After several months of seeing the message “WordPress is out of date” in my admin panel for my blog, I decided to upgrade.   The last time I did it, the message didn’t disappear, so I left it.

A couple days ago, I thought that I’d try upgrading again.  I read on a friends blog that he had trouble upgrading and warned not to use the “Maintanence Mode” function.  So armed with this information, I carefully backed my blog up.  In the instructions, Wordpress advises to be carefully how you do it, and suggests that you replace the contents of the directories, rather than the whole directory.

I didn’t take this approach.

I just replaced everything.  And it seemed to work!  As far as I can tell (with the help of a friend), the site appears to look the same as it did before to anyone who visits it, and the admin panel has been updated to a more user friendly interface.

So, maybe it was luck.  But everything seems to have worked out fine. 

So why all the warnings?  The last time I tried to upgrade I had nothing but problems when I followed WP’s instructions.  Yet, when I tried it my way, it works fine.

The kids had a blast tonight!  They were out “Trick or Treating” tonight and loving it!

Lizzy was dressed up as Hermione (from Harry Potter), Megan was a pumpkin, and Ainsley was a skunk.  I only made it part way through “the route”, which is just as well considering Ainsley fell asleep, in costume still, while I was holding her.

Once I was home, I was able to hand out candy.  We had probably 50 kids, and only one recogized that I had a vomitting jack ‘o lantern..

Lizzy was obviously excited, was running (and tripping) from house to house.  After the first few houses, Megan got the idea and was chasing after her, saying “Treeeeeeeat!” and people’s doors.  All in all, it was a success.

Here’s a picture of the girls!

There were more pictures from tonight, so if you want to have a look at them, just go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64902&l=b66a1&id=902515466 !

Happy Halloween!

I know that Mark is going to laugh at me when he reads this..  And I’ll save him from saying it now..  Yes, I probably should have bought a Mac when we bought our new computer several months ago..

Last night, I had to go out and buy a new printer..  The Dell A810 that came with the computer was a piece of garbage and not functioning well/at all… So we bought a new HP Deskjet F4180.. 

Windows Vista is Plug N Play?  HAHAHAHA!  Not quite! 

I don’t care what anyone says..  Windows Vista SUCKS!  I’d much rather have Windows XP… 

After 3 online chats with “Qualified Online Technicians”, who clearly did not use English as a first language, I finally SORT of have the printer working.  I’m still getting pop-up windows saying it can’t find some driver, but the printer does appear to be working.  Of course, I haven’t dared to turn off the computer and printer and restart it.. I’m sure that disaster will occur.  I wouldn’t be surprised if some small village far, far away bursts into flames if I try…

So, wish me luck..  I’m going to try to reboot and power cycle…

Here’s hoping to you that it’s not your village that is about to spontaneously combust!

This afternoon, I received a call from WorkSafeBC/WCB…  The phone call didn’t go according to what I’d hoped…

I was envisioning/hoping the call going along the lines of them recognizing my injury as work related, then offering me assistance in recovery, (seeing a neurosurgeon quicker, money, whatever). 

Instead it was the Spanish Inquistion.  Questions, questions, questions.  Rephrasing of questions.  Asking different questions that were obvious because I had answered them with the other questions.

The bottom line is this..

Continue Reading »

Well, unless I’ve miscounted, I’m into week 14 of being off work.  It’s certainly had its toll on me and my family..

First, since I’ve been off work, I’ve seemed to have gained about 20 lbs.  Some of this may be attributed to the Gabapentin that I’m on, but generally it’s due to may lack of activity.  As hard as I try to cut back on what I eat, but I’m at home all day, bored.  I still have limits to how long I can stand or walk, even while on those wonderful yellow pills that I take. 

Secondly, Money..  enough said about that in previous posts!

Thirdly, Colleen has finished her maternity leave, and has gone back to work, starting today.  This is a tough adjustment for all of us.  Ainsley seems to be fine (it is only 2:35pm right now though!).  Megan didn’t do so well mind that Megan (2 years and 3 months) has had Colleen around for her life (so far!) except for 5 months between mat. leaves of Megan and Ainsley.  Megan is doing okay right now..  then again, it’s nap time and she’s sleeping..  we’ll see when she wakes up…   Lizzy is okay, but she’s at school.. 

Other than that, I’m still plugging along.. just trying to clean up around the house, as best as I can.. 

I’m hoping that someone has a reasonable suggestion to help me out here..

I’m looking for a way to babyproof our gas fireplace.  I’ve looked around a little bit and found this KidCo Hearth Gate, but when the best price I found was $157 for the base kit, that’s a little out of my price range while I’m off work. 

So, does anyone have any ideas how I can keep my 11 month old away from it? (short of chaining her up <GRIN> ) 

Thanks!

While out doing some grocery shopping today, something occurred to me..

Some people don’t seem to have shopping cart etiquette..  Seriously, I was watching these two people in a space wide enough for 3-4 people with shopping carts to get through, and yet, they blocked the entire aisle. 

And here’s the annoying part.. They didn’t care!  I was trying to get through, even saying “excuse me”, and they were so wrapped up in what they were talking about, they didn’t move.  Eventually, one of them clued in, gave me a dirty look (presumably because I was interrupting their conversation), and moved out of the way..

After this, I began to think..  this is probably how they drive!  They probably sit in their big pick-up trucks (sorry Mark!), and drive around like they own the road and do what they want.  They park where they want and do what they want..

We have a guy like that at work.  One day, I was trying to get into the parking lot, and he was pulling in front of me..  Part way through the aisle, he stopped to lean out the window and start a conversation with someone that he saw..  so I had to wait for him to continue before I could get to where I had to park.

Well..  that’s my little vent of the day..

Last night, I put up a post saying that the board voted against closing schools in SD42 (Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows).  I should rephrase that and say that it is for now.  The board announced that they still have work to do and that the same issues still need to be addressed..   The key thing to take from this, is that they were told loud and clear from the  residents that the speed that they are going through the process was too fast to make decisions.  There were/are still far more questions then answers..

Anyhow, Colleen was in Maple Ridge’s The News again..    Here is the article that was published before the meeting last night..

—————

Three schools picked to close

By Robert Mangelsdorf – Maple Ridge News – October 24, 2007 

More than 150 people attended a rally in Memorial Peace Park on Saturday to protest a district decision to close schools.
Photo by Simone Ponne/the news

Maple Ridge mother-of-three Colleen MacDonald broke down into tears when she found out her daughter’s elementary school was one of three district staff recommended to close on Friday.

She still hasn’t brought herself to tell her daughter Elisabeth that Riverside elementary, the school she loves, may be closed forever in a matter of months.

“I don’t know what to tell her,” she said, sighing in disbelief. “Maybe the trustees can come and tell her why her school is closing.”

Staff recommended the closure of Mt. Crescent, Webster’s Corners and Riverside elementary schools in their school closure report, released Friday.

In the report, staff cited falling enrolment and the need to qualify for provincial capital funding to build new schools in areas where they are needed as the reasons for the closures.

MacDonald and her husband Cameron moved to Maple Ridge from Burnaby in February specifically so their daughters Elisabeth, 5, Megan, 2, and Ainsley, 10 months, could attend the French immersion program offered at Riverside elementary.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do now,” she said. “We’re just in shock.”

Under Ministry of Education guidelines, school districts must have an average utilization rate of 100 per cent for their elementary schools or 95 per cent for all schools district-wide to qualify for capital funding to build new schools.

Currently, the district’s elementary schools have a utilization rate of 82 per cent.

But MacDonald is not convinced the board is taking the concerns of parents into account.

“I’m not a boat-rocker, but I feel it’s really important that parents stand up and do something about this,” said MacDonald. “Yesterday I sat at my kitchen table and explained to my daughter what it means to be Canadian; how we have the right to education and to democracy.

“But now I feel it’s all a bit of joke when I see the school board ignoring all these parents who clearly don’t want this happen and they’re going through with it anyway.”

She’s not alone in that feeling. She was among more than 150 parents and children who came out to protest the school district’s school closure process on Saturday in Memorial Peace Park downtown.

The protest was organized, in part, by Mt. Crescent elementary Parent Advisory Chair Susan Carr.

She has started a petition to stop the district’s school closure process and has already received more than 300 signatures.

NDP MLA Mike Sather was on hand at the rally and says the closures are a huge loss to community.

“An inner-city type school like Mt. Crescent has a number of special needs programs for their students,” he said. “Are they going to get the same services at another school?”

Like many at the rally Sather wonders why the district’s school closure process has been so quick.

“I haven’t heard an answer to why the process is so fast,” he said. “We know there’s no money for new schools for at least five years.”

On June 13, school board trustees voted to adopt the recommendations of the Cornerstone Planning Group, an independent consultation firm hired by the district to look at the district’s declining enrolment.

In their report they recommended closing up to five elementary schools, and suggested a one to two year feasibility study to identify which schools should be closed.

But David Whetter, a partner with Cornerstone who prepared the report, says the board is right on track.

“We were giving a pretty broad range [of time needed],” said Whetter. “The district’s timeline is not that different to the one we recommended.”

He said that it takes at least three to five years to get a new school built, so the district needs to act fast in order to support areas in east Maple Ridge where schools are well over capacity.

“If you want to get a school open in 2012, you’re going to have to start the process now.”

School board trustees will vote on whether or not to adopt the staff’s recommendations tonight at 7 p.m. at Thomas Haney Centre.

Both Carr and MacDonald are encouraging all parents to come to the meeting and have their voices heard.

“It’s important to act now before it’s too late,” said MacDonald.

Should the board choose to accept the staff’s recommendations, another round of public consultations will take place in the coming months.

Trustees will vote to finalize the decision on Jan. 10, 2008. All schools singled out for closure will be closed at the end of the school year, on June 30, 2008.

Tonight was an outstanding night..

We went to the school board meeting, open to the public.  Tonight, the board was voting on the recommendations of closing schools in SD42.  I’m happy to announce that 5 out of 7 trustees voted AGAINST closing schools in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows!

That’s about it for today. 

Here’s the letter I wrote to the trustees:

Mr. Butler, Mr. Rempel, Ms. Marshall, and Ms. Ward,

I am writing to you to ask you to reconsider recommending the closure of our schools, especially Riverside.  In the public meetings, parents made it very clear that this process is being rushed for some unknown reason.  The Cornerstone report recommended that you take one to two years to go through the process, yet you are going to complete it in considerably less time.

In one of the public meetings, my wife pointed out an error in your statistics.  The population of kids had decreased by very little in a 5 year span.  If this error was so easily overlooked and accepted as “fact”, how can you be so sure that your predictions on the future are correct?  How do you know that you won’t need schools in the west side of Maple Ridge within the next couple years?  Are you willing to disrupt hundreds of childrens lives and rountines on a gamble that you could be wrong?

It’s obvious that the expansion in the east end of Maple Ridge needs addressing.  Clearly there is considerable construction out there.  But it should not be at the expense of children living here.  On the school boards’ website, it says that “an analysis of French Immersion programs be initiated with respect to location of programs, low enrolment at Riverside, and types of French Immersion opportunities.”  What exactly is that supposed to mean?  If you announce that you are going to close Riverside, how do I tell my 6 year old daughter, “Don’t worry sweetie.  They’ll do an analysis on the French Immersion program.”   How is that going to comfort her?

We moved here from Burnaby to Maple Ridge this past February.  We moved to Maple Ridge because we thought that it was the perfect place to raise our children.  We moved within the Riverside catchment area because we heard great things about the school and the French Immersion program.  If you close Riverside, I will have to move my daughter to her third school in as many years. 

I hope that you take these things into careful consideration.  I hope that you think about the impact that it will have on my 6 year old, and all the other students in the area that are going to be affected by this.  I hope that you consider that the people who call Maple Ridge home elected you into your position, and can certainly elect you out of it.

Cameron MacDonald