Midterms This Week!!!!

Hello everybody,

I have midterms this week, so I will not be posting a great deal.  This week, I am redesigning the Title Page for my Flash Narrative, lengthening the first section, and creating the second section.  The second section is going to involve quite a few shape tweens, as well as a rather cool concept in my opinion.  I am going to have an image of me (the same image used in section 1 to keep file size to a minimum) with water moving in waves using shape tweens at my feet.  As this section has to deal with the rush of emotions felt when one hears they are disabled, I am going to use formatted text that appears from a shape using shape tweens.  As each word morphs onto the Stage, the water will rise higher.  This is what it feels like at first, so this is what I have decided to do.  Though a relatively simple concept, it has powerful meaning that I feel others will understand.  As always, remember you can see the published version of my narrative up to the point on which I am working by visiting my Website and venturing to the bio page.  http://kaplandgreer.webs.com/bio.html.

Aside from this, I will be writing a paper on the history of graphic file formats and Flash, as well as a paper on the differences between a hub, bridge, switch and router, and the basic functions of a network server.

This is quite a bit of work to complete in a week, so I better get to it.

Take care everybody,
David L. Greer, Jr.

Successful Seminar

Good day everybody.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  I have been working very hard this week on school, Alpha Beta Kappa, and Ambassadors and Leaders.  Last night, ABK was present at a seminar from Betsy Richards concerning ePortfolios.  I feel it was a successful seminar, though I wish more members had made themselves present.  Even so, it was successful, and we will likely be offering another seminar concerning resumes, as there were a great many questions concerning this topic.  Betsy Richards was great, and she seemed very prepared.  I look forward to working with her in the future.

Well, it is back to work,
David L. Greer, Jr.

I Have Found My Way Back

Good morning everybody,

It has been awhile since my last post, but that is only because I have been very busy.  I had the meeting with Pearson concerning the Student Advisory Board, and am now waiting to hear back from them to see if I have made the cut.

Alpha Beta Kappa recently started a discussion thread for member introductions within our online community area.  I believe it will be a huge success, along with the other features us officers have created.  In addition, there is a great deal of interest being shown in students wanting to join the honor society.  I have been replying to emails as fast as I can.

Classes are going well, and the gym membership has been paying off.  I am finding I am able to walk a lot easier, and I am filled with more energy.

Well, I have to write a paper for Technology Infrstructure class, so I will end this for now.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.

I Am Back

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has been a few days since my last post, but I have been focusing solely on classes.  I have a few minutes now, so I figured I would come back and post.  I have come up with the idea for the Title screen of my digital Flash narrative on Overcoming the Downfalls of Disability, and now only have to finalize the graphics and create them.  That will take all of today, so I am up to get an early start.  I am excited about the chance to create this, and only hope I will be able to share this with other disabled persons that are going through what I have already gone through and overcome.

I received the actual date of the meeting for the Pearson Student Advisory Board.  The email I received stated the meeting will be this Thursday afternoon/early evening.  I am quite excited about this opportunity, and can only do my best to secure a spot on the Board.  More on this topic will follow Friday morning after I find out for myself the result of the meeting.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.

Meeting For The Pearson Student Advisory Board Program Confirmed

Hello everybody,

I know this is an extremely late post for me, but I really had to concentrate on hitting the books today rather than blogging.  However, I am now all caught up, so I have time to blog for a minute before bed.  I received the email today that the meeting for a possible position on the Pearson Student Advisory Board has been scheduled for next Thursday, March 11, 2010 in the late afternoon.  This is an exciting time, as I will have a chance to show them I would be an extremely valuable asset to the program.  Wish me luck!!!!

School is going good.  I fell a little behind since I had to go to the doctor today for horrendous migraines.  The doctor confirmed it was migraines, and I am now on medication for them, so hopefully this will not disturb my study time any longer.  Though I am caught up, I will have to hit the books again hard for the Technology Infrastructure course later this morning.  Then I will be able to begin working on my projects on Sunday so I can get done by Tuesday.  I have to create the Title Page for my Flash digital narrative concerning overcoming the downfalls of disability.  Though it is a serious topic, it will be fun to create.  I also have to write a two page paper for my Technology Infrastructure course.  This is essentially a step up from the Networking Concepts course, so at least I have a good foundation upon which this course will expand.  Therefore, I have a completely full three days ahead of me, so I am going to go get some sleep so I can hit the ground running later this morning.

Have a great night,
David L. Greer, Jr.

Pearson Student Advisory Board

Hello everybody,

Yesterday, I received the one email I have been waiting for.  The email stated that one of the committee members and the Director of Student Relations want to set up a meeting with me to discuss the Pearson Student Advisory Board program to see if it is a good fit for me.  Receiving this email shows me that all of my hard work in school is beginning to pay off.  I have to especially thank those faculty members that provided recommendations for me, as I could not have gotten this far without them.  While I do not yet have a position on the Board, I have taken a step in the right direction with the meeting.  It is my hope that this works out, but I do not want to get my hopes up too much until I have the meeting.  I am awaiting a return email explicitly stating the date and time of the meeting, so I will let you know when I know.  In the meantime, all we can do is hope and see how the meeting goes.  I know it will be either this Friday, or next Wednesday or Thursday, so until then I can only hope it goes well.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.

End of Unit 1 Term 10 / CSS3 and IE

Hello everybody,

End of Unit 1 Term 10

I have come to the end of the first unit of the new term.  As always, there was a great deal of reading and learning how each individual course is run.  For this reason, I am glad to see Unit 2 here.  I will be beginning my Flash narrative this week, and will be getting an overview of Technology Infrastructure.  I finished the storyboard, and believe I have come up with an interesting and meaningful concept.  Essentially, I am going to create a digital narrative describing the process involved in returning to some semblance of a normal life after becoming disabled.  As I have recently begun working on my physical health at the gym (2 weeks and feeling better all the time), I felt it was important to revisit the feelings and obstacles I have overcome to reach my present state.  I know my limitations now, and am not being held back any longer by surgeries and self-doubt.  With this said, after the term ends, the Flash narrative will be incorporated into my personal Website in order to inspire others, while at the same time showing myself how far I have come and why I must keep going.  I find it much easier to put all I have into my work when it is meaningful to myself, or may benefit others.

CSS3 and IE

While going along with my daily routine of waking up and reading interesting Web Design/Development articles posted by Smashing Magazine on Twitter (nice plug if I do say so myself), I came across two specific articles related to new developments in CSS3.  Upon reading these articles, and getting excited about all of the new possibilities, especially in creating columns and how backgrounds will display, I noticed a very disturbing trend.  None of the new properties discussed within the articles are supported by IE.  Now, I had heard this before, but had never really seen any concrete evidence to support the claims.  However, after seeing it written in different articles with different authors, I have received all the convincing I need that the allegations are true.  This is a significant problem, as IE still has 60% of the market share.  Therefore, IE is holding Web Designers, and Web Design as a whole, back by not conforming to standards, and at the same time, depriving its users of improved Websites with necessary components.  We can learn about all of the new advancements in CSS, but cannot actually use them except in the case of creating browser-specific Websites, which is itself a rarity.  The funny thing is, Microsoft keeps asking itself why they are losing more of the browser market share with each passing year.  By remaining stubborn about conforming to standards, and supporting new technological advancements, they are hurting themselves, and anybody that comes into contact with IE.  I hope for the sake of Web Design that this trend changes soon.  Otherwise, Web Designers will be stuck using the same old techniques and properties to create their sites, and users will remain viewing the same sites for a long period of time with nothing new and exciting to discuss and enjoy.

Have a great day,

David L. Greer, Jr.

My First Flash Project

Hello everybody,

Today, I will be working on the storyboard for my first real Flash project.  The concept is still a little unclear, but I am receiving inspiration from the people around me.  Hopefully the concept will become clearer as I review the project requirements for the entire course.  I believe this will allow me to fully focus on what is to be accomplished.  I want to have the idea fixed today though.  This way I will be better able to create the storyboard and follow it for the next nine weeks.  It becomes more difficult to complete anything when you change your mind, and the project, every week.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.

An Eventful Weekend

Hello everybody,

After this past weekend, I am glad to see the week arrive.  I spent most of the weekend fighting the Antivirus Vista 2010 virus on my wife's computer.  This virus seems to have attached itself to her user account, and had rendered all of the programs on her computer unusable.  It also changed all of her browser settings and kept displaying popup ads, and just wreaking havoc.  However, after two days, we finally got it fully removed and have restored the computer back to its original state.  This is the reason why there was no blog entry yesterday (I would have just ranted and raved anyway), and also why I am glad the week is here.  Now, I can focus on my schoolwork, and leave the terrible weekend behind.

On a better note, I did manage to get my new webcam for business installed this morning.  This will allow me to use Skype more effectively as I seek work and talk with clients.  It is much easier communicating with someone face to face than it is to rely on text or strictly talk.

I was interviewed yesterday by a new student in her first term with Kaplan as part of her project for CS114.  Essentially, she asked questions concerning everything from education to honor societies to communication and work.  It felt good to help someone who has only recently taken the huge step into bettering her life, as well as the lives of her family members, through education.  I hope I gave her enough information concerning what to expect as she moves throughout her education and finally off into the world of IT.

Have a great day,
David L. Greer, Jr.