Andrew Asquith

From WordPress to Eleventy

2019-08-03T20:00:00-04:00

I recently switched this blog WordPress to Eleventy and wanted to go over a few of the differences.

The Why

I don't do development of any kind full time, and I like that way. However, I do like to keep up on modern technologies and trends, and it was about time that I actually did something with this site. I'd drafted a number of posts over the years, but never got around to finalizing and publishing them, so I set myself a goal to both experiment with something new and get those posts out the door at the same time.

WordPress has long been the defacto blogging platform for most people. There are some fairly popular competitors such as Drupal, but it's still the most well known and widely used, and I even I still run it elsewhere. Recent years have seen the rise of hosted services to get you publishing faster and without the need to administer your own server. Personally, I like administering my own server, so one of my requirements was that it continue to be self-hosted. I'd also already run Drupal for many years, and wanted to try something completely new.

The How

In perusing twitter I came across the "JAM stack" concept, which is Javascript, APIs and Markup and the recent (as in the last couple of years) proliferation of "Static Site Generators" that complement this idea. After looking at the popular ones including Jekyll, Hugo and Gatsby I saw a tweet mentioning Eleventy which billed itself as a "simpler static site generator". This piqued my interest, and I grabbed an updated copy of NodeJS and got to work figuring out what was going on.

Despite Eleventy being a fairly "young" project the documentation was pretty thorough, there was a sample project for getting a blog up and running and there was already a budding community of people using it. Unlike most of it's competitors, out of the box, Eleventy supports a wide variety of templating engines, meaning I was able to pick something I was moderately familiar with for templating and just use good old markdown for my post content.

I quickly replaced some of my simple one-page placeholder sites with ones built with Eleventy and decided it would a decent fit for this blog as well.

Tooling

Eleventy itself is pure javascript, which, while I'm not an expert by any means, I felt proficient enough to at least get by, and certainly there's enough literature out there to teach me anything I don't know. I was already familiar with Gulp so I decided to incorporate that into my workflow as I had a few requirements Eleventy itself did not meet. I primarily make my living on Windows and wanted something that worked natively all the time, which both pure NPM and many of the other solutions still struggle with.

Because Eleventy is a fairly new project, it doesn't have the years worth of development of plugins and helpers that WordPress or even the other, older, static site generators had available, however my needs were fairly meager. Getting Eleventy itself running was dead simple. During my development of this site I was even able to submit a pull request to fix a bug when running on Windows, which is a testament to how easy it was to go through the code base.

The most time consuming aspect of my rebuild was trying to get all the SEO related metadata in place. Accomplishing that is a simple plugin install under WordPress, but it's not something that Eleventy or it's plugin ecosystem currently possess. To that end, I ended up creating a number of shortcodes for Eleventy that I'm able to mix and match in my templates to get my desired outcome.

On the whole, anything based on node is accessible to you as a developer, and anything that node lacks or doesn't fit your need can obviously done yourself in javascript. Coupling Eleventy with Gulp, which is also node based meant that I was able to find solutions for compiling SASS, minifying output and bundling without having to look too hard.

The Results

My workflow still leaves a little bit to be desired. My images are converted to multiple different sizes by a gulp task, and I added a markdown plugin that adds the srcset attribute to any images I include in posts. My main pain point is that their configurations are both distinct and ultimately depend on breakpoints I'm setting in the CSS. Finding some way to amalgamate those configurations would both simplify my image workflow and make it more portable to other projects.

Being able to have gulp watch my folders for changes and act appropriately while using BrowserSync to reload on the fly makes the overall development experience on Windows a step above what I was doing with WordPress (more on that in another post).

Publishing

One of the reasons WordPress is so popular, aside from the plugins that you can find to do just about anything is the easy to use editor that makes publising your content trivial.

There are several editor options that you can utilize with Eleventy (or other static site generators) and services that specialize in hosting your static site such as Netlify have developed their own, however most of them proved to be more work than I was willing to put into things.

Writing in Markdown is trivial and allows me to "just write" so I stuck with Visual Studio Code as my editor of choice. Zen Mode (Ctrl K, Z) removes all the extra toolbars and panels and allows me to write in peace. Picking a spell checking plugin for Visual Studio Code is left as an exercise for the reader, as that was a noticeable gap as soon as I started writing content.

PageSpeed

Being a tech minded individual, I know performance is important, and was curious as to how my two iterations compared to each other. Before retiring my old site, I ran Google's PageSpeed Insights against it.

My WordPress instance was fairly well optimized, I ran a personal theme that stripped out cruft I didn't want or need, and utilized a caching plugin to minify assets and essentially convert my WordPress site to one that was statically generated. It scored a very respectable 98 for the desktop version and 94 for the mobile version.

My Eleventy site is as optimized as I could make it as well, applying all the same techniques I did under WordPress such as minifying, using responsive images and leveraging appropriate cache control. The site now scores 100 for the desktop version and 98 for the mobile version.

If you look at the results closely, you'll see that not only are the big green numbers better, but the smaller, arguably more important numbers, regarding the timing to specific events are about half under the new version compared to what they were under WordPress.

The new iteration doesn't use any client side script (except for Google Analytics) so I was able to eliminate two requests there. The css is minified into a single much smaller file, cutting the number of requests in half and substantially reducing the size. I also stuck with the browser's default fonts, so I was able to eliminate several more requests the browser had to make to render the page. For a post with no images the total requests (ignoring Google Analytics) were reduced from 12 to 5 and the total content from just over 1 megabyte to less than 600 kilobytes, which like the timing entries, was an almost 50% reduction for the better.

Final Thought

Eleventy and it's static site generating kin are definitely not going to be for everyone. WordPress and other CMS solutions will continue to hold the majority of the market share when it comes to publishing platforms, mostly because people don't care what's underneath, as long as they can put their content out easily.

I on the other hand, love tinkering, love the absolute control I have over what's rendered, and am quite comfortable with the command line so at least for now, I'm sticking with it. I appear to be in good company as well, as several notable sites are leveraging Eleventy such including Google's web.dev and CERN's WorldWideWeb Rebuild.

Hello again world! Again!

2019-07-27T20:00:00-04:00

Hello Again World! Again!

After another long hiatus, I'm back again. This time I've moved away from Wordpress to a custom built site generated with the javascript based site generator 11ty.

I also managed to finish several years worth of drafts that I'd had saved up and get them published, so please check out the archives.

If you're curious how the site is built, the source is available on Github. I'll be posting more about my experience with it in the near future.

Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival

2019-06-07T20:00:00-04:00

The Upper Canada Village Medieval Festival is a festival celebrating medieval times at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, about an hour south of Ottawa.

The festival takes place early in the summer on exhibition grounds at the back of the Upper Canada Village. Admission is $25 for adults and $17 for youth, so a family of four can expect to spend about $80 to get in, however that includes access to Upper Canada Village should you want to explore it on your way to or from the Medieval Festival itself. It also includes access to (almost) everything. Food, should you decide to purchase any, horse rides and souveniers are the only things that are an additional cost.

One of the main attractions of the festival is the authentic medieval jousting that takes place. The jousting is done by professionals, and takes place in the form of a tournament, with two different rounds being performed during the day. The jousting is done by the Knights of Valour who travel North America performing tournaments at various events and have over 25 years of experience.

After the tournament you're able to get a photograph with your favourite knight, or buy a wooden sword made from the pieces of lances that have been broken in prior tournaments. If you're concerned about the horses, not only are they well cared for, but they're all rescues, giving them a renewed purpose and possibly saving them from euthanization.

There is a considerable amount of other activities and demonstrations to see and do, making it fairly easy to fill up the better part of a day. There is a weapons of war demonstration, where catapults and trebuchets are used to hurl rocks as if they were sieging a castle. The techniques of medieval combat and archery can be seen demonstrated throughout the day. There are also several small games that simulate things like using a battering ram to break down the castle gates.

For those less inclined toward the violence that was a part of much of medieval life, there are numerous activities that provide opportunity for fun and learning. Demonstrations of Blacksmithing, Chainmaille making, pottery or period jewellery are available. There are wandering magicians and jesters, dancers and other buskers that can be found throughout the festival. One popular and boisterous vendor that can be found wandering sells pickles. While it may sound a little strange, it's something that should (and probably can't) be missed.

A day at the medieval festival is easily within reach of Ottawa or surrounding towns, however it also pairs well with a weekend camping on the Long Sault Parkway due to it's proximty. Even if you're not interested in camping, your admission to Upper Canada Village includes a day pass to the beaches or Fort Henry, giving you an additional incentive to explore other attractions in the area.

For more information about the Medieval Festival and Upper Canada Village, please visit their website.

Abby Hill Farms

2018-10-13T20:00:00-04:00

Abby Hill Farms is located at the southern outskirts of Ottawa, near the village of Manotick.

While Abby Hill Farms is open most of the growing season to sell their fresh fruits and vegetables, every Thanksgiving the grounds are turned into a mini-fair. The event is not on the same scale as the agricultural fairs of the various towns and counties, but it is an enjoyable experience and a family can easily spend a couple of hours on a fall afternoon.

Aside from a plethora of pumpkins and other seasonal fruits and vegetables, the thanksgiving activities include numerous things for kids to do. There is a mini train that will take you around the grounds, which is a short approximately 5 minute ride. There is a bouncy castle that is always popular with kids, along with a few small games for kids to partake in.

Near the back of the area is a large dirt mound with several drainage pipes making tunnels for the kids to climb in and through and proves almost as popular as climbing through the impressive mounds of pumpkins.

There is also a small petting zoo setup, containing standard farm livestock. Some years there is another area with some more exotic animals being brought in by other local attractions such as Saunders Country Critters.

A few magic shows are normally run over the course of the event in the tent by a local magician and are always good for a laugh, for both parents and children alike.

While not a full day excursion, it's close enough to you if you live in Ottawa that it's worth the visit, especially if you're in the market for a pumpkin. For more information about Abby Hill Farms, please visit their website.

Brigden Fair

2018-10-06T20:00:00-04:00

The Brigden Fair is a long running Thanksgiving tradition in the area surrounding Sarnia, in southwestern Ontario. First established in 1850, the Brigden fair has expanded over the years from just the showing of animals to a full country fair.

Admission to the fair is $10 for adults, and school age children are free, meaning the average family can get in for just $20. Parking is provided on the fairgrounds, with wagons providing transport from the parking area to the main fairgrounds.

The fair itself draws 10s of thousands of people every year, even with inclement weather. The fair consists of numerous barns where livestock are shown and compete. Poultry, horses, cattle, sheep and more are all on display and generally accessible to the fair goers. Other barns housing more "kid friendly" animals such chicks and rabbits are also present, giving children a chance to interact with some of the animals more than just in passing.

There is also a sizeable amount of farm machinery on display. Tractors, combines, ploughs and more are arranged for fairgoers to check out. Tractor pulls of numerous classes also get run, in addition to the more traditional horse competitions.

A couple of commercial exhibition halls are also present, bringing everything from agriculture related businneses to fresh fudge and insurance exhibits to the fairgrounds. The vendors are generally pretty friendly, and while they're definitely present to peddle their wares, they do tend to be a little more relaxed and content to just dole out information as opposed to trying to close a sale then and there.

Aside from the livestock, there's a considerable amount of other agriculture on display. Other exhibits include fruits and vegetables, crafts, photography, even wood and metalworking.

Also on the fairground are numerous other activities, which can considerably add to the cost of your day beyond admission, depending on what you intend to partake in. Helicopter rides are available to provide an aerial view of the fairgrounds in a short ride, prices are $40 to $60 per person depending on age. Those that prefer to stay a little closer to the ground can take a ride in a Monster Truck, a wagon or a miniature train.

The fairgrounds contain a sizeable midway, with numerous carnival rides and games avaialble. All the midway tickets are an additional purchase beyond your general admission, but they are priced similarly to most other midways, with $20 giving enough tickets to partake in a couple of rides and games. If the children are too young for most of the rides or games, there are numerous other kid friendly activities throughout the fair weekend on any given year, such as meet-and-greet with popular characters from kids shows, face painting, clowns, magicians and balloon sculptors.

Other notable activities that take place during the fair include a lumberjack competition and a demolition derby. For more about the Brigden Fair and it's history, please visit their website.

Geocaching

2018-09-22T20:00:00-04:00

The premise of geocaching is using a GPS to find treasures hidden throughout the world. These hidden geocaches are placed by other geocachers in generally unique and interesting spots, who then upload the coordinates to the geocaching website so that others may search them out.

With the explosion of cell phones that include GPS, it's an activity accessible to almost everyone; however a phone that has the geocaching app isn't a strict requirement, it's possible to use a handheld GPS and the website to find geocaches as well.

Geocaches include a log book for you to sign when you successfully find it, and the website has a digital version where you can record your find, leave messages or upload pictures.

Geocaches come in many shapes and sizes, and many that are outside urban areas tend to be hidden in a creative container. Many of the containers will contain more than a log book, including small trinkets to trade for.

Geocaches may also have "trackables" in them which are specially crafted medallions, pins or other items that have a unique serial number. The idea is to move the trackable from one geocache to another while you're adventuring and then be able to see the history of where the trackable item has been.

Geocaches are meant to be hidden, so despite having coordinates to guide you to the location, a search at "ground zero" is still required. Hiding places may be fairly obvious, such as a nook of a tree, or require a little more thinking and observation in order to find.

Some geocaches include multiple parts, where you have to solve puzzles to find the "final" geocache, or may provide coordinates to point you to other locations which will eventually lead you to your goal.

The website provides a number of ratings for each geocache, including the general size of the geocache, difficulty of the terrain and the hiding spot, and how accessible it is, both for those with mobility issues and during different seasons. Geocaches you have found are marked with a happy face, so that you know you've already been there, and you can search by a number of criteria to help plan your next outing.

Geocaching is meant to get you outdoors and exploring, and when you start you'll be surprised at how many geocaches are located in areas you travel through regularly, without ever even noticing. Urban geocaching tends to involve the hiding and finding of miniscule containers in a variety of places like attached to park benches or under light standards in parking lots. Rural geocaching however tends to take you slightly off the beaten trail to more interesting locations that you may not have otherwise seen.

The geocaching community has a few guidelines to follow, such as respecting people's property and trying to avoid those not in the know ("muggles") finding out that a geocache is present. Because of it's popularity, some organizations or localities may have additional rules and guidelines for geocaching, such as those provided by Parks Canada for geocaching on their properties.

Because geocaching is getting about getting outside, there are regular "Cache In, Trash Out" events where picking up and removing garbage on your way to and from caches is treated as an additional goal and local groups of geocachers may organize other events throughout the year.

To learn more about geocaching, or to start playing, please visit the official website.

Local Car Shows

2018-08-25T20:00:00-04:00

Local car shows and gatherings have been around as long as cars themselves. They provide a chance for owners and the public to come together and enjoy the automobile culture that is pervasive in North America.

In contrast to commercial car shows that debut new models and have representation from manufacturers, the local car show is a much more personal experience, with owners showing off their prize possessions and talking to other afficionados about their vehicles.

Many of the owners of the cars will belong to local car clubs, who are the ones that typically arrange these more official gatherings, compared to the weeknight parking lot convergence you may have encountered. Because these are more official events they tend to happen once a year in a given town and have processes for juding cars in different categories. They may also include a few activities such as a barbecue and face painting for the kids, as they can draw large crowds.

The owners that are in the clubs tend to have more unique vehicles and may visit a few of these events during the summer months, so they frequently have extra touches, such as displays of model cars or additional information about their vehicle posted to stand out a little.

Generally the organizers are accepting of anyone that wants to show off their vehicle, even if they're not a club member, and in more rural areas it's not uncommon for people to travel a short distance to show off their cars and trucks at these larger gatherings.

The vehicles on display are typically of the more antique and classic varieties. From the original model A to the popular muscle cars of the 70s and everything in between.

That's not to say you can't find more contemporary vehicles present. Newer generation sports cars also frequently make an appearance. Modern Mustangs and Corvettes continue to be quite popular, along with generally rarer and more expensive vehicles like a Lamborghini or a Porsche.

Because these events are organized by local car clubs and people, your best bet for finding one is check local news papers, websites, or contact any car clubs in your area.

Hunters Maple Products

2018-04-07T20:00:00-04:00

Hunters Maple Products is a family owned and operated sugar bush in Spencerville, about an hour south of Ottawa. As the maple syrup season is heavily dependent on the weather it is typically open on the weekends in March and April from 8am to 3pm.

The family has owned the 100 acres on which the sugar bush is situated since immigrating to the area in 1821. All seven generations have been tapping maple syrup or participating in the family business in some way.

You're welcome to follow the lines through the property and see the trees that are being tapped. It can however be quite muddy as the syrup flows in the spring, so boots are advised. They are open Easter weekend and have been known to do a little something extra to celebrate it.

The big draw of course is the ability to have a pancake breakfast with real, fresh maple syrup. The portions are generous and reasonably priced. Kids pancakes get crafted in fun shapes and there is even a "paleo pancake" option which is gluten, dairy and sugar free.

After breakfast, assuming it's not too busy, you can ask for a view of the actual maple syrup production process. It's not an official guided tour by any means, just a look behind closed doors with one of the people that actually make the syrup. They're quite happy to show you the equipment and answer any questions you may have about the process, or anything else your curious children may find back there.

Assuming you enjoy maple syrup, you can obviously buy a bottle to take home. There is also maple candy, fudge and butter on offer for you to buy should you desire.

For more information about Hunters Maple products, please visit visit their website.

Pumpkinferno

2017-10-25T20:00:00-04:00

Pumpkinferno is an annual celebration of carved pumpkins held at Upper Canada Village.

Like Alight at Night the entirety of Upper Canada Village is transformed around Halloween and adorned with thousands of carved pumpkins.

There are displays of traditional carved pumpkins along the path and adorning the fence and the areas throughout the transformed village, along with more elaborate displays as you make your way through.

The carved pumpkins are all artificial, they are however made from the molds of real pumpkins. When you consider how many there are, you quickly realize that logistically it would be nearly impossible to carve, let alone maintain real pumpkins for the event. The fact they are artificial doesn't really detract from the experience, and the flexibility afforded by the pumpkins being artificial provides some unique opportunities.

The pumpkins are arranged in numerous themed displays as you walk through the village. Some are meant to be more "spooky" but others are more creative such as art pieces, dinosaurs, a forest or a hockey game.

Some displays are reused from year to year, presumably because they are popular. The majority do seem to get replaced each year, meaning that even if you attended the year before, there should be plenty of new pumpkins to see.

Near the end of the walk there is a centralized area setup that contains a few activities for kids such as simple games or cut-outs where you stand behind and put your face in a hole for a unique for funny picture. Amongst those activities are also a number of genuine carved and painted pumpkins, sourced from school children in the surrounding area, which is a nice touch.

The village's dining facilities are open, so you can arrive early and get a meal at one of the restaurants, or pick up a snack or drink while you're walking through at the village store cafe.

The walk through takes about an hour to complete, and for those with mobility issues, there is an accessibility night where you can ride through in the comfort of your own vehicle.

Admission is in line with what regular admission to Upper Canada Village costs, although slightly reduced. A family of four will cost approximately $50, and children 4 and under are free. Because of the huge numbers of people that attend, tickets are for a specific date to ensure the village is not over capacity. For more information about the event, or to get tickets, visit the website.

Brockville Railway Tunnel

2017-08-20T20:00:00-04:00

The Brockville Railway Tunnel is the site of the first railway tunnel in Canada, circa 1860. The tunnel is a fairly new attraction having been sealed for a considerable amount of time before the decision to restore it was made. It opened for Canada's 150th birthday in 2017.

The tunnel itself is about a half kilometer long, and passes directly under Brockville City hall, amongst other things. The tunnel is accessible to those in wheel chairs, and is pet friendly as long as they are leashed. The tunnel is fairly wet, as there is constantly ground water dripping, however it's generally not pooling and not enough to really require rain gear. As there may be parts that are a little slippery, proper footwear is recommended.

Walking through the tunnel there are three distinct areas, where different types of rock were encountered and different techniques used for excavation. Small stations outside the tunnel entrance and throughout the tunnel expand into more detail about how it was built and what you'll encounter as you walk through.

The entire tunnel is outfitted with a series of lights that change colour during the walk, as well as a soundsystem that plays music and occassionally a surprise train passing through. There are also street signs, indicating what lies above as you pass under the Brockville downtown.

Occasional events have also been held in the tunnel, such as the "Tunnel of Terror" which was a halloween style event with "spooky" decorations and costumed volunteers throughout the tunnel providing a different experience.

There is no admission fee to access the tunnel, but there are donation boxes at either end. The tunnel is generally open from 9am to 9pm year round, but there are occassional closures for events or maintenance. To learn more about the railway tunnel please visit the website.

Prehistoric World

2017-07-22T20:00:00-04:00

Prehistoric World is a mostly hidden dinosaur park in Morrisburg, which is around an hour south of Ottawa. The dinosaur park isn't advertised, doesn't have a website, but a quick search will tell you it's well loved. The park is normally open from 10am to 4pm, the last weekend in May to Labour Day, but without an easy way to check what dates and times it truly is open, it's advised to call ahead if you're not already in the area. The number published in 2018 is 613-543-2503.

The park is actually a private piece of property run by two brothers who are responsible for all the dinosaur creations, maintenance of the grounds, and everything else. At least one of them lives in the house that doubles as the entrace and gift shop, but I didn't feel it was appropriate to dig too much into their personal history and back story. They've been at it over 25 years, which is long enough that people who went as kids with their parents, or part of a school trip, are now returning with their own children.

The main attraction of the park is the life size dinosaurs and other creatures that are along an approximately 1km walking loop through a wooded area. The aforementioned brothers are responsible for the creation of all these creatures, which when you consider the number and scale of them is quite impressive. Because they're still adding to the collection, you can normally find one or two in various states of completion, which is an interesting glimpse into how it's accomplished.

The walk through is only about a kilometre, and quite is easy. Even with copious amounts of picture taking and dinosaur hugging, it is likely to only take about an hour to see the over 50 dinosaurs. You're welcome to keep walking around after admission, however your children will likely have spotted the fossil dig site and want to spend some time there. Pictured above, it's basically a giant sand box with (fake) fossils in it for the children to dig up. Many children end up spending as much time in the sand as they do walking around.

It is truly about the dinosaurs, and there's not much beyond that. However, there is a picnic area with enough picnic tables that you're unlikely to be searching for one if you planned ahead and packed a lunch.

Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for kids, meaning the average family will spend about $30. It should be noted that it is cash only, which, knowing they don't advertise or have a website and basically do this for the love of it, is not a huge surprise.

For more about the dinosaurs, you'll have to go visit for yourself!

Touch A Truck

2017-06-20T20:00:00-04:00

Touch A Truck events are locally held all across North America, and probably further abroad as well. The basic premise of a Touch a Truck event is to give children the ability to learn about and interact with vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The events are typically free, and put on by a local children's group, or possibly a museum or other educational facility that is hosting it.

The events we've attended have been put on by EarlyOn, which is an Ontario based drop-in program for early education and literacy.

The events generally draw a decent crowd of parents and children, and consequently there's normally a few extra activities for kids, such as colouring stations, face painting, etc. The main draw however is the vehicles.

The ones we've attended have had a wide variety of trucks on site. The standard transport truck in a couple of forms is guaranteed to be present, so children taking turns on it's horn is a constant sound. The emergency services tend to be well represented, with Police, Fire and Paramedics all on site and offering both the ability to climb into the vehicles and of course try the lights and siren. The emergency services in particular are pretty good about offering additional education, with staff who obviously enjoy doing "show and tell" with their gear being chosen to attend.

Other vehicles on offer are quite varied, from local race track participants, to sanitation vehicles, to heavy machinery such as dump trucks and loaders, there's typically a variety of vehicles to explore.

Because it's meant to be a hands on activity, the children are encouraged to climb into the front and back of the vehicles, sit in the driver's seat for a photo, try the horn and so on.

Aside from the local businesses and emergency services that partake, depending on your proximity to a military base or reservists, you may find your local armed forces or coast guard present as well.

There's no centralized listing of Touch a Truck events, so if you want to find one in your area, your best bet is to talk to local children's groups and family programs to see if they know of any.

Fort Wellington

2017-05-27T20:00:00-04:00

Fort Wellington overlooks the St. Lawrence River and the marina in Prescott. As it's run by parks Canada it's free for those under 17 and less than $4 for admission for adults, with a season pass costing about $10. Even a personally guided tour can be had for approximately $7.50 per person. The site is open from May to Thanksgiving, although hours vary with the season.

The Fort itself is in it's second incarnation, having been abandoned for a period of time after it's initial purpose was fulfilled. There are numerous sites along the St. Lawrence of significance to the war of 1812, but the Fort as it stands now is closer to it's 1840s appearance when it was used once again to defend the north shore of the St. Lawrence.

There are just a few buildings that make up the fort, as almost all life happened in and around the blockhouse. Similarly, the blockhouse today is the focal point, with numerous ways to explore the history of the fort within. The staff at fort dress in period costume and are always willing to play the part. Children have numerous activities they can partake in, and those interested in a more thorough history lesson can get it from both the exhibits and the staff.

There are a couple of other buildings on site, but I won't spoil the surprise of what they contain in this post.

One of the additions to the fort in it's second incarnation was the Caponierre. It's a unique experience to travel down the tunnel and see what the soldiers garrisoned here would have experienced. For those interested, Saturdays offer the ability to fire one of the cannons, although there is an additional charge to do this.

The fort also has a visitor's centre on the grounds, which contains numerous artifacts and exhibits, as well as the wreckage of a gunboat from the war of 1812 era that was recovered from the St. Lawrence River which is a fairly unique exhibit.

The Fort also hosts a whiskey tasting event, has a cenotaph on the grounds and is the site of numerous celebrations such as Canada Day festivities and Prescott's Rememberance Day service. For more information about the Fort and what it offers, please visit the website.

Smyths Orchard

2016-10-03T20:00:00-04:00

Smyths Orchard is the home of the McIntosh Red Apple. The orchard got it's beginnings in the mid-1800s. All the McIntosh orchards around the world are actually descendant of the single tree that McIntosh found on his farm in the early 1800s. The original tree produced fruit until 1906, and Smyth's Orchard is arguably the most authentic "Mac" you can get, being just down the road.

Like any orchard, the main draw of Smyth's is the ability to pick your own. There are a wide variety of apples grown any given year, including the McIntosh, Granny Smith, Lobo and Honey Crisp. The exact varieties available obviously depend on mother nature.

The store on site offers a selection of "professionally picked" apples of different varieties, but there's also a lot more to choose from. Jams, Chutneys, and a variety of apple infused baked goods like muffins and tarts are available. There are also gift baskets, both pre-assembled and the ability to pick and choose what you'd like in it. If for some reason apples aren't your thing, you're probably in the wrong spot, but plums, pears and other fruits and vegetables can also be had seasonally.

While there are many orchards where you can pick your own, few have the heritage that Smyth's does. The owners live on the property and you can normally find 2 or 3 generations of them working on any given day. They're always extremely friendly and helpful, and of course quite happy to share some history if you ask.

The Orchard and store are only open seasonally, so it's best to call ahead to make sure. For more about the orchard and to check if they're open, please visit the website.

Camping on Long Sault Parkway

2016-09-23T20:00:00-04:00

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission have a series of three campgrounds along the Long Sault Parkway. The parkway itself runs amongst 11 small islands that are made from the high points of land which survived the flooding of the seaway. The water is fairly well sheltered from the larger St. Lawrence waterway, making it a popular spot for divers and boaters.

The campgrounds are open from May until Thanksgiving. There are a variety of sites for seasonal, tent (un-serviced) and both partial (15amp only) and full service. The park facilities are all generally well kept. The beaches are regularly groomed, the sites are typically well mowed with trees and shrubs maintained, and the washrooms are cleaned every couple of hours.

Not all of the campgrounds have a beach as part of the campground directly, however there are two large beaches that are along the parkway which you get acccess to a camper. You can also buy separate day-passes for access to the beach if you're in the area but not staying at the campgrounds. Camp sites range in price from approximately $35 to $70 per night, depending on which campground and what services.

The campgrounds also offer Camper Cabins for a little under $100 per night. The cabins have electricity and a small fridge and microwave, but bathroom and showers do require a trip to the campground facilities. There is also a bbq with propane provided. The cabins have a queen bed and a set of bunk beds, making them an ideal option for the family of four.

Because the campgrounds are on the islands, a fair number of the campsites are directly on the water, which makes it easy to drop in your canoe or go for a quick swim right from your site. There are also numerous attractions in the area such as Upper Canada Village and the Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

The campgrounds have playstructures to keep the kids entertained, picnic areas and places to fish. They also have a general store where you can pick up amenities that you may have forgotten or run out of, as well as firewood, ice cream and if necessary, there's even a Keurig you can use.

For more about the Campgrounds and the Parks of the St. Lawrence please visit their website

A Day out with Thomas

2016-08-19T20:00:00-04:00

A Day Out with Thomas is an annual, touring event that visits heritage railway sites across Canada and the United States. In Ontario, the locations are the York-Durham Heritage Railway in Uxbridge and the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Centre in St. Thomas, making the event accessible within a couple of hours to those on either side of Toronto.

Tickets to the event are $25 Canadian a person, for anyone over 2 years old, meaning most families of four will be spending $100. The event happens rain or shine, however the activities themselves are fairly well covered and event goers are generally protected from the elements.

The event is primarily about the ride on a train pulled by Thomas himself. The ride lasts approximately 15 minutes and the section of track that is travelled has Thomas and friends related decorations along the way, although it's likely more about the thrill of the ride than the scenery for most young passengers.

The ticket you purchase is just like a real train ticket in the sense that it's for a departure at a specific date and time. This ensures that everyone will have a place to sit and you're not stuck waiting in a long line for a chance to board and ride. The inside of the train cars are adorned with Thomas and friends decorations and music familiar to fans of Thomas plays throughout the cars.

When Thomas is not hard at work being a very useful engine, he takes a break and visitors can get up close and have their picture taken. The photos are handled by a professional firm who sell them for a fee, but in our experience they were pretty good about letting parents snap shots on their phones and cameras at the same time.

As it's an officially licensed event, several familiar characters can be found wandering around interacting with the kids or posing for pictures in front of Sodor related backdrops. In past years it's also been possible to find non-Sodor friends of Thomas such as Bob the Builder on site.

There are numerous activities to fill the time surrounding the train ride. From hands-on activities, building, colouring, small hay bale mazes and a scavenger hunt, it's easy to spend several hours if your children are interested in doing everything.

We attended several years and noticed improvements to both the exhibits and layout over time, from better placement of activities and amenities, to a more easily avoided gift shop. In the gift shop most items are about 20% over regular retail, which is to not unexpected at such an event.

However, on offer is a unique wooden "Day out with Thomas" train car specific to that year, that you're only able to get at the event (or probably on eBay, but where's the fun in that?). If you're looking for a souvenir that's unique, it's your best bet.

For tour dates, ticket purchases and more information on the event, please visit the website.

Dinosaurs at the Museum of Nature

2016-07-07T20:00:00-04:00

Dinosaurs are a favourite of many children and adult alike, and the Museum of Nature in Ottawa is the place to go if you want to know more about these prehistoric creatures.

The Museum of Nature in Ottawa is located just North of the Queensway in Ottawa and has a substantial amount of parking on site include charging stations for electric vehicles. The admission to the museum will cost about $50 Canadian for a family of four, although passes may be available at your local library that will reduce or eliminate that cost. Additional special exhibits are frequently running, which will cost the average family approximately $30 Canadian on top of the general admission.

The big draw at the time we went was a secondary special exhibit further showcasing dinosaurs in addition to the full time exhibit on fossils. This time limited exhibit was an entire second area dedicated to dinosaurs and fossils that are not part of the general exhibit and admission and was worth the additional admission fees. The fully assembled fossils were impressive in size and scale and the staff manning the exhibit were both helpful and enthusiastic engaging patrons and encouraging getting hands on with some of the fossils.

As the museum of nature is much more than just the dinosaurs, the other exhibits are equally as impressive and worth exploring while you're visiting. There is a water exhibit featuring a giant whale skeleton. The exhibit includes a selection of both hands-on activities such a mock underwater vehicle, and the learning activities you'd expect from a museum. Other permanent exhibits include one on mammals as well as one on the Canadian Arctic.

For more about the museum please visit the website.

Saunders Country Critters

2016-06-10T20:00:00-04:00

Saunders Country Critter Zoo and Sanctuary is located just outside Kemptville about a half hour south of downtown Ottawa.

The zoo and sanctuary is an apt description as there are both a variety of domestic and exotic wildlife present on site. The admission will cost a family of four about $40 Canadian, and a family can expect to easily spend an hour or two walking through checking out the wildlife.

The walk through can either be entirely self-paced, or if your timing is good, you can take part in one of the feeding tours. During feeding time, staff will visit each enclosure in turn and while feeding the animals discuss them, their habitat and take questions.

There is a wide variety of wildlife present, many of which would be difficult to find elsewhere. The Zoo and Sanctuary was originally opened to the public by the owners in an effort to help finance the costs of caring for an increasing number of animals. The Sanctuary aspect comes from the fact that many of the animals, especially the exotic ones are those which have special needs and may in fact have been euthanized if a place like Saunders was unable to take them in.

There are animals that have been injured in the wild, such as a one-eyed Lynx, or Birds of Prey that need rehabilitation as well as animals that people obviously thought would make good pets but then reconsidered. All the animals are well cared for, and the premises are licensed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

On site, aside from the wide variety of wildlife, there is a small play structure for the children, as well as a sandbox with some toys near the picnic tables provided should you want to pack a lunch. There is also a Chip Truck if you spent longer than anticipated and didn't bring any food. If you want to feed some of the animals, the small gift shop offers ice cream cones of feed you can dole out to those animals that are interested.

For more about the Sanctuary and a complete list of animals that are currently on the premises, please visit the website

Thomas at the History Museum

2016-04-15T20:00:00-04:00

Thomas the Tank Engine is a long standing staple of many a childhood. Occassionally Thomas will have exhibits travelling to various musuems across the country. In 2016, one such exhibit was at the Candian Museum of History in Ottawa-Gatineau.

The exhibit included several trains of Sodor fame that were large enough for the children to climb into and play on. Some of the more hands-on activities had children assembling parts of the train, such as the wheels and side rods or basic forms of the steam boiler.

While Thomas is obviously meant for the children, the exhibit was a nice mix of history for the parents and hands-on for the children. As many parents are likely to have experienced Thomas as part of their own childhood there was a fair amount of material to peruse that had both the history of the show and it's main writers, guest stars, etc.

The most popular part of the exhibit was the giant wooden train table that was centrally located. The picture above doesn't do it justice, as it's just a small section. It was constantly populated with children and adults alike driving Thomas and his friends around and re-arranging the mock island of Sodor to their liking.

As a stand alone exhibit the total time a family would be likely to spend would depend entirely on how much time the children spent at the train table. This may mean if it is visiting your area, but entails a bit of travel to reach it's not worth the trip, but if you're interested in visiting whatever museum it's being hosted in it's well worth making it part of your day.

Brockville Aquatarium

2016-03-12T19:00:00-05:00

The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing is an indoor aquarium and discovery centre located in Brockville.

The Aquatarium is a fairly new addition to town of Brockville, with it's grand opening in 2016. The facility is spacious, clean and contains lots of things to see and do. Admission to the Aquatarium will run about $60 for a family of four, however many local libraries have passes that can be borrowed that considerably reduce that rate. Most families can expect to spend a couple of hours here, possibly longer if they let their kids spend copious amounts of time at certain exhibits.

The main draw at the Aquatarium is the Otter habitat. The Otters are given live feedings by staff twice a day during which the staff provide more information for those in attendance about the otters and draw them to the side of the glass enclosure for a closer look by those in attendance. The otters are "rescues", but they are not a species native to the St. Lawrence River.

Aside from the Otters, the Aquatarium offers many other activities to partake in. The facility has numerous high-tech displays allowing visitors to interact with projections on table tops to learn more information about the wildlife and St. Lawrence River in general. There is also a rope course through part of the space, allowing those brave enough (don't worry, you're harnessed) to experience what it might have been like to climb through the rigging of a sailing ship. The rope courses are an additional cost beyond your admission.

Another notable exhibit is the power of water area. These water tables are not just for kids to play with rubber duckies though, you can experiment with changing currents and flows and learn the basics of hydro electric generation through experimentation. Within that same area in an inconspicuous corner also sits a remote control for an underwater vehicle that you can use to explore the main dive tank.

Throughout the space are numerous fish tanks and other wildlife such as turtles that one would expect to find in the St. Lawrence River. Some of the wildlife are in open top areas where staff can help you handle them, while others are in expansive tanks that surround you on your walk through the area.

There are numerous other hands on activities to take part in, such as a small theatre, a green screen for trying your hand at being a television reporter, a rowing machine, a wind wall and a small library that offers both books and craft activities. The Aquatarium runs numerous summer camps and can also be booked for private events such as birthday parties for the kids or staff parties for your workplace. For everything the Aquatarium has to offer, please visit the website.

Alight at Night

2015-12-19T19:00:00-05:00

Alight at Night is Eastern Ontario's biggest outdoor light festival. It is held annually during the month of December and the first week of the new year at Upper Canada Village.

The entirity of Upper Canada Vilage's fences, buildings and trees are adorned in close to a million lights for the festival.

The walk through the village normally takes about an hour to complete, however there is an accessibility night in which the grounds are open to those with mobility challenges to actually drive their vehicles through and still be able to enjoy the display of lights.

The facilities are also open during that event, so you can enjoy a meal at any of the three restaurants, or just get a quick hot chocolate along the way. Getting a dinner reservation is a good way to ensure you're there before the majority of the crowds.

Aside from walking through yourself, the option to hop on a horse-drawn wagon is available. For a more intimate experience, carriages for two are also available and have been part of several marriage proposals over the years.

There is also a train ride that can be had as part of your price of admission, which departs every half hour for a short ride around the grounds providing an alternative view of all the lights.

Admission is in line with what regular admission to Upper Canada Village costs, although slightly reduced. A family of four will cost approximately $50, but children 4 and under are free. For more information about the event, or to get tickets, visit the website.

Landon Bay

2015-10-16T20:00:00-04:00

The Landon Bay Centre is part of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. The centre itself is a 225 Acre Ecological Reserve just outside the town of Gananoque.

The main attraction are the hiking trails of low to moderate difficulty that will take you through meadows, marshlands, or to the top of the lookout providing an excellent view of the St. Lawrence River and surrounding area. There is also a wheelchair accessible trail for those who have mobility challenges but still like to get out and enjoy nature.

Aside from the hiking trails, there is a campground that operates during the summer months, several play structures, fire pits and picnic areas, and also seasonably available, a small store.

Outside of the regular season, the area is still accessible, although the main gate is normally closed adding about a five minute walk into the main area to your visit. Our preference has actually been to visit in the fall when the trees are showing off all their magnificent colours, which makes for a very picturesque walk up to the lookout. The trail to the lookout itself is fairly manageable, even for small children and takes about twenty minutes to reach the top.

Access to the grounds is free, although there are numerous donation boxes throughout at entrances to the main area as well as the start of the trails. For more information on the Centre, or the entire Biosphere, visit their website

Bushplane Museum

2015-09-17T20:00:00-04:00

The Bushplane Museum, or more correctly, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center is located in Northern Ontario in Sault Ste Marie.

The Bushplane Heritage Centre is housed in an old Hangar that was previously used for the Fire and Aviation division of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Because the centre is located in an actual hangar, the floorspace is quite considerable with a fair amount to do. As a plane enthusiast you could probably spend more time than most here inspecting every little detail, however most people will likely see and do everything they want in about 2 hours.

Admission to the centre is reasonable, with a family of four being approximately $40 Canadian, depending on the age of your children. The centre is open year round, except for some holidays, however it does operate with reduced hours during the fall and winter months.

One of the main attractions is obviously the aircraft themselves. While some are roped off, many are accessible and you're free to climb into them, check out the cockpit and cargo hold and generally walk in, around and under them.

As bushplanes had a substantial role in firefighting in the north, there is a large amount of information on fire fighting and prevention, including an exhibit with a fire tower you can climb providing a great view of the hangar, fire fighting gear that was used and a lightning strike recorder.

There are numerous stations around the space with hands on opportunities to learn. The stations include information on the various parts of the aircraft, such as navigation systems and how the engines work. There are also two small theatres that run a flight experience and wildfire fighting experience.

As with most museums, group and school tours can be arranged, and if you're so inclined, you can even host your child's birthday party at the museum on the weekends. For everything the centre offers, check out their website

Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario

2015-07-09T20:00:00-04:00

The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario is located in Smiths Falls, just outside of Ottawa. The museum is deemed a National Historic Site and the staff are friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Depending on how much you love trains and whether or not you manage to go for a ride, you can expect to spend anywhere from an hour to three here.

The museum itself is the original train station and yard dating back to the early 1900s, 1912 to be exact. Admission is inexpensive, 2 adults + 2 children is $20. The museum is generally open from May to October, but for specific dates it is recommended to check the website.

As to be expected from a railway museum, there are numerous train cars around the property, most of which you're able to enter and take a walk through. The main building has several exhibits including the original Operator's room which still has a working telegraph machine. Several of the cars have exhibits setup inside as well, such as the dental car pictured here.

Even the cars that don't contain a specific exhibit have numerous bits of history that can be found within, and if nothing else, kids and adults alike can climb around and see what life would have been like from a particular seat, such as the guy riding the caboose.

One of the more unique things about the offerings from the railway museum is the ability to actually spend a night in one of three cabooses. The stay involves an overnight in a caboose of your choosing (subject to it being available of course) with fresh linens provided. The stay also includes a contenintal style breakfast the following morning. As the caboose was not traditionally a luxurious space filled with amenities, access to the showers and rest rooms on site are thankfully provided.

The museum also offers short (~2km) train rides at certain points of the year, which can be an fun way to get your children on a train without having to take a longer trip for the experience. There is also the option of the handcar, which is available for rides every day (weather permitting).

School trips and group tours are also welcome. For everything else about the museum that I didn't cover here, please visit their website

Is CIBC working on an app for Windows Phone?

2011-11-20T19:00:00-05:00

This post was originally going to look at the "big five" Canadian banks offerings for mobile devices; specifically their lack of native apps on Windows Phone and how their mobile sites compare. I may still write that article, but while I was researching a bit of small print on the CIBC website caught my eye.

Beneath the information for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry there is a section for trademark information relating to Windows Phone, which is currently not mentioned elsewhere on the page.

The CIBC page can be found here. Obviously this is not definitive, but as a Windows Phone owner I am hopeful.

Windows Phone 7 Recipe App Roundup

2011-09-18T20:00:00-04:00

In this post I take a look at the four big name recipe apps for windows phone 7.

AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner

First up, "AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner". This is one of the most popular apps in the marketplace at the time of this writing, and is deserving of it's popularity.

As the name suggests, it incorporates the AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner which is a fun take on the "standard" recipe search (I have and to make <breakfast/lunch/dinner>). You're able to select your dish type, the main ingredient and time, or just hit the "spin" button and let the spinner work it's magic. If you'd prefer to search for recipes you can filter the results by dietary need (e.g. vegetarian, no wheat, low carbs etc) which is handy for those that need to watch what they eat.

The search results can be sorted by relevance to your search, alphabetically or by rating or popularity. The results lists are laid out nicely and contain a picture (if available) and the rating information. The actual recipe information is also put together nicely with an overview and swiping left or right reveals sections for the ingredients, cooking directions, nutritional information and reviews.

The AllRecipes app has an option to disable the lock screen, which is incredibly useful when trying not to get whatever you're making all over your phone and shows they gave some thought to it's use. As would be expected, it also includes the ability to share recipes via email, Facebook and twitter or mark recipes as favorites.

My only complaint with the AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner app is that it feels slow. Most navigation within the app either has a notable pause while stuff loads, or, more often than not displays a "loading" screen for a couple of seconds while it searches and prepares the results. It's certainly not a deterrent to using the app, but it is noticeable in the "get in, get out, get on with your life" world of windows phone.

Betty Crocker

The second app on my list is "Betty Crocker", a name I'm sure some will recognize.

As most would expect, it too contains a tool to help in deciding what to make. Betty Crocker's variation asks for two ingredients and the meal type. There is also a "surprise me" option which will deliver a random meal suggestion to you.

The search results are laid out nicely with both the rating and prep time visible alongside the image and descriptive text. If you're not into being surprised and don't have a specific idea of what you want to make you can also browse through the a listing of all the recipes (separated by category).

The individual recipe views are clean and functional, but the ingredients and preparation are laid out on top of each other, where I would have preferred a pivot layout with ingredients, prep, etc separated out. You also have the ability to mark recipes as favorites, as well as share via email while viewing them.

There is a little bit of self-promotion within the app (e.g. there is a food type/category of "general mills cereals") but it's certainly not invasive and doesn't seem to go beyond things like the aforementioned cereals.

At the time of writing this, the web service appears to be down or they've changed the api. Whatever the cause, the app currently is unusable as it just reports an error when trying to do anything. Unfortunately even your favorited recipes don't seem to get their details cached locally. It's been less than a week since I first noticed, so hopefully they'll get it straightened out in short order.

BigOven.com

The third app on my list is "170,000+ Recipes - BigOven.com".

BigOven's take on "what to make" comes in the form of leftover usage, in which you can add up three ingredients and get suggested recipes for. The search results include an image, the rating and what category it falls into. You can also just search the recipes, optionally filtering by category or browse recent highly reviewed recipes. The recipes are shown across three panels, an overview, which contains the ingredients and preparation information, photos of the dish and nutrional information. You can also share recipes via email, twitter or facebook.

If you have a BigOven.com membership, the app offers a few additional features. Free members have access to Favorites as well as "Try Soons" (bookmark a dish you'd like to "try soon"). BigOven Pro (paid) members get the ability to generate grocery lists from the ingredients, as well as have access to the nutritional information for the recipes.

The app also includes "Recipe Scan" feature which I did not try. It uses "credits" which are available for approximately a dollar per recipe. The website currently offers 3 credits to any member upon signup and an additional 25 for Pro members. Their description of the service indicates it's backed by humans doing data entry meaning it should be far superior to just an ocr solution.

The app itself while functional has some interface issues that I personally find distracting while using it. In some cases the margins are off, in others they are correct (following the windows phone/metro guidelines). The use of background images works well in some spots and others just look messy. The search results have a weird mostly transparent background box and the overall style just seems lackluster.

The UI can always be improved upon in the future by an update, and with a pro membership only being $16/year the feature set makes it hard to dismiss over a few relatively minor issues.

Epicurious

The final app on my list is "Epicurious".

There's not really a "what to make" analog in Epicurious, however, the main screen displays a list of different types of meals (e.g. fast breakfasts, lunches kids love, vegetarian mains) allowing you to quickly jump to a list of recipes matching that criteria.

The search feature is fairly robust, allowing you to narrow your search by ingredients, meal course, dietary requirements and cuisine type in a slick and easy to use interface. The search results can be sorted by relevance, rating, most recent, alphabetically, or whether they have a photo. The results themselves display the image, name and category.

The individual recipes are presented nicely as well. An overview pane gives a brief description with the rating and an image. Swiping left or right reveals separate panes for the ingredients, preparation, photos and reviews.

Recipes can be shared and favorited, as well as added to a shopping list. Your shopping list is broken out into the different recipes, and/or displayed as a complete list. Each ingredient is listed with it's required quantity and a checkbox to indicate if you've acquired it or not. You can also send the list to someone else if they are going to be doing the shopping. It's not as feature complete as the dedicated shopping list apps but it is definitely a nice addition.

Each of the apps has it's own unique features that makes it worth exploring. However if that isn't something that interests you then hopefully this post will help you decide what your one app will be. If you feel I've missed an app or didn't highlight a feature please feel free to let me know in the comments.

Performance Comparison: WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache

2011-08-31T20:00:00-04:00

The Setup

I wanted a relevant performance comparison of the two most popular (at the time) caching solutions for WordPress before I chose one for this blog.

In my opinion, there are two key issues to getting relevant performance comparisons and benchmarks.

The first is the hardware and software involved. Different versions can have huge differences in performance profiles so you want test with as close a match as you can get.

I was not able to match the hardware my live server uses, so I was inclined to make sure the software was as closely matched as humanly possible.

I installed Ubuntu Server 8.04 and the latest PHP (5.2.4-2ubuntu5.17) into my virtual machine and brought it all up to date. I then configured Apache (Apache/2.2.8 for the curious) to match the configuration of my blog's server (which modules were loaded, php via fastcgi, APC installed, the php.ini values etc). The same was done for the MySQL instance.

After confirming everything was working I installed the latest WordPress release (at the time version 3.1.3) and the importer plugin and imported the WordPress sample data. I then shut down the virtual machine and enabled the "undo disk" feature.

This brings me to the second issue when looking at performance, which is repeatability. Test results are skewed by changes to the environment (e.g. extra processes running, or extra network traffic) so it's important to (preferably) eliminate or baseline those external factors.

The "undo disk" feature proved very helpful in my efforts to minimize the influence of those external factors.

The Methodology

As these tests were being run in a virtual machine I couldn't expect similar numbers as my live site. However, as I'm looking to compare the two solutions, relative performance to one another is all that's really important. I decided to run apachebench from within the virtual machine to eliminate a lot of issues that would be out of my control (communication between the host machine and the virtual machine, the host using additional cpu time, etc).

This was not ideal as I'm stealing potential resources from the apache instance, but compared to the alternatives it was the best option. After running a few tests and looking at the numbers I decided on 3 runs of 1000 requests each at both a concurrency of 1 and a concurrency of 5. The concurrency level of 5 was enough to generate some contention for resources but not enough to bog down the virtual machine.

The command line looked something like this

ab -n 1000 -c 5 http://localhost

After each run of tests I shut down the virtual machine and cleared the undo disks to restore the machine's baseline state.

After each boot the virtual machine was given an equal amount of time to "settle down" before the tests were run.

The Results

For each of the results I calculated averages of the 3 "c1" and 3 "c5" runs as well as an overall average across all 6 tests. The values in the rows are requests per second.

To get an idea of what the virtual machine was capable of doing, my initial tests were against a static html file (the "it works" index file). The results are as follows

Static File
C=1	C=5	Overall
1082.84	1125.60	1104.22

The next test was to determine how well it fared with php involved. I chose the "phpinfo" page as my test subject.

PHPInfo
C=1	C=5	Overall
226.61	203.78	215.20

With a server baseline in hand, it was on to WordPress.

For the WordPress tests I opted to test a few different code paths. I tested the following scenarios:

Front page: http://localhost/
Hello World: http://localhost/2011/06/hello-world/
Archive Page: http://localhost/2008/06/
Category Page: http://localhost/category/uncategorized/
Tags Page: http://localhost/tag/post-formats/

With only itself to rely on, the WordPress results are not pretty.

WordPress
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
6.72	5.37	6.05
/category/uncategorized/
6.37	5.09	5.73
/tag/post-formats/
6.99	5.33	6.16
/2008/06/
7.08	5.19	6.13
/2011/06/hello-world/
9.04	7.21	8.12
WordPress Average
7.24	5.64	6.44

I again reset the machine and installed WP Super Cache (v 0.9.9.9) and W3 Total Cache (v 0.9.2.2). I did not enable or configure either of them however, I simply made the point in time after their installation my new "reset" point to save myself from having to do the installation before each test.

Up first was WP Super Cache. In the first set of tests, I simply enabled the plugin. This enabled caching via PHP, which while a noticeable boost could definitely be improved upon by modifying the configuration.

WP Super Cache
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
165.23	250.30	207.77
/category/uncategorized/
177.06	243.66	210.36
/tag/post-formats/
178.37	247.95	213.16
/2008/06/
179.78	223.49	201.64
/2011/06/hello-world/
197.65	251.99	224.82
WordPress Average
179.62	243.48	211.55

For the second set of tests WP Super Cache was configured to use mod_rewrite with 304 redirects and compression enabled. This was a huge boost and more in line with what I'd been expecting.

WPSC mod_rewrite
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
711.87	754.69	733.28
/category/uncategorized/
726.08	811.72	768.90
/tag/post-formats/
607.85	843.43	725.64
/2008/06/
688.89	775.45	732.17
/2011/06/hello-world/
718.62	802.30	760.46
WordPress Average
690.66	797.52	744.09

W3 Total Cache has considerably more options than WP Super Cache, and was the focus of the rest of the tests. The inital test was again just to enable the plugin. For W3 Total Cache this equates to using "disk enhanced" for Pages and enabling minify to use "disk". These two options were standard for the rest of the tests

W3 Total Cache
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
590.83	719.91	655.37
/category/uncategorized/
641.28	731.41	686.34
/tag/post-formats/
589.42	664.82	627.12
/2008/06/
602.60	679.21	640.90
/2011/06/hello-world/
592.03	772.38	682.21
WordPress Average
603.23	713.54	658.39

For the second set of tests with W3 Total Cache the object and database caches were enabled for "disk" as well. Surprisingly this had an adverse effect on performance.

W3TC with Disk
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
620.16	724.32	672.24
/category/uncategorized/
609.74	659.12	634.43
/tag/post-formats/
591.00	667.28	629.14
/2008/06/
613.67	654.49	634.08
/2011/06/hello-world/
614.58	643.76	629.17
WordPress Average
609.83	669.79	639.81

For the third set of tests, I decided to leverage APC for the object cache and disable the database cache. This didn't appear to make much of a difference from the second round.

W3TC with Object APC
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
605.79	664.28	635.03
/category/uncategorized/
574.82	630.44	602.63
/tag/post-formats/
574.59	680.13	627.36
/2008/06/
583.04	656.13	619.59
/2011/06/hello-world/
637.33	653.80	645.56
WordPress Average
595.11	656.96	626.04

For the final set of tests, I reversed my choice from the previous tests and set the database cache to use APC while disabling the object cache. Again, not much of a difference among the last three rounds of tests, and none performed as well as the initial set of tests that didn't leverage the database or object cache.

W3TC with DB APC
C=1	C=5	Overall
Frontpage
613.32	681.79	647.56
/category/uncategorized/
591.80	637.84	614.82
/tag/post-formats/
582.74	623.18	602.96
/2008/06/
620.42	656.22	638.32
/2011/06/hello-world/
603.01	661.88	632.45
WordPress Average
602.26	652.18	627.22

I was surprised to see that the database and object caches were negatively impacting performance, but upon reflecting it seemed the likely cause was the virtual machine.

The Conclusion

Both caching solutions at their best offer comparable performance. If you're looking at pure requests per second, WP Super Cache came out on top in my setup, but only when it was configured to leverage disk caching.

W3 Total Cache has more options in regards to how you cache items, includes advanced support for using a content delivery network (or cookieless subdomain) and should definitely be a consideration if you're looking for a more technically advanced caching solution.

That said, WP Super Cache is easy to setup and maintain and works really well so it should probably be the default choice for most people's caching needs.

I am a tinkerer however, so I ended up choosing W3 Total Cache (as you can see by examing the source generated for this page) so that I could tweak it until I was content.

Follow Up

After setting up W3 Total Cache on my blog, I found some "quiet time" to do additional testing.

On my live server I did get about a 5% performance boost per cache (database and object) configured to use APC, so I left them enabled for an easy 10% gain. This reinforces my point earlier about testing on a system as close to what you're deploying to as possible if you want accurate results.

Hello again world!

2011-05-19T20:00:00-04:00

After a long hiatus I'm back!

Please be patient as I do some tweaking.