So I have had this hosting provider since 2005 and they have been bought out a couple times.  Some of the pluses though include the fact my email is hosted in Exchange, unlimited disk space, and supposed unlimited bandwidth (found that today).  I have never had any issues at all requiring extensive customer support until this past week.

Starting last week Windows Live Writer stopped posting correctly to my blog.  It had happened intermittently previously and I figured it was another glitch.  After the issue didn’t clear in 24 hours to the support console I went.

Date	Type
09/15/2011 12:10 AM EDT	Ticket Created
09/15/2011 12:10 AM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Subject:	Problems with libXML2
Customer Quote:	Earlier this year I started using XMLRPC to post content to my blog. Start in July I had incidents where posts would have the tags brackets(<>) stripped off. I ignored it figuring it was a glitch when it started working a couple days later.  Starting about the middle of last week though this issue has become permanent. While I was normally easily able to work around it, the work around fails when I am posting images.  Have there been any changes to the server configuration recently?  I know it was not caused by a site configuration change because 3 other sites all exhibit the same behavior that are not used as frequently.  Currently this is still just in the annoyance category, but as I start needing to put more pictures in content its’ going to increase on my ladder.  All assistance I could find online pointed to server configuration with PHP version and libXML version issues.  Thank you,  TMM
09/15/2011 4:00 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 7:53 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 8:51 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 9:50 AM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM
Subject:	[P08757884000000000] Problems with libXML2
Comment:	Hello,  Thank you for contacting Support.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. In order to further investigate on your issue, please get back to us with the following information:  1) Exact steps to duplicate your issue.  2) URL of the page.  3) WordPress username and password.  Thank you!  Sincerely,  Kaila Pearson  Customer Support
09/15/2011 9:19 PM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:	Drupal User Info:  Username: TestUser  Password: URL: http://www.the-minuteman.org Full URL varies based on post title, it happens when content is published or sent as a draft to the server. Reproduction steps below show how to make it appear on the front page.  Reproduction steps:  1) Configure Windows Live Writer for an “Other services” blog and point to http://www.the-minuteman.org  2) During configuration tell it to identify the blog theme.  3) At this point configuration will hang because the post displayed on the front page website (http://www.the-minuteman.org) is incorrect. For example I get the following:  pThis is a temporary post that was not deleted. Please delete this manually. (1eb91935-d1da-4e9a-85fd-82ce1220f24d – 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)/p  This should actually be:  <p>This is a temporary post that was not deleted. Please delete this manually. (1eb91935-d1da-4e9a-85fd-82ce1220f24d – 3bfe001a-32de-4114-a6b4-4005b770f6d7)</p>  But the tags were stripped, and the inner text passed through as part of the blog post text.  Alternatively, you can skip the theme detection and attempt to post to the blog through Live Writer. The content within the post will exhibit the same loss of tags.  Draft posts can be open and viewed from this listing:  http://www.the-minuteman.org/admin/content/node  For some reason the tags are being stripped off and every piece of information I have found points to server configuration, not blog software.
09/15/2011 9:30 PM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/15/2011 10:54 PM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM
Subject:	[P08757884000000000] Problems with libXML2
Comment:	Hello,  Thank you for contacting Support.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Could you please get back us with the exact URL where you are trying to login to Drupal admin page, so that we can assist you further.  Please reply to this email with the requested information, so that we can assist you further.  Sincerely,  Riley Malson  Customer Support
09/16/2011 12:26 AM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:	This is not tied to my Drupal web browser interface but the XML-RPC interface that different external programs use to post content.  The symptoms of the failure are visible on my blog. Here is an example post that failed.  http://www.the-minuteman.org/content/2011/September/15/failed-test-post-TMM
09/16/2011 12:27 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 12:41 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 12:41 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 2:31 AM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:	Hello,  In order to further investigate, could you please get back to us with the Drupal admin login details.  If you have any further questions, please update the Support Console.  Sincerely,  Mae Silva  Technical Specialist
09/16/2011 8:24 PM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:	Here is the primary user account information:  Username: TMM  Password:
09/16/2011 8:44 PM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/16/2011 9:49 PM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:	Hello,  Thank you for your reply.  I have checked there is no error logs to investigate further on this issue. Since Drupal is the third party application I suggest you to contact the vendor of the application.  If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply through Support Console. We are available 24×7.  Sincerely,  Neville Kodner  Technical Specialist
09/17/2011 1:26 AM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:	I have investigated the drupal forums regarding this issue and I have gone one step further and mirrored my site on to a local development server I use for updates.  The mirrored version of my site, a fresh copy of files and snapshot of the database, placed within my test environment works as it should. I fail to see how this is my blog software or site configuration when I can turn the problem on and off by placing it on my test server here or uploading it to Powweb.  Not to mention the fact that it was running reliably at the beginning of August and I have not done any changes to configuration other than unrelated module updates. The issue also has seemed to come and go, finally becoming permanent over the past week. I initially ignored it thinking it was a glitch because it would come back later.  All information I have been able to find regarding this type of issue online points again to the web services host, not the drupal software.  My test server is running PHP 5.3.2  Apache 2.2.14  SQL Version 5.1.46  Here is the exact error in the Drupal forums:  http://drupal.org/node/415566  Here is a similar issue in the Drupal forums:  http://drupal.org/node/347298#comment-1209085  http://drupal.org/node/347298#comment-1295684  I’m confused though since you guys are running 5.2.17 and the issues reported were with 5.2.8. However this has turned on and off entirely on it’s own on your servers with my altering absolutely nothing in the configuration or settings within my blog. Meaning something changed in the hosting configuration.  There are no error logs because it is a function erroneously stripping out data that it should not. Drupal gets a result from a function call that it thinks is correct but is in fact wrong.
09/17/2011 1:28 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/17/2011 1:37 AM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:	Hello,  Thank you for your reply.  We support PHP version 5.2.17, Apache version 1.3.33 and MySQ version 5.0.45.  If you have any further questions, please update the Support Console.  Sincerely,  Ariel Danson  Technical Specialist
09/17/2011 1:42 AM EDT	TMM contacted PowWeb
Customer Quote:	Has your supported versions changed since June? Something has changed and it doesn’t appear to be by my hand. I created a virgin test site and it is having the same problems.  I have been using Windows Live Writer since January without issue until about the middle of last month.
09/17/2011 1:42 AM EDT	Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
09/17/2011 1:46 AM EDT	PowWeb contacted TMM (Resolved)
Comment:	Hello,  Thank you for getting back to us.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We have not changed the supported version recently. Please reinstall the application or contact the application provider to fix the issue.  Thank you!  Sincerely,  Aden Nelson  Technical Specialist

So maybe I’ve been spoiled by the company I work for by the fact that we think customer service is a big deal.  Ownership of a problem is a big deal.  Making sure the customers problem is solved is a big deal.  Getting to root cause is a big deal.  Notice how it was marked resolved long before anything was actually solved.  Very quickly they blamed it on third party software without any actual proof.

This company has totally shifted the blame for the problem from them to me. Ignoring the fact that this has happened on two independent Drupal installs who’s configurations haven’t changed.  No single individual took lead to deal with this problem and just bounced it around.  I’m stuck copying and pasting the source code from WLW into the submission form in Drupal.  Any pictures I want to submit become an arm twisting game of getting the URL correct to point to the image if I’m uploading it.

I just checked, I have prepaid 2 years of hosting starting in Nov 2010.  That gives me a year to come up with a new hosting solution and a solid game plane for site and email migration.  I will actually probably move earlier because I pay per month for my Exchange hosting and if I can find it cheaper, that’s money back in my pocket that I haven’t spent yet.

In the past I was more than happy to recommend Powweb to friends but given the first time I really had a serious issue and support utterly face planted.

If anyone has any input on what the problem might be, here’s an example of what happens when I submit through WLW currently.  I have disabled the TestUser account, and regenerated a new site password for myself since they think this issue is resolved they no longer require access.  Keypass makes stuff like this much easier to handle.  I am NOT going to close this ticket until I find a resolution to this problem.  WLW worked without issue from January to the beginning of August.  At which point I had a few flaky issues, but they always came back.  Then last week it died permanently.

I am going to continue posting new content, I won’t be putting many of my own pictures up except through my photo gallery.

So I am all ears on good hosting providers that support PHP, MySQL, and Exchange services.  I’ve got time and if I move early I’ve got some side sites that can live out there that can die around November 2012.  I know I could host myself, my bandwidth out in BFE though isn’t that great and I hate general IT maintenance with a passion.  So fellow bloggers, what would you recommend.

Many people when they need more outlets grab a power strip.  They don’t really consider what the load is they’re running off the strip as a whole.  Many will do the worst thing in the world and cascade power strips for more outlets, or plug a very large current item into the power strip.  There’s a couple things going on that make ignoring these factors a bad idea.  The biggest is that this is the result.

The cause:

According to fire investigators, a power strip started the fire, which caused an estimated $250,000 in damage. Multiple computers and a space heater had been plugged into the strip, but what role that played remains uncertain.

I’m going to explain now exactly why cascading power strips, and ignoring load concerns is a bad idea and results in the above.  First read this article on an introduction on basic electronics.  In doing this I’m also going to explain why you never replace a circuit breaker or fuse with anything but a matching value.

Power Losses A Quick Reminder:

Did you see the section involving wire diameter, length, and overall resistance?  There’s a minimum wire gauge for carrying different loads of current.  The reason being is power losses over the wire.  Remember the equation, I²R.  This can be used to determine power lost over the wire is dissipated in the form of heat.  Lets start off with a simple example.

A Base Load Example:

Residential building codes state that for a 12 gauge wire the maximum current load is 20 amp breaker.  We have a computer using a 650W power supply and two LCD displays (~75W). These three are plugged into a single 14 gauge surge protector plugged into an outlet on the 20 amp circuit.  Now while that 650W supply may not be operation at full load, we will assume it is for calculation purposes.

Circuit breakers are rated to carry 80% of their rated nominal load continuously.  This means that our breaker can supply 16 amps continuously to our load distribution the power strip.  This works out to be 1760W = (20*0.8)A*110V that the circuit can supply.  Though the surge protector can only safely deliver 1320W = (15*0.8)A*110V due to it only having 14AWG wiring.  Most power strips will have a safety breaker that will enforce this limit, however they can fail and on cheap strips they may not even work.  Currently our load is only 800W so we are well within the safe range.

How Easy It is To Cross the Threshold:

Now lets say we want to add a space heater since the wife is cold.  If we add the 800W oil heater to out power strip with our computer.  This moves the load on the power strip up to 1600W.  This is beyond the 14 AWG capacity of 1320W.  This will cause the temperature of the wires to go beyond their rated values.  This can be a serious problem if the power strip is located in an area where heat cannot dissipate.  The addition of the power strip also adds extra length increasing your overall I²R losses.  This is why you don’t want to put a large load such as a heater on an extension cord.  If you do, make sure it is a heavy grade extension cord.  The safest method is to plug it directly into a wall outlet.  This will still be below the 20A continuous rating, prevents the extra I²R loss from the extra length, and doesn’t overload the the smaller power strip.

So What About Cascading Them:

Now so far we’ve only been really talking about a single power strip, what happens when you cascade them?  This is where another lesser known problem rears it’s head.  The majority of heating in house hold power distribution circuits are at junctions.  Where wires are tied together, plugs and outlets, and screw terminals.  This is because the resistance in the joint higher than the surrounding materials.  Again, I²R comes in to play with the larger resistance at the joint.  That power goes somewhere and it is released as more heat into the system.  So adding extra power strips increases the resistance in the line and increases the overall power losses.

So What About Circuit Breakers:

Now how does that apply to circuit breakers though.  Say instead of a 12 AWG circuit with a 20A breaker it’s a 14 AWG circuit with a 15A breaker.  It keeps tripping and you think it’s faulty.  All you have in your chest to replace it is a 20A breaker.  You have now allowed a much larger current to flow across the circuit that it is safely rated for.  You have upped the trip limit from 12A to 16A, thus your I²R loss is going to increase.  That increase of 4 amps increases the power dissipation required of the wire by 1.7x.  Again that power is dissipated in the form of heat, in your walls, that retain heat, some packed with insulation.  You have turned your house wiring into a toaster element, not a good idea.

Final Overview:

So there’s a rough idea of 

1. Why you don’t cascade power strips.
2. Why you plug high power appliances into the wall, or use a large gauge extension cord with a single outlet.
3. Why you don’t swap a smaller breaker for a larger one.
4. The physics behind what cause the fire above.

Saturday ended up considerably busier than expected.  Initially I had just planned to help with the ARES exercise, but it ended up they were making a trip up to the Kamiak radio site.  I went along to help since I hadn’t seen the radio site.

That’s the tower with the KABARA Repeater Antennas, as well as the packet system we were up there to work on.  Next to it is that tower is KWSU.

Inside the radio shack was some impressive equipment for the KABARA system, more specifically a pair of duplexers for the 6-meter repeater.

After a quick tour we then got down to why were were there.  Someone was going to have to climb the tower for recon for an upcoming antenna installation.

He wanted proof that he climbed the tower.  I have other pictures while he was at the top, none however provide proof that it was actually him climbing.

It appears the recon was successful, the hardline we were planning on using is currently at the location where we are planning on installing the antenna.  We just need to coordinate with some of the other antennas owners when we go to actually install it.

The antenna is going to be hooked into this.

Which is the packet node on top of Kamiak, the recon was because the owner is planning on adding a 70cm link if I remember correctly.  It was pointed out to me though how wind can be a royal bitch up on the tower.

The wind was light that day, the antenna is either caught in the tower, or permanently deformed from wind and ice loading.  That particular antenna however was no longer in use.

After that we headed back down the hill with one quick stop right after we got out of the trees so I could do this today.

After that K7LL helped me test an mobile amp I have.  It works, but nowhere near as effective as it should be.  It is now sitting on my workbench awaiting disassembly.  An upshot a coworker and fellow ham drove by and I paid him a visit.  I must say his ham shack is by no means a shack, and is actually quite nice.  He actually had a spare 2m/70cm base and it’s now sitting on my desk.  He also has a spare HF rig but it needs some repair work.  Electrolytic capacitors don’t last for ever.

From there I went and picked up a sign for the lodge.  The sign was vandalized and I picked it up to take it home to attempt to clean it.  Attempt one removed some of the paint but next on the list is acetone.  From there I headed over the Moscow to W7UQ to kill some time before going over to a friends house for dinner and helping him with some homework.

While sitting at W7UQ one of the members showed up and I then preceded to spend the next 2 hours discussing antenna design, radiation patterns, and methods to solve some issues they are having with their current project.  Including moving from just telemetry based information to adding command and control.  I gave him my contact information so they can come to me with questions and help with the project.

Lastly I had dinner over with some friends.  I finally headed out from their place at 0130 after helping him with a programming assignment.  Overall it was a busy, educational, and productive day.