Well, dear readers, let’s just get it out of the way right now: Yesterday was the DAY FROM HELL. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad. As most of you are aware, last night at midnight our web host, unbeknownst to me, upgraded their servers to some new thing. After posting the notes, I went to our discussion board to change the topic and was greeted with an error message. A fershluganah error message, out of nowhere, just like that. Now, I don’t know about you, but I do not like to get an error message out of nowhere, just like that. I could click on nothing and nothing worked. I wrote our host, and luckily there was someone there at that late hour. They informed me of the change and said Mr. Mark Bakalor would be able to figure out the code to change, that it would be simple. I did an update to the notes and that was that. I also wrote Mr. Bakalor and even left a message on his machine. I got up at eight-thirty to find the board still down. Mark and I spoke and he said he could do nothing – he’s pretty much out of the web design game, and the fellow who installed our software is out of that line of work. According to our web host, we needed to update our very old board software, and they gave me the address of the software company. Mark wouldn’t do it (the new software download is free, but Mark was worried that he’d do something wrong and totally screw things up). I then asked our web host if they would do it if I paid them. They agreed, and downloaded the new board software, at which point the board was up, but looking completely different. As it became apparent during those early hours, people were getting error messages, being able to post once and then being booted off. Mark went in and tried all sorts of things – he got everything working for him and me (we’re mods), and even got the board to look more like it used to. He also fixed the booting off problem. What he couldn’t fix was the problem of people posting once and then not being able to post again. Everyone was getting on the board and could read the posts, but there was no reply button or anywhere for them to post. Now, I don’t know about you, but I find that most unseemly. Mark was baffled by it and then had to go off and do something. Earlier, I’d gone to the software site and registered, and posted on their board. I got several good answers, which Mark used to fix certain things. I then had an offer from a poster there saying he’d fix the board if I paid him a small fee – the fee was very reasonable and I said yes. We sent various messages back and forth, and then he sent me his gmail address and we were going to IM back and forth while he fixed it – only he never showed up and never responded to my various e-mails. I then paid fifty bucks to become a Charter Member of the software site, which enabled me to open a ticket and report the big posting problem. After an hour I heard back from one of their guys – I gave him the username and password to the board. Later, he got back to me saying he’d adjusted a couple of things and asked me to see if that fixed the problem. It hadn’t. I then compiled a lot of your e-mail info and sent it all to him. What was clear was that people could only post once and then their posting ability was gone because there was no reply button anywhere. I was having no trouble posting, nor was Mr. Bakalor, either under his original moderator name or his new registered name. I should have realized right then and there that everyone could re-register under new names and post, but I had to run off to my dinner meeting. When I returned, dear reader George had figured out the re-registering thing and it worked. So, obviously our problem is with our already established usernames – when the upgrade was made somehow some permissions thing got turned off. I hate when that happens. I personally think all permissions things should be turned on at all times. Again, I sent all this to the software people, and I’m hoping that first thing this morning they’ll be working on the problem, armed with all the information that I sent or, at the very least, legged with all the information that I sent. For now, until it gets fixed, if you want to post, simply re-register under a similar but slightly different name and you’ll be fine. I’m sure we’ll be able to go back to the original usernames very soon, but at least this way we can post. Until Mark updates the link at the bottom of the second page of notes, you have to go to a new web address to access the new board – it’s http://www.haineshisway.com/smf/. You’ll have to save the new address to your favorites – you can’t use the old one anymore. All the other addresses, such as the notes and other stuff on our haineshisway.com page should work as they’ve always worked.
It was one of the most frustrating and annoying days ever. I virtually did nothing else all day except work on our problems, save for doing the long jog. The temperature today was over 100 degrees, which just made me more annoyed. In other words, it was the DAY FROM HELL. So, we’ll hopefully get everything sorted out at some point today, but until then if you do as suggested above we’ll at least be able to post. Check out yesterday’s posts for tips on how to get your quick reply box to show and various other preferences – they’re all in your user profile (you won’t be able to access your old user profile until our problems have been fixed). I do thank everyone for their extreme patience. I know many of you were completely frustrated, and I think you can imagine how yesterday was for me – I was frequently walking around the home environment screaming at the top of my lungs. At one point I went outside, grabbed a passerby, and told them the story of The Randy Vicar and the Fig Newton – the passerby fled and has not been seen since.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got lots more to tell about the day from hell.
Just before I toddled off to my dinner meeting, things started going better. Someone dropped off the latest Varese limited edition soundtracks – The Matrix (complete), North and South, Book Two, Anna Lucasta, and Vamp. So, new music always perks me up. Then my dinner meeting with Mr. David Wechter was so wonderful and so creatively satisfying that I momentarily was able to forget all my frustrations. I had my barbecue chicken sandwich, and I actually had a double portion of salad with balsamic vinaigrette. I didn’t have any wings. David and I went over all his Nudie Musical notes, and discussed which we’d do on this next pass. He’s going to do all the stuff we agreed on – it’s not major stuff, but all of it will really help the show. And just in the talking through stuff I realized a note he’d had for act one would work perfectly in act two and really vitalize a little sequence I was not happy with at all – it requires me writing a new musical number, but I love doing that. I’m so glad he’s helping on this – another pair of eyes is so great, plus he’s really on my wavelength about the tone of the piece, and all his notes were about character development, keeping certain characters alive in act two, and smoothing out some stuff that still seemed awkward, and beefing up the conflict a little. All of it will make this a better stage musical.
I came home and was happy to see people posting again – one forgets how dependent one gets on our silly little board. I really missed everyone and their postings. After we get the big problem fixed, then I have a small list of little problems we’ll hopefully be able to get straightened out. I was thoroughly exhausted, that much I can tell you.
Today, hopefully things will be fixed, board-wise, and I will, of course, be doing the log jog, which I must try to do early because it is too darn hot to do it after eleven, which is what happened yesterday. I don’t think we have our calendar button option right now (it’s on my list) so if I’m missing a birthday please let me know so I can add it to the notes.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, do errands and whatnot, hopefully visit a completely fixed discussion board, and enter a lot of Nudie Musical fixes. Today’s topic of discussion: Easy – tell us all what you did yesterday, since we have no idea. You remember yesterday – The Day From HELL.