valien.net

Creating a Multi-Player Server for Terraria (v 1.0.3)

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:59:00 +0000

With the new version of Terraria you can now run a dedicated server and use a server configuration file to automatically load the world you want, password, number of players, etc. Here's how to do it since the included instructions aren't that helpful.

1. Navigate to your Terraria folder which if you are on Windows 7 is probably here --> C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\terraria\
2. Edit the serverconfig.txt file with the options you'd like it to load. The file has some sample entries to help you set the options you'd like to have start when the server fires up. Save the file with the same name.
3. Create a shortcut on your desktop or taskbar and append this information to the end so that it looks like this --> "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\terraria\TerrariaServer.exe" -config serverconfig.txt
4. Run the short-cut and voila! In a few seconds you'll have a MP server up and running!
5. Don't close the window (looks like a DOS window) as it will kill your server. You can minimize it though.

Ah, what about the port you say? That's fairly easy to fix as well. Navigate to your firewall/router admin page and Port Forward the port you set in the config file (by default it's port 7777). To test to see if your port is open you can use this site - http://canyouseeme.org/ - and it will verify if you've opened up the right port or not.

To make things easier setup a Dynamic DNS entry (I use DynDNS.org) that will map to your IP address. This will keep server management easier as you won't have to remember the IP address all the time (especially if it changes a lot).

Good luck and have fun! Terraria is a blast on multi-player.

Christian College Scholarships blog is now live!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sat, 28 May 2011 12:21:00 +0000

A project that a friend and I have been working on is now live -- ChristianCollegeScholarships.info. We've seen the need for a good information resource for Christian high school students that are looking to attend college and find the right financial aid.

So check it out and let us know what you think! Content will be growing!

My 1st Open Source Code.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Well, I have released my 1st open sourced code. It's a jQuery tool that I developed for a Q/A form. For all the seasoned developers out there they will probably not be impressed but I'm excited because it's something I've never done before and wanted to give back.

So check it out and improve it!

https://bitbucket.org/allenv/jquery-based-q-a-form-template/

South Carolina Gun Enthusiast Forums!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:02:00 +0000

I've always been a fan of firearms ever since I was a kid. Recently I've been doing a lot of research into buying a new handgun as I recently gave my dad his Makarov back (it was on loan for the last 15 years while they were overseas).

While doing my research I came across a number of nice community forums but didn't find anything that related to us South Carolina folks. That sparked the idea so I ran with it and the result is -

www.scguntalk.com

It's a community forum for firearm enthusiasts that live, work, play, and shoot in South Carolina. It's pretty sparse right now cause I've not done any marketing. Hopefully as word gets out it will garner some traffic and solid information.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

~Allen

Processor Editorial Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:35:00 +0000

I got quote in Processor Magazine today.

http://processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/P3206/28p06/28p06/28p06.asp&guid=3DF4CD49C2B343E38E9BFDFC0622529C

So check your print copies! Autographs to follow along with a book and movie deal as well. ;)

E-mail issues - is it about you or me?

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:42:00 +0000

I'm normally not a big re-poster of blog articles, etc but one I read today was pretty good. It's by Daniel Waldschmidt, sales guru and partner at Gnoso. He talks (rants?) about e-mail and how too many times we focus on ourselves and not the customer.

Go check it out - Your email just punched me in the eye

I know for one am guilty of this from time to time. Crafting good e-mails is a skill that's not learned overnight that's for sure!

Follow me.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Since I tend to be a sporadic blogger here and on my other sites the best way to 'find' out what is going on is to follow me on Twitter and to add me to your network on LinkedIn. I'm a big fan of professional networking and I use LinkedIn quite a bit. So feel free to connect to me there I have also been using Twitter a good bit as it's fast, simple, and actually pretty neat. So I tend to 'micro-blog' there more on a daily basis than post here. Look me up there as well.

Other than that, thanks for dropping by. :) See you on the webz!

ChumpmonkeyGames.com is back!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Hi all, the secret project that I've been feverishly working on all weekend is now live - www.chumpmonkeygames.com. It's something I've been mulling over for a while now (the .99 cent app reviews) and decided to take the plunge and see what happens. Was a lot of work and fun to get things running.

I'm utilizing WP 2.8.2, a free theme, and a couple plug-ins (twitter, akismet, etc.). I also have Google Analytics installed to see how traffic goes. So far I've had 1 developer send me a code to try out their game (Flipn' Monsters!) and so I reviewed it for them. :)

More to come as I have a # of games to review yet. Spread the word!

Ah, fresh WP.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Got the site updated to 2.8.2 tonight. Looks like everything is good to go. In the meantime I'm working on a brand new site (hint: involves iPod/iPhone Games).

More to come...

Recruitment Agencies - Adapt or Die.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:27:00 +0000

Pretty interesting article about how Recruiting Agencies are having to adapt to an ever changing marketplace. My thoughts from the inside of things - I agree with the article in some ways. It's definitely a little tougher out there. There are less agencies around as some of the small mom-n-pop ones are gone, but there is also more competition because agencies that have never targeted our market are now trying to get in this market.

Will agencies be around for a while? I firmly believe so, there is a value that we add that in-house or corporate recruiters can't do:

Speed of finding the right candidates for a client. We have a pretty deep pool of candidates and many times can fill a position quite rapidly. A corporate recruiter is typically spread thin and can't necessarily focus that much or have a strong network

Niche skill sets. Since we focus solely on IT related skill sets we have a strong network of those people. Again, corporate recruiters don't typicalyl have that deep a pool as they are busy filling everything.

Confidential searches. Need to replace someone confidentially? I highly doubt an in-house recruiter will have that ability or skill to do that. This is something we excel at.

Contract/Temporary staffing. Most corporate recruiters focus on direct-hires. We focus on contract staffing (and some direct-hire) and the advantages of utilizing an agency for these positions is excellent since there is no HR burden on the company.

Agencies will come and go. The 'net will not kill off agencies. We will have to adapt, change, and improve our process in order to compete effectively. Being small and privately owned it's something we are doing and will do successfully.

Social Media in Recruiting.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Pretty cool article on ERE about utilizing Social Media for recruiting. I've been utilizing SM (mainly Twitter) for the last few months to post jobs and other things from my viewpoint (IT Staffing and Recruiting). When we have a hard-to-fill skill-set or a need to fill something fast I've found that utilizing Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn have been invaluable to generate buzz and even find a few candidates.

Is this the future? Not really sure, it's a low-cost alternative to find people that's for sure. Some might call it a fad, but then again, we've seen a lot of things on the 'net that were fads and have become mainstream staples of our browsing history and usage.

I will say that (at least in our area) there are not a lot of agencies/recruiters utilizing a lot of SM to find people, post jobs, etc. This industry is interesting because a lot of people here are kinda old school in that they don't realize the power of using SM or something else to recruit. When I came to FGP last year I was about the only one that started to heavily use LinkedIn for my personal network. Now a good number of us use it. I'm still about the only one using Twitter, but that's changing and I'm excited to see more people here using that platform.

Glad to hear that others are utilizing it as well. It's a great resource...if handled properly.

Check out the article on ERE.

My First Professional Blog Post...Kinda :)

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:43:00 +0000

My company - Find Great People - started a blog this year to help drive traffic, market our company, and become more tech savvy. They are having all sales/recruiters put up a weekly post and my turn was last week.

So check out my post on "What's Hot in IT Jobs" and let me know what you think!

Although my blogging here has pretty much died down, I still Twitter occassionally and update the family blog when I get a chance. Hopefully I can put out more tech/business related posts and articles as I get time.

ClearCreekCandles is live!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Hi all!

Well, after a couple of long nights and little sleep finally got our new site up - www.clearcreekcandles.com. Go check it out and join our mailing list.

This is just a small business that has spun off a hobby my wife and I have been doing for a while. Figured why not tell others about it and sell a few candles while at it? We're big candle fans and have always enjoyed burning candles and a while back we decided to start making them ourselves to help cut costs and to do something fun together. Well, it's been a blast making the candles and it's been fun giving them to friends and family.

As far as cutting costs...uh..not really sure. hehe :)

Coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:07:00 +0000

For those coming in from the www.clearcreekcandles.com domain name this is a temporary 'home' while the Clear Creek website is getting setup. In the meantime feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions!

Twitter > Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:57:00 +0000

Well, I haven't had a ton of time to blog this year. I've found that it's much easier to Tweet something and a lot more convenient too. So if you want to see what's happening around my world (both work and what not) check me out on Twitter.

Twitter.com/Valien

Also, don't forget to look me up on LinkedIn as well. I love using LI for professional networking.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/allenv

The Monkey Bread Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:06:00 +0000

My wife has this great Monkey Bread recipe that we've used for a number of years now. I bring the bread to work for our company Friday breakfasts and every so often I get people asking about it. Well, here's the top-secret recipe! :)

Monkey Bread

Super Rare Ingredients!

5 cans of 10 buttermilk biscuits

¾ c. butter or margarine, melted

2 T. vanilla

Lots of sugar

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Exquisite Detailed Instructions!

1. Slice biscuits into fourths—a pizza cutter works well for this.
2. Stir vanilla into butter.
3. Add enough cinnamon to the sugar to turn to it a light brown color. Add a dash or two of nutmeg.
4. Dip biscuit pieces in butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar. Place in bundt pan. If the butter becomes too thick, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds to make it liquid again.
5. Pour any leftover butter or sugar (no matter how much) overtop of the monkey bread.
6. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until done (check the pieces down in the middle to make certain they’re not still gooey). After 15 minutes or so of baking you may want to loosely cover it with foil to keep it from scorching the pieces on top.
7. After it’s done, remove it from oven, separate the bread from the sides of the pan with a knife, and immediately flip it onto your serving platter. Otherwise it will stick to the pan and not come out properly.

Insane Addtional Info!

This works well with two people—one person slicing and dropping pieces in the butter, the other person rolling them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. We often make it the night before, refrigerate it, and bake it in the morning. It usually takes 30+ minutes to bake when you do that. I usually take it out of the refrigerator when I start preheating the oven, so it’s not quite as cold when I stick it in.

Enjoy! :)

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Happy 2009! Hope your Christmas and New Years days off were great. I spent a lot of time with my new boy (born in December - see allenandkaren.blogspot.com for info on this awesome experience) and when juggling time I have put this blog on the back burner.

No idea if I'll be able to resurrect it as much in '09 either. Work is my #1 focus during the day and when I get home at night I just want to hang out with the family! (That and my laptop died so I can't bring my computer around on the couch).

But I'll try to update when I can. The best way to see what's going on is to follow me on Twitter - my handle there is Valien. I tend to micro-blog on that since it's a lot easier for me to output something there than here.

You can always follow our forums on Chumpmonkey.com. It's got decent activity and I'd love to see it grow some more.

Have a great '09! Work hard. Save more and spend less.

Brushing the Dust Off.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:40:00 +0000

Hi all!

Wow. This Summer/Fall has been insane. Haven't posted in a good while. Here's what's going on for summary...

1. 1st Baby due in about 4 weeks. That's been really keeping me busy! :) Can't wait. Check out allenandkaren.blogspot.com for updates (eventually...)

2. With everything happening in the recent economy things have been just as busy for us here at FGP Tech. Been really working hard to drive new business and build relationships with clients. Will it pay off in the long run? You better believe it.

3. Great article on the value of using a company like ours at this time - MSN Careers.

4. Got my 1st Contract-to-Hire position starting today! That's super exciting!

5. Been really working on my C# programming stuff. Big lab I'm working on but kinda stuck right now. Frustrated but working through it! Rough making my old brain work this hard again... :)

C#, Java, .Net, Lua, Ruby on Rails, Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:09:00 +0000

Back in the day when I used to do web development and some minor scripting the language list was fairly simple. You had HTML, ASP, and PHP for a majority of your web-based development. I remember when Java started coming on the scene, and then JavaScript started becoming popular, and then CSS came out and then wham! Things skyrocketed.

Of course during the time all this skyrocketed I was out of the active development scene and was busy trying to build and run a small business. I just didn't have much time for doing any fun web work while trying to do sales calls, tech support, purchasing and HR all at the same time!

So now that I'm back in a semi-tech role - Sales for FGP Technology - I've had some time to start digging into languages again. I've been going through the Head First Labs C# book and have loved it so far. I'm learning all about namespaces, classes, methods and statements again. Hard to believe I used to know all that when I did some Java stuff back in the late 90's.

My goal is to learn C# and develop a couple of personal projects for the fun of it (maybe even create some PC based versions of some of my favorite board games). After C# I might jump into a web based language again - Ruby, AJAX, ActionScript. Not sure yet. Guess I need to conquer this mountain first!

It's much easier to learn and do programming at home then it is to learn networking and systems administration. Coding is cheaper than buying a Catalyst switch and playing with IOS at home!

The Value Add of What We Do.

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:46:00 +0000

Got a call from a friend of mine this morning. His company just landed a nice contract and once they sign the paperwork they have about 120 days to get the project installed and running (software/hardware, etc). He called me to ask if we could help them find a PM for this project. I said we could.

This is a company that normally uses online job boards to find their people and they've had great success in utilizing some traditional means of finding the employees they need. Why are they interested in FGP Tech now? Well, in a nutshell, they have a tight time frame to fill this position or they'll be in trouble once the contract gets signed with their client. So they don't really have the time to post an ad, then sift through all the resumes that they get, then screen the potential candidates, etc. We can find 3-5 A+ candidates within a week for them and they can concentrate on only interviewing those candidates. Not only does it save them some time, but it gets them up and running without taking time away from the other employees who are busy as it is.

Will they use us? I sure hope so. I'd love to be able to service their needs and show them that we are good at what we do. That's one of the values we provide as a IT Staffing & Recruiting company. I'll let you know if they do come on board.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend! If you're on the road drive safely.

Hiring Time! Secure Your Gmail! (not related)

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Now that school is starting up things have suddenly started to come to life again (in comparison to the last few weeks). I actually had 3 people call me back today from messages that I left earlier. Out of those calls I obtained one search order (know anyone with SunGard Banner skills? If so, let me know!) The other calls were from people at least letting me know they didn't have any needs. I really appreciate when people call back. It keeps me from keeping on calling them time after time and usually when I get them on the phone we have a pleasant conversation about life, technology and anything else.

I tell you what though. It's still a bear to find some quality C# and JAVA professionals. It's a great time to be a developer. So many software companies (and non-software companies that need developers) are coming into this area and they all need top-notch personnel.

With all the C# work that we've been doing I finally reinstalled Visual Studio 2008 Express on my wife's PC (since my PC is way too old and my laptop is dead) and started going through the C# tutorials on MSDN. It's been a lot of fun for me. Learning all about event handlers, methods, classes, etc. Old parts of my brain are being dusted off and I'm remembering how to code again. I'm probably going to pick up this book - Head First C#. I went to B&N today during lunch to look at the book and I'm impressed. Has all the info that I'm looking for in an easy-to-digest format. Maybe I'll become a decent programmer again. Hey, if only to have fun and learn something useful I'm game!

Blog changes coming this week! I promise! No really. For real this time. (I'm finally tired of seeing it looking bad).

BTW, change your Gmail to HTTPS only cause life will get uglier soon.

Man, We Almost Had Some Rain Today...

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:13:00 +0000

Well, as I write this and get ready to head out the door the sun is shining. First time today in fact. It's been cloudy all day and the forecast of rain didn't really materialize. I'm bummer. My grass is brown and crunchy and could really use some good rain.

I just installed the TwitterFox plug-in. I'm starting to learn a little more of the value of Twitter. Maybe it's cause of this article and reading up on the how and why of Twitter. Great read BTW. I just turned on updates to my phone from a few local Tech folk that I'm following. Good thing I have unlimited text messaging or else I'd be in trouble. Some folk really like to update their Twitters feeds quite a bit...

This past Monday night at the Upstate Entrepreneur Forum we had 2 great speakers. One was Peter Waldschmidt, one of the founders of TetraData and current founder of Gnoso. The other was Carl Sobocinski the founder of Soby's and a few other great restaurants in our city. They spoke about how they founded their companies, the early trials of a start-up, the creative financing, etc. Great inspiration for those that are looking or are in the midst of creating a sustainable business.

It's people like that that shows how great it is to be in this country and to start a company when all you have is a vision and the passion to succeed. It's also great to have these guys here in Greenville, SC too!

Cool tech tidbit I learned from Troy Tolle @ DigitalChalk today. A good Java developer can become a good C# developer in about 2 weeks. The languages/syntax/processes are that similar. Question is - do you come to the dark side and go C# or vice versa? I think a good developer should know both. You can then name your price when it comes to great gigs.

Speaking of C#. I'm looking for a good number of solid C# and ASP.NET developers. From entry-level to Senior level developers. I can put you to work tomorrow. Literally.

Friday Already? Olympics? 8/8/08?

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Wow. Hard to believe it's Friday already. This week has been a blur (as normal). Had some family in town visiting so it made things go by a lot faster.

Read a pretty cool article on Dave Mendoza's Blog about Pat Cronin, one of the Senior VP's with Volt. Talks about his background as a recruiter and the industry, etc. Good read for the most part. Make sure you read both part 1 and part 2. It's encouraging to me as a new person to this industry that I can succeed and do well in this business. Just think, back when he started there was no 'net and online sourcing sources like LinkedIn. Must have been really rough back then!

I've had a pretty decent week. Made a few client visits and am really trying to grow that part of my work week. I'm struggling to get potential clients to confirm a meeting. Really people, I'm nice! I won't bite your head off! I just want to say hello...in person. Been trying to get better on calls as well and followups.

Had a few candidates do some telephone and personal interviews. Some were good and things are moving forward. Slow process at times though cause you are working around the candidates schedule, the clients schedules, etc. It's a balancing act.

Got some new searches going as well! That's always exciting cause that's the bread and butter of our business! No searches = no work = no job! So if any of you are talented Hyperion, Java, C#/ASP.Net, or Web Design gurus let me know! I have work for you! :)

Enjoy the Olympics over the next couple of weeks. Even though it's 08/08/08 for us it's already 8/09 in China. So why are the Olympics on our time schedule? Not like the US started it...

Privacy Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Allen) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:57:00 +0000

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