Hectic Week
Friday, February 9, 1996
Trying to get things ready for the 4th York Flower Show when it's -40F outside, snowing and plenty of ice everywhere is an oxymoron. Like civil war. President Clinton. Military intelligence. You know the routine.So Much To Do, So Little Time.
Likewise, trying to force trees and shrubs and flowers into bloom for a four day period from a winter hibernation is like dropping coins onto stairs; you don't know which step they'll land on. Not only is it fooling - or trying to fool - Mother Nature, it's a real shitshoot. You have to force 3-4 times as much material as you'll need, over staggered periods of time, hoping that some will be timed perfectly. Sure.
This year, it looks like we screwed up forcing the nursery stock; we brought it in a week late because of the nasty weather. The Alpine Trough Gardens were perfect; my crews brought them in and I selected additional material for planting the new Troughs, hoping they'll make it to peak just before the Flower & Garden Show.
The Jeeps needs service, bring in more plant material, review spring nursery stock orders and make changes, notify new employees of start date changes, write the summer newsletter, Roots & Shoots, shovel more snow, proof and edit the spring newsletter, answer tons of email, cats to the vet for check-ups, order new equipment for landscape crews, revise landscape estimates, re-schedule winter projects, begin material requisition lists, condominium association executive board meeting tonite, re-fill 8 birdfeeders at Garden Center, replace 6 burned-out lampost bulbs outside, Br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r, where to eat tonite, a date for the weekend, more RAM? Reload. Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain. Reload. Whoooops, back to reality. Time to get a life!
Web Page Changes.
I spent two hours with Adam Viener of Cyberia Communications, Inc., our gracious ISP provider, in York. We reviewed HTML, the Server connection software and procedures for making changes, adding pages etc. It was a little overwhelming at first, thinking that I could single-handedly crash the server machine if I screwed up. Turns out, all I can damage is my stuff; everything else is locked down. Passwords are required for all entries and changes. Cool. So I backed-up all my files carefully. And I rehearsed the procedure mentally on the way home.
shit, I Forgot.
As soon as I opened the FTP, it became very clear to me: duuuuuhhhhh... Quick, call Adam and have him step me through it again. He did. I did it. With a little practice now, I'm hell on wheels. Operating the FTP isn't as scary as it was in the beginning. Making copy changes, putting-up new pages etc is old hat now.
Actually, HTML is getting easier for me. Yes, I'm a rookie but learning daily. I actually like JavaScript and VRML more, but HTML is the basis for everything on The Web, right now anyway.
I put up a JavaScript applet on my Main Page, along with an animated .gif; did you know that in even moderate doses, they can crash your browser? shit. I have to restart again...
Back To John's Journal
Let's Go Back To The Garden Center
Got something you want to spam me on?