CPF Upgrade - 11/26-27/10

[Greta]

The upgrade was successful and I have been running "rebuilds" all night to get everything in order. I am on the final process right now which is the most intensive... the search index. Once that is done, I will turn the forums back on for you all to use while I work on the cosmetic stuff and other functions that do not require the forums to be shut down.

Once again, I will ask that you all refrain from complaining and asking about this, that and the other thing while I am working on stuff. The alternative is to shut down the forums until I am done and I don't think you all really want that.

Thanks again for your patience...

[Nitroz]

Thanks for the upgrade!

Is the Google search gone now? NM, found it.

[Norm]

Good stuff, I can't wait to have the same features that we've gained here over at CPF.
Cheers Norm

[Greta]

Rebuild of the search index is still running... takes awhile with such a huge database.

Meanwhile... I've come down with some kind of flu bug or something. Hit me about an hour ago. So I'm kinda 'laying low' at the moment. My awesome husband fixed me up some lemon ginger tea and is going shopping to make me some soup. Hopefully this will pass quickly...

[tandem]

Three cheers for Greta for all the work she does to keep this community running.

Hopefully Greta hasn't had to suffer through too many dark moments over the weeks while she's toiled away on planning and performing the upgrades on the related forums.

Bringing the community back up might be a little like moving back into a renovated home -- everything is shiny and new but there are some things which still need putting right.

Based on the care and attention CPF forums have always received, you can be sure that Greta is aware of a great deal. Lets not unnecessarily contribute to her workload by reporting trivial issues until the dust has settled some.

Greta, that husband of yours sounds like a keeper! Get well soon!

[PhotonWrangler]

Oh geez, a hardware bug. If it's the flu, the biggest thing is to rest and stay hydrated. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[DM51]

... I've come down with some kind of flu bug or something...

Very sorry to hear that...

My awesome husband fixed me up some lemon ginger tea

Tell him to put some honey and a stiff shot of Scotch in with the lemon. That should do the trick

[csshih]

Rebuild of the search index is still running... takes awhile with such a huge database.

wait... people actually use the search function? :P

kidding aside, hope you get well soon!

[1974Harry]

Get well soon!

And thank you for your hard work.

[Greta]

I'm feeling a bit better now... innards are not so 'unstable' anymore... but I'm weak as a kitten. This sucks... ... anyway, the rebuild is still running. There are over 2,000,000 posts to go through and we're on 1,722,000 now. It will be worth the wait, I promise! I want to do this right so we don't have to deal with trying to troubleshoot a mess later...

BTW... have you all checked out the Home Page yet? What would you all like to see on that page? What would make you go there first before coming to the forums? Articles can be posted (by me or other admins), we can have featured dealers or manufacturers, just about anything! It can be a very useful page... but I'll need input from you all as I don't know what would draw the majority of you there. So let me know!

[hron61]

hi greta,
thanks for all the time and energy you put into this place. it has to be as big as facebook anymore. im here more than im on fb. i found you guys one year ago this month. kudos to you!!
home page, hmm, maybe new lights from major manufacturers and dropins from the wizards that reside here, contests and contest winner results. hope you feel better. ron

[Chicago X]

BTW... have you all checked out the Home Page yet? What would you all like to see on that page? What would make you go there first before coming to the forums? Articles can be posted (by me or other admins), we can have featured dealers or manufacturers, just about anything! It can be a very useful page... but I'll need input from you all as I don't know what would draw the majority of you there. So let me know!

Hi Greta,

I hope you feel better soon. When I felt the way you described, my grandma would make me a cup of "precious." It's basically a cup of hot cocoa, with a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee stirred in. The caffeine helps the cold medicine work, and it's a bit of a pick-me-up as well.

As DM51 mentioned, Scotch works well too - just step away from the server first. I thought blackberry brandy was cold syrup until the age of thirteen. Thanks, mom.

Anyway, a flashlight collection slideshow or similar might be a nice addition to the home page. Perhaps some limited photo hosting for this purpose only might be considered? The propensity for mischief may be too tempting otherwise.

[Bimmerboy]

What kind of soup did the awesome hubby make? It's cold and windy here, and soup is sounding pretty darn awesome!

Hope you're feeling better.... and... How's Hank???

[Greta]

It turned out not to be soup but even better! He went through his Mediterrainean cookbook and found a recipe for Pastina with egg. The store didn't have pastina so he used alphabets (pasta) cooked in chicken broth and then some kind of spices and stuff. It was really good and easy on my stomach. He's such a sweety... spoiling me all day and taking care of me. Couldn't ask for a better guy...

As for Hank... he's right back to normal which is causing us just a little bit of angst as we don't need him busting stitches! We went through the house and tossed every toy that even remotely looked like it was coming apart and went out yesterday and bought new ones. He's happy about that, of course. The final bill ended up being $989 but looking at my little guy all healthy now, I'd have paid twice that...

[KevinL]

Thanks Greta for all the work you've put in on this.

We have a saying, there are 2 ways to do things, the easy way and the right way. (glad you chose the right way)

Hopefully the process will run on automatic so you can get some rest in the meantime? Get well soon!

[Greta]

Thank you Kevin...

Yes, it is running by itself and fortunately I've been able to get some other things done while it is running. We're up to 2,410,000 now! Yay!

[csshih]

just how big (in MB, that is) is the mySQL database?! :O

[Icebreak]

I check in to CPF once or twice a day. I check New Posts then Incandescent then Modified. You've been doing such a great job that I can honestly say your modifications to the main forum have been staying ahead of what I might think would be improvements.

For CPF proper I like Chicago X's idea of a few more clickable thumbnail photos of "featured" lights. For me, I like the custom offerings the best but any cool looking advanced light would be nice. I think the visual appeal of a some photos on a sidebar would be a draw for folks to explore what they may not see using their personal default perusing. I do see a few caveats to this idea.

One draw for me is the basic comradery of intelligent and helpful members. Your attention to the performance of the venue promotes this. Thank you.

And thanks, KC, for taking care of our treasured Kel.

[Greta]

just how big (in MB, that is) is the mySQL database?! :O

The data useage of the CPF database is 3.54GB. The index useage is 2.86GB. We're at 2,503,000 now on the indexing... so we're getting close...

[Greta]

Jeff... thank you for the ideas and input. I'm thinking something along those lines might be nice too. It will take time to work it all out but it is an advanture we can all take together so it fits us all. Once I get things more settled, I'll put up a poll or something.

[frnadolski]

Greta: I'm a long time lurker and don't really post but I had to say thank you for all your work. This site would not be a great as it is without people with your dedication. Hope you feel better. Frank

[Greta]

Ok gentlemen... I'm going off to bed now. I expect that when Hank wakes me up for snuggles at about 3:30AM (as he usually does), the indexing should be done and I hope I can turn the forums back on. No guarantees but here's hoping! G'night everyone!

[LuxLuthor]

Thanks for the work, updates, and hope you feel better soon.

[Bimmerboy]

He's such a sweety... spoiling me all day and taking care of me. Couldn't ask for a better guy...

Ahhh... now that's a great spousal unit! He has my approval. BTW, that improvised mediterranean something-or-other does sound even better than soup right now.

Very happy to hear Hank is in great spirits. I'm sure you're keeping him off all trampolines for now, so I probably don't need to worry too much (literally been concerned about this hound when I'm away from CPF).

Sweet dreams to you and the Hankster!

[csshih]

The data useage of the CPF database is 3.54GB. The index useage is 2.86GB. We're at 2,503,000 now on the indexing... so we're getting close...

[caltemus]

I cant wait for the new site to be up, it sounds like it will be vastly improved, and judging by the marketplace upgrades, it'll be well worth the wait. Thanks for all your work, continuing with a flu even!

-Charlie

[Greta]

CPF Proper is now back open for your viewing and posting pleasure!

[jabe1]

Greta, I am getting a blank screen from Seamonkey (mozilla).

[Greta]

Greta, I am getting a blank screen from Seamonkey (mozilla).

Don't know what to tell you. No problems with IE, Chrome or FireFox.

[Jaygnar]

I get a blank screen when I try to visit cpf on firefox. Chrome is fine though.
Please understand that this is NOT a complaint. I just thought you might want to know. I'm more than happy to have CPF back up.
Thank you for the upgrade Greta and I hope you are feeling awesome again!
New site looks sexy too!