So I set out a while back to create my first WordPress theme. In doing so, I discovered a couple of really good resources that gave me an excellent head start and wanted to share them with the world.

To give you some background, I've been writing (X)HTML and PHP for quite some time and I've been a programmer even longer, so I know my way around code. Obviously, your mileage may vary with these tools depending on your comfort level with XHTML and PHP.

Now, to start, I thought it would be pretty easy to just sit down in an afternoon with my PSD mockup and throw together a WP theme in no time. So, I found this great tutorial on writing a WordPress theme from scratch and I was off to the races. Or so I thought. Turns out, this stuff is quite a bit of work! I went through the whole tutorial (inasmuch as my limited attention span would allow) and ended up with a lot of great background knowledge. I mostly knew what all that code meant, but I was still feeling a bit overwhelmed and unsure of what the heck I was doing. I needed something a bit simpler.

Enter Whiteboard, a fantastic "theme framework." At least, that's what they call it. It's a barebones WP theme that's easy to understand and edit. With the knowledge I gained from the aforementioned tutorial, I was able to take Whiteboard and turn it into the fully function WP theme of my dreams. Well, not exactly. But hey, it's my first try! I will say that my first-ever WP theme was for a client and they are very pleased with it. Now I'm thinking of entering this contest with a WP theme store.

Just for the heck of it, here's a little bonus content: From the same folks that brought you the WordPress theme tutorial, here are a few tips to help you secure your WP install: http://themeshaper.com/dont-get-hacked-wordpress-security-tips/

Enjoy!

"Answers are rarely as simple as the questions that precede them."

I recently came across a couple great blog posts with dozens of examples of great logotypes -- logos using only typography. It's amazing to see what's been done without the use of any images.

Why 97ish? Well, a few of them are used twice. Here are the links!

• 57 Creatively Designed Examples Of Typography In Logo Design
• 40 Brilliant Type-Only Logo Designs

General Interface is the open-source, BSD-licensed version of TIBCO's General Interface. They describe it best:

...an open source Ajax toolkit and development environment that makes it faster and easier for you to build and deploy web-based applications that have the rich feel and functionality of desktop software.

General Interface's 'Builder' web app is itself built on the General Interface framework, and provides an experience very similar to designing Windows Forms applications with Microsoft Visual Studio. All in all, a very cool tool for developers who want to spend less time coding interface controls and more time on the actual functionality of their software.

Here are a few links to the project:

• General Interface Home Page
• General Interface Getting Started
• General Interface Developer Guide

Enjoy!

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)
26th president of the United States

I found this great set of scans from old books that are now in the public domain on Flickr. There are a lot of great old photos, illustrations, and patterns that could add a cool retro look to any project.

Check it out: Public Domain Book Illustrations

I wrote this function recently to determine whether a given string can be converted into a number by JavaScript's built-in parseInt() and parseFloat() functions. Take a look and let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement!

function isNumeric(str)
{
    /*
        Valid numeric string examples:
            123456
            1.23456
            1.23e456
            +123456
            -123456
            +1.23456
            -1.23e456
            etc.
    */

    var validChars = "0123456789";
    var validOnce = ".e";
    var validAtStart = "+-";
    var notValidAtStart = "e";

    for (i = 0; i < str.length; i++)
    {
        var ch = str.charAt(i);

        if(i == 0)
        {
            if (validChars.indexOf(ch) == -1 &&
                validAtStart.indexOf(ch) == -1 &&
                validOnce.indexOf(ch) == -1)
            {
                return false;
            }else if(notValidAtStart.indexOf(ch) != -1)
            {
                return false;
            }
        }else if (validChars.indexOf(ch) == -1 &&
            validOnce.indexOf(ch) == -1)
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    //check validonce are only appearing once
    for (i = 0; i < validOnce.length; i++)
    {
        var ch = validOnce.charAt(i);

        if(str.indexOf(ch) != str.lastIndexOf(ch))
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    return true;
}

Download the Code

Photos8.com is a great resource for free stock photos. All images can be used royalty-free for any purpose.

Check it out: photos8.com

The process:

Here's what I started with:

Flipped over and removing staples:

Seat sans vinyl cover:

Vinyl cover sans seat:

Plastic seat base separated from seat foam:

Filling in the crevices:

Extra padding:

Only two cuts in the material!

Now we're stuck...

Top view, with some extra filler pieces:

Beveled edge:

Staple time!

Almost done!

Always use protection.