ShawnIngram.com

ShawnIngram.com Network: Site Problems & Server Move

Posted by Shawn

Due to some issues which have caused site outages on all of our sites within the ShawnIngram.com network during the month of May, we were granted a server move yesterday. Our sites were down again yesterday due to some technical issues drawing a very irate support ticket from me. Hopefully the new server we reside on will not have many of the issues which we have been experiencing this past month. I apologize for any issues anyone has been having hitting my websites.

The first mechanical clocks were made in china

Posted by Shawn

By Joey Lewitin

The origin of the mechanical clock is not precisely known. It has always been held that escapement, the process where regulation of motion allows for the creation of a mechanical clock, was created in a town in Europe in the late middle ages. However, this was really invented, independently, by a Chinese engineer in 1088AD.

Water clocks had provided mechanical clocks to china since around 700 AD however these were highly imprecise. Su Song was a Chinese engineer in 1088 that wanted to build an enormous clock tower that would not only tell time but give an accurate view of the night sky.

In China at that time, the major philosophy was that the sky and the earth moved in harmony, with the earth being the passive and the sky being the active. The Emperor of china was the one who was supposed to be able to communicate between the two. He did this using an advanced system of predictive analysis that allowed him to know, and tell others, what was going to happen in the future. These astronomical formulations were a major part of the emperor’s power, and he used them to tell the future not only of the sky, but of the earth.

The ability to accurately tell time was very important, and Su Song’s clock made this possible. The clock was a three part behemoth, with the top part showing astrological bodies, the middle showing celestial, and the bottom showing the time. The clock ran entirely on water power and didn’t require any effort from humans. Unfortunately the tower was destroyed and carried off in pieces during an invasion less then 40 years after it was built. Attempts by Su Song’s son to recreate the tower didn’t work.

Currently there is an effort to build a replica of the clock in the national museum of natural science in china. This effort has revealed the difficultys that making the original clock would have created.

Joey Lewitin is an author and designer whose clock creations can be seen at http://decorative-wall-clocks.com

Originally posted at The Nifty Clock Company.

ShawnIngram.com: Sites in our network experience some hiccups lately

Posted by Shawn

Over the past week I have noticed several outages of my sites. There appears to be some issues with the server cluster in which my websites are hosted on. I am working with DreamHost, our host, to resolve the issues. I apologize for any inconvenience you may have had trying to browse through any of my online catalogs/websites.

ShawnIngram.com: Our Network of Sites Moved to New Host!

Posted by Shawn

The ShawnIngram.com network of sites moved to a new host over the past couple of days. We are in the process of moving the last site, The Tease-Shirt Company as we type this. All of our sites should be operating on the new host by the end of today. If you notice any issues, please let us know by using the Contact Us option on the site you have an issue with.

As for our new host, we found an awesome plan offered by DreamHost which lets us host unlimited domains/subdomains on our account, plus the monthly fee for our plan is currently at half price and remains that way as long as we keep the plan! To share our excitement, we have created a promotion we will run through the end of the year for new DreamHost customers. If you use the promotion code pristinewaiver, the $49.95 setup fee will be waived! If you are looking for a hosting plan to create your own websites or possibly even looking to move, check out DreamHost today!!