function bitlyShorten($url)
{
	$client = new Zend_Http_Client('http://api.bit.ly/v3/shorten');
	$client->setParameterGet(array(
		'longUrl' => $url,
		'login' => 'xyz',
		'apiKey' => 'xyz'
	));
	$response = $client->request();
	if($response->isSuccessful())
	{
		$response = Zend_Json::decode($response->getBody());
		if($response['status_code'] == 200)
		{
			return $response['data']['url'];
		}
	}
	return (false);
}

Example:

$myLongUrl = 'http://www.jeremyglover.com/blog/';
$myShortUrl = bitlyShorten($myLongUrl);

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1. Force Zend Framework to use the index controller by default

Anyone know what type of spider this is?

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We had a wonderful time and great travels to and from the beach. I won’t bore you with the details of today, so here are some pictures that didn’t make it into the other posts.

Enjoy!

Day 1 - Not quite relaxed yet

Sign on the last hole of mini golf

Hit it, Maestro!

Too expensive

Swinging with Mom

Lazy day at the ranch

Pony rides

Baked oysters

That dog will bite you!

I'm on a boat!

Saving the best for last

The crazy crab

My new toy (I wish)

Choreography disaster

Where's my mommy? Ohh right...

Low rider

I hope you all had fun following along!

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8 (you are here)

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 4 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 6 of 8
3. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8

Rating: 5/5

After brunch we traipsed down to the beach. The waves today were ridiculously choppy. I saw several fish jumping and Kara was whacked in the hand by what she assumes was a fish. After about an hour, we both were exhausted from staying afloat so we went to the pool. It was much more relaxing.

Then we headed back to the condo where the nap fairy visited my mom while the rest of us read for awhile.

I have a really bad habit of watching the Food Network when I’m not hungry and within 30 minutes, you can almost guarantee I’ve got dinner planned…

So we chose One Hot Mama’s. It’s another of the Serg Restaurant Group’s holdings. Giuseppi’s and Skull Creek Boathouse both got 5/5s, so I figured we couldn’t go wrong. And I was right.

Southern Style Ribs

Pulled Pork Sandwich

The ribs were great (5/5), but I’m only going to give the meal a 4/5 because the sides could have been better.

We get no cell service in the condo, so as we pulled up to the building I was updating the apps on my phone. They didn’t quite finish so I figured I’d go to the lake behind the condo to let it finish before I went into the dead zone. Here’s the sign I found.

The evening wrapped up with ice cream, Scrabble Slam, regular Scrabble, and the Food Network.

Tomorrow we head home

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7 (you are here)
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 5 of 8
3. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 6 of 8

We started out with tennis at 7:30. I won 6-1, 6-1—not as good as I had hoped, but not too shabby.

Then we went down to the beach. While there, Kara had the fabulous idea to have Flamingo’s Doughnut Cafe for dessert for lunch. So we punctuated our water time, had a quick lunch, and headed to the best doughnut shop in the world.

After that we headed back to Sea Pines for a dolphin-watching cruise. A big thank you to our parents for buying our tickets!

Waiting for the boat to take off almost reduced me to a puddle of goo. It’s also a good shot of the hat I told you about earlier.

We saw dolphins surface 15-25 times but never got a decent shot of them. I was really hoping for a shot of one jumping out of the water, but no cigar.

On the cruise we saw Daufuskie Island which is accessible only by sea and air. The captain said building materials cost three times as much there!

Here’s a shot of a “haunted” light house on that island.

My beautiful wife:

After the cruise, we headed to Main Street Cafe & Pub where I had the most delicious crab legs ever!

Rating: 5/5

If you’ve been following along, you probably think I’m being gracious to all of these restaurants I’m giving 5/5. Nope. I’m probably the toughest food critic you’ll ever meet. These places have all been absolutely fantastic!

After dinner, we headed back to the condo, had ice cream (yes, somehow I had room left) and watermelon, and relaxed. Kara and her mom took a walk on the beach, but after 14 or so clusters of crab legs, I wasn’t feeling it.

Tomorrow we’re going to sleep in and grab brunch some place, then chill out at the beach and pool, and probably knock another awesome restaurant off the list.

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6 (you are here)
Day 7
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 5 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 4 of 8
3. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8

The beautiful weather magnified the enjoyment of the beach and pool. I did try-out for the 100m sprint today while in the ocean. A large school of fish started leaping out the water towards Kara and me, jumping out all at once at least three or four times. Needless to say, we followed suit and raced to the shore. I never did see the shark, but I’m fairly certain something large and scary was lurking under the surface.

We decided to hit up Skull Creek Boathouse (another top-6) for a late lunch after failing to find an all-you-can-eat crab leg place that was open for lunch. SCB is hidden on the water behind the Hilton Head Boathouse. I had the Salmon B.A.T. which contained grilled salmon, bacon, avocado, and tartar sauce and was served with sweet potato fries. It was scrumptious! My mom had grilled scallops. Kara had shrimp linguine. Pam had a cod sandwich. Everything was amazing!

Sorry for the dearth of pictures. I had a huge mental lapse as the food arrived because it smelled so good!

Rating: 5/5

After lunch, we went to the boat ramp behind SCB where Kara took these beautiful shots.

We really wanted dessert at SCB but it was kind of pricey, so we opted to get some at Harris Teeter. Ice cream was buy 2, get 3 free or 2 for $5. So we got mint chocolate chip and double fudge brownie.

We cooled off for a bit and then headed to Adventure Cove where we played mini golf.

Mini golf results:
1) Pam
2) Jeremy & Kara (tied)
3) Sue

We headed back to the condo and learned how to make yummy pound cake from Alton Brown. And then I was forced to watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Tomorrow we plan to play tennis in the morning, hit up the beach and pool for a short while, go on a dolphin cruise, and have all-you-can-eat crab legs. Should be awesome!

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 (you are here)
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 3 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 4 of 8
3. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8

We decided to skip tennis this morning so we could finally sleep in. It was refreshing.

For breakfast, we headed to Flamingo’s Doughnut Cafe which is located right outside the Sea Pines gate. I’ll let the pictures do the explaining.

Boston Creme

Black Forest

House Special

Total Cost: $9.70
Rating: 5/5

We’ll probably go back at least once this trip!

We spent almost all day in Sea Pines. There’s a $5.00 fee to get in but the pass is good for all day and they do provide Trolleys.

First stop: Harbour Town

A kid caught a blue crab as we were standing beside him and trapped it with his foot so it couldn’t get away.

Next stop: The Shoppes at Sea Pines Center

Back to Harbour Town for lunch at The Crazy Crab

Rating: 4/5

We took the trolley back to the car and then drove to South Beach where there were three random Macaws. Here’s one of them.

Then we went to Lawton Stables.

We headed home and watched TV for awhile. Then the girls went to the pool and came back shivering. We finished off the evening watching So You Think You Can Dance (or American Idol as Nigel misspoke).

Tomorrow we plan to resume our morning tennis regimen and then hit up the beach and pool. I’m also hoping to find my all-you-can-eat crab legs for dinner!

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 (you are here)
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 3 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8
3. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 1 of 8

The squirrels here are really tame and photogenic.

We headed to the beach where I got some great exercise walking in the water down the coast while pulling Kara. She enjoyed it until I got tired and told her she had to walk back :p. The pool was super-crowded but very relaxing after the ocean workout. I don’t know who invented these things, but someone came up with an octopus life preserver/float that took up about a 7-foot diameter in the pool.

For lunch we decided to cross off another restaurant on the top-6 list: Giuseppi’s. It was fantastic! There’s a reason only 1/2 the pizza is showing in this picture!

Toppings: amazingly-fresh mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, broccoli, and bacon!
Price: $21
Rating: 5/5

My only complaint is that it’s all gone!

After lunch we headed to the site of the infamous Tuesday night concert and fireworks to scope it out. The stage was tiny and my mom questioned a worker about what to expect. Apparently it’s mostly for kids. They have a bounce house and music that stops for the fireworks at dark. So if it’s for kids, why was there a Budweiser trailer parked there? Weird. Anyway, we decided to pass on that event.

Shortly after heading back to the condo, heavy, much-needed napping ensued.

Dinner? Yummy leftovers from Giuseppi’s (at least for me)!

We thought about going mini-golfing after dinner but after checking the Weather Channel and seeing that the heat index was 107 (actual high today was 100), we passed on that too. The women took a long walk while I stayed in and watched Hell’s Kitchen and Master Chef.

Here are some beautiful shots Kara took on the walk.

Tomorrow I’ll be sleeping in and then we’re going to Harbour Town.

So far this vacation has been great! G’night ya’ll.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3 (you are here)
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 2 of 8
2. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 1 of 8

Next, we headed to the beach where Kara mocked me severely because of my hat.

Ok…it’s not quite that goofy, but the only differences are the tassels and writing. This year, I decided my hat was an ample substitute for sunblock lotion. I hate that stuff. With a passion. And after one day of being in the sun for about four hours, I can say that it seems to have worked.

So we went to the beach, the crowded pool (webcam-monitored) where we watched Kara’s mom learn to swim, and then back to the condo. Lunch was delicious: pulled rotisserie chicken sandwiches.

Then we got bored and took a trip to the chamber of commerce which we mistook for the visitor’s center. Whoops. So they directed us to the visitor’s center where a very helpful woman doused us with great info.

Top 6 places to eat:

• Sea Shack
• Old Oyster Factory
• The Crazy Crab
• Skull Creek Boathouse
• Giuseppi’s
• Main Street Cafe & Pub

Today we knocked Sea Shack off the list. The food was amazing but the wait was ridiculous. We got there at 5:50 and didn’t get seated until 7:30. The place had maybe 15 tables and the ginormous line we waited in was outside in the 91-degree heat.

I got the Shack Attack: crabcake, scallops, shrimp, oysters, and tilapia.

So was it worth it? Not really. Go for lunch instead and enjoy shorter waits and cheaper food.

I’m an ice cream-aholic. So we stopped at the Piggly-Wiggly after dinner and snagged some Double Fudge Brownie ice cream which hit the spot with bananas and a crushed-up Butterfinger. Yum!

Time for bed…we’re playing tennis at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

G’night!

Day 1
Day 2 (you are here)
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

Related posts:

1. Hilton Head Island, SC – Day 1 of 8

To celebrate Kara’s mom’s retirement, Kara and I thought it would be nice to treat her and my mom to a week at the beach.

Our mothers arrived yesterday afternoon from Motown and we spent the evening catching up. We watched My Life in Ruins with the chick from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Not bad for a sappy chick flick. After some much-procrastinated, late-night packing, we hit the sack.

Today started out beautifully—pancakes for breakfast, relatively painless packing, and my mom driving. We made a quick pit-stop at Wendy’s and arrived at the condo around 3:00 where we found the maids’ supervisor doing a last-minute inspection. We quickly hauled our belongings up three flights of stairs in 110-degree heat (heat index). I’m pretty sure my shirt melted off as I was doing the stair-master marathon because I wasn’t wearing one when I looked in the mirror while checking out our bedroom. You’re welcome.

After a five-minute break in the cold living room (thermostat set at 65…w00t!), we slid down the stairs and took an unprepared tour of the island, wandering around aimlessly for about an hour before we decided we needed milk for breakfast.¹ So of course we stopped at the Piggly-Wiggly where the deli turkey breast was $9.69 per pound…all varieties. Thank you Boar’s Head for forcing your monopoly down my throat. So we nixed the turkey and opted for rotisserie chicken at under $7, got some supplies for sandwiches, salad, and the milk.

My mom, being the prepared mother she is, was kind enough to bring meatballs for dinner so we could save some cash. They were delicious as meatball hogies and saved approximately $75 compared to eating out.

The cellphone reception is terrible in our condo with AT&T. It stutters between “No Service”, “Searching…”, and 1-to-2 bars of signal. Who of us has AT&T? All of us. So I busted out my laptop and got on Skype. Ohh wait…no I didn’t. The cable modem, wireless router, and TV were all unplugged, cords draped across the floor. What was that count?

1) TV
2) Cable Modem
3) Wireless Router

That’s right: 3. How many outlets are there? 2. Spectacular. And…if you wait long enough, the plugs shoot out of the outlet from the magical force known as gravity because that’s just how loose they are.

So the TV remains unplugged as I write this…

Anyway, we fired up Skype and my mom was able to check in with her sister so that at least someone, other than you all (ya’ll…we’re in the deep south, right?), knew we got here safely.

Crap…now my laptop is dying. Better plug it in. Great…after nearly electrocuting myself due to another faulty outlet behind the couch (missing wall plate and not mounted to anything…I can literally hide it in the wall if I want), my laptop is now powered up! Other than electrical outlets, this condo is fairly nice.

“To the beach!”, said Kara. So we went. The pool is nice and is “continuously monitored via webcam”. You know some creepy dude just sits on the other end enjoying the snot out of his job. The beach was also very nice—long, shallow-sloped descent from the dunes to the water. We walked south for about two minutes and quickly changed directions due to the sand-blasting wind buffeting my glasses.

So far, the plan for day 2 is tennis at 7:45 AM, necessary due to ridiculous temperatures, and relaxation at the pool and on the beach until dinner time. Any good suggestions for dinner?

G’night folks!

Day 1 (you are here)
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

¹ I’m currently struggling in my life with how to keep the Sabbath holy per God’s commandment (Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15). A person told me that the Sabbath has been abolished since it was a ceremonial law (according to that person) and all ceremonial laws were abolished when Jesus died for us. So Jesus reemphasized some commandments but abolished just that one? Even though Jesus, himself, kept the Sabbath? Anyway, I feel that we are still supposed to keep the Sabbath and I’m finding it very difficult, in the world I live in, to do that. For those that want to contribute, here’s where I stand on what work should be allowed on the Sabbath: God’s work. I realize that’s up for interpretation, but I don’t want to narrow it down to specifics. So, the best example I can come up with currently is vacations on cruise ships. The employees work every single day that you’re on that cruise (at least that’s been my experience on the two cruises I’ve taken which were both one week long). When is their Sabbath? Am I causing them to sin by going on the cruise? Thoughts?

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