My own piece of the Internet
 
Category: <span>Life hacking</span>

Category: Life hacking

Random default thumbnails for Yet Another Related Posts Plugin

I installed the Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) and was frustrated by the stripey default thumbnail that was displayed if a post didn’t have a featured image. Unfortunately for me, this was quite a few. So what I ended up with was: Pretty ugly. So I did some pretty basic hacking and created a pretty awesome (just ask me) way of displaying random thumbnails if there isn’t a featured image associated with a post. Here’s what it looks like: Before I continue I need to offer a disclaimer – I am no coder so if you find anything here …

Bring on 2013

Last year, instead of doing the normal drunken new years resolutions forgotten as soon as the hangover fog disappears, I reviewed 2011 and looked at how I wanted 2012 to be different. The problem with some of my resolutions or goals was that they were not SMART. By SMART I mean Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Dave Eccles, in his entertaining blog, Ruck You Mate has pointed out that 83% of resolutions fail most likely because they are not realistic and backed by a plan. With that in mind I have created a set of personal objectives that are …

Learning to code

The first web page I ever created was pretty average. It featured an animated dancing policeman centered in the page with a delightful line about how I always wanted to be a policeman or some such nonsense. I may have also linked my name to mailto: jonstribling@cool.com which was my email address at the time. I thought I was too cool for hotmail so of course I had to use cool.com. Sadly cool.com is now a generic web design business. I still remember the magic of seeing the page I had creatgd clumsily in vim load in a browser which I …

Noodles for breakfast

When the first British colonialists arrived in Western Australia and saw black swans they thought they were in topsy turvy land. Swans were of course white and only white. A black swan challenged the status quo and excited the dreamy abut other possibilities for this strange land they called Australia. We all grow up with values that are self-evident and so obvious to us that they appear as Truths set in monolithic stone. And then as our brains develop we start to challenge the truths in a orgiastic explosion of adolescent hormones. Then finally as our brains start to decay …

What is more important?

Yesterday I went to a Natalie’s Uncle’s funeral in the country. He was a parish priest there for some time and the church was packed with people wanting to celebrate his life and contribution to their lives. The church was so full people were seated outside underneath the palm trees listening to the service via speakers. Princess Diana it wasn’t, but this was clearly the funeral of a loved and respected man. There is nothing like facing up to the inevitability of death to motivate and throw into question. As I ate a sandwich at the wake and looked around …

Welcome to 2012

Rather than the usual resolution setting on new years eve with a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, I have done something a little different this year. I approached my goals for the new year as I would a project or corporate gig. There needed to be clear objectives and clear measures. I asked myself what did I want to achieve for the year? What was important to me? I arrived at four objectives that covered having a loving and rewarding family life, being healthy and vibrant, having a successful career, and having fun. When I take …

Online takes work

A small business I provided some advice had launched a website in a space with low competition and high margins, and the results were pretty good for a small investment.  They had knocked up a site, launched some paid search ads, put in some rudimentary processes for managing enquiries, and like the results. The problem was that the site had stopped growing. What was missing was the kind of consistent maintenance and content creation to engage buyers, rank well in Google, and learn from your mistakes. I find many people not familiar with the intricacies of online marketing and ecommerce …

So what is leadership really?

I was reading about Christine Nixon criticising the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission and it struck me that we all have different ideas about leadership. Nixon had claimed that the Royal Commission was the “worst kind of kangaroo court”. The media, in particular the News Ltd papers had taken a dim view of Nixon having a meal in a pub on Black Saturday, likening her to Emperor Nero, eating while Victoria burned. Nixon had previously said about leadership on the ABC: “But I think there’s a line about leadership for me that I think’s really important and it’s not about privilege, …

Being constantly connected can be a curse

Like many people, I am constantly connected to the cultural world via various interfaces like the laptop, smartphone, iPad, tv, or even the radio. No matter the time, I can always get my fill of tech news, world news, cats playing the piano, mindless friend updates, photos from a distant holiday, or emails from work colleagues. It is a life lived online. The binary public / private has been shattered by Facebook, Twitter, and Google. What previously happened in the quietetude of your own home may have been known only to family and close friends, and discoverable only to snoops …