I think that if you’re in the habit of backing into parking spaces, you’re not only wasting your time, but the time of others as well. I despise it when I am driving in to work in the morning and at least one of the idiots in front of me insists on halting the flow of traffic so they can back into their damn parking space! When those people make that turn of the wheel, half the time I can’t tell if they are going to pull straight in to the space on one side or suddenly dart in reverse and go to the other side. Listen up people. I promise you, you are not saving any time or benefiting in any way by backing in to a parking space!
I never back into a parking space! For one, I drive terribly in reverse. It takes me two tries to get it right. The thing is, I’m going to have to back up one way or the other, whether it is when I arrive or when I leave. If I choose to do it when I get there, I have to do it twice to fit in the space correctly, wasting even more time. And again, doing so would also waste the time of people behind me.
So, all of you stop backing in! Having said that, I do often back into my driveway because my car is always covered in dew or ice when I leave for work in the morning. I don’t like to back out at those times and risk running over a kid going to the bus. That is a special case that gives me a reason to make that kind of effort. Other than that scenario, forget it.
In WordPress version 2.6 and later, multiple revisions are automatically saved for all pages and posts. I allowed this to happen for a long time, but have started to take notice of the large numbers of revisions that I have amassed. The individual pages on this site each had several dozen revisions saved. I find this to be a waste of space in the database. I have no intention of ever reverting to a previous page or post state. I decided to eliminate them. The problem is that WordPress doesn’t offer a toggle in the dashboard interface to turn off the revision feature.
I’ve looked at many different ways to disable it and delete past revisions. After some digging around, I settled on the easiest solution for each. They are as follows.
First, to disable revisions, use the Revision Control plug-in for WordPress. It has a range of settings beyond a simple on/off switch. It’s free and simple to use. I used it to disable revisions entirely across the board. (Note: Disabling does not delete revisions which you have already stored.)
Now, to delete ALL of the revisions that are already stored in the database, follow the instructions below:
- Login to phpMyAdmin for your database access
- Select your WordPress database from the phpMyAdmin sidebar
- Click the SQL tab on the menu. Insert the following line of code and click to apply:
DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = “revision”;
Back in 2006, a free extension for Firefox named Foxmarks made its debut. The service exploded in popularity and was later re-branded as Xmarks. Today they have a version of Xmarks for all of the major web browsers. I’ve been using it for years to keep the bookmarks on my desktop computer in sync with those on my laptop. It is always the first extension I add when installing a new browser.
To my disappointment, Xmarks notified all of its users last week that they are shutting down the service in January 2011. The company said they are out of money and cannot continue operations. They are directing users to the built-in sync features in Chrome and in the upcoming Firefox 4. Firefox 3.x users today can download the Firefox Sync add-on from Mozilla. I’m pleased that bookmark syncing is starting to be included as a standard browser feature, but that doesn’t address syncing across multiple browser types which Xmarks currently provides.
So long, Xmarks. Thank you for providing such an awesome service for free for all of these years. It’s been a good ride.
As an avid Twitter user, I make use of the Favorites feature of their service. There is a Favorites feature built-in to several Twitter clients that is often overlooked. I use the official Twitter for iPhone app, and it allows me to star important tweets as favorites. This can be especially useful for tweets that contain links to a web page that is best viewed on a full computer screen.
Twitter recently completely revamped their website, dubbed “New Twitter” by many of its users. Among the many great new features of the new site is that tweets you’ve flagged as favorites are clearly visible in their own group on the website. For example, if I read a tweet from a tech site that links to a page listing the top ten newest WordPress themes, I can simply star that particular tweet as a favorite in my phone. When I later pull up the Twitter website on my computer, it cleverly appears in my list of favorite tweets for me to review at my convenience.
Twitter Favorites are a very useful and handy feature. If you haven’t been putting them to use, you’ve been missing out.
Passionate coffee drinkers love to disagree in the debate over whether Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts brews the best cup. In this instance, I’m talking about standard brewed coffee from these two places only. I’m not going to judge the coffee from McDonalds or discuss more complex drinks like lattes and espressos. I’m also not talking about the ground coffee that is sold to be brewed at home.
Let me begin by saying that I’m not a coffee snob. I’m not saying that McDonalds has terrible coffee, but I think of their coffee as being a side item to the food. Their breakfast combos come with a drink, which is usually coffee by default. In the instance of a combo, I find that their coffee is acceptable to drink, as I would be there for the food first and foremost. (Disclaimer: I do not endorse eating at McDonalds!) However, when I go to Starbucks, I’m going specifically to get coffee, and I put that experience to a higher standard than a side item from a fast food place.
Starbucks makes their coffee very bold and strong, which happens to be the way I prefer it. Their coffee tastes bold, rich, and hearty. While I happen to love it, the sheer strength of their product isn’t for everyone. I’ve picked up a few cups for coworkers to sample over the years and one person complained to me that it was as thick as mud. Of course, that person was probably used to making coffee that looks like iced tea when it’s poured.
I don’t often go to Dunkin Donuts. Their coffee is always a bit weak in strength for my taste. Adding to my dislike, the staff always seem insist on adding the cream and sugar themselves, and they always overdo it! It is easy to go too far with the extras when the main product isn’t very strong from the start.
I’m writing all of this because I went to Dunkin Donuts this morning. I deliberately went inside so I could control the final product. Despite the fact that I was standing in the store, they still wanted to put the cream and sugar in from behind the counter. I agreed, but said I wanted very little of either. When I got my coffee, it was shockingly light in color. The coffee was so weak that the cream had nearly turned it antique white.
With Starbucks coffee, it is so strong that it takes a lot to overdo the cream or sugar. With weak Dunkin Donuts coffee, a couple of packs of sugar turn it into virtual sugar water. Seriously, the cup of coffee I had this morning was so sweet, it tasted like I was drinking from a hummingbird feeder.
In closing, Starbucks is the best place to get a solid cup of brewed coffee. That said, if you’re looking for a breakfast sandwich, both Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are equally horrible. Avoid the hot foods from either establishment at all costs!
I’ve added a new page to my website that cleverly displays the entire archive of all of my tweets that I’ve ever made. The page is now online at blitzcraig.com/tweets. I am thrilled with the results!
You too can make such an archive of your tweets with TweetNest. To use TweetNest, you’ll need a web host with PHP5 and access to a MySQL server.
I’ve recently discovered a handy website that measures the security of your password. The site is howsecureismypassword.net. I entered in my complex password, (changing a few characters so that I wasn’t entering my actual password on this site), and received my assessment. The site reported that my chosen password would take a computer over 17,000 years to crack.
People, it is very important for everyone to use secure passwords that include upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Passwords should also be long and complex. If you are using anything less, you are setting yourself up for the potential risk of being hacked. In fact, I tested several 8-digit passwords that included only lowercase letters, and this site said a rogue computer could potentially figure them out in a mere 5 hours!
In addition to using a very long password (more than 12 characters), I also make sure that I use a different password for nearly every site that I have to log into. This is a wise practice, but also carries the potential for becoming messy when it comes to remembering all of those passwords. This is where a password tool like LastPass comes in handy. I recommend this tool to everyone. If you use such a service, just be certain that your password for the password manager is above and beyond rock solid.
I have added a new mobile version of my website! I am happy with the results. If you visit this site on a mobile device, you will now automatically get a mobile-friendly version of my site that is simple and easy to navigate. I’ve tested this on my iPhone and it looks good. Now you can enjoy my site on the go!
This functionality comes via the awesome WordPress Mobile Pack plugin.
I have found a new podcast that has quickly become my favorite show to listen to. The show is called Hypothetical Help with Scott Johnson and Mark Turpin (Turpster). Scott is the American half of the duo, and Turpster is the British half. Together they dish out hypothetical advice to people who have phoned the show and left questions. As you can imagine, the topics are all over the map.
Scott and Turpster make for a very funny duo. Turpster in particular is hilarious and amazingly witty. This podcast is squarely in the comedy category. While their advice can be good at times, they make it clear that they aren’t trying to be serious in any way.
You can listen to the show on their website, or you can subscribe in iTunes. Give it a listen. As of today, they have produced 22 episodes of the weekly podcast. I look forward to many more.
Several months ago, I cancelled my cable TV subscription and opted for Internet only. I haven’t really missed it at all. I’m a Netflix subscriber and watch many movies and TV shows through their Instant Watch streaming service. I can stream Netflix online directly to my TV via an attached Blu-ray player that is Internet-enabled.
The downside to not having cable is missing out on the news, sports, or live television. I was going to regret not being able to watch the Panthers football games this year, for example. So I went to Walmart (of all places) and bought a $25 Philips Indoor HD antenna. I’d give it a try to see if I could pick up any local channels over the airwaves.
The results were staggering. My TV scanned and identified 17 channels that are being broadcast over the air for free. I was stunned at the sheer number of channels. I now get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW, Retro, LiveWell, and several others.
The best part is that the picture is in high definition and crystal clear. Long gone are the days of images of static and snow using rabbit ears and aluminum foil. With the switch to digital, as long as you can receive the signal, you get full resolution. I’ve even watched during thunderstorms and didn’t see any degradation in the picture quality.
I have no desire to pay for cable or satellite again. I can get everything I want over the air for free. I admit that I do love the original series on HBO and Showtime, but I rent them from Netflix. I am very satisfied without having to pay a bloated cable bill each month.
It’s worth mentioning that you cannot easily record the TV shows that are coming through the antenna, but I don’t miss that anyway. When I had a DVR, shows were constantly piling up, and the whole experience of trying to catch up began to feel like a part-time job. If recording isn’t important to you, I’d throw down twenty bucks on an antenna and see how many channels you can get in your area. You might be surprised.
