cpjolicoeur

FeedCache will retrieve, cache and store locally a list of RSS feeds that you can then display on your WP site. This prevents multiple HTTP requests with each page load since the feeds can be read from the cache file.
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<ul>
<li>Ruby</li>
<li>Rubygems with the following gems installed:
<ul>
<li>active_record</li>
<li>feed_tools 
(If you are hosted with Dreamhost you have these gems already. If you are hosted elsewhere you will need to check. If you run a VPS or dedicated machine like me, then just install them via <code>sudo gem install</code>)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>CRON access</li>
</ul>
<h3>Upgrading</h3>
IMPORTANT
<blockquote>
If you are upgrading from a version of FeedCache prior to v0.9.8, please 
 deactivate and delete your existing feedcache plugin directory and follow the new 
 installation steps.
</blockquote>
<ol>
<li>
Deactivate the previous version of FeedCache through your WordPress plugins menu
</li>
<li>
Upload the new feedcache-cron.rb, feedcache.php and complete lib/ directory files to your existing feedcache directory. You do not need to overwrite your feedcache-config.yml file.
</li>
<li>
Enter the correct FEEDCACHE_DIR variable in the feedcache-cron.rb script
</li>
<li>
Go to Options -> FeedCache Options and update your FeedCache settings
</li>
</ol>

FeedCache

Caches RSS Feeds for display on your WP sidebar.

Aaron Kittredge

Using this widget you can easily place the Cool-er Ruby containing an image of the cover of the book you are reading in the sidebar. You can also specify a URL to link to when clicking on the book cover image. Supports multiple instances, so you can use it multiple times in multiple sidebars. (adapted from the Simple Image Widget)
Once the plugin is enabled, the widget will be available in your widgets list as “Cool-er Ruby Widget”. You can add this widget to sidebars as many times as you need. The control interface allows you to specify the following options for each instance of the widget:
<ul>
<li>Image URL: The full URL to the image file</li>
<li>Alternate Text: Shown by the browser if image cannot be displayed</li>
<li>Link URL: URL to open when the book cover image is clicked on (optional)</li>
<li>Open link in new window: If this is checked, the above link URL will open in a new browser window</li>
</ul>

Cool-er-Ruby-Widget

The simple way to show what your reading on your Cool-er Ruby or e-reader.

FeedCache vs Cool-er-Ruby-Widget