Author: Edward Caissie

WordPress Support Technician, Developer, Designer; Chess Enthusiast; Photographer; Guitar player … I am Cais.
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The Internet Vote

Election Day is soon upon us; and, one of the key issues is the matter of Internet access and pricing policies of service providers.

OpenMedia.ca has been working hard to champion the cause of bringing this information to light so voters can make an informed decision with their next federal election vote. To that point, a letter to the Conservative Party representative in your local riding can be sent from their site. Here is the boilerplate text of the letter (please note you are able to change this at their site):

The Conservative Party of Canada is the one party that has not responded to the Digital Future Survey put out by OpenMedia.ca. Canadians want to learn more about where all the parties stand on rising Internet fees. By refusing to answer us, you are leaving voters in the dark.

When your party stood up against the pay meter on our Internet this winter I thought you were on our side. In flippantly dismissing the Digital Future Survey, the Conservatives are giving the cold shoulder not only to the half-a-million Canadians who signed the Stop The Meter petition, but to all voters concerned with Canada’s digital future. Please put pressure on your party leaders to respond to citizens, and clarify the Conservative vision for Canada’s digital future.

Your party’s positions (or lack thereof) on key Internet issues will help guide my voting decision.

Right now you have a unique opportunity to let voters know where you stand, and I want to hear from you.

I want to know that, if elected, you will stop the pay meter on our Internet and work to increase Internet access, competition, transparency, and choice. And I want to know how.

Please become a pro-Internet candidate, and ask your party to let citizens in on the Conservative plan for Canada’s digital future.

Vote Responsibly!

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The Ballonist

This is just a little something I found in my inbox earlier this week. Please note this is not exactly family friendly so it requires an extra click to read:

To see the Balloonist click here.To hide the Balloonist click here.
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted: ‘Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don’t know where I am …’

The man below replied, ‘You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.’

‘You must be an Engineer,’ said the balloonist.

‘I am,’ replied the man, ‘how did you know?’

‘Well,’ answered the balloonist, ‘everything you have told me is probably technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip by your talk.’

The man below responded, ‘You must be in Management.’

‘I am,’ replied the balloonist, ‘but how did you know?’

‘Well,’ said the man, ‘you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fucking fault.’

PS: This may just be another excuse for me to use my BNS Inline Asides plugin; but, it is also yet another example of what it can be used for.

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< 140

… or in other words: About Me.

Just thought I would add a little blurb in the sidebar under the title of < 140. Of course this is borrowed heavily from the Twitter concept of 140 characters or less messages, but it does provide a method to create a concise description of oneself. The real challenge for some will be insuring the < 140 About Me message is a proper sentence using complete words and/or accepted acronyms; and, with proper punctuation. Here is mine:

WordPress junkie and blogger; aka Cais, a maker of fine Themes and Plugins.

This also happens to be my Twitter Profile which I have been using for quite some time; and, I generally use this when introducing myself, especially in an “around-the-table” setting. What is your < 140 ?

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Cinnamon Pastry

Hmmm … just like drinking a lightly-glazed cinnamon roll.

That was my very first thought when I tried the Cinnamon Pastry blend of coffee from Timothy’s for a Keurig single-serve brewer. This is one of my favorite flavors and my recommendation for today. This is especially nice on any morning when you simply want to savor a sweet pastry but are not awake enough to do more than make yourself a coffee.

Enjoy!

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Sugar Bush Maple

Today’s coffee flavor … and the first post in a new category on the web site.

In October we purchased a Cuisinart Brewing System and have been very  happy with it; although, every so often it does not brew the drink the first time through its cycle?!

Now, back to the coffee … Sugar Bush Maple! As you would expect the coffee has a maple flavor to it, but let’s not stop there. Imagine, if you will, a mild sweetness reminiscent of brown-sugar based home-made “maple” fudge and now you are enjoying the taste sensation of this “new” blend of coffee from Timothy’s.

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Digital Darkness Day

Yesterday was our 17th wedding anniversary and as requested I spent the entire day away from my computers, and did not use my iPhone … no emails, no web surfing, no phone calls. It was quite peaceful and I thank my wife for the request and quite honestly look forward to making this an annual event.

Of course, this was made much easier by considering the day as a holiday, but also as a last-minute decision it was greatly appreciated by my family, friends, and colleagues to honor our choice, too.

So, I would like to propose that March 25 be set aside as Digital Darkness Day when you take the time to turn off your smart-phones, your computers, and any other devices. Take a quality day for you, your family, and your friends; and, if March 25 is not the best day for you then choose a day that is … but most of all, enjoy!

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Add WordPress Required Version and Tested Up To Version

I just made my second submission to the WordPress Core Trac with the summary above. Here is a link to the new ticket #16868 … and here is the description:

The premise of this idea is for Theme authors to be able to add a reference to the version of WordPress their Theme requires to work correctly; and, the version of WordPress the Theme has been tested up to. This idea comes from the the plugin readme.txt file and some of the data that is expected to be found there.

Once implemented, further enhancements to the Appearance tab in the Administration Panels can be added to better inform end-users on the compatibility of the Theme with their current WordPress installation.

This is essentially an extension of my previously submitted ticket #16395 to “Add ‘Template Version’ for use with ‘Template’ in Child-Themes” I wrote about here.

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PIE Day 2011

Today is March 14 and to some it is a day to celebrate the mathematical symbol π, and so we have Pi Day! Here is a bit more infomation about the day:

March 14 was chosen since the numerical month/day (3/14) format of the date represents a very close approximation of the value of pi: 3.14.

Interestingly enough March 14, 2011 could also be considered IE day, as in the the long awaited release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9.

You will be able to download the latest version of IE later today from at least one of these two sites:

I would say either is a great reason to celebrate the middle of March by either eating a great fruit pie; or, upgrading a much maligned browser to a much more current and standards compliant form.

So raise a slice to PIE (Pi + IE) Day … and enjoy!

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Moving Things Along

Although in many cases, following instructions is a rather straight forward and almost mundane expectation; it can be believed by some you will need to have them read to you, and explained, as if they were written in a language you neither use nor understand. In cases such as these, simply agree to the premise …

… sometimes you need to pander to the bureaucracy of a situation in order to expedite it.

This is not to say the reasoning behind stating these instructions and the requirement to follow them is not without merit. It is simply to say the discussion may reach a point where no matter how well explained the relevance to the task at hand becomes moot.