To IP or not to IP; that is the question ...

I am toying with the idea of getting a static IP address at my home office.

Don't I have enough complication in my life? I could end up spending 12 hours a day just tweaking my HOME system! There's definitely no money in that - I know I can't afford myself.

Just think of the possibilities, though ...

• my own web server, with almost unlimited gigabytes of downlaodable goodies for the five or six people that visit nuther.com
  
• my own mail server to build, maintain, patch, prop up, virus scan, clean out and occasionally rebuild
  
• my own DNS server, 'cuz heaven knows I wouldn't trust a professional ISP to provide a service THAT important
  
• new, increased monthly expenses from our local telco for my wife to get excited about
  
• never mind the extra power consumption, the noise of whirring fans, floor and shelf space to be taken up, etc.

What could be better?

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By the way, my home office is now permanently tri-platform. I am running Linux RedHat 5.2, Windows 98 (soon to become Windows 2000 Professional when I get 4 spare hours) and Mac OS 9.2.1 running on a recently acquired G3. I forgot how bonehead-friendly Macs are - it only took two hours of next-next-next-next-reboot's until I had things the way I wanted them. I still need to get printer sharing set up on the Linux box (disguising itself as a file and print server, no less). If tinkering is a sin, I'm going straight to hell.

See what happens when my wife heads out of town? No one is around to shoo me off to bed at a decent time.