Last night, as I was doing my usual rounds of visiting my favorite blogs, I came across a very useful post written by none other than my uncle Bob. It was a blog post written about a really neat plugin for Wordpress blogs called “Broken Link Checker.”
This is one of those plugins that’s really easy to install. Just upload it to your plugins directory, activate it and let it do its thing. After a while, you can check how many broken links your blog has by visiting the broken links settings page.
So, uncle Bob has over 3000 posts and had only 16 broken links. I have 1290 posts and about 180 broken links. Something wrong here?
I will admit that most of my broken links were internal. Many were external, but the majority were of photos that I deleted from the server and links to websites that I have taken down. It felt great to “unlink” to these dead web pages.
Why is it even important to get rid of dead links on your website? Well for one thing, it is highly annoying for your visitors to click a link and have it go to a 404 page, or even worse, a page that doesn’t exist at all. For another thing, it makes the person who operates the website look a bit amateur. Lastly, search engines hate links to dead pages and punish accordingly. Trust me, I know. They don’t like it at all.
So, if you have a blog and think you might have some broken links, go ahead and install this plugin. You might be surprised at what it finds.
Can I ask you a question? Why does USPS tracking exist?
I mean c’mon. It doesn’t update at all. The word here is “tracking.” I would assume the system would “track” the package. Ya think? Well, not exactly.
I’m sure that you all have ordered and have had packages delivered by FedEx and UPS. You know, you get the email that says your order had been sent and there is a tracking link included. Click the link and you get an estimated ship date and where in the world the package currently is. It’s a really handy tool because some packages require a signature. You basically need to work your life around the package delivery.
Recently, I have had a few packages delivered by the good ol’ post office. I would say they are delivered in about the same time that FedEx ground or UPS ground would deliver them, but the problem is, I have no idea when they are going to show up. I thought one of them was going to come yesterday and then again today. Nope. The stupid thing needs my signature so I need to be here. I guess I could always wait and just go get it at the post office. But then again, that really wouldn’t be a delivery. It would be a pickup.
When this package was shipped, I received an email with a tracking code in it. I checked the USPS website and was told that it was delivered. Well then, great. Anything else? Nope. It’s been over a week. When is it going to get here? No clue.
So I ask again, why in the world does USPS tracking exist?
By this time in your life, you have surely seen those little icons in your browser to the left of the website URL in the address bar. Those little 16 pixel by 16 pixel icons are called “favicons.” I guess they are named that way because you see them when you “favorite” a website. By the way, making these words verbs is probably one of the most annoying things in the world to me.
So you say you have your own website. You have access to your server and you want to create one of these cute little favicons and upload it for the world to see. How do you do that? Oh, it’s so easy.
I am going to show you a handy little website where you can create your own favicon. If you visit this website called favicon.ico generator, you’ll be presented with a big square. Each little square in the big square is worth one pixel. By messing around with this one web page for about 10 minutes, you will most likely have created your very own favicon. I am not going to go over exactly how to do this, because I figured it out rather quickly. I have faith in you.
What I did want to go over was what to do once you have created your favicon and downloaded it to your desktop. That’s important. Well, basically you just upload it to your server’s root directory and that’s it. Yeah, there is a lot of chatter out there that says you have to add this code to your page’s meta data, link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico", but I have found that you don’t have to do that. As long as your file is named “favicon.ico,” you shouldn’t have to do anything. The whole reason I recently developed these icons for my own websites is because my server’s error logs were getter filled up with something like, “favicon.ico 404 error file not found.” Every time someone loaded one of my web pages, their browser called for the favicon file and couldn’t find it.
So go ahead and give it a try. There are even some pre-made ones that you can download for your website. Let’s see how you do.
If you are closely tuned in to the web world as I am, you may have heard that Google may include “web page load time” as one of their ranking factors in 2010. I heard about this, saw a few videos about this and read about this. Apparently, when Google talks about changing what makes people’s websites rank differently, people listen…and then talk about it themselves.
I run a bunch of different websites. Some of them have rather large page sizes. The reason they are so large is because of additional files beyond simple HTML that each page pulls in to make the web page behave correctly. These files, such as .js and .css files can get kind of big. Over the years, I didn’t really dig too deeply into the page size issue because the sites get fairly good traffic. I just let things ride.
A few days ago, I came across a post on a forum that talked about mod_gzip or otherwise known as GZIP. This is software that you can install on your web server that compresses your web pages up to 70%. Google recommends that webmasters use GZIP to speed up their websites. Google likes to present its visitors with nice speedy pages in their search results.
I read that it’s pretty easy to deploy GZIP and that it really shouldn’t take more than a few minutes (if it’s already installed on your server). I decided to give it a try. So I did. It didn’t work. Hmmm.
I called my web host and started asking questions. I was like, YO B%^&*, what up with my GZIP??? No really, I was polite. I asked about why GZIP wasn’t giving me any compression results and they told me that I was running Apache2 and that mod_deflate was already installed, not mod_gzip. All I needed to do was to deploy it. I kind of like the name “GZIP” better than “DEFLATE” but who am I to argue?
By the way, here are some good resources on using GZIP and DEFLATE:
First, I asked the web host to deploy mod_deflate on only one domain. I wanted to gauge the results and also take a night to see if anything got screwed up from it. They were agreeable and did the following:
At your request I enabled mod_deflate for one domain on server 123456:
I checked out some stuff overnight and since everything looked fine in the morning, I gave the web host a call back and asked them to undo what they did to that individual domain and set it up server-wide. They put the server back the way it was and set up mod_deflate to compress all the websites on the server by doing this:
Created a file /my/path/mod_deflate.conf with the following line:
That was about it. Since Apache2 comes with mod_deflate installed already, all we had to do was to deploy it. We did this both for an individual domain and server-wide.
I bet you want to know about the results, right? Okay. Well, I can tell you that I had some web pages that were over 400kb. They are now running at about 165kb. I also had some web pages that were about 445kb. They are now running at about 45kb. That’s about 10% of what it was. Is that crazy? Yes, it’s nuts.
Next week, I am going to deploy mod_deflate on my other web server. That should really make some positive changes.
There are a few things you should know. The first thing is that if you decide to do this and have a cable internet connection where you are connected to the internet, you most likely won’t notice much of a change. I read that this has something to do with packets. I am not that smart, so I just took this statement as face value. Although, I run cable and didn’t really notice much of a change. People who use DSL and dial up will definitely see some speed improvements from the smaller web page sizes.
Also, if you are running a website and are using a shared server, you may not be able to use mod_gzip or mod_deflate. Since both of these modules use an increased amount of processing power, many web hosts won’t allow its use. If you aren’t aware, some of these web hosts pack like 10 billion websites on each server. Any increase in CPU demand is going to cause problems. Still, you should give them a call to see what they say. You might get lucky.
So I did it. I broke down and upgraded my Website Magazine membership to the “Professional” level.
Now, I know you remember me writing about Website Magazine before. It’s the magazine just for web professionals, such as myself. As I stated in my earlier post, it’s about time someone came out with a magazine for the forgotten bunch. For that, I say thank you.
Website Magazine cover
I initially signed up for the quarterly complimentary edition. I received that, plus a weekly newsletter that I found myself enjoying. I have been going back and forth with whether or not to upgrade to the professional membership, when I realized that this would be the only “Me” thing I buy for the business. Now, it is very much for the business. I mean, I wouldn’t have purchased the subscription if I didn’t work on the web for 18 hours a day.
Over the past year, this magazine has grown from a few pages of good content to a few pages, plus a few more pages of great content. I really have gotten ideas from what these guys write about. I truly am their target customer.
Now, speaking of their subscription model. I think it’s good. They offer 4 free print editions per year and you can upgrade to 12 editions per year for some $$$ whenever you want. It’s nice to see what you are getting before you buy the upgrade. That’s pretty much what I did.
So anyway…nice job guys and keep those magazines coming.
I guess it really doesn’t matter if it’s Friday or not, we work seven days a week ’round these parts. Yeah, we should really stop that.
Well, it’s kind of hard to stop working when it’s like 100 degrees and absolutely disgusting outside. I have been intermittently venturing out daily for some small landscaping projects. Every time I come inside, I am sopping wet with sweat. I mowed the lawn this morning, which wasn’t bad. Things changed when I had to start transplanting some shrubs. The minute I put any amount of effort into anything, there it comes. When that happens, I can hardly get my shirt off. It’s so nasty.
Okay, enough about that. Where have I been? Well, last week I had a few projects going on with the websites. I am trying to get some of the larger things done while it’s still Summer. Internet traffic generally picks up come Autumn, so I want to be in a good position. There are so many factors…oh so many factors. Changes generally take a few weeks to complete because as time goes on, you start realizing and remembering all the ramifications of what you are doing. I won’t continue to bore you.
I have been considering hiring a developer to assist with some programming on my sites. I did the math and figured that it was doable. Then, I started thinking about all the BS you have to deal with when getting someone else involved and I decided that outsourcing was the best route. So now, I am actually outsourcing to the company that created the software. It’s great…these guys are awesome and they know every corner of the software that they created. It has been a pleasure. So far, they completed two projects for me and are working on the third. I probably have about two more after this.
Outside…I have been transplanting some shrubs from the hill up front to various places around the property. It’s a miserable chore in this heat, but that doesn’t stop me. I just like to get out there. I am moving them so I have more room to mow. I am also going to be reseeding the entire lawn this Autumn, so I want to get that hill done. I want to plant a few more pines and some smaller fruit trees up there too. That should look pretty good.
I keep saying that I am never going to order any more of those little pine trees from Arbor Day again. I have varying luck with what I get. Then, I go ahead and order more. If you are going to order any pine trees from Arbor Day, I will tell you to stay away from the Blue Spruces. All (or almost) of ours died. All (or almost) of the Norway Spruces lived. Hmmm…if I do ever order any more of those trees, I am going to get the Norway Spruces. If I could just find some baby pine trees locally, I would be happy. That challenge is more difficult than it sounds.
We have been trying to go for our daily walks, but it’s getting hard to do that in this heat. We have been going about every other day. We tried to walk in the morning and then the evening to see which one was better. They are about the same. Either way, you still have to take a shower afterward.
It’s supposed to thunder storm this afternoon. It’s a little breezy outside right now and I am looking forward to the rain. It’s funny, all that rain we got in the beginning of the Summer is a distant memory. Now, the grass is crusty and the dirt is like concrete.
So anyway, happy Friday and I’ll leave you with this. Do you agree with me when I tell you some people just deserve to be smacked?
If you are like me, you have a number of websites or blogs that you check daily, just to see what’s going on. I have a few blogs written by friends and then a few blog/websites put together by communities. These communities are quite entertaining, let me tell ya.
Let’s talk about the sites not put up by friends. Right now, I visit three of them a few times a week. I would say that more often than not, I laugh out loud. Am I allowed to say that, or do I have to write LOL? I am not a LOL writing type of guy and I serious mean that I laugh so people can hear it. Anyway, these websites are pretty damn hilarious.
Last week, I planned to list all three of them here in a post. Then, as I was visiting them to see what was new, two of them had some hilariously offensive material right there on the first page. Now, while I might LOL at this, many of my reader might not (I know that they are secretly LOLing, but I’ll still get yelled at). I am sure you are all aware of my strict policy of non-offensiveness.
Now, I want you to know that at the time of me posting this link, there is nothing offensive on the first page. That’s all I checked. So, if things get interesting, it’s not my fault.
You have to check out this site. I guess the people who created it have some source for getting emails written by whack jobs. Strangely enough, I have actually received a few of these types of letters in my day. People think they can pretty much say anything through email. It’s like driving. Same thing. That’s where road rage comes from.
Check out the site and let me know what you think. I want some comments by tomorrow morning. If you’re good, I’ll drop some hints about the other two sites. After you check them out, you’ll be LOLing on the floor.
I know, I know, we changed the website. Sorry about that.
Sure, we didn’t give you much warning, but I think this site is going to be much more fun for you. The old site was just someplace I would write about myself. Now, I am going to try to include you.
We think we are on to something a little more relevant here. We are going to have a bit more fun anyway. If you participate and have a great website to link to, we may be able to help you out with that in the future, so all hope is not lost.
I knew I was on to something. It’s like I can foresee the future; it’s a gift.
I came across an article this morning that talks about how social websites can actually harm the brains of youngsters. Can you believe it? I’m just glad I got out when I did.
I think this is going to be the second and last part of my “Complaining about the Internet” series. I just need to get this one out there.
Have you ever heard of Twitter? If so, you’ll know what I am talking about here. If not, I’ll explain what it is to you. Basically, Twitter is a website that allows you to post very short updates on the happenings of your life. It can go something like this…”I have my hand stuck in the toilet.” You can post as many updates as you would like all day long if you want to. People who follow your Twitter feed can stay updated on how many times you get your hand stuck in the toilet during the day. It’s marvelous.
I hope I am describing the service correctly; I have never actually used it.
Just because I haven’t used Twitter, doesn’t mean I can’t complain about it. Please, let me know if the following is annoying to you too.
The other day, I was watching the news or something like it. Maybe it was one of those news shows, I’m not sure. There was a fascinating story on about how a few surgeons were operating on someone and another doctor was Twittering the goings on of the operation. I didn’t think too much of it at the moment. Then, later that day, I started thinking more about it. I asked myself, “Self, why was a doctor Twittering about an operation as it was in progress?” I began having strange thoughts and my mind started to wander. I must confess, I got annoyed for a while. I finally calmed down and tried to look at the plus side of the whole thing.
Let’s look at the “goods” of Twittering during an operation:
1. Comfort – a family can sit around a computer or a mobile phone reading “Tweets” about their loved one’s operation.
2. Informed – The world can get a first hand look at what goes on during an operation.
3. Progress – The doctors and hospital can glow in the limelight of their cutting-edge technology.
4. Contact – Everyone can be proud of themselves that we no longer need to have any amount of human contact.
Today, I watched the White House press conference for a few minutes. I got to the part where the Press Secretary said, “I find it humorous how many press releases have gone out and how much Twitter activity has gone on about…” I had to stop watching. Are you serious?
Okay, I love technology just as much as the next guy, but at what point do we implant “Borg-like” cybernetic enhancements on the sides of our heads and call it a day?
I thought it was great when email arrived on the scene. What a time saver. Then, when I could read the news online, I was thrilled. When I could finally keep up with friends and families through their blogs, I just loved it. When people started broadcasting every heartbeat that occurs inside their chest cavities, I thought the line was crossed.
I tend to think that this modern computer age is a “tool” to assist us in our “real lives.” Did you read that? A “tool” to “assist” us in our “real lives.” I might be over-quoting here, but I believe we are headed towards a place that is quite the opposite of what I just said. It’s going to be like, “Oh man, I have to go out in the sunshine today? Can’t I just twist the knob on the side of my skull and relay all my thoughts to everyone who belongs to the collective? Well, if I must go outside, I am going to need some sunglasses.”
Exercise? Family time? Conversation? Hiking? Looking someone in the eyes? I don’t think so folks…I’ll just go to YouTube and watch a video of someone else exercising, email my family about what I did today, use Skype to have a face-to-face conversation, get a treadmill and call it a hike and email someone a picture of me. I think that about covers it.
As I am finishing up this post and re-reading it, I am seeing a theme among this post and my prior one about Facebook. It appears that I get most agitated at the constant updating of our lives. With my blog, I write every so often to give you folks some information about me. I do it with thought and care. I plan it, write it and then proof read it. I don’t do it randomly and I certainly don’t do it 30 times a day.
Let’s go back to the Tweet, “I have my hand stuck in the toilet.” I think many of us might ask, “Who cares?” Seriously, “W-h-o c-a-r-e-s?”
To think, I thought I was alone. This guy sums it up nicely.
