TL;DR - Mysql can kiss my ass in the context of Ubuntu Linux distribution upgrades. See also: I'm glad my new blog system is based on plain text rather than a database.



In an effort to completely break my first promise to myself, I have been searching for every possible alternative to writing.

Amateur procrastinators have very few tools in their arsenals, but us professionals have two basic types of activity to choose between: constructive and frivolous. The best 'crastinators amongst us are able to weave the two into a fantastic matrix of avoidance. Here's a few gems from my last two weeks...

Constructive: I did more exercise, pushing my stairs routine up to 100 flights (that's 100 up, 100 down, buns of steel) and carving a full minute off of my 6-mile jogging time.

Frivolous: I played some of my video game of choice. And then played some more.

Constructive: I poured myself into my job, even going so far as to ask my boss if there's anything more I could do. gasp.

Frivolous: I played another video game. And then yet a third one. The third one has become my new game of choice. I went back and tried a round or two of my first game of choice and it came up flat. Games are flavor of the month 'round here.

Constructive: I spent quality time with the soul mate, including a romantic weekend out of town. Ok, so this one can't be considered procrastination, because I'll gladly break my writing promise to keep the relationship passionate and connected.

Frivolous: I opened my life up to a fourth hour-long tv series. I generally keep my committed TV watching to no more than three hour-long shows at any given point in time. Since this repeats every week, it'll be the procrastination gift that keeps on giving.

Constructive: I spent quality time with the kid, including a day off from work to share the civic responsibilities of election day with the next generation. As with the soul mate's quality time, this should be considered mandatory time and not a procrastination enabler, but it helps the constructive/frivolous pattern so I'm going with it.

Frivolous: I listed a giant pile of old paperback books on swap.com to hopefully land me some of my "wants" list. Categorized as frivolous because I've already got a queue of 15 books, adding more to that cannot be considered anything but.

Constructive: I raked the leaves from the yard. Then it rained and brought down more leaves. I raked again. The wind blew and I raked again.

Frivolous: Hell, I even chose writing as an alternative to writing. Specifically writing two unpublished articles. Long ones. Subject matter was a video game, in lieu of sitting down and writing a fiction piece aimed at submitting for possible publishing.

And the last bit of constructive frivolity...

I reminded myself of the key feature I like about my custom blogging system: all the content is stored in simple text files.

/begin technical mumbo jumbo

Continue only if you want to read about nerd computer stuff.

Wondering why I hadn't seen any apt-get update notices on my server for a while, I looked into the matter. I discovered that my Linux distribution Ubuntu 9.10 was out of support since May. The latest Ubuntu is 11.10, released just recently. There are two ways to fix: incremental upgrades and fresh install.

Following the recommendation of a friend, I set upon the task of incremental upgrade. To get from 9.10 to 11.10, you need to jump through hoops 10.04, 10.10, 11.04, and then finally land on 11.10.



Seems like a pain in the butt, so I decided to go with the fresh install and downloaded the Live CD ISO for 11.10. I keep my data and my OS on separate disc partitions, so should be a slice of pie. Like a good little boy scout, I backup /home just in case. As I scan my situation, I see that mysql is sitting in /var/lib rather than /home. You'd think it would be as straight forward as moving the folder, updating the config file and that's all you gotta do. No, hours of wrestling and Googling turn up apparmor which will become the bane of my existance over the next few days. For the record, I did get mysql properly functioning under the /home datadir before I began this process.

With my database and other files happily living in /home, I hook up the external CD drive and load the Live CD. Only the thing totally ignores the CD and boots off harddrive. Reboot holding key to get into BIOS. WTF, its already configured to boot off of CD before HD. Whatever, exit and proceed. This time it boots off of CD.

Since I'm playing with fire and generally apt to get burned, the Live CD install for 11.10 freezes up early on in the process. Another thousand Googles later, it still won't work and the agony of four incremental upgrades seems less intimidating than it did only hours ago.

Using the X Windows GUI for software updates, I begin my first of many tries at upgrading from 9.10 to 10.04. Seems every error I can come up with, I came up with. The best of which is the installer freezing on Mysql. Another Kilo-Googles later and I've successfully got 10.04 running AND mysql. The beauty is that the in-place upgrade leaves all your stuff like network setups, Apache server, PHP, SSH, and my-hated-sql all working as you had them before the upgrade.

On to the 10.04->10.10 upgrade. Armed with my learnings from the previous mysql pain, this one goes a bit better. Another hicup on Mysql, but I'm getting good at that by now. Then it gets to the very end of the process when it creates your boot image kernel. It would seem that my /boot partition is too small. It needs 2 more MB to house the previous kernel and the new one. I could delete the old one, but that'd leave me with no parachute, so I begin the next part of the journey.

I need to resize my partitions with the hopes of avoiding a reformat. Yes, I've got my data backed up, but No, I don't want to have to prove that my backup was (a) thorough and (b) effective. I'd really like to resize and keep the data intact, please and thank you.

GParted seems like the ticket. A quick 100MB download from their sourceforge site and some wrestling with my burner (why the fck won't the drawer open without rebooting?), and I've got a Live CD with which to run GParted. The sour taste of the failed Ubuntu 11.10 Live CD still fresh in my mouth, I boot up GParted.

Cute GUI showing me a linear depiction of my disc. Click /boot partition and discover that I cannot enlarge it because it butts up against swap, /, and /home. Solution: shrink /home, then shrink /, then shrink swap, thus creating some space for /boot to grow into. Major pucker factor as you click the "sure, i understand that this action is highly likely to fry my data" button, but each command executes and reports success. Time to boot and see if I can get back into a functioning 10.04.

Sure enough, she's golden. Never so happy to see that X Windows splash screen.

Run the updater and now it has enough space for the new kernel in /boot. And I'm running successfully in 10.10.

Fire up the Software Updates tool. "Partial Upgrade Only" available. WTF? This one only took a baker's dozen Googles to solve. Seems that the botched Mysql part of the previous upgrade left things somewhat broken. A few commands and the full upgrade to 11.04 is available.

Run run run. Who would have guessed, it barfs on mysql again. Seems like the same fix should get things working again like the last two upgrades. Things continue and now I'm booting 11.04 for the very first time. I health check everything and its looking fine until I hit my old blog. I've got a site running on the server with Wordpress installed, with mysql on the backend. Can't connect to the db. ps -ef | grep mysql comes up empty. She's not running.

Back to the Google. Endless bug reports, log file dumps, forum threads. Lots of people have my exact problem. Lots of people offer solutions. None of them work. My 11.04 is alive and well, but no functioning mysql. One forum post did say that 11.10 solved their problem, so I'm off to the updater.

Along comes the familiar mysql fails during the update. Along comes the familiar /boot full message. Luckily this time I've got some kernels to delete from the long and winding upgrade path I've been on during the past few days. Kernel complete, 11.10 up and running.

No mysql. The bitch won't start.

My favorite is the recommendations to run a database table integrity checker as a solution. Only problem is that the integrity checker needs to connect to the database in order to check the integrity. Chicken and egg, anybody? I cant run the check if the database wont start until a check has been run :-(

So this morning I wiped mysql, and reinstalled. Hey, works like a charm. Only my data isn't there. So my old blog posts aren't showing. Sure, my content is burried in a backup of the original mysql data directory, but how the hell do I get at it?

Makes me happy my new blog system keeps the content in plain text.

Word Count: 1723

I Promise...to submit a story in 2011.

The blog is all set. I finished reading "On Writing" this week. I even have a few ideas for a short story bouncing around in my head.

The excuses are running out.

It is time to put the pen to the paper and write something. Something creative. Not a stream of consciousness brain dump. Not a technical document about features for a programming project. Not a description of an inexpensive way to encourage physical activity at home.

Fiction. With characters, a plot, dialogue, and a beginning, middle, and end. Written entirely by me.

Lets give this goal the four attributes of success laid out in the intro post.

1. The Deliverable - I will write an original short story, between 2,000-4,000 words in length, suitable for submission to a publisher that is looking for such stories. I will research publishers and identify the target for my first submission. I will submit the story to the publisher for their consideration.
   
   
2. The Deadline - I will complete the submission before 1-Jan-2012. By corollary, I will complete writing the story and preparing it for submission early enough to allow for submission by that deadline.
   
   
3. The Immediate Action - There are two immediate actions that I will undertake within the next 48 hours, which equates to the end of Saturday 29-Oct. (A) I will lay the infrastructure for how I write including where my working files will be stored, data backup technique, and how I will track which story has been sent to which publishers. Ridiculous, I know, but removing those mental hurdles will remove excuses that I use to justify procrastination. (B) I will write my thoughts down. In my head is a rough idea for a scenario, a few characters, and a general direction I'd like the story to go. I will move these thoughts from my head and onto paper.
   
   
4. The Realism - For my purposes, realism takes two forms: attainable and within my control. This goal is attainable. I have over two months to go from blank page to submitted story. I write 1,000 words in an hour and a half or so when I am writing a brain dump blog post. Fully aware that writing a well thought out story will take much more time than authoring a stream of consciousness, I consider the month of November to be an adequate buffer. This goal is within my control. Each step of this goal is an action that I need to perform, and therefore cannot dodge by blaming "waiting on someone else" for failure. Success is up to me.
   
   

This is my goal. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

The goal fits my four attributes for success. I now need to follow through and execute my immediate actions. Once I make it through the first 48 hours, I will then need to keep at it to meet the larger timeline.

Word Count: 540

We are proud to introduce a new keyword to this site: promise

There are various stages of motivation that I go through whenver beginning something new.

Begin with an oyster - The very beginning is wild brainstorming. The world is my oyster at this stage. With no committment whatsoever, my mind is free to explore, to Think Big (TM), to imagine all the upside without considering any of the constraints or consequences. Oh, how fun this stage is, motivation soaring high.

Getting specific - It is easy to get overwhelmed when the world is your oyster. If the ideas from the first stage pique my interest enough, it is then time to move from the general to the specific. I make a short-list of things to consider, focusing towards specific implementations of my wild imagination. Here is where the costs, risks, and challenges are allowed to creep into my head. Motivation level will vary here. If the idea is a dud, the motivation will fizzle. If there's hope that the fun/reward will out weight the pain, then motivation is high.

Baby's first step - If my idea made it past the second stage, then it is time to actually do something with it. Lay a foundation. Build a frame. Install the electric and plumbing. Perhaps a secret tunnel or two just to keep things interesting. Baby takes her first step and I've got a shiny new project to play with. If I make it to the end of this stage, then the motivation is likely on auto-pilot and things are just taking care of themselves.

Keeping it up - Here's where things tend to go awry. The experience started as novel, new, innovative, imaginative, creative. Now it is mundane, repetitive, a quagmire, a black hole sucking my energy dry. I can typically identify this stage when I catch myself procrastinating. The motivation is slipping and ready to collapse.

Enter the promise - To solve this lil dilemma with my writing, I am introducing the "promise" keyword to this blog. Goals are theoretically motivational. I will theoretically punch through the procrastination and keep it up, so to speak.

Goals with the following attributes have a higher chance for success, therefore my promise articles will follow this structure.

1. Each promise will contain a specific, concrete, tangible deliverable. If the goal is achieved there will be something I can hold in my hand, a question who's answer is now "YES", a desired outcome that has been achieved.
   
   
2. Each promise will have a due date. Successful goals are time-bound.
   
   
3. Each promise will have an immediate action. This is something I will do within 48 hours of writing the promise article that will move me closer to delivery. The longer you let a goal sit the less likely you are to achieve it.
   
   
4. Each promise will be attainable. A goal that is unrealistic from the start is ripe for procrastinating. A goal that is entirely out of my control is equally worthy of ignoring. If I find myself promising something that is out of my control, then I will revise it to focus on actions that are within my control that will influence the desired outcome that is out of my control.
   
   

I want to move my writing from the theoretical universe inside my head and into the real world that we all share.

My promise articles, and more importantly my delivery of those promises to myself, will get me there.

Word Count: 643

Pack my lunch, pack the kid's lunch. Fill the travel mug with crappy-tasting-but-$.21-cent-costing instant coffee. Shutdown the laptop, shove it into the bag. Run back to the kitchen because you forgot the kid's afternoon snack. Trip over the dog, then the other dog, on the way there and back. Remind the kid to get the homework she left upstairs. Pray to whatever god that will listen to grant me a new arm so I can hold onto the two Swap.com trades that are headed for the outbound mail. Another prayer to grab the new car insurance card for the policy renewal that just kicked in. Who would have known that no god worth his salt would answer something this frivolous? Run back to the kitchen to get a bag to carry the loose stuff, tripping over the dogs yet again.

Check your wrist to see how much time until the school bus. Shout upstairs to tell the kid to grab your watch from the dresser while she's on the way back with her homework. And hurry up.

Some mornings are more chaotic than others. Some mornings I'm more capable of coping with chaos than others. I certainly was not ready for the straw that broke my back.

Trundle down the front stairs to the driveway. Proud of my ability to balance a work bag, lunch bag, stuff bag, coffee mug, while simultaneously herding a six year old with her own school bag, lunch bag, snack bag, after-school dance bag, rain coat.

Put the coffee cup on the car roof. Wrestle with my business casual pants pocket to find the damn keys. Press the button to unlock the door. Grab the mug off the roof. Proud again with the confidence that I am safe from karma's sting for all those times I've reveled in guessing how far the cup on the roof of some oblivious driver's car will survive. Bonus points for the soaking combination of an open driver's window, a right-hand turn, and a toppled cup.

After briefly basking in the pride, I reach for the handle to open the door, only to find it alread open a crack. Confusion, but dismissed without pause. Amid all this chaos certainly I could have pulled the handle and forgotten. Carry on.

This is when the camel's knees go from wobbly to <something more than wobbly>.

That's funny, I don't remember leaving my glove box open. Neither did I recently scatter its contents all over the passenger seat. Ditto for the center console. I never claimed to be a bright man, but even I am beginning to see a pattern.

I'd been robbed.

They ransacked and looted through all the little nooks and crannies of the car. Glovebox. Center console by the elbows. Center console under the radio. They clearly rummaged under the seats. Even the sunglass thingie on the ceiling was open. I keep nothing of value in the car. The only thing missing is a small bowl of coins to feed the meter worth about five or six bucks. At least I've got that going for me.

Check the door frame for signs of break-in. There's the rusty mark from where they used a pry bar to shatter the window a few years ago. Smiling at me as always. Ensuring I never forget that violation. No new marks so they either jimmied the door open or somebody neglected to lock it, making the thief's job quite a bit easier.

Someone is to blame for this offense.

I blame the thief. Shirking responsibility. Breaking laws. Drinking life away. Not even the common decency to close the car door and keep the seat dry from the rain that was coming down all night. Maybe if he had any sense of respect for fellow man he would have checked the car door, just like he checks every door in the neighborhood, and upon finding it unlocked, rummage for a pen and paper to leave a note that says "You're welcome!", locking the door and walking away leaving the car's contents untouched.

I blame the mayor. Paying too much attention to special interests while laying off police. Focusing all his attention at giving high profile contracts to businesses owned by family members and personal cronies. Pursuing re-election at any price. Maybe if he fixed a broken public education system it might have made a difference in the life of a young would-be thief.

I blame the liberals. Giving away all these handouts. All this welfare. Enabling people to leech off the system. Letting all these criminals roam free to ransack the cars of honest working people. Maybe if they locked him up behind publicly funded privately managed bars then he wouldn't be free causing mischief.

I blame the conservatives. Creating all these jobs...overseas. Selling all those bad mortgages guaranteed to default. Reaping untold fortunes by deregulating collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. Maybe if this thief could find a job that paid a decent wage and a live in a home within his means he would not need to resort to crime.

I blame myself. Forgetting the mundane details. Walking into the house after work yesterday having skipped the simplest of steps. Blaming my parents for not teaching me the importan.....oh nevermind. Maybe if I had just remembered to reach in my business casual pants pocket and press the lock button I'd have removed just a tiny bit of chaos from my morning.

Note to self: lock the fuckin' doors.

Word Count: 966

This is a very random assortment of links that I stumble upon along my way. This will be a "sticky" post that gets updated as I float around. Please do not ask for your site to be added here, this is page is not a social exercise. If your site was once on this page and no longer is, I suppose I floated on.

Writing

red Ravine, Writing-World, Creative Writing Prompts

Twilight Times, Spec Fic World, Antigonish Review, Challenging Destiny, Stickman Review, On Spec, Andromeda Spaceways,

Word Count: 165