Tag: Ideas

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The Power of a Punctuated Yet

Adding “yet” to a statement can create potential. Just think of what you can accomplish by adding this word (with a comma) to a simple statement. You might also notice doing so will often change a negative into a positive. For example:

I am not a guitar virtuoso, yet.

Let’s try one with an exclamation mark:

You have never seen an Easter Rat, yet!

Now, let’s really punch it up and add an ellipsis (…) to the mix:

WordPress does not run every website … yet!

Aside from the little bit of whimsy above, what examples can you think of to generate great positive potential with a little word and a bit of punctuation?

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WordPress 3.2-beta1

I saw the wpdevel announcement in my email this morning and also in the news block in the Administration Panels of the sites I check every morning.; and, as per my usual routine, I jumped right into upgrading to this latest nightly version.

Here is an excerpt from the official post on dot-org announcing this release:

It seems like just yesterday that we released WordPress 3.1, but it’s actually been almost three months. We’ve spent that time putting together a new release focused on performance improvements, and are ready for our first beta testers!

As always, this is software still in development and we don’t recommend that you run it on a production site — set up a test site just to play with the new version. If you break it (find a bug), please report it, and if you’re a developer, try to help us fix it.

One of the big items in WordPress 3.2 is the “fullscreen” editor for writing posts and pages … and I have to admit that I was not really expecting to make use of it, but as I write this post as a trial-run I am quite impressed! Kudos to the developers on this new feature. It may take some getting used to but I think it has a great deal of potential.

If you would like to update your WordPress self-hosted web site to the latest nightly build and help out with the testing, or simply just have some fun with the new features, please take a moment to read the article I wrote here for reference.

To make this specific to this latest version you will have to make a small modification to the the process, it’s very simple:

  1. Open the /wp-includes/version.php file in core to edit.*
  2. Change (~ line 25) $wp_version = '3.2-alpha';
  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.)

Enjoy!

To see the Nota Bene click here.Nota Bene
* 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.
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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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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
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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.