Monthly Archives: July 2004

Progress on the new site

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I made a ton of progress on the new site. I’ve completed the new look, designed a new cascading style sheet, and added some more things for visitors. Of course there will be some very familiar things, such as the dragon at the top. Organization will also be familiar. But other changes are coming. At this point, it’s just a matter of migrating all of the pages over. I also promised to have my pictures from England and the site evolution up by then. So it will be a while before it’s all complete. But in the meantime, here is a screenshot of the new site index.

There are still some bugs to work out as well, but this gives you an idea of what’s coming up. As I’ve probably stated in the past, I hope to have this up by the end of the year.

More site fixes

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I had to make a few more fixes to My Links. I added one of the most informative sites I’ve ever read. Howstuffworks tells you how stuff, well, works. Although it covers technology, it also covers money, people, science, health… a whole lot of things. I also added the founder’s blog, Marshall Brain, to the list. He knows a lot about technology, but his site was probably one of the coolest information sites ever created. His blog can be very entertaining, as well as sensible. Finally, I removed the old Worth magazine link that rated the best (and worst) charities and replaced it with two watchdog sites.

If any of you have been looking at the code for my site, you know that it’s full of unnecessary tags and such (I just realized it myself today). Although I’ve made some minor tweaks, I don’t know if I’ll clean up the unnecessary tags any time soon. I do plan on making sure that they don’t show up on the next site. I also need to rewrite some other stuff. I hope to have it ready by the end of the year, including the rest of the UK scrapbook and the site evolution. So how far behind am I?

Number one on Google again

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I finally made it to number one on Google. Thanks to everyone who has visited my site to get the ranking up there.

The next article in My Tech-know is now available. Please click here if you’re interested in learning anything about choosing a digital camera. I also added some new games to my Xbox wish list and one more to watch for in upcoming titles.

More pictures, new guitar strings

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I published yet another scrapbook page of my trip to England. I managed to convert more pictures for the page, but I have so many more to make web-ready. I hope to complete more in the next week.

I will be testing some new strings on my guitar. Elixir stings, made by W. L. Gore and Associates, are specially coated guitar strings that have a micropolymer layer over wound strings to allow them to resist contamination and corrosion over a period of time while providing the same tone as regular strings. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be playing them and making notes about what I think about them (as required by the survey). The first portion of the survey is due in a week, and the second is due eight weeks after I start playing the new strings. Although Gore makes two types of strings, the set that I received does not state which type I have. Instead, they’re called a “Developmental Sample,” which could be the type with “nanoweb” technology. It would seem unusual that a company that basically developed Gore-Tex would move into guitar string manufacturing, but Gore is known for its innovation with plastics.

Procrastinating on pictures?

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I know… I promised that I’d post more pictures of my UK trip. However, I’ve been doing some other things. First off, I played golf yesterday (I have to get out at least once a year) and I basically vegged afterwards. Today, I did a little housework, managed to pick up a pair of new eyeglasses that I ordered last week, and walked to get some fresh air (and to pick up the glasses and have lunch). But I did manage to convert some photos to a “web-ready” format. However, it has been slow going (I know, it sounds like I’m procrastinating, doesn’t it?).

In the meantime, I did manage to finish Halo again, but this time in “normal” mode. I also tried out a couple of other new Xbox games, thanks to the demo disks that come with my subscription to Official Xbox Magazine. In fact, I’ve written about some games to look for and added them to My Xbox page. I’ve also added a list of contents with bookmarks so that you can find information on the page faster.

Working on UK pictures

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After thinking about it this morning, I decided to start working on my trip to Great Britain. I chose a format that might make it easy and fun to learn by adding pictures in between the relevant paragraphs to break up the reading. Except for the introduction (which still needs work), the text was written and edited during and after my trip. I may need to tweak it a bit more, though, for better reading and clarity. I hope you enjoy learning my trip to Britain, including my first day. Depending on the feedback I receive (if I receive any), I’ll continue to use this format for the next pages. As time permits, I’ll continue to add information.

And why has it taken so long to get this far? The biggest obstacle is reformatting the pictures for the web, placing them in the appropriate location on the page, and adding text and alternative tags (for screen readers). Also, uploading a lot of pictures at once doesn’t happen quickly. I’d like to get two to four pages up per weekend day, but I won’t guarantee that it’ll happen. But I’ll try… really!!

New Web site format development

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Okay folks, I’m really getting stoked about developing the next site. I need to work on a lot, so don’t expect it anytime soon. My game plan is to publish it by this winter, which gives me a few months to really work on it. I have ideas galore, but I’m narrowing those down. I have also been promising the online scrapbook of my trip to England and my web site evolution since last year, so I really need to spend time focused on those as well. After reviewing some usability items, I realize what direction I want to move.

However, I’m a little upset that I’ve lost my listing on Google. Why? Google lists pages based on content and on how often it is visited. Most of the content has not changed. But it seems that less people are visiting my site. So, I’m thinking of ways to keep this page exciting while not spending too much time on it. I’m still soliciting ideas for the future site. On the plus side, my site is listed second on Yahoo’s search and first on MSN’s new search. As it turns out, I’m also listed as one of the people that attended a WICORTS meeting on May 31, 2002 (yes, that really was me, not another person with the same name).

I am also excited about two job interviews next week. They are both in the Milwaukee area, so I may need to move if I get either one. That means that my e-mail address will likely change (yet again… but it’s been a couple of years). Don’t worry, I’ll remember to keep everyone informed.

For today’s wit I bought a new squeegee at Bed Bath and Beyond, then stopped in my local CompUSA to ask a question. Of course, I didn’t really think about the item I had in my hand until after waiting in line at the information desk for a minute. So when it was my turn, I couldn’t resist asking, “Is this the best tool for cleaning windows?”

Windows cleaner - thumbnail 

More on technology in the classroom

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I want to follow up on my blog from July 2. I mentioned that the Governor’s Task Force on Educational Excellence recommended various program increases. I then blasted technology in primary grade classrooms as a waste of funding. I still stand by my opinion, but I have more to add.

I was watching the Rocky marathon on the American Movie Classics network the other night (yes, I stayed up late). I’m not a big fan of boxing, but I really enjoy a good underdog film, especially when it’s about Sylvester Stalone’s protagonist Rocky. So I stayed up to watch the entire Rocky IV showing (until 2:00 a.m.!). This is the one where a Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is trained using the latest in Soviet technology (and most of it looks like something out of a 21st century training facility). Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) fights Drago in an exhibition match and dies after taking too many very powerful blows from the Soviet. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stalone) then agrees to fight Drago in Russia. While Drago continues to increase his power, strength, speed, and endurance using the latest training and measuring equipment (increasing his punching strength from 1,850 PSI to 2,145 PSI), Rocky is in some backwoods area of Russia, surrounded by snow and mountains, training in an old barn or out in the
snow, and using rocks, the barn’s frame, and old wagon, or whatever other “junk” is available. In the end, Rocky beats the Soviet in 15 rounds with a knock-out.

My point here is that despite all this great technology that’s available to the heavyweight champion who seems to have it all (he buys his brother-in-law a full-sized service robot for his birthday… and this was 1985), he still relies on his ingenuity, innovativeness, and the natural world to acquire the practically impossible achievement of surviving one of the deadliest fights of his life. In this movie, technology fails and is certainly no substitute for the heart and hunger that Rocky Balboa fights with. Yeah, there is another message about everyone changing and how the Cold War is wrong, but that’s not the element I am referring to. So my bottom-line point is that technology is a useful tool, but it’s not a substitute for good old-fashioned education.

Another point I want to make is the increasing of the State Sales Tax to cover increasing educational needs. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“But the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which advises lawmakers on tax issues, warns that the sales tax ‘has generally been thought to be regressive because the proportion of an individual’s or family’s income devoted to consumption declines as income increases.’

That means the sales tax hits a Wisconsin family with an income of $40,000 proportionally much harder than a family that brings home $100,000 a year.”

As I mentioned the other day, a sales tax affects more families. Here is a nonpartisan legislative service agency stating some more simple economics about a flat rate sales tax. So how does this negatively affect a lower income household? It’s simple math (and something that I learned way back in high school). Let’s use the current five percent Wisconsin sales tax (excluding county and other sales taxes). If a family earning $40,000 buys goods for the year at $5,000, it spends $250 in sales tax, or about 0.62 percent of its income. A second family that earns the $100,000 buys goods at $10,000 for the year and spends $500 in taxes, or about 0.5 percent of its income. If the first family tried to keep up with the second family and spent $10,000 in goods for the year, it would actually spend about 1.25 percent of its income in sales tax. So the sales tax is regressive because households that make less money pay more of their income in taxes. To learn more, click here.

Is it me, or have I been blogging a lot lately? I guess I have way too much on my mind lately.

Independence Day 2004

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Happy Independence Day! Today America celebrates 228 years of freedom from monarchical oppression and tyranny. It was on July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was officially signed by members of the Continental Congress. It declared that the 13 British colonies in North America independent from Great Britain. The Declaration explains why the colonies chose this action.

As we continue to learn from our own actions, we must remember that independence is not something that is thrust upon us, but something that we truly desire and fight for. With this in mind, let’s not forget the sacrifice that we all make to keep the spirit of our nation alive. Let’s also remember those that have fought or are fighting and sacrificing their lives so that others may know what freedom is. I may not agree with the current administration’s decision to occupy parts of the world, but I support our troops that fight for humanity and peace.

My idea for improving education

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The Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Educational Excellence made 40 recommendations on June 30. Of those recommendations, some included expanding the four-year-old Kindergarten program, recruiting more minority teachers, increasing state-funded grants for smaller class sizes, repealing the qualified economic offer law (QEO, which caps teachers’ salaries), and increasing the state sales tax while reducing the property tax to generate $1.44 billion in additional revenue, among other things. But out of 40 recommendations, not one mentions looking for efficiencies in the current system. You mean to tell me that out of everything the schools offer, there is not one area that costs too much or that is a frivolous cost to the taxpayers?

I have an excellent idea of something to consider. You know my position on computers in the classroom (if not, click here for my soapbox). I mean, there are schools that teach six-year-olds how to type… yet the students still haven’t learned their basic alphabet or how to construct sentences! Anyone who works with computers knows that technology moves very fast, and the technology used in the schools at the first grade level will be obsolete in a year or so. In the meantime, schools are having difficulty keeping up with the latest technology because it is still expensive. In my opinion, it’s an expense that we can forego if it means that children learn how to use their minds and creativity to solve problems… computers are still “garbage in, garbage out,” so they’re only as effective as their users. Not all children will use computers in the future, since some of them could become laborers. Also, many of them will learn how to use them either in college or on the job… that’s how I learned, and I’m considered an expert in my office (or at least people ask me questions regularly).

In the meantime, other state programs and agencies are required to cut budgets and positions. The State Patrol had to cut over nine percent of its troopers… that’s 36 out of 399. Other state employees were laid off or have been told that they will be laid off soon. Yet the Task Force on Educational Excellence came up with this recommendation that commits the state to spend more money.

I especially would like to call into question the sales tax increase… everybody will pay more in aggregated taxes if that option is exercised (that is, passes in a state budget or other legislation). It’s a tax increase, even if it means a cut in property taxes, because more people are paying it. I’m not against paying for government services, but this is a mechanism that takes a general tax and reallocates it for a specific purpose. In the 2003-05 state biennial budget, the Transportation Fund (a dedicated fund for funding transportation, Motor Vehicles, and State Patrol) “loaned” money to education. As a tax-paying citizen, I do not approve these recommendations. Click here to visit the Task Force’s web site.

In other goings-on in my life, I saw Michael Moore’s film, “Fahrenheit 9/11″ last night, and I have to admit that I had some mixed emotions. I’m no fan of the current administration and its actions, but this film revealed some observations that many seemed to have forgotten. There was some poking fun at and a little bantering (which you would expect from Moore), and I wasn’t very impressed with the smugness that Moore presents. But it was somewhat sobering and certainly worth learning one viewpoint of the entire controversy. It certainly wasn’t Spiderman, so I may see that this weekend… just as a pick-me-up.

One part that really caught my attention was the discussion of the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act). Moore states that nobody read this legislation, and that it was overwhelmingly passed in both houses of Congress within two or three days of its introduction. The truth he failed to mention was that there was opposition from Wisconsin’s own Senator Russ Feingold, who noticed inherent problems with the legislation and testified against passage. Moore also fails to mention that other congressional members have realized that there are flaws in the act and have introduced legislation to modify it. If you haven’t read or heard of it, the Patriot Act basically gives federal law enforcement agencies broad authority to conduct wiretaps and scans of anything that might be considered detrimental to the security of the nation. In fact, by my writing this, I could become a listed person for suspicious activity (as harmless and law-abiding as I am, and I even pay taxes on my online purchases). In case I am suddenly being watched, though, let me just state that I neither condone nor condemn the Patriot Act, and that I am merely stating an observation. Also note that federal law enforcement agencies have not used this authority beyond its intent, which is to stop terrorism. I’m certainly all for stopping terrorism and bringing these enemies to justice. Click here to visit the Library of Congress’ site that has the links to the act’s language. If you’re having trouble finding it, visit http://thomas.loc.gov and look up Public Law 107-56.

I also learned that last night was the last live-recorded show for co-host Patrick Norton on TechTV’s The ScreenSavers. While the show is moving to Los Angeles, Norton has chosen (under no duress from the producers or network executives) to remain in San Francisco. I wish all the best to him, his soon-to-be wife, and his future endeavors. In the meantime, you can still see previously-recorded (and not yet aired) episodes of The ScreenSavers all summer, and the new live shows will be aired starting in September with host Kevin Rose and a yet-to-be-determined co-host. Both Kevin and Sarah Lane have agreed to continue their work on the show.

Finally (not to sound long-winded), I’m going to divest some time in learning how to create a cascading style sheet. You won’t see it on this site, but the next site will have it. I’m still working on a layout for the new site (well, on and off), but I’ve come up with some ideas and organization. I may even add a breadcrumb to it, if I can figure out how to do so.