Ghost Master

So I bought this game on Saturday for 97p from Tesco and I haven't been able to stop playing it, which is why I haven't blogged. I tend to only buy old games, (1) because they're cheap, (2) because they're guaranteed to be compatible with my newer system and (3) I like retro. So I've begun testing wordpress for this blog, for compatibility with the existing content I have on the server. I've just had to purchase another database for the testing itself which is a bit annoying, but my plan is to have this temporary setup before I start surfing for a new web-host. So far I found a real good sounding web-host which is compatible with the values of this site (and paranoia that one time something I publish will cause me to be shut down): nearlyfreespeech.net You pay only for your server and bandwidth usage, they give you a private mailbox (so your own address is not revealed), a special phone and fax and a custom email address. Here's a statement on their FAQ (my bold emphasis): "If you wish to host a controversial site in the US, it behooves you to know the law, particularly this one, and how to use it to your advantage in the event of a dispute. You should also be prepared for a downtime of some or all "allegedly infringing" material for a couple of weeks if the copyright owner wants to fight. We adhere to the entire law very closely. We do not generally pull the plug on an entire site if, for example, someone claims that a single graphic is infringing. We do our best to remove only the content that the copyright owner specifically identifies as allegedly infringing. We allow and encourage the use of the "putback notification" process when material is incorrectly identified as infringing. But we do not automatically terminate a member's service merely for receiving a complaint alleging infringement. (However, actually infringing someone's copyright does violate our TACOS and will generally result in immediate termination.) Keep in mind that while we aren't lawyers, neither are we idiots. We can tell the difference between people harassing our members via the DMCA and cases where our service is genuinely being misused, and we can adjust our attitude accordingly. Fortunately, both of these cases are very rare. Of course, not all complaints are DMCA complaints. We very much enjoy "I hate that site. I demand you take it down!" messages, of which we receive a very large number (from, ironically, a relatively small number of people). Other than pointing and laughing, however, we tend not to respond to such demands." Pretty awesome huh? Unfortunately they take payment in US$ so I need to contact them to discuss that, not sure what the risks are in terms of the exchange rate or how I'd go about paying. If anyone knows of a UK equivalent, I would love to know. Lyc0s offer a pretty good service in terms of support and installation but something I read in .NET magazine recently by a Lyc0s executive caused me concern in how they would handle a copyright or libel complaint. As you can see I mention no names and have taken precaution to hide keywords! See you on the new blog... Technorati Tags: ghost master, gaming, libel, copyright, web hosting, privacy, dmca, free speech

HIDI: Blogger Vs Wordpress (Round 2)

Soon, I'll be transferring this blog over to a wordpress account, and giving it a slightly different name, since I need Alex Fear to be a feature of Abandon All Fear rather than a predominant fixture. As promised, here's the HIDI (How I Did It) for transferring my other blog Dark Side of the Light from a Blogger ftp server to Wordpress ftp server. Please be advised this is a general overview and assumes you already have MySQL installed on your server and are experienced in blogger and Wordpress configuration. If not, take some time going over the Wordpress management interface to familiarise yourself, it only took me a couple of hours to explore how it works. Before I Began I backed up everything off the server locally just in case anything went wrong. I then edited my .htaccess file to include the line: Redirect 301 /darksidelight/index.html /errors/301.html This needs to be on a seperate line (blank line above/below) in the file to work. My 301.html file basically had a short message to say that the blog had been temporarily taken down for maintenance. 1. Switch to blogspot address The second thing I did (but first for the purpose of this HIDI) was to go into my blog settings and switch to darksidelight.blogspot.com. The name you choose doesn't really matter but anyone navigating to that domain will be redirected back to your ftp blog later, so it may be worthwhile putting some thought into it. Don't just using a generic name (which will probably be taken anyway). Although your blogger account now points at the blogspot address, the static content up to you last post will still remain on the server. Some important points: Do not upgrade your blog template, I have no idea if Wordpress will be able to import if you do this. If you are transferring to a new address on your server or a new server You may want to write a final post with some info and a link to the new blog address There is no need to manually delete the old content on your server, in fact it's useful if others have linked to previous posts If you are transferring to the same address on your server You should now delete or rename the directory manually on your server (I have no idea how Wordpress reacts if there is already content in the directory but it's best to assume that it may cause problems) 2. Install your Wordpress ftp blog My actual first move (second for the purpose of this HIDI) was to install wordpress on my server for a new blog at www.abandonallfear.co.uk/dark. Since I was using a different address from my old blog (www.abandonallfear.co.uk/darksidelight) I was able to do this step before I made any changes to my Blogger account (step 1). After installing I was able to configure my user, template, plug-ins and add pages. The plug-ins were not all easy to configure, some require an API key (obtainable from your Wordpress profile) and some require you to actually cut and paste the php code. When you are happy with the configuration of your wordpress blog, it's time to import the old blog, but you may find, as I did, that the import feature doesn't work for blogger. I got this message: "Howdy! This importer allows you to import posts and comments from your Old Blogger account into your Wordpress blog. Please note that this importer does not work with new Blogger (using your Google account). Your web server is not properly configured to use this importer. Please enable the CURL extension for PHP and then reload this page." Well I googled for information on the CURL extension for PHP and although there is support there, I have to admit that I didn't want to spend a lot of time learning how it works or following instructions without knowing what to do... but then, I found a dirty way of doing it... 3. The 'dirty' import Even if you're importing to a Wordpress hosted blog, it won't allow you to import from a blogger ftp account, so what you need to do is register a new account with Wordpress.com and create a new blog on their hosted server. You do not need to configure this in anyway, but it's probably worthwhile using the same login details for your ftp Wordpress blog (which may come in useful if you require an API key). Now you have your blog hosted on a blogspot domain, Import the blog into your Wordpress hosted blog and set the author to your own profile. Export to a Wordpress WXR file then Log in to your Wordpress ftp blog and import the WXR file and viola! 4. Cleaning up You may want to check links, rss and archives work. I discovered that all my embedded YouTube videos were gone, after a quick google there seemed to be a number of solutions offered. The first was to use a widget called Viper's Video Quicktags, but this didn't work for me. Then I discovered if I went and edited the original posts in the code editor (as opposed to the visual editor), recreated the embedded video link and hit 'publish' then the video gets published correctly. This is similar to blogger before they improved it, which would strip videos of their "<embed>" tags. You should now delete your Wordpress hosted blog (with all the posts you just imported to the ftp hosted blog). If you used the same address as your blogger account You obviously shouldn't change the blogspot domain back to ftp, you may however want to keep the blogspot domain or delete it. It's probably not worthwhile keeping since it's a different address from the original but you may have your own reasons. If you used a different address or different server You have the option of keeping the blogspot domain, but that wouldn't make sense for the same reasons above so you have the following options: Transfer the blogspot domain back to an ftp account and keep (perhaps you might change your mind and go back to blogger) Delete the blogspot domain but keep all the old static content on your server (useful for links from others) Delete the blogspot and static content from your server (not advised unless you are confident and want to make a clean break) 5. Redirect (skip if you are using the same address) Now is the time to edit your redirect and point anyone navigating to the old domain/address to the new one. For DSotL I edited as follows: Redirect 301 /darksidelight/index.html http://www.abandonallfear.co.uk/dark/ This will ensure that all the credentials from your old blog are kept and search engine spiders will follow the redirect to your new blog address. Here is a useful redirect checker from webconfs.com: Search Engine Friendly Redirect Check Enter the URL whose Redirect you want to check If you opted to keep your old blogger account either live or static, then I recommend: Editing the template and replacing the title link "<$BlogURL$>" with the address of your new blog then Edit the description with a line like "Click on the title to be transferred to the new blog". This will catch any readers that enter your site via a post rather than the main index. Of course when they click on the title they should automatically be redirected by the 301, but I discovered PHP problems reported in red, so this is another dirty fix. It's probably down to something missing or wrong in my .htaccess file, which I should look to rectify later. Fin That's it. The whole process took about 5 hours but as mentioned, 2 of those hours were spent familiarising myself with and configuring Wordpress, and about 2 hours were spent researching 301 redirect and importing to Wordpress. On the whole I have to say, despite losing my blogger template, I'm happy with the new Wordpress CMS and it's features, I'm looking forward to doing this blog now. Technorati Tags: how to, blogger, wordpress, transferring blog, 301 redirects, htaccess, php, bugs, blogspot

And In Other News Dogs Bark... Apparently

The MSM have finally caught up and decided to go with a 'stating the obvious' headline. Previously: Home Spun Prophecies 6.0% (0.5% increase) - "Overblown" - Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide 7.5% (2% increase) - "Bring inflation under control" - Prof. Tim Congdon, Economist 8.5% (3% increase) - "1990 levels recession" - Alliance & Leicester

HIDI: Blogger Vs Wordpress (Round 1)

EDIT: Table has been reduced for smaller screen resolution. Thanks for the tip, Cecilieux! I have just finished transferring my other blog Dark Side of the Light from Blogger to Wordpress. I've also created a 301 redirect so that anyone navigating to the old address will be automatically redirected to the new. The transition was smooth enough but there are a number of modifications needed before Wordpress takes. So typically I've decided to offer a HIDI (how I did it) to my loyal readers. Old Blogger uses a combination of CSS and HTML, new Blogger functions on an XHTML template and Wordpress utilises PHP on a MySQL db back-end. Fortunately, Wordpress did the translation work for me, but I did lose DSotL template, which needs to be re-written in PHP if I want to restore it. There are a number of differences between running a Blogspot, Wordpress or hosted domain (like Abandon All Fear). I've compiled a list of pro's and con's I have observed below: Blogspot (new Blogger) FTP/Hosted (old Blogger) Pros Free Customizable widgets Customizable template Layout editor Upload and save templates Multiple blog hosting (no limit?) Image upload (no limit?) Video embedding Easy switch between blogspot and host Multiple contributors Pros Customizable template Easy to customise HTML and CSS (copy and paste template) Blog is still stored on Blogger server (posts and template) effectively acting as a backup (if lost on host) Own domain name Easy switch between blogspot and host Multiple contributors Cons blogspot.com domain Knowledge of strict XHTML a must to add any complex mods outside of layout editor Single user login linked to Google account Limited set of options for contributors Cons No widgets Knowledge of HTML and CSS needed to change layout Single user login linked to Google account Images, video and blogs unlimited but confined to host server limits Limited set of options for contributors   Wordpress FTP/Hosted (Wordpress) Pros Free Many customizable widgets Control and edit comments Add pages Detailed management interface, similar to CMS Multiple blogs possible Set multiple security levels for subscribers/contributors Import variety of blog types (including new Blogger) Export blog to a file (for backup/import) Multiple user login for non-linked blogs Layout editor Pros Many customizable widgets Control and edit comments Add pages Detailed management interface, similar to CMS Multiple blogs possible Set multiple security levels for subscribers/contributors Import from variety of blog types Export blog to a file (for backup/import) Multiple user login for non-linked blogs Customizable template Own domain name Unlimited image/video upload (but confined to host limits) Large selection of standard templates Cons Cannot freely customise template (small charge) wordpress.com domain Limited 50mb image and video upload Small selection of standard templates provided Will not import Blogger hosted Bug causes problems displaying embedded video Cons Knowledge of PHP needed for template modification Will not import blogger hosted Knowledge of MySQL db needed for non-standard blog management/imports Copy of posts/comments are not stored on Wordpress server Bug causes problems displaying embedded video Widgets may need to be coded in manually Looking at the comparison tables Wordpress seems to come out on top, however I would still choose a Blogspot or ftp Blogger over the free Wordpress blog any day. It's all about the functionality you want. When you consider a free Wordpress blog does not let you customise the template, limits on uploads and bugs it's just not worth it. Blogspot may not have all the content management functionality of Wordpress, but it does allow you to change the template as you wish with a bit of knowledge of XHTML. It's simple and easy to manage and without limits to the content you want to create. I like ftp Blogger for the fact that I can delete the blog from Blogger's servers but it will keep all the content on your ftp sever accessible (for example if you want to end a blog but keep it available for reference). Having a good knowledge of CSS and HTML I can control the look of the blog and add/remove structure and 'widget's as I wish by going into the template editor. It's also easy to switch from your own ftp domain to a blogspot domain and back again. I've also noticed that after doing this, your blogspot domain name automatically redirects to your own ftp hosted blog, eg. darksidelight.blogspot.com redirects to www.abandonallfear.co.uk/darksidelight. A hosted Wordpress blog however does manage to kick ass against Blogger hosted. Sure you don't get a backdoor backup from Wordpress (you can still manually export the blog), you don't get to easily switch from your own domain to a hosted blog and the widgets are not easily added but the functionality on offer along with content management simply can't be beaten. In the next post, I'll go into the HIDI walkthrough... Technorati Tags: blogger, wordpress, transfer blog, blogging, pros and cons, domain name, hosting, blogspot, blog, xhtml, php, mysql, css, widgets, wordpress bugs, image upload, layout editor

Survival of the Fattest

The Independent reports new research that abusing overweight people may actually be an evolutionary survival response. "Researchers say the immune system can be triggered into action at the sight of obesity because it doesn't like the look of what it sees, and associates it with infection. Just as it orchestrates attacks on viruses and bacteria and triggers nausea at the hint of bad food, so it sends out signals of disgust in some people at the sight of an obese body that is designed to encourage avoidance and survival." - The Independent: Why Slim People Dislike The Overweight Wow, so bullying is actually a survival tactic? Odd survival tactic if the target is actually bigger than they are. Wouldn't the evolutionary response be to avoid an animal that is bigger than you are? How does that survival tactic fare when the bully picks on someone who can quite literally flatten them? I remember some fat kids at my school growing up who you wouldn't want to mess with. Of course, if bullying survival is so important, why do we put so much effort into trying to prevent it. Why do we prosecute young people for simply doing what comes naturally? Same goes for underage reproductive sex, I don't understand at all why the education establishment would want to prevent evolution?! Of course it could all be entirely cultural or flawed science, but then, that wouldn't fit with what they want to believe. Body Image Timeline In Praise of Big Women One Woman, Many Cultures The Fat Organ Body Image and the Media Uh Oh! My memes are warring.. Zing, zing, ouch! Which meme do I believe? Technorati Tags: fat, overweight, the independent, slim, thin, victorians, evolutionism, intelligent design, creationism, culture, science, meme, bullying, survival