Continue reading »]]> I loaded a new theme on the ole blog site this week. I like the fact that is has tons of custom options, many of which I haven’t even begun to tinker with yet. The theme itself is clean, easy to read, as well as being easy on the eyes.¹

The design also suits my mobile theme plugin. They are completely separate items but I like the symmetry of the look. The header can be set to slide to different images or load a new header on each page load. I’ll probably swap out headers at some point. Right now the one provided is nice and clean. I was gonna use one based on the new Google+ layout but it was too simplistic. I didn’t like it.

Anyway, the right column looks soooo much nicer now. It’s very easy to browse, read, and find info. I’m planning on deleting some of the Dandy ID links. Many of them I don’t use that often, if at all. Having them clutter up my blog is pointless. Sometimes less is better. I’ve already removed the “recent comments” box. It really didn’t add much. I’ll probably add a different one at some point but for now its gone.

I’m thinking of adding a photo slide/viewer in the right column. Ideas? Feedback? Suggestions? Hate it/Love it?

1. Or at least I think so.

Continue reading »]]> So for some unknown reason, my last post about Google’s new +1 service isn’t allowing comments and is throwing a 404 page when you try to post a comment. I have no idea why its doing that. lol Anyway, if you have a gmail account (that is public) and want an invite when they reopen them. Comment here instead since I can’t seem to fix.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve noticed a huge upswing in attempts to crack the admin account for my blog lately. Way more than usual. Its no secret I monitor my log-in records. Its an easy way to spot people up to no good. I use a legacy hack from an old version of WP. It records your key strokes at log-in, your IP, how many times you fail to log in, etc. If I notice someone with too may attempts they get a friendly email (if I recognize them) or their IP blocked (If I don’t).

I can’t help but wonder if my last post might have spurred them on. hehehe  I keep a pretty good password on my admin account already. Plus, you only get 5 tries before the system blocks you anyway.¹  If you can crack it in 5 or less tries, I probably deserve to be hacked.

As an extra precaution, I switched over to a different user account. You probably won’t notice anything different on your end. I figured one extra layer of protection wouldn’t hurt. The administrator account with WordPress comes with a default administrator account and you can’t delete it. That said, there is no reason you have to use it either. You can simply set the password to something incredibly complex and create your own account with admin privileges. Tip: If you use the same plugin mentioned above (or a similar one), incorrectly log into your default admin account until it locks up. Now its permanently locked until you reset your password by email or change it from your newer admin account. Most savvy bloggers do this already.²  I confess after I switched over to my new database last year I never got around to it. I know, BAD MOBY! lol

1. courtesy of a little plugin called User Locker
2. Or they should!

Continue reading »]]> Ok, I think ( I THINK ) I got the damn log in for Facebook to work now. If you are on FB, please click the log-in link in the sidebar on the right, under “universal log-ins”, and attempt to sign into my blog with your FB credentials. Don’t worry, I’m not culling any data. Its strictly to allow FB’ers to log in. I’m not sure if it will post back to your FB page or not. I’m tinkering with code that is beyond my understanding.

Please post your success rate along with any error messages you might encounter in the comments.

Thanks!

**Update – I found an error in some of the code I was using and have changed it. anyone who hasn’t already tried or tried and failed, please try again. **

**Update II – After tons of hours tinkering and no support from the site provider, I’m removing the FB option for universal sign-ins. It only works randomly and with no explanation of why it fails. If you wish to use universal log-ins, you’ll have to use one of the others provided. **

Continue reading »]]> If you’ve tried to log-in to my blog via Facebook recently you’ve probably noticed it ain’t working. Apparently, they changed the api for that shit and I don’t have the time or patience to go back and figure it all out again.

All of the other log-ins work though. Amazing how simple of the others were to setup but Facebook’s is a nightmare of BS. Why am I not suprised?

Continue reading »]]> Trying to get on the easy log-in bandwagon, I finally found a plug-in that allows (and actually works) users to log in using 3rd party accounts like Google, Yahoo, Openid, Blogger, etc. You’ll notice on the right side of the page a new section called 3rd party log-ins. I tested it and found it to be functional with a few caveats. If you are already a registered user, your log-in will still function from the sidebar or the log-in page.

Caveat #1

If for some reason leaving a comment invokes the captcha test, you will see the captcha but you’ll see some funny code regarding my header failing to load.  Don’t fret, after you pass the captcha just reload my blog page and you’ll see your comment. This was already happening as I use a hack to rotate my header images.

Caveat #2

Sadly,I could not get the Facebook login to work. I tried very hard but it was beyond my understanding and I didn’t have the time or patience to sort thru it. I may revisit it later, but I have removed that option for now. Anyone familiar w/Facebook’s API’s and/or the RPX plugin I’m using, feel free to help a brother out. :p ***Update – I got it working, you can log-in using Facebook. It will not currently post activity to your wall but its a start. ***

Caveat #3

And lastly, none of the social log-ins will allow you access to hidden content on my blog. Gasp! I know. lol  I can’t change that at current. There is no hand-off built in to allow private content on WordPress. Not that it really matters as I haven’t really been adding much of anything in that arena lately.

If you have any trouble, please email me directly at my email link, bottom right of page.

Continue reading »]]> work file

check blog version – check

try internal update function – check

check plugins – check

check login script – check

check filter – check

delete htaccess file from image directory after plugin update – check

delete temp files

*update* – Ok, color me stupid. This was a private ‘to do’ file. Not sure exactly how I managed to publish it. lol Needless to say, I successfully upgraded my blog to 2.8.

Continue reading »]]> I hacked one of my old plug-ins and finally got it to work with the new template. This just means my categories are back as a link, up top. The blogroll will be back shortly as well. I also added a new log-in feature directly to the home page. This hopefully simplifies the login process as well as giving visual clues to users to know when they are actually logged in or not.¹

The great thing about WP 2.7 is it is much more widget and hook friendly. The bad news is it is much harder to do manual hacks. There are pros and cons to be both approaches but I like tinkering with the code.

Someone complained the links to the old blog were broken but they look fine to me. I’ve tried a variety of browsers and can’t seem to get a failed link. If you experience trouble, email me.

1. Are you logged in? You should be. *EG*

Continue reading »]]> No, not that.  Get your mind out of my gutter.  heehee  I’m referring to analytics.  I’ve been using Woopra for some time now to track my blog stats.  With the new version, they have a nifty plug-in that incorporates easily into my blog dashboard.  

Its fun examining the new blog stats.  And nothing like some dirty talk to boost my clicks. lol  I’m always tickled how many people read about my wild antics.  That pesky brettcajun is currently in the lead in referrals.  Of course, now that Large Tony has a new blog going, he is gaining fast and looks like he is trying to reclaim his title of top dog.  In a big surprise, Obliquity65 is bringing up a respectable 3rd place. 

I’m really surprised at how many oversea clicks I’ve been getting.  While most of my clicks still come from inside the country, I am noticing more and more international clicks.  Canada, Germany, Sweden, Australia, hell even Singapore.  lol  Who da thunk it?  

Google is still the top search engine, no surprise there.  twitter and Facebook have really begun to generate a lot of blog traffic as well.  I’ve currently left my blog open to being indexed by the search engines but if the junk gets to high again, I’ll nix it.  

It seems I’ve settled into a core group of about 150 regular readers off and on.  Lord only knows why you stick around.  Gluttons for punishment I say. heh heh  Anyway, thanks for tuning into my madness on such a regular basis.  I am hoping to meet a few more of you in person this year.  Of course, if you find yourself headed to SF, give me a shout.  My schedule isn’t always the most conducive but I do try.  

 As usual, I promise nothing beyond my normal blunt opinionated self.  That will have to do. *g*  I’m getting better at dragging the camera around w/me though.  I’ll try to continue including random pics for excitement.  

Ok, enough babbling.  I’m off to get my hooves clipped and polished before TFA arrives tonight.  And no, I will not be posting any of those details. lol