Obblogatory: Loads Faster Now!
Apr 3 at 11:11pm by ObverseView
For those of you wondering what I’ve done on Obblogatory to speed things along recently. I will tell you: I was playing with my other server space at MediaTemple because my blog had slowed to a crawl, and MT were shooting emails at me advising me of the server load on the Databases.
So I installed a couple of plugins there, including one called db cache and my site loads so much faster now. I matched it with a regular caching plugin, like SuperCache or HyperCache and the server just rockets along. Why?
The DB Cache plugin simply caches requests to the database, and the Caching programs just serve those cached files. Occasionally, the server experiences a slight hiccup, but even then I noted that server queries dropped from over 350 sometimes to a manageable 20~50 queries.
I thought you should try it out. It seems to be compatible with other caching programs like supercache, hypercache etc. and when both db cache and caching plugins are used together, the server really runs fast. And I haven’t found any incompatibilities with other plugins, yet.
I tried this solution matched with a different page caching plugin on different sites, and results are approximately similar: Obblogatory loads about 90% fewer queries, InvestorBlogger often loads just 10~20 queries each time. My school site occasionally loads in excess of 135 queries so there’s still some work to do there.
What I do notice even with sites loading so many queries is that the sites still load much faster than ever. I know though that queries can be cut down even more: by adding fixed urls in the header and footer, but that’s quite a bit of work to get rid of them. And subsequent page loads are significantly faster still, as much of the stuff needed is already cached in your browser cache!
But for the sites on Dreamhost, I also added a Database Virtual Server and Dreamhost upped my original Virtual Server Memory by 100%. So overall, any of my sites hosted on Dreamhost are loading much faster anyway. The database caching plugin keeps things chugging along!
For those bent on optimizing every last ounce out of their server, it might be worth doing! Getting a Dreamhost PS Server is worth it for me! It insulates me from flaky software running other people’s sites, it doesn’t cost the earth, and I have unlimited storage space and bandwidth… it’s an amazing deal, for about $31.00 per month all told. With a VPS system, I might actually get to use it, too!
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Spam: zero – Satisfaction 100%
Sep 20 at 1:01pm by ObverseView
With the recent changes to my blog here, I finally figured out how to get zero spam. The recipe is quite simple:
1. Close posts from comments from more than a few weeks ago. Close them all. Nothing to spam. See "Settings" and "Discussion"
2. Set both "Comment author must fill out name and e-mail" and "Users must be registered and logged in to comment". These settings are in "Settings" and "Discussion". Check them.
3. If you want comments, enable registration in "Settings" and "General" then check "Anyone can register". Of course, you can uncheck it, too.
4. Set up the plugin "Register Plus" and use the captcha settings.
Then you don’t need Akismet or any other anti-spam plugins, if your blog isn’t on the hitlist of spammers. It should be fine.
I have been pretty aggressive on my spam settings, but I’ve had enough. On this blog, I’m one comment away from turning off comments altogether. And many of the plugins I used to use are just too much work or don’t work well: Spam Karma II, Intense Debate, Akismet…
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Foxmarks: Sync your bookmarks across the ‘Net
Nov 9 at 12:12am by ObverseView
I’ve been experimenting with Foxmarks. It’s pretty neat. I wish I had discovered it years ago when I really needed it! Now, I have mostly memorized the hundred or so websites I use these days. So it’s not so important. But still I occasionally find pages and sites that I would like to come back to, esp. on pcs that aren’t my main pc, such as the one at work.
Foxmarks works well. It allows me to synchronise my marks across the Internet. Very neat! I don’t have to rely on a website to do that!
You can download the plugin and install on Firefox 1.5 and above. First time use is quite simple, with a quick, painless and efficient registration process. It then syncs your first pc. You can then sync further pcs as you need. Each time your marks will be uploaded, synced and then appear on every net connected pc. That is cool.
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WordPress Mobile Edition: On Trial
Nov 5 at 10:10pm by ObverseView
Well, I’m trying out Alex King’s “WordPress Mobile Edition” on this blog. Do let me know if you have trouble accessing the blog or not, or if you find it any good! I can’t really access the blog at the moment. I have a webcapable phone, but I never use it for browsing, I think it’s probably too slow for that.
Anyway, here’s what it says:
I will try out it and if it works out well, I will move a copy of it to my other blog(s) for people to use! That’d be great!
Kenneth
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My Blog: WP-Email Function
Mar 28 at 8:08am by ObverseView
Well, I’ve been experimenting with a new plugin for this blog. You can now send an email of your favorite page to anyone. The plug-in is “wp-email203“. It works really well right now, but I have not been able to get the feature to blend in well with the theme I’m currently using.
Oh, well. Baby steps.
Kenneth
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Themes DB
Jan 10 at 11:11pm by ObverseView
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