Just one last post about my recent website upgrade.
I finally finished attaching all the photos that were lost in the maintenance. All posts that once had photos, once again have them attached.
This news maybe didn’t warrant a blog post but the +2 hours of work that it took me does!
Now to clean up the blog categories to something simpler…
I’m glad to say that I’ve finally managed to get my space back.
I know that there hasn’t been enough context given in recent posts.
Back in September, this site was hacked and defaced. I’m not going to go into details for security reasons but I knew I had to change things to protect myself.
While trying to keep all the content I removed everything I had and started from scratch with a fresh wordpress installation. This was very necessary although I wasn’t sure I could keep all the content.
I was finally able to move over without any hassles. The only tasks left to do are to re-attach all the images to posts that had them and also, attempt to simplify the number of blog categories I have. I hope to have this done within a week so that I can focus on my content and of course, traversing through life.
I apologise for the self-focussed nature of recent posts. I’m really pleased with the outcome, so much so that I can’t contain it. 🙂
For about 7 years, I had been purchasing my mobile phones outright and then buying phone credit every month. The logic behind that was, it’s better to not be locked into a contract for 2 years in case anything should happen. It’s also good to be able to upgrade your phone at any time.
Well, I resisted getting a smartphone on contract until the end of 2010. What the hell took me so long?
Within weeks of purchasing my Blackberry Bold I was well and truly hooked. More hooked than when I got into playing Civilization III back in 2007.
Without sounding too materialistic,I felt as though for the first time I had a tool that I was thought was inaccessible to me. Back in 2008 when I first became aware of Blackberry, I thought that you had to be a lawyer or at least work for a large accounting firm to own a Blackberry smartphone. I heard that they used a separate network and that you’d have to create an account with the company before you could even use the device. Then in 2010, it was as easy as filling out a form, declaring your income and “hey presto!”, you could start using it out of the box.
I figured out how to use it’s features very early on and it changed the way I worked and fulfilled my commitments outside of work.
I use it’s functions on a daily basis and because of the plan that I’m on, I never pay more than what my monthly fee is. My phone came in handy today when I offered to help a friend move house. I had forgotten to take down the address so with a quick navigation of the white pages on the phone’s web browser and a google maps search, I was able to find the place in minutes!
I never forget appointments thanks to my phone’s calendar reminding me hours in advance of any commitments – not that I don’t check my diary a day in advance! It syncs with my email calendar so any appointments that I enter either on my phone or through my email, get displayed on both services.
One smartphone feature that my phone doesn’t have – thanks Skype – is functional on my wife’s Iphone. Thanks to the Skype app she video calls home every Sunday morning in real-time!
The best feature of all though is email and group texting. Coming from a traditional phone, it feels like a first class communication device.
Summary
I would have loved to own a smartphone back when I was at university. It would have made managing my time a lot easier. I wish I had started using one much earlier than when I did but I acknowledge that perhaps it wouldn’t have been affordable. You don’t need an iphone or a blackberry, you can buy touchscreen smartphones for as little as $140 and it will have the same functions that I’ve described above. Thanks to the ever-advancing technology and the lively competition, most people can afford to have what I consider a communication luxury. Again, hesistant to sound overly materialistic but the smartphone has impacted upon my life for the better.
I have managed to retain all of my original posts during maintenance.
It might not mean much but I have been trying to start a new blog. The only problem is that until now I haven’t been able to recover the posts I had accumulated in the past 2 years.
The only thing that’s missing are the pictures. I will try to re-attach the pictures to all the posts that had them. I will also go through and reduce the number of categories.
Thanks for your patience and I hope you continue reading and enjoying my content.
Reinaldo
As I was cleaning the house today I noticed that up until last year (2010) I still used physical diary to take down my appointments and summarise important aspects of the day. I’ve been getting by this year on my smartphone’s calendar function alone. Considering that I bought my first smartphone in October last year, it makes sense that I had a 2010 diary.
So before deciding whether to shred it or not I had a quick look through it. What a year it was! It started off pretty poorly but ended on such a great note! I remember thinking at Christmas 2010: “I’m so pleased with what I’ve achieved this year, I don’t know how 2011 could match this”
I guess it was good to think that because 2011 definitely hasn’t disappointed. There are many things to be grateful for. Both in my personal and professional life. There’s no need to summarise them here but it’s been a grand year!
It was nice to go back through my diary. Nothing quite replaces the ability to flick through and find important notes that have gone down and left an impression on your life.