Yesterday I upgraded to the most current version of the WordPress blogging software, which may cause some minor issues when you try to read the blog or comment. Because that wasn’t enough suffering for me, I also moved the entire site to a new server; a dedicated computer that should speed things up and keep things from getting clogged when I get a lot of hits (like when a post gets on Digg or Slashdot). If you are reading this entry, then your computer has found the new server and all should be happiness and rainbows and unicorns.
Update: some folks have noticed the times on some posts and comments are wonky. The new server’s clock was not set correctly, and when I reset it things got a bit messed up. New posts and comments should be fine now, and the glitch will get buried as time marches on. 
Update the 2nd (Dec 12): The server has had a couple of episodes of getting REALLY SLOW, and I had to reboot a few times. Fraser pointed out to me that 404 errors (pages not found) can really bog down a server. I found an icon that did not get moved properly from the old server and was generating dozens of such errors every minute. I fixed it, and not the server is really ticking along. Yay!
I am still keeping an eye on things, but it’s looking like things are improving. As usual, leave a comment if you are having any problems.
My hugest thanks to Fraser Cain from Universe Today for virtually holding my hand through this process.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
That is not deleted which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons even deletion may die.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
That is not deleted which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons even deletion may die
December 11th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Awww. That was so much fun, posting pointless topics.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Whoo, new server.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
It looks like the time is messed up in some way – my comment was posted at 8:06, but it shows 6:06, and put me near the top.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Please keep all appendages inside the time machine at all times.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Two more plugins to add are WP-AJAX-edit-comments and WP-Subscribe to Comments.
The first gives your commenters the ability to fix their own comments, up to a time limit that the admin sets, and the second allows them to get e-mail follow-ups of comments posted after their own.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Test comment, just to make sure this is working.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
“Test?” But I didnae study!
December 11th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
A friend of mine says great minds think in the same circles. I’m upgrading my WP site to the latest version,too. I’m about halfway there, from 2.0.11 to 2.1 now. Versions 2.2 and 2.3 come next.
Lookin’ good …
December 11th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
congratulations!
December 11th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
This is a test of the Emergency JanieBelle Commenting System. If it had been an actual comment, I’d have been nekkid.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Still getting hung in the filter, Dr. BA.
It’s much suckage.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Noo! My precious comment on the post this one replaced… forever gone! BA, I will never forgive you.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Test? You should have taken it on faith!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Unicorns hey… i’m a bit skeptic about those
December 11th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Phil,
Make sure you install the wp-cache plugin and some other gizomos that are ably described here:
http://elliottback.com/wp/archives/2007/04/15/why-my-wordpress-site-is-so-much-faster-than-yours/
You’ll be glad you did especially if you are Slashdotted or Digg’d.
December 11th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Phil,
Make sure you install the wp-cache plugin and some other gizomos that are ably described here:
http://elliottback.com/wp/archives/2007/04/15/why-my-wordpress-site-is-so-much-faster-than-yours/
You’ll be glad you did especially if you are Slashdotted or Digg’d.
p.s.: akismet is better than spam karma….
December 11th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Problems over here…
Phil, with the new server the blog is SLOOOOOOOW!!!
It takes more than a minute before it starts loading the page.
Sometimes I even get this one:
“WordPress
Error establishing a database connection
This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or we can’t contact the database server at localhost. This could mean your host’s database server is down.
* Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
* Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?
* Are you sure that the database server is running?
If you’re unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the WordPress Support Forums.”
December 11th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I installed supercache, but I am not clear it’s working all that well. Something is hitting the server VERY hard right now, and I can’t seem to figure out what, but the load average is >50!
December 11th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Hey, my comment is gone!
BA, I would suspect there are a bunch of RSS clients that were timing out, and are hitting your feed looking for the site. Now that you are up, they will probably start backing off in a bit. Just a guess though.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Ah… too bad they’re all gone… You had well over 100 comments on the do-not-comment post!
December 11th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
…but this time my comment appeared straight away! Well done BA!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Not FIRST!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
I think two questions need to be answered now that the blog has been updated and moved to its new server. First of all, will poor Sticks ever be able to post a comment here again….
And second, at what price shall we set the bidding on certain revealing comments made in the now-deleted post by people who only thought their comments were gone forever?
December 11th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
The slow loading was due to the cache not being enables correctly. I tore it all down and started again, and it seems to be responding nicely now.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
AHHHH….
Better now…
December 12th, 2007 at 12:09 am
Welcome to the latest version of WordPress! My favorite feature of 2.3+ is the new integrated tagging feature (which frankly should have been in there a long time ago). You should definitely take advantage of it. It gives much finer-grained control than categories, allowing more pinpoint searching of the site. It’s very useful.
December 12th, 2007 at 3:57 am
Test posting to see if I am still being caught by spam filters
December 12th, 2007 at 5:00 am
At the index page of Bad Astro it says
The Latest Bad Astronomy Blog Entry:
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
December 12th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Did you just say something about “rainbows and unicorns?” Are you suggesting unicorns once existed? Were they a product of evolution or intelligent design? My own personal theory is that they’re extinct because Noah threw them off the ark for constantly poking all the other animals.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I had that error too after I upgraded a client site.
Phil probably needs to run a REPAIR on his DB. It’s easy enough to find in Google. That or make sure that his PHP has all of the modules that it needs.
I’ve not used Supercache, and have pretty much stayed with WP-cache, even withstanding 10,000 user hits a second. Sports fans can go super-crazy after ballgames.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:05 am
“..Let me know if you have any problems.”.. Well, there’s this one jerk at work who’s giving me a hard time… Okay, never mind. As to how well this new thing is working- Please reply to this E-Mail to let me know if you don’t recieve it.
-Pointy-Haired Boss
December 12th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I haven’t been able to get to the comments until just now. Either WordPress errors or just endless loading. Hopefully its all better now and not just a random success!