Furthermore,  there is a lack of personal topics to blog about. Sitting in front of the word editor, things that come into my mind are things I can’t blog or speak about. In the end, I end up not blogging at all…

Thank goodness I still have my tech hobbies to keep life somewhat interesting (and that says alot)…

Gosh.. I really miss my friends…

Don’t even know why I am feeling so “emo”. It’s probably due to the fact that I’m in camp on a Saturday still awake at 5.56am (oops.. that means it’s Sunday already)…

Sigh…. I’m being random again.

While I was coding this website, I was looking around for a piece of WordPress code allows you to display an excerpt of a certain length.

Frankly, I really feel that a custom content length should be built into the WordPress core.

Anyway, there are plugins available but just didn’t want to add another one to the installation if I can help it… so I decided to add a simple function instead…

For those interested:

function limit_content($content_length = 250, $allowtags = true, $allowedtags = '') {
	global $post;
	$content = $post->post_content;
	$content = apply_filters('the_content', $content);
	if (!$allowtags){
		$content = strip_tags($content, $allowedtags);
	}
	$wordarray = explode(' ', $content, $content_length + 1);
	if(count($wordarray) > $content_length) :
		array_pop($wordarray);
		array_push($wordarray, '...');
		$content = implode(' ', $wordarray);
	endif;
	echo $content;
}

Just copy the above code into your functions.php file.

Usage:

limit_content( $length,  $allow-tags, $tags-to-allow )

Example:

limit_content('300',  false, '<p><a>');

Parameters:

$length
(integer) Number of characters desired.

Default: 250

$allow-tags
(string) (optional) Allow any formatting?

Default: true

$tags-to-allow
(string) (optional) If $allow-tags is set to false, you can use this parameter to selectively allow certain formatting tags.

Default:  ‘ ‘

In the November 9 Techcrunch exclusive report and subsequently on the November 12 post in Google Voice blog, Google has announced that it has acquired the VOIP start-up Gizmo5.

The acquisition would put Google in a better position against Skype as may soon (or in the near future) have a desktop front-end/end point for calls. Furthermore, Gizmo5 would be able to bring a PSTN link which it has to the Voice service, increasing the value of the service to end-users.

At this juncture,  much work has already been done by the Gizmo5 developers, who have long integrated the service with Google Voice. This would probably cause the integration time for the two services to be shortened.

As with all previous acquisitions, Google has temporarily suspended all new Sign-ups.  (Luckily I have an account already…)

When Google Voice and Gizmo5 is finally integrated into one product, the service would surely be more sought after than it is now.. Hopefully by then, it will be open to users outside the United States (yeah.. I am still waiting…)…

True to Google’s style,  the logos are simple also:

According to the blog:

“Go combines the development speed of working in a dynamic language like Python with the performance and safety of a compiled language like C or C++. Typical builds feel instantaneous; even large binaries compile in just a few seconds. And the compiled code runs close to the speed of C. Go lets you move fast.”

Motivations

On more serious note, looking around the new website, Google explained that its motivations for the new language is attributed to the fact that:

No major systems language has emerged in over a decade, but over that time the computing landscape has changed tremendously… We believe it’s worth trying again with a new language, a concurrent, garbage-collected language with fast compilation…

Surprising?

I don’t think that Google’s move t0 introduce a programming language to be  surprising at all.  The company has been moving slowly into other fields of the web, including (but not limited to) building a browser, building the Chrome OS as well as the Android system for cellphones. It is of no surprise that they would go into the core of everything and announce a new programming language as well.

Interested in learning?

As with most of its recent  product launches, the company has released a 1 hour Tech Talk video as well as its corresponding PDF, in addition to the usual online documentation to help developers get started…

The future?

It will be interesting to see how this language will take off. Google’s developer targeted products are usually quite well received. With the focus on quick/fast and simple development coupled with some familiarity (due to its roots in C and python), it may be a recipe for success of this new language.

It was with much regret that I didn’t apply and try out for the APEC Youth Event (Voices of the Future) 2009. I may not have gotten the opportunity to go even if I applied, but at least I can say I tried…. The price was definitely quite a “show stopper” for me…. However, looking at the ongoing events now made me look back and wished that I had done so…

On the bright side, I did have a chance to be there the last 2 days in a separate capacity. Although it was busy, but at least I got to see one aspect of the event. Must really thank the few people who assisted me and my friends in our tasks… If I meet them in the future at events, I’ll definitely not forget the Starbucks again.. haha.

Content Re-Structure:

One major change is the re-organization of the site content. As mentioned in the previous post, I have separated my personal blog and the more tech oriented posts and created two new RSS feeds reflecting the change as well… So for those wanting a more personal read, do change your subscription!

• Personal Posts: http://feeds.fusedthought.com/FusedthoughtTalk
• Tech Oriented Posts: http://feeds.fusedthought.com/FusedthoughtTech
• The full site: http://feeds.fusedthought.com/FusedthoughtStudio

A New Look:

With Fusedthought Version 2.0, I decided to forgo the usual dark background and go with a more artistic background with lighter colors, hoping to give a cooler feeling instead of bright “in-your-face” kind of colors. Slight modification was also done to the logo.

Other minor changes includes the addition of visual elements in the layout, Short URLs for each post as well as Share buttons.

Facebook Connect Integration

With the massive redesign (at least from the back-end), I figured why not integrate Facebook Connect while I’m at it. So now, Fusedthought.com is officially Facebook Connect enabled for Comments. That means that you can authorize this website (like a Facebook App) and skip typing your name and other details when commenting!

So, for those who are reading from Google Reader or via other feed readers, do drop by the site and give your feedback!

I am also taking into consideration the fact that my friends may want to see a more personal blog rather than always talking about tech and stuff…. Most of the time, I find myself holding back on blogging due to such concerns…. Thus I am restructuring the content also moving to a separate feed for the different content in the new iteration of this site…

The changes will take awhile as I am doing a clean install of my site engine to get rid of the backlog…. Hopefully this will not result in any downtime….

I am sure it could have been prevented or even lessened before the actual onset. In fact, I saw the signs of a sore throat and went to the camp doctor. Alas, I’ve been told it was minor and no medication needed to be given. I was incredulous, but have no power to influence a change in that outcome.

That fateful decision caused me to lose sleep that night as my nose became blocked, leaving my voice hoarse and dry that night….

Once out of camp the next day, I went to see my family doctor. The news was what I predicted all along: Inflammation of throat walls and some swelling in the nose…

I guess the saying that “a person knows their own body the best” holds true….

The major change in Version 1.5  is the addition of  short URLs using the WordPress post or page ID, on top of the usual 3rd party shortlink service generated URL. Thus, you can have shorter URLs in your own domain…

Version 1.5 also includes a new administrative interface and supports an additional 6 services bringing the total to 14.

The additional services are:  short.to, ping.fm, chilp.it, smsh (aka sm00sh), u.nu and unfake.it.

(EDIT Nov 5): Ver 1.5.1 was released to update a slight oversight in the coding causing the short URL generated to be the same as the permalink of the post.)

(EDIT Nov 7): Ver 1.5.2 was released. Rectified problem of ping.fm key not saving…)

For more information, head over to the Plugin Page

I developed this plugin for private uses initially but have since decided to release it to the community. As such, at the time of release, the plugin has undergone 4 iterations. As such, the first public release is at version 1.4, with simple validation added to the plugin options page.

It is released under GPLv3 and current supports the following services:

• TinyURL
• is.gd
• bit.ly
• tr.im
• su.pr
• snipurl
• cl.gs
• Short.ie

More maybe added in the future. I am hoping to integrate ping.fm as well… Other than that, I haven’t really thought about the future development plans for this plugin yet.

For more information and Screenshots, head over to the plugin page or Google Code Project Page

I am attempting to get it listed in WordPress extend as well. That way, at least I can get automatic updates to the plugin via the administration interface.

(EDIT: The plugin is now listed in WordPress Extend.)