*updating the blog this week - midterms/paper* spring break starts friday!

Digging into Wordpress

Digging into WordPress by Chris Coyier & Jeff Starr is a wonderful WordPress resource website. DigWp.com is a WordPress blog centered around tutorials, guides, hacks, tweaks, designing, and etc… for WordPress powered sites. As a beginner WordPress user, I use DigWp as my backbone for understanding WordPress in every aspect. The blog is a great start to begin writing effective WordPress code but the book really got me rolling, it’s the ultimate guideline for an effective WordPress coder. More than 400 full-color pages of hardcore WordPress action. I highly recommend buying the book, Digging into Wordpress.

More About the Book

400+ Pages of Practical Information.
There is much to learn about the World’s most popular publishing platform. From your first steps of learning about WordPress all the way through maintaining a site throughout the years, this book is packed with truly practical information.

Beautiful Custom Design
Design-wise, Digging into WordPress is a beautiful book: every page of the book is printed with stunning digital-color precision on gloss-finish paper, with each of its eight chapters color-coded to provide quick and easy navigation. With its large, clear typography, each page is easy on the eyes and easy to read.

A Lifetime PDF Version
All printed copies of the book include a PDF version that you can read on your computer (or you can buy the PDF version alone). We know it’s nice to have a real book to hold in your hands, but the PDF is also great for three big reasons:

  • Hyperlinked. All the many URL’s in the book you can just click to go to the web page referenced. There is also internal linking – you can click links in the table of contents to jump to those sections.
  • Copy & Paste code. Much easier to grab code via copy & paste than retyping from scratch. Of course the page numbers in the book and PDF match, so if you are reading the book you can jump over to the PDF and go to that page to copy and paste. You’ll always know exactly where that code is.
  • Search. The book has an appendix, but that’s never quite as good as just using your PDF readers search feature to find what you are looking for.
  • Digging into Wordpress | PDF Sample

When you buy this book, you will instantly get the most current version. But also, you are getting a lifetime subscription to all updated (PDF) copies of the book. Updates will automatically be emailed to you as they are released.

Who are these guys? Chris Coyier & Jeff Starr

Jeff Starr – A Professional Web & Graphic Designer
If you google his name you will find his websites but his website, Perishable PressDIGITAL DESIGN & DIALOGUE is a beautiful WordPress powered blog that is related to design and coding. If you are interested in his other projects, check them out on his blog.

Chris Coyier – A Professional Web & Graphic Designer
Chris runs a large website known as CSS-Tricks. CSS-Tricks is a web design community, a misleading name but a wonderful website featuring a bulk load of articles retaining to all areas of web design. He has a few other websites but I suggest subscribing to CSS-Tricks.

So? Should I buy the book…

Yes. Practice makes perfect, and 400+ pages of beneficial reading. Oh, a Lifetime subscription to a living PDF version – I have never heard of this before but it’s awesome. Get it. Read it. Apply it.

Digging into Wordpress

Digging into Wordpress - The Book

Rotating Images

Using PHP to create simple rotating images is extremely easy. With this PHP script an image will rotate on page load or browser refresh. I will offer a simple image rotating script that can be used in the same nature of an image. The first script is a simple php script that rotates between various images that live in the same server directory. The second php script rotates between various linked images, which most commonly are used on affiliate pages, or in side bars.

Simple Rotating Image Script

Create a new directory on your server, upload a few images, and this simple script as a php file.
E.g. “main_directory/random/rotate.php” (Images reside in “main_directory/random/”)
You can use this script in css files, image links, and other ways.

Using the script in a IMG tag, simply include the path to the script in the SRC element of the IMG tag.

<a href="http://domain.com"><img src="http://domain.com/Random/Rotate.php" alt="Rotate Script"></a>

Using the script in a CSS element, the script can be used in a CSS element in the same nature as an image.

body {
background-image:url('http://domain.com/Random/Rotate.php');
}

The full script, copy and paste this code into a PHP file and name it rotate.php or a name of your choice.

<?php
/*
By Matt Mullenweg
*/// Make this the relative path to the images, like "../img" or "random/images/".
// If the images are in the same directory, leave it blank.
$folder = '';

// Space seperated list of extensions, you probably won't have to change this.
$exts = 'jpg jpeg png gif';

$files = array(); $i = -1; // Initialize some variables
if ('' == $folder) $folder = './';

$handle = opendir($folder);
$exts = explode(' ', $exts);
while (false !== ($file = readdir($handle))) {
foreach($exts as $ext) { // for each extension check the extension
if (preg_match('/\.'.$ext.'$/i', $file, $test)) { // faster than ereg, case insensitive
$files[] = $file; // it's good
++$i;
}
}
}
closedir($handle); // We're not using it anymore
mt_srand((double)microtime()*1000000); // seed for PHP < 4.2
$rand = mt_rand(0, $i); // $i was incremented as we went along

header('Location: '.$folder.$files[$rand]); // Voila!
?>

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Developing Connections

A picture is more then a relative eye of sight captured by a photographers eye. Yes, a photographer chooses when and where to snap a picture but has no control of the underlying meaning a picture contains. The famous saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. A picture is merely a record of the past, and can be worth a thousand years. A picture can signify years of work, freedom, truth, love, courage, dedication, evil, good, and an unfathomable amount of thoughts. One may interpret a picture from their own thoughts and opinions, while someone else drives down a completely alternate train of thought. It is impossible to limit a picture to a few statements, but rather describe such an incidence with consent observation. When I observe a picture, I consider the direct relation that applies to my life, and what the picture is conveying specially to my interpretation. I attempt to become part of the picture, and understand the circumstance of the single snap shot of life. Once I have knowledge of the situation, I begin to process the connections that are contained within the picture. The picture begins to speak precise words to my mind, and I begin to relate to the picture on the proper level. Once I understand the direct relation the picture applies to my life, I begin to understand the picture for the subject’s application. When I understand the meaning of the picture to the subject is when I begin to respect the pictures meaning. By fully understanding the picture, I find a precise interpretation of the meaning and that way I can begin to take in rich and gathered thoughts that end with a lasting affect.

Relationships and socializing is important for a young child. Those who develop healthy relationships at a young age and begin to socialize are set in a healthy tract on a positive life. At the age of five, I began to play soccer, and my father coached the team. I played for about thirteen years, and within those years I developed relationships, made connections, learned life lessons, and found my purpose. The setting of the picture is of my father leaning down and kissing the side of my head, after a soccer tournament. The rest of my team, their parents, and my family are in the background of the picture, and this shows the close relationship everyone shared with one another. I was twelve, and we had just won a state championship game. My father with a gold medal around his neck shows his affection, his pride, and love for me in front of all our close friends. I remember that day, as if it was just yesterday. We had just defeated every team that stood in front of us; we fought through, became a team and displayed a close connection of friendship with winning a state championship. This was not our first state championship; we had won many before, and will go to win many after this simple snap shot of life.
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New Host

I got lucky and it happened over night. I found a new, reliable, dedicated, and awesome website to host my blog. The name of the host is Facternet and it is rather inexpensive. Those who sign up now and use the following promo code will receive fifty percent off for life, LAUNCHPROMO. I suggest signing up for the bronze package because it is more than enough for the small WordPress footprint. For those who are interested in signing up, please use my affiliate link.
Check out Facternet.com.

https://customer.facternet.com/aff.php?aff=003
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