Category: Crankypantsing

Crankypantsing, Meta

A Tiny Glimmer

Shelly

After nearly three weeks, the test blog is installed (just version 2.3.3, but that’s a start), and it looks like it’s more or less functioning. Of course, in the process of sorting everything out, someone in tech support helpfully changed all the links to images in my Coppermine gallery, so that they are pointing to a non-existent gallery within the test subdomain. Not helpful. I assume that’s something they can unbreak fairly easily on their end.

If I have the mental energy, I may try to upgrade the main blog this weekend. First, I’m going to need to find out if someone on their end can import my database in a timely fashion. I would rather not have everything dead in the water for another three weeks. That might make the baby Shelly cry.

Crankypantsing, My Garden, Photography

Echinacea

Shelly

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These came from another coworker. I was surprised that she dug up plants that were flowering, but it doesn’t seem to have bothered them. The flower heads were a little bent over, the first day, but on the second, the stalks had straightened up. They seem happy.

I also got some liatris from the same coworker. They look like they’re forming bloom spikes, so there should be some purple in that corner of the garden before too long.

In crankypantsing news:

1. Still no progress on the WordPress upgrade. Tech support was supposedly going to import a back-up of my live database into the test database. It’s over the do-it-yourself size limit, so they have to upload it on their end. That was two days ago.

2. Mr. Upstairs has been coming back in the middle of the night to clean. This means being wakened at 2am to thumpings and bumpings and carpet shampooers, oh my! I really hope he’ll be finished soon, because the lack of sleep is quickly losing its charm.

3. The gunshots last week? Remember the Stompy Girls? The woman living below them complained about the stomping and the late night fighting. One girl moved out, and the other moved into a ground floor unit at the other end of the building, with her abusive boyfriend. Well, apparently the gunshots came from her apartment. The theory is that she and her boyfriend were fighting and one of them pulled a gun and started shooting. Nice!

4. My kitchen sink is leaking. This is not completely unexpected, since the plumber told me to keep an eye out for leaks. Only, this was more like a flood than a leak. It looks like I’m going to be spending time at home again tomorrow, babysitting maintenance people.

5. Oh ich! Seriously. The little pleco I got, to clean my aquarium? He looked healthy enough, but he wasn’t. I should have quarantined him for a few days, but I didn’t have a good way to do so. I noticed last night that my goldfish were sprinkled with sparkly white spots. Not good!

I picked up some ich medication after work. Hopefully I caught it in time, because it’s deadly. Poor fish. I feel awful. It’s silly to get attached to goldfish, but what can I say? On the bright side, I’ve now done a lot of research and know how to preempt an ich infection.

6. In researching ich treatments, I ran across something called “hole in the head disease.” I am not making that up.

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Liatris (taken a couple of years ago in Ms. Lea’s garden)

Crankypantsing, Meta

Still No Progress

Shelly

I finally got a response from my web hosts, after more than 48 hours. They gave me yet another set of instructions for backing up my database and uninstalling and reinstalling WordPress. This is, as you might have guessed, not helpful. I already tried that, guys.

The heart of the problem is that my database is too large to import via phpMyAdmin. It chokes whenever I try. If I could successfully import my database, I think I could solve everything else myself. At the very least, I know that I can get version 2.3.3 up and running. I’ve asked if they can increase the file size capability in phpMyAdmin. Any bets on how long it’ll take them to respond? Or if they’ll respond?

I’m not feeling at all confident in the person who’s dealing with my current help ticket. First, the instructions she gave me were not explicit. The paths were not quite correct (I get the impression that they were written for a similar, but not identical, system–maybe she works for another branch of the same company?), but I’ve been screwing around with this long enough that I was able to figure out what she meant.

She also gave me a list of instructions for FTPing that included the address of an FTP host that I’ve never even heard of (bizland.com). Weird! I’m guessing they must be the affiliated with the company that bought my web hosts a couple of years ago.

And then, under the instructions for exporting my database, she repeatedly used the word “Import.” I’d rather not find out what would happen if I’d imported another database into the one I was supposed to be exporting. Perhaps nothing, if the imported database didn’t overwrite the existing one. But gee, I’d rather not find out!

Addendum: Now my most recent help ticket is marked “Resolved.” I don’t think so!

Crankypantsing

Illiterate Horndogs

Shelly

I just went down to the cafeteria (I required a caffeinated, carbonated beverage). It’s freshman orientation, so the library is swarming with families. On my way back up the escalators, there was a mother and father in front of me. The guy was behind the woman, and he was grinding on her! And since I was behind them–meaning, lower–the, um, action was right at eye level.

Alsotoo! The same couple passed not one, not two, but three signs stating that there is no access to the 3rd-5th floors from the escalator. If you want to go to those floors, you have to go back to the 1st floor and take the elevator. The 2nd floor hallway dead ends at a locked door (the entrance to tech services), at which point I told them that they were probably in the wrong place.

Learn to read, people!

Crankypantsing

Fancy Socks!

Shelly

The maintenance guy got here at about 9:30 this morning. Have you ever seen the episode of Keeping Up Appearances where Hyacinth and Richard are shopping for a country cottage? And they can’t understand a word that the local guy says? I’m usually pretty good with accents, especially home-grown ones, but this guy’s was impenetrable.

Crankypantsing, Meta

When it Rains…

Shelly

Just when I was wondering what else could go wrong,

1. Mr. Upstairs came back to move more crap out of his apartment, which apparently requires him pounding something heavy against the floor. Repeatedly. I think my last nerve might have just given out.

2. I put a piece of lettuce down the disposal, turned it on, and was rewarded with a deluge of water from the lower cupboard. My disposal literally detached from the sink. So I guess I’ll be calling the maintenance guys in the morning. Any bets on how many days I’ll be without the use of my kitchen sink?

3. Gun fire at 5:30 this morning. Nice! And a parking lot crawling with cops when I left for work, which I guess is a good thing. At least I know that they will show up, and quickly, when they’re called.

4. My web host, bless their useless little hearts, have apparently decided to give me the silent treatment. They marked my last help ticket as “Resolved.” I updated it on the 28th, saying that it was not resolved. No response. So yesterday, I closed that ticked and opened a new one. It’s been over 24 hours, and again, no response.

Needless to say, I’m looking at other hosting options.

5. And last, but not least, it’s supposed to start raining on Thursday. For an entire week.

Crankypantsing, Meta

Grrr!

Shelly

Okaythen! I’m back to being frustrated. I can’t get version 2.5.1 to work (it requires a database upgrade, which causes those lovely database table errors that I couldn’t get fixed the first time around), and since version 2.0 doesn’t have an export function[1], I can’t just dump everything into the test version, then upgrade the main blog manually and re-import everything.

And, of course, I got a response back from tech support telling me that my main blog is already running version 2.3.3. Um, no. It may say so in the admin panel, but the admin panel lies. And it doesn’t even make logical sense, since I installed from a back-up copy of version 2.0.

My understanding is that one of the symptoms of the hack I suffered is that WP misidentifies itself as a newer version. You have to look at the config files to find out for certain which version you’re running. When I tried to explain the upgrade death spiral to the folks at tech support, their solution was to alter my config file manually so that it now mirrors what the admin panel says. Not helpful! I want it upgraded FOR REALS, PEOPUMS!

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1. If it were actually running version 2.3.3, like tech support says, then I’d have my damned export function, thankyouverymuch. But it isn’t, and I don’t.

Crankypantsing, Meta

In Upgrade News

Shelly

It took me all damned day, but I managed to finally get a working install of WordPress v.2.3.3 on the test subdomain. I tried installing it manually, using first one installation guide and then another. Neither installs worked. Then, I stumbled across Installity. Success!

I’m so relieved that I might cry. This has been thoroughly frustrating.

Now, I need to try to upgrade the test install to v.2.5.1. If that’s successful, my plan is to import my blog to test, back everything up, then wipe the main blog entirely and re-install from scratch, using the same process as I did on the test subdomain.

It’s awkward–and time-consuming!–as hell, but since my web host isn’t being very helpful (and they only support version 2.3.3, anyway), I’m not sure what else to do.

I can think of about a million other things I’d rather be doing this weekend.

Crankypantsing, Meta

In Blogular News

Shelly

I’m going to be off filing for a few hours. The stack of papers on top of my scanner has grown hummense and is starting to contemplate world domination. Again. And then, I’m going to try to make myself attempt to (re)upgrade my blog software. God only knows how long that will take, assuming I don’t break everything in the process.