So I turned in the last chapter of my new book at 1:15am on Tuesday, slept for a few hours, and woke up to a cranky toddler and this piece of nonsense over at wpmu.org lamenting the lack of women in WordPress. I facepalmed and went back to bed, but I'm still angry about … [Read more...] about The Women in WordPress
Speaking at WordCamp Austin
I'm delighted to be returning to WordCamp Austin as a speaker this year. I'll be talking about the best plugins in each of several categories: forms, membership, content strategy, events, security, and others. Bring your issue, and we'll find a plugin for that! I believe … [Read more...] about Speaking at WordCamp Austin
Help wanted for new WordPress plugin: Media Ally
During the monster content audit I've been working on, I realized that there was no easy way to get a list of all the uploaded images in WordPress that are missing alternative text for screen readers. So I wrote a plugin to create an accessibility report for media files. It's … [Read more...] about Help wanted for new WordPress plugin: Media Ally
Thoughts on the Hugo Ballot
First, let's get this out of the way: holy shit, y'all, Seanan McGuire is on the ballot FIVE TIMES. That's a record. And it doesn't include the "Chicks Dig..." anthologies, in which she has essays. I've burbled about her work before, but here's the thing: she's gotten so much … [Read more...] about Thoughts on the Hugo Ballot
Speaking at BEA Bloggers Conference, May 29
I'm delighted to be going to New York City in May to speak at the BookExpo America Bloggers Conference. I'll be on the Blogging Platforms panel, talking about how book bloggers can make the most of WordPress. Plus I'll be, you know, wandering around BEA for three days! I'm so … [Read more...] about Speaking at BEA Bloggers Conference, May 29
Mac tip: saving passwords for SMB connections without Keychain
I work with a lot of Windows servers. This means connecting to a VPN and then mounting a share via Samba (SMB). Alas, Keychain won't autofill saved passwords for Windows servers where the username is prefixed with a domain, like auth\stephanieleary. The current best practice … [Read more...] about Mac tip: saving passwords for SMB connections without Keychain
New WordPress plugin: User Contact Control
I have unintentionally written another plugin. I was working on the user profile chapter for the new edition, and I was trying to find plugins that allowed people to edit user profile fields without writing any code. There are a number of them for adding whole new fields, but … [Read more...] about New WordPress plugin: User Contact Control
The Veronica Mars movie
A Kickstarter to fund a movie continuing my favorite TV show? Here, Rob, here's my wallet. Take as much as you need. Is that all? Are you sure you don't need more? I'm sure I have some quarters in the couch cushions. More background info in this Entertainment Weekly … [Read more...] about The Veronica Mars movie
Mini Killer Chocolate Cheesecakes
The Killer Chocolate Cheesecake from Lori Longbotham's Luscious Chocolate Desserts is one of my favorite recipes. It's not very difficult, although it does have a lot of steps that have to be done in order, and the result is delightful: a three-inch slice of chocolaty … [Read more...] about Mini Killer Chocolate Cheesecakes
I feel busy, oh so busy…
I've been whingeing about deadlines on Twitter, so I thought I'd take a moment and catch you up on what I'm doing. First up, I'm turning in a chapter every Thursday on the second edition of the book. That goes until mid-April. Because all my fiction projects turn into … [Read more...] about I feel busy, oh so busy…
