Blog

My Lego Collection's Lifecycle
Published: Sunday, June 19, 2022
Category: bricks

Whenever I talk to people about my Lego collection, I’m frequently asked what I do with it, especially since I buy so may new and new old stock (NOS) sealed sets. So, to address those questions and provide a more visual explanation, I’ve written this blog post to explain the lifecycle of sets and... Read more >>

Multiple GitHub Pages Sites with One GitHub Account
Published: Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Category: web-development

You’re probably familiar with GitHub Pages and how you can host HTML (or Jekyll-generated HTML) as part of your GitHub account. Most of the documentation says that you can host one site per account, but there are some references to hosting multiple sites on a single account. After a bunch of digg... Read more >>

Hot-rodding the Hot Rod - 2011 Fender American Nashville B-Bender Upgrades
Published: Monday, September 14, 2020
Category: music

Back in the mid-2000s, I fell in love with the idea of a Fender Telecaster with a B-Bender, but I didn’t want to have someone put a B-Bender in an existing Tele for a couple of reasons (cost, heavily modifying a stock guitar, etc.). Fender made the American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster, but it w... Read more >>

Preamp Usage with Microphones
Published: Wednesday, September 09, 2020
Category: recording-production

This is the second post in a series of tutorials to help my kid learn some of the more technical aspects to recording and music production. After recently buying him a PreSonus TubePRE preamp, I realized he may not know exactly how to use it. What is a Microphone Preamp? A microphone preamp is ... Read more >>

Direct Box (DI) Usage
Published: Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Category: recording-production

I was recently talking to my kid about recording and the topic of signal flow came up. We were discussing options with regard to how to record guitar: direct into the interface with software amps and effects, through the pedalboard and then into the interface with software amps, and through the p... Read more >>

Flash Chord - Practice chords, scales, or arpeggios with an endless stream of randomized chords!
Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Category: web-development

I’ve recently published a new project called Flash Chord (at FlashChord.com) which is a web-based tool for practicing chords, scales, and arpeggios against an endless stream of randomized chords. I’ve used various backing tracks and other tools, like iReal Pro, for practicing chords and scales... Read more >>

Wolfpack Hideout: Look What I Found!
Published: Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Category: bricks

Description The Wolfpack has struck gold! The bandit returns to the hideout and surprises the leader with an unexpected treasure! Theme: Castle Size: 8x8x12 Date Completed: February 25, 2020 Presentations: Submitted to Castle/Pirates category at Bricks Cascade 2020 Read more >>

Chad Chillin' at the Laundromat
Published: Monday, February 24, 2020
Category: bricks

Description Chad is all out of clean clothes, so he’s just hanging out in his underoodles at the laundromat, enjoying a mocha-frappa-latté-chino, and waiting for the washer and dryer to finish. Take it easy, Chad. Theme: City Size: 8x8x12 Date Completed: February 24, 2020 Presentations: ... Read more >>

Arms Dealer
Published: Sunday, February 23, 2020
Category: bricks

Description The “Arms Dealer” is a specialty shop where Lego people (and robots) can shop for replacement arms and hands. Features include: display mannequins, merchandising and product displays, cash wrap, limited edition items, security camera, business office, wacky inflatable waving arm guy,... Read more >>

Recommended Guitar and Bass Pedal Ordering
Published: Thursday, September 26, 2019
Category: music

I often find myself in discussions with friends about effects pedal order for guitar and bass. Now that my kid has started playing guitar and is getting into pedals, I realized that I didn’t have a good go-to resource for the topic. I decided to write my own article on the subject, not because I ... Read more >>

Drupal Module - Brickset Connect 8.x-1.0-alpha1 released
Published: Sunday, August 25, 2019
Category: web-development

I’ve published the first release (8.x-1.0-alpha1) of a Drupal 8 module I’ve been on which I’ve been work for a couple of months. Brickset Connect allows a user to connect to the Brickset.com API and query Lego set information about a given set number and create a node with that data and associate... Read more >>

Entronomy - Evolve From Chaos - Album Release
Published: Friday, May 20, 2016
Category: music

Reposted from http://www.entronomy.com/news/2016-05-21/evolve-from-chaos-album-release Today, May 20, 2016, Entronomy released our debut album, Evolve From Chaos! The album is available on many streaming and download services including Spotify, Tidal, Amazon MP3, Google Play, iTunes, Apple Mus... Read more >>

Building the Beast - Custom DIY Guitar Effects Pedalboard
Published: Thursday, September 17, 2015
Category: music

I love guitar effects pedals. Oh mah science, do I love guitar pedals. I love ‘em! Give me more! It’s a bit of an addiction. I’ve had a lot, I still have a lot, and I want more. Pedals, pedals, PEDALS! I think you’re starting to see the picture here: pedals = good. :) This is the story of my lat... Read more >>

Review: Chilli Pro 5200/50 cm SCS Complete Scooter
Published: Sunday, August 16, 2015
Category: scooterdad

Disclaimer: All ScooterDad reviews are unbiased opinions. While reviews are previewed by suppliers for factual accuracy in statements about products, the opinions are not influenced. The product in this review is tested, reviewed, and then donated to a needy rider selected at a local skate park. ... Read more >>

Review: Fuzion Z300 Pro Complete Scooter
Published: Sunday, July 12, 2015
Category: scooterdad

Disclaimer: All ScooterDad reviews are unbiased opinions. While reviews are previewed by product suppliers for factual accuracy in statements about products, the opinions are not influenced. The product in this review is tested, reviewed, and then donated to a needy rider selected at a local skat... Read more >>

Webinar - An Inside Look: Acquia Certified Drupal Site Builder Exam [June 23, 2015]
Published: Saturday, June 27, 2015
Category: web-development

I was recently asked by Peter Manijak of Acquia’s cetification program to participate in a webinar (with Peter and Jeff Beeman of Acquia) on the topic of providing an inside look into Acquia’s Certified Drupal Site Builder exam. Last February, I helped create the Site Builder exam and revise the ... Read more >>

What's in Your Toolbox? - Presented by War Scooters
Published: Thursday, February 19, 2015
Category: scooterdad

The following article is presented as sponsored content from an advertising partner in collaboration with ScooterDad.com. The content has been reviewed and approved to ensure that it aligns with the purpose of the site. Putting together your first pro scooter is a snap, but what happens when y... Read more >>

New Boxer Puppies Have Their Own YouTube Channel
Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014
Category: dogs

After the tragic loss of our last two Boxers within 2 weeks of each other, we knew we had to fill our home and our lives with new dogs. We knew that puppies, while a lot of work, were the best option for getting dogs to fit with our home, our cats, and our livestyle since we could shape and mold ... Read more >>

The Best Trick: Scootering as Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Published: Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Category: scooterdad

Our unique little kid, Paxton. In case you were wondering, he’s one on the right. ;) The following article was written by my wife, Dena Carlile, who is the mother of my scooter kid, Paxton Swygard. This has been a challenging article to write as we weren’t sure if being open/honest about ... Read more >>

Phoenix Switchblade Installation on non-Phoenix Decks
Published: Thursday, December 06, 2012
Category: scooterdad

The best way to improve your current brake, if it’s not already a Phoenix Switchblade, is to replace it with a Switchblade. Scooter riders are always trying to figure out how to dial their scooters. Unfortunately, spring brakes have been a big problem in this area for many years. No matter w... Read more >>

ScootAm.com - Promoting Freestyle Scooter Amateurs
Published: Friday, November 02, 2012
Category: scooterdad

You can promote your own content such as videos, photos, and announcements on ScootAm.com! Even if you’re a great scooter rider, you still need to promote yourself in order to get the exposure needed to grab the attention of sponsors and promoters. If you’re an unknown rider, you’re stuck in... Read more >>

Why You Should Always Wear a Helmet When Riding a Freestyle Scooter
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012
Category: scooterdad

Please wear a helmet whenever you ride a freestyle scooter. No one is too cool to wear a helmet. I’ve always been a strong supporter of helmets in all action sports. It just doesn’t make any sense to me to not wear a helmet because of the risk. I grew up knowing that and never doubting it. A... Read more >>

Ask ScooterDad - Volume 4
Published: Monday, August 13, 2012
Category: scooterdad

It’s Ask ScooterDad time again! If you missed the other volumes, you can find them here: Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3. Why do some scooter decks have different headtube angles? The angle of the headtube on a scooter deck affects a few aspects of the way your scooter feels. First, and pe... Read more >>

Tricks That Win Freestyle Scooter Competitions
Published: Sunday, July 22, 2012
Category: scooterdad

I might not be a scooter rider, but I’ve been around enough scooter competitions to know what kind of performances are successful. In fact, you can watch other sports, such as skateboarding, BMX, inline skating, and freestyle motocross and learn about things that score well with judges. I sus... Read more >>

Scooter Sponsorship and Success - A Chicken and Egg Problem
Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Category: scooterdad

Don’t measure your success in terms of your sponsorship status and don’t think that lack of sponsorship is what is holding you back. Scooter kids are frequently asking me about sponsorship: “will you sponsor me?1”, “how can I get sponsored?”, “do you know if [some brand] is sponsoring?”, “ca... Read more >>

What NOT to Do in Scooter Videos
Published: Friday, March 09, 2012
Category: scooterdad

Stand out in the crowd by not copying everyone else. Be original. Be yourself. Follow your own creative ideas. Lamborghini makes pretty amazing cars. But what makes them so cool is that they are different and unique compared to the cars that Ford, Chevy, Honda, and Toyota make. If every car ... Read more >>

ScooterDad Scoot Loot Store Officially Open
Published: Sunday, February 26, 2012
Category: scooterdad

Check out the newly opened Scoot Loot Store! ScooterDad is proud to announce that our Scoot Loot online store is now open! For those who may not have seen our new products in person or online, we have bracelets, keychains, dog tag necklaces, bandanas, and lanyards. All orders ship with free ... Read more >>

Ask ScooterDad - Volume 3
Published: Monday, January 30, 2012
Category: scooterdad

It’s time for another round of Ask ScooterDad! If you missed the first two installments, you can find them here: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Is there a rule of thumb for determining the height and width of your bars in relation to a rider’s height? Every kid has a different preference for bar he... Read more >>

Lucky HIC Installation
Published: Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Category: scooterdad

HIC stands for Hidden Internal Compression It seems that Hidden Internal Compression (HIC) systems are becoming more and more popular among freestyle scooter riders. This is because they are simple, cheap, and light compared to SCS systems, which we covered in another tutorial found here: Pr... Read more >>

Proto SCS Installation
Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Installing an SCS clamp system isn’t as scary as it seems. Installing a Standard Compression System (SCS) clamp can be tricky if no one has shown you how to do it right. Even after you get your SCS installed, it can be challenging to get it locked down just right. When dealing with an SCS, t... Read more >>

Creative Filming with Interesting Angles
Published: Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Use creative angles and filming techniques to stand out in the crowd. Has your scooter kid been hounding you to make videos for him yet? If not, it’s coming, so be prepared. Videos are a big part of the freestyle scooter culture and if your kid sticks with the sport, he’s going to want to st... Read more >>

Clamp Expansion with the Penny Trick
Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Category: scooterdad

A penny is the cheapest tool you can keep in your scooter toolbox! It can often be difficult to get a clamp and bars to fit together if the clamp is a tight fit for the bars. You don’t want to use grease to make them fit together as it will be difficult to get a secure fit later on after you... Read more >>

Removing Bearings from Metal Core Wheels
Published: Sunday, November 06, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Having trouble removing bearings from your metal core wheels? Try using the bearing spacer trick! Everyone wants metal core wheels because of their superior strength, performance, and durability. However, they have one disadvantage over plastic core wheels: they are much more difficult to ge... Read more >>

Ask ScooterDad - Volume 2
Published: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Do you have a question for ScooterDad? Send me an email at kenny@scooterdad.com, post on Facebook at facebook.com/ScooterDadBlog, or message me on Twitter at twitter.com/ScooterDadBlog. I’m back with more answers to your questions with Volume 2 of Ask ScooterDad. If you missed the first volu... Read more >>

Ask ScooterDad - Volume 1
Published: Saturday, October 08, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Not every question or topic is broad enough for an entire article. Some topics are very specialized or have very short answers, but I’d still like to help where I can. I’ve scanned the Google keyword searches resulting in hits to ScooterDad and I’ve identified some questions that I can answer... Read more >>

Installing Scooter Grips Easily with an Air Compressor
Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Believe it or not, this is the 3rd set of bars these pink grips have been on. Using the air compressor technique, I’ve been able to easily move them without damaging the grips. If you haven’t installed a thousand pairs of scooter grips yet, don’t worry…you will. Grips are usually one of the... Read more >>

Skate Park Etiquette for Scooter Kids
Published: Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Show the respect for others that you want them to show to you. Share the park. One of the biggest challenges young freestyle scooter riders face is criticism at the skate park. Many people think young kids on scooters are out of control, oblivious to other people around them, and they get in... Read more >>

Scooter Lingo - Volume 2
Published: Sunday, September 18, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Jeremy Cathcart definitely knows what “sick”, “beast”, and “boost” mean. He’s also pretty familiar with “flow”. :o) We had a lot of fun with our tongue-in-cheek, yet informative, Scooter Lingo - Volume 1 article which resulted in quite a few web hits and some positive feedback. This article,... Read more >>

Interview with Justin Wharton of JJW Designs and 110% Clothing
Published: Thursday, September 08, 2011
Category: scooterdad

When he’s not designing graphics or his own clothing brand, you can find Justin at the skate park on his scooter or at the motocross track riding one of his motorcycles. If you still can’t find him, he’s probably trying to score a phone number from your girlfriend, wife, sister, mom, aunt, gran... Read more >>

What are the Basic Parts of a Scooter?
Published: Sunday, September 04, 2011
Category: scooterdad

The first step to maintaining your scooter is knowing what all the parts are. It’s a lot easier to order a new “fork” than it is to order a “you know, that long metal thingy with the tube part and the U-shaped part that holds the spinny jobby”. :o) Many of you reading this blog will undoubte... Read more >>

Your Scooter Kid Should Wear a Mouth Guard and Here's Why
Published: Thursday, August 25, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Chicks dig scars, but they also dig a full set of teeth! Last Friday, my scooter kid, Paxton, and I went up to Sammamish, WA for the Lucky Summer Blow Out tour. He had never ridden Sammamish before and he was having a great day until horror struck. Paxton was trying to clear a quarter pipe t... Read more >>

Scooter Lingo - Volume 1
Published: Thursday, August 18, 2011
Category: scooterdad

“That scooter is so dialed and those bri flips are legit! You’re riding steezy today. I can’t wait to see that banger in your next edit, homie!” This is the first article in what I expect will be a series of articles to help teach parents and kids who are new to the scooter world about some ... Read more >>

Removing Flat Spots and Resurfacing Scooter Wheels
Published: Monday, August 08, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Removing flat spots from scooter wheels can save you money, but it can also be dangerous. Always be extremely careful when operating power tools. If you’ve ever bought expensive wheels for your kid, you know how frustrating it can be for both you and your kid when he develops a flat spot on ... Read more >>

New ScooterDad Stickers
Published: Friday, August 05, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Find me at a skate park or event and get your own free ScooterDad sticker! If you’ve been to a skate park in the Portland, OR area, you may have seen some scooter kids proudly rocking the new ScooterDad sticker on their scooter and/or helmet. I’m really excited to have our stickers to share ... Read more >>

Scooter Customization on the Cheap - Creative Grip Tape
Published: Monday, August 01, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Grip tape is pretty cheap and you can do some cool things with it if you get creative! Recently, I wrote an article titled Swap Meet - Frequent Part Swapping in Scooter Culture where I discussed an aspect of freestyle scooter culture pertaining to a constant upgrading and swapping parts. I a... Read more >>

Swap Meet - Frequent Part Swapping in Scooter Culture
Published: Friday, July 29, 2011
Category: scooterdad

When you’re the scooter mechanic for a fleet of kids, you end up with a graveyard of parts like I have. If your kid is serious about freestyle scooter competitions, you’ll find very quickly that trying every possible part and combination of parts is ingrained in the culture. As a parent, it ... Read more >>

When Should You Upgrade to a Pro Scooter?
Published: Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Category: scooterdad

It can be difficult to decide when to make an investment in your kid’s freestyle scooter. The Razor Ultra Pro is the best all-around complete scooter for beginners. When your kid is first beginning to scooter, he will probably start out on a Razor A1, A2, A3, B model, Pro model, or similar f... Read more >>

Tips for Installing Wheel Bearings
Published: Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Installing bearings can be a pain, but a few simple tips can make that process easier. Once you’ve made the move from plastic core wheels to metal core wheels, you probably know how frustrating it can be to install bearings. The actual act of installing bearings isn’t that hard, but doing it... Read more >>

Dialing a District V2's Brake
Published: Friday, July 15, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Stopping the rattle on a District V2’s brake is easier than you think! One of my scooter kid’s competition scooters has a District V2 deck and, as much as he loves it, it has always bother me how much the brake rattles. He usually complains about his scooter not being “dialed”, but for some ... Read more >>

Your First Comp, Part 2 - What to Expect at a Freestyle Scooter Competition
Published: Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Category: scooterdad

This is the second part in a two-part article about your first competition. Part 1 can be found here: Preparing for a Freestyle Scooter Competition The Competition Day You know those times that you were told registration would start? Yeah, well, forget it. Okay, that’s not true, but the poi... Read more >>

Your First Comp, Part 1 - Preparing for a Freestyle Scooter Competition
Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Paxton practicing his tabletop hip transfers in preparation for the Subway Games. This is the first part in a two-part article about your first competition. Part 2 can be found here: What to Expect at a Freestyle Scooter Competition This coming weekend, we’ll be going to Sammamish, WA to co... Read more >>

About ScooterDad
Published: Monday, July 11, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Introduction When my step-son Paxton was 3 years old, his mom got him a Spiderman skateboard with a T-handle attached to it. It was somewhere between a skateboard and a scooter. We had no idea that we’d be so involved in the scooter world, but we are because it’s his true love and passion. We do... Read more >>

Welcome to ScooterDad.com!
Published: Friday, July 08, 2011
Category: scooterdad

Freestyle scootering information for parents and kids. Thanks for visiting my new website dedicated to providing a resource to the parents of scooter kids. My name is Kenny Carlile (ScooterDad) and Paxton Swygard is my step-son and scooter kid. As the parent of a scooter kid, I’ve spent the ... Read more >>

CRF250X Tip: Short Circuit Clutch Switch For Aftermarket (ASV) Clutch Lever/Perch
Published: Saturday, April 09, 2011
Category: motorcycles

A few months ago, I replaced my stock clutch perch with an ASV C5 lever/perch/hotstart assembly. I’m really happy with it, but at the time of installation, I was a little nervous. When I pulled the stock clutch perch, I realized that the new perch didn’t have the same clutch switch for the starte... Read more >>

Jim Dunlop Eric Johnson Classic Jazz III Picks
Published: Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Category: music

When I was 17, my jazz choir teacher introduced me to the Jim Dunlop Jazz Picks guitar pick (in black, incidentally). From then on, I was hooked. When I wasn’t strumming or swinging my whole arm for Texas bluesy goodness, I had a black or red Jazz III in my hand. It was especially great for jazz ... Read more >>

Drupal - Getting Clean URLs To Work With GoDaddy Shared Hosting
Published: Friday, April 23, 2010
Category: web-development

If you’re using GoDaddy for your web hosting and you’ve installed Drupal on your shared hosting (Economy, Deluxe, or Unlimited hosting plans), then you may have run into the issue where you can’t enable Clean URLs for Drupal. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix. Unfortunately, the fix is so easy, I’... Read more >>

WordPress - Making Yoast Breadcrumbs Behave Like A Good Boy
Published: Sunday, April 04, 2010
Category: web-development

I mentioned in a recent post (okay, very recent) that Yoast Breadcrumbs needed some tweaking to get it to behave the way I wanted it to. This post will outline the changes that I made to my theme to get Yoast Breadcrumbs to cooperate. First, check to see if the plugin is installed and enabled. I... Read more >>

WordPress - Displaying Custom-Formatted Links To Page Children
Published: Saturday, April 03, 2010
Category: web-development

This is just a quick and easy tip, but it was harder to find the answer to than I would have expected. (…or maybe I just didn’t appease the Google Gods correctly when searching.) If you have a page hierarchy within your WordPress site and you want to display (such as in the sidebar) the immediat... Read more >>

GoDaddy Shared Hosting Multiple-Domain And Subdomain Management
Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Category: web-development

If you use GoDaddy’s shared hosting plans that support multiple domains (the Deluxe or Unlimited plans) and you’ve tried to manage multiple domains and subdomains, then you probably are already familiar with the organizational frustrations that can occur. In a standard web server environment, ea... Read more >>

Yet Another List Of Recommended WordPress Plugins
Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Category: web-development

I know there have been a zillion and a half posts written about the best plugins for WordPress, but I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and offer up my favorites. Some are the common ones that you’ll find on many other lists, but some are ones that I’ve had to dig for to fulfill a unique n... Read more >>

Encoding Time Cues Into YouTube URLs
Published: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Category: web-development

I recently wanted to send someone a clip from The ‘Burbs on YouTube, but I wanted them to see a specific line from the movie. I knew that if you added a timecode in MM:SS format to a comment that YouTube would parse that as a link to that timecode in the video, but I figured they had to have a wa... Read more >>

Graphics Kit Application Tip
Published: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Category: motorcycles

When I recently slapped some new graphics on my CRF250X, I asked my friends for tips as I’d never applied fancy graphics before, just stickers. I had heard about using Windex before, but I didn’t fully understand how it worked. My friends said to spray the plastic with Windex, then slap the stick... Read more >>

CRF250X Tip: Tail Light Doesn't Work Without Battery
Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Category: motorcycles

Someone pointed out that my tail light wasn’t working. I did a little digging on Thumper Talk and found this thread. Since my battery is dead, I took it out. Without a working battery (or without one at all, in my case), the tail light doesn’t work on the 250X. Whew! Now I don’t have to worry ab... Read more >>

CRF250X Tip: Sunline Case Saver DOES NOT Fit
Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008
Category: motorcycles

Perhaps this is more of an anti-tip, but here it is anyway. As we all know, sometimes 250R parts fit, sometimes they don’t. In this case, it didn’t. I tried a Sunline Case Saver (Part # 101-00-002) on my 2004 CRF250X, and the chain rubbed on it big time. $30 down the drain. I think it’s because ... Read more >>

CRF250X Tip: Fuel Screw Installation, Reconnecting The Carburetor Boots
Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Category: motorcycles

I recently installed a new Sunline Fuel Screw in my 2004 CRF250X. In order to do so, I had to break the carb loose from the airbox-to-carb boot and the carb-to-cylinder boot so that I could turn the carb out toward me to get to the bottom of it. Boots circled below, although airbox-to-carb boot i... Read more >>

Wordpress 2.5.1 Bug - Admin Can't Publish
Published: Monday, July 14, 2008
Category: web-development

In Wordpress 2.5.1, after you’ve created additional publishing users, the administrator account can no longer publish posts or pages. Or rather, the administrator can publish, but it appears under another user’s name as the administrator’s account is not an option in the drop down. After quite s... Read more >>

Kobayashi Maru For Developers
Published: Friday, June 20, 2008
Category: web-development

Being the geek that I am, I remembered the reference to the Kobayashi Maru from Star Trek many years ago, but I was surprised when one of my professors in college brought it up in reference to a sorting algorithm. His linking these two references changed the way I thought about solving problems. ... Read more >>

Yahoo vs. Eric Meyer CSS Reset
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Category: web-development

In my post titled WebVisions 2008 Conference Debriefing, I mentioned the concept of a CSS reset and provided links to two versions: the Eric Meyer CSS Reset and the Yahoo UI Library CSS Reset. Both address the issue of browser having their own internal stylesheets that don’t necessarily match. F... Read more >>

Remove Fancy Quotes From WordPress
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Category: web-development

If you’re annoyed by the fancy quotes that WordPress replaces your normal quotes with (i.e. “these quotes” rather than "these regular quotes"), there’s an easy way to get rid of them. Just use Semiologic’s Unfancy Quote Plugin For WordPress and presto chango, your fancy quotes are gone! I had fo... Read more >>

Remove Generator Field From WordPress Meta
Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Category: web-development

WordPress automagically interjects meta content specifying that the generator of the webpage is WordPress and, specifically, what version it is. Like this: <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 2.5.1" /> If you want to remove that, there’s an easy way to do it. If you don’t already h... Read more >>

Sending Email From PHP On GoDaddy (And Possibly Other Hosts)
Published: Monday, June 16, 2008
Category: web-development

Recently, while working on the temporary site for Moonfar, I wanted to send the user an email as confirmation that they had signed up for email notifications. Essentially, you define the recipient, the subject line, the body, a few headers, and then call the mail() function while passing those pa... Read more >>

WebVisions 2008 Conference Debriefing
Published: Sunday, June 15, 2008
Category: web-development

I recently attended the WebVisions 2008 conference in Portland, OR. It was my first conference, so I can’t speak to the quality with much experience. However, my general opinion was that there was some good, some bad, and some ugly, as one might expect. That said, the good was well worth the expe... Read more >>

Guitar Tips And Tricks
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Category: music

This is intended to be a living document, so check back often for new tips and tricks to help your guitar playing. These appear in no particular order. Use a metronome when you practice This helps establish consistent timing, accuracy, and synchronization between your left and right hands. Your... Read more >>

Speed Picking Exercise 1
Published: Monday, September 17, 2007
Category: music

Learning to speed pick can be quite difficult. Many guitarists do it different ways from circular picking to stiffening their arm and wrist. I recommend trying to keep your arm and wrist as loose as possible and let the movement come from the wrist. Try to minimize the range of motion. The follo... Read more >>

Major Scale and Arpeggio - Shape 3
Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Category: music

Illustrated in A Major The Shape 3 Major Scale is an alternate moveable root-6 (meaning that the 6th string contains the root of the scale) major scale. This example is illustrated in A major and should be practiced in all available positions. Scale Fingerings Scale Tones Arpeggio Finge... Read more >>

Major Scale and Arpeggio - Shape 2
Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Category: music

Illustrated in C Major The Shape 2 Major Scale is a moveable root-5 (meaning that the 5th string contains the root of the scale) major scale. This example is illustrated in C major and should be practiced in all available positions. Scale Fingerings Scale Tones Arpeggio Fingerings Ar... Read more >>

Major Scale and Arpeggio - Shape 1
Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Category: music

Illustrated in G Major The Shape 1 Major Scale is a moveable root-6 (meaning that the 6th string contains the root of the scale) major scale. This example is illustrated in G major and should be practiced in all available positions. Scale Fingerings Scale Tones Arpeggio Fingerings Ar... Read more >>

Warm Up Exercises Part 2
Published: Monday, August 27, 2007
Category: music

I’m already adding Part 2 and, just as before, there will probably be more to come. If you missed the first part, you can find it here: Warm Up Exercises Part 1 Here are a few more patterns to practice for warming up. Linear Patterns Legato Ascending Pattern I learned this pattern from some v... Read more >>

Warm Up Exercises Part 1
Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Category: music

I’m calling this post “Warm Up Exercises Part 1” because I suspect that I will come up with other warm up exercises later, so this will be the first installment. I’d like to share these because, while these are not difficult, challenging, or groundbreaking, had I known how to use them years ago, ... Read more >>

Simplifying Chord Changes For Soloing
Published: Friday, August 03, 2007
Category: music

One of the things that overwhelmed me when I first tried soloing over changes in jazz was how fast the chord changes often pass. How could I change scales that quickly and express anything? An instructor I worked with years ago taught me a way to simplify a series of changes by looking at what ke... Read more >>

Eternally Up To Date Copyrights
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Category: web-development

I can’t tell you how many times, both personally and professionally, I’ve come across web sites that have out of date copyright dates. A living, breathing, up to date site should have a current copyright date somewhere on the page, usually in the footer. Changing the year is easy enough if it’s s... Read more >>

Finding A Jazz Guitar Sound
Published: Monday, July 23, 2007
Category: music

Oddly enough, much like with the modern country tone, a basic jazz guitar tone eluded me for a long time. Now, I fully admit that I don’t tinker with knobs like I should. I tend to set the knobs on my amps, pedals, and guitar where I think they should be and then just leave them as opposed to twe... Read more >>

Spam-proof MailTo Links
Published: Friday, July 13, 2007
Category: web-development

I like providing links for e-mail on web pages, but I hate that spam-bots scrape sites looking for e-mail addresses linked in the usual manner. There are many hacks to try to avoid spam-bots The Cander Method Version 1 (AKA: “Make The User Do The Work”) Named for a friend that I learned this fr... Read more >>

Make A File Dropbox For Quick Downloads
Published: Friday, July 13, 2007
Category: web-development

I frequently need to setup a quick and temporary link for file download either for myself or others, but I hate having to create a new page with links to files that are only going to exist for a few hours. Apache and other web servers often provide this functionality with directory browsing, but ... Read more >>

Finding A Modern Country Guitar Sound
Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007
Category: music

For some reason, there are not a lot of resources (or at least not that many that I’ve found) that describe a general approach to getting a good modern country guitar sound. Of course, now that I’ve said that I’m sure I’ll get a dozen people pointing me sites that I somehow missed. But anyway, I’... Read more >>

Turn Blogger Into Your Own Blog
Published: Friday, July 06, 2007
Category: web-development

Recently I was working with a client who wanted a blog for their site but they didn’t have the money (and I didn’t have the time) for a completely one-off solution. The initially proposed solution was to simply make the “Blog” link point to a Blogger (which was purchased by Google a while back, i... Read more >>

Categories