I purchased the Thesis theme about a 2 years ago with the promise that I would be able to get the new Thesis 2 when it was released. So I setup Thesis version 1.5 on my blog and patiently waited for the 2.0 release. Then I waited some more. Then after a year and a half with still no Thesis 2, me and much of the Thesis community began to think that maybe it would never arrive. Just when I lost hope, Thesis 2 finally arrived and became available for download.

That first day, I was so anxious to get Thesis 2 loaded on my blog and start using it. I read a few of the instructions for installing and using it, but like most techies, I figured I could just skip over them and figure it all out while using it. After about 20 minutes of messing around with Thesis 2 though, I was left confused. Confusion led to frustration. Frustration led to sadness. Where were the simple fields to fill in things like font size and color? Where was my “Big Ass Save Button”? Where was the ease of use I had become so accustomed to? They were gone, and what appeared before me was a complicated mess. I immediately began to think Thesis 2 sucked. With that thought, I logged out of my blog and carried on with my life, never intending to look back.

A couple of months later, I began to think that maybe I missed something on Thesis 2. So I gave it another try. I watched several of the tutorial videos before tackling it this time. But once again, I found myself confused about how to use the system. So I Googled other blogs to see whether or not others thought Thesis 2 sucked or if it was just me. I found quite a few bad reviews. Once again, I gave up, intending never to look back.

Another week went by, and I had some maintenance to do on my old site that was running Thesis 1.8. I went into the classic Thesis interface and made a few quick changes with ease. It was then that I realized I had been looking at Thesis 2 the wrong way. Thesis 1 and 2 are completely different products. Thesis 1 is the simple to use framework for novice coders. Thesis 2 is for the big boys, the advanced users who really want to do something serious with their site.

I originally felt that I shouldn’t have to take the time to learn how to use Thesis 2 when Thesis 1 was so easy to use. Maybe it’s also because I’m lazy. Like anything in life though, if you want to do something great, you have to learn how first. With that, I began to play around with Thesis 2 some more. I watched more tutorials and with little effort came up with a pretty decent looking website (the one you see here, built in under an hour). The ability to move blocks around my entire site and place items like comment boxes, bylines and post thumbnails right where I wanted them was worth the learning curve alone.

The ability to drag and drop areas of your page anywhere you like is the most powerful element of Thesis 2.

Now, after spending a weekend getting to know the system better, I’m starting to realize that you can do some very powerful stuff with Thesis 2. It doesn’t suck! The problem is the expectation that Thesis 1 users have for version 2. If you have the expectation that Thesis 2 will do everything Thesis 1 does only better, you’re only going to be disappointed. In reality, they are two totally different products. They should probably be called different names. Maybe Thesis 1 should be called Thesis Basic and Thesis 2 should be called Thesis Pro. Though, I do believe that Thesis 2 should have an editor that is similar to the one in version 1 as an option. Maybe that will come in time.

For now any Thesis user should be satisfied with either version. It just depends on how far you want to take your site. Purchasing the framework will still provide you with both options. Both are great for any WordPress Website.

I keep reading the blog posts about Windows 8 and how bad it is. People say it’s awful, unnecessary and difficult to use. I upgraded to Windows 8 about 2 days after it was released. I had tons of problems getting some of my hardware to work properly, and a freezing issue that seems to have fixed itself with an update. Despite having these problems, I’m still not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s really not all that different from Windows 7 and you can easily find any corner of the OS by using the wonderful search option.

I also love the giant tiles on the Start menu. They aren’t only useful for a tablet computer, but as a friend pointed out, excellent when using Windows on a large screen like a TV.

As for Windows 8 on mobile devices, people seem to like it. Microsoft did a lot of testing with users that go back to the Zune devices. Despite the fact that the Zune is a failed product, Microsoft still gained a lot of insight on what mobile users like and dislike. Windows 8 is the result.

People freaked when Windows 95 came out. Once users got used to the OS though, it became the standard Windows interface we all know and love today.

Yes, the interface in Windows 8 is different. You won’t know where everything is when you first use it. But once you get the hang of things, you’ll breeze through menus and find anything in seconds.

Feel free to fight it though and stick with Windows 7, or restore the old Start menu. As for me, I don’t see what the big deal is. I’ll keep using Windows 8 and accept change.

Using PHP and with just a slight change to your code, you can exclude Adsense ads from specific posts.

Let’s say that I want to exclude Adsense ads from 3 posts:

• How to Enjoy Your Vacation
• The Best Android Apps
• WordPress For Dummies

I would exclude each one by using the slug for each post with this code

<?php
 if (!is_single(array('how-to-enjoy-your-vacation','the-best-android-apps','wordpress-for-dummies')))
{
?>
Your Adsense code
<?php
 }
 ?>

You can also exclude posts via the post ID.

 if (!is_single(array('133','145','200')))  
{  
?>
Your Adsense code
<?php
}
?>

I’ve recently realized there are a ton of chores that can be done around the house on any given day. Last week, I fixed our leaky toilet. Needless to say there was a lot of bending over. When I woke up the next morning I was very sore. Despite this, I had yard work scheduled. So I powered through the pain to get it done. I’ve come to realize that after all of this work I feel amazing though. I have more energy and feel stronger, just like after working out.

So I’ve decided that I shall find a chore to do every day and get it done. The chore will be my workout. This way, I’m killing two birds with one stone. I’ll be getting exercise as well as getting stuff done instead of wasting money and time driving to a gym.

Of course, working hard at chores is not a complete health solution. I’ll do a few curls, crunches and pushups and maybe play Wii Fit every now and then also. My target weight is 180 pounds. I’m not going to share what I currently weigh though.

Google developed this type of technology to decipher what is actually in an image with their Google Goggles app. It’s also technology they will be using with their Google Glasses product. It only makes sense that Google would use this technology to also rank search results. A post that has an image of what is being written about is much better than one that contains an image that’s not related.

That being said, I think images can hurt your rankings as well. Most notably, images stolen from other websites. If you copy an image from another website, Google is able to tell. That signal may just force your pages down in the rankings.

If it actual image content isn’t a ranking signal yet, it’s definitely something that will be used in the future.

Though I couldn’t tell how much of an impact this made, there was something not right about not including a timestamp on my posts. Since readers may want that kind of information, it becomes a question about designing my pages better for the reader. So I recently reintroduced timestamps on my posts. This time though, I decided not to provide the date the post was published. Instead, I use the date the post was modified. It’s way more relevant to a reader to provide the last date your post was updated rather than the first day it was posted.

In WordPress, you can hack your theme to provide the date your post was modified by inserting this code:

Last modified: <?php the_modified_time(‘ F j, Y’); ?>

Personally, I like providing this information at the end of posts. That way, it’s indexed by Google, but it’s not right at the top of the page.

It made me wonder about the legality of using these logos. After all, company logos are often registered trademarks. Were all of these websites asking for permission to use these logos? Probably not, since it would take a lot of resources to ask for permission to use company logos in every post.

So how are these websites able to use the logos of other companies in their posts? The answer actually differs with each company. When looking to use a logo for a certain company, what you’ll want to look for is web page on their site that details the legal uses for company trademarks. Apple has a page where they say their logo can be used by authorized dealers, but not by websites or other publication without permission. While Pinterest seems to allow almost any usage of their logo as long as you “don’t manipulate it”.

Another question might be “Do these companies actually enforce the legal rules they set?” My guess is, not likely. These legal pages are really designed to protect companies in the event that somebody is abusing the use of their logo. Using an Apple logo on your personal blog for an iPhone review post probably won’t raise any eyebrows over at Apple. They may be concerned if you featured the Apple logo on every page in a manner that makes your site look as though it’s affiliated with Apple though.

• “You must have a mobile version of your website!”
• “You must have an Android and iPhone App!”

Following this advice can be quite a money sucker for business owners who don’t know how to create a mobile site or design an app.

This advice is bunk anyway. Chances are, your business will not benefit by spending additional money on being “mobile friendly”. The web browser on most mobile devices these days can render any page the same way your desktop or laptop can. Your regular, non-flashy website will display on these devices just fine (as long as you don’t use too much Flash).

Making a mobile version of a website was once required to accommodate users of smaller devices that couldn’t render a full version of a website. It was also needed to save bandwidth in an era when wireless providers were charging 40 cents per kilobyte to access the Internet. Those days are long gone.

Stick with your basic website. It’ll work just fine. Don’t waste time or resources on a mobile business plan just because Sally at SEOforyourbusinessnow told you to.

Have your hours posted

This is the most common frustration. I often cannot find the hours the business is open on their own website. Some businesses may not include the hours on their site because they change seasonally. But it doesn’t take that much effort to make those changes.

Make a Google Places and Facebook page

Be sure to own your Google Places page and make a Facebook page too. Include all the information you can about the business on both. It’s another way to ensure that customers can find your business and the information they need.

Keep it basic

Don’t include any fancy videos, flash animations or anything else complex. Your customers just came to your site for information, and such things only act as a hurdle. I see many restaurant websites have their menus in PDF format. This is lazy! All information should be available on the site in the most basic form possible.

Give me an electronic method of contact

Email, Twitter, Facebook… I want to be able to contact you without having to call you.

As always, I’m willing to help most people in the area. Send me a tweet or leave a comment if you need more advice.

The pain went away about 8 months ago, but then returned after 2 months with a vengeance. Every time I moved, I would hurt. The pains got so bad that I would spend hours sitting still so it wouldn’t hurt. Finally, I decided that I needed to get serious about finding out what was causing these pains myself. I decided to make a chart of what I ate and drank each day, then I would chart the relationship to my pain and how bad it was each day. After about 2 weeks, a shocking pattern emerged. After days when I drank a Heritage Dr. Pepper or Pepsi Throwback (the version of these sodas made with real sugar), I would often feel pains the next day. My charting also revealed that the more of these drinks I consumed, the worse the pain was.

So how could this be? I have drank soda all my life. Also, why did the pains go away? Well, Hertiage Dr. Pepper and Pepsi Throwback were taken off the market for a a few months. It turns out, that was the same period that my pains went away. I reverted back to the kind made with HFCS and felt no pain at all. The pains returned at the same time these products returned to the shelves.

I’m not sure why my body is rejecting this product. I don’t feel that Pepsi Throwback and Heritage Dr. Pepper have anything in them that generally make people sick, I just think I have an intolerance pure, real sugar. Maybe my body is just messed up from consuming HFCS all these years that it can no longer tolerate real sugar. I intend to visit a doctor soon and maybe he can shed some light on the problem. For the time being though, I’m going to steer clear of soda altogether and stick to coffee and tea.

There’s no way a doctor could’ve figured this out. I had to do it myself. Chart what you ingest and how bad the ailment is each day. These simple steps may help you solve almost any health problems.