Perform update and upgrade to the current Droplet.

List all the installed PHP version:

ls /etc/php/

The latest version should appear on the list.

7.4 8.0 8.1 8.2

If PHP 8.2 doesn’t exist, install it. If 8.2 exists, disable 8.0:

sudo a2dismod php8.0

If the error message (ERROR: Module php8.0 does not exist!) occurred, install:

sudo apt install libapache2-mod-php8.0

Enable version 8.2:

sudo a2enmod php8.2

If the error message (ERROR: Module php8.2 does not exist!) occurred, install:

sudo apt install libapache2-mod-php8.2

Restart Apache:

sudo service apache2 restart

If WordPress throws PHP MySQLi Extension error, install:

apt install php8.2-mysql

Restart Apache:

sudo service apache2 restart

Check WordPress’s Site Health. If the optional imagick module occurred, install:

sudo apt install php-imagick

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl reload apache2

I woke up with a bit of a migraine. I was not sure if the culprit were the beer from last night, the falling incident at the skatepark, the lack of sleep, or the combination of all of them. Still, I woke up early to take Ðạo to school.

Then I met up with Xuân’s teachers for the parent conference. I was in shock to learn that he had been struggling academically. He doesn’t understand Spanish at all. Even though I was surprised, I was not mad at him. With Đạo and Đán, I didn’t see any value in learning Spanish, especially when neither my wife and I know the language. I would rather they focus on English. If they had to study another language, why not Vietnamese?

Xuân is also struggling with math, writing, and reading. He is having a hard time staying focused. He is easily distracted. He scored low his reading assessment.

I felt so guilty. I assumed he had been doing good. His behavior had been much better this year; therefore, I hadn’t heard anything from his teachers. While his social skills had improved, his learning had not.

After the meeting, my migraine dialed up a knot. Had going to the skatepark taken away his school work? I need to spent more time helping with his schoolwork.

I took my sister and her daughter to the Great Fall Park. The weather was beautiful. The scenes were stunning, but I couldn’t get Xuân off my mind.

By the time we got back home, my migraine kicked in. I had to pop in an Aleve and went for a late nap. I slept for a bit and my migraine had subsided.

Somehow I stopped following Rakim after The 18^th Letter in 1997. It was an impressive comeback as a soloist because Rakim “ain’t down with Eric B. no more.” I didn’t know Rakim dropped The Master in 1999. The typography on the cover is horrendous, but the album is a classic. Rakim was truly the master of his craft and he was at his best when he rapped about his rapping techniques: “Flow Forever,” “When I B on tha Mic,” and “All Night Long.” I didn’t mind him busted his rhymes for the ladies on “Finest Ones,” but the moaning sample is just weird and irritating. I discovered this album 24 years later, but better late than never.

Xuân asked me to take him to Wakefield this the evening. Of course I complied. He had been making progress on his scooter. He dropped in from the eight-foot ramp. He rode around the bowl. He hopped over the spines on the quarter pipes. Watching him flying over the ramps was just so satisfying. I hoped he continued to love the skatepark.

I did my usual routines such as riding in the bowl and hopping out of the bowl. I rode around the quarter pipes and did a bit of jumping and backward skating. I also dropped in from the eight-foot ramp. Things went fine until I decided to drop from the eight-foot ramp before heading home. I had to drop in from the bowl area so I could get the speed to get by ass on the eight-foot ramp. The bowl is about 5-foot high and I dropped in plenty of time. Unfortunately I was being careless and my left foot slipped out of the coping. I fell on my butt and hit my head. Thanks to the helmet for saving my head once again. It was a hard hit.

My head seems to be OK for now, but my butt is in pain. I am heading to bed and rest. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Reading Vietnamese children folk tales reminds me of my childhood in Việt Nam. My personal favorites included Lưu Bình-Dương Lễ and Sơn Tinh-Thủy Tinh. I was glad to see these stories translated into English. I created this sample page hoping my kids will read these folk tales to learn about their root. I selected Skolar and Skolar Sans, by Rosetta Type, for the reading text. I chose Nickel Gothic for the cover title and Map Roman for the story titles. Both typefaces designed by David Jonathan Ross. Check out Cổ tích nhi đồng.

For many months, Xuân wanted to drop in from the eight-foot ramp at Wakefield. Every time he stepped on the coping with his scooter, he backed down. He didn’t want to bust his chin for the third times. He kept asking me if he should do it. I told him that I had no doubt that he could do it, but I didn’t want to put the pressure on him.

My issue was that I couldn’t get myself on the ramp to see how steep the ramp was until a couple of days ago. When he saw me dropping in with my aggressive skates, he was motivated to do the same on his scooter. We talked some more and I assured him that he shouldn’t have too feel any pressure. He could do it when he was ready. As a father, I was conflicted. I wanted him to go for it, but I also didn’t want him to get hurt.

Even though I assured him that he shouldn’t do it until he was ready, he said he was ready. As he stood on the ramp, I prayed my mother to keep him safe. I didn’t want to spend another night in emergency room while my wife was out of town. He went for it and aced it. I could see the joy on his face as he overcame his fear.

Why the hell are we getting into this aggressive sport? It has to be the thrill of overcoming our fear.

Today marks my 12^th year working at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Twelve years at the same job is a long time, especially in the web industry. I worked under three different deans. I had a great run with my previous supervisor for a decade. She retired last year. I miss her terribly.

My title as Director of Design and Web Services remains the same, but my role has changed drastically. I am moving away from hands-on design and development and taking on more providing direction. I don’t mind directing at all since I still do hands-on design and development on my own projects. I won’t lose my design and technical skills.

For the law school’s main website, the technical portions are being outsourced. We are throwing lots of money at outside vendors and the top is clueless; therefore, my responsibility is to make sure that the designs and developments are up to our standards. I offer my advice and expertise even if they aren’t taken.

As the main website becomes less of my responsibility, I am taking on a more prominent role on the network of Scalia Law Sites. I recognized the needs for a network of websites many years ago and I created the WordPress Multisite for the law community. In collaboration with the University’s ITS, my team supports and maintains almost 40 sites. The network is growing and we still have tons of work to do.

I don’t know what my future with the law school will be. I don’t want to think too far ahead. I no longer have the passion, but a job is a job. I don’t need the passion, the motivation, or the inspiration to do my job. I just need to put in my time and get out at the end of the day. Work is no longer on my mind after hours. I don’t let all the bureaucracies and incompetencies distract me. I balance my work and life. I enjoy the benefits I have earned in the past twelve years. I need to do what I need to do to support my family.

When Wakefield renovated its skatepark a year ago, I wanted to drop down from its highest half pipe. The only way to get on top of the ramp is to get enough speed to pump up. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to get my fat ass on top of the ramp until this evening. As expected, dropping down was not too scary since I had all the protective gears and a helmet. I overcame the challenge of climbing up. Now I can join Đạo and Đán for the thrill. I am a year behind them, but better late than never. Check out the clip.

Adrik Ivanov:

Greetings,

It is nice that accessibility is one of the things you take care of when designing your blog. I found your musings interesting as a Vietnamese from the “motherland.” I honestly don’t know what else to say more on the topic. Besides hoping that in the future, more website designers would take care in designing websites for disabled folks and people who browse the web using the terminal for whatever reason.

Warm regards,

Adrik

This email made my day.

The largest heating surface element on our Whirlpool’s stove burnt out. I followed this YouTube video to replace a new one. The process took about five minutes. The cleanup took almost an hour to get all the grease out of the entire exterior of the stove. The new heating element cost $110. The entire stove looks new again. The wife is happy; therefore, the life is also happy.