ironSoap

Just a quick note to say that we’re about to have some changes ’round here. After years of being hosted by the kind folks at eggsites, we’re moving on. This means I need to switch webhosts and I’ve selected (with a quality recommendation from Ryan) Dreamhost.

Here’s what this means:

• I’ll probably be upgrading WordPress to 2.x, which means (if you recall last year’s switch from self-hosting to managed hosting via 888.net) probably some growing pains and/or archive loss. To me, losing the archives isn’t that big of a deal but some people have griped about the loss of previous entries so I’ll do what I can. And I do retain all the old data, even if it isn’t really accessible and I have Big Plans for that data down the road which I’m sure I’ll talk about later on.
• There may be, as part of the growing pains, some outages. I like to pretend I know what I’m doing when it comes to managing websites, but the truth is I’m pretty clueless so if you come to ironSoap one day and it is gone, rest assured it will be back at some juncture as soon as I figure out how to cover up my stupid blundering.
• When I come back online we’ll probably be using a new site design, probably something similar to this.
• I have the following domains registered: ironsoap.org, ironsoap.com, ironsoap.net, irnsoap.info and ironsoap.info. They will all work even after the move, but they should all redirect to ironsoap.org (which is the one I prefer) so you’ll no longer see the others in your address bar, no matter what you type in or have bookmarked.
• There are two other sites that are inexorably linked to ironSoap: eFaithFarm.com (my brother’s site) and Anthrocide.com (my dad’s site). Those will be moving with me, so if you’re a fan of those sites (and why wouldn’t you be?) they may be experiencing some weirdness as well. Most of what applies above for ironSoap probably applies in turn for those sites except I don’t think eFF will be upgrading its WordPress so it should look and work identically and lose no archived content.
• Speaking of Anthrocide.com, once the moves have been made you should be seeing new content on that site (I’ve been sitting on it for way too long being a general slacker) including a couple of new books.
• I use the word “probably” too much.

Before I start babbling about video games again, I feel compelled to mention that I went to the Giants game last night and despite their sad, sad loss to the previously slumping Chicago Cubs, it was a nice night to watch a ballgame. We had killer seats about 30 rows back right off of first base (which in Pac Bell SBC AT&T Park is three rows under the second deck so we weren’t in great position for foul ball retrieval) and it was a pleasant evening, weather-wise.

Of course seeing the Giants game meant missing the Sharks play, so Nik watched the game for me (although they played some highlights on the JumboTron during the seventh-inning stretch and the old guy sitting in front of us kept giving score updates). The triple overtime loss was disappointing, but they had won six games in a row and were bound to come back to earth eventually. I’m glad that Toskala was as sharp as can be expected but I’m starting to get a little concerned with the Sharks relative lack of offense. They’ve played over four and half games against these chumps now and they’ve only managed to get six pucks in the net? Come on, where’s the love? If the Sharks manage to get past Edmonton and end up playing the Ducks, they’re going to need a lot more than two goals per game to beat those guys.

You Didn’t Think I’d Stop Talking About E3, Did You?

So more as a follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of my plans for the “Next Generation” of console gaming than anything else, I present Exhibit A and Exhibit B for why I was on the right track about thinking Sony’s PS3 was the weakest of all offerings. Peter Moore even points out that by the time all three systems are launched you’ll probably be able to get both the 360 and Wii for the price of the PS3.

Of course I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony either rethinks their pricing strategy based on that fact or does more incremental price drops (for example instead of waiting a year or so until there is enough production cost saving to warrant a $50 or $100 price dip, they do a $20 price slash every four or five months).

I also find it interesting that everyone was so wound up after Nintendo announced the Wii name but like three days later they were showing off the system’s capabilities and letting people give it a shot and now you can’t find anyone still whining about the name, it’s all “Ooh, check out Mario! Whoa, did you hear that Solid Snake is in Super Smash Brothers?”

Also, add one more notch in the Rope of Resistance that I figuratively dangle from trying to resist the urge to buy a 360. That notch is cut by the emerging details of Bioware’s new game Mass Effect. Good gravy that looks (and sounds) sweet.