As promised, I’ve updated Category Posts Widget. Version 1.3 brings one new feature to the table: an option to show a post excerpt. I also converted the widget to the new WordPress 2.5 system of adding multiple widgets so 1.3 will only work on WordPress 2.5 or later. Please donate if you like this plugin! Full list of changes below.
Changes:
- New option to display post excerpt below permalink.
- Display as many posts from a category as you want.
- Add as many widgets as you want.
- WordPress 2.5 compatible only.
Note: You may have to reconfigure your CPW widgets if you are upgrading from a previous version.
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Download
You can download Category Posts Widget 1.3 at the official WordPress plugin repository.
Donate
This plugin was created by me and is made available free of charge. However, if you would like to show your appreciation, you can donate via PayPal by clicking the donate button in the sidebar. All funds go towards paying for my college expenses.
Posted on April 18, 2008 in Code
I had been having a bit of trouble deciding where I want to go for college as some of you may know. I was torn between UCLA and Carnegie Mellon. I had been researching each school for sometime and trying to figure out what mattered to me the most. UCLA is on the west coast located in sunny Los Angeles while Carnegie Mellon is on the east coast in Pittsburgh. I would say that’s a bit of a contrast in location, but the differences don’t end there. I won’t discuss all the different factors that influenced my decision. I was undecided and that’s all you really need to know.
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I decided where to go in English class of all places. My teacher passed out note cards so that people could write what college they were going to and stick it on the door of the classroom for everyone to see. By that time I had already researched everything from recreational activities to how the computer science program is structured. I doubted there was much else I could find out about the schools without actually visiting, which I couldn’t do due to cost of travel and lack of time. So I’m sitting at my desk with a blank note card in front of me and I think to myself “Ah, what the hell. Now is a good time as any other.”
I wrote Carnegie Mellon on my note card and proudly stuck it on the door. 
Posted on April 18, 2008 in Life, School
I’ve been using my current laptop for a 2-3 years now. It’s an old Dell Inspiron 6000 that I got for about $1,000. It works fine for the most part, but the wireless is flaky and dies on me randomly which kills it for me. I need my wireless to be rock solid and reliable. Then there’s also the fact that it’s getting a bit hard to multi-task with some of the newer, more demanding applications. It’s only packing a 1.6 GHz Pentium M, 512 MB of RAM, and integrated Intel graphics. Not much, I know, but it’s gotten me through high school. Keyword: high school.
I’ll be off to college this fall and I figure this old clunker isn’t going to last me another four years. Originally I was planning on getting another Dell. But recently I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a Mac instead. Scandalous. Those who know me reasonably well know that I’ve been a self-proclaimed Mac hater for years. (I’d like it to be noted Mac does not equal Apple. I’m quite happy with my iPod touch actually.)
The reason I’ve been considering switching to Mac is three-fold. First, I don’t want anything to do with Vista. I personally don’t like the new Aero design and when die-hard Windows fans start complaining about problems, I get worried. Moreover, I find it interesting that the successor to XP actually has higher system requirements. Call me crazy, but aren’t revisions supposed to be leaner and faster rather than more bloated and demanding?
My second reason is just personal curiosity. I have never actually sat down and used a Mac extensively. I used them in elementary school, but those were pre-OS X days and I’ve used them infrequently in the library computer lab at my school. With that said, I’ve never really had any problems with it besides not knowing how to do something on my part.
And finally, my third reason is that some of the programs available only on Mac just look damn cool. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve wished Quicksilver, Adium, Growl, or Coda were available for Windows too. Yes, there are Windows alternatives, but none do it quite the same or as elegantly as the Mac apps appear to do. Looking at the programs I have installed on my Windows laptop, I realized that all the apps I use daily like Firefox, iTunes, Office, and the Adobe suite are on Mac as well. I’ll also admit that some of the features built into Mac OS X like Time Machine look pretty nifty.
The way I see it, I wouldn’t be losing much if I switched to Mac. If I really need something from Windows I can always Bootcamp. So I started looking at the different Mac laptops: the MacBook, the MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro would be my first choice because the MacBook only has a 13 inch screen, which I think is too small, and the Air does not have an Ethernet port, which I think is still necessary at this point in time. BUT, the Pro has a base price of $1,800 even with an educational discount. That’s a lot for a college bound kid.
At the moment, I’m still evaluating whether I really want to make the switch. There’s nothing really compelling about Windows that I feel like I couldn’t live without, but on the other hand, are there any problems with Windows that would drive me to switch to Mac? I haven’t really decided yet. I’ve used Windows all my life, but I can’t help but be curious what Mac is all about. I still have some time to think about it and according to AppleInsider the MacBooks are slated for a design overhaul. Maybe they’ll come up with something that will make me a convert when Q3 2008 comes around.
Posted on April 17, 2008 in Technology
I competed in the Oregon SkillsUSA web design competition again yesterday. The rules were the same as least year. We had four hours to build a website based on a fictitious website proposal. However, I went solo this time around and competed against six other teams of two. It was interesting to say the least.
After the competition I went to Red Robin with Sadie, her dad, and Emerald for lunch. I had the most amazing burger I’ve ever had in my life there. It was heavenly, epic even. I think it was called the Whiskey River BBQ Burger. The onion straws at the bottom are magical.
After lunch we went back to the competition for the awards ceremony. It was really long like last year’s. They awarded the winners in alphabetical order by competition name so web design was near the very end. Sadie and Emerald took third and I took first again. That makes me the two-time state web design champion monster.
Here’s a link to the website I made. That’s what four hours, a computer, a Kit Kat bar, a bottle of water, and an iPod full of good music can get you.
Posted on April 13, 2008 in Code, Life, Web
