Ashkir [dot] com

Today at 10:30ish am, there was about 5 minutes of unscheduled downtime. Services are live once again.

As of late I’ve been helping a group of post-by-post role players on a role play game prepare to move their forum away from their free host that has had a lot of stability issues. I’ve spent a great amount of time helping them get their database converted and ready to migrate to MyBB.

This move happens in twelve hours. If all goes well, the Ashkir Network will have it’s first stable forum. Yup, we haven’t really had any forums of this size before! We’re used to more websites or blogs, not community based panels. The forum’s traffic is far lower then our previous experience, but, it’ll be an interesting challenge nonetheless.

Wish us luck. To the next frontier we go.

Tim wrote this post a while ago, I thought it was freaken hilarious as it made me laugh. But, the site it was on removed it. So, we decided to put it here as a guest post. This guest post is by Tim, marketer for CableDeals.org. He can be found on Twitter @TimLCooley.

Too many of console gaming systems have fitness program “games.” As gamers we know fitness is important and that is why we jump everywhere we go. The more elite people even throw a 360 into that jump just to show their athleticism. However sometimes after that epic boss fight the heart starts aching, not because the loot item you wanted got DKPed to some newb, but because the ticker ain’t quite ticking like it should. We all know real exercise is out of the question, so here are five acceptable ways to lose weight without affecting your game play.
Push-ups

Woah, woah not those things you do on the ground, heaven for bid. Push up the desk so that you can fit under it better. You will get a better look at your 33 inch monitor and you will have a more ergonomical use of the mouse and key board. You won’t burn a lot of calories here, but you will gain more posture points to be spent later when your back goes out on you.
Get in more intense gaming fights.

Ever been in one of those crazy raids that goes until 5 am and the last time you moved out of your chair was when you dropped your mouse on the floor? Yeah keep doing that. The more intense the fight the more engaged you will be and the more weight you will lose. Keep up those late night raids that are awesome for the hour glass figure!!

Put an arm weight on while you move your mouse around

Get rid of that rolly ball thing and start pumping some Mouse!! Yup just put the arm weight on and watch those pounds wash off. If this is getting too difficult and you start seeing your deaths increasing, put the weight on the other arm. That has to help, at least a little bit.

Only eat virtual food

Virtual food is healthy. There are much less carbohydrates, proteins and fats in all of those foods combined than anything in your fridge. There are no hydrogenated fatty oils either. No clean-up required is also a HUGE plus. Also you have a buffet at your disposal. Drop rates of meat can be slow, especially when you are killing condors, but the payoff will be amazing. A 24 hour strength boost is WAY better than any 5 hour energy.
Head bang

Too many times we have had FPS issues, some stupid troll in the forums or some smurfed out newb spam killing us. The best option during these horrific events is to bang your head on the keyboard. Once you have committed to this action do it with a purpose. Keep those core muscles engaged. Try keeping track of how many head bangs you get in a day. Then try to beat your record on a weekly basis or go for a time. Either way you will be burning a ton of calories. In no time you will get the warrior body you have always wanted.

I hope these exercise ideas get you motivated to continue to game while losing weight. Good luck with your gaming and fitness strategy. And I hope you earn the leet lootz you want and get the body you have always desired.

Note: These exercises are intended for the elite gamer. If this is you then consult your physician prior to attempting this weight loss routine. Results from this workout are not typical. Any harm caused by this workout is the sole responsibility of the guild master and should be taken seriously. If after two days you don’t lose 10 pounds follow-up with something else.
I would love to hear of any other ideas people have for losing weight while maintaining a killer ranking in PVP.

So, I was looking through my statistics. Apparently I’ve been having a visitor as of late that really seems to like the Smurfs Village guide! This visitor has been on this guide a few times and it was a nice surprise to me to learn this visitor is from the United States Justice Department, aka, our government!

So, Mr or Mrs Government agent! I hope you enjoyed the guide! Keep up your great work! Please let me know if anything confuses you on the smurfs village! Best of luck Mr or Mrs government agent! Please visit again!

I’ve been wanting to do this post for a while, but, I contacted some folks to get permission to use their logos for this blog article. I use some outstanding web services and software that others don’t use very much. I really think you all need to be using them too, because I highly recommend them. I’ll be making a short list of some of the most outstanding services I have used online. These are services that not many use, but, I recommend you all to take a look at.

Five: Kadoo

Kadoo is a file host created by DivShare. They are a file host that has great potential to be the lead in my opinion. Though, as of late they have been working on new features. But, stability is great. Storage space is amazing. And their support is freaken fantastic.

I have made countless suggestions to the people behind Kadoo and they have been all too keen to hear them. It seems they’re trying to take a social media approach to file sharing. I think it has great potential with API integration into leading software if a plugin were made for WordPress, FaceBook, or even Twitter. It’s a great way for web masters and gamers to share files back and forth and leave quick notes. It’s also a great way for students to work on a project that’s too big for their emails.

I know, DropBox is causing them to be pushed out of the scene. But, I think Kadoo has strong potential to push back. Their limits are more generous, their staff is easy to contact, and Kadoo is completely open over the web. They’re not focusing on direct access to your computer. Kadoo is focusing on through your browser. Your browser is their future. I think they have an amazing future. Wouldn’t it be awesome to upload a .zip file you’re blogging about through a simple option on your blog creation page and have it listed as the download instead of using your web host’s limits? I think so too!

Kadoo, play your cards right. I think you have the potential to conquer the world of file sharing.

Visit Kadoo

Four: WordPress

WordPress is a leading blog software. They have done great things and are a powerhouse in the blogging world ranging from their remotely hosted blog software to their standalone software. I personally use and recommend their standalone software available through their .org domain.

Why WordPress over the rest? WordPress has a wealth of plugins that makes them much more powerful. With many theme options from independent developers from free to paid offers a wealth of designs. Many themes offer a large amount of customized options. They range from new banner, to new background. Some themes have more complex features with entire color choices to rearranging of content as well. However, most of the best themes are premium and are available from ThemeForest.

WordPress is used by myself on this blog you are reading. By my friend Kate at Divergent Musings or Cassie at Cassomatic. I even use it myself for a photoblog at Nick’s Place. Flexibility is the key part of WordPress that you can turn it into a CMS (content management system) to be a main website instead of just a simple blog.

WordPress really is a press of words on the internet.

Visit WordPress

Three: AboutUs

Wikis are a world that the world has come to appreciate over the last few years. AboutUs is one of the few major players that have taken advantage of the small group of talented wiki content creators. They have hired some of the best persons in the wiki world and are working on redefining what wiki is, while holding true to the nature of the wiki.

It took a while for AboutUs to figure out their direction. They were at first just a directory of websites where people can review a website and webmasters can add information, history, etc about their history. Over time it molded into a resource for information about the background of a service. When there was a major crib recall and the provider’s website crashed, they used AboutUs to help push the recall information out. Some people used it for a resume with their domain name, and others used it as a page for the community.

After a while AboutUs turned to a new direction with some new talented staff members to help with SEO. They built a powerful pay for SEO tool that I actually got to test out. I currently don’t use it at this time, but, if you want to learn SEO I highly recommend it. They have a place that teaches you about SEO with the latest tips and tricks. They teach you the internet, how to rank yourself all for free. Go to AboutUs.org/Learn to learn about the web in ways you never thought possible. These are some of the best in the world writing those articles. Take advantage of it.

AboutUs is about you. It is about all of us, the people and websites that make up the internet.

Visit AboutUs

Two: Name.com

My domain registrar is Name.com and, man, how do I love them? I must have recommended them a dozen times over. There are very few web services that I highly recommend more so then anything. Which is why this took the second place.

They have been amazing with support over the years. There was a while when some company in Europe wanted my domain (Ashkir.com) because they wanted to do a studio with the same name. I got worried and asked Name.com what I can do, and they told me my domain is safe and they have no rights because I actively use it! I am the first known registrar to this name and they are willing to go out and beyond and protect me.

They have been great, and great support. When I discovered a bug they stamped it out within hours. Their interface is easy to use. Their DNS updates super quickly! Almost every change I’ve ever made with them, registration, name servers changes, have happened almost instantly. A friend made a mistake when registering a domain name with a simple typo, they fixed it within five minutes of registration and got the correct one. They were freaken FANTASTIC about everything.

Need a domain name? Stop looking, and go directly to these folks.

Visit Name.com

One: BigWetFish

Last, but not least. First place goes to BigWetFish. These folks are my web host. Yes, of course I offer web hosting to some friends, this is because I have a reseller account with these fantastic people.

BigWetFish has always been fast at fixing issues I have had. They answered my questions all the time quickly. Their price is hard to beat. Several of my internet friends use them for their own websites. BigWetFish has seen a lot of growth over the last few years and I hope and expect to see much more growth in the next few years and onward.

I don’t like large web hosts due to the fact that they end up shafting the customer or becoming unreliable. BigWetFish experienced growth, expansion to the United States. Their expansion made me happy because I’m an American. They have costumers around the world that all highly respect them, and, a great loyal base. The reason why… I personally believe is why I like them. They treat me like a person, an individual. With their expansions and constant growth, they continue to treat me this way. They are not outsourcing their support to people whom don’t understand English or the service being offered.

BigWetFish has a bright future in web hosting. If you need a web host I highly recommend them. They’re a paid service, but, is very well worth the money. (Be sure to mention my name if you sign up!)

Visit BigWetFish

What are some web services that you use that not many others? Please let me know! I’m very interested in them! Why do you like the service you use so much? This was my list, I hope you enjoyed.