Despite some of the glitches I’ve been having with 2.6, I’ve grown to like most of the new features. Every time I come across a glitch, I research over at the wp forum and usually find some answers or more questions that guide me to finding my own solutions. I take notes and might publish some of them soon on this blog.

I’ve been playing with doing sidebars at the bottom of the page, even an area that has two sidebars, so it’s like a two-column sidebar - only they’re widgetized, so the user can customize it. The possibilities for Wordpress are far-reaching,  proven by loads of WP enthusiasts out there. Darren Hoyt, Justin Tadlock, and others have proven that WP can be a handy little CMS, with magazine style themes.

But even on a simple level, being able to have multiple sidebars in different page placements makes it nice. I tried using Joomla last year and spent a month learning it from a user and designer approach. I kept wondering how many users would have the time or patience to learn it (remember most users are still novice when it comes to this stuff.)  With Wordpress, the functionality can be built into the theme while the user end remains fairly simple. I like that.

I had the fairly recent pleasure of working with Wordpress 2.5.1. The new dashboard and a few other items took some adjustment, but after awhile, I’ve grown to appreciate it. But, just when I thought everything was going well, they came out with another update, 2.6. Even though there are some very cool features in 2.6, not all the bugs in 2.5.1 have been solved in this latest update. In addition, some hosts with Fantastico installer have rushed right out and updated their offerings, so 2.6 was the only auto install available. While this may seem nice, it can be a problem, especially when you haven’t had the time to really check out the update. Just take a look at the forums over at wordpress dot org to see all the issues.

My main complaint is the problem with Permalinks. There’s been an issue with permalinks: when you activate them and want to “pretty” up your urls to something like www.yoursite.com/page, you use a custom permalink code like this:  %postname%  which WP apparently doesn’t like all the time. It has something to do with the chronological nature of postings. Even though Pages are not chronological, they still use the same database and permalink system has a little trouble with that. One GOOD thing about the 2.6 is the ability to edit the Permalink once you’ve turned it on. There’s a permalink edit line right under the title box. You just have to remember to save the edit, and save the page, too. The folks who work on the WP code have said they’re going to address this issue in an upcoming update. Fingers crossed.

So, now the question is whether I’m going to update this blog. As you can see, it doesn’t get used very much and it’s a useful playground for working with this version - still used by many. I could upgrade to 2.3 at least, I suppose.

Summer in Maine is short and valuable. We make it thru the winter with the promise reward of spring and summer. Although Fall is my favorite, I can’t argue that seeing the lush greens is very inspiring. I like Fall because the air is drier and the bugs are gone.

But even though summer is here, I’m not out in it. My sciatica turned into a full blown disk episode that’s put me on my back for the past month. After the initial week of intense pain, some steroids finally took the inflammation down and allowed the ice packs and chiropractic treatments to take effect. But, I’m on orders to avoid sitting - too much pressure on the disk. Since I want to avoid surgery, I’ll do what I’m told. Some things I’ve re-learned and will share:

• TV is definitely a wasteland, with very few exceptions
• eating while lying down is an art: eat small portions and drink water
• a laptop/notebook computer is a sanity-saver. I found the lapdawg stand and it allows me to work while lying down.
• Pain meds don’t kill pain

Thursday, June 12, 2008, Logan James Babb Johnson passed away in the company of loved ones. He was a beautiful soul, a true friend and companion, and was instantly loved by all who met him.

Logan, age 15, started out in life with some tough times. But fate allowed that he find his true family. The rest of his life was filled with love, fun and all the things that make a dog’s life the best possible. He was smart, funny, and always ready to be a friend. He will be deeply missed.

Logan is survived by his family, Linda, Verna, Claudette, Phyllis, Robyn, Betty, Roberta; his longtime friends, Midnight, Bandy, Kota John, Vincent, Theo and Madeline.

His family would like to thank the caring staff at the North Country Animal Hospital in Caribou, Maine.

Today in Maine and Massachusetts it is Patriot’s Day. For info about what it is, you can use Wikipedia or read an account over at PBS. Briefly, it recognizes the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord. … Read on »