Product of the System

It’s 6am and I’ve been working since noon yesterday.

At least I’ve completed budgeting for April, finished up a website that’ll help catch me up on my bills this week, sent out the ShrinkTheWeb newsletter, and released the ShrinkTheWeb feature for capturing specific page thumbnails. This is HUGE in the webmaster world and it makes life a lot easier for webmasters and web designers.

Here’s an example of a screenshot of a specific page on ShrinkTheWeb:

And here’s the same page but full-length:

These images may not mean a lot to many of you, but for web designers, this is a God-send –especially with everything on the Internet going more visual and web 2.0.

Being able to simply put one line of code into a web page and have my ShrinkTheWeb service automatically pull that site up in a browser, capture it, edit it, crop it, and return it is almost a feat of magic. It still amazes ME that it works …and I wrote it!

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Because of my pending lawsuit against Progressive for not paying out on my uninsured motorist claim from last year, I got insurance from another provider.

I was told that as long as my MVR (driving record) didn’t have anything on it other than what I told them, I was approved and could pay my first two months. There wouldn’t be a problem. So, after I put down the money and got confirmation from them, I canceled my insurance with Progressive.

That’s all fine and dandy until a few days ago when I got a letter in the mail saying I was denied coverage because I failed to tell them about my “at-fault accident” in 2007. WHAT?!?! I was definitely NOT at fault and I can easily prove it.

However, I cannot get insurance, do not have insurance currently, and Progressive won’t call me back. Now, I’ve left messages with lawyers and am trying to get a copy of my MVR so that I can dispute it. This is exactly the kind of thing that keeps me from being able to focus on what’s important right now -my work. Ugh!

I HATE PROGRESSIVE.

I’ve completed another customer web design, attended a business expo and made numerous contacts for a client, updated lots of features and code for ShrinkTheWeb (STW), launched the STW Logo Design Contest, budgeted the STW expansion and “Go Live” path, and calculated STW’s path-to-profitability through 2008.

So now, I’m just juggling a few web design projects and trying to outsource some of them while at the same time managing the growth of ShrinkTheWeb and finishing up the PRO feature for a (hopefully) June 1st launch date.

This week, I’ll be busy with lawyers, following up on contacts for one of my clients, and finalizing ShrinkTheWeb (i.e. new server setup, new distributed coding, and billing integration for PRO users).

I’m excited that Rackspace (the best -but most expensive- dedicated server provider) has worked out a very good deal with me because of ShrinkTheWeb’s potential. In fact, they now use STW’s thumbnails in their proposals and quotes to new customers! How’s that for validation of usefulness?! hah. The best part is that they were willing to work with me enough that we are getting a super-powerhouse server within my budget (barely).

That means that the servers will handle any number of customers we could possibly get between now and 2009. That’s quite a LOT! Hopefully I’m wrong and we get more than we can handle, but this server can handle so many that it’s not likely we’ll need to upgrade anytime soon.

Sorry for just another quick update and little substance, but I had to at least take a moment to post that I got my first round of funding for my “Shrink The Web” project. So, I’m really excited -to say the least!

Now, I can buy that nice skateboard I always wanted! lol. j/k

Anyway, here’s a link on my work blog about it:

ShrinkTheWeb Acquires First Round Funding

It’s been an unbelievably hectic month and with juggling 8 web design projects and closing a few others and this “Shrink The Web” work, I’m beat. That’s not to mention all of the presentations and pitches I’ve made this month for one of my clients –i.e. for the European client and another 1.6 Billion dollar company here in the US. It sounds like I sold the latter one also, so things are really looking up but it’s taking a toll on me with little sleep.

Tonight is another 20 hour work day and I have to get up in 3.5 hours to go to a 12-hour business expo. Whew. So, that -in a nutshell- is why the short, infrequent posts. Sorry to be such a bore lately! Perhaps if things settle down soon, I can start writing my autobiography -which I guarantee is not dull by any means! haha.

Ciao,

Brandon

I’ve been missing in action for awhile now (over a week, I think), but it’s because I’ve finally been making some progress and working long, crazy hours (18 hours per day).

I have quite a bit of news to share but some of it I cannot yet disclose due to non-disclosure reasons. As far as my European client, they have verbally confirmed a start date in May for several pieces of my proposal and they have indicated strong interest in funding my crawler and search engine for use in a custom application of theirs. I won’t get too excited until I have cash in hand, but they seem eager and willing at the moment. That will probably happen in August or so.

I also have tentative confirmation of an investor for Shrink The Web to help kick-start that venture into high gear. So, I’m really excited at the prospect of that as well.

The only caveat is that this money is either too far out or will be dedicated to specific things –i.e. not for my living expenses. So, I’m still in a bind in that regard and having to borrow everywhere I can. It really sucks but if I can just get through this lull, I should be able to come back stronger than ever and make my second million.

To that end, I have managed to convince one of my clients to loan me enough money to cover my living expenses through the end of this year. I cannot express how lame it feels to be borrowing money from a client, but I know I will repay them in time and will make it worth their while for trusting in me.

I feel like I’m trapped in a deep pit but I can see a spot of sunlight shining through the mud.

Ciao,

Brandon

I feel like this sometimes (hehe):

Have you ever gotten a ticket or been to court for any reason whatsoever?

If so and you were not guilty, were still you one of the 99.9% that was talked out of pleading your case to the judge?

If you were, don’t feel bad. The district attorney is paid to scare you and use any tactic to get you not to fight them in court or even try to beat a speeding ticket. I know -unfortunately- from lots of experience in dealing with the law that most local governments are designed to quickly persuade you not to fight. They are less interested in finding out the truth of a matter and more interested in moving people through.

This is because the local governments are -in most cases- motivated by finance rather than justice.

Today, I had to appear in court -yet again- but this time it was only a speeding ticket. In fact, it was a ridiculous speeding ticket of 56mph in a 45mph zone. Getting a ticket for 11 mph over is just silly and in my case, I wasn’t even going that fast anyway.

So, I fought it. I demanded a trial and an audience with the judge.

Dealing with the D.A. (district attorney) beforehand just brought back all kinds of memories about how hard they try to manipulate and coerce everyone in to a guilty plea. If you have a lawyer, you can typically avoid all of that. But, without a lawyer, you are basically “shark bait.”

In my case today, the D.A. was telling me how it was not going to go on my record and I could just say I was guilty, pay my $133 fine, and go home. In my mind, I think, “but what about my innocence in the matter?” It is obviously of no importance. The D.A. even used the words, “now, I cannot tell you what to do, but I wouldn’t take the chance talking to the judge. I’m not trying to scare you, but if you go before the judge, you have to understand that they are not bound by the same restrictions and can impose a penalty of up to $1,000 and 1 year in prison.”

I kept thinking, “that is highly doubtful for an 11 mph ticket!”

The problem is that even if you are innocent but you face some large penalty or fine, they will scare you and coerce you in any way they can. It’s literally their job. They are cold-hearted and they do not care at all about you. Remember that anything you tell them needs to be thought out ahead of time, because they WILL use everything you say to them against you. They may bring up something during the trial or they may give the officer some tip about how to trap you.

That paints kind of a scary picture for someone fighting something as simple as a traffic violation, doesn’t it?

However, the point of this post is that the judge’s first line of defense from having to judge cases ALL day is to have the D.A. get rid of a lot of cases. So, the D.A. ends up having to be the “bad guy” and you should realize that your goal is to get to speak to the “good guy” -so to speak.

If it was blindingly obvious that you were guilty, then going before the judge may be a bad idea, because they may actually exercise their right to impose harsher penalties than you would’ve gotten otherwise. But, if you simply want to try to prove your innocence and you really do feel innocent, then there is nothing wrong with going before the judge. It is highly doubtful that the judge would impose any more than the original fine.

In other words, you really have nothing to lose. But, it is the D.A.’s job to make you “feel” like you have everything to lose. Even as experienced as I am in these matters, I felt compelled a few times to plead guilty rather than face stiffer penalties, but I just had to remind myself that I was innocent and was not pleading guilty. If I can just get to the judge, I can at least say my peace and feel better that I tried.

In all actuality, I see it as the judge is like “The Wizard of Oz” and the D.A. is the one that guards anyone from seeing the wizard. His/her time is too valuable.

The wizard wants to appear scary so that you’ll respect their authority but really, they are just people doing their job and most are genuinely trying to be helpful. If you are respectful and have some evidence or testimony to present, you may find that the judge is much nicer than the D.A. made them out to be.

The bottom-line is that you shouldn’t let the D.A. deter you from fighting to prove your innocence –assuming that you can. Of course, this is by no means legal advice, so you should always discuss your situation with a lawyer to ensure that your case isn’t so against you that you’d be viewed as wasting the wizard’s… err… I mean, judges time.

For instance, if you were tagged as going 93 mph in a 45 mph zone, and you want to plead “not guilty”, then you had better have a very good amount of proof that it wasn’t you somehow. If it was you and you were exceeding the speed limit more than 15 mph, then the judge may still want to prove a point to you. So, there are factors to consider. You may be innocent of 48 mph but if you are still guilty of 30 over, the judge will probably punish you severely for it. Make sense?

So, anyway, in my case, the judge said that she felt after hearing my testimony and questioning the officer that I was not purposely speeding but that my vehicle’s instrumentation must have been off (I did not have time beforehand to get it checked). So, I ended up having to pay the $133 fine anyway. However, you may note that it was still only $133 and not the $1,000 that the D.A. made me feel I was facing. They made me feel like I was risking a lot when in reality, I was not risking anything and I felt very satisfied that I at least had the opportunity and courage to face my accusers, talk to them, and say my peace. That alone made it worth paying $133 rather than just taking it, saying nothing, and paying anyway.

I hope you never have to endure the court system, but odds are that you will. In that case, I hope this little bit of insight gives you some more options and makes it not seem so bleak of a situation -should you have the inclination to prove your innocence.

Before I dive into boring work-related updates, I should mention that Leah has finally gotten me to get out and take walks. She’s been trying for more than a month but I was kinda down in the dumps. Now, I’m feeling a little better and a bit less stressed -though my situation has only marginally improved so far.

But, we’ve been walking several times over the past week and it really makes all the difference in the world. That time alone to walk and talk really helps. My conversations with her really perk me up and shines some light into my world. Soon, I also hope to get back in the gym and regain my cut physique and get back to playing racquetball, volleyball, and the like. I do miss it so!

Now, on to business: It’s a little earlier than expected, but my European client has come back to us with some answers on services they want from us. To my disappointment, they want to hold off on the crawler development until their next fiscal year (Oct, 2008), because they want to see us show some results with our other marketing efforts first.

That’s ok, I suppose. We will show them results, but it means a lot less money for me for now. I will probably make a little bit each month and every little bit counts towards paying the bills. So, that’s good. I am just a little bummed because I wanted to get my crawler and search engine more refined and usable for the masses. Perhaps it will happen next year, but it may be that my priorities will change by then. I suppose we’ll see.

In any case, I am still waiting until April 15th to hear exactly how much budget they will devote in the beginning and they will sign to start their campaigns on May 1st. Their budget will be based on a graduating scale, and with results (which I will bring), the budget will increase.

The best part about this deal is that I will still be in control of quite a sizable budget.  So, even though only a relatively small portion goes to me each month, having control of that kind of budget gives me some bargaining power and respect in the industry. That budget coupled with the influx of recent business to LinkSmile and jAvVy, my two online marketing ventures, will give me even more weight in my niche. It’s just too bad that 99.999% of all my profits are pushed right back in to my companies. I’ve invested more than $160,000 into my businesses over the past year and a half and I’m hoping that will all pay off soon.

Aside from that, ShrinkTheWeb is really coming along. I have seen quite a bit of buzz generating about my service and the sign-ups are increasing to 5-10 per day. So, that’s great! People are really starting to use the system -which is awesome. Today, even, I had someone really put the custom-sized website previews through its paces and through them I discovered a little “bug” I introduced with a recent enhancement.

So, I got that fixed in about 30 minutes and tested the new enhancement plus the custom-sized thumbnails. All is well, and the customers site looked so much better than before, because they are getting perfectly sized thumbnails as opposed to stretching a smaller one to fit. I would link to their site, but the weird thing is that once they got it working, they then switched to one of my competitors and started showing the reduced quality again. I sent them a few emails and never heard back, so I guess I’ll have to assume that it was that competitor of mine trying out my service. Though, it wouldn’t be the first time!

I also made quite a bit of progress on a web design project that I will finish this week and I have made a lot of progress on two bigger projects that I hope to complete within a week or two. So, things on that front are moving along nicely.

As you can tell, most things are work-work-work right now. So, I must apologize that these posts sound redundant and probably aren’t very interesting! hahah.

I have a little news in regards to a personal issue but due to legal disclosure reasons, I have to wait just a little longer before I publish what is going on in that respect. However, it is looking in my favor at the moment. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the week!

Check this out:

Here’s where I found this… lots of other great ones too!

This is work-related so I will post the details on my work-related blog (visit SE Conspiracy – Warning: Reverse DNS Can KILL Your Business!).

In short, many of my web hosting customers (and my own sites) have been getting tagged as spam and it has cost me thousands of dollars (literally) in lost income and -more noticeably- has cost me $600 in actual cash that I spent to try to overcome this issue. That doesn’t even take into account the lost 100 hours or so I’ve spent dealing with this.

The great news is that I finally know WHY this has been happening, and I can finally get this headache under control. Woo hoo!