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Best Underappreciated Blogs and Feeds

When it comes to the best of the best in blogging – you know all of the A-listers and the B-listers and maybe even some of the C-listers.

What about those underappreciated blogs out there that are just as good as the better known brands, but just haven’t had their time in the sun just yet?

Here are some of my favorite blogs I have subscribed to that you might not know about just yet.

+ Wilson’s Weblog
+ Is Your Mission Critical?
+ Life of an Internet Entrepreneur
+ Kyle’s Cove
+ CyberNet News
+ Clickfire Blog

Do me a favor. Try staying away from the overly popular Web sites and blogs for one day – and try finding your same news out there from an alternative source. I bet you might find you will find something you like out there in the blogging masses. Maybe you too can find a few diamonds on the rough?

Have any other good ones to share? Go ahead, try to make me fill up my RSS reader – I dare ya. No wait, I double blog dare ya to.

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Top 9 Security Extensions for Firefox

Feb/14 in Desktop Apps, Popular Posts

Now I do come from the camp of folks that say that Firefox is mainly safe because it is not the tallest nail getting hit at this moment. Internet Explorer is harder hit on by those who wish to do you harm, so that is one reason why it is less safe than Firefox.

On the other hand though, Firefox is a “stupider” browser (no offense to my Mozilla friends) so it is harder for deviants out there to get it to do their evil deeds.

No matter if you like Firefox or not, you have to admit there are a lot of great extensions out there that can make your browsing a lot safer. Nothing beats common sense, but having some of these extensions installed should be a good first line of defense.

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WordPress Plugins for Regular Folks

Dec/06 in Online Apps

Since people liked my article on Firefox Extensions for Regular Folks I figured I might try to cover another topic that is near and dear to my freaky heart, WordPress plugins. Now I like to use WordPress to run the back end of nearly all of my Web sites I manage. It is one of the best (if not the best) content management system out there today. So which plugins would I consider alright for the everyday folks?

1. WordPress Database Backup

Keeping a regular backup of your Web site or blog is always a good thing to do. What if something goes wacky with your Web host, and all your files and content are lost? Sure they might have a backup – but what if they don’t. Take care of yourself and keep a regular backup! I try to at least do backups once a week to once a month. At least this way I am for sure that not too much could go wrong.

2. Google Analytics and Feedburner Reports

I love both FeedBurner and Google’s Analytics tools, but it is a pain to have to go here and then go there to find out all these stats I am tracking. This WordPress plugin brings it all together for me on one nice single Web page.

3. Search Everything

No matter where your content is, you want to make sure it gets searched. This WordPress plugin makes note of all of your content (not just the blog posts) and makes it searchable via WordPress’s built in search engine. You don’t want people to miss any of your content so having this plugin is a necessity as well.

4. Google Sitemap Generator

We all want Google to pay more attention to us, right? Well, as confusing as the current Google Sitemap system is for regular folks, it is all we have to go by right now if we want to make sure Google is keeping an eye on us. This WordPress plugin creates your sitemap and also allows you to ping Google when you update it.

5. Smart Archives

Now as I have said before, and I will probably say again – I do not navigate via the archives that much. If I want to find something, I usually search for it. For those few times you need to have organized archives though, Smart Archives does the job better than the rest. The install is easy and when you are done you have a neat organized list of all your posts.

6. Optimal Title

When it comes to creating a Web site, having a good title is key. The Title is what grabs folks attention and it is also how you bring them in via the search engines. To make sure you title is “optimal” you need to pick up this WordPress plugin. It is key if you want clean titles that are search engine optimization (SEO) friendly.

7. Jerome’s Keyword Plugin

This might not be the best way to get tags into your WordPress blog, but it is simple. I have tried some of the other WordPress plugins for tags, and I always keep coming back to this one. It does the job, it does it well and you really can not ask for more than that.

8. FAlbum

Have a Flickr account and a WordPress blog? This WordPress plugin makes quick and easy work out of creating a gallery of all your latest and greatest photos from your Flickr account.

9. Akismet

The ultimate comment spam killer. Not much more can be said about this WordPress plugin that has not been said before. One of the main reasons I moved away from Blogware was because of the spam problems. Now I have no problems at all.

Now I am not the be all and end all as far as this list goes. Do you have any plugins that I might have missed? Let me know about it by leaving a comment and that way you will share your thoughts on the matter as well. If we are creating a list for he folks, then your suggestions and opinions are just as important as mine.

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Top 12 Firefox Extensions for Regular Folks

Oct/30 in Desktop Apps

Now I have seen top Firefox extensions lists for everybody and anybody out there. They have ones for Web developers, they have ones for tech-savvy mothers, they even have ones for your five year old brother. I have never seen a list of Firefox extensions for us regular people though. Here is a list of extensions no regular person can be without.

1. Nightly Tester Tools

Now the main reason I added this one onto the list, is it made all my older extensions I had (when jumping from Firefox 1.5 to Firefox 2) work again. Now since some extension authors haven’t gotten around to updating their work, Nightly Tester Tools will be an extension to keep around for the time being. By the time all my favorite extensions are update though, it might be time to roll out Firefox 2.5 or Firefox 3!

2. Download Statusbar

I do not really like the built in download manager that comes with Firefox. It just does not get the job done for me, because I really don’t need another box popping up at me. The folks at Mozilla should have turned to the Download Statusbar extension. This tool gives you progress bars and either a big toolbar across the bottom, or a tiny icon in the status bar. This is a must have extension if you do a lot of downloading.

3. Google Browser Sync

When I got my laptop, I needed a quick and easy way to keep Firefox in sync via both my desktop and laptop systems. Now there are a hundred and one different extensions that promise to do this, but Google’s Browser Sync does it the best. Plus, I think Google is the only place I would trust with all this information I am sending back and forth anyways. You can sync your bookmarks, cookies, saved passwords, history and tabs. This is a nice ability to have when you are using more than one machine.

4. Greasemonkey

I love Greasemonkey so much, I could do another top scripts list on it alone. It is alike a series of extensions inside of an extension. Once you install Greasemonkey – you can install any number of “user scripts” that add functionality to any number of Web sites. You easily control any aspect of a web page’s design or interaction.

5. IE View

IE View allows you to open any link up in Internet Explorer. I used to use IE Tab, but once I moved up to Firefox 2 it seems like it broke an awful lot. That was about the time I figured it was time to go back to old reliable. IE View is really simple – just hit a button or click a menu option and your present Web page opens up in Internet Explorer. You can also set some links to always open up in Internet Explorer as well. I know it hurts you to think about it, but we all need to still use IE from time to time.

6. McAfee SiteAdvisor

SiteAdvisor was one of those extensions I was really excited about every since it’s release. Since being bought by McAfee – it is still good, but doesn’t have that same feeling. No matter who owns it though, it is still a nice tool to have. Think of it as a safety helper while searching randomly on the Web. For the most part, they are usually spot on with their warnings as well. A green icon means good, yellow is a warning and red means bad. They really couldn’t make it any easier.

7. Menu Editor

After you install a dozen or so extensions, your Firefox menus start running a little wild. The Menu Editor extension allows you to bring all these options and links back down to a list you can manage. There is nothing worse than right-clicking on a Web page and it taking 10 minutes for your right-click menu to load up. It might not be spring, but this extension is perfect for doing some spring cleaning around your browser.

8. Resizeable Form Fields

For anybody that spends a lot of time posting things Online or writing in any text box you find, the Resizeable Form Fields extension is a must to own. This extension allows you to drag and resize your text forms to any size you need. When you refresh the Web page – they will go back to normal. This is handy when writing long posts and you want to see everything you have typed thus far.

9. TinyMenu

You can never be saving enough space when it comes to your browser. The TinyMenu extensions allows you to shrink the “File, Edit, View, ect” options down to one drop down menu that says “Menu”. This will save you precious space when it comes to laying out your toolbars and icons inside of Firefox. I like to keep things nice and neat, and this extensions does the trick.

10. StumbleUpon

I am not a man of unlimited ideas, so when I need to find something to cover that I haven’t covered before, StumbleUpon is a great tool to use. StumbleUpon allows you to browse randomly through the Internet going to Web pages that other folks have marked via the StumbleUpon toolbar. The only thing I don’t like about StumbleUpon is that the toolbar for it is a little large. When not in use though – you can always hide it.

11. Video Download

This extensions allows you to download all those neat videos you find via the Web’s most popular services. Download content from Youtube, Google Video, iFilm, Metacafe, Dailymotion, Myspace, Angry Alien, AnimeEpisodes.Net, Badjojo, Blastro, Blennus, Blip.tv, Bofunk, Bolt, Break.com, Castpost, CollegeHumor, Current TV, Dachix, Danerd, DailySixer.com, DevilDucky, Double Agent, eVideoShare, EVTV1, FindVideos, Free Video Blog, Grinvi, Grouper, Hiphopdeal, Kontraband, Lulu TV, Midis.biz, Music.com, MusicVideoCodes.info, MySpace Video Code, Newgrounds, NothingToxic, PcPlanets, Pixparty, PlsThx, Putfile, Revver, Sharkle, SmitHappens, StreetFire, That Video Site, TotallyCrap, VideoCodes4U, VideoCodesWorld, VideoCodeZone, vidiLife, Vimeo, vSocial, Yikers, ZippyVideos, and any other Web page with embedded objects.

12. WebmailCompose

I like using Yahoo! Mail as my default E-mail application. I manage all my different E-mail account via them, so trouble comes when I click a “mailto” link on a Web page. I have no real “default mail client” to use. This WebmailCompose extension lets you use any number of Webmail applications to act as your default mail client. That means when you click one of these E-mail links, you will automatically be brought into your Webmail.

Have one I missed? Add a comment and let everybody else know what it is and why it should be here.

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50 Cures for Writer’s Block

Aug/27 in Online Apps, Personal

Don’t you hate it when you sit down and your ready to write, but you can’t think of anything to say? I have had those moments myself. So what is the cure to this writer’s disease? I have worked long and hard at coming up with a list of 50 writing prompts. Now you will not have to suffer from writer’s block ever again… or at least till you have made it through all 50 I have given you.

1. Write about something off the wall as if you were Adolph Hitler.

2. Give us a list of your favorite video games.

3. Write about the last crime you committed.

4. Give us all the reasons why you either love or hate professional wrestling.

5. Why did you or did you not play sports in school?

6. Who is your favorite A-List Blogger?

7. Tell your thoughts about the social ladder in the blogosphere.

8. Who is your favorite super hero?

9. Do you think people of an older age are still hot?

10. Who do you think is the hottest female anchor in cable news?

11. Name your most read RSS feeds in your feed reader.

12. Write about the last time you didn’t have anything to write about.

13. What are your favorite computer programs?

14. Write about the last car accident you were in.

15. Write about the first time you can remember being lost.

16. What was your first video game system?

17. What are your favorite movies?

18. Who do you look up to the most?

19. Do you think you are inspirational to anybody else?

20. When was the last time you missed a deadline?

21. Do you think that war is good or bad?

22. Who do you like more? John Edwards the psychic or John Edwards the politician?

23. What was the last television show you really got into?

24. Which one of the Golden Girls is the hottest?

25. What is your favorite search engine?

26. When did you decide to quit your last bad habit?

27. Is it more fun to play poker or watch it on TV?

28. Describe the first time you met somebody famous.

29. Where was the largest crowd you have ever been in?

30. When was the last time you had to stand in line?

31. What do you think your first love is doing right now?

32. Why do you think Google is so damn popular?

33. Name a Web site you visit and give me a reason why more people should visit.

34. When was the last time you lied?

35. Are you ready for Web 3.0 to come?

36. Describe your first encounter with a real Web hosting company.

37. What is your favorite podcast to listen to?

38. What would the world be like if Charles Manson sang show tunes?

39. What type of underwear do you like the most?

40. Open a drawer somewhere in your house and tell me what is in it.

41. What type of music is your favorite?

42. Tell me your best memories of the last concert you went to.

43. Is Morgan Webb hot or just too much woman for you?

44. In the online blogosphere, who seems to be the biggest jerk of them all?

45. Robert Scoble – Technology genius or just some guy who used to work for Microsoft?

46. If God was a gay man, what do you think life would be like?

47. Give me a review of the last technology related book you have read.

48. Do you have any tattoos?

49. Why do think podcasts are so great or so horrible?

50. Think of one I missed? Want to give a few ideas of your own? Leave it as a comment so others (including myself!) can gain from your ideas.

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