Back to Wordpress

This weekend I converted my blog back from Drupal to Wordpress.  I like Drupal and will continue to use it where it makes sense to.  I just decided that for my personal blog it no longer made sense.  It was more complex than I really needed for my small blog. The other major issue with Drupal from my perspective was that they removed blogapi from core when they went to Drupal 7.  That made it impossible for me to use the external editors that I had been used to using with Drupal 6.  I like being able to update my blog from my phone or Mac and not have to always use a browser.  Maybe now that I am settled with this I can get back to using the blog more than I have been.

Another Decent Walk

Well I decided to start out my Easter Vacation with a training walk today. The weather was really nice for early April so I decided to add just a little to my last walk. I ended up walking 8.5 miles today. That's not bad progress for this early in the year. Waiting for the weather to get better so that I can get some consistent walking in. Regardless of the weather, I will be ready in September. This is my 6th year walking and I know what i need to do to finish all 60 miles of the 3-Day.

Unreal Weather for March Walking

Well I was off work today and was running errands earlier but I had to take advantage of the weather to get in another training walk. I had to go over to my Dad's house to take a look at his computer so I decided to walk over there. That gave me another 7.3 miles for this year. I just could not believe this weather though. I have never done a training walk in March and worried about getting too warm and keeping hydrated. It was actually over 80 today and might be again tomorrow. The weather has been unseasonably warm but I didn't get much walking done last week because I was commuting to Chicago for a Class. On Sunday we went to Appleton for my niece's birthday party so no walking then either. I hope to try and get in at least 10 miles a week for the next month and build from there.

First Training Walk for 2012

It was such an awesome March day I just had to get out and get in a training walk. We usually don't have many 60 degree days in March. Usually I would start with a 3.5 or 5 mile walk for the year but the temp was great and it was sunny so I ended up doing a litle over 7 miles today. Was a little sore afterwards but that was to be expected with that kind of start. I have been spending some time on the treadmill but walking there is nothing like walking outside. I find walking outside to be very relaxing and look forward to many more miles before September.

 

First Training Walk for 2012

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5340988

The Sixth Column

Yesterday I downloaded the January book bundle from Baen Books. The first story that I decided to read was The Sixth Column by Robert A. Heinlein. I have read quite a few of Heinlein's other stories of the years and really enjoyed them. The story was interesting but since it was a short story, there was only so much that could be done with the character development. I enjoyed reading the story but it was not one of my favorites of his. I think that The Moon is a Harsh Mistress still holds that spot. I have re-read that story several times over the years and still find it very entertaining.

Still Walking

This past week there was a lot of controversy surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Komen had announced a change in policy that resulted in it no longer providing grants to Planned Parenthood. The Pro-Choice community was up in arms and many people threatened to stop participating in Komen events and donating any money to Komen because of that change. Many people expressed their outrage by donating to Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood got more donations in two days than the grant that was being pulled for the current year from Komen.

I am pro-life so I was not upset with that policy change. I know it's easy for me as a man to say that I was not bothered by Komen pulling their funding from Planned Parentood. I do not hate Planned Parenthood. I do think that Abortion is wrong and I do not agree with those that practice it. I do however recognize that Planned Parenthood does provide other services that are needed by those without insurance. I do not agree with those that argued that those people would suffer though since the funding that Komen was going to pull was less than $1 Million dollars out of a $1 Billion budget.

I am walking in the Komen 3-Day again this year and I would have been walking even if they had not reversed there decission. Cancer is too big of a problem to just decide to stop fighing through a group because you don't agree with all it's policies and choices. There are people depending on the research and prevention that are provided by the funds that we raise through our walks. I am thankful for those that continue to support me each year.

New Mac

I had been thinking off and on for some time that I did not need a personal laptop anymore and finally went ahead and sold my Macbook Pro. I do about 95% of my computing at my desk so it just didn't make sense for me to look at MacBooks again when I was ready to upgrade. I wanted something I could attach my own monitor and keyboard to but a Mac Pro was out of my budget. I settled on a Mac Mini. I decided to get the Server Version so that I could get the Quad Core i7 processor with hard drives that I could stripe for faster disk access. I have only had this setup for a couple days now but I am impressed with how well setup drives two monitors and everything runs very smoothly.

No San Diego This Year

It's the week before Thanksgiving and it feels wierd not to be flying to San Diego to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. I walked there the previous two years and really enjoyed the experience. The first year the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was 60's and sunny all three days. Last year the weather was not quite so nice. It rained for most of Days 2 and 3. That made the walk a litte more challenging but the weekend was still a good experience. I miss seeing the Ocean again this year. I live close to Lake Michigan so I get to see water often enough but it's just not the same.

I really enjoyed the Twin Cities this year but it was over so early in the year since it was before Labor Day. I just feel like I should be doing something this weekend and I am not. Actually it will be nice to have this weekend to get ready for Thanksgiving. I hope the walkers in San Diego have an awesome weekend to finish up the series for this year. Once that is done I will start more aggressive fund raising for my walk next year.

No Google Apps For Me

About a month ago I had posted about my intention to move my e-mail services over to Google Apps. I did move my e-mail over for a short time but decided to move back because I really didn't care for it. There were also a number of logistical reasons that I don't use it anymore and use my own VPS for e-mail. One of the biggest reasons is the ability for me to backup my data. With my VPS and CPANEL, I can very easily create a backup of my complete domain and download it to my computer to keep a backup. Backing up a domain of Google Apps Data is not as easy. Another reason that I am not using it anymore is because one of my original intentions to move was to see how well it worked so that I could eventually move my Church's e-mail over to Google Apps. That is not a possibility anymore since Google has revised their terms of service and excluded Churches from getting their free service like other non-profits do. I really do prefer the CPANEL interface to managing my e-mail accounts anyway.