WordPress & Apache Virtual Hosts

April 27th, 2008 chris

WordPress_logo-web.png

Yesterday I spent about 4 hours trying to figure out why virtual hosts weren’t working for me, so I thought I’d spend a few minutes writing it down in case it helps anyone else.

I had originally set up a WordPress 2.5 installation in /var/www/blog of my Apache 2 document tree. This worked fine, but I later decided to use a specific domain for the blog (cristoblanco.com), and point it at the same server. Apache has a feature called Name-based Virtual Hosts that allows you to host multiple domains on the same server with the same IP number

In Apache 2, you put your new domain config file in the /etc/apache2/sites-available directory, and then enable it by running a2ensite. After following all the instructions, it still wasn’t working for me. When I typed cristoblanco.com into the browser, it went to the top level of my original domain instead. I did the usual google searches, and tried some of the things they suggested. It’s funny what you’ll try when you feel like you’ve exhausted all possibilities. Still no luck.

I woke up this morning and thought, well let’s debug this. I put an index.html test file into the blog directory, and tried cristoblanco.com again. It worked! So, it all started to make sense. Either php wasn’t working (WordPress uses an index.php file), or it was something else. Well it turned out to be something else. WordPress needs to be configured for the domain, otherwise it just redirects back to the top level of the domain. So I used their admin tool to change the domain name, and now everything works. Seems so simple when you look back at it, but that’s how bugs often are.

I hope this helps someone.

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Round the World Airline Tickets

April 26th, 2008 chris

I can’t remember where I first heard about Round the World (RTW) airline tickets, but I’ve been intrigued ever since. The idea of packing up and circumnavigating the globe seems very appealing to me, and I’ve been looking into it ever since I left Google at the end of 2006. I still have other obligations to finish up before I actually board the plane, but I thought I’d write down what I’ve learned so far.

There are several programs available from various airline alliances and travel agents. Choosing one requires analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, such as region of travel, cost, and what airlines you prefer to fly. I’m in the United Mileage Plus program, so I gravitated toward the Star Alliance RTW Fare. In addition to the trip itself, a RTW ticket is a good way to move to more elite status within an airline’s program, enabling easier upgrades to business and first class, better airport lounge access, and other travel perks.

You have to follow certain rules with a Star Alliance RTW Fare, such as:

  • Must start and end your trip on the same continent
  • Must travel in one direction around the world (i.e. west or east)
  • Can’t backtrack or change directions outside of a continent (but within a continent is okay)
  • Have to stay within your mileage cap. The highest cap is 39,000 miles.
  • The trip must be longer than 10 days and less than a year.
  • There must be at least 3 stops and no more than 15 stops.

Star Alliance has a useful trip planner which validates these rules and knows the flights available for Star Alliance. The map below is the route I’ve been planning in the trip planner:

04-08-07-trip-map-01.gif

Something I found interesting was the costs of these tickets, particularly for business and first class fares. I’ve never traveled internationally on first class, but it can easily cost over $10,000 on a top-tier airline from the US to Europe, especially since I would be leaving from San Francisco (SFO). A first class Star Alliance RTW fare with a mileage cap of 34,000 miles leaving from SFO is listed as $11,200 on airtimetable.com. This is an opportunity to fly first class internationally, and what better time to do it then when you’re traveling so many miles.

By the way, the ticket prices differ based on the class of service, miles traveled, and where the ticket originates from. Some people have been known to travel to places like Sri Lanka to get as much as half price on these tickets, although you must then start and end your trip in Sri Lanka. How to get there and back is an exercise for the reader.

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RasterRap

April 25th, 2008 chris

Before I left Sun Microsystems in 1990, I wrote a program called RasterRap that let you draw with images. I called it RasterRap because like some rap music, art was created by sampling others works. My inspiration for this was something we did as kids: Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a big square with a particular color of crayon. Then use a different color and draw over the first color. Keep repeating this until you’re tired of it. Finally, use the black crayon to draw the final layer. Now use a fingernail and scratch off the crayon at varying levels of depth. Yes, we were super bored.

The RasterRap program was written entirely in PostScript, and the current tool (like your fingernail) would let you reveal the chosen image with a variety of effects. Spray paint, stretch, paint, and spotlight were some of the tools. Why did I write this? Pretty much the same reason I scratched off crayon when I was a kid.

raster rap

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Hello Internet!

April 25th, 2008 chris

Just playing with my new wordpress installation. I’ve never really blogged before, so I’m not sure if I’ll take to it. Sometimes it seems like there’s too much noise out there, and I don’t want to contribute to it. If you’re an experienced blogger (or not) and have some tips, I’m interested in hearing them.

One of the things that got me interested in blogging was FriendFeed. I’ve enjoyed using it, and lots of people use their blogs as one of their feeds. Check them out.

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