Jordy Blog

Planet for Blog Aggregation

I just finished setting up Planet blog aggregation software on planet.provolabs.com. It clearly needs some CSS work done on it, but all of the functionality is there.

I was worried that (without an prepackaged RPM) setting it up would be difficult, but installation was much easier than I anticipated. Because it’s just a python script run on a cron job, there were no new dependencies to resolve. Thanks for the help, Gabe.

As a side note, I’ve also added a bunch of much-needed links to my blogroll. Sorry to those of you who had been shunned for so long! Obviously there are more to add.

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Gary Thornock Gets Hired

My friend Gary told me he was just hired on as a contractor for Provo Labs doing php and mysql development.  It’s funny that I heard it from him rather than at work.

Gary is really into BSD and is a big supporter of Software for Starving Students.  It’ll be fun working with him.

Big Business & Technology Expo

A few Provo Labs companies will have booths at the Big Business & Technology Expo at UVSC on March 8 & 9. Should be fun.

Blastyx Renegade Marketing

It’s good to see some of Provo Labs’ Blastyx videos coming together. The Blastyx team has put a lot of work into these, and I think they’re doing a pretty good job. I especially liked “taking it out on monitor” at the end. Pretty cool, and pretty funny. Reminds me of my friend Dave Skousen who once asked my to gather a bunch of computers and monitors to blow up for some special effects stuff he was doing. Fun stuff.

I’m sure there’ll be much more renegade video to come. As a side note, these are being hosted (temporarily at least) on the CentOS Linux server that Gabe and I set up. It’s fun to see it get used.

Free DNS

I’m using a great free DNS service for the Provo Labs small business portfolio. EveryDNS lets you manage up to 20 URLs for free, but you get an unlimited number for 15 bucks or so. EveryDNS is a pretty cool service because it doesn’t abstract the details from you, and it’s much better to just do it yourself than wait for some dude to change it for you, especially if you plan on making a lot of changes like fast-moving companies do. Plus you (hopefully) get the added comfort of knowing it was done right, without having to make a bunch of phone calls and wait.

But enough about you…

I guess I have time to blog, now that I’m done with school. I just graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Business Managment from UVSC. It’s been long and sucky, but now it’s over. :) Actually, I rather enjoyed the experience and will look back with fondness. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue learning everyday, an effort that may actually be easier now that school is out.

A bit about me:

I’ve been married for almost 2 years and have 1 kid on the way, a (currently unnamed) girl due on Feb 15, 2006. My wife (Julie) is awesome and we both come from good, close families.

I served as a missionary for the LDS church in Joao Pessoa, Brazil. I speak fluent Portuguese and decent Spanish. I’m a big music fan and like to play guitar (another hobby long-neglected because of school).

I’m 27 years old and have worked for most of my life (since junior high) at Castle Rock, my dad’s souvenir shop in Orem, UT. It’s been great for me because I’ve been able to work with and learn from my dad, who is one of the kindest people in the world. It’s also been very flexible, which is important for anyone trying to succeed in school. I recently started a job as a “Small Business Portfolio / Project Manager” at Provo Labs, Paul B. Allen’s recently funded internet business incubator. My first day is tomorrow, and I’m excited to learn.

I’ve also been fairly involved in the open source community in Utah, co-founding the Utah Valley Linux Users Group and doing some (mostly nominal) work with the Software for Starving Students project.

Well, that’s probably enough for a first post. Don’t want to bore my 0 readers. :)