Arrggggg!!! What have I let myself in for??
You know I mentioned the other day about setting up my new website www.disabledrants.co.uk well it is being hosted by a web hosting service at the moment which although is not expensive it is however quite basic and will not let me do what I want really. Things like if I wanted to run a blog via the site I would have to pay extra and as that is one of the main reasons for the site I had decided to go it alone and setup one of my redundant computers as not just a Web Server, but also a File Server, FTP Server and Email Server too.
After a lot of searching on various forums and comparison sites I came up with what would be best for my needs and it is all supposed to be pretty easy to setup and maintain too which is always a good thing. They are Apache Server and Word Press Blog software. Well I downloaded both recent versions which I hasten to add are Free which is a bonus and set about installing them yesterday.
Well here we are 2 days later and my brain is completely fried. All I can see is a blurry screen because I have stared at it for so long now and I’m still not much further than I was when I started. Now up till this point I thought I knew a fair bit about the working of computers and networks etc and surely it couldn’t be that hard to do??? YEAH RIGHT!!!!! It all seems so complicated. The good thing I guess is that it is keeping my mind active and giving me something to occupy my time. I think I have paid up till next march for the hosting package and the blog can continue where it is for now so there is no immediate rush but I would like to get it finished sometime in my lifetime if possible.
Right on to much more of a fun subject, My Health!! My chest is still up to its usual tricks. The recent change in antibiotics doesn’t appear to have cleared it up, surprise, surprise. I am supposed to be seeing The Wizard tomorrow that’s if Hospital Transport can be bothered to show up to get me there. It’s about time we had a serious chat about what the plan of action is from here, not just for the immediate chest infection but more importantly in some ways the GVHD problem. As far as the chest infection is concerned I think realistically the only way to clear it up now is a course of strong IV Antibiotics which unfortunately mean another stay at Heath Towers which is not something I really want to do but I think there is no alternative as the Oral Meds are not doing the trick. At least if I go in this way and not as an emergency they can have things in place such as a room with a view and Bacon Sandwiches for breakfast and T-Bone Steak for Tea Ha Ha I Wish!! No I mean things like arranging for me to have a Pic Line put in straight away as the Venflon things they put in only seem to last a maximum of 1 day with me and I only really have 1 accessible vein left this often proves difficult. The other point is that if they do all the usual sputum and blood test etc tomorrow they usually take around 3 days for the accurate results to come back and therefore I can start on the right antibiotics for the job straight off and not on some broad based antibiotic that is just given to everyone on admission. As far as the GVHD is concerned now that the PUVA has stopped and the Cyclosporine is obviously not working as the skin condition is worsening, I don’t want to be just left treading water as to be honest with you I don’t think my body can take much more of it, well I know that my overall quality of life as a direct result of the condition is pretty much zero at the moment and I seriously need that to change for my sanity if nothing else. It’s getting to the point that I can not stand up for longer than around 10 seconds or so without becoming very breathless as because of the tightness I guess it is, my lungs cant expand at all, as you can guess this makes day to day tasks quite hard. I need to know where we go from here and also need to make everyone aware that I can not, will not go on like this anymore. Judging by the lovely nurses etc I spoke to at the coffee morning last week they all said that they would try and be there tomorrow to see him with me, so much so I think they had better hire the Lecture Hall.
So although I don’t expect to be heading into Heath Towers immediately for a General Service I wouldn’t be at all surprised for it to happen very soon so if you don’t hear from me for a few days you know where I am. I will try and keep you informed somehow if I can.
Right I’m going to Veg out in front of the TV for a while so I don’t have to think anymore.
See Ya!!
1 comment:
John,
As you have probably gathered, I am using Apache and Wordpress Software on my computer for my blog hosting. I am using Linux as the basic operating system though - I guess you are usingh a Windows platform. In some ways that is easier - I had to download source files and complkile them to get the latest version of Apache - the windows version is a 'standard' binary.
There are six components you need. One is an operating system - Windows (either 2000 or Xp) or Linux, the second is the appropriate Apache files for your OS; the third is the PHP scripting language which again is available as a binary for Windows from www.php.net. The fourth thing is the MySql database program, and the fifth is the Wordpress software.
Finally you need (ideally) a static IP address and your ISP to arrange for your domain name to point to that IP address. You can use a dynamic IP address, but you need to point ypour domain name to a dynamic address host.
The seventh thing (yes - I know I said 6!) is patience and help, and the best help I found was the online documentation, and a book "Apache - The Definitive Guide" which you can get from Amazon. It isn't cheap, but is well wotrth it, and takes you through setting up Apache on both Windows and Linux platforms. Another useful book is Larry Ullmans "PHP and MySQL for dynamic Websites". Again not cheap, and not essential, but does give useful information on databases.
In order of working, get Apache with PHP working first serving a static index page via your domain name, and check that you can see the PHP test page. Then install MySql. Finally work out your directory structure and install Wordpress.
The key is getting Apache configured correctly, and then installing the relevant components. Once Apache and PHP are working, you might find a tool called phpmyadmin (www.phpmyadmin.net) useful in setting up Mysql. (although the Windows version may have its own tools). Setting up MySql can be a bit tricky - tools such as that one help!
The Wordpress on,line documentation is also good and has guides in setting up MySql.
Once you have got all that runnoing, then you can host other PHP/Database applications like Gallery!
Good luck!
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