Look it up, dear.

I’ve known for a long time that the reason I love the internet is because it completely destroys the learning curve. I’ve always done best in environments where the learning curve is very steep – and I’ve always lost interest when the curve flattens out. Because of this, I don’t generally refer to myself as an expert on much of anything. I actually thank “the internet” for this. It’s almost as if the tables have turned completely around versus 20 years ago.

When I was in elementary school, there was a series of commercials – I think they were for Encyclopedia Britannica – where a child would as his mother some off the wall question like, “Mom, who is Herman Goering?” and mom would answer by saying, “Look it up dear!” – encouraging the child to break open the Encyclopedia Britannica and find her answer. Today, if parents would only ask their children questions like this, I’m certain the children would reply by saying, “Geez mom. Just look it up.”

But I’ve gotten a good sense over the last year how much students are actually using the internet to help them learn using traditional methods. Last September, I created a small web application that generates Cornell Notetaking Method style notepaper. Though I made it mainly as a way to familiarize myself with a particular php class, it has bee hugely popular and still has over 200 unique visitors per day.

Wanna know how to take better lecture notes? Look it up, dear.

The Reboot is Final (almost)

I managed to get this site redesigned in time for the November 1st CSS Reboot but there are still several things that need to be done. The biggest one is the gallery. I’ll get to it eventually but for now, it’s just a placeholder.

Not only did the redesign include a design change, it included a backend change. I made the switch from Movable Type to WordPress and am happy with the conversion. What needs to be changed though is all of the permalinks and images embedded in the entries. That’s gonna take some time but seeing how nobody reads this site anyway, it should be ok.

If you’re visiting from the CSS Reboot site, thanks for stopping by. I’d appreciate any feedback you’d be willing to provide. This site is basically one big sandbox where I play around with things I’m trying to learn. My most popular project to date is the Cornell Notes Custom PDF Generator. If you’re still in school and use the Cornell Method, you should check it out. It’s hot.

Who knows when I’ll get around to making this site exactly like a want. Much of my time lately has been consumed with a new site I’m developing which creates custom real estate flyers. If you’re a REALTOR and need quality flyers, bookmark TheFlyerMan.com – if you go there now, you can sign up to be notified when the site is live.

In preparation for . . .

It’s no secret to most that what occupies most of my time, and a great deal of Jeanna’s, is the planning for our trip to Costa Rica. For now, we’re planning on heading out around the 2nd of September and returning December 16th.

It really is amazing how much different these things need to be planned than an ordinary vacation. At the top of the list now is insurance. Sorry, my mind won’t let me write much more – gotta get to work planning.