Hello everyone. It's been a few days since my last post. I've been busy setting up my new blog. It covers the weird, amazing, and fun stuff I run into on the web on a daily basis. Check it out at:
Hey! It's Spanklin!

Autoit3 is a great tool that is used to automate tasks in the Microsoft Windows environment. It can perform such functions as sending keystrokes, copying data to the clipboard, starting programs, and interacting with running programs.

Autoit can provide a lot of benefit to a blogger, for instance, you can create a script in AutoIt that will automatically submit your latest post to Digg, Blog Carnival, StumbleUpon, or any other website.

Another great use of AutoIt is to data mine the web. It is possible to create programs that will control your web browser and have it surf information for you. You could then use AutoIt to open a file and save the data it finds. With some creativity, you may be able to use AutoIt to automatically generate valuable information for your users. One fun way to learn about AutoIt is to create a script that browses the web randomly, although you probably would want to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't make its way into any illegal areas.

One thing that AutoIt does not provide immediately after installation is an easy way to scan areas of the screen for specific images. For instance, if you are automating the use of a web browser, often times it is beneficial to determine if a web page has finished loading or not. One way to do this is to scan the status bar of your web browser for the word "Done". I've found a library file that contains some functions that extend the functionality of AutoIt to be able to scan for images. Note that this image-scanning may perform slowly, as it goes pixel by pixel across the screen searching for the image. One way to limit the slowness of this process is to request the _FindPixelRect function to only search in a specific location of the screen, because if there is less pixel data to search through, it will complete much faster.

Note that the image scan file I found by searching the AutoIt forums has an error that prevents it from running, so I'm hosting it here in its correct form to save you from having to debug it. Also, keep in mind that the PixelFunc functions are very useful, but in most cases it is better to use keyboard control as it is much easier to develop and is less likely to change than scanning for images. For example, scanning for an image at one screen resolution may not work when you change it to run at 800x600.

As you can see from my above posts, AutoIt is not for the light-hearted and at least a little bit of programming knowledge is needed to use it effectively. It is nearly a complete programming language, and only lacks a few features. The learning curve is worth it, however, as I've been able to do things that previously would have tied me to my computer 24x7.

You can download AutoIt at http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/downloads.php. The PixelFunc.au3 file is found here.

*** Keep in mind that it may be against the Terms of Services of certain websites to run a script against them. ***

A Blog Carnival is a little different than other ways to promote your blog postings. A blog carnival links to various blogs, almost like a table of contents. Blog carnivals are often times published on a weekly basis, although some blog carnivals may release information on a different cycle. Usually a blog carnival contains links to related topics, for instance, this blog has been submitted to a "Making Money Online" carnival on several occasions.

There are two main ways to participate. One method is to submit your article to an existing blog carnival. This will get you the occasional hit as people browse your site by finding your link among several other blogs.

Another method is to host your own blog carnival. This is a great way to get traffic, as you put your blog out there as a Master of Ceremonies of sorts. Your Blog becomes the table of contents for others to seek related posts on different blogs. The carnivals often "rotate"; sometimes the same carnival will be hosted by a different blog from week to week.

Carnivals are a great way for users to find information on a related topic all in one location. Carnivals also allow you to research topics for your blog with ease. Why waste your time searching for information related to your topic, when it is all laid out in front of you in a carnival?

To get started, check out Blog Carnival.

Here is a neat little code tweak that will integrate AdSense into the posts you make with Simple PHP Blog for the Modern theme. In the themes/modern/themes.php file, look for the following:

    // Display BODY TEXT
    $blog_content .= $entry_array[ 'entry' ];

$entry_array[ 'entry' ] contains your blog entry, so all we have to do is to put the AdSense code into this variable in order to have it display automatically. The catch is that Google only allows you to display a maximum of 3 ad boxes on a page at a time, so there needs to be a way to determine how many have been displayed. This can be determined by looking at the $entry_array[ 'count' ] variable, which contains a numeric value of the current entry we are processing (0 = first entry, 1 equals second entry, etc). With that in mind, changing the above code to:

// Display BODY TEXT
if( ( $entry_array[ 'count' ] == 0 or $entry_array[ 'count' ] == 1 ) and $mode == 'entry' ) {
   $blog_content .= '<center><script type="text/javascript"><!--
   google_ad_client = "pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";
   google_ad_width = 468;
   google_ad_height = 60;
   google_ad_format = "468x60_as";
   google_ad_type = "text";
   google_ad_channel = "";
   google_color_border = "ffffff";
   google_color_bg = "ffffff";
   google_color_link = "5977b3";
   google_color_text = "4d4d4d";
   google_color_url = "5977b3";
   //-->
   </script>
   <script type="text/javascript"
      src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
   </script></center>';
}
$blog_content .= $entry_array[ 'entry' ];

Ads will now automatically displayed on the first two posts displayed on a page. The key to this is the line:

if( ( $entry_array[ 'count' ] == 0 or $entry_array[ 'count' ] == 1 ) and $mode == 'entry' ) 

This checks to make sure we are only adding the AdSense code to the first two entries, as well as making sure it IS an entry (and not a comment).

Writing a good blog post is a little bit of science and a little bit of art. Having a bit of creativity along with an approach to getting text on the screen can go a long way in getting interesting and informative information to your readers.

Write about what you know

If you're a lifelong resident of the city, don't think you can get away with writing about living in the country. People will be able to read between the lines and determine that you probably don't know what you're talking about. It would be like that salsa commercial--"New York City!" Ahem... anyway, back on topic. If you write about what you know, you shouldn't have any problems coming up with content. You will likely have formed a point-of-view about a subject that others would probably be interested in. For instance, if you're a dog lover, you have likely formed an opinion on what type of flea spray works best to keep the pests out of your house (and boy could I have used you a few months back--they were biting us like CrAzY!).

Use good punctuation and grammar

I probably should say attempt to use good punctuation and grammar, as my grammar isn't perfect. Use a spell checker, and make sure to read your posts before hitting the "Submit" button. If you have another set of eyes nearby, have them take a look and see if they can spot anything you might have missed. Try not to use run-on sentences even though it is very similar to the stream-of-consciousness idea I mention below because although it may sound good in your head it may not be the best way for your readers to understand your point and you may change topic and that should probably be handled in another sentence instead of the same one and I like chocolate ice cream. Dude, wait--what?

Look elsewhere for inspiration

Sometimes it is a good idea to take a look around for a topic to add to your site. Sometimes I'll do a search on AdSense, or blogging, or occasionally something completely unrelated looking for ideas to write about. The key here is to not waste too much time doing so--I can easily waste an hour in front of the PC accomplishing nothing and forget my goal of looking for an idea. Make sure to read books and magazines about your topic. If there is any kind of social group that gets together regularly that is related to your topic, make sure you join up. You may even be able to post their meetings online.

Just Write!

One of my biggest mistakes when writing an entry is to ponder too long about what I'm going to write about. Sometimes it is a good idea to put these thoughts that cause you to procrastinate on hold and start typing. I made that mistake today. I'd been thinking about what to write and was browsing other sites looking for ideas, when I decided to stop wasting time and now words are flowing onto the page. If you don't have an idea of what to write about, a good tactic is to start writing in a stream-of-consciousness style, which is writing about any fleeting thoughts that you may have. Often times these fleeting thoughts turn into several different topics that would make great blog entries. Make a note of these and start writing about one of them. Save the other ideas for future posts. Instead of no ideas for an entry, you now have several! (This is the inspiration for the picture in this post--hopefully the words will flow like water--water on Mars to be exact!)