ThomasWigington.com » Asides

Use A Child Theme To Preserve Your Modifications

Thomas — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:15:44 +0000

I just upgraded the WordPress TwentyTen theme on my weblog. It was no big deal because I am using a child theme. If you modify your themes to make it perfect to your taste, you should use a child theme to preserve your tweaks. It’s easy. Just follow the simple instructions in the WordPress Codex / Child Themes.

The one modification that I had to address with an extra step involved my alternative footer (footer-alt). I got an error warning after the upgrade and had to add the footer-alt file to the new TwentyTen theme. This alternative footer can be seen on pages that use a sidebar. On these pages there are no widgets in the footer-alt. On pages with no sidebar I call the original footer file which has widgets loaded.

I’m a total amateur. But I love tweaking my theme.

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Making YouTube Videos XHTML Valid

Thomas — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:39:22 +0000

Sometime ago I found that my sight wasn’t XHTML valid. The problem was that YouTube video embed code is not XHTML valid. A search led me to this sight. It is easier than it looks. You just remove unnecessary code and rearrange what is left.

This is what you get from YouTube:

"http://www.youtube.com/v/3mvHYMcnSec&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0">
"allowscriptaccess"value="always">src=
"http://www.youtube.com/v/3mvHYMcnSec&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0" type=
"application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" 
allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385">

This is what you change it to:


 data="http://www.youtube.com/v/3mvHYMcnSec&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0">

I leave the script that follows the URL and the full screen parameter.

Add this to your css:

.YTvideos object{
	width:640px;
	height:385px;
}

Set the dimensions to what your embed requires. You can have videos of various sizes on your site by setting up different classes, one for each size. These few changes result in XHTML validity.

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Potential For Abuse—A Weak Argument

Thomas — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:06:47 +0000

Opponents of Arizona’s new law targeting illegal immigrants have a weak argument—the potential for abuse. Every power held by government has the potential for abuse. Taxation, the present power to detain and arrest, even traffic laws could potentially be abused by some bureaucrat or enforcement officer. Should we, therefore, strip government of all power? Do you want to live in anarchy?

Potential for abuse is not a reason to fear any power given to the government. The courts have reigned in government power in the past and will continue to do so. The real problem is twofold; (1) the lack of border security along with a comprehensive, modern immigration policy in the U.S. and (2) the lack of a vibrant economy and basic civil rights in Mexico.

If Mexico had an economy that produced jobs and those jobs paid a fair wage, the vast majority of Mexicans would stay home to support their families. They would, that is, if they also enjoyed all the civil rights that we have in the U.S. One example: it is my understanding that you can be arrested and incarcerated for up to a year without any formal charges being filed against you and you do not have the right to post bail. Mexico needs to match the U.S. Bill of Rights.

The U.S. federal government should secure the borders immediately. They don’t need new legislation to do so. Border security should not be a political bargaining chip. Drug traffickers and terrorists can enter those unguarded borders just as easily as desperate Mexican families.

The government should modernize all immigration law and that law should be fair to all nationalities and should speed up the process of work visas and permanent residency. This would take illegal immigrants out of the black market and put them into the income tax and Social Security systems and would provide basic worker’s rights for them.

I pity the poor immigrant. Wouldn’t it be great if government could balance compassion for those who deserve it along with vigilance in keeping us all safe?

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Convergence Of Two Eternities

Thomas — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:20:43 +0000

As the eternal past converges with the eternal future at this present moment, what will I—or you—contribute to this grand marathon of life?

Think of all the sacrifice and accomplishments of our forebears; traveling to the new world, revolting against empires, giving birth to a new nation, expanding the nation to the west coast, saving the world from Hitler and winning the cold war, traveling to the moon and back several times and much more. Now, the baton is passed to us and the eternal future stares us in the eye. What will we do?

I’ll have to get back with you on that. The waiter just brought my martini—and there’s only one olive. I’m pissed.

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Bootlegged Conscience

Thomas — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:07:31 +0000

When I was very young, ten or eleven years old, my mom used to care for a girl about my age. She would come home with us after school and stay until her mother got off from work. She was a pretty girl who wore dresses to school every day. She was also eager to be friends. So, she and I began stealing away and exploring, as kids have been known to do. We had a lot of fun together for several weeks until one afternoon my mom caught us mid exploration. Mom wore my butt out with one of dad’s belts and sent me to bed without dinner. From my confinement I could hear her telling the girl’s mother what happened. I never saw the girl again.

Finally, my mom made me say I was sorry. I wasn’t sorry for what I had done. Nothing was ever explained to me regarding morals at that time, but I was required to say I was sorry. So, I did. I had to manufacture a conscience or the appearance of a conscience to make the lectures stop.

Today, I see a lot of people who, I suspect, are contriving the verisimilitude of conscience. ‘We’re so sorry we didn’t remove that priest after he violated a child.’ ‘We are so sorry about all that oil in the gulf.’

Saying your sorry doesn’t make it so. Lets not allow ourselves to be fooled by public displays of contrition. We need results not apologies.

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Summer Memories

Thomas — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 22:26:03 +0000

As I was out in the Texas summer heat this morning taking care of business, I was taken back in time to my maternal grandparents home in Stephenville, Texas. I used to spend two weeks every summer with them. The days, as today, were oppressively hot, but I spent them playing in the shade of fruit trees in their backyard. I loved going into town with grandad. He would get a haircut or buy some building supplies for a project or he would take granny to her weekly beauty shop appointment or take her to buy canning supplies.

Some summers there was work to be done in their garden, which covered more than half their backyard. Some summers I would be there when it was time to can the produce they had grown. There were just some foods they would have never paid for in the store because they could grow their own.

Every summer during my visit they set up an old canvas-covered, wood-frame army cot on the screened-in back porch. I remember how the cool summer breeze used to blow through there at night. Later that night, I would actually have to cover up. As I sit here in my air conditioned apartment, the coolness just isn’t as satisfying. Perhaps because of the closed in environment. Perhaps because during those bygone summers the coolness didn’t occur until night and it was as if it was earned after a busy day in the heat. At times like this, I miss living in the rurals and I miss my grandparents.

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This Week—Tragedy And Rudeness

Thomas — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:52:12 +0000

Item 1: Tragic deaths were in the news and on my mind this week. The death of a utility worker south of Fort Worth who drilled into a natural gas pipeline triggered this item. This was just the latest in a string of tragedies, in which everyday people go to work to support their families and don’t return. There was also the bulldozer operator who hit a gas pipeline and the eleven oil rig workers who died in the gulf.

We need to settle differences with our loved ones as quickly as possible. We should never harbor bitter feelings. It’s bad for our health and the longer we wait to reconcile with loved ones the more difficult it can be to bring that relationship back to good health. Make peace the same day on which it is broken, if possible. It’s the right thing to do. The fragility of life adds urgency.

Item 2: On Thursday Fox 4/KDFW’s Good Day aired a segment on ideal swimsuits for every body type. (A segment for women, of course, because men don’t care what body type we have. We’re going to wear the same type of swim trunks we’ve worn since we were teenagers.) During the segment Lauren Prysbyl interviewed a lady from TJ Max. This lady referred to small breasts as a body flaw. Haven’t we been taught that bust size doesn’t matter? What’s worse is that the model, who was standing right there, flinched slightly. Her feelings were hurt. This rudeness continued as one model after another was brought out, only to have their body flaws highlighted. How Rude!

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What Can President Obama Do About The Gulf Oil Catastrophe?

Thomas — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:50:36 +0000

The people of Louisiana are looking forward to President Obama’s visit to the gulf coast. The president can’t actually stop the leak or clean up the spill himself. In fact, it has been made clear that the government doesn’t have the equipment to stop the leak. BP will have to stop the leak and as I write this BP is employing a method called “top kill” to plug up that well. Let’s hope they succeed.

Back to the President’s visit now: does a president really have to show up on the beaches of the gulf to prove that he is doing everything in the government’s power to clean up the massive oil spill? Yes, that is part of the job. A president must (1) pull all the levers of government to remedy the problem and (2) get out face to face with those who are directly impacted by the disaster, look them in the eye and tell them in person what is being done to help and express his compassion for them. That is the way ordinary relationships are held together. Think about a husband and wife. They both perform many tasks to fulfill their vows and care for the needs of their partner. Then, they look each other in the eye and give voice to their love. It’s what is expected. It’s natural. No different, then, with the president and the frightened, suffering citizens who need help and reassurance.

By the way, I heard that a former oil company executive told about a little publicized major oil spill in the Persian Gulf. The Saudi’s sent several super tankers into the spill and they used the vessels’ powerful siphons to suck up oil and sea water and separated it once it was on board. All super tankers have this equipment and it would have helped in the Gulf of Mexico. The ships could have been allowed to keep the oil they salvaged. It would have been a win for everybody.

Here’s hoping they get the leak plugged soon.

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Corporate Guys Vs. Government Guys

Thomas — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:48:42 +0000

When I see Congress hold hearings in which they excoriate heads of corporations, I can’t help but think that we are all going to be hurt. Yes, many corporate executives are greedy—as are most of the general population, but politicians love to beat up on corporations for their own greedy political gain. Problem is: corporations are major employers; you hurt the employer, you hurt the employee.

Same thing with taxes. Congress loves the so-called corporate tax, but corporations don’t pay taxes; customers of corporations pay those taxes. Take Walmart, Inc. for example: the government charges Walmart, Inc. corporate tax. Walmart books that tax as an expense, marks it up 30% (or whatever their profit margin is) along with their other costs and passes it along to the consumer. Walmart customers pay those so-called corporate taxes, and then some.

Corporate guys are smarter than government guys. Congress beats up on corporations and we are the ones who pay the price.

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Sex Addiction?

Thomas — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:42:22 +0000

Is sex addiction real. I don’t think so; and since no compelling proof to believe in sex addiction has been presented I am allowed to reject the notion without a reason. Those are the rules of debate.

One proof against the existence of sex addiction would be in the therapy being applied. Addiction therapy always has the goal of arming the addict with the tools to abstain from the addictive substance. Do you really think therapists are working to get these addicts to abstain from sex? I don’t think so. What is the goal, then? To get them to abstain from adultery. Therefore, the therapy should be referred to as adultery addiction therapy and the patients as adultery addicts.

Of course, you cannot convince me that they are actually addicted to adultery. Therefore, these patients are simply adulterers.

Cut the crap.

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