Championing success

Some of my blogs seem to have been a place to vent. Now that the semester has ended, the frustrations have faded and I'm left with a sensation of success. I learned so much in areas I formerly thought of as destined for the "techies." My greatest accomplishment has been the creation of my own website that I can use professionally. What a gift to have and know how to create.

After my initial conceptual difficulties of how the varied pages of a website link together and the difference between domain name and the 'index' page, I started in earnest. My home page presents my selected logo of a dragonfly which when clicked on, brings the user back to the homepage. Underneath the banner, I have my links that underline when moused over. They take the user to my other pages such as my bio, my performances, my sound healing training with an additional resource page, my Performance Wellness Facilitator training and site map. I like my simple layout using colors that are vibrant and match the image.

I intend to continue to work on my website. I want to change the banner using Flash where my name enters from the right, perhaps twirls, then rests. I also would like to eventually add buttons for the links. I might add some music too. Additionally, I intend shortly to launch my website with a web hosting company so that I won't be dependent on the NYU files storage. Plus, with these professional sites, I can link the application 'Dreamweaver' so that it will update any changes automatically.

I end with less fear about tackling other applications and look forward to creating and sharing.

Trying to blog, trying to Flash

It has been a while since I have blogged. I'm not one that seems to have a need to blog and share my thoughts with others. Perhaps that's not so good as I keep them whirling around within my mind. Meditation and chanting has helped but the act of writing is known to be helpful and sharing thoughts, well that can be human.

My theme is trying. I'm trying to enjoy blogging. I'm trying to not bite off all my fingernails as I have to do some of the Flash assignments over and over. Usually, I can get things pretty quickly. But, because we learn the steps quickly, with no next week review, I find that if I miss even one small step, the whole thing doesn't work. This can be very frustrating as you can imagine. I had to do the button jukebox 4-5 times before it worked. I mean 4 or 5 separate files. By the end, I started to hate the song "Summertime" which was featured in my jukebox which was a comparison of Leontyne Price, Janis Joplin and Miles Davis all showcasing their versions. After I met with my professor on a few of the action scripts I couldn't do, it seemed to click and make sense. I learned something about my learning style.

And, that is...when learning these technological steps for the first time, I'm so busy writing down the notes and following with an overwhelmed fascination, that it doesn't have time to sink in. Then, at home, going over my notes, I sometimes can't fully understand what I had written. Or, I missed a step in my notes, and then the whole house of cards tumbles down. I need a review. I understand that due to the time limitations of the course, this may not be possible. But, a quick review would concretize my understanding. Our professor, though, did manage to teach us all so many things. When I look back, I'm impressed by him and by me.

Flash is the present wave. I'm glad that I got on and took a ride, albeit bumpy at times.

Flash frustration

Perhaps blogging is a good arena for some good 'ol fashioned venting. I have been a bit frustrated by the Flash application. It is an amazingly powerful and creative tool and I enjoy that potential. But, I have found that if even the smallest step is omitted, the project does not work.

For example, while creating my jukebox, I selected three formatted buttons, modified them to a button symbol and double clicked on each to edit. In this edit mode, I added another layer, added the music that I loaded previously to the library, added a keyframe on down, dragged the music to the stage. Voila! It was supposed to work but no music would play when I clicked the buttons. Time after time, I re-checked my work. I started a whole new flash project starting again from scratch and still it would not work. I followed the notes I had taken and my professor's description on the classes' Blackboard page. Argh! I was ready to give up. Then, I opened my project one last time, edited the button and added a keyframe to the 1st layer that had no sound but was just the button loaded. It worked. By neglecting that step, the whole project did not work. This was not in my notes nor in the description.

Now, I will go back and add new buttons as I have learned that at the present point, one button cannot serve two functions. So, one button cannot start and stop music. I had misunderstood and thought that when selecting 'event' when one is assigning the music, it would cancel out any other music started in the same project. So, I will try yet again. I'm frustrated because I usually understand things quickly. This has been a test of my patience....

I am looking forward to trying my hand at writing ActionScript. It is reversing the process of what we have been doing. The former has been visually prompted and now we will have to verbalize what we want to do visually. What we think about and express correctly can be made a reality. This could be difficult, freeing, and expressive.

I am anxious to start Dreamweaver and learn how to incorporate small bits of flash INTO an existing webpage. So far, we have only processed various Flash projects as it's own webpage.

Hopefully, in my next blog entry I can reveal a wonderfully working Jukebox!

Adobe installation and vibration

I eagerly returned home with my new Adobe treasure trove of applications: the CS4 Web Premium package. It has Flash, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and a host of other goodies. I tentatively inserted the Application disc 1 and it spurned and made noises but then--the dreaded error message appeared. I fretted that I will need to install more memory after all. The disc wouldn't come out so I shut down and restarted my computer and out it popped.

A few days later, in a determined mood, with my energy calm and focused, I sat down again to bravely tackle the installation. I decided to babysit the installation and sat through the process patiently. And, yes, it worked.

What was different this time? As many do, I do wonder if our human energy affects the computer and its processings. The second time, I was calm but determined. The first, more nervous that something might go wrong.

In my studies of Sound Healing, I am understanding that everything vibrates. In vibration, there is sound. Everything has a song although we cannot hear it, except perhaps the Shamans. Therefore, even though the computer is inanimate, it too is vibrating and so must be effected by other vibrations around it.

As humans we vibrate in our own frequency. But, that frequency can alter as our heart rate, brain waves and breath change. So, we vibrate differently at varying times. The sound of our own nervous system can alter due to stress, anger and ill health.

Therby, my conclusion is that the energy we approach a computer with does effect its functioning. With my Adobe applications loaded, I am ready to tackle some Flash assignments.

Going forward

Continuing my studies in technology, I ponder the application of what I have learned to my professional life beyond the domain of school--literally and figuratively. We no longer can rely on the school's web hosting but must look to find other sources. I think it's becoming a professional necessity to have a personal webpage akin to the common business card. In this venture, we have been asked by our professor to compare the top 10 web hosting companies.

We were given some important items to look for such as unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth and unlimited emails. Most of these companies competively offer the same in this regard. There are, though, many features that we are not aware of that are listed so it makes choosing one definitively difficult.

Of course, price is a factor: Most offered $4.95 a month with a 1 year subscription but JustHost was $5.95, HostGator $6.95, HostUpon $7.95, Yahoo! Small Biz $7.46, and EasyCGI Windows $7.96, for the same with PowWeb offering 6 months free.

Next, I looked for PHP ready and MySQL; the former is that it is conducive and ready for a Personal Home Page and the latter is the most popular data based management system good for customer input, forms, class website and management: Monster Host, Bluehost, IX Web Hosting, JustHost, HostUpon, HostGator (baby plan), EasyCGI Windows, Yahoo! Small Biz, PowWeb, and LunarPages. So, all ten offered these features!

Last, I compared for sub-domain function which allows one to add a name before the web domain address essentially adding additional pages to one's webpage by directing them to another page which is a great organizational tool: Bluehost, HostGator (baby plan), PowWeb, and LunarPages. In looking over these last two categories, it appears that the four listed here have more to offer as they also offer the sub-domain features. One would need to check out what HostGator's Baby Plan entails.

Monster Host offered an anytime cancel and prorated refund which could come in handy if one wants to change companies or close down their domain and non-outsourced support. JustHost also offered cancellation and refund although it didn't list it as prorated.

Before making a final decision, I would need to find out more of some of the other features listed. But, based on what I have researched so far, I would be inclined to research further the companies of Bluehost, PowWeb, and LunarPages.