Blog

work in progress: moving to new digs

Please excuse the mess! I'm in the process of migrating this blog from WordPress to a static site (Gatsby). I'd say that nearly everything here will shuffle off to the wayback machine, TBH... Ah, reminiscence... the internetz was such a different place five years ago!

Git for folk who like GUIs

Here are slides from my demo of using SourceTree at last night’s WordPress Meetup at Inspire9. I think it went over the heads of quite a few, and was old hat to a few more, but I hope it was useful to some of the other devs in the room!

Keep themes updated – timthumb.php compromised

It came to light recently that a vulnerability exists in a script used widely by WordPress Theme authors, including those by Elegant Themes, which I highly recommend. This is an easy bug to fix, but that requires users to update their WordPress themes (not just the core installation), and we know that site maintenance is… Read more »

XAMPP logo

Configuring XAMPP as a WordPress development server

Finally!  I’ve managed to get a satisfying development environment for WordPress on my local machine! I’ve had a semi-operational setup for a few years, but have just managed to meet all my needs! I’m using XAMPP on Mac OSX to design my WordPress themes, and now my setup features: a sensible, unique hostname for my… Read more »

Photoshop Precision: Using transform options

This is the next installment in the Photoshop Precision series: how to cut the guesswork out of scaling and positioning your images. You can postion and scale objects precisely using the transform toolbar, which runs along the top of the screen if it is set to visible. To show it, you must be in transform… Read more »

Buying a Secondhand Macbook, in detail

Macs rock.  Here is an update of my previous post on buying secondhand now covering hardware differences, where to buy in Australia, Applecare warranty, and why they hold their value. I’m a big fan, because its the very best way to recycle, and its cheaper!  I’ve had really good experiences, having bough a Powerbook secondhand,… Read more »

Photoshop Precision: Avoid blurring your image

This is the second article in the Photoshop Precision series. Photoshop sometimes appears to blur objects, lines or images.  This could be due to rounding, or losing data after transforming a layer.  Read on for best practice in resizing images and creating vector shapes, and come to grips with the way Photoshop displays your document.

Photoshop Precision: Aligning guides to the Pixel Grid

Precision is totally possible with Photoshop: here are some ways to set up your document to ensure that it is as crisp as your intention! When designing websites, I find it useful to set the Ruler Origin to the top left of the main content column, so that the dimensions shown on the ruler relate… Read more »

Increase your conversion rate by qualifying your customers

It is common for businesses to field a host of questions from our prospects who might be: evaluating whether we are the best person for the job looking for an inappropriate solution to their problem doing background research with no intention to purchase These enquiries are not genuine propects: enquiries such as these which do… Read more »

Overview of building a website

What do I need to get my own website? Essentially, you’ll need: A domain name – this is the equivalent of your business name online.  It is the link that users type in to their browser to visit your site, also called a URL (Universal Resource Locator) A web host – To make your website… Read more »

Microfinance – another way of spreading the love

Kiva is a non-profit organisation which facilitate micro loans to entrepreneurs all over the world. It inspires me each time I revisit the site and its reports. I was moved again today to support an internet cafe in Peru.. my US$25 contribution contributes the mere $625 Mr Yuri requires to get his business off the… Read more »