I’ve created a Wordpress plugin called Subscribe Sidebar!

If your familiar with my blog, you’ve seen my Subscribe sidebar before. Now it’s available as a plugin for Wordpress. I got sick of copying/pasting the HTML from theme to theme and after Todd Chochrane requested the same links for the RawVoice Blogs I decided it was time to put it in an easy to install and configure plugin.

The plugin may be added to the sidebar by either utilizing the dynamic widgets sidebar feature or adding a few lines of code to your theme’s sidebar template. Configurable options include links for RSS 2.0, Atom, Podpress podcast Feed, add to Google Reader/Homepage, add to My Yahoo, add to iTunes, add to Zune and follow on Twitter. I constantly get a steady stream of people asking for my twitter name, so now it’s under my subscribe links in my blog, I can now refer folks to my blog.

So, what do you think of the plugin, is it useful for your blog and/or podcast?

I’ve been doing a variety of small home improvements over the past few months. Okay, you got me, I didn’t install the new dishwasher, but I did let the guy in!

Computer Desk Completed!
Back in November, I made my own computer desk from white laminated lumber from Home Depot. My original intent was to buy regular lumber with specific dimensions. When I arrived, the salesman showed me the laminated lumber, which had the benefit of having a finished edge, something I was worried about where the keyboard would be resting.

So, the story. I had measurements all figured out from a 4′ x 8′ sheet of 5/8″ lumber. The laminated wood was not sold in that size. The biggest size was 8′ x 30″, which is the pefect depth for the desk, but meant I would not have enough material on the sides. I made a decision to have the 8′ length cut into one 4′ long section and two 2′ long sections. I also purchased a 4′ x 10″ sheet to use as a vertical support for the top of the desk. I walked out the store spending less than $30. So I got home, put the desk together, and it looked great. (see photo)

Just like a little kid, I rushed the desk up the stairs, cleared a spot for it in the office and started setting up the computer. I got everything situated on the desk, fired up the computer, lined up the keyboard then came to the quickest realization that something was wrong. Yes, something was really wrong! I couldn’t place my feed under the desk, the table was so low my knee was pressinng against the table top! So I looked at my design work, and discovered that I originally planned on the sides of the desk being 30″, but now they were 24″ from my last minute change at the home improvement store.

So the first month, I lifted the desk up about 3″ with some blocks of wood, which was all it needed. A week went by, and finally one of the blocks popped out from under the desk and man did I have a bad day. First I went to both Home Depot and Lowes to see if I could find caster wheels or small desk legs to try to raise the desk up slightly. No such luck. Finally, the day ended with a trip to Bestbuy and an investment in a $80 computer desk.

So last week, I was at Home Depot picking up supplies for the kitty litter gate and guess what I found, caster wheels for the desk! I’ve installed the wheels and the home made desk now has a 29″ clearance for leg/knee room!

Kitchen Faucet
Heather and I picked out a new Kitchen faucet in February. It’s a Delta, made in U.S.A. and has a chrome finish. Our main goal was to find a nice looking one handle faucet.

It took a month before I finally made the time to install it. Installation was easy. The salesman did not tell me I should use a special silicone to seal the faucet against the sink. Hopefully I’ll get that taken care of this Easter weekend.

Kitty Litter Gate
This is sad to say, but our dog will get into our cat’s kitty litter box. We’ve come up with a lot of creative locations for the litter box so Ty can’t get to it. But recently we decided to keep the litter box in the bathroom. We have a double sized vanity with one sink, so the other side has a nice opening for a trash can, laundry basket or in our case, kitty litter box.

So last weekend I created a gate using outdoor lattice. When I went into Home Depot, I was planning on purchasing wood lattice. To my luck, they sell vinyl with framing trim that’s easy to cut to size! Plus, the vinyl was easy to roll and pack into my car. Putting the gate together was pretty easy, as you can see it’s not too complicated.

Once we put it in place, we were worried the cat wouldn’t like the gate or worse, would not fit through the opening. Luckily, the cat slips through the opening like it’s her special door and the litter box is getting plenty of use!

Dish Washer
Last month we bought a new dishwasher. It’s working pretty well and we’re pretty happy with it, but it does have one engineering flaw. I’m going to wait till we’ve had the dishwasher for 2 full months before giving it a complete review, but expect a blog post in the near future on the subject.

Anyone in the Central Ohio area who is a blogger, podcaster or social networking enthusiast/expert should be aware that there is a potential meetup group organizing called the Columbus Social Media Cafe. Yesterday was the 4th SMC meetup and I gathered that they are just now working on defining what the goals are of the group and plan on forming a mission statement. You can read more about the last meetup at Elephants on Bicycles and This Woman’s Work blogs.

When I arrived, I found myself briefly explaining what PodCamp and PodCamp Ohio is. I was not prepared to make any sort of presentation at the meetup but I did my best. This was a learning experience for myself, as I found myself speaking to a crowd of bloggers who are aware that podcasting should be included in their space but don’t exactly have a grasp on what exactly podcasting is. I also mentioned briefly some of the viral networking techniques that PodCamp Ohio is using in order to market the event to bloggers, podcasters and social networking enthusiasts.

I learned a lot from the meetup. What I found the most interesting was what they are envisioning; a social networking web site that pulls in feeds of blogs and podcasts and provides social networking features such as tags and comments. The group would be the perfect customer for the RawVoice Generator, which does pretty much what they want. One of the organizers mentioned someone who is in the process of developing such a tool that the group could use, so I didn’t quite feel comfortable mentioning that my company already has such a product on the market for more than 2 years now. The process they are undertaking made me feel vindicated that the past 3 years of my life that I’ve spent developing such tools is of real importance, not just globally but also for the local community. There is real potential for blogging and podcasting to connect with its local communities, and I for sure want to be involved in helping that happen here in Central Ohio.

I hope they can create a brand/logo soon and put in place a scheduled meeting time using not just meeting spaces in the public but also utilizing those social media tools that are so important such as TalkShoe/BlogTalkRadio for on-line recorded phone meetings and Google Group public mailing lists. At the moment the only way anyone can participate is by attending the public meetings, which may limit the audience size of participants. The more opportunity to let someone be herd, the more opportunities that will be used by those with the means. I’m pretty confident they will pick up on these other tools soon.

I am a little concerned that some of the founders organizing the Columbus SMC group found PodCamp Ohio somewhat threatening. I hope they did not get that impression cause it is definitely not something meant to compete with other groups with similar goals. PodCamp is a social event with the primary goal to bring bloggers and podcasters together to share knowledge and network with each other. I hope the Columbus SMC organizers don’t feel threatened by the event, that’s certainly not the events goal and I am confident that’s not what Chris Brogan or Christopher Penn intended when they created PodCamp.