Archive for July, 2006
July 31, 2006 at 1:35 pm · Filed under Technical stuff
I knew I should not have attempted this upgrade. I made the same mistake last year and it resulted in approximately 27 hours of high anxiety while I desperately scrabbled around every user forum trying to find an answer to “how the hell am I going to get my blog back?!”.
Well at least todays upgrade anxiety only lasted for 6 hours - I’m obviously getting better at this.
Before I started the installation I backed up my current MT folder and changed the details in mt-config.cgi-original and then renamed it to just mt-config.cgi. I found the old MT installation guide for version 3.2 was useful here.
Here are the problems I faced while upgrading movable type to version 3.31.
Problem 1: Error 500 on running mt.cgi
-turned out not all my .cgi files had the correct 755 permissions, so I changed these in smartFTP but I still got the error 500 message.
-next I realized that smartFTP was set to transfer everything as binary so I changed this to ASCII and uploaded everything again. Also confirmed permissions again.
-excellent - this solved the error 500 issue but gave me problem no 2.
Problem 2: On running mt,cgi and acknowledging that I was upgrading my installation, I get the error message - upgrade.tmpl cannot be found
-this was solved by uploading the extlib folder again. It seems as though not all the uploading went according to plan. My advice would be to keep repeating the upload until it works or at least check the error logs on your FTP client.
All running well now though, time will tell if the improvements are worth the stress. I’m hoping that there are some nifty ways to handle all the spam comments that I’m getting bogged down with at the moment.
UPDATE
Here’s a quick update on what I’ve found so far:
- The editing system no longer seems to support the Opera web browser. For example I can’t select categories from the drop down list. This is a big pain and has meant I have to use IE to finish the job - not ideal at all.
- The second new thing since my upgrade is the ability to use bulleted lists easily. I downloaded the FormatList plugin as it merges seamlessly with v3.31 so now I’m sure I will go list happy with the next few entries.
Popularity: 13% [?]
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July 28, 2006 at 9:52 pm · Filed under BodyForLife, Running
I ran for a whole 10k this morning.
Nearly crippled myself but I had to do it - that damn gym buddy of mine keeps setting new challenges.
It took me 77 mins which is better than I expected.
More details on the MotionBased site.
Popularity: 25% [?]
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Tags: motionbased
July 26, 2006 at 2:08 pm · Filed under Equipment, Running, Software
I’ve really started to increase the length of my runs now. I blame it on the Garmin Forerunner 305 as it seems to be encouraging me to try out new routes so I can play with them on SportTracks. Here is a satellite screenshot of my latest training run, I’ve taken all the images out of SportTracks.
This route takes me out from my flat, immediately along the Thames and up to Kew Bridge, up and over, back down Strand on the Green til I reach Chiswick Bridge and then a slight retracing of my steps til I make it home again. Nice ole route and not a bad length for my 10k training.
The red bits highlighted on the photo, represent the areas where I dropped down to a walk. Besides the fact that it is a really nifty feature of the SportTracks software, it is pretty abyssmal for a run - init?
I blame it on the weather, tis flippin hot! If you check out my heart rate profile, its clear that my heart rate climbs to around 170 bpm and then I quit and start walking til it gets to about 135 bpm and I can start again. I suppose this is enforced interval training and its meant to be good for you.
Read the rest of this entry »
Popularity: 17% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, Garmin, motionbased, Sporttracks, thames
July 23, 2006 at 8:32 pm · Filed under BodyForLife, Diet
So I am about 5 weeks into the BFL - Body for Life challenge and thought it was perhaps time to drop in an update and outline my progress so far.
There have been a few changes, the weight has started to drop - 9lbs in total. I lost a bit in the first couple of weeks and then as usual I hit a plateau and then over the last few days its started to drop a bit again. Here’s the weight chart:
There also appears to have been some change to my body composition, with a small but definate (I think) increase in muscle mass and a decrease in the body fat mass - which is what I’m in it for.
I am probably not quite on target to achieve my high weight loss goals for this challenge, so I better start making more of an effort. I am spot on with the exercise, doing more cardio than prescribed and working hard with the weight training. I am mostly ok with the diet but I am allowing myself a drink once or twice a week, which I really ought to stop.
Generally I have found the diet ok. It took a while to fathom out what I needed to eat to get a portion of protein and carb at each meal but when that was sorted I find my six meals a day amounts to about 1800 cals a day. Thats not bad - all about portion control.
A typical days food intake will be:
Breakfast - Banana and protein smoothie
AM Break - Ham slices and 3 rice cakes
Lunch - Chicken fillets, couscous and carrots
PM Break - Myoplex Diet shake
Tea - Grilled Tuna, new potatoes, cabbage
Evening - Cottage cheese and 3 rice cakes
Initially I was sceptical of the protein supplements but they are a blessing. It’s hard work preparing so many meals with 1 portion of carbs and 1 portion of protein, particularly at breakfast. The protein powder means I can have a nutritious fruit shake and still get the protein I need. The myoplex diet is useful after my gym workout as its easy and actually feeds my sweet cravings as its basically the only pudding style food I allow myself.
I think the program has proved very positive so far. It has given me a boost on the fitness front again as I’ve joined the gym and go every day. Not only does this mean that I’m lifting weights but I also use the treadmill. My running has shifted up a gear as a result. Since I’ve started BFL, I ran my first 5k, this morning I increased this to 7k and I’m registered in a 10k event for October.
Popularity: 29% [?]
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Tags: Diet
July 22, 2006 at 10:10 pm · Filed under Equipment, Gadgets, Running
My last speed and distance watch, the Polar RS200SD was beginning to get a bit tatty, so I took the opportunity to try out the latest thing in sports watches - the Garmin Forerunner 305.
The forerunner is a massive wrist computer, no chance of wearing it as a day long watch, which is just as well, given that the battery only lasts 10 hrs. It comes in to its own when you’ve finished the run and want to analyse the data on the computer.
The software bundled with the watch is the garmin training centre. It is pretty disappointing actually, and I only use it for programming complex training programs - intervals etc to be uploaded to the wrist unit and for setting courses. Fortunately there are plenty of other available programs to exploit the GPS, heart rate and general work out data. In my mind, the best of these is called SportTracks, it is free and absolutely brilliant. If it weren’t for this program, I wouldn’t enjoy the forerunner even half as much.
This is one of the screen shots, showing the main work out screen. All the numbers are perfectly readable except for the heart rate read out - can you see it in the top right hand corner? I think that is ridiculous! Although there are a number of different views to scroll through, none of them include an enlarged heart rate viewer.
In general I think the Polar RS200SD is a better running watch, at least when you are on the trail. You can switch views easily by bringing the wrist unit close to the chest strap, so no risk of pressing the wrong button. The read out is clear. The pace information seems more reliable - no spurious results, and I can see my heart rate.
Having said that, the polar watch only holds summary data, if you want to know what your heart rate was at any specific point, you will need a watch like the forerunner.
One of the other benefits of the Garmin Forerunner 305 is that it has a useful virtual training partner.
Here is one of the possible training partner views. You can either race against your previous best time on saved course or you can set a distance and target time for it to act as a pace setter. I really like this function - I beat my Chiswick Bridge / Barnes Bridge route by 2 mins this morning.
The GPS seems to work quite well, sometimes I can pick up reception from inside my flat but at other times I have to hang around a bit in the park before I set off. I can’t confirm that it holds on to the satellites during my run yet but certainly the route info seems accurate when uploaded into my mapping program.
UPDATE
Thanks to JS for pointing out the fact that I haven’t RTFM well enuff!
“Hi,
In your review, you’ve done the same mistake as me (the ridiculously small right upper corner heart display)
Page 43 of the user’s manual:
You can change nearly all the data fields, it’s a breeze and much more readable!
select Settings > General > data fields; very easy!
js”
Well he is exactly right, you can alter the fields. I’ve now got my heart rate bold as brass and I’ve added average pace as I think that might be more useful particularly when running under cover.
Popularity: 100% [?]
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Tags: Forerunner, Forerunner 305, Garmin, GPS, polar, Sporttracks
July 22, 2006 at 2:40 pm · Filed under Routes, Running
I’ve prepared 8 route profiles to encourage me to step up the pace a bit with my running. All are based around the bridges across the Thames in West London, so they are both flat and beautiful runs.
I have a 3.5k route from Chiswick Bridge to Barnes Bridge, which is my usual morning run, a 4.6k trot from Chiswick Bridge to Kew Bridge, and a whopping 6.3k route from Barnes Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge and a few longer ones that I haven’t tried out yet. I haven’t managed the last one yet, but given that I have committed myself to the Nike 10k run in October, I had better start getting used to it.
Popularity: 15% [?]
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Tags: Nike, thames
July 22, 2006 at 2:17 pm · Filed under Cycling, Off road
Well I’ve had a couple of fun weekends with Stumpy, trying to find reasonable off road routes to go mountain biking in London.
I’ve added a few GPS routes to the main site:
1. Mountain biking in Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common.
2. Long trek: Richmond, Hampton Court, Chessington and Epsom
Here is a MotionBased viewport of the long trek to the North Downs. You can folow the links to see more details of the route.
Popularity: 19% [?]
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Tags: GPS, motionbased
July 19, 2006 at 2:47 pm · Filed under Running
I don’t know what possessed me! I’ve just committed myself to the Nike 10k run to be held in Hyde Park in early October.
Why would I do that? I can only just stagger around a 5k course. Whats worse is that its a competiton - North vs South with the winner chosen on the basis of the average running time of all the competitors. My fellow southerners are not going to be happy to have me on their side - I’m aiming for 90 mins. Shameful eh?
Managed to bully my gym buddy to join me.
Popularity: 6% [?]
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Tags: Nike, runlondon
July 18, 2006 at 2:52 pm · Filed under Technical stuff
After a few months of use I find that my computers always start to crawl at startup. I find this really irritating and my sony vaio is particularly problematic as there are hundreds of programs running at any one time.
MSCONFIG is a useful tool for clearing up unnecessary utilities from the startup but it can be difficult to determine which are the essential programs and which are those you can happily get rid of.
I found a couple of useful sites today:
The first one explains how to use MSCONFIG
and the second provides a tremendous searchable database of what all those programs are, and whether they are useful or not.
Popularity: 10% [?]
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July 3, 2006 at 2:01 pm · Filed under Bikes, Cycling, Equipment, Off road
Can you believe it? It seems that I am so short, that I have to buy a girls bike!
I went in to the bike shop to pick up a men’s Specialized Stumpjumper FSR comp, but even the small is too big for me. The women’s frame is only just ok, but I have to make do with the puffy colours.
I’m not really complaining, its a beautiful bike. I ended up getting the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert, which is just a tad above my current skill level, but it was the only one in stock. What can a girl do?
I pick it up tomorrow, after they have removed most of the seat post length. Can’t wait to have some fun this weekend. Got to get my skill level up quickly, you can’t have a bike like that and then start behaving like a wuss on the trails.
Popularity: 36% [?]
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Tags: stumpjumper
