Casey's Critical Thinking» Blogging

All is well

casey — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:50:35 +0000

In case anyone is wondering, nothing is wrong. If you didn’t already know, I am a professional translator. Lately I just don’t have the energy to blog after translating/writing all day. I’ll be taking a break from blogging for a while (although I might post something from time to time). Maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months, possibly even a year or more, but I’ll be back eventually. I’ll still be making the rounds to my favorite blogs, so if you’re a fellow blogger, you’ll hear from me occasionally. If not, keep me in your favorite blog reader and you’ll see some new posts sooner or later.

Separating trackbacks from comments in WordPress 2.7

casey — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:33:51 +0000

Normally this isn’t a blog about blogging or blogging software, but I just upgraded my comment section, so bear with me for one more post on the topic. After implementing the new threaded comments feature, I realized I needed to separate trackbacks from comments, because it just doesn’t look nice to have them all together. I was able to do it without any hassle by following the instructions at the blog below:

Separating Pings from Comments in WordPress 2.7

Threaded comments in Wordpress 2.7 and up

casey — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:16:10 +0000

It’s actually easier than you might think. Well, actually it’s not. But Chris Harrison has done all the dirty work, so all you have to do is follow his instructions:

The only problem I had was with li.bypostauthor not working, but a post by jeremyclark13 on the Wordpress forums gave me the solution: put it at the end, because CSS rules are applied in order of appearance.

Now if I could only figure out why my blog comment form keeps “forgetting” people’s information…

More on ESCR

casey — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:59:51 +0000

Former President Clinton recently added his two cents to the debate. He said that scientists engaging in embryonic stem cell research must be careful to use only embryos that “have been placed beyond the pale of being fertilized before their use.” Somebody should tell him that fertilization is what produces an embryo and starts human development. It’s scary that the people we elect to make life and death decisions don’t even understand the issues. How can someone like Clinton be entrusted with the authority to decide whether or not it is permissible to destroy human embryos when he doesn’t even know what an embryo is? I wonder if Obama knows what an embryo is…Probably not.

Steve Chapman points out why this research should horrify even those who are not part of the pro-life movement:

What this mandate means is simple: It may be permissible for scientists to create cloned embryos and kill them. It’s not permissible to create cloned embryos and let them live. Their cells may be used for our benefit, but not for their own.

There lies the reality of embryonic stem cell research: It turns incipient human beings into commodities to be exploited for the sake of people who are safely past that defenseless stage of their lives.

It’s a change that poses risks not just to days-old human embryos. The rest of us may one day reap important medical benefits from this research. But we may lose something even more vital.

Spammers using commenters’ names

casey — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:30:20 +0000

Has anybody else been getting spam from impersonators? I keep getting spam posted under the names of regular commenters. I wonder if these are individuals doing this or automated spambots? How annoying.

Problem with comment form

casey — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:56:12 +0000

The comment form has apparently not been saving information. I’ve also had problems with the admin page not remembering my login details. I searched the WordPress forums, and I think I found the solution. Unfortunately, it means that everyone’s cookies will now be expired and you’ll have to enter your information again. Hopefully this time it’s really fixed…

Good Search

casey — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:05:49 +0000

Here’s a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they’ll donate a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! In addition, do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 700 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice. You pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!

Here’s the web site — http://www.goodsearch.com. You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.

If you don’t have a special cause, I encourage you to enter “Center for Bio-ethical Reform” (a prolife organization).

Error with Wordpress 2.5 uploader

casey — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:05:12 +0000

When I first upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 I was having problems with the flash uploader. I kept getting an “HTTP Error,” and Wordpress was telling me to “Try again later.” I searched around the forums and dug through many useless threads until discovering that it could have something to do with mod_security. I then checked my logs, and sure enough, mod_security was the culprit. If you are having trouble with the uploader and you have mod_security installed, don’t turn off mod_security all together as was suggested on the Wordpress forums, just put this code into your .htaccess file (all on one line; copy and paste should work):

SetEnvIfNoCase Request_URI wp-admin/async-upload.php$ MODSEC_ENABLE=Off

Voila! You can now upload images.

Casey’s Critical Thinking has moved!

casey — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:33:49 +0000

Well, I’m now at a new domain. It’s been a long time coming. For the longest time I have wanted to register cct.com, cct.net, cct.info or something like that, but those domains are reserved for at least the next decade or so. I thought about caseyscriticalthinking.com, but that’s too long. So then it occurred to me, why not go with a Japanese word? It just so happens that “hoshuha.com” was available. Hoshuha () means “conservative” in Japanese (pronounced “hoe shoo hah”).

Anyway, if you’re one of the 4 people that links here (you know who you are), please update your links accordingly.

45 Unasked Questions

casey — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:22:07 +0000

Kansas Bob posted 45 unanswered questions yesterday that I found interesting, so I thought I’d do it, too.

1. WHO WERE YOU NAMED AFTER? – A road sign (“Casey County”).

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? – My Taekwondo instructor (Korean) once told me that a man is allowed to cry 3 times in life: (1) When he’s born, (2) When his parents die and (3) When his country is in trouble.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? – No, and no one else does, either.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? – B-o-l-o-g-n-a

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? – Who, me?

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? – I don’t know. I’d have to ask me.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? – No, of course not.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS – Yep. Turns out they’re not vestigial.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? – I’m afraid of heights.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? – Cinnamon Toast Crunch

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? – It’s such a hassle here in Japan having to take my shoes off every time I go in a fancy restaurant or church or someone’s house that I’ve invested in some velcro shoes.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? – I’m with Bob. It depends on how you define “strong.”

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? – Cookies ‘n cream

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? – Things they’d rather I didn’t.

15. RED OR PINK? – Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? – Love handles.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? – My grandfather.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO RESPOND? – If ya’ll have time, please do.

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? – Brown shorts and no shoes.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? – Cereal

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? – Born Again Radio despite the fact that they have not picked up Michael English’s latest album…

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? – Red

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS – Pizza, freshly baked bread, lavendar air freshner

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? – A client

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? – Of course

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? – Taekwondo, UFC, kickboxing, boxing and sometimes basketball

27. HAIR COLOUR? – Brown

28. EYE COLOUR? – Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? – No

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS – Scary

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? – I don’t know. The names are sometimes lost in translation. It had Jackie Chan in it, though.

32. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? – White

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? – Spring

34. HUGS OR KISSES? – Yes

35. FAVOURITE DESSERT? – White chocolate macadamia cookies or Rice Krispie treats

36. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? – Bloggers and people who don’t like to comment

37. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? – People who don’t blog or like to comment

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? – I translate for a living, so I don’t like to read when I’m not working.

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? – Stains

40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? – Japanese variety shows

41. FAVORITE SOUND? – Animal noises

42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? – Beatles

43. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? – Japan

44. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? – I’m reasonably good at pencil drawings.

45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Kentucky.