27 Dec 2008
Change is on the way

Things are going to be in transition here for the next few days - I'm moving my server to a new home (Dreamhost) and giving up my FreeBSD VPS. It's going to be a change for me, for sure, not having root access, but at 1/12th the cost, it's pretty much required.

I'm planning on changing the look and feel of the weblog as well as the home page, and there's an even bigger change afoot. We've renamed the farm, and will be transitioning to a new farm site. Hammer the horse is no longer here, having been traded this summer for a miniature stallion we named Neo. He's a jet black little guy who's convinced he's the farms "stud muffin" - he's the only intact male on the place, and as such thinks he rules the roost. Unfortunately for him, the goats are bigger than he is, and so are some of the older sheep! I think the rest of the flock lets him indulge his little fantasy, though, and they give him a pass when he prances about like the new owner of the place.

So Hammerstead, Hammer's Home, doesn't make much sense as a farm name anymore, although it would be a fine name for a Heathen organization of some sort or another. I'll hold onto the name and the domain.

Lorraine has really gotten into spinning in a big way, and our cross breeding experiments of the last couple of years are paying off. It seems as though using Scottish Blackface rams as terminal sires against Horned Dorset ewes produces a fleece with the softness and crimp of the Dorsets, and the staple length and strength of the Blackies. Lorraine loves the stuff - she's just finished washing Brittany's fleece (Little Mac's biological mom) and it's gorgeous! I've been promised a new pair of woolen socks from it - which will be desperately appreciated!

We're down to two head of cattle - Mad cow and her calf - and they're sold, just waiting for delivery. So we'll be officially out of the cattle biz by the end of the year.

We didn't breed this year, but we're still up to a flock of 15 - it looks like we'll be a real fiber farm henceforward, with a side business of eggs and a petting zoo. So new name, new website, new logos. Lorraine will have her own spinning/fiber arts blog on the new server as well. Watch this space for the formal announcement when the new site goes live in a couple of weeks. And in the meantime, bear with me - my setup, especially for blogging, is kinda complex, and there may be some interruptions of feeds, etc., during the transition.

11:55 /Home | 1 comment | permanent link

Insane Weather

Last weekend the temperature was in the single digits, and the wind chill was seriously negative. Today it's 61°F and they're predicting thunderstorms.

The forecast calls for falling temps the rest of this coming week - to below freezing again by the Yule. This roller coaster is tough on animals, tough on the pasture and tough on humans. It's a minor miracle we're not all down with some hideous snot drenched cold of some sort or another.

Winter has always been my favorite time of year, but not this year. This is insane!

09:53 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Google, Apple, Microsoft Sued Over File Preview

You can't see what's in your files - we have a patent on that!

Ridiculous.

A small Indiana company has sued tech heavyweights Microsoft, Apple, and Google, claiming that it holds the patent on a common file preview feature used by browsers and operating systems to show users small snapshots of the files before they are opened. ... Cygnus's owner and president Gregory Swartz developed the technology laid out in the patent while working on IT consulting projects, McAndrews said. The company is looking for 'a reasonable royalty' as well as a court injunction preventing further infringement, he said. ... Cygnus applied for its patent (# 7346850) in 2001. It covers a 'System and method for iconic software environment management' and was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office in March of this year.

(link) [Slashdot]

09:45 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link