Author Archives: Hugh Paterson III

Plugins Awry

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On Oct 24th I updated some plugins and then I could not access the back end of my WordPress install. Some sort of plugin in conflict. I posted a request for help to the forums. Some one pointed me where to go and I was able find my way into fixing my site. (Server 500 Error and blank pages when I tried to load the back end. But the font end loaded just fine.) I wanted to grab the code that I deleted from the database before I deleted it forever. So I thought I would post it here as a record of what I had running when I encountered the problem. (Something like 76 plugins running…) This was really the most detailed work I have done with PHPMyAdmin… I am shocked how comfortable I have become with the app.

a:76:{i:0;s:37:"wp-system-health/wp-system-health.php";i:1;s:25:"activelink/activelink.php";i:2;s:45:"add-link-to-facebook/add-link-to-facebook.php";i:3;s:37:"admin-ip-watcher/admin-ip-watcher.php";i:4;s:19:"akismet/akismet.php";i:5;s:57:"better-extended-live-archive/af-extended-live-archive.php";i:6;s:29:"better_links/better_links.php";i:7;s:31:"blogcopyright/BlogCopyright.php";i:8;s:17:"cforms/cforms.php";i:9;s:41:"comment-connection/comment-connection.php";i:10;s:39:"custom-taxonomies/custom-taxonomies.php";i:11;s:40:"download-monitor/wp-download_monitor.php";i:12;s:23:"email-log/email-log.php";i:13;s:21:"exec-php/exec-php.php";i:14;s:35:"exploit-scanner/exploit-scanner.php";i:15;s:37:"extended-profile/extended-profile.php";i:16;s:49:"facebook-status-for-wordpress/facebook_status.php";i:17;s:35:"fancybox-for-wordpress/fancybox.php";i:18;s:25:"find-me-on/find-me-on.php";i:19;s:33:"flickr-gallery/flickr-gallery.php";i:20;s:23:"footnotes/footnotes.php";i:21;s:21:"fotobook/fotobook.php";i:22;s:49:"genki-youtube-comments/genki_youtube_comments.php";i:23;s:50:"google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php";i:24;s:36:"google-sitemap-generator/sitemap.php";i:25;s:37:"hcard-commenting/hcard-commenting.php";i:26;s:19:"hrecipe/hrecipe.php";i:27;s:38:"hreview-support-for-editor/hreview.php";i:28;s:27:"in-the-loop/in-the-loop.php";i:29;s:22:"infolinks/infolink.php";i:30;s:35:"inline-tag-thing/InlineTagThing.php";i:31;s:19:"jetpack/jetpack.php";i:32;s:44:"jquery-collapse-o-matic/collapse-o-matic.php";i:33;s:25:"k2-hook-up/k2-hook-up.php";i:34;s:47:"mappress-google-maps-for-wordpress/mappress.php";i:35;s:30:"mendeleyplugin/wp-mendeley.php";i:36;s:32:"micro-anywhere/microAnywhere.php";i:37;s:15:"mycss/mycss.php";i:38;s:23:"net_bible/net_bible.php";i:39;s:30:"no-self-ping/no-self-pings.php";i:40;s:27:"php-code-widget/execphp.php";i:41;s:29:"plugin-notes/plugin-notes.php";i:42;s:55:"query-multiple-taxonomies/query-multiple-taxonomies.php";i:43;s:21:"raw-html/raw_html.php";i:44;s:27:"redirection/redirection.php";i:45;s:27:"role-scoper/role-scoper.php";i:46;s:27:"root-cookie/root-cookie.php";i:47;s:27:"simple-tags/simple-tags.php";i:48;s:38:"simplemodal-contact-form-smcf/smcf.php";i:49;s:30:"smart-youtube/smartyoutube.php";i:50;s:29:"stp-importer/stp-importer.php";i:51;s:47:"subscribe-to-comments/subscribe-to-comments.php";i:52;s:25:"subscribe2/subscribe2.php";i:53;s:61:"syntax-highlighter-and-code-prettifier/syntax-highlighter.php";i:54;s:39:"syntaxhighlighter/syntaxhighlighter.php";i:55;s:33:"tabbed-widgets/tabbed-widgets.php";i:56;s:38:"tags-2-meta-generator/em-tags2meta.php";i:57;s:47:"term-management-tools/term-management-tools.php";i:58;s:27:"theme-check/theme-check.php";i:59;s:35:"tinymcecomments/tinyMCEComments.php";i:60;s:23:"tpc-vcard/tpc-vcard.php";i:61;s:37:"twitter-importer/twitter-importer.php";i:62;s:37:"twitter-mentions-as-comments/tmac.php";i:63;s:31:"twitter-tools/twitter-tools.php";i:64;s:47:"wikindx-macro-plug-in-for-wordpress/wikindx.php";i:65;s:35:"wikipedia-autolink/cf_wikipedia.php";i:66;s:38:"wordpress-mobile-edition/wp-mobile.php";i:67;s:26:"wp-footnotes/footnotes.php";i:68;s:21:"wp-hresume/wphres.php";i:69;s:27:"wp-paginate/wp-paginate.php";i:70;s:25:"wp-recipes/wp-recipes.php";i:71;s:23:"wp-resume/wp_resume.php";i:72;s:33:"wp-security-scan/securityscan.php";i:73;s:35:"wp-social-links/wp-social-links.php";i:74;s:39:"wp-table-reloaded/wp-table-reloaded.php";i:75;s:42:"yet-another-related-posts-plugin/yarpp.php";}

This tutorial show how to use a SQL statement to access the needed table.

Criticism Persistence

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A few weeks ago I found a few really helpful tips on how to avoid being criticized. To think that all these years I could have lived without being criticized.

Nine Easy Rules to Avoid Being Criticized [1] Nagesh Belludi. 26 September 2010. Nine Easy Rules to Avoid Being Criticized. http://www.rightattitudes.com/2010/09/26/nine-easy-rules-to-avoid-being-criticized [Link]

  • Rule 1: Always strive to please others and agree with everybody
  • Rule 2: Do not attempt to change people’s minds
  • Rule 3: Do not try a new idea or pursue any worthwhile goal
  • Rule 4a: Conform to established ways of doing everything
  • Rule 4b: Never step a foot away from the path of convention
  • Rule 5: Follow the crowd; stand for nothing unique
  • Rule 6: Let the world shape you; be who others want you to be
  • Rule 7a: Accept life “as is” and never examine the status quo
  • Rule 7b: Believe whatever you are told without checking evidence
  • Rule 8: Do not say, attempt, or do anything contentious or imaginative
  • Rule 9: Do not say, attempt, or accomplish anything at all

As I read these I was reminded of the Think Different campaign by Apple, Inc a few years back. I have always been inspired by the comercial. Perhaps I have always identified with not giving into the status quo. I think my Dad instilled in me a desire for excellence and doing better. This was something that Steve Jobs talked about too. He said we don’t ship junk. It makes a lot of sense: Be profitable, be honorable. Love what you do. Do what is right. Never stop learning.

httpv://youtu.be/cFEarBzelBs

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones,
we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.

httpv://youtu.be/Yu0qeb_rJYU

References

References
↑1 Nagesh Belludi. 26 September 2010. Nine Easy Rules to Avoid Being Criticized. http://www.rightattitudes.com/2010/09/26/nine-easy-rules-to-avoid-being-criticized [Link]

Using Time Machine Buddy to solve Error 11

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Time Machine is a life saver. I was backing up a machine recently and error was thrown. Indicated in a form like this message (this message occurs on a machine running Lion and I am running Snow Leopard 10.6.5).

Error From Time Machine

Due to the suggestions by James Pond [1] James Pond. 8 August 2011. C3. Time Machine – Troubleshooting. http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/C3.html. [Accessed: 9 October 2011] [Link] , I found that there was a widget called Time Machine Buddy [2] James Pond. 16 August 2011. A1. Time Machine – Troubleshooting. http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/C3.html. [Accessed: 9 October 2011] [Link] . I downloaded the widget and it told me what the offending file was. I deleted the file and happily backed up the rest of my drive. I don’t know what caused Error 11 or exactly what that is but, the deletion of the file, which was not crucial to keep, allowed me to continue.

References

References
↑1 James Pond. 8 August 2011. C3. Time Machine – Troubleshooting. http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/C3.html. [Accessed: 9 October 2011] [Link]
↑2 James Pond. 16 August 2011. A1. Time Machine – Troubleshooting. http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/C3.html. [Accessed: 9 October 2011] [Link]

Admin Panel of the Plugin

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Needs to be able to:

  1. Define the Metadata Values
    • Do they have controlled vocabularies?
    • What kind of input will they use?
  2. Define the work Stages
    • Including sub-work stages
  3. What are the Metadata Values in each Stage
  4. What are the help texts for each Metadata question
  5. What is the Part shown for the Keys?
  6. Does the Plugin create a special Browse Page?

Wire Frame of plugin in admin panel

Citations, Names and Language Documentation

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I have recently been reading the blog of Martin Fenner and came upon the article Personal names around the world [1] Martin Fenner. 14 August 2011. Personal names around the world. PLoS Blog Network. http://blogs.plos.org/mfenner/2011/08/14/personal-names-around-the-world . [Accessed: 16 September 2011]. [Link] . His post is in fact a reflection on a W3C paper on Personal Names around the WorldSeveral other reflections are here: http://www.w3.org/International/wiki/Personal_names (same title). This is apparently coming out of the i18n effort and is an effort to help authors and database designers make informed decisions about names on the web.
I read Martin’s post with some interest because in Language Documentation getting someone’s name as a source or for informed consent is very important (from a U.S. context). Working in a archive dealing with language materials, I see lot of names. One of the interesting situations which came to me from an Ecuadorian context was different from what I have seen in the w3.org paper or in the w3.org discussion. The naming convention went like this:

The elder was known by the younger’s name plus a relationship.

My suspicion is that it is a taboo to name the dead. So to avoid possibly naming the dead, the younger was referenced and the the relationship was invoked. This affected me in the archive as I am supposed to note who the speaker is on the recordings. In lue of the speakers name, I have the young son’s first name, who is well known in the community, and is in his 30’s or so, and I have the relationship. So in English this might sound like John’s mother. Now what am I supposed to put in the metadata record for the audio recordings I am cataloging? I do not have a name but I do have a relationship to a known (to the community) person.

I inquired with a literacy consultant who has worked in Ecuador with indigenous people for some years, she informed me that in one context she was working in everyone knew what family line they were from and all the names were derived from that family line by position. It was of such that to call someone by there name was an insult.

It sort of reminds me of this sketch by Fry and Laurie.

References

References
↑1 Martin Fenner. 14 August 2011. Personal names around the world. PLoS Blog Network. http://blogs.plos.org/mfenner/2011/08/14/personal-names-around-the-world . [Accessed: 16 September 2011]. [Link]

Smart Lists and UI

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Working in an archive, I deal with a lot of metadata. Some of this metadata is from controlled vocabularies. Sometimes they show up in lists. Some times these controlled vocabularies can be very large, like for the names of language where there are a limited amount of languages but the amount is just over 7,000. I like to keep an eye out for how websites optimized the options for users. FaceBook, has a pretty cool feature for narrowing down the list of possible family relationships someone has to you. i.e. a sibling could be a brother/sister, step-brother/step-sister, or a half-brother/half-sister. But if the sibling is male, it can only be a brother, step-brother, or a half-brother.

FaceBook narrows the logical selection down based on atributes of the person mentioned in the relationship.

meun with all the relationship options

All the relationship options.

That is if I select Becky, my wife, as an person to be in a relationship with me then FaceBook determines that based on her gender atribute that she can only be referenced by the female relationships.

Menu showing just some relationships

Menu showing just some relationships based on an atribute of the person referenced.

JetPack, Menus, and Others

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Sharing

Jetpack is in no way new… But I have never installed it (it seems that half a million other people have though). The only service I have used from Automattic is akismet. Then about a month ago I installed after the dead line as a Google Chrome plugin to help me with my spelling mistakes. It seemed to work so I thought I would give it a go as a WordPress plugin.

What was new was that I had not integrated a sharing solution for readers of my blog. So as of now there is a share this option at the end of my posts.

Sharing options

Of course Sharedaddy, the sharing plugin did not have a Google +1 sharing option, nor del.ic.ious sharing option. So I had to find some solutions. I found a fork of Sharedaddy on github which had added Google+ and LinkedIn. (I am not on Google+ but I just joined LinkedIn last week as I was redoing my resume).
To add delicious I followed a post by Ryan Markel to find the right share service URLs.

Menus

The other thing I figured out this week was how to use the Menus Feature under the Appearance tab. I have been using K2 since 2005 and have always thought that the menus in the default theme were sufficient. I have usually not had complex menu desires. So there was no real need to learn these new features, however. Now I wanted to put several picture pages under the same menu. So wal-la. It is done now.

picture of menus

New menu settings

Others

(Mostly RDFa and HTML5)
I also have a plugin that is adding Open Graph RDFa tags to my theme. My current version of K2 is HTML5 but, it is not validating with the RDFa tags in it. So I was trying to validate them but have not been successful. I looked at this answer which said to add something to the doctype. But then there is more answers too. Sometimes these answers are beyond me. I which I had some structured learning in this subject area.

Why RDF?

And RDFa is the basis of Open Graph, the technology used to sync FaceBook Likes between my site and FaceBook.

Pulling Interactions back to WordPress

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Interactions on FaceBook vs. WordPress

For a while I have been importing my blog posts to FaceBook as Notes. FaceBook as a method of doing this via RSS. I was encountering more interaction on my posts inside of FaceBook than I was outside of FaceBook. (In addition to leaving large quantities of text, as notes, in my FaceBook profile.) This is not the kind of interaction I wanted. While I do not mind having interactions or discussions inside of FaceBook I want the discussion to be portable and to move with the content. That is, If I move my blog I want the content and the discussion both to be carried to the new hosting URL or location.

This means that I needed to make the comments which are in FaceBook integrate with the comments on my self-hosted WordPress site.

I also want to encourage more traffic to my website rather than just interacting with the content as it appears on Facebook. My first step was to stop importing my Blog posts via RSS and to find a WordPress Plugin to facilitate the integration.

A Plugin to do the Job

I found Add Link to FaceBook, a plugin which will post a link to my article to my FaceBook news feed and also sync comments and likes between my FaceBook feed and my post on WordPress. I installed this app followed the instructions and voila it works. I now have a “like” button on my pages and hopefully am increasing traffic to my blog or minimally recording a the comments made on FaceBook on my self-hosted web-site.

Privacy

Considering comments from a privacy perspective, some users inside of the FaceBook ecosystem could comment on content in my feed and think that only I had access to view that comment and this plugin would then pull that comment into a publicly accessible space. There is no way I currently know of to tell potential commenters inside of FaceBook that their comments will be made public. If it is so important that things should be kept private then perhaps making a comment on FaceBook was not the right medium to make the comment in, perhaps the commenter should have used an email. But this is not the pretense that FaceBook sets up its users to expect. (Though there are plenty of examples in the news about how FaceBook is not the most secure place to make remarks or comments which could have impact outside of FaceBook.)

Write it once Share it twice

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For some time I have been challenged by learning Wiki Markup. I learned HTML 4.0 then I took on xHtml 1.1 and the market keeps evolving. I help to maintain a few wiki pages on the digital archival of language based materials on the company I work at’s intranet. Way cool that we have a wiki, but I haven’t written much their because I like to compose in WordPress (xHtml) and use the full screen mode to block out distractions. Most of what I write comes from various internet sources. I feel a certain obligation to the sources to acknowledge them publicly, if I am going to use their content privately too. Therefore, I prefer to share those things externally as well as internally. The result is that I usually post what I write to my personal blog before I post to the company intranet. In the past I have had to rework the markup syntax when I move things from WordPress to the wiki.

However, I recently found an HTML to Wiki syntax converter: http://labs.seapine.com/htmltowiki.cgi. This tool allows me to compose in WordPress, convert to Wiki syntax and then repost to the corporate wiki.