Ryan the Geek » Ryan

Recycling Canadian .CA domain names (TBR)

Ryan — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:34:01 +0000

FACT: Every wednesday the CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) unleashes a fresh batch of orphaned domain names. These are domains that had been registered, but are no longer loved, and looking for a new home.

FACT: There are a lot of quality domain names that show up each week.

FACT: I’ve made it really easy to never miss a single one.

Domain Alerts is a little tool I’ve been personally using for a year now. It patrols the thousands of .CA domain names that are released each week, and informs me (by RSS feed) about the domains that contain my keywords.

If you’re in the market for good .CA domains, try out my Domain Alerts tool on this site. It’s all free.

Go to the TBR domain search and alert tool

A tutorial to make your website more fail-proof

Ryan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:45:23 +0000

I’ve just published a lengthy (5 page) tutorial on the process I use to make my web hosting a little more robust. It prevents the all-your-eggs-in-one-basket syndrome that can take down your entire online presence in one technical hiccup. Maybe not fail-proof, but at least more fail-resistant.

I actually wrote this up about a month ago, but held off on publishing because I realized it was near coma-inducing dull. So far, I haven’t figured out any way to make it more snappy, but hopefully it is as clear as possible. It should be straightforward enough for even a non-web-guru to follow and strengthen his/her website set-up.

Link: Strengthening your website with third-party services

Please make use of the comments section to ask for clarifications, questions, or your personal recommendations on the topic.

How to draw all over your web page with a highlighter marker

Ryan — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:08:04 +0000

Have you ever had the urge to draw attention to your text the old-school way?

I wrote up a complete tutorial on using HTML, CSS and a couple images to create realistic highlighter and pen underline effects on any web page.

Link: Underline and Highlight CSS Tutorial

My only request is that you use it with restraint.

Oh. Another PHP and Web Development blog. How cute.

Ryan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:00:08 +0000

Another day, another blog, another ho-hum introduction to aforementioned blog. The question (that, for the record, nobody is asking) is why?

Whether or not anybody is paying attention, I learn best by teaching. If I make myself write out an article or tutorial on a topic, then it will probably stick.
I often forget what I already know. If I blog as I go, at least I’ll be able to read myself later.
Someday down the road somebody will be facing the exact problem I have written about, and hopefully I can be of some service to them in their time of great need.

There we are. Three more reasons than I really needed to start this. Glad you agree.

I’m a gonna get this party started by digging out things I’ve already done, and getting them all shiny for the world to see. Stay tuned.