Spring Cleaning: 20 Fresh and Free WordPress Themes from April 2014


  

It’s us again, your deep web theme divers. Continuing with our monthly series, we bring forward a new list of 20 fresh themes for a variety of purposes. Although there is a lot of color in some of the designs, the minimalism is still the common denominator. The following themes are very simple, yet advanced and good to be used as is or to experiment with them to create something unique for your or your client’s site.
via noupe
Spring Cleaning: 20 Fresh and Free WordPress Themes from April 2014

Make Your Own Delicious Ramen That’s Even Cheaper Than Instant

Make Your Own Delicious Ramen That's Even Cheaper Than Instant

Instant ramen is a poor shadow of the noodles you get at a ramen shop. Now you can make better-than-instant ramen at home for even less than those cheap packets you find at the grocery store.

Not Quite Nigella’s Lorraine Elliott shows us how relatively simple this is. Besides flour, salt, and water, she recommends using lye water or Kansui, which gives ramen its distinctive chewy texture and color. If you can’t find lye water (an Asian grocery might be your best bet), you can substitute eggs and baking soda.

It’s also easiest if you have a pasta machine to cut the noodles, but if you have the patience, you can cut them by hand. It might be well worth it:

The resulting noodles are absolutely wonderful. You know exactly what goes into them and they have a wonderfully springy chew to them and a texture that cannot be achieved with instant ramen. A batch made with lye water costs less than 50c for four serves so it’s quite feasible to make it for less than you would pay for instant ramen. I served these in soup as well as stir fried and they retained their springy texture perfectly cooked both ways.

Some of us could probably eat ramen around the clock and never get sick of it, especially when there are so many ways to make it.

Hit up the link below for your DIY ramen instructions.

Make Your Own Ramen from Scratch! | Not Quite Nigella


via Lifehacker
Make Your Own Delicious Ramen That’s Even Cheaper Than Instant

Using mysqldump and the MySQL binary log – a quick guide on how to backup and restore MySQL databases

Be sure to check out my other posts on mysqldump:
– Scripting Backups of MySQL with Perl via mysqldump
– Splitting a MySQL Dump File Into Smaller Files Via Perl
– Creating and restoring database backups with mysqldump and MySQL Enterprise Backup – Part 1 of 2
– Creating and restoring database backups with mysqldump and MySQL Enterprise Backup – Part 2 of 2
I have already written several posts on using mysqldump. This post will be a quick guide to using mysqldump to backup and restore your databases. And we will look at using the MySQL binary log (binlog) along with mysqldump for point-in-time recovery. If your database is extremely large, and for databases in a production environment, you might want to consider using MySQL Enterprise Backup (mysqlbackup), which is part of the MySQL Enterprise Edition.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with mysqldump:
The mysqldump client is a utility that performs logical backups, producing a set of SQL statements that can be run to reproduce the original schema objects, table data, or both. It dumps one or more MySQL database for backup or transfer to another SQL server. The mysqldump command can also generate output in CSV, other delimited text, or XML format.
The best feature about mysqldump is that it is easy to use. The main problem with using mysqldump occurs when you need to restore a database. When you execute mysqldump, the database backup (output) is an SQL file that contains all of the necessary SQL statements to restore the database – but restoring requires that you execute these SQL statements to essentially rebuild the database. Since you are recreating your database, the tables and all of your data from this file, the restoration procedure can take a long time to execute if you have a very large database.
NOTE: If you are using GTID’s (global transaction identifiers) in your database, you will need to include the –set-gtid-purged=OFF option, otherwise you will receive this error:
Warning: A partial dump from a server that has GTIDs will by default include the
GTIDs of all transactions, even those that changed suppressed parts of the database.
If you don’t want to restore GTIDs, pass –set-gtid-purged=OFF. To make a complete dump, pass –all-databases –triggers –routines –events. For these examples, I will not include the –set-gtid-purged=OFF option.
Dumping and making a copy of a single database
To dump/backup a single database:
mysqldump -uroot -p database_name > db_dump.sql
To load the dump file back into mysql, you will need to create the new database first. If you use the –databases option before the database name, mysqldump will also dump the CREATE DATABASE and USE statements that you need prior to inserting the data from the dump.
You can either use mysqladmin to create the new database, or create it from a MySQL prompt:
# mysqladmin create new_database_name
mysql> CREATE DATABASE new_database_name;
Next, you can simply import the dump file into mysql.
# mysql new_database_name < db_dump.sql
You can also use the dump file to move the database to another server. If you did not use the –databases option, then you will need to create the database first.
Dumping events, routines, triggers
Here are the options for mysqldump to also dump event scheduler events, stored procedures or functions. If you want to include these, use these options:
–routines – dumps stored procedures and functions
–events – dumps Event Scheduler events
–triggers – dumps triggers
When you use mysqldump, triggers are dumped by default. If you want to disable any of these functions, use the “skip” versions: http://ift.tt/1pp1UJF, –skip-routines, or –skip-triggers.
Only dump table definitions
If you want to just dump the CREATE TABLE statements without any data, use the –no-data option.
# mysqldump –no-data database_name > db_definitions_dump.sql
You might want to add the –routines and –events options to include stored routines and event definitions.
# mysqldump –no-data –routines –events database_name > db_definitions_dump.sql
Only dump the data
If you want to just dump the data without any table definitions, you can use the –no-create-info option:
# mysqldump –no-create-info database_name > db_data_dump.sql
Using mysqldump to test a new version of mysql
Let’s say that you need to upgrade to a new version of mysql. In order to test to see if your database objects are handled properly by the new version, you can simply dump the data definitions and import them into the new version of MySQL (preferably on a separate computer).
On the computer with the old version of MySQL:
mysqldump –all-databases –no-data –routines –events > db_definitions.sql
Then, on the upgraded server, you can just import this dump file:
mysql -uroot -p < db_definitions.sql
This will help you spot any potential incompatibilities with the new version of MySQL. If you don’t receive any errors, you can then dump the data and load into the new server. Be sure to run some test queries on the new upgraded server as well.
Point-in-time recovery using mysqldump and the binary logs
The MySQL binary logs (binlogs) contains all of the SQL statements or “events” that could change the database (I say “could” because a delete statement that does not delete any rows would still be entered into the binary log – unless you are using row-based logging). For more information about the binary log, see: http://ift.tt/WclZj3.
Since the binlog contains all of the events that happen to the database, you can use the binlog to apply these same changes to a different database. If you started your MySQL instance with the binlogs enabled, and you have never flushed the binlogs, then the binlogs contain all of the SQL statements for all of the data that is in your database. The binlog itself is like a backup of your database.
If you want to use the binary logs in addition to mysqldump to restore your database, you need to have the binary logs (binlogs) enabled. There are many options for the binlogs (see http://ift.tt/UgG6dj, but the only two that you really need for this example are:
–log-bin[=base_name]
–log-bin-index[=file_name]
One other option is to use the –binlog-format. You can set this value to STATEMENT (default), ROW or MIXED. For more information about these options, see http://ift.tt/1pp1UJH.
These variables need to go into your my.cnf or my.ini file under the [mysqld] section, and this will require a restart of mysqld.
Once you have the binary log enabled, you will need to do a few things differently when you use mysqldump. You will need to:
– flush the tables and place a READ lock on the tables
– check to see what binlog is being used
– check the position of the binlog
– dump your data with mysqldump
– release the lock
By placing a read lock on the tables, you are stopping anyone from modifying the data in the database. By having the binlog and binlog position, these will allow you use the binary logs to restore any statements that happened after the mysqldump. Open two terminal windows – one with a MySQL prompt, and another with a root prompt:
In the MySQL prompt, issue the READ lock and SHOW MASTER STATUS:
mysql> FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.47 sec)
mysql> SHOW MASTER STATUS\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
File: mysql-bin.000008
Position: 191
Binlog_Do_DB: Binlog_Ignore_DB: Executed_Gtid_Set: 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Now you are ready to dump the database with whatever options you need:
# mysqldump –all-databases > db_000008_191_dump.sql
Once the dump has finished, you can release the lock:
mysql> UNLOCK TABLES;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)
It is extremely important that you write down the binlog file and position from the SHOW MASTER STATUS statement and somehow associate it with the dump file. One way to do this is to insert the binlog file name and position into the dump file name. In my example above, I did this by adding both to the dump file name db_000008_191_dump.sql.
When you have to restore the database, you will need to load the dump file first, and then apply the binlog(s) to the database.
Let’s assume that we need to restore the entire database. First, we will import the dump file:
# mysql -uroot -p < db_000008_191_dump.sql
Next, you will need to load the information from the binlog(s). To load information from the binlogs, you need to use the mysqlbinlog utility. You can check your MySQL data directory to see how many binlogs you have used since the one that was in the SHOW MASTER STATUS statement:
$ ls -l mysql-bin*
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 67110 Apr 4 16:22 mysql-bin.000001
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 1230893 Apr 4 16:24 mysql-bin.000002
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 4 17:03 mysql-bin.000003
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 4 19:03 mysql-bin.000004
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 4 19:07 mysql-bin.000005
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 18 16:48 mysql-bin.000006
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 21 13:37 mysql-bin.000007
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 13383907 Apr 21 13:37 mysql-bin.000008
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 154847 Apr 21 13:37 mysql-bin.000009
-rw-rw—- 1 mysql wheel 171 Apr 21 13:37 mysql-bin.index
You can also just look at the mysql-bin.index file (located in your MySQL data directory), which contains a list of all of the binary files in use:
# cat mysql-bin.index
./mysql-bin.000001
./mysql-bin.000002
./mysql-bin.000003
./mysql-bin.000004
./mysql-bin.000005
./mysql-bin.000006
./mysql-bin.000007
./mysql-bin.000008
./mysql-bin.000009
In this example, we will need to apply the changes from the binlog file mysql-bin.000008 after position 191, and then all of the mysql-bin.000009 binlog. You will need to add the correct data directory PATH to your mysqlbinlog statement.
mysqlbinlog –start-position=191 $DATA_DIR_PATH/mysql-bin.000008 | mysql -u root -p
After you have inserted all of mysql-bin.000008 after position 191, you can insert the entire mysql-bin.000009 binlog file:
mysqlbinlog $DATA_DIR_PATH/mysql-bin.000009 | mysql -u root -p
Note: During the restore process, you do not want anyone inserting any data into the database.
Your database should now be back to the state when the database crashed or was deleted. It isn’t mandatory, but it is also a good idea to copy the binlogs to a separate location as part of your backup routine. You can use mysqlbinlog to do this as well – see: http://ift.tt/Rwfc2V.
For more information on using the binary logs for point-in-time recovery, see http://ift.tt/1mwazW6. There are a lot of other options for using binlogs. The best option for backing up and restoring your MySQL database is to use the MySQL Enterprise Backup (mysqlbackup), which is part of the MySQL Enterprise Edition subscription, which includes 24×7 MySQL Support and the other Enterprise features.
 
Tony Darnell is a Principal Sales Consultant for MySQL, a division of Oracle, Inc. MySQL is the world’s most popular open-source database program. Tony may be reached at info [at] ScriptingMySQL.com and on LinkedIn.
via Planet MySQL
Using mysqldump and the MySQL binary log – a quick guide on how to backup and restore MySQL databases

Chameleon Optimizes Non-Apple SSDs on Macs

Chameleon Optimizes Non-Apple SSDs on Macs

Mac: With the release of OS X 10.6.8, Apple introduced TRIM support for its solid state drives that makes the drive a little faster. Apple’s operating systems don’t support non-stock drives though. Chameleon is a simple tool that allows you to speed up that third-party SSD drive.

TRIM makes your solid state drive a little faster by automatically cleaning up blocks of old data. Subsequently, with TRIM enabled, your SSD is a little quicker. Chameleon removes the lock on the driver so you can enable this feature on any SSD drive. It’s a pretty quick process that’s easy to revert if something goes wrong.

Chameleon | via One Thing Well


via Lifehacker
Chameleon Optimizes Non-Apple SSDs on Macs

Reader Photos Roundup: April 20, 2014

It’s time for our weekly break from the gear for a few minutes so we can enjoy another round of reader photos from the Photography Bay Flickr Group. Check out the rest of the photos below. You can mouse over any photo for title and photographer names. Additionally, clicking on the photos will take you to […]

via Photography Bay
Reader Photos Roundup: April 20, 2014

Awesome Stuff: Stand While You Work

As some folks know, I’m a pretty big believer in standing while you work rather than sitting. It takes a little while to get used to, but these days I greatly prefer standing. While the first few weeks are a bit difficult on your legs and (especially) feet, once you get used to it, it’s pretty easy. There’s definitely been a trend in sit-stand setups lately, so for this week’s awesome stuff post, I thought we’d look at three new crowdfunding projects concerning standing desks.

  • First up, is a the StandDesk — which is a standard sit/stand alternating desk. There are lots of these on the market, though they can get a bit pricey. StandDesk’s sole claim to fame seems to be that it’s a lot cheaper than the competition — which is true. It’s an automated sit-stand desk going for about $400 (not including shipping). Standard automated sit-stand desks tend to be closer to $1,000 or more. When I switched to a sit-stand setup a couple years ago, I deliberately didn’t buy such a desk, because it seemed to expensive. Instead, I retrofitted an existing desk with one of these. But the StandDesk definitely brings the price down.
    It appears people are pretty excited about this cheaper sit-stand desk as it’s already raised over $350,000 (much more than its $50,000 target) with nearly a month left to go.
  • I’m always intrigued by people trying something new and different, so the ChairBot certainly caught my eye. It’s an attempt to still let people get the best of both sitting and standing, while minimizing the harms. I have no idea if there’s any real science behind it, but the idea appears to be to have the chair set at your standing height, and the chair splits in two, with either side going down to remove support from one leg or the other. The end result is that you end up "standing" with one leg while "sitting" with the other. And the ChairBot has a timer, so that every so often, you’re prompted to switch. The theory is that you get the better posture associated with standing, but not the fatigue that often comes with it (though, again, I’ve found that goes away after a short adjustment period). You kind of have to watch the video to understand how this works:
    While new and different ideas may be interesting, that doesn’t mean they’re compelling. And this one definitely falls into the not-very-compelling camp. Especially at the insane price of $2,700 (which is apparently the "early bird" price before it goes to $3,700!). You’d have to (1) really, really believe that this is a better system (2) have extra money to throw away and (3) trust that this device that you haven’t tested would really work for you in order to plunk down that kind of money. So, it’s little surprise that almost no one has actually done so. As I write this, only 1 person has signed up, so it seems unlikely that this project will come anywhere near the $100,000 it seeks by the project completion in two weeks.
  • Finally, many people point out that you don’t need a fancy contraption to have a standing desk. You can just pile some boxes or a shelf on an existing desk and get basically the same thing. So it’s interesting to see someone trying to offer a collapsible desktop riser for exactly that purpose. Of course, I’m confused why this is a Kickstarter project, as there are tons of similar desktop risers on the market, and this doesn’t appear to be new or unique in any significant way. Nor does it appear the creator put much effort at all into the campaign. It’s one of the rare Kickstarter campaigns that doesn’t even have a video. Given that, it’s not too surprising that so almost no one seems to be interested in buying one (there’s just one backer).

That’s it for this week. Stand up and stretch.

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via Techdirt.
Awesome Stuff: Stand While You Work

Stress Test Your Mac with the “Yes” Command

Stress Test Your Mac with the "Yes" Command

If your Mac is having intermittent problems when it’s under a heavy load, you can perform a simple stress test in the terminal to try and reproduce the problem.

All you need to do is run the "yes" command, which will push the CPU until its limit:

yes > /dev/null &

If you have a CPU with multiple cores (which most modern Macs do), you’ll have to run it as many times as you have cores. For example, if your CPU has four cores, you’d run:

yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null &

The fans will often kick in so you can see how loud they are, and see if indeed your mac is crashing under a heavy load. Putting this heavy of a load will also help discharge the battery. Just remember to kill the process when done or you’ll wonder why your Mac is running so slow.

Stress Test a Mac by Maxing Out CPU | OS X Daily


via Lifehacker
Stress Test Your Mac with the “Yes” Command