Year: 2009

WordPress 2.9 media features poll

Check out this poll for media-related features for the upcoming WordPress 2.9. This is your chance to influence the priorities. Features on the menu are:

Additional Media Filters, which would help you pick media that was used recently, or more often, or is your favourite, etc. I don’t find it very important for my usage scenarios, because I rarely re-use media files in other posts.
Basic Image Editing, which will allow things like crop, rotate, and resize. Even though I can use standalone image editors, I know of quite a few non-technical people who would appreciate basic image controls.
Better Media Settings, which will provide more defaults and more options to change for each upload. I have enough options for my media usage already, so I don’t find this to be of high importance.
Bulk Media Import API, which will be appreciated by web development companies and such. Anything that helps automation and bulk processing is A Good Thing. Also, with more attention to media functionality in WordPress, I suspect some people would prefer to host their own images and videos, rather than to use third-party services (YouTube, Flickr, and such). Moving all that content into WordPress with API is a dream come true.
Custom Image Sizes, which will allow for more and truly customized image sizes. While I can understand the importance of this for some people, I suspect that most are satisfied with what is there now. Plus there is a range of plugins, and workarounds available that make this problem of less importance.
Easier Embeds, for content coming from third-party services like Flickr, YouTube, and such. This is something I’d really love to see done. Currently, there are plugins to cover most cases, but I believe a built-in way is in order. Plus plugins often miss important parts of the site, such as feeds. And plugins rarely work well with other plugins. If this functionality is in the core, or in a plugin, which is a part of main download, extending and re-using such functionality would be easier.
Media albums, as in standalone galleries, rather than media galleries attached to a post. That’s something that a lot of people would find useful. For example, bringing all YouTube videos from all your posts into a single gallery would be awesome.
Media metadata, which is adding categories and tags to media files. Well, while it sounds cool, I think it will add more confusion to people. With such functionality, WordPress will become more of a generic content management system. For example, together with media albums, you’d be able to use WordPress as a pure image gallery application.
Post thumbnails, which would associate an image with your post. I think this functionality is only useful to a small bunch of people, and it is currently available via plugins. I don’t think it’s worth putting it in the core.
Revised Media User Interface, which would improve the experience in the media editor. I don’t know how many people find it difficult to use actually, because it works like a charm for me, and I find it easy to explain to non-technical users as well. But if there are ideas on how it could be much improved, then why not.

If you have any opinions on the above, please vote in the poll first, and then share them in the comments second.

Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern of Limassol

It’s been a month or so since the new food and beer place – Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern – opened in Limassol. I tried to get there over weekend evening a couple of times, but it was always packed and I forgot to book. However, today I had the pleasure of having lunch there.

And while the food there is pretty good (if you choose right), their customer service is outstanding – something many other places can learn from.

Here is the story for you. Four of us came for lunch. All of us were there for the first time. We were welcomed and offered a table. The beers arrived and we made our menu choices. I, for some reason, was expecting their steaks to be quite good, so I asked for the Fire-Grilled Fillet Steak. And I wanted it medium-rare. A few minutes passed and we got out food. It looked quite delicious, but when I tried my steak I was somewhat disappointed. It was rather dry and stiff. And it was smallish.

Being on a see food diet (“I see food, I eat it”), I could of course finish that steak easily. But one of the friends at the table suggested that I request to change it. It’s not something that I usually do. Or ever for that matter. But I thought why shouldn’t. After all it was a new place which seemed very decent and I wanted to fully enjoy it. So I called a waiter and politely explained that I am not enjoying my steak that much. The waiter asked to hold a moment for the manager.

The manager indeed appeared in a moment. He asked me what was the problem and I explained. Than something really good happened. The manager asked what would I prefer instead of the steak. I ran through my menu options again and selected The Big Irish Burger.

Just a few moments later, I got the burger and let me tell you this – it was fantastic. For those of you who think of burgers in terms of McDonalds, you don’t know what a burger is. The Big Irish Burger is huge. In fact, it’s so high that to keep it straight, they stick a steak knife into it vertically. And listen to this – the full blade of that knife is hidden inside the burger and it’s not going through the whole thing. Of particular interest are two chunks of meat inside that burger. Those are something – soft, juicy, and delicious!

After I’ve eaten the first half of that burger I already totally forgot about that whole steak thing. I was really enjoying myself. And I mean really enjoying. I guess it was so obvious from the outside that the manager noticed it and wanted to finish me, sending another Guiness pint on the house. Oh, boy!

Is that all, you wonder? Nope. I had to form my opinion about this place properly, so I asked for some dessert menu. I don’t remember exactly what I ordered, but it had “Xango”-something in the name. It turned out to be a huge scoop of good ice-cream, in the company of some bananas (cooked or marinated or something like that) and with a few spoons of delicious syrup. It’s been a while since I had a dessert this good. In fact, I remember exactly when was the last time. It was when they used to serve home-made ice-cream with nuts in that Italian restaurant in Akrotiri. But they don’t do it any more.

Oh, well. After the food and beers and desserts we paid a reasonable bill and left.

So, what do I think about that place? It’s awesome! The insides are nice, the atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming, outstanding customer service, some of the food is really good, while some is not, reasonable prices. I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back for more of that burger and dessert. And I want to try their barbeque ribs as well.

Hangover

I went to see “Hangover” yesterday. That’s actually one of the films that I was waiting to see. Firstly, because I am a fan of Todd Philips comedy films (particularly, “Old School” and “Road Trip”, both of which I have probably seen a gadzillion times by now). Secondly, because the trailer was funny and promising. And, thirdly, because it’s summer time and I am all for more entertainment.

My expectations were pretty high for this film, and they were all well met. It was hilarious. Interestingly, it was funny in a different way then I expected it, but it was very funny non-the-less. The comedy was evenly distributed across the film, with a bit of build-up effect towards the end. By which time my belly was hurting and my eyes were wet of laughter.

Highly recommended, with my rating of 5 stars. Just remember, that this one is not for kids. Everyone else should watch it.

Every Which Way But Loose

Clint Eastwood has been directing too many dramas recently, so I thought I’d dig out something from the years long gone, something where he acted one of his superman roles. “Every Which Way But Loose” is one of those films.

Now, I don’t have much to compare this film to, because it’s from the year 1978, and I was only born in 1978. But it has more packed into it than most of the action films I’ve seen during my childhood – fist fights, biker gangs, corrupt police, exotic animals, car chases, and a true friendship and a true love with a broken heart.

Of course, now this film looks way aged and most of the special effects cause no reaction but a smile. But if I saw this in the 80’s, I guess I’d be all over this film. And even in these modern days, I’ll give it a 4 stars rating. Not bad at all.

Changeling

I deliberately avoided going to the cinema to see “Changeling“. Why? Because, I probably knew too much about it and whatever I didn’t know, I assumed. What I knew was that this film was a drama about missing children, directed by one of the most dramatic directors ever – Clint Eastwood, and starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich. While I do appreciate drama, it’s had for me sometimes to take all the sadness in the film, especially when there is a beautiful woman who is sad.

With missing children somewhere in the story, I thought, it was almost guaranteed that Angelina Jolie would be sad for a significant chunk of the screen time. That’s hard to watch on its own. Multiply that by Clint Eastwood’s directing, and add to that John Malkovich, who is a sort of actor that can multiply anything happening on the screen ten-folds, and the result would be something so sad that it would border with depressing. That’s why I was trying to avoid this film a bit. But I knew that I’d watch it anyway. And so I did.

This film is a beautiful piece of art. It is an interesting, slowly unfolding, story. It’s an authentic look back at Los Angeles during 1920-1930’s. It’s an excellent cast, with some really talented actors. And its an excellent directorship.

It is a sad movie, yes. But not as sad as I thought it would be. It is in sad in a very sensible way. Plus, it gives a lot to think about. The film brings topics of family, humanity, social responsibility and bureaucracy.

Overall, highly recommended. My rating: 5 stars.