What Simply Works!

It is a lot easier to modify Wordpress templates when it is done offline or when Wordpress is installed locally on your computer.  I thought I wouldn’t need to resort to a locally installed WP but the last time I was tinkering with a theme, it took ages for the updates to load on my test site!

Installation is easy, in fact, there are tons of guidelines you can Google out there.  But this is what I have used along with setting up ‘xampp’ on a Mac.  Try it out!

http://www.lifespy.com/2007/how-to-install-wordpress-offline/

http://www.keitr.com/tutorials/xampp

It’s another exciting time for Wordpress users.  Release 2.8 is out and some users out there (like me) has an interesting story to share about our upgrade experience.

I have a total of six blogs.  Five of them were successfully upgraded to the new version using the one-click install (or upgrade) function.  But for some reason, the function didn’t work on my personal blog (yep, my main blog of all blogs).  As soon as I refreshed my browser, my blog went kaput!  I waited for a couple of minutes but nothing happened.

Then I tried to log in to the admin panel but even the URL doesn’t work!  Caramba!  After a few minutes of panic, I remember my back-ups.  And thank God for them! He he.  I reloaded my latest back-up and got the blog running again.

Sigh.  Now I need to figure out how to upgrade it minus the glitch.

Since last week, I spent about an hour a day at least to search for a wordpress theme to replace what I have on my other blog.  I almost gave up yesterday when I saw HappyBlogDesign.  What I like most about the site is that, it’s not a typical repository of templates but only those that are really good (both in the coding and design) are included in the list.  It’s a matter of choosing what fits your liking rather than  spending extra time testing the theme and making sure that the codes work.  Thanks Ms Fath, the Malaysian lady behind the wonderful WP Theme website.

Up to now, my daughter loves to chase these friendly birds.  We briefly didn’t see them during winter time but now that it’s spring, we see them everywhere.  Too bad, I don’t know what type of bird they are, it would be nice to teach my daughter its name.

Sa paghahanap ko ng litrato ay nakita ko itong nag-iisang bulaklak na kinuhanan ko sa isang park ilang buwan na ang nakakaraan.  Naisip kong iwanang may kulay ang bulaklak habang ang lahat ay itim at puti.  Sana ay maibigan ninyo ang aking lahok.

Maligayang LP!

~oOo~

While looking through my photo files in search for an entry to this week’s Litratong Pinoy, I saw this photo with a little yellow flower from one of our visits to the park.  To be in line with this week’s theme, which is black and white, I changed the grass to mono color and left the flower as it is.

Ito ay kuha ko sa Singapore ilang taon na ang nakakaraan.  Chinese New Year noon at halos lahat ng lugar, mula mga shopping malls at kainan ay may nakalagay na ginintuang buddha.

~oOo~

This was taken in Singapore a few years ago.  It was Chinese New Year and almost all the establishments, from shopping malls to restaurants have a golden Buddha displayed in their premises.  It is said to bring good fortune.

More Litratong Pinoy entries here, here and here!

Natuwa ako sa pewter na ito ng nakita ko kaya ilang ulit ko syang kinuhanan ng litrato.  Sabi ng may-ari ay hango daw ang karakter na ito sa pelikulang “Harry Potter”.  Totoo nga kaya?

~oOo~

I got interested with this pewter when it was displayed and I took so many photos of it.  According to the owner, the design is patterned after the movie Harry Potter.  Is that true?

Marami pa mula sa ibang litratista ng LP!

More wordless entries here!

Naghahanap ako ng tanso o bakal na gawa sa ‘reddish metal’ nang maalala ko ang litratong kuha ko noong 2005 na halos kulay tanso.

Maligayang Huwebes!

~oOo~

I was looking for a subject made of copper or ‘reddish metal’ when I remembered this photo that I took in 2005 that represents a Copper colored Sky.

Happy Thursday!

More from the other wordless participants!

Ng matataas na lugar. Ako po ay isang “duwag” pagdating sa matataas na lugar. Mabuti na lang na ang monorail na ito ay maikli lamang at madali rin kaming nakababa sa patag. Ito ay kuha sa Tagaytay Highlands nung 2005.

~oOo~

Heights. I am a coward when it comes to heights. It was good that the monorail ride is short thus we were back on the grounds in no time. This was taken in Tagaytay Highlands, Philippines in 2005.

Maraming Litratong Pinoy dito, dito at dito!

I have another wordless here.  More from the other participants!

I like people who unselfishly share what they know. They are usually secure and confident about themselves and no doubt has a heart for sharing or helping. I am blessed to have met people like that in my life.

But even in the World Wide Web, you can find these gems. One of them is the guy behind Blog Oh Blog. Aside from sharing beautiful and highly usable Wordpress templates, he shares a lot of stuff about site traffic, SEO and even making money out of blogging.

I have used many of his templates in my other blogs and I frequent his site for references. So, without further adieu, I would like to introduce Jai Nischal Verma and his wonderful blog.

http://www.blogohblog.com

I’m sure his site will be your favorite, too!

One of the many things I miss about Singapore is our friends. In my six years there, my husband and I formed many meaningful friendships. One weekend in 2005, my husband and I went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with a group of friends. As expected, we had a blast! We went food tripping, sight-seeing and there was no dull moment just being with those guys. We surely miss them.

I have another entry here.   More wordless(ness) here!

I was doing some search in Google and found this interesting write-up (as the explanation was written in non-techie language) about the No Follow rule. If you happen to be new in blogging or more importantly, in sponsored posts, this blog post is for you. :: wink::

I’ve read many bloggers who are opposed to the idea while many I know are actively using the rule. Read more about his take on this after the jump.

When I had trouble accessing my site due to IP ‘refresh’ issues with my ISP, a blogger friend of mine recommended this useful site to me.

http://hidemyass.com/

One time, my husband wanted to access his personal emails from his client’s site but couldn’t because of firewall, I asked him to try the link. He first laughed because of the funny domain name but found it really useful.

When I delved into the world of self-hosting four years ago, I must admit that I was clueless. All I wanted then was to have my own domain and use wordpress. Not to say that I am very knowledgeable about it now but at least I know the basic things needed to keep all my blogs up and running.

Thankfully, I have known blogger friends, who shared their technical skills with me as I migrated to a new web host. Also, there is a whole gamut of free web hosting articles on the Internet. It’s just a matter of being patient and knowing what to search for using Google.

For non-techie bloggers like me, it is important to decide on a cheap and reliable web host. Asking around for first-hand experience on web hosts is also good. It is also important that the company has a very good technical support.

I have only move web hosts once and while I can say that I am a lot happier with my current, what I wish they have that my first web host offers is Cpanel (control panel). Nothing beats its GUI (graphical user interface) that is great for non-techie users.

There is no perfect web host for sure but so far I can vouch for the performance of the web hosting company I chose.

I wish I knew what this statue is called. I remember going around it but couldn’t find any information near it. This photo was taken a few months ago at Royal National Park in Sydney.

Anyway, using your imagination, what do you make of it? I see the first head looking away while the next two seem like whispering secrets. Hi Hi.

I have another entry here. More wordless here!

One of my favorite sites that help with my blogging needs is Dynamic Drive. It has a lot of free scripts for enhancing navigation and adding forms or effects on your sites. I have always referenced Dynamic Drive whenever I need to disable right-click on my blogsites. If you don’t fancy using watermarks, you can always use this script. That should discourage image downloads not permitted.

Here’s the link of the script that I use here and my personal blog:

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex9/noright.htm

More blogging goodies, here.

“Soon all the old leaves will be gone and new ones will come. Such is life.”

It’s the last month of winter in Australia. We’re looking forward to spring!

I have another wordless here.