It’s been a while since I blogged. It sure hasn’t been due to a lack of activity, actually quite the opposite, Carrie and I have been very busy with holiday events (see below) and putting together the December issue of SOKY Happenings. I’ve been keeping my "friends" updated on Facebook almost daily, but the blog has been an afterthought.

As I look forward to the coming new year, a glance back on the year that is concluding, I see many things that I am proud of, and many things I intend to change. I guess those thoughts can be saved for my year end blog, but suffice to say, I’m already drawing up plans for change in 2010.

I am proud that I have been keeping up with Kung Fu and even lost a good amount of weight, 25 lbs according to the scale, but even more "fat" as it converts to muscle. I will start an aerobics class this week in hopes of trimming more of the fat. The new year will bring yoga and weight lifting to improve flexibility even more, and bulk up muscle in the right places. Carrie is excited. (grin)

The magazine is doing well! We trimmed it down this month from 84 pages back to 68 mostly due to the lack of event writers this month. We still had over 30 writers and about 80 sponsors, so it’s a good issue. We won a state wide award this month too, but I have not received the particulars so I will post that when the information arrives. We were invited to the awards banquet but were unable to attend due to the work necessary on the December issue.

Much of my enthusiasm for next year revolves around the magazine business. I have been working on the business plan and I foresee 2010 to be a life changing year. I know I have rambled on about this in the past, but there were too many variables that forced me to delay my plans. The economy sucking as bad as it has played a key role in my decisions to delay. But, with the growth of the magazine and a solid plan for the future, the time just might be right to take the logical step in my business.

I am planning on some major changes in 2010, and instead of waiting on January 1^st, I have already begun to make some of the changes. Some key changes are to make a conscious effort to "de-clutter" my life; to stop putting things off so much; to be more organized; to follow through better; and to be more willing to do the hard things. This is a reoccurring theme in my life, but to revisit it and make the decision to do better, I can continue to improve my life. It’s worked in the past. It’s funny, I can remember writing similar goals last year at this time, and looking around my office I can see some success over last year, but there is room for improvement.

On my old site I had a quote at the top of the pages, "If you want things to be different, you must be willing to do different things." In my effort to continually improve my life, I tend to look at the things I want to be different and then make the changes necessary to effect change. I’m not always successful, but making the effort to better one’s self is far better than to wallow in a hope that would never come to pass without effort. I want many things to be different by this time next year! I have a plan, I have the ability, I have the experience, and I have the desire, all I need to do now is execute the plan and do all of the things necessary to achieve my goals… "not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." From the "We choose to go to the moon" speech by John F. Kennedy on 12 September 1962. I may not be going to the moon, but I have lofty goals to be sure.

I’ve made many improvements this past year and I have the determination to continue to improve and to achieve what I believe is the next logical step toward my goal of freedom and prosperity. (Primary Aim)

Carrie and I at Entourage Tapas for a birthday party and to take photos of the chef. 19 November 2009

 
November 14, 2009 - Heading out to the CHF Charity Ball fundraiser.

November 12, 2009 Carrie and I headed to the Celebrity Chefs Auction for the March Of Dimes. Yep... beard is gone... for the weekend.

Carrie and I enjoying our fall weekend! Preparing to watch Alabama beat LSU (which they did). 7 Nov 09

Carrie thinks I'm crazy for sharing this one because we are so "relaxed." True, I don't wear baseball caps, and Carrie made that shirt waiting for me to come home... we are who we are and I thought that is good enough reason to share!

(Yes, I'll be loosing the beard before the March of Dimes event on Thursday.) LOL

 
Halloween 2009 - on our way out to enjoy the night.

From the Publisher:
September 2009 SOKY Happenings

The September issue of SOKY Happenings is our 28^th issue and is one of our biggest ever.  With more than 45 contributing writers and many new sponsors added, this issue marks a turning point in our business, which is exciting.  A special thanks to our new and renewing sponsors for making September one of our best months ever.

SOKY Happenings began a little over 2 years ago as a 36-page events guide, and it has grown to 76 pages, which include articles about interests, people and even hobbies.  The SOKY Frugal Wine Snob, Garden Hoe, Bridal Guide and health matters articles have been warmly received and widely read.  We are able to continue to diversify with article like the monthly “Guess Who,” which challenges the readers to guess who Rachel Adams Walston has interviewed.  Readers have a month to guess who it is, and the person featured is revealed the following month.

The SOKY Snapshot Scavenger Hunt winner is also announced in September.  We had the most entries ever, and it seems more popular this year.  The SOKY Snapshot Scavenger Hunt is a contest in which we publish several close-up photos from a specific area and readers try to identify the places where the pictures were taken.  This year, the photos were taken by Daisy Baxter, and they were taken in Circus Square park as well as Fountain Square Park in Bowling Green.  Readers submitted their answers, and all correct entries were eligible to win by random drawing.  The prize was a $100 gift card to Mariah’s Restaurant and Buckhead Café as well as $100 in cash from SOKY Happenings.  The answers and winners are on page 45.  Congratulations to Steve and Donna Corbitt.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s hunt! We especially enjoyed the notes with kind words about the hunt and SOKY Happenings.

The cover was painted by Debbie Reid. (www.drportraits.com) She and her husband Ray, are principals of Kentucky Downs Horse Track in Franklin, Kentucky.  We felt this cover was appropriate because of the huge live horse racing events schedule for September 19^th through the 28^th.  There is an article about the events on pages 18 and 19.  Thank you, Debbie, for allowing us to use this beautiful watercolor on the cover of SOKY Happenings.

SOKY Happenings is proud to be a reliable source of events information and an entertaining magazine for the whole community.  The free guide is only possible through the sponsoring advertisers found in the magazine and online.  We would like to encourage you to patronize their businesses and let them know that you saw them in SOKY Happenings.

We are also happy to announce that we are expanding our distribution in Glasgow Kentucky!  We have received several requests from the community to make SOKY Happenings more widely available in the city.  A complete list will be published on the website when it is available.

Once again, I would like to personally thank our sponsors, writers, readers, and our entire community!  This has been an amazing and humbling experience.  When I started this, I had no idea that the outpouring of love, support and encouragement would be so great.  I appreciate all of you and thank you sincerely!

- David Francis

The July 2009 issue of SOKY Happenings brings some new articles, some mystery and—back by popular demand—the SOKY Snapshot Scavenger Hunt!

SOKY Happenings is a monthly community resource offering an exhaustive calendar of events broken down into week, day and even hour. There are more than 1,000 events in the July calendar, listing everything from toddler time at the library to sporting events and business gatherings with the Chamber of Commerce. The calendar is your LOCAL reference guide to what’s happening in South Central Kentucky.

This month’s cover was selected about two years ago when I fell in love with it while it was on display at the Brickyard Café in Franklin. Bonnie McBain’s painting, “Maine Oh Maine,” depicts a peaceful country porch with an American flag blowing in the breeze. I love this painting so much that our salesperson, Vicki J. Fitch, purchased a full-sized reproduction of it and presented it to Carrie and I for our 25^th wedding anniversary. Thanks to Vicki for the gift, and thanks to Bonnie for painting it and allowing us to use it on this month’s cover. www.bonniemcbain.com

The SOKY Frugal Wine Snob also returns this month revealing his identity. Having lurked in the shadows with the protective blanket of anonymity, Bill Singletary decided the time was right to come out into the light and let people know who he is. This is his effort to be held accountable for his recommendations and make himself available for suggestions and comments.

The mystery in this issue is the introduction of a brand new monthly feature by Rachel Walston. Rachel writes in the opening, “Think you know the people of South Central Kentucky? In this new monthly feature, we’ll introduce you to someone whose name or title should be familiar, but there’s a hitch—all the obvious details have been left out. Can you tell who’s who from their lesser-known details? Put on your thinking cap and keep reading!” The rest of the article can be read on page 5.

The Snapshot Scavenger Hunt is something we introduced in our second issue two years ago. We recruited the assistance of a real photographer this year (instead of doing it myself as in years past), and Daisy Baxter brought her talent and vision to the hunt. She spread out the playing field this year, incorporating Fountain Square Park and the new Circus Square Park and all roads in between.

The contest is easy: simply bring your copy of SOKY Happenings downtown and stroll through the parks and the facing roads. Identify all of the images and send in your form. We will draw a winner from all completed forms and the winner will receive $100 in cash and a $100 gift card from Mariah’s/Buckhead Café.

We are also introducing another monthly feature about gourmet coffee. R. Justin Shepherd, owner of Spencer’s Coffeehouse on the square in Bowling Green, will offer his insight, ideas, anecdotes and intimate knowledge of the dark brew each month.

Our list of contributing writers continues to increase and we are so very grateful! SOKY Happenings is authored by people in the community who have a passion for their topic and a willingness to share. We are honored to be able to bring you their thoughts and ideas each month.

I would also like to, once again, thank our sponsors. SOKY Happenings is free to the public, thanks to continued financial support from our sponsors. We do our best to provide our sponsors with effective advertising and value, which includes a full color ad, monthly changes and bold listings in the calendar, as well as a free webpage on our website with their information, current advertisement and a map to their place of business. SOKY Happenings’ guide format also offers our sponsors the opportunity to be seen all month long for one small investment. Please take note of our sponsors which are listed online as well as on page 4 of the magazine and if you see fit; please use their products and let them know you saw them in SOKY Happenings.

Thank you for reading SOKY Happenings.

- David Francis

This month (our 2nd – Happy Anniversary to us) was a very challenging and frustrating month for me. Press week, which had essentially been reduced to just a few days, took not only a full week, but the entire Memorial Day weekend plus one day. I didn’t get done until nearly 10pm last night.

Some of the delays were my own fault! Since we decided to pick up the magazine our self on the 31^st, it meant that my deadline shifted from Friday to the following Tuesday. So, having 4 extra days, I didn’t stay as focused as I should have. That’s my own fault.

BUT – the biggest and most frustrating reason for the hard press week was technology. From my computer to the remote control on my TV in the office, nothing worked properly!

1^st, I’ve been dealing with some major issues on my web servers which requires that I check all hosted sites several times a day. This cost countless hours but it could not be avoided.

2^nd, my email server for SOKY.NET has been getting slammed with SPAM and has resulted in up to two hour delays in email. Not that big of a problem you would think, but my workflow for the magazine requires Carrie to email me resources as I come to each page.

3^rd, my MAC PRO, (this was the most frustrating one and should be a post on its own). I have been having trouble starting the MAC in the morning; so much so that wasn’t even turning it off at night for the past two weeks. When I would start it, sometimes it would hang up and fail to load, other times the screen was all jumbled and I couldn’t click anything. So, I left it on overnight which seemed to have solved the early morning issues. I did a little searching and found some possible remedies, but I wanted to wait until this issue of the magazine went to press first. (mistake)

The MAC issues got exponentially worse each day!  As I was laying out the magazine, the MAC would lock up completely, a little more often each day. On the final day, (last night) it got so bad that I could only have one program running at a time and even then, I couldn’t touch anything until the task it was working on was complete. All of this at the final hour of proofing, packaging and uploading a 200mb file for the press. I would say that I had to manually stop and start using the power button at least every 15 minutes. I thought I was going to come unglued!

Throw in one idiot moment that cost me more than an hour where I was laying out several pages and tried to close something… selecting "do not save" was the brain fart that cost me not only time, but a few ticks of the blood pressure. I was so mad I cannot write the words in public.

So what does a hard working entrepreneur do? We adapt and overcome!  I very patiently waited the 30 minute for the file to upload, confirmed the file size was the same on the FTP as on my hard disk (because the display stopped functioning during the upload), turned off my computer and went home. I just need to be away from this hunk of junk for a little while and formulate a plan.

To top it all off, Carrie didn’t want to sit on the porch because she had already taken a bath and didn’t want to get “buggy” outside. Grrrrr

This morning my thoughts immediately turned to my computer problems. Would I have to buy a new one? How much data was I going to lose by trying to fix the issues? Would all of my setting get screwed up recovering the system? Am I going to have to reload all of the software and files all over again? Do I have enough coffee at the office to answer all of these questions? So, I hopped in my truck, drove to the office and tried a few things.

Since I turned the MAC off, the first step was to press that little button and see what happens. Sure enough, the first time I pressed it, the monitor didn’t even display anything. Pressing it again, the screen appeared but wouldn't let me type in my password; pressing it again, it let me enter my password but hung up on the login. Phooey!

So I remembered something I read last week that I wanted to try after I went to press. I wanted to wait because according to my information, the procedure would cause Leopard (the MAC operating system), to do a quick check of the hard drive before booting. It also allowed me to boot in what’s called “Safe Mode” which would load only the fonts and drivers needed to operate. So I pressed the power button off, then pressed the power button on and held down the shift key. The little Apple appears and the circle thingy that shows the computer is thinking turned and turned and turned. After what seemed like an hour (only about 5 minutes), the logon screen appeared with two red words above the password box, “Safe Mode.” I entered my password and it booted very quickly.

While in safe mode, I decided to use the disk utility to verify the hard drive as well as the main volume. That took some time too, but it reported no issues. That was disappointing in a way because I really wanted to have something to fix.

Still in safe mode, I decided to search Apple Support for suggestions about problems starting a MAC PRO that is less than 2 years old. I found the suggestion to reset the parameter random access memory (PRAM) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM).  (link) From the document, it just made sense to me that this could be the culprit, mostly because of what the PRAM controls. So, still in safe mode, I selected restart and followed the instructions from the document.

1. Shut down the computer.

2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.

3. Turn on the computer.

4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.  (Actually, I had read elsewhere to let the start up “gong” chime three times so I did.)

6. Release the keys.

Releasing the keys resulted in a normal start up. Actually, it seemed a little faster. I was worried that all of my program setting would be lost, but I entered my password, closed my eyes and waited… it was all there! SWEET!

Just to be sure, I started InDesign, PhotoShop, and Parallels because they are the programs that would lock everything up last night. Everything worked! Then I opened the magazine file in InDesign and made a couple changes, saved them and everything worked fine. I opened Outlook in Parallels as well as the web browser and everything worked fine. (Except for MS Outlook which is having her own problems right now with the display of email… another frustration of the month but a different post when I figure that one out.)

I have been working on this MAC for a few hours now and I have not experienced any glitches.

Admittedly, I do not know if starting in Safe Mode, running the disk verification, or resetting the PRAM worked because I did all three of them at the same time. But, with 20 years of experience with computers, I’m confident it was the PRAM more than anything else. Even still, the safe mode boot did allow me to access the computer, check the Apple Support site, run the verification without locking up either. Hmmm… interesting.

UPDATE: This did not solve the issue, it could be the graphics card which I will have to change on Monday.

So now that the June Issue of SOKY Happenings is complete AND I seemed to have solved the issues with the MAC PRO, I can turn my attention to the web server and email server. I will be moving all sites to a new vendor which will require more technological frustration. The biggest hurdles are transferring the SQL databases and setting up all of the email accounts. It just takes time and persistence.

Subject: MAC PRO, Lock Up, PRAM, Technology