Bitcoin’s Baby

Note: reposted from Medium.com (where it’s getting a lot of traction): https://medium.com/business-startup-development-and-more/d609eef3e6cb.

Forget about Crypto-Currency, Here Comes Crypto-Finance

If you’ve been following the Bitcoin movement, you’ve seen it grow, since its inception five years ago, from idealogical experiment to fully-fledged currency with its own ATM machines, billionaire investors and billion dollar marketplace and yes, place on the world stage. You’ve seen the introduction of bitcoin-mining specific hardware (that costs more than many people can afford). You’ve seen Silk Road, Overstock, massive heists and massive problems, regulations and crackdowns by various governments and organizations while others embrace, or allow — while they look for ways to make money off — or regulate it. You’ve seen the creation of Bitcoin alternatives from Litecoin to Dogecoin and the ill-fated Coinye, to the recent Icelandic nationalized Auroracoin; in short, you’ve seen incredible growth for this experiment in virtual, decentralized currency but, I believe, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Continue reading Bitcoin’s Baby

On Bitcoin Wallets and How to Secure Them

When talking about bitcoin wallet security, there are three things to consider:

  1. the most obvious: theft, either online or in person;
  2. losing your computer, USB key or papers containing your bitcoin (BTC) data, and
  3. obsolescence of BTC software.

There are also several use-cases to consider:

  1. the system you use to spend your bitcoins. This would be a BTC wallet on your smartphone – the equivalent of the wallet that holds your cash and credit cards.
  2. a system for keeping BTC accessible, but not necessarily in your smartphone wallet – the equivalent of a drawer, box or safe that you keep at home, with cash for emergencies, and
  3. a system to secure the bulk of your BTC savings – the equivalent of your bank and/or investment accounts.

Continue reading On Bitcoin Wallets and How to Secure Them

Quick Guide to SEO for Drupal

I wrote this in 2009 for another blog, but thought it would be good include here.

Here’s what Drupal has for keyword extraction:

1. http://drupal.org/project/int_meta
2. http://drupal.org/project/nodewords

Here’s a comparison of these 2 modules: http://drupal.org/node/532278. No. 1, Integrated Metatags, is still in beta but about 707 projects are using it anyway.

Here’s 2 lists/overviews of Drupal’s most popular modules for SEO:

1. http://kristen.org/content/drupal-seo-modules. (Feb. 2009)
2. http://www.ashowalter.com/content/my-favorite-drupal-6-seo-modules (Jun. 2008)

A presentation given at Drupalcamp, Colorado, on SEO: http://dogstar.org/drupal/content/drupal-6-seo-drupalcamp-colorado (Jun. 2009)

Lastly, a tutorial on SEO optimization: http://tips.webdesign10.com/basic-drupal-seo-on-site-optimization (Sept. 2006)

Lastly, a couple other new SEO modules:

1. http://drupal.org/project/seo_checker (Mar. 2009)
2. http://drupal.org/project/bts (Apr. 2009)

Balance and Equanimity: a Website Case Study

KKC-KDOL is a Buddhist Sangha in Burnaby. I designed and themed this site for a friend who built it using Drupal. I started with the Zen theme. Zen is a barebones theme you can use if you want to implement your own design, rather than use one of the many pre-made designs available for Drupal. I’m pretty happy with the way this inexpensive site turned out, which is why I’m writing about it.

What I’m going to do in the following is go through the elements of the site and explain why they work; specifically, I will talk about colour, fonts and imagery. Continue reading Balance and Equanimity: a Website Case Study