Finally? (Please)

Well, thanks to a hiccup elsewhere (and unconnected to the move) I found the solution to the sudden arrival of the “Let’s not save anything” option.

Fortunately, it was indeed due to a copy translation of directory and file permissions, and equally fortunately, could be remedied at the directory level. Although it had altered all the file permissions too, they’re not relevant – fortunate, since they number in the hundreds.

I’ve had a brief fiddle with the various editing and saving option, plus the invisible things they trigger in the background, and all seems well, so it looks as if we’re…

Stable and Functional.

FiM syndrome strikes

Foot in Mouth time.

Since the forum was fine (and it obviously has to save/write new post files) I’d no reason to expect any problems with the wiki side of things, and all appeared well. I should know better in the world of servers and file permissions, and that the wiki’s mildly fussy file rights would hiccup.

Looks like the copy operation to the new host has messed with the permissions/ownership of the files, and they can’t currently be saved if edited, although the site looks/works fine if all you want to do is read. I do hope this can be fixed with a tweak by those above me, I don’t fancy re-creating the wiki structure again, although the data inside it at least is safe.

We’re stable!

At least I hope so.

Feels like some kind of marathon bug/error/fingers problem finding event has just taken place instead of a simple host move and resetting of namservers, however, as of 19:15 tonight, everything came to life and I was able to get into the management system and make the last tweaks needed – and nothing’s broken since!

Everybody, including me for once (and a mention for my patient web host) deserves a pat on the back for persevering, given that some of the probs were (unwitting) self-induced sillies.

Now, if I can only remember the stuff I found while I was locked out of my own sites, and hunting through others…

Nameserver nuisance

I’m now counting to 10 very sloooowly.

The main site style sheet isn’t being applied as it comes from a server that the new nameserver has yet to propagate from, and I don’t know if the change has failed to take, or is just taking its time to register, so daren’t change it in case I make things worse.

I’m leaving it alone until Saturday now, to give it time – if it hasn’t corrected itself, then I know I can jump in and change it.

One day, I’ll do one of these things and drop dead from shock when it all goes right first time.

Server moved

At last, it’s gone through, so you should be back in now.

The only good news is that it seems it wasn’t really me. Although I did mis-read one of the setup hints and set the wrong DNS (which I spotted and fixed early on), the real problem was that because it was a move (rather than a fresh setup) there’s a bug in the controlling cPanel software, meaning that part of the setup was invisible to me, so I couldn’t see the actual problem. It only came to light when I passed the error messages to the host, who recognised the problem from past experiences with it, and was able to sort it for me from his end.

Enjoy.

Server move

There will be some downtime on the site, as the host is moving servers.

This may lead to its disappearance for anything up to 48 hours as the new addresses propagate the DNS servers (but is should be a lot less in reality).

Unfortunately, there will be a further short delay, as I have to re-configure the domain control and re-direction used to manage the site, so there’s an additional delay. While this is quite simple, I do it so seldom I’m always out of practice when it comes time to do it again, and it may be a day or so before I get round to it.

MoD transmitter, Toward Point

Thanks to a contribution, we have identified a transmitter building located near the Toward point lighthouse, south of Dunoon.

Probably associated with the former Holy Loch submarine base, the building would seem to have been built in the 1960s, and fitted with 2 antenna masts, reported to have been removed in the 1990s, although the 2 storey building and its substation remain in 2006.

On the To Do list, to gather at least a GPS fix, it’s an old haunt that merits a re-visit, and a reminder to remain alert, as I’ve been in that area a number of times, and neither noticed not recall the building, although the reason for being there would have diverted my attention (and I was too busy looking at the lighthouse buildings).

As always, any info that may be offered regarding the building or its use would be gratefully received.

Inchindown fuel depot

A 4 mile pipeline, complete with electrical heating along its length, hundreds of yards of underground tunnels, and 6 tanks with capacities of up to 5.6 million gallons – each!

The pipeline had to be heated, since the fuel oil it carried, known as ‘furnace fuel oil’, was only one step away from raw crude oil and more like tar than oil. In the cold of Scotland, it would just have sat in the pipes and never moved had it been allowed to get cold. Even at room temperature, it was in no hurry to go anywhere.

Part of a little known World War II anti-blockade plan, we now have a page on the Inchindown Fuel Depot, in the north east of Scotland.

The depot, and a number of related features, can still be found, and we have details of the these, and links to related sites, information and pics.

Swiss Bunkers and Polar Inertia

I recommend you take a swing over to the site of the Polar Inertia Journal.

While the main reason for doing this may be to take a look at the stunning Swiss Bunkers built there during the Cold War, this site features a number of photo shoots that cover similar and related items around the world, and probably does justify the use of the term Visually Stunning in many cases.

Apart from the impressive Swiss Bunkers, with their unique and effective camouflage, there are items on air-raid sirens (that won’t feature here, since all ours were removed with some haste when Civil Defence became a dirty word (words?) when the system was dismantled along with our other Cold War resources in the 1990s), a Titan missile base, and a series of post communist industrial photographs, taken in eastern Europe and the former USSR, and provided with an interesting introductory commentary as a warning about trying to obtain similar images.

There’s lots more I’d like to list, but I’d end up listing most of the entries if I started, the imagery is just so rich in content (and those Swiss Bunkers put our attempts to shame).

There are many articles related to lost or forgotten periods or items from the past, or that would just be too difficult or expensive to try and visit, and the Polar Inertia Journal provides an easy way to access them (although I do think Google/Microsoft might not be too happy about the unacknowledged aerial imagery of a number of bomb sites and testing ranges that appear there. It looks awfully much like shots I’ve trawled up on their mapping sites… shhhhh).