The Tech Blog of Brooke.
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
I just wrote a simple plugin to blackout your site on January 18th for the SOPA Blackout day. Check it out on the project page.
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
I just put out a quick fix for MobileESP for WordPress to hopefully FINALLY fix the two click cookie issue. Version 1.3.1 can be found in the other versions folder over on the WordPress Plugin page. If you don’t see 1.3.1 listed just grab the “Development Version.”
Please test this version and let me know if any issues arise if all goes well I’ll make this the stable version.
CHANGES IN THIS VERSION:
– Upgraded the MobileESP library to latest stable version
– Hopefully fixed full site redirect issue.
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
Today marks my fourth year anniversary having a WordPress.org account and when I remember first starting to use WordPress for my blog. I thought it would be fun to recap what I’ve accomplished since September 27th 2007 and what some of my long term WordPress goals are.
In 2007 I started using WordPress for just my blog didn’t know what I was doing download a theme hacked up some CSS/PHP finally got everything working after hours of trying. Since that time here’s what I’ve been able to do:
Here are some of my longterm WordPress goals:
Do you use WordPress? If so how? How long have you been using it? What are some of the things you like best?
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
I was searching for a php list of greetings but couldn’t find one so I made my own. Thought this may be helpful to someone else looking for a list. Here is how to show a random greeting in php. Much like the flickr welcome page.
Continue reading →Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
[UPDATE] this plugin has been updated to 1.2.1 to add support for removing the cookie. See the comments of this post for more info.
I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know that MobileESP for WordPress version 1.2 has been released. This release contains the latest version of the MobileESP library as well as a bugfix for the full site url link bug which was requiring clicking on the link twice. Get the latest version from the WordPress.org Plugin repo or update the plugin from your dashboard.
I’m going to take a step away from the normal programming side of this blog with this post on how to create a logo. Here is a typical workflow that I find to be rather effective. It may or may not work for you but if nothing else I hope it helps provide you with some ideas. So without further ado here is how to create a logo in three easy to swallow steps.
Stop for a moment take a deep breath and ask yourself or your client what it is you are trying to accomplish with your logo. Look at other brands in the industry ask what works and what doesn’t. Find additional brands outside the industry, again, ask what works and what doesn’t. Find logos to look at for inspiration. Really spend the time to think about your brand. Where do you want to be in ten years? What is your audience? What is it you are trying to say? These are just some example questions really take the time here and think it out.
Now that the research is out of the way you are probably tempted to open up your favorite image editor and get to work. Don’t. Before taking things to the computer it is often helpful to sketch some ideas on paper. It may be helpful to turn off your cell phone and computer and go somewhere relaxing to just draw. This is the stage you really want to push yourself. Remember there are no bad ideas. This is the place to explore every option. Once you have a few great ideas try making variations on those. Out of ideas yet? Good, now pour yourself and glass of wine and call it an evening.
The next day come back and look at your sketches. If you’ve content then now is the time to start to digitalized your design. If not take a look at all your sketches and keep drawing. Perseverance is the key.
Now that the hard part is out of the way scan your sketch or open up your favorite image editor and let the fun begin. Now that you know what you are trying to accomplish this should be the funniest part. You may find that the design still does change once you get to the computer. That’s okay.
A few closing thoughts
Simple is best. Sticking to a basic colors scheme and design will save a lot of headaches in the long run.
Keep usage in mind. Most logos need to be able to look good on a billboard or an envelope meaning that it is important to create a design that looks good in all sizes. Whenever possible try to use a vector program. This will allow for easier resizing in the future.
Have fun. Designing a logo should be fun and try not to stress. Remember not everyone can be a designer you may have to hire a professional.
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
In case you missed it I decided to do a small April Fools prank this year. I came across cornify.com and liked the way it worked. I thought it would be funny to have the unicorns pop up if the user was inactive on the site for longer than a few seconds. So I got to hacking the script and came up with a simple plugin Cornify for WordPress. This is a simple WordPress plugin for the self hosted WordPress blog that will show unicorns to the inactive user. There isn’t a control panel but if you read the readme you do have a few options for modifying the script.
Without further ado here is a screenshot:
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
I just released version 1.1 of MobileESP for WordPress this should fix any problems people were having with iPhone and Android devices not forwarding correctly. I also updated the MobileESP class and minified the source which made it half the size.
As always, if you have any problems please report them in the forums tagging them with at least ‘mobileesp-for-wordpress’
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
As you may know I’ve been working with WPBook for the past 2 years. In that time I’ve watched the project grown dramatically the plugin now has over 73,000 downloads. However, the project has only had a handful of people who have gotten involved with the project. Therefore, I wanted to write a quick blog post and give you a few ways to get involved.
Are you a programmer?
Great, we keep track of bugs and feature request over at our bug tracking system http://bugs.wpbook.net. If you get a moment fix a bug or add a feature. You may also just wish to use this system to report bugs.
Are you a graphic designer?
Cool, you may be able to help us cook up some neat graphics for WPBook, update our logo, or just give us feedback that could otherwise improve the project.
Are you a writer?
Neat-o, we can use your help to spruce up the docs making sure they are easy to understand, accurate, clever and free of typos .
Want more ways to get involved?
Okay there are plenty of other ways to get involved. Head on over to the support forms and help a fellow user. I’ve also just set up a donate page where you can make a donation to help pay for website cost. We are also pledging to give 50% of any donations made to Charity Water. With a goal of $500.
If you have any questions or comments please let me know. Thanks!
Note: This post refers to code and a project from many years ago 😱. The content was edited in March of 2025 to remove dead links, improve clarity, or fix formatting, but no other edits were made. Enjoy this time capsule into the past.
I’ve just posted three new projects and created a projects page and a contact page.
busAlert.me a site that will notify the user by text or voice when their King County Metro Bus is arriving.
MobileESP for WordPress this is a simple WordPress plugin that redirects mobile visitors
Stripr this is a content stripper. The main function is to prepare documents for print.
Well contacting me just got easier. Just visit the contact page.
