z a l a r y

Count Characters

2009-05-09T16:46:01Z

Another 16 Firefox Add-ons For Web Designers

2008-05-30T01:27:05Z

Link: Another 16 Firefox Add-ons For Web Designers.

Trillian Nickname Notifier

2008-04-27T06:49:03Z

If you are using Trillian, you can easily set up a sound or an alert to trigger when someone says your name, nickname or other word in a message or IRC chat.

To set this up, first go to Trillian > Preferences > Advanced Preferences > Automation.
In the bottom right-hand corner, click "Add" and then select "Text Matching"

Type your preferred name into the box.
If the name you want to trigger the notification matches your usual Trillian nickname, make sure to select "Message Only."
Choose any other options you'd like, including highlighting.

At the bottom of the 'Edit Entry' box, select the box next to "Generate Event" and create a unique/descriptive name. Click Add Event.
Go back to the top of this window and click 'Save' next to your name.
Under the Advanced Preferences screen, now look for your newly created event, which will look like "User: [Your Event Name]"

Click on the change button and then configure the Event you'd like to trigger.
You can set up multiple alert types for a single name, or a new word-matching alert by simply repeating the steps.

This is the setup and result of setting an Alert Window event.

My Current Firefox Extentions

2008-04-27T02:22:13Z

I enjoy reading others' lists of extensions, so here's mine. Added bonus of being an easy reference point for myself.

Tiny Menu - compacts your Menu Bar to a single dropdown. Adds browser real-estate for more add-ons.

Web Developer - this is an absolutely necessity when you troubleshoot weblogs for a living.

Firebug - another essential for development and design troubleshooting. More powerful than Web Dev, but less friendly, imho.

Linkification - turn non-linked links into links. (say that a few times fast)

Fox Clocks - I completely suck at timezone conversion. This lets me see multiple timezones on mouseover.

Menu Editor - especially useful if you use your right-click menu religiously and it's starting to get a little scary in there.

Resurrect Pages - does just what it says. When a page isn't available, this gives you the option to try a cached version from your choice of sources.

Tab Mix Plus - I assume there are people who use Firefox without this extension. I want to send them sympathy cards.

Greasemonkey - the #1 can't-live-without extension. Change a page, change every page. So much love.

Convert HTML to ASCII

2008-04-26T21:32:56Z

This script converts special HTML characters to their entities version inside user entered data such as a TEXTAREA before the form is submitted. Specifically:

'<' becomes '<'
'>' becomes '>'
'"' (double quote) becomes '"'
''' (single quote) becomes '''
'&' becomes '&'

I made Lifehacker

2008-03-30T03:59:00Z

Yes, it's true. I submitted my sidebar hack and got featured on Lifehacker, and won a copy of Gina's book.

Despite all the less-than-supportive comments (my comment response is still awaiting approval), I'm pretty effing proud. :)

Roll your own CMS - Link Dump

2008-03-08T23:52:00Z

If you're a complete control freak, you might want to create your own Blog or Content Management System.

I'm currently very happy with TypePad,* but I've previously set my own CMS before using bits of pieces of the following tutorials. If you're good with code and dislike being tied to a third party service, take complete control by making your own:

I used a combo of flat files with database (don't ask, I'm just weird) and these articles were also helpful:

* Yes, I work for TypePad/SixApart. I'd love them anyways. I don't get any credit or referrals if you follow the link, but I may end up answering your support question. :)

Create your own Firefox Toolbar

2008-03-03T02:32:00Z

Firefox Toolbar Tutorial

I haven't tackled this one yet, but I can see how this would be very helpful for teams or groups of users. This would make a nice weekend project the next time I feel like a brain workout.

Cheat Sheets by Scott Klarr

2008-02-12T23:13:00Z

Scott Klarr has made available a comprehensive and impressive set of cheat sheets made to help with everything from your Windows OS to programming to specific web language development.