Blog in Isolation

There is a radiant darkness upon us

Posts

Hello World

This is my first post in Octopress.

The text uses Markdown which is marvellous.

My favourite blogging platforms are:

  • Octopress
  • Habari
  • Drupal
  • WordPress

The BBC is a popular Web site.

End of message.

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migration plan

Loose thoughts on the plan of attack for the blog migration:

  1. Install Octopress locally
  2. Configure S3 and install a dummy Web site.
  3. Use’s3cmd’ to upload test site to Amazon S3
  4. Test incremental uploads. This is a firm requirement.
  5. Full database backup of existing Drupal blog
  6. Take backup of Drupal installation (additional modules, scripts).
  7. Install vanilla Drupal 7 locally.
  8. Install copy of the existing Dupal blog in local version (overwrite database ?).
  9. Use the Drupal to Octopress migration script. This extracts nodes from the database and creates Markdown files for each post, This script is probably for Drupal 6 so some tweaks (major rewrite) may be needed for bleeding edge Drupal 7. URL aliasing is supposedly supported.
  10. Test the various elements in the checklist. Disqus comments need the correct domain name so will have to come last.
  11. Configure a redirect from ’nbrightside.com’ to the Amazon URL. I can see trouble and lots of Googl’ing here.
  12. Place source code (Markdown posts) into GitHub repository.
  13. Put kettle on.
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blog migration checklist

I am a veteran of blog migrations with the scars to prove it. Here is a handy ‘cut out and keep’ checklist of the important things I normally forget:

  • Permalink structure. Try to preserve the existing permalink structure to save hours of pain. This is particularly important when using Disqus (although there is a URL migration utility for Disqus).
  • Typically, I like to have ‘Archives’, ‘About’ and a ‘Contact’ page.
  • Tag support including a ‘Tags’ page.
  • Images. I have learned to upload all photos and screenshots to PicasaWeb and intentionally de-couple images from the blog platform.
  • Sitemap support. Helps search engines index the site.
  • RSS/Atom support . Previously I have always used Feedburner (although I may follow Google’s example and sever this dependency) and simply use the native feed. Less is more.
  • Comments. Static site generators are slightly limited here (compared with proper blogging platforms) so I guess I will continue to use Disqus. Mind you, for the number of comments versus spam, I may also dispense with comments and invite people to use Google+ or identi.ca.
  • Themes. It would be desirable to be able to change themes to avoid having the same look and feel and every other Octopress blog.

Please feel free to add your own tips in the comments.

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Autumn migration

My Web hosting package (provided by Bluehost) expires in October. As this blog is essentially dead (the last post was a one-liner 8 months ago), the sensible and logical thing to do would be to kill the blog and save £5 a month.

Originally I purchased the domain name ’nbrightside.com’ and the Web hosting for a couple of reasons:

  • I wanted to use self hosted WordPress without some of the restrictions imposed by WordPress.com
  • I wanted to play with some of the packaged applications offered by Bluehost.
  • I wanted access to a Linux environment, mainly to build, install, experiment with various open source software tools and packages which needed a LAMP stack.

It’s really questionable whether I need to maintain this Web presence but, on balance, I’d like to keep the site alive for a little longer.

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blog maintenance

Time to upgrade Drupal again. Yesterday version 7.12 was released and this blog is currently running a very outdated (and probably insecure) 7.4. Although Drupal 7 included automatic update for modules and themes, updating the core Drupal software still needs manual intervention and takes time.

Over the years, the main self-hosted blog platforms I have used are:

  • WordPress - one-click updates. Quick and easy. By far the best and most robust solution. Never let me down.

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right said Fred

I think it is entirely right and proper that Sir Fred Goodwin has been stripped of his knighthood.

After all, I am a shareholder in the Royal Bank of Scotland and his incompetence has cost me a significant amount of money and pushed back my retirement age to 87.

In fact, why stop there ? Personally, I find it objectionable that Freddie’s surname includes the word ‘Good’. This man is not good - in fact, he is a very bad man so I suggest he should henceforth be known as ‘Fred Win’.

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I Am Not Left Handed - This Is Now

This is part 2 of an interview with Kathryn and Daniel from ‘I Am Not Left Handed’. The first part ‘That Was Then’ is available here.

This might seem like (another) weird question but then again I am slightly weird myself. I realise you’re a relatively young band but are they any songs of your own that you don’t like and would not contemplate playing live ? Maybe early songs that you have now outgrown. Or are you fiercely proud of everything you’ve ever produced ?

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I Am Not Left Handed - That Was Then

OK - let’s get the boring stuff out of the way.

How did you all meet and form the band ? Please don’t tell me you posted an ad in ‘Melody Maker’.

D: Kathryn and I met in Dublin, we were working on a summer course together. We both played in different bands at the time, I was fronting my own band, Coyote Blue, and Kathryn was playing keys and singing backing vocals with some friends of hers. We’d been staying up late at night with the other counsellors, a few of whom were musicians too, and there were guitars floating around, but Kathryn kept refusing any chance to accept the guitar and play a song.

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interview with I Am Not Left Handed

‘I Am Not Lefthanded’ are a band who produce the most wonderful music. The band are a three piece - mainly from Ireland - and the lineup is:

  • Kathryn - vocals, guitar, piano
  • Daniel - bass, vocals
  • Benji - drums

‘I Am Not Lefthanded’ have released a couple of EP’s and are currently putting the finishing touches to their first album - ‘The Fire And The Sigh’.

It’s hard to categorise ‘I Am Not Lefthanded’ but they produce beautiful melodies with the most fantastic vocals and lyrics. The band’s music and videos are available on their site so have a listen and make your own mind up.

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