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As part of the one year anniversary of this blog, I have done several updates over the past couple of weeks. I began with upgrading to WordPress 2.2, and in the process of doing so, I upgraded all the plugins that I have installed. I also added and tweaked several things on my sidebar. I finished up by adding a library section to my blog, which contains a list of my favorite books, books I am currently reading and books I plan to read.

Current Plugins:

• Add Meta Tags – Adds the Description and Keywords XHTML META tags to your blog’s front page and to each one of the posts, static pages and category archives.
• Akismet – Checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not.
• Classic Posts w/ List Option – Allows you to select posts to be stickied and then randomly displayed or listed.
• Comment Timeout – Automatically closes comments on blog entries after a user-configurable period of time.
• FLV Embed – Standards compliant FLV embedding in your blog posts using SWFObject by Geoff and FLV Player by Jeroen.
• Google Sitemaps – This generator will create a Google compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog.
• Now Reading – Allows you to display the books you’re reading, have read recently and plan to read, with cover art fetched automatically from Amazon.
• PJW Mime Config – Allows you to extend the list of mime-types supported by the builtin uploader.
• Share This – Let your visitors share a post/page with others. Supports e-mail and posting to social bookmarking sites.
• Subscribe2 – Notifies an email list when new entries are posted.
• Subscribe2 Widget – Adds a sidebar widget for Subscribe2.
• Widgetize Anything – Provides a widget interface for any php code.
• WordPress.com Stats – Tracks views, post/page views, referrers, and clicks.
• WordPress Database Backup – On-demand backup of your WordPress database.
• WP-Cache – Very fast cache module.
• WP-ContactForm – WP Contact Form is a drop in form for users to contact you.
• WP-Polls – Adds an AJAX poll system to your WordPress blog.
• WP-License – Allows selection of a Creative Commons license for blog content.

Sidebar Updates:

• Helpful Posts – I added a section listing a few of the helpful posts I have written. I used Widgetize Anything to run the PHP from the Classic Posts plugin.
• Ads – I put in logos and links for OrthodoxSermons.org, Holy Pimoly, Church IT Podcast, Mozy, as well as a few Google applications.
• Badges – Check out my profile on LinkedIn and on Facebook.
• Shared Items – Highlights from my daily blog reading, I currently have 284 subscriptions (nothing compared to Scoble). Take a look, you will find lots of interesting stuff and you can subscribe to it as well.
• Del.icio.us – I switched this from pulling new links via RSS to using their linkroll script.
• Now Reading – Shows the current books I am reading.
• Flickr – Shows the latest photos from my Flickr stream

Sherry and I just got back from a short visit to Los Angeles. We had a wonderful time hanging out with friends and got a heads up on a few neat projects…

St. John Coptic Orthodox Church, Covina, CA has started blogging.

The Diocese of Los Angeles has begun work on a establishing a theological library. They are currently researching database systems, any advice is welcome.

The Coptic Orthodox Christian Center is about to release another episode in the Holy Pimoly animated series. If you haven’t seen the Baptism and Christmation episode, pick it up here. The Center is also planning an educational video game release that will teach children about the saints of the church.

I’ve set the deadline for the Coolest Prayer Space Contest to this Friday, July 13th. Voting will take place on Monday, July 16th. Time is running out, so snap a few photos and send them in!

Submissions so far:

My father, Dr. Sameh A. Mitry, had the cross of Muliple Sclerosis (MS) to bear in his life. Likewise, a friend of mine, Mark Hanna lives with Multiple Sclerosis. Mark was diagnosed at the age of 27 (right after graduating Law School). The progression of the disease has been fast and brutal for Mark. In eight years, he has gone from normal walking to walking with a cane, then a walker, then being confined to a wheelchair. But Mark never complains and he always has a smile on his face (except when he is physically too fatigued to smile). He takes up his cross daily and follows his Master Jesus Christ. He is truly an inspiration and a role model to me and to everyone who knows him.

Mark’s sister, Mary Sarkis, on September 7-9, 2007, will walk 50 miles from Carlsbad to San Diego to raise money for the National MS Society in the MS Challenge Walk.

Please visit Mary’s site to donate online by July 31st. Any donation you can give will go towards research to find a cure,as well as services and treatment for people with MS. If you cannot make a donation at this time, please just pray for Mark and for Mary’s walk. May God bless you for all your support!