Welcome to the second edition of Weekly WordPress Roundup!

Sorry for the late posting!  I was busy making lemonade from life’s lemons…

What Is It?

Weekly WordPress Roundup is a hybrid between a blog carnival and a weblog.  Every Monday morning the editor of that week’s roundup makes a single post linking to the “best” WordPress articles they’ve come across that week.  The choices are made from their own web surfing and from articles submitted via the Roundup’s blogcarnival.com page.  If you’re interested in hosting the Weekly WordPress Roundup, just drop an email to: philaahzophy@gmail.com

On To The Entries…

General WordPress News-

Our first entry comes from Jackie at Internet Marketing Strategy For Moms and even though it was posted last October, it’s still very relevant today.  The title pretty much tells the story: WordPress.com Deleted All Of My Blogs.  Apparetnly the folks at WordPress.com decided she was a splogger simply because she linked out to her other blogs.  Not good news.  And it’s not a problem that’s going away.  It was a full year ago that I posted Isn’t Freedom Of Expression Worth $5 Per Month? right here at Philaahzophy.

Looking for work?  Well, according to the WordPress Publisher Blog, oDesk Reports “WordPress” Fastest Growing In-Demand Skill in 2008!  So it seems like your blogging skills can pay off in the “real world” as well.

WordPress Plugins-

Madeline Begun Kane submitted her brief article on the wonders of the WP-SpamFree plugin titled Life-Saving, Spam-Fighting WordPress Plugin.  I didn’t investigate WP-SpamFree during my own recent search for a comment spam solution, because it’s listed as only being compatible up to WordPress 2.6.2.  If you know that it’s been upgraded for (or is compatible with) 2.7 then I’d love to hear about it in the comments section below!

WordPress Tips-

As I’ve started exploring the limits of what can be done with WordPress I’ve found myself coming closer and closer to altering the core Wordpress files.  Since any changes to the core will have to be redone manually whenever a new update comes out, this is a very bad thing.  Luckily, the folx over at Cats Who Code have an elegant solution in their How To: Overwrite Core WordPress Functions.

Mike Mueller recently posted a great overview on Setting Up Your WP Blog at his Mike’s Minute Real Estate Blog.

WordPress Themes-

Ever wish you could use more widgets without your blog looking overcrowded?  Well check out last week’s Thursday Themeday review of the Quadruple Blue four column WordPress theme!  Considering many people (myself included much of the time) feel that three column themes are, by their very nature, cluttered, the concept of a four column theme may seem preposterous.  But, somehow, this one pulls it off.

Anthony Delgado’s Free WordPress Themes may not be what you expect.  Instead of listing more free themes he actually discusses how to make a theme “your own” with only minor modifications.

Want to use WordPress as a CMS?  Then you absolutely have to check out the WordPress ReMix Theme I reviewed last week!

—–

That’s wraps up this week’s WordPress Roundup!  Look for next week’s edition over at Gilroy Review on Monday, January 26th!  Submit your WordPress-related article (or someone else’s that you find worthwhile!) to the next edition of Weekly WordPress Roundup using our carnival submission form or by emailing it to philaahzophy@gmail.com.  Future hosts can be found on the Weekly WordPress Roundup homepage.  If you’d like to be added to the list, just drop an email!

As always, comments, links and social bookmarks are very much appreciated!

Post from: Philaahzophy

Weekly WordPress Roundup – Jan 19, 2009

• Victory Over The Comment Spammers - January 14, 2009 - 7 common tags
• Can Your WordPress Blog See The Future? Mine Can! - September 17, 2008 - 6 common tags
• Polite Comment Spammers? - December 1, 2007 - 4 common tags
• Philaahzophy Now In Top 100,000 - November 13, 2007 - 4 common tags
• Introducing The Get Paid To Read / Click / Surf Carnival - August 27, 2007 - 4 common tags

I got pretty excited back in August when I first heard that the Leonardo DaVinci exhibit Leonardo: 500 Years Into The Future would be making its only U.S. stop at the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose. Yet, for some reason I just kept not making it up there to see it and time was running short (the exhibit has been extended until January 25, 2009).  But when Zaira told me that there was a carnival set up right next to the exhibit (in conjunction with Christmas In The Park) I knew the time had come.

Unfortunately, I didn’t exactly wake up on the right side of the bed yesterday morning and it was the last chance I was going to have spare time with Zaira before the end of the year.  So off we went.  Before we even got to The Tech (while walking along San Carlos St.) we were suddenly accosted by a couple of giant characters from The Nutcracker Suite!  Zaira made friends with Mouse King, but was frightened of the Nutcracker’s vicious sword.  Not that I blame her, this guy’s definitely an intimidating enforcer of the state’s power.

We made our way across the street, into The Tech, and (with my wallet $40 lighter) into the Leonardo exhibit itself. The gist of the exhibit (as I understood it going in) was that modern craftsmen and artisans had created many of the machines and devices detailed in Leornardo’s notebooks using only methods and materials available in DaVinci’s time. Upon entering the exhibit area we surely did discover a number of highly impressive archaic machines. Unfortunately, documentation was scant and I had difficulty trying to understand (much less explain to Z) what we were seeing or what significance it had. Even the famed flying machine itself (the very cornerstone of the exhibit) had only a few paragraphs discussing what it was.

Should you plan on attending the exhibit I highly recommend going at a time when you can join in on one of the free tours. We didn’t take one, but did manage to catch the tail end and the tour guide seemed both informative and friendly.

Our day was not yet done, however. Heading for the carnival, Zaira was quick to locate one of her personal heroines, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, painted into a window of the Carnival’s fun house. Unlike previous years Butler Amusements brought a full crew to Christmas in the Park this time with roughly a dozen different rides, a handful of carnival games, and even a souvenir photo booth!

We took a quick tour of the carnival (split between Park, Fairmont Plaza, and the Rep’s courtyard), stopped by the ticket booth, and Z headed straight to their Tilt-A-Whirl which was called Hot Wheels (though no miniature cars were in evidence). Our ‘tour’ required us to cut through Christmas In The Park (which Z had visited with her mother and brothers the night before) where we did pause momentarily for me to don some appropriate Christmas attire (pictured left ). We also stopped by one of the game booths and I managed to “Ring A Duck” and win a new Christmas puppy friend for Z. Her name is Joy and she’s now integrated herself into the horde that lives ‘upstairs’ on Zaira’s bed with a couple dozen other critters from various midways we’ve visited. But while we were waiting for our Sleigh Ride Portraits to be finished she did get a little frisky with the photo booth’s reindeer mascot

Although I never really shook my lethargy it was surely a satisfying day with many pleasant discoveries, a few educational lessons, and I even got a couple of those wonderful (and rare) laughs that truly warm a father’s heart.

Post from: Philaahzophy

Leonardo DaVinci Disappoints At The Tech

• Media Contact Letdown - August 15, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Changes On The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Midway - April 27, 2008 - 3 common tags
• Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Two) - July 24, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Three) - April 28, 2008 - 3 common tags
• Carnival Midway Game Secrets Revealed (Part One) - July 21, 2007 - 3 common tags

A few weeks back a friend pointed me to ForumFinder.net.  I have been unable to thank them enough for doing so.  As the name implies the website is actually a forum, but it doesn’t only deal with forums.  In fact, more and more it (like the internet itself) is being taken over by bloggers.

Essentially, ForumFinder is dedicated to helping its members promote their online projects – be those forums, traditional static websites, blogs, or pretty much anything else online.  It really is a great group of people that are interested in both sharing the hard lessons they’ve learned and pushing other members to excel in all ways.

In trying to find a way to give back to this new community I now call home I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to create the weekly ForumFinder Blog Carnival.  All of the rules and guidelines are available on the carnival homepage (check my right sidebar, or just click the link in the last sentence), and if you have any questions or comments you can submit them in the forum thread dedicated to the carnival here.

The deadline for the first edition is tonight at 9pm (Pacific time) and there’s still plenty of room for your best blog post of the week!   But if you read this late don’t worry, because we’ll be having one every week.  Articles can be submitted at BlogCarnival.com.

Post from: Philaahzophy

Brand New Blog Carnival Premieres Monday!

• ForumFinder Blog Carnival – Premiere Edition - September 29, 2008 - 4 common tags
• Weekly WordPress Roundup – Jan 19, 2009 - January 19, 2009 - 3 common tags
• Philaahzophy Now In Top 100,000 - November 13, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Great Week To Be A (Blog) Carny! - November 16, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Anyone Interested In A Ron Paul Blog Carnival? - November 10, 2007 - 3 common tags

I found myself browsing old editions of the Carnival of Financial Learning over at Financial Learn the other day and stumbled across his weekly “So You Think You Can Save”contest.  Since I’m a (poverty ridden) romantic and last week’s question was about saving on a first date I went ahead and entered.

Well, it turns out I won a $15 Starbucks gift card for my quick little reply!  Yeah me!  Not only did I come across some useful personal finance advice, but I also ‘earned’ $15 just for being a good blog visitor and contributing to the conversation.  Not bad at all…

Post from: Philaahzophy

Immediate Payoff From Financial Learning

• Top 10 Sites Every Blogger Should Join - August 27, 2007 - 2 common tags
• Maximizing Savings By Playing The Gift Card Market - January 11, 2008 - 2 common tags
• Yes, Virginia, There Are Real Blog Contests…. - October 3, 2007 - 1 common tags
• Will Z Finally Get A College Fund? - October 9, 2007 - 1 common tags
• Weekly WordPress Roundup – Jan 19, 2009 - January 19, 2009 - 1 common tags

Carnival season is upon us once again. Z and I visited our first carnival of the year a few weeks back and will be visiting our second this coming weekend. Thus, it seems time to refresh the memories of all those ‘big strapping’ men out there looking to win the affection of their lady love via giant teddy bears and other plush critters.

This is actually the third installment in a series of midway game secrets. The first two entries on how to win carnival games were written last July and have received consistent traffic ever since (even over the winter months), so there’s clearly interest in these tips. Already covered in those other entries were the following games-

Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part One) -

• General carnival midway tips
• Basketball Toss
• Jacob’s Ladder
• Machine Gun Star
• Dart Balloons
• Test Of Strength / High Striker
• Speed Throw
• Chicken Catapult (or frog or witch or ???)

Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Two) -

• Winning Without Playing
• Patience and Observation
• The Cat Rack / Clown Toss
• Milk Bottle Pyramid
• Dime Toss / Quarter Toss
• Water Race / Balloon Pop
• Bushel Baskets
• Skee-Ball
• The Claw

If you’re looking for general strategies I highly recommend you read the previous two articles in the series as there’s not really space to recap them here. Instead I’m going to focus on winning secrets for the following midway games: Stand A Bottle, Bank-A-Ball / Stop Signs, Whack-A-Mole, and The Stacker.

Stand A Bottle – This carnival classic dates back to the earliest of traveling circuses and sideshows, but seems to be making a comeback in recent years due to its simplicity and low overhead. The game looks simple enough – a milk bottle, soda bottle, etc lays on a small platform. You are given a simple fishing rod with a ring where the bait should go. All you have to do is use the ring to hook the bottle and stand it upright without knocking it off the platform in the process.

The reason this game keeps making a comeback is because each generation (wrongly) thinks they understand the science involved better than the previous one. This task is far more difficult then it seems. Nevertheless, I’ve actually seen two different strategies work consistently.

Strategy Tip One -

Your instincts (and quite possibly the carny’s demonstration) will tell you to use the rod to lift the bottle by ‘pulling’ the bottle towards you. That is, start with the neck of the bottle pointing directly away from you and then pull it back into an upright position. Inevitably, though the bottle will rotate on its base, escape the ring, and fall from the platform.

Thus, the trick here is to ‘push’ the bottle instead of ‘pull it’. Start with the neck of the bottle pointing towards you and the rod, hook the ring and lift it away from you. Honestly, I don’t understand why this works, but can attest to the fact that it frequently does.

Strategy Tip Two -

For this one you do want the neck of the bottle facing away from you. However, instead of holding the rod at a 90 degree angle hold it at about a 5 degree angle – nearly upright. This will probably take long arms or a carny who doesn’t mind a bit of a lean, but if you have neither return to the first strategy above. Loop the ring over the neck of the bottle than slowly raise the rod (not the string – the entire rod) until the string is taut. This next step is where the steady hands are needed. Ignore the string, stay 100% focused on the rod itself and pull up and towards you slowly and steadily. The bottle needs to remain directly beneath the rod at all times. If it starts to waver, lower it to gently to the platform and start again. Remember to be the tortoise, not the hare and you’ll be walking away with the giant bear

Bank A Ball / Stop Signs / Flukey Ball – In this game the player needs to bounce a ball (softball, baseball, wiffle ball, whatever) off of an angled sign (typically a stop sign or backboard with that summer’s hottest character on it) and drop it into a basket placed flat on the ground. The problem is that the angle of the backboard is so steep that it’s darn near impossible to both hit the board and land in the basket. Yet the booth operator seems to do it every time. That’ s because he is a) closer so doesn’t have to throw as hard and, b) can throw under hand so that the ball hits the sign while moving in an upward direction instead of falling down. It’s the latter advantage that is the most key.

Most players don’t even try to throw underhand, instead hoping to use some sort of spin to deaden the drop. But that won’t help you here. Nor will hitting the edges or rolling down the backboard as neither is permitted. The physics demand that the ball be moving in an upward direction when it comes into contact with the backboard. So why, you may ask, doesn’t the player simply lob it underhand just like the carny? Because the edge of the booth gets in the way! In order to hit the backboard with the ball gaining altitude it must be released fairly low and the booth construction generally prevents this.

If you really want to win this game, then keep the physics in mind and prepare to practice, practice, practice.

Whac A Mole – I’ve never personally worked this game and haven’t played it much either, but am constantly inundated with tips on how to gain the edge over the other players. Here are the tips that seem to be the most effective-

1. Kneel in front of the game – this should put the mole holes at eye level allowing you to identify their locations more rapidly.
2. Stare directly down into the center hole and don’t move your focus spot until the game is over. Essentially you’re allowing your peripheral vision and instinctive motion sense to rapidly identify where there are moving moles waiting to to be whacked.

The Stacker – Just like the claw games (discussed in part two), The Stacker isn’t really a ’skill’ game at all. In fact, it is impossible to win until it has received enough money to make the game profitable for the arcade. You’re seeing those big ticket prizes (iPods, PS3, X-Box, etc) in the stacker for this very reason. The odds of winning are set internally somewhere between 1 in 200 plays and 1 in 800 plays depending on the value of the prize and the deisred profit margin.

In other words, as long as you think of it more as a raffle then anything that involves skill, you should do just fine

That’s all I’ve got time for today. However, coming up in Part Four will be some tips, tricks and secrets for Wacky Wire, Cover The Spot / Spot The Spot, Milk can softball, and anything else I encounter at the carnival this weekend.

Until then, remember that the carnival is supposed to be about fun in the sun, not the size of the prize.

More from Carnival midway game items-

Pages 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | more

Post from: Philaahzophy

Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Three)

• Changes On The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Midway - April 27, 2008 - 5 common tags
• Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Two) - July 24, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Carnival Midway Game Secrets Revealed (Part One) - July 21, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Media Contact Letdown - August 15, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Leonardo DaVinci Disappoints At The Tech - December 24, 2008 - 3 common tags

Z and I made our first joint trek of 2008 to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk last weekend. I’ve been unable to afford to renew our season passes yet, so it was a games only day (oh and Z finally got her first deep fried twinkie – she liked it ). Sometime over the winter semi-closure of the Boardwalk a couple of major changes occurred with their carnival games.

First the good news-

The price of almost all the games has been reduced from $3 per play to $2 per play. As soon as I saw this two thoughts competed to occupy the forefront of my brain-

1. Huzzah! We can play more games today!
2. Wait a second. Prices never go down.

Turns out, both thoughts were accurate. We were able to (and did) play more games. Although I skipped a few regulars for reasons pointed out below, we did hit up about half the open booths on the midway, including a couple we almost never play because I’m no good at them. Of course, we also brought home several new plush critters to crowd Z’s new bed.

Second the bad news-

Without fail, every single game had (at least) one of two things happen-

1. The games got significantly more difficult to win
2. The prizes got smaller and/or cheaper

In several cases both of these changes occurred. For example, the classic bushel basket game which I win 90% of the time I play. Traditionally (and up until last year at the Boardwalk) you pay your money ($3 last year) and receive three balls. You win by getting a single ball to remain in the basket. Some variants have smaller prizes which can be traded up to bigger prizes, with each “made” ball earning a small prize. This year the Boardwalk has changed the game in several ways-

• They lowered the price from $3 for 3 balls to $2 for two balls
• They raised the height of the baskets. They’re the same baskets but they now rest higher up on the platform.
• They got all new colored wiffle balls. I don’t think this actually effects game play, but it is a noticable change.
• Last year they had a single prize as described above. They now have small prizes which are tradeable (2-for1) for large prizes.
• They posted a “Game over when you win” sign. What this means is that if you make your first ball in the basket your second ball is now a waste of money. You are not allowed to win two small prizes (tradeable for one large prize) on your single $2 entry fee.

As a result of these changes (and, I must admit the lack of utter cuteness in the critters / prizes) I refused to play my all-time favorite carnival game. Similar changes can be seen at other game booths. The red star dart game used to be $3 for three darts or $5 for six darts. Every dart in a red star won a prize which could be traded up. Now it’s $2 for two darts or four darts for $3. They also increased the top level prize to a full size guitar. Sounds good, right? But in order to get a prize comparable to last year’s “small” you now have to hit with three darts. Hitting one or two darts gets you much smaller prizes then previously offered here. In order to win the full size guitar you have to hit four darts out of four! Needless to say, given my 30% (or so) win rate on this game in the past and the jacked up fees (disguised as price reductions) I didn’t throw any darts in Santa Cruz.

Here’s some proof of the smaller prizes for y’all-

Although Z was saddened to see that the old Skee-ball palace next to Frightwalk has been closed, the new facade on the building had me very intrigued-

Post from: Philaahzophy

Changes On The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Midway

• Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Two) - July 24, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Carnival Midway Games Revealed (Part Three) - April 28, 2008 - 5 common tags
• Carnival Midway Game Secrets Revealed (Part One) - July 21, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Media Contact Letdown - August 15, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Leonardo DaVinci Disappoints At The Tech - December 24, 2008 - 3 common tags

A quick welcome to all the educators and homeschoolers who are visiting today thanks to the inclusion of my Parent Teacher Conference Meat Market post being included in the Carnival of Education! If you’ve got a second I’ve got some some questions for y’all.

I’ve begun seriously considering homeschooling my 11 year old daughter, Z. She’s been in public school since kindergarten and I simply can’t afford private school as much as I wish that I could. I do, however, work from home so have plenty of time and energy. My primary fear is that although I’m generally considered an intelligent and well-informed person I don’t have a broad enough background in science and math to serve Z well as a teacher. Socialization and friendships are my second largest concern. Any links to your blogs or other sources on the web that could aid in building my own homeschooling abilities would be VERY much appreciated.

Post from: Philaahzophy

Question For The Educators and Homeschoolers

• A Call To Arms For Anarchist Bloggers - January 19, 2008 - 3 common tags
• Why Are You On The Road To College? - May 3, 2008 - 2 common tags
• University Doesn’t Mean What It Use To - November 4, 2007 - 2 common tags
• Trampoline Dodgeball at Great Jumps Milpitas - September 23, 2009 - 2 common tags
• Proud Father Of A Science Geek - November 16, 2007 - 2 common tags

While it’s been a tough week to be a Postie (thanks to so many PayPerPost users being GoogleSmacked), it’s been a great week to be a carny! At least for me anyway. Philaahzophy has been featured in eight different blog carnivals over the last week-

1. Festival Of Frugality
2. Resource For Bloggers Carnival
3. Carnival of 20 Something Finances
4. Carnival of Everything Finance: # 7 Edition
5. THE CARNIVAL OF CINEMA: EPISODE 56
6. Free Cash & Making Money Online – Edition 11
7. Carnival of Webmasters, Third Edition
8. Carnival of Political Punditry

Not only have those carnivals brought more readers here to Philaahzophy, but they’ve inspired other bloggers to send their readers here as well! My A Bathroom Full Of Cash – Top 5 Tips For Saving in particular has been picked up by several other blogs. It just goes to show that Google can play with their PageRank all they want (Philaahzophy is currently sitting at a zero once again), but the blogosphere will continue to find and share the content that it appreciates.

Post from: Philaahzophy

Great Week To Be A (Blog) Carny!

• Philaahzophy Now In Top 100,000 - November 13, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Timing Is Everything When Being Paid To Blog - November 7, 2007 - 4 common tags
• PayPerPost Jumps On The Hypocrisy Bandwagon - November 27, 2007 - 4 common tags
• Izea / PayPerPost Rolls Out RealRank - November 23, 2007 - 4 common tags
• In Further Google PageRank Weirdness - December 19, 2007 - 4 common tags

Thanks to the first Resource For Bloggers Carnival at My Lucky 13 including my Get Paid For Your Non-Sponsored Blog Posts Too! , and the 100th(!) Festival of Frugality including my A Bathroom Full Of Cash – Top 5 Tips For Saving I’ve now broken into the Technorati Top 100,000! (99,658 to be exact) I only breached the 200,000 mark on September 19th, so I’m pretty pleased with the progress thus far. Sure, I could probably be moving along more quickly, but I’ve earned this ranking the good old fashioned way: I earned it. No Technorati trains, purchased links or other games. Just blogging away and commenting on other blogs occasionally.

Meanwhile, my Alexa score has dropped to 233,308, making my site more popular than 0.00037% of the internet! That’s a 573% betterment of my three month average. Yesterday my Alexa rank was 67,068 and my one week average is 106,042!

Alas, my Google PageRank dropped from 3 to 2 after only a few days. While frustrating, this is perfectly acceptable. I was ecstatic to see such a high PR, but now wish it had just gone straight to two. Having seen the earning opportunities available as a PR3 it’s difficult to let them go with out a cry or two.

All in all, Philaahzophy’s shaping up pretty well, and at least I seem to be heading in the right direction.

Post from: Philaahzophy

Philaahzophy Now In Top 100,000

• Timing Is Everything When Being Paid To Blog - November 7, 2007 - 7 common tags
• Philaahzophy By The Numbers - October 30, 2007 - 6 common tags
• The Market Reacts To Google’s Insanity - November 16, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Polite Comment Spammers? - December 1, 2007 - 5 common tags
• Izea / PayPerPost Rolls Out RealRank - November 23, 2007 - 5 common tags

I submitted my latest BlogRush article (BlogRush Continues To Crack Me Up) to a few blog carnivals last week and was honored this morning to be one of only five (out of 52 submissions) selected to be included in the third edition of the Carnival of Webmasters at Your Website Profit. So it seems I’m not the only one that finds a bit of comedy in the way that BlogRush is handling its business affairs. Or perhaps others just find it refreshing for someone to call out a referral based online program with honesty and genuine examples.

A big thank you goes out to Sutocu for selecting my post!

Post from: Philaahzophy

My Blogrush Humor Spreads Across The Web

• Weekly WordPress Roundup – Jan 19, 2009 - January 19, 2009 - 3 common tags
• Introducing The Get Paid To Read / Click / Surf Carnival - August 27, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Great Week To Be A (Blog) Carny! - November 16, 2007 - 3 common tags
• BlogRush Finally “Caught” Me! - November 16, 2007 - 3 common tags
• Philaahzophy Now In Top 100,000 - November 13, 2007 - 2 common tags