I have gotten into gardening now that we’re in the house. It’s March in Texas and that means it’s blooming time! I have quite a few plants going right now and I started some herbs.

In addition to daisies, I have purslane, hibiscus, roses, a yellow mandevilla, catnip, various herbs and some aloe vera. These pictures were taken in mid March 2013.

Next on the list is to build a chicken coop. The plan is to follow this design, slightly modified.

The chicken coop is going to be about 8 feet by 4 feet and stand about 5 feet high. I am also going for the planter box on top and plan on doing something the chickens will enjoy, but haven’t decided on what.

Check out my Pinterest board My Backyard to see what other ideas I have in mind.

After using SEO Ultimate for many months, I just switched to WordPress SEO by Yoast. Definitely the best SEO plugin for WordPress.

While most WordPress SEO plugins offer similar features, such as title tag rewriting, easy meta editing and permalink configuration, SEO by Yoast offers an SEO check on each blog post.

After you finish a blog post and you’re entering SEO info (title tag, description, etc.), you can check to make sure your keyword is in the appropriate places. It will also show you a snippet preview so you can make sure your post will appear as you want in search results.

Use the built-in breadcrumbs to show your visitors where they are instead of getting another plugin. Clean up your permalinks and generate a search engine friendly XML sitemap. You can also edit your robots.txt and .htaccess files right from the admin panel instead of heading into your favorite text editor.

Another great feature is the ability to enhance your RSS feed. Add header and footer text so readers get an extra dose of info about your post or blog when viewing your posts in a feed reader.

WordPress SEO by Yoast — Free

So I’m a big fan of TV shows. I like them better than movies because you spend more time with your favorite characters and in shorter bursts. I can watch ten episodes of a 40 minute show in a row, but I can’t watch two movies back to back.

If your taste is anything like mine (and by that I mean awesome!), then you’ll love these shows. Most of them are witty, with an off-beat sense of humor. Some of them are very popular and some are very underrated. Anyway, here’s a list of 13 hilarious TV shows.

1. Better Off Ted

This show came out in 2009 and only ran for two seasons. It’s about a group of people who work in a huge corporation in the research and development division. Better Off Ted makes fun of giant corporations who only care about profits, and how R&D departments invent insane products that don’t always work, and sometimes cause hilarious hijinks. This is a very underrated show that never got good press, but is highly rated after the fact.

2. The League

The League centers around a group of friends who play in a fantasy football league, but that doesn’t mean you have to like football to enjoy the show — I know because football is a snooze fest and The League is awesomesauce. The main characters have all been friends since high school and are now in their thirties, some with families and some with lots and lots of Eskimo brothers. They all insult and pull pranks on each other beach they’re those kinds of friends and it makes for hilarious TV, even if you’d want to chop of their faces in real life.

3. The Office

If you haven’t heard of The Office (UK or US versions), you’ve probably been living under a rock without a TV. This hit show is on its last season this fall and even though it’s been nine years, it’s still hilarious. While I did fall out of love with it for awhile last season (8), I rewatched the entire series a few weeks ago including last season and fell back in love. The characters are caricatures of themselves and they often get ridiculous, sometimes to the point of hating them, but this show is always good for a laugh.

4. Futurama

Futurama is my favorite show ever. Created by Matt Groening of Simpsons fame, Futurama follows delivery boy, Philip J. Fry as he gets frozen and wakes up in the year 3000. It’s satirical, heartwarming, sarcastic and full of pop-culture and sci-fi reference. If you don’t like this show, there might be something wrong with you. Also, it’s been un-canceled and you can find NEW episodes on Comedy Central!

5. The Simpsons

There is a reason this show has been around for 23 seasons (and renewed through 25) – it’s hilarious. While some people got sick of it and complain that new episodes “just aren’t as good as the old ones”, it’s still an incredible show. Yes, they’ve reused some story ideas over the years, but that doesn’t take away from the overall brilliance of the show.

6. Workaholics

So Workaholics is about three guys who work as telemarketers and their hilarious shenanigans. In season 3 (this one), more storylines are focusing on the guys outside of the workplace. This isn’t a family comedy and may not be enjoyed by most adults, especially if you’re over 40, but it makes me laugh every time. Jokes tend to revolve about sex, stupidity, drugs and avoiding work at all costs.

7. True Blood

While this isn’t supposed to be a comedy (or is it? I’m not sure), it’s freakin’ funny. True Blood is ridiculously campy in a way that I adore. Humans know about vampires, and the little town of Bon Temps, Louisiana has a ton of other supernaturals (werewolves, witches, fairies and whatnot) that do a whole bunch of crazy shit. The characters are so outrageous and the plot lines are so ridiculous, it’s basically a supernatural soap opera, filled with lots of sex and nudity. Also lots of blood.

8. 30 Rock

30 Rock is a pretty popular TV show and with good reason. It’s about Liz Lemon, the creator and writer of a variety show, her mentor, super conservative business man, Jack Donaghy and the actors, writers, etc. that are involved in the show. Lots of wit and sarcasm, with some added slapstick makes for a great show.

9. Arrested Development

Arrested Development is one of those shows that got the very short end of the stick because Fox is dumb. It’s centered around the Bluth family, who are all crazy and self-centered. The family owns a development company that is under investigation for all kinds of fraud and crazyness. After years of waiting, they’re FINALLY making the movie to wrap up the much-loved series.

10. Parks and Recreation

Parks and Rec is a mockumentary that films the Parks and Recreation Department of a small town in Indiana. Pretty much every character in this show is hilarious, from the hyper-anxious, extremely capable lead, Leslie Knope to the depressed, cynical April, to the ultimate man’s man’s man, Ron Swanson. The storylines vary from day to day bureaucracy to personal relationships to falling into a pit.

11. Bob’s Burgers

This is a fairly new show on Fox that is about a family who own and live above a burger joint. The children work in the restaurant and sometimes this is a helpful thing and sometimes it’s not. The family dynamic is hilarious and each character is my favorite in their own way. I could see this show going the way of Arrested Development (getting canceled like next week) or The Simpsons (like the Energizer bunny).

12. Castle

Nathan Fillion is Rick Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist who is shadowing a no-nonsense NYPD detective, Kate Beckett because he’s writing his next series about her. Of course, there’s mad sexual tension between them and they almost, but not quite get together like a million times. The show follows the typical 42 minute crime investigation and wrap-up with an elongated plotline throughout the seasons. It hits your murder mystery bone and your funny bone all at the same time, while you get to look at Nathan Fillion. Win-win-win-win-win x3.

13. Modern Family

Modern Family really isn’t that modern at all because there’s only one non-traditional family, but it’s still hilarious. The three families are related and they just live their normal, modern lives that are way more interesting than yours because they get into hilarious situations and react with more hilarity.

I have to thank Netflix for introducing me most of these shows: Workaholics, Bob’s Burgers, Arrested Development, Better Off Ted, The League, 30 Rock and The Office.

I’m always eager to test drive a new app, and I tend to fly through most of them and settle on a few. Here are 7 Windows apps that give a web designer a leg up and help you be productive.

1. Postbox

Check all your email accounts at once with Postbox

I’ve long been searching for the answer to my “too many email addresses” problem. I have about 10 different Gmail accounts for various projects and since I move from my work computer to my home computer, I wanted an easy way to check all of them at once. I tried Thunderbird, but it always left me wanting; it’s clunky and ugly. I tried different browser plugins to check multiple Gmail accounts, but they never worked right all the time.

So then I tried a 30 day free trial of Postbox, which is built on Thunderbird. I thought I’d use it for 30 days and would keep moving since it’s not a free app. Even though it’s only $9.95, I still shy away from purchasing software. You never know when your favorite paid app could be discontinued. But after 30 days with Postbox, I couldn’t fathom going back to my old methods. So I bought a license and I’m still in love.

The biggest advantage Postbox has over Thunderbird is its pretty interface and how smooth it is. While there aren’t nearly as many add-ons, there are enough to get the job done. Postbox is also available for OS X.

Postbox — $9.95

2. XWidget or Rainmeter

See information at a glance and install desktop widgets

XWidget and Rainmeter are desktop customization tools. These two apps are pretty much the same thing and they are both free. Rainmeter calls widgets “skins”, but they both work the same. Use widgets/skins to show information, such as CPU usage, IP address, time and date, etc. You can also keep notes or photos on your desktop, or anything really.

There are more skins available for Rainmeter, but XWidget seems to run a little faster and isn’t a resource hog.

XWidget — Free; Rainmeter — Free

3. Nexus Font

Manage your fonts with NexusFont

I have about 600 non-Windows fonts on this computer. How on earth do I keep track of them? I use NexusFont. One of the best features is that you don’t have to install fonts to be able to use them. When you have a library like mine, all those fonts really take a toll on Photoshop (and Illustrator is even worse) and Microsoft Office. So I have my fonts organized into different groups by usage, and when I want to use one, I just launch NexusFont and it shows up in your program.

The only thing I think NexusFont is lacking is the ability to sort fonts by installation date, or even last modified date. I have to use Windows Explorer for that.

NexusFont — Free

4. Producteev

Keep up with your tasks by project with Producteev

Like email programs, I run through task managers like coffee (which is a lot). I finally settled on a combination of Remember the Milk and Producteev. I use RTM for personal things, like remembering to flea medicine the dogs, or get an oil change. But I use Producteev to manage my different website projects. This one isn’t limited to Windows because they have apps for OS X, the web and mobile devices.

Use workspaces to separate major areas — I have 3: Gotsmith, That College Kid and LMFFCC. Producteev supports subtasks, reminders and gives you a calendar view. You can also easily collaborate with colleagues or friends, but I don’t use this feature. Upgrading to Pro gives you more collaborates, priority support and unlimited storage space.

Producteev — Free (can upgrade to Pro)

5. IE Tester

See just how crappy your design looks in IE 7 with IE Tester

If you’re a web designer, you probably hate Internet Explorer at least a little bit. You design for the web, and then you make sure your perfectly validated site doesn’t look like a dog chewed it up in Internet Explorer. And we can only have one version of IE installed at a time, so it’s hard to check compatibility with older versions. That’s where IE Tester comes in. You can test your site designs in every version of IE and fix the weird issues.

IE Tester — Free

6. AutoHotKey

Automate your desktop with AutoHotKey

AutoHotKey is an amazing app. Create hotkey shortcuts to launch apps, open files and remap keys. Use AHK to automatically run your FTP backups, or to control your Pandora volume and skipping. The possibilities with AutoHotKey are nearly endless. I wrote an in-depth review for Windows.AppStorm: Automate Your Workflow With AutoHotkey.

AutoHotKey — Free

7. Breevy

Replace text with snippets and launch files and apps with Breevy

And last, but certainly not least is Breevy, which is Text Expander for Windows (and you can sync snippets with Text Expander via Dropbox). Use Breevy to automate repetitive keystrokes, insert phrases, and launch apps and websites. I used Texter for over a year because it was free, and I tried Phrase Express, but neither app comes even close to Breevy.

Unfortunately, Breevy is a paid app, and an expensive one at $34.95. This is another one of the apps I bought after using the free trial because I couldn’t go back to my life before it. I wrote an in-depth review of Breevy for Windows.AppStorm: Breevy: A Text Expansion Utility for Windows.

Breevy — $34.95

One of the most important parts of having a website is gaining visitors, and it’s not always an easy task. Here are 13 ways to increase traffic to your website.

12. Order business cards with your website address and leave them everywhere. You can get business cards super cheap nowadays and they are still a valuable marketing tool. Plus, how cool are you when you hand over a business card?

13 Ways to Increase Traffic via E-Starr

Looking for a landing page that tracks important information for visitors, including location and referring websites? Desant is a free, open-source landing page app that does the trick.

“Desant is an open source and neat landing page application. It’s simple to use, customize and extend to your needs. There’s an awesome admin area too – it will give you all the information and statistics you need.”

Desant App

If you’ve spent awhile reading various blogs or even news websites, you’re probably familiar with the infamous Internet Commenter. This person’s comments might make your brain explode because of the incredible non-readability.

Copyblogger, one of my favorite websites ever, created an infographic  - 15 Grammer Goofs That Make You Look Silly. And it’s awesome.

Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

In West Philadelphia, born and raised…

Graphic design is a tricky industry because there is enough business out there for you to make a good living just with freelance work, but finding those clients can be tough. Instead of fighting every other graphic designer for the same clients, try finding a niche to explore.

Smartpress, one of my favorite printing services has an article with 25 niche ideas for graphic designers.

The ones that stood out to me are restaurant menus, reminder postcards (for dentists, doctors, etc.) and loyalty cards.

25 Graphic Design Niches You’ve Never Thought Of via Smartpress

“Our Bad Boy Robot Package comes with a boob job, lunch not included.”