You are probably wondering why this post didn’t come out at 12:01 PM, on the nose. The reason is simple, my website broke overnight. It didn’t exactly break, but it stopped being able to produce new information.

The Photography 139 is build on love, passion, photography, God, and support for all oppressed classes. But it is also built on a MySQL database. Problem is that the data structure for the MySQL database is allegedly limited to 100 MB. However, the Photography 139 database hit 150 MB last night. Apparently I got away with an extra 50 MB of data before I got shut down.

That meant, I had to export the data from the existing database. Create a new database. Import the data into the new database. Then point the website to the new database. All of that might have been pretty simple, except for the import the data part was a disaster. It was tons and tons of reading help forums, trying to find the answer. You picked a fine time to leave me Webmaster Vest!

However, I survived the process and the website seems to be fully functional again. I guess we’ll find out in the next day or so.

And that, is that!

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This week just barely made it to double digit submissions. Barely. 35 straight weeks and a sigh. I’m sad that so few of you have FRIENDS. I would offer my friendship services, but you know global pandemic that is being horribly mismanaged and the fact that I am the True Lone Wolf.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Andy Sharp

Becky Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

SIGNS

SIGNS! What a great theme! An easy theme! While very few of us have friends, everybody has access to SIGNS! A SIGNS photo is simply a photo of a SIGN(S). Any kind of SIGNS.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very friendly Monday!