Backblaze has been backing up my computer for 11 years now!

Backbaze logo on computer on desk
Backbaze logo on computer on desk

It’s hard to believe that 11 years ago I signed up for Backblaze and it’s been backing up my computer ever since.

Backblaze continues to sit in the background and just do its thing. I hardly even think about it. Every photo I import, every song or movie I download, every file we create on the computer automatically gets backed up.

I haven’t had to rely on Backblaze’s backups yet, but it’s nice to know that everything is securely stored on a drive outside my house.

Sure, I have local backups too, but if there is a fire, or my external hard drive goes bad, then all local backups are gone. With Backblaze, I’ve got a backup that’s always out there for me to get my digital life back.

If you don’t have backups, or only have local backups, you really should look into Backblaze.

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How to import a site into Local when the import fails.

Local Computer Setup
Local Computer Setup

I’ve been using Local by Flywheel for years now and I love it. It’s a great environment for spinning up & developing WordPress sites. Better yet, you don’t have to use it with Flywheel hosting, you can just use it develop WordPress locally.

Now that Local “Lightning” is out, Local is much faster. It’s a great upgrade to what is usually an environment that just works, however it’s a different app.

Moving from Local by Flywheel to Local should be as easy as exporting one site and importing it back in. However, sometimes that doesn’t work.

Local Import Error
Local Import Error

It seems that the import/export functionality expects standard WordPress sites with standard wp-config.php files. Even though things worked fine in Local by Flywheel, they will not always import into Local.

The good news is you can work around import errors with a few manual steps.

  1. Start the site in Local by Flywheel.
  2. Export the site from Local By Flywheel – This is just a backup incase things go wrong.
  3. Export the database separately via Adminer.
  4. Stop the site in Local by Flywheel.
  5. Find the site folder on your computer and rename it to something different.
  6. Open Local.
  7. Create a new site in Local with the same name it had in Local by Flywheel.
  8. Find the new site folder on your computer and rename to something different.
  9. Find the old site folder from step 5 and rename it back.
  10. Import the database via Adminer.

That should do it. As long as you kept the site name correct, the site should now be transferred to Local.

In my option, Local should be able to detect and transfer files between apps without having to import and export. Especially when importing runs scripts which is where it fails most of the time. Maybe some day they’ll figure out a better import process.

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Moz-Mac – A Translucent Firefox Theme

Moz-Mac Screenshots

I’ve started playing around with Firefox themes again. One of the great things about Firefox is that the interface can be modified with CSS. With just a few lines of code, I can make it look like whatever I want. This time what I ended up with was Moz-Mac.

Moz-Mac Screenshots
Screenshots: Dark – Default – Light

I started by getting rid of some borders and some spacing to clean up the interface a little bit. Then I realized that you could make the browser translucent, which I thought looked pretty cool.

I then figured out how to tie the active tab highlight color into MacOS’ accent color which means your Firefox theme is tied to your system settings. It’s awesome that Firefox has CSS properties for this already built in.

I also moved the reload button to the address bar, combined the close and favicon, and am continuing to tweak CSS in order to polish the interface up a little bit.

This works on Mac with the Default, Light, and Dark Firefox themes and in order to enable the modifications you need to create a custom CSS file and tell Firefox to us it. I have instructions, and all of the code, up on the Moz-Mac GitHub repo if you’d like to use it.

If you’re not on a Mac, then I have no idea what this looks like. Additionally, I’ve only tested it on the latest MacOS 10.15.x and Firefox 72.0.x with my browser configurations. I hope it works in other OS’, but no guarantees.

I’m sure there are issues with add-ons or your configuration of Firefox so feel free to submit a bug report, or a pull request, and I’ll check into it when I get a moment.

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Christmas Lighting Goals

Trista Light Show on House

I like decorating for Christmas, but these lights are at a whole different level.

This is Trista Lights in Minnetrista MN and it’s pretty cool.

Granted, I’m not sure I’d ever want my house to be this over the top. It’s cool, but I’m not sure it’s Christmas lights as much is it is a light production.

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Have you seen Samantha?

Olaf - Samantha Wallpaper - Frozen 2
Olaf - Samantha Wallpaper - Frozen 2

Olaf has been looking for Samantha. Have you seen her?

This Frozen 2 wallpaper (2880 × 1800) can help you remember to keep looking.

Not sure how we know if we find her, but it can’t hurt to ask around.

And if you haven’t seen Frozen 2, here’s the clip of Olaf looking for Samantha.

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2019 WordPress Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals

Neon Sale Tag with WordPress Logo
Neon Sale Tag with WordPress Logo

I don’t know all the WordPress related Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals, but here are a few. Now’s a good time to purchase hosting or tools if you’re looking for a decent deal.

WP Engine is offering 5 months FREE on any annual shared plan at WP Engine. Code: cyberwknd30 – Active 11/20 – 12/2

StudioPress has $100 off the StudioPress Pro-Plus All Theme Package. No code required. – Active 11/20 – 12/2

BeaverBuilder is offering 25% OFF across their entire store; includes new purchases as well as upgrades! The promo code will automatically be applied at checkout, so no coupon code is needed – Active 11/22 – 11/25

SiteGround offering up to 75% off hosting. Don’t have a lot of details on this one, but worth checking out if you’re looking for cheap hosting.

BlueHost is offering up to 60% off of hosting, domains, and more.

athemes is offering up 30% off any purchase made on athemes.com (single themes, Developer and Lifetime licenses included). Code: BLACKFRIDAY19 and CYBERMONDAY19 – Active 11/28 – 12/3

Know of a deal? Let me know and I’ll post it.

Yes, some of these include affiliate links. Just trying to make a few dollars.

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2019 Pumpkin Carvings

Carved Pumpkins

This years pumpkins feature a few scary faces, boo which was created with a drill, a pumpkin popping out of a pumpkin, and a momma pumpkin with her crazy kids.

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Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween Decorations

Nightmare Before Christmas Decorations
Nightmare Before Christmas Decorations

This year, for Halloween, I made all new Nightmare Before Christmas decorations.

Oogie Boogie and Zero are just cut out of poster board which I got at the Dollar Store for $1 for two pieces of paper. Put them in the window and they block out the light at night. Super easy for minimal effort.

Jack is made out of cardboard covered in black duct tape and then attached to the garage with magnets. I got these little magnets that are extremely strong and have been holding it really well. Granted, you need to be smart about where you stick things to the garage door. I’m able to open the garage with no problem as nothing sits across two panels. Jack took some time to cut out and cover, but he’s holding up pretty well.

If you’re wondering how to draw things nice and big, what I did was found a big photo online, printed it as big as I could, then either traced around it or I created a projection by cutting out that print off and placing it between a light and a wall so that it projected nice and big up on the wall. It took some testing but I’m pleased with the results.

The only thing I’m really missing is Sally. I’ll have to figure out something for Sally next year. Maybe on the small garage door.

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