I am super-excited to get started. You can follow everything I do in these classes over at my academic blog – A Not-So-Commonplace Book.

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More photos in my flickr photostream →

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I ended up with the GALANT desk system. It’s basically a white glass table. And I love it.

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One is a mobile site for micro narratives and will launch tonight (after I get the normal browser site styled up). The second is a database of the self which I still have to create a WordPress template for. But the idea is simple, so it shouldn’t take too long.

I’m also in the process of get CS5 Master Collection installed on my work MacBook Pro. I’m kind of excited to jump in and work with it.

On top of that, I am REALLY looking forward to a weekend with no school. I need to catch up on some of this lost sleep, as well as work on a couple of projects.

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From a personal view, mediocrity is unacceptable. Not that average is bad, it’s just as good as it should or could be. That’s probably why when I design a website it takes forever. If I’m building out someone else’s design, I can do it in a few hours, but if I’m designing and wire-framing and compiling it, days? Weeks? In the case of my own sites it takes months at times. I can’t settle. I have a very hard time settling for sub-par.

I get really upset when something has all kinds of potential ends up getting wasted. If you have the opportunity to create something really cool, life changing, and beneficial why wouldn’t you put the resources in to make it amazing? Reach that potential! In my industry, so many times schools stick with what they’ve always done because budgets are preventative, or other faculty want their needs put above those of the institution, or another department won’t self-assess.

Disgusting. Heart-wrenching at times. This is why schools have poor enrollment (one reason, anyway). This is why when students leave they say things like, “I made a lot of friends, but I don’t think I learned anything to prepare me for the real world.”

How can any organization do its job right when it doesn’t focus on its constituents? As a Christian, I believe it is wrong and even sinful to not strive for excellence. And that’s in everything. I don’t get preachy a lot on this blog, but the reason Christians aren’t taken seriously? Because we suck at doing things well. How sad is that? It’s not that we can’t do things. It’s that we can’t be bothered to be the best.

Horrible.

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That cover of ‘Creep’ is hauntingly amazing.

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How do you do it?

I’m not the best at PHP syntax, so if there’s a smarter/cleaner way, please let me know!

First we need to use the get_post_thumbnail_id() function like this:

<?php $thumbID = get_post_thumbnail_id(); ?>

This sets the variable $thumbID to the id of your post thumbnail.

Next, we want to build the URI for your link:

<a href="<?php echo wp_get_attachment_url($thumbID); ?>">

Now, there’s probably a cleaner way to do this, but again, I’m not all that awesome at syntax. But basically you’re using the wp_get_attachment_url(); function in conjunction with your post thumbnail’s id to get the original image src.

Easy.

Thanks to @cgrymala over at HTMLCenter for this tip.

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Actually, Jessica and I have been talking about some future plans. What are we going to do with after I finish my MA, what do we ultimately want to do with ourselves work-wise? I know that I do not have a corporate bone in my body. Higher Ed is good because there’s a structured environment, but also because it’s a little more relaxed. I remember when I was seriously considering a move to freelance web if a new permanent job didn’t come up. The saddest part was not being a part of the HigherEdWeb community anymore.

But at the end of the day in this era, work is life. And so why do work you hate? Or dislike. Or don’t feel like doing sometimes?

I’m considering more and more freelance work and teaching. Online teaching to be exact. Mostly because online classes can be taught from anywhere in the world. I’m experiencing that now in my own graduate studies. I’ve had an instructor who is Turkish and has taught from Spain and Egypt in the same semester, and one who is German living in Barcelona and teaching online.

Freelance work can also be done from anywhere on the globe. If these were combined we could be anywhere. This was a big factor in looking into doctoral work at University of Sussex. In Sussex. England. Which is a dream. I’ve always wanted to live in England for a time.

I have a friend from college who, with her husband, quit their jobs, sold their possessions and are currently traveling the world. Amazing. I love it. I am jealous. I am discontent sitting in our nice townhouse watching movies and doing homework. I want that kind of adventure.

It seems I’ve always had wanderlust. Looking over the list of places I’ve been (England, Hungary, Ireland, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Portugal)  I’ve had a lot of experiences. But there are SO many more to have. So many more countries to visit, languages to learn, buildings to take photos of, foods to eat.

If you were to take a look in my office at work, you’d see a whole bunch of UK-centric stuff. I surround myself with things from other countries. Heck, look at the design of this blog. I am obsessed. But I constantly want to be moving.

In any case. I definitely have that itch again. Maybe it’s time to man-up, pare-down, and start focusing on that goal. We’re only young once. We don’t have kids… Work, a dog, and student loans are our only fixed responsibilities.

What do you think we should do?

Check out more stories in the Travel archives →

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But it’s pretty much there. The template is full on HTML5 and makes use of a ton of CSS3.  That being said, I’m not testing anything in Internet Explorer for this template. Some things will still work (there’s JS to make the HTML5 elements work in legacy browsers), but it’s not going to be as pretty or as as rich an experience as if you use a modern Webkit- or Gecko-based browser.

The theme is called Carry On and is a sequel of sorts to my last design, Keep Calm. (eh? See what I did there???)

It’ll be nice not to stop fretting about my design that’s been sitting for months, that’s for sure.

Goals for this design:

• Emphasis placed on my portfolio moreso than blog posts
• Update the overall feel and style
• Play with modern technologies and push myself into them
• Have something different

I quit this design a few times and always came back to it. So, in the end, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Thoughts?

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If that’s not the future I don’t know what is. At this moment I don’t really care that much about flying cars. This is pretty slick.

Though I will probably use my Bluetooth keyboard more for these long range typing escapades.

One small thing to note. Doesn’t look I can use the WYSIWYG editor in mobile safari. Bummer.

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I started designing this yesterday and got it coded out today. I had a rough time nailing down the aesthetic for her site this time around. But after a few other ideas for other projects (that didn’t get used), I cobbled something together that I am pretty proud of.

I think the new template is pretty classy and sophisticated. And it still makes every photo Jess chooses stand out.

The template itself is built for WordPress 3.0 and makes use of the new Nav Menu manager and post thumbnails. I’ve also left it open for a later public release by having and interchangeable, dynamic header image as well as the image for the background.

The design also makes a lot of use of CSS3, so I recommend checking it out in an up-to-date version of Safari, Firefox or Chrome. Go let her know what you think! The template is titled Encyclopaedic.

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I really want to do my doctorate in the UK and think I have found a perfect programme at the University of Sussex. I need to do a bit more looking into the programme and see if it is right for me. But I really like the prospects. The uni offers a DPhil and have a lot of faculty working in media and cultural fields. Seems perfect.

Part of this exploration is to help me focus on what my final thesis will be for my MA. I have a couple of interesting ideas that I may follow, but knowing where I want to be for my doctorate will help me develop a strong framework for study.

If there’s one thing I know about myself is that I need boundaries to get things done. Whether that is in the form of deadlines or ideology — I need some structure if I am going to accomplish my goals.

The thought of moving to the UK in a few years is super exciting… Not to mention the thought of contributing actively and, hopefully, greatly to my field.

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Rule Britannia

When Britain fi-i-irst, at heaven’s command,
Aro-o-o-o-ose from out the a-a-a-zure main,
Arose, arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian A-a-angels sang this strain:

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

Still more maje-e-estic shalt thou rise,
More dre-e-e-e-eadful from each foreign stroke,
More dreadful, dreadful from each foreign stroke,
Loud blast above us, loud blast that tears the skies
Serves but to ro-o-o-ot thy native oak.

Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

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Geez. What’s wrong with me? I guess part of it is that I’ve been working on my academic site, A Not-So-Commonplace Book. Part of it is that I’ve been taking a break during my 3-week summer break. And part is that I’ve been busy with jobs for Department 3. Which has been awesome.

So, this week the Summer term at The New School started up. We made a trip to Rochester, NY as well to see our great friends Micah and Stephanie get married. It was a fun time filled with food, record shopping, driving, beer, baseball, bonfires… oh and Niagara Falls!

So now I’m back to the grind of school. I’m really excited about my classes too. I’m taking Aesthetics of Interactive Design with Jörg Müller and Micro Narratives with Philip Kain. It’s going to be a great summer.

Looking forward to rolling out my new and improved site once WP 3.0 is released a few weeks.

More photos in my Flickr photostream!

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Jessica got a job at TIU also, which is great. But we were hoping to take a vacation at the end of June–even before this opportunity came up for her–and things aren’t looking good at this point. Her boss didn’t approve her first request, which is a bummer. Why does the Records office need to be fully staffed during the dead of summer?

But basically, if she can’t get the time off I’ll be wasting my Paid Time Off days. I’m not really into taking a vacation alone in our house, with the dog. And we won’t really be able to take a real trip again until our anniversary in December. So we are a little bummed. Hopefully we can shift the date or she can do some convincing to make it happen.

I’m not at the point where I *need* a vacation, but from all the stuff I read when I was royally stressed out at my last job suggested the vacations are better when you’re not stressed out. And really just having some fun re-energizes me in my work. And we were going to have fun. We hope it works out!

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