Update: I’ve modified the plugin to use a generic URL (.../1/jquery...) which loads the latest 1.x version. That way I don’t have to change the plugin everytime jQuery is updated.

The ZIP file has been updated, just overwrite your old googlejs.php file and everything will be gravy.

In an effort to save bandwidth, I made a quick plugin to modify WordPress to use Google’s Libraries API, which offers a Google-hosted jQuery. Here’s the code in question:

function radr_google_js( &$scripts ) {
    $scripts->remove( 'jquery' );
    
    $scripts->add(
        'jquery', // shortname
        'https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js', // url
        false // dependancies (none)
    );
}

add_action( 'wp_default_scripts', 'radr_google_js' );

If you’re interested in using this on your own site, you’re welcome to download this quick plugin. Just follow standard procedure — unzip, copy to wp-content/plugins, and activate.

Kids today are more likely to respond to a blog post on Twitter than in the article’s comments section; so we’ve collocated our comments on Twitter. Share a tweet-length response here, and, with your permission, it will go there.

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t have a Twitter. I don’t want a Twitter. I will never, ever, fucking want a Twitter. Please understand this, and realize that there’s still 0.1% of the world, myself included, that don’t use Twitter, and would prefer not to be forced to signing up for one just to comment on a blog.

I don’t see why Happy Cog didn’t just offer regular comments instead of a tweet — you can even keep the length requirement, but just post it directly to the site. Their only other alternative is writing on your own site, which I’ve been forced to do.

So here’s my original comment:

I can’t find a link back to the blog from the Happy Cog website… I’ve tried and tried but even the sitemap has nothing. An oversight, perhaps?

I lost the exact wording since I hit “don’t,” which I thought meant it would just post to the site as opposed to tweeting it. As it happens, the original comment was exactly 140 characters…

God damn, I hate using the word “tweeting.”

In other news, and kind of related:

Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 3%

Likelihood of you being MALE is 97%

Via noscope.

The problem was that because the function has to return false in order to keep the browser from jumping straight through to the anchor and skipping the animation. So I added another line to the code, taking after AJAX pseudo-permalinks, that adds the hash link (e.g. #anchor) back onto the URL in the address bar after a timeout matching the animation.

Here’s the line in question:

[sourcecode language="javascript"]setTimeout('window.location = window.location + "' + this.hash + '";', 1000);[/sourcecode]

Here’s the full code:

[sourcecode language="javascript"]$(function() {
    $('a[href^=#]').click(function() {
        if (location.pathname.replace(/^\//, '') == this.pathname.replace(/^\//, '') && location.hostname == this.hostname) {
            var target = $(this.hash);
            target = target.length && target || $('[name=' + this.hash.slice(1) + ']');
            
            if (target.length) {
                var targetOffset = target.offset().top;
                $('html,body').animate({ scrollTop: targetOffset }, 1000);
                setTimeout('window.location = window.location + "' + this.hash + '";', 1000);
                return false;
            }
        }
    });
});[/sourcecode]

I started thinking about switching when I read an article on Ajaxian that mentioned that more and more web developers were moving to Safari/WebKit for casual browsing, due to the speed and ease of use. I can’t believe it took me this long — everything is snappy, the way I would expect a modern piece of software to work, and the nightly is running great.

Inquisitor is great, too. It makes searching Google fun and easy, and as an added bonus it looks good. It just took me a while to figure out the shortcut for the search box, but once that was done it’s been smooth sailing since then.

Oh, and the font rendering in Safari is so much better. I’m never going back. Never! Oh, and WebKit is for Windows, too, now. So when I switch to Windows XP when I buy a new PC (gasp), I’ll still be fine.

1. Put it this way: when I quit Firefox, my RAM usage goes way down. Way down.

It appears the previous design is still considered by some to be a ‘clone’ of Gruber’s Daring Fireball, despite sharing absolutely no similarities under the hood.

Whilst flattering, it is none-the-less a distraction that cannot possibly end up on a positive note.

Design regressed, the topic is now closed. Thank you. #

It’s not really so much what’s under the hood than what it looks like. I could make an Expression Engine or Textpattern theme that looks exactly like that site. To be honest, the first time I visited Smackfoo I wondered if John Gruber knew about it.

The line in question:

[sourcecode language=’jscript’]$(‘a[href*=#]’).click(function() {[/sourcecode]

This line selects all a elements with a hash (#) in its href attribute, but this also selects links to anchors on other pages. I changed it to this:

[sourcecode language=’jscript’]$(‘a[href^=#]’).click(function() {[/sourcecode]

So instead of matching a hash anywhere in the href attribute, this code only matches the hashes at the beginning. Other than that, the rest of the code is the same as in the article. You can see the effect here by clicking on the link in the footer to go back to the top of the page.

While version 5.0 only lasted about two weeks, I’ve finally settled on a design that I like quite a bit.

• The header photo is from sxc.hu, titled “Speed”.
• The navigation style was inspired by Stopdesign’s. I’ve always admired Stopdesign — one of the best designs I’ve ever seen. Also, the variance between sections of the site is a very nice touch.
• The style of the post titles and comment links are inspired by the previous incarnation of Binary Bonsai, nicknamed Freya.