Last night while checking the stats on GrandmasterB, I noticed a something new in the Plugins box on the admin panel. The Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin, is well, just that…a plugin that will automatically upgrade your Wordpress installation. I’m usually not one to mess around with things that claim to be “automatic”, but this plugin actually works. I decided rather than try it out on my live version of GrandmasterB dot com; I would try it out on a local install I have for development.

The installation was very easy, just like every other WordPress plugin. The only thing that I had to do was unzip it and upload it to the wp-content/plugins directory and activate it. After activation you will need to create a new directory in your WP root and name it ‘wpau-backup’ and CHMOD it to 777 (check out the Q&A with GrandmasterB - August 21 for more detail on directory permissions). to enable the plugin to do it’s thing. The great thing about this plugin is that before upgrading your WordPress installation it does a complete backup of your install and database before doing the upgrade. It guides you step-by-step through the process and provides you with the links to download the backups before you continue on.

Through the entire process I think it probably took about 10 minutes to complete; which really isn’t too bad. The great thing about the plugin is that it does exactly what it’s supposed to and it is “automatic”. If you manage multiple blogs and spend a lot of time upgrading them all to the latest version of WordPress; I highly recommend this plugin! If you’ve installed it already on your blog, let me know what you think of it. I’d be interesting in hearing your opinions.

~ GrandmasterB

Jeff Finley and his band of designers have just released their latest series of vector artwork…Vector Pack 12. This series is definitely a bit more dark and graphic than past releases. As a brand, Go Media is definitely pushing themselves to become the leader when it comes to providing great artwork resources. The level of detail in this recent release is simply amazing. If you’re into dark and horrific imagery, you need to look no further than the Zombies and the Guts packs.

I could be wrong, but this has got to be the largest release to date from Go Media. I’ve counted up a grand total of 190 graphic elements in this release. If you take the value of purchasing the entire package at $34.90 that winds up being only 18 cents per element…that’s a great deal! All in all seven individually themed packs:

• 8-Bit Pixel Art
• Zombies
• Guts & Slime
• Tiling Halftones
• East Asian Folk Art
• Linework 2
• Tattered Scrolls

If you’re a design like myself, or just like collecting great resources for your library you should stop by and check out what Go Media has to offer. If you want to check out what you can do with the vector elements check out my Grunge Styled Banner Tutorial. Also, look for more tutorials from GrandmasterB to be coming up later this month. Subscribe to The Feed so you don’t miss out.

~ GrandmasterB

For awhile now, I have contemplated doing a Q&A feature post that would address questions from my readers. I’ve been compiling some of the questions and answers that I think will help people out of a tight spot. These questions can be on any topic; from Photoshop questions to Wordpress issues, tutorial requests to general banter. I will try to answer each question as best I can and give you resources where you can find more help on a given topic. So without further ado…I give you Q&A with GrandmasterB.

Question From: Jamie
In one of your tutorials it says to place a guide at 400x and 400y. How is this done??? Please help.

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I’ve recently become aware of the fact that the Kardashian ladies are lovers of the summertime favorite…ice cream. There have even been recent videos of Kim eating ice cream in a very naughty manner. If eating ice cream could ever be considered erotic; I firmly believe that the Kardashian sisters have mastered the skill. If you enjoy this picture there are many more out there, and I’ve compiled a few for your viewing pleasure at the end of this post.

As we all know July is notoriously one of the hottest months across America, and this year has been no exception. GrandmasterB spent last week, five miles from Hell (Omaha, Nebraska) and it was freakin’ miserable hot. The temps reached the high 90’s with 100% humidity…I literally felt like I was wearing a layer of sweat (I know that’s disgusting). Anyhow, the only saving grace was cooling off with a tall vanilla cone at Zesto’s Ice Cream Parlor (next to Rosenblatt Stadium). It’s too bad that Miss Kardashian wasn’t there to help me out with my cone…might’ve made the heat more bearable.

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I’m writing my week in review a few days late this week. Last Saturday we found out that my father-in-law had passed away suddenly. We drove out to Omaha, Nebraska for the funeral and just got home this evening. This week has been very trying and extremely saddening. We had a very special relationship with my father-in-law and spent a great deal of time together going to Rockies games, family barbecues and most recently a fantastic camping trip to the Western Slope of Colorado.

This past week I was able to meet some of his family and friends that live in Nebraska, and I must say it was great to hear all of the stories about his life and how he was growing up. I know that my boys are truly going to miss him very much. We had some great times and I will cherish them forever. Rest in Peace Tom…we all miss you.

Before heading out last weekend, I did not have much time to work on anything good for the blog. I’m working on a custom vBulletin skin for a forum that we’re putting together at work. I’m hoping to have the new community launched by August 27th in time for the start of the College Football season…I hope I can make it.

July 22: Photoshop Tutorial: Grunge Styled Banner -  After spending countless hours writing and preparing the images I finally published my latest tutorial. The response has been very good so far, but none of the major tutorial players have picked it up yet. I’m assuming since there is an image of a pot leaf in the banner they may not pick it up, but that’s okay too. If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely give it a look.

I’m working on a new question and answer feature post for the site. I know that some of my readers have questions regarding how to do certain things in the tutorials or even suggestions for tutorials. If you have any questions at all please send me an email via the Contact Page. 

~ GrandmasterB