However, a recent web project with a friend that was written in python, has piqued my interest in python and correspondingly, in the service. Reading more about GAE, I can see much appeal in using the platform, especially its scalability and controlled environment.

Should I jump over and blog there? I do like the WordPress environment, and have gotten used to it after 5 years.

However, in retrospect, the fact that I have gotten too used to the WP environment may make it an ideal time to switch to another platform. Getting too used to a single platform may cloud my judgments in projects. Moreover, with my impending entrance to a University’s computing course, I should start expanding my language (programming) proficiency and this would be a good time to do so.

There are some problems though:

1. A lack of a de-facto blogging webapp in the Python environment a la WordPress (PHP).
   • It is starting to look like I have to code from scratch… Maybe not from scratch due to the availability of Django Framework. This does have benefits as I can learn Python, the GAE environment, as well as control what I need.
2. What about my old posts? Should I bring it all over? Should I leave it an importing it to WordPress.com?
   • Importing to WordPress.com would be easier as it is the same platform. However, this means that I have to notify users or map links to WordPress.com as well
   • Importing content would be great but alot of work to do. Moreover, I have to take into account WordPress’ Permalinks.

I’ll have to decide soon. If not I’ll have no time to work on it once course starts.

For now, I can only assure that I would continue updating my plugins.

The servers that my site was on was being moved to another data-center and my DNS records wasn’t switched to my backup server resulting in the prolonged downtime….

As of now, all content should be back online..

Apologies if anyone tried to access content/get support for the plugins on this website.

Cheers.

Nobody likes comment spam… but with some like the screenshot above,  you can at least have a smile while deleting them.

It’s the time of the year again. This year is aliitle special as the Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Valentine’s Day as well..

So regardless of whether you’ll be celebrating both or one of them only, I’ll like to wish everyone out there a Happy Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day!

祝大家虎年刑大运， 虎（五)福临门!
也在此恭祝大家情人节快乐!

This really showed how rusty I am in my subjects… Although I did manage to solve it with some help from my old (and dusty) notes…

For those curious here’s the question…

• 6.956g of hydrated sodium carbonate Na2CO3.xH2O were dissolved in water and made up to exactly 250 cm3.
• 25 cm3 of this solution was neutralized by 48.80cm3 of 0.05mol/dm3 of Sulphuric Acid.
• Calculate the value of x in the formula.

(p.s. the answer is 10).

Class.FTShorten

The new component of the core plugin. It contains the functions required to request a Short URL from a service provider. I am separating this class into a separate development branch which will allow me to update independently of the core URL Shortener Plugin. As such it will get its own page as well.. For more information, take a look at the FTShorten Class information page. The Class will also be available for download there as well.

URL Shortener WordPress Plugin

Version 2.0 of the, incorporating the most number of changes a version bump has to date. Other than integrating the new class as mentioned above, it includes several bugfix as well. Check out the URL Shortener download page for more information.

Addon Module

Likewise, the addon module also received an update, introducing more URL Shortening services for testing and also a structural change similar to the core plugin. There has been a version labeling change as well, switching to a version tree independent of the core plugin. The latest addon module is now 0.2 instead of being labeled 2.0-Addon. Check out the Addon Module download page for more information as well.

As always, the start of a New Year signifies a fresh start. However, we do have to look back sometimes in order to move forward. So here’s my thoughts, separated into sections.

• About Life
• About Blogging
• About Tech

About Life

2009 is a year where I actually found myself starting to play Facebook games after going on a no-computer-game hiatus for the last 4 years. Thanks to Mousehunt which prodded at my interest. I always thought I will start playing games again when StarCraft 2 comes out (and I’m still waiting…).. Haha.

In general, it was quite a good year, especially with University acceptance and a few other events. Furthermore, there is also the APEC 2009 event as well as the National Youth Assembly which spiced things up. Not to mention the small gatherings and meet-ups with loved ones which always makes me smile..

2010 would mark another milestone, leaving the NS and stepping back into the World Of Studies (not World Of Warcraft…) once again. Really looking forward to school life.. I aren’t  too crazy about the multiplication of work load, but will look forward to it nonetheless..

About blogging

I started blogging since 2004. 5 years on, I’ve moved through 4 blogging services and finally got my own domain at the start of this year.  Many thanks to my friend, who has kindly provided hosting this past year.

I’ve always just maintained a modest blog with no specific target, but come 2010, I should probably start thinking about pushing this blog further.

About Tech

The tech world in 2009 has also seen some new directions. Some of the highlights for me…

• HTML5 is now much more defined.
• Short URLs are all the hype…
  • Google (goo.gl), Facebook (FB.me), Youtube (youtu.be) all joining the already crowded scene which is dominated mostly by bit.ly (which launched a PRO service)
• Acquisitions are also abound as usual. One notable one was Facebook acquiring FriendFeed, signaling real-time friend updates within Facebook.
• Windows 7 was finally launched (oh man! I was one month too early to the free upgrade…)
• Google Wave was announced and in invited beta.
  • It may/may not revolutionize collaborations/email in the future, but has definitely created “waves” with users…

Wonder what seismic shifts will be found in the tech world in 2010.

Anyway, that’s all for now… Happy New Year (2010) once again! Have a great year ahead!

To everyone out there, friends and sponsors:

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Here’s a “toast” (a virtual one) to a peaceful and great year ahead!

Cheers!

This fact shows up prominently in a RazorTV interview as well as Straits Time Special Report published in it’s Online and print editions.

Granted, the cases in the article are mostly cases of malingering. For example, calling in sick so that they could party, not considering that there is chance that photos of them at the party could  surface on Facebook… One was fired while another was given a warning by their respective superiors.

You could say that they deserved it. However, if we look past the malingering fact,  a few of these cases involve photos that were not uploaded by them.

Would this constitute as an invasion of one’s privacy? Or is it the photographer’s/possessor’s right to the photo and upload it as he/she deems fit?

With companies now searching for and going through their potential employees’ Facebook accounts, and with more and more people citing Facebook in court documents, uploading photos shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially when you’re not even in the photo itself. The simple desire to share a photo of your friend may just have “unwanted side-effects”.

At this juncture, you may be saying:

“That’s b/s.. You’re thinking too much.!”

However the statement:

“Doesn’t mean that something that doesn’t happen often wouldn’t happen”…

…applies here.

I do think that sharing photos is a way of showing people your life, and a nice souvenir shared between the parties involved.. However,  before you upload your next photo on Facebook,  take a step back and think of the impact it will have. If in doubt, especially if it’s a photo of someone else, ask first, then upload.

References:

• The Straits Times, Page A6, “The truth is out there – on Facebook”, 21 December 2009

EDIT: Further Reads

• (27/12/2009) Privacy Theater: Why Social Networks Only Pretend To Protect You (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/27/privacy-theater/)

Automattic has released an upgrade to it’s popular WordPress blogging platform.

Version 2.9, also known as “Carmen” includes quite a notable number of additions like oembed support, batch plugin updating, a simple image editor as well as a “Windows recycle bin”-like feature for posts.

Under-the-hood improvements are also abound in this upgrade, with over 500 tickets and bugs addressed (according to the blog post on WordPress.org by founder Matt Mullenweg). It is also great to see the official support for rel=”canonical” as well as an automatic database repair feature.

Testing it out, the current 2.9 upgrade has been as smooth as always. However, one small issue I have so far is that the embed support doesn’t work consistently, with some videos not being embed as expected. I’ll have to monitor first and verify if it’s indeed a recurrent issue.

With commentsmeta now available officially, I’ll most probably include avatar support for the Facebook Connect and Google connect feature on my site. Once it’s stable, it will be released as a plugin for public usage. Unlike other plugins, it doesn’t really create a user signup entry in the WordPress database which is ideal for blogs, minimizing the clutter of users in the backend.

At the same time, I’ve also made a small update to my URL Shortener Plugin, bumping it up to Version 1.7, to take into account the inclusion of WP.me shortlink generation in the stats plugin as well as the “Get Shortlink” button included in the WordPress Core.

EDIT: A short video summarizing some of the new features of WordPress 2.9: