Oracle of ONE1

I made a habanero salsa/paste the other day and it was very good. These notes are to make certain I can come close to making it that well again.

Habanero peppers are hot and their oils can cause a burning sensation. Do not let these oils contact sensitive body areas such as the eyes or nose. Also use impermeable cooking surfaces. I did not wear gloves while chopping the peppers but will the next time as I had 1 finger that had a mild burning sensation on and off for about 24 hours.

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Updated the plugin code for compatibility with the latest version of Wordpress. Wordpress change the wp_mail function to require that the body contain content. The ezmlm list did not include content in the body. A simple fix.

Update your version automatically or visit http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ggis-subscribe

Last week I was sick and had a high fever for a few days. Just prior to that I had been deep into reading The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie. So my mind made futuristic nightmare scenarios where earth was invaded by an overwhelming force. Now the force the Spaniards had was not overwhelming in numbers but instead by technology and worldview.

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I first looked at using SVG in web sites about 5 or 6 years ago. At that time, a special browser plugin was needed to view an SVG and the javascript tools were not developed. I abandoned that first effort, even though the benefits of SVG were obvious. Flash to today: All of the current versions of the major browsers support SVG and the tools to manipulate the image are ready for general usage.

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Version 1.0.0 is released to the community on October 11, 2010. It is available for download from the WP plugin directory. This release adds two new options and places usage information on the plugin’s settings page.. It has been tested with WordPress version 3.0.1 and should work without issue for all WordPress versions greater than 2.5.

Changelog

1. NEW:    Add Plugin Usage and Information to the admin options page
2. NEW:    Add option that sets the form’s title
3. NEW:    Add ability to use an alias in place of the list’s email address

Usage is covered in the readme  and on the ggis-subscribe page.

Version 1.00 of the Universal Contact Form for dVector is now available. This allows all clients of dVector to insert a multi-homed contact form into a thickbox from any post or text widget. See the support wiki for details.

If it has seemed a little quiet from me of late, its because I have spent the last week or so working with the American Red Cross on the disaster response to the floods in Milwaukee. Basically, I have been running back and forth to the shelter (which still has 20+ residents) and then doing paperwork and management tasks in between.

Once that is done, I knock off as many of my daily tasks as I can. Usually, that means I am running a little behind on my daily task list (who isn’t?). So for my clients, a big thank you for your patience in any delays in addressing your tickets. For my family a big thank you for dealing with my earlier than normal wake up hours and very unruly schedule. To my friends, I’ll catch up with you next week.

I use Firefox regularly and am quite happy with its feature set and extensibility. There are a few options that I change to enhance my experience and security. These are:

1. Domain guessing
2. Internet keywords
3. Keyworded bookmarks

I turn off Domain guessing and Internet keywords; and instead use Keyworded bookmarks extensively. Accessing two of these settings requires entering about:config in the address bar. This provides direct access to Firefox’s configuration settings but is not recommended for novices. Learn more on about:config. When you are done with your settings just close the window/tab displaying about:config.

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The version 1.1 of ggis-InlinePost is released into the wild on June 26, 2010. It is available for download from the WP plugin directory. This release fixes a few minor issues, converts to standard shortcode conventions, and has been tested with the recently released WordPress 3.0.

Changelog

1. FIX: Shortcodes within an inlined post are now processed. Uses do_shortcode().
2. FIX: Comment metadata now shows correct number of comments made.
3. NEW: Change code convention to shortcode which allows use of the standard shortcode functions. Old insert methods are deprecated but will still work.
4. NEW: Recursive inlining now allowed when using new shortcode styling. Protection against infinite loop coded.
5. NEW Added the showcontent attribute to control display of the post’s content.

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Today I embark on writing a series of articles that lay out some of my thoughts on literacy. First, some background.

Meaning of literacy

I am using the term literacy to encompass a wide range of ideas on learning, education, workplace skills, soft skills, computer skills, and general increase in knowledge and skills. I will focus mainly on adult literacy but will also include some thoughts on children.

What gives me the authority?

I have been involved in adult literacy education for nearly 15 years but I am not a professional educator. I started tutoring adults with Milwaukee Achiever Literacy Services in 1996.  In 2004, I joined their board of directors and then was Board Chairman from 2006-2010.

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