wordpress http error crunching .htaccess
December 13th, 2009
The Problem:
Whenever I would try to upload an image to my blog the file would upload, but I would then get a red http error, as seen in this picture below:
With this error it wasn’t possible for me to choose the preset image size “medium”, which I configured to the width of one column. Here is what I’m talking about:
The Solution:
Just open your .htaccess file that is in the same folder as your wp-content folder:
and add “AddType x-mapp-php5 .php” to the top, as so:
Once you save that, you should be able to upload pictures without the error, and regain wordpress’s resizing feature.
I got this little snippet from errors when installing either joomla or drupal, so when this http error came up, I figured it couldn’t hurt if I add it to .htaccess for wordpress and it worked! Hopefully this helps, since online I didn’t see anyone else recommending this fix.
How To Gain NJ EMT Reciprocity
December 9th, 2009
I’ve been trying to become a New Jersey EMT-B for a little while now. NJ makes it very difficult to figure out what to do, so the following should be of some help to anyone searching.
The following is a short outline of this form (.pdf), which I had a terrible time finding, but is your key to success:
1) Go to http://www.njoemscert.com and create an account
2) They will tell you to download a reciprocity application, which will be your version of this (.png), fill out the top half, and then mail it to the state in which you are an EMT-B and they will quickly fill out the bottom half. Include a self addressed envelope. When you receive said envelope back in the mail, keep it sealed and start a bundle of documents.
3) Add copies of you EMT card, NREMT card, and CPR card to the bundle and mail it to the NJ Department of Health.
4) Take the 24 hour Core 13 Refresher Course with a group of EMT’s who are approaching their 3 year mark. This includes refresher lectures, all the practicals, and a 50 question exam. ($120 from Capitol Health in Trenton)
4) After 15 days of successfully completing the Core 13 class, you are eligible to take the NJ exam.
5) Complete the exam, and all above, and you should be a NJ EMT!
I somehow took the Core 13, but didn’t see that I needed to get a letter from all the states (and national registry) in which I am an EMT. Seeing that I became a Colorado EMT during this process, I think I’ll leave them out of it. Unfortunately this means I’ll be dealing with NYS again, who took three months to verify with the national registry that I took and passed their EMT course including practical (talk about frustrating).
Just for reference: to become a Colorado EMT you just need to fill out one easy to find form and get finger printed at your local police station. Then write a check for $40 attach it to your fingerprints and mail to the CBI. Take your EMT form and mail it to their EMT office and in about a month you’ll be a CO EMT. They have their act together out there.
Review: Timberland 6 Inch Zip Earthkeepers Boot
November 20th, 2009
UPDATE! I just saw these boots at the end of a Timberland earthkeepers commercial in which nature is getting some guy back for not wearing sustainable footwear.
I wrote about these boots about a month ago and ended up going ahead and purchasing them. I’ve had this pair for a little over three weeks, and have worn them quite a bit. Right out of the box they are comfortable, and look great. They initially have no creases, however the first time you bend your foot, they will appear. They have an English look, with contrast stitching that is nice. The zippers themselves work well and are of high quality. The zipper function, for getting your foot in is a bit harder than I thought it would be, but I had initially tied the laces too tight. Once loosened up a bit they were much easier to slip into/out of, which is great since the act of lacing up boots is usually a boots worst feature.
I haven’t seen any pictures of these boots, besides what Timberland had to offer, so I’ve taken these in my backyard, to show that they look like when slightly worn. I also inspected them carefully and the workmanship is top notch.
Sharing Sustainable Designs – Open Source Innovation
November 2nd, 2009
Mary Tripsas, an associate professor in the entrepreneurial management unit at the Harvard Business School, recently wrote an article featured in The New York Times titled Everybody in the Pool of Green Innovation. The piece is about large companies working together on green innovations. It sounds like a great idea, and a way for companies to work together on common goals, when patents are taken on idea’s that aren’t particularly profitable, but help conserve energy or reduce pollution. The big names involved in the Eco-Patent Commons are Bosch, Dow, DuPont, Fuji-Xerox, IBM, Nokia, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh, Sony, Taisei and Xerox.
Creative Commons’s Green Xchange is another group, whose goal is to add transparency to the sustainability to the supply chain. This is being supported by Best Buy and Nike.
This idea works great for large companies, however, there still appears to be a need to focus students on designing for a sustainable future. Innovate For Tomorrow, is my proposed solution, however without financing, I’m having a bit of trouble getting it off the ground (mostly the php development to enable the core features, is holding me back).
Timberland Men’s Earthkeepers 6 Inch Zip Boot
October 26th, 2009
Update! I’ve now reviewed these boots, and have posted my own pictures of them. Check it out the new post here.
Timberland’s 2009 Earthkeepers line is looking good this year. My favorite new addition is the 6 Inch Zip Boot in Burnished Tan as seen above. The Earthkeepers collection is where Timberland experiments with more eco-friendly boots and clothing. This boot’s leather is sourced “from a tannery that received a silver rating for its reduced energy use, reduced waste and quality water treatment.” The lining is a organic cotton and recycled PET mesh fabric, the laces are organic cotton, and the outsole is 42% recycled rubber.
Also in their fall collection is a nice looking Rugby Trapper Hat and a Rugby Scarf. Both are made of 60% recycled PET and 40% organic cotton.
While these are good first steps, there is still plenty of room for improvement. For example there is still no system in place to take care of the boots once worn out, so this is the last stop for their recycled components before they end up in a landfill. Also for future products, blends of cottons and plastics shouldn’t be used as this prevents the fabrics from easily being recycled or composted.
Bonobos Pants
October 26th, 2009
Just bought a pair of Bonobos Clean Slates pants. I’d been considering this for about three months, but was unsure if the pants would be worth their $118 price tag (down to $100 with 15% coupon nicepants15off). I have yet to receive them, but I will update the post once I try them on.
They are made in the USA of 100% organic cotton, which helps reduce the environmental impact of cotton farming. Organiccotton.org states that “Cotton is mostly grown in monoculture and is a very pesticide-intensive crop. Although it is only grown on 2.5% of the world’s agricultural land, it consumes 16% of all the insecticides used worldwide.”
Hopefully more companies will take Bonobos lead, by creating nice looking organic clothing, and perhaps with a little competition the price will come down a little bit. The organic cotton button down shirt market also seems like an area that could see some growth in the future, with non-organic cotton shirts already fetching $80.
Headlamp + Helmet = Lazer’s Urbanize N’Light Helmet
October 24th, 2009
I saw this bike helmet in the most recent issue of Outdoor Magazine and think that it is and ingenious idea. I’m surprised it took an unknown company to connect the idea of headlamps and bike helmets – but nonetheless it looks like a great product. I’m sure it won’t be too long before all the major players get in on the action. $100 for a good looking helmet with a built in light is a pretty low initial price point, which is another nice feature for consumers.
Solar Decathlon – No LEED Certification?
October 15th, 2009
I attended this years solar decathlon held in Washington, DC, and found it to be an awesome display of ingenuity and future potential. I also found a few areas of the competition that don’t exactly make sense.
The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to design houses with the latest technology, however since it is partly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the competition focus’s on the latest solar technology and energy saving methods. This is great but the competition should be about building houses of the future with all the environment impacts taken into account, not just those revolving around energy. There is a well known non-profit based in Washington, DC by the name of the U.S. Green Building Council, that seems to have been left out of the competition. One would think that they would be heavily involved, encouraging these up and coming architects and engineers to design for sustainable futures through the implementation of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification process. It could easily implemented as part of the competition with points awarded for scoring the highest in the LEED rating system.
Lexus’s Sustainability Statement
September 25th, 2009
Lexus’s Sustainability Statement is an outline of the measures that have been taken to create a more sustainable manufacturing and distribution system. They also mention TSOP as quoted below:
Company engineers developed a plastic called TSOP that does not deteriorate. Used in the bumpers, interior panels, trim and parts of the dash and console, it can be recycled indefinitely rather than discarded as waste after a single use. It is such a significant breakthrough that the formula has been made available to every car manufacturer.
This sounds great except that, as far as I know, old cars aren’t disassembled before being crushed and placed in land fills (cash for clunkers). Inherently this means that there is no real benefit to this plastic other than the fact that it will last far longer than it’s intended use (something almost all plastics do).
Until a car manufacturer accepts back old vehicles, such breakthroughs on recyclable materials are of no use. I think that Toyota should create a program in which they test the feasibility of disassembling cars for reusable materials, similar to Apple’s policy outlined below:
Apple has expanded its successful recycling program, offering free computer take back and recycling with the purchase of a new Mac. US customers who buy a new Mac through the Apple Store or Apple’s retail stores will receive free shipping and environmentally friendly disposal of their old computer.
I think a program like this would really turn TSOP into a breakthrough in recycling – or upcycling – and more cars would end up being designed with their end life in mind. Hopefully this is what Lexus is planning, and their first step is to create recyclable components, however I have yet to find anything regarding recycling cars.
Optimal width test
September 24th, 2009
The optimal width of paragraph text is supposed to be 50-75 characters. According to Smashing Magazine’s typography study, 75-85 is more popular. Lets see what my 3/4 of the way across spacing gives me.
We’ll start with forty:
0123456789012345678901234567890123456789
fifty (optimal):
01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789
sixty:
012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789
seventy:
0123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789
eighty:
01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789
And hopefully using all numbers doesn’t throw anything off.