For now, I’ll omit a lot of detail for the purpose of this particular story because I’m actually writing about something I’m extremely proud of at the same time I’m puzzled that I was “that way.”
Before we moved to LA, I had taught myself to build websites. While I’m extremely proud of that, a few years later, I was amazed to consider that I spent HOURS and HOURS taking apart the source code of web pages to learn what each piece would do. I learned how to do advanced things on the computer as well the same hard way. It was tedious and painstakingly slow.
I do remember trying to take some classes, but it was so difficult, I stopped and just did it my way. I think, in retrospect, I could not learn it any other way than the way I did it. It was years after that I was diagnosed and treated for ADHD. Taking a class caused my mind to become a fuzzy mixture of incomplete, nonsensical words and images that I could NOT assimilate.
Not only did I have to learn how to build an online store and a website, I had to learn everything I’d need to know for sales and customer service. I’d never thought much about aperture, focal ratio, alt-azimuth mounts….. OMG! I’m getting a headache again!
Actually, I wouldn’t take anything for the experience of having done that. I’ve used those skills and knowledge a thousand times since (except I really didn’t retain much about consumer optics… that was such a short term venture, I’m not surprised!
The reason I’m actually writing this story is I’d seen a website that has just about the entire history of the Internet, so I thought, “I wonder…. could MY website that I built in 2001 be there?”
IT IS! Some elements are missing (I’m sure from changes in technology that made them obsolete), but I was able to take a snapshot of the site, get a snapshot of the source code I CREATED knowing NOTHING about html, php, etc. and just out of pure desire to learn it, I DID!
Below are snapshots I took of the actual vaulted version of the website which of course keep in mind is not as pretty or organized as it was originally because of the years of neglecting the code.
I’d discovered a secure software I could pay for monthly to create (basically from scratch in those days as well) called MIVA Merchant. So, I had a complete online store to tell telescopes, binoculars, microscopes and a few other consumer optics products as well as aftermarket products like special lens, slides, etc. (These were not toys; they were professional grade, appealing to astronomy/astrologer buffs, teachers, etc.
I was SO proud, and I actually made a good bit of money doing it. But I had no staff and did every single thing myself from website chat with potential buyers, ordering, shipping, etc.
One day, I came into my and Russ’ apartment and couldn’t get through the hallway without moving boxes. The entire hall, living room and dining area were from top to bottom filled with product.
I had about $250,000 in sales within 3 months, and it was time to check the shipment, pull orders, get them ready to ship, and take them to UPS. It took all the fun out of it!!! :). Note: obviously I had processed orders all along before 3 months, but there came a point that I had $200,000 to process.
So, I stopped after finishing up all these orders. I took a long break from working after that and was very grateful Russ’ job allowed me to do that!
I just discovered that my supplier in San Diego, is now defunct as of 2024. That makes me sad. Meade Instruments Corporation was a multinational company founded in 1972 and was, at one time, the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer optics. It was owned by Optronic Technologies who also owned the now defunct suppliers, Orion Telescopes and its solar telescope company, Coronado
This was the logo I created myself. It’s old and fuzzy, but it was called ChezBiz.com
This is a snapshot of the website I couldn’t believe I found at the “vault” for every website that has ever been online:
Click To See the Actual Vaulted Site as this is only a bad snapshot.
And finally, a snapshot of the snippet of actual source code of the webpage that I created word by word to be able to sell online (I would NEVER try that now! OMG!). If you click the above link to see the website, to see the actual code and how lengthy it actually is, just right-click anywhere on the webpage and click “View Source.”
