Category: The DayBook

This Blog started in 2001 as a Trip Log to record a summer in Alaska. Since then, it has morphed into my online diary.

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sort and OUT sunday

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Yesterday evening, I realized that I was a 21st century version of the Little Old Lady who lives in a cluttered house filled with old stuff. Old clothes that are out of style and don’t fit, stuff from forgotten hobbies, canning jars, plastic containers, greeting cards,  newspaper clippings, every issue of National Geographic since 1962. My clutter is just digital. Heck, I even have digital versions of attic, basement and even public storage lockers.

So, before breakfast this morning – I deleted 250 vintage emails.

Breakfast… it was left over salad. I like salad. Anytime.

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Hello, my name is Peg and I am a digital packrat.

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gecko in Hulihe'e Palace kitchen - 2001

Computer work time today was devoted to backing up the computer. Backed up the Photo Archives and iTunes.  And the Ubuntu homefolder. In Vista-Time I used an offsite backup service. But, about the time the HP Vista Whore Machine went into intensive care – my backup service had a massive failure and lost all my data. For this I was paying money???

My best of intention is to spend 60 minutes each evening culling and cataloguing  photos and generally trying to get my digital files battered into order. Just because I can save everything doesn’t mean I should.

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Friday

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from my walk to work today

I went out and took more pictures. For at least five years I have been trying to DO SOMETHING with all my pictures. So why did I take my camera off the shelf and carry it around today? I will devote one hour this evening to cataloging and deleting photographs from 2001.

So, no more blogging. Gentlewoman, start deleting. You are not  Georgia O’Keefe, Margaret Burke-White or Anne Leibowitz.  No one but you cares about your pictures.

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Looking Back 5 years

I was looking back in the old archives and came upon a picture of my closet. Strangely enough, I had just taken a picture of my closet to check the flash. What difference 5 years makes.

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Before and Waaaay After

This really is more than an example of a closet needing a good culling. I wanted to be sure that WordPress did not stick images out in the database part of the blog. It doesn’t.

I am very fond of the new database driven blog. Actually, the massive hardware/software melt down that started in mid-January might have been a blessing. I have some new best friends:

  1. WordPress
  2. Ubuntu
  3. KeePassX (for the Ubuntu side) and KeePass (for XP)
  4. FireFtp – a really fine Firefox plugin.
  5. FireBug – another fire Firefox plugin.
  6. FoxMarks – it might not be limited to Firefox
  7. OpenOffice – an old friend that I still use over MS Office
  8. “New” five year old Dell Optiplex

KeePass and KeePassX can share a database. It isn’t as easy/automatic as Roboform. But, I have all my passwords and answers to those stupid “What was your 2nd husband’s grandmother’s sister’s dog’s name?” challenge questions stashed in the KeePass database.

Foxmarks keeps my browser bookmarks in sync.

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Back to sorting photos

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hello humans, you are stepping on the fish

Back to sorting out photos. I must have been having trouble with my underwater camera settings in 2001, because most of the photos were seriously overexposed. The above water photos were fine. Just way too many of them. This image belongs in the trash. It isn’t focused or exposed anywhere near correctly. But, I just liked the silly humans… Standing around – missing the show just around their toes.

Got an unexpected day off today. That is the good news. The bad news is – the nurse that I work for is sick. Hopefully she gets well soon and I stay well.

Took advantage of the day off to figure out WordPress Tags and Categories – after a nudge from the favorite daughter.

Also made a 30 minute playlist of suspect Oldies – that will be my powerwalking timer. Its Raining Men and Hey Mickey are not what I would want to be caught listening too – but, if they were good enough for aerobics classes 20 years ago, I should be able to use them to keep my walker going. Also, Sugar Sugar by the Archies and Rocket 88 by Ike Turner. (Since he is dead -Ike is now allowed on the iPod.) Plus some other questionable – but perky tunes.

Still haven’t a clue about my Blog’s melt down the other day. Except for that unfortunate event – WordPress is proving satisfactory.

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OK

About this time yesterday, the blog went south. I couldn’t view it, edit it, or do anything. Maybe it was my host. Maybe it was my database. Maybe it was just bad karma. But, after 24 hours … it seems to be working again. I don’t really think I did anything to fix anything.

Think I’ll be figuring out how to back this up next. Because I have a long history of being able to mess up all things computer. Here it is: http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups#Backing_Up_Your_WordPress_Site
All backed up now.

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OK, next issue …

How do you break this bad boy into “pages”. Seems to me every Monday I should start out with a fresh page. Time to RTFM.

Think that as if by magic, this is going to split after 10 posts. May as well wait and see what happens.

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Making a Child Theme – testing…

eAnesthesia - an iPhone App
eAnesthesia - an iPhone App

This is more than a little scary. An iPhone app that does the anesthesia calculations. Think about it. What was iPod thinking when they approved this app? Do we really want our anesthesia person playing with their iPhone while they are supposed to be keeping us alive but out of it. What if they drop the iPhone during your operation, what then?

I am learning to make a child theme this afternoon and the results will be “indeterminate”.

Well, I think I have learned enough for now. Just made a few little “starter tweaks”.

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Just tinkering…

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peony from late friday

Just tinkering around with WP. Still haven’t gotten a good grip on the features. The favorite son-in-law suggested trying this theme.  It is a generic plain theme which encourages one to tart it up a bit.

Carlton is off to a Derby Party this afternoon. I do not do anything related to horse racing anymore. Figure that I am old enough to start working on seriously eccentric. If I had less money, I would be considered crazy – but I think my bank account still supports the eccentric tag.

Okay, let us figure out how to tweak the sidebar.

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Just what are those medals for?

cdc_docWe have seen a lot of this lady on TV lately. Not too sure who she is. Someone from the Public Health Service. But the question is: What is with the ribbons. Ribbons are sort of mini-versions of medals. So, what are hers for? Good conduct, perfect attendance? Maybe a Sharp Power Pointer Badge. In-country medal for service during the SARS outbreak? Did she fall on an anthrax ridden letter? I suppose her medals are as worthy as many modern military citations.She most likely facilitated, oversaw, managed, led, supported, supervised, headed, directed, piloted, steered all manner of task forces.After having facilitated, oversaw, managed, led, supported, supervised, headed, directed, held, piloted, steered numerous committees.

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Waiting for the pig flu

maskSpent 8 plus hours today at the volunteer job. Major effort in our department “Employee HEALTH” (not “Employee SICK”) is being sure that all 2,000 plus hospital employees are update on how to wear protective gear. Now you would think that they would know that already. After all… it is a hospital. We do have sick people here.

But, what else do I have to do? Might as well do some good. Having no medical skills – I run the computer, xerox machine and the errands.

Day three with the WordPress system. Think I might stick with it. It sure is easier than my old do it yourself system.

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Looking better…

Well, this sure looks better than yesterday’s version.

And let us take a little timeout from blog tinkering and pig flu prep to welcome Senator Specter to the Blue Team. I always liked him. Except for Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas of course. Some grudges you can hold forever. Or at least as long as Thomas is on the highest court. Which will be longer than Mr Specter or I will be around.

Flu prep. My hospital’s ER had the busiest day it ever had on Monday. Everybody who sneezed showed up. In the bowels of the hospital we are busily fitting people with N95 masks. And wondering where was all this flu concern last fall, last fall when we were trying get people to get flu shots.

I think I might learn to like this WordPress thing.