Last freaking post (with updates! until I’m done)

************LAST UPDATE***************

FINALLY. The new site is up, and it is…

The return of SPLEENVILLE.COM.

Yes, I decided to bring the old site back alive, as it were. Well, not alive — it’s the “new” Spleenville, not the old one, or the last version thereof which I couldn’t revive (some sort of database collapse killed it, if I recall correctly), so there will be all new posts. But I’ve set up a redirect so all you’ll have to type into your browser address bar is “spleenville.com/hq2″ (ADDED NOTE: sorry, I tried to make the main url redirect and it messed up all the other things I had under the root directory, so don’t forget that “/hq2″) and it will head right to it, like a calf to it’s mother cow’s, er. side. Or something like that. Anyway, GO.

*******END LAST UPDATE**************

I’ve been having real trouble getting a post up on this site, so I think it’s time I closed it and started my new website which I’ve been promising to set up. If I can, I’ll post the link to the new site in an update to this post.

Update: frak. WordPress 2.8 seems to be having a multitude of problems. So there goes that install. I’m going to try other blogging software. The problem is, the three I’m looking at — Textpattern, Nucleus, and Expression Engine (the free version) don’t seem to have commenter registration. You can add users, but the lowest restriction to users is “author” — they can write posts as well as comments. I’ve actually been thinking of having more than one poster — you know, a group blog kind of setup — for my new site. I still haven’t decided. But that doesn’t solve the problem of keeping out the trolls in a way that doesn’t mean I have to sit here all day modifying comments. There are outside commenting programs available, like Disqus, that I could set up, but I don’t want to depend on another server.

Update 2: okay, I deleted the WordPress 2.8 install and installed Textpattern and I was getting the same problems — specifically, images were degraded as if they had only been partially uploaded. I had been using gftp (a plain-jane Linux ftp program kind of like my beloved WS-FTP — the old free student version not the fancy shareware version), so I went into my server’s cpanel via the browser, deleted all the images, and re-uploaded them. Now they work. Still, there were some other problems with the WordPress so I may not install that. I have to test out more software. Stay tuned… I’ll just be updating this post until the issue is resolved, then I’ll put up the new blog’s url.

Update 3: apparently they’re having a few problems with WordPress 2.8. I’m not making any judgments — I’m just reporting.

Update 4, Wednesday June 17th: okay, today I played around with Expression Engine. Their free “core” version seems to have a member module where I can set up member registration for the site, but I can’t figure out how to get a register/login-logout/view your profile link to work. It just goes to a blank page. I’m getting a tad exasperated. Though I did decide to try another ftp program and found FireFTP which is a Firefox add-on that will work in Linux. It works fine. So I may try setting up WordPress 2.8 again and see if I can’t get it all working. The fun continues…

Also, I haven’t been idle in other areas. I’ve got a lot to write about as soon as I get the new site set up. Stay tuned…

Friday, June 19th update: okay, I’ve tested out three blogging software programs. There are a couple more (Nucleus and B2Evolution), but I’m getting kind of tired of uploading stuff, so I don’t know that I’ll be playing around with them. Anyway, what I’ve tested so far is WordPress 2.8, Expression Engine “Core,” and Textpattern. I can tell you I’m tending towards Textpattern, because except for a few design glitches (which may be due to the way Ubuntu displays special characters and can be fixed by changing style sheets), it’s worked the best of the three. The only thing is, there doesn’t seem to be any comment registration module or plugin for it. I could set comments to moderated, but that’s dreary. I do have the ability to ban commenters, though (the old-fashioned way, by IP banning), and I know that you’re all pretty tired of re-registering again and again. And I can set the comments to close after a certain number of days, which is somewhat discouraging to trolls.

What attracts me to Textpattern is the simplicity of its administrative area, and also it does not seem to be as unwieldy as the other two. WordPress especially has gotten pretty huge and complicated, and its “dashboard” screens are slow to load. Expression Engine is pretty complicated even in its core version not to have member registration ready to go out of the bat, IMHO. It otherwise works fine, but it’s not any better in that respect than Textpattern.

So the choice comes down to: a simpler program but one without comment registration, or a heavier program that hangs occasionally and furthermore won’t let me load up images (I thought I had set the permissions in WordPress correctly, but it still gives me a blank page when I try to upload an image) but lets me restrict commenters to registration only? I think I’m trending towards the former. In any case, I’ll probably have this decided by the weekend, in which case an ANNOUNCEMENT will be appearing at the top of this post. Until then, have a nice Friday.

Play me some mountain music

I’m here, people. In Virginia. In the mountains. Everything here is either uphill or downhill. I feel permanently tilted. I drove over mountains. And then there was the rainstorm near the end of my journey that I thought would finish me. Also, I forgot about the altitude — it’s not really that much, but my ears were popping just a bit. I’m still getting used to it.

I ache in every bone, but that’s more because of the efforts of packing and throwing out than the actual journey, which wasn’t that bad. The car performed like a trooper — all hail Toyota. (Yes, American car manufacturers, you can build something to last and still profit off of it.) As for the cat — well, she freaked out, of course, and hated me all through the journey, but she settled down after a while and spent most of her time sleeping. Now she is having fun exploring and hiding in the place I’m staying.

Where I’m staying: well, it’s an apartment in one of the charming historic homes this little mountain town is dotted with. It was built in the 1850s, and all I can say is… well, people back then must have had leg muscles like concrete, because it’s on a steep street, and built on a hill, so there are two flights of steps just to get to the front door, and then there is another staircase to get up to the place which is on the second floor. Needless to say my legs hurt. But it’s great — old hardwood floors, windows everywhere (needed, as there’s no a/c — but it’s not exactly tropical here; right now at noon it’s 75 degrees — take that, Florida!), and 12 foot ceilings. It kind of reminds me of the house I grew up in though that was built in 1925 and this place was built in the 1850s. It would be cool if I could get an apartment in a place like this — I’m so tired of cookie-cutter generic places.

Anyway, guess where I’m going in a few minutes: to the local Shakespeare theater to see Hamlet. And then later tonight, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and then tomorrow Comedy of Errors — all at the same theater. Which is like, within walking distance. In all my years of living in urban cultural centers I’ve never actually seen a real play — I had to come to remotest Bucolica to get some real culture, which all of the People That Matter are always careful to assure everyone doesn’t exist in this country outside of places like New York and San Francisco. What a surprise, they’re wrong. Anyway, I’ll be posting reviews of the shows — stay tuned!

Oh yeah — I’m about a six hour or so drive to New York if I really must visit the place, and two and a half hours from DC. Now that I’m no longer stuck in Florida I’m near everything. Don’t be jealous.

A-Viking I will go

Okay, kids, this is my last blog entry to be typed in Florida. If all goes well I’ll be on the road within an hour or two. I don’t know when I’ll have internet access again — I’m in Denny’s (another Denny’s, one with a more-or-less working internet) getting some breakfast — until I get to my destination. I may update my Twitter page (link “my Twitter page” in the sidebar menu) since I can do that by phone but as it’s a pain in the butt with my simple cheap phone (no fancy QWERTY keypad) and I doubt I’ll have anything that important to say I may not do that very often. To tell you the truth, I still don’t get Twitter…

You should see my car. I got rid of 90% of my belongings (including the tv — I just couldn’t make it fit) and it’s still full practically to the brim. I’ve left space for the cat, that’s it. All that is missing is the comical pile of luggage tied on the car’s roof, but that’s because I only own one piece of luggage, a battered cheap suitcase I bought at a Woolworth’s in London in 1981 and I’ve held onto even though it’s getting to the duct-tape stage.

Anyway, wish me luck on the roads of America!

Still in Florida update

What a day I’ve had so far. Would you like me to tell you about my day? Of course you would. I’ve been to three places in town trying to find a wireless connection that works. My reliable Denny’s turned out to be no longer reliable. They assured me that their connection was working (though I saw no one in the place on a computer) but it was completely out — it didn’t even appear in my wireless ap screen. So after nibbling at the breakfast I turned out to have no appetite for, I took off to the Panera near my home. But their wireless sucks — I couldn’t get any websites to open.

By the way, the reason I was so frantic to get on the internet this morning wasn’t so I could read blogs, download Doctor Who pics, and write this entry — I really do have certain things I have to take care of via the internet that aren’t frivolous.

So, it was off to the farther-away Panera where the wireless is usually reliable. And it was, so I was able to transact my business. Unfortunately it took me so long to accomplish that I have used up all my battery time and I didn’t bring my cord (it makes a bundle almost as big as the computer and I usually don’t bother), so I won’t have time right now to play around. Maybe I’ll come back later, if I have time (I’m going to try to pack the car today).

Gotta go.

I’m just putting something here because a blog needs entries

Yeah, I totally have wasted my morning in Denny’s reading Cracked.com. I hate packing, so sue me. Also, that shit is funny.

Anyone in the Central Florida area have access to a flamethrower?

Rainy Thursday

Hey folks, I’m here at Denny’s — this time in a corner booth so no one can spy on my websurfing. Not that I care if they see what I’m looking at, but I just hate even thinking someone is reading over my shoulder. I will say that so far people seem to have developed a sort of public computing etiquette that prohibits the sort of “Whatcha readin’?” questions that busybodies used to bother me with all the time when I was a kid and just wanted to be left alone in the corner with my book. I suppose that the fact that it was usually some scifi paperback with an embarrassing cover illustration (one book I used to have years ago had a naked green alien woman on it; needless to say the cover was the only place a naked green alien character could be found in the book) made it that much more mortifying. So my childhood tastes did not run to Little Dorrit or Anne of Green Gables. So sue me.

Anyway, it seems that people with computers are assumed to be always engaging in Serious Business, not hunting up the latest news on Doctor Who, so I don’t get bothered. I even got the waitress to pull down the blinds behind me to reduce glare on my screen. It’s all good. I still have cable tv at home, though, and I’m getting a little bit miffed — did they make a mistake and take my boxes away early? My luck with cable companies makes that likely. Oh well, I don’t care. I’m going to be leaving either next Wednesday or Thursday depending on how soon I can get my act together — I’ve decided not to wait until Friday. I probably won’t be getting on the internet all that much in the next few days; the “free” wireless is starting to get expensive (I feel obligated to at least buy coffee at these places) and I still have a lot to do. I will be occasionally updating my Twitter page by phone. (I can actually get on the internet with my cell phone, but its tiny screen and primitive mobile browser make that difficult.) Yesterday I was able to get rid of a lot of books — about thirty to the local library, and also several paperbacks at a used book store. I still might go through my books one last time but I kept the ones that meant most to me that I couldn’t bear to get rid of as well as some that I have yet to read. And I still have to do laundry and then go through my clothes again to cull more that I really don’t wear. I also need to print up some signs to plaster around the neighborhood — I’m going to try to have one final sale of stuff over the weekend.

Those are my plans anyway. I’ve got about an hour of battery life — I usually don’t bother carrying the bulky cord and outlets are few and far between at these places, but this computer’s battery lasts about two and a half hours which is more than enough time to fool around on the internet. Later, mes amis.

Update: I forgot this very important news — while I was driving through my neighborhood I saw this gigantic raccoon going across someone’s yard. The thing was huge, the size of a small dog or large cat. It was bigger than a possum, anyway. That was nice — I usually only see them dead by the road. (Though not as often as I see armadillos dead by the road. I’ve seen maybe two live armadillos, and countless dead ones. They’re supposed to be pretty dumb, poor things.)

A gigantic storm is brewing, and I’m stuck in Denny’s with a full bladder and a nearly-empty computer battery. Time to bug out.

Checking in

Happy Wednesday, folks! I’m here at Denny’s, which has a much better wireless connection than Panera’s. Also the coffee is cheaper and they’re open for 24 hours. :O

Anyway, today is apparently Depressing Song Day. First the college radio station here was playing some dreary Bjork tune about being lost and all alone (even the deejays hated it — after the song was over they came on and said “song over, yay!”), and then I walk into the Denny’s and there’s some country song about a car crash playing on their muzak system. Which is pretty funny considering I nearly got killed on the way over by some of our local blind drivers (you know — you have your signal on and you’re obviously trying to get over into the lane and they speed up oblivious to your shiny metal presence).

Anyway, here I am, counting down to the time when I leave Florida. I didn’t get much yesterday due to a sudden sinus attack, so I’ll be attempting to do stuff today. I may check back in tonight if I get the chance.

Bird on a wireless

Hi there. As I explained in the comments to the previous post, I don’t have my home internet connection anymore. Here is a post I wrote last night for adding today:

Monday, June 1, 2009, 21:14

OK, not long after I updated the last entry the cable guy came and took away the dvr and the modem. I’m typing this up for uploading the next time I can access the internet. I’m going to watch one of my Doctor Who dvds from Netflix and then hit the sack.

Oh yeah — I almost forgot. I’ve still got some tv channels coming in for now. One of them was MTV. There was some live show of some sort; Jim Carrey was standing up in the audience and giving some spiel. Then he announced the next performance: Chris Isaak and Leeann Rimes. “Oh,” I thought, “I like Chris Isaak.”

But I’m afraid that I didn’t make it to Chris — the first person to come on when the lights went up was Leeann Rimes, and she started to sing. And this is what I heard: “jizz… in my pants… jizz… in my pants…” Sung to a sweet orchestral intro.

I swear to God this happened. I never watch MTV and have basically been out of the pop-culture loop, so I hadn’t realized just how far down the sewer the entertainment industry has slipped. And yes, I’ve seen the “Jizz In My Pants” video on Youtube, or as much of it as I cared too (it was rather repetitive and the joke wore off long before the song ended). But that obviously by some “edgy” comedian, whose name I forget. I thought Leeann Rimes was from another part of the entertainment world, one that wasn’t quite so… juvenile. I guess I was wrong.

[/end post]

Yeah, you really needed to know that. So anyway, here I am… wasting time in an organic tea café instead of doing all the million little things I need to do… going to the post office to mail some items, doing my laundry, taking my extra books to the book trade store… That’s all too much like work. Anyway, leaving Florida soon, yay! And… I’m actually thinking of leaving a few days sooner than the 12th, if I can swing it. Maybe I’ll leave the 10th. That’s next Wednesday. Usually if I write it here I’ve already made up my mind, but I also know what a procrastinator I am. Bad Andrea.

Okay, off to read the internet before this connection lets me down.

Update: I might use this as my travel update site, I don’t know:

http://thetwistedspinster.tumblr.com/

I just can’t get the Twitter thing, see… though I can update Twitter via my phone.

A slight change in plans

Hey everyone — I’ve got some news on my upcoming moving situation. First things first — it looks like instead of moving to St. Louis I’ll be heading up to Virginia. I don’t know if I’ll end up staying there — I’m going to look for a job in the area (Staunton and surrounds), but if that doesn’t pan out then I’ll move on. But a friend there offered to put me up for a while, and that’s an offer I can’t turn down the way expenses have been eating up my stash of cash. I’ve mapped out my route — I’ll be leaving Orlando on June the 12th and heading up to I-95. From there I drive forever until I get out of Florida (it’s true — almost half the journey is just getting to the Georgia border), and in South Carolina catch the I-77 in Columbia, and take that to I-81. The trip is about 12 hours as a straight shot, but I know myself and I’m probably going to have to make at least one overnight stop. I don’t know if there are any cheap motels along that route — I’m thinking no more than 40 bucks per night if that much. If anyone who lives anywhere along that route knows of one, drop a comment in here or email me — twistedspinster@gmail.com. (Or, you know, if you take pity on me and want to let me sleep on your floor… I take up very little space, and my cat even less. ;^} The only thing is, I don’t know where I will be at any given time. It’s me we are talking about here, who stretched a nine-hour drive back from Raleigh to Orlando into a two-night-three-day drive. Well at least I know how to drive the car now.)

Well, I stretched my cable access out as far as I could, but I’ve run out of time so I told them to come and get the box today. That means once they do I’ll have no access except the Panera, which at least is up the street, or wherever I can get free wireless. I will be online today until then.

Now I really have to buckle down and start throwing stuff in boxes. I have a bunch of stuff I’m just going to take to the Goodwill, and more books to sort through. I also have a ton of laundry — and I need to sort through my clothes for what I’m not going to need anymore. Also I really need a nap — I slept very badly last night due to a stomach bug, and then I had to get up early and get an oil change. Anyway, I’ve paid the rest of the rent at the office so I’m free and clear with the apartment manager. Hopefully that will mean I get my deposit back in a timely manner. The last place I left sent it back in a month, but that was before the economic nose dive. Also the tiny tax refund from Georgia (I worked for three months for a Georgia-based company and they taxed me!) is finally in the mail, so that will be a help. Of course I’m always taking donations…

I can’t believe I’m finally getting out of Florida at last. I don’t know what took me so long — all the fears I had seem so silly. I am relieved but also anxious because it seems like I have a bunch of little tasks I need to complete. (I don’t really. It’s just clearing out the apartment, packing up, hopefully selling my remaining sellable items, packing the car, hoping it doesn’t die between here and my destination, hoping the cat doesn’t barf on me, hoping I don’t get in a car accident between now and the rest of my life…)

Update: well, it’s 7pm and so far no cable guy, and as you can see I’m still connected. Maybe they had a lot of disconnects to do today — after all, it is the first of the month. (Okay, now that I’ve written this, I’ll bet they turn me off. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting… Nope! Still h

Just kidding update: hmmm, so that’s how you get to keep your cable a little while longer; ask them to come and pick up the box. Actually, I’m kind of wishing they’d get here already. I want to change into my pajamas.

Question Time

The Guardian makes the mistake of asking readers to direct their questions towards “ethical skin and body care products firm” Neals Yard Remedies. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

(Via Mr Eugenides.)