March 7, 2007
I'm back, baby!
I'm sorry for worrying the crap out of everyone, but I honestly didn't think it would take SO BLOODY LONG to change webhosts and restore my database.
I'll not bore you with the details, suffice to say it involved geeks, squirrels, dns settings and Very Bad Words.
Posted by domino at 12:46 PM | Comments (2)
November 24, 2006
It always happens in threes...
So, my coffee machine broke, my comments template got screwed, and because these things come in threes, my computer had a nervous breakdown.
I still don't know what it was. I narrowed it down to a problem with firefox, and managed to completely stump those clever people at mozilla. My reliance on a nice web browser which is set up 'just so' prompted me to format my hard drive - something that I'd been putting off for a while, so not as extreme as you'd think. I hate doing it. It's not technically challenging or anything, it's just the whole process of getting things just how I like them takes so long, and little annoyances that had been long forgotten (balloon tips, I'm looking at you here...) pop up and remind you how windows xp likes to walk you through everything in baby steps.
I saved as much as I could onto cd's, took a deep breath, and pressed the Button of No Return. Everything is peachy now. Squeaky clean, a mite faster, and somewhat empty. I'm adding software as I need it because I'm getting very bored with constantly restarting the computer.
Computers aside, things are plodding along as usual. Last week, my neck started playing up, and as well as the usual sharp pains in my shoulders and weird cold spots on my hand, I started getting dizzy. It has been more of an irritation than anything, but has meant that I've avoided going out because it's really messing with the anxiety levels. I need to acclimatise myself to people, because on Sunday, I'm dragging Mr D to the Knitting and Stitching Show (link has video with sound) at Harrogate. I've been in two minds whether to go lately, and when the coffee machine died, my priority was saving as much money as possible to replace it. However, it only needed a replacement steam valve which cost £10.49, so Harrogate is on again. There are a couple of things I want, and I'm hoping to treat myself while I'm there.
Comments are back - dip your toe in the water and we'll see what happens...
Posted by domino at 1:07 PM | Comments (2)
November 10, 2006
hooray!
I have fixed things. After three days of screaming, crying and frying my brains, the comments are back.
Knock yourselves out!
Posted by domino at 1:19 PM | Comments (2)
November 7, 2006
just a note
Another reason I'm not posting as much is that I can't always get my MovableType thingumy to load. I think it's to do with trackback spam, but seeing as though I've disabled trackbacks at a systemwide level (and even renamed the trackback script) I don't see how. I'm also wondering if it's comment spam - while I have every anti-spam tool known to man, I'm still getting flooded, even though they go straight into the junk folder (which only shows up on the MT menu). If you're trying to comment and can't, this may also be part of it.
The problem with sorting it out is that 1) I can't get into the menu to fiddle with stuff and 2) my brain doesn't always work.
In the meantime, I am lifting my mood by watching all three seasons of Father Ted, so I suppose my reaction to the above should be "FECK!"
update I've just installed MTAutoBan, so keep your fingers crossed...
Posted by domino at 7:40 AM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2006
Changes
Three posts in two days?? Mummy, I'm scared! Ah, hang on, that'll be the Brazil Espresso perfeito coffee...
I'm thinking I might completely change the style of my blog. Part of this is to do with Movable sodding Type 3.31, and the new default stylesheets being entirely different to the old ones. It wouldn't be too bad, but the litte updates I've been planning for some time mean that parts of the script have to be completely rewritten. And I've had a lobotomy sometime since I last did this.
If it all comes together, there shall be some spiffy new links and a snazzy new background. If it doesn't, you'll find me throwing things at the computer and yelling that nothing ever goes fucking right. I'm not taking any bets at the moment.
I've also been considering what I write about. Obviously, the main reason I write is the whole panic and agoraphobia thing. However, I think it's getting boring and I can't help wondering whether people who happen on this blog for the first time think "woah, who's this miserable bitch?" before wandering off again. Sometimes, things happen that give me a reason to write about happy stuff, but there's not enough of it. There is so much that I'm interested in that I'm sure I can blend them into the mix to make a more appetising stew.
I hope you enjoy it, my myriad of readers - and that means both of you...
Posted by domino at 7:32 AM | Comments (0)
August 1, 2006
test
this is a test post - I've finally upgraded to MT 3.31 and there seems to be some problems with it, so I need to know what works.
I'll probably delete this at some point.
Posted by domino at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2006
lomogasm
or, "this sort of thing never happens to me"
On Saturday mornings I like to make my pilgrimage to the local charity shops. Despite being on a tight budget I still have an insatiable thirst for reading, and charity shops feed me whilst pandering to my thriftiness. Plus, I love looking at the bric-a-brac, seeing what sorts of things other people throw out. I love being able to say with a sharp intake of breath "Grandma used to have one of those!"
There's also a long running joke between Mr D and I. For a long time, I have lusted after a Lomo LC-A camera. I've seen what can be done with them, but the price of them has meant that the thought of owning one goes on the high shelf in my mind of "things I really really want, but am probably unlikely to get". Looking around, it seems that people like me who don't want to spend a lot of money on a Lomo, usually end up getting an Olympus XA. Although the two cameras are fairly different, they can produce similar results. So, it made sense that the XA went on the shelf in my mind marked "attainable, but there's usually other things to spend the money on"
So, every time I wander into a charity shop, I pipe up with "let's go in here, you never know, they might have an Olympus XA for a quid..." Mr D laughs in a way that says, "yeah, right" but I still look on the shelves in the vain hope that someone has donated a knackered looking camera to charity without realising what it is.
One of my favourite charity shops locally is Barnardo's. The small shop is about eighty percent books and some bric-a-brac, mostly teapots and vases. I love it because they have the sense to display their books not only alphabetically, but by genre too, so you don't have to wade through hundreds of Catherine Cookson books to get to HG Wells. Last week, they were giving away toy flamingos with every purchase, apparently they were donated by a company, and when Barnardo's realised they couldn't sell them, gave them away with every purchase as an incentive to buy something. I bought two books, and got two free flamingos.
This morning, we went in and I noticed there were still pink flamingos lined like Tiller girls along the tops of the shelves. I went straight to the fiction section, letter A, because I'm looking for a book by Jake Arnott. That particular section is near the till, and I caught a snippet of a conversation between the shopkeeper and an old gentleman. He'd said the word 'camera'. I glanced around, and noticed a shelf behind the counter with about ten different cameras on it. Ranging from Kodak brownies of varying ages to cheap nameless plastic tat, and somewhere in between. Then, just as I was wondering whether to get one of the Brownies, I noticed four letters in white - lomo. My first thought was nah, someone's written that on, but as I continued to look, I realised that what I was looking at was a genuine Lomo. The old man was still contemplating his choice of camera, and was blocking most of the small counter area. I willed him to make his mind up, so I could get to my prize. An eternity later, he sighed and said "I think I'll leave it..."
I beamed at the shopkeeper and said, "can I look at the cameras?"
(IB claim note - "client has no problems communicating with others as long as there's a Lomo involved")
Without hesitation, I reached for the Lomo. It was heavy for a small camera, and was indeed the coveted LC-A model. My fingers ran over the painted metal body and I felt a paper sticker - the price. I nervously turned it over, my heart in my mouth - wondering what on earth they would put as a price. Yesterday, on ebay, a Lomo LC-A sold for £84.
Prices of cameras in charity shops vary massively. Usually, they're just the cheap plastic 35mm cameras that only cost £5 new - and they sell for pennies. Sometimes, however, the shop thinks it has something of value, and ups the price. Box Brownies, for instance, or anything with a recongisable name. I've never seen a Lomo LC-A in a charity shop - it just doesn't happen. People are cottoning on to the idea that this is a fairly valuable camera, so if they don't want it any more, they put it on ebay. I guess it's very much like antiques. Programmes like the Anitques Roadshow and Flog It et al, teach people that things could be more valuable than they think. Troika pottery is a prime example - it's relatively ugly to a lot of people, yet prices in the last few years have rocketed. Same with Clarice Cliff ten years ago. Everyone wants to find the "oh, I got it at a car boot sale for 10p" item that's now worth hundreds. But I digress.
I turned the camera round to see the price. There must be some mistake, I think. Maybe it's not the LC-A I want, but some other model. The ticket says "£2". I resist the urge to scream out loud. "Ooh," I say "I think I'll have this one" and have a quick look at a Brownie so I don't look over keen. I hand over my money, and leave the shop - the proud owner of a Lomo LC-A found for two pounds. It was a surreal experience, and it was absolutely magic.
Posted by domino at 8:27 AM | Comments (0)
April 4, 2006
Okay...
well that's something, at least.
Hello again.
In the middle of a benefits brou-haha and a depressive episode, I decided it would be nice to change webhosts. I love how my brain works sometimes. The crux of it is that I have Forgotten Everything about installing movable type, and my new hosts have the cgi-bin in a different place and often I couldn't be bothered
I saved a backup of my site, but apparently it's how you save it that's the kicker. And to top it off, the only way now that I can get all my old entries back so strangers can see who the hell they're listening to, is to fiddle with some perl script, which my brain has looked at and automatically shut off, like a defiant kid saying "CAN'T"
GOD
oh, and I haven't uploaded all the scripts yet, so commenting is off.
Posted by domino at 7:42 AM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2005
Christ...
until I can figure out how to get rid of the comments that advocate bestiality and other unsavoury practices, the comments facility has been neutered.
I apparently need to upgrade to MT3.20 to use the comment spam thingy I want to, and it has Completely Changed. Arses.
*grumps*
Posted by domino at 7:42 AM | Comments (0)
November 9, 2005
hello
it's only me...
There's something about keeping a blog that's a bit like a garden. Despite using the weedkiller that is MTBlacklist, I still have had an abundance of weeds, which I shall have to sort out. I've changed the comments thing so that only registered typekey people can comment. I have no idea how that works, so if you can't comment, you know how to dig me in the ribs. I'll install one of those anti-spam comment thingies at some point, which will help.
Life has been a bit wierd over the last six months. I've been hovering in a strange place between getting depressed and trying to ignore the depression. This includes anything that could make it worse, such as writing here (the idea being that writing it down reinforces it) and Dealing With Things That Ought To Be Dealt With. It's left me feeling emotionally exhausted, but I have reached a place where I'm thinking, "if I don't deal with this, it'll just get worse" so I'm going to bite the bullet and Deal.
My apologies for ignoring you all. I didn't mean it. You know who you are...
Posted by domino at 9:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
The Return of the Comment
For anyone who has tried to comment on my blog and been faced with either a hanging page or a 500 error, it's now fixed. Apparently something to do with my plugins, because deleting them all fixed it. Thank you so much, Textura Design!
Thank you also to the people who took the time to email me - I really appreciate your kind words.
Posted by domino at 11:01 AM | Comments (4)
February 8, 2005
Blogging Brits logo
If any members of Blogging Brits find me, you may be interested to know about an image-map based code I have used to link to their site.
Inspired by Liam, I too wanted a logo that incorporated the full webring code. However, my version uses a Silkscreen font based mini-icon, which is then converted into an image map. You can see the result in the links to the right of this page.
Check out the extended part of the entry for the code.
Please bear in mind, this code is for my Blogging Brits ID - you'll need to replace the four digit ID code with your own. Look at your current Blogging Brits Ring code to find it - in any of the ringsurf url's look for "id=0000" (where 0000 is your ID).
I'd also appreciate if you saved the image to your own server. Right-click here and select "save target as"
Enjoy!
Posted by domino at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
Google ads
I posted a few days ago about how amusing the google ads that were being shown on my site were in relation to my health.
The more I think about it, the more inappropriate it seems to have a blog about life with panic attack disorder and agoraphobia, and adverts for 'cures' running down the side of the page. So, I've deleted it completely.
I do get viewers who, according to my web stats, search for things like "panic attacks" and "venlafaxine" and get to my site. This is partly why I have links like tAPir and Venlafaxine Healing on the right. These are sites I have used myself, and have found to be a great help. This is the way links on my site will stay. Sites pertaining to health will be ones I have used personally, or checked out myself. Not adverts based on random keywords.
Posted by domino at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2005
This is Quite Funny...
When I installed MT 3.14, I decided to look into having Google ads on my site. As long as I could control the content, and it looked fairly unobtrusive, I thought I'd be happy. Plus, I could earn money!
At first, the ads were for things like "donate money to the (something) foundation" and they seemed like good causes, so I took no notice (in the respect that I let them be). I think it takes the google spiders a few goes to get the gist of what your site is about, and come up with adverts relating to what's going on.
I'm just rather amused that I'm blathering on about how I don't know how to control my panic and agora, and the ad at the side is saying things like "cure panic attacks - guaranteed!"
Posted by domino at 8:02 AM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2004
Title Schmitle (or something)
This last week, I have been using most of my brain power on building a new computer. I'm kinda wondering if I have a brain quota, which only allows me to think so much during a given time period. I've built the computer, installed everything - and it's peachy, but literally everything else I've tried to do has turned to shit. It's like my brain has said, "WOAH!!! That's it, missy, no more cognitive processing for you!"
My husband's favourite is my putting the sugar in the fridge the other day. He's really tickled by that. I don't mind, at least it takes his mind off the job shit he is enduring yet again.
He is still with the same company, but they seem to think it's okay to offer him temporary work, then at the last moment right where he's crapping himself about how we'll pay the mortgage next week, they offer him another few weeks work. It's really taking it's toll on both of us, and because of the incredibly long hours he's working, it's making it really difficult for him to look elsewhere. So, if anyone out there is looking for a highly skilled mechanical engineering quality inspector, e-mail me. (Like that's really going to work...)
After the whole incident of not going to therapy last week, I have decided to write a letter to M, explaining why things have gone to shit. It mostly involves explaining about the Efexor experience, and how my panic and anxiety have sky-rocketed. I've tried to explain that it's a different kind of anxiety - really sharp, like a kind of mental razor-wire. I guess having a constant headache and nausea doesn't help. Funny, though, I've only had two panic attacks this month. I feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack most of the time, especially when I'm out and about, but I always manage to avoid an actual attack.
My other symptoms are still there, and I feel flu-ey and hungover most of the time. I wish I could stop being so impatient. I'm aching to feel 'normal' again. Like my husband keeps on telling me: I'll get there - eventually.
Posted by domino at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)
September 3, 2003
Other People's Blogs
During this journey of self education, I have discovered that most people who have webspace also have a weblog. I like reading them, primarily beacuse I am a nosey person, but also because I'm able to glean ideas and see what is possible to achieve.
Many of the blogs are plain, you can tell that the writer has not deviated from the path that is Moveable Type's default template, but being pretty is only half the story.
Then there are the helpful blogs - those specifically set up to swear at you in HTML, PHP and CSS. They talk about plugins, and don't mean a euphamism for tampons. These are the people that helped me achieve what you see here today, and I am damn grateful. When I get going, I will have a nice list of buttons and links and gratitude.
Posted by domino at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
August 21, 2003
where did you go today?
Okay, I think I have this style sheet thing figured out now. Maybe.
I have changed the layout quite a bit; I've removed the calender, because I think the monthly archive links are enough. I've also moved the links etc to the left, to make way for a new column on the right - the "where did you go today?" thing. Basically, I'm going to use that space to put (as often as possible) my achievements regarding beating the evil incarnate that is Anxiety Disorder. I don't know how to code it all to make an archive, maybe that's something to think about.
As usual, please let me know if you are having any difficulties viewing in a particular browser, or if you think it's completely shit. Bear in mind that I am liable to cry if you tell me the latter. You can also tell me if you like it, because praise is such a rush. :)
Posted by domino at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)