions. No convention center unions and you have no price gouging on inefficient labor, incorrect setup, late drayage, exorbitant shipping fees, etc. Unions hold tradeshows hostage like <your favorite metaphor regarding inefficiency, incompetence, and price gouging here>. Example: We paid something like $1,400 for a keg of Fat Tire, a few bottles of champagne, and a bartender for one hour during our Bob Roll autographing at Interbike last year. Is that even legal? Another example: some convention center unions allow exhibitors to carry in one box with them - nothing else, not even a rolling suitcase. No unions means no red tape and no red balance statements.
3. By contrast, Frostbike is an untradeshow. Our booth space was free of charge (though we struggled to get invited). We shipped our stuff direct to QBP a week in advance (not to a costly, bureaucratic convention center staging warehouse a month in advance) and paid no drayage. QBP paid to ship our stuff back to Boulder. We ordered gridwall for our booth display (free of charge), and set it up ourselves with zip ties in under 30 minutes. During the two hours it took to set up for Frostbike, at least 5 (friendly, intelligent) QBP employees dropped by our booth to offer us help or supplies. Before show opening, a QBP person even grabbed two doughnuts for us.
4. Free stuff... for vendors! As if being treated like a human being weren't fantastic enough, QBP gave exhibitors free stuff! All the schwag at Interbike is intended for retailers, not exhibitors. Call me a hypocrite, but I enjoy tasteful, non-crap schwag as much as the next guy. Frostbike gave each exhibitor a nice, long-sleeve t-shirt and set of wool arm warmers. Frostbike goes out of its way to treat its exhibitors well - free shuttles from QBP to hotels and back, dinner and drinks for vendors at the QBP owner's house after setup, free meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For the top shops, Frostbike is an all expenses paid trip - travel, lodgings, and all meals are covered. Now that's the way to build good will.
5. All this comes at a cost - Frostbike is a tenth of the size of Interbike. It's maybe 8 corridors of vendors and 2,200 attendees. You can't reach the same breadth and depth of audience at Interbike. But there's a hidden benefit - QBP has screened the invites so that only their best customers come. At Frostbike, a vendor reaches the cream of the crop. And since the emphasis is on products distributed by QBP, those shops always know where and how to order from you. Better yet, fewer people means you can hold an actual conversation with someone and actually tell them not just about your best schwag offer but your product, your company, and your raison d'etre to the cycling industry. In fact, I may have struck up some sales just during setup. A vendor stopped by interested in our books, and I may have sold her on carrying 2-3 in her catalog. No one talks during setup at Interbike. It's nasty hot and stinky on the show floor, and everyone's pissed off about the union labor and setting up monstrous booths and the prospect of dealing with 25K schwaghounds for three days.
6. No bimbos. No booth bimbos, Sinclair bimbos, or casino bimbos. Vegas gets gross. Minnesota? A more humane story.
7. I'm not exhausted. Despite running late and skipping lunch, setup took 2 hours and not a drop of blood. Tradeshows are terribly difficult to tolerate when you start them exhausted. Two years ago at Interbike, I set up our entire 20x20 booth with one other guy and intermittent help from another person who had joined the company two weeks prior. It took 7 1/2 hours, and I was starving and dehydrated. Last year's setup was less grueling, something like 5 hours, but we had 6-8 people helping. Oh, and the union set up our booth wrong and had to physically pick it up and move it. Interbike is a three day show, generally 9am-5pm per day. Frostbike is two days, 830am-4pm first day and 830am-3pm second day (and I'm only here for setup and day 1!).
Thursday, February 14, 2008
"Astana-shing news", or: which is killing cycling: EPO or ASO?
So ASO, the organization that produces the Tour de France, has banned Astana from the 2008 race. Astana is the cycling team to which Lance Armstrong's former Discovery team fled last season after folding.
Haven't been following the cycling drama? Here's a quick recap:
1. Lance wins 6 Tours under U.S. Postal Service and then 1 under Discovery Channel. Johan Bruyneel is the "head coach" of both teams.
2. At the 2007 Tour, a rider who is a favorite to win le Tour and who is famous as a rock star in Kazahkstan crashes.
3. Just as its top rider has virtually locked up the win, the Rabobank team gets booted from the Tour because that rider gets caught lying (not doping, just lying).
4. The Kazahkstan rider gets caught doping. His entire team is booted from the Tour.
5. Disco wins the Tour and second place. Having lapped up 1 year and 1 win with Lance, Discovery Channel announces that it's ending its sponsorship at the end of '07.
6. Then, with a ludicrous story that no one in the industry believes, the Disco team management announces that, despite being the dominant team in the sport for nearly a decade, it will fold at the end of the '07
7. season because "the environment in cycling isn't right to bring a new sponsor into the sport". Bruyneel retires.
8. Meanwhile, more Astana team members are caught doping.
9. The Astana team, named after the capital of Kazahkstan and whose sponsors are an eastern European conglomerate of oil and natural gas extractors, fires more than half the team and management.
10. Bruyneel is successfully wooed out of retirement to become directeur sportif of the NEW and IMPROVED Astana team.
11. Bruyneel brings 80% of the former Discovery Channel team to Astana, including Tour winner Al-puerto Contador and Tour #2 Levi Leipheimer. Trek goes to Astana, too.
12. The "American team" in cycling is now sponsored by Kazahk oil companies. What dude?
Annoyed at last year's embarassing doping problems, the Tour de France has now banned Astana from the race. This despite the fact that Astana is almost entirely another team than the one that raced in 2007! Why? Because the French must punish the sponsors, I suppose. Or perhaps to stir up controversy, which they love.
So kiss the 2008 Tour TV/internet ratings and retail sales goodbye - the "American team" in cycling won't be competing. Is there any hope? Well, we can only hope that Slipstream gets invited to race.
I ask you, then, faithful reader: what's causing more damage to cycling, EPO or ASO?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
First Ride of '08
I took advantage of yesterday's sunny 50+ degree pre-spring weather to
hit the road. It's pretty sandy out there and don't forget to bring a
spare tube and pump/CO2.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
You are what you eat (plastic, that is).
Science News offers another survey of the latest in bisphenol-A testing.
How Plastic We've Become
Our bodies carry residues of kitchen plastics
January 19, 2008
How Plastic We've Become
Our bodies carry residues of kitchen plastics
January 19, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
How to Host Your Own Website
I'm hosting three websites from my dining room, and it costs me zilch. Each website loads quickly (because there's not much traffic), there is no website size or data transfer limit, the only fee is my monthly broadband subscription and electricity, and I've never (yet) had a site crash (that wasn't my own dumb fault). Though I haven't bought URLs for my sites, I could and they would appear to the outside world to be functionally identical to any website you might use any day. It takes a little software tweaking to get set up, but once you've planted your little plot of server farm, it will seem to run itself. Before you invest the time, you may want to read the caveats at the bottom of this post.
Hardware You'll Need
1. Broadband connection
2. A computer you're willing to leave on pretty much all the time
3. That's it!
Hardware That's Nice to Have
1. A wired router that uses NAT will make your server more secure. If you're using more than one computer, you'll need a router that allows port forwarding. Both NAT and port forwarding are common features available on most routers. IP reservation is a helpful router feature as well.
2. If you're using a second computer as your web server, it's nice to have an extra keyboard, mouse, and a monitor that allows more than one video source. Newegg.com has cheap keyboards/mouses. Many flatscreen LCD monitors have a digital and an analog input and a "video source" button. You could also get a video signal switch that allows your monitor to switch between two different computers. Try RadioShack.
Software You'll Need
1. Apache HTTP Server This is a free software program that allows your computer to host a website.
2. Free dynamic DNS and URL redirection software from No-IP.com or DynDNS.com.
3. That's it!
Hardware Setup
1. Single computer as personal computer and webserver: no additional setup needed. Basically, if you can access the internet using a broadband connection, you're ready to move on to the software setup. I strongly urge that you use a wired router with the specs mentioned above in "Hardware That's Nice to Have". You're much safer from hackers if you have a wired, NAT router between your computeryou're your cable modem/DSL.
2. Two computer setup where one is your personal computer and the other is your webserver: Leave your PC connected as usual. Set up your webserver as you would a normal PC. Connect your ethernet card to your router. That's it!
Software Setup
The Dynamic IP Problem
1. Your IP address is like your computer's street address on the internet. Most ISPs change their consumer accounts IP addresses periodically, so that hackers can't "stake out your house" over the summer to see if you're on vacation (digitally, of course) and then steal your buried treasure, gold bars, and family jewels. But what if you want people to be able to find your house (and therefore your website)?
2. The all-knowing world wide web has developed a clever fix for this problem: dynamic IP URL forwarding. Dynamic DNS services like No-IP.com and DynDNS.com give you permanent URL on their server and a safe piece of software that checks your IP address every few minutes. If your IP address changes, No-IP reports back to No-IP.com's servers with your new IP address and No-IP.com's server sends web traffic from your URL to your new IP. Clever! And 100% free of charge!
3. Go now to No-IP.com, register for a free account, and download the software. Make sure to give No-IP.com an email address you check periodically - they will email you to renew your free account and cancel after 90 days if you don't renew (renewing is easy).
4. Install No-IP on the computer you want to be your webserver. Login to the software you just installed. Make sure to set it up so that the No-IP software starts automatically every time you turn on your computer. Reboot the server computer and confirm that No-IP begins running on startup. Okay, you're half done with the No-IP setup. More on this in a few minutes.
Webserver software
5. Of course, you can't just "have a website" on your computer. You need some software that can accept and understand the language of the world wide web. Go download the Apache HTTP Server software. The Apache website can be confusing - I recommend not trying to read too much of it. However, make sure you join the "Apache Server Announcements" newsletter so you know when it's time to upgrade to Apache's latest "stable version". If you don't update regularly, you run the risk of opening your webserver to hacker attack. For now, download whatever version of the software they say is the "best version available" for your OS. If you're using Windows, you'll likely want the "Windows binary" option. Install the software on the computer you want to be your webserver. If offered openSSL encryption, you can say "no thanks" since this is intended for ecommerce sites. Honestly, I remember finding this installation step a little confusing, and I don't remember how to do it. One thing that you should know is that, depending on your OS, you may have to start up the Apache webserver software every time you reboot your server computer. Fortunately, you'll leave your server on most of the time and won't have to reboot often.
6. Reboot the server computer, then open the Apache HTTP Server software and fire it up. Be aware that the default settings for Apache upon install will work fine to host your website, but there are many ways to customize how your computer will host web traffic using Apache. If you like, you can check out those options in the Apache Configuration File, but be careful about making changes to it - I recommend having a backup copy before editing the configuration.
7. Okay, you should be able to host websites at this point. Run a simple test to be sure things are running smoothly. Open a web browser on the webserver computer and go to http://127.0.0.1 . This "magic" URL will always point to the computer you're using to browse to http://127.0.0.1 without first going through your router. Hopefully, you'll see the Apache test page using this test. Either way, let's configure No-IP.com before we forget.
Get your URL
8. Go back to No-IP.com and log in. Choose "Hosts/Redirects". Click add. Choose a hostname which will become the basis for a text-based URL for your website like "http://dave.no-ip.com". Choose "DNS Host (A)" and then "create host" or save or OK. Now No-IP.com will constantly update your website URL with your new IP addresses so that people who type http://dave.no-ip.com into their browsers will always go to the right place - your webserver! So remember: your new website's URL is now "http://XYZ.no-ip.com" where "XYZ" is the hostname you just chose. This is now your website's address on the web.
9. Open a web browser and key in your new website URL (like "http://XYZ.no-ip.com"). If all is working well, you should see an Apache logo and some sample text. At this point, you can host your website, but there are some more steps that can make life easier later so read on. And if you don't see the Apache test page and you're using a router, you'll need to configure your router.
Port forwarding
10. If you're using a router, configure your router to forward web traffic to your webserver computer (I think you have to do this even if you're just using one computer).
11. You may not know this, but since you're using a router, you have a mini-network running in your house. The router acts as a server for traffic from your cable modem/DSL to devices that are attached to it. Your router assigns a "local IP address" to any device that's attached to it so that it can send traffic to the correct devices. Imagine that your main IP address is a street address for an apartment building (your cable modem/DSL) and the local IP addresses are apartment numbers for each computer that's attached to your router. To make sure your router knows which computer should get the web traffic, you'll need to forward that traffic to the computer that's hosting your website and not to the computer that isn't hosting your websites! So you'll need to look up the local IP address for your webserving computer.
Your computer's local IP address
12. Use your webserver's OS to find its local IP address. In WinNT/2000/2003/XP, open the command prompt and type "ipconfig/all". Look for "IP address" and write this number down. Your router is probably 192.168.1.1. If just one computer is attached to your router, its local IP is probably 192.168.1.2. But you should check to be sure.
13. Next, log in to your router. Consult your router instructions if you don't know how to do this (it probably involves opening a web browser and going to "http://192.168.1.1" and logging in, hopefully with a username and password that are not the factory defaults!). Once you're logged in, go to Port Forwarding. Choose Port Forwarding and add an "HTTP" service. The start and end ports should be "80", which is the port that web traffic uses. The "server IP address" should be the local IP address for your webserver. Save it! You may want to back up your router's settings into a backup file, if possible, so you don't have to do all this again if your router crashes or you have a power outage, etc.
IP address reservation
14. If you're using more than one device off your router, another useful feature I recommend is IP address reservation. If you don't have more than one device attached to your router, you don't need to do this step. But let's say you've got two computers attached to your router and you lose power or your router crashes. Once you power up again, your router will re-assign local IP addresses to your webserver and personal computer. Those new local IP addresses may not be the same set of numbers as before you lost power! And web traffic may be routed to the wrong computer, i.e. your website is down. So you can force your router to always assign the same local IP addresses to the same devices in the event of power loss, etc.
Looking up your MAC address
15. Use your webserver's OS to find your MAC address. In WinNT/2000/2003/XP, open the command prompt and type "ipconfig/all". Look for your ethernet card's name. The MAC address is the "physical address" and looks something like this: "00-0E-58-17-79-42". Conveniently, the local IP address for this MAC address is also listed next to "IP address". Write both down.
16. Log back into your router. Go to "IP address reservation" or "LAN IP Setup". Add an address reservation. Key in the local IP address and corresponding MAC address for your webserver. Save it! You may want to back up your router settings again.
17. Once your router is configured, try your web browser again. If you see the Apache test page, you're ready to host your website!
Troubleshooting
18. If you don't, it's likely a software setting on your server computer. Try these options: make sure any firewall software is allowing HTTP traffic by designating No-IP and Apache software programs as exceptions; make sure Apache is running; try poking around the Apache software to make sure the settings seem correct; read the Apache website's documentation on getting started. Then try the web browser again.
19. Let's say it's still not working. If you're using a router, you most likely pooched an IP or MAC address. Look them up again and confirm them in the router. Make sure No-IP.com is set up and forwarding traffic to your computer properly. Make sure your router hasn't crashed after all that tweaking.
Now what do I do?
20. Make a website! Host it on your computer! How? Where do I put it? Apache creates a folder that is used as the "home directory" for your web server. On my server, Apache created a folder called "htdocs" here: C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs. Inside htdocs, it put all the Apache test pages. I created a new folder in htdocs and moved all those test pages into it. Then I created subfolders that I use as home directories for each of my three websites. For example, there is a folder called "ski" and another called "travels". If you go to my URL (which I'll keep private, but an example might be http://dave.no-ip.com), it will be a blank web page. If you go to "http://dave.no-ip.com/ski", it will still be a blank web page. But if you go to "http://dave.no-ip.com/ski/index.htm", my ski website appears. I believe there's a setting in Apache's configuration file that allows your website to not require the "index.htm" and instead show that index.htm file as the default if someone goes to your root URL, such as http://dave.no-ip.com/ski, but I haven't played with it.
21. If you're using a second computer, it's much easier to make updates to your websites if you allow local file-sharing on your webserver. When I want to update a website, I do the coding on my PC and then open My Network Places, hop onto the correct website folder, and simply drag/drop the new file over to the webserver. Be careful and make sure you understand how to set up local file-sharing securely or you could be opening more of your computer to the outside world than you intend.
Custom URL
22. Let's say you don't enjoy long URLs like "dave.no-ip.com" and you want a snazzy one, like "AwesomeGuy.com". Yes, you can do this on your home-hosted website. Buy a URL at GoDaddy.com ($20 for a two-year registration) or a similar registration service that allows free domain forwarding. Then in your account settings, forward your domain to your long URL "dave.no-ip.com". All traffic to AwesomeGuy.com will be pushed automatically and instantly to dave.no-ip.com and your faithful website users will not have to remember dave.no-ip.com. But once they're on your website, they will see "http://dave.no-ip.com" in their browser.
23. Let's say you think any mention at all of dave.no-ip.com is lame. There are ways to show only "AwesomeGuy.com". I don't know what they are, but I'll find out and report back.
Useful resources
24. Learn how to use HTML to make websites courtesy of the super-helpful W3 Schools.
25. What's my IP address (for my cable modem/DSL)?
26. What's my bandwidth (download speed)? Try it, it's fun!
27. How can I tell, geographically, where an IP address is located? Geez, ISPs can see all that info about me? Yes, they can. Can I hide my IP address? Sort of, but I don't know how.
Caveats
28. Hosting your own website on your own computer always leaves a backdoor open for hackers. A wired NAT router, a software firewall, and normal antivirus software are good protection, but whenever you allow open access to any part of your computer, there is always a chance that someone will be able to access other parts of your computer. Here's what I've done to stay locked down without actually being on lock-down: I use a wired NAT router, my webserver is a separate computer from my PC, my webserver is running non-hacked genuine Windows that automatically updates the latest security updates and patches (though I should probably be using Linux to be even safer), my server allows file-sharing but only on my local network and only in one direction, and there is literally no personal info or data on the server except the websites.
Please leave a comment with any questions or if any of the steps above don't work for you.
Hardware You'll Need
1. Broadband connection
2. A computer you're willing to leave on pretty much all the time
3. That's it!
Hardware That's Nice to Have
1. A wired router that uses NAT will make your server more secure. If you're using more than one computer, you'll need a router that allows port forwarding. Both NAT and port forwarding are common features available on most routers. IP reservation is a helpful router feature as well.
2. If you're using a second computer as your web server, it's nice to have an extra keyboard, mouse, and a monitor that allows more than one video source. Newegg.com has cheap keyboards/mouses. Many flatscreen LCD monitors have a digital and an analog input and a "video source" button. You could also get a video signal switch that allows your monitor to switch between two different computers. Try RadioShack.
Software You'll Need
1. Apache HTTP Server This is a free software program that allows your computer to host a website.
2. Free dynamic DNS and URL redirection software from No-IP.com or DynDNS.com.
3. That's it!
Hardware Setup
1. Single computer as personal computer and webserver: no additional setup needed. Basically, if you can access the internet using a broadband connection, you're ready to move on to the software setup. I strongly urge that you use a wired router with the specs mentioned above in "Hardware That's Nice to Have". You're much safer from hackers if you have a wired, NAT router between your computeryou're your cable modem/DSL.
2. Two computer setup where one is your personal computer and the other is your webserver: Leave your PC connected as usual. Set up your webserver as you would a normal PC. Connect your ethernet card to your router. That's it!
Software Setup
The Dynamic IP Problem
1. Your IP address is like your computer's street address on the internet. Most ISPs change their consumer accounts IP addresses periodically, so that hackers can't "stake out your house" over the summer to see if you're on vacation (digitally, of course) and then steal your buried treasure, gold bars, and family jewels. But what if you want people to be able to find your house (and therefore your website)?
2. The all-knowing world wide web has developed a clever fix for this problem: dynamic IP URL forwarding. Dynamic DNS services like No-IP.com and DynDNS.com give you permanent URL on their server and a safe piece of software that checks your IP address every few minutes. If your IP address changes, No-IP reports back to No-IP.com's servers with your new IP address and No-IP.com's server sends web traffic from your URL to your new IP. Clever! And 100% free of charge!
3. Go now to No-IP.com, register for a free account, and download the software. Make sure to give No-IP.com an email address you check periodically - they will email you to renew your free account and cancel after 90 days if you don't renew (renewing is easy).
4. Install No-IP on the computer you want to be your webserver. Login to the software you just installed. Make sure to set it up so that the No-IP software starts automatically every time you turn on your computer. Reboot the server computer and confirm that No-IP begins running on startup. Okay, you're half done with the No-IP setup. More on this in a few minutes.
Webserver software
5. Of course, you can't just "have a website" on your computer. You need some software that can accept and understand the language of the world wide web. Go download the Apache HTTP Server software. The Apache website can be confusing - I recommend not trying to read too much of it. However, make sure you join the "Apache Server Announcements" newsletter so you know when it's time to upgrade to Apache's latest "stable version". If you don't update regularly, you run the risk of opening your webserver to hacker attack. For now, download whatever version of the software they say is the "best version available" for your OS. If you're using Windows, you'll likely want the "Windows binary" option. Install the software on the computer you want to be your webserver. If offered openSSL encryption, you can say "no thanks" since this is intended for ecommerce sites. Honestly, I remember finding this installation step a little confusing, and I don't remember how to do it. One thing that you should know is that, depending on your OS, you may have to start up the Apache webserver software every time you reboot your server computer. Fortunately, you'll leave your server on most of the time and won't have to reboot often.
6. Reboot the server computer, then open the Apache HTTP Server software and fire it up. Be aware that the default settings for Apache upon install will work fine to host your website, but there are many ways to customize how your computer will host web traffic using Apache. If you like, you can check out those options in the Apache Configuration File, but be careful about making changes to it - I recommend having a backup copy before editing the configuration.
7. Okay, you should be able to host websites at this point. Run a simple test to be sure things are running smoothly. Open a web browser on the webserver computer and go to http://127.0.0.1 . This "magic" URL will always point to the computer you're using to browse to http://127.0.0.1 without first going through your router. Hopefully, you'll see the Apache test page using this test. Either way, let's configure No-IP.com before we forget.
Get your URL
8. Go back to No-IP.com and log in. Choose "Hosts/Redirects". Click add. Choose a hostname which will become the basis for a text-based URL for your website like "http://dave.no-ip.com". Choose "DNS Host (A)" and then "create host" or save or OK. Now No-IP.com will constantly update your website URL with your new IP addresses so that people who type http://dave.no-ip.com into their browsers will always go to the right place - your webserver! So remember: your new website's URL is now "http://XYZ.no-ip.com" where "XYZ" is the hostname you just chose. This is now your website's address on the web.
9. Open a web browser and key in your new website URL (like "http://XYZ.no-ip.com"). If all is working well, you should see an Apache logo and some sample text. At this point, you can host your website, but there are some more steps that can make life easier later so read on. And if you don't see the Apache test page and you're using a router, you'll need to configure your router.
Port forwarding
10. If you're using a router, configure your router to forward web traffic to your webserver computer (I think you have to do this even if you're just using one computer).
11. You may not know this, but since you're using a router, you have a mini-network running in your house. The router acts as a server for traffic from your cable modem/DSL to devices that are attached to it. Your router assigns a "local IP address" to any device that's attached to it so that it can send traffic to the correct devices. Imagine that your main IP address is a street address for an apartment building (your cable modem/DSL) and the local IP addresses are apartment numbers for each computer that's attached to your router. To make sure your router knows which computer should get the web traffic, you'll need to forward that traffic to the computer that's hosting your website and not to the computer that isn't hosting your websites! So you'll need to look up the local IP address for your webserving computer.
Your computer's local IP address
12. Use your webserver's OS to find its local IP address. In WinNT/2000/2003/XP, open the command prompt and type "ipconfig/all". Look for "IP address" and write this number down. Your router is probably 192.168.1.1. If just one computer is attached to your router, its local IP is probably 192.168.1.2. But you should check to be sure.
13. Next, log in to your router. Consult your router instructions if you don't know how to do this (it probably involves opening a web browser and going to "http://192.168.1.1" and logging in, hopefully with a username and password that are not the factory defaults!). Once you're logged in, go to Port Forwarding. Choose Port Forwarding and add an "HTTP" service. The start and end ports should be "80", which is the port that web traffic uses. The "server IP address" should be the local IP address for your webserver. Save it! You may want to back up your router's settings into a backup file, if possible, so you don't have to do all this again if your router crashes or you have a power outage, etc.
IP address reservation
14. If you're using more than one device off your router, another useful feature I recommend is IP address reservation. If you don't have more than one device attached to your router, you don't need to do this step. But let's say you've got two computers attached to your router and you lose power or your router crashes. Once you power up again, your router will re-assign local IP addresses to your webserver and personal computer. Those new local IP addresses may not be the same set of numbers as before you lost power! And web traffic may be routed to the wrong computer, i.e. your website is down. So you can force your router to always assign the same local IP addresses to the same devices in the event of power loss, etc.
Looking up your MAC address
15. Use your webserver's OS to find your MAC address. In WinNT/2000/2003/XP, open the command prompt and type "ipconfig/all". Look for your ethernet card's name. The MAC address is the "physical address" and looks something like this: "00-0E-58-17-79-42". Conveniently, the local IP address for this MAC address is also listed next to "IP address". Write both down.
16. Log back into your router. Go to "IP address reservation" or "LAN IP Setup". Add an address reservation. Key in the local IP address and corresponding MAC address for your webserver. Save it! You may want to back up your router settings again.
17. Once your router is configured, try your web browser again. If you see the Apache test page, you're ready to host your website!
Troubleshooting
18. If you don't, it's likely a software setting on your server computer. Try these options: make sure any firewall software is allowing HTTP traffic by designating No-IP and Apache software programs as exceptions; make sure Apache is running; try poking around the Apache software to make sure the settings seem correct; read the Apache website's documentation on getting started. Then try the web browser again.
19. Let's say it's still not working. If you're using a router, you most likely pooched an IP or MAC address. Look them up again and confirm them in the router. Make sure No-IP.com is set up and forwarding traffic to your computer properly. Make sure your router hasn't crashed after all that tweaking.
Now what do I do?
20. Make a website! Host it on your computer! How? Where do I put it? Apache creates a folder that is used as the "home directory" for your web server. On my server, Apache created a folder called "htdocs" here: C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs. Inside htdocs, it put all the Apache test pages. I created a new folder in htdocs and moved all those test pages into it. Then I created subfolders that I use as home directories for each of my three websites. For example, there is a folder called "ski" and another called "travels". If you go to my URL (which I'll keep private, but an example might be http://dave.no-ip.com), it will be a blank web page. If you go to "http://dave.no-ip.com/ski", it will still be a blank web page. But if you go to "http://dave.no-ip.com/ski/index.htm", my ski website appears. I believe there's a setting in Apache's configuration file that allows your website to not require the "index.htm" and instead show that index.htm file as the default if someone goes to your root URL, such as http://dave.no-ip.com/ski, but I haven't played with it.
21. If you're using a second computer, it's much easier to make updates to your websites if you allow local file-sharing on your webserver. When I want to update a website, I do the coding on my PC and then open My Network Places, hop onto the correct website folder, and simply drag/drop the new file over to the webserver. Be careful and make sure you understand how to set up local file-sharing securely or you could be opening more of your computer to the outside world than you intend.
Custom URL
22. Let's say you don't enjoy long URLs like "dave.no-ip.com" and you want a snazzy one, like "AwesomeGuy.com". Yes, you can do this on your home-hosted website. Buy a URL at GoDaddy.com ($20 for a two-year registration) or a similar registration service that allows free domain forwarding. Then in your account settings, forward your domain to your long URL "dave.no-ip.com". All traffic to AwesomeGuy.com will be pushed automatically and instantly to dave.no-ip.com and your faithful website users will not have to remember dave.no-ip.com. But once they're on your website, they will see "http://dave.no-ip.com" in their browser.
23. Let's say you think any mention at all of dave.no-ip.com is lame. There are ways to show only "AwesomeGuy.com". I don't know what they are, but I'll find out and report back.
Useful resources
24. Learn how to use HTML to make websites courtesy of the super-helpful W3 Schools.
25. What's my IP address (for my cable modem/DSL)?
26. What's my bandwidth (download speed)? Try it, it's fun!
27. How can I tell, geographically, where an IP address is located? Geez, ISPs can see all that info about me? Yes, they can. Can I hide my IP address? Sort of, but I don't know how.
Caveats
28. Hosting your own website on your own computer always leaves a backdoor open for hackers. A wired NAT router, a software firewall, and normal antivirus software are good protection, but whenever you allow open access to any part of your computer, there is always a chance that someone will be able to access other parts of your computer. Here's what I've done to stay locked down without actually being on lock-down: I use a wired NAT router, my webserver is a separate computer from my PC, my webserver is running non-hacked genuine Windows that automatically updates the latest security updates and patches (though I should probably be using Linux to be even safer), my server allows file-sharing but only on my local network and only in one direction, and there is literally no personal info or data on the server except the websites.
Please leave a comment with any questions or if any of the steps above don't work for you.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
113 Days til the Bolder Boulder
So with 113 days 'til the Bolder Boulder, here's my favorite winter jogging outfit:
1. short-sleeved t-shirt under a long-sleeved t-shirt...
2. ...tucked into splash-resistant, wind-blocking, loose-fitting pants
3. my usual synthetic, low-cut socks and running shoes
4. old pair of wool gloves
5. fleece vest
6. fleece hat
Why I like this outfit:
1. The full coverage and layering are warm enough to prevent the shock of cold air or chills.
2. Everything fits loosely and breathes so I don't swelter. In fact, I barely sweat in this outfit.
3. I can still unzip, untuck, roll up sleeves/pants, or even strip down without having to carry anything in my hands.
Today's News
Why does it take so long to publish a book? Oh, sure - just blame it on sales and marketing! My little piece of the puzzle involves the publicity sentence, minus the fancy lunches and dinners. I also help as "inside sales" trying to convince the book trade to "get excited" about a book.
The Irish government began taxing plastic grocery bags (33 cents per bag) and their usage dropped 94% in just weeks. Did you know that paper grocery bags might not be any better for the environment than plastic? Reusable is the way to go. Just buy a few reusable ones and keep them in your car. We've been given many for free at town fair-type events, and despite off-and-on use over several years, not a single one has broken or punctured.
A little preview of Super Bowl 2008 ads. The New York Times says the ads will be "gentle and sweet", aka "boring".
The Irish government began taxing plastic grocery bags (33 cents per bag) and their usage dropped 94% in just weeks. Did you know that paper grocery bags might not be any better for the environment than plastic? Reusable is the way to go. Just buy a few reusable ones and keep them in your car. We've been given many for free at town fair-type events, and despite off-and-on use over several years, not a single one has broken or punctured.
A little preview of Super Bowl 2008 ads. The New York Times says the ads will be "gentle and sweet", aka "boring".
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