The Coburn Blog

Well a new version of Wordpress was released the other day, the long awaited 2.5

Some people are going around posting their upgrade instructions, mine have been the same ever since I’ve run a blog. I use a shell prompt, using the following shell script:

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/username/public_html/blog/
wget http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar xfz latest.tar.gz
rm -rf ./wp-includes/
rm -rf ./wp-admin/
cd wordpress/
cp -rpf —-reply=yes * ../
cd ..
rm -rf ./wordpress/
rm -f latest.tar.gz
exit

To backup the mysql database, I use this command

mysqldump -u username -p databasename > filename.sql

replacing of course, username with your actual username, databasename with your actual databasename. My SQL database is in the format username_databasename because I’m using cpanel, but you get the general idea. See, and you Windows guru’s thought the command prompt was dead, HA! I use the command prompt everyday in linux, and write shell scripts, just like in the old days of batch files.

Anyway, I have no desire to upgrade to Wordpress 2.5 at this time. I may in a couple of weeks after I get all my homework for my classes done, but right now I don’t have time to upgrade to another major version, because it requires editing my theme files for wordpress’s new gravatar features, and going thru my plugins to see which ones work and which don’t, and I just don’t have the time to mess with that right now until after my classes are done.

April 11th, is my last day of the Student Leadership Academy. I am going to Bloomington that day, to present our final project, and be presented with our Leadership certifications. Its like a little diploma, and I received 3 college credits for taking part in it. It was basically a year long class teaching us how to be an effective leader. According to them, leadership isn’t something your just born with, leadership can be taught they claim. I’m not sure if I entirely believe that, there are alot of people in the world who are not natural born leaders, but apparently they claim anyone can be taught, which will be great skills to have for any job I figure, so. This last day is our only overnight stay, because we’re supposed to work together that night to work on our presentation for the next morning. Since we have it done, I’ll probably just go swimming in the hotel pool, and probably hang out with my fellow classmates. The college reserved me my own hotel room there in Bloomington, the college pays for it all, so it should be loads of fun.

The YMCA called me yesterday, and I went in for a small interview. The lady wanted a better idea of how much eyesight I have, to properly place me in a volunteer area. She had a couple good ideas, and said if nothing else, I could always clean weightlifting equipment for 8 hours a month to get in enough volunteer hours to keep a membership.

One interesting idea she had, she wants me to come back Monday and interview with the swimming teacher. Their idea, was I could be an assistant swimming instructor. That would be neat. I was in varsity swimming all thru middle school, so I could do that, teach kids and adults how to swim. I told them a lifeguard may be out of reach just because if someone was drowning I wouldn’t be able to see they were drowning unless there was someone with me, and she agreed that wouldn’t be the best area to put me, but she thought an assistant instructor could be an idea. The other ideas they had, were working at the front desk answering phones, which again I could do that, we’re only talking about 8 hours a month, so I don’t really think any of that will interfere with my Crohns related rectal and standing up issues any, since we’re not talking a standard 40 hour work week here, it would just be when I felt up to it, so I don’t think any of this will affect Social Security at all.

I mean, if Social Security gets word I’m volunteering at the YMCA, they may come back and try to claim that I could work a job if I’m volunteering at the YMCA, and stop my benefits, but the way I see it, volunteering 8 hours a month is hardly the same as working a standard 40 hour work week, so I don’t forsee any problems with this. Again, it’ll look good on my resume, even though thats not why I’m doing this.

Besides, I think the exercise will do me good. Here lately, since I lost my job, I have been bored out of my mind, and since all I do is sit at home now doing homework, and taking baths several times a day turning into a prune, I no longer get the exercise I need, and all I think about all day and night long is “food” which is not a good thing especially when you have a condition called Crohns Disease, hehe. Because all I think about all day long is food, I’ve been going off my diet, which has been giving me all kinds of medical problems. So I figured, you know, exercising at the YMCA, and keeping busy volunteering, would fix both the boredom and overeating issues at the same time.

Let me put it this way, if I can do something where I don’t think about food all day, its easier for me to stick to my diet. Before I had work to keep me busy not thinking about food, but since I’m unemployed now, all I think about is food. I don’t care if I gain 100 lbs, I don’t care how I look, thats not the point. The point is, I eat stuff I’m not supposed to developing a food addiction sitting here, and I end up getting sicker from it, when all I do is sit here all day, so this will be a great opportunity for me, I think even my doctor would agree with.

I realize alot of people on Social Security don’t have a choice, but the way I see it, we all have choices. As I sit here waiting to go completely blind, watching my Crohns Disease worsen with every passing day, I could choose to sit here on my butt all day feeling sorry for myself, but I choose not to do that. I choose to continue trying to be active as long as I have a breath left in me. I think that kind of attitude is admirable, and whoever says otherwise is just being pessimistic.