“Who ya gonna call?” “CODEBUSTERS”
No.
But the metaphor of Ghostbusters crossing the streams was inversely appropriate to a little bit of code action over the holidays (of which the actual action was nil).
But this was fun.
This nice tweet from John Johnston (who spawned the idea) reminded me of a WordPress plugin I had made
The WP Posted Today plugin is meant to offer a short code you can put on a site and it will list all previous posts on the current calendar day (this of course is useful if you actually still blog regularly) (cough) (cough).
Just for grins I checked the page where I use my own plugin. Yikes. Red Alert. It displayed all the ones for December 29 in years past, but the part where it should list how many there were was blank.
I dug into my own code… and found myself a bit lost. Crossed. I was not even sure where I got the sprintf functions (John’s original code?) that were aimed to be compatible if anyone every wanted a language translation (maybe, or it’s just that thing when people code things differently).
Taking the path of least resistance, I took out the code where I think the problem was occurring and did it a more simple, but brute force way.
And it worked.
So I updated the version on GitHub and felt at peace with the world. In the off chance someone stumbled into my little corner of code, they would find something that works (or should work).
And then (here comes a stream crossing) Michael Hanscom @djwudi — someone I don’t think I’ve ever communicated with — tweets that he had seen pretty much the same bug and offered a fix.
In looking at his post I saw the fix he made, and said– that’s better than mine! So I decided today to roll back my changes in place of Michael’s solution (but also keeping a modification I had made to remove extraneous calls when not needed for singular versus multiple results).
I noted the extra change he made in hos own version
Plus, I’ve made one other tweak to the plugin, so that it adds a link to the end of the excerpt to better handle “microblog” style entries that don’t have titles, so I still get to feel good about that part, as well. 🙂 My coding skills may be underdeveloped and rusty from lack of regular use, but they’re not entirely atrophied!
In this case, these microblog type entries (see Michael’s demo page) lack titles, so yes, a link is needed at the end of the post excerpt.
Yet I could see that regular posts (like on my site) did not need the extra link, and also, not everyone might want the arrow Michael likes.
I solved this cleverly by creating an additional shortcode parameter more which defaults to a blank string. In the shortcode function, we convert any attributes passed to variables with
extract(shortcode_atts( array( "month" => '', "day" => '', 'excerpt' => 1, 'more' => '' ), $atts ));
So on my site, where I just used the shortcode There are 22 posts previously published on August 27th
- 2023
- Once More, 14 Years Later, Begging for Openness Stories Given a draft of a post is withering/dying where I fail to conjure something meaningful about the Two Letter Acronym That Rhymes With Hey Bye, I’m reaching back to the old stuff that still matters, the magic of what I call unexpected web serendipity that spring from something we shared, did, uttered in an internet […]
- 2021
- It Won’t Wait For Me Despite sci-fi ideas of bending, traveling, tunneling wrinkling, that time thing just keeps moving along. Another August 27. Click. Sure the laws of physics can explain the passage of 10 years since my Mom passed away today and 20 years since Dad did, but how does it make sense that they would do so on […]
- 2019
- 8 and 18 They made everything easy for me, from entrance to this world right up to today, the single day I can mark their exit. Today in 2001 Dad took his last breath in hospice, the cancer winning the battle [for what?]. Today in 2011 Mom too, maybe her missing him that much, hers an unanticipated heart […]
- 2018
- Letters Sent, Beaches in the Sky Dear Mom and Dad, where ever you are, I know you cannot send letters any more, but trust you know what’s in mine. Maybe you can read blogs? These August 27s keep rolling by, extending the time, though not fading the memories of when you were on this earth. Seventeen, Dad, and seven years, Mom, […]
- 2017
- Memories In/Above the Ground My calendar reminders were set; it was my memory that somehow put August 27 into tomorrow. My sister’s text message corrected the off by one error. Today marks the same calendar date that my Dad passed away, 16 years ago, and my mom went, ten years later. If you take a mathematical approach (and stop […]
- 2016
- The Time and Length of Length and Time Dear Mom and Dad, I knew August 27 was looming. It was not going to not get here. While walking the dog his morning I looked at the ground. And there it was. This blog post is being written on the 26th, scheduled to publish on the 27th, because I will be off camping in […]
- 2015
- Just Another August 27 Four years ago today, it was just another one on part of my 15,000 mile “Odyssey” Road trip. I was leaving Welland Ontario after a very special one week visit with Giulia Forsythe. I called my Mom (in Florida) in the morning for our usual quick touching base calls, just another call where we teased […]
- 2014
- The Genius of Being a “Marketing Specialist” creative commons licensed ( BY-NC ) flickr photo shared by publicenergy They will let anyone on the internet. From the idiot email box today, here we go again… the tell tale subject line “I would like to collaborate with your site cogdogblog.com” — here is how you collaborate on someone else’s blog: You leave a […]
- On The Blanket at Cascade Lake Look at those kids (sometime in the late 1940s (?)), are they thinking about one day having kids? of seeing their kids have kids? of not being around? Of course not, that’s not what you do on a blanket at Cascade Lake. Today, a tough double calendar reminder Three years ago, my mom fell to […]
- Don’t Be a Platform Pawn creative commons licensed ( BY-SA ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Long long ago, in a web far far away, everything was like neat little home made bungalows stretched out on the open plain, under a giant expansive sky, where we wandered freely, exploring. Now we crowd among densely ad covered walkways of a shiny […]
- 2013
- Going Web Retro: Social Bookmarking and Yahoo Pipes for ds106 Resources cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Alan Levine It’s such a burden to remain fashionable, especially in web technologies which rise and fade faster than the latest in sweater swim wear… In assembling future lessons for the Headless ds106 course, I’m on the section for storytelling, and find myself hand editing […]
- Forever Together on August 27 cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Alan Levine These notecards came with a resort stay in Hawaii a few years ago. Don’t ask me why I hold on to these ones; I have no use for them. On this day in 2011, I was setting out from southern Ontario on the […]
- 2012
- On This Day cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Gone. August 27, 2001: Dad. August 27, 2011: Mom mom’s last batch of cookies (on cowbird) cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by […]
- 2011
- Dad + Ten Years Those photos are both early release versions of myself and my Dad. Today is the date ten years ago that he passed away; I had seen him a few weeks earlier. I did have my calendar reminder ping me earlier, but was reminded just ow as I was telling someone the story of Mickey, the […]
- 2009
- Danger cc licensed flickr photo shared by Mark Strozier The CogDog flies low under the radar. Are you curious what stick man is in peril? Just stay tuned! Share this barking on social media
- Always Young in Photos cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Another August 27th clicks by, another notch marking one more year since my Dad passed away (2001). I love this picture of him (not sure how old) at Coney Island (he grew up in Newark, NJ)- he looks sort of serious in is driving role and his suit […]
- 2008
- Things That Happen Only on the Web Channel flickr photo Autoretrato com Colorado by Paulo Brabo Maybe two months from now will mark the 15th year I have been on the web. This will be October 29, exactly at 10:30am, 15 years to the minute when I inserted a floppy disk labeled “Mosaic” (in perhaps a Mac Quadra 900) that my Maricopa colleague […]
- Foxmarks- Like a Bad House Guest Who Won’t Leave NOTE: Was I ever wrong and offbase on this one. Thanks to rapid responses to the Foxmarks folks on GetSatisfaction site, it looks like the culprit now is the delicious.com extension, which is now disabled and the beachballs / long syncs are gone. Sigh. My humble apologies to the makers of Foxmarks Doesn’t Uninstall mean […]
- 2005
- Eating My Own Trackback Crow It’s only been… what, a few days?… when I insinuated that Trackback was not such a major problem. I just took a look at one of our MovableType 2.66 sites (that will remain nameless, linkless from here) that I’ve not scanned in a while, and saw a whole raft of Trackback spam sitting in the […]
- 2004
- ecto-ing from a PC I am just testing the Windows version of ecto, the MovableType desktop editor. I am offering it to our newbie bloggers in the interest of making it easier for them to edit their Ocotillo Action Group blogs.. It is about the same as the Mac version, different panes, buttons in different places, and the buttons […]
- You Know Your Organization’s Web Site Is A Mess… … when it takes less time to find a department’s web page via Google than navigating the main site itself. Share this barking on social media
- 2003
- Sipping MERLOT’s RSS Feeds: Is this Boone’s Farm or Dom Perignon? We have barked about MERLOT’s lack of RSS feeds for some time. Not that anyone really listens, or that this is even announced in the woods where trees makes sounds, but you can actually find MERLOT RSS feeds. Now the question- is this a smooth vintage or supermarket swill? Here is what is wrong with […]
On Michael’s site he might use There are 22 posts previously published on August 27th
- 2023
- Once More, 14 Years Later, Begging for Openness Stories Given a draft of a post is withering/dying where I fail to conjure something meaningful about the Two Letter Acronym That Rhymes With Hey Bye, I’m reaching back to the old stuff that still matters, the magic of what I call unexpected web serendipity that spring from something we shared, did, uttered in an internet […] ➡
- 2021
- It Won’t Wait For Me Despite sci-fi ideas of bending, traveling, tunneling wrinkling, that time thing just keeps moving along. Another August 27. Click. Sure the laws of physics can explain the passage of 10 years since my Mom passed away today and 20 years since Dad did, but how does it make sense that they would do so on […] ➡
- 2019
- 8 and 18 They made everything easy for me, from entrance to this world right up to today, the single day I can mark their exit. Today in 2001 Dad took his last breath in hospice, the cancer winning the battle [for what?]. Today in 2011 Mom too, maybe her missing him that much, hers an unanticipated heart […] ➡
- 2018
- Letters Sent, Beaches in the Sky Dear Mom and Dad, where ever you are, I know you cannot send letters any more, but trust you know what’s in mine. Maybe you can read blogs? These August 27s keep rolling by, extending the time, though not fading the memories of when you were on this earth. Seventeen, Dad, and seven years, Mom, […] ➡
- 2017
- Memories In/Above the Ground My calendar reminders were set; it was my memory that somehow put August 27 into tomorrow. My sister’s text message corrected the off by one error. Today marks the same calendar date that my Dad passed away, 16 years ago, and my mom went, ten years later. If you take a mathematical approach (and stop […] ➡
- 2016
- The Time and Length of Length and Time Dear Mom and Dad, I knew August 27 was looming. It was not going to not get here. While walking the dog his morning I looked at the ground. And there it was. This blog post is being written on the 26th, scheduled to publish on the 27th, because I will be off camping in […] ➡
- 2015
- Just Another August 27 Four years ago today, it was just another one on part of my 15,000 mile “Odyssey” Road trip. I was leaving Welland Ontario after a very special one week visit with Giulia Forsythe. I called my Mom (in Florida) in the morning for our usual quick touching base calls, just another call where we teased […] ➡
- 2014
- The Genius of Being a “Marketing Specialist” creative commons licensed ( BY-NC ) flickr photo shared by publicenergy They will let anyone on the internet. From the idiot email box today, here we go again… the tell tale subject line “I would like to collaborate with your site cogdogblog.com” — here is how you collaborate on someone else’s blog: You leave a […] ➡
- On The Blanket at Cascade Lake Look at those kids (sometime in the late 1940s (?)), are they thinking about one day having kids? of seeing their kids have kids? of not being around? Of course not, that’s not what you do on a blanket at Cascade Lake. Today, a tough double calendar reminder Three years ago, my mom fell to […] ➡
- Don’t Be a Platform Pawn creative commons licensed ( BY-SA ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Long long ago, in a web far far away, everything was like neat little home made bungalows stretched out on the open plain, under a giant expansive sky, where we wandered freely, exploring. Now we crowd among densely ad covered walkways of a shiny […] ➡
- 2013
- Going Web Retro: Social Bookmarking and Yahoo Pipes for ds106 Resources cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Alan Levine It’s such a burden to remain fashionable, especially in web technologies which rise and fade faster than the latest in sweater swim wear… In assembling future lessons for the Headless ds106 course, I’m on the section for storytelling, and find myself hand editing […] ➡
- Forever Together on August 27 cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by Alan Levine These notecards came with a resort stay in Hawaii a few years ago. Don’t ask me why I hold on to these ones; I have no use for them. On this day in 2011, I was setting out from southern Ontario on the […] ➡
- 2012
- On This Day cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Gone. August 27, 2001: Dad. August 27, 2011: Mom mom’s last batch of cookies (on cowbird) cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by […] ➡
- 2011
- Dad + Ten Years Those photos are both early release versions of myself and my Dad. Today is the date ten years ago that he passed away; I had seen him a few weeks earlier. I did have my calendar reminder ping me earlier, but was reminded just ow as I was telling someone the story of Mickey, the […] ➡
- 2009
- Danger cc licensed flickr photo shared by Mark Strozier The CogDog flies low under the radar. Are you curious what stick man is in peril? Just stay tuned! Share this barking on social media ➡
- Always Young in Photos cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog Another August 27th clicks by, another notch marking one more year since my Dad passed away (2001). I love this picture of him (not sure how old) at Coney Island (he grew up in Newark, NJ)- he looks sort of serious in is driving role and his suit […] ➡
- 2008
- Things That Happen Only on the Web Channel flickr photo Autoretrato com Colorado by Paulo Brabo Maybe two months from now will mark the 15th year I have been on the web. This will be October 29, exactly at 10:30am, 15 years to the minute when I inserted a floppy disk labeled “Mosaic” (in perhaps a Mac Quadra 900) that my Maricopa colleague […] ➡
- Foxmarks- Like a Bad House Guest Who Won’t Leave NOTE: Was I ever wrong and offbase on this one. Thanks to rapid responses to the Foxmarks folks on GetSatisfaction site, it looks like the culprit now is the delicious.com extension, which is now disabled and the beachballs / long syncs are gone. Sigh. My humble apologies to the makers of Foxmarks Doesn’t Uninstall mean […] ➡
- 2005
- Eating My Own Trackback Crow It’s only been… what, a few days?… when I insinuated that Trackback was not such a major problem. I just took a look at one of our MovableType 2.66 sites (that will remain nameless, linkless from here) that I’ve not scanned in a while, and saw a whole raft of Trackback spam sitting in the […] ➡
- 2004
- ecto-ing from a PC I am just testing the Windows version of ecto, the MovableType desktop editor. I am offering it to our newbie bloggers in the interest of making it easier for them to edit their Ocotillo Action Group blogs.. It is about the same as the Mac version, different panes, buttons in different places, and the buttons […] ➡
- You Know Your Organization’s Web Site Is A Mess… … when it takes less time to find a department’s web page via Google than navigating the main site itself. Share this barking on social media ➡
- 2003
- Sipping MERLOT’s RSS Feeds: Is this Boone’s Farm or Dom Perignon? We have barked about MERLOT’s lack of RSS feeds for some time. Not that anyone really listens, or that this is even announced in the woods where trees makes sounds, but you can actually find MERLOT RSS feeds. Now the question- is this a smooth vintage or supermarket swill? Here is what is wrong with […] ➡
// output post and link
$output .= '
' . get_the_title() . '';
// display excerpt if we want it
if ( $excerpt ) $output .= ' ' . get_the_excerpt();
// for microblog output where there might not be titles so add a link at end
// h/t https://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2020/01/02/rss-feed-weirdness-and-php-debugging/
$output .= ' ' . $more . '';
So how is that for the odds of streams crossing on the same obscure bit of code? That’s the old fashioned kind of net serendipity that still happens.
Thanks Michael! Check out his 20 year old blog, he’s an “Enthusiastically Ambiverted Hopepunk” quite the tag line.
Featured Image: Edit of the Ghostbusters Cross Streams scene found in the Ghostbusters Fandom Wiki site which states “Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.” I replaced part of the background with a screenshot of the WP Posted Today PHP code.
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