Groovy Sputum

T-Minus 5 Days

I met with Pastor Mike last week and showed him the initial build for the CFAC web site and he really liked it. I thought about providing a link for you to check it out, but because the content is just gibberish, I decided to wait until the site is up and running to reveal it.

Some of you may be wondering why I appear to have an obsession with WordPress. Well, when I first investigating CMS (content management systems), I realized that there were many to choose from. I had a list of criteria that the CMS needed to have, and as I began to investigate the possibilities, a few platforms really stuck out. Here is what I was looking for:

1. Open Source (i.e. free)
2. Well supported and tested
3. Large community of users for support and the sharing of layouts & customizable features (because I an not that creative)
4. Built on an open source database (again, free)
5. Easy to use login and user interface (if it is too difficult to change, the site will never be updated)
6. Blog ready, but not necessarily blog only
7. Able to be self hosted with my domain name (I didn’t want third party ads or logos on the site nor did I want my domain name to be whatever.blogityblogblogblog.com)

Based on these criteria, I narrowed my choices to Joomla! and WordPress. They are nearly identical platforms and fit my criteria to a tee, but I eventually chose WordPress because of the out-of-the-box blog features. Although Joomla! can be used as a blog, there is much more set up and customization involved to get there.

The more I have used WordPress, the more impressed with it I have been. It uses MySQL as it’s database and runs on Linux servers. It uses the scripting language php to access the database, although some programmers have complained that it is not a true php, but a modified version of it. I honestly don’t care because it is fairly intuitive and anyone with the slightest bit of scripting background can figure out the syntax. WordPress also has a huge following of users and that means tons of extras like themes and plugins (a small program that provides an extra service not normally preformed by the CMS). The main WordPress site also has a large resource area to assist people like me in customizing.

In my research leading up to our church web site, I came across many churches using all kinds of blog software. In my opinion, those running Joomla! or WordPress were by far the nicest. They just seemed to strike the right balance between and online billboard and an online community. I think that is really what I am going for. Too much of either and the site becomes a static ad or simply a church forum. I am not interested in either of those.

So, we are set to go live on Sunday. When you see it, I hope your reaction is, “Wow, that doesn’t look like a WordPress blog.” I am planning on explaining what we did with the layout in a future post, so stay tuned for more!

We’re Online

I recently got the ok from Pastor Mike to build a website for our church and last night I got the ball rolling with the purchase of a domain name. I also loaded WordPress onto the server and set up the MySQL database, so we are ready to roll. At this point, we just have to settle on the content, layout, and overall look of the site. Since we are going with WordPress, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

I also discovered a little plugin that is handy if you use WordPress. It is called Maintenance Mode and when active, it takes your site off line and replaces it with a customizable front page. As the name implies, this tool is used when you are doing maintenance on your site. It is nice to be able to quickly take down the site and put up a temp page. It is also nice for visitors to see a real page while you are working and not get one of those nasty “server not found” message. Check out the site and see what I mean: clearforkalliance.org. I just put up the church name, location, and meeting times. It will work for now and we can be working on the build behind the scenes and as soon as we are ready to go live, we can deactivate MM and BAM!…have an official web presence.

I thought about putting a spinning gif of a stick man digging with a message that says “under construction” (demo), or simply this icon (I like the backhoe), but I thought the simple page was more appropriate. The sad thing is, even in my 10 minutes of work getting the site up, it is probably better than 90% of the church web sites out there right now. I particularly like this site (check out the dancing Jesus) and am thinking of contacting the web master for some design tips.

My Obsession

If you know me at all, you probably know that when an idea gets into my head, I tend to go overboard thinking about the details. I can’t tell you how many times I have dreamed of starting a coffee shop, a racing team or business and have literally spent hours thinking about any and every little detail of the project. From color schemes to shoe sponsors, font styles to floor plans, I planned EVERYTHING. I used to just write my ideas on scrap paper or napkins, but when the technology revolution happened, I began to use graphic editing programs to “flesh out” my thoughts. I particularly enjoy creating logos or icons to “brand” my ideas. You know, make them more marketable. Right.

I thought I would list a few of these thoughts and ideas for you so that you’d have a glimpse of how I think. The more recent ideas may have a logo that have I created, while the older ones don’t. Now, keep in mind, many of these are quite old and have been gurgling in my brain for quite some time.

• The Mud Puddle

This was a coffee shop idea that hit me while I was trying to stay awake during my Tuesday / Thursday afternoon Educational Philosophy class back in college. Or was it Philosophy of Education? Who cares. All I know is that it was…(yawn)…a very interesting class. The concept for The Mud Puddle was based on John 9:6 where Christ spits, makes mud, and puts it on the blind man’s eyes. The tag line of the place was going to be “Opening the Eyes of the Blind” and the place would be all the rage with teens and singles…a place to turn troubled lives around. All of the menu items would have “dirty” names. You know, cup of mud, dirt pudding, gravel latte, etc.

• Groovy Sputum

This was going to be the monthly newsletter for the coffee shop mentioned above. It would contain poems and thought provoking proverbs from local writers as well as a list of the upcoming live entertainment that one could hear on the weekends. Raw acoustic, of course. “Where’d you come up with the name, Luke?” Glad you asked. I was taking microbiology the same semester The Mud Puddle hit me and at one point were running sputum cultures. I realize that sputum and spit (which Christ used in John 9) are not exactly the same, but they are close enough in my book to make a connection. Besides, Groovy Sputum just has a ring to it. As you know, Groovy Sputum has morphed into my personal blog.

• Extra Mile Racing Team

This idea here was to merge racing with ministry. I planned to round up some Christian runners & cyclists to travel around on the weekends with me to local races and triathlons. We would set up a tent / booth and, after the race, share our faith with people. We would give out water bottles, socks, and t-shirts with our logo and web site on it. I had even thought of giving away “In Quest of Gold”, the autobiography of Jim Ryun. The concept for the team was not to just race, but to go the extra mile and tell people about Christ.

• Intelligent Web Design

The now defunked web design studio, this idea actually existed. I purchased my first domain name and had absolutely zero people visit the site for a year. Eventually, I changed the domain name to lukeburton.us but the result was the same. Darn you, WordPress! Just like Wal*Mart, you have kicked the small business owner to the curb.

• myCathedral

This was my original blog. Chris Rice’s song and Apple Computers inspired this idea. You know, we have the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iBook…why not have myCathedral. Work with me here, people. I actually did the layout and styling myself and intended to use it as a spiritual journal. This took place during a time when I was just learning web design. I wanted to try out my new found knowledge of CSS (table-less design) and see if I could create my own blog. I quickly discovered that it is nearly impossible to archive and hyper link a blog without a well written scripting language and database.

So, come on, members of Extra Mile Racing. Let’s go down to The Mud Puddle, get a mud mocha, read Groovy Sputum, and save the world. Later, we can write about it on myCathedral…