Studying

There are two types of computer users in the world. Those that use them for what they need to use them for, and those that play with computers. In the 90s an English teacher was frustrated by the grammatically incorrect “playing with computers” because for him, and others people play computer games on computers, but do not play “with computers”.

Knowing the Bare Minimum

I was reminded of this by a thread on Facebook yesterday. There was a conversation about people saving files in the recycle bin or trash, and then finding that their files had vanished so they called IT support to ask for help. That someone would store their files in the recycle folder or the bin is absurd, for those that know computers well.

In Switzerland a three hour drive feels long, but in France or Spain it does not. I drove from Switzerland to Spain and from Spain to switzerland. The drive to Spain is easier because traffic gets lighter as you get further south. Most of the time this is true. This time, as I drove from Spain to Switzerland I came across the opposite. From the moment I started driving I encountered traffic.

I’m afraid to open the veluxes because of the threat of finding yet another large spider. I don’t mind having to dispose of it, but I hate the idea of having one walking around without me knowing. A great alternative to open windows is to go for your daily walk. You’re far from neighbours, from smokers, from metalworking and more. You are free to daydream. Today the Mont Blanc was clearly visible. The image is at max zoom with an iphone 8+.

The daily walk, when people are back, is less pleasant because the roads and paths that were quiet when everyone was on holiday catching the virus were quiet. Now that everyone is back it is a challenge to avoid people again and it could be worth finding quieter routes.

View of the Léman and Alps

I still track my walks with an app or two, but as I walk the same route so frequently something like the Garmin VivoSmart 4 is fine. It counts steps, measures heart rate, and measures oxygen levels, but not very well. It also tracks how tired or full of energy you might be.

During this Pandemic, I have decided to study Web Development and I am slowly making my way through one or two Linkedin Learning Pathways. In the process, I have learned about CSS, PHP, JavaScript ECMAScript2016, Frameworks and more.

The course I have studied are:

Angular Essential Training / React.js Essential Training / Git Essential Training / Learning ECMAScript 6 /Node.js Essential Training / Javascript Essential Training / RubyonRails Essential Training / CSS Essential Training / Ruby Essential Training : 1 The Basics / Installing and Running Ruby On Rails 5: Mac / Programming Foundations: Web Security /PHP with MySQL / Essential Training 1 and 2 /PHP Essential Training / Programming Foundations: Databases / Responsive Layout / HTML Essential Training / Introduction to CSS and CSS Essential Training.

richard - Apr 5, 2007

http://www.main-vision.com/richard/romans.html is what I wrote about the Romans

Romans? Anything on Gibbon? I may be the only person in the entire world who’s reading him right now – and loving him.

I have had a few big writing projects. The first of these was creating the website on the Romans. I had set myself the task of writing down everything that I knew down into a word document. That word document was transformed and cut up into a number of HTML pages and turned into a website. That project started ten years ago. After that project, I wrote an essay about information technology in a global society and that was really interesting. I finished that essay within a few months. I never stopped studying that subject and it’s coming in very handy at the moment but that’s another story. A dissertation is a lot like creating a specialised website. You gather hundreds of bits of information and amalgamate them into a collection of articles. Each article adds an aspect to the conversation that you are having with your reader. As they gather this information their knowledge can be used to explain whether what you have noticed is due to social effects, whether it’s regulatory or other. It’s not that hard but it’s scary to write dissertations because you have to be careful to stay on topic, you have to make sure that it meets with the requirements of the dissertation examiner. I love writing but I’m slowed down by having to source everything that I write. I’d prefer to write for pleasure but that will have to wait till I finish university. Just over a month to go till I regain my freedom.

Claire - Apr 1, 2007

What’s the subject of your dissertation and where do you go to school? Tried to find both bits of information on your blog, and I’m sure its there, just wanted to ask to save some time. Thanks, I enjoyed perusing your blog. Good luck with writing.

I love technology, especially in the form of online communities. I’ve been part of so many online communities I have some degree of expertise. I’ve seen the birth of the chatroom and it’s evolution, the popularisation of instant messaging and through flipside and nochicktrix I’ve seen the forming of virtual communities. More recently I’ve seen the increase from virtual communities to real communities. Over the past two years, almost everyone I know has created a myspace account and for a while, this was the best place for people to be. More recently though people have moved to Facebook. Having more than 140 friends, of which only three I do not know, is a sign of how times have changed. It’s actually fashionable to be part of an online/offline community. All the parties I’ve recently been to have been advertised on Facebook among other places and it’s become the social networking site of choice. If you’re not there you don’t know what’s going on anymore. It’s a great shift. It’s also replacing e-mail. Why e-mail people when all your friends are on Facebook. Why not take advantage of unlimited photo uploads to Facebook to add all those past nights for everyone to enjoy. I love the way technology is going. It’s sociable.