I’ve been using ExpressionEngine for a number of years now. Not surprisingly, I think it’s a very robust and flexible CMS that can handle many different types of content, from blogs and wikis to photo galleries and discussion forums. However, one type of content that can be rather difficult to create and manage in EE is an event calendar. Enter Repeet, a plugin that allows you to simulate recurring events with standard weblog entries (among other things).

Repeet had been originally developed by Brent Wilson, but recently, Solspace acquired the plugin and have released a new version with several improvements. I’ve found Repeet to be a very useful addition to my EE toolbox, and so I’m glad to see it get these updates.

We recently upgraded our home entertainment system here at Opus HQ, and we’ve finally been able to partake in the joy that is Netflix Watch Instantly, which allows you to stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix’s library directly to your TV or computer. (We’re currently making up for lost time with 30 Rock, if you must know.)

Now, not everything in Netflix’s library is available with their Watch Instantly service, which is where Streaming Soon comes into play. It’s a website that keeps a running tally on everything that will be added to Netflix Watch Instantly in the coming months. For example, Howard The Duck will be available on January 29… you know, just in case you were wondering.

This is a nice little tweak on Pat Robertson’s recent statement:

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action.

But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished.

An absolute must-read if you spend any amount of time doing web/app design:

The underlying secret to beautiful user interface design is realism: making 2D objects on your screen appear to sit in 3D space with volume, surface properties and undulations that might appear in real life. These faux 3D objects have highlights and shadows just like objects on your desk might have, and they have textures that emulate real objects from glass to sandpaper and everything in between. Designing beautiful user interfaces has more to do with the why than the how.

And it’s nice to see that Mike Rundle takes his own medicine: for example, the subtle highlight on his website’s text adds a nice amount of extra visual depth.

GameSpy’s Julian Murdoch asks “why does God get short shrift in videogames?”

Writing about videogames is not generally the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein. Occasionally, a hostile public relations manager will make your life difficult, or you’ll lose a scoop to a rival publication. Trying to get a good interview while a game’s in development can be challenging, especially if that game isn’t in its official PR swing yet. But for the most part, this is the entertainment industry: The consumers want to read about it, the producers want to talk about it, and the rest is just details.

So it was with some surprise that I encountered a wall of fear and paranoia when I called around, asking developers to talk about religion in gaming. What I found is a small handful of people who think about the issues a lot, and wanted desperately to be part of the conversation…and a vast, silent majority who didn’t want to touch the topic with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

Merge Records has confirmed it: the new Arcade Fire album will drop sometime in the second half of 2010.

Second verse, same as the first.

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security.

The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google’s systems.

Microsoft rejected the warning, saying that the risk to users was low and that the browsers’ increased security setting would prevent any serious risk.

Want to help Haiti relief efforts and stock up on some solid third party addons for your ExpressionEngine project(s)? Well now you can do both, thanks to Solspace.

We’re raising money in the Solspace store for Haiti relief. We’re encouraging you to buy from the store with a 20% discount. We’ll take 20% of your total purchase and send that to the Red Cross for Haiti relief. In effect we are donating 40% of software sales, giving you a 20% discount incentive and Haiti the rest. The effort will last through Wednesday.

Our goal is to raise $2000 and we will monitor that goal on the Solspace home page.

As of right now, they’ve raised $459.97.