Smartphone Browser Landscape

I liked this article on alistapart.com. It involves assessing the mobile browsers utilized by smartphones and offers considerations for web developers and designers.

Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

Looks like I glossed over my reading and learning there. Anyway, towards the end of December 2009 I started Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, and finished it in the beginning of April 2009. Hey, we all have to work sometime. So, now I’m beginning Head First PHP and MySQL. I liked HFHTML and am liking HF PHP&MySQL as well. I also picked up Web Standards Solutions, and this will help cement some of the XHTML and CSS I got from the last book.

Follow up to my Jabbra experiment.

I never was able to get everything coordinated just like I wanted using Jabbra, Psy, gmail chat, etc.

Fortunately, however, I discovered the Pidgin application on my Linux machine, and I’ve been happily working MSN Live-free ever since on both my Windows laptop and my Linux desktop. I only need to chat. I had fun with the video chat application one night on MSN Live, but it wasn’t worth the bloatware cost to upgrade to the latest version. So, I’m a pidgin convert now. Works well for what I need.

My day job has been less demanding recently so I’ve been able to turn my attention back to my technical interests. I decided that I have a pretty good idea about how HTML works in general, and though I can copy and paste with the best of them, I needed to start from the beginning. I picked up a copy of “Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML” and I’m loving it so far. It’s one of the few technical books I stay up late reading. FWIW, here’s the link to it at Amazon, and then to the Head First Labs HTML site.

Jabbra and GMail

I continue to be fascinated with the development of the web and web-based technology.

I’m learning now about Jabbra and its interactions with GMail since I’m low on drive space and don’t really care to install 59 +/- megs of upgrade “goodness” just to maintain my MSN Live application.

I’m missing something though; I haven’t figured out how to grab my MSN Live contacts list for the purpose of access through GTalk.

Maybe it’s the fatigue blocking me. I’ll give it another go tomorrow.

XML Resume XML file tagged.

Got it to “make”

Sweet. Now to tweak the style. And publish. Hm. Now that I think about it, I’m only getting started, but hey, I want to mark my progress.

After vacation post

Back from Arizona. Took my family to see my parents. Wonderful time, we certainly don’t do that often enough.

Having recently acquired my first “real” web page, I spent time in my off-hours setting up my web page. I’d love to have any comments sent my way.

I have begun to learn about CSSs, and they’re quite fascinating. I have a minimal style sheet set up on my page, but I’m sure that I’ll try for greater sophistication.

Next on my list of things to add to my site is web-based resume, but then it hit me, I’m going to have to re-write my resume yet again. Not that I mind, particularly, but I want to make sure all versions are consistent. This lead to the thought of XML and the power I could possibly leverage there.

Hours of research later, I have emacs on my Linux system and it can parse and validate my new XML Resume. Well, it will when I’m done tagging my resume. I was involved in integrating SGML products into a system years ago, and it is quite satisfying to be able to draw on some of the knowledge I never thought I’d use again.

My goals are to be able to generate a web-ready resume, a PDF resume, and hopefully an RTF formatted resume. We shall see.

Bit the bullet. Didn’t taste so bad.

I decided to go live with a website, so I went with GoDaddy. Now I can play with a live web server. I went with the Linux option, and I will use the hosted MySql and PHP features as I move towards learning more about web design. Having a place for my resume and the ability to cross-post updates to my blog can’t hurt, either.

My progress

Still working through my Visual Basic 2008 book. Not bad, easy mostly. I adapted a quicksort routine for fun. Added it in a module to sort an array. Fun.

SQL Course

http://sqlcourse2.com/

I dig that as a review site. I’m using that in conjunction with MySql installed on my Ubuntu Linux machine. I built that Athlon XP 1800+ machine a few years ago and its nice to be able to reuse that older machine.

And I begin

So. Here I am. Trying to find a job in IT. So, where does one begin? I’ve taken stabs at Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder etc., but no one bites. Time to freshen up my skillset, I’m thinking.