1. First (proper) language: Algol W 2. Had difficulties: Simula 3. Most used: Pascal 4. Totally hate: LISP 5. Loved: Pascal 6. For beginners: n/a
Ten years after IBM
It’s been 10 years since I retired from IBM. Since then I’ve been a web developer. I also wrote a book called Seriously Bonkers.
Apostrophes
It s a cryin shame.
It s really not that fair.
I ve this need for apostrophes,
but there isn t one to spare.
I ll find a way around it.
They re easy to replace.
Just use the missing letters
that used to take their place.
If you use the rules
it s not that hard to see
when you could ve used one
or where it shouldn t be.
I m sure that readers everywhere
will appreciate your time
eradicating excess ones
from each and every line.
And then there ll be some spare ones
so I can help you see
a proper use for the single quote;
as an a'p'os tro'phe.
(C) Copyright Herb Miller 2019
To see the missing letters, hover over the space where the apostrophe might have been.
Notes
When you’re writing HTML an apostrophe can be represented by:
' which may appear as '
or
’ which may appear as ’ – right single quotation mark
aka a curly closing single quote.
See Wikipedia for more information on Apostrophes, especially those showing omission.
when using WordPress
- When using the Gutenberg block editor, the chance of ‘ making a round trip and reappearing as ‘ in the editor is pretty slim.
- It gets converted to the character you may have wanted.
- Sometimes an apostrophe gets converted to a left single quotation mark.
- This is due to texturisation logic trying to match left and right single quotation marks.
- Gor blimey guv’nor, that’s what’s ‘appen’d ‘ere.
Top 10 WordPress Misconceptions
Extensive research has allowed me to produce the Top 10 misconceptions about WordPress. Please share wisely.
This poem was originally published as a WordPress website at wp-secrets.co.uk, on 7th May 2015.
1. Just for blogs
The people who think WordPress
is only good for blogs
Probably think that tails are
only there for wagging dogs
I don’t know what it means either
but I had to get the poem started.
2. Insecure
WordPress isn’t insecure
We patch it every day
With 2-8-3 contributors
to keep hackers at bay
283 was the number of contributors
in early 2015. It’s been much higher in recent releases. On the down side, the
security problem with WordPress 4.7 was probably enough to make this item one
not two.
3. Poor code since it’s free
People think the code is poor
Just because it’s free.
But quality is not affected
By the price of tea
The quality of software
Depends on many things
The skills of you and me perhaps
But not the count of chings
Opinion: WordPress code quality could be improved by
better coverage in its automated test suite. I know that’s true of my plugins.
I’m working on it.
4. WordPress .org versus .com
WordPress dot org and wp dot com
Are really not the same
Wp dot org’s a free for all
Dot com defines the game
Pronouce wp as “duppy”, like Joe
Hoyle does when he’s talking about WordPress code, and this verse should scan a
bit better.
5. All look the same
When you’ve seen one WordPress site
Then you’ve seen them all?
There are more variations
Than leaves that turn in fall
You may also like WordPress showcase
6. Ecommerce
WordPress is no good they say
To make an online shop
But install Woo or EDD
They’ll shop until they drop
I’ve visited hundreds of sites
That had a shopping cart
And 55% of them
Had WordPress at their heart
Don’t believe the statistics; I
made them up.
7. No future
Some people think that since
It’s free that it’ll go away
I’ll tell you now there’s thousands
Who’ll ensure that it will stay
8. Limited support
So if your website fatals
How do you get it back?
There’s many support channels
But don’t ask in core slack.
WordPress uses Slack to discuss things. The ‘core’
channel is for discussing core development.
9. For beginners
It’s easy to get started
But how far can you go?
Just ask “is there a limit?”
The answer will be “No!”
10. Not scalable
Two hundred millions visits
In just over a week
And on a really busy day
5K per sec at peak
No, I haven’t checked if this makes
sense. But WordPress is scalable. Ask any WordPress.com or WordPress VIP
developer. It might cost a few bob. And it may not be as fast as a different
solution.
On the downside, some code when
running on some hosts can demonstrate absolutely atrocious performance. And
it’s not always the database to blame. So query monitor won’t help you.
Others
Those were the top 10 that I’ve found
I’m sure there’s many more
But each can be refuted
Of that you can be sure
Caveats
Some caveats for those who know… YES
There is expensive hosting
Plugins can make your website slow
And SEO needs Yoasting.
This poem was originally published as a WordPress website at wp-secrets.co.uk on 7th May 2015.
Inateck BK2003 – what do the keys do?
I bought an Inateck BK2003 for my iPad recently.
For those of you with a UK keyboard, here’s what some of the keys do when augmented by alt.
BTW: I copied these tables from Logitech Ultrathin keyboard – which I created when I was looking for the hash ( # ) key to create a Twitter hash tag. alt-3
They haven’t been updated yet
123456 – Top row
| Character | Keys | For – not the official term |
|---|---|---|
| | | alt-` | vertical bar |
| ¡ | alt-1 | inverted exclamation |
| € | alt-2 | Euro symbol |
| # | alt-3 | hash character |
| € | alt-4 | Euro symbol |
| ∞ | alt-5 | infinity symbol |
| § | alt-6 | section symbol |
| ¶ | alt-7 | paragraph symbol |
| • | alt-8 | bullet |
| ª | alt-9 | underscored amount |
| º | alt-0 | underscored zero |
| – | alt– | ndash? |
| –≠ | alt-= | not equals |
qwerty row
| Character | Keys | For |
|---|---|---|
| œ | alt-q | |
| ∑ | alt-w | Sigma |
| ´ | alt-e | forward tick |
| ® | alt-r | Registered Trade mark |
| † | alt-t | cross sign |
| ¥ | alt-y | Yen currency symbol |
| ¨ | alt-u | umlaut |
| ^ | alt-i | caret |
| ø | alt-0 | crossed out o |
| π | alt-p | PI symbol |
| “ | alt-[ | right double quote |
| ‘ | alt-] | right single quote |
| # | alt-# | hash |
asdfgh row
| Character | Keys | For |
|---|---|---|
| å | alt-a | a with circle |
| ß | alt-s | beta symbol |
| ∂ | alt-d | delta symbol |
| ƒ | alt-f | function symbol |
| © | alt-g | Copyright symbol |
| ˙ | alt-h | high dot |
| ∆ | alt-j | capital delta |
| ˚ | alt-k | high circle |
| ¬ | alt-l | maths not sign |
| … | alt-; | ellipsis |
| æ | alt-‘ | ae diaresis |
Use alt-shift-key to have more fun
e.g. alt-shift-k gives
zxcvbn row
Ω≈ç√∫~µ≤≥÷
| Character | Keys | For |
|---|---|---|
| alt- | back tick |
| Ω | alt-z | omega symbol |
| ≈ | alt-x | approximately equal |
| ç | alt-c | c cedilla |
| √ | alt-v | maths root |
| ∫ | alt-b | maths sum |
| ~ | alt-n | not symbol |
| µ | alt-m | mu symbol |
| ≤ | alt-< | less than or equal |
| ≥ | alt-> | greater than or equal |
| ÷ | alt-/ | division sign |
Cursor movement
And once you’ve found the right keys to press, moving the cursor around in the content is a lot easier than attempting to position the cursor by pointing.
| Keys | Movement |
|---|---|
| alt-→ | word right |
| alt-← | word left |
| ctrl-uparrow; | start |
| ctrl-downarrow; | end |
See also
- WordPress
Quiz of the year – 1969
A quiz I created for a 50th wedding anniversary.
The Questions
Experiences with my Inateck BK2003 keyboard cover
My Logitech Ultrathin keyboard died a couple of weeks ago. I replaced it with an Inateck BK2003 keyboard cover – UK version. Now I’m using it to edit this post using the WordPress block editor. I’ve copied the original post about my experiences with the Logitech keyboard and am attempting to repeat the tests.
It’s been an interesting experience learning to use my new Logitech Ultrathin keyboard cover i5 to manage WordPress websites.
My Favourite Block – annotated
WordCamp London 5-7 April – Sessions I might be allowed to attend
I’m attending WordCamp London in April. Once again, I’m volunteering. So I won’t be able to attend all the sessions. These are the ones that I would choose if I were not otherwise occupied with volunteering duties.
WordCamp London bucket list – 5-7 April 2019
In previous years I’ve written a bucket list for things I want to achieve while attending WordCamp London. This year I already have 9 items. I’m sure I’ll find the 10th very soon.
