All SQL queries should be SQL-escaped prior to execution.  The prepare() method makes this process much easier. prepare() has the following structure: $prepared_query = $wpdb->prepare( ’query goes here’, value_parameter, value_parameter …  ); value_parameter is meant for the value that you want to substitute into the placeholder.  You can either place the values in one-by-one as with the PHP function sprintf(), or pass in an array of values as is done for vsprintf() function. It is important at this point not [...]

Facebook has yet again bombarded it’s users with a new format of online expression – F8.  They’re calling it the new ‘look and feel’, being that it really is just a new way of compartmentalizing all of our profile data into nice neat little time lines.  So that painfully embarrassing picture of you from that party a few years back that you just hoped everyone would forget about is now just one click away – [...]

With the approaching federal election, political scandal has once again infested our Canadian media outlets. “Truthy” – a research project at the University of Indiana uses advanced statistical analysis to detect Twitter accounts that use spamming techniques to voice political propaganda.  Twitter’s rules are violated repeatedly by unidentified users who tweet so-called political “news” and attempt to associate it with popular Twitter users.  According to this article by CBC News, the real issue is with [...]

Okay, I don’t like to point fingers, but let’s be honest – the proliferation of the smart phone has really caused us all a lot of excess sweat, tears and early-life interphalangeal arthritis.  Sure, it’s great to check your email while you’re on the bus or waiting in line at McD’s or even when you’re sitting on the can, but there has to be a limit to the madness of compulsive emailing/texting/Tweeting/Facebooking and Googling.  For [...]