Week 10

Here we are at week 10 of the class! This week has been the hardest by far compared to the other weeks of class. The main culprit: Final Project site! I don't know the hours I have put into this site thus far (amazing that it can still be so simple) but it's been pretty much non-stop for six days. I have made a little headway but I know my main enemy is XHTML validation. Wow! When said with a low voice that echos a little, it actually sounds just like the monster I know it as. I have made a few pages using the embed feature (Hoping this is still exempt from the VALIDATIOR! for now) and a few that have actually passed the validation. I think I am down to four pages to make the ten. I am having trouble with the 'suggestion box' page because the comments that I type in and submit don't ever reach my inbox. JavaScript problem? Who knows?

Other than getting started on my Final Project site, I have posted to the discussion board using my comments about the pros/cons to the information delivery method. I have written a wiki (more of a blanket criticism) on the multiple intelligences theory of Gardner. I need to finish up some other work in CECS 5010 so that my head start on the assignments for the month of April will be complete. I will be in Italy for two weeks starting April 4 and not sure if Internet will be in the hostels.

A Plus,

Mark

Week 9

Well here we are at week 9 of the material. This week deals with two very interesting things in my opinion. The tweaking of audio files is always something I wanted to play with to see if I was any good at it. This remains much of a mystery due to the fact that I cannot connect to the WinSCP server from the university wifi connection (stupid super firewall). I will have to wait until I get back to the old 9 meter square apartment to try my novice out. I have written a wiki this week on codecs, well it was more of an extension to the definition that was already present. I then read up on the modality principle in the text, which I was already pretty familiar with due to my many hours of learning courses is the psych. department in undergrad school. It seems that this theory hasn't changed much, except the statistics that the text mentions are very strong in favor of the principle (median: .97 average: .72), those are pretty strong numbers in the stat world.

Other than that, I haven't done much this week (actually it's just week 7 in the calendar but anywho). I am desperately trying my hardest to get as far ahead as I can because I probably won't have Internet access for two weeks in the middle of April. This is in fact a good thing because I will be camping in Italy for two weeks!! Alas, I continue to push forward toward the goal. On another note, I didn't really understand the Web 2.0 instructions...maybe that's something I need to email the Doc about. And since Dr. Whitworth is probably the only person who will read this, I'll wait a few days for a comment to save you an email. Cheers!

Week 8

Well the French life continues....The campus has sort of been opened after 'le blocus' at least, I can access the inside of the library today. However, the typical (I would say stereotypical, but in this case it is certainly true and prevalent) French attitude has remained the same. Note: if one sees or anticipates a physical collision on the sidewalks of France with a local, it is certain to happen if the visitor doesn't move. While I am not usually this cynical towards their way of life, I have been a bit bothered by the, "To hell with you, hooray for me" attitude that I see so well represented here. In the words of my wonderful wife, "These people don't deserve their country." This was after we visited another wonderful chateau and vineyard where a woman went out of her way to stop my wife and use her body (yes she actually grabbed the wife to restrain, her from walking away) as a windbreaker to light her latest cigarette. Wow the nerve! I know that selfish is not only a word that applies to the French, but it just seems that it is more easily noticed when you are in a room full of people that refuse to talk with you because you have an accent (even if you have taken the time to become fluent in their language).

So, this week’s rant is over. For the class I have written a wiki on the RGB color scheme, started the dynamic HTML activity, watched the videos, and read up on what DHTML and color theory is all about. I’m going to finish the chapter in the text and then post to the discussion board. For now, my discussion within the blog here is more of a platform of disgust with one of the most beautiful and rich in culture countries in the world with the ugliest-attitude inhabitants. I certainly hope these next few weeks prove me wrong. A Bientot!

Week 7

Here we are at week 7, feeling better with no where to go. I have been stuck at the library for the better part of the week due to the uncertainty of the French university system. The local students have been on strike for four weeks now (and yes all the Americans are still working, go figure) with little end in sight. It must be nice to just take four weeks off of class (professors too) after just two days of class following an extended Christmas break. In the past three months there has only been two or three days of solid class as scheduled. These people have been on vacation since Turkey Day. What gets me is that these students feel oppressed by their government. Okay let's be objective by creating a plus and minus list of being a French national. Minus: you might have to pay the 19 percent tax on your house and food. Plus: free education through graduate school, maximum 35 hour work week, salaried positions with free health care for anyone with a high school degree, monthly housing stipend, lunch allowance, you live in France, you can go to Paris and London every weekend, the list goes on. My rant is over; here's what I did this week:

First I played with the Gimp software for a while and did the four parts of the assignment with the text and graphics. Then I played with the Gimp software a little more and realized that there is much more to be done in other classes. After I had a run-in with the OpenOffice suite and an Excel assignment in CECS 5010, I chose to download the Office 2007 software against my will. Now, I'm going to attempt the Web 2.0 activity all the while the French students sit and watch me type away with their government cigarettes a blazing and their oppressed butts a showing.

Cheers,

Mark