If you use Twitter, chances are you’ve seen or have submitted URLs using short URL services like tinyurl.com or bit.ly. Because of the limited number of characters allowed in Twitter tweets, you simply have to use them to get your point accross. The problem with using these public services is that, to most people they have no clue really where the link is going to take them. Because of this, some places have started using their own short URLs; when you see the custom short URL, you know where you’re headed.
So, I wanted to have our own short URL domain for CliqueClack. Domains are cheap, but only if you use one of the primary top-level domains (.com, .net, .us …). If you try to use domai.nr to find domains, it will even search country-specific domains, many of which can cost hundreds of dollars to register, if you’re allowed to at all! While I would have loved to have cla.ck for our short domain, apparently the Cook Islands are picky with what you do with their domains. So, we settled with clak.us — it’s cheap and it makes sense: Clack Us!
(more…)
I have my moments of being a gadget geek … oh hell, I’m always a gadget geek, though the current economy hits this brand of geek pretty hard. Recently Amazon put out its upgraded Kindle product, Kindle 2, which I’d been eying since it was hinted at a while back. The Kindle 2 is an eBook reader — essentially, you can read just about any book you want on it without killing trees. Also, in case you’ve never seen it before, the display is nothing like a laptop or PDA screen — it actually has a a matte finish and eerily looks like you’re reading a piece of paper on an electronic device.
I tend to get my reading material these days via the local library, which is a plus because a) it’s free and b) it’s not contributing to another dead tree (do I sound like a smelly hippy yet?) The Kindle books cost money, but once you read the book there, that’s it — you can’t really share it or donate it to a library. However, you are saving trees.
(more…)
We’ve had CliqueClack TV running since sometime in September of 2008, going “officially” live on October 1. Since then things have been going great, but we wanted to open the doors a little wider for our writers, allowing them yet another space to express themselves. Everybody’s gotta eat, and we’ve got a lot of foodies on our hands, so a site based on food seemed the most logical next step. And, there you have it — CliqueClack Food is here.
We’d been working on CCFood for a couple of months now, and we thought Valentine’s Day (or at least the week before) was the best time to make people more aware of it. I think everyone will find something interesting, fun and delicious to read about there. Please spread the word, post comments and visit often! And if you’re interested in submitting a guest writer piece, please visit the About page to learn more.
I’m extremely proud of the team of writers behind these sites, most importantly my incredible wife Deb. Everyone puts an incredible amount of time, effort and creativity into CliqueClack, and it shows.
(more…)
Master: “Grasshopper, when is the best time to plant a tree?”
Grasshopper: “I don’t know master. When is it?”
Master: “20 years ago. That way you will enjoy the shade today.”
Grasshopper: “But I cannot travel in time, master.”
Master: “True. Therefore the next best answer is: Today.”
Another very simple but handy plugin for Wordpress. This one simply adds one of those neat bubbles next to the ‘Posts’ admin menu item with a number of posts in the Pending queue, if there are any. This is the same sort of bubble you see when there are comments in the moderation queue or plugins needing updating.
Works in Wordpress 2.7 and above only. You can grab it here.
Since starting the new CliqueClack blog, I’ve had to deal with multiple authors and multiple editors working within the admin interface. One annoying thing that I’ve come across is entering a ‘Pending Review’ post, only to see someone already editing it.
So, I wrote this simple plugin that adds a new column to the post management list. The column reads “Busy?” and will show nothing under it unless someone is editing the post. If someone is editing the post, it will display a red “Yes” as a hyperlink that, when hovered over, will show you the name of the person editing the post. Note that clicking the link should simply keep you within the same screen, and the busy status will only update if you reload the page.
I’ll get around to submitting this plugin to the proper places, but for now you can grab it here.
Another comment from the ‘Squad mailbag:
Name: mighty
URL:
Subject: partnership
hi, i am a Nigerian and want to be your correspondent, even as i want to bring out a show on environmental issues in the country. i am an environmental technologist and feel ignorance and lack of information, coped with non-enforcement is a deter to my country.
i know your office can help me fulfil this dream.
Sure thing, mighty! Should we also wire $10,000 to your bank account too?
From this morning’s mail comes this gem. Note that I do not correct or edit these in any way other than changing names, occasionally, to protect the guilty:
Name: patsy
URL:
Subject: 1974 camaro
WELL IM KINDA NEW AT ALL OF THIS TO START OFF …
MY NAME IS PATSY AND I HAVE A HUSBAND THAT HAS BEEN WORKIN ON HIS CAR SENCE HE WAS 15. IT IS A 1974 CAMARO AND ITS OUR DREAM CAR! WE HAVE GOT SOME THINGS FOR BETSY (MOTER/ PARTS AND LITTLE NICK NACKS) BUT WE WERE UNABLE TO COME UP WITH THE MONEY FOR THE REST SO FAR. IM NOT SURE HOW YALL WORK OR DO THINGS BUT I WAS VERY INTRUSTIED IN FINDING OUT!! I WANT THIS TO BE A SUPRISE FOR MY HUSBAND, I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU COULD CONTACT ME AND LET ME KNOW WHAT IT IS YALL DO AND HOW YALL DO IT. IVE ALSO GOT SOME PICTURES THAT I COULD SEND YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE, THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME! HOPE TO SEE OR TALK TO YALL SOON.
I remember when a Camaro was my dream car. It was when I was carless, penniless and in high school.
May 18, 2009
Category: 
