I find that if I don’t bring my coffee into my office this way (or move the pot in here in its entirety) I’ll get into work and forget about the fresh pot after my first cup.

So I got a haircut over the weekend. I haven’t had short hair in at least four or five years.

Before on the left, after on the right.

Yup, he definitely would.

Ashley hand sewed the WordPress logo onto Riley’s hoodie. Like a boss.

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Since I’ve started using the new bbPress plugin more, I find myself wanting the same thing there. I want to quickly see new topics and replies, the same as I can via the Recent Comments widget. So, I created the Dashboard Forum Activity plugin to do just that.

Dashboard Forum Activity

You can download Dashboard Forum Activity from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory. The plugin will add a widget to your Dashboard (only if you are an admin, or more specifically have the manage_options capability) showing newly created topics and replies on your bbPress-powered forum.

From the widget you can jump in and edit any topics or replies, as well as view them on the front end of the site. (Almost the) Same as the Recent Comments widget.

I have further plans for this plugin, but wanted to start simple and get it out. I’ve started using it today as well, and already enjoy it. I hope you will too!

This plugin slows down the dropdown so that it only opens up after a moment’s hesitation on the Admin Bar. It only effects logged in users, so shouldn’t add any overhead to your site.

You can download the Admin Bar Hover Intent plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory.

That’s pretty much it, since this plugin is pretty straightforward. Hope you find it useful!

The bulk of the photos are of Riley. He is a two year old bug, a breed of dog that is a mix between a Boston Terrier and a Pug. He’s cute.

There is also a picture of Indie in there too. She’s slightly older than Riley, and I actually adopted her first, so I couldn’t leave her out of this gallery.

All photos here were taken by the very talented Destany Maddox.

Originally I was supposed to arrive at 4:00pm Monday in Indianapolis. Instead, my connecting flight in Denver, Colorado was delayed by about one and a half hours to de-ice the plane. I wasn’t upset about it, since I enjoy the airplanes I’m in staying airborne. But while we originally thought I would be back in time to make the drive back up to Fort Wayne before the big storm hit, the delay put us kinda sorta right in the middle of it.

Ashley and I made it just outside of Indianapolis proper before the ice really started coming down. The central part of the state was supposed to see the ice, while the northeast (or Fort Wayne) was to see large amounts of snow. By the time we hit Noblesville, about 90 miles from Fort Wayne, we decided it would be best to rest for the night and get moving again early in the morning.

This is the fun part. Just by chance, we pulled off and found a Cambria Suites hotel for an easy $99/night. We hadn’t heard of the chain before, so were a bit weary of trying it out. It turns out the place is awesome.

I later found out that Cambria is a relatively new chain of hotels, only a couple of years old, and has a very modern style. We would definitely stay there again.

The ironic part is that after our safety plan sort of backfired when we slid off the road this morning into snow in the median on 69 south. We were pulled out by a tow truck and made it back to town a couple of hours later than intended. But hey, we’re home now right? Survived another winter experience.

I only have this frustration with others because I see the same thing in myself. I despise credit before it’s due because I hate my own tendency toward it. In the past I’ve sought positive feedback (read: ego stroking) for work that was not much more than a good idea. I’ve had plenty of good ideas. But good ideas aren’t worth congratulations or accolade on their own. Good ideas are only worth a damn once they’ve come to fruition.

In my experience, this entrepreneurial jumping-of-the-gun happens in the form of landing pages, tweets, and in some cases full fledged video announcements.

Up front credit poisons a new business because:

• it encourages creatives to pause to accept congratulations, rather than focus on the work,
• it can create tasks and events that distract from creating the thing, and
• credit makes one immediately public, and immediately responsible for delivering on what’s promised.

A Totally Unique and Original Example

Apple doesn’t preview their products, they only announce products when they are for sale. Only via rumor sites and leaks will you ever hear about anything Apple is working on. Why is this?

I don’t know the exact reasons, but I have to imagine they don’t want to be caught with their pants down. Think of it this way. It’s hard enough to deliver on the things you actually do, let alone the things you promise on. No matter what your business is, reputation matters. And leaving people wondering whether or not you are working on something is better than them finding out that what you have been working on will never see the light of day.

I would argue that not promising in advance also leaves a business more flexible. Without the pressure to deliver on public promises businesses can, to that extent at least, change their direction and offer something new, something better, or something completely different without any blowback.

Confession Time

I have more personal examples of this bad habit than I really want to show off. It’s why I can’t stand it so much in other startups.

I’ll tell you about one of my own.

I work a lot with WordPress, which is software for running websites. When I had the idea for writing a WordPress eBook in early 2008, I did something that any yahoo with a hosting account could do. I decided on a name, grabbed a domain, and threw up a pretty basic landing page. I probably spent 10 or more hours on that part of the project alone. Even now, the page doesn’t look terrible.

But I never wrote anything more than a few pages. I certainly never completed an eBook. And there the landing page has sit. Just sitting there. Taunting me.

A Restrained Path

My new approach is to stay quiet until I have something. Like, really something, not just a landing page. For instance, I won’t put up a landing page nowadays until I have a launch date solidified. It doesn’t have to be a public launch date (though it helps if it is), a private one will do — as long as you stick to it.

The safest bet is to not talk about something until it’s ready. That means it’s actually done.

There’s a downside to this approach. It will probably result in less “oohs” and fewer “aahs”. But that’s because we all complete and launch far fewer things than we have ideas for. Talk only when you have a product and can launch, and the ego stroking will be less frequent. But, when the project is complete and the praise comes in, it will be well deserved, and as such much sweeter.