Behind the Curtains

One of the great expectations when looking behind the curtains is to find a well oiled machine flawlessly producing faith, hope, and understanding. One does not expect to find a broken down disarray of disconnected thoughts and ideas where even the most basic building blocks are skewed and uneven.

Welcome to a meeting I just recently attended. Who and what are really not that relevant but the whole idea of preparedness and cohesion with an organizing committee is one that carries a great deal of weight when putting it behind an ideal plan.

When inviting clients to have a look around: the machine, at least, should be assembled if has not already been test run properly.

The product should be what the consumer is expecting as well. An offering of a similar but unrelated product does not necessarily provide an appropriate return on investment or make for a great user experience; it often creates a glut of unwanted goods and services that could be potentially damaging in the long run.

Burning the midnight oil and challenging your market with a new spin on a tried and true idea can produce unexpected gains; but, you must have a firm understanding of your target audience; their wants; and, their needs for the gamble to pay off.

Being Prepared

Maybe it’s the Boy Scout in me remembering that well known motto, “Be Prepared”; or, maybe I’m wanting to make sure the job gets done right the first time … either way, this thought came to mind while I was responding to a recent inquiry:

Caution in mystery is safety in history.

A simple little axiom to remember, but sometimes simple is best, too.

Writer’s Block

Just under the surface I know there is an idea just wanting to break out onto this digital page. There’s been an itch lately to write but it seems there is a block of sorts that is slowing down the whole process.

The nebulous thoughts in my mind are just shy of forming an idea to put into words.

Liberality

What a great word! I had to look it up:

… the trait of being generous in behavior and temperament.
The Free Online Dictionary

Why would I look up this word? Well, as some may know, I like reading quotes and to get my daily fill I recieve quotes from the book “Many Thoughts of Many Minds” via the services provided at DailyLit.com

This is the quote that inspired today’s post:

If you are poor, distinguish yourself by your virtues; if rich, by your good deeds.
Joseph Joubert

Submitted My First Patch

There has been some recent discussions on the Make.WordPress.org/Themes site dealing with the inclusion of Child-Themes in the WordPress.org Extend Theme repository.

Amongst the suggestions and discussion is the idea of adding a Template Version to reference the version of the Parent-Theme for which the Child-Theme has been confirmed to work with by its author.

This struck me as an opportunity to have a look in core to see if this was being addressed; or, if I could offer a patch to address the idea. Several searches under various different criteria for this idea yielded no results … I didn’t expect any.

So, I proceeded to write and submit the patch. You can read the Trac ticket here: #16395

I believe this will be a useful piece of information that can be added to the style.css header block, if accepted.

Now it’s just a matter of time … what are your thoughts? Feel free to add them here for my patch idea; or, join the discussions on the “Make” site.

Make.WordPress.org/Themes

Modern Comments

Discuss.

Seriously?! Maybe I’m being a bit sensitive, but every time I see that demand … directive … self-agrandizing command? I cannot help but think the writer must feel they have just written their magnum opus and it is to be considered a requirement for every one of their readers to respond to; and yet, in most cases, it really is something a lot more run o’ the mill.

This is not to say I would dismiss the idea or ignore the content out of hand, but I honestly do not see this approach as one of the best to garner input … maybe it’s just me. What do you think?

PS: The original title was “Modern Day Rudeness” but that seemed a bit harsh and was changed before publishing this post.

Google Wishes You a Happy Birthday

Although it was actually a day early according to my calendar, it was still a nice surprise to see the Happy Birthday image when I arrived at the Google home page.

It’s just a little something from Google that happens if your profile has your birthday information. I had read this earlier in the week from one of the fine folk I follow on twitter and had not really thought much of it … but there it is: Google wishing me a (early) Happy Birthday!

Where Do You Write?

Maybe the question should be: where do you write?

I’m writing about two different ideas of “where”. The place where you publish your writings; and, the place where the creative juices flow and you actually put digital pen to electronic paper.

Personally I find that sometimes it is a bit overwhelming to have multiple sites to write for. I have three major domains of my own that I write content for; and, I have often and still do consider writing guest posts for a few other sites. This is content writing I am referring to, not some quick blurb of an aside or status update. Those types of posts would add another two or three sites I write for if taken into consideration. This creates a bit of a push-me-pull-you effect when the post idea has a cross-over potential between sites. I believe one should not just simply copy and paste the same content from one site to another creating the dilemma of: where do I write?!

One of the great beauties of writing here is my thoughts can meander around and really just accomplish more or less not too much at all; but, how often can you realistically reference a Pushmi-Pullyu and have it be relevant?! Give it a try sometime, it really can be quite liberating. (This paragraph is also one of the primary reasons I have been developing a new and interesting plugin … more to follow elsewhere.)

The other where of this topic is perhaps what sparked my writing today. Where do I write? I write wherever I can find a space to write my thoughts down. My home office, my work place, the subway, a laundromat, a coffee shop, a park … just about anywhere is the answer; but, I also find the physical where has a dramatic affect on the digital where.

… and as for the question of when do you write; that will be a topic for another time. Enjoy!

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.

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.