Tom's Diary

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.  DONE.
• Do all pending laundry.  DONE.

Log

10:00 AM: I’m up.    

10:15 AM: Facebooked a while this morning.  Friend count is now 223.  My official Facebook page I created yesterday has 12 subscribers so far. 

11:00 AM: Arranged for someone in Nephew Garrett’s family to drive me to Altoona tomorrow to pick up [Emmy] at the train. 

11:15 AM: Helped brother-in-law Richard with a swimming pool heating project he’s working on today.  I have several circulating pumps here, and he  wondered if any of them are big enough to move water between his pool and the solar collectors on his garage roof nearby.  He has a very large pump that would indeed do the job.  But it’s likely too big and would thus cost too much to operate.  Plus, it would pump the water too fast, so that the sun would have insufficient time to warm the water in the collectors before returning it to the pool.  My pumps each offer at most ten feet of head (they can’t pump water higher than ten feet).  But his collectors are higher than that; perhaps thirteen to fifteen feet above ground.  So after Googling around and reading specs on various pumps, we decided that mine here are definitely too small — unless we use two of them in series to extend the head.  He might decide to do this.  But at the moment, he’s looking for a cheaper solution.  Aren’t we always doing that? 

11:30 AM: [Emmy] called to say hi and that she’s in the process of packing for her trip here tomorrow.  We’ve all told her: Bring your swimsuit! 

12:40 PM: Got the laundry under way.  Today, there are a couple of Mom’s loads, and the sheets and pillow cases on my bed. 

01:05 PM: Completed the weekly system backups (details  here), and the weekly site statistics report (see that   here).

03:00 PM: Just upgraded blogs from WordPress 2.9.2 to 3.0. No major problems; although I must again disable automatic saving of post revisions. If I revise a post 20 times, then 20 copies of it are stored; bloating the DB and slowing performance. But the code has changed significantly in 3.0. So I’ll have to figure out how to turn this off in 3.0. If anyone knows how, I welcome your input.

04:40 PM: I figured out how to disable the saving of post revisions.  See details   here. 

05:50 PM: iPodded at the pavilion.  Nice afternoon, and the dogs were quiet too. 

06:10 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News   on the DVR. 

06:15 PM: Nap time.

07:00 PM: I’m back up again and eating supper now. 

10:00 PM: Watched    Larry King   on  CNN tonight, doing his interview with Lady Gaga.  Good show. 

12:00 AM: Posted a link entry on my Facebook business page to the   Why So Fast The Fall   piece on the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.

12:30 AM: Put clean sheets and pillow cases on the bed

01:00 AM: Monitored the site stats over the past 24 hours, and observed a moderate increases in traffic.  But I’ve received no clicks from people visiting my sites; so no revenue yet since the ad campaign began this past Friday.  I’ll continue watching and tuning, and next week, I’ll call Google and take advantage of the free offer of consultation on how to make my campaign more profitable. 

02:00 AM: Facebooked some more.  Friend count is now 229. 

02:15 AM: Okay, time to get off of here for the night.  May your rest be effective and thus refreshing, and we’ll pick this up again in less than twelve hours.  Take care and good night. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

• Revised blank prescription FAX forms from Mom’s medical insurance company.  That’s all today. 

Related Posts

• Disabling Post Revisions: WordPress 3.0
• Site Stats: 2010-06-26
• Today’s Diet: 2010-06-26
• Weekly Backups: 2010-06-26
• Weight Loss: 2010

I discovered that WordPress was again saving every revision of every post after I upgraded the   Tom’s Views   blog to WordPress 3.0, though I had disabled this feature back in March.  Click   here   for more details.  But apparently, in this latest version, the automatic retention of these revisions became enabled once more. So I turned off this feature by commenting out line 4398 in the wp-includes/post.php file as follows:

Line 4398 was:

          if ( ! WP_POST_REVISIONS )

but now, it’s:

        // if ( ! WP_POST_REVISIONS )

Then I deleted all the revisions that had been saved to this point from each blog database by executing the following SQL statement:

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = “revision”;

I then logged out and back into each site’s admin id and verified that the revisions saved thus far no longer appear on the Edit Post screen. The deletion apparently worked.   These instructions have now been verified to work with WordPress 3.0.

That’s all.

Tom

Related Posts

• Disabling Post Revisions: 2010-02-17
• Disabling Post Revisions in WordPress 2.8.5
• Disabling Post Revisions: WordPress 2.9.1
• Today’s Business: 2010-06-26
• WordPress  Software Refresh: 2010-05-08

I discovered that WordPress was again saving every revision of every post, though I had disabled this feature back in March.  Click   here   for more details.  But apparently, in the upgrade to 2.9.2, the automatic retention of these revisions became enabled once more. So I turned off this feature by adding the following lines of code to the wp-config.php file at lines 27 and 28 for each of my blogs:

// Disable post revisions.
define(’WP_POST_REVISIONS’, false);

 I also changed line 618 in the wp-settings.php file from

$default_constants = array( ‘WP_POST_REVISIONS’ => true );

to

$default_constants = array( ‘WP_POST_REVISIONS’ => false );

Also note that the line number has not changed from what it was in WordPress 2.9.1.

Then I deleted all the revisions that had been saved to this point from each blog database by executing the following SQL statement:

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = “revision”;

I then logged out and back into each site’s admin id and verified that the revisions saved thus far no longer appear on the Edit Post screen. The deletion apparently worked.   These instructions have been verified to work with WordPress 2.9.2.

That’s all.

Tom

Related Posts

• Disabling Post Revisions: 2010-02-17
• Disabling Post Revisions in WordPress 2.8.5
• Disabling Post Revisions: WordPress 2.9.1
• Today’s Business: 2010-05-10
• WordPress  Software Refresh: 2010-05-08

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.   DONE.
• Run two loads of laundry for Mom.  DONE.

Log

07:50 AM: I’m up.  

07:55 AM: No weight loss yesterday.  It’s still 173.5 Lbs.    See   here   for a summary of the progress on this goal so far in 2010.

10:00 AM: My phone and Internet went out for several minutes within the past hour or so.  But they’re back now. 

11:35 AM: Added a new category, called   Trust,   to the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.

12:30 PM: Added a new category, called   Jealousy,   to the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.

12:47 PM: Added a new category, called   Acceptance,   to the   Tom’s Love Quest   blog.

02:30 PM: Watched today’s episode of    The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

04:15 PM: Added signature links to the   Recent Revisions   pages on all my blogs.   

04:20 PM: Nap time, with CNN’s Rich Sanchez in the background.

05:00 PM: I’m awake again. 

06:00 PM: A family friend stopped by to visit Mom, and to borrow some moving blankets I have up in storage.  We drove up there, loaded them into her car, then drove back here.  She’ll keep the blankets until late May, when she moves her daughter into a rental home on the south side of Pittsburgh.  Hmmm.  I hope I don’t forget that she has them. 

07:30 PM: Watched today’s episode of   Dr. Phil,   about sex offenders and the controversy surrounding their release back into society.  Can they be rehabilitated?  Surprisingly, the rehab success rates for these felons, particularly the non violent ones, is higher than many other crimes.

08:00 PM: Watched this evening’s episode of   NBC’s Nightly News.

10:15 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone.  Her phone has been very stable the past several days.  It appears that Comcast found out whatever it was that kept interrupting her service during the first month she had it.  I hope it stays good. 

11:00 PM: Throughout today, I revised many posts in the   Tom’s Diary   and   Tom’s Love Quest  blogs to improve their title tags for SEO, eliminate duplicate titles, and added a    Related Posts   section to some that had none.  More of the same tomorrow. 

12:30 AM: Read for the past hour and a half.

01:20 AM: Upgraded all blogs to the new Google Analytics asynchronous tracking code.  This may increase the speed with which all pages from my blogs are rendered in browsers by enabling the tracking processes to run at the same time as the web browser rendering processes. Users of multi-processor computers will likely see the biggest benefit. 

01:25 PM: I’m going to bed (with a little advance   Grapes Of Wrath  book reading before sleeping).  So good night, and I’ll be here again tomorrow morning.  Pleasant dreams now. 

Tom

Received Mail and Shipments

• The 2010-04 issue of Consumer Reports.
• Misc. clothing for Mom.
• 1 bill.

Related Posts

• Book: The Grapes Of Wrath
• Diary Revisions: 2010-04-28
• Quest Revisions: 2010-04-28
• Site Stats: 2010-04-28
• Today’s Diet: 2010-04-28
• Weight Loss: 2010

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.   DONE.

Log

04:25 AM: Woke up early.  Read some of the   Grapes Of Wrath   book overnight.

05:45 AM: Watched the 2010-03-29 and 2010-03-30 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on this failing DVR.

07:00 AM: My weight did not change from yesterday.  It’s still 173.5 Lbs.    See   here   for a summary of the progress on this goal so far in 2010.

11:00 AM: Watched the 2010-03-31 through 2010-04-03 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on this failing DVR.

11:05 AM: Skipped the 2010-04-04 and 2010-04-05 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News,  because they won’t play due to this defective DVR. 

11:30 AM: Added sidebar links to the  Recent Revisions   pages on all my blogs. 

01:30 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless.

02:30 PM: Watched the 2010-04-06 through 2010-04-09 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on the DVR.  These played with some problems but viewable for the most part. 

02:35 PM: Headed up the road for a haircut.  Back later. 

03:40 PM: I’m back home.  Continuing to empty out this DVR.  Hopefully it won’t totally break before I watched everything that’s left. 

04:50 PM: Watched today’s episode of    Dr. Phil;  titled:  Meddling Mothers.  Pretty good; McGraw clearly outlined the place where maternal concern crosses the line into overbearing control.  Pretty good show this time. 

05:00 PM: Worked the   Basement Cleanup: 2010   project.

08:10 PM: Worked the   Lawn Maintenance: 2010   project.

09:15 PM: Watched the 2010-04-10 through 2010-04-13 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News. 

10:30 PM: Talked with [Emmy], and we listened to the 2010-02-11 episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.  She missed this one when it originally aired. 

11:15 PM: Watched the 2010-02-14 and 2010-02-15 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on the DVR.

11:20 PM: More tomorrow.  Good night.

Tom

Received Mail and Shipments

• Coupon and advertisement mail from Bed Bath & Beyond.
• CJ Banks coupons. 

Related Posts

• Basement Cleanup: 2010
• Book: The Grapes Of Wrath
• Lawn Maintenance: 2010
• Site Stats: 2010-04-21
• Today’s Diet: 2010-04-21
• Weight Loss: 2010

Today’s Activities

• Shower.  DONE.
• Cat duty.   DONE.

Log

08:00 AM: My weight did not change from yesterday.  It’s still 173.5 Lbs.    See   here   for a summary of the progress on this goal so far in 2010.

11:45 AM: Rewrote title tags (to reduce stop words and illegal characters to improve SEO) and added signature links to posts in this blog from the first half of February, 2010. 

01:00 PM: [Jack] just called to talk about his exploits at the foot party last night.  He always has a great time there. 

01:30 PM: facebook browsing and sent out a few friend requests. 

02:40 PM: Recorded audio journal episode:  AJE-2010-04-18-14-09.

06:00 PM: Configured Google Analytics on my blogs, to get more detailed usage.  However, to get the test for the presence of the tracking code on my blog pages, I had to specify a default page (index.php) for each blog.  Apparently, the Google stuff doesn’t pick this up unless you explicitly supply the page to pull up when someone just types in the domain name for the blog, as in   http://tomsdiary.com/.

06:05 PM: Now listening to the Penguins hockey game with [Emmy] on the phone. 

09:30 PM: The Penguins won! 

11:30 PM: Started the book   Happiness Now; Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good Fast.

11:35 PM: Bed time.  So good night, sleep tight, and keep those insomnia gremlins far out of sight.    I know.  Corny.  But I feel like I’m saying good night each day the same way and that it’s time to apply just a bit of imagination to these closings.  Take care. 

Tom

Received Mail and Shipments

No mail or shipments delivered today (Sunday).

Related Posts

• Audio Journal Information Page
• Book: Happiness Now
• Diary Revisions: 2010-04-18
• Site Statistics: 2010-04-18
• Today’s Diet: 2010-04-18
• Weight Loss: 2010

08:05 AM: Submitted all my blogs to the   Yahoo!   search engine in an effort to increase exposure and visitor traffic.  To accomplish this, I did the following:

1. Located my Yahoo! Id, which I obtained some time ago.
2. Then, I used this Id to log into   Yahoo’s Site Explorer.
3. Next, I authenticated each of my four blogs in   Yahoo Site Explorer.  I opted for the XML file verification method, where   Yahoo   supplies an XML file containing security codes.  I copied the file, generated for each submitted site, to the site’s root directory.  Yahoo  then looks for the file there, and if found, this proves that I’m the owner / manager of the sites.
4. Finally, I submitted the feed URLs for each blog.  This should get more of my posts into   Yahoo!  although it could take several weeks before I notice a sizable increase in web traffic.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2010-03-01

08:05 AM: Submitted all my blogs to Microsoft’s   Bing   search engine in an effort to increase exposure and visitor traffic.  To accomplish this, I did the following:

1. Signed up for an MSN Live Id.
2. Then, I used this Id to log into   Bing’s Webmaster Center.
3. Next, I authenticated each blog with Bing.  I opted for the XML file verification method, where Bing supplies an XML file containing security codes.  I copied the file, generated for each submitted site, to the site’s root directory.  Bing then looks for the file there, and if found, this proves that I’m the owner / manager of the sites.
4. Finally, I submitted updated sitemaps for each blog.  This should get more of my posts into Bing, although it could take several weeks before I notice a sizable increase in web traffic.

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2010-03-01

Today’s Activities

• Cat duty. DONE.
• Dispense Mom’s meds. DONE.
• Shower. DONE.
• Pay all pending bills. 

Log

07:30 AM: I’m up. My weight dropped a pound from yesterday.  It’s now 174.0 Lbs.

08:05 AM: Worked the   WPSBC Alumni Association Web Site Revamp     project.  The wpsbc-alumni.org domain now points at the new, blog style web site.

08:15 AM: A few inches of snow fell overnight.  I’ll get out there to shovel it a little later this morning.

09:30 AM: Listened to KYW News Radio via the Internet, on the iPod Touch.  Not sure why I enjoy hearing them; especially with all the school closings they’re reading right now from the storm.  I suppose I listen for nostalgic reasons; I liked Philly for the most part when I lived there, and I suppose that KYW helps me feel a little closer to that wonderful city.  I enjoy hearing what’s going on there, though none of this has any practical value to me these days since I’m here in Altoona now.  It’s all emotional. 

10:05 AM: Heading out to shovel.  I’ll be back in a little while.

10:35 AM: I’m back.  Windy out there, and the snow from overnight is quite lite.  So the wind will probably blow it back on top of the walkways soon.  But I’ll just shovel it again if need be. 

10:45 AM: Headed to Wal Mart with Debbie to pick up some meds for Mom and do a little   shopping   before the worst of the storm arrives later today.

01:00 PM: We’re back home again from our wintery   shopping trip.  The roads were pretty snowy, even with the plows flitting about. 

02:45 PM: Just put the groceries away, chatted with Mom and Debbie, and shoveled again.  A few more inches covered the walkways since last shoveling.  But I’m not sure if this was actually new-fallen snow, or if the wind had blown the snow back onto the paths that I’d previously shoveled away.  At any rate, no snow is falling at present, but it’s still windy.

03:25 PM: I packed up the defective computer power supply, the replacement for which I received today.  However, it must be shipped UPS so I cam claim the free-shipping benefit.  Unfortunately, since I don’t normally encounter UPS trucks that I could just hand to the driver, I may have order a pick-up.  Last time I did this, it cost $10.  Grrrrrrr!

05:40 PM: Posted the   Electric Blankets And Weight Loss   piece.

06:00 PM: Posted the   iPod Touch Volume Adjustments   piece.

06:55 PM: I’m back in from another shoveling session.  This time, it’s snowing very hard, those very big and thick flakes, and the ramp had 3.5 inches on it.  At this rate, I’ll have to head out again in an hour or so and do it all again.  And who ever said that there’s no such thing as winter exercise? 

09:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

09:30 PM: Ordered   [Emmy]  some   forever stamps on    the USPS website.  Aaaaah, the convenience of the Internet. 

10:30 PM: Caught the tail-end of the Penguins game with   [Emmy]   on the phone tonight.  The Pens won.

10:50 PM: Shoveled one more time.  The snow has stopped so that now it’s just that pesky blowing snow that repeatedly covers my shoveled surfaces. 

11:45 PM: Posted the   IRIS WebRadio WiFi Problems   piece.

12:00 AM: Puttered around on facebook at various times throughout  the day.  I’m up to 13 friends now. 

12:25 AM: Well, I’m weary from all the shoveling.  So, I’m off to bed.  Good night.  Take care, and see you later on.

Received Mail and Shipments

• (1) replacement computer power supply for the one that burned out last fall.  Now, I have to send back the defective one in order to get a refund for this one that just arrived. 
• Valentine’s Day offer to join Google’s AdWords program.  Not at this time, but perhaps later, once I get more content up.
• Offer for auto insurance from Travelers.  No thanks.
• Verizon telephone bill.  Wow, it was high this month; that call I made about the IRIS WebRadio cost over $37 for an eleven-minute call. 

Tom

Related Posts

• Diary Revisions: 2010-02-10
• Electric Blankets And Weight Loss
• iPod Touch Volume Adjustments
• IRIS WebRadio WiFi Problems
• Mom’s Status: 2010-02-10
• Shopping Trip: 2010-02-10
• Today’s Diet: 2010-02-10
• WPSBC Alumni Association Web Site Revamp 

Weekly backups of all my blog sites completed. Total disk space backed up: 49.6 MB, which includes all databases, site code, and static pages. That’s a decrease of 1100 KB, from 50.7 MB last week.  I did add more content over the past seven days.  However, I also purged some old log files, that were much bigger than the additions I made; thus the total site size reduction.  But rest assured, the sites are very much growing. 

Tom Hesley

Related Posts

• Today’s Business: 2010-02-06