I’m not usually one to bitch about suppliers but the service and support I recently received from UK2.NET was so awful that I felt I had to warn others about them.

I use a few different webhosts to provide some insurance to my income – if one server goes down, it doesn’t take down all my websites.

At the end of August, a few of my websites went on my UK2.NET webhost server – just my Drupal websites – due to them not configuring PHP correctly after a reconfiguration. So I logged a call and asked them to fix it.

Their first response was that it was my websites that was the problem, not the server. I went on to explain that as it was affecting all my Drupal websites and I hadn’t made any changes, it must be the server. To cut a long story short, they fixed it after FOUR WHOLE DAYS OF DOWNTIME.

I should have took warning from this experience and moved my websites to a different server there and then but I’m a firm believer in giving everyone a second chance – after all, we all make mistakes.

And then, a few weeks later, the whole server went down. A support ticket was raised on the first day and they didn’t even grace me with a reply or ETA.

More support tickets ensued and by day 3 of downtime I was very annoyed. Even the Live Support was manned by people that had no communication with the engineers and were therefore completely useless. I rang the freephone 0800 support number on their website only to be confronted with a voicemail message telling me I had to ring an expensive 0900 number to speak to someone from support.

They told me they were working on it and would get the server back online as soon as they could.

Day 4 passed, day 5 and day 6 without a resolution. I’d sent them repeated requests to send me backups of my websites so I could get them moved – yeah, I know I should have had my own backups and I’ll put my hands up to being a bit lazy in that regard but backing up 50-odd websites is a bit of a chore.

It wasn’t until day 7 that they sent me backups of my mysql databases, by which time I’d lost an awful lot of money. I even had to tell their support staff where the databases were stored in the filesystem, because they didn’t have a clue how to do it!

I even offered to come and fix the problem for them as they obviously didn’t know what they were doing – they must have rebuilded the RAID array at least 3 times when it was obvious after the first time that this was not fixing the problem. They ignored my offer of help like they did almost every support ticket I raised.

Anyway, after a week I got my websites moved and requested a refund – I was paid up until February 2012. All they offered was 15 days free hosting on a faulty server that they couldn’t fix.

Nearly a month after these problems, the server still isn’t working properly. It’s very flaky and keeps timing out and that’s on the good days when it actually works!

I’ve given up speaking to them. My websites are up and running and earning again and that is my main concern.

One of the most annoying things about this whole rigmarole is that I pay more money to use UK.NET web hosting than any of my other providers.

I thought I was paying for a premium service with a big well-established company. Unfortunately, their support engineers are poorly trained (probably sub-contracted) and their customer service procedures are pathetic.

I won’t be using them again and definitely do not recommend anyone else does.

So who do I recommend? A company called WebHostingBuzz. I’ve used them for around 6 years, had very little downtime and problems have been fixed very quickly by server engineers who know what they’re doing. On top of that, their customer service representatives are polite, courteous and knowledgeable.

If you’re considering purchasing web hosting from UK2.NET, my advice is DON’T. Use WebHostingBuzz instead.

That name again: WEB HOSTING BUZZ

Just a quick post today to mention that yesterday I got my highest-paying single click from Google Adsense.

Usually my website pull in between 6p and £2.00 per click but I got a click that paid me £16.56 today. Unfortunately, Google Adsense TOS prohibit me from going into details about which website it was that earned me this amount.

So I thought I’d ask the question: what’s the highest you have ever been paid by Adsense from a single click. Answers in the comments below

Danny

You know those spherical chairs that hang from the ceiling and were ever-present in 1960s sci-fi productions (they look like this).

They’re called Bubble Chairs and were created by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio. The same guy also design the similarly-shaped Ball Chair, which stands upright (pictured below).

Ball Chair

(I should note that the pictured Ball Chair is not a bona fide Eero Aarnio product – just a cheaper imitation, but you get the idea).

I’ve been seeing a lot of them lately (probably been watching too much TV) so I thought it would be interesting to make a list of all the occasions one of these unique designs have appeared in pop culture.

THE SIMPSONS

Bubble Chair in The Simpsons

The Bubble Chair makes an appearance in a Simpson’s episode entitled ‘The Computer Wore Menace Shoes‘, which is a parody of The Prisoner.

THE PRISONER

Ball Chair in The Prisoner

And here’s The Ball Chair as seen in the 1960s series, The Prisoner.

MOON ZERO TWO

Moon Zero Two was a sci-fi film that was released in 1969. Here’s a publicity shot of one the stars, Catherine Schell, along with the Eero Aarnio Ball Chair.

Ball Chair in Moon Zero Two

MEN IN BLACK

And, a bit more up-to-date is the Ball Chair featuring in the film Men in Black (this is more elongated than the traditional ball chair).

Ball Chair / Egg Chair in MIB

If you know of any other appearances of the Bubble Chair or Ball Chair in pop culture, let me know in the comments section below

Danny

Just a quick post to let you know that the exclusive shirts my buddy Tommo told you about in this post are now half price (due to the end-of-season sale).

These are some of the best and unique shirts for men on the market.

Only 500 of each design are made and each one has it’s own number (between 1 and 500) hand-stitched on the inside.

Here’s a couple of examples of the beautiful designs available:

Marvel of Peru Shirt - WAS £130, NOW £65

Glass Floral Shirt - SOLD OUT

So, if you’re looking for an awesome exclusive shirt this Summer, click here to check them out and get an amazing deal.

Danny

Hey guys,

It’s not often that I cover politics in my blog because it is, in my opinion, a stuffy and boring subject and I try to keep my political views to myself both online and in real-life.

However, earlier today I noticed something that I found quite interesting.

It all started with an article I read on the BBC’s website about e-petitions (online petitions that can prompt a parliamentary debate if they get enough signatures).

One of the petitions was to bring back capital punishment and the death penalty, which is something I am strongly against.

The main reason I am against the death penalty is because I believe that violence breeds violence and we as a society shouldn’t be responsible for the death of our people no matter how heinous the crimes they commit.

In my opinion the world would be a better place if there were more love and forgiveness and all forms of hatred and violence were eradicated, which can only be done by changing people’s thinking – no easy task, but a worthwhile one, I think.

Anyhow, I’m waffling now. I don’t want to go preaching my opinions and values to you too much!

Anywho, I checked out the e-petition to bring back capital punishment and found it had around 400 signatures.

I also noticed a petition to retain the ban on capital punishment, which had around 550 votes.

I felt that I should show my support for the latter petition, so signed it – a simple process which involved filling in my name, address, email etc. then confirming my signature by clicking a link in an email.

I was also a little worried that there were only 150 more votes for the ‘retain the ban’ petition that the ‘bring back the death penalty’ petition.

The interesting thing I noticed – and something that made me feel as though the human race had a lot more love and forgiveness than I gave credit for – was seeing that the number of votes for the ‘retaining the ban’ had increased to around 2500, whilst the number of votes to ‘bring back the death penalty’ had only increased to around 1000.

Of course it’s still early days, but I’m glad that there are others in the UK that have the same principles as myself and wish to steer the country away from bringing back the death penalty.

It gave me a happy glow inside

Ever fancied having a large life-sized stuffed animal around the house?

That’s not something I thought I’d never say!

The thought of getting a large stuffed toy animal – evn if it was a gift for one of the kids – filled me with dread about how I would transport it home and where I would keep it.

I’m young at heart and rather childish but it seemed that the grown-up within me was doing a fine job of keeping my natural impulses at bay.

But after seeing a large stuffed baby elephant up close in my buddy’s warehouse, I wanted one lol.

It’s difficult to describe to someone that’s never seen one how awesome these large stuffed animals are.

The very best stuffed animals are so realistic, it’s quite uncanny and they’re hand-finished by artists right down to the finest detail.

And, of course, the size is breathtaking – they’re made to exact specifications that replicate their real-life counterparts.

And they’re a great stuffed toy for children – I had images of my kids clambering over it and trying to ride it!

Anyway, here’s a few pictures of some of the coolest life sized stuffed animals available – it’s not the same as seeing them up close because it’s difficult to appreciate the detail but it’s the next best thing in this virtual world!

Life-sized stuffed elephant

Life sized stuffed giraffe

Life sized stuffed polar bear

Life sized stuffed orang utan

Life sized stuffed panda

Hey Guys,

Rumour has it that Omega, mad megalomaniac Timelord could be making a return to our screens in Part Two of this season’s Doctor Who, later this year.

But why the speculation? What clues have made some members of the Doctor Who fanbase suspect that Omega will be making an appearance?

Well, it basically comes down to the frequent occurrences of what appears to be the symbol for the Greek letter Omega (?).

Here’s a few examples:

Omega Symbol on River's Uniform

Omega Symbol on a Door

Omega Symbol on a Banner

So, just who is this Omega dude?

Omega was/is one of the greatest Timelords in Gallifreyan history.

In fact, it was he that gave Timelords the ability to time travel.

Time travel required a massive amount of power, so Omega created a supernova to get the necessary energy and was unfortunately killed during the process.

Or so the Timelords thought…

He was actually thrown into an antimatter universe within a black hole, where he awaited rescue by his kinsmen. The rescue never came and over time, he became consumed with hate for the Timelords and hungry for power.

He became the master of his antimatter universe and was able to create stuff just by willing it to be.

The problem was, although he was all-powerful in his antimatter Universe, he couldn’t leave it because if he tried, his Universe would collapse before he got out.

He created a singularity that made a bridge between the black hole and Earth with the plan of bringing the Doctor to his Universe to keep it running so that he could leave and take out his vengeance on the Timelords.

You can watch this story in The Three Doctors here.

In The Three Doctors, the Second and Third Doctors (with a little help from the First Doctor) are kidnapped by Omega and trapped in his antimatter universe.

They work out that Omega has become insane and his only weakness is his anger and self-control. They also discover that the singularity has consumed Omega’s body and it is only his will that remains in existence as you can see from the images below:

Omega with his mask on

Omega with his mask off

The Second Doctor also discovers that his recorder had fell into the TARDIS’s force field circuit and had been protected from changing into antimatter when it entered Omega’s universe.

He tries to give the force field unit to Omega but Omega’s temper gets the better of him and he knocks it out of The Doctor’s hands causing the recorder to fall out.

The matter and antimatter atoms cancel themselves out, Omega and his universe are destroyed, The Doctor’s return to their own universe and everyone lives happily ever after….

Well, not really, because a while later Omega returns in The Fifth Doctor’s story Arc of Infinity.

Omega in Arc of Infinity

In this story, Omega is again trying to get back out of his screwed-up Universe, just so that he can destroy it.

To do this, he needs to transfer his consciousness into The Doctor’s bio data.

Ultimately, the transfer takes place too soon and his body quickly begins to deteriorate.

Omega Deteriorating

Finally cornered by The Doctor and his companions, The Doctor is forced to destroy him by shooting him with a ray gun.

And so, Omega is once again destroyed…but for how long? Could he have somehow survived? And has he got plans to take his revenge on the Doctor later this season?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see

P.S. Omega also makes appearances in the Big Finish audio play Omega, the novel The Infinity Doctors and the gamebook Search for the Doctor.

Hey Guys,

I’ve just finished watching The Three Doctors, a four-part serial from the classic Doctor Who series.

I first watched it many years ago as a young whippersnapper and I’ve got to say I enjoyed it as much this time around as I did then.

It was originally broadcast in 1973, around five years before I was born but when I was growing up in the eighties there were lots of repeats of old Doctor Who stories from what I remember – either that or we had lots of Doctor Who VHS videos!

The story features the first three Doctors, William Hartnell (who actually only has bit parts in this serial), Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee and the three of them go up against the mighty Omega, who is perhaps the greatest Timelord in Gallifreyan history.

There are rumours circulating that Omega will be returning later this year in Part Two of the 6th series – a subject I’m planning on writing bout very soon – so I thought it would be prudent to re-watch theold episodes that this crazed megalomaniac appeared in.

Anywho, if you want to watch The Three Doctors online, check out the twelve videos below

And my article about Omega is here.

The Three Doctors Part 1 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 2 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 3 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 4 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 5 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 6 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 7 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 8 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 9 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 10 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 11 by tardismedia

The Three Doctors Part 12 by tardismedia

Apologies for not posting for a while – I’ve been working on a few secret projects that I’ll be telling you about in due course.

In the meantime, here’s a guest post from my pal, Tommo

——————

Hey everyone,

UPDATE: AUGUST 2011 – Exclusive Shirts are now half price.

If you’re like me and appreciate the finer things in life, always want to look your best and love to express your own unique individuality, you’ll love the awesome shirts I’m about to show you.

These exclusive shirts are made from the finest Italian fabrics and are adorned with beautiful seasonal prints.

But what makes them truly unique is that only 500 of each design are ever made and each has it’s own number between 1 and 500 hand-printed on the inside.

No wonder they’re some of the best shirts for men that money can buy (and quite a few celebrities have been spotted wearing these exclusive garments.

Here’s a couple of pics from the current season’s collection so you can see for yourself:

Marvel of Peru Shirt

Glass Floral Shirt

And here’s a link to the vendor.

Enjoy

Tommo

You may remember a while ago, I told you about a couple of guys that draw personalised caricatures from photos you send them.

I shared with you the awesome experience I had with them and the high quality of the custom caricature they did for me (here’s the original article).

Anyway, I used them again today to get a parting gift for one of my buddies who is leaving to live and work overseas for a year and he absolutely loved it

This time around, though, I got a cool 10% discount on my order – and you can, too,by following the steps below:

1. CLICK HERE to visit the website (opens in a new browser window/tab)
2. Order your custom caricature
3. When you get to the checkout, enter the discount code SUMMER10.

Have a great weekend