Summer zoo view take too

Posted on by Tom Lany

I went to the Como Zoo and Conservatory again yesterday. This time I went with my Uncle Bob and brother. The temperature was perfect, and it wasn’t that busy. We had a great time.

Check out these photos from our excursion.

Fresh Oil

Posted on by Tom Lany

I was driving home this morning, and passed by some road construction a couple of blocks from my house. As I was about to drive into an area where workers were taring, I saw a sign that said “Fresh Oil”.

The recent gulf oil spill has been in the news alot recently. The media has talked about how oil from the gulf coast might have otherwise ended up in our cars or furnaces, but seldom talks about other uses for oil, such as road tar.

The “Fresh Oil” sign got me thinking. We use oil for virtually everything… plastics, roads, and the list goes on.

Anyway, I stopped back and snapped a couple of pictures of the construction. I can’t wait to drive down the freshly paved France Avenue once they have finished their work!

A day at the zoo

Posted on by Tom Lany

I went with my brother Brian to the Como Zoo in St. Paul today. He is really into animals, and they just opened a new polar bear exhibit yesterday; so I figured it was time we paid a visit. Check out these pictures from our expedition.

New design

Posted on by Tom Lany

Earlier this winter, I decided that I wanted to redesign my website.  I felt like it looked good, but I didn’t feel like it looked great.  I started doing some research, and learned that a new default theme for WordPress (the software I use to power this website) would be available this spring.  I decided to wait until now to do the redesign, using the new theme, Twenty Ten, as a framework for the new template.

By using the latest theme, I am able to take advantage of some new built-in tools that will help me better manage the site.  I was also able to use much of the default design code to craft a look I like.

I can’t say I am enamored by the header image I am using, so that will probably be changing soon.  Other than that, I think it is mostly finished.  If you have you notice any problems with the design, please let me know.

Summer has begun for me now, and although I will be busy, I hope I have more time to blog than I have in the past month.  As always, thanks for visiting!

“Wordpress” to “WordPress” filter

Posted on by Tom Lany

I recently upgraded my blog software to the release candidate version of WordPress 3.0.  I am very happy with how it performs, and am excited that WordPress and WordPress MU have merged.  This will make the development process much easier, especially for those of us with WordPress MU sites.

There is one new “feature” that I don’t like, however.  A new filter in version 3.0 will automatically change all instances of “Wordpress” (note the small “p”) in posts, titles, or comments to “WordPress”.  While the later is technically the correct way to refer to the software, I philosophically do not like it when software changes the meaning of user’s words without their consent.  How can one provide examples of mispellings?  How can a blog owner ensure that the integrity of commenter’s remarks are left intact?

While a spelling assistant is nice at times, sometimes you need to break the rules.

I wrote a short plugin (actually, it is just three lines of code) to turn this filter off.  You can download it from the WordPress plugin repository.

If you don’t feel like installing a plugin, you could delete the code associated with this filter in your WordPress install.  Be sure to back up your files and database before you modify anything.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below.