Drupal and I have declared detente. After a few sessions with my colleague JJ, I have learned enough to create a professional page for myself. I have learned a number of things along the way:
1) There is no magical source book or website when it comes to Drupal. I consulted Pro Drupal Development by John VanDyk and Matt Westgate, and my take away was that one of the authors dedicated his work to his ferrets. After I recovered from my initial horror (I have a ferret phobia -- sorry), I realized that this is in fact welcomed news. When I dedicate my first book to my basset hound, there will be precedent besides Lord Byron's love for Botswain. I digress. I read and understood the first chapter of Pro Drupal Development. I may have even attached a few Post-it notes; quickly, however, I was lost really lost. I realized that the "Pro" in the title might mean that this book is not for me.
2) People are the best solution. As I said, my colleague JJ has been the biggest help in answering my questions. One of my questions for him was where he goes when he has a question about Drupal. His answer -- to another colleague.
3) A little clarity goes really far. As I suspected might happen, once I had a few basics questions answered, I was ready to take off. I, and I suspect most techno-tyros (can I coin that phrase?), tend to get bogged down on a particular obstacle. I wrote a bit about this last time, and I did in fact find that making lists of questions and having to articulate my quandaries ultimately really paid off.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Drooooopal
I have the Droooopal blues today. Drupal is the content management platform that the CWRL uses for instructor web pages. Last year, I built my instructor web page using this tool without too much hassle. Granted, my instructor page is not particularly sophisticated, but I maintained it pretty well myself for the past yearr. Today, I began work on a locus page, which is for professionalization purposes. I figured that constructing a locus page would be an effective way to relearn the platform and to increase my skills. After about 5 minutes, my head was spinning. Here is why, I think.
First, when I am trying to figure out a new technology, I often don't have a clear, concrete goal in mind. So, for example, my goal is to construct this web page, and I start this project without a concrete image in my head of what it might look like. To alleviate this situation, I turn to colleagues' pages. Though this move is a good idea in theory, it dwindles into counter-productivity pretty quickly because I start to think about how great other folks' sites look without a sense of what I want. It is like reading for research without knowing one's research question. Anyhow, I get so easily distracted by others' bells and whistles that I forget why I am looking at these various pages.
The other reason that I failed to have a productive learning experience this morning and perhaps more generally with technology is that I don't know where to turn for help. Or, rather, I know too many places to turn for help, but I don't know which is the best place in a given situation. The options that spring to mind in no particular order include: the Drupal website, the cwrl website, my friend JJB who has helped me with Drupal before, a coworker at the CWRL, and some book on Drupal that I imagine is in the CWRL library.
Like most tyros, I tend toward human helpers, so I ended up emailing a colleague at work, and we are going to have a meeting next week. The only other proactive thing that I could think to do was to make a list of what I would like to see on my web page. I made a list of links, but I still have not picked any pictures, a point that may lead to my final observation about my failure today. I have no idea how to be clever when I am staring at a computer-related problem. I have noticed that when I am crafting, the small victories that come with figuring out a problem propel me to keep working and to meet the next challenges that a given project presents me with. I am far too easily disheartened when it comes to technology because I seldom, if ever, produce those encouraging boosts for myself. Oh, drooooooooooopal!
First, when I am trying to figure out a new technology, I often don't have a clear, concrete goal in mind. So, for example, my goal is to construct this web page, and I start this project without a concrete image in my head of what it might look like. To alleviate this situation, I turn to colleagues' pages. Though this move is a good idea in theory, it dwindles into counter-productivity pretty quickly because I start to think about how great other folks' sites look without a sense of what I want. It is like reading for research without knowing one's research question. Anyhow, I get so easily distracted by others' bells and whistles that I forget why I am looking at these various pages.
The other reason that I failed to have a productive learning experience this morning and perhaps more generally with technology is that I don't know where to turn for help. Or, rather, I know too many places to turn for help, but I don't know which is the best place in a given situation. The options that spring to mind in no particular order include: the Drupal website, the cwrl website, my friend JJB who has helped me with Drupal before, a coworker at the CWRL, and some book on Drupal that I imagine is in the CWRL library.
Like most tyros, I tend toward human helpers, so I ended up emailing a colleague at work, and we are going to have a meeting next week. The only other proactive thing that I could think to do was to make a list of what I would like to see on my web page. I made a list of links, but I still have not picked any pictures, a point that may lead to my final observation about my failure today. I have no idea how to be clever when I am staring at a computer-related problem. I have noticed that when I am crafting, the small victories that come with figuring out a problem propel me to keep working and to meet the next challenges that a given project presents me with. I am far too easily disheartened when it comes to technology because I seldom, if ever, produce those encouraging boosts for myself. Oh, drooooooooooopal!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Tablecloths!
The problem with tablecloths, in case you were wondering, is the middle. I know that I need to sew away from the middle (that is some sort of cardinal rule of sewing, is it not?), but I still end up with fairly lumpy middles. This first example was a total nightmare, as I did not account for this until way too late in the game:
The only way to solve this problem was a good centerpiece, so the tablecloth sits with a
lovely Vinca in the center at all times:
I wanted to work with this same pattern and have another go at it when I decided to make a table clothe for my mom. I was using my lovely new fabric from Bolt, so I did not want to screw it up. This time, I did not have the center pieces to cross over each other, so I sewed out from a central piece of fabric. I left about a half inch on each side, so I could fit in the 4 squares. I like the results, though there is still a slight bump in the middle. It is a considerable improvement from my last tablecloth, however:
My questions that remain are -- how to make the seems on a tablecloth so slight that they do not disrupt it laying flat? Also, what other patterns might a use for a table cloth? I am not sure how funky to go with tablecloths? I am thinking that, unlike a pillow, a few big pieces of fabric is better than a lot of pieces together? If nothing else, this will cut down on bulging seems.
The only way to solve this problem was a good centerpiece, so the tablecloth sits with a
lovely Vinca in the center at all times:
I wanted to work with this same pattern and have another go at it when I decided to make a table clothe for my mom. I was using my lovely new fabric from Bolt, so I did not want to screw it up. This time, I did not have the center pieces to cross over each other, so I sewed out from a central piece of fabric. I left about a half inch on each side, so I could fit in the 4 squares. I like the results, though there is still a slight bump in the middle. It is a considerable improvement from my last tablecloth, however:
My questions that remain are -- how to make the seems on a tablecloth so slight that they do not disrupt it laying flat? Also, what other patterns might a use for a table cloth? I am not sure how funky to go with tablecloths? I am thinking that, unlike a pillow, a few big pieces of fabric is better than a lot of pieces together? If nothing else, this will cut down on bulging seems.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bagged
I recently ventured into the wonderful world of bag-making, a craft that I need to perfect. I wanted to make a bag for my sister to present to her when we visited her in Portland. I wanted to primarily use a fabric she had seen in Austin and had really liked. A combination of sewing without my partners, PMB and EH (who have far more bag experience than I and whom I would have had to explain my design to and therefore potentially identified the flaws in it), and my over enthusiasm for this fabric, led to some serious obstacles. I think that the bag turned out alright, esp after I found some cheap earrings that I turned into buckles on the bag:
I like the Winnie the Pooh lining of the bag, and the fabric generally. The style is a bit awkward -- is it a purse? Too big. Is it a gym bag? Too small. And I have since found far better buckles here in Portland at the best fabric store I have ever been to: Bolt.
I like the Winnie the Pooh lining of the bag, and the fabric generally. The style is a bit awkward -- is it a purse? Too big. Is it a gym bag? Too small. And I have since found far better buckles here in Portland at the best fabric store I have ever been to: Bolt.
Jam on!
I have had the pleasure of making 2 trips out to Marble Falls this May to pick berries at Sweet Berry Farm The first trip was for strawberries, and my friend PMB and I picked 3 boxes (one for each of us, and one for our friends TF and DG. Here is PMB at work:
As I have a number of times before, I made strawberry jam with the Sure Jell pectin. The mystery that drives me batty in this recipe is that it tells you to heat the the berry, sugar, pectin mix at a "roaring boil" for "exactly" one minute. The problem here is that "roaring" is not a scientific designation, I mean my "roaring" boil could be your "vigorous" boil. And at what exact moment does the one minute start? It is next to impossible to know. I am all for approximations in the kitchen, BUT when a recipe uses the work "exactly," I get nervous. Anyhow, the strawberry jam turned out really well:
A few weeks later, we went back to the farm for blackberries. We had to use gloves and really get in there for the blackberries. It was not as easy as the strawberries, but it was equally rewarding. My blackberry jam came out slightly runnier, and I am not sure why. Perhaps there is more juice in fresh berries than the Sure Jell recipe accounts for? I think that I let the jam cook long enough, but I did not get the jam off the stove fast enough, and this may have had an adverse effect. The jam tastes fantastic, and after a few hours in the refrigerator, it is definitely spreadable.
As I have a number of times before, I made strawberry jam with the Sure Jell pectin. The mystery that drives me batty in this recipe is that it tells you to heat the the berry, sugar, pectin mix at a "roaring boil" for "exactly" one minute. The problem here is that "roaring" is not a scientific designation, I mean my "roaring" boil could be your "vigorous" boil. And at what exact moment does the one minute start? It is next to impossible to know. I am all for approximations in the kitchen, BUT when a recipe uses the work "exactly," I get nervous. Anyhow, the strawberry jam turned out really well:
A few weeks later, we went back to the farm for blackberries. We had to use gloves and really get in there for the blackberries. It was not as easy as the strawberries, but it was equally rewarding. My blackberry jam came out slightly runnier, and I am not sure why. Perhaps there is more juice in fresh berries than the Sure Jell recipe accounts for? I think that I let the jam cook long enough, but I did not get the jam off the stove fast enough, and this may have had an adverse effect. The jam tastes fantastic, and after a few hours in the refrigerator, it is definitely spreadable.
Shut Down
Ironically enough, I encountered my first tech-related obstacle this summer with this very blog. About 2 days after I created it, I was no longer able to add to it. The message that appeared told me that my blog was under investigation for violation of the agreement (my wording is off, but that was the gist of it). After a few days of confusion, I googled this message only to find out that many folks using blogger have encountered the same problem. I guess that google is slightly over zealous in checking for spam. I then realized that I should have had an email asking me to confirm that I am in fact a real person (whatever "real" means in this context). After finding said email in my hotmail trash, I had to wait another 2 weeks or so until google allowed me regular access again. Questions that this situation raised for me -- when should I be proactive in solving such a problem? How should I be proactive? Should I have contacted customer service, or something? Should I have abandoned hope sooner and found another place to host my blog? The good that came out of this situation is that I have set up another, more private blog for my professional development needs. Though this blog related to my professional development, I think that it is best to keep these 2 arenas separate, an organizational insight that had not originally occurred to me. Such a consideration grew out of this snafu with my google blog. If only all technological frustrations could have such a silver lining...
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Sewing It Up!
In the past three months, I have completed a few small projects that I am pretty happy with. I made a pair of pillows for my sister for Christmas, and then I liked them so much that I had to replicate them for myself. I made 14inch ones for me; the ones I made for her were 18inches, and they were huge. Both sets of pillows are in a log cabin pattern, complete with the red middle that I understand is the tradition for the log cabin look. For this second pair, I used "invisible zippers," which, until I get better, I need to avoid. They are a pain to work with.I have some friends whom I have sewn with pretty regularly for the last 6 months. I don't know what I would do without these ladies (for a number of reasons, but I will stick to the topic at hand -- sewing). They are not all that more advanced than I am, so we fumble through projects and when we put our minds together, we get turn out some fantastic things. Here is a bag PMB made yesterday. She then gifted it to me. How sweet is that?!
And EH made this really cute pencil case. Earlier in the year, she made a really cool dress with the brown fabric pictured here. She definitely struggled with the directions for t
he pattern of the dress. Actually, in true sewing circle spirit, we all struggled with it. What is it about patterns? It was like a foreign language. We have thought about taking a class on patterns to teach us the secrets.I worked on what I thought was going to be a change purse, but ended up larger than expected. I am thinking that I will put a CD in it and give to my friend KJH for her birthday. My lesson of the day was buttons. It was the first time that I sewed a not-just-for-practice button on. I made a few mistakes: 1) I don't know how/when to use the guard on the feet. My directions book said I would need it, but then when I used it, my thread got that bunched up beard thing on the bottom. 2) I made the hole too small. I thought that I had measured the button correctly, but alas! Luckily, I also screwed up one of the ends of the hole, so I was able to just extend the slit slightly. As you can sort of see, none of this tearing is too visible:
Introduction
On this blog, I am going to write about my learning processes as I learn to make things both real and virtual. The "real" things will primarily be in the domestic arena -- cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have been honing my cooking skills for many years now, and I have been a mediocre knitter for almost as long. Sewing and gardening are both fairly new for me, however, so I want to keep track of what I am learning.
My virtual products include this blog, though more notably, I have a new job at the CWRL at the University of Texas at Austin, which will encourage me to play with virtual tools such as web developing (with Drupal), podcasting, iMovie, and who knows what else. How my creations with these tools will be like my domestic endeavors I have yet to know. What I can remark on now are the differences. I often feel lost and confused in a virtual world, whereas when I am using my hands to physically figure something out, I am much more confident. I guess that my goal then in some ways is to transfer that confidence into technological creations.
My virtual products include this blog, though more notably, I have a new job at the CWRL at the University of Texas at Austin, which will encourage me to play with virtual tools such as web developing (with Drupal), podcasting, iMovie, and who knows what else. How my creations with these tools will be like my domestic endeavors I have yet to know. What I can remark on now are the differences. I often feel lost and confused in a virtual world, whereas when I am using my hands to physically figure something out, I am much more confident. I guess that my goal then in some ways is to transfer that confidence into technological creations.
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