Multilingual RSS feeds and email subscriptions from WordPress using qTranslate

By Petr Šimon

Writing a multilingual blog with the help of the great qTranslate plugin is quite easy. Except perhaps that you are basically locked into using online editor included in WordPress. Offline editors quite naturally don’t support multilingual title and text. One big problem that you will face are RSS feeds and email subscriptions. I was looking for a solution and the simplest way to do it is to use page templates and separate feeds for each of your languages.

Continue reading →

Our new table in action

By Petr Šimon

We’ve scrubbed the boat from the mast all the way down to the keel. Now it’s time for some harmless intellectual enjoyment. Finally we are using our new folding table. Still testing if we like it this way, but so far so good. Looks like we might keep it and finish it.

We can’t wait when we have a group of hungry kindred spirits over for a dinner one chilly evening… Don’t be a stranger when you pass by!

Folding cabin table in action

Improved new article notifications

By Petr Šimon

Dear friends,

we have improved our new article notification options. Czech and English news are now separated.

Please choose what suits you the best:

Enjoy!

We Live in Public

By Petr Šimon & Jana Benešová

We are about to cast off, heading towards the Philippines in pursuit of the deserted anchorages and pristine bays. However, at the very moment we write this, we are literally still trapped in the heart of the civilization.

Our gypsy wagon

We live on a 31 feet long sailboat in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in the tourist area called Xiziwan. We sleep and work in the main cabin, which is basically a 3x3m room with a small galley, navigation table and two settees with another table in the middle. Towards the bow, there is a 1×2.5m closet and a V-berth. Cockpit (2×1.7m) at the stern is our porch.

Janna is tied with her bow facing the shore. Every ten minutes a ferry full of cheering tourists passes approximately ten meters behind our stern. We no longer pay attention to all those hellos, howareyous, wieheisstdus (our boat is now registered in Germany), that from time to time reverberate over the water surface. Instead we rigged a piece of canvas at the stern to prevent the zestful tourists from peering into our porch and from there directly into our living room.

Continue reading →

The end of the blackout

By Petr Šimon & Jana Benešová

Apologies to our readers. There is nothing wrong with your television set. We were just unable to find the time to write down all that has happened.

Next week we are going to finish a temp job as boat cleaners of a shiny new motor yacht Azimut 60. At the beginning we thought it will just be a bit of scrubbing, polishing a waxing, that we will have plenty of time to translate and write. Pity, that the visions of bright futures much too often vary from the reality. In fact, we could have plenty of free time. If only there were not the circumstances. It’s always by the force of circumstances that we are made to throw away those rose-coloured glasses and tuck up our sleeves. In our case the circumstances took the form of two typhoons, broken pontoons and more.

Now we finally have the time to sit down and put it all down on paper. Be patient, it will all appear here gradually during next week.

And did I mention how badly we miss our little boat?!

Few pics from the day after typhoon Jelawat

By Petr Šimon

The day after…

Still stormy outside

Our friend Nick with a sizeable way in the background

Pontoons in the Bisha marina had a hard time coping with the undercurrent. This one, right next to us, almost broke away

“Our” Azimut awaiting the approach of super typhoon Jelawat

By Petr Šimon

Our temporary boat cleaning career is going well. Bisha harbour has beautiful surroundings, we’ve got great neighbours here too. If only the typhoons gave us a break! We went through a hell during the last one, being tied to a pontoon that broke in the middle of the night. Now we are supposed to be in the safest spot in the whole marina, we’ve got plenty of cordage spider-webbed to concrete pilings on one side and concrete wall on the other. We sure hope to get some sleep this time!

Calm before the storm

Super Typhoon Jelawat

New LyZ maintainer needed

By Petr Šimon

I haven’t been maintaining LyZ for a while. Can’t find the will to sit down and open Emacs any more. Apologies for that.
We’ve been working on our boat a lot lately and are about to leave the shores soon to go cruising. So, the chances that I will do any substantial work on LyZ are slim.
Anyone out there who would like to take over? Drop me an email: petr.simon@gmail.com