Success! It only took GoDaddy 2 weeks but they finally fixed my FTP issue. Here’s the thing, the way they fixed the problem was to move my site to a new server. So, why couldn’t they have done that when I first called? Anyway, I really can’t complain too much. I have my FTP capabilities back and I am now able to post my Friday’s Songs again. Keep your eyes open for a special Friday’s Song later today. The regular installment will begin again this Friday (tomorrow)
Tag: blogging
Amazon.com Wish List
As some of you might have noticed, I have added my Amazon.com wish list to the right sidebar here on my site. I think it’s a good way to let those of you who would normally be inclined to purchase me a gift what I am looking to receive… smart, right? ;) Anyway, it’s on there and it has only a few items at this point in time. I was visiting my site last night, checking on the page I made for the Benevolent Blogger Project and I noticed something disturbing. For some odd reason, Amazon.com believes that Friends Season 3 is on my wish list. Let me just say that this is no the case! For some strange reason, it is showing this DVD collection and I have no idea why. The screenshot evidence is below. So, just an FYI for you all out there, I do not want Friends Season 3 on DVD.
FTP Issues
Due to FTP issues at GoDaddy, Friday’s Song will be posted later this weekend. I have an escalated ticket open that is supposed to be resolved in 24 hours. Fingers crossed everything works out soon!
While Stuck @ STL
—From Wednesday—
I’ve been relegated to people watching, which isn’t so bad. I’m sitting at a Starbucks next to the charter fights counter and the Midwest Connect counter. Some of these people act as though they have never flown before. Granted, that could be the case, but probably not for most of these people. They don’t have their IDs ready, they don’t have their ticket information available, and they don’t know when their flight is even supposed to leave. WHAT? Then how do you know to be at the airport now? It’s semi ridiculous. Also, there are the classic gigantic bags that people are insisting they can carry on to the plane. I’m sure that these Midwest Connect plans are super small and probably don’t have the normal overhead capacity. Why would you argue with a ticket agent? They obviously know if the bag is too large and they’re not going to give you a boarding pass until you check that beast of a bag. Too funny.
I guess another thing that doesn’t making getting stuck at the airport so bad is the fact that I have time to write these posts. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping regular with my posts. Sometimes it’s more difficult than others. Oh, and I guess it’s good that I’m here because I’m getting some good material for this blog.
Sucessfully Upgraded
Even though it was kind of a scary process, I have successfully upgraded to WordPress 2.5. I did everything as described in the upgrading how to at WordPress.org. If you use WordPress, I would recommend upgrading soon. The updated dashboard makes it totally worth it.
Always remember, back up your current site before upgrading. If you need instructions on how to do this, please check my post about backing up WordPress or do a Google search.
Happy Upgrading!
Backup WordPress
Backing up WordPress shouldn’t be something that you’ve never done. If it is, just follow these simple steps to ensure that your site is safe if the worst were to happen.
Download the WP-DBManager plugin and install it. This plug in allows you to setup automatic backups of your WordPress database and have them sent to your email for safe keeping. It’s a requirement for a solid WordPress backup regime.
After you’ve setup the plugin to auto backup your databases, you need to backup your content folders. I have yet to find any sort of auto program that will do this for you so just setup a time that you’ll go out on your server and backup your content folders. This should be done weekly, especially if you’re adding lots of stuff to your site. The main folders to backup are, wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes. If you have other folders that you regluarly upload items to that you reference in your WordPress site, back those up as well.
Now you’re prepared to restore your site if something horrible were to ever happen. Let me know in the comments if you have other backup strategies for your WordPress site.
From An iPhone
First, let me say that I have added a plugin that allows for my blog to be more easily viewed on an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It really speeds up the load times over EDGE.
Second, I have added a plugin to allow for the admin dashboard to be more easily read on said devices. It is actually quite remarkable.
That being said, this post is coming directly to you from an iPhone running on T-Mobile’s network. Enjoy!
Flock Issues
Ok, so I know I just started using this new browser that promised many things with its Blogging abilities. One of the main features that they talk about is being able to grab images form the web into a “clipboard” and then blog them. This is a great idea except the blogging system built into Flock just links to the URL of the image. That’s all well and good for Flickr images but NOT for other images I may find through Google Image search. Are you kidding me?? I thought being a bandwidth pirate died with the 90s, I guess I was wrong!
Needless to say, I will not be using this “feature” of the blogging editor in Flock. This may even keep me from using Flock on a regular basis. We’ll see how the weeks progress. The cool thing is that you can drag images there that you may want to use for later. Then you can just download and upload the old fashioned way. I guess it’s better than nothing?
This is a test… a Flock test.
I’ve downloaded a new browser (WHAT!?) called Flock and it comes with a built in blog editor. Supposedly it’s the “social browser” and it kind of lives up to that title. You can log in to all your social networks and view all the feeds belonging to your friends. It’s actually kind of cool. Right now, I’m looking at my “favorites” Flickr feed and YouTube feed.
If I click on my “people” sidebar, I can see the updates of all my friends in Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube. Kind of nifty. Also, there is a “favorite feeds” sidebar which shows RSS feeds I’ve subscribed to (no GReader integration, so I won’t be using that feature) and then there’s the “mail” sidebar where I can read my Gmail if I so desire.
Will I use this for long? Who knows. We’ll see how much it annoys me or helps me with my blogging. One thing that I’m already annoyed about is the fact that I can’t assign a category to this post from the blog editor. WTF! Anyone else use Flock?
UPDATE: I’m dumb… I get to choose a category when I upload to the blog… Sweet!
Gravatars – Get One!
Gravatar - A globally recognizable avatar.
Avatar - A digital representation of a person or being.
Forums have had avatars for quite some time. They have been a way for a person’s message to become more recognizable within a thread. Avatars have also moved into the blogging world giving some flare to comments users post. It’s also a way that habitual commenters can be easily recognized, almost like a signature. The idea behind a Gravatar is that you can have an avatar assigned to your email address that then shows up in any forum or blog that has the Gravatar code. Your avatar now becomes standard across many different sites and allows people to recognize you from other places that you may have posted. I think it’s pretty great and that’s why I’ve included the Gravatar code in my comments. If you have a Gravatar, you will now see it next to your name when you comment on any of my posts. If you don’t , my default “TV” logo will show up. If you’re interested in getting a Gravatar assigned to your email address, visit this link. Have fun!