iCupcake » Stuff I find on the intertubes

WordPress Blogger Bundle from Appsumo.com

Jordan — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:01:06 +0000

Earlier today I stumbled across a WordPress Blogger Bundle from Appsumo.com and it's definitely worth the $32 it costs. I'm pretty cheap so I usually opt for the "free account" with services or just stick with open-source if need be. But this is definitely an awesome bundle to look into. The bundled apps value at ~$950 and you get the following:

Page.ly - 3 months of business hosting ($150 value)
BuySellAds - $50 advertiser credit
inboxSEO - 6 months 'Standard' Plan ($114 value)
WooThemes - Unite theme (plus 2 more of your choice)
PadPressed - PadPress WordPress Plugin + Theme
And eleven other apps/items

I decided to take advantage of the bundle namely for the BuySellAds credit and the WooThemes offer. That's $32 for what would have been at least ~$120. Not bad!

Hover, a new domain registrar

Jordan — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:51:45 +0000

Yesterday I was in the market for some .me domains to try to help a brand I already started. I just didn't want to pay $15-25 for a couple of .me domains that would be redirecting to a .com.

I ended up stumbling across Hover. Right now they've got .ME domains for $5. Yeah, $5. So I spent a good 30 minutes pouring over some new names and I had 5 in my cart but decided to cut it down to just 2. $10 for two .me domains. That would have been around $40 at GoDaddy or Namecheap.

The cost for the other domains are around $15/yr for com/net/org although they do include free private whois, DNS management, domain forwarding and unlimited custom URLs. That's almost on par with the other registrars and you won't have to deal with atrocious hidden fees that you don't see until you checkout.

You can use the coupon code "cupcakes" to get 10% off your purchase at Hover.

Work hard, play harder

Jordan — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:00:26 +0000

It took a month longer than I anticipated but I finally finished up my redesign for iCupcake. For the past few months I've been a little more obsessed with baking & cupcakes than I usually am. So much so that majority of the blogs I had been reading were baking/cupcake centralized, which of course would lead to bakery websites and cupcakery. It only seemed fitting to bring that atmosphere to my blog--to make it not only something that fits the domain name but also what I enjoy.

Since this is my first post for the New Year, I decided that maybe I would make some goals for myself versus worrying about New Year's Resolutions. I've never really made resolutions in the past and I surely never stuck with any. Goals seem more realistic and achievable so figured I'd stick with that.

Increase my Xbox gamerscore. I'm sitting at 8405 right now and want to hit 10,000 before February starts. I frequently stick to specific games solely for multiplayer so this will be a nice challenge for me. I've got a few games to play right now that I took from Steve's which include Battlefield: Bad Company, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising and a few other games that I just need to get 100% completion for achievements (Modern Warfare 2, COD4, COD:WaW to name a few.) Once I hit 10,000 then I'll just keep increasing. I've got awhile before I can catch up to Steve and his massive 104,000+ gamerscore.
Bake more & photograph it. I've been stockpiling up numerous recipes for different sweets and treats but have yet to really go through any of them yet. A few weeks ago I purchased a good amount of material for making some cakepops as well as cupcake bites. I have only gotten around to making the cupcake bites so far. So I don't gain weight or make my little sister fall into a food coma, I also bought supplies to package these up. I plan on letting my mom bring some to work to offer up and hopefully, strike up some business through this. It's something new and enjoying, so I'm taking advantage of it.
Taking longer breaks from the computer & gaming to catch up on all of the books sitting on my shelf. I have about 10+ Dean Koontz books that have not yet been read along with a few other authors. I just haven't been reading much at all the last year and really do miss laying around with a good book. So I want to read on book a week. This is a very feasible goal because I'm a fast reader. I read through the last Harry Potter book in ~6 hours so books that are 1/3 the size should be no problem.
Relaunch an old project of mine so I can add extra monthly income. I started it back in 2007 and made a good amount of money for the three months I had been active with it. Since then I just let it die off. In the year and a half since then, I have definitely lost out on a lot of potential clients and money by abandoning it. Hopefully by mid-February I can have it relaunched to start selling on it again.

So rather then set goals for the entire year I figured I would just do something that would be completed within the next couple of months. Once those goals are done I can either mark them off as "finished" or "upgrade" them to make them more challenging for myself. Nothing is better then earning money, playing videogames and enjoying yourself rather than stressing out.

On a last note, if you spot any 404s, spelling mistakes, or other coding issues definitely let me know. I've been staring at this for quite some time so I may have overlooked something very minute. :) Also for those of you using >IE7, I haven't yet made it "backwards-compatible," so while it will work fine for you.. I haven't gotten around to adjusting the rgba to rgb so that it will render the colors for you. I'll get to it soon.

Breaking out of the mold

Jordan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:44:32 +0000

For almost a year I have been relying on premade themes from places like WooThemes and Elegant Themes for my personal site. I just didn't have the time nor patience to devote development work to my own website. It definitely showed as I just didn't feel like updating my site.

A few days ago I randomly felt inspired to work on a new theme and I actually stuck with it. I'm known to work on something and get as far as coding out the header and then quitting on the rest of it. I just don't like working for myself as I start to hate it a few days later. I'm very pleased with myself as I've finally gotten a theme done that isn't just tweaking a premade.

I decided to go more on the CSS3 route with some features (eg: rounded corners) as I am an ass backwards developer. I am still trying to force myself to work in Photoshop to get a PSD going then to code it up. Unfortunately I prefer the code out the framework then shove in colors and images. Truthfully it's a method that's worked out okay for me so I suppose that's why I still stick with it.

Oh I almost forgot! I have finally? switched domain names. I was ridiculously bored and hated atourworst.org. I had registered a few other domains along with icupcake.org, but ultimately this was my winner. Atourworst.org should now entirely redirect to iCupcake.org; There are going to be some errors here and there but I have it set to log and email them to me so I can fix as I see them. The biggest will be images in posts, so I'll get around to that momentarily. If you spot any problems, let me know. For what it's worth, this was not designed to support >IE7. Don't bother checking in there ;)

Trying new things out

Jordan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:26:11 +0000

For years I've stuck to the same software. Firefox for a browser, Thunderbird for email, iTunes for music, and Quicktime for movies. Recently I've gotten pretty tired of Thunderbird for it's lack of other in-depth features. Then I ended up stumbling upon Postbox (Mac and PC). It's built off of Thunderbird, but definitely has more bang for it. The biggest thing I liked was that when you loaded up an email in the bottom pane, it would have a sidebar of any media or links included in it that you can access right away without having to skim through the email to find. There's a lot more features, but you know, I'm just a tad too lazy to blog about it.

After that I decided I wanted to try to find other replacements for some of my software. I've replaced iTunes with Songbird (Windows XP or Vista), although the main factor being that iTunes was not too fond of Vista 64bit. My favorite part is that it's built around Firefox so I can download other add-ons to enhance my experience. It's linked to my last.fm account (which is integrated already), and I've got a few others like coverflow, showing last.fm data about the artist playing, and a few others for skinning. It has no CD ripping or burning features yet, although that's on their to-do list. That was another problem with 64bit and iTunes, the CD rip/burn was inoperable. :|

My HD capture card came with proprietary encoding software from Arcsoft which was really lacking in any major functionality. The biggest problem was that encoding took longer than it should have. Armando, ended up finding an awesome free alternative to it, Super ©. It's perfect because I needed to be able to encode to MOV with H264 video and AAC audio, and be able to chose the resolutions for it and fine tune a few other specs. Encoding is also about 75% quicker than what I experienced with Arcsoft's prepacked bologna.

Majority of my interest in trying out new software has mainly developed after I joined Wakoopa.com. It tracks the software (and webapps) that you use, and charts them for you. They do have up a recommended section for you and while it's in beta, it hasn't given me some decent choices. Majority of those were based on popularity and I was already aware of, so from just randomly browsing other users' profiles I was able to find some other software to look at.

Other than the few I've changed over I still haven't (or won't) find alternatives to my main programs like Photoshop, After Effects, Intype (well technically this replaced Notepad++), and Firefox. :P

Jailbreaking your iPhone 3G (or iTouch.)

Jordan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:48:38 +0000

I've had my iPhone 3G since September, and for months I had been reading articles on jailbreaking the iPhone. It felt like so much work when reading through all of the articles found, but the process was so easy and quick. Since I'm using a Windows machine, I went ahead and decided to use QuickPWN to jailbreak my phone. If you're using a Mac, you'll want to Pwnage.

It's not really pertinent to include the steps of what I did with Quickpwn. It was a matter of plugging the iPhone into the USB port, and letting the software recognize the phone. Then you just follow the instructions listed (holding the power button a few seconds, then power+home, then home), and voila, it boots up with your jailbroken iPhone.

You'll want to backup just in case something goes awry during the process. However, I had no problems at all. Apps, contacts, and all files stayed in tact and no corruption. The main purpose for doing this was because I wanted to take advantage of a bunch of apps that are available through Cydia. Installer.app is included as well, but I prefer what is offered through Cydia at the moment.

One thing I would recommend before you download any app on your device, is that you google it online. I didn't do this, and had some issues that I can't resolve unless I restore my iPhone. There are some that are going to be buggy, and might not work entirely as it should, and there are some that are going to interfere with other apps that may be loaded as well. One website/forum I have been relying on heavily to find out any issues or recommendations has been modmyi.com which has a bunch of mods for iPhone, iPod, Mac and who knows what else. They are also very involved with apps through Cydia, so there is definitely a chance you can get help for something, or even request an app.

One app that I would stay away is called Kate (RiPDev). Prior to configuring i I went to make a call only to have the mobilephone.app crash on me after 5 seconds of loading. It kept doing this repeatedly since at first I though it was a bad jailbreak, but then I remember I installed Kate. So I went to remove the app, only to still have to problem. Perplexed, I added it back. I then went and googled mobilephone.app, and one of the first results was from modmyi.com: mobilephone.app crash. Someone mentioned that Kate was the culprit on their phone and provided suggestions on how to remove it.

I've been through a bunch of threads and have been unsuccessful at this point. Granted, I did get mobilephone.app working once I applied a trial license to Kate. However, once that trial expires you receive no warning and then you better get used to things crashing again. I've tried a few of the fixes to undo Kate's fuckup, but none of them worked, and I didn't want to resort to restoring. So I went ahead and just purchase a license for it, but don't go through the trouble I did. Just stay away from it altogether.

Granted, the largest advantage of having Kate installed was being able to modify a lot of settings on the phone (but I should mention that there are certains apps that will achieve various effects--you just need to search for their names to get 'em.) But with Kate you can have 5 icons in your dock (there's another app that can do this, but I don't know it off hand), change the icons used for a good portion of apps, add privacy settings (eg: no content shown when a text message is received), and a bunch of others I have yet to take advantage of. So if you are interested in paying for the app, there is a chance is will be of value to you. Otherwise you get a short trial (I think a week) so if you don't want to pay for it, skip out on it.

Some of the other apps I have downloaded and enjoy:

Winterboard - Theme modifications ranging from fonts, colors, images, etc.
iBlacklist - Filter incoming calls and SMS
dTunes - Like iTunes but free; Search and stream and/or download MP3s, stream videos, and download torrents
myFox - Safari replacement; Quicker, support for full screen, and other options
Qik - Video streaming/broadcasting
Pushr - Pushes Camera Roll to Flickr (pixelpipe for other mediums in the Appstore
Make It Mine (MIM) - Changes carrier & Timestamp
StatusNotifier - Show notifications in status bar
- Set goals for weigh loss and track food intake (calories, nutrients, et al.)

Snapture - Camera with extra features and support

Live.com Spambot, I hate you.

Jordan — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:55:09 +0000

A few weeks ago I read Jem's blog "Live.com Fake SERP Referrals Are Pissing Me Off" but at the time never had the issue myself. Well, shortly after her post I've been having the Live.com spambot hitting up a couple of my domain with one-keyword search referrals. 100% of the Live.com "traffic" has been from spoofed referrals, and it's not stopping.

I really don't care to contact Microsoft in regards to the issue--I'm just going to go all out and block the bot from accessing those websites. I'll end up settings up a robots.txt file, but apparently that might not be enough as some user(s) are still experiencing issues with the bot avoiding the robots.txt file; Time to dig up the IP addresses being used so I can deny those too.

If I honestly had some real results coming from Live.com's search, I'd be apprehensive to blog anything associated with it, but so far I've yet to ever receive one legitimate search referral from it. I frequent my Mint statistics more than I should on a daily basis, so I can see what keywords I need to work on.. I just can't afford to waste my time with fake hits. Stop skewing up my shit!

I found a nice little tutorial on block bots on various levels ranging from an .htaccess redirect that sends them back to their own site, blocking their IP address, and a couple other variations. An anonymous comment from another entry, Live.com's Referrer Spam Has Left Me In Despair provides a snippet you can add to your .htaccess file to also block the bot, given that it seems to ignore any robots.txt settings.

SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent "^msnbot" bad_bot Order Allow,Deny Allow from all Deny from env=bad_bot

Favorite TV Shows of 2008

Jordan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:04:42 +0000

Over the years I haven't been active with TV series namely because I always forgot about them. I'd watch the first couple episodes and then I'd forget about them until years later. "Hey, I've never seen that episode!" Hell, even being on the internet I was lazy with downloading. But this is probably the first year that I've paid the most attention to new series and seasons. I think the biggest reason is namely for streaming services being so popular. Hulu, Fancast and Surfthechannel have been the primarily websites I've been going to, so I can stay up-to-date! Hell, I think what excited me the most was that Netflix now seems to have current episodes for shows available for streaming. Even more awesome since the new Xbox dashboard has Netflix integration. Woo!

Fringe - Fox - Action / Drama / Science Fiction
Oh my if there is any show that I need to keep watching, it's Fringe. Being a Lost fan (and inevitably a JJ Abrams fan), there was no way I would miss it. I think what keeps me enjoying it is not only just the sci-fi aspect (X-Files anyone?) but the fact that Joshua Jackson is great in this show, as is the actor who plays "Walter Bishop." Gotta love an old guy with witty quips. Fringe definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more.

Sons of Anarchy - FX - Action / Drama
Oh wow, I don't even know where to start. SoA is about an outlaw motorcycle club that seems to loosely use the theme from Shakespeare's "The Hamlet." It's definitely not my usual favorite (hello crime drama and sci-fi) but this has been an intense show. It had a short season (13 episodes) and is already over, but definitely give it a try if you're looking for something new to get into. Can't wait for next year!

Life - NBC - Drama / Suspense / Crime
Cop dramas really do suck me in. Life is about a framed cop trying to tie together the pieces of the crime that put him in jail for 12 years. The first season goes more into the backstory, where as season 2 starts to really get more into his role of Detective, as well as other characters in the show. I love the eclecticCharlie played by Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher anyone?). Hopefully the completion of the backstory doesn't take away from Life.

Kitchen Nightmares - Fox - Food / Reality
There is honestly nothing better then getting the charm of Chef Gordon Ramsey ala Hell's Kitchen mixed in with real people. Kitchen Nightmares brings Chef Ramsey to the heart of failing restaurant's to show them the err of their ways, to help them from their emotional and financial struggle. It helps you to really understand the inner-workings of family-owned restaurants, and also shows you what you never see--their kitchen. You also can't deny Ramsey's classic catchphrases.

My Own Worst Enemy - NBC - Action / Drama /Suspense
Christian. Slater. That's all I need to say. I definitely won't deny that I watched this show based primarily on the fact I've harbored a crush on him since Gleaming the Cube. The show started off fantastic--father finds out that he's a split personality created by the people he works for. It's sort of plateaued after he's made of aware of it, but it's been intriguing to see him deal with "waking up" as his spy alter-ego, and vice-versa. Hopefully it gets better before the season is over.

Aside from those shows I've always been watching:

ER - With this being the last season, ever!, it was no doubt that I'd watch it. I think what really gutted me the most was the episode when Dr. Green made an appearance. Albeit for a flashback, but it was definitely a fantastic episode, and made me realize how many years I've been watching this show. Sad to see it go, but they've done a great job. Never cried so much while watching a tv show either (Life After Death).
CSI (Las Vegas) - I think the biggest hit I've yet had again has been the loss of Warrick in the first episode of the season. I read some spoilers that definitely were not right, so it was a huge shocker to me. This season has been nothing short of intriguing, so I'm hoping that with the loss of Grissom but the addition of Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishborne), will keep the intesity of the season it had with the original cast. I
The Office - For awhile there I felt like Pam was going to stay in New York forever and never go back to Jim. But now we've got her back, and hey look, Toby too! Some episodes have been lackluster while some have been hilarious. Honestly, nothing beats the continued Jim and Dwight hilarity. The entire cast keeps me coming back for more.
House - Knowing that each episode is going to feature an ailing patient with 25 different prognosis' sounds like I wouldn't watch more than one episode, but somehow the show keeps me coming back. I think with the variations on the storylines of the characters have definitely made it more impacting. I definitely can't deny that I'm on the other side saying "What the hell is wrong with her?!!!" after the 5th [wrong] diagnosis. Damn you Dr. House, damn you.

So what shows you are currently watching, whether old or new. I'm always up for getting into a new show (except Heroes!) so I'm all eyes.

Can you guess this washed up artist?

Jordan — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:27:45 +0000

I was talking to my boyfriend, Armando, online, and he happened to link me to a video of this artist. I hadn't heard this band/artist in such a long time, and ended up watching a bunch of other videos on Youtube. Then he shows me the wikipedia page for this person and I about died.

So, with that being said, can you guess who this washed up artist is? One hint: red hats.

Yeah Yeah, I’m a horrible blogger.

Jordan — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:54:22 +0000

I don't blog enough anymore. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but I don't know what to blog about. Writing about my personal life is out of the question because I really don't like to divulge that information publicly. If I were to write a tutorial, it's not going to be anything creative, or new. You'll have read it somewhere else.

So my options are slim! Which eventually leads to a complete disinterest in this website altogether. I've opened WordPress so many times to start new entries (I have three drafts with maybe 1-2 sentences) but yet I can't muster up the brain power to go ahead and update. But I think I'll try to update now.

Holdfire Network's design has been up since June of 2007, and it's become quite an eyesore to me. I'm sure I'm not the only person that visits her own website on a daily basis, as if she's never seen it before. Kind of like when you rummage around the kitchen for food. You'll look in the fridge, walk away, then open it back up again as if food has magically appeared since you closed it a few seconds ago.

Anyway, what has bothered me the most about the current design is that I have a lot of issues with the markup, and it's just really messy. It also lacks a CMS. I've had a bunch of people ask what CMS I use for it, but I actually don't. Just some includes, and .htaccess to rewrite the URLs. So along with a new design, I'll be integrating it into a CMS. What that will be, I have no idea. I'm debating WordPress since I'm already knowledgable of the system and how template works, but I don't really need anything surpassing storing of pages, and a template system.

So far I've got the initial design down; I'll I'm doing now is just proofing through copyright, reworking what might be outdated, and of course adding in new features. Okay, maybe not features perse, but more or less just updating the pricing for things, and other items.

Well, there you have it. You get a little sneak peak at what I've been working on, aside from another new project that I'll be announcing here shortly. I'd supply you with a larger preview, but for now this is what you'll have to deal with. Though if you're that curious, I just might let you know ;)