Where’s the Scuttle Documentation?

My ‘Dad’ experienced a bit of frustration last night while trying to install Scuttle, the open source social bookmarking script, on one of his domains. It was quite a learning experience for him and me. He learned a few things about Scuttle and I learned a few new interesting phrases straight from Dad’s Marine vocabulary. I’ll save those for the next time the ‘Grandparents’ visit.

Anyhoo, Dad asked me to pass along a few hints on my blog about Scuttle, the lack of Scuttle Documentation and so forth. He said I needed to make myself useful if I wanted some fresh bananas.

The first trick is in the config.inc.php file. You have to make sure that you enter your correct database information. That means the full database name, as in [username]_[database name], otherwise you’ll get a 500 server error and start cussin’ like my Dad did. You can also change the name of the site from plain old ‘Scuttle’ to something you like, such as ‘Banana Bookmarks’.

Another change you may want to make in the Scuttle config file is to have your links followed. They’re nofollowed by default which means they don’t pass Google link juice. If you make them followed this can give a boost to sites listed in your Scuttle bookmarks. My Dad says that’s one of the main reasons to have a Scuttle site.

Now, this is really what got my Dad in a pissed off mood. Once he got Scuttle installed right he added some bookmarks. However, these links did not show on the front page, the index page, of the site. Even though there were links available Scuttle said, “No bookmarks available.” That’s when I learned a few new phrases! As it turns out there is a subtle bug in the query for the index page of a Scuttle site. This bug causes the query to not return any data until the next day. So, be patient, eat a banana, don’t cuss or panic, just wait and your links will be on the front index page shortly.

One last little hint I’ll pass along. You’ll want to delete or rename your Scuttle site’s register.php file. Otherwise every spammer in the universe will come to visit your Scuttle site using automated tools like Bookmarking Demon and jam pack your database with links to all sorts of nasty sites. You can add your and any of your friend’s registrations in before you do this or add them in from your database’s control panel.

OK, that should earn me a tasty banana and maybe some grapes. If you have any Scuttle questions, ask me in a comment and I’ll pass them along to my Dad when he’s in a better mood.

About Macaws

Some people have asked about macaws, what we like to eat, why we behave the way we do and so forth and so on. So, instead of entertaining you with more stupid human Internet tricks I thought I’d do a Macaw Q&A session.

Q1. Why Don’t You Like Orange Pellets?

A1. Two reasons. First of all, the color is unappealing. Us macaws see more shades of color than you humans. Something that looks fine to your puny eyes looks putrid to us. You see, my wild brethren have to spot tasty fresh fruit from miles away while keeping an eye out for predators, namely you humans and big snakes. This means we have excellent 360 degree vision, not to mention a very discerning eye. Second reason, they taste awful as compared to bananas.

Q2: Why Do You Like Bananas So Much?

A2: Because they taste good! I also like other fruits as well, such as grapes and cherries, but bananas are my favorite.

Q3: Do Macaws Bite?

A3: Stick your finger a little closer to my beak and find out.

Q4: Do Macaws Live to be 100 Years Old?

A4: Perhaps, but, like with humans, it’s rare. We are subject to disease and old age just like humans as they get older, but we don’t have the level of medical care humans do. With proper care and a little luck and maybe just the right amount of bananas, a macaw can live to be between 50 and 70 years old. I was hatched in 2000 so I’m still a spring chicken.

Q5: Can You Talk?

A5: Yes, and I can type too. Macaws do talk but we aren’t refined speakers like an African Gray Parrot or some Amazon parrots. We get excited easy and will lapse into pure macaw-ese squawking quickly. I have a vocabulary of about 30 words but I only use 10 of them regularly. I’ll bet you can guess one that starts with ‘B’.

Q6: Are Macaws Endangered In The Wild?

Q6: Yes, they are. Some species are more endangered than others. Blue and Gold macaws like me are still quite common but other macaw species are facing extinction. This is primarily due to deforestation and illegal pet trade.

I was hatched right here in the USA as were my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I’ve been around people all my life, from the moment of my hatching, so I could never live in the wild safely. I would be 100% clueless. However, wild parrots are still grabbed in the wild which is bad, not to mention illegal. If you want to put up with a macaw or any other parrot as a pet, make sure that you buy one from a reputable breeder who hand raises them.

That’s all I have time for right now. If you have any questions about what it is like to be a macaw’s human, please feel free to ask.

Links of the Day: Diet and Exercise

Today’s topic is diet and exercise. I keep a slim and trim body so that I can fly off, even with clipped wings. But, I know a lot of you humans are fat bodies like the guy who occasionally remembers to feed me so maybe some of these links can help you out.

If you want to get a good workout, check out what Chris is saying about Bosu Exercises For a Full Body Workout. That exercise will take care of those flabby sides.

Now, here’s somebody who is just plain wrong, wrong, wrong! Over at Fat Lady Singz she says Did you Know Bananas are BAD!!! Bananas are the best fruit ever! If you eat them with vanilla wafers or peanut butter that may be a bit much but by themselves they’re deeee-liiii-cious and good for you too!!!! YUM!!!!!

It looks like everybody’s favorite yo-yo dieter, Oprah, is going to go on yet another round of fad dieting called “Quantum Wellness“ and every housewife around the country will certainly  follow her: Oprah Goes on 21-Day Cleanse Diet. The food plan doesn’t sound too bad though. I could live on blueberries and walnuts. Blueberries make wonderful art when you fling them on the wall too. Try it sometime.

Last up, check out this article on MSNBC: 10 diet flubs — and how to fix them. Good advice if you don’t want to be a fat body with a computer gut like my ‘dad’. Check it out!

 

Bananas! Making Money Fast with Terry Didcott

Terry Didcott is obsessed with making money fast it seems. He created this blog, Make Money Hints, as an experiment in search engine placement for those terms. Since Terry has helped out the guy who brings me fresh bananas from time to time I thought that I would help him out by mentioning his site here on my blog.

I will give him my ugly website award since, well, let’s face it, sites made for Google are ugly to human and macaw eyes. Plain and drab is the watch word for these blogs. However, these blogs do make money for their owners from time to time which can translate into free bananas or whatever for their associates. Turning a blog into a bananas is almost always a good thing.

I wish Terry well in his attempt to keep everyone in his family well fed on bananas and Vanilla Wafers. Maybe I should start a blog about bananas. That would be great. I could use a bright yellow color without shame! There are even banana themes here on WordPress! OK, well I’ve probably rambled enough about my favorite fruit. Now I’m hungry and I’ll have to scream until I get some of this delicious and delightful fruit.

Give good ole Terry some help with his Make Money Fast dream and check out his site. Make him go bananas!