Month: December 2010

Posted on

Lasagna and a Guitar

Christmas lasagna and a new guitar; I’m not sure there is much more I could ask for today.

For the last few years I have been half-joking, half-seriously offering or suggesting lasagna for Christmas. I’m not talking about just any lasagna; I’m talking about my Cheesy Mushroom Meat Lasagna. This year I am happy to write we just finished having it for dinner.

I hadn’t made my lasagna in what seemed like forever so I was a bit out of sync in the kitchen but everything came together quite well. As the lasagna was browning, I prepared the Caesar salad; and, as the lasagna was cooling, I finished the garlic loaf. I’m about to go brew a nice after dinner coffee and enjoy a homemade cupcake my daughter made last night … fruitcake is on the menu for later tonight!

Also, later tonight, I will pick up my new guitar and play for another hour or two. My wife, Terri, went to great lengths to get this gift for me. It was a well kept secret until our family Christmas last night at my son and daughter-in-law’s home. I’ve been interested in playing the guitar for some time although I would have never purposely went out and bought one for myself … I’m glad my wife bought one for me. I’ve even been taking song requests for next Christmas. It’s a great feeling to look forward to Christmas again.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family, and my readers, too!

… and a special thank you to my wife, for giving me the gift of Christmas spirit.

Posted on

WordPress 3.1 beta2

Are we there yet? Almost.

Although reportedly three weeks behind schedule I am confident in updating to the lastest beta version of WordPress 3.1 (as of a few minutes ago).

Also to note, as much as I prefer the HTML tag of the editor, this post was written in theVisual tab to make use of one of the newest features allowing for easier internal linking to previously written content. So, if you are interested in upgrading to the latest beta as well, have a read of my earlier post here.

Posted on

Why Free Plugins

I write plugins for many reasons. Sometimes there is a need; sometimes it’s a Mallory-Everest exercise but every time it is with the full intention of releasing the plugin to the WordPress Extend repository. Currently I have eight plugins freely available and hosted at WordPress, and one more (which is a minor modification of another author’s plugin) hosted at BuyNowShop.com.

Although my schedule has been filled with my WordPress Theme Review Team activities of late, I still make every effort to maintain the plugins in the repository at a “current” level relevant to the current stable release of WordPress itself. I also make every effort to insure the plugins are relatively future-proof so I do not have to drop everything to update them with each new release.

I also work with feedback from end-users to add additional functionality as well. If I feel the new functionality would have widespread appeal then I add it to the plugin’s TO-DO list; if it seems unique or what I expect to be a rarely implemented idea I will suggest the end-user attempt to modify the plugin (sometimes with the necessary code changes as well); or, I may offer to make the modifications for a fee. This of course is also dependent on the end-user’s request and where they want to implement the plugin … I have been known to provide my services pro-bono if the cause is right.

I have received some donations related to my works, both themes and plugins, and I find it to be a great reward. I don’t look at the monetary value; I look at it as a reward of recognition. A donation tells me someone liked one of my plugins (or themes) well enough to express their gratitude with their hard-earned money. A simple thank-you comment or email is great, but I recognize and appreciate the extra efforts it takes to give monies, or other gifts, too.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that have made donations, both to myself and to all the other designers and developers that keep the lifeblood of WordPress flowing.

Posted on

WordPress 3.1-beta

I usually start much earlier in the beta releases; and, I usually do this at BuyNowShop.com but I decided to step up to the current “nightly build” of WordPress here today as it generally only take a few moments to upgrade from the current stable release.

It’s a very simple process:

  1. Open the /wp-includes/version.php file in core to edit.*
  2. Change line 11 to: $wp_version = '3.1-beta';
  3. Go to your Administration Panel of your WordPress installation.
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the “stay updated” link in the bottom-right corner. (Refresh the page if the link is not there.)

That’s it, your done! Congratulations, you are now beta testing!

*N.B.: This is one of the very few and extremely rare instances where I would ever suggest editing a core WordPress file. I do not recommend this for anyone that is not familiar with how to make a correct back-up of their installation; and, how to re-install WordPress if the world falls in on their heads.