Wow. Go @PressBooks!!

Subject: PressBooks - Holiday update
Date: December 24, 2011 10:42:42 AM EST

PressBooks Holiday Update

Footnotes, asides & fancy breaks

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ...except Pressbooks.com lead developer Janina, who has been labouring frantically to get a few nice new features/improvements out in time for the holidays.

Here are some new things you'll find in PressBooks, the simple, online book production tool:

1. footnotes (in web, epub, and PDF)
You'll notice in the editor (visual & HTML) a new button, "FN," which will insert a footnote, that will style itself properly, and export to: web, epub, and PDF.

How it works: at the point where you would like your footnote to be, click on the "FN" button, and enter your footnote text. This will add the text (inline) with "shortcodes" [footnote]Your footnote text here[/footnote]. Pressbooks will do the rest, and number your footnotes and put them in the right place in all exports.

2. asides (web & PDF)
You can use the new HTML5 tag "aside" with your text as follows, in the HTML editor: <aside>Your aside text</aside> ... the text inside the tags will appear in the margin on the web, and in margin in the PDF export. We have not yet styled asides for epub export, but we'll get at that first thing in the new year. We'll also add a button in the editor.

3. Fancy breaks (web & epub)
We've added two new "break" classes to our CSS files. This means you can insert a break that is "***" using the following code:

<hr class="break-symbols" />

And a break which is just a "space" using the following code:

<hr class="break-blank" />

NOTES: This works on the web and in epub, but not yet in PDF export. Unfortunately the Kindle doesn't like these CSS classes, and we'll address that when we generate our own .mobi files, coming soon. Also, we'll be adding this to the editor bar shortly. 

4. Photo caption styles (web, epub, sort of PDF)
If you use the photo uploader (you should, to keep the code consistent), and add a caption, we're now styling the captions as as small, italics in the epub export. (PDF exports of photos still needs some work.).

   5. Title page now includes subtitle, in PDF & epub exports.

Two things coming very soon:

a. Better flexibility on the copyright page.
This is actually completed, but required an upgrade to WordPress 3.3 in order to implement live on PressBooks. We still have some tweaks to do to WordPress 3.3 to make sure it works with PressBooks.

b. Increased flexibility in print/PDF output design.
We've been working with the good folks at Wikipublisher.org to make our print typesetting engine much more flexible. It's working! ...But we didn't want to go live without more testing. The new system will allow us to easily swap in different LaTeX stylesheets - meaning our print output will function much like our epub export works with CSS.

That's it for now...

Happy holidays from all of us at PressBooks.
(Hugh, Janina, Ned & Sonia).
---
pressbooks.com
twitter.com/pressbooks

You can find this update online, here:
http://pressbooks.com/about/newsletter-december-24

And discuss it on the forum here:
http://forum.pressbooks.com/index.php?p=/discussion/83/

Copyright (C) 2011 PressBooks (from Book Oven Inc.) All rights reserved.

Funny Infographic

Screen_shot_2011-12-14_at_8


Sincerely,

 Chris Kubica
President, Founder
neverend media

chris@neverendmedia.com
http://www.neverendmedia.com
http://www.twitter.com/chriskubica

1-919-259-8023

Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost

Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

I wonder how long until someone uses Siri as a defense in a court case

In this recording, Siri is potentially complicit in a proposed crime:

(download)

Sincerely,
Chris Kubica
President, Founder
neverend media

chris@neverendmedia.com
http://www.neverendmedia.com
http://www.twitter.com/chriskubica

1-919-259-8023

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations...

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.

—Thomas Jefferson, 1816

Good quote on books and book-selling from FDR, 1942

Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory…In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.

—Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("Message to the Booksellers of America", 1942, in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY)

Good riddance, Qaddafi (or however you goddam spell it)

Good riddance, Qaddafi, Muammar or Al-Gathafi, Muammar or al-Qadhafi, Muammar or Al Qathafi, Mu'ammar or Al Qathafi, Muammar or El Gaddafi, Moamar or El Kadhafi, Moammar or El Kazzafi, Moamer or El Qathafi, Mu'Ammar or Gadafi, Muammar or Gaddafi, Moamar or Gadhafi, Mo'ammar or Gathafi, Muammar or Ghadafi, Muammar or Ghaddafi, Muammar or Ghaddafy, Muammar or Gheddafi, Muammar or Gheddafi, Muhammar or Kadaffi, Momar or Kad'afi, Mu`amar al- 20 or Kaddafi, Muamar or Kaddafi, Muammar or Kadhafi, Moammar or Kadhafi, Mouammar or Kazzafi, Moammar or Khadafy, Moammar or Khaddafi, Muammar or Moamar al-Gaddafi or Moamar el Gaddafi or Moamar El Kadhafi or Moamar Gaddafi or Moamer El Kazzafi or Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi or Moammar El Kadhafi or Mo'ammar Gadhafi or Moammar Kadhafi or Moammar Khadafy or Moammar Qudhafi or Mu`amar al-Kad'afi or Mu'amar al-Kadafi or Muamar Al-Kaddafi or Muamar Kaddafi or Muamer Gadafi or Muammar Al-Gathafi or Muammar al-Khaddafi or Mu'ammar al-Qadafi or Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi or Muammar al-Qadhafi or Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi or Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī 50 or Mu'ammar Al Qathafi or Muammar Al Qathafi or Muammar Gadafi or Muammar Gaddafi or Muammar Ghadafi or Muammar Ghaddafi or Muammar Ghaddafy or Muammar Gheddafi or Muammar Kaddafi or Muammar Khaddafi or Mu'ammar Qadafi or Muammar Qaddafi or Muammar Qadhafi or Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi or Muammar Quathafi or Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi or Qadafi, Mu'ammar or Qadhafi, Muammar or Qadhdhāfī, Mu`ammar or Qathafi, Mu'Ammar el 70 or Quathafi, Muammar or Qudhafi, Moammar or Moamar AI Kadafi or Maummar Gaddafi or Moamar Gadhafi or Moamer Gaddafi or Moamer Kadhafi or Moamma Gaddafi or Moammar Gaddafi or Moammar Gadhafi or Moammar Ghadafi or Moammar Khadaffy or Moammar Khaddafi or Moammar el Gadhafi or Moammer Gaddafi or Mouammer al Gaddafi or Muamar Gaddafi or Muammar Al Ghaddafi or Muammar Al Qaddafi or Muammar Al Qaddafi or Muammar El Qaddafi or Muammar Gadaffi or Muammar Gadafy or Muammar Gaddhafi or Muammar Gadhafi or Muammar Ghadaffi or Muammar Qadthafi or Muammar al Gaddafi or Muammar el Gaddafy or Muammar el Gaddafi or Muammar el Qaddafi or Muammer Gadaffi or Muammer Gaddafi or Mummar Gaddafi or Omar Al Qathafi or Omar Mouammer Al Gaddafi or Omar Muammar Al Ghaddafi or Omar Muammar Al Qaddafi or Omar Muammar Al Qathafi or Omar Muammar Gaddafi or Omar Muammar Ghaddafi or Omar al Ghaddafi.

Whew.

Inspired by this online news story about the dictator dude's many name spellings:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2009/09/how-many-different-ways-can-you...

Sincerely,
Chris Kubica
President, Founder
neverend media

chris@neverendmedia.com
http://www.neverendmedia.com
http://www.twitter.com/chriskubica

1-919-259-8023

My reply to Elaine Marshall, who just asked me for a campaign contribution

Elaine,

Well okay, but if you are *really* behind OWS, then I want to see you out on the capitol grounds with Occupy Raleigh (http://www.occupyraleigh.org/), right in your own back yard, fighting for the 99% with your own body and mind instead of just emailing me about it. They are being given quite a rough time by the police even though they are peacefully protesting.

Or are you bringing up OWS just because it sounds good? I want (please) a picture of you holding a protest sign at Occupy Raleigh and I'd like you to spend the night down there with them. Bringing OWS up in your e-mail would carry so much more weight if I knew you had been put in those plastic handcuffs for what you say here you believe in.

Anyway, if you do these things, THEN I'll send you a contribution; once I know you've spent a few days actually fighting for what you say you believe in instead of just having a marketing intern mass-spam me about it.

Also, I don't believe this actually came from you. So why don't you give me a call and give me your pitch regarding why I should vote for you. Unless you're too busy.

Also, what is your net worth? I'm kind of tired of voting for millionaires.

Many thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Chris Kubica
President, Founder
neverend media

1-919-259-8023

On Oct 20, 2011, at 10:21 AM, Elaine Marshall wrote:

Dear Christopher,

Two years ago, I made a decision to run for United States Senate because I believed that we, as a country, need to focus less on powerful special interests and more on middle class families and small business owners. While we came up just short in our fight last year, those very same issues that inspired me to run then still exist now.

That's why I'm proud to announce today that I have decided to run for re-election as Secretary of State!

Right now, we see people-powered movements like Occupy Wall Street taking to the streets out of anger at a system they know isn't fighting for them. I am inspired by these grassroots demonstrations and am hopeful that with the help of progressive leaders like myself we can save the Middle Class and restore the American Dream.

I'm running for re-election so I can continue protecting consumers and taking the fight to scam artists and Wall Street crooks. Can you help us get our early campaign efforts started by giving us $5 or more?

As your Secretary of State, I've worked to reform our lobbying laws, cracked down on scam artists using so-called “ponzi schemes” to prey on vulnerable citizens, and held powerful financial interests accountable when they misled investors and consumers. That's a record I am proud of – but it's also put a target on my back.

Today, there is a effort to roll back the lobbying laws at the state level. At the federal level, there is a push to strip my powers of enforcement and allow for “self-regulation” of the financial industry. We know what that gets us.

I’m running again because I’m ready to fight these attempts to shift power back into the hands of the few. But I'll need your help and support to win – and I'm going to need your help to get this country back on track.

Help us raise $10,000 online this month to fuel our early campaign by pitching in $5 or more right here:

http://elainemarshall.com/contribute

Thank you for standing with me all these years,

Elaine Marshall

P.S. We shocked everyone in 2010 with the size and strength of our grassroots campaign – I know we can do it again. Please help us get off to a fast start by chipping in $5 or more to our early campaign efforts today!

Paid for by The Elaine Marshall Committee


Interesting Infographic

Screen_shot_2011-10-16_at_7


Sincerely,

 Chris Kubica
President, Founder
neverend media

chris@neverendmedia.com
http://www.neverendmedia.com
http://www.twitter.com/chriskubica

1-919-259-8023

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