Last Blog Post for Class

Will I continue to post to the blog after class is over? I don't know, maybe. I like the idea of blogging, yet I haven't really embraced it completely. To keep the subject matter school and computer industry related was fine, but I haven't decided to blog entertaining and academic posts worthy of views by many.

That would take a commitment of time I haven't accepted, yet. It would also take courage on my part, to post my interests, opinions, and views, that could be revealing and may or may not be agreeable to a potential employer. Which subjects I comment on and how much to comment is still to confusing to me. Current events and politics, for example, can be very intriguing, but also can be very polarizing.

Although I am passionate about news in general, I wouldn't want to alienate or discourage any potential employers or contacts, by expressing views which could potentially be held against me. So until I decide to become a hack political commentator, my posts will mostly be about easier, more mundane subjects. Maybe games, music, travel, etc. I certainly like the journalism aspect of blogging and will be proud to continue blogging.

Catching Up

So Thanksgiving was great. Eight hour drive to Rochester, only six hours drive on the way back. Skipped Black Friday. Missed Cyber Monday. Tuesday is back to normal as usual with my blog post.

Flash websites. Some are pretty cool. They seem to be better suited for less business-transaction oriented websites, though I could be mistaken. I'm curious to see if more creative flash type websites become fast enough to be practical and useful. In the meantime less is more.

Wikipedia is my new best friend. All though we were well acquainted, since I am now a contributor to Wikipedia we have been spending a lot of time together lately. Wikipedia has been a little fussy with all the formatting to create new articles, but I'm sure we will work things out. Strict adherence to Wikipedia guidelines has been the challenge to figure out.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it's been a good week. I've decided to spend more time investigating career opportunities in the digital signage industry. Digital signs with open networks can have content updated over the Internet and with RSS feeds. The way for digital signs to be successful is good content design. I'm not sure if the content designers and artists get paid well, but it's definitely worth looking into this ever growing industry. The Digital Sign Expo is at the Las Vegas Convention Center February 24-25, 2010.

POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International) standardized Screen-Media Formats for digital signs in March 2009. Digital signs have also been intergrated with IPTV (Internet Protocol Television). Pretty cool!

Strong Midterm

Last week's midterm tests and projects went well. After a little time off now it's time to get back to business.

I recently discovered the website FORA.tv, which is one of the most impressive websites I have seen. It features all types of videos and articles by proffessionals in communications, business, design, and so many other relevant topics. Pretty cool! Metafilter.com seems pretty cool, too. It's a very organized community weblog with some interesting topics.

Almost Midterm

The Flash Mob posting on the forum was interesting. I like the aspects of flash mob such as communicating and organizing through the Internet. The Internet is a fantastic tool for communicating with people in so many different ways.

I'm excited about the Wikipedia project, now that I have finally settled on a good topic. The Webquest project is coming along well. I'll have some time to spend with the Internet Technologies book tonight.

Design Essentials is a great class. I have had to create new designs every week and have really enjoyed it.

It looks like ICANN is ready to approve international domains, according to Patricia Resende at News Factor.com. Supposedly ICANN will be approving non-latin domain names and will have country code names in Chinese, Korean, and Arabic.

Projects Galore

The Webquest project is going to be great. I'm excited to present basic computer, Internet , and network information with multi-media. The Wikipedia project will also be fun. I can't wait to get started, but I need to finish the Webquest project first.

With projects in all of five my classes, my schedule has been strictly school work. Rarely do I have time for anything else. Sleeping less has helped manage my time better, but I still try to nap or sleep a little longer. I have really been enjoying the challenge of the New England Institute of Art. I'm learning so much. It's hard, but has been definitely been worth it.

I upgraded the RAM in my G5 and now I have 1.5 Gigs, so I can run the new Adobe programs now. I went to Microcenter in Cambridge and wish I could have spent some more money. Microcenter rules!

The Internet Technologies book is OK. It is very informative and covers all the basics thoroughly, but is a little tedious with the most basic instructions which is usually very obvious. I'm looking forward to catching up with the reading. I'm particularly excited about reading all the terms and definitions of computers, networks, and Internet technologies.

Until next week when I'm have an update for all my projects! Flash, Illustrator, In Design, is penciled in my calendar everyday.

Catching Up....Sort of

This week I've had some time to catch up with some projects, homework, and classes. I'm desperate to write about learning something in the Internet Technologies class. I did learn that I need to spend some more time studying my notes from class and the book. Too many questions were hard for me during Jeopardy! I would like to a be a little more fluent with the facts and terminology we have learned so far.

I have also learned that the Webquest projecting is haunting me and giving me nightmares. I said I was going to do it in Flash, but I'm thinking I may have to use PowerPoint. Flash would be nice, but if PowerPoint gets the job done, so be it. Just trying to be realistic. I'm planning on spending time with the Internet Technologies book and the Webquest tonight.

In my Design Essentials class this week I've read chapters on Texture, Color, and Using Color. I've also created a drawing of a basketball, very detailed to show texture.

I've also compiled my essential notes for Geometry into one "Geometry - Quick Guide", which will help me keep up with the everything we have learned so far. With this guide I think I'm starting to understand the subject a little more. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish my homework tonight with 100% correct. Wish me luck!