Blog Stuff

Grabbed a copy of MarsEdit the other day and I’m really liking it. Makes posting to multiple blogs so simple. I still use the ‘Edit in Textmate’ option for linking to urls and stuff, so in a way I’m still using Textmate, but I just like the UI of MarsEdit /shrug.

Plus, the support from Daniel at Red Sweater was second to none after I sent off a few emails with various questions. So I decided to support him since the app is really good (and was cheap the day I bought it ).

So yeah, that’s why I have the little MarsEdit badge on the menu now

Another blog update. After moving over to dreamhost for hosting, I found that one of their ‘one click install’ options is wordpress. The neat thing about it is that if you install using the ‘one click install’ option, then it makes updating the install really simple.

Anyway, yesterday I decided to blow away my old blog files and use the ‘one click install’ option. After battling with the setup a few times (and almost wiping out some other hosted sites) I now have a brand new install of wordpress.

I also decided to change the theme. This one seems pretty cool for now until K2 gets updated again. I really like K2 but… meh… I guess I just got sick of it. I still need to take the time out and do my own design, but having pre-made templates make me so lazy.

So yeah, blog updated, theme changed, hopefully more blogs to come.

The comment link for each post is now AFTER the actual post.
That is all.

So I’ve moved web hosts. It somewhat explains the total lack of posts on here (me being lazy might also have something to do with it).

Anyway, this is just a test.

More to come.

This is a test post using [TextMate](http://www.macromates.com) and the [blogging bundle](http://www.bradchoate.com/). I’ve been messing around with numerous blog editors for a few days now and none seem to suit me, then i remembered watching a [screencast](http://macromates.com/blog/archives/2006/06/19/blogging-from-textmate/) some time ago on how to post blogs from TextMate.

So yeah, After updating the WordPress markdown [plugin](http://www.michelf.com/projects/php-markdown/) it now seems to work just fine.

EDIT: Seems there was some kind of weird timestamp issue. Updating to the latest blogging bundle version and reposting seems to have fixed it. yay!

EDIT EDIT: Seems the timestamp issue is still there. /sigh

EDIT EDIT EDIT: If you don’t supply a Date parameter when posting, it will use the ‘Now’ date, which seems to work.

So I’m trying to use ecto again to post to my blog, instead of having to use the web interface all the time.

Anyway, i posted the ‘Roast #2′ entry with it just fine the other day/week. Just now I’ve tried to post another entry and something isn’t working.

The post shows up as being ‘published’ in ecto, and also in the admin back end of wordpress, but for some reason it doesn’t show up. Its there, with status as ‘published’ but its not being shown.

If i delete the post and post it via the web interface back end, it works fine.

What the? I don’t get it, so once again ecto has been pushed aside and I’m back using the web interface /sigh (not that the web interface is bad or anything)

Another blog update! Good thing about WordPress is the constant development that goes with it.

So begins the upgrade process for all the other wordpress blogs i look after

Another cool feature of the new K2 theme is the ‘built in’ random header image option.

Upload a heap of images (of rough size) then select the ‘randomly pick header image’ option, and watch it do its magic. Its rather cool, cooler than just a static header image… or at least i think so at the moment. Maybe ill change my mind later, but for the time being it is good.

Just as a side note, all the images were taken by me! Yup! thats right! I didnt plagerise a single one of them.

So im fiddling with the theme on this blog again. I was browsing through the pages and pages of themes over at the wordpress.org page, but couldnt decide. Then i remembered reading about K2… the next version of the Kubrick theme that is currently the ‘default’ theme of any wordpress blog out of the box.

So i headed over to http://getk2.com/ and downlaoded it. Was simple to install and withing 2 mins i was fiddling with settings.

Its a really neat package. So far i like it a lot more than my other theme. It handles all the sidebar things as well, so you can add all sorts of sidebar info and configure it. Im guessing more sidebar addons will become available sooner or later.

Its still relatively new, and im expecting some bugs, but ill fiddle with it for a while and see how it goes.

Just gotta figure out how to change some colors colours or somthing, but then again i dont mind blue.

Now i guess i wait for Thomas to see how awesome it looks and ask me to install it on his blog.

Went through and deleted a heap of old pictures tonight. They were just taking up space and not really being seen anyway. Just means some old posts are now missing the corresponding pictures… no big deal.

Also deleted a heap of spam comments that had managed to sneak past my spam filter. Ive tweaked the rule slightly so i dont think it will be causing anymore trouble anytime soon.

Looked around for themes for this, found a heap of generic type themes and basically got bored of them. I really wanna make my own, so yep its back to the default theme.

So i spent a good part of today updating blogs. This one, the brooks family one, the bsnfam one and also Thomas’s one. It took longer then i thought it would.

I installed a nifty spam plugin on all of them that ive been using for some time on my own blog. It does a good job of sorting out the good comments from the spam, so hopefully that should ease the amount of normal spam.

Thats about it, hopefully theres no problems with them… no doubt ill hear about it if there is though.

One of the nifty bonus’s with this new version of wordpress is an updated default theme. I still have grand plans to someday update this from the default theme, but in the meantime it does the job just fine.

The ‘default template’ look of this place is getting on jmy nerves. I need to spend some time looking for a new template.

Im not really that keen to sit and design my own custom template or design, just finding a prebuilt one would be fine.

hrmmm

Sunday, January 1sty, 2006, 9:39 am

WordPress 2.0 was released only recently. Ive read the changes and they sound big. Ive already downloaded it and will have to try updating soon. I was thinking the other day how many blogs running wordpress ive helped setup, at a rough count there is about 10.

This blog is kinda the test bed i guess. Ive got a back up of everything so ill probably install 2.0 on here and see how it goes before trying to move other blogs over.

I hope the new version has some better spam control thnough, i mean the version i run now is good, it stops comments from being published, but i still have to go in every few days and moderate 200+ comments, most of which are spam.

Oh well, i like playing with new stuff.

Spam on this blog has gotten to the crazy stage. Its nothing for me to check comments and find that 60+ spam commnets are awaiting moderation. I guess its good that none of them are actually making it on the site but im getting sick of having to sift through comments to determine which are real and which arnt.

WordPress lets you mark them as spam, which flags them as spam int he database but it doesnt seem to do anything else with them. Im not sure if there are plans to somehow use the comments marked as spam to somehow determine what is spam and what isnt *shrugs* Im just not sure if its worth marking them as spam and keeping them in the database as apposed to just deleting them.

Actually, i might go check out the wordpress plugins page and seeif theres anything about spam.

For the past few weeks ive been having some DNS related problems with my blog/website. The host and myself arnt sure exactly whats going on but it seems somewhat random.

Yesterday i could access my site at all form uni – kept telling me the host was unknown, yet other people outside of uni could see it fine. Today – its working fine again. Chances are tomorrow it will be down. Weird.

But yeah, thats why theres been a general lack of updates.

Yup, I just updated to WordPress 1.5 and so far im impressed. The inbuilt spam filtering is enough for me. At the moment im using the theme that comes with it, its not too bad and looks nice and simple. Ill probably change it at some later date a bit.

So yeah – upgrade took about 10mins, had a little permission problem but sorted that out quick. All posts / comments / settings accounted for.

Nice job wordpress devs

Ive added a new category – Weekly Goals.

Each week (that i rememeber), ill post a new goal. At the end of the week ill post how successful i was / was not with any relevant comments.

Maybe that will get me motivated to get some unfinished stuff completed.

Added a pixelwars.com button on the lower left.

A mate of mine just got the domain and is trying to get a bit of a forum going.

If your interested in design, want to test your skills against other graphic design people, then go and register at the forums. For those that dont want to do that – just go sign up anyway and have a chat.

And while your over the bottom left hand side, check out ezhostingaustralia.com – excellent and reliable Australian hosting (and good value too)

Just installed a new WordPress plugin, hopefully it works ok. It basically adds a few pictures at the bottom of posts, just what i wanted to display some of my photos.

Im still working on the layout and style, but at the moment this will do. I think in the end ill make the thumbnails a bit smaller – dunno…

Click the image if you want to see the 800×600 resolution version. Higher res versions are available if anyone wants them – email me.

These particular ones where taken from the front door of my flat a few months ago. Most of the images i put up here will probably be sunsets.

It amazes me how colorful the Rockhampton sunsets get.

After months of ummmming and arrrrring, and weeks of reading various forums, i FINALLY got my blog converted over to wordpress – and i even managed to save all my old posts.

A lot needs to be said for wordpress’s b2->wp import script, quite frankly it sucks and is useless. I tried it millions of times and got nowhere.

Im going to write up a detailed explanation of how i did my b2 to wordpress conversion and post it here shortly, it might be handy for someone else.

So yeah, a new publishing system, a new blog, something new to tweak.

At the moment its using a theme i got off the wordpress support forums, i like the 3 column layout, but this template will be getting hacked to pieces in the coming months. Ive got lots of stuff i want to add to the side columns.