It’s been too long since I last updated the site. I’ve been busy.
In addition to my usual projects at work, I’ve been taking a course on Linux System Administration, which has been going well. On top of that, work sent me and the other developers on our team to a continuing education program offered through Cleveland State University, so that we can all receive a certification in web development. Mostly this has been review for me, but I’ve been able to learn a bit more in some areas.
Also, I’ve gotten involved with Makers’ Alliance, a 501.c3 nonprofit startup whose mission is to provide a hackerspace for the greater Cleveland area. If you have any negative connotations from hearing the word “hacker”, please don’t. We are not the kind of hackers who go breaking into systems we don’t own without permission, although we may take things we do own apart and figure out how to make them better.
The organization is almost a year old, and we’re really just getting started. We are trying to find funding and a permanent location for our operation.
I just finished a project to create a course for teaching Cascading Style Sheets, which I will be presenting on 4.30.10 at our temporary location, the former Brunswick Flower Shop at 10550 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106. I’ve given the course the title Streetwise CSS, and it is intended to be an intermediate level class geared toward learning CSS for the real world. I am hosting a live example code page on this site, and the powerpoint slides from the lecture component of the course as well, if anyone’s interested.
I’ve also been spending the second Tuesday of every month attending .NET SIG meetings, hosted by Bennett Adelson in Independene, OH, in an effort to network with other professionals and keep up to date on Microsoft’s developer tools.
Last weekend, I attended Notacon 7, and had a great time attending many interesting presentations, and got to meet a lot of great new people and see a few old friends as well. Makers’ Alliance had a presence at the convention, hosting and setting up the open hacking room, where people could learn soldering, buy and assemble small project kits, and learn about circuits and electrical components. I didn’t get much sleep but I had a lot of fun.
In the next few weeks I am looking to get deeper into C# and am planning to revisit my DomeWrinklesCurl project, to implement a few features that I have on my project roadmap.
On May 8, I’m planning on spending part of my day at the CCAG show, which is always a lot of fun. I love seeing all the old hardware and the chance to play a few classic games or pick up a few for my collection.