My name is Michael White. My experience as a webmaster began back in 1998 with a site called “The Phantom Voice Network.” I ended up killing it off until recently when it became a safe haven for some refugees of another site. But it’s gone again. The RIAA shut it down ’cause we had a radio station (with only about 10 listeners at peak times). It happens.
Saphrym.com was born a few months ago as a place for me to keep my fictional writing. I’ve used the name Saphrym on many sites, so figured owning the “dot com” of it was a good thing. Things change often though. Now my fictional writing will be kept at Phantom Voice, although the pieces that were kept here will also have copies here.
The thing is I love to write. I’m one of the geeky kids in school who LIKED writing essays. But sometimes I get writer’s block when I’m trying to write fiction. However, if I have a topic to write about, it flows, much like this page is flowing. So I wanted to write more. So I added more categories, and started writing.
To learn more about me personally, see this post: The Personas of Saphrym
Below, I’m going to describe some of those categories and about the other stuff on the side bars.
The Categories
- Consumer – When I buy something that I want to talk about, this is the category I’ll talk about it in.
- Cook – My wife cooks. I cook. I also buy prepackaged foods. This category contains information about those foods that I eat.
- Designer – Graphics, videos, etc that I’ve created.
- Dieter – I’ve lost a lot of weight recently. These are the posts that will explain how I’ve done so and keep you up to date on my goals.
- E-mailed – These are posts that I have e-mailed to my blog usually through my phone or other device because I’m not anywhere near my computer. They will probably be edited and put in a better category. I do this from time to time because I think the information is important.
- Father – I have a daughter who was born in 2000. So basically her age is the last digits of the year. She’s entertaining all by herself. I’ll write about her here.
- Gamer – I love to play games. Board games. Computer games. Console games. If I’ve got something to say about games, this is where you’ll find it. Oh, and I’m an xBox gamer too:
with a profile on Raptr:
- Husband – I’m married and happily so. I’ll provide tips on staying that way here. Or if I have a really good story that will completely embarrass my wife, that will go here too.
- Photographer – Amateur at best. Armed with nothing but a cellphone camera. But hey. I try.
- Ranter – Sometimes I rant. Or sometimes I’m very opinionated. This is where you’ll find my “editorials.” I just couldn’t think of a category name that I liked that meant “editorial.”
- Reader – To like to write is to like to read. I’ll give reviews and information on things I’m reading here.
- Satirist/Parodist – I like to write humor. A lot of it can be found in my “Ranter” category. However, there are special pieces that are purely satire and parody. Some of these posts will contain graphics I’ve designed to go with the content. Those graphics are available at a CafePress shop made specifically for that article. They are articles in which I thought, “Hey, that’d be a cool t-shirt” and then designed and purchased one. So if you see it, I’ve got it in my wardrobe.
- Teacher – I am trying to become a teacher through college and through substituting. If I have anything to say about that topic, it will be here. You can also visit a portion of my site that was made specifically for my teaching classes. It’s my teaching portfolio.
- Thinker – This is a “miscellaneous” category. Basically anything I think about and want to write about that doesn’t fit the other categories goes here.
- Webmaster – Figure I might as well pass on my knowledge to other webmasters. This category can get very technical, so although I may have the knack to find the funny in things, normally this one is tougher to do that with. So don’t expect fun. However, do expect useful.
- Writer – My fictional writing. The original reason for the site. Enjoy. Find more at Phantom Voice.
The Backend
Last but not least, I’m going to tell you about the innards (inner-working parts for those of you who do not speak Southern) of this site.
- HostNine – My hosting company. Great guys and cheap for what you get.
- WordPress – That’s my blog software. It’s what keeps this site going.
- FeedBurner – Great place and tools for bloggers.
Following are the the plugins I use on this site:
Active Plugins
@ Reply 1.0.1
» Yus (url)
This plugin allows you to add Twitter-like @reply links to comments.
Akismet 2.2.4
» Matt Mullenweg (url)
Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. You need a WordPress.com API key to use it. You can review the spam it catches under “Comments.” To show off your Akismet stats just put <?php akismet_counter(); ?> in your template. See also: WP Stats plugin.
Audio player 2.0b5
» Martin Laine (url)
Audio Player is a highly configurable but simple mp3 player for all your audio needs. You can customise the player’s colour scheme to match your blog theme, have it automatically show track information from the encoded ID3 tags and more. Go to your Settings page to start configuring it.
Bad Behavior 2.0.28
» Michael Hampton (url)
Deny automated spambots access to your PHP-based Web site.
CommentLuv 2.7.1
» Andy Bailey (url)
Plugin to show a link to the last post from the commenters blog by parsing the feed at their given URL when they leave a comment. Rewards your readers and encourage more comments.
Dagon Design Form Mailer 5.41
» Dagon Design (url)
The WordPress plugin version of my secure php form mailer script
Dagon Design Sitemap Generator 3.15
» Dagon Design (url)
Generates a fully customizable sitemap
Executable PHP widget 1.1
» Otto (url)
Like the Text widget, but it will take PHP code as well. Heavily derived from the Text widget code in WordPress.
FeedBurner FeedSmith 2.3.1
» FeedBurner (url)
Originally authored by Steve Smith, this plugin detects all ways to access your original WordPress feeds and redirects them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber.
FriendFeed Activity Widget 1.1.3
» Evan Sims (url)
A widget for displaying your FriendFeed activity on your blog.
Google XML Sitemaps 3.1.3
» Arne Brachhold (url)
This plugin will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your WordPress blog which is supported by Ask.com, Google, MSN Search and YAHOO. Configuration Page
Gravatar 1.1
» Tom Werner (url)
This plugin allows you to generate a gravatar URL complete with rating, size, default, and border options. See the documentation for syntax and usage.
IFrameWidgets 1.0
» Stephen Cronin (url)
The IFrameWidgets plugin allows you to place widgets in an IFrame, so they won’t stop the rest of the page from loading if they load slowly or hang.
iWPhone 0.1.2
» ContentRobot (url)
A plugin and theme for WordPress that automatically reformats your blog’s content for optimized viewing on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.
KB Advanced RSS Widget 2.1.3
» Adam R. Brown (url)
Gives user complete control over how feeds are displayed.
KB Countdown Widget 3.1.3
» Adam R. Brown (url)
Count the years/months/days since, until, or between events. Optional bar graph for tracking progress between two dates.
Keyword Snatcher 0.2
» impNERD.com (url)
Displays the percent of each keyword used.
OIOpublisher Direct 2.0 2.07
» Simon Emery (url)
Control your Ad Space with OIOpublisher.
Page Link Manager 1.0b
» Garrett Murphey (url)
Adds admin panel to choose which pages appear in the site navigation.
Quotes Collection 1.3.1
» Srini G (url)
Quotes Collection plugin with Ajax powered Random Quote sidebar widget helps you collect and display your favourite quotes on your WordPress blog.
Register Plus 3.5.1
» Skullbit (url)
WordPress 2.5+ ONLY. Enhance your Registration Page. Add Custom Logo, Password Field, Invitation Codes, Disclaimer, Captcha Validation, Email Validation, User Moderation, Profile Fields and more.
Sociable 3.2.3
» Joost de Valk (url)
Automatically add links on your posts, pages and RSS feed to your favorite social bookmarking sites.
Subscribe To Comments 2.1.2
» Mark Jaquith (url)
Allows readers to receive notifications of new comments that are posted to an entry. Based on version 1 from Scriptygoddess
Theme Test Drive 2.7.3
» Vladimir Prelovac (url)
Safely test drive any theme while visitors are using the default one. Includes instant theme preview via thumbnail.
Top Commentators Widget 1.1
» Lorna Timbah (WebGrrrl.net) (url)
Adds a sidebar widget to show the top commentators in your WP site. Adapted from Show Top Commentators plugin.
WP-Footnotes 3.3
» Simon Elvery (url)
Allows a user to easily add footnotes to a post.
WP-PluginsUsed 1.40
» Lester 'GaMerZ' Chan (url)
Display WordPress plugins that you currently have (both active and inactive) onto a post/page.
WP-Polls 2.40
» Lester 'GaMerZ' Chan (url)
Adds an AJAX poll system to your WordPress blog. You can easily include a poll into your WordPress’s blog post/page. WP-Polls is extremely customizable via templates and css styles and there are tons of options for you to choose to ensure that WP-Polls runs the way you wanted. It now supports multiple selection of answers.
WP Ajax Edit Comments 2.3.2.1
» Ajay D'Souza (url)
Allows users and admin to edit their comments inline. Admin and editors can edit all comments.
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin 3.0.6
» mitcho (Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine) (url)
Returns a list of related entries based on a unique algorithm for display on your blog and RSS feeds. A templating feature allows customization of the display.
Inactive Plugins
All in One Adsense and YPN 1.82
» linewbie (url)
Inserts Adsense or YPN code in to your blog posts. Ad position can be random or pre-defined. To configure this plugin go to “Settings->Adsense” menu.
All in One SEO Pack 1.5.5
» Michael Torbert (url)
Out-of-the-box SEO for your Wordpress blog. Options configuration panel | Donate | Support
AskApache Google 404 4.6.2.2
» AskApache (url)
Displays unbeatable information to site visitors arriving at a non-existant page (from a bad link). Major SEO with Google AJAX, Google 404 Helper, Related Posts, Recent Posts, etc..
DandyID Services 1.5.6
» Neil Simon, Sara Czyzewicz, Arron Kallenberg, Dan Perron, Anthony Dimitre (url)
Retrieves your DandyID online identities and displays them as clickable links in your sidebar. After activating this Plugin: (1) Go to Settings -> DandyID Services to configure the required settings, then (2) Go to Design -> Widgets to add DandyID Services to your sidebar.
FeedWordPress 2008.1214
» Charles Johnson (url)
simple and flexible Atom/RSS syndication for WordPress
Flickr Manager 2.3
» Trent Gardner (url)
Handles uploading, modifying images on Flickr, and insertion into posts.
Hello Dolly 1.5
» Matt Mullenweg (url)
This is not just a plugin, it symbolizes the hope and enthusiasm of an entire generation summed up in two words sung most famously by Louis Armstrong: Hello, Dolly. When activated you will randomly see a lyric from Hello, Dolly in the upper right of your admin screen on every page.
LifeStream 0.99.7.2
» David Cramer (url)
Displays your activity from various social networks. (Requires PHP 5 and MySQL 5)
Live Comment Preview 1.9
» Brad Touesnard (url)
Supply users with a live comment preview. Use the function <?php live_preview() ?> to display the live preview in a different location. Based on version 1.7 by Jeff Minard.
SABRE 0.9.0
» Didier Lorphelin (url)
Simple Anti Bot Registration Engine
Simple:Press Forum 3.1.3
» Andy Staines & Steve Klasen (url)
Fully featured but simple page-based forum
Twitpress 0.3.2
» Tom Purnell (url)
Announces new posts on twitter
WP-Polls Widget 2.40
» Lester 'GaMerZ' Chan (url)
Adds a Poll Widget to display single or multiple polls from WP-Polls Plugin. You will need to activate WP-Polls first.
