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#1
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Beware of Rob Halgren! (*grin*)
You may recall that on 4/30 I posted here about my orchid withdrawal
symptoms, and how I was trying to avoid the temptation of buying more orchids immediately, but that I kept visiting orchid vendor's Web sites, and that I needed more Paphs, ... Well, I got an email from Rob Halgren, enquiring whether I had visited his Little Frog Farm web site. And me, weak willed as I am, I gave in to the temptation and went and looked. It's a nice site. Luckily for me none of the Paphs on my wish list were in the online catalogue, so I thought I was safe. Until Rob emailed me the following day, saying that he had discovered some more extra paphs in his greenhouse, and would I have any interest in any of those. And first on the list was Paph Magic Lantern, which was pretty much on top of my wish list, too. So I had to give in, and I agreed to buy it. But then Rob informs me that he's got a special going on, that anyone who buys an orchid from him this month, also gets a bonus plant free. I had missed that while browsing the site, but Rob being all helpful just had to point it out! sigh Like I'm gonna say no to a free additional orchid. Yeah, right. Disregarding the rule that one does not examine the teeth of a free horse, I shamelessly demanded whether that bonus plant could be a paph. Rob suggested a nice Phrag. I asked whether a Phrag could do well in my conditions. Rob reassured me. I kept pestering him with more questions. Writing lengthy emails pretty much every day, and Rob kept answering every day, even though I had already paid, so the sale was a given. So today I got the shipment. And after having extracted the two plants that I had expected, Paph Magic Lantern and Phrag Ecua-Bess, to my great surprise I discovered a third orchid in the sea of peanuts, a paph wardii. Rob, when confronted with this, claimed that he just wanted to make sure I was satisfied in case I had my heart set on a bonus paph after all, and he denies that he is evil, just misunderstood, grin. I still maintain that he is evil ;-), taking advantage of poor me in my weak-willed state of mind, unable to resist, and then increasing my orchid collection by 3 --charging only for one-- and one of them's a Phrag! What if it does well? Then I might not only be a Phal and Paph addict, but might become a Phrag addict too! I knew that orchids were determined to take over the world, but now it turns out that Rob is in cahoots with them. Oh, ok, maybe it's not that much of a surprise given his sig. But his sig at least gives the hope that limited credit might slightly delay the expansionist tendencies of orchids, until one gets more credit. Whereas Rob's behavior toward me seems to suggest that even if I had limited credit, I will still be inundated with orchids, three at a time! Remember I last bought three orchids on April 16th before that. If I continue to acquiring them at this rate, ... But there is no chance of that, since my acquisition rate continues to increase. The trouble is that I will have to buy more orchids, in bloom this time, once most of my Phals wilt when the summer comes, and the main blooming time peaks.And my husband is no help either, being very understanding and even encouraging of my addiction -- one of the orchids that we bought in April was one that he insisted upon. Well, at least I can console myself in this most difficult time with three very nice healthy orchids. It's tough to be me. grin Joanna |
#2
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Yeah, Rob's been a dangerous participant online for years. All that "rules"
crap that influenced us all into spending more and more money. Sheesh. If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing his site. -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "J Fortuna" wrote in message news:z%Rge.25220$hh6.758@trnddc01... You may recall that on 4/30 I posted here about my orchid withdrawal symptoms, and how I was trying to avoid the temptation of buying more orchids immediately, but that I kept visiting orchid vendor's Web sites, and that I needed more Paphs, ... Well, I got an email from Rob Halgren, enquiring whether I had visited his Little Frog Farm web site. And me, weak willed as I am, I gave in to the temptation and went and looked. It's a nice site. Luckily for me none of the Paphs on my wish list were in the online catalogue, so I thought I was safe. Until Rob emailed me the following day, saying that he had discovered some more extra paphs in his greenhouse, and would I have any interest in any of those. And first on the list was Paph Magic Lantern, which was pretty much on top of my wish list, too. So I had to give in, and I agreed to buy it. But then Rob informs me that he's got a special going on, that anyone who buys an orchid from him this month, also gets a bonus plant free. I had missed that while browsing the site, but Rob being all helpful just had to point it out! sigh Like I'm gonna say no to a free additional orchid. Yeah, right. Disregarding the rule that one does not examine the teeth of a free horse, I shamelessly demanded whether that bonus plant could be a paph. Rob suggested a nice Phrag. I asked whether a Phrag could do well in my conditions. Rob reassured me. I kept pestering him with more questions. Writing lengthy emails pretty much every day, and Rob kept answering every day, even though I had already paid, so the sale was a given. So today I got the shipment. And after having extracted the two plants that I had expected, Paph Magic Lantern and Phrag Ecua-Bess, to my great surprise I discovered a third orchid in the sea of peanuts, a paph wardii. Rob, when confronted with this, claimed that he just wanted to make sure I was satisfied in case I had my heart set on a bonus paph after all, and he denies that he is evil, just misunderstood, grin. I still maintain that he is evil ;-), taking advantage of poor me in my weak-willed state of mind, unable to resist, and then increasing my orchid collection by 3 --charging only for one-- and one of them's a Phrag! What if it does well? Then I might not only be a Phal and Paph addict, but might become a Phrag addict too! I knew that orchids were determined to take over the world, but now it turns out that Rob is in cahoots with them. Oh, ok, maybe it's not that much of a surprise given his sig. But his sig at least gives the hope that limited credit might slightly delay the expansionist tendencies of orchids, until one gets more credit. Whereas Rob's behavior toward me seems to suggest that even if I had limited credit, I will still be inundated with orchids, three at a time! Remember I last bought three orchids on April 16th before that. If I continue to acquiring them at this rate, ... But there is no chance of that, since my acquisition rate continues to increase. The trouble is that I will have to buy more orchids, in bloom this time, once most of my Phals wilt when the summer comes, and the main blooming time peaks.And my husband is no help either, being very understanding and even encouraging of my addiction -- one of the orchids that we bought in April was one that he insisted upon. Well, at least I can console myself in this most difficult time with three very nice healthy orchids. It's tough to be me. grin Joanna |
#3
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Ray wrote:
Yeah, Rob's been a dangerous participant online for years. All that "rules" crap that influenced us all into spending more and more money. Sheesh. If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing his site. I appreciate Joanna's kind review, but I was a complete idiot yesterday at about 4:00 and I blew away the entire website... Sigh... Anyway, I'm rebuilding it from approximately scratch, hopefully it will be reasonably functional by the end of today. Don't have too much fun Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#4
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check with your service provider. They usually make backups every 24 hours
and you may still be able to get a copy restored online. "Rob Halgren" wrote in message ... Ray wrote: Yeah, Rob's been a dangerous participant online for years. All that "rules" crap that influenced us all into spending more and more money. Sheesh. If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing his site. I appreciate Joanna's kind review, but I was a complete idiot yesterday at about 4:00 and I blew away the entire website... Sigh... Anyway, I'm rebuilding it from approximately scratch, hopefully it will be reasonably functional by the end of today. Don't have too much fun Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#5
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Al wrote:
check with your service provider. They usually make backups every 24 hours and you may still be able to get a copy restored online. Darn good idea... Wish I had thought of that.. Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#6
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On Fri, 13 May 2005 06:05:30 -0400 in Ray wrote:
Yeah, Rob's been a dangerous participant online for years. All that "rules" crap that influenced us all into spending more and more money. Sheesh. If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing his site. Whew, I'm saved, he yanked the catalog lastnight. -- Chris Dukes Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil |
#7
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Oh crap!
Like the old DOS days: C:\ C:\ Dir A: Enter (get the listing) C:\ Del *.* (intending it to be the files on the floppy) Enter C:\ All files will be deleted. Are you sure (Y/N)? C:\ Y Enter Oh (*^*)%$*^#&^%&^$%(&!!!!!! -- Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info! "Rob Halgren" wrote in message ... Ray wrote: Yeah, Rob's been a dangerous participant online for years. All that "rules" crap that influenced us all into spending more and more money. Sheesh. If anyone needs me, I'll be browsing his site. I appreciate Joanna's kind review, but I was a complete idiot yesterday at about 4:00 and I blew away the entire website... Sigh... Anyway, I'm rebuilding it from approximately scratch, hopefully it will be reasonably functional by the end of today. Don't have too much fun Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#8
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On Fri, 13 May 2005 17:28:41 -0400, "Ray"
wrote: Oh crap! Like the old DOS days: C:\ C:\ Dir A: Enter (get the listing) C:\ Del *.* (intending it to be the files on the floppy) Enter C:\ All files will be deleted. Are you sure (Y/N)? C:\ Y Enter Oh (*^*)%$*^#&^%&^$%(&!!!!!! Why oh Why does that look SO familiar? At least you didn't make it recursive DEL *.* C:\ -a -r -s..... Dave |
#9
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Dave Fouchey wrote:
On Fri, 13 May 2005 17:28:41 -0400, "Ray" wrote: Oh crap! Like the old DOS days: C:\ C:\ Dir A: Enter (get the listing) C:\ Del *.* (intending it to be the files on the floppy) Enter C:\ All files will be deleted. Are you sure (Y/N)? C:\ Y Enter Oh (*^*)%$*^#&^%&^$%(&!!!!!! Why oh Why does that look SO familiar? At least you didn't make it recursive DEL *.* C:\ -a -r -s..... Dave Although now, after Al's advice, I'm starting to get really annoyed with my hosting company. They have always responded to a request within a few minutes to an hour before. Its been over ten hours since I first requested assistance, and 4 since I 'gently' reminded them, and still I haven't heard a peep. I'm losing money here... On a unix machine, you can simplify things by typing: rm -rf / That will about do it. Although I wasn't _that_ stupid... Rob |
#10
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On Fri, 13 May 2005 19:59:34 -0400, halgren wrote:
Dave Fouchey wrote: On Fri, 13 May 2005 17:28:41 -0400, "Ray" wrote: Oh crap! Like the old DOS days: C:\ C:\ Dir A: Enter (get the listing) C:\ Del *.* (intending it to be the files on the floppy) Enter C:\ All files will be deleted. Are you sure (Y/N)? C:\ Y Enter Oh (*^*)%$*^#&^%&^$%(&!!!!!! Why oh Why does that look SO familiar? At least you didn't make it recursive DEL *.* C:\ -a -r -s..... Dave Although now, after Al's advice, I'm starting to get really annoyed with my hosting company. They have always responded to a request within a few minutes to an hour before. Its been over ten hours since I first requested assistance, and 4 since I 'gently' reminded them, and still I haven't heard a peep. I'm losing money here... On a unix machine, you can simplify things by typing: rm -rf / That will about do it. Although I wasn't _that_ stupid... Rob In case you're not aware of the site, the Wayback Machine at www.archive.org takes snapshots of webpages and keeps track of the changes. I know a couple people who have used the archives to help recover their crashed/hacked sites. I took a look for Little Frog Farm, and it seems the site hasn't drawn the attention of the archiving spiders yet, so it might be a good idea to submit the site address for future archiving. I did, however, manage to find at least a couple of familiar sites to rgo readers. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.jborchids.com http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.firstrays.com --Vic |
#12
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On Fri, 13 May 2005 22:19:09 -0400, halgren wrote:
I had forgotten about the wayback machine... But the problem isn't the HTML portion of the site, I had a copy of that. It was the database that wasn't backed up. My own fault, of course. I certainly have that technology. I am a full time computer geek (well... computational biology. Same thing). It isn't all that bad, there weren't more than 20 or thirty things in the database that weren't customer records, and I have e-mail as a backup for the customers. I'm really more annoyed about the bad technical support I'm getting... My hosting company just merged (I think maybe 'bought out' is a better phrase) by a canadian company, and I think that might be the problem. There are a couple of good rules about computer backups: 1. Failures never happen when you've remembered to back up 2. Never trust anybody but you to have done your backups 3. Evidently, I shouldn't even trust me... Sigh... Hold the phones... They just popped up in my e-mail box. Politely telling me that I'm screwed... But at least they replied... Rob (littlefrogfarm.com - rebuild in progress) I hate to laugh but usually we experience things the other way around -- big U.S. company buys out Canadian firm and then our customer support vanishes like the dodo bird. It's good to know that the laws of customer abuse and neglect in relation to so-called business efficiency and productivity are a constant throughout the universe. g It doesn't sound like it should take you too long to get back up and running. Your database isn't that large, and I'm sure you've got a pretty good sense of what was in there. Good luck with the repopulation. As for backups........errrr........I'm in absolutely no position to make remarks about other people's neglect of that most vital computing process. So does anybody know what are the computing and Internet gods are accepting as payment for indulgences and protection these days? g --Vic |
#13
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Won't help for this time, but ... what I do is edit my file off-line, for
each page of my site. Then when I'm ready to upload the new version, I go online and rename the old one as a backup before uploading the new one -- so if the new is seriously messed up in a way that I couldn't catch in the offline test process, I can just go back and restore the last version. Good luck with it all, Kenni "Rob Halgren" wrote in message ... Al wrote: check with your service provider. They usually make backups every 24 hours and you may still be able to get a copy restored online. Darn good idea... Wish I had thought of that.. Rob -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
#14
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Kenni Judd wrote:
Won't help for this time, but ... what I do is edit my file off-line, for each page of my site. Then when I'm ready to upload the new version, I go online and rename the old one as a backup before uploading the new one -- so if the new is seriously messed up in a way that I couldn't catch in the offline test process, I can just go back and restore the last version. Good luck with it all, Kenni The big problem comes when your pages are dynamically generated from a database, and you blow your database away... That is harder to deal with. Regardless, the site is back up, if anybody wants to visit. Maybe it is even better than before... http://littlefrogfarm.com/shop -- Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com 1) There is always room for one more orchid 2) There is always room for two more orchids 2a) See rule 1 3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more orchids, obtain more credit |
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