Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Excited or what????
What can I say???I am graduating in about three weeks and seeing my parents in about two!!!I am so excited. I am more excited to see my parents than graduating but graduating will be nice too.
I miss my family so much,Chris hears about it everyday but I know he understands(he misses his family too,and especially mashed potatoes,mushrooms and BBQ meat). I wish plane tickets were not so darn expensive and that France would just move closer!!Maybe I just need to move closer!! Chris...???
Three more weeks of school and I finally see the end of that...at least for a year or two. Then we MOVE. We are excited and scared at the same time. We are so grateful for family members willing to take us in while we figure out work and a place to live of our own. DC will be a big change from our quite exotic and sunny days here but school is needed for Chris!!
Can't wait to hang out with my parents for a couple of weeks and show them around. I miss them lots and I am so grateful that they get to come!!!
Life is good even though complicated with decisions and such,plus I have reached my weight goal!!So everything is good!!Life is good!
I miss my family so much,Chris hears about it everyday but I know he understands(he misses his family too,and especially mashed potatoes,mushrooms and BBQ meat). I wish plane tickets were not so darn expensive and that France would just move closer!!Maybe I just need to move closer!! Chris...???
Three more weeks of school and I finally see the end of that...at least for a year or two. Then we MOVE. We are excited and scared at the same time. We are so grateful for family members willing to take us in while we figure out work and a place to live of our own. DC will be a big change from our quite exotic and sunny days here but school is needed for Chris!!
Can't wait to hang out with my parents for a couple of weeks and show them around. I miss them lots and I am so grateful that they get to come!!!
Life is good even though complicated with decisions and such,plus I have reached my weight goal!!So everything is good!!Life is good!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Clarification
The past two posts were for a class that I (Jen) am taking. We had to report on two lectures that were given by other professors. Thanks all for your understanding!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
IT240 Kevin Schlag's lecture
Bro.Schlag was able to explain about the BYUH website,its history and its improvements over the years. It actually started as a student-run website and when those students graduated,they decided that maybe it was time to make it official and more intricate!Bro. Schlag is the director of Enterprise Information Systems and runs the BYUH website.
BYUH has its own server that still sits today in Bro.Shlag's office. The BYUH website mostly uses adobe dream weaver but is in the process of changing it to Drupal. Today, it is possible for students to seek out a webmaster certification from the information systems department and be able to work to update and beautify the school's website. To guarantee a consistent look for all pages of the website and between the different departments,templates are provided and departments can work from those.
Bro.Shlag talked about the future of web design and explained that in teh near future everything will be done in one place but be able to be presented properly in different places such as cell phones and other electronic devices. As of today, not every devices can support everything you can see on a web designed page.
As of updating and changing the design of the school website regularly he explained that the process was long and difficult. In fact, preparations and ideas need to be put together to make a plan then it must be prototyped and then approved. The approval part is the hardest as he said,there is always someone that doesn't like something! (like a color...) Project management does not stop at the publishing of the new design but continues on with evaluations to determine if the public appreciates what has been done and give feedback for future improvements.
Bro.Shlag's lecture was very interesting as he was able to explain different processes with the example of a website we use everyday for school.
BYUH has its own server that still sits today in Bro.Shlag's office. The BYUH website mostly uses adobe dream weaver but is in the process of changing it to Drupal. Today, it is possible for students to seek out a webmaster certification from the information systems department and be able to work to update and beautify the school's website. To guarantee a consistent look for all pages of the website and between the different departments,templates are provided and departments can work from those.
Bro.Shlag talked about the future of web design and explained that in teh near future everything will be done in one place but be able to be presented properly in different places such as cell phones and other electronic devices. As of today, not every devices can support everything you can see on a web designed page.
As of updating and changing the design of the school website regularly he explained that the process was long and difficult. In fact, preparations and ideas need to be put together to make a plan then it must be prototyped and then approved. The approval part is the hardest as he said,there is always someone that doesn't like something! (like a color...) Project management does not stop at the publishing of the new design but continues on with evaluations to determine if the public appreciates what has been done and give feedback for future improvements.
Bro.Shlag's lecture was very interesting as he was able to explain different processes with the example of a website we use everyday for school.
IT240 Cary Countryman's lecture!
Bro.Countryman's lecture was on effective web design. He mentioned that web design was a marketer's dream come true simply because it has so much components in one place that any business person would want its product to profit from: interactivity,multimedia,openness,marketing data collection through cookies,efficiency(cost savings) and global exposure!
The three most important attributes of effective web design according to him are: message(must be clear),magic(use as many tools you can such as video,sound,etc...) and the method. Those 3 M's are the essentials.
Any web page that would lack any of those would be inefficient or simply just not as powerful. In business,which is Mr.Countryman's field,efficiency is more than necessary!
One of the things he talked about that was interesting to me is the cultural context of any web design page. To different cultures,colors,signs,words will mean completely different things and in web design just like in any other thing,one must be careful to use things appropriately. To explain this, he pointed out the 5 dimensions of Holfstede: power distance, individualism vs.collectivism,masculinity vs.femininity,uncertainty avoidance and I cannot remember the last one...he went to fast,I couldn't write it down.
Cultural context is very important and depending on your cultural background and experience one will be influence differently in its choices and preferences of how information is processed and carried out. It is the same with web design, one will like or choose one web page over the other because it appeals more to him (depending on its cultural context).
As for the future, he said that integration( each mobile devices will be converged into one:phone,computer,etc...) will play an important role in the development of future computer design and internet design. Also the development of wireless applications and application service providers will transform the way web design is carried out in the years to come.
Thank you to Bro.Countryman for his lecture and look into a more business and broad outlook of web design.
The three most important attributes of effective web design according to him are: message(must be clear),magic(use as many tools you can such as video,sound,etc...) and the method. Those 3 M's are the essentials.
Any web page that would lack any of those would be inefficient or simply just not as powerful. In business,which is Mr.Countryman's field,efficiency is more than necessary!
One of the things he talked about that was interesting to me is the cultural context of any web design page. To different cultures,colors,signs,words will mean completely different things and in web design just like in any other thing,one must be careful to use things appropriately. To explain this, he pointed out the 5 dimensions of Holfstede: power distance, individualism vs.collectivism,masculinity vs.femininity,uncertainty avoidance and I cannot remember the last one...he went to fast,I couldn't write it down.
Cultural context is very important and depending on your cultural background and experience one will be influence differently in its choices and preferences of how information is processed and carried out. It is the same with web design, one will like or choose one web page over the other because it appeals more to him (depending on its cultural context).
As for the future, he said that integration( each mobile devices will be converged into one:phone,computer,etc...) will play an important role in the development of future computer design and internet design. Also the development of wireless applications and application service providers will transform the way web design is carried out in the years to come.
Thank you to Bro.Countryman for his lecture and look into a more business and broad outlook of web design.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
All of us: Jordan,Megan,Jen and Chris.
A view of Diamond Head
Barbequed abalones!
The market's entrance!
Saturday, we had the opportunity to hang out with Megan (Sister Foster) and her husband.
They were visiting Hawaii and we were able to catch them on their last day. Megan and I served in the same mission (Fabulous Temple Square) and even got to live in the same appartment then for a transfer!!! We went to a Farmer's market by Diamond Head where we bought some produce and some BREAD!!! There was this FRENCH bakery stand with lots of bread and we did not resist!Then we all headed to the swapmeet and looked around. Chris and I headed home after that because I wasn't feeling well but it was so good to see her and meet her husband! They are going to Iowa for the summer for an internship and we decided that we will stop by to see them there when we drive accross country!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy
Just a little update on how we are doing. Jen is busy into her classes and really enjoying them. She is taking an exercise class at 6am!! Wow, how dreadful is that, right? However despite the early hours she is enjoying it. She is also taking a family finances class and we are both learning a lot as she shares her days' findings with me often. And for her own personal enjoyment she found a web and html class that she is taking...the advertisement for it was "Do you like to blog?" so she was quickly roped in. As for me (Chris), I am keeping busy with work. In the mornings while Jen is at class or working out I am working at BYU-Hawaii updating the sports pages, and after she gets out we have a quick bite to eat together and I head off to University of Hawaii where I am an electrochemical engineering intern. Yeah, not exactly along my Mechanical Engineering major, but it has to do with getting energy out of a monosaccharide in a chemical reaction, so it is almost alternative energy! In any case it helps pay the bills, despite the hour-long commute each way. Jen is so wonderful though, as she does the cooking and cleaning while I work from home after work to grab some extra hours at the sports job. She is on top of all her homework and the house and food is always prepared. I am really grateful for my wife! She's a keeper, eh? Amidst all this we are both avidly searching for jobs in Maryland...not much luck yet, but the Lord will take care of us. We are grateful for all the prayers on our behalf, and for all your love and support. We love you!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Good grades
So the Winter semester is really really over now...grades are in. Chris and I both did really well and were able to bump our GPAs. We are happy because we did work hard and are glad to see the fruit thereof.
One more semester for Jen and maybe who knows,she'll get straight A's.....who knows?
One more semester for Jen and maybe who knows,she'll get straight A's.....who knows?
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