We have similar stories. I went from a very active college student who worked for a university help desk to a sedentary web programmer after college. I put on tons of weight without even realizing it. I have since tried to lose weight, and have generally been successful. I started eating breakfast, which kills my cravings later in the day. I also stopped drinking soda and beer, which immediately shed 20 pounds. I also workout for 2 hours 3 times a week. I don't have a special diet, though. I eat a normal lunch (sandwich, fruit) and a normal dinner (meat, veggies, potatoes) and am steadily losing weight. There's nothing fancy. You just have to burn more calories than you eat. And eating Utz's pretzel nuggets helps fight my afternoon fade. (Only two or three fill me up.)
I've noticed that getting employment as a web developer/designer means knowing everything and anything about graphic design and web programming. At least that's what many HR departments think.
Learn XHTML/CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, the ASP.NET languages, Microsoft SQL, Perl, Python, Linux, Apache, IIS, etc., etc. Once you get a good overview, pick your favorites and then specialize.
I also recommend taking courses in journalism, creative writing, graphic design, art history, human-computer interaction, philosophy, etc. Understand people as much as you understand computers. The Internet is often a person's only interaction with the world of computers.
Most of all, have fun. The career field may be shrinking, but those who are great at what they do will always find work.
I got into computers because I loved Photoshop, Illustrator and PageMaker. I got a rush out of creating newspaper layouts, etc. I learned networking because I wanted to make producing my high school newspaper easier. Now I work in information technology. I think it's completely logical to show high schoolers how computers can help them be creative. Multimedia classes are always full while hard-core programming class often aren't.
This system works great until the day you space your habit or do something slightly differently (i.e., kitchen counter is sticky so you put wallet on end table and completely forget about it. Panic the next morning.)
It was the labor unions that got teachers decent pay, took the shackles off of 10-year-old factory workers and keep large corporations from running over their most vulnerable employees. If you think a union gives a worker too many privileges, you should look at why the union was formed in the first place. Those extra privileges are restitution for crimes the corporation (or government entity) committed against employees in the past. If it wasn't for labor unions, you'd be a lot worse off than you are now. Many employment situations aren't great, but they could be a lot worse.
I'd love to see someone do a study on drinking and gaming. I've noticed I'm much better and first person shooters when I've had a few. I suck at racing games after drinking, though.
It doesn't cost a lot of cash to run your own server. If you're a smalltime site, you can get ample hosting for $10/mo. If you're worried about someone in the U.S. shutting you down, rent a server somewhere else in the world. If you're really worried about being shut down, you could always setup a BBS a laptop using a cell phone modem and a constantly changing number and provider.
Being a great writer helps me explain techie stuff to non-techie people (i.e., the people who sign my checks). My communications skills helped me double my salary in only a few months.
My wife did that when we were dating. We had a long argument that night. Something about feelings, appreciation and whatnot. If only women were like computers...
Timothy Zahn's "Conqueror's Pride" series did an excellent job showing ambiguity. Both warring races thought they were only defending themselves, but it was all a big misunderstanding. This is a series I'd love to see turned into a movie.
Or he could put his geeky skills to work and be a help desk technician. He'll learn valuable people skills and do something that's mentally challenging.
I'd rather buy videogames than cable TV. Basic digital cable is $50. I can buy a game a month for that and get a lot more entertainment. And then I can sell the game back when I've beat it. I can't resell my digital cable. Stupid encryption.
I taught senior citizens how to use Windows and the Internet. I got paid $10/hr. by the senior center to do this. It wasn't a lot of cash, but it lead to something else.
I was then asked by my students for personal tutoring time and tech support. I charged $20/hr. I couldn't charge more than that because it was a blue collar town, but I made a decent living. I was able to go to college and live comfortably while working only 20 hours a week. I was also able to save up for a new car and a wedding ring when the time came. And the experience has proven invaluable because now I charge $65/hr. to do the same thing, and people don't even blink. They keep asking me to come back.
I think if Google and Yahoo! log SCORM and semantic web information, searches will be a lot a lot more relevant, especially image, video and audio searches.
Just because a site is media rich doesn't mean it's using Flash. Media rich means that there's audio and video as well as text, and you don't need Flash for audio or video. These can be done elegantly with HTML and embedded MPEG, AVI or WM* objects.
Also, Flash greatly enhances the user experience, especially in online learning situations where animations are required or on sites where navigation goes beyond the standard HTML hierarchy. Sure, some people may be excluded, but those are the extreme minority.
Flash content is great for the disabled because it can screen read for them, or the interface can be tweaked. Color contrast can be adjusted, font size can be adjusted, etc., without having to rely on flaky CSS support from browsers and bad programmers.
It's all a matter of using the right tool for the right job. Overusing Flash sucks, but so does not using it when it's needed.
I charged $20/hr., and I gave business cards to all my friends, who in turn gave them to all their friends. Also, my clients always recommended their friends to me.
I made over $1,000 one semester fixing people's computers. I'd go over to there house and connect them to the Internet, take out floppies when their PCs wouldn't boot, and reset screensaver times. It's a great after school, after work type of business.
One semester in college I was stressing out. I felt like I never had time for anything, like I needed to be somewhere else rather than where I was. My life was dictated by the clock.
Then my watch battery died. I didn't bother to go to Wally World to replace it. I started showing up to class a couple minutes late. I was fashionably late to parties. When asked when I had to do something, I'd say, "Whenever."
Turns out people liked the new, relaxed me. So did I. Time was no longer a burden. My life was simplified by casting off technology.
The only problem with online chat support is that I often have to download a buggy java client in order to chat. This can cause trauma in non-techiies. Chat support should be only for experienced computer users.
Also, some technicians type slow or have terrible spelling and writing skills (enough to screw up their intended meaning). And the ones from India come across as condescending when they try to be polite.
I'd rather chat with an experienced tech on the phone than deal with a buggy chat client and poor writer.
Also, the lag time can be annoying. I'd rather hear a tech click through a database than wait in front of my computer for five minutes wondering if the tech got my last IM.
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We have similar stories. I went from a very active college student who worked for a university help desk to a sedentary web programmer after college. I put on tons of weight without even realizing it. I have since tried to lose weight, and have generally been successful. I started eating breakfast, which kills my cravings later in the day. I also stopped drinking soda and beer, which immediately shed 20 pounds. I also workout for 2 hours 3 times a week. I don't have a special diet, though. I eat a normal lunch (sandwich, fruit) and a normal dinner (meat, veggies, potatoes) and am steadily losing weight. There's nothing fancy. You just have to burn more calories than you eat. And eating Utz's pretzel nuggets helps fight my afternoon fade. (Only two or three fill me up.)
I've noticed that getting employment as a web developer/designer means knowing everything and anything about graphic design and web programming. At least that's what many HR departments think. Learn XHTML/CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, the ASP.NET languages, Microsoft SQL, Perl, Python, Linux, Apache, IIS, etc., etc. Once you get a good overview, pick your favorites and then specialize. I also recommend taking courses in journalism, creative writing, graphic design, art history, human-computer interaction, philosophy, etc. Understand people as much as you understand computers. The Internet is often a person's only interaction with the world of computers. Most of all, have fun. The career field may be shrinking, but those who are great at what they do will always find work.
I got into computers because I loved Photoshop, Illustrator and PageMaker. I got a rush out of creating newspaper layouts, etc. I learned networking because I wanted to make producing my high school newspaper easier. Now I work in information technology. I think it's completely logical to show high schoolers how computers can help them be creative. Multimedia classes are always full while hard-core programming class often aren't.
Don't you mean a new tab? ;)
This system works great until the day you space your habit or do something slightly differently (i.e., kitchen counter is sticky so you put wallet on end table and completely forget about it. Panic the next morning.)
It was the labor unions that got teachers decent pay, took the shackles off of 10-year-old factory workers and keep large corporations from running over their most vulnerable employees. If you think a union gives a worker too many privileges, you should look at why the union was formed in the first place. Those extra privileges are restitution for crimes the corporation (or government entity) committed against employees in the past. If it wasn't for labor unions, you'd be a lot worse off than you are now. Many employment situations aren't great, but they could be a lot worse.
I'd love to see someone do a study on drinking and gaming. I've noticed I'm much better and first person shooters when I've had a few. I suck at racing games after drinking, though.
It doesn't cost a lot of cash to run your own server. If you're a smalltime site, you can get ample hosting for $10/mo. If you're worried about someone in the U.S. shutting you down, rent a server somewhere else in the world. If you're really worried about being shut down, you could always setup a BBS a laptop using a cell phone modem and a constantly changing number and provider.
Don't you just love price wars and capitalistic competition? This is what makes America great!
Being a great writer helps me explain techie stuff to non-techie people (i.e., the people who sign my checks). My communications skills helped me double my salary in only a few months.
My wife did that when we were dating. We had a long argument that night. Something about feelings, appreciation and whatnot. If only women were like computers...
Timothy Zahn's "Conqueror's Pride" series did an excellent job showing ambiguity. Both warring races thought they were only defending themselves, but it was all a big misunderstanding. This is a series I'd love to see turned into a movie.
Or he could put his geeky skills to work and be a help desk technician. He'll learn valuable people skills and do something that's mentally challenging.
I'd rather buy videogames than cable TV. Basic digital cable is $50. I can buy a game a month for that and get a lot more entertainment. And then I can sell the game back when I've beat it. I can't resell my digital cable. Stupid encryption.
Oops. Forgot to specify. I moved to another state.
I taught senior citizens how to use Windows and the Internet. I got paid $10/hr. by the senior center to do this. It wasn't a lot of cash, but it lead to something else.
I was then asked by my students for personal tutoring time and tech support. I charged $20/hr. I couldn't charge more than that because it was a blue collar town, but I made a decent living. I was able to go to college and live comfortably while working only 20 hours a week. I was also able to save up for a new car and a wedding ring when the time came. And the experience has proven invaluable because now I charge $65/hr. to do the same thing, and people don't even blink. They keep asking me to come back.
Did you jiggle the handle? Give it a good whack? Use a large industrial magnet? Rub it vigorously against your dog's back?
I think if Google and Yahoo! log SCORM and semantic web information, searches will be a lot a lot more relevant, especially image, video and audio searches.
Just because a site is media rich doesn't mean it's using Flash. Media rich means that there's audio and video as well as text, and you don't need Flash for audio or video. These can be done elegantly with HTML and embedded MPEG, AVI or WM* objects.
Also, Flash greatly enhances the user experience, especially in online learning situations where animations are required or on sites where navigation goes beyond the standard HTML hierarchy. Sure, some people may be excluded, but those are the extreme minority.
Flash content is great for the disabled because it can screen read for them, or the interface can be tweaked. Color contrast can be adjusted, font size can be adjusted, etc., without having to rely on flaky CSS support from browsers and bad programmers.
It's all a matter of using the right tool for the right job. Overusing Flash sucks, but so does not using it when it's needed.
Have your roommate listen to soothing sounds or music on a discman as he sleeps. Those tiny earphones don't fall out if you turn over.
Can't you get stem cells from liposuction or the roots of human hair and then not have to deal with all the messy ethical issues?
I charged $20/hr., and I gave business cards to all my friends, who in turn gave them to all their friends. Also, my clients always recommended their friends to me.
I made over $1,000 one semester fixing people's computers. I'd go over to there house and connect them to the Internet, take out floppies when their PCs wouldn't boot, and reset screensaver times. It's a great after school, after work type of business.
One semester in college I was stressing out. I felt like I never had time for anything, like I needed to be somewhere else rather than where I was. My life was dictated by the clock.
Then my watch battery died. I didn't bother to go to Wally World to replace it. I started showing up to class a couple minutes late. I was fashionably late to parties. When asked when I had to do something, I'd say, "Whenever."
Turns out people liked the new, relaxed me. So did I. Time was no longer a burden. My life was simplified by casting off technology.
I haven't worn a watch since.
Also, some technicians type slow or have terrible spelling and writing skills (enough to screw up their intended meaning). And the ones from India come across as condescending when they try to be polite.
I'd rather chat with an experienced tech on the phone than deal with a buggy chat client and poor writer.
Also, the lag time can be annoying. I'd rather hear a tech click through a database than wait in front of my computer for five minutes wondering if the tech got my last IM.