Exercise in Frustration
It's been a busy week, it's going to continue to be a busy week right through... checks calendar... The last week of March doesn't look so bad. Yet.
One small, minor, supposedly simple task I'd given myself today was to update the file upload size on my website. Yeah. About that. Right now the new host is not covering themselves in glory. I'm not paying for the most basic hosting plan. I mean, it's not top-of-the-line, either, this blog is a money pit, as it is. However, I'd think that allowing something more than the bare minimum file upload would be ok? Evidently not. They have it set at 2M, which means anytime I want to upload an image, for all but the smallest files, I have to go through a process and downsize the image prior to upload and use. It's a pain in the tuchis. I was hoping, before I leave to travel to a con and I'm gone for five days, to be able to bump up that size to enough to allow a cell phone photo to be uploaded without resizing (which I don't know how to do on my phone.) I tried what my provider's auto-bot said to do and changed the php settings. No joy, and I broke my website for a couple of hours while I figured out how to reverse what I'd done. I tried various internet tips and tricks, including installing a plugin. Still, firmly Not Allowed to have more than 2M. Ok, let's see if I can talk to a human... yes. After a while. The support chat said cheerfully, 'you're all set!' and no. No I was not, and furthermore, I had no more time to give it. Edited to update: In asking for help, I got someone wholly incompetent who managed to break my website completely. I was promised ‘the team’ would work on it. They did not. Late in the evening I finally was able to get into my cPanel and roll back the automatic backup to yesterday, and that’s fixed the site. Needless to say, I can no longer recommend Epik hosting in any way shape or form.
Well, that's that. Here and I'm headed off to a steampunk convention, Louisiana World Steampunk Exposition, in Lafayette LA for the weekend, which should be a feast for the eyes. I'll have to share when I come back, and have time to edit the photos.
I'm also packing for the event, which is interesting as I'll be in costume all weekend. Including attending a ball (where I shall be a wallflower, I never did get to learn how to dance). Fortunately, I know a world-class costume designer and even more fortunately, she likes me. I have some fun things to wear this weekend! I shall feel quite dashing. I may not be the size and shape I'd like to be, but you know? As frustrating as that is, I'm where I am. I can look good, even here, with a little help. That makes me feel much better about it. I'm working on being more active, and that is helping, but it's a slow process. Took me more than a year to get here, will likely take me more than a year to regain lost ground. No excuse to be a frump and a grump that whole time about my body.
The last frustration (well, for this post at least) is the story I'm working on. Have been working on for a while. I'd started it, set it aside, got help from Jim Curtis on Navy procedures, and started back on it. It's supposed to be for the Space Marines anthology (missed the first deadline, but fortunately there will be two or three of them). I'm not exactly well versed in this arena. I have experience with search and rescue, so that's the primary plot. Fleshing it out? Slow and frustrating and less centered around a character than my usual work. It's going to be interesting to see if a. I can finish it and b. it gets accepted. I'll keep whacking at it.
And on that note, I'm off to clean the house, soak the orchids, and generally prepare everyone in the family for my absence. It will be fun to be off on my own playing and hanging out with friends, but it's definitely not something I get to do often!