NowTHINK!AboutIt

How To Transfer Domains To NameCheap

June 14, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Paying More
Won’t Make Your Domain
More Valuable

I recently transferred a domain name from SiteGround To NameCheap. This post will explain how to do that and give you compelling reasons why you should.

I own several undeveloped domain names, one of which is my avatar name, ennisp. I decided to buy the name because it is the one I use almost exclusively for my profile on registered accounts. It’s also my name so it made sense to buy it.

I bought it originally through SiteGround. SiteGround was hosting my developed sites, like this one, and I really enjoyed their service. Registering names in the same place was convenient. It made sense, or so I thought.

I’ve learned since that SiteGround isn’t a registrar. They resell Tucows registration service which means they buy the service inexpensively and resell higher.

If you didn’t know, domains are registered by the year. You can renew for multiple years but you pay for registration by the year. The problem with SiteGround registrations becomes apparent when renewal is up.

That’s when the gouge comes.

I received notification that my domain, ennisp.com, was up for renewal and would auto renew in 30 days. The price was also listed and it really surprised me.

Annual registration: $14.95
Privacy: $24.00

Almost $40 just to renew a name I hadn’t developed yet! The renewal rate was about standard but the privacy was about twice the industry norm.

I had to go elsewhere.

And it just so happened that a friend had recently renewed through NameCheap and the total cost for renewal and privacy was about $10! A savings of $30. I’m in!

But, of course, to use NameCheap I had to transfer the name to the NameCheap servers. Sounds a bit daunting but here’s how it’s done.

Transfer Process

Domain services are standardized so the procedure for transferring names from one service to another is the same for all. [Read more…] about How To Transfer Domains To NameCheap

Politics, Religion And Half-Loaf Thinking

June 14, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

You Can’t
Believe In Others
If You Don’t
Believe In Self

There are two things that every person should understand.

One is that Jesus saves. Not by accident, not occasionally and not under protest. He wants to save souls. You could say He loves to save and He isn’t alone in that sentiment. Heaven rejoices when just one soul repents.

A second important truth to understand is that Jesus believes in people. I didn’t say He loves people. He loves them, yes, but one of the ways He shows He loves them is by believing in them. Believing in a person is the strongest way to say I love you.

We use the word “love” all the time and we love many things. Saying you love some person or group of persons is culturally expected and politically correct, but it is neither real nor convincing till your actions say “I believe in you!”

Of these two understandings, the most important is the second, believing in people.

I can’t save anyone. You can’t save anyone. Only Jesus can do that. Neither you nor I can even confirm if a person is genuinely saved or not. I might believe someone is saved or want to believe they are saved but there is no way I can prove it.

Only Jesus can save a soul and only Jesus knows absolutely who is and who is not saved. But, even though I can’t save a soul, I can believe in people. You can too. Any person can do this.

Unfortunately, we don’t do this as well as we should and I will admit that it isn’t easy to do. It’s easy to believe in charming people. Extraordinarily capable people inspire belief. Thinking of these people as can-do requires little faith. Ability, confidence and potential ooze from them.

But the idiots and jerks are another story. Those are the ones we struggle to believe in. In fact, the apparent inability of our peers – the turkeys – is often used as an excuse. We don’t soar because we are surrounded by them. It’s their fault, which means we don’t believe in ourselves either.

Rigid Us/Them Thinking

One situation that demonstrates the problem is in personal differences. When we differ, we drift apart and then we feud. Varying perspectives don’t just fail to align, they become enemy lines. The middle ground becomes a chasm, and the chasm widens: me or you, us or them, acceptable or unacceptable, good or bad, our side or their side.

It’s all very polarizing! [Read more…] about Politics, Religion And Half-Loaf Thinking

7 Thoughts On Processing Anger

June 12, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Good Humor Needs Anger
To Deal
With Reality

Going Postal is a catch phrase popularized in the last few decades. In everyday usage it often connotes humour, but the phrase stems from very tragic events.

In at least 20 separate incidence between the years 1986 and 1997, 40 individuals were gunned down in various post office locations by people who worked at the post office or had worked there in the past. Hence the term Going Postal.

The one thing all the perpetrators had in common was anger. In each case the anger had been boiling under the surface and eventually erupted in murderous rage, otherwise known as workplace rage. Consequently, anger is thought of only in bad terms. It gets a bad wrap.

Ridding society of anger, however, is not the solution. Anger has actually served many useful purposes.

It is because people became angry that:

Slavery was ended
Women were allowed to vote
Workers wages were made livable
Divorce laws were made more humane
Rhinos could be protected
Nature could be preserved

These milestones represent great progress in the development of human culture. Anger was a motivating force behind each. That means anger isn’t a bad thing and the Bible agrees.

Be angry, and sin not: don’t let the sun go down upon your wrath. (Ephesians 4:26)

Marriage illustrates this well. According to Hannah Fry, good marriages are the ones in which the partners have a low threshold for negativity. That is, rather than let small irritations go, strong marriages are those in which the partners mention them immediately. Marriages in which partners ignore irritations are the ones vulnerable to spiralling into a divorce rage.

Since small irritations, though harmless in the moment, have the potential to spiral into death-grip rage we need to talk about anger. [Read more…] about 7 Thoughts On Processing Anger

Why Develop Your Own Domain Name

June 9, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

A Domain Name
Is
A Website

I started websiting back in 2008 and my first site was a Blogger blog. I knew nothing when I started. I’ve learned a lot since.

When I began, Blogger was free and popular, and seemed like a quick way to start so it made sense to use the Blogger platform. I soon realized it wasn’t that simple. It takes just as much effort to develop a canned website as it does to select and self host your own domain name.

I also realized that it is never entirely yours or what you want.

The domain name I had in mind (thinkaboutit) wasn’t available on Blogger and whatever name I chose was followed by the words blogspot.com anyway. It was never going to be my name.

There were also no names even distantly similar. The domain name I eventually chose, taitoday, was the closest thing I could get. There was no winning!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not badmouthing Blogger. It got me started and I’m thankful for what the experience taught me about domain names and websiting.

After becoming frustrated with the limitations, though, I did a little research and took the plunge.

I’ve also started thinking specifically about domain names and have bought a few. Following are three examples and they are for sale.

SplainThat.com ($218.00)
AskingNotSaying.com ($202.00)
ThinkingNotSaying.com ($197.00)

If you are thinking about starting a website and you find one of these names useful, contact me and we can go from there. Otherwise you can use a site like NameCheap to find and register a name you prefer. Registration and privacy run around $10.00. You can’t find it less expensive than NameCheap.com.

If you’re not sure, following are the options to choose from. [Read more…] about Why Develop Your Own Domain Name

The Most Important Person In Your Life

June 1, 2016 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

The Most Important
Person
Is Not
Who You Think

I recently attended the memorial service of an acquaintance whose death was a shock to everyone. She was quite young. She left two school aged children and a husband who loved her. In fact, everyone loved her. The service was packed, standing room only, which says a lot about the impression she made on folks.

While sitting in the service it occurred to me that we don’t know when or how death might come knocking and it would behoove us all to ask and answer the question:

If I were to die tomorrow and knew it today, what would I consider the most important thing in my life in the present?

My first thought was, that’s a great topic for a sermon, but after thinking about it a bit my enthusiasm was flattened. My original idea wasn’t to think up a collection of Most-Important issues from which you could make a selection. Take some, leave some. I was focused on the ABSOLUTELY most important things for every person. The list I wanted to write included only imperatives. No possibles or maybes.

And you’re probably thinking the same question that occurred to me. How can you say that? We’re all different.

But then I thought again and realized there are a few things that are Most-Important for everyone. Let me explain. [Read more…] about The Most Important Person In Your Life