Late night, after hours, working with Wayne on a custom data migration. We had 6 corporations to move off of data 3 and onto the data 8 server. That server, data 8, has been ready for almost 6 months. We were waiting for the sales tax updates to happen and take place prior to the migration process. We finally decided to just do it. Anyways, Wayne and I jumped on and did some prep work. We started pulling data for the corps and transferring it over to the new server. We then had to go through each folder on the data 3 box and make sure that we had the latest and greatest files for the new data 8 server. That took quite a bit of time.

Towards the end of the session, we had two database tables that were giving us problems. We had to switch tools in order to get everything migrated. Then at the last second, we found out that we had one other (newer) corporation that needed to be migrated. By the time we started onto that one, the clean migration process ended and the new data 8 server started getting used by the company. The last minute request for the new corporation failed in a number of places due to duplicate id numbers. If we would have known about the seventh corporation before hand, everything would have been ok. But we didn't learn about it until users had already started working for the day and thus claiming new database id numbers. Pretty crazy.

Joined the morning meeting. Briefly checked in with Steve, Alan, Russell, and Dustin. I was uploading photos and scans for a data migration while going through emails and what not. Doing small to do list stuff to try to get somewhat caught up on things. Uploading video files from the training event, recording notes from training, and entering bills and such.

See element of time # 3699 for tons of notes and video links from the live training event.

Working through the to do list stuff. Recording bills, receipts, emails, and light tech support.

Talking with Bryan about menu boards and options for storing the data. We also talked about rounding shopping carts and some of the pros and cons of things like that. Lastly, we talked about default dates for databases and some of the servers that are coming online.

Pushed up code to allow people to get to the live training event videos. Recording more notes and such. Reading over some notes that I got from Dustin that he took from the training event. Good stuff.

Doing code sign-off with Russell. He is getting better and better at running tests and creating his own components. Coding once and using many. Wayne jumped on and had a few questions as well. After that, Steve and Wayne were talking about smaller functions and using getters, setters, and smaller functions.

Cory jumped on and was talking about inventory thresholds and buffers for inventory levels. We talked about simple maxes, mins, and buffer levels for single items and single locations. To really do it well, we need to get it to a full on multi-location level so that we can play the game. They also talked about some bulk print options on the PO side of things (ad the users bring the items in to inventory). That would really help them save some time. The other request was dealing with really small barcodes and really small labels.

Cory and Steve then talked a ton about custom check in/out flow, sub queues, ecommerce, personal devices, and getting people and items into the system as quick as possible. We have tons of these features built out, we just need to know how to combine them. It is interesting that each client needs a slightly different mix of how they want to organize and control the flow of both customers and products. Very interesting.

While they were talking, I was working on adding in rotating and revolving password for the contact us pages (email forms). We had someone go in and try to hack things and use our contact forms for sending spam. We live in a crazy world.

Light tech support, emails, and then back working on the revolving password for the email and contact us forms (options for sending emails). Finished up the revolving password for the email forms and pushed up new code. Asked Newtek to re-enable the support@adilas.biz email address.

My brother is graduating and having a family party.

Joined the morning GoToMeeting session. Russell, Steve, Dustin, and Alan were on. We did some light code sign-off for Russell, Steve and Dustin had a couple of questions, and we mostly just worked. I was doing captcha images for our contact us email form to help with security. A captcha image is an image that has letters and numbers, randomly displayed as part of the graphic. The goal is to make it human readable but harder for a machine due to the random spacing, angles, and font faces on the image. The theory is to lessen the chance that a robot or bot is submitting the contact us form.

Fixing some code for Eric. He sent me the code and I made the changes for him and pushed things up and live. More captcha image stuff. Pushed the captcha image stuff live for the contact us email forms.

Did not meet with Bryan. I was on the meeting for about 20 minutes and then Russell called and I jumped on to that project.

Russell got a hold of me and we did some code sign-off and merged in some new news and update feeders and custom feeders and footer options.

Working on adding in links to get to the setup reoccurring elements of time and/or the duplicate time page.

On the morning meeting. Wayne and I were trying to figure out cross server datasource names (DSN's). We kept getting denied and couldn't get it to work. Wayne was going to call Newtek and have them help check on things. He later reported that he was able to get things fixed. As part of the morning, I got an email stating that something was causing a problem out in ecommerce land. I did some checking and made a couple of quick tweaks. Hopefully that will help. It is amazing how many different things we need to be aware of in order to make things work. I am so grateful for our user base that communicates needs, errors, and requests. It makes adilas into a live and growing idea farm, and that is super cool. Good stuff.

Towards the end of the meeting, Steve and I were trying to check some errors on the data 2 box. We were logging in, checking database tables, and then looking for other possible errors. We talked about error handling and ways to help all of us out in the process.

We have had requests to expand some of the functionality on both tax searches and invoice searches. We need to be able to filter sales tax values based off of a single customer type. They can add a limit by customer type on the add/edit store/location pages, but they can't filter the search results based off of the customer types. That needs to be added on the sales tax report, advanced invoice line items, and the super advanced invoice line items pages.

Working on adding customer type filters to sales tax reports and advanced invoice searches.

On a GoToMeeting session with Bryan. We covered a number of different topics. Some of it was merging in code, quick questions and answers, and working on an error out in the shop area. We took quite a bit of time and really looked deep and finally found what we were looking for. There was some code that was custom that had been commented out... it was actually needed, so we put it back in and just made it hidden. It took quite awhile to find it, but a pretty simple fix once we were in the right place.

We need to do a custom migration of corp 1048 from data 3 to data 8. This corp got missed in the initial migration process. It could get a little bit tricky.

As a side note, this didn't happen due to some technical issues. We will have to reschedule.

On the morning meeting with the guys. We were working through different projects. Alan was helping Steve with some Metrc tables and pagination for auto updates. I was then helping Steve with some bulk PO line items and doing custom bulk labels. We spent quite a bit of time working on the merge options and how to make things stick and work. Spent tons of time trying different things there.

Emails and tech support

My son and I have scout physicals in Logan.

Longer email responses and tech support.

Talking about creating a smaller sub theme in adilas and called it "fracture". This would end up being an adilas fracture account. We would like to rebuild things from the virtual ground up and add in all of the subs of subs and database field level control. This would be a full on internal white label and/or internal theme that goes down to the micro level. This deals with database field names, settings, permissions, and all of the sub settings and sub permissions that are needed. It could also deal and use smaller getters and setters as well as individual databases, custom API access levels, etc.

This is kind of a dream, but it would be so cool if we took the time to virtually rebuild the entire thing from the ground up and use and apply all of the ideas and lessons that we have learned getting to this point. That would be really exciting. It would really be cool if we had the money, funding, plan, and people and talent assets ready to play the game as well. That would be a huge but awesome project. Just an idea and/or a dream at this point in the game.

Talking about scalability and how to manage up and down swings without shooting ourselves in the foot. We were talking about load balancing and monitoring usage, storage, and bandwidth.

We have been seeing some light push back on price from the consultants. Basically, they are charging a certain amount and then promising that our services are and/or will be a certain rate for life.

We are also seeing that some of our clients are growing as they come on to our systems. That is hard to know what is going to happen when they first start up.

Technology keeps changing and pushing things forward. This is a crazy world and we need to build on the dynamic changing environments that happen all the time. This is not a static model.

Traditionally, software companies build versions and then release that version. They then build in the background and make the next version and then plan the release of the next version. Our model is literally build and deploy on a daily, weekly basis. Alan was saying that our clients are paying for what the current adilas system does and can do... they are not paying for the future developments. However, some of the client demands are almost all speed, bulk, and future related.

Tons of cause and effect relationships, pros and cons, and maintenance things... lots of talk about concepts, styles, and preferences.

After our discussions, we all went back and worked on our own projects. I was working on adding in the customer type id filter for sales tax reports and advanced invoice searches. Steve and Dustin were working on Metrc API pieces and bulk QR code labels. We also had both Wayne, Alan, and Calvin pop in and help with different questions and projects. Busy work section. Also some light phone calls and tech support stuff.

Light tech support and checking some remote data for a client. I ended up removing the bad data and then letting them know. The problem was having "double quotes" in a vendor name. It was causing a problem with some stored JSON objects.

Bryan and I met up on the GoToMeeting session. We went over black box stuff for alternate text values for barcodes, new corp-wide settings for invoice rounding, and then new server stuff. Trying to keep all of the pieces moving forward and rolling in a good direction. Busy times.

Finished up the code for the ability to filter sales tax reports and advanced invoice line item searches by customer type. Pushed up new code and did some testing.

Talking about people and how to organize and plan the projects that are needed. Lots of talking about putting people in play where they can shine best.

We did some code merging for Steve's and Dustin's branches.

Tried looking for a sub inventory error. Unable to find it and/or duplicate the error. Started working on the developer's notebook page. Trying to get some of that data out and on the web. This is the way we can help protect the main core concepts that the adilas platform is built on. Good stuff.

Bryan popped in and we chatted about a couple of things. He needed some help with some custom email pages. We also talked about servers and did some light training on URL encoding of URL strings and values.

Working on the developer's notebook section.

New part of the plan that we want to include into our model... If someone wants something... we get some upfront money to make a plan, no promises on deployment until we get a valid plan and get it approved. Then once we have a plan, we start working that plan. We have an abundant model and we could get even our lowest level developer work on it once we have a good plan.

We just want to make it work - Part of that is allowing our clients to help push new development by making a plan and then working on that plan.

If we have a plan and funding, we can open up our model to progression. Those are two huge pieces of the puzzle. Think of an abundant model - lots of options.

Talking with Russell on the phone about possible future options for using Bridgerland as a source of developers for future adilas projects.

More time working on the developer's notebook section. This has been a goal for years, just now circling back around on that project. Good stuff.

Scout camp with my son Tanner.

On the morning meeting with Steve and Wayne. Light catch-up from missing a week at scout camp. We then got a small demo on some of the code that Wayne is writing for the data transfers and data migration stuff. He is adding in universal unique identifiers (UUID's) and data check sums. On the data check sums, Wayne was taking in all of the data, fields, and values. He was then putting all of that together, running a special hash on the data, and the storing the smaller hash value. Then later on, he could compare that smaller hash value to another smaller hash value to see if any of the other pieces had changed. So, in real life, imagine a database table that has 50 columns of data and thousands and thousands of records. If each record (set of all 50 columns worth of data for a single record) could get a small little hash for the grand sum of the data. If anything changed, the mini hash would then change. This helps so that you don't have to individually check each of the columns and data to see what has changed. Great idea and huge time saver.

This is also really important for migrating data while a customer is working on things. If the hash remains the same, you know you have the latest data (all synced up). Very creative. You just need to make sure and update the small check sum if anything changes. That is kinda the key. This is the same process as a last modified date, but deals with data vs dates. Similar concepts.

Part way through the day, we got called out and had to do some major work and checking on the data 2 server. There was tons of web/API socket activity and it was bringing the server to its knees. We ended up disabling the data 2 API socket access port and did some checking on the local server. There had been over 72,000+ web/API calls this morning alone. We figured out that many of the calls were dealing with full invoice details and customer data look-ups. That raised some questions. After running a number of queries, we had some conversations about dedicated boxes, API socket access, and how to help monitor and load balance things. See attached for a few of the queries that we ran on the data 2 box to check things out.

Jumped back on with Steve and Dustin. Light flex grid tie-in training for Dustin and showing him how to get some of the data back that he was looking for. We ended up creating a spreadsheet and looking at the flex grid tie-in stuff in super simple form and format. Good session.

On the GoToMeeting session with Bryan. We talked about the dedicated servers that he is bringing up and their state/status. We then spent some time talking about the invoice rounding project to get invoices to a whole dollar value based on remaining cents and spare change. Bryan got on the branch and showed me a small demo of how things work. It seemed to work great, the only problem was dealing with the logic flow and when the cart would flip to the different dollar value. Basically, the cart would be what it was (whatever the dollars and cents were) and then it would do the rounding once the checkout button was clicked. The logic seemed fine, the only disconnect was the visual of when that invoice rounding would occur.

Emails, tech support, and code management stuff. Trying to get things back on track after being gone.

On the morning meeting with Steve and Dustin. I spent some time getting back into the developer's notebook project. We are trying to get some our brainstorming and info out to the world so that we can protect things like business or 3D world building, business or 3D data assembly line concepts, and other core adilas concepts and pieces. There will eventually be tons of different options, as far as code and application features go, but we really want to protect and help educate the general public about the core concepts and pieces that we are built upon. That is a huge part of the goal.

Helping Dustin get some custom labels going and helping to populate them. We had to fix a number of small coding issues. Good learning session.

Working on the developer's notebook project. Working on a new photo gallery for elements of time and showing photos, images, and scans outside the secured environment.

Working with Bryan over a GoToMeeting session. We were working on how to better implement the cart and invoice rounding features. We did some drawings, recorded some notes, and then did some light coding so that Bryan could see where I would take it if it was my project. I then sent him the files so that he could make the changes and start the coding process. See attached for some of the notes.

Got on a call with Jared from Campaign Rise. We chatted and went over some of the domain things and pointing issues that we are seeing. We used GoToMeeting and I showed him what I was seeing and then we got on a conference call with GoDaddy to help manage the domains. After that, I called Newtek and tried to work with them to get some help with the domain pointing and different records and such.

Spent some time on the serves looking around, changing things, trying things, and hopefully getting it to work. Kinda random. Also spent some time on the phone with Newtek trying to get help from them.

On the morning meeting. Steve was talking with some white label guys and talking numbers, sales, and options. It was fun to listen in from the background. Bryan jumped on and we did some code tweaks for some new invoice and cart rounding options. We pushed up files and did some testing. We found a small error and made a quick fix. We only got a couple of calls and we mostly were able to sneak pass the error without anybody knowing there was a problem. Everything should be good to go now.

Steve was saying that Alan said - "We sell our clients a system that does x, y, and z for a price and they are happy. Then a couple months later they want p, d, and q for the same price. That is not a standard software model. Normally, software creates a version, sells it, and then works on the next version. If you want the next version, you have to pay for it. We are somewhat working on a continuous release type model. It feels like we are trying to work on a car or truck as it is rolling down the road at 50 to 60 miles an hour. Pretty crazy.

Talking about options for bulk editing tools. We talked about being able to edit things on a one-by-one basis, bulk editing, short cuts, and also a matrix type interfaces. It is very interesting that as we paint the picture more and more, better and better, other people can see and catch the vision. They start helping to push us to faster and faster and encourage us to be more efficient, and have better flow. Pretty crazy, client feedback driven type functions and models. It almost leads itself, if you will let it.

I was working more on the developer's notebook project and getting photos, scans, and images ready to go. I also started to work on the media/content (uploaded files) pieces and getting that sub section tied in.

Towards the end of the session, I helped Dustin with some custom cart labels and where and how to get the data to populate the custom PDF labels.

Working on media/content for elements of time outside the secured environment.

      On a Zoom session with Russell. We spent the whole time looking over and prepping on the invoice due date project. It has been a couple of months and we need to get back to that. Most of the session today were reviewing, prepping, and light planning.

Working with Bryan on the cart and invoice rounding project. It gets pretty deep and lots of virtual fake values (smoke and mirrors) in the view cart page. Going over the logic and trying to standardize things.

Light talks about big data and fully tracking all sales clear out to the state, county, and city level. It is amazing how much the word "tax" or "taxes" play into the mix. Lots and lots of changes.

What if we built the application to help record the sales tax information so that it could be world wide. This would have to be on a per transaction basis. We already do this on stock/units and stamp the current tax rates, taxes, and customer location per stock/unit purchase. We also have some built-in functionality where an invoice could be sold from one location and then flipped to a different location and thus changing the full sales tax pieces.

We also talked about some of the underground and black market pieces that will come from some of these choices and decisions. Huge requirements usually drive certain people to a more hidden and/or underground market. Kinda interesting.

This whole conversation is part of what is going on. We at least need to know and acknowledge that some of these changes are going on.

Eric popped in and we switched to talking about loyalty points. One of his main questions was, are we using a line item to lower the total of the cart (redemption points) or are we using some kind of special payment type for loyalty points? Great questions. Eric came back in later and we spent some time talking about line items vs special payment types. What is a loyalty point? Is it a special account that doesn't really play into the financials or does it? Are the redemption of loyalty points a virtual discount or does it affect an actual liability that is recorded somewhere on the financials? Eric is using cart favorite buttons to help setup some of these systems.

We are seeing that most of the people want a standard value for the loyalty point. Some people have wanted variable point values. One of Eric's main question is dealing with the difference between how to accumulate and redeem the loyalty points. Is it a line item or is it a special account or special payment type. We are seeing special payment types coming more into the mix. Are loyalty points a real liability or are they a phantom liability? What happens if the loyalty points are variable? Does that mean that the phantom costs of that liability can change?

We also talked about special tracking accounts... Are these real, like a gift card or are they virtual or phantom like a loyalty point? They could potentially play slightly different. One of the challenged are wanting loyalty points having variable values based on time (dates and times) and/or what is going on in the cart (certain sales, promotions, or campaigns). The variable changing loyalty points could be a problem in tracking what the phantom liability is.

Maybe we could track all loyalty points and gift card stuff in the special tracking accounts. We then allow for the main account types to be real and/or phantom based. That way we could pull a real asset, liability, and/or equity account or a simulated (fake and/or phantom) asset, liability, or equity account. We really need to track all of the in and out values. Then we need to record what happens as those items are used. There may be a point value and a dollar value. They may even be different based on time. The value of time is going to be playing more into the mix on how these points are going to be used. Interesting, the loyalty points are becoming a form of currency and we need to figure out how to apply that. It goes beyond a simple discount and gets into an additional payment type. In a way, the question is what is the value of the loyalty points? Is it a discount or a payment type? We are seeing that people want to have both and even mix things to make it feel like the deal is even better.

We may need some tools that allow them to set things up and then the system will play by the rules that they setup. We need ways to add/edit loyalty points through a virtual interface. Everything needs to be tracked on the special tracking accounts. We can add (manual or automated) and we could subtract from the virtual account through both manual and automated action.

What if we allowed the users to setup the rules if they are using line items to add and subtract on an invoice or if they are using special payment types and how that affects things. Basically, we build the tools that are very generic and flexible and then help the users setup their own goals, needs, rules, and usage options.

After that, we jumped in and worked with both Steve and Dustin on merging in their code branches.

Working with Calvin over a Zoom session about ColdFusion mappings and paths to cfc's and across domains. Deep mapping stuff.

Bryan and I connected to work on the cart and invoice rounding options. We were trying to track down bugs and get things stabilized. We still have some hanging pieces, but we're getting closer. We may need to re-do this feature so that we get it right... It seems like it is getting kinda muddy (code wise).