Features

• 100% Free
• Consistent styling across all major browsers (even Internet Explorer 6!)
• Fully widgetized. You can change the sidebar and footer content however you would like.
• Separate administrative section in the WordPress dashboard gives you control over the links to the social networks in the header and the search box default value.
• Built-in support for threaded comments.
• Optimized for YouTube video embeds. Videos will be resized to fill in the width of the content section automatically.

Take a look for yourself!

Screenshot

Live Demo

Want to play around with it and see for yourself?

You can access a live demo of the site here: Live Demo

Download

You can download the latest version of Earthly here: Download Earthly

Furthermore

Are you using Earthly on your site? Please let me know in the comments! Also feel free to post questions or comments.

My first jQuery plugin is now available for download. After using the JavaScript framework for a couple of years, I started getting curious of what it takes to write a plugin for it. I was happy I finally got to read more of the developer documentation and look into more advanced jQuery implementations.

What does it do

The YouTube Embedded Video Resizer will automatically resize videos that you embed onto your page so that it actually looks like the video was designed to fill the space. If you just copy & paste the embed code that YouTube provides, you’ll often have a video that only partially fills your content space and looks out of place.

Demo & Download

Click here to check out the plugin for yourself: YouTube Embedded Video Resizer

Furthermore

There are use instructions provided on the demo page that demonstrate how to use the plugin on your own site.

Are you using it on your own site? Do you have any questions or feedback? Let me know in the comments.

Why do companies consistently use a from address of “noreply@…com” when sending out automated emails? Often inside the message, you’ll find something along the lines of this:

“Do not reply to this email. All replies go to an unmonitored mailbox.”

Instead, what if the emails came from a customer service associate? If you had a problem with your order, all you would have to do is hit reply and start typing. Your emails would be sent to a real person who could assist you. But instead of taking this more personalized approach, they come across as robots.

In my opinion, this is a big usability and marketing mistake. Companies should make it as easy as possible for their customers to engage them.

I just did a quick search through my inbox looking for emails coming from “noreply” and found just a few of the biggest offenders. Take a look at these:

• Rackspace – I’m probably the most surprised with this one
• PayPal
• Amazon Payments
• Google Checkout
• Overstock
• US Bank
• Charles Schwab
• Moo.com

Solution

Don’t use noreply email addresses. At the very least, have them sent to a distribution list where the right people in your organization can monitor the feedback. It can even be tied into a ticketing system to keep things organized. Whenever somebody replies, it will automatically create a ticket in your internal system so your team can keep track of feedback and respond accordingly.

What do you think? Leave a comment or let me know by sending a quick note to noreply@trevorfitzgerald.com. (Please note that is an unmonitored mailbox and emails will not be read.)

I just developed a WordPress theme that I would like to release into the wild. It’s been a while since I’ve released any WordPress code so I thought I’d get back into the swing of things.

I’ve named it Crispp. I wanted something that was simple, clean, & modern. I believe this theme fits the bill. It was inspired in part by the incredibly awesome theoatmeal.com.

Features

• 100% Free
• Consistent styling across all major browsers (even Internet Explorer 6!)
• No images are used for the layout of the site. Everything can be changed by simply modifying the stylesheet.
• Fully widgetized. You can change the sidebar and footer content however you would like.
• Separate administrative section in the WordPress dashboard gives you control over the visual aspects of your site.
• Introduction box on homepage can be customized to your own text.
• Build-in support for threaded comments.
• Optimized for YouTube video embeds. Videos will be resized to fill in the width of the content section automatically.
• WordPress 2.9 compatible

Take a look for yourself!

Screenshots

The Crispp WordPress theme (shown with the light color scheme)

Homepage (shown with dark color scheme)

The intro box is fully customizable for your own content

Blog post dates are offset to add visual appeal to the site.

Threaded commenting is built in to the theme. Much focus was placed on comment styling and layout.

The comment form offers a visually appealing way for visitors to connect with you.

Live Demo

Want to play around with it and see for yourself?

You can access a live demo of the site here: Live Demo

Download

You can download the latest version of Crispp here: Download Crispp

Furthermore

Are you using Crispp on your site? Please let me know in the comments! Also feel free to post questions or comments.

• Fixed Footers without JavaScript
• Amazon EC2 Disk Performance | AF-Design
• Simple File Encryption with OpenSSL | Tombuntu
• P2: The New Prologue « Blog « WordPress.com
• How to validate passwords with CakePHP (the Cake way)
• Inkd
• HTML XHTML Entities
• The 50 dollar logo experiment | Logo Design Love

• Tough Guy Challenge 2009 – The Big Picture – Boston.com
• David Golding : davidgolding.net
  Great CakePHP screencasts
• Newspaper Subscription – Free HTML Form Template
  Cool form templates
• Credit Card Logos & Images
• Joseph Crawford » CakePHP 1.2.* Auth Component Tutorial
• Using CakePHP’s Auth Component
• CakePHP Auth Component – Tutorial Three: Remember Me Cookie
• 21 things I learned about CakePHP – Avatar Financial Group
• BASH: Prepend A Text / Lines To a File
• High Five Escalator

• Mastering the VI editor
• Grep multiple files but exclude .svn (subversion) directories | AgaricDesign.com
• Why Google Employees Quit
• MySQL Proxy is back
• Have a GSM phone and GrandCentral? Here’s how to simplify your voicemail.
• Printers – Community Ubuntu Documentation
  Ubuntu Network Printing

• jQuery: » jQuery 1.3 and the jQuery Foundation
• Hamza Khan-Cheema | Freelance Rails Developer | Dual Monitor Setup – Ubuntu ATI
• [ubuntu] Dual monitors, forcing different resolutions – Ubuntu Forums
• Puppet Mario – CollegeHumor video
  Awesome
• Airline Baggage Regulations For Bicycles
• Mouthwash: That Burning From Mouthwash? It’s Cancer
• calvin & hobbe’s comic

• FORA.tv – Mike Rowe: Reclaiming Our ‘Dirty Jobs’
• TracBackup – The Trac Project
• CronHowto – Community Ubuntu Documentation
• Vector Magic | Precision Bitmap to Vector Conversion Online
  This actually did an awesome job converting an image to vector format.
• Conflicts Of Interest: The Inmates Get Thinner And The Sheriff’s Bank Account Gets Fatter
• Guy Gets Trapped on Ski Lift, Hangs Bare-Ass Naked for 15 Minutes
  I’m going to think about this every time I get on a ski lift now.

Blogging platform JournalSpace (which I’d never heard of to date) has ceased to be, following a wipe-out of the main database for which there was no back-up in place. According to the JournalSpace blog, the database was overwritten as a result of a malicious act from a disgruntled ex-employee.

via JournalSpace Drama: All Data Lost Without Backup, Company Deadpooled.

It’s easy and inexpensive to develop a comprehensive backup system.  Why was this allowed to happen?