George Stephanis

Code monkey get up, get coffee…

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  • Why Jetpack isn’t a Collection of Plugins, Part the First

    In keeping with a previous post I’d made a couple months ago explaining the oft-discussed rationale of why we do things the way we do with Jetpack, I’ll be doing it again today, on a different — but related — topic. I may as well make a series of it. This is the first of two…

  • Better handling of RTL stylesheets in plugins and themes

    Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Let Core Do The Work For Me. If you’ve ever done something like this, we should have a little chat: Now, don’t worry. I’ve done it too! It’s not that big of a deal. But there is a better, tidier way. Just compare the above code blurb…

  • News Flash: The FBI doesn’t want you to encrypt your data.

    So, yesterday FBI Director James B. Comey criticized Google and Apple for deploying encryption on smartphone operating systems that they wouldn’t be able to bypass, even when presented with a valid warrant by police. (source) Does he not grasp that the reason people want this extra security is because of government surveillance overreach and secret…

  • On Jetpack and Auto-Activating Modules

    Hopefully, this is the last time that I’ll have to answer this question. Frankly, it’s been answered dozens of times before. Now, I’m hoping to use this as a canonical ‘Answer Link’ that I can refer people to.  I’ll keep up with comments, so if anyone would like to ask So… Jetpack is back to…

  • A sample of things to come

    Originally posted on Press This Working Group for Core: Old and busted: blogging a web page with a picture in WordPress, through the bundled Press This bookmarklet (7 steps, 9 if you include having to select some text for a meaningful description, and in-popup scrolling): https://cloudup.com/c218Wy_66za Upcoming new hotness: blogging the same page with a…

  • Twitter oEmbed is Leaking Data

    oEmbeds are fun.  They make it easy to embed third-party content on your site, like tweets, status updates, videos, images, all sorts of stuff. Unfortunately, to do this, third-party code gets injected into your page.  Don’t worry, this is by design, but it does mean that you should only oEmbed from reputable sites.  WordPress Core…

  • One Year with Automattic

    Well, it’s that time. One year ago today, I started full time at Automattic. Best. Job. Ever. I get to work with some of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever known, all of whom, in addition to co-workers, I am proud to call my friends. I get to contribute to open source software, and still…

  • The ABC’s of Travel for Techies

    Always Be Charging.  A mantra that I held to long before I heard it codified in a catchy A-B-C slogan. For me, it’s about efficiency.  If I’m sitting near a power outlet, and I have a cord handy, there’s not much of a reason to not plug in.  It’s there, I’m there, let’s top off. Think…

  • Decisions

    Decisions are never easy. Even if it’s an entirely trivial matter, it’s still forcing you to do something. And goshdarnit, I’m lazy. I also prefer front-loading effort when possible. Ounce of prevention, pound of cure, stitch in time saving nine, and all that. And I respect other people’s time as much as I value my own.…

  • My Dopp Kit

    Dopp Kits are wonderful things, and I highly encourage anyone who does much traveling to look into putting one together.  It easily saves me an hour or more on each trip — both on the front-end of collecting everything, as well as scrounging for anything I’ve forgotten once I arrive at my destination! So here’s…