I Switch to WordPress

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I realize that Tiger Server’s in-the-box blogging tool is not what it’s cracked up to be.

I spent most of this week working on my server configuration: 3 out of 4 days, to be exact. (On Monday, I had a helicopter charter, then had to write an article for Mac Addict.) I haven’t gotten very far.

The goal this week was to turn on the Web server and put at least one Web site on it, then set up at least one blog.

The Web site setup went well. Apache is part of Mac OS X Server (and Mac OS non-server, if you want to get picky). The server includes a Server Admin application that makes setting up individual sites and enabling the Web server pretty easy. I created a folder for the Wickenburg Airport Web site — which is temporarily pointing to the wickenburg-az.com site I run — and copied the files to it. There aren’t many files. I built the site when I ran the FBO at the airport, but when I sold out, I pared down the site to the bare minimum amount of information so I wouldn’t have to update it very often. I wasn’t about to ditch the site. After all, I own the domain name and it’s nice to find some information about the airport on the Web.

I ran into one small problem with the setup, and that has to do with IP addresses. Setup asked what the IP address was for the site. The options were All, 192.168.0.2 (the local network IP address), and something else, which I can’t remember. I thought All would be the right option, but when I attempted to access the site from another computer on my network, it didn’t work (even after updating the .htaccess file on my production computer). I tried 192.168.0.2 and it worked. But I didn’t trust it; I didn’t think it would work from any computer. So I fired up my eMac and logged in via a dial-up connection I borrowed from my sister years ago for testing. (She still uses Earthlink on a dial-up account.) Sure enough, it worked from that computer, too.

I was very pleased about this, because not only did it prove that my server worked, but it proved that the Complete DNS Management feature on GoDaddy.com, where my domain names are registered, also worked. That means I can manage my own DNS without setting up a DNS server.

Next was the blog. I followed the instructions — such as they are — to enable the weblog feature of Tiger Server. The Weblog is created with a version of Blojsom. While Blojsom might be a highly configurable, powerful blogging software solution, the folks at Apple have done their best to limit customization and usability. That pisses me off, because the weblog capabilities in Tiger Server was one of the selling points that got me to buy Server in the first place. To make matters worse, I couldn’t get it running well enough to start fiddling around with customization options.

I posted a question in the Server discussion forum at the Apple Web site, asking how I could set up a blog and have a domain name point right to it (rather than something like www.aneclecticmind.com/blog). The idea was to build entire Web sites — like wickenburg-az.com, aneclecticmind.com, and langerbooks.com — with blogging software. These sites have frequent entries that I want to appear on the home page for a while, then get archived off based on date and category. EXACTLY what webLog software is good for. As a matter of fact, langerbooks.com was built with iBlog, the same package I use to maintain this blog. (Offline composition capabilities make it a nice tool for a laptop.)

Less than 2 hours passed before I got a response. The author of the response told me to try WordPress.

Now please understand that the last thing I wanted to do was switch to a different blogging package, one that wasn’t part of Tiger Server. As I said above, I bought Tiger Server partly because it had blogging software built right in. But because I was already stuck and couldn’t go any further with the installation I was working on, I decided to look at WordPress. And I liked what I saw.

Long story short: I downloaded WordPress and found two different documents that explained how to install it on Mac OS X 10.4. Of course, neither document covered how to install it on Mac OS X 10.4 Server. So, for example, even though I had MySQL installed, it was not the recommended version and it was a weird Tiger Server installation. It had trouble “talking” to PHP, which was also already installed.

I followed the first set of instructions I found, which used a package called MAMP. I wasted about 4 hours on that. I posted a question on the WordPress discussion board. That led to another message this morning, which recommended a different set of instructions. I followed that today. Twice. It required me to uninstall the Tiger Server version of MySQL and install the recommended version. Fortunately PHP was okay. I finally got the WordPress configuration windows to appear. And I even made some headway setting up a template for wickenburg-az.com.

Of course, to test this properly on my local network, I needed to assign a domain name to it. Right now, it’s gilesrd.com. But don’t go there now. It won’t work. I screwed up something in the configuration. WordPress’s “codex” Web site was up and down all afternoon, so I couldn’t get the info I needed to fix it. I looked it up tonight from home and found the answers I need. I hope to have it fixed by tomorrow.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the content will all be there. It’s still in early testing.

One of the things I need to do is set up multiple databases in MySQL and multiple WordPress installations. That’s the way you can get it to have multiple Blogs. And I’m going to need at least three of them. I figured I’d play around with this one for a while, then get serious and set up the ones I need. Then start filling them with archived entries — wickenburg-az.com alone has over 300 pages — and finally tweak the DNS to point to my server again.

I have time. There’s still about 7 weeks left on the two month hosting plans I set up for each site when I moved it off my server. And I can always extend that. I think I might do aneclecticmind.com first. And little by little, this blog will probably move over to that site.

I’m looking forward to a lot of evenings of copy and paste.

We The People

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A few choice Amendments from the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, for those who care about freedom. I added the italics.

Article I (The First Amendment)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Article IV (The Fourth Amendment)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article V (The Fifth Amendment)

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Article VI (The Sixth Amendment)

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

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Another example of the religious right taking offense at nothing.

I was born and raised Catholic. I don’t practice it these days, but I still consider myself “Christian.” The winter solstice holiday I celebrate is Christmas.

Almost every year, I send out Christmas cards. Well, to be fair, they’re not all Christmas cards. Some of them are holiday cards. Because not all of my friends celebrate Christmas. Some of them are Jewish and celebrate Chanukah. And I’ll admit that I’m not even sure what some of them celebrate because I don’t go around asking my friends about their religion.

I have a collection of Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays cards. I send them out primarily based on the picture on the card or the sentiment inside the card. I don’t, however, send a Merry Christmas card to someone who I know is Jewish. Or someone who might be Jewish. I do this out of respect for their religious beliefs. After all, why should I wish them a Merry Christmas — a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who isn’t anyone terribly special to them — when I could wish them a Happy Holidays?

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that the wish I’d like to share is for a happy and healthy holiday season. Isn’t that what we all wish everyone this time of year?

Now I’m definitely not a supporter of George Bush Jr. In fact, I don’t like him at all. But I think he’s taking a lot of undeserved grief with the White House Christmas card debate. I think the card is fine — a Happy Holidays wish covers everyone, without offending anyone. Christmas is a Christian holiday. Not everyone who received the card is Christian. Why should it wish everyone a Merry Christmas? And what the hell is wrong with a Happy Holidays wish?

Come on guys. Is it really that important? Don’t you think homelessness, unemployment, and hunger within this country are more important than the words that appear on a White House Christmas (or Holiday) card? Yet I don’t hear any of the religious right whining about any of that.

And, for the record, it is a Christmas tree. Sheesh. What other holiday puts a pine tree (or a fake pine tree) in people’s living rooms every December?

Reason Triumphs

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The Scopes III trial ends.

From the New York Times:

HARRISBURG, PA., Dec. 20 – A federal judge ruled today that it is unconstitutional for a Pennsylvania school district to present intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in high school biology courses because intelligent design is a religious viewpoint that advances “a particular version of Christianity.”

Thank heaven! (Pun intended.) I was beginning to think the country was regressing back to a 21st century version of the Dark Ages.

I have all kinds of respect for people’s religious beliefs. Religion is important to many people. It forms the bedrock of their personal belief systems and guides their everyday actions. But when religious beliefs contradict science, I’m on the side of science.

It doesn’t bother me to imagine that I’m the product of millions of years of evolution. It doesn’t bother me to know that one of my ancestors was a squiggly thing in the ocean and another was an ape-like creature that couldn’t stand quite upright. Science has produced all kinds of theories that make evolution feasible and there is enough evidence to satisfy me. Evidently, there’s enough evidence to satisfy a judge, too.

We should be teaching science in public schools, not religion. Religion should be taught at home and at church and at church-sponsored education, like Sunday School. Parents and religious leaders are better suited to answering questions about religion. Science teachers are better suited for answering questions about science. It makes sense.

Of course, I do have a good friend who believes that the earth is only 7,000 years old. (I think that’s his number.) It doesn’t matter that there’s all kinds of scientific evidence to prove that it’s billions of years old. My friend says 7,000 years and he truly believes it. That’s part of his religion. And who am I to tell him he’s wrong?

Not a science teacher.

Anyway, I’m not surprised that the trial ended the way it did. It makes sense to me. But Mike said tonight at dinner that he was relieved. Relieved? How could it not end on the side of reason? How could a government built upon separation of church and state settle for anything less?

The Chickens in My Garage

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A report on my 10-day-old chicks.

It’s true. I have 27 chickens in my garage.

If you’ve been following this bLog, you know that I ordered a bunch of chicks to replace my current flock. The mail order house I used decided to send me a bunch of bonus chicks. It turns out that the 18 additional chicks they sent are all males.

One of the chicks that wasn’t feeling too well last week died. Another one is sick now and I’m not sure if he’s going to make it. I hope that all the ones that die are males. I don’t have much use for more than 2 roosters. And come six months from now, my neighbors won’t, either. They’re already in their second home. Their first home, a big plastic storage box that should have lasted 12 chicks a week, lasted 18 chicks exactly two days. That was replaced with a pair of gas BBQ boxes I picked up at the local Alco store. A little work with a box cutter and some packing tape gave me a pretty good sized box. I had to buy another waterer and feeder, too.

Now I know that the above picture makes it look as if the poor chicks don’t have enough room to move around. But you have to realize that they’re all piled up on each other by choice. I don’t know why. There’s a heat lamp in there, so I know they’re not cold. I think they just like to pile up. Because when I went to take a photo a few minutes ago, they were piled up like that again. It makes for a boring picture and even more boring video.I can’t even get good video when I try. I pulled a little chickie out of the box and put it on my washing machine top, figuring that it would walk around and do cute chickie stuff. But it just stood there, breathing and blinking at me. Even when I moved the camera pretty close to its face. Maybe it’s because I just woke it up? But she is cute. Too bad they have to get big.

Well, I take that back. If you were cleaning the litter for 27 chicks every morning, you’d be pretty anxious to get them out of your garage and into the chicken coop.

Only four weeks to go. And I have the next addition to their indoor coop all ready for them.