Nowhere is that more true than in the world of technology. Four years ago I was neck deep in the painful process of changing development platforms. For years, I had been building sites using Dreamweaver, and I knew I had to make the move to WordPress. I’m the type that learns by seeing and hearing more than I do by reading, so I was looking for the right video training to help me become competent in the world WordPress.

I tried a few prerecorded video courses that were… well, they were awful.

Then I found WebDesign.com.

Immediately I was challenged by the skillful presentation of the Professor, Benjamin Bradley – a man who not only knows his stuff, but is one of the most genuinely nice guys you’ll ever meet. I was drawn in to the active community of web developers who collaborated on projects and helped each other out with problems. In a short time, I was thoroughly equipped to do WordPress development.

Today, I am a regular instructor.

I considered it an honor when, in January 2013, I was asked to teach regular webinars at WebDesign.com. It has been both challenging and enjoyable to share some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the 18 years I’ve been a freelance web designer.

Why WebDesign.com? 5 Reasons…

I wholeheartedly recommend training at WebDesign.com for anyone of any skill level who is serious about WordPress development. And if you’re just starting out, you won’t find a better investment of time or money than WebDesign.com. Here are five reasons why…

Webinars that are Live and Interactive

Every webinar at WebDesign.com is broadcast live, with a live chat room that allows you to interact with the instructor and the other developers who are chatting with you. The training itself is rich, but often the additional insights (and humor) of the chat room make the experience even more worthwhile.

A Growing Library of Courses

Currently there is over 400 hours of video available in the WebDesign.com library. 400 hours! And it’s growing every week. Plus, many of the videos are in high definition and downloadable as MP4 video.

Diverse Training Topics

The training at WebDesign.com is multifaceted. Examine the current schedule and you’ll see a variety of types of courses for various skill levels. The archive contains instruction on software like Photoshop and Fireworks, WordPress themes, and many popular WordPress plugins. If you want to learn something, chances are there is a webinar that covers it in the library. Plus, many courses offer valuable insights into being successful as a freelance web developer.

Training at Every Level

In the WebDesign.com library, you’ll find courses from beginner to expert. Regardless of where you are in your skill level, you’ll find training that meets you where you are and challenges you to grow in your understanding.

A Fantastic Community

One of the great side benefits of WebDesign.com membership is the friends you will make with other developers. You will find friends who are willing to offer advice and perspective on the issues you face as a web designer. If you’re working solo, having virtual colleagues is critical!

Why would you want to do that?

In a recent project, the client requested that WordPress search return only hits from page titles and ignore page and post content. Why would they request this, you might ask? In a site that is heavily optimized for SEO, a popular keyword search might return dozens of hits that are not really what the user needs to see. By restricting search results to page or post title only, many extraneous matches can be filtered out.

Certainly opting to restrict searches to title only can hinder search capabilities as well. It should be used sparingly and only on sites that have been written with SEO keywords in mind.

The Code

Adding the following code to your active theme’s functions.php file will restrict WordPress search results to page and post titles only.

//Limit Search to Post Titles Only

function ni_search_by_title_only( $search, &$wp_query )
{
    global $wpdb;
    if ( empty( $search ) )
        return $search; // skip processing - no search term in query
    $q = $wp_query->query_vars;
    $n = ! empty( $q['exact'] ) ? '' : '%';
    $search =
    $searchand = '';
    foreach ( (array) $q['search_terms'] as $term ) {
        $term = esc_sql( like_escape( $term ) );
        $search .= "{$searchand}($wpdb->posts.post_title LIKE '{$n}{$term}{$n}')";
        $searchand = ' AND ';
    }
    if ( ! empty( $search ) ) {
        $search = " AND ({$search}) ";
        if ( ! is_user_logged_in() )
            $search .= " AND ($wpdb->posts.post_password = '') ";
    }
    return $search;
}
add_filter( 'posts_search', 'ni_search_by_title_only', 500, 2 );

Excluding Certain Particular Pages from WordPress Search

If you want to further tweak your search results, you can manually exclude certain pages from being returned by WordPress search by using the code below. FYI, this code is not related to the code above and can be used independently of it. It should also be added to the functions.php file in your active child theme.

function ni_search_filter( $query ) {
  if ( $query->is_search && $query->is_main_query() ) {
    $query->set( 'post__not_in', array( 80, 147, 13 ) );
  }
}
add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'ni_search_filter' );

You will need to add the specific page or post IDs you want to eliminate from search on line 3 of the code above.

This article was originally printed in Shelbyco Magazine, January 2013

As we say goodbye to 2012 and welcome 2013, the media abounds with lists of the must-have tech of the season. But not all tech is created equal. And some tech should never have been created at all. Web sites and store shelves are full of gadgets that never should have been. While others present you with their lists of 10 gizmos that you can’t live without, I humbly offer my own list of a few that you can.

High-Call Bluetooth Gloves

PRICE: $50

High-Call’s Bluetooth Gloves give a whole new meaning to the phrase “talk to the hand.” They may look like traditional gloves, but this gizmo actually packs a small speaker in the thumb and a microphone in the pinky. Pairing with your phone like any other Bluetooth device, the left glove becomes like a headset (or handset, I suppose) when you make the familiar “call me” hand gesture. Crazier than the idea is the marketing, which suggests that people look at you strangely when you talk into a Bluetooth earpiece. Apparently, it’s preferable to be seen talking into your hand instead.

Puppy Tweets

PRICE: $30

Puppy Tweets by Mattel is a product that solves a dilemma that has flummoxed the greatest minds of our day: How can I teach my dog to use Twitter? Well, worry no longer for the answer has arrived! Here’s how it works. Create a Twitter account for your dog, connect the Puppy Tweets USB receiver to your home computer, and attach the included tag to your dog’s collar. Now, whenever your dog runs, barks, or plays, he will trigger one of around 500 preconfigured tweets that are broadcast to his Twitter account, like “You at lunch? Remember the two most beautiful words in the English language: DOGGIE BAG!” Please, try to contain yourself. With sidesplitting status updates like that, your dog just might have more followers than you do. Let’s just hope you never read, “Just pooped in Mom’s shoe. Hope she doesn’t mind.”

The Popinator

PRICE: TBA

While on the subject of pets, the Popinator is a device that can train you to perform one of the greatest dog tricks of all time: snatching a piece of popcorn in mid air. The fun begins when you fill the reservoir with freshly popped corn and shout the word “pop!” The Popinator calculates your approximate position using its dual microphones and then fires off a kernel in your direction. Catch it in your mouth, and happily blur the lines between man and beast.

Paparazzo iPhone Light

PRICE: $45

The Paparazzo iPhone Light is a Kickstarter.com project by a couple of guys who are doing their best to make Steve Jobs roll over in his grave. Apple spent thousands of manhours and millions of dollars to create the svelte design of the iPhone. The Paparazzo, on the other hand, pairs the iPhone with a clunky old-fashioned flash that looks like something Walter Winchel would have had in his work satchel. While its 300 lumen brightness does appear to make a significant impact on picture and video quality, the Paparazzo light soundly defeats the purpose of mobile photography.

3D Aviator Glasses

PRICE: $30

3D is all the rage in video these days. Blockbuster motion pictures are shown in theaters with eye-popping visuals far beyond the campy effects of Jaws III. 3D is even making a footprint in living rooms now with high-quality big-screen 3D televisions reaching the $1000 price point. The drawback? You have to wear 3D glasses that, let’s face it, are not exactly stylish. With most of the plastic 3D glasses, in fact, you’re just a crew cut away from looking like a 1950s High School Principal. Now, thanks to 3D Aviator Glasses, you can trade that dated Buddy Holly look for the supreme coolness of Burt Reynolds. You could even leave these frames on when you leave the house and slip right into your black Trans-Am with no worries. Nice work, folks!

Opena iPhone Case

PRICE: $40

iPhone accessories abound. But this one pops the top, literally. Opena is the answer to the question no one is asking: how can I open an adult beverage
with my iPhone? Nope. There’s not an app for that, but now there’s a case. Constructed from super-tough polycarbonates, the Opena protects your phone like all the rest. But turn it over and you’re in for a bit of a surprise: a slide-out stainless steel bottle opener that will make you feel like a cross between James Bond and the most interesting man in the world. Stay thirsty, my friends!

Day Maker Alarm Clock

PRICE: $100

While on the subject of crazy iPhone accessories, “Day Maker” is an ambitious name for something that combines an alarm clock, a toaster and an iPhone charger. Atop the Day Maker, you will find two iPhone-sized slots. Insert your phone(s), push down the lever in the back and hit the sack. While you sleep, your phones charge in the slots. When it’s time to wake up, the Day Maker pops your phone upward like a piece of toast. And toast might be a good way to describe this product’s chances in the marketplace.

Lasonic Bluetooth Boombox

PRICE: $140

Nothing says 80s like a classic shoulder-mounted ghetto blaster, and Lasonic Electronics wants to keep the music playing. Complete with all the 80s flash, this boombox will stream music wirelessly from your Bluetooth device or play from an SD card through its powerful 15 watt full-range drivers. It also features a clock, graphic equalizer and AM/ FM tuner. Groovy. Big hair and Duran Duran playlist not included.

Impossible Instant Lab

PRICE $149 and up

How do I get my photos out of my iPhone? That’s a question asked by many today, and these folks think they have the answer. But instead of looking forward to 21st century innovation, the developers of the Impossible Instant Lab looked backward to the 1970s. This device is the marriage of an old-school Polaroid camera with an iPhone case. Snap in your phone, screen side down, extend the focus accordion, and the Impossible Instant Lab takes a picture of your phone’s screen and spits out a print on grainy Polaroid film. I think “Impossible” might be a suitable description for the
challenge they’ll have to sell this device.

Double Robot

PRICE: $2000

The makers of the Double Robot claim that they’ve finally found a way for us to be in two places at the same time. And they may be right, in
a creepy sort of way. The Double Robot is essentially Segway meets Max Headroom. Its cylindrical base has two wheels and self-balances a height-adjusting pole, which in turn holds an iPad. Your face is shown on the Double’s screen from the front-facing cam on your own iPad or iPhone from which you can control its movements. You, in turn, can see everything Double sees from the front-facing cam on its iPad, and you can hold FaceTime-style conversations with those you encounter. The possibilities are endless (say its creators): virtual tours, on-site teleconferencing, and following my
soon-to-be-teenage daughter around the mall when she’s out with her friends. Awesome!

See all my articles on Shelbyco Magazine by clicking here.

Here’s an example of the annoyance in action from a project I’m currently working on. Click for a larger image, and look at the background just above the blue footer.

The Magic of Media Queries.

When many designers hear CSS Media Queries, they immediately think of responsive web design. It is indeed media queries that allow designers to change the look of a web page based on a variety of elements like screen size, browser type and even media type. But they can also be used to fix this pesky little Chrome issue. Here’s the code, then I’ll explain it.

@media screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio:0) {

html {
    margin-left: 1px;
}

}

You’ll want to add that code at the bottom of the main CSS file for your web site. If you’re using WordPress, that will be the style.css file of your active theme (or child theme).

A Quick Explanation

First the @media specifies which conditions must be met before the code that follows will be implemented. In the case above, the code that follows will be implemented if the web page is being viewed on a screen and with a webkit browser (Chrome and Safari). If these two conditions are met, the CSS code that follows will be processed. If the conditions are not met (if, for example, the browser is Firefox), the code will be ignored. The CSS code itself, simply adds 1 pixel of margin to the left of the web page, which fixes the annoying 1 pixel off problem.

Here’s the page after the fix is applied (click for larger image):

On October 6, it was ten years since I left the office of the probate judge at the county courthouse holding the documents that made Brilliant New Media, LLC a legal entity in the state of Alabama. As I took some time to reflect on that today, I jotted a few notes that evolved into this blog post.

Unlike most of the other content on my site, there will be no css markup or php code… just a few things I’ve learned over the years and some accompanying thoughts about business and life as a freelance web designer.

1.    When it comes to clients, quality is better than quantity.

I got some good advice early on by a friend who is a serial entrepreneur. It’s much better to have a few clients with whom you have reliable income than to have lots of one-time clients cycling through a revolving door. Cultivating a new client takes quite an investment of time. So when a client decides to hire me, I do my very best to make that client a long-term customer. That means not only hitting the right price point on the front end, but also offering valuable ongoing services on the back end. Knowing you have recurring monthly income waiting in your mailbox each month does wonders for a freelancer’s peace of mind. And that mailbox money is the key to surviving the lean months.

2.    Some clients just aren’t worth it.

I tend to work with small businesses and professionals. I like to be sitting across the table from the decision maker without having to deal with layers of departments and bureaucracy. I’ve learned there are essentially two kinds of business owners: those that respect me and the expertise I can offer, and those that treat (abuse) me like one of their hourly employees. The latter can make the life of a freelancer very difficult. I’ve learned the hard way that no amount of money (ok, almost no amount of money) is worth putting up with an abusive client. As a freelancer, we should always reserve the right to fire the client, and exercise that right when the situation warrants.

FYI, I’ve started some notes for a future post on recognizing the marks of an abusive client. Stay tuned.

3.    Control your time.

Freelancers are in an enviable position. We get to do something we love to do and get paid for it. But there’s a hidden danger in this… It’s easy to become a work-a-holic when you’re doing something you enjoy. Family time matters. Personal time matters. Burn out is real. Own your calendar or it will own you. No client is more important than family, and everyone needs to take time to relax.

Sometimes controlling your time means narrowing the scope of the services you offer. In the early years of my business I was offering IT support to a number of clients. What I discovered was that, while lucrative financially, this service effectively put me on call 24/7. Family evenings and vacation times were prone to interruption by an IT emergency. So, several years ago, I made the decision to stop offering this service to clients. There was a brief drop in revenue as a result, but it’s a decision I’ve never regretted.

4.    Specialize and form strategic partnerships.

The world of web design is far too broad for one person to try to be good at everything. A wise web designer will learn to specialize in the aspects of the work he or she loves and build strategic partnerships with trustworthy others who specialize in other areas. Over the years, I have developed strategic partnerships with programmers, search engine optimization experts, marketers, photographers, videographers, copyrighters and other professionals. We agreed to refer clients to each other exclusively when we saw a need that the other could fill, and set a standing referral fee. Ultimately, the client is better served  by strategic partnerships, and we as freelancers can specialize in our strengths.

5.    Who you know really does matter.

Over the years, I’ve never spent a penny on advertising. Other than business cards, that is. And I’ve never made a cold call in my life. All of my clients have come by referral from friends, colleagues and other clients. Investing time in groups where you can make contacts and cultivate relationships will pay enormous dividends as a freelancer.

6. Helping nonprofits pays off in the end.

Ten years ago when I incorporated my business, I decided to make it my goal that a third of my work would be done at a discounted rate for non-profit organizations I believe in. That’s a principle I’ve maintained ever since and it’s made two significant impacts on my business. First, doing work for organizations I believe in has brought real purpose to the work I do. And second, some of the best referrals I’ve ever gotten have come from the leaders of these non-profit organizations. Good nonprofit leaders are well-connected in the business world and can be your greatest cheerleaders.

7.    Invest in technology and education.

As a freelance web developer, the product I’m selling is ultimately myself. Clients are buying my time and expertise. To remain competent and competitive, I regularly spend money to keep my technology and knowledge up to date. This investment is critical. Knowing what to do and having the right tools for the job makes all the difference. A few years ago, that meant making the leap from Windows to Mac. When I entered the WordPress world, I bought developer licenses for premium themes and plugins like iThemes Builder, BackupBuddy and Gravity Forms. I also maintain a membership at WebDesign.com, where I stay up-to-date on the latest WordPress tools and concepts. These investments are not inexpensive, but having the right tools and knowledge has saved countless hours of time and frustration.

8.    Avoiding stagnation.

Every human being is prone to laziness. It’s in our nature. This is particularly true for freelance web developers. It’s much easier, especially when faced with  a looming deadline, to crunch out a project using existing knowledge without making any new innovations. Doing things the same old way will get the job done faster, but it’s always better to learn while you work. Find some new code or technique that will accomplish the goal in a more elegant way. Doing so will take a bit more time, but it will force your knowledge base. And that’s a good thing.

9.    Don’t forget that you love what you do.

As I mentioned earlier, freelancers are in the enviable position of getting paid for doing something they enjoy. But sometimes after a long project or difficult client, we can forget that great benefit. In the tough times, sometimes you have to remind  yourself why you love what you do. Think about your friends who are chained to a desk all day long, grinding away at someone else’s business peddling minutia, and thank God that you have the privilege of doing what you love.

10.    Trust God for the unseen.

Yeah, this is a spiritual thing, and I realize that it’s not going to resonate with some who read it. But it is the core of who I am, and everything I do. These ten years, I’ve been through my share of lean times. I’ve seen lucrative contracts fall apart. I’ve been mistreated by abusive clients. But as a follower of Jesus, I’ve learned to trust that behind all the ups and downs of business there is the living God who promises to provide. And provide He does. I’ve had the privilege of seeing God provide financially when I wondered where the money would come from. I’ve seen Him provide personally when I struggled to navigate a difficult problem with a client. And I’ve even seen Him provide creatively when I puzzled over a technical issue that was giving me fits. Working as a freelancer is a daily exercise of faith for me, as I live with “the evidence of things not seen.” The most valuable lesson I’ve learned these years is that in real world issues, God is faithful. Period.

But there are a few drawbacks. One, in particular, effects me significantly. Most of my web sites are built on the iThemes Builder platform, which I consider to be the best development platform around for WordPress. However, like many premium themes, Builder does not show up in the WordPress auto updates… and therefore, it can’t be automatically updated via InfiniteWP.

Here’s how to do it…

1. 

   Click Plugins and Themes

2. Choose Install
3. Select Themes
4. Choose which sites on which you want to install the theme (select all if all your sites use it, or check on each site individually).
5. Check on “Overwrite” – that’s key because otherwise you’ll get an error. Also, do not “Activate” the theme if, like Builder, you have a theme that uses parent/child theme relationships and you’re updating the parent.
6. Click “My Computer” as the source of the new theme ZIP file.
7. Drag and Drop the theme file onto the drop zone.
8. Click Install Theme.

It took my IWP a little more than a minute to update the Builder theme on over 50 sites today.

Updating Premium Plugins

This process will also work in updating premium plugins (like LoopBuddy) that may not show up as requiring an update. Just choose Plugins in step three rather than themes. And always select overwrite if the plugin already exists.

This article was originally published in Shelbyco Magazine, October/November 2012.

A massive warehouse stands just off I-20 about two miles behind Six Flags Over Georgia. It’s surrounded on three sizes by a spaghetti bowl of interlaced cooling pipes and flanked on the north by its own electrical substation. One look and it’s clear — something impressive is happening inside. But visitors are not welcome. Tall fences surrounding the perimeter and a formidable guard post blocking the only access road communicate this message clearly.

While it might be appear to be the perfect lair for a comic book super-villain, this complex actually belongs to a company whose informal motto is “Don’t Be Evil.” These unremarkable beige walls hold an estimated half a million computer servers, the heart of one of only 12 data centers around the globe that power the web’s top search engine, Google.

Google began as a research project by two Stanford University Ph.D. candidates in 1996. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were only 23 and 24 years old, respectively, when they mapped out the principles of a new Internet search engine and assembled their first servers in Page’s dorm room. They named their new project “BackRub,” because it factored in how many back links from other sites a given site had, rather than simply how many times a keyword was used on a page like other search engines did. They figured that if many different web pages linked to a particular site, it must be more important than others and therefore should be more highly ranked. This approach proved to be substantially more effective at yielding precise search results, and a new search phenomenon was born.

Not long into the project, the name BackRub was dropped in favor of something better. You might think that the cheerful name “Google” was the product of long hours of research with balanced focus groups conducted by a skilled marketing team. But, in fact, it was an accident. According to one of the company’s executives, the word Google originated from a misspelling of the word “googol,” a mathematical designation of a number with 100 zeroes. But regardless of the name, Google’s efforts at providing relevant search results soon drew the attention of the Silicon Valley elite. The promising little start-up soon had its first investor, who wrote a check for $100,000 to Google, Inc. But the check sat uncashed on Larry Page’s desk for two weeks while he scrambled to set up the paperwork for the corporation, which did not yet exist. And when Google’s Board of Directors had their first meeting, it was around a ping-pong table.

Considering its inauspicious beginnings, the impact that Google has had on the world is amazing. For many, it’s hard to remember the world before Google – a world in which finding the answer to a question often required a physical change of location, and hours of tedious searches of books and periodicals in a library. My kids will never know that world. For them, finding the answer to almost any question is as simple as “googling” it. In fact, googling has become such a part of popular culture that the Oxford English Dictionary even included it as a legitimate word in 2006.

And all that googling certainly adds up. Internet analysts report that Google has somewhere around 43 billion web pages indexed. That’s more than twice as many as its nearest competitor, Microsoft’s Bing, and 8 times more than Yahoo. Impressively, Google can search all 43 billion for your request in less than a second. And it does all this somewhere around 4.7 billion times a day. Amazing.

Yet, as often as Google is used by all kinds of people searching from all over the world for all kinds of subjects, there are quite a number of hidden Google features that many know nothing about.

16 USEFUL GOOGLE TIPS

Weather Reports

Search for “weather” and a city name or zip code and you’ll see the local forecast. “Weather 35124” returns the current weather conditions for Pelham, Alabama and the highs and lows for the next few days along with links to your forecast on some of the more popular weather web sites. You can also simply search for “local weather,” and Google can use your computer’s IP address to determine your location and deliver your forecast. Cool or creepy, you decide.

Movie Showtimes

Much like the weather search, searching for “movies” and a city name or zip code will present to you a list of movies and showtimes for local theaters and even a link to their trailers. Searching for “movies around me” will use Google’s location voodoo to give you schedules for nearby theaters as well.

Local Searching

Google’s helpful local search can present you with local businesses matching your search terms. Type “Italian Restaurants 35242” and you’ll see a list of eateries in the 280 corridor and a helpful map with their locations as well. “Restaurants around me” works too. And it’s even nicer when you’re on the move if you search on a smartphone with GPS capabilities.

Sports Scores

Search for “NFL scores” or “Nascar standings” and you’ll see a list of up to the minute information for each. Scores are also available for the NBA, NHL, and MLB. You can also search for your favorite team name, like “New Orleans Saints” to see team-specific scores and schedules as well. Sorry Tide and Tiger fans, college scores are not available right now.

Stock Quotes

Simply search for a stock symbol and you’ll see a chart of the day’s activity and other related stats. You’ll also get links to information on that stock at many of the major financial web sites. Searching “GOOG” informed me that Google’s stock is at $692 on the day I write this article. Not bad for a couple of guys with a dorm room idea.

Conversions

Ever wonder how many tablespoons are in a cup? Or how many peppers Peter Piper had to pick to get a peck? Google it: “convert cups to tablespoons” and you’ll discover the answer is 16. Conversions are available for all kinds of measurements, from volume and speed to time and temperature. So if you ever wanted to know what the speed of light is equal to in miles per hour and furlongs per fortnight, Google can tell you. And, incidentally, a peck is about 2.3 gallons.

Airline Flights

These next few will be especially useful for travelers. Search for the name of an airline and flight number (like “American 891”) and you’ll see up to the minute departure times, gates and delay. Tardy travelers sprinting down a concourse will find this information invaluable from a smartphone. You can also search for “flights from BHM to NYC” and you’ll see a grid of airlines, times and cost of upcoming flights.

World Time

By entering “time” and either a zip code or city name (like “time London”), Google will provide you with the current local time in that location. You can also search “current local time” for your location.

Sunrise and Sunset Times

Search “sunset” and a city name or zip code and you’ll see today’s sunset time and how long from now it is. The same works for “sunrise.” And, simply searching “sunrise” or “sunset” gives you the information for your local area.

Currency Conversion

If you’re planning a trip to Machu Picchu and you want to know how many Peruvian Nuevos Soles you will get for a Dollar, search for “dollars to peru soles” and you’ll see current conversion rates and a graph of the unfortunately downward trend for the past few years.

Calculator

Type “calculator” in the Google search box and guess what you get? Yep. A fully functional on-screen scientific calculator. You can also type math problems directly in the search box to get the answers. Google will even create a graph for algebra and trig problems. Unfortunately, it still can’t tell you what time a train leaving Chicago at 45 mph will arrive in Philadelphia.

Dictionary Searches

Need a quick definition? All you have to do is type “define” and the word you want to look up and Google gives you its meaning. It also works with many slang terms and internet acronyms to help keep parents hip to their kids’ increasingly obscure vocabulary. And, if you’re not exactly sure how to spell a word, give it your best shot and often Google’s “did you mean” feature will guess correctly.

Search a Specific Site

Looking for something specific on a particular web site that you saw once but can’t find again? Use Google’s site search to restrict your results to just one web site by typing what you’re looking for followed by “site:” and the web site’s domain name (like “nathan site:shelbycomagazine.com”). You’ll find exactly what you need.

Find Related Web Sites

Looking for other sites that are similar to a site you’ve found? Google’s related sites feature will show you a list. Searching for “related:foxnews.com” will give you a list of the most significant news web sites online.

Searching by Date Range

Sometimes it would be helpful to just have results that are from articles that were published recently. After you search, click “show search tools” in Google’s left margin and you’ll see options to filter your search to show only those results that were published in a certain time frame.

Finding a Bacon Number

This last feature could be the most sizzling one of all, particularly if you are embroiled in a heated match of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Apparently created by Google engineers with too much time on their hands, this feature allows you to search for the name of an actor or actress followed by “bacon number.” Google will then report the number of steps he or she is from the great Kevin Bacon and even provide the details of interconnecting relationships. Take that, Yahoo!

NOW, A FEW FUNNY ONES

Who said Google was all work and no play? As a matter of fact, Google’s software engineers collectively have a great sense of humor. And the company embraces it yearly with an annual April Fool’s joke on the world. Here are a few other hidden treasures from the Google guys that are sure to bring a smile.

Flipping Out

Type “do a barrel roll” and Google obeys. Watch your screen turn all the way around.

Falling Out

Try typing “Google gravity” and pressing “I feel lucky.” Your search world will come crashing down.

Feeling Lucky?

If you click “I’m Feeling Lucky” without anything in the search box, you’ll see a slot machine-like effect on the button and the text will change with some interesting results. Give it a try.

Insert Coin

Who doesn’t like Pac Man? Google’s popular 30th anniversary remembrance of Pac Man was so popular, they decided to keep it online. Flee from ghosts and gobble dots to your heart’s content at google.com/pacman. No quarters required.

Oops

Have a little fun with your kids or coworkers by typing “tilt” in their Google search box and hitting enter while they’re away. Then, sit back and watch for their reaction when they return.

M.C. Google

No search engine would be complete unless it could beatbox for you, right? Follow this link to Google translate and press the speaker in the white box. You’ll thank me later.

There is also an article on this concept in the iThemes Builder Community with slightly different code. I added a few tweaks of my own…

The jQuery Code

<script type="text/javascript">// <![CDATA[
jQuery('.backtotop').click(function(){
	jQuery('html, body').animate({scrollTop:0}, 'slow');
});
// ]]></script>

Basically what this code does is tell anything that has the backtotop class (line 2) to become a clickable link that scrolls the page to the top with a nifty animation (line 3).

This code goes just before the </body> tag in your theme files. Or, if you’re using the awesomeness that is iThemes Builder, you can just paste it in the box on the setting page like so:

The HTML Link

Now all you have to do is add the following div that has the class backtotop as mentioned above wherever you want people to click.

<a class="backtotop" href="javascript:void(0)">Back to Top</a>

What we’re doing here is creating a link that goes nowhere and giving it the backtotop class so that it gets the jQuery effect applied to it.

The Result

Back to Top

Adding the Link to Every Page

Unless you’re using the magic of LoopBuddy (keep reading), you’ll have to add the link to your template files. Edit your page.php (or single.php for posts) and add the HTML code above to just after the php the_content area. You’ll need to tweak this depending on your theme. You can also tweak the HTML to your heart’s delight as well.

Adding the Link to Every Page with LoopBuddy

If you’re not using Builder, you’re probably not using LoopBuddy either, which is probably one of the sweetest tools to come along in a while for WordPress developers. If you don’t know about LoopBuddy, go here.

With LoopBuddy, we can create a layout that includes our Back To Top link from above and apply it to every page (and post if you want) automatically.

Step One: Create a LoopBuddy Layout for a Default Page

In the graphic below, I created a layout called “Page Default” which contains just the title and content. Those are there by default. Then I simply added the HTML code from above into the Post-Loop / HTML box. That will cause the HTML code to show up at the bottom of any page or post we apply this layout to.

Step Two: Apply the Layout to Pages by Default

Now we want to tell LoopBuddy to use that Default Page layout as (you guessed it) the default Page layout for our site. We do this in the settings area in a simple pick list:

Once you save the settings, your site should begin to display theBack to Toplink at the bottom of each page.

Repeat the LoopBuddy process to have it display on  your posts as well (you’ll have to do this separately unless you just want Title and Content for your posts).

Several months ago I was listening to a droning debate between two talking heads on a cable news channel. The subject was online tobacco advertising and allegations that it was being directed toward children. I listened as one of the heads almost exploded with indignation that children might be targeted in such a way. I remember shaking my head with a flat smirk.

See, the most significant attacks against kids online don’t come from the tobacco industry, they come from the pornographers.

And make no mistake, they are attacks. Today many adult web sites spend great amounts of time and money to get links in search engines under popular keywords like celebrity names. For example, an errant search for Justin Beiber and a few other innocent keywords can take an unsuspecting 10-year old into one of the dark corners of the Internet. And it happens every day.

In fact, a study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that when children had unwanted exposure to sexual material online, 40% of the time it was the result of an innocent search. And since most porn sites have adult content on their home page, that child is just one click away from viewing something inappropriate.

Earlier this year in a campaign speech, Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum stated that the average age at which a child first views Internet porn is 11. After some research, I determined that statistic is seven years out of date. Today that age is probably much lower.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I remember our first touch-tone phone and our first color television. I remember my first time connecting to the Internet on a dial-up modem. But my kids have never known life without the Internet. Heck. They’ve never known life without high speed Internet.  Parenting 21st century kids is a whole new ballgame. We have to stay one step ahead of all the dangers that await them in the online world.

In preparing to write this article, I conducted a poll of my Facebook friends who are also parents.  I asked them a simple question: Do you use any kind of filtering software to keep your kids safe online? The results, while unscientific, were shocking nonetheless. Just 20% answered yes.

Here’s my point… While few of us would dare to let our kids to ride their bikes without a helmet, most of us let them freely go online without any protection at all. And that’s a scary thought.

In the pages to follow, I offer four tools that can help us as parents to better protect our children online. But first, a caveat. The subject of keeping kids safe online is a broad one that requires a skillful blending of good technology and good communication. And while I can only touch on a few basics here, I highly recommend that each reader be acquainted with the best practices for the home at StaySafeOnline.org.

Protect Your Home Internet with OpenDNS

www.opendns.com

OpenDNS is like a stone-faced bouncer standing between your home and the Web, allowing good sites in and tossing bad sites to the curb. A free service with paid options available, OpenDNS works on every computer and handheld device that accesses your home network.

Installing OpenDNS is not a complicated process, but it does require you to change some settings in your wireless router. First, create an account at www.opendns.com by choosing Home Solutions and clicking Get Started under Parental Controls. For most, the free OpenDNS Home option will suffice. But if you want detailed reports and premium technical support, the Home VIP option is only $19.95 per year.

When you’ve created your account, you will need to make a few changes in the settings of your wireless router. OpenDNS has simple instructions for most brands on their web site. The most difficult part of the process will likely be trying to remember the password you created when you set the router up.

Now that your router is connected to OpenDNS, you are automatically protected against known malware and hack sites. But the real power comes when you configure Web Content Filtering in the settings area of your account on the OpenDNS web site. There you’ll find preconfigured High, Moderate, and Low filtering levels or you can opt for custom and create your own. OpenDNS has almost 60 web site categories including gambling, drugs, hate/discrimination, and of course adult content.

While I do recommend filtering software on each computer and handheld device (we’ll get to that in a moment), OpenDNS works whether that software is installed or not. As long as a device is connected to your wireless network, it’s automatically protected. And that’s nice to know.

OpenDNS is an incredibly powerful tool that can give you control over your home network in minutes and at no cost. With more 50,000,000 users, including over 40,000 schools, there’s really no good reason not to use it.

Protect Home Computers with SafeEyes

www.internetsafety.com

While OpenDNS works as the bouncer at the door to the Internet, adding filtering software like SafeEyes adds a second layer of protection. For an annual subscription of $49.95, SafeEyes will protect up to 3 computers (PC or Mac) and give you some powerful tools that OpenDNS doesn’t offer.

Like OpenDNS, SafeEyes will block web sites by category. But instead of simply blocking the entire YouTube or Hulu web site, SafeEyes will filter out the bad videos and let your kids enjoy the good ones. It works the same way with music.

SafeEyes also offers the ability to monitor and restrict instant messaging and social networks. Chatting and Facebook are a great way for kids to interact with their friends but they can also open the door to some dangers as well. SafeEyes allows your kids to have fun online, while informing you of any inappropriate interactions.

SafeEyes is committed to keeping parents in at the reigns of their kids’ computer use. Time controls allow you to set a limit to the amount of screen time each child can have per day and turn on and off Internet access during certain times of the day or night. These controls are flexible and can be changed on the fly should someone need extra time to finish a homework assignment.

Perhaps the most valuable feature of SafeEyes for parents is its customizable alerts and reports. Activity Reports are emailed to you on a daily or weekly basis that give you an executive summary of web sites, videos and search terms that were accessed. Comprehensive activity reports are also available. What’s more, you can set Instant Alerts to inform you immediately by text, email or even a phone call if your child begins to do something unsafe.

Protect Mobile Devices with Mobicip

www.mobicip.com

Last month, about one in ten people surfing the Internet were doing so on an Apple or Android mobile device. Chances are your kids have access to and regularly use an iPod, iPad or Android Tablet. Touch screens make it possible for even the tiniest fingers to access the wonders of the Web. But how to set up workable parental controls on these devices can be less than obvious.

Here’s where Mobicip can help. This service provides fine-grained controls and weekly usage reports for the very reasonable annual cost of $9.95 per device. Once you create your account on the Mobicip web site, download and install the app from the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace at a one-time cost of $4.99.

A few moments after you enter your account information on the mobile device, it will appear in the Web Monitor area of the Mobicip web site. Then, you can select from filtering levels predefined for elementary, middle, and high school students and further restrict access to certain web site categories and even specific web sites. Finally, you’ll need to set up parental controls on the handheld device. Mobicip’s FAQ will give you step-by-step instructions.

Mobicip also offers some additional tools in the Web Monitor that can be quite helpful to parents. The Time Limits feature allows you to turn on and off Internet access for every hour of each day of the week. Email reports can also be enabled that provide a weekly list of all the web sites your child visited (or tried to visit) in the last seven days. This list can be very helpful as a conversation starter when you see that your child has been trying to access some inappropriate information.

FYI… SafeEyes also offers apps for Android and iPhone for $14.99. However, in my estimation the Mobicip app is far better in its time management and reporting features. It’s the one I use for my kids.

Protect Little Ones with KidZui

www.kidzui.com

KidZui calls itself “The Internet for Kids” and it’s exactly that. It’s like a fenced in playground for the World Wide Web. It has games, funny videos and pictures, web sites and other content that has been hand-curated by real parents and teachers.

Download and install KidZui and its full screen software draws kids in with big buttons and bright colors. A topical menu gives them access to whitelisted web sites categorized by subjects like science, games, movies and animals. And a search box lets them search for a topic with pre-screened results.

What’s more, KidZui offers a taste of social networking by allowing children to create and outfit their own avatar (much like the Wii), rate specially selected YouTube videos, and share opinions with other users. And like the other safety-oriented software I’ve mentioned, KidZui offers parents reports about their child’s activity online.

KidZui is highly recommended for little ones, but my kids outgrew it when they were about 7 or 8. It’s free to try, then $7.95 a month or $39.95 a year.

Just a warning, though, from one parent to another… Don’t let your kids play with the trial version unless you’re willing to pay when it runs out. Once they start using KidZui, they won’t want to give it up!

A Parent’s Basic Online Safety Checklist

1. Explain to your kids why they should never give out personal information to anyone online. Give examples of what personal information is and remind them often. Think broken record.
2. Put computers in high traffic areas, not in bedrooms, and make sure your kids know that you can and will be glancing over their shoulder from time to time.
3. Teach your children what to do if they encounter adult content on the Internet: turn off the power to the monitor or close the laptop lid, then come tell you. Trying to click their way out of a bad site can actually create more problems with popup windows and the like.
4. Encourage your kids to tell you about anything they encounter online that makes them feel uncomfortable.
5. Bookmark your child’s favorite web sites and show them how to access them with a click. This eliminates the possibility of reaching an adult web site by misspelling its address.

How Kids are Accidentally Exposed to Adult Content Online:

Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

• 40% – A link came up as a result of an innocent word search
• 17% – Clicking on a link in another site
• 14% – A pop-up window
• 13% – Other
• 12% – Misspelled web address
• 4% – Not sure

Warning Signs

1. You notice an increase in popups or spam messages on your family computer… adult sites often install malware that causes these.
2. Your child has erased the computer’s web history… there’s no good reason to do this unless there’s something to hide.
3. Your child changes the computer screen quickly when you walk in the room… if that happens, it’s time for a conversation.

There’s just one problem with trying to do any kind of work at a Starbucks.

Okay, two problems. The first one is the really loud espresso machine, but that just comes with the territory. The second problem is the public wifi network.

Sure, you’ve heard that you should never do any kind of financial transactions on a public wifi network because it’s easy for people to grab your passwords as they float through the caffeine saturated air on the way to the router and back. But danger is equally as real for web developers who are logging into FTP sites. With some relatively simple software, that pimply-faced kid across the café could have total access to your client’s site. Bad, right?

(By the way, if you don’t have a healthy respect for hackers, check out my interview with Daniel Clemens, CEO of Packet Ninjas, LLC. It’s an easy and interesting read.)

So what’s a girl to do?

Enter a fantastic little app called Sidestep (Mac only, sorry PC-ers). Sidestep detects when you are connected to an unsecured network and automatically re-routes your traffic through an SSH tunnel. Need that in English? Basically it encrypts all your stuff so that you’re safe on wifi. Even Starbucks wifi.

And it’s easy to set up.

Step One:

• Download and install the Sidestep app: http://chetansurpur.com/projects/sidestep/

Step Two:

• Give the guy a donation at his link on that page. He deserves it.

Step Three:

• Join Silence Is Defeat (an open source SSH provider) at http://silenceisdefeat.com/#join.
• Joining is just $1, but they suggest $5 and it’s worth every penny.
• You enter a username when you join and they’ll email you a password.

Step Four:

• Configure  Sidestep to use your new SSH account.
• Click the Sidestep menu icon and click preferences.
• Be sure you enter ssh.silenceisdefeat.com as the hostname.

Step Five

Once your preferences are in, click the Sidestep icon and click Reroute Traffic through Proxy Server Now. Wait a bit. After about 30 seconds or so, you’ll be prompted to enter your SilenceIsDefeat password. Be sure to add it to your keychain and you won’t have to wait again.

Voila, done.

Just make sure you checked on the Reroute Traffic Automatically option and the next time you connect at Starbucks, you’ll see Sidestep take over and secure your connection.

Note for Mountain Lion Users

Due to Mountain Lion’s new, more stringent security settings, there’s an annoying popup that keeps asking for authentication. The developer of Sidestep is aware of the issue and has a forum thread here.

UPDATE 9/24/2012: There is a new version of Sidestep that seems to have addressed the issues described above.