Just thought I’d post this for the bloggers that are annoyed by the tiny tracking smiley in Wordpress 2.2.
If you have Wordpress 2.2, and the Stats plugin installed and active and enabled, viewers that are not logged in to your blog (wp-admin) will see a tiny smiley image somewhere on your page. It looks like this:
Wordpress inserts the smiley image (not text) by way of javascript code into your page for tracking purposes. The source of their code is found in the .php file of their stats plugin directory. Here is the code that was inserted in mine:
If you are like me and don’t like seeing it, insert the following code into your “style.css” file in your wordpress blog’s main directory:
img#wpstats{width:0px;height:0px;padding:0px;border:none;overflow:hidden}
I thought I would make my first entry on this technological milestone. The blob sweats when you touch it. Need I say more? If you think I do need to say more, you can read about it here.
I found myself with some extra time, so I’m finally writing about something I think of every time I come upon things like this.In case you haven’t heard of it, Delicious Library is beautiful software for Mac OS X that keeps track of your inventory of books, CD’s, DVD’s etc - like a list of things you own. It employs a really cool bar-code scanning ability right from your webcam to import new items. But seriously, I’m struggling to understand the point.
I am a huge fan of eye-candy, etc., a borderline Mac fanboy, early adopter, programmer, sci-fi fan, technology advocate, PIM nut, PDA-toting dork, engadget addict, and obviously deal with my own techno-demons but seriously, this app is off the charts in geekiness. We have to draw a line!
Seriously, what is the point? Are we that consumed by consumerism that we don’t even know what we have? I cannot imagine a scenario in which we will need to go to our computer to figure out what we have on the bookshelf. If we don’t remember if we have it, or don’t know where it is, shouldn’t we just stop buying so much junk? If we have SO much stuff that we don’t remember where it is, we have a serious Pac-Rat disorder (obviously not to be confused with Owning a Pair of Pac-Rat Shoes Disorder - (OPPRSD)). I just don’t get it, unless using Delicious Library as a business platform for renting or selling and RIDDING yourself of your JUNK and CUTTING down on the consumption. Other than that…well….
I don’t get it.
I think my main issue stems from the opportunities I’ve had to step OUT of America every once in a while and live the lifestyle that an overwhelming majority of people in this world live (let us not forget we live in the exception and not the rule of normal living conditions). It is just not normal to have such huge stockpiles of things. I cite the typical overstuffed American garage that is hardly used for storing automobiles as just one example of this. Why do we obtain so much junk and just keep buying and buying more? There is sometimes no joy in obtaining things so easily, especially when our thoughts are constantly centered on buying more “stuff”. Furthermore, we often take it to the level of accruing high-interest debt in the process!
But “anonymous” said it best on a blog I once read:
“i just don’t get it.
wot’s the point of cataloguing your reads/muse/ other mental meat? del.icious or however you parse it is a great idea - meta-data and all that fanciness. but do you REALLY have (or need?) so much info and brainfood that you need a system to let you know what you have - and moreso what you need? no hablo? i don’t mean to be circular…i just cannot wrap my mushy pink brain around us monkeys spending more time on organizing our collections than just enjoying them. take it as it comes and let your mind absorb in the now. i’m ridiculously oversimplifying it, maybe?? i would dearly love someone to give me some tangible chewy thought on why you should dedicate so much (-any- actually) time on finding out exactly what you’ve read , have, heard, need - and instead focus that time on the reading and hearing and omit the classifying. i beg in earnest for satori.”
~Awesome.
As a last random thought. This reminds me of the classic Weird Al line, in It’s All About the Pentiums, Baby!, in which he proudly declares, “I’m the king of the spreadsheets, got ‘em all printed out on my bedsheets!”
I would personally rather spend my time hanging around girls and basketball. Just a thought.
© 2008
Jeff Foster