Okay, the site has been restored to working order, at least as far as posting news and whatnot is concerned. However, because things at this end have proven busier than expected (new fathers and those who are still fathers, but no longer “new” fathers, will hopefully be able to sympathize), I have yet to restore the downloads to the web.

Also, the gallery also remains offline for the moment, although I should have that ready to go in short order. The gallery works again. It was just a matter of a quick database configuration change.

Anyhow, yes…downloads. Downloads are broken, and will remain broken for a bit still, because I not only have to re-upload about 6.3 GB of files, but I also have to then go through and check each project and utility entry to make sure that a) the correct downloads are linked to each entry, and b) that each entry has the most current downloads available for…y’know, whatever it is the entry is concerned with.

Which could take a while.

If someone wants to step in and help out, that’d be great; I can provide a tutorial on what to do and how to do it. I should have everything here back up and running within two weeks, but an extra set of hands might make it easier to cut that time down a bit.

As to what happened: I was hosted through Canaca.com for years, and they were pretty good to me for the first little while. In the past few months, however, I’ve had a lot more traffic coming to my various websites, and their server just couldn’t handle the load.

Which is kind of sad, given that the load in question wasn’t that extreme — a few thousand visits per month.

But three times it happened: my sites caused the server to overload whilst attempting to serve up multiple simultaneous PHP scripts. And after the third strike, they punted me. They did graciously grant me port 21 access for a few days, and I evacuated most of the files (the rest, I have backups for) from the account. I then set up a new hosting plan with MediaTemple‘s “(gs) Grid Service,” which (if I understand it correctly) mirrors my site over a handful of servers, and then uses load-balancing to manage traffic spikes.

Yeah, it costs a bit more…but hopefully it means “no more outages.”

Anyhow, it’s good to be back. I’ll keep working on the site, and things should be back to normal in a bit here.

You totally didn’t read it here first, but there it is: Ultima series creator Richard Garriott has parted ways with Tabula Rasa (also his creation) publisher NCSoft in order to pursue new interests.

Apparently, his recent trip into space (a “lifelong dream” of his) has prompted him to look for a change:

“Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.”

Well, here at Aiera, we wish Lord — now General — British all the best in whatever new venture he strikes out toward, whether those interests exist within, or outside of, the gaming industry.

Interesting factoid I did not know previously: Lord British is apparently the son of an astronaut.

(thanks to Reader mageguru for the link to this article)

…and if you feel so inclined, good Reader, please to put the penny in the Dragon’s hat!

No, I’m not asking for donations. But it occurs to me that the good Reader is probably quite computer savvy, and may in fact be doing some of his (or her!) Christmas shopping online, perhaps even through Amazon.com.

If this describes you, good Reader, then might I make a request? Aiera is an Amazon “Affiliate,” which means that Amazon will give me a small commission on any sales revenue generated through links to Amazon on the site here.

So if, good Reader, you had planned to do a bit of your Christmas shopping through this online medium, might I encourage you to begin your search for gifts here?

If even your initial searches of Amazon originate from here, anything you end up purchasing might just see a few pennies land in my proverbial hat. And that way, we both benefit: you get the gifts you want, at Amazon’s typically competitive prices…and simultaneously, you support the ongoing efforts of this site, in a way that doesn’t require you to donate directly.

I call that “win/win,” myself.

Today we mark the sacrifices that a lot of good men and women made in the cause of freedom. I don’t think there’s much more than that which needs to be said, save to say a solemn “thank you” to anyone who has served his or her country in a time of war.

I’ve been contacted a few times over the new Feudal Lands website, which is located at:

lfs.lfhost.com/u7tfl

I will actually make a news report out of this at some point, but…well…new baby, new job. I’m a touch pressed for time at the moment, and more than a bit stressed out. So I beseech the patience of the good Reader and Ultima fan; I will return shortly.

Until such time, enjoy the new Feudal Lands website.