Injecting Any Ads in Wordpress Posts Automatically
Dec 27 at 7:07pm by Andrew Benton
So, on one of my other sites (http://www.thatsingleguy.com), I wanted a way to automatically insert adsense (or any other ads source) into my posts without having to remember to use the adsense deluxe, select the correct one, and put the tag in ever single post I had written. Here is what I’m going to show you how to do:
Wordpress - Ad Under First Post Only (Adsense)
Dec 6 at 8:08pm by Andrew Benton
A popular thing to do is to add an Ad (adsense) immediately following the first post on the homepage of a blog. Here is a quick and simple way to do this:
Open index.php under “Presentation > Theme Editor”, it will be titled ‘Main Index Template’
Find this line:
<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
Immediately above that, paste this:
<?php
$postnum = 1;
$showadsense1 = 1;
?>
That’s part one of the code - the value.
Staying in index.php, scroll down to this part:
<p class=”postmetadata”>Posted in <?php the_category(’, ‘) ?> | <?php edit_post_link(’Edit’, ”, ‘ | ‘); ?> <?php comments_popup_link(’No Comments »’, ‘1 Comment »’, ‘% Comments »’); ?></p>
</div>
<-Put the below code right here
<?php endwhile; ?>
Into that area between the ending of the div and the endwhile statement place this:
<?php if ($postnum == $showadsense1) {
echo ‘
Your adsense code goes here
‘;
} ?><?php $postnum++; ?>
Thats all you have to do! I’ll cover more in-depth ways of inserting ads later this weekend.
Designing a New Wordpress Theme, Part I — The Beginning
Dec 4 at 10:10am by Andrew Benton
So, while I love this theme by bloggingpro, it disgruntles me that its not a design of my own. With that said, I am officially beginning a redesign of this blog, with full advertising, readability, and user-friendliness. I’m doing this for a number of reasons, mainly because I want my blog to have my design. Also, I wanted more control over layout, content areas, and advertising space. With my design, I think I can better optimize the space given to each, and also, it has a fresh new minimalistic approach which I’ve seemed to be really into lately.
So, I figured as a learning experience for both myself and my readers, I would document every step I take from design to implementation, to launch, and then share the theme with the world. Not a new idea of course, but I’ve rarely seen designers document their every step to theme creation, talk about issues involved with such an undertaking, and so on.
So, check back tomorrow for Part II, covering the initial Photoshop design, considerations for ads, content, etc, and much more. I hope this series sparks some creativity in my readers, and hey, if you do/don’t like what I’m doing, let me know, you could very well change the refresh!
5 Tips to Speed Up Windows Vista
Nov 2 at 6:06am by Andrew Benton
So, you bought a brand new computer thinking it would run Vista like a champ? Think again. Vista is a resource hog, and by default will put a real hurting on every component in your computer. Here are some ways to help make your Vista experience a little better.
1. Overclock your CPU or Graphics Card
This one is a little bit edgy, something I don’t recommend anyone do unless you do your research first, but this can definitely speed up your computer.
2. Get Rid of Unneeded Programs
Open up control panel and click ‘uninstall a program’. In the pane on the left, click ‘Turn Windows Features On or Off’. Go through the list and un-check useless stuff you’ll never need (ex. Meeting Space, Tablet PC, Faxing, etc.) You should probably also get rid of any software that came pre-installed with your computer. Dell likes to put tons of useless trial ware and software on your computer that you didn’t ask for, so take it off and free up some disk space in the process.
3. Get Rid of Unneeded Services
Services that run in the background of Vista can eat up a lot of resources. Turning them off can help speed up your experience. To get to the services, click the start button, then hit run, then type in services.msc. Another way you can get to the run dialog box faster, by the way is holding down the windows key on your keyboard and hitting the ‘r’ button.
Once you are in the services dialog, here are a few you can almost always immediately turn off:
- Computer Browser
- Distributed Link Tracking Client
- IKE and AuthIP IP Keying Modules
- Offline Files
- Remote Registry
- Tablet PC Input Service (unless you’re using a tablet PC)
- Windows Error Reporting
And, you should never, ever disable or mess with these:
- Multimedia Class Scheduler
- Plug and Play
- Superfetch
- Task Scheduler
- Windows Audio
- Windows Driver Foundation
You will notice that there are a ton of services in that list. While I can’t go into them all here, you can find a great list of what does what here. You will also notice you have a few choices how to set the services:
- Automatic means that the service starts automatically when windows starts
- Manual means the service only starts when something else (program, etc) triggers it. For those things on manual, you really shouldn’t worry about.
- Disabled means the service is turned off and does not start when the computer is turned on.
4. Speed up the Vista Interface
Sure, the new vista theme is pretty to look at, but it really puts a hurting on your system, and changing it to look like the older versions of windows can make a very noticeable effect on your systems performance. Here are some easy ways to do this:
- Right-click the desktop, click Personalize, and click Windows Color and Appearance. Uncheck Enable Transparency. Click OK.
- The sidebar is a real hog, so Right-click the Sidebar, click Properties, and uncheck Start Sidebar When Windows Starts.
- The visual effects probably have the biggest impact, changing these can help you DRASTICALLY by just disabling some of the “neat” stuff in vista. Open Control Panel, click Performance and System Tools, and click Adjust Visual Effects. I suggest taking off any animations, shadows, etc. You really cant tell a difference anyways.
5. Control UAC
The User Account Control in vista is really, really annoying, and slows down normal usage. Here is how to turn off the part that turns your screen black, while keeping the security UAC provides.
- Open group policy by going to start> run, then typing gpedit.msc
- Go to to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
- Browse until you see the policy named ‘User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation’. Set this policy to disabled.
So, there you have it. 5 easy and quick ways to speed up your Windows Vista experience. Got some of your own? Share them in the comments.!
How-to: Not Look New at the Gym
Oct 20 at 12:12pm by Andrew Benton
I’ve been a big fitness-guy for a while now. I’m slowly becoming religiously a gym-bum, I’m there like clockwork every day I can be, and if I’m not there, I make it out to the track or somewhere to get my workout in. I thought it would be nice to write a basic how-to of the gym lifestyle; some basics most people might not know, but will help you from embarrassment once you finally get motivated and into the gym.
Don’t be afraid to ask
One of the main things I see are people who either are too proud, or too scared to ask for help. Most people don’t mind helping you by showing you how to use a piece of machinery, or do a particular exercise. Also remember that you pay money for this gym, and any good gym should have staff that can help you out with basic stuff like this. On that same note, if someone is nice, don’t let them be a crutch for you; no one likes someone constantly bothering them while they’re working out. I call them leeches, they trust you and hold on, and after a while you are basically getting free personal training.
Don’t try to show off
Hey, we all know the gym is full of muscle-heads, and people who think they’re muscle-heads, but let’s not add to that population. We are all there to get healthy/fit/big, whatever, and we all respect that other people are in there, so please, don’t show off; it makes you look like an arrogant tool.
Be courteous to your fellow gym-goers
Here are a few tips to not be labeled as “that guy” at your gym.
- Wipe down your equipment; no one wants your sweat, so please take it with you.
- Don’t hog a machine, if someone asks to work-in, let them, they have just as much right to that piece of equipment as you do.
- If you’re using free-weights, please take your weight off once you are done. If you are going to use it, take the extra 15seconds it takes to put the plates/dumbbells back on the rack.
Gym Lingo
Many times, people will approach you and ask “may I work-in”, or “how many sets do you have left”. Working in doesn’t mean “get off I want it”, only that they would like to use the machine and want to know if it’s okay to use it with you. It’s actually good for both of you, because this way you make yourself rest, which is very important when working out, and in-between sets.
A set is a group of “reps”, or repetitions, most people do 3-5 sets on any given machine with any number of reps, or particular times they do that range of motion for that set. For example if I had 2 more sets of 15, I would do the machine 15 times, get off, rest, and then do 15 more.
Conclusion
I hope this could be of use to someone, because I know many people are gym-shy. If you have any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them, and look forward to some of my upcoming articles on basic workout plans so you don’t wander aimlessly.
Below is a list of websites with great information on them. Feel free to check them out!
- Bodybuilding.com - Best source I’ve ever found for articles, workouts by body part, days per week you want to work out, also have workouts based on goals.
- MensHealth.com - another great source. More geared toward males, but an awesome source non-the-less
- Fitness.com - a more rounded fitness website, not as specific as the previous two.
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