Wednesday, November 30
Kinopalatsi, 17:20
It had snowed most of the night, lightly, and then apparently melted and frozen again. I put my boots on and set out for the bus stop and got about twenty metres before I turned back. The ground seemed like sheets of ice and my new winter boots simply slid. Once home, I put on my old boots with the new studded soles.
The ice-breakers passed their inaugural test. I strode unconcerned across the ground that I had slid along, crouching for fear of falling, a few minutes earlier.
Over the last few days I made a decision to move all my sites from HostMonster to Linode; ie from a hosted web server to a virtual disk. Partly I want to learn how to set up and administrate servers. Partly I want to save money. Partly I want the freedom to add programs to my server without needing to request permission. I want to add Mattermost to the server, for example, and neither HostMonster nor other web servers seem willing to permit this.
The first part of this process involved detaching my mail from HostMonster. I decided to leave it uncoupled from the site by using Runbox as my email provider. Based in Norway, and in existence for over sixteen years, Runbox offers a simple and robust service. It took me an hour or so, and a live webchat with HostMonster’s helpline to get the MX records pointing fully away from their servers, which simply served to convince me that I had made the right decision. Their “free, premium value” spam detection service, which they now wanted to begin charging me a compulsory $3 a month, had locked some of the MX records. I needed to get them to unlock them.
By lunchtime I had mail arriving and leaving my new Runbox account, and I had Outlook, Pocket Informant, and my phone sending and receiving mail.
In the afternoon I signed up for a Linode account and started to configure my server. I did this several times, starting with pre-configured starter kits, and ending up with a step-by-step manual configuration. By the time I left I had learned a lot but had no idea whether or not I possessed a working server.
Now Naa and I have settled down to watch Fantastic Beasts and where to find them at Kinopalatsi. Naa has a huge slurpee to drink and I find myself entranced by the retro-style notices.
We have seen two new movies this month, both about magic, and with direct points of comparison including magicians reversing damage and putting buildings back together. I will find it interesting to see two quite different takes on the visual display of magic, and the emotional and moral consequences of living in a world where magic needs to remain hidden. Needless to say Doctor Strange feels gritter than Fantastic Beasts and where to find them, which will make an ideal for-all-the-family holiday film.