Adding random quotes to this blog is easy, albeit there are a ton of widgets and plugins to do the same. First, I have a quotes.txt file that has every quote I want to use. It’s saved on my desktop, then uploaded to the server whenever I add new quotes. Each new quote is separated by a hard return (go to brokenmod.com/quotes.txt to see). To pull a random quote, I insert a simple line of code in my blog’s sidebar:

php $file = "quotes.txt";
$quotes = file($file);
echo $quotes[rand(0, sizeof($quotes)-1)];

Uploading new quotes can be a pain with Windows XP's firewall settings because it prevents FTP connections. Therefore, I created a quick and easy script to upload any new changes to the quotes.txt file to the server. First, I created a file called "quotes.ftp":

open ftp.brokenmod.com
username
password
send "c:\documents and settings\david\desktop\quotes.txt"
quit

Then I created a file called "quotes.bat" that disables the Windows firewall, uploads the quotes, then re-enables the firewall before ending:

netsh firewall set opmode mode=disable
ftp -i -s:quotes.ftp
netsh firewall set opmode mode=enable
quit

Now anytime I update my quotes.txt file on my desktop with new quotes, I just double-click quotes.bat and the new quotes are automatically sent to the blog.

Categories: Tech
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Gina Trapani

via Forget the Business Card. Just Google Me.

It’s pretty simple: Google is the new business card. Professionals who want to remain contactable, even as they hop jobs, want to stay high up in web search results. Updating a personal blog is the labor-intensive way to do this; setting up a LinkedIn or even a Facebook page can also get someone with a unique name high up in search results.

For people with a common name — or a name similar to someone with a stronger Internet presence — Google Profiles comes to the rescue

Categories: Biz, Tech
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After accomplishing wedding stuff for four days, Jenny and I get to use all of Easter to… do more wedding stuff. We have managed quite a bit, however. We’ve finished getting registered, completed work on invites, shopped for wedding bands, filed for passports and an officiant, and numerous other miscellaneous tasks. Ok, not all four days were spent exclusively on wedding. Jenny’s got an interview coming up at a local high school and is getting a portfolio ready. We’ve also been working on homework projects so we can graduate next month.

I also bought a refurbished Dell Mini 9 from the Dell Outlet store for about $200. It’s about the size of my day planner and supposedly easily modded with GPS, OSX, and touch screen.

Last, we rented Son of Rambow:

Categories: Entertainment, Family, Tech
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I put some new things up on the blog: “Listening To,” “Out My Window,” and “Random Quote.” The “Listening To” section is updated automatically every time iTunes plays a new song. If iTunes is closed, then it reflects that as well. “Out My Window” is just my cheap little webcam pointed at my window, uploading a new picture every minute. “Random Quote” displays a quote from my quotes list that is, at this time, limited to about 30 quotes I hastily picked. Refreshing the page brings a new random quote, possibly a slightly different picture, and maybe the next song in my playlist. Not fantastic I know, but sometimes it’s nice to do something just because you can.

Categories: Tech
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