Google Docs - Graduation Spreadsheet

Visit my spreadsheet to indicate how many credit you have left to graduate. The semester is almost over. I thought this might be a good spreadsheet to motivate those who are almost done!

A Book Review: WordPress For Dummies, 2nd Edition

As you may have guessed this book is all about WordPress. For those of you that are not familiar with WordPress; Wordpress is an OpenSource blog publishing application. WordPress runs on PHP and MySQL which it also uses for content management. WordPress is extremely robust due to its developer following with many templates, plug-ins, and more available to expand the functionality of your WordPress site. This book was written by Lisa Sabin-Wilson. Mrs. Sabin-Wilson wrote a book that should keep the interest of anyone looking to create a WordPress powered site.

This book does a good job at starting from the beginning. This is essential for new users. The book begins by offering a brief introduction of WordPress and blogging. There are several reasons to use WordPress that the author briefly explores: it’s diverse, it is easy to use and quick to setup, it is extensible, and it has a community of users. Whether you are starting a blog as a personal diary or a more serious business related venture, WordPress makes managing that content smart and easy.

When choosing to start a WordPress powered site there one major decision to be made. That decision is whether you will use the WordPress hosted service or self-host your site. This decision drives the next major portions of this book. Mrs. Sabin-Wilson goes in depth about the particulars of the WordPress Hosted Service and self-hosting WordPress.

The WordPress Hosted Service is free blog hosting on WordPress.com which uses the WordPress software. This is likely to be the choice for users that want to avoid getting their own hosting service and installing WordPress software on their own web server. Using WordPress Hosted Service is really easy. Basically, you just visit WordPress.com and create an account and start managing your blog from the dashboard. The author further discusses how to write and edit post, how to manage your front page, the commenting system, titles, descriptions, privacy, and more. After the detail of the functionality themes and widgets are discussed. There is more than enough available for free to have a really exciting site, but there are premium services available which can be purchased through a credit system. Of course, some of those things that cost, such as no ads, could be avoided by going the self-hosted route.

The self-hosting portion of this book following the style of the other topics in the book in that it starts at the beginning. The author covers how to obtain a domain name and secure web hosting service. There is detailed discussion on the things that the web hosting service will need for your WordPress installation to work as well as other features you might want to look for in a web host. Then the step-by-step instruction on how to actually install WordPress on your web server is covered. The author discusses the manual installation procedure. However, speaking from experience, if you get a web hosting service that offers Fantastico Deluxe (and has WordPress as one of the scripts available) then installation of WordPress is almost as easy as a mouse click. As far as administration of your WordPress site is concerned it is generally the same easy administration as offered through the WordPress Hosted Service but with a little more flexibility. The self-hosted version of WordPress is more flexible because are able to install and edit your themes and plug-ins. The author continues on the topic of self-hosting and offers tons of valuable information on flexing, extending, and customizing your WordPress site.

The remainder of the book includes a lot of bonus information. This bonus information includes things such as example sites that use WordPress as a content management system, popular WordPress plug-ins, and some excellent free WordPress themes.

Lisa Sabin-Wilson did an excellent job in writing this book. I am an experienced WordPress user that owns and manages more than one WordPress powered self-hosted site. The reason I was interested in reading this book is because I basically jumped into WordPress head first and learned what I needed to learn as I went along. This book covered much of what I learned on my own in an easily understandable manner and also covered much more that I hadn’t already learned. I would have to say that this book would be extremely helpful to anyone intending to start a WordPress powered site.

A Vast Network Under Paris

As I said in a previous post, if you visit Ireland then you might as well stop by a few other countries while you stay in Europe. Once of those places is Paris, France. Paris has many reasons to attract visitors. I am sure all of the people reading this post have a solid dose of imagery dance into their thoughts. One rather interesting attraction are the catacombs under Paris.

Most people who haven't been to Paris or haven't researched the city just don't realize that there is a real Paris "underground." This "underground" just isn't a commonly known or talked about attraction for Paris. Under Paris is a vast tunnel system that is mostly the remains of the quarries that were used to build much of the city. Most of the vast network of tunnels are illegal to access. Of course, that doesn't stop everyone. There are many stories of tunnel explorers. There have even been discoveries of complex caverns built and used by the likes of secret societies.

The one area that is not illegal to visit and is, in fact, an attraction the city offers are the catacombs. The catacombs are the home of the remains of about six million people that were relocated from the overcrowded cemeteries of Paris. If you ever travel to Paris I recommend visiting this attraction as word don't really describe it. And, the link above which includes a slideshow of a few images from the catacombs will give you an idea of what to expect but really do not do the attraction justice!

Wikitravel Review - Ireland

Searching for a wiki devoted to Ireland travel is no easy feat. However, finding a travel wiki that has sections relating to Ireland travel is entirely possible. In fact, I found an excellent travel-related wiki that has a fantastic Ireland section.

The wiki is called Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page) and the Ireland section is located at http://wikitravel.org/en/Ireland. The Ireland section link that I just provided can be seen as the "homepage" to all of the Ireland travel information available on Wikitravel. On this "homepage" you will find tons of good information that pertains to Ireland as a whole.  Some of the information available includes: a historical background, regions, cities, destinations, entry requirements, how to get around, climate, language, and much more. If you are planning to travel to Ireland this page is a good general information resource to read prior to narrowing down the research you may be doing for a specific location in Ireland.

After you are done reading the general information as it applies to all of Ireland visit the regions, cities, and destinations sections. In these sections you will find several links that pertain to the particular areas in Ireland you intend to visit. If you visit a link to a specific location, for example Dublin, you will be taken to the Dublin page of the wiki. Continuing with this example, the Dublin page will appear formatted as the original Ireland page containing many of the same sections, but the information will be relevant to Dublin.

I am sharing this wiki resource because I found it to be one of the best resources for those researching their potential visit to Ireland. The best part is that this is a wiki. So, once you return from your trip you can contribute to the wiki with new or updated information.

Irish Breakfast

When you are in Ireland you might wonder what kind of food experience you will encounter. For the most part, many of the dishes you will find in restaurants will be British influenced. As far as traditional Irish cuisine is concerned there is just not that much available.

One traditional Irish dish you will encounter is the Irish breakfast which is also know as the "full breakfast." Of course claiming that the Irish breakfast is traditional is up for debate. Many will argue that it is just an English full breakfast without the baked beans. The Irish full breakfast consist of eggs, sausage, black pudding, bacon, mushrooms, hash browns, half a tomato, and soda bread. One thing is certain and that is that the soda bread is definitely Irish. Does that alone make this traditional Irish cuisine... you decide!

Traditional or not, give it a try when you are in Ireland. Either way it is certainly different than an American breakfast so why not experience it. Food is a big part of a traveling experience. The important thing is to try new things and learn about something new through experience. That is something you will be able to accomplish in Ireland through the cuisine that is offered whether it is traditional or not!

Ireland As A Homebase

Ireland is a great place to vacation in itself, but while you're in Europe why not visit a few other countries. I was in Ireland for five weeks and I took advantage of my time in Europe. Most people who travel to Europe go for a minimum of two weeks. I used Ireland as my homebase for the five weeks that I was there, but on the weekends i ventured out to different parts of western Europe. I visited Belgium, France, and England. All were short plane rides (an hour +/-). I highly suggest this to anyone going for at least two weeks.

You can do this inexpensively by using a discount airline. I used Ryan Air. When i mean cheap, I mean cheap... I did not spend more than $140 for any of the airline tickets that i purchased. Also, since I was just out for a weekend trip, I found inexpensive lodging. Let's face it I didn't spend any time in the room anyway.

Considering the plane rides were so short, I felt that a weekend gave me enough time to get a decent experience of another part of Europe. If you plan on traveling to Ireland, some short trips to other countries will greatly enhance your European experience.

And Don't Forget...

When you travel to Europe there are several things to prepare and packing is a little more complicated than a quick weekend visit to the next state over. Ireland is no different. There are a few specific things you should remember to bring with you. If you don't you will see that it may be difficult to find these items or they will be very expensive.

First, if you plan to bring any of your electrical appliances you will need an adapter plug. This is essential because I guarantee almost all of us will be bring some sort of electrical gadget that will need to be plugged in at some point during the trip (cell phone, etc.). Also, the voltage current in Ireland is different (230 Volts) so if your electrical appliance does not have a voltage adjusting transformer you will want to pick one of these up too!

Second, to keep contact back home you probably will want your cell phone. If your cell phone is not an unlocked GSM (aka world phone), I would suggest either picking up one cheap on eBay or waiting until you get to Ireland (trust me there is a shop as soo as you step foot of the airplane). If your cell phone is an unlocked (meaning it can be used on any cell network) GMS (meaning it uses SIM cards) phone then bring it, but wait untill you get there to buy a SIM card. If you have a locked non-GSM cell phone that has an international calling plan that will work in Europe and are planning on bringing it... please take my previous advice and don't bring it! Your pocketbook will thank you later!

Third, be sure to bring a raincoat (or some sort of rain gear). This may sound like a funny thing to pack, but it rains quite frequently in Ireland. Of the five weeks I was in Ireland there was a minimum of one full week of rain and it was summer.

These are the three main things I would suggest that you don't forget if you are planing a trip to Ireland. The rest of your packing strategy you can tailor to your needs. But, these three things are items on the do not forget list. Of course, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to exchange some money prior to your trip and bring a few Euros with you. However, don't exchange all of your money as the exchange rate did seem better in Europe because of the fees charged by the banks here (I used AMEX). Also, bring good walking shoes because most European cities have an infrastructure that will require you to walk more unlike America where we get in a car to go two blocks down the street. So, get packing and enjoy your trip!