I just downloaded the new WordPress …

… and after holding my breath and backing up my database, my blog is now running Version 2.5. I guess they skipped 2.4.  I decided to write about the upgrade as I know many fellow bloggers use WordPress too.

(Edited this post to be a little more objective.)

OK — confession time — the only reason why I upgraded was not because I thought 2.5 sounded like it had cooler or more useful features (I was quite happy with 2.3) … I hate that annoying “You need to upgrade” message that displays and wanted to get rid of it.

Now that said …

I’m happy that my site appears to work.

I’m happy that the post editor appears to not mess with my code so much.

Visually, I just don’t like the new dashboard.  It is ugly.  The color choices are a faded light blue (think faded robin’s egg blue), orange, and some very light gray.  Colors are subjective, of course, but I tend to prefer darker colors against a white background — I prefer a stronger contrast, like the old dark blues of the old Dashboard.  Plus, I think darker colors are easier on the eyes when laid out against a white background.  That said, I can pretty much learn to live with any color issues …

The big problem I have with version 2.5, though, is the WRITE POST.  As a blogger, I spend most of my time using this feature.  And it is a usability disaster.

Things I don’t like at all and make my life more difficult in regard to the posting area:

• You have to scroll down the page and open up a link to add a category to a post.  EVERY POST REQUIRES THIS STEP — so why make it so difficult?  It used to be just tick a box on the right hand side. (Now, I admit I don’t mind scrolling when visiting a blog or website — but when I’m trying to create something, not having everything I use frequently within easy reach is annoying and problematic.)
• The post box now doesn’t stretch as far across the page, meaning a smaller window to type in.  I flat out don’t like that at all.
• The new type size is also smaller — I preferred the larger size when I wrote posts.
• Tags, like categories, are something I add to every post.  And WordPress makes you scroll down and again click a link to open them and add new ones.
• Adding insult to injury as far as tags, I use a plugin called Advanced Tag Entry.  Rather than being right below my post like it used to be (very conveniently located), it is now at the very bottom of the page.
• There’s lots of wasted space on the right hand side.  The post box should stretch farther across the page, or that important real estate should include stuff I use all the time.  Further, the big “View this Post” button is something I never use, the published status is something I don’t use at all (preferring to instead modify the time stamp to put posts into the queue for later publication.  And the “Related” links are stuff I NEVER USE from the write post area — they are all important links, but should not be taking up that important real estate.

These are just one person’s opinions, of course.  It’s free software, but I get the impression WordPress wants to be the best darned blogging software out there.  And these are some major issues, I think, with the most used area of the software.  I’m guessing I’m not going to be the only one who has them.

test

Technorati Profile

testing upgrade to WordPress 2.3

testing whether the upgrade to WordPress 2.3 took.

And I guess I should test whether the new tag feature works since that was one big reason to upgrade.

my middle name

I’m tired of being “special” just because I drew the short stick in the cancer game.  So I went looking for some other reason I can be special.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose … By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Its not everyone who can give a visual depiction of their middle name. I’m just special like that. :)

‘Ere. She says she’s not dead!

DEAD PERSON:

I’m not dead!

CART MASTER:

‘Ere. He says he’s not dead!

CUSTOMER:

Yes, he is.

DEAD PERSON:

I’m not!

CART MASTER:

He isn’t?

CUSTOMER:

Well, he will be soon. He’s very ill.

DEAD PERSON:

I’m getting better!

CUSTOMER:

No, you’re not. You’ll be stone dead in a moment.

CART MASTER:

Oh, I can’t take him like that. It’s against regulations.

DEAD PERSON:

I don’t want to go on the cart!

CUSTOMER:

Oh, don’t be such a baby.

CART MASTER:

I can’t take him.

DEAD PERSON:

I feel fine!

CUSTOMER:

Well, do us a favour.

CART MASTER:

I can’t.

CUSTOMER:

Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? He won’t be long.

CART MASTER:

No, I’ve got to go to the Robinsons’. They’ve lost nine today.

CUSTOMER:

Well, when’s your next round?

CART MASTER:

Thursday.

DEAD PERSON:

I think I’ll go for a walk.

CUSTOMER:

You’re not fooling anyone, you know. Look. Isn’t there something you can do?

DEAD PERSON: [singing]

I feel happy. I feel happy.

[whop]

 

No, I am not dead.  Struggling a lot right now with bleo damaged lungs, yes.   Watching too much Monty Python, yes.  But, dead, no.  Wouldn’t go so far as to start singing “I feel happy, I feel happy,” but I do not want to go on the cart.  At least not yet.

If you don’t hear from me again, you can assume I am out cutting down the mightiest tree in the forest with … yes, you guessed right, a herring.

a little about the site

I notice on my stat counter that I’ve been getting a lot of hits lately.  Not exactly sure, why, but welcome to any new readers. :)

This blog is probably a little unlike your typical weblog in that I post on three main topics: Civil War history, running, and my fight with Hodgkin’s Disease.  The three really aren’t closely related at all, but I try to keep the posts categorized (check out the left hand column).  However, if you read chronologically, you’re likely to get a post “on top” about any of those three topics. If you scroll down, you’re likely to find something that is more interesting to you.

Basically, I am an amateur Civil War historian who is an avid long distance runner who got forced into a fight with Hodgkin’s Disease.  In that way, I guess the blog is about my life.

Civil War-wise, this is also home to my Gettysburg Monument Project. My goal is to go out and get a good photograph of each regimental and portrait monument on the battlefield.  And then write a brief summary of the regiment and/or a little about its monument.  I’ve just started this project and add to it when I am feeling motivated.  I am also the author of a website on a General named A.P. Hill.  I’m an amateur historian.  If you want serious Civil War history, you probably want to check out some of the historians listed to the left.  There’s some good stuff over there.

Running-wise … well, I’ve been running since junior high.  I am not all that particularly talented — my claim to fame is the school record in the 55 meter dash — but I am persistent and I do enjoy running.  I run a lot in the Valley near my home and I tend to like to stop with my trusty digital camera and take pictures.  Most of my running related posts are thus copiously illustrated.

And finally, there’s the Hodge.  I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s on February 14, 2007.  I’m a stage III-A, very bulky (i.e. very large masses), with disease located mainly in my chest and left abdomen.  I’m currently being treated with the standard chemo regimen for Hodgkin’s, a four drug combo known as ABVD. I have found there are a lot of misconceptions about cancer and what cancer treatment is like.  I try to write about what its like truthfully.  I do admit to complaining a lot.  :)

That pretty much provides a good intro … if you need more info about me, check out the “About” page. And thanks for checking out my blog!  If you’re linking here and I haven’t picked up on it, feel free to post your link by commenting below.

that long?

I started digging through my old blog journal entries that I had saved to a CD. I actually started to keep a blog in August 2004 — right before I started my third year of law school. I am still looking for the posts I wrote while studying for the bar exam. I have a gap right now between May 2005 and roughly August 2005.

(I forgot I was obsessed with drinking diet pepsi in law school my third year. It was the only way I could stay awake during Administrative Law. Admin is not a course that should be taken during one’s third year of law school, especially not during the 2d semester)

Digging through the old journal entries, I found notations in March 2005 about “my wisdom teeth hurting” and about “night sweats.” I never had the drenching sweats that consitute a Hodgkin’s Disease “B” symptom, but for at least two years I had on-and-off light sweating at night. Also, what I used to think was my wisdom teeth, I now am pretty sure was actually Hodgkin’s waxing and waning. I am beginning to think I may have had the first Hodgkin’s Disease symptoms as early as March 2005 — while still a law student. I made a notation to tell my doctor — not that its all THAT important, but maybe for curiosity sake, he’d like to know.*

—

* In truth I don’t think I’ll ever know how long I actually had Hodgkin’s before I finally was diagnosed. I do find following the “symptom trail” interesting, however.

any advantage?

Any advantage to upgrading to WordPress 2.2?

(I see it is named after a tenor sax player.  I played tenor sax in the band in school.)

You’ll notice …

If you look at the site, you will start to notice that I am adding a few of my old posts. I am pre-dating them, so they will appear in the archives.  Just in case anyone is wondering what the heck is going on.

For the WordPress Experts

For any WordPress experts out there … I figured out that the database table I ran “The Learned Foot” blog from is still in tact and was not deleted like I previously thought (what I accidentally deleted was a subdomain name, a long story, but the actual database tables themselves were not stored there). Anyway, to make a long story short, is there a way to download the database table and import the old posts to my new blog?

Edited to add: I figured out how to download the database.  What I think I am going to do is selectively upload old posts that I think are worth having at the new blog. I think I found instructions for how to do that, so I am good to go.