Fox Haven Journal

Beau March 14th, 2009

The weather is back on a warming trend. Isn’t this a great time of year?  There’s so many changes each day as you walk around outdoors- I came around the corner of the house the other day and was surprised to find a small patch of jonquils in bloom with a little crocus nearby.  The daffodils are awesome this time of year and soon we’ll have large and small yellow flowers everywhere. 

By the way, I did finish the upgrade to the latest WordPress version. Hooray! Of course I was then locked out of the account for about 6 hours as I tried to reconnect to the database.  Oh boy… and then the login data was corrupted, but after much googling, tinkering, and gnashing of teeth, everything came together.  Other than a few formatting challenges it worked as advertised.  I was struck how after more than two years of writing here that I really enjoy it- and I would feel really bad to lose the data and writings.  I back up the database of course, but I haven’t printed out hard copies or anything.  I don’t know where it will lead, but perhaps after we’re all long gone someone else can read a little history of this time.  I wish I knew more about my own ancestors- what their lives were like and the thoughts they shared.  I’ll have to ponder that a little more.

Did you know that for the northern hemisphere the Vernal Equinox will take place this year on March 20th, at 11:44 am…?  Call me curious…  so in six more days we can have lunch and welcome spring once again.  Oh, wait… that’s UTC.   So let’s see for Central Daylight Time that means the equinox will take place at 6:44 am here in Missouri.  So make it breakfast then for the midwest… we can watch the sun rise and welcome a new day and a new season.  

I’ve been watching the pussy willow tree (Salix discolor) this week and the catkins are really full.  Soon they will burst forth with tiny yellow flowers and the bees will have a party.  Maybe we will too!

• Seasons , Trees and Plants , WordPress
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Beau March 11th, 2009

Isn’t it strange how when it’s warm outside there’s a bunch of fun things to do that we haven’t thought of for a while!?

Among other things, I’m working on upgrading the ‘ole Journal this week… a scary proposition.  I’m not a techie by trade, but usually get around okay.  Problem being that I’ve missed (i.e. not done) about the last six WordPress upgrades because I’ve customized this blog theme so much and was hesitant to change anything.  So I’m backing up the database and exporting a bunch of files, deactivating plugins, making notes… and maybe one of these days I’ll get the gumption to push a bunch of buttons and go for it.  

Soap bubbles come to mind when I think of upgrading the blog… I can see it all, even through various parts to ultimate place I want to be, but what if I do everything right, start the upgrade process and then, “Poof!” it’s gone?!  Figuring out how to bring it back is worse than upgrading it.  At least for non-scary-smart-(non-specific-gender)-techie dudes like me.   

Need to grab an ice cold drink before-hand maybe.  But then those other little bubbles might impair my judgement and then where will I be?!  Ah, but the new WP versions are much more friendly to administer (thanks to a lot of really scary smart techie folks) and security is much better, upgrading is easier, media files work better, blah, blah, blah.  So if things look kind of strange around here at some point, you’ll know why… it will either be my fault or well, the bubbles fault! 

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Beau February 22nd, 2009

I’m trying a new experiment today, using the “blog post” function inherent to MS Word 7.0.  This is not the same thing as “copying” and “pasting” from Word- it’s a new capability, and doesn’t insert a plethora (did I just use that word?!) of extra HTML markup that clutters the post code.   Practically speaking, it’s not too different than logging in to your blog platform and using the administration tools built into it. But Word does offer greater flexibility such as using my 19 inch widescreen monitor with a much larger screen size to type/write on, manipulate images, etc. Using WordPress I have to constantly “re-size” the text editor to fit images and such. But with Word, you can maximize it to full screen size just like typing any document offline. I should note that I’m not using the latest WordPress evolution, so other users may have different opinions. It should also be noted that Word’s blog post capability can be used with Blogger, Windows Live, TypePad and other platforms too.

I like the fact that the Word software has made it pretty simple to set up your “accounts” for publishing, offering the ability to publish right away, or as a draft. Which means if you’re using a computer without internet access, you can finish a post and save it for later publication as well. I like that feature in terms of the idea of bringing a laptop with me while traveling and publishing later when internet access is available. Sure you could always do that when writing in Notepad or another text editor, and then “copying” and “pasting” text to your blog platform- but with MS Word you can save all your formatting and image placement too, and simply post right away once you have internet access again.

Last year for example, we took a two-week trip camping around the Midwest and didn’t have internet access very often. I remember typing a few posts in advance as a rough draft, but then had to scramble quickly to finish, edit, format and publish the article when we finally had internet access before moving on. So with this ability I can have it ready to go in advance, and upload it quickly at my convenience when we get internet access again. If you’re only typing text without images it may not matter to you though.

Realistically I’m not sure if I’ll use the “blog post” function within Word very often- I like having the functions within WordPress available while writing new posts, and changing your writing habits isn’t easy sometimes! There is one other thing although it doesn’t happen very often- I have lost several posts while trying to publish them after spending an hour or two writing them. That’s a big “Aaarrrghh!” moment.  WordPress has a great “autosave” feature that works pretty well, but sometimes you can still lose a post and writing it up offline in Word may prevent that from happening. It’s nice to have options and other ways to do things. 

So how did it work out?  Well, I first published this as a draft, and it turns out that my pictures didn’t show up- I had to go into WordPress and reload them.  I may not have set it up properly so I’ll try again.  Also I found that Word inserted a backslash wherever a single or double quotation exists.  That’s not helpful… so I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to change that.  Otherwise it seems to work just fine- does anyone else have user feedback on Word’s blog post capability?

By the way, I’m excited that the little shrub, or smallish tree, in the middle of the picture below is growing bigger this year. 

Do you know what it is? 

• Passing Thoughts , WordPress
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Beau March 2nd, 2008

One of the neat things about sharing thoughts and pictures with a blog is the ability to reach so many people. The internet still amazes me, and through writing on a blog we can appeal to a diverse array of people from all walks of life and all over the world.  Sometimes we find a blog accidentally while searching for something else.  But most people who visit a blog or website do so quietly, preferring the anonymity of the web.   In blog jargon, people who visit a site but don’t comment much are called “lurkers.”  I read somewhere that more than 80% of a sites visitors usually just browse the site without commenting.

I must admit that I’m a lurker on most of the sites I visit!  Usually I just don’t think I have much to share or contribute.  When I do make a comment however, I find that the host really appreciates it.  Sometimes I’ll “subscribe to a feed” or RSS link in my newsreader, and receive updates on daily posts. 

But for other sites I’ll sign up directly for an email subscription so that whenever a blog post is made, I’ll get that email on the same day even if I have not visited the site in a while.   I find it easier because I don’t always remember to visit different sites, and frankly I just don’t have the time.

One of the companies that has simplified blog feeds and email subscriptions is FeedBurner.  The company grew so quickly and was so effective that Google bought them last year!  But FeedBurner is not perfect as I found out yesterday.  I’ve had a “Subscribe vie Email“ page and link on the site for some time, and when I went to help someone sign up yesterday I found it wasn’t working. Arrggh!  It seems that if FeedBurner makes some tweaks to their system without notifying users it results in a broken sign-up process. 

So that link is now fixed… if you’ve tried to sign up in the past and didn’t succeed, I offer my apologies.  And if you haven’t tried to sign up in the past, well then I hope you’ll consider it now! :)   

I certainly understand if you enjoy reading quietly from afar.  But if you ever think about commenting on a post or topic, please feel welcome to do so.  Soon it will be time for the garden, and I hope some of you can share your growing insights! 

After fixing the links on this site, it’s time to head outside.  It’s supposed to warm up to 73 degrees today before turning colder again this week.  But the cold won’t last for long!  I hear the birds singing… Best regards-

• Rural Living , WordPress
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Beau January 25th, 2007

Aaron from Technosailor wrote a nice summary of WordPress 2.1 “Ella” and the “10 Things You Should Know…” and I thought it was helpful. While working in the “weeds” during an upgrade/install, sometimes we need to step back and look at the big picture for why we’re doing it! The big items include “autosave” of posts while you write- which I didn’t know only functioned when you put your title in the title box. Good to know… I’ll start putting a draft title in every post from know on. The new visual editor is nice with a “code” tab to switch back and forth, although the font/style comes out differently in some posts… not sure why yet?! Image handling is also more explanatory, although I found the previous capability just fine. Merging of links and categories is an interesting subject… many blogs are having difficulty with how their themes and plugins handle the differences. You know what I’d like? A blank link category…

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Beau January 25th, 2007

 Update – 2009: This is obviously an outdated post, but I’m leaving it here for archive purposes.  I’m currently running WP 2.7, and with the fantastic new tools that WordPress includes in the platform, upgrading should be fairly simple in the future.  Most web hosts now use Fantastico or Simple Scripts for installation, and they work fine as well.  Best regards-

 *****

I finished the upgrade from WordPress 2.0 to 2.1 “Ella” last night.  Wahoo!  Not too complex, but took longer than I thought (Details and steps are on the next page, below. *Note: Some of my plugins caused broken pages/categories, but I have updated them- especially a quick fix from Moeffju.net for Ultimate Tag Warrior- see end of post). Mostly took longer due to my FTP connection, and the full backup of the database and installation of files…. and I went slowly!  (Hmmm… this text looks smaller?!) 

I use FireFTP within Firefox, and it is reliable yet can be slow… primarily because I work via satellite internet.  I think the latency present in the satellite internet connection does not allow a constant data stream and many FTP programs “time out” and attempt reconnection.  Normally it’s not a problem with a few files.  With a new installation or upgrade however, it can be very frustrating and takes more than 30 minutes for 15-20 files!  Maybe someone else knows a better way to configure my computer or FTP program to maintain connectivity while using satellite internet… but while I await further recommendations, I’ll tell you my quick fix! I thought… “Well, perhaps if I had a constant packet stream that would allow the FTP program to work efficiently?”  I tried chat and voip to see if that made any difference… nope. 

What about downloading streaming video or music?  Didn’t work with large files, too much coming in… Hmmm… what about YouTube?  It worked! I simply looked for various YouTube music shorts of 4-5 minutes in length… let them play in the background, and lo and behold the FTP program worked like a banshee uploading files in a fraction of the time it normally would independently.  Could there be a ”normal” way to configure FTP or my computer differently to achieve the same?…  anyone?  Until I find the answer I’ll be visiting YouTube regularly… :)    Now about the WordPress upgrade…. with all due respect to those of you reading, I try to remember this quote by Douglas Adams (1952-2001):

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof, is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”  

Okay, here’s how I completed the upgrade.  If anyone has other useful information, please comment!:

Remember: If you are using an older version of WordPress, earlier than Version 1.5x, you must upgrade to Version 1.5x first, and then upgrade from 1.5x to 2.0.x or 2.1.  Go here for WordPress instructions to upgrade older sites: http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrade_1.2_to_1.5

1. First- read, heed and become very familiar with WordPress Upgrade instructions. WordPress is the authority and reference for how to upgrade- so go there first!  The following information is simply a guide for how I completed my upgrade, in case it might be helpful.
2. Plan for at least a couple hours (or more) of time in case something doesn’t upload correctly or you forget where you were in the upgrade process… if you have to leave and come back eight hours later, you may not remember and your site could be hard down!
3. Complete all database backups as indicated, both within WordPress and phpMyAdmin. I like to save the backup files both to the web server and my local computer. WordPress has excellent database backup instructions here: http://codex.wordpress.org/Backing_Up_Your_Database
4. Make a copy of the .htaccess file and the wp-config.php file in case they are accidently deleted. I also like to save a copy of my WordPress wp-content folder in case I accidently delete or overwrite those files.
5. Do you have backups of all images and other customized content that you have uploaded to the webserver? Do that if you have not done previously.
6. After downloading and extracting the file to my computer, I set up Windows Explorer to show the file tree of the new files and the file tree of the files on my blog (using cPanel File Manager) to see what was different.  I familiarized myself with the folders and files I would be adding to the webserver. WordPress recommends deleting webserver files first to ensure a clean install/upgrade. However I chose to overwrite the files as I went along, paying attention to exactly which files would be changed.  I am not familiar enough with every file used on my web server to simply delete them all.  Some of those files are used by other components, functions or plugins, and I wanted to ensure I kept them there.  Your choice.
7. I have a duplicate functional localhost site of my blog (using WAMPSERVER) which helps in two ways:
   • First, it allows me to test and verify that certain components, plugins and upgrades will work on my blog.
   • Second, I can then reference exactly what files are used while I upgrade via FTP to my live hosted blog. So after first completing the upgrade/install on my localhost site to verify compatibility with my theme, plugins, etc. I was confident to upgrade my live hosted site. 
8. I read the WordPress Upgrade  instructions a couple more times… “measure twice, cut once!”  Now I started the FTP program and went to work. 
9. In my FTP program, I expanded the file tree of the newly extracted WordPress files, and once step at a time verified exactly which files and folders would be transferred to the webserver. Ensure that you don’t simply tell FTP to transfer folders without verifying what files are in them!  After you’ve done this a few times it will be easier, but you don’t want to overwrite (or delete) your wp-content folder on the webserver! 
10. I uploaded the main/root WordPress files to my webserver root.  Follow the WordPress Upgrade instructions if your blog is not in your root directory.
11. I uploaded all the wp-admin folders and files, then all the wp-includes folders and files.  Some of you may have other files or customizations here, but I knew I didn’t and simply replaced them. 
12. Then I started on the wp-content folder files:
    • In the wp-content plugins folder, I only uploaded the new Akismet and “hello” plugin files to my plugin folder.  I have other plugins in the folder that I wanted to save.  
    • I then uploaded the new Classic and Default themes in the wp-content folder (making sure I left my own themes and files in the wp-content folder on the webserver!). If you are using the Classic and Default themes, you should know if you customized any pages or templates, and uploaded images- these “customizations” should be known by you, and the images saved as well in case you overwrite or delete them.  I don’t use the Classic or Default themes, so I simply replaced those folders with the new WordPress Classic and Default folders.
13. That should be it!  Uploading everything took about an hour because I went slowly.  Now you simply add “/wp-admin/upgrade.php” to your site URL in your browser, (e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php or http://www.yourdomain.com/wordpress/wp-admin/upgrade.php if WordPress is not in your root directory) hit enter and follow the simple instructions.  Remember to restart your plugins one by one and see how the site runs.
14. Any Problems?  Lets hope not- WordPress has instructions to restore your backups if necessary here: http://codex.wordpress.org/Restoring_Your_Database_From_Backup. 
15. One of the problems I did have on my localhost upgrade was that after everything was up and running, I went to update my permalink customization in the WordPress admin site.  Guess what?  I got a 500 server error… and then couldn’t go back or restart the site at all.  I was bummed but checked my log files.  I found in my Apache log file a list of errors with one commonality:
    • “.htaccess: RewriteRule: bad flag delimiters, referer: http://……./wp-admin/options-permalink.php”
16. After a Google search, I learned there could be code errors, spaces, etc. in my .htaccess file.  So not having any php coding skills, I took a clean, basic .htaccess file with only “RewriteEngine on” and replaced that with the one in my root directory that wasn’t working.  And voila! Success!  WordPress modified the .htaccess as it needed.
17. Some of you have many different .htaccess configurations, and that is why it is recommended to back it up before starting the upgrade.  My original .htaccess file had a php test configuration added to it, and that appears to have been the problem. 
18. I did not have any file permissions issues after the upgrade. I have seen this happen with other files I have added to my webserver, so that is one area to look at if you do have problems.

Hope your upgrade goes smoothly… remember not to underestimate the process!  Again, with all due respect to those of you who have read this far…. Douglas Adams also said:

œThe major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair

We should probably remember to think of this process as something that “might go wrong”… !  But you’ve got to love WordPress…

Thanks to the WordPress team!

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• WordPress
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Beau January 10th, 2007

What a day… lots going on, and as a newbie WordPress user I feel like I’ve been drawn into a whirlpool of pluginmania. Hmmm… sounds like a good domain name for some able-bodied coder team, probably already is but I won’t check! Oh okay, just for grins I did check… Pluginmania.com does exist! Not updated. But I’m flabbergasted…(yes, I said that) about how many plug-ins are available… I keep thinking, “Would be nice if WordPress could…” and then I find a plugin somewhere that is pretty close. Yesterday WordPress announced a couple of new projects, Ideas and Kvetch! that could be neat for putting ideas together from collaborative sources, and for feedback- subtle or not, from the user experience. I don’t have a Kvetch! comment really… I think this whole thing is pretty cool. Like dog training, any limitations I find are mostly with me. Lots of ideas but I’d like to see some type of instant messenger beyond a link, etc. that could show the WP user is online with a way to connect to them if desired. I remember using Lotus Sametime (and here) in a networked environment with users all over the world… worked very well. Maybe GoogleTalk, or something Trillian-like for app integration? Using some type of IM for WP may not gain the user much beyond what various messenger apps can do now, but some type of cleaner integration, live comment interface, or collaborative comment interface (aka Sametime meeting room) would be nice- at least for WP users and bloggers! Have I just not seen it yet…?

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