Monday, March 19th, 2007
Sometimes I need to pull files from one server to another so I need to use secure copy. This is really simple to do with SSH, but I always seem to forget the command when I need it. SSH allows Unix users to secure their terminal and file transfer connections. Now let’s look at the code:
Once you are where you want to be, the command is:
scp filename.ext ses5909@123.123.123.123:
First type in scp (the secure copy command), then the filename, followed by your username on the other server, the @ sign, and the IP or host name of the other server. The part I always forget is the colon (:) and you need this or it will not work. Once you’ve executed this, you will be prompted for your password on the other server. Once verified things should transfer to your user directory on the other server.
If you need to copy an entire directory be sure to include the -r and you’re set
scp -r directory ses5909@123.123.123.123:
Hopefully this helps someone else out! Do you have any basic commands that you always forget?
Posted in Website Tools | No Comments »
Saturday, March 17th, 2007
Posted in Links for the Weekend | 6 Comments »
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007

WordPress has become a leading content management system. Notice that I didn’t say blogging software. I love WordPress so much that I don’t think I will create another website without it, blog or not. And while WordPress is great right out of the box, there are some things you can do to make it even better.
This article will share some plugins, some code adjustments and some tweaks that will make your website more user-friendly, easier on your web server, and possibly increase your traffic.
It should be said that this list is not all encompassing; it doesn’t list every plugin that I use. Rather, it’s a list of some of the more popular amendments to WordPress that should be done immediately following an install.
So if you’re ready to pimp out your site, let’s begin.
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Posted in Blogging, Website Design | 54 Comments »
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
Treat your code like it’s your bank account.
What do I mean by that?
Money isn’t everything. I’ll be the first person to admit that. But everyone needs at least some money in this modern world of ours just to survive. We all have to pay the rent and eat somehow. On the flipside, having a shaky financial situation or biting off more than you can chew can be a disaster. The same can be said about your application or website’s code base.
We all have what is called “code debt” somewhere at work. Maybe you have a part of your site that didn’t get updated in the last redesign and looks out of place now compared to everything else. Maybe you have a piece of code that could be written using some other library that would make it 50% faster. Maybe your site launched with one or two CSS validation errors that you couldn’t figure out, but didn’t mess up the layout in any browsers. Anything like this should be looked upon in the same way you look at debt in your financial life.
In the short term, code debt, like real debt, is manageable and in some cases even an acceptable or preferable tradeoff. Odds are you didn’t want to launch your website with those errors or release that app using the old version of that library, but a hard deadline probably forced your hand. Like a small impulse purchase on your credit card, this is all well and good as long as you can pay it off quickly. If you fix the problem on your site a day or two after launch, just like if you paid your credit card bill right when the statement came in, you’ll be okay and you didn’t incur too much cost.
On the other hand, if you let this debt rack up, it will compound on you. Let’s say you’re working on version 2 of your application, and it builds on previous features that require the slow-performing library that has a new faster version out. If you keep using the old library, your problems could very well bubble up again, or they could be even worse.
Now some people might read this article and take it as encouragement to over-engineer their websites or programs. That’s not the case at all, and a design that’s too complex for its purpose will most certainly fail faster than one with a little problem here or there. Over-engineering is like buying a million dollar house when you’re working part-time at a gas station; you’ll fail before you even try to make the first payment. Taking on a little debt here and there is an acceptable short-term tradeoff in order to get something you need just a little faster; it is not meant to be used as a long-term strategy.
I hope this struck a chord with some of you out there, and hopefully it reminds you of some little code debts that you haven’t paid off yet. As for me, I’m off to fix a few problems since I’m looking to get into a mortgage in the future 
Posted in Stuff, Website Design | 3 Comments »
Monday, March 12th, 2007
How many times have you heard someone say: “Why does my site look different in IE than in Firefox”?
This is a common question in the CSS forums and one I encounter almost on a daily basis. Therefore I am going to go right back to basics for this article and explain the fundamental reason why your site may look slightly different in various browsers.
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Posted in CSS, Website Design | 79 Comments »
Saturday, March 10th, 2007
Posted in Links for the Weekend | 2 Comments »
Friday, March 9th, 2007
I have received several e-mails in the last month asking me if Search-This uses a WordPress theme and if so, could they use it. I explain that it’s not a theme or at least not one that I am distributing. I spent a fair amount of time creating the Search-This design and don’t want to freely give it away.
At least that was my initial thought, but the more the e-mails roll in, the more I am unsure about my stance.
What do you guys think?
Would it be a good move to box up the Search-This theme and distribute it?
Posted in Stuff | 8 Comments »