Haven't done any programming stuff today. Depressing... I know. But I did get my resume updated and am trying to learn a bit of inDesign to try to make the layout a bit less Microsoft Word-y (yeah, it's a real term... suck it).
Needless to say I've been fairly productive today. After digging out the old resume template, I got it updated with my Department of Revenue experience and then made a simple 1-page layout to supplement the full on resume. Apparently, in the business world, people barely have time to read the top third of a resume, not to mention a whole TWO pages.
Since I didn't complete any actual coding work, I figure I should at least put down a resource that I've been suckling on (best phrase EVAR) lately. Most people think of the big four when it comes to web browsers: IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. If you're ever craving something a bit different and a bit more forward thinking (than IE), you need to check out Opera (http://www.opera.com/).
The first Opera product I actually used was their web browser for my Wii when it first came out. Fantastic? Nah... but it was functional, which for the time being on the Wii was definitely the best you could hope for. Also used their mobile browser on my old Blackberry Curve and on my HTC Evo as well. Well, apparently they have a full featured browser for a computer too (who knew?).
The real kicker for Opera, though, is their education material. While Mozilla and Google have taken a fancy towards modern web standards, Opera has made it an obsession. Not an obsession where you have to come home and touch every fork in your silverware drawer. It's more like a creating an art portfolio of your life's work in a shoebox diorama. A little crazy, but there's definitely some genius behind the obsessiveness.
Check out their web standards curriculum at http://www.opera.com/developer/wsc/ and see what I mean. Even if you couldn't give 5 shits about HTML (see what I did there?), you can at least learn a bit about the internet and get a general idea of how it works (or should work if people wouldn't fucking stylize text in their HTML coding).
Also, I photoshopped Reptar's head onto Winston Churchill's body in that photo of him and Roosevelt and Stalin at the Yalta conference today. Hell yeah...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Hello World! Day 1
Can't sleep so I busted out the old PHP book at 1:00 in the morning.
The book I'm using is PHP: Fast & Easy Web Development, 2nd edition by Julie Meloni. Although it might just be called PHP, I'm not quite sure. I think it was published back in 2002, but on a tight budget and a severe lack of experience, it fits my needs quite nicely.
The book does a great job of walking you through every little step of the PHP process. In the first few chapters, it assumes you are a moron and know nothing of the language. Basically, it's perfect for me. So far I've learned the "echo" print executor, predefined variables, constants, and some basic operators. The operator types are pretty straight forward: assignment, arithmetic, comparison and logical operators. You can use these operators to take your predefined variables and transform them or set them for testing. Logical and comparison operators, for example, can be combined with "if...else" and "while" to determine truthy and falsey and then print the results.
A specific-er example is setting a predefined number variable for a temperature and a string for "hot" or "cold" and then use comparison operators to determine if the variable meet certain qualification and then outputting the general temperature via "echo".
Screw you, I think it's pretty damn cool.
I started the next chapter of pulling variables from forms to run through a php script. This is the equivalent of just learning to walk and immediately getting hit by a damn bus. My HTML experience is limited, so just setting up the form properly was a struggle. Tomorrow, I'll write the calculation php script that should crunch the input numbers and spit out a result.
Got plenty of time to do so without the looming shadow of a pending alarm clock.
The book I'm using is PHP: Fast & Easy Web Development, 2nd edition by Julie Meloni. Although it might just be called PHP, I'm not quite sure. I think it was published back in 2002, but on a tight budget and a severe lack of experience, it fits my needs quite nicely.
The book does a great job of walking you through every little step of the PHP process. In the first few chapters, it assumes you are a moron and know nothing of the language. Basically, it's perfect for me. So far I've learned the "echo" print executor, predefined variables, constants, and some basic operators. The operator types are pretty straight forward: assignment, arithmetic, comparison and logical operators. You can use these operators to take your predefined variables and transform them or set them for testing. Logical and comparison operators, for example, can be combined with "if...else" and "while" to determine truthy and falsey and then print the results.
A specific-er example is setting a predefined number variable for a temperature and a string for "hot" or "cold" and then use comparison operators to determine if the variable meet certain qualification and then outputting the general temperature via "echo".
Screw you, I think it's pretty damn cool.
I started the next chapter of pulling variables from forms to run through a php script. This is the equivalent of just learning to walk and immediately getting hit by a damn bus. My HTML experience is limited, so just setting up the form properly was a struggle. Tomorrow, I'll write the calculation php script that should crunch the input numbers and spit out a result.
Got plenty of time to do so without the looming shadow of a pending alarm clock.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Setting up a PHP workspace or Why I Learned to Hate Zach and Embrace the XAMPP
Woke up around 6:30 on Sunday and decided to spend the day starting my work with PHP. The problem with PHP is that it can be a bit difficult to jump into as it is a server side programming language. Basically, unlike HTML and jScript, PHP demands a bit of setup in regards to establishing a web server, FTP (file transfer protocol) client and installing MySQL (server query language).
Note: spelling out the acronyms are not for your benefit necessarily. I need to learn this shit.
Easier said than done apparently. As a user who is finally understanding that the internet actually has a bit of logic behind it and is not, as James Boman puts it, "fucking magic,"setting up an Apache web server is a pain in the ass. After about 2 hours of getting Apache working, but not SQL and then vice versa, Zach decides to key me in on XAMPP.
Zach has been working on getting a media server set up with Apache and purchasing some domain space. Apparently he was having some similar problems that I was having and found XAMPP. XAMPP (www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html) is a program that installs and sets up all of these resources for you.
X(cross-platform)
A(Apache)
M(MySQL)
P(Perl)
P(PHP)
If you ever want to feel like a moron, attempt to set up all of these resources individually, uninstall them, then run XAMPP. Nothing makes you feel dumber than the window that pops up with each resource listed out, a run button, and a light that changes from red to green when XAMPP automates all of these processes for you. I jest, its a genius program for a first-time user and I simply can't recommend it enough.
So far in PHP, I've learned the basics of the language and some simple syntax. I got my Hello World initiation over with, and have learned simple HTML/PHP integration coding and how this integration manifests on both the client and server side. I'm hoping to move along in my book this week and learn more about the syntax of variables and what all the language can perform.
Note: spelling out the acronyms are not for your benefit necessarily. I need to learn this shit.
Easier said than done apparently. As a user who is finally understanding that the internet actually has a bit of logic behind it and is not, as James Boman puts it, "fucking magic,"setting up an Apache web server is a pain in the ass. After about 2 hours of getting Apache working, but not SQL and then vice versa, Zach decides to key me in on XAMPP.
Zach has been working on getting a media server set up with Apache and purchasing some domain space. Apparently he was having some similar problems that I was having and found XAMPP. XAMPP (www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html) is a program that installs and sets up all of these resources for you.
X(cross-platform)
A(Apache)
M(MySQL)
P(Perl)
P(PHP)
If you ever want to feel like a moron, attempt to set up all of these resources individually, uninstall them, then run XAMPP. Nothing makes you feel dumber than the window that pops up with each resource listed out, a run button, and a light that changes from red to green when XAMPP automates all of these processes for you. I jest, its a genius program for a first-time user and I simply can't recommend it enough.
So far in PHP, I've learned the basics of the language and some simple syntax. I got my Hello World initiation over with, and have learned simple HTML/PHP integration coding and how this integration manifests on both the client and server side. I'm hoping to move along in my book this week and learn more about the syntax of variables and what all the language can perform.
Current Projects and Progression
I've quickly learned that I am truly a tactile learner. My first few weeks of learning have consisted of learning pieces of HTML and jScript but not having any practical application for them. The problem with having a paper based job 8 hours a day is that it is difficult to go home and brainstorm some kind of project you can work on. My last week has consisted of trying to set small goals for myself and learning the necessary stuff I need to achieve them. My current project list includes:
1. Album art design for Jurrasic Heat's Floor Animal album. As with any budding new local band in the Columbia, SC area, money is tight and they know that I'll do the work for free. Best part about this project is that it is all design work, so I get to work close with the band and attempt to consolidate all of their various ideas into one bit of album art. So far, the main barrier has been finding time in everyone's schedule to meet and discuss ideas, but the time spent with Amy, the lead singer, has been productive. Really looking forward to being able to take all of the crazy creative ideas in my head and actually being able to create a concrete product from it.
2. PHP. Besides HTML/CSS and jScript, I think this will be the first programming language I attempt to tackle. I have a great reference guide on it that helps walk you through the ins and outs of the language by giving you real programming tasks while explaining the syntax and what you're actually executing.
3. Logo for Spiryt Music. My old high school friend Posa has seemed to have the same revelation as I had in follow his passions. He's located down in Atlanta right now looking for a job and spends his off-time creating electronic music mixes and posting them to Soundcloud. He hopes to use some of his job money to do a few DJing sets and build up a portfolio. For this project, I'm trying to create him a unique logo to stamp on his stuff. Again, pure design work so I'm going to have to get buddy buddy with Adobe Illustrator.
1. Album art design for Jurrasic Heat's Floor Animal album. As with any budding new local band in the Columbia, SC area, money is tight and they know that I'll do the work for free. Best part about this project is that it is all design work, so I get to work close with the band and attempt to consolidate all of their various ideas into one bit of album art. So far, the main barrier has been finding time in everyone's schedule to meet and discuss ideas, but the time spent with Amy, the lead singer, has been productive. Really looking forward to being able to take all of the crazy creative ideas in my head and actually being able to create a concrete product from it.
2. PHP. Besides HTML/CSS and jScript, I think this will be the first programming language I attempt to tackle. I have a great reference guide on it that helps walk you through the ins and outs of the language by giving you real programming tasks while explaining the syntax and what you're actually executing.
3. Logo for Spiryt Music. My old high school friend Posa has seemed to have the same revelation as I had in follow his passions. He's located down in Atlanta right now looking for a job and spends his off-time creating electronic music mixes and posting them to Soundcloud. He hopes to use some of his job money to do a few DJing sets and build up a portfolio. For this project, I'm trying to create him a unique logo to stamp on his stuff. Again, pure design work so I'm going to have to get buddy buddy with Adobe Illustrator.
From Auditor to Designer/Programmer: A Fairytale Story
Yeah I know... Best title ever...
My job sucks ass. I work as an individual income tax field auditor for the South Carolina Department of Revenue and have done so for approximately 8 months now. It is both mind-numbing and mundane, repetitive and redundant. Our main objective is to both attempt to wrangle up people who are fraudulent with their tax returns and to "educate" citizens on how to do their taxes. I can't help but scoff at the second part of that statement as our way of "educating" the public is to slap low to medium income households with large bills that they are forced to pay within a very small time window before it goes to our collections department and things go to shit.
It's the same way the police department attempts to "educate" you on the law by giving you a large ticket.
Don't get me wrong, the job is not physically stressful in the least. Most of my time is spent filling out forms and sending letters and documenting every 15 minutes of my workday in three or four separate capacities. Neither is it mentally stressful either, as most of my time is spent doing repeating mundane tasks that could probably be automated by a computer system if our system wasn't still based on software from the 80's.
The emotional stress is the real killer. Having to deal with angry, passive agressive, and distraught people on an everyday basis makes my old job of waiting tables look like i was putting shoes on the feet of jubilant impoverished children. That might be a bit of a stretch (and a terrible simile) but the fact stands that for a generally good-natured caring human being as myself, this job is a nightmare.
Therefore, for the month of February, I've decided to start bettering my life in anyway possible. My first step was to begin balancing my checkbook to better control my monetary inflow and outflow using a combination of a simple Excel sheet and the internet miracle that is Dropbox. Second was to purchase a gym membership, although the gym that was supposed to open early in the month has postponed its grand opening until March, so that is still in progress.
I decided, as well, to identify things that I could become passionate about and try to focus on those things when I got home from work instead of planting my ass on the couch and attempting to detox from the day. Cooking is one of my main passions and I have since attempted to try creating new dishes and branching out of my culinary routine. My other passion is computers. Hardware, software, applications and gaming have always been points that I have been interested in, but because of my Financial Management background, I have no formal training.
I have been pushed lately by my girlfriend Julia (a fantastic designer and webpage developer), my old elementary school friend James (an IT frontman and debugger for Fluor Corp) and my old roommate Zach (a nerd) to follow this passion and see where it leads me. I've decided to write this blog in order to document my experiences as I attempt to transition to a new career, hopefully one where I can take my business background and integrate it into my love for computing.
My goal is to create a log of how and what I've learned and to document this transition from bumbling office worker into some thing a bit more modern. As of now I'm focused on learning HTML, jScript and PHP and using my photography and Photoshop/GIMP skills to learn a bit of design and hopefully a few programming languages. For you the reader, I hope it gives you a bit of insight on my life, inspire you to follow your passions, and to learn from my successes and (numerous) mistakes on taking on this transition.
My job sucks ass. I work as an individual income tax field auditor for the South Carolina Department of Revenue and have done so for approximately 8 months now. It is both mind-numbing and mundane, repetitive and redundant. Our main objective is to both attempt to wrangle up people who are fraudulent with their tax returns and to "educate" citizens on how to do their taxes. I can't help but scoff at the second part of that statement as our way of "educating" the public is to slap low to medium income households with large bills that they are forced to pay within a very small time window before it goes to our collections department and things go to shit.
It's the same way the police department attempts to "educate" you on the law by giving you a large ticket.
Don't get me wrong, the job is not physically stressful in the least. Most of my time is spent filling out forms and sending letters and documenting every 15 minutes of my workday in three or four separate capacities. Neither is it mentally stressful either, as most of my time is spent doing repeating mundane tasks that could probably be automated by a computer system if our system wasn't still based on software from the 80's.
The emotional stress is the real killer. Having to deal with angry, passive agressive, and distraught people on an everyday basis makes my old job of waiting tables look like i was putting shoes on the feet of jubilant impoverished children. That might be a bit of a stretch (and a terrible simile) but the fact stands that for a generally good-natured caring human being as myself, this job is a nightmare.
Therefore, for the month of February, I've decided to start bettering my life in anyway possible. My first step was to begin balancing my checkbook to better control my monetary inflow and outflow using a combination of a simple Excel sheet and the internet miracle that is Dropbox. Second was to purchase a gym membership, although the gym that was supposed to open early in the month has postponed its grand opening until March, so that is still in progress.
I decided, as well, to identify things that I could become passionate about and try to focus on those things when I got home from work instead of planting my ass on the couch and attempting to detox from the day. Cooking is one of my main passions and I have since attempted to try creating new dishes and branching out of my culinary routine. My other passion is computers. Hardware, software, applications and gaming have always been points that I have been interested in, but because of my Financial Management background, I have no formal training.
I have been pushed lately by my girlfriend Julia (a fantastic designer and webpage developer), my old elementary school friend James (an IT frontman and debugger for Fluor Corp) and my old roommate Zach (a nerd) to follow this passion and see where it leads me. I've decided to write this blog in order to document my experiences as I attempt to transition to a new career, hopefully one where I can take my business background and integrate it into my love for computing.
My goal is to create a log of how and what I've learned and to document this transition from bumbling office worker into some thing a bit more modern. As of now I'm focused on learning HTML, jScript and PHP and using my photography and Photoshop/GIMP skills to learn a bit of design and hopefully a few programming languages. For you the reader, I hope it gives you a bit of insight on my life, inspire you to follow your passions, and to learn from my successes and (numerous) mistakes on taking on this transition.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)