sacredloops.org

Finally. The last hurdles are leaped, the last bushes removed, the last cats skinned. Okay, that last one is a bit creepy. But the point is that the real work is done.

And along the way, I’ve learned some lessons.

1. It always takes longer than you think.

2. People are unreliable.

3. There are inordinately more consumers than creators.

4. Simpler is usually better.

I’ll be back on Friday with more news and a challenge of sorts. Take care!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. — Lao-tzu

I feel like we’ve take thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of steps in the last three months. Every day I inch a bit closer to the goal, and yet I feel like it continues to move further away. I’m disappointed that I missed my January 1st launch goal for the new features, and I’ve learned my lesson (the hard way) about relying on folks who mean well but aren’t capable of delivering.

But enough of the past. I’m much closer today than I was yesterday, and I’ll be even closer in a few days. The final elements are clicking together, and I’m excited and relieved to be getting ready to launch some aspects of the site. My “big bang” plan fell through, so now I’m concentrating on incremental additions.

And the first is content. So many of you have contacted me about when the content will be available (and it already is if you haven’t looked around). The more important question is when you’ll be able to contribute, and that’s the first aspect that will open up. I’m in the final stages of testing, so it’s right around the corner.

In preparation for that, you may seem some momentary lapses in site features. I’m moving some things around structurally to alleviate some organizational problems that have plagued the site from day one. So don’t panic if you suddenly aren’t able to see the front page. The existing content will be at the following link throughout the changeover:

http://www.sacredloops.org/content/

Eventually all this content will be loaded over into the new filing system, but for the time being it remains at the link above.

Just wanted to post this to ensure you that all is well and moving forward.

…have been greatly exaggerated.

When I was in college, my mother phoned me to say that she had been told of my death. Apparently someone in my high school graduating class had heard from someone else (who heard it from a friend and so on) that I had died. Somehow that rumor became fact to many because my entry in one of the high school alumni listings showed me as “Deceased”. After reassuring my mother that I felt fine, I tracked down the source of the rumor and corrected it.

It seems that rumors are flying around (thanks to some folks) that Sacred Loops is dying or is already dead. That was news to me, so I thought I’d post an update just to quell any consternation among the one or two of you that actually read this blog and/or utilize the site. We’re still here, and we’re still moving forward on multiple fronts. It’s just taking a lot longer than I had planned.

And here’s why.

When I decided last year to revamp the site and offer a bunch of new options and ideas, I turned to a trusted individual to handle the look and feel aspects and some of the other web-related activites. This was so I could focus on the content and strategic (yes, Virginia, there is a strategy) parts of the site. To make a long story short, I trusted someone who ultimately betrayed that trust and set me back quite a few weeks in both planning and execution. I’m not naming names, so don’t ask. Suffice it to say that I’ve learned my lesson (again) about relying on the commitments of others. As my father always said, “Trust, but verify”.

I’ve said it numerous times, but I do feel like we’re almost home in terms of getting the changes in place. The majority of the issues remaining are not technical in nature, but the simple fact is that I had to step in and address the technical and site implementation issues before I could return to the planning and strategy. Call me crazy, but I want everything to be great before changing it over.

If you have specific questions, feel free to email me at kent (dot) kingery (at) sacredloops (dot) org, and I’ll try to answer any questions I can. Be prepared for me to say “It’s none of your business.” if you ask questions that I think are, well, none of your business. I appreciate all who have offered to help (and I’ve taken a few of you up on specific things), and rest assured this site has not been abandoned. More importantly, what this site represents to me and others is still the same as it was when I took it over from Dan.

So, there it is. We’re still here, and we’re still kicking. There’s still content available, and very soon I’ll turn on the beta version of the content management pages so you can upload and search and so forth. Then I’ll concentrate on the education portions and some other interesting ideas.

If you haven’t taken the time to fill out our short survey, why not do that now? The information will help us in a number of ways, not the least of which is understanding our audience at a basic level. Here’s the link for those that missed it:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yAvC0H2vQVihRnweURQoZg_3d_3d

Thanks again for your support, faithful readers (and downloaders and other fans). Have faith.

…the behinder I get. I saw that on a plaque in someone’s office a long time ago, and I think it applies to me pretty much these days. I took some time off at Christmas (first vacation in a long time), hoping to get a lot of work done here. And I did. Probably too much work.

But I’m finally getting everything straightened out again. Videos encoded? Check. Site structure repaired (after disastrous attempt at moving stuff around)? Yup. Content management system in place for files? Final testing, boss!

Just a bit more and we’re there. Hang on…

Kent

I finally got the old content restored from a backup (long story behind that) and have the site back up and running in its old form. I’m doing some final testing on the now-severed content pages and hope to have those up this evening.

2009 is starting off with a whimper rather than a bang…

Kent

Well, it turns out that my new Wordpress theme is part of the problem (not sure why since I’m not really a Wordpress guy). I’m still working on it and will probably forgo the new Wordpress theme in favor of getting the content system online instead. I need to separate the content pages from Wordpress now, but I should have it online today.

Nothing like a big build-up and then a system flaw to ring in the New Year… Sheesh!

Kent

Okay, I admit it. I broke the site. Well, to be fair, I broke the new site. In my zeal to get everything squared away by this morning, I made some changes that apparently threw the server for a loop. And I managed to “booger up” (a term my daughter uses to mean “really messed up”) the file permissions and some PHP scripts.

Please bear with me while I get everything sorted out today. Sorry for the delay…

Kent

We’re almost there. I’m doing some final testing of the new file management system and should be ready to post that online tomorrow. I’m also working with my graphic designer on some last-minute changes to the WordPress theme set which should also be in place.

And tomorrow I’ll have a long post about where we’re headed with the site. So, come back later in the day on New Year’s Day for all the scoop.

Have a great New Year’s Eve!

Kent

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you that frequent this site and have worked to make Sacred Loops what it is (and soon will be). Your devotion, sharing, and interest have given me renewed energy, hope, and vision for the future.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

This morning I realized that we’re a little less than 10 days away from launching the new Sacred Loops. I’m pretty excited but also starting to feel the pressure of having everything ready. Between the redesigned loop/sequence/patch management system and the updated site appearance, it’s been a busy last few weeks.

I’ve also been spending quite a bit of time thinking about the Sacred Loops “brand” and the process that has gotten us to this point. I’ll talk more about that in a future post, but the upshot is that Dan Lukas (aka Frugalpole for some of you) has provided a legacy that I’m working very hard to live up to. Admittedly the site has been fallow over the last year or so, but that’s all about to change.

In looking over the web logs, Sacred Loops still by and large is a place where people come for worship loop-related content. And that’s a good start. But I’m hoping the site will be much more than that. I’ve already talked about Sacred Loops TV in another post, and I’ll simply tease you with this term: Sacred Loops University. No details yet, but the name should conjure up for you the intent.

For the next couple of days, I’m trying to grab some much-needed sleep and spend some time with my kids while they are out of school. After that, it’s full-on until January 1st. Hang on!