The longer you have a blog the harder it gets to upgrade your blog software. With hundreds of entries and thousands of comments you have a lot to lose if something goes wrong. That is why I have been hesitant to upgrade to the new version of Movable Type (4.0). I waited until I had a free weekend and enough time to do everything right. I uploaded all the new files and ran the upgrade script and got the following:

Upgrading database…

Upgrading table for TrackBacks records…
Upgrading database from version 3.3.
Upgrading table for Job Exit Status records…
Upgrading table for Asset records…
Upgrading table for Asset Placement records…
Upgrading table for Job Function records…
Upgrading table for TrackBacks records…

Error during upgrade: failed to execute statement CREATE TABLE mt_log ( log_id integer NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY auto_increment, log_author_id integer DEFAULT 0, log_blog_id integer DEFAULT 0, log_category varchar(255), log_class varchar(255) DEFAULT ’system’, log_created_by integer, log_created_on datetime, log_ip varchar(16), log_level integer DEFAULT 1, log_message mediumtext, log_metadata varchar(255), log_modified_by integer, log_modified_on datetime ): Table ‘mt_log’ already exists at lib/MT/Upgrade.pm line 1855.

I didn’t know what any of that mean, but it was obvious that the upgrade failed! That is when I started to panic. Had I lost everything? I desperately searched for anyone experiencing the same problem with out luck.

As a last resort I decided to look at my MySQL database and see if I could tell what was wrong. I logged in to PHP MyAdmin (something I know nothing about) and I noticed that the mt_log table said “in-use.” That seemed strange. One of the options was to “Repair-table.” I wasn’t sure what that would do, but I was desperate enough to take a chance. I repaired the table and reran the Movable Type upgrade script. To my great relief it worked without errors!

I am writing this post in case it helps somebody who has the same error when upgrading to Movable Type 4. My advice is to back up your database before you upgrade. You never know what is going to go wrong. Oh, and Movable Type 4 is pretty cool. The best new feature is that you can add “pages” similar to Wordpress. It is pretty nice but I am still on the fence about which is better between Wordpress and Movable Type.

Introducing a new feature to my blog where I post 3 mp3’s. Here is the first batch from a few albums I have been enjoying lately…

Silver Lining, by Rilo Kiley
From their album, Under the Blacklight

Melody Day, by Caribou
From their album, Andorra

Small Town Crew, by The Brunettes
From their album, Structure & Cosmetics

I have been blogging for a while and have participated in my share of heated discussions. I have been on the attacking side and I have been on the defensive side. I rarely make a post without being willing to defend my words in the comments. And yet it always surprises me which of my ideas get challenged. I just can’t predict it. Things that I think will be controversial go unchallenged. Things that seem harmless end up upsetting people. For example, take the following story which I wrote over a year ago…

“I was traveling from Colorado to Nebraska and stopped at a Conoco in North Platte. It is notorious for their high gas prices because their location is one of the few main stops on Interstate 80 between Denver and Lincoln. In the past, North Platte gas stations wouldn’t even show their price per gallon on their signs because they knew people didn’t really have any alternatives. You had to pull up to the pump to see how much they were going to stick it to you that particular day. When I took the exit, the first station was a Conoco with a big sign flashing at near strobe light regularity that their gas was $2.26 and they had “the best looking attendants.” Feeling somewhat insulted by the intrusive flashing of the sign, I passed it in favor of a Shell station a few blocks further down the road. To my disappointment, the gas at Shell was $2.49. I decided to pay the extra money and get back on the road. On our return to Colorado a couple days later, we again were ready to refuel in North Platte. This time, I decided to forgive the flashing sign and refuel at Conoco since they were still advertising $2.26. I pulled in and was shocked to see that the $2.26 price was nowhere to be seen on the pump. Since I was in a hurry again, I accepted the $2.49 price and filled my tank. When I got inside, I asked the attendant (who wasn’t good looking at all) sarcastically if I had missed the $2.26 price? As if I was the first person to ask this question, he said, “Oh, that is only on pumps one and two.” I think he mumbled something about “out of order” which seemed to be his backup answer. I was too disgusted to say anything else, so I just paid and left. It was a scam. Literally highway robbery. The gas in pump one came out of the same tank as the other pumps. Conoco, who has the prime location right off the highway, wasn’t satisfied with the usual profit they make from their inflated prices. Now they are deceiving every customer that stops there! I was so raving mad that I will never buy Conoco gas again, ever!”

That was just part of my post and you can read the whole thing here if you are interested, but it is a true story. Then today I got a comment from a local guy named Jo that was offended by my essay. He claimed that the prices were clearly marked and that I lacked common sense. I responded with a link to a recent article written about the same deceptive gas stations and the obligatory counter insult which never helps things, but is hard to resist. I won’t bore you by quoting the conversation any further, but it just strikes me as funny: I try so hard to write engaging posts that challenge and inspire people; and the conversations that actually happen end up being stupid bickering about gas prices. Sigh…

If you are a Simpson’s fan and you haven’t heard about the Simpsonize Me website you might want to check it out. You upload a photo of yourself and it draws you as you would appear on the Simpsons. You can see my result to the right. I also created Betsy and Rian if you were curious. Fun stuff, and another good viral marketing campaign. Since Crispen Porter does the Burger King stuff I am betting they had a hand in the production.

On another subject, has anyone seen the Simpson movie? I haven’t heard a thing about it. Is it any good?