practicing habitual skills
Reach out before the hand of need is extended to look back and see the outstretched hands of support.
There is no need to wait for someone to ask for help before offering it. Sometimes its just a simple gesture or small kindness but that is often all it takes to give a person the encouragement to continue. If you give of yourself freely, you may be rewarded in kind. If you find yourself in need, look to those you have helped before and see them in turn reaching out to give you aid.
Traveling home on the TTC Subway after the latest gathering of the WPToronto Meetup group, I am putting some thoughts into the next Meetup currently scheduled for Sept. 18, 2010.
The turnout was quite good with a peak attendance of 15 people. This was another summer workshop session with no agenda or scheduled topics for discussion.
Once again there were many new faces and several returning members as well. We solved some issues, shed light on others, and added insights to ideas being formulated … or in others words a very successful Meetup in my opinion.
Although the concept of more than one monthly meeting is still left up in the air and we did not sort out a major speaker or idea to have for the September Meetup, I believe the group in general would benefit from short presentations on a regular basis.
Andy McIlwain put forward the idea of discussing how to generate content for a blog taking into consideration the general audience that would be visiting and reading it.
I am suggesting as a possible follow-up presentation of what can done afterward, such as using plugins to measure the traffic being generated by what content.
Alex Frakking suggested the premise of a short introduction period followed by some social interactions and then the presentations would be a good general agenda.
I have often used Hillary-Everest as a term for describing an idea that may or may not have any redeeming quality or usefulness. After a bit of research, I have found I mistakenly coined the term based on George Mallory‘s famous quote:
Because it’s there.
… although this quote by Sir Edmund Hillary would still support my term:
Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.
I use Hillary-Everest to describe ideas that are more proof of concept than a requirement and I may still use it out of habit; but, it seems a Mallory-Everest idea may be just as, or possibly more, descriptive.
Which would you use?
Sometimes the best intentions are overridden by better intentions. I am not one to practice “retail therapy” but my wife can present a convincing argument when she wants to. I set my work schedule aside to spend some quality time with my wife … and spend some money, too.
It was a very long week and stress levels were building so we, or better said she, decided to get ourselves ready and after some additional online research we headed out to get her a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet to be used in her new theme creation venture. We’ve been looking at these tablets for a while and the large model seemed the best fit.
I also registered a couple of new domain names that may be used for these ideas:
My wife also insisted I get a new monitor as I have not been overly happy with the one I’ve had for some time now. It required too many video setting adjustments when I am truly a proponent of the plug-n-play models of hardware. We looked at a few models and chose the NEC MultiSync EA231WMi Even though I was not happy with my Acer AL2016W, I did add it as a second monitor for my desktop PC.
I may not have accomplished as much work as I wanted to get done yesterday and I admit to being a willing participant; but, we did accomplish something of great value: inspirational stress relief via retail therapy.
We can agree to disagree … No! That’s simply avoidance, nothing more. It’s not a resolution by any means. It’s simply an acknowledgment of one’s inability, or lack of desire, to find a compromise for the issue at hand.
Be it a debate, an argument, or a heated exchange; one of the easiest methods of reaching a peaceful conclusion is the willingness to find a middle ground. In some cases the middle may be heavily skewed to one side but every party involved will gain a certain satisfaction if they have received even a modicum of a concession to their point.
Finding your middle ground and being able to share it will always gain you ground in the end.
… then what?
Creativity needs to feed on an energy found in the soul and at times sustained by a sheer force of will if by nothing else at all.
I am a writer! A statement; a point of fact; or, a mantra for myself.
How often do I look at a blank screen and ponder various thoughts and ideas doing my utmost to fulfill a long ago post referring to a digital philosopher. A post I just now remember writing shortly after I opened this site.
I write for the pleasure of simply writing; and, to share my thoughts. They may be rambled or reasoned, and I appreciate my readers and look forward to your continued visits.
Enjoy!
PS: The title of this post is borrowed from the current version of the WordPress iPhone application. Thanks!
A fair assessment of multiple similar items can only be made if all are measured by the same benchmarks beginning with a neutral or nonexistent predisposed opinion.
As a WordPress Theme reviewer I make every effort to stay within a near blinder-like focus of the themes I am looking at. I mostly start with the technical issues relating to theme development then I move on to basic functionality. The criteria of one or both of these are generally the reason a theme is not accepted.
The acceptance of the overall design of the theme will be decided by the end-users which leads to the last major criteria I review with: theme aesthetics.
This is also where I see a fudge factor can be introduced. If a theme is very well laid out, pleasing to look at, and easy to use I may consider overlooking minor technical issues with a theme if there are only a few.
If I accept a theme after finding minor technical issues that are outweighed by the theme’s design merits I make a point of advising the theme author those technical issues should be addressed within the next update of the theme … which is expected to be within a very short but reasonable time-frame.
Recently I posed a question to twitter asking for suggestions on what Mind Map software to try as I am interested in what it can do or be used for. This is what I asked, “I’m thinking about trying Mind Map software … any suggestions on (free) apps to try for PC, Mac, and iPhone?”
Which recieved several helpful replies, such as the following:
re @JellyBeen: ..Mind Map s/w … (free) apps to try for PC, Mac, and iPhone? >> List: http://bit.ly/9bq2gy iPhone: http://bit.ly/cUgdP9
@roygrubb
.@JellyBeen Take a look at XMind. IMO it’s the best of the free mind mapping software programs: http://www.xmind.net
@chuckfrey
There are some great ideas and potential I can see using software applications such as the ones mentioned. I am looking forward to trying them out.
Are you using a mind map software application? Has it replaced another piece of software? Let’s share some ideas.
I sent a message to the WordPress.org Theme Reviewers mailing list today regarding the current requirement a theme “must” include (amongst other items) the functionailty of add_custom_image_header; and, as a member of the WordPress Theme Reveiwers Team I am sharing what I wrote (verbatim):
I would like to submit back for discussion to the mailing-list/Theme Reviewers the “must” requirement of including ‘add_custom_header’ support to themes.
The function itself is great and relatively easy to implement but I see it as focused for use with single banner style image header areas, such as Twenty-Ten and similarly designed themes. This then presents an issue for themes that do follow this particular design concept/layout especially themes that do not have header images per the author’s choice; or, a more difficult to address issue of themes with multiple images in the header … again a theme author’s choice.
Dictating the use of ‘add_custom_header’ as a _must_ item in theme development will start pushing themes to more of a cookie-cutter look and feel, not to mention the potential for authors to simply lift the code, for example, from Twenty-Ten and drop it into their own theme to meet the must need of the requirement. This leads right into originality issues with themes as well … another topic for another thread.
As examples, I will use my own themes (currently in the repository) simply due to my familiarity with them.
1) Desk Mess Mirrored: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/desk-mess-mirrored/
– three (3) header images; of which each image I have seen modified individually, or with one other … or in rare cases all three.2) Shades: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/shades/
– no header image; although ‘add_custom_header’ should be relatively easy and straight forward to implement I envisioned this theme to start with no header; and, to allow end-users to modify the header area as they saw fit.3) Ground Floor: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/ground-floor/
– no distinct header image; this theme has a dynamically expanding header area to allow for very long titles, taglines, horizontal top menus etc. Implementing ‘add_custom_header’ would for all intent and purpose break the theme’s look and feel.4) NoNa: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/nona/
– a distinct header image that is integral to the theme layout itself. To implement ‘add_custom_header’ for this theme is possible but would require a certain level of skill with a graphic program to create additional headers. Otherwise it is essentially being dictated the theme itself may be required to be re-written and the graphics re-made to meet the requirement of adding this function.In my opinion, themes similar to 2) and 3) above would be detrimentally affected by the “must” use criteria placed on ‘add_custom_header’. Themes that follow similarly to 4) above may have limited usability added by the addition of the function.
Quite honestly I would like to be able to add the function of custom headers to Desk Mess Mirrored, but as I wrote at the beginning of this message the ‘add_custom_header’ function does not appear to directly handle multiple header images displayed on the same page at the same time; and, from what I am able to see in the supporting core code it would require a great deal of custom code to add that functionality to the theme, or similar themes, in question.
I strongly believe the function has a great deal of use and potential, but I do not believe it _must_ be included for a theme to be accepted into the repository. Perhaps suggested, recommended, or simply optional would be a better requirement benchmark.
I may have refered to the function incorrectly but my points and ideas are still the same. Feel free to add your thoughts and opinions … here or on the WP Theme Reviewers mailing-list.
Often times out of nowhere the greatest ideas comes to mind, and just as fast they disappear back into the imagination. Although sometimes you are lucky enough to capture one of these elusive ideas and write it down.
Just a moment ago I had one. I immediately sat down at my keyboard and I started writing this post. I know it was a great idea; and I’m equally sure I know you have realized the idea has slipped back into my imagination.
I am still realizing a great benefit from this missed opportunity … it still generated the impetus to write. All things being equal, this is always a good thing.
Have you blogged today?