My first attempts using get_post() returned empty values. After hours of searching and plugging away at the task, things started to click. I figured I should record this keep track of the solution for future reference, and to help out anyone else with the same problem.

Retrieving a specific post using get_post()

The get_post() function takes two arguments:

• $var_id: The ID (of type integer) of the post you wish to retrieve.
• $type: The data type returned. Default is an object. The data could also be returned in an array, either associative or key-indexed (ARRAY_A), or numerically indexed (ARRAY_N).

An idiosyncrasy of the get_post() function is that because the function passes $var_id internally as a reference, the parameter cannot be a literal integer. You must pass the parameter as a variable.

What data is returned?

This example shows how to retrieve the data object for my “About” page, or post id #2. Insert the following code in a PHP template, or within the body of a function:

$post_id = 2;   // specify the post id to retrieve
$specific_post = get_post( $post_id ); // get the post object

Use PHP’s print_r() function to display the following:

[ID] => 2
[post_author] => 1
[post_date] => 2008-05-07 16:14:19
[post_date_gmt] => 2008-05-07 23:14:19
[post_content] => { removed to save space, but you get the idea... }
[post_title] => About Tony Chung
[post_category] => 0
[post_excerpt] =>
[post_status] => publish
[comment_status] => closed
[ping_status] => closed
[post_password] => { not telling }
[post_name] => about_tony_chung
[to_ping] =>
[pinged] =>
[post_modified] => 2009-06-20 12:03:59
[post_modified_gmt] => 2009-06-20 20:03:59
[post_content_filtered] =>
[post_parent] => 0
[guid] =>
[menu_order] => 0
[post_type] => page
[post_mime_type] =>
[comment_count] => 0
[filter] => raw

You can then output any of these values by referencing their key. Because the default data type is an object, to display the contents of the post_title property, you would use

echo $specific_post -> post_title;

If you request the data as an ARRAY_A instead, use the following statement:

echo $specific_post['post_title'];

Letting WordPress format your content for you

Hey, wait a minute! WordPress includes number of internal functions that process your content for you. This processing pretties up text by breaking blocks of text into paragraphs, replacing square bracketed options like captions into full HTML, and making straight quotes and apostrophes all nice and curly.

When you display your content, you could use the following statement:

echo wpautop( $specific_post -> post_content );

wpautop() takes care of basic content formatting for you.

However, if your pages require processing for options in square brackets, like image captions, or embedded media plugins, you should instead use the setup_postdata() function instead. This lets you publish the output using the_content().

setup_postdata($specific_post);
the_content();

For more information, read How WordPress Processes Post Content, or Displaying Posts Using a Custom Select Query at the WordPress Codex.

More random stuff because I’m just that way

This next example shows how to put a number of things together. I needed a way to display a random page based on the specific section a user visits. To restrict the list of page choices, I organized the pages into collections of pages and sub-pages (or children). By passing the page parent as a parameter, this function chooses a random page from the list of its page children.

function random_page_select( $parent_page )
{
  // creates array of child pages under $parent_page
  // in order to choose a random page
 
  // get page_children
  $page_children = get_pages( 'child_of=' . $parent_page );
  foreach( $page_children as $page_child )
  {
    $page_list[] = $page_child->ID;
  }
 
  // give the mt_rand() function a lo-high range
  // lo is 1, high is the size of the array
  // reduce the result by 1 because $page_list array
  // is zero-indexed
  $page_key = mt_rand( 1, sizeof( $page_list ) ) - 1;
 
  // select random page child based on this key
  $post_id = $page_list[$page_key];
 
  // gather post content
  $specific_post = get_post( $post_id );
 
  // format post content
  // option 1: print wpautop( $specific_post->post_content );
  // or option 2:
  setup_postdata($specific_post);
  the_content();
}

Adding a post heading

In the above function, the title of the post is missing. This is intentional, because in my application the page title is meant to be the same on every load. It’s easy enough to add the title. Simply output the post_title property into an appropriate location in your template.

Most WordPress templates use this:

<h2><?php echo $specific_post -> post_title; ?></h2>

I’m more comfortable using this:

echo '<h2>' . $specific_post -> post_title . '</h2>'; ?>

Whatever you choose to use, be consistent.

I hope this post helps you out with your WordPress template creation. I look forward to hearing your responses. Thanks for reading!

I figured that I should still complete this post for the benefit of those who may still be suffering through the Windows XP/Trend Micro Internet Security hassles. I still run a similar setup in a Virtual Box on my Mac, so the solution is still valid to me.

Another day at the home office

Picture this: I’m working from home. I need to browse the Internet for something, so I open my trusty Firefox web browser (or Iron, Chrome, Opera,  Internet Explorer, or what have you—I’m not biased). Unfortunately the web browser keeps returning the error page that it can’t find the site I’m looking for: my home page.

So I’ve got a deadline, and can’t get the information I need. I’m stressed.

Being the systematic troubleshooter that I am, I wonder if it’s a problem with my hardware or the cabling. Then I start poking around with other services like email, instant messenger (chat), FTP, and SSH. Guess what? The first time this happened, only the web browser was disabled, but every other Internet service worked.

I checked the firewall settings and even disabled it, but I couldn’t restore service to the web browser. Eventually I exited Trend Micro Internet Security altogether and it worked fine. My guess is some nefarious system update collided and that the problem would be fixed in a future update. I uninstall and reinstall the program, and it works fine, even after the latest pattern and engine updates.

I log a nice chat with some guy at Trend, and he sends me to a system analyst, who sends me their HijackThis system profiler. But because the problem eventually resolved itself (after hours of futzing by yours truly) there was no need to continue the call.

Now, imagine that this happens again and again, more often than I care to count. And imagine that instead of only web traffic being blocked, now my email will send but not receive. SMTP works but POP3 is locked. Things are getting serious. Deadlines are backing up even worse than before, and me being the troubleshooter I am just can’t let this thing die.

Fool me once, fool me twice

Of course you wonder, then why not just turn the bloody thing off. Well, smarty pants, would you run around naked in the middle of a busy intersection? There’s no way I’m running a Windows XP system without an antivirus program and software firewall. And the reason I didn’t switch to Bitdefender is because Future Shop offered a deal for Trend first. And I must be a glutton for punishment.

Well, losing email receipt was the last straw. I searched the net again, and this time I found a solution for the 2008 version of the software, but it also applies to 2009.

Solution to Trend Micro Internet Security woes

When Trend Micro Internet Security blocks any of your Internet services while running, even when the firewall isn’t active, the problem is with the setting to search the Trend Micro Data Network database for related issues. Sometimes this server goes down, or otherwise becomes unavailable. When the program doesn’t receive a response from the server, it times out the request and you get stuck at the error page.

To disable the Trend Micro Data Network:

1. From the main console, click Other Settings.
2. Select Trend Micro Data Network.
3. Disable both Certified Safe Software Service and World Virus Tracking & TrendCare Program.
4. Click Ok, then close the console.

Trend Micro Data Network

After completing the above steps, Internet service was restored. I’ve run my Windows system like this since October, even though only the kids use that computer anymore just to play website games. As I said, I solved the problem the old fashioned way: I bought a MacBook Pro.

Note: this post isn’t meant to slam Trend Micro, because I still believe in their enterprise product (Office Scan) and their online virus scanner. Most of the time, when helping friends to clear problems with their systems, I use a combination of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, ClamAV (Windows, Unix & Linux, OS X), and follow up with a Housecall.

Solution links:

• Tech support forum: Trend Micro 2008 blocking Internet
• Trend Micro forums: Internet Security blocking most websites and internet access

Movie URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBGKdnUj4Yw

Many thanks to Nick Lewis’ tell-it-like-it-is blog

Just in case you’re wondering, I’m not jumping onto the Drupal 7 bandwagon while it’s still in Alpha.

While this could be true, even though my computer’s built-in SD card reader claimed to support the SDHC format, I encountered similar problems.

In this post I talk about a couple of free and commercial tools that helped me recover lost space when my card reader mysteriously stopped supporting my SDHC card, and recover lost photos from corrupt Compact Flash cards.

HTC TyTN II and 1GB Micro-SDHC card

My HTC TyTN II came with a 1GB Micro-SD card, formatted to 512MB capacity and filled with programs I’d never use. Fortunately for me this card came with a standard SD sized sleeve. I put the microSD card into the SD sleeve, put the SD sleeve into my Toshiba M400 laptop, and ran the Toshiba SD format utility. Bingo! 1GB space. Just like that.

Toshiba M400 problems

Later I purchased a couple of 8GB MicroSDHC cards from an eBay seller. My M400 laptop wouldn’t recognize them until I upgraded the card slot driver. This worked well, and I copied files between  my laptop and my phone memory card to my heart’s content. At least, until the laptop stopped recognizing the SDHC card again.

Apparently, a Windows XP update killed my laptop’s support for high-capacity SD cards. When I reformatted my Micro-SDHC card I found that 8GB was reduced to 113KB of usable space.

Calling all Google

A quick search for “lost SDHC memory card” lead me to the Philippines Asus EEE user group discussion forum, which led me to download the Panasonic free SD formatting tool. In the blink of an eye, the 113KB became 8GB once again.

Panasonic free SD Formatter tool

Of course, this only formatted the card back to the proper capacity. However, there are other utilities that would have recovered data as well.

Problems with Compact Flash too

Just so you Compact Flash aficionados don’t get too cocky, I’ll let you in on a problem we had with my dad’s Nikon D300 camera’s 4GB Compact Flash card. After a really important birthday party, we tried to copy the files using a multi-card reader, but the files wouldn’t load. Somehow the data on the card must have gotten corrupted while still in the camera.

More searches found the DataRescue PhotoRescue commercial recovery tool. It was inexpensive, and besides, the birthday pictures were so important, money was no object. This little bit of magic not only recovered the lost files, but repaired the corrupt data and returned the card to full working shape. I’ll bet this utility also works with SDHC cards.

Datarescue Photorescue commercial recovery tool

Calling all memory card geeks

Have you ever had problems like these with any of your memory cards? What did you do to solve them? I invite you to leave comments about other tools that helped you get your photos, music, and other important data back. I’m interested in hearing what worked for you.

Case in point: MS Word’s string Replace() function, not discussed in any official VBA reference.

As part of my work, I get the opportunity to hack macros in Visual BASIC for Applications (VBA) to automate tedious Word processes. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with the slightly different VBA implementations for Excel and Access. After all, it’s just another programming language, right?

What upsets me is that when I compare Microsft’s documentation to looking up solutions to web development problems using on online references for PHP, HTML and CSS (and now JavaScript), and W3Schools, Microsoft sells developers short. The articles are highly detailed theoretical concepts lacking any useful substance. I know this explanation sounds vague. I’m just trying to get this off my chest so I can get back to work.

Replace the facts, ma’am

Take, for example, the relatively simple concept of replacing strings within strings. Every programming language provides a function to replace strings simply and easily. However, if you read only the Word documentation, you would get the idea that to perform any string replacement functions you need to involve the complex and oft complicated Find object.

Press to call for help within the VB project window

Previous web searches showed me that Word 2003 had a Replace() function that is perfect for this cause. I archive this solution here for future reference.

How to use Replace()

Here’s an example of a simple script that replaces spaces with underscores. Ideally, we’d like to use a regular expression (RegExp) to remove non-alphanumeric characters, but for this demo we’ll just write a function:

Function replaceSpace(sText As String)
    replaceSpace = Replace(sText, " ", "_")
End Function

Test this function with a small Sub to feed it some text. In the absence of RegExp handling, if we know in advance the characters we need to filter out we could join the results of multiple Replace() calls and return the final version. This is the output from the Simple version.

Simple script to Replace() spaces with underscores

If I learn anything about RegExp in the next little while I’ll update this post.

While the new settings are happily propagating the Internet, if you need to reach me, use  the phone, facebook, or twitter. I will test the server settings later tonight, but I probably won’t be checking email at least until Monday.

As a supposed web “expert”, I would never willingly admit ignorance and stupidity unless I believed my experience will help someone else. I am nonetheless embarrassed to admit that I changed my DNS settings before the weekend and lost the ability to receive email against my domain tonychung dot ca in the process. I believe this experience will help others who also enjoy messing around with their web setups.

The moral of the story is this: BEFORE playing with any of the advanced settings, make sure you

a) UNDERSTAND network protcols

b) ARCHITECT your network setup to best accommodate the limitations of your web/domain registrar control panels

Thankfully it’s just technology. Time to enjoy real life.

Ciao!

Engadget’s Josh Topolsky demoed the Palm Pre on Jimmy Fallon live. I don’t usually follow Engadget, and I don’t stay up late enough to watch talk shows, so I’m fortunate that Engadget posted this video so I could see this new device in action.

This new phone by Palm isn’t even in production. Certain celebrities have been given the opportunity to own one of these puppies to help with the pre-launch. But of all carriers, why Sprint? CDMA technology is so dead, as the world converges to 4G.

Anyway, I don’t have a lot of time to whine. I saved this video link on my site so I can watch it later when I have less to do. Enjoy!

Example Ink Blog

Click image to view The Other Coast February 18, 2009

When I saw this comic strip in the paper this morning, I had to laugh. So much of today’s communications media: phone, text/SMS/MMS, email, TV, online publishing—are only available as long as there is enough storage to keep them. The Way-Back Machine on the Internet Archive helped me recover my Tablet PC Blogs posts in a jam, but if all the hard drives in the universe were full, what would have happened then?

In contrast to my post about what happens on the Internet living forever, I present the alternative view. My friend Wayne Radford, the self-proclaimed “King of Poco”, put this bug in my ear over lunch one rainy afternoon. The short version is that our online publishing efforts, though wide reaching, are only temporal.

Way back in the dawn of time the human race shared stories of their heritage through the spoken word. In each family or tribe was a storyteller who entertained, provoked thought, and presented their traditions and history to the current generation. Before that storyteller died, he passed the mantle to the next in line, to carry on the tradition.

In our electronics-crazed age, we are disconnected from one another. We listen to our personal stereos. We play portable one-person video games. We share a sense of community, but that largely occurs online. Which reminds me of another great cartoon I saw this week.

Click image to view Zits for February 15, 2009

The sad fact is that Social Media encourages online activity that makes us feel like we’re connecting with others. In reality we are still playing by ourselves in a large room with several others. When our kids were in preschool we arranged play dates so they could “get to know other kids”. It was an interesting phenomenon that even though they were in the same room, each of them enjoyed the experience of playing with a different set of toys—they rarely interacted, or played the same game together.

It soon became apparent that we arranged those play dates for other reasons besides our children’s social development; we arranged these dates for us to socialize with other parents. This became clear to me when I compared my wife’s impressions of the play dates where the parents of the children stayed to chat, with the ones where the parents dropped their kids off and left to run errands. My wife always felt a greater sense of connection when given the opportunity to socialize with other adults. Go figure.

Back to my original point. I wrote this blog entry and published it for the world at large to read. Well, actually, only the interested three or four of you will take the time to read this post. While my work makes me a published author for however long the post is kept on the server, when the lights go out, it’s over.

This is a different experience than that of a printed book, which has the opportunity to live for on centuries (or not!) on a library bookshelf. Even then, the written word is still temporary. What matters most are the real-life connections we make with each other, right now. It’s easy to hide behind a pseudonym or a web site façade, an instant messaging nick or an avatar. It’s far more difficult, and scary, to present ourselves as we really are.

I’ve had the great pleasure of joining various meetup groups, technology user groups, and other business/social networking groups that meet face to face. It’s fascinating to watch the dynamic within each group. There are those who use these occasions to promote their services, but still more who want to meet the real “you” behind the online “you”.

Which leads me to my next point: I’ve been invited to speak at Northern Voice on February 20, 2009 about “Putting Your Blog to Work”. I’ve been keeping this pretty quiet, as I’ve been too busy to even think about my presentation. Plus, it’s my first time ever going to this conference, and I am not sure quite what to make of the whole thing.

One thing is certain: Face-to-face connection is what is required to create true permanence in the hearts and minds of others. I intend to share the real “me” behind the online “me”, and meet and get to know the real “you” behind your online “you”.

I hope to see you at Northern Voice. Let’s put the “Social” into “Social Media”.

Readers of my RSS feed may want to visit my site to see the pictures.

Transformers Packaging

When I had trouble transforming the toy from car mode to its robot form, he showed me the reverse side of the packaging, where he drew the instructions.

How to Transform Sunstreaker

This is so far the Best. Christmas. Present. Ever.