Richard Shorten » Site

Updates and Tweaks!

Richard — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:54:24 +0000

September has been a relatively quiet month so I took the opportunity to make a few minor alterations to the website to spruce it up a little and keep it current. You may have already noticed that I have changed my snap shot at the top of the website.

The previous picture was taken in Lanzarote last year and was getting a little out of date. I decided to stick with the theme and take another photo in Portugal this year. My method; find a nondescript, yet distinctly arty door, stand in front of it, arms crossed and make it appear as though I’m guarding it!

Other alterations I have made include:

A new twitter link icon.
A new RSS feed icon.
Archives now categorised by year instead of month.
Legal documents added, an unfortunate necessity nowadays.
All plugins upgraded. It’s important to keep any website code current and more importantly secure.

I hope you like all of the changes and continue to enjoy reading about the life of Richard Shorten!

WordPress 2.8

Richard — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:04:06 +0000

I have just upgraded the site to WordPress 2.8, the latest version. This is the third time I have upgraded using the automated WordPress tool and everything seems to have worked perfectly once again. All of my plugins are working correctly and the theme seems to be fine with the change. If you have any problems with the site please let me know!

Slick photo presentation!

Richard — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:25:54 +0000

I’ve always admired the slick presentation of images within a java environment on websites. Its an excellent way of displaying images and photos whilst removing the distraction of the rest of the site. They focus your attention solely on the images and in my opinion make them look even more impressive than they already are.

With this in mind I took to the WordPress extend directory in search of a lightweight Thickbox or similar plugin. I have to say, it was a pretty tough journey. I’ve tried and tested a whole host of plugins, many of which are either far too complex for my needs (NextGEN Gallery) or simply weren’t user friendly enough, I just don’t have the time to add tags and code to posts to display images in the way I want.

And then I saw the light. It pointed me in the direction of what I think is the best java image presentation plugin available – Lightbox 2. As with all plugins it is extremely simple to install but what sets it apart from the rest is its ability to automatically append the correct code to images and display them in the Lightbox with absolutely zero user input, none what so ever, nothing, nada, nil. Simply insert a thumbnail of your image into a page or post and then link to the original. Done.

To see the plugin in action here, check my previous two posts, Cotswold Wildlife Park and Legoland Windsor. Many thanks to Robert Morris for creating this amazing plugin and to all of the other developers involved in the project!

In the beginning…

Richard — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:30:39 +0000

No matter what the subject, there is always a first post just like this. A post that explains what the blog is about and what it is intended to do. Sound about right? Well think again because in the interests of being unique I will simply say… I’ve just spent the best part of what feels like thirty seven and a half hours perfecting the ‘blog description’ up there! Yes up there, at the top of the page. So make sure you have a quick read of that and you will learn just what this blog is about and what it is intended for!

I will also document some of the business ventures I have implemented, business ideas in the making, vacations I will take, conferences I attend and last but by no means least the opportunity I now have to flex my creative muscles in music, film and photography. Watch this space!