There has been a subtle change to the website. I leaned how to setup multiple virtual hosts in Apache Httpd that has allows me to separate out the website without disturbing how viewers see the site. With this change, the weather station website has moved to the new address http://weather.dallasdawg.com. All links on this website and related weather sites have been updated to reflect this change.
This now lets me manage the WordPress portion of the website and the weather station website as individual sites in different directory locations versus them both being stuffed into one directory.
Unbeknownst to me, on our last trip to Lake Lavon, Nancy decided to take video of me actually fishing. Have to say, I was impressed with the smoothness of my casts. I always comment on how smooth the pros are and how they make it look so easy…nice to know I can look that way too. Anyway, enjoy!
We had another fun day on Lake Lavon. Sunday April 22, 2012…..Earth Day was spent fishing and enjoying the beautiful day. We have a video up on YouTube of us in our boat running around the lake.
Spent this evening upgrading the operating system of my webserver. Upgraded from Ubuntu Server 10.04 LTS to Ubuntu Server 12.04 LTS Beta 2. I had some free time today and thought it would be good to go ahead and make the move even though 12.04 is still in Beta. It will be in full release by the end of the month and will be a simple upgrade to get the machine up to the final version. The reason for the change is that with the release of 12.04 LTS, 10.04 LTS will soon be obsoleted and no longer supported.
With the upgrade of the OS also comes upgrades to many of the base software packages used for this website including Apache Web Server, PHP, Python, MySQL, Squid, and OpenSSH.
So far, the transition has been smooth with just a few bumps here and there with some configuration files.
UPDATE: Now running the released version of Ubuntu Linux 12.04 LTS. Over the weekend of 4/21/12, the final package upgrades were put on the repositories and as of 4/22/12, I am running the full release.
After an extremely dry 2011, 2012 has started off with a pleasant surprise…lots of rain. Predictors were for more drought for this area. Fortunately, it is not to be. Through the first four months of 2012, we are at 80% of the total rain fall in all of 2011. This has allowed for the easing of water restrictions from the City of Plano. We are now able to water once a week instead of once every two weeks. However, with all the rainfall thus far, I have yet to turn our sprinkler system on. Another good from all this is water levels at local area lakes. Lake Lavon, my main fishing lake, is one foot above normal pool. This is the first time in three years that Lavon has been full. This means healthy water levels through the summer.
We spent a beautiful and sun drenched March 24, 2012 on Lake Lavon. After fishing and just before calling it a day, we decided to take a ride to give the outboard a good long run after sitting up all winter. We took a little video during that run. Here it is.
Recently, I was invited to to do an overnight crappie trip to Caddo Lake. Caddo is located on the TX/LA border northwest of Shreveport. It is a very unique lake. It is the only natural lake in Texas, and it looks like no other. Loaded with cypress trees with moss and backwater slews, the lake is very picturesque…and very easy to get lost on. It was good to go to the lake for the first time with someone who really knows the lake. I went with my friend Don, a big time crappie fisherman. We fished Saturday afternoon to dark and Sunday morning to noon. Although we did not do as well as we hoped, we had a great time, and I got to see a new lake. See pics here in the gallery.
Here’s a pic of a nice 15 inch crappie I caught on Saturday.
I also have a video on YouTube of a few of our runs on the lake.
Well, it is about that time. The days are getting longer. The temps are getting warmer. We are not far from the start of the spring fishing season. Recent rains have put some water back in the lakes…opening ramps back up for use. I am very excited about this season. With a new tow vehicle, boat cleaned up and ready, and tackle cleaned up and ready, it is time to start heading to the lakes.
After ten years, I decided it was time for a new vehicle. I traded in my 2001 Toyota Tacoma SR5 TRD 4WD for a new 2011 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD. I have had it a couple of weeks now, and I am totally blown away with the performance and comfort. This past weekend, we pulled the boat with it and had no troubles. In fact, the 4Runner pulls the boat better than the Tacoma did. Anyway, I decided on the 4Runner because the type of vehicle I need changed since purchasing the Tacoma. I still needed something to pull the boat, but I also needed a vehicle that had room for all my hunting amd shooting gear. I never liked the idea of putting all my stuff in the open bed…so, I always put it in the tiny Access Cab. After some time, I just did not like that arrangement. With the 4Runner, I can put all that in the back and it will be in a locked vehicle….much better piece of mind. And finally, I can carry the dog in the 4Runner. We are still working on a name for him (a family tradition). Pics can be seen in the gallery.
Again for January 2012, myself, my father, and two friends went to Kansas for a 3 day pheasant hunt. We left January 1 and returned January 5. This year was tougher than last. With the drought Kansas suffered for most of 2011, the pheasant population was significantly down. Fields where we saw hundreds of birds, we only saw a few. Needless to say, the bag count was also significantly down from last year. It was still a wonderful trip with great weather, food, and comradery. Any time spent outside from sun up to sun down is a great thing.
