I have hired an immigration lawyer to represent me in my application and he has advised me to stay in Australia until my permanent residence visa is finalised.

I should be able to get a bridging visa with permission to work so that I can live and work in Australia until my permanent residence visa is finalised.

I am prepared to do whatever it takes to secure my permanent residence visa. I really like it here in Australia and I have no intention of going back to Singapore to live permanently unless my visa application falls through.

The main purpose of this trip is to renew my expired Australian resident visa. I have an expired Australian permanent residence visa and I am applying for a Resident Return Visa (RRV) directly in Sydney.

I hope to get it renewed so that I can live and work in Sydney. I also need a well deserved break to recharge my batteries.

Metta Cats is an animal welfare group in Singapore. They are a small group of loving and compassionate people who take in stray cats and dogs and try to find them new homes.

They used to have a web site at MettaCats.org but it was not updated often and it was an old HTML type of web site that no one had the time to update regularly.

They moved to MettaCats.Blogspot.com to post their updates but the limitations of Blogspot.com soon outgrew their needs but they did not have the time or expertise to go beyond Blogspot.com until I proposed that they use WordPress on MettaCats.org.

WordPress allows the import of content from Blogger. It was relatively easy to import all the their posts from MettaCats.Blogspot.com to MettaCats.org but the images are still hosted at Blogger.

The hard part was the editing of the existing content. A lot of the post titles were very long and the content was such a mess. I am still in the process of cleaning up the content.

At the moment, the MettaCats.org web site is just a temporary solution until I finish sorting and cleaning out the content. Once I have done that, I can work on creating a new custom WordPress theme for them.

I didn’t have to edit too much of my code except for the home page and some custom jQuery scripts to fix some browser issues.

jQuery Background Image Positioning

I must say I did try to be a bit fancy with the home page by including my photo as a background image, which slides left and right depending on the width of the browser. That took me quite a few hours to figure out the best way to display my photo.

jQuery makes it so easy to dynamically change the position of a background image with a bit of code:

$(document).ready(function()
{
	//INITIALISE THE WELCOME COLUMN LEFT OFFSET
	welcome_column_left_offset = $(".welcome_column").offset().left;
	//INITIALISE THE WINDOW WIDTH
	window_width = $(window).width();
	//alert("Event: Page Load - Window Width: " + window_width + " Welcome Left Offset: " + welcome_column_left_offset);
	//SET THE WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION FOR WINDOW WIDTHS AT OR BELOW 1000PX
	if(window_width <= 1000) 	{ 		$("#contents_home_top_background").css({"background-position" : "-80px 30px"}); 	} 	//SET THE WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION FOR WINDOW WIDTHS ABOVE 1000PX 	else if(window_width > 1000)
	{
		//INITIALISE NEW WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION
		new_background_position = welcome_column_left_offset - 78 + "px 30px";
		//alert("New Welcome Background Position: " + new_background_position);
		$("#contents_home_top_background").css({"background-position" : "" + new_background_position + ""});
	}
});
$(window).resize(function()
{
	//INITIALISE THE WELCOME COLUMN LEFT OFFSET
	welcome_column_left_offset = $(".welcome_column").offset().left;
	//INITIALISE THE WINDOW WIDTH
	window_width = $(window).width();
	//alert("Event: Page Resize - Window Width: " + window_width + " Welcome Left Offset: " + welcome_column_left_offset);
	//SET THE WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION FOR WINDOW WIDTHS AT OR BELOW 1000PX
	if(window_width <= 1000) 	{ 		$("#contents_home_top_background").css({"background-position" : "-80px 30px"}); 	} 	//SET THE WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION FOR WINDOW WIDTHS ABOVE 1000PX 	else if(window_width > 1000)
	{
		//INITIALISE NEW WELCOME BACKGROUND POSITION
		new_background_position = welcome_column_left_offset - 78 + "px 30px";
		//alert("New Welcome Background Position: " + new_background_position);
		$("#contents_home_top_background").css({"background-position" : "" + new_background_position + ""});
	}
});

CSS Image Text Wrap with the “Sandbag” Technique

The reason why I had to use my photo as a background image was because I wanted to create a text wrap effect around the shape of my body. You can’t do that on a regular photo because they are all rectangular in shape.

I learnt this “Sandbag” technique from BigBaer.com but it seems to be down at the moment. As you can see from the picture on the right, the text wraps around my head and shirt. The code isn’t as straightforward as I wanted but it does create a nice text wrap effect.

If I change my photo, I would have to update my CSS code to fit the new photo. This is the price to pay for being fancy but sometimes, it is worth it.

jQuery to Fix CSS Element Heights

My sidebar has a background image that creates the border and shadow effect you see. If you use background images to create effects like that, you may run into height problems if the content on the left or right of a CSS element isn’t high enough.

jQuery can help you fix the height problems in just a few lines of code:

$(document).ready(function()
{
	//INITIALISE THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT
	max_height = Math.max($("#sidebar").height(), $("#content_container").height());
	//SET THE SIDEBAR & CONTENT CONTAINER HEIGHTS TO THE MAXIMUM HEIGHT
	$("#sidebar").height(max_height);
	$("#content_container").height(max_height);
});

Content Update

I still have a lot of content to update and I am still in the process of doing it at the moment. Once I have all my content updated, I shall go through all the changes that I have made.

I am pleased with the new redesign and this design will serve me well for the next couple of years.

I think I am done with the web site’s design. I created a set of blue buttons for my web site and they are about the same size as the default form buttons. I also created the templates for the product shots and web site screen shots for the slider. You can check them out by clicking on the thumbnails above.

One of my concerns at the moment is the eventual page length. I am not sure if I can shorten the Facebook Page box and the Google Friend Connect boxes a little more so that it will match the height of the other elements of the home page.

The next step would be to “slice and dice” my Photoshop file into bits and pieces that will fit into my web site’s HTML code. This process is sometimes called “PSD to HTML” or “PSD to XHTML”.

Working on the HTML, CSS and Javascript of a web site is my favourite part of the web site creation process because I am more of a programmer than a designer.

Before I finalised the new design of this web site, I spent some time making some sketches on paper. These sketches are called wireframes in web design terminology. They can also be done in software but I prefer to use pencil and paper.

I try to be as exact as possible to determine the optimum width and height of all the elements on the web page. Sometimes, I have to edit the design in Photoshop because the design in the sketches didn’t really look good in Photoshop.

These are the current designs I have done in Photoshop at the moment. I am still working on the home page’s slider to determine the best way to display the content I want.

After I have completed the design, I will code the WordPress theme in Dreamweaver and make it look as close to the Photoshop design as possible. Most of the time, I manage to make a pixel perfect copy of the designs into the browser.

During my recovery time, I had a lot of time to think and plan my life. It seems like I have been putting my life on hold just to correct my jaws. I kept telling myself, “I will do XYZ after my jaw surgery!”

Some of the things that I have put on hold till after my jaw surgery are:

• Learning to drive and getting a driving license
• Changing my name
• Getting  a  new passport and national ID card
• Taking new photos for my web site, Facebook and other online activities
• Creating videos with my face on it
• Launching my products

Yes, I felt self-conscious about the way I used to look and it did negatively affect my life in some ways. The great thing is that chapter of my life is now almost over and I can move on and focus on other things in my life.

Why is this Web Site Getting a Revamp?

I have improved over the years and so has the social media and general internet world. I don’t feel like this web site is current any more. It does not serve my needs any more and I need to fix that.

Some of the new changes and improvements you will see are:

• Branding focus on me. You will not see words like “we” on this web site again. Expect to see my photo after every single blog post, on the home page and on the about pages.
• Wider sidebar. I need to sidebar to be wider and the overall page width to be wider too. I am getting rid of the blue borders on the side to make way for this change.
• Product showcase on the home page. I want to display my products and their benefits right at the top of the home page. At the moment, I don’t think they are being displayed to the public in the right way.
• I want people to get to know me. I will post content about myself and my thoughts more often. I have avoided doing that in the past and focused mainly on topics that are related to my business. I think that was a mistake.
• Facebook fan page and tighter Facebook integration. I am going to create a Facebook fan page and add a Facebook fan box to this web site. I am still new in this department and I will learn as I go along.

This is an exciting time for me because I am determined to correct the business blunders I made in the past and continuously improve myself and my business.

In this eBook, you will learn…

• Why WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems today
• The 6 SEO flaws of WordPress
• WordPress settings you need to tweak to improve your web site’s SEO
• Which WordPress plugins that could greatly improve your web site’s SEO and how to configure them
• How to SEO-enhance the default WordPress template

Free SEO Optimised WordPress Default Template

As a bonus, you will also receive an SEO-enhanced version of the default WordPress template. I figured that it would easier for you to own a WordPress template with the exact enhancements I recommend in my eBook than to spend a few hours trying to do it on your own.

If you’re keen on creating your own SEO-optimised WordPress template, the enhanced WordPress template that comes with this eBook will save you lots of time should you decide to build your WordPress template on top of it.

Table of Contents

Here’s a preview of the full table of contents of this eBook:

• Chapter 1: Introduction to WordPress
  • What is WordPress?
  • History of WordPress
  • What Can You Use WordPress For?
  • How Does WordPress Compare with the Other Publishing Platforms?
  • Common Features and Benefits
  • WordPress VS Joomla
  • WordPress VS Drupal
  • WordPress VS Blogger
  • WordPress VS Typepad/Movable Type
  • Why WordPress?

• Chapter 2: Isn’t WordPress Search Engine Friendly Out of the Box?
  • Web Site Title in the Title Tags
  • Improper Use of the Heading Tags – H1 and H2
  • Too Many Unnecessary Links
  • No Built-In Support for Meta Descriptions
  • No Built-In Support for XML Sitemaps
  • Limited Paging Navigation
  • Duplicate Content

• Chapter 3: WordPress Settings
  • Permalinks
  • Pinging

• Chapter 4: WordPress Plugins
  • All-in-One SEO Pack
    • Enabling the Plugin
    • Home Page Title and Meta Description
    • Post/Page Meta Descriptions
    • Canonical URLs
    • Rewrite Titles
    • Noindex
  • Meta Robots
    • RSS Feeds
    • Prevent Indexing
    • Archive Settings
    • Internal Nofollow Settings
    • Webmaster Tools
  • Google XML Sitemaps
  • WP-PageNavi
  • SEO Friendly Images
  • RSS Includes Pages
  • FD FeedBurner
  • WP Super Cache
  • Sitemap Generator

• Chapter 5: WordPress Template SEO
  • Heading Tags – H1, H2, H3 and H4
    • Styling the Heading Tags
    • Remove the H1 Tags from the Header Template
    • Add H1 Tags to the Archive, Search Results and 404 Error Templates
    • Add H1 Tags to the Page, Single Post and Links Templates
    • Add H2 Tags to the Archive Templates
    • Add H4 Tags to the Sidebar Templates
  • Unnecessary Links
  • External CSS File

Okay, How do I get the eBook and template?

Simply sign up for my newsletter from the left of this page or on the pop over window. Once you have confirmed your email address, you will receive an email with the download links of the 2 free bonuses.

Here’s the table of contents of the eBook:

Chapter 1: First Things First

• Download XAMMP for Windows
• Download ionCube Loader for Windows
• Download the Free PHP Mail Script

Chapter 2: Install XAMPP

• Run the XAMMP Installer for Windows
• Install the Apache and MySQL Services
• Start the Apache and MySQL Services
• Test XAMPP
• Configure XAMPP Security
• XAMPP Directory Protection
• MySQL Root Password

Chapter 3: Install ionCube Loader for Windows

• Run the ionCube Installer for Windows
• Enable ionCube Loader for Windows in the php.ini File

Chapter 4: Enable the PHP curl Module

• Enable curl in the php.ini File

Chapter 5: Enable the PHP Sendmail Module

• Configure Sendmail Settings in the php.ini File
• Configure Sendmail with Google Gmail
• Test Sendmail with Google Gmail
• Configure Sendmail with Your Web Domain’s SMTP
• Test Sendmail with Your Web Domain’s SMTP

Chapter 6: Update the Apache IP Address & Port Number

• Configure the IP Address in the httpd.conf File
• Configure the Port Number in the httpd.conf File

Chapter 7: Managing MySQL Databases

• Creating a MySQL Database in phpMyAdmin
• Creating a MySQL User in phpMyAdmin
• Synchronising Your Local MySQL Database with Your Remote MySQL Database
• Exporting Your Remote MySQL Database
• Importing Your Remote MySQL Database with phpMyAdmin
• Importing Your Remote MySQL Database with the MySQL Command Line

Chapter 8: Managing Apache Web Sites

• Creating Virtual Hosts for Each Web Site

Chapter 9: Connecting Apache to the Internet

• Enable Public Access to the Apache Web Server
• Internet Connection
• Direct Internet Connection
• Shared Internet Connection
• Port Forwarding
• Router Port Forwarding
• Windows Firewall Port Forwarding
  • Windows 7
    • Disabling Windows Firewall
    • Creating a TCP Port Forward
  • Windows Vista
    • Disabling Windows Firewall
    • Creating a TCP Port Forward
  • Windows XP
    • Disabling Windows Firewall
    • Creating a TCP Port Forward
• Third Party Firewall Port Forwarding
• Testing Your Port Forwarding Settings
• Dynamic IP Address
  • No-IP.com
    • Creating a No-IP.com Free Account
    • Installing the No-IP.com Dynamic DNS Update Client
    • Creating No-IP.com Hosts
      • DNS Host (A)
      • Port 80 Redirect
  • DynDNS.com
    • Creating a DynDNS.com Free Account
    • Installing the DynDNS.com Dynamic DNS Update Client
    • Creating DynDNS.com Hosts
      • DNS Host (A)
• Testing Your Dynamic DNS Hosts

Chapter 10: Upgrading XAMPP

• Download the Right XAMMP Upgrade for Windows
• Installing the Right XAMPP Upgrade for Windows

This eBook is about 88 pages long with detailed step-by-step instructions and screen shots on how to make your Windows PC run as a web server. This eBook was originally planned as a bonus for the Maverick Keyword Researcher but I am planning to sell it as a standalone product as well.

More information on this eBook’s launch once I have more details.

As promised in one of my previous posts, I am giving away my Twitter background switching script to you for free.

I’ve got a live example running on my web site right now!

To test it, visit my Twitter profile at twitter.com/mwcreations and check out my Twitter background. After you have seen my Twitter background, visit my Maverick Twitter Background Switcher page. You’ll see a message that says something like “images/backgrounds/Singapore10.jpg has been uploaded to Twitter”. Now, go back to my Twitter profile and you’ll see a different Twitter background.

You may use a cron job to control the frequency of this script on your web host or click on a link like what I did for my installation.

The Maverick Twitter Background Switcher comes with a very easy to follow installation guide that will help you get this script up and running on your web host in minutes!

You also get a free Twitter background template in Photoshop format. This is the same background I use for my Twitter profile and you’ll be able to create your own backgrounds by modifying my template.

To get this free bonus, simply go to MaverickKeywordResearcher.com and sign up for my pre-launch list. If you are an existing subscriber to the public beta list and newsletter list, you’ll receive a link to download this bonus.

The launch preparation work for the Maverick Keyword Researcher is taking longer than expected. The first launch will always be the hardest as I am learning how to do it all and creating templates for future use. I underestimated the cost and time it would take to launch a product effectively. I didn’t want to simply launch it at the Warrior’s forum as a WSO offer and be done with it. I want to do it right and do it good.

I’m giving away this bonus as my way of saying sorry for the delays. I’ve also got more bonuses on the way to add more value to my product.