WordPress plugins are nothing shy of totally amazing and WordPress is quickly becoming the de facto hosting platform for almost any kind of site. It could be just a blog, a photoblog, an e-commerce site or even just a basic webpage. The amount of customization is insane and the root of that stems from the plugins.

Currently on VagabondGuide.com I use about 29 different plugins.

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Advertising Manager – Control and arrange your Advertising and Referral blocks on your WordPress blog. With Widget and inline post support, integration with all major ad networks.

This plugin is very handy if you like to display ads on your site. I’ve pretty much stopped inserting ads into my posts to make things a litter cleaner but that’s totally your call.

Akismet - Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. You need an API key to use it. You can review the spam it catches under “Comments.” To show off your Akismet stats just put <?php akismet_counter(); ?> in your template.

Akismet isn’t really necessary if you use some of the other plugins I’ll be listing below but it’s not hurting anything by staying on.

All in One SEO Pack – Out-of-the-box SEO for your WordPress blog

Great all around SEO plugin and worth your time.

Contact Form 7 – Just another contact form plugin. Simple but flexible.

DBC Backup – Database Cron Backup

I’m kind of a backup nut. This little guy makes a scheduled backup of your database and store it somewhere else on your server. Really handy.

Disqus Comment System – The Disqus comment system replaces your WordPress comment system with your comments hosted and powered by Disqus. Head over to the Comments admin page to set up your DISQUS Comment System.

In my opinion the best comment system out there. It allows for a nice clean feel along with multiple logins.

Favicons - Choose a favicon to make your site eye-catching and easily recognizable by visitors.

Basically a simple favicon chooser/uploader.

FD Feedburner Plugin – Redirects all feeds to a Feedburner feed

Feedburner is a great way to track your RSS subscribers. It also has a great email tracking section.

Google Analyticator – Adds the necessary JavaScript code to enable Google’s Analytics. After enabling this plugin visit the settings page and enter your Google Analytics’ UID and enable logging.

Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin will generate a special XML sitemap which will help search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing and Ask.com to better index your blog.

MiniMeta Widget – WordPress (Mini)Meta Widget with different logon types (form,link) and additional admin links. All links can enabeld/disabeld.

NextGEN Gallery – A NextGENeration Photo gallery for the Web 2.0.

If you don’t feel like setting up a full blown gallery then this plugin will work wonders. Simple and easy.

No Self Pings – Keeps WordPress from sending pings to your own site.

Internal linking is a great way to not only expose your visitors to other articles but is good for SEO. This guy prevents pings from showing up in the linked posts.

Page Links To – Allows you to point WordPress pages or posts to a URL of your choosing. Good for setting up navigational links to non-WP sections of your site or to off-site resources.

I use this for pages like my gallery.

Revision Control – Allows finer control over the number of Revisions stored on a global & per-type/page basis.

SEO Slugs – Removes common words like ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘in’ from post slugs to improve SEO.

Awesome plugin! I’m not a huge fan of long post link names. Instead of the_best_website_in_the_world it’s more like best_website_world. It’s all automagic.

SexyBookmarks – SexyBookmarks adds a (X)HTML compliant list of social bookmarking icons to each of your posts.

They really are pretty sexy and they have some nice customization.

Simple Feed Copyright – Adds a simple copyright notice at end of full text articles in your feed.

Smart 404 – Rescue your viewers from site errors! When content cannot be found, Smart 404 will use the current URL to attempt to find matching content, and redirect to it automatically. Smart 404 also supplies template tags which provide a list of suggestions, for use on a 404.php template page if matching content can’t be immediately discovered.

This plugin absolutely saved my life when I moved my blog from a subfolder to the root. I’m in love with this plugin.

Theme Test Drive – Safely test drive any theme while visitors are using the default one. Includes instant theme preview via thumbnail.

Great plugin for testing or configuring a new theme. I’ve used this on several theme ideas but never ended up changing. Another plugin that is really handy.

TweetMeme Retweet Button – Adds a button which easily lets you retweet your blog posts.

Twitter Tools – A complete integration between your WordPress blog and Twitter. Bring your tweets into your blog and pass your blog posts to Twitter. Show your tweets in your sidebar, and post tweets from your WordPress admin.

Great plugin for sending your posts to twitter. It also works with many different URL shorting services. Like…

Twitter Tools: su.pr Links – Makes the links that Twitter Tools posts to Twitter be API-created su.pr links so you can track the number of clicks and such via your su.pr account. Requires PHP 5.2.0+.

This is my favorite one. Su.pr is from Stumbupon and will automatically add your post to their site. Great for bringing in new traffic.

WordPress Facebook Fan Box Widget – Display facebook fan box as widget in your WordPress blog.

WordPress Gravatars – Makes use of Gravatars and MyBlogLog Avatars, places Gravatars, OpenAvatar, Wavatar, Identicon, monsterID or MyBlogLog Avatars in the comments section. Uses the comment authors email to display their Gravatar. It also gives the user an Author Profile picture, based on his or hers Gravatar.

Everyone can have a face now!

WordPress Hashcash – Client-side javascript blocks all spam bots. XHTML 1.1 compliant.

One of the better spam preventers I’ve found yet.

WordPress Related Posts – Generate a related posts list via tags of WordPress

This is an awesome plugin. Not only does it add a bit more content to your site but help promote other posts to your visitors.

WP Super Cache – Very fast caching plugin for WordPress.

This is a must have if you ever happen to get to the front page of Digg!

WPtouch iPhone Theme – A plugin which formats your site with a mobile theme for the Apple iPhone / iPod touch,Google Android, Blackberry Storm and Torch, Palm Pre and other touch-based smartphones.

I don’t get a ton of mobile traffic but I want to make sure the few that do find my site on a mobile device are happy!

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Well there you have it. The plugins I use. Hopefully this will answer a few of the emails I’ve gotten lately about which plugins I use here. I’m always happy to check out new plugins too. Just leave a comment below with your thoughts and maybe a like!

If we were to take a ride in the way back machine to 2008, I would have been a totally different person; debt coming out my ears, enough stuff to choke 50 elephants, and absolutely no direction in life.  I was eating what I wanted and drinking a bit more than I probably should have. I was getting fatter and lazier by the day.

That’s when I came across minimalistic travel by total accident. I was always in love with the idea of travel, I just never thought it possible for me until the ripe old of 200 and somehow managed to save enough to take a trip overseas. To me, extended travel was only open to the rich and the retired. After reading every book and blog I could get my hands on (some of which are listed to the right under my favorite sites & blogs), I was ready to dive in head first and never come back up for air. But where to start?

By coincidence, I had been laid off of my job and was falling behind on my mortgage payment along with everything else. I had no choice to but to start selling everything that wasn’t nailed down. Once that ball had started rolling, it did nothing but pick up speed. Fast forward two years and here I am. My debt is almost totally eliminated, I’ve gotten rid of 95% of my things, and I even have some money stashed in the bank. Actual liquid funds! Not mention, I’m eating healthier and exercising on a regular basis. It’s like I’m and actual human being!

Has minimalism and the dream of travel saved my life? Maybe not in the “OMG I’m going to bleed to death” sense but in the “I REALLY don’t want to spend the rest of my life in this cubical” sense, absolutely!

Image from Flickr

Not only has it taken care of my debt, it’s allowed me to change my habits. I’m no longer an impulse buyer and I’m much more conscious of what I eat and drink. My lifestyle as allowed me to cut my stress level by 75% or more. The environment that I try and surround myself with isn’t the toxic one of yesteryear but a much happier and healthy one.

This massive lifestyle change has taken its sweet time but now it’s time harvest the fruit of my labor. Over the next two months I will scratch off two things that are my Bucket List. For me, that is one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long time!

Don’t let your things control your life!

If you aren’t losing sleep over your dreams, then that’s all they are is dreams.

What are your dreams and goals? What are you doing to achieve these dreams and goals? Let me hear your thoughts! Plus, comments make me feel warm and fuzzy!

P.S.
I wouldn’t really choke 50 elephants. I happen to like them and think they are way cool!

Free travel, food, room and board, and decent pay doesn’t sound to bad right? Then you may be a prime candidate for life aboard a cruise ship!

I have just been fortunate enough to have a look at the new How-To guide from WanderingEarl.com titled…

How to Work on a Cruise Ship

I remember back when I was fresh out of high school and the thought of working on a cruise ship had crossed my mind. After weeks of research I wasn’t much better off than when I started. Had this guide been in my hands, things may have been very different.

Flickr – TwoBrowns

I could say this is a comprehensive guide, but that may be a bit of an understatement. This guide covers everything from tailoring your resume and getting through the interview process to what day-to-day life will be like on the ship! Not to mention all the contact info you could ever need. Combine all that with frequent updates, you’re golden!

I can definitely give this e-book two thumbs up if not for the sheer volume of content alone. It has been laid out in a easy to read and understandable format complete with embedded links. It even has a glossary of salty sea dog terms! I do think there could have been a few more words that started with “ARRRRR” but that’s just my $0.02.

Get it? Pirates? Sea? Ships?

Anyway, if you happen to be looking for work aboard at cruise ship, then this guide will give you all the info you need to get started and then much more. Besides, they have a 60-day money-back guarantee!

I think he has me convinced to start looking for a job!

Check out!

Have you ever noticed that some large department stores will stagger the automatic doors so you have to walk diagonally to get through them?

I’ve always been one to take the straightest path which would make me open a regular manual door and then allow me to use the automatic sliding door. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked though these types doors but the other day it hit me like a ton of bricks to the forehead. It actually hit me so hard I sat down and watched people walk in and out of the two sets of doors for a good while. That’s when I figured it out.

This is a metaphor for a lifestyle!

Most people walking in and out of the store took the easy way and walked the extra distance just so they wouldn’t have to open the manual door. For most it didn’t matter if they had something in their hands or not and I also made a few other observations that day. People who had large shopping baskets full of stuff they just bought ALWAYS took the extra steps to walk though the automatic doors.

Why? Because it was simply easier than trying to negotiate your way with a huge cart through a set of regular old manual doors.  However, it took from them extra time, effort and energy

Who took the straight path?

Read the rest of this entry

Awhile back I wrote a post about Google Voice and the Vagabonder and I just wanted to say…

Things just got better! Google has just announced that you will now be able to make calls from you computer via Gmail. All you need now is a headset and a internet connection and you’re set!

If you are calling in the U.S. and Canada it’s still free. International calls are charged at Google’s low rate. I’d be curious to find out if while out of the country and you make a call to U.S. phone number you have to pay a rate or if it’s free. Google expects to roll this out over the next few days so keep an eye out for it!

I’m glad to see that Skype has some competition now. Hopefully this will do wonders for the advancement of VoIP.

Be sure to check it out here: Google Voice via Gmail

Hopefully the next step will be to make calls from you handset via WiFi while overseas.

Awhile back I wrote a post about 8 Must Have Netbook Apps and I got some decent response from it. Since then, netbooks have continued to gain popularity and I have added a few more applications to my list of everyday programs.

1. Gmail Offline
   I know, I know! Google this and Google that. Seriously though, Gmail Offline is pretty awesome. It basically downloads your recent mail and stores it on you computer for offline use. Not only does it allow your to read you mail offline, it also allows you to compose new emails while offline. It’s stores them until you are able to connect to the internet again.

   You can access Offline Gmail in the labs section of you Gmail account.

2. Open Office
   In my last post about netbook apps I talked about Google Docs and how you can pretty much replace Word and other expensive Microsoft programs with it. That’s all great and dandy until you have no internet! Then what? Well, that is where Open Office comes in handy. Open Office is basically Word but in an open source package. The best part about it, it’s free!

   

3. VLC Media Player
   Have you even gotten an email from Aunt Peggy and it’s some video you can’t seem to get Windows Media Player to open? Or maybe you have the same problem from your Uncle Mike sending you audio files in a weird format. I have yet to come across something that can get the best of VLC. This media player can pretty much handle any video or audio file you can throw at it. It’s also not a resource hog so it doesn’t slow down your netbook which is already short on CPU power.
   

Do you have other apps you use on a daily basis on your netbook? Feel free to list them below and share you experience!

Author and world traveler (Vagabonder) Rolf Potts is planning a trip around the world without carrying a single bag or backpack with him. How you may ask? I’ll tell you.

He’s wearing a speical vest with some awesome pockets. The vest is a ScotteVest Tropical Jacket and is pretty freaking awesome. Rolf will also be wearing some cargo pants for some extra space. I personally learned years ago how valuable cargo pockets are and I think every pair of shorts or pants I own have cargo pockets.

Rolf’s journey will take him through 12 countries in 42 days. His pack list is about as minimal as one can get. A few extra pair of socks and underwear (he doesn’t say but I would really recommend ExOfficio)  along with a t-shirt is about all he’s taking for clothes. He’ll also be bringing a few packable toiletries and a few electronics plus his all his paper work. Other than that, he’s ready to go!

I will definitely be following his journey and I hope it will serve up a nice helping of inspiration and maybe even some useful travel tips! You can follow his jorney over at his blog.

http://www.rtwblog.com

I want to wish Rolf the best of luck with his travels!

Ohh and I really want one of those freaking vests! They look incredible!

I came across this book while browsing the travel section of my local library and thought I’d give it a read in hopes that I would be able to learn a thing or two. If not, maybe at least hone my packing skills. I however, wasn’t able to learn any new tricks. I spent around an hour flipping through this book hope I would be able to pick something up. I tried to keep in mind that not everyone is the same and not everyone wants to fit everything into a 40 litre backpack. Then I thought, well that is kind of what the site is all about.

Who is this book for? Well, this book is for someone who knows virtually nothing about packing or for people have major issues over-packing. Now that I got that out of the way I will say the author does offer some decent pack lists for many different occasions. I would however take the pack lists with a grain of salt and know that each list isn’t going to fit every situation. This book is only a few years old but you can tell the author isn’t on top of the latest technology.

For my specific needs, the pack lists have more clothes than one would need. The author suggests you have something in the neighborhood of five t-shirts. I don’t even wear that many when I’m at home! The author also suggests you take a rain coat, wind breaker, and poncho when a single packable jacket would be just fine for most situations. Not having to carry around a poncho and a windbreaker will save a fair amount of space in your bag.

The author does offer some valid information carry-on size limits, luggage and document security, and if you ever need to know how to pack a suit. My view of this book might different if I was writing for a site that was dedicated to “Minimalism Travel – Go Anywhere with a Suit” or something of the sort.

I can’t recommend this book but if you happen to be at the library and come across this, take a peak and maybe you’ll find a little bit of useful information.

If you find yourself in a must have situation, you can pick this book up from Amazon here: http://amzn.to/aeDbQL

So the last few months travel and all my grand plans have kind of taken a back seat and the hum-drum day to day actives have taken the front seat. Working a regular job, paying off the rest of my bills, and just forgetting about my dreams. I guess that’s what happens and before you know it you’re middle aged and forgot about what you wanted to do.

That’s why I’ve taken the next step in my minimalist world travel plans and have brewed up my version of a minimalist round the world travel packing list. This is list of items is mainly geared toward warmer to slightly chilly at night type of climate. I don’t plan on hiking over the Alps with what I have listed. I also tried to make sure everything fit into my 40 litre carry on backpack.

I’ll break things down into a few different categories. Read the rest of this entry

I’m not sure about you but for me April just few by. Between my current day to day job, injuring my shoulder, and a handful of other stuff I hardly had time to tend to my little website here. I also didn’t have nearly as much time to trade on the forex as I had would have liked.

The first week and a half of the month went well and I was well on my way to attaining my goal of a 25% return. Now, some of you out there in the wonderful world of the internet might say that 25% is totally unrealistic. You are probably right. I don’t expect to reach 25% every month but you have to have some kind of goal right? If I didn’t have a goal then I’d have nothing to aim for. This however is on the point of this post but more of a clarification for my little buddy who left me a nice comment on my post from last month.

Now for the meat of the post and I’ll start off with an apology because I haven’t had time to make any graphs but next month I should be back on track.

The first nine trading days were going well. I was on track and my new trading strategy was working well. I had returned just shy of 10% of my initial investment which meant I was about 1/3 of the way to my goal. After this I made a simple mistake and things took a turn for the worse. I entered into a long position and the market took a turn for the worse and decided to hold its nose dive. Normally not an issue because I was trying out some different stop loss strategies but for whatever reason I didn’t get one put in.  Since this is only a practice account and not real money, I thought I’d let go and see if it ever recovered. I continued to trade and increase my percentage.

All was well until the end of the month came. I’ve decided to close all my positions at the end of the month to make keeping records simple. Normally I’d leave them open if they were doing well. When things were all said and done and I had closed all my positions, I was left with less than I’d like but still in the black which is never bad.

I ended the month at around 13% of my initial investment and I learned a valuable lesson which is to always double check your stop losses. A simple mistake that could have ended in disaster but thankfully didn’t.

On a side note, I think I may have found a strategy that works for me. While there are some losses I, in the end I seem to be coming out ahead and by a fair amount. I’m lagging behind this month and I’m hoping things fall back into a rhythm and I can’t start hitting the forex hard.

Cheers!