I didn’t plan on doing another Simple Location run, or having to immediately release a fix due a mistake. This change was prompted by a new request to allow for saving maps locally.
For various reasons, I was reluctant to do that. But I came up with another solution. Adding a map provider that supports a custom hosted service. In this case, a fork of a Static Maps API written 6 years ago by someone I know. You can find my fork here.
By using a self-hosted but external static map API, I keep the option out of the plugin for now. It will also work with anything that implements the same API.
In the same update, I also fixed a few bugs, and added moonrise and moonset calculations, which display along with sunrise, sunset, and moon phase in the Last Seen widget for now.
For three years now, on and off, I’ve been working on a plugin for WordPress called Simple Location. You can see it on many of my posts(View All Location Posts here). It adds a location and optionally a map to posts on my site. It also will change the displayed time and timezone on those posts to match the location(this post is set for Manila, for example, instead of the default of New York).
It is the most mainstream of the plugins I’ve developed, but has only 30 active installations, which suggests location may not be important to that many people who have WordPress sites, or I haven’t made the plugin good enough. I’m working on the latter now. Anyone have any suggestions?
On my way to Manila, I stopped off in Portland, Oregon for the annual Indieweb Summit. It was actually the other way around. I was going to Portland, and it was suggested I should just keep going. This Summit was better than last years, which was a great event. Hosted by Mozilla Portland,
I got to attend the Leadership Summit, for community leaders(apparently I am one), where we agreed we needed to meet more often to organize our efforts…and got some Indieweb stickers. Despite my misgivings, we now have an Indieweb WordPress chat room as part of the Indieweb suite of chat rooms. So far, it has kept the WordPress stuff in one place.
My attachment to WordPress and involvement in the community seems to have made me an ‘authority’ on the current state of how Indieweb concepts apply to WordPress(which, by the way, runs this site). And we have accomplished a lot this month…with many Indieweb plugins seeing updates.
I always feel inspired to work on my Indieweb projects after meeting inspiring people, like the great Ryan Barrett, who maintains Bridgy, the software that translates likes and comments on Facebook and Twitter into comments on my site. It’s fortunate that I have nothing to do but eat, sleep, and work in Manila, because it has given me a chance to continue that inspiration.
Here’s hoping for more Indiewebcamps. Anyone interested in one in New York?
The Manila American Cemetary and Memorial
A Jewish grave marker at the Manila American Cemetary and Memorial
A Jewish grave marker at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.
The Memorial is 152 acres, with 17,097 headstones, 164 of them are Stars of David like this one. The memorial includes 36,286 names of soldiers missing in action, and 25 ten foot maps portraying important World War II Pacific campaigns. The cemetery is the largest in the number of graves and the names recorded on the walls of those missing. The government of the Philippines granted the land in perpetuity with charge or taxation.
Just saw Anthony Weiner on TV advising Donald Trump was an embarrassment…are you kidding me?
Drive to Tiberias to visit the Rambam’s grave; proceed to Beit Shean, also called “Scythopolis”, the biggest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from the Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period. Onto Gan Hashlosha, (Sachne) where you will have an opportunity to enjoy in the water springs located at the foots of the Gilboa mountain, the famous mountain on which King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Continue via the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem; stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing as you enter the city.
Tuesday morning, we bid a fond farewell to Kibbutz Lavi…home of powdered eggs…but good wifi and headed toward the city of Tiberias. Tiberias dates back to Roman times, and is well known for its hot springs and their alleged healing powers.
Tomb of Maimonides 1974Tomb of Maimonides 2015
Our first stop in the city was the grave of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, aka Rambam or Maimonides. He was born in 1135, and died in 1204 in Egypt, after which his body was buried in Tiberias. He was well known as not just a Rabbi, but a physician. Maimonides shares a grave with Rabbi Isaih Horowitz and Yochanan ben Zakai.
Rabbi Maimon – Ramban’s fatherThe Grave of Maimonides
The tomb is separated, so men and women can pray separately.
I’m not sure what Maimonides might have thought of this. This is a more recent development. I understand that Jews who believe in having a separation of the sexes feel very strongly about this, however, it seems disrespectful to the man’s memory on some level.
They do the same thing at the tomb of King David…or one of them(more on that later).
After this, we got dragged to the Caprice Diamond Exchange in Tiberias, which is not on the official tour list. We were told this was a special treat. I hate to cast aspersions on our tour operators, but I’m assuming the treat was the possibility they might get a kickback. I have little to no interest in shopping for diamonds. Sorry.
Leaving Tiberias, we started to head toward Jerusalem, with some stops along the way. I’m six parts into this story and we haven’t even reached Jerusalem yet, and I am certainly leaving some details out as we go.
A map of Roman era Beit She’an
We headed toward Beit She’an, at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley. The location made it strategically important, and has been occupied for 8000 years or so. The ruins of the ancient city of Beit She’an are now part of a National Park.
It was hot. I’d like to say I’ve learned a lot about keeping hydrated, but I still think I could stand some improvement in that area. Not sure if I’ll get into travel preparations at any point.
The excavations are extensive and impressive, and began in 1921-1923 by the University of Pernnsylvania, who found relics from the Egyptian Period.
Excavations resumed in 1983 by Hebrew University and then again in the 90s. The excavations have revealed no less than 18 ancient towns.
Our Guide demonstrates a Roman toiletGuide to the Roman Bathhouse
After Beit She’an, we proceeded to Beit Alpha. It is a the ruins of a late fifth-century synagogue located near Beit She’an. It was uncovered in 1928 by members of Kibbutz Hefzibah, and was excavated the following year. Additional excavations were made in 1962.
The mosaic floor of Beit Alpha
The mosaics depict the Binding of Isaac, the scene of a synagogue…and quite strangely, the Zodiac. Apparently it was popular at the time, as several other synagogues of the period show zodiac symbols. They showed us a dramatic video of how this might have come to be.
Gan HaShlosha Pools
Finally, to close off the day before heading to Jerusalem, we headed to Gan HaShlosha, which has natural warm water pools for swimming. They seem to make a good amount renting towels though. My father and I took a quick swim here before heading toward Jerusalem.
After this last stop, we headed through the West Bank toward Jerusalem. More on that in Part 7…yes, we finally talk about Jerusalem.
It was hot. I’d like to say I’ve learned a lot about keeping hydrated, but I still think I could stand some improvement in that area. Not sure if I’ll get into travel preparations at any point.
The excavations are extensive and impressive, and began in 1921-1923 by the University of Pernnsylvania, who found relics from the Egyptian Period.
