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If you've got it...
2019-08-09
It's been awhile since we've had a bleg. You know how I always hate to ask, and I sincerely thank those of you who make regular monthly donations. Blegging makes me feel like I have greasy ringlets of hair and four teeth and I'm standing on a traffic island holding a sign claiming to be homeless.

Actually I have a perfectly nice home, thank you. I still have a dwindling number of my teeth, with the help of my VA dentist. What little remains of my hair is usually grease-free; there's not enough there to retain it.

I have a PayPal account set up that's supposed to cover hosting, hardware purchases, and occasionally beer or strong drink. I used to have an Amazon account for those who couldn't stand PayPal, but Amazon long ago decided I wasn't a good cause and dumped me. I've looked at other approaches, but none is quite as convenient (for me, anyway) as Paypal, meaning I'm either too dumb or too impatient to navigate the sign-up process.

Hardware isn't desperate at the moment; it's been six months since the server's even needed a restart, which is a record. I still need to keep the cost of a new one set aside for when she does go kaput. I've noticed that talking about how reliable a server is usually causes it to start emitting smoke or something.

Hosting is $110 a month. It used to be cheaper, but it's only gone up by ten bucks in ten years. That's $1320 a year.

I still drink cheap beer, but the price of Jim Beam is getting exorbitant. I'm drinking JD at the moment, but I prefer Beam, which is about $25 a quart.

We're coming up on eighteen years of the Burg. I wrote it from scratch, in three different programming languages, and I've maintained it through three or four databases. The archives are there for anyone who wants to use them, going back to 9-11-01. It's a better site than it was when it started out, and I learned a lot of what I made a career from in writing it and maintaining it. I miss doing the Bloid every night, but my hands aren't quite up to it anymore. Thank you, US Government and Dow Chemical.

I think we've all learned a lot about the enemy from the Burg in the past nearly eighteen years. There's not another site quite like it, at least not that I've found, and I keep (sometimes sporadically) trying to make it better, with the kind help of current and former mods.

Pardon my long-windedness. The subject is, if you've got it, please kick in. I'd be happy to keep at it for the next eighteen years, and then I'll be happy to hand it off to somebody else who'll love it and take care of it (and obsess over it) like I do. But I'm running low on supplies.

Fred
Posted by:Fred

#40  Done! Between the knowledgable commenters, the snarks, and Rantburg U - well worth it!
Posted by: CrazyFool   2019-08-09 14:31  

#39  Done. I truly enjoy your site, Fred.
Posted by: BA   2019-08-09 13:52  

#38  Found it!
Posted by: Creling Pelosi3622   2019-08-09 13:31  

#37  As soon as I find the PayPal button I will donate.
Posted by: Creling Pelosi3622   2019-08-09 13:18  

#36  

Yummy! Injun hooch!
Posted by: Fred   2019-08-08 14:37  

#35  Another bottle all the way from India. And God bless.


But, I think Indian hooch beats JB any day. It gets the bloody job done the first time.☺


Posted by: Dron66046   2019-08-08 13:41  

#34  I may ghost a lot on the 'burg, but I come by more often than daily. Thanks Fred: as a programmer, I was glad to hear that maintaining and updating the site helped you out in your career.

Iblis, I meet your one quart of JB, and raise ya one bottle. (Of course, it'll be Fred raising the bottle, but you know what I mean...)
Posted by: Ptah   2019-08-08 12:37  

#33  In for 1 bottle of JB.
Posted by: Iblis   2019-08-08 11:12  

#32  Putting my meager contribution into a separate credit union account until I figure out how to send it without going through paypal.
Posted by: jpal   2019-08-08 10:50  

#31  Donation sent in this morning. Thanks Fred, for all you do.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2019-08-08 10:44  

#30  #28 jpal dear, in the yellow box in the right margin of the main page of Rantburg, the second hotlink is labelled Email Me

Sorry, my eyesight ain't what it used to be.
Posted by: jpal   2019-08-08 10:17  

#29  Done! Thank you for this website - it's one of the few I visit regularly these days.
Posted by: KBK   2019-08-07 23:46  

#28  jpal dear, in the yellow box in the right margin of the main page of Rantburg, the second hotlink is labelled Email Me. That will open a pre-addressed (but not stamped, because the post office never got its claws into the internet, thank goodness) email for you to use to communicate privately to Fred.
Posted by: trailing wife   2019-08-07 22:43  

#27  #19 Check? Email me for my address.
Posted by Fred


Fred I would love to send you a check for keeping this site alive it's the first place I go to every morning. But I can't find an email address for you on the site. Sorry I can't use PayPal.
Posted by: jpal   2019-08-07 21:34  

#26  Done. And thanks to everyone who contribute money, insights, information and laughs to Rantburg
Posted by: Airandee   2019-08-07 20:51  

#25  Will do. I almost missed the post.
Posted by: Woodrow   2019-08-07 20:48  

#24  yep
Posted by: Frank G   2019-08-07 20:14  

#23  Too many, Frank.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2019-08-07 19:34  

#22  Love Reading the Headlines Here
Posted by: Shatch Omoter3380   2019-08-07 19:07  

#21  a little extra this time in remembrance of Lucky, Mucky, Pappy, .com, Ship, ....damn

So many
Posted by: Frank G   2019-08-07 18:59  

#20  Done, thx for all you do, Fred. Been here from the start, I reckon, and my comment count ;-)
Posted by: Frank G   2019-08-07 18:57  

#19  Check? Email me for my address.
Posted by: Fred   2019-08-07 18:04  

#18  The usual. I go thru PayPal, but use a credit card. Not PayPal, which is credit, and a statement.
Posted by: Bobby   2019-08-07 17:22  

#17  I didn't realize the monthly thing had expired. Sorry. Fixed now. If you need more mail me.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2019-08-07 17:20  

#16  Can't use PayPal due to an ongoing dispute. Can you take a check?
Posted by: Tyranysaurus Criger8558   2019-08-07 16:30  

#15  Thanks Frank.

Done.
Posted by: The peanut gallery   2019-08-07 15:05  

#14  that's it. From the Righth@ven days
Posted by: Frank G   2019-08-07 14:16  

#13  The Paypal button points to "the rantburg defense fund" which may be from the era of copyright trolls. Is that the right account?
Posted by: The peanut gallery   2019-08-07 13:51  

#12  On the way.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy   2019-08-07 13:22  

#11  DONE also
Posted by: ranture   2019-08-07 13:00  

#10  Done, not much but what I can afford with new baby.

Hey Hey, Congratulations!

Have a jar of Bee/Not Bee I'll get cashed in here.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2019-08-07 12:46  

#9  Thanks Fred for all that you do. A little is on the way--at least enough to keep you in JD or JB for a little while.
Posted by: JohnQC   2019-08-07 11:03  

#8  Done and done!
Here's to another two decades.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2019-08-07 10:43  

#7  PayPal has actually proven itself to be pretty handy for a lot of things. Done.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-08-07 09:11  

#6  ╱╱┏╮
╱╱┃┃
▉━╯┗━╮
▉┈┈┈┈┃
▉╮┈┈┈┃
╱╰━━━╯
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2019-08-07 09:09  

#5  When I get home this afternoon, Sir....
Posted by: Frank G   2019-08-07 09:07  

#4  Here's a little.....you're better and cheaper than a shrink.
Posted by: AlanC   2019-08-07 07:14  

#3  Happy to pitch in!
Posted by: magpie   2019-08-07 04:07  

#2  Done, not much but what I can afford with new baby.
Posted by: Silentbrick   2019-08-07 02:27  

#1  Done
Posted by: Procopius2k   2019-08-07 01:54  

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