Dabbling with video using iMovie. First is a video I made in about 2 days as part of a soccer tournament in which my daughter’s team was participating. The theme was “Team Spirit.” It relies a lot on photos I had taken (some from my phone so please excuse the graininess of those) plus a few clips of Flip video that I was able to get when the girls were at practice. Top it off with a song from my very creative cousin and we have a video. While we didn’t win, the girls and parents loved it which was even better than winning.

This video is one I put together for my mom for Mother’s Day. A lot of photos but includes video and stock iMovie music. She cried.

I’m still learning but, that is what makes getting up every day worthwhile.

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How exciting! Responsive web design is picking up speed as well it should. Simply put, it is site design that adjusts to the platform on which the viewer is looking at the site. A page looks one way on a desktop, another way on an smartphone and yet another on an iPad/ tablet – without having to design specifically for each! Talk about saving time, energy and frustration.

For more info, read Ethan Marcotte’s article at AListApart.com

To get you started, check out 10 Free Responsive WordPress Themes.

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We’ve all been there, lured in by the promise that this plugin or that widget will take care of all that ails our WordPress site. When we shake ourselves back into reality we realize that we were promised rainbows and unicorns but instead have rain and horse droppings.

To that end, I have a few plugins that I have installed multiple times, provide a lot functionality, are easy to use, and actually make me happy to use them. Without further ado, here they are:

Promotion slider

Do you like sliding panels but your theme doesn’t have that functionality? Promotion slider is easy to install and configure and uses a shortcode that makes it easy to put where you want. Adding photos and text is achieved by using its own category. Set up the post to which it links and copy that URL. Add a promotion slider post, paste the link to the post, add the feature image and text. Done!

WPtouch

Make your site mobile for touch mobile devices. Easy to configure and it looks nice!

Contact form 7 & Contact Form 7 to database extension

Want to add your own form but don’t want to get in the guts of knowing how to create a form? Do you want the input saved to a database in addition to being mailed to you? This is the easiest solution I’ve come across to date. Lots of flexibility for complex forms and functionality. The FAQ and forum on his website will answer 99.9% of any questions/ issues you may have.

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I will have more to add later but wanted to share…

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Updated due to name change…

Edge Soccer Academy™ Indoor Soccer and Lacrosse Center

Unsolicited plug ahead:

Being a soccer mom and a “web person,” I usually will host a website for whatever team(s) my kids are on in order to help organize the team and feature the gazillion photos I have taken. The past couple of seasons has found me working with my daughter’s coach on some of his non-soccer sites as well. Over time, he has become a friend in addition to a coach. The exciting news is that he is in the process of starting his own training facility and asked me to help launch his website.

Sound the trumpets! Roll out the red carpet! Introducing…

EDGESOCCERACADEMY.COM

Based in Eagan/Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Edge Soccer Academy™ Indoor Soccer and Lacrosse Center will be providing foot skills sessions, core conditioning, player development, soccer camps for the youngest players to goalie keeper camps for keepers wanting to up their game. Edge Soccer Academy™ is an indoor facility with turf and full-sized goals. It will also be available for rental to teams/coaches/trainers who are looking for a quality space in which to practice. The Edge Soccer Academy™ facility will eventually also have league play.

From a personal perspective, I am very excited for Carter as he starts this new venture. As this isn’t the first time he has launched a successful business, I am looking forward to seeing how it grows and watching my kids and others as they develop both their soccer skills and as athletes. It isn’t just a business to Carter, he lives and breathes soccer and has for years as a player himself and as a coach. Oh, and the kids not only work hard and learn, Carter ensures they have FUN too.

If you are in the South Metro in Minnesota, please check out EdgeSoccerAcademy.com for more information. Help your player develop into the best soccer player they can be!

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red skull

• blood splatter photoshop brushes
• free skull vectors
• skull patterns (photoshop cs3)
• boney doodles
• halloween brushes (photoshop 7+)
• ghoul halloween sketch brushes (5 in set)

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Watch parts by http://photoshoptutorials.ws – very cool!

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@sween Gravity. What a Downer.

@stalefries Error 4:04am (Sleep Not Found)

@madisonmckenzie Reality Is for People Who Can’t Handle Science Fiction.

@Studiolit I Wish Procrastination Was a Marketable Skill

@andyliang I get my piranhas from the Amazon. Amazon.com, that is.

@merokoyui A programmer is an organism that turns coffee into a software.

@mnhanson I want to work for a technical support line so I can crush the hopes and dreams of a generation.

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Websites:

• Shaffer Benefit – informational site to promote a benefit helping a family reduce medical expenses
• Edge Soccer Academy (in progress)
• Wisty Events – client site: event planning
• ThisweekLive.com – primary work website: Thisweek Newspapers
• REV Real – Girls Dakota REV Soccer Club – daughter’s soccer team site
• St. Joseph School (Rosemount) Girls and Boys Soccer 2010 – kid’s school soccer teams site

Flash ads:

• Burnsville Center – ‘Holiday Savings’
• Cole’s Salon – ‘Merry Christmas’
• Cole’s Salon – ‘Valentines Day’
• Cole’s Salon – ‘Customer Appreciation Sale’
• Crystal Cave
• Kowalski’s
• Burnsville McDonald’s
• Nightmare Halloween
• Pahl’s Market – ‘Home Grown’
• Pahl’s Market – ‘Trees and Annuals’
• Snyder Orthodontics
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Buck Hill
• Buck Hill – ‘NewYears’
• Valley Natural Foods – ‘Healthy’
• ‘Watchmen’ movie

Animated GIFs:

• Waters Edge Health Care Center
• Dakota County Fair – leaderboard

JPG/GIF ads (skyscrapers – 160×600):

• Farmington/Lakeville Community Parent Fair
• Citizens Bank
• Applewood
• Heritage Links – ‘Catering’
• Heritage Links – ‘Mens Golf League’
• Heritage Links – ‘$100 off’
• City of Burnsville – ‘International Festival’
• City of Burnsville – ‘Summer Events’
• Citywide Electric
• McDonald’s
• Pahl’s Market – ‘Perennials’

JPG/GIF ads (leaderboards – 728×90):

• Citizens Bank
• Reader Rewards – ‘Roasted Pear’

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Wow, it has been awhile since I’ve last posted. The quick story is that I’ve been busy between redesigning our work website, kept running with my kids’ activities, and maintaining about eight other websites as well. I still have many photos (i.e. thousands) to go through and post as well.

I’d like to share something that I’ve learned these past few months. First of all, if you are using a free WordPress theme you’ll want to make sure you got it from a legitimate site. In doing research for a new design for work, I came across a “free” theme called ‘Coffee Break.’ As it turns out, it was posted on a site that I then found out didn’t have the authority to post it. ‘Coffee Break‘ is a cool theme from Woo Themes and much to my chagrin is not free.

Woo Themes has a reasonable pricing scheme, has quality products and good service. These other sites take these great themes and rework parts of them to rebrand them as their own. What users may not realize is that bad stuff can happen as a result of using these rebranded themes. Other scripts and potentially malicious code can be introduced without your knowledge. While this didn’t happen to us, here are a few things to look for.

One piece of code that is usually a dead giveaway is the footer.php code. If it isn’t recognizable PHP code but instead resembles a long string of numbers and letters, compiled code, then it probably isn’t a legitimate theme.

Also, randomly check some of the file paths for images. If they point to a remote server, it probably isn’t a legit theme.

Lastly, do a check of the scripts that are included with the theme. If there are some scripts that aren’t identifiable, do some research. Check the web for the filename, open the code to see if there are any indications as to what it does, see where in the theme it is called. Don’t run the theme blindly or you may open yourself up to more problems than the cost of a legitimate theme would cost.

Oh, in case you are wondering what happened to the copy of ‘Coffee Break‘ I had downloaded. Well, I deleted the theme…reluctantly, but it was deleted. I also notified Woo Themes about the site that was offering their theme for free. While I hate snitching, I hate having to sort out other potential problems, legal and otherwise. Really, tweaking themes can be challenging enough and it doesn’t make sense to undermine your reputation, your site, your security just to save a few bucks.

Besides, legitimate sites have more resources available to you should you have questions or issues with a theme. They know their themes and want you to be happy with their products.

Merry Christmas!

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Unretouched photos of turtles in their natural habitat – in the lake at the family cabin. I love the ones where the turtles are reflected in the water.

Update: It was fun “hunting” the turtles but my daughter and I were in a canoe so it was a bit challenging with all of the debris in the water. Don’t let those turtles fool you — they are darned fast when they want to be! However, one of them kept modeling for us no matter how close we got to it. We had hoped to see the otters as well but no such luck this trip.

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