You may have noticed technical problems on the site, especially if you tried to leave a comment. It took a while to track down the problem, but I got to the bottom of it. If you run your own blog using Wordpress, it may be worth reading on, otherwise I’d skip the rest of this post.
Basically, a single Wordpress plugin had been causing a MySQL database table to expand so much that I ran out of storage space (users of ShortStat beware!). Thankfully the fix was rather simple, though I felt queasy playing around with codes and databases I know nothing about.
The up side to this frustrating experience is that I stumbled across a fabulous plugin for updating Wordpress automatically called InstantUpgrade. This is seriously one of the best WP plugins I’ve ever used, as it reduces upgrading from a tedious, potentially anxiety-ridden process to a single click. Worked flawlessly.
And the main lesson learned from this ordeal is the importance of backing up your blog. I lost all of my categories and my blogroll during a manual upgrade of Wordpress, which I think was related to the MySQL database being full. However, because I made a backup of my site in early June using the Wordpress Database Backup plugin, I was able to restore the missing data and not lose a thing. Phew!
Okay, now back to regularly scheduled programming…
7 comments ↓
Sounds strangely familiar! Glad to hear you got everything fixed up and working again. And, you are absolutely right about the importance of backing up your blog. After losing some valuable content earlier in my blogging career, I have made it a practice to backup my database after every post. Overkill, perhaps..?
Thanks, Jeff. The Perishable article mentions having a table with about 180,000 rows - well, mine had a whopping 650,000! After the fix I went from a database of 149 MB (!!!) to 3.3 MB.
I don’t think that’s overkill, actually. If it was worth putting the time into writing the post, then it’s worth making sure you have a backup - and when it’s as simple as clicking a single button, it makes sense. I’d never thought of backing up that regularly before, but I think I’ll make it part of my routine now that I’ve seen how handy it can be.
So, how are people there reacting to the run through the Euros championships?
People are going nuts. Lots of references to the Ottoman Empire’s previous attempts to take Vienna, the power of prayer, and so on. There is concern going into the semi with so many injured or suspended players, but after the last two games some have started to believe Allah is rooting for Turkey.
This is the first time I’ve been following soccer since the 2006 World Cup and once again I’m loving it. I’ve never gotten into watching clubs, but national team matches always grab me, I guess because the “us” vs. “them” factor is more salient (the richest teams haven’t just bought the best players).
Have you been watching the games? Do you have a favorite? Does Turkey have a chance?
i have been watching the games, but i have no clue who wins. i just hope it’s not Germany - they (and Italy) play a brand that removes the “beautiful” from the game.
i take most excuses i can find to watch soccer (though every time i give the MLS a chance, i am still disappointed by how poor the play is yet here). And, i typically work nights & mornings, so these are actually on live right about the time i get home, so it’s a perfect way to end my day. Most have been exciting enough to keep me awake. This is one of the highest quality tourneys i’ve seen in a long time.
Does Turkey have a chance? i (and most people watching) assumed not after Croatia scored in extra time, so…who knows.
Jim! I featured your post on “Contingency Management” (with a lime ‘n salt twist) on my blog, las fugas. Take a looksies. And even the Mexicans are following the Euros’ fútbol. Suerte!
That’s awesome, kt, you made my morning!
I hope it gets the job done.
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