Webster Art

Almost exactly a year ago a client contacted me. They wanted an interactive map built in Flash. It was a great learning project for me. It forced me to update my skills, and move out of my comfort range into unexplored territory.

Client work is a win-win for me as an instructor. I benefit from being forced to stay current, and my students benefit from the knowledge I acquire working for clients. I pass that knowledge on to my students…or at least as much as they can absorb.

The same client contacted me this spring and asked me to expand on the interactive map, but not in Flash. They wanted it to work across all devices including IOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iTouch), Androids, and even some of the smaller smartphones. I watched a few tutorials on the new programming language this required…but was not able to ‘jump in and swim’.

I found I needed a broader base of understanding of the language. I broke down and bought a book, read half way through it and the light came on. I got it very very close to working…but came up against my lack of knowledge again. I showed it to a programming friend who is  a graduate of our program. He came up with a better solution…and half an hour later I had a working rough draft.

I really like web design. It reminds me a lot of printing. There is trouble shooting, guessing at solutions, throwing things at the wall to see if anything sticks, and finally knowledge, followed by production work. There is an instant payoff when things work…in printing, we had to wait for hours before seeing the finished product. In web design, if you program it right, you press F5 and there it is instantly.

Sue, Lisa, Tim and I went up to Vertical World today and climbed for a few hours. I started strong, even finished a 10a out across the roof, but ran out of steam quickly. Still it was a good time for all. Afterward I went to Glazer’s Camera shop and bought a new lens to replace my 18-250 Sigma that broke after 3 years. I think I might be done with Sigma. A $500 lens ought to last more than 3 years. It was made from mostly plastic, even the moving parts. I did a little reseach on the problem and it looks like it would be too expensive to be worth fixing. Instead I opted to buy some higher quality glass…professional quality…hopefully it will last longer.

The OT I’ve been working has worn me out so much I’m not even excited about finally replacing my broken lens. Maybe tomorrow I will feel refreshed.