That didn't take long...

Well, I've submitted the link to my final class portfolio. It can be viewed here:

http://www.pitt.edu/~clp56/portfolio_puzak.html

It has been an interesting semester, and a rather enjoyable class. I look forward to the Fall semester, but I'm very excited to have a short break. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear my pillow calling...

The Final Countdown!

I've been working on my final assignments for both classes this semester. I finished my GIS assignment earlier in the evening, and am now preparing to put the final touches on my LIS 2600 web page. I just hope that Dr. Tomer can access everything! I have an hour and 15 minutes left to complete this, which will be plenty of time. I'll post an update when everything is ready.

Last Week!

It's the last week of the Summer semester! I can't believe how quickly the past few months went. I have one final project for my GIS class, and of course, the web page for LIS 2600.

I had to dogsit this past weekend while my parents visited Boston. Taking care of three hyperactive dachshunds is an exhausting (but rewarding) experience. Needless to say, I did not find time to work on anything but my dog bathing techniques!

In other news, the Cumberland County Library System just gave its website a much-needed overhaul: Cumberland County Library System

Caffeine Required to Post

After perusing my older posts, I finally, FINALLY realized that I kept calling Jing "Zing." I have no idea why. I blame my broken coffee maker and the subsequent caffeine withdrawal that goes along with Mr. Coffee's absence.

Tangent: I am a State employee, and the paycheck I'm receiving tomorrow is for $160. After that, I won't be receiving any pay until the budget is passed. With that said, donations are welcome! I even take Paypal!

Web Page Content

I just finished another project for my GIS class, and I'm now looking forward to the last assignment for LIS 2600. I have experience creating web pages, but I think I tend to underwhelm audiences. I rarely put multimedia on my pages, and I never use flashy banners or extraneous animated content. My goal for the final project is to keep things simple and professional. Nothing screams "amateur" like glittery fonts and disgustingly cute backgrounds!

External Stylesheets

I just completed the CSS assignment for LIS 2600. It's been awhile since I last experimented with external stylesheets, so I had to refresh my memory with a few web searches on the subject. At first, I accidentally put all of the style information directly into my HTML page source code, instead of linking to my separate stylesheet. While it obviously worked, it wasn't what the assignment called for. So I merely copied the style information into my CSS file, saved both of them, and dragged the updated files into my Fetch FTP program. I can see the updated page here:

http://www.pitt.edu/~clp56/thoreau_fragment_1.html

Missing Fast Track Weekend

I had talked to Dr. Tomer during the Spring Fast Track weekend about not being able to attend the summer on-campus session. I'm actually somewhat depressed, because I love visiting the campus. I attended Pitt as an undergraduate, and it's nice going back for a visit every semester.

Originally, the dates of the Summer Fast Track weekend were July 10-12, so I had planned to be out of town on those days. Unfortunately, the on-campus session dates were changed for Cohort 8.5, so I'm unable to make the trip to Pittsburgh this weekend due to vacation plans that couldn't be rescheduled. Thankfully, I'm only missing LIS 2600's class, because my GIS class does not have an on-campus meeting this semester.

I'm very glad I had the opportunity to use Jing earlier in the semester, because I'm required to make an online presentation for my GIS class, LIS 2970. The assignment is to present a GIS related library website, database, or clearinghouse; demonstrate a tool within ArcGIS; or present the ArcGIS software in general. I just hope I can give a thorough explanation of the software and still remain within Jing's restrictive five minute time limit!

Thoreau Fragment and Fetch

I just uploaded my Thoreau HTML page to the Pitt server, after fighting with it for a few minutes. I had to download Fetch (a program for FTPing) instead of Filezilla. Apparently Filezilla doesn't like my Macbook, and refused to install correctly (I tried several times). I believe my OS might be outdated, so I'll have to check on that later. In any case, Fetch worked quite nicely. I changed the file upload to SFTP, and just dragged my HTML file from my desktop to my Pitt public folder. After reading Tim's posts online, I finally realized that I need to create another folder within the public folder for the link to work correctly. So, I created an "HTML" folder and dragged my file into that. Presto! I could finally view my Pitt webpage. I hope Dr. Tomer can see it, as well!

Web Design in Two Minutes

I just watched the "Web Design in Two Minutes" video and found it pretty entertaining. Time lapse photography makes everything seem easy, but it really takes significant time, planning, and patience to create a website of that caliber. I'm not too certain, but I think the designer was using PhotoShop and Dreamweaver. I'd love to see someone create this website using only HTML and JavaScript. I suspect the video's title would then change to "Web Design in 30 Minutes."

GIS Assignment - Close Call!

In my last post, I mentioned how relieved I was that the due date for my GIS assignment had been pushed back by one day. After I posted this news, I checked just to make sure I was right, and apparently the due date was only pushed back for people who had submitted the assignment incorrectly at an earlier time. I'm just glad I discovered my error in time! I was able to complete and submit the assignment before the stroke of midnight. Crisis averted!

Koha Assignment

I just completed the Koha assignment for this class. It was a simple assignment--Dr. Tomer's video was straightforward and easy to follow. Like the other assignments, though, the work was tedious. It took me about two hours to add all 25 Battle of Gettysburg items to the virtual bookshelf I created (Puzak). I'm assuming that real library work won't be as mundane, but I haven't had the benefit of library co-op experience. I do volunteer at the Joseph T. Simpson Public Library in Mechanicsburg, PA, but I am just a lowly shelver. I'll have to find out if the librarians there are utilizing any of the citation/reference programs that we have addressed in class. To be honest, I usually see the librarians dealing with administrative issues (i.e., intra-library book transfers and setting up meeting rooms for local reading groups), so I'm not very familiar with the demand for reference services at J.T. Simpson.

In other news, I am somewhat concerned about my next GIS assignment. Thankfully we've been given another day to complete it, but I have a feeling I'll be spending several hours just trying to understand it. I wish I had a longer weekend!