News « Radkitten

Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Blogging Easy

Monday, June 15th, 2009

I recently restored my laptop to its original settings to clear out any unwanted files I may have picked up over the past few months and I decided to set it up so I can work from my laptop, too. I had heard from another site about Windows Live Writer, which is a program you can install to your computer and blog to any Wordpress blogs. I set it up a few days ago and set up all my blogs, but this is my first time using it to post. I must say, it’s pretty convenient.

You can use it with a lot of different blogging platforms including Wordpress (hosted), Wordpress.com, Blogger, Livejournal, TypePad, etc. Imagine having all your blogs accessible in one spot. The only thing you need to do to switch between them is pull down a drop menu and choose the blog name. It definitely makes keeping up with multiple blogs much easier. When your blog is your income, like mine, you need every advantage you can get to update quickly.

I’ve actually signed up with the whole suite of Windows Live programs, so I’ll be trying them all out this week. If you have Windows Live, come find me.

Posted in News | 4 Comments »

Looking For Portfolio Project

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

I’d like to show diversity in my portfolio by adding different types of work. Right now I have a custom Wordpress theme, a custom website layout, and a template revamp. I’m looking into adding installation and customization of scripts and website optimization. There are a few more things, but right now I’m going to focus on these. If you’re interested in getting these services free of charge, please comment here and I’ll reply back to you via email.

Today I decided that the Flickr link I had above wasn’t serving the purposes I had planned, so I’ve changed it to a Technorati link. Please click the Technorati link and add it as a favorite. You can also help me out by blogging about one of my posts or my site on your own blog and I will certainly return the favor.

I added a plugin to the site but wasn’t using it, and I found it broke my CSS validation. I didn’t realize that could happen, so I wanted to remind everyone to check their validation regularly, especially after adding plugins, etc. I also spent an hour trying to fix a problem that wasn’t in the CSS at all, but in the image code of an entry where Wordpress had added a bunch of unnecessary hooplah. That’s all cleared out now and I’m 100% CSS Valid again. XHTML Validation is going to be much more difficult because some of its issues are in my technorati link and inside Wordpress functions (the tag cloud). For the most part, though, it’s good.

Hoping to add some new content today as well. Looking for affiliates.

Tags: projects, radkitten, technorati, valid
Posted in Site Updates | 5 Comments »

Wordpress Notes

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

When I’m creating a Wordpress them or editting one, I usually clip out snippets of coding and paste them into notepad incase I’ll need them later. You never know what you’re going to mess up or why, so it’s good to have the original coding to be able to slap back in whenever you need to. Sometimes, I want to keep that coding and saving notepad files in random places around my desktop has worked, but it’s not extremely efficient because when I save them I save them as the date I made them, and if I don’t know what the date was when I saved the clip I need.. well, you get the picture. So what I’ve started doing is saving notes in my wordpress theme. It’s easy to do without a plugin (though it’d be nice to have one).

Open notepad and save the empty file as notepad.php
Open your theme’s folder in FTP
Upload the notepad.php file to the same folder as your other theme files
Go to your Theme Editor and click on notepad.php
Paste in your code with some guides that will explain to you what the code snippets are about

So it’s extremely easy and truly has been a life saver at times.

Tags: wfmw, wordpress
Posted in Personal Notes, Website Tips, Wordpress | 5 Comments »

Getting Work Done

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

There’s a slight pause in content updating for a few days because I’m working on some new projects and some behind-the-scenes work on the blog.

lemon

I’m working on a design for a parenting blog, topsites, message board, and whatever else could possibly be put onto a site. A project like this will reward me with about $250 or more. This screen shot is a preview of the layout I’ve drawn up so far in Photoshop. It uses a daisy illustration and kind of reminds me of an old ad in the 70’s. Maybe not. Either way, it’s been extremely time consuming and I’m looking forward to having it finished and being about to post the result.

I’ve also been working on some things on this site. I’ve been working on the Portfolio page (which I realize is pretty empty) and I added a contact form as well. The Services page is nearly complete but I keep feeling like it’s missing something. It’s hard to sum up everything I’m capable of. I also noticed that, while I claim to be valid CSS and XHTML, my site actually wasn’t. So I’ve spent some time getting the CSS valid (yay) and now I’m working on making the site valid XHTML. You can see I crossed it out down there at the bottom. That really leaves the About page and the Order page completely untouched, but they will come in due time.

I have plans with a friend to make a new site and a few other projects, but I think the one we’re going to work on first is the site. I’m not going to say what it is because I’ve had ideas stolen before, but I’m really excited about it. She may have to design it though cuz I’m feeling a little tapped creatively.

Lastly, I’m working on plans for the first Radkitten Contest, to be held as soon as my content pages are done. I think any time before then is just wrong, why have people come to an incomplete site? So keep an eye out for that, too. I’m thinking that will start about June 21 and run through July 1. I’m really excited about that, too.

Blog content is aplenty when your blog is as new as mine, so I’d like someone to suggest a tutorial or guide or resource they’d like. I want to put up content my readers want. Please leave your suggestions in the comments.

Tags: projects, radkitten, valid
Posted in Site Updates | 7 Comments »

I Got An Elliptical

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Jay ordered me an elliptical from Bowflex yesterday and I’m very excited. A couple of weeks ago I was thinking how great it would be to have something to do other than sit on my large bottom while I watch TV. I decided I was going to start taking better care of myself (on Mother’s Day, actually) and I decided to limit the amount of time I watch TV each day. 1 hour still feels like too much, but that’s one show. So I decided I needed an elliptical and a rule that whenever I’m watching TV, I’m working out, too.

So then I realized, ellipticals are expensive. They ranged from $300 (crap) to $3,000. I really don’t have the money or credit right now for something like this, so I’ve been putting it off. The other day a Bowflex catalog came in the mail and I found the one that was made for me. We have a Bowflex card, so we jumped on it. They also had free shipping and a free gift (if you add $19 shipping) that includes a towel, a yoga mat, a heart rate monitor watch, push up bars, and an exercise ball – all for just $999 (or $15/mo on Bowflex card). I really feel like I got a good deal on this.

I’m always a little weary of buying things I can’t experience first, but I did read some reviews and everyone gave it either 4 or 5 stars. I feel a bit more confident about that.

Exercise is so important when you have a job that can put you in a chair for 12 hours straight. I think this was the best option for me to help keep up with my fitness goals while also keeping up with my productivity goals. I cleaned up my office and I have a nice space for it when it arrives. Hopefully, that’ll be soon.

Tags: exercise, fitness, goals, health, Jay
Posted in Health & Fitness, Personal Notes | 3 Comments »