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Windows/Powershell
While exploring the magic of yt-dlp, I realize that I really need to become proficient in Windows PowerShell. I don’t know why I waited so long to do that.
Epub/CSS/Web
I have recently made a lot of progress on my epub template. Now comes the hard/fun part: writing css specifically for the web. Theoretically I have already done the hard stuff on several different websites (see the long interview I did with Texas author Clay Reynolds). I just need to collect all the things I learned into one common template using the same style classes from my epub file.
Speaking of epub css, I had an interesting revelation. Previously my css to manage images on epub had meaningful functional names (i.e, top-chapter, full-page, . Eventually I realized that the context or the function of div + image mattered less than how wide I wanted the image to be on the display. So I changed my css classes to things like: div.image-float-right-50percent img and div.centered-image-35percent img (and variations of that).
Suddenly everything was easier. In ebooks the only two things that matter for images are 1)what percent of the width should it occupy and 2)should it float or be centered as a block? At first, I thought I might need to do variations for float-right and float-left; maybe if I am designing a sophisticated interface or navigation aid, that would be necessary. But in most cases when you want to float something, you float it right. You could perhaps compile a list of float-left styles. But instead, I’m going to attach an id attribute to these HTML elements for those isolated cases so I don’t need to.
The counterargument to using numerical styles is that the names for these styles might be inappropriate for generating html for the web. Generally CSS shouldn’t embed values in the nomenclature but merely refer to functionality. In ebooks you have a fixed image width, but in browsers, there are more possibilities. I fear that something like div.image-float-right-50percent might need to have a sliding percent depending on the viewport when viewed in a browser Then again, maybe the css characteristics for browsers will be the same for all 50% width.
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Here’s ebookpbook, a full-services ebook/book production company (based in Austin). I’ve been browsing through the blog entries on book/ebook formatting for fun. Here’s a typography reference, DropCaps,how to turn off image compression in MS Word, Amazon image compression (which has always seemed to be the blackbox of kindle creation.
I use a different workflow (mainly Docbook –> HTML +CSS –> EPUB), but I suppose it’s about time to adopt a single sourcing tool like Atticus. I have a robust epub template and enjoy the ability to customize my css for advanced formatting situations. But as a practical matter, it’s overkill for 90% of the ebooks out there where all you really need is a few nice themes.
WordPress Databases and Hardening
Now I am needing to improve website performance for WordPress and quickly! My hosting service is making me aware of my use of system resources, and I’ve had to optimize this website. I’ve also decided to focus more on WordPress security and backups. In the last two years the web has become a denser, more complex and dangerous place.
Caching/Performance:
Green Geeks blog. (Lots of good techie tutorials and webcasts).
- Litespeed Cache Matters for WP.
- What is cached data, and when you should clear it.
- How to monitor a website for downtime.
- 2FA for Hosting.
- Google Search Operators. LLMS.txt (not implemented yet)
- Best fonts for coding. Best fonts for web design.
- WordPress Plugins: Best for Security, WP Image Compression Tools, Performance Plugins, Art Gallery,
- Why GreenGeeks is so awesome (nice talk about their tool stack).
- Explanation of the different kinds of firewalls (within WP and without)
Green Geeks Webinars:
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