Bane of Man's Existence
When I was in high school on of my buddies used to say that “glasses were the bane of man’s existence.” Based on my experiences trying to get my lens prescription updated the last couple of weeks I whole-heartedly agree with him.
It’s been three years since I had my eyes examined so I made an appointment with a new eye doctor for early June. My previous eye doctor discovered politics and now works for the state government after closing her vision practice here in town.
The exam was good and as I suspected discovered that my current prescription is no longer quite strong enough. I’ve reached the age where presbyopia is steady diminishing my visual acuity. With my new prescription in hand I set out to get new lenses for my current frames. I like the frames and saw no reason to get new ones. The glasses/frames side of the business where I had my eyes examined said they would need a day to fit the new lenses to my current frames. And their prices were quite a bit higher than the Vision Center at Walmart, so I opted to get the lenses at Walmart.
##Lenses, First Try On a Saturday afternoon I went to the Vision Center at Walmart with a copy of my prescription to order new lenses. The clerk who assisted me had great difficulty getting their computer system to recognize my insurance, and she seemed less than confident in her approach to gather the various measurements necessary. After about 45 minutes she handed me over to the other store clerk (who I’ve worked with successfully in the past). Clerk number two finished the order after another 30 minutes of futzing around. My patience was completely gone by this point so when the customer facing price display showed $170 instead of the stated $80 for the final price I canceled the order and walked out.
Lenses, Second Try
I went back to the eye doctor where I’d had my eyes examined and tried to order new lenses from them. Since they don’t carry my frames the lens would have to be “finished” in the store and fitted to my frames. The clerk said it would take all day - a business day - to accomplish this fitting. I cannot read or operate my computer with my glasses so this would entail a day off from work. I wasn’t happy about that requirement but okay. The total price was $125 - more than 50% higher than Walmart’s price.
After getting home and discussing it with my wife we decided that the premium price was too much and I called and canceled the order.
##Lenses, Third Try I went back to Walmart and ordered the lenses. This time I observed the customer price display more carefully and saw that it only shows two lines at a time, whereas the details of the price, the discount, the insurance allotment, and the total are spread out over many lines. Even though the display says $170 the actual cost is really $80. Lenses ordered.
##Lenses, First Fitting Try A couple of weeks go by and I get a call from Walmart saying my new lenses are in so I go there to get them installed. The first clerk is working that evening and she wasn’t able to setup my glasses properly. In hindsight it appears she managed to reverse the lenses, putting the left in the right-side and the right in the left-side. The are nearly symmetrical over the vertical axis which makes them hard to tell apart. However with them in the wrong sides the frames were visible distorted. When she did get them in right the lines for the bi- and trifocal areas were not parallel to the floor. The were at a 30º angle. I had her put the original lenses back in the frames and agreed to come in the next day to deal with the manager.
##Lenses, Second Fitting Try The manager had no more luck getting the lenses to work and agreed they needed to be remade. She said it would take another week or so. In putting my original lenses back in the glasses she managed to make a 3mm long scratch in the near vision portion of the left lens. Extremely annoying but livable for a couple of weeks.
##Lenses, Third Fitting Try When the second grinding of the new lenses arrived I returned to Walmart and the second clerk installed them for me. The width of the trifocal area was about half of what I’d had before. I had specifically requested that the bi- and trifocal portion of the lens be as wide as possible to match my current lenses. I look at a wide array of computer screens at work and wanted to swivel my head as little as possible. The trifocal area of my lenses is 34mm out of a lens that is 46mm wide.
And the clerk managed to mix up the old and new lenses so that at one point I had the scratched lens in the wrong side of the frames. They could make good use of some little colored stickers to keep track of which lens is which.
After 90 minutes in the store I gave up, requested my original lenses and a refund. To Walmart’s credit they did return my money. But I still don’t have new lenses and I’m reading around a scratch on my dominate eye side.
##Lenses, Fourth Try I am tempted to order new glasses and lenses online. The prices are far lower than from any of the local stores. However, you can’t see and try on the frames ahead of time. The best you can do is look a pictures and measurements. Plus, only one site I’ve checked out of four so far, makes trifocal lenses. I’m not sure I’d be able to specify the wide trifocal area I want. So I am reduced to visiting all the eye glasses stores in town looking for a new frame and new lenses.
The nearest Lens Crafters (where I got many glasses over many years while living in Illinois) is 60 minutes drive away. And I’m not entirely sure they can make trifocals in the store in an hour meaning I’d have to make 2 two-hour round trips.
Maybe I’ll just squint.
Big Wooden Ball Project ⧁
What do you do with really big chunks of wood? Custom make a truck sized lathe and turn out big wooden balls.
(via: @jacobian)
Showing Git Commit Counts
For sometime I’ve thought that that using the commit count on a project would make a good version number algorithm. My idea has been to have a file in the project that contains a number. That number is created by a commit hook. Each commit increments the number. I guess this would be more of a “build” number than a true version number. Either way, it would eliminate all the trouble over how to come up with a reliable way to have a MM.mm.pppp version number where MM is the major release, mm is the minor release, and pppp is the patch number.
A quick Google search led me to How to get the git commit count on StackOverflow. As of this posting, answer 14 had two git shortlog commands I liked enough to include in my aliases file.
##Show total number of commits in the current repository This command shows the total number of commits in the current repository for all developers.
git shortlog | grep -E '^[ ]+\w+' | wc -l
##Show number of commits by developer This command is a variation on the first command. It shows each developer’s name and then the number of commits they’ve made to the repository.
git shortlog | grep -E '^[^ ]'
My next project will be to create a git commit hook that works with the first git shortlog command to populate a build count file.
The Fallacy of Choice
The supermarket I shop at most frequently recently moved. They built a larger new store across the parking lot from their old location. The new store is nice but the area of the store I interact with the most, the deli counter, changed for the worse.
In the old store the deli counter always had trays of pre-sliced lunch meat – ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, et cetera – and pre-sliced cheese – swiss, provolone, colby, and so on. I could walk up to the counter ask for a half pound of honey ham and six slices of baby swiss and in two minutes I had my plastic baggies and was headed toward the checkout.
With the new store the supermarket brought in Boar’s Head meats and changed their entire process. I’m sure the sell behind this was “giving the customer control” or “giving them choice”. It’s awful. What used to take two minutes can now easily take 15 or more. The entire new process is based around asking the customer questions.
I walk up and ask for, say, a half a pound of honey ham. They respond by asking if Boar’s Head is okay.
Boar’s Head is the only meat on display. I have learned that there is another, lesser, brand hidden away that you can get. I suspect the Boar’s Head franchise requires they point out that you are buying Boar’s Head meat and cheese.
They hunt around in the case to find the open Boar’s Head honey ham and take it to a slicer. Pretty soon they return to the counter with a slice of meat on a plastic tissue and ask if the thickness is okay. Usually they hold the meat sample up perpendicular to me so I can’t see the thickness. Some ask me before hand how thick I want it. I always say, “however thick you used to slice it”. This usually doesn’t work as all the deli people are new and have no idea about pre-sliced meat. A chart showing the various thicknesses would be hugely helpful.
Eventually they have a half pound of meat on the scale and package it for me. Then I say I want six slices of swiss cheese, and we start the whole litany of questions over again.
Deli clerk: “Boar’s Head cheese?”
Me: “Yes”
DC: “Which kind of swiss?”
Me: “Baby”
DC: “How thick?”
Me: “3.75 microns”
DC: “?”
Me: “The usual thickness”
DC: Sandwich slices?
Me: Sure
Since there are so many interactions for each transaction it takes longer. If I get to the deli counter and there are two or three people already in line it can easily be 10 or 15 minutes before I get waited on. I used to leave work at 11:30, stop at the deli for lunch supplies and be home by 11:45. Now on days when I need to restock the lunch meat and cheese at home I am rarely home before noon.
The fallacy here is that Boar’s Head, and be extension, Dillon’s, think they are taking better care of me by giving me choice and control over my meat and cheese. They took a working, efficient process, and encumbered it with many needless little steps. I just want to buy some lunch meat, and some sliced cheese so I can make a sandwich for lunch. I don’t want to play 20 questions with the deli help in order to do so.
I’d take my meat and cheese business elsewhere except that all the other deli counters in town operate on the same “Let’s let the customer choose every aspect” model that Dillon’s now has. I suppose I’m in the minority of people who’d rather have a selection of ready-cut lunch meat and cheese so I can just choose and go. I’ll just have to get used to standing in line and playing 20 needless questions about meat and cheese a couple times a week.
Reset Your Password ⧁
(via Laughing Squid)
In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expedition to Alderaan ⧁
Poohbacca!
Migrating From Bluehost to WebFaction
I moved all the websites I have or manage to WebFacton this past weekend. It was, as they say, a non-trivial undertaking. Broken down into categories and in rough order of execution here is how I did the move.
Account Creation
Creating an account with WebFaction is straight-forward and quick. The signup process allows you to choose your account id and my first choice was immediately accepted. I’m used to having to trial-and-error my way through increasingly unlikable user ids to find one that hasn’t already been taken. Getting my first choice was nice. Even though the site warned me that it may take an hour for my account to be activated in truth it was more like 15 minutes.
Four years ago when I signed up with Bluehost I didn’t realize that my user id would be the first 8 characters of the primary (first) domain I hosted there. I ended up canceling my first account, getting my money back, and creating a new account in order to have a marginally acceptable user id. A small thing to be hung up on perhaps, but illustrative of the different approach WebFaction has so far displayed.
Setup
Like any nerd I immediately signed in to my new account both through the my.webfaction.com URL and through a command line using secure shell (ssh). I was delighted to discover that WebFaction supports either bash or zsh as your default shell. For nearly a year now I’ve been using zsh anywhere and everywhere I can and one of the first things I setup on the new server was my zsh configuration. This was made easier since WebFaction also includes Git.
Git
I have kept all my configuration files, including my zsh setup in a Git repository for some time now. Being able to clone that setup to my new WebFaction account with a single command made my afternoon last Friday. With my dotfiles repository in place, oh-my-zsh installed, and some ln -s commands issued to link everything together I had my preferred setup on the new remote server.
Control Panel
Unlike many shared-IP hosting providers, WebFaction does not use cPanel as the default set of tools used to manage your account. Instead they have developed their own control panel. It is very easy to use and doesn’t have all the pseudo-spammy extras that every other cPanel installation seems to come with. With just a few minutes exploring I was able to find my way around the WebFaction control panel with ease. Best of all they have excellent documentation.
Applications
WebFaction has the concept of an “application”. Each application is really a container for holding resources used to create a site. The application may be static or dynamic. It is easy to pre-install a number of tools including Rails, Django, and WordPress. I created eleven applications: 4 WordPress and the rest static. From the command line I could see that the webapps directory was being populated with new sub-directories named for the applications I was creating. Simple and straight-forward.
With the application container in place I started moving the resources that made up each site from the old Bluehost server to the new WebFaction one. The smaller static sites were done first as they were less complicated - just copy the html, css, and other files. In the case of the WordPress sites I needed to do some setup to the WordPress installation WebFaction did for me. Each of the 4 WordPress sites I moved has its own theme and collection of plugins. Once I had the theme installed (or copied from Bluehost) and the plugins installed and configured, I used the export/import feature in WordPress to move the content.
Websites
Applications are mapped to domains through a website. It is possible to map the same application to multiple domains or sub-domains. Initially I mapped all 11 applications to my default WebFaction domain: <userid.webfactional.com>. This allowed me to view the sites without having to initiate the name server change. I just mapped each new application to a new path on my default domain. So for application-x I created a website record that mapped it to userid.webfactional.com/site-x. Once I could see each site through this mapping I was able to address any issues that had cropped up during the move.
Domains and Name Server Changes
With sites in place the next step was to add the domain to WebFaction. This was a two-step process. I added the domain and created a new website record mapping the appropriate application. Next I went to the Domain Manager on Bluehost to change the name server records. Once the name server change had been initiated all I could do was wait for the new information to propagate through the DNS system. Most of the changes I made resolved within 24 hours.
Like applications and website, mailboxes and email addresses are separate. I created a mailbox for each address we currently have. Next I created an email address that was mapped to that mailbox. It would be possible to have multiple email addresses mapped to the same mailbox.
Two of the email addresses I moved had thousands of emails associated with them. Moving an IMAP-based email account is not the easiest thing in the world. After much trial-and-error, including a €30 purchase of imapsync, I was able to transfer some 22,000 emails through the brute force method of copying them from the Bluehost account to a local email folder on one of our laptops and then copying them from the local email folder to the new WebFaction email account. I believe imapsync would have worked, but I was too tired at the time I was working with it (midnight on a 14-hour day) to figure it out. It’s an industrial strength package with industrial strength options.
Of all the steps I completed getting email moved successfully was the most stressful and most time consuming. See the Afterward below for more on email.
Databases
In addition to the four WordPress databases, which were automatically created for me when I created each WordPress application, I needed three more databases for the Mint visit tracking system used on three of our sites. So as to not lose any visits during the move I wanted to have external access granted to these three databases. That way I could point the Bluehost instance of the site to the WebFaction based Mint database. With the WebFaction instance of the site also pointed to the WebFaction Mint database any visit to the site would be tracked no matter when the name server change propagated.
I was able to submit a support ticket to WebFaction requesting the external access and access was granted within minutes.
Support
WebFaction’s support has been outstanding through-out this process. I was able to ask questions before signing up, helping me to plan my steps. And I was able to create a couple of tickets asking for help during my move. Both support processes were easy to use and both provided quick, helpful answers.
Registration Transfer
With all the sites up and running on WebFaction’s servers and all name server changes propagated I started the domain registration transfer. Bluehost has been our domain registrar but I wanted to completely cut ties with them. Rather than put all my domain eggs in one basket I decided to use NameCheap.com as my registrar. Working with NameCheap has been very good. They have a transfer how-to page for many of the more popular domain registrars, including Bluehost. Following the how-to steps I was able to unlock and transfer all seven domains. While the process can take up to 5 days, all seven of my transfers completed within a few hours.
Cleanup
As a just-in-case measure I compressed and downloaded all the files and directories I had under public_html on Bluehost. I shouldn’t ever need these archives, but it feels good to have them any way. I then deleted any file I created or uploaded to my Bluehost account. The final step will be to cancel the account and initiate a refund for the final six months of my pre-paid account.
I need to investigate some weirdness with how Thunderbird is working with the new mailbox for Sibylle’s email address. She isn’t able to copy messages from her inbox to some, but not all, sub-folders. I am hoping that removing the account and re-adding it will clear up the issue.
The connection between my site and the Mint instance it uses for visit tracking isn’t working reliably at the moment. I’m not sure what the issue is here.
There were two sub-domains on my site that I rarely ever used that I haven’t done anything about yet. One was a personal wiki and the other a Tumblr site. The Tumblr still works, it just isn’t mapped to a sub-domain of zanshin.net any more. I may or may not recreate the personal wiki - I tend to use Evernote for the same purpose now.
Afterward
If I had to do this all over I would do most of it the same way. I forced myself to make a checklist (a sanitized version of which is below) and used it religiously. As I learned from one task I updated all similar tasks. Having everything written down was critical to keeping my sanity. The original checklist had 97 steps. The final one has over 300.
The biggest thing I would change would be my approach to email. Email is only logically tied to your website. It shares the domain name, but it is a wholly separate resource. If I were re-doing this I would create the new mailboxes first, and start the process of migrating the email first. Then I would tackle the comparatively simple process of setting up the sites and their associated resources.
The Checklist
{% raw %}
Update Mint instances
1. Update core Mint and all Peppers on
1. [X]sibyllekuder.com/mint
1. [X]Creating 20120525_ backup
2. [X]Mint (2.19)
3. [X]Backup/Restore (2.02)
4. [X]Default Pepper (2.1)
5. [X]iPhone Pepper (1.22)
6. [X]User Agent 007 Pepper (2.1)
7. [X]Locations+ Pepper (1.14)
2. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org/mint
1. [X]Create 20120525_ backup
2. [X]Mint (2.19)
3. [X]Backup/Restore (2.02)
4. [X]Default Pepper (2.1)
5. [X]iPhone Pepper (1.22)
6. [X]User Agent 007 Pepper (2.1)
7. [X]Locations+ Pepper (1.14)
3. [X]mint.zanshin.net/mint
Update WordPress instances
1. [X]Update hannelorebohlig.com
1. [X]Visit Updates section and use WordPress updater
2. [X]Update plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]Flickr Gallery
3. [X]Jetpack
3. [X]Update themes
2. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
1. [X]Use WP Updater to update WordPress
2. [X]Update plug-ins
1. [X]Akisment
2. [X]WP-TableReloaded
3. [X]WP Events Calendar
3. [X]Update themes
3. [X]notes.sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Use WP Updated to update WordPress
2. [X]Update plug-ings
1. [X]Akismet
3. [X]Update themes
4. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
1. [X]backup files
2. [X]backup database
3. [X]get latest version of WP
4. [X]maintenance mode
5. [X]deactivate plugins
6. [X]update all files
7. [X]reactivate plugins
8. [X]update database
9. [X]clean up install files
10. [X]Update plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]Hello Dolly
11. [X]Updates themes
Create WebFaction Account
1. [X]use affiliate link
2. [X]Select username
3. [X]Select "PHP, CGI, or static" site as initial software
4. [X]Fill in all other required information, including payment information
5. [X]From laptop: scp ~/.ssh/blackperl.pub <newaccount>:/~.ssh
6. [X]On WebFaction:
1. [X]cd .ssh
2. [X]touch authorized_keys
3. [X]cat blackperl.pub >> authorized_keys
4. [X]chmod 700 authorized_keys
5. [X]chmod 700 ~/.ssh
7. [X]Installed rmate script for remote edit via TextMate
8. [X]Cloned dotfiles repository and created symbolic links to establish my settings
9. [X]Cloned oh-my-zsh and linked in my theme file
10. [X]Change default shell to zsh
Create static application for zanshin.net
1. [X]Create static site application container called `zanshin`
2. [X]Create `webfaction` branch in zanshin Git repository
3. [X]Checkout `webfaction` and update Rakefile to new server values
4. [X]Change Bluehost line in footer to affiliate link for WebFaction
5. [X]Generate site and deploy
6. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking to zanshin application
Create static application for cello.zanshin.net
1. [X]Create static site application container called `solfege`
2. [X]Create `webfaction` branch in solfege Git repository
3. [X]Checkout `webfaction` and update Rakefile to new server values
4. [X]Change Bluehost link in footer to affiliate link for WebFaction
5. [X]Generate site and deploy
6. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking to solfege application
Create static application for markhnichols.com
1. [X]Create static container for markhnichols
2. [X]User SFTP client to transfer files for markhnichols.com
3. [X]Create website linking to markhnichols application
Create static application for geek.zanshin.net
1. [X]Create static application container for geek subdomain
2. [X]Use SFTP client to transfer files for geek.zanshin.net
3. [X]Create website linking to geek application
Create static application for sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Create static application container for elfenbein
2. [X]Use SFTP client to deploy sibyllekuder.com
3. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking to elfenbein application
Create static application for jonathankuder.com
1. [X]Create static container for jonathankuder
2. [X]Use SFTP client to upload files for jonathankuder.com
3. [X]Create website linking to jonathankuder application
Create Wordpress application for andifyoudidknow.com
1. [X]Create WordPress container for aiydk
2. [X]Export from Bluehost
3. [X]Install WordPress importer
4. [X]Import XML file from export
5. [X]Install Mixed Bouquet theme - use Fetch to copy theme from Bluehost to WebFaction
6. [X]Install / activate plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]WordPress Automatic Upgrade - skipping - will use WP function for this
3. [X]WordPress Backup to Dropbox (new!)
7. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking aiydk application
8. [X]Set time zone
9. [X]Set WordPress address and site address URLs
10. [X]Set site title, tag line, and email address
11. [X]Updated user `Mark` to have new password
12. [X]Setup widgets - theme will not allow. Need to find new theme
13. [X]Rebuild blogroll list (links) - lost in translation. :(
Create WordPress application for notes.sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Create WordPress container for notes
2. [X]Export from Bluehost
3. [X]Install WordPress importer plugin
4. [X]Import XML file from export - check attachments to get media files
5. [X]Install Musik theme - use Fetch to copy theme from Bluehost to WebFaction
6. [X]Install plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]OneClick Installer - actually OneClick Plugin Updater
3. [X]Ultimate Google Analytics - added UA number
4. [X]WordPress Automatic Upgrade - skipping - will use WP function for this
5. [X]WordPress Backup to Dropbox
6. [X]WP-Mint - actually Mint 1.3 - installed not activated yet
7. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking notes application
8. [X]Set time zone
9. [X]Set WordPress address and site address URLs
10. [X]Set site title, tag line, and email address
11. [X]Change default admin password to what Sibylle expects
12. [X]Update admin user profile to be Sibylle\'s information
13. [X]Setup widgets
14. [X]Rebuilt links (blogroll)
Create Wordpress application for hannelorebohlig.com
1. [X]Create WordPress container for bohlig
2. [X]Export from Bluehost
3. [X]Install WordPress importer plugin
4. [X]Import XML file from export - check attachments to get media files
5. [X]Install F8 Lite theme - use Fetch to copy theme from Bluehost to WebFaction
6. [X]Install plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]Flickr Gallery
3. [X]Jetpack - installed - not activated
4. [X]PhotoQ - not installed
7. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking to bohlig application
8. [X]Set time zone
9. [X]Set WordPress address and site address URLs
10. [X]Set site title, tag line, and email address
11. [X]Change default admin password to what Sibylle expects
12. [X]Update admin user profile to be Sibylle\'s information
Create WordPress application for manhattanareamusicteachers.org
1. [X]Create WordPress container for mamta
2. [X]Install WhiteHouse 2.0.0 theme - use Fetch to copy theme from Bluehost to WebFaction
3. [X]Install plugins
1. [X]Akismet
2. [X]Clean Contact
3. [X]LBB - used myPHPAdmin to export/import sql file
4. [X]WordPress Automatic Upgrade - will use WP function instead
5. [X]WordPress Database Backup to Dropbox
6. [X]Mint 1.3
7. [X]WP-Table Reloaded
4. [X]Export from Bluehost
5. [X]Install WordPress importer plugin
6. [X]Import XML file from export - check attachments to get media files
7. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking mamta application
8. [X]Set time zone
9. [X]Set WordPress address and site address URLs
10. [X]Set site title, tag line, and email address
11. [X]Setup Widgets
12. [X]Fixed navigation background to match header image :)
13. [X]Used SQL query to retrieve LBB data and transfer
14. [X]User export/import option on WP-Table to transfer that data
Create my user account on all WordPress sites with expected password
1. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
2. [X]notes.sibyllekuder.com
3. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
4. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
Create static application for Mint for zanshin.net
1. [X]Update Mint at mint.zanshin.net/mint, including all Peppers
2. [X]Use phpMyAdmin to export all tables in current Zanshin Mint database
3. [X]Create new MySQL database on WebFaction
4. [X]Import all tables using phpMyAdmin
5. [X]Upload Mint and all Peppers to WebFaction - use Fetch to copy server to server
6. [X]Edit /mint/config/db/php to update database information
7. [X]Edit location to changed URL to Mint on Bluehost instance of site.
1. [X]zanshin.net
2. [X]cello.zanshin.net
3. [X]geek.zanshin.net - edited in place on webfaction
9. [X]Visit /mint/?moved to let Mint know its been moved
10. [X]Redeploy to activate new (temporary) Mint URL
1. [X]zanshin.net
2. [X]cello.zanshin.net
3. [X]geek.zanshin.net
11. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking new Mint URL to Mint application
Create static application for Mint for sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Update Mint at sibyllekuder.com/mint, including all Peppers
2. [X]Use phpMyAdmin to export all tables in current Elfenbein Mint database
3. [X]Create new MySQL database on WebFaction
4. [X]Import all tables using phpMyAdmin
5. [X]Upload Mint and all Peppers to WebFaction
6. [X]Edit /mint/config/db/php to update database information
7. [X]Edit location to changed URL to Mint.
1. [X]sibyllekuder.net
2. [X]Mint 1.3 Plugin on notes.sibyllekuder.net
9. [X]Visit /mint/?moved to let Mint know its been moved
10. [X]Redeploy sibyllekuder.com to activate new Mint URL
11. [X]Create website on WebFaction linking new Mint URL to Mint application
12. [X]Completely re-work sibyllekuder.com to eliminate .php file types
1. [X]use SSI includes and .shtml file type
2. [X]Create .htaccess to
1. [X]map .php to .shtml
2. [X]eliminate need for .shtml
3. [X]eliminate need for www.
4. [X]hide .htaccess file
5. [X]prevent viewing of directory from browser
Create static application for Mint for manhattanareamusicteachers.org
1. [X]Update Mint at manhattanareamusicteachers.org/mint, including all Peppers
2. [X]Use phpMyAdmin to export all tables in current MAMTA Mint database
3. [X]Create new MySQL database on WebFaction
4. [X]Import all tables using phpMyAdmin
5. [X]Upload Mint and all Peppers to WebFaction - used fetch to copy server to server
6. [X]Edit /mint/config/db.php to update database information
7. [X]Edit MAMTA Mint plugin to change URL to Mint.
8. [X]Visit /mint/?moved to let Mint know its been moved
9. [X]Redeploy manhattanareamusicteachers.org to activate new Mint URL
Create email accounts
1. [X]------@zanshin.net
2. [X]-----@zanshin.net
3. [X]------@markhnichols.com
4. [X]-------@sibyllekuder.com
5. [X]---@jonathankuder.com
6. [X]------@manhattanareamusicteachers.org
Transfer domains from Bluehost to WebFaction via Name Server change
1. [X]zanshin.net
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain manhattanareamusicteachers.org to WebFaction
3. [X]Map zanshin website to domain
1. [X]map geek and cello subdomains to their applications
2. [X]sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain sibyllekuder.com to WebFaction
3. [X]Map elfenbein website to domain
3. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain manhattanareamusicteachers.org to WebFaction
3. [X]Map mamta website to domain
4. [X]jonathankuder.com
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain jonathankuder.com to WebFaction
3. [X]Map jonathankuder website to domain
5. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain hannelorebohlig.com to WebFaction
3. [X]Map bohlig website to domain
6. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
1. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
2. [X]Add domain andifyoudidknow.com to WebFaction
3. [X]Map aiydk website to domain
7. [X]markhnichols.com
1. Need to pay for or transfer to NameCheap
2. [X]Change DNS record on Bluehost to be ns[1,2,3,4].webfaction.com
3. [X]Add domain markhnichols.com to WebFaction
4. [X]Map markhnichols website to domain
Copy email from old to new on local machine(s)
1. [X]------@zanshin.net
2. [X]------@zanshin.net
3. [X]------@sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]Tried numerous methods to copy 14K messages. Ended up copying to local folders and then to new account. Took hours.
Once DNS switch has happened
1. [X]Update all Mint references and redeploy sites as necessary
1. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
1. [X]Changed mint path
2. [X]notes.sibyllekuder.com
1. [X]changed mint path
2. [X]Check users and settings on WP sites
1. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
1. [X]verify users
2. [X]verify settings
2. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
1. [X]verify users
2. [X]verify settings
3. [X]Verify that all sites are completely functional
1. [X]jonathankuder.com
2. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
3. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
4. [X]notes.sibyllekuder.com
5. [X]sibyllekuder.com
6. [X]cello.zanshin.net
7. [X]geek.zanshin.net
1. [X]Set up WebFaction webapps/geek to be git clone of source
8. [X]zanshin.net
9. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
10. [X]markhnichols.com
4. [X]Merge WebFaction branches into source on git repos
1. [X]zanshin
2. [X]solfege
Move Domain Registrations to NameCheap
1. [X]Ensure that privacy is disabled.
2. [X]Verify that contact information is current and correct (Registrant, Admin, Billing)
3. [X]Get EPP code for each site
1. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
2. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
3. [X]jonathankuder.com
4. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
5. [X]markhnichols.com
6. [X]sibyllekuder.com
7. [X]zanshin.net
4. [X]Unlock all domains
5. [X]Verify the whois information shows me as admin contact
6. [X]Enter domains and EPP codes on namecheap.com to start transfer
7. [X]Create namecheap.com account, enter payment information
8. [X]Start transfer
1. [X]Approved on namecheap.com side (listed in order received)
1. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
2. [X]markhnichols.com
3. [X]jonathankuder.com
4. [X]sibyllekuder.com
5. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
6. [X]zanshin.net
7. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
2. [X]Approved on bluehost.com side (listed in order received)
1. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.org
2. [X]jonathankuder.com
3. [X]markhnichols.com
4. [X]sibyllekuder.com
5. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
6. [X]zanshin.net
7. [X]andifyoudidknow.com -- wasn\'t able to explicit approve. Should transfer at time limit
3. [X]Completed (listed in order received)
1. [X]jonathankuder.com
2. [X]sibyllekuder.com
3. [X]zanshin.net
4. [X]hannelorebohlig.com
5. [X]andifyoudidknow.com
6. [X]manhattanareamusicteachers.com
7. [X]markhnichols.com
Delete Bluehost account
1. [X]Compress and download all files from Bluehost server
1. tar jcf foo.tar.bz2 foo/
2. [X]Remove all files from Bluehost server
3. [ ]Delete Bluehost account
1. [X]Submit ticket
2. [ ]Confirm primary domain and password
3. [ ]Verify name
4. [ ]Verify that backups are made
Aftermath tasks
1. [ ]Sort out folder issue on Sibylle\'s email
1. Appears to have been synchronization issue? Has started working properly now
2. [ ]Figure out intermittent Mint issue with zanshin.net
3. [ ]Reinstall ThinkUp eventually
4. [ ]Initiate DNS change necessary to move tumblr pointer to new host
{% endraw %}Hosting by WebFaction
Careful readers of this site may notice that the hosting attribution in the footer has changed. This site, its sister Cello site, my wife’s piano studio and its companion notes site, along with the Manhattan Area Music Teacher’s Association site, and sites for her son, mother, Michele, and my eponymous site have all been moved to WebFaction.
My previous hosting solution was good while it lasted but it had become increasingly unsatisfactory to me. Last week’s 48 hour outage was the final straw. That there was no effort during or since by Bluehost to communicate about the issue, their steps to resolve it, or their process changes to avoid a reoccurrence sealed their fate. Starting Friday I undertook the considerable effort to move all of our sites to WebFaction.
Because I’m a nerd I took notes. Those will be the subject of another posting. For now here are some numbers.
- 34 hours of effort spread over Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today. 14 hours alone yesterday.
- 12 sites moved
- 7 domains with new name servers
- 7 databases: four for WordPress sites and three for visit tracking
- 6 email addresses containing approximately 22,000 emails
- and 9,363 files moved
Oh, and along the way I refactored Sibylle’s studio site to change the file types of all her pages from .php to shtml, and cleaned up the page fragments that are used to construct her site.
There are still one or two minor details to iron out but the bulk of the work is now finished. After just three days with WebFaction I am extremely satisfied. Both their pre- and post-sales support has been outstanding and I feel right at home on my new server.
CheatSheet ⧁
This amazing little app will display all the shortcut keys for the current app. Just hold the Command Key for a second or so and a cheet sheet appears. Very, very nice.
Final Straw
Since the beginning of 2008 this site, and all the other sites I or my wife owns, has been hosted at Bluehost. At first there were frequent outages and problems but Bluehost devoted a lot of time and effort to making things more stable and their uptime improved. For much of the past 4 years the service has been good. It’s inexpensive shared IP hosting and it has worked for us.
Recently however we have had some outages and I have become unhappy with the quality of service. Today was the last straw. Shortly after 7 am Central time I noticed that my email wasn’t working, and then that my sites and my wife’s sites weren’t online. Bluehost’s status page indicated that an upgrade was underway and that service should be restored in 30 to 60 minutes.
It’s been more than 5 hours now and we still have no email and no sites. At no time during this outage has there been no attempt at communication from Bluehost. My chat session with support have not been satisfying as all they can do is quote estimates from the engineering teams working on the issues. The most upsetting aspect of this outage is the place holder page that Bluehost has dropped in for all the missing sites. It says that “no site is configured for this address”. This is untrue. There is a site for the address, Bluehost broke the server so you can’t see it.
Update: Wednesday, May 23
The web server outage lasted roughly 16 hours. Our sites were up sometime after 11 pm Central time Tuesday. This morning (Wednesday) they were up and have continued to stay up. However we still don’t have email service. The status page is now 5 hours out of date and gives no estimate for when service might be returned to normal.
As a result of an outage several weeks ago I had already decided to move our domains to WebFaction. This latest outage, the worst I have ever experienced in more than 16 years of having my own domain, has only hardened my resolve to abandon Bluehost. My preparations for the move are now complete and, instead of waiting for the weekend as originally planned, I am going to start the migration as soon as our email service is restored.