Just released the new version (0.94) of the missunderstood theme. Some major changes, lots of clean-up, added functionality:

• Built-in Optimal Title (for SEO)
• Built-in slimbox (faster, lighter Lightbox effect)
• Separate lists for comments and trackbacks
• Fancier blockquotes
• Built-in pullquotes
• Prettier search box
• Code-block style with numbers and zebra striping

A lot of generous people have brought my attention to problems with the earlier releases of missunderstood, and I’ve tried to go through everything with a fine-tooth comb. I tested this version in FireFox, Internet Explorer 6 and 7 as well as Opera. It is valid XHTML strict when used in a modern browser (read: anything other then Internet Explorer and that’s only because M$ couldn’t give a damn ).

Original post with more info is here. See a live demo here. Missunderstood has a Support Forum, and it can be downloaded from the original post or directly from here.

Feedback always appreciated…

The info in this post is pretty old but I’m leaving it here for reference, regardless…

I wanted to add a forum to my WordPress blog but everything I came across did not integrate well (design/page continuity, etc.) or was too simple for my tastes… Then I came across a tutorial here (there are a few around, that’s just the one I tripped across). Following the tutorial I had a somewhat more integrated forum…
…where the blood-splatter of our butchery won’t stain anything…
With the lessons learned and the release of PunBB 1.2.15 I decided to see if I could do a better job. Since the first install/integration I had added a css-based navigation menu and some random quotes which did not display when my banner/header was displayed above the PunBB forum.

Annoyed, I picked up the scissors and started running….
Continue reading this post…

Version .95 is out now, with a lot of tweaks done over several months…

Incorporated some plugins into functions.php for convenience:

• Optimal Title
• Hot Dates
• removed ‘sociable’
• Slimbox

Added the Top Post functionality (for a full-width ‘featured’ post). Top Post takes the latest post in a category (category set in the themes options under Presentation), displays it at the top (full-width) and makes sure it is not repeated in either column below.

This theme comes with Slimbox, a lightweight/fast image display system like lightbox. It’s built into Corporate Slave, so there shouldn’t be any need for configuration. It’s automagical, works with any thumbnail-with-link-to-fullimage.

See it in action here.

Original post with much more information. Download there or directly from here: Corporate Slave Theme v0.95

Support Forum for the Corporate Slave Theme is here.

Since domains are often indexed differently (with and without the www prefix), I’m jumping on the no-www bandwagon. For more info visit

Ease of use with WordPress influenced me to use Mark Jaquith’s Enforce www. Preference plugin (which works for ‘enforcing’ either a www or no-www preference).

When I first started a WordPress blog I wanted to add some personal identification to the front page in an effort to promote validity/identity/what-evah. ‘Widgets’ were somewhat new to WP so I thought this was the approach for me. I ended up with a minor struggle using a text widget and got what I wanted.
…my head finally popped out of my sphincter and…
Then masochism got the better of me and in an attempt to self-flagellate I made an About Me widget. My approach was simple; Enter the URL of an image, a blurb about your self/site and a link or two. It worked simply too: On simply about 70% of themes/sites ;’) The problem was that a lot of themes do some pretty screwy stuff and some web hosts are picky about any file/image handling.

So I began a journey that started with meditation… Once I felt loose and unencumbered by the stress of day to day life I asked my Creator: “Are you familiar with WordPress?”
Continue reading this post…

I added a ‘Help Desk’ tech support ‘ticket’ system some time ago (Hesk v0.93.1) and wrote a tutorial for it here.

I don’t use it and haven’t had time to update to the latest version of Hesk (latest version of hesk doesn’t play well with my tutorial), and I may not update it, might even drop it. Seems the forums here are more effective, and my paying customers seem to “damn-sure” want to deal directly with me rather then some ticket system…

So, no new tutorial for Hesk integration…

I am self-employed, but he’s such a jerk I’ve kinda been on strike for 6 months. I’ve still been trying to keep up on forum/support questions, but no new posts.

Had to move, as well. Really move, like furniture and stuff.

Updated back-end to WordPress 2.2.1. Been away from the About Me widget for so long I’ll have to re-introduce myself (it’s for WordPress, right? ;’).

I had an interest in adding a Help Desk to my site where clients could submit ‘tickets’ that would be tracked (and stored in a MySQL database, preferably alongside my current WordPress one) and when changed/updated both the client and I would be notified via email…

I had noticed a reference to Hesk (v0.93.1) in my journeys around the WP support forums, so I took a look and decided it was small and simple, which is what I needed.

Installing Hesk was simple. I chose to install it to /wp-content/hesk, then added a link to my ‘Links’ (or ‘Blogroll’ depending on what version of WP you have). Follow the directions and Boom: Functioning Help Desk.

However, it looked like you had been transported to another world. A world without art, design or beauty. A hellish world void of desirable women (or handsome men, if that blows your skirt up). So, I picked up some scissors, and started running…
Continue reading this post…

Working on 0.99 and and I decided to take the About Me widget to a level I had never intended. If you have used it before, you’re used to seeing this configuration interface:

I had originally intended to design a widget that would allow a user to enter a path to an image, a few lines of text and a few links. Responding to requests and with a mixture of geeky interest and since I eat my own dog food a number of revisions have crept out. A few bug fixes, a few adjustments for people with hosts that do things a bit differently…

I often get questions about styling. This can be a tough one, because it can be effected by different themes (element names, style inheritance, etc.) let alone different browsers. Often the question is as simple as “How do I change the size of the text?” (actually more complicated then it sounds if you want to use proportional sizing). I’ve been thinking about this for some time (well, at least a few minutes here and there), so I started looking around for code examples regarding image uploading and even GUI code for layout/etc. Then with a POP my head came outta my sphincter and I realized there’s already an editor/uploader in WordPress ;’)

Here’s what the current 0.99 beta config looks like:

It’s the TinyMCE editor all WordPress users have seen before, currently configured with a limited GUI (plenty enough to design the layout for a sidebar widget) and to force more standards-compliant code (not necessarily prettier, mind you, but valid). I’m hoping this will allow for ease-of-use with less limitations.

Also new is a aboutme.css file, especially helpful to those with more need then can be met with the GUI config.

Here is the 0.99 beta About Me Widget See original post for the released (1.0beta).

Feedback welcome!

I was looking at this one as a real yawner. I consider myself almost obsessive about updating but I was going to take a pass on this one. Then, I saw this was fixed, and I thought wot the hell…

So I copied all the files over, just dumped them right on top of my 2.0.4 install (no backup, no candles, no chanting, I Run With Scissors). Went to an admin page to force the upgrade check, did the prompts to do the database upgrade… Then I RAN to my admin/Plugins page and experienced a form of ecstasy reserved for the truly obsessive geek: The Plugins were listed in alphabetical order. OMG. What a concept! WP used to sort them in alphabetical order, but they were translated to Mandarin first, sorted, then translated back to English. Who says those dev guys don’t have a sense of humor?

I can sleep well tonight. Finally.

Get the Official 2.0.5 Ronan
Get just the files changed between 2.0.4 and 2.0.5 (not for the lazy-a$$-no-backing-up-fool).

Oh, and for some WordPress 2.0.5 users reporting Server 500 error after upgrading, check Mark Jaquith’s post and fix here: Some WordPress 2.0.5 users reporting Server 500 error