I sat down with the determination that before the day was over, I was going to know how to program at least a little with these two languages.  Once I started, I can say I was hooked.  I knew a bit of HTML that I managed to teach myself in the late 90’s.  There once was a site called Anglefire that allowed you to program your own webpage.  It would allow you to do quite a bit of editing.  I remember it as if it was yesterday.  I was very proud of the accomplishments I’d made.  I looked up everything I could from the Internet.  I had pictures of myself, lists, tables, and I even had a MIDI file that greeted people to the site.  These days, I absolutely hate if I land on a URL where someone added a sound to play automatically.  It’s annoying and some people have slow connections…even dial-up!  It slows doen the speed at with the page fully loads.

The book walks you through the steps of creating a website from scratch.  It tells you the best programs to use as text editors, i.e. Notepad for Windows and TextEditor on Macs.  I am choosing to do mine in TextWrangler as it separates comments, elements, and such into different colors, making it easier to distinguish lines and what they are supposed to do.  It helps you create an entire working website with clear explanations of the workings of the languages.  The major plus for the book, to me, is that the writer does not make things difficult to understand.  He writes as thought he is teaching it to someone who has never heard of a website.

It seems that I was given an older version of the book, but it does just as well.  Maybe a little later, I will get the newer version and see if there is any difference.  After completing the one I’m reading, I will be starting another language that can help out these two.  Maybe something that works along with a database.  That seems to be more and more relevant as the days go by.  This point in time, it pays to know anything and everything you can about computers along with their functions and capabilities.  I believe Sitepoint books are some of the best to achieve this goal..

As I am sitting in class, I should obviously be listening to the professor.  I, however, cannot follow anything being talked about.  Why is this?  I am thinking that what is being done is the same thing I could do in the comfort of my own home.  It honestly wouldn’t be any different.  I’m editing my blog instead of placing my attention on the subject at hand.  People are in so many ways like dogs…labs especially.  “Ooooh..shiny bubble!”  Better yet, “Squirrel!”  We sit down with the full intention of learning something.  Anything!  What about that news story I heard something about this morning?  What happened to the people?  What about that new kitchen gadget I saw at Williams-Sonoma the other day?  What new movie has Colton Ford been in?  The last question would be more likely on my computer.  I’m guilty.

By saying that, people naturally become preoccupied if their brains aren’t intrigued.  Give my brain something to think about.  This solely has to do with the individual professor.  I am definitely not saying this pertains to every teacher or professor out there.  Some are the best teachers in creation and teach hundreds of people things a year.  Those I tip my hat to.  This pertains to those professors who have their names on a class because they have to teach something or not get paid.  These generally don’t have the slightest interest or concern that anyone takes a shred of information from their instruction.   You might be asking where I am going with this.  I’m getting there as I run around, chasing my squirrel.

I judge my professors on their knowledge of the course.  This doesn’t mean that the night before class, they sat down and read the chapter they are teaching the next day.  This means that when they stand before the class, they aren’t stumbling over their feet.  They aren’t reading word for word from a presentation on the screen.  These professors engage the students in meaningful conversation in the subject at hand.  They want to know what the students have understood on their own, filling in the blanks when a question arises.  I’ve had the pleasure of having many of these teachers through my education.  From personal experience, the professors I have had for core courses were very knowledgeable in their fields.  I’ve had department heads and adjuncts who worked in the field for years and have an extensive amount of experience.  I’ve also had professors who have relied on Power Point presentations to fill in their gaps of understanding.

Once again, before I get a mob running after me, there are teachers/professors that use Power Point to relay information from their personal notes.  That is wonderful!  The tools are placed before you to use.  Take full advantage of the tools you are provided or have access.  I commend people that do this.  Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, along with their programmers, came up with these programs to make our lives a bit easier.  What I don’t like for professors to do is use the presentations provided by the publishers of the books used for that subject.  I want to see what the individual professor knows about their subject and the students who pay to take that class deserve to know their instructor is confident in their skill.

I could go on and on with this, but in some way, I am using this to vent.  As you can tell, I am sitting in one of those classes where I feel my time is being wasted.  More importantly, I feel that my money was wasted on a class I have to complete.  My main point in this…present yourself in class as a knowledgeable person in the subject you are teaching.  If you rely totally on information given to you, you’re going to appear like a kindergarten teacher reading to his/her class.  Use your own experience.  Bring in notes you have created through the years.  Talk about experiences you have been a part of that would get a point across to the students.

Man, I should have become a teacher after high school instead of thinking I wanted to be a computer technician!

I have been distant from the blog / podcast for some time now. I have let my followers down in bringing them my life for a few weeks. That’s because the quarter is coming to an end. Yes, Spring Quarter is fading out.

Finals will be Tuesday and then I will be able to breathe easier. First to end, that wretched Payroll Accounting. Thank God for allowing this course to end. It has been the hugest thorn in the side of all the others I talk to regularly in the accounting program. The professor has even gone to the lengths of not sending quarter surveys to me and others who have voiced our opinions of dislike of the happenings during the class. Very classy, let me tell ya!

Secondly, off to the Computerized Accounting final that is all about Quickbooks. YES! I believe I have this one under my belt. This class and professor, the program director, have been wonderful. This is a class I would take over and over again. An online class should be something you can teach yourself, but if a question arises, be able to get a clear answer from the class moderator. This was the epitome of an online class.

After the finals are through, I can spend time finishing up the planning for the hike coming up at the end of June. I can’t wait! More news to come on that.

If you have a moment, go over to Pride 48and check out the live show schedules. I will be participating in this years podcast-athon! Yes, 48 gay hours of podcasting from your favorite podcasters. Check out the shows that are playing now and then go back to the site from June 25-27 to hear the live broadcasts.

The Gay Country Boy loves ya!

Saying that, I am hoping the accounting will pay off. LOL. I didn’t try to make that sound the way it did, but yes. It should pay off for the effort I expect to place into learning the field. I love math and pretty much anything to do with crunching numbers. And if you know me close enough, you know money can stay in my wallet till it deteriorates. While attending The University of West Alabama, I decided to stay in Livingston over a Christmas holiday with friends instead of going home. I lived the whole month of December with a dollar in my wallet. I won’t say what things I did to continue the life I was accustomed to (living in a bottle of booze and smoking tons of cigarettes), but I made it through. I was happy to know the people I did in those times. If it had not been for one or two people, I would have starved to death over the winter. Waitresses in truck stops can be caring and generous.

I like to say the ability to hold cash in my wallet comes from my grandfather. He always wore overalls and his wallet stayed in the pocket….over his heart. It never left him for a second unless he was changing overalls. He was a wonderful man, but that money he carried meant a lot. My mother was allowed to get money out when it was needed for something. That something had better be something important like cattle feed (when he had cows) or a doctor bill if he was too sick to get the money out himself. I don’t believe I have seen a wallet so thick since his. He wasn’t a wealthy man, but what he had made him richer than any other human on earth. He was the bear on the hill to me. He would work his gardens like no one’s business. He watched over his cattle and mended fences around his property. His wealth was not something an accountant could track. Love can’t truly be debited or credited to a person. Either it is there or it’s not.

Here’s to a new beginning with lots of numbers and detail to accuracy. Wish me luck.