I’ve been struggling to find something to use for the photos section of the site and may have finally found it. iPAP/SPAM is what I’m currently using, but a lot of the features I need/want are not implemented yet. Since it’s a one-man show, I don’t know when those features will be implemented. On the other hand, Mark has been working on a fork of WordPress to use strictly for photos. The latest version, called Pictorialis II: Framed looks awesome! Since it’s based on WP, I won’t have to learn much new code either. Check out the demo for yourself.
Tag: WordPress
It's Out!
You Might Be A WordPress Junkie If…
- You have more than 5 folders on your web space that begin with “wp-“. (There are only 4 included in the distribution, but I have 7.)
- You know that a post-slug is not an insect or a shotgun shell.
- You know what the WordPress Wiki is and where to find something in it.
- You check the WP CVS at least once a day for updated files.
- You know at least two of the developers by their domain name.
- You’ve written/modified a plugin or hack for WP
- You don’t know any Mullenweg’s, but you know a PhotoMatt.
- You know that b2 isn’t just the first two characters of a popular Hip Hop group.
- Your site is listed under “Strut your stuff” on the WP.
- You’ve talked someone into trying WP.
*Inspired by all of the recent commotion at WordPress.
WordPress Plugins
WordPress 1.2 is in final testing and the final release should be available sometime this week. There is a nice new plugin structure to replace the previous hacks functionality. As a result, I’ve ported some of my hacks over to plugins.
Everything has been moved over the to WordPress Plugin Repository. See my list of plugins.
I’d also like to welcome all of the new WP users that have migrated in the past few days due to Moveable Type changing their licensing.
Update: The Tabbed Sidebar instructions have been modified. I found a problem with the cookie code that is now fixed.
Time For A Design Change
It’s been over 6 months since I’ve been running my blog, which also means 6 months for the design. It’s time for a change! This design is getting old on my eyes and it has a few problems that have crept in recently. Most noticeable is the problem with the Google ads. They like to flash at the top of the page when the site is loading or when using the tabbed sidebar. I’m really not quite sure what the new design will be…hell, I don’t even have any cool ideas right now. I need a burst of creativity to hit before I get started, but I also want to get a new design as soon as possible. I’d set a goal for the end of the month, but I’m going to Sacramento for a week so that won’t work. I’ll say by June 14th a new design will be alive and kicking!
Speaking of new designs…my friend David Branson has become a WordPress user and will be working on a design of his own. Right now he’s using one of the stylesheets created for the WP community in place of boring default one. When you get a minute check out his site, Deacon Blue.
GMT vs. UTC
Recent updates to the way dates and times are stored in the MySQL database by WordPress are causing quite a stir at the Support Forums. When I ran a few upgrades the other day, the new code had a lot of bugs, so my site hit the shitter for a bit. Everything is running smooth again though after a few more updates.
WordPress had been storing dates and times according to the server time that your site ran on and now they’ve switched over to using GMT for everything. Both ways need an offset unless of course you live in the same time zone as your server or your time zone is GMT.
By using the server time, you first had to figure out where your server was located, which could be a real bitch since a lot of people have their sites setup through some sort of hosting company. After you found that out, you had to compute your offset from that time. If you ever moved your site to another server, you’d need to do that process again.
With GMT, all you need to do is figure your offset from GMT, no matter where your server is located. If you move your site to another server, find your offset from GMT again and change the setting.
I like GMT better!
Backup!
Never underestimate the importance of a backup! I ran some upgrades to WordPress and all of my dates and times got screwed. I didn’t panic, but I restored a backup of my database, upgraded again, and then re-added all of the missing posts and comments since the last backup.
If I would have backed up right before the upgrade (like I normally do) I would have saved a lot of time. Lesson learned…
This And That
Went out to an 80’s bar last night with a few friends and ended up staying until closing time. As a result I’m feeling a little “under the weather” today. The bar is pretty cool…they have a big screen TV that they play videos on while the song is playing, so you get the feeling that you’re back in the day, listening to some of the music we grew up on. They played some pretty good songs last night, but they also played a lot of garbage I had never heard of. The highlight of the night was when I asked a cutie for her number and got it. To tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ve ever asked for digits before. I also had another first last night…I’ve never tried to tie a cherry stem in a knot with my mouth, but did it on my first try.
Comment SPAM Protection
I just installed a hack by Mark (Laughing Lizard) on my site to filter comments. Believe it or not, there are people out there that will visit blogs and post comments advertising viagra or other such things. This hack is designed to help prevent this from happening. If an address or certain words are recognized, the comment will be marked and will not appear until I allow it too. So it adds a level of moderation, which should keep me protected. Most of you shouldn’t even notice this in action and your comments should go through right away. If they don’t, I’ll get to allowing them as soon as I can.
WordPress Hacks
I’ve created a page to explain how I do some of the hacks on my weblog. All of the hacks are modifications to hacks written by someone else. Just my way of giving back to the WP community.
Everything has been moved over the to WordPress Plugin Repository. See my list of plugins.
Nick Momrik 