Nov 25, 2009

Walking keeps me happy, ISPs keep me humble

I track my steps online because I find it strangely rewarding. I don't expect anything tangible like a prize - it's enough just to see my progress on my graph. So I don't need the website to congratulate me or give me a gold star when I log my steps every morning. Still, I expect better treatment than I got last Saturday when I tried to log Friday's steps:



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Uh, Forbidden? Whose permission do I need? What's going on?

Turns out our hosting company had some problems when they tried to migrate the site to a new server. We're told that ours is the only site affected, but it's taking them a while to figure out how to get it back online. Meanwhile, loyal walkers are contacting us to ask what's up - has the site been taken down, is Walkabout over?

No and no. Walkabout is very much not over! We're in it for the long haul because our vision is to revitalize a culture of walking in this province, and that takes time. However, it also takes outreach, and our interactive website has been a great part of that. We've missed it these past few days, and we know lots of you have too. I'm sorry about that. I don't know how to fix the DNS issues myself - all I know is to keep the pressure on the host to fix it soon because Nova Scotians have invested in this initiative. And when you log on to record your progress, you deserve better than a cold error message.

Every day we reach our goals is a small triumph, and another step on the road to making Nova Scotia a walker's province. So for now, jot your steps down with pen and paper, take the opportunity to put a gold star beside your best day(s), and keep checking the website for updates. When the site is restored, we can rejoin our virtual walking groups online, enter several days' worth of steps logged, watch our collective progress numbers jump, and remember that we're part of a provincial movement.


And... does anyone know a reliable website hosting company? Apparently "99.9% uptime" is not reliable enough!

Nov 4, 2009

Walk around the River



Monday was a great fall day. Lots of sunshine, crisp temperature, and a great place to go. I was on my way to Walk around the River in River Bourgeois. The group meets Monday and Wednesday mornings at 10 am at 102 South side river and chooses the direction in which to walk. We went left,right and then returned. It,as you can see in the picture above,was a beautiful walk with a view many people only wish they could see. (We actually met a professional Photographer out for a few shots.)

On this day, we were 4 generations of women,but men are also welcome and encouraged,ages ranged from 40's to 70's,some used Nordic Walking poles and some did not,and there was lots to talk about. I even learned one of my neighbours hailed from that area.

Since it is November , information about the Veterans group showed an amazing coincidence.The area from Holland where one of our group was born had been liberated by several members of the River Bourgeois Veterans group. It is a small world.

And Walking takes you all over it, even if you only go 3-4 Kilometers !