Why Do I Enjoy Web Site Development?

I enjoy web site design because it allows me to use both aspects of my mind: the analytical, logical aspect and the creative, aesthetic aspect.

How Do I Develop My Sites?

Before using Dreamwever MX, I developed almost all of my HTML/XHTML in a text editor called NoteTab Pro (http://www.notetab.com/.) It's a very powerful, and highly customizable text editor.

Since 2007, I've been doing more than half my development in Dreamweaver but I still use NoteTab Pro for some of my development. (I've even written a few of the "Clipbook Libraries" -- most about HTML -- available off the NoteTab Pro web site at http://www.notetab.com/libraries.php.)

Developing in a text editor rather than a WYSIWYG program allows for more control over the final result. And often the WYSIWYG editors will make unusual choices which detract from the site's appearance. Usually it looks much better in one browser than in others. I aim for cross browser compatability.

Other applications I use include:

• PaintShop Pro 7
• WinMerge: for comparing two files with the same name
• TopStyle
• Internet Explorer (for viewing web sites)
• Mozilla Firefox (for viewing web sites)
• Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (including the Query Editor and Query Designer)
• any one of a number of "Screen Ruler" applications for measuring the dimensions in pixels of objects, images, and spaces as they appear on a computer monitor.

What is My Aesthetic Philosophy of Web Design?

I tend to divide most web sites into two categories with different goals and strategies:

1. Entertainment
   
   Typically, entertainment sites ...
   • Market products such as a movie or a television series
   • Engage the visitor's imagination and curiosity
   • Seduce the visitor into investigating the site and investing time
   • Feature splashy graphics and animation -- which might take a while to load
   
   
   Entertainment sites include ...
   • Movie sites such as blairwitch.com and requiemforadream.com
   • Official fan sites
   
   
   
2. Informative
   
   Usually, informative sites ...
   • Dispense information, which the visitor has requested
   • Feature intuitive navigation
   • Feature form that follows function
   • Feature easy to read text and "clean" layout
   • Don't distract the visitor with intrusive graphics and animation
   • Load quickly
   
   
   Information sites include:
   • eCommerce sites such as eBay and Amazon
   • News sites
   • Government sites
   • Educational sites
   • Search Engines like Google
   • Portals like Yahoo and MSN
   • Corporate intranets
   
   
   

My background is in intranet development so it follows that most of my work has been on informative sites. Most of my work examples emthasis fuction over form, usability over beauty. That is not to say that I am incapable of creating beautiful graphics and design pyrotechnics, just that my career has not focused on those aspects.

What ColdFusion Projects Have I Worked On?

My previous ColdFusion projects have included (but are not limited to) ...

• Feedback forms (e-mail)
• Dynamic tables (databases)
• Database searches of an employee telephone directory
• Cookies
• Login security and password protected directories
• Data entry forms for a telephone bank
• Knowledge management system for a curriculum development team
• A program for matching volunteer host families with USAF Airmen on Thansgiving day
• A program for uploading and reading CSV files containing student grades and adding their data to a database
• Dynamic PDF generation using ColdFusion 8 (cfdocument and cfpdf.)

I'm in the process of coding some ColdFusion applications for my online portfolio. It will take a while.

In the meantine I have a few smaller sample applications on display on this website. Please see the Public Portfolio.

What Experiences Have I Had With Databases?

• I used Access and SQL in my ColdFusion projects when I worked at a Fortune 500 global telecommunications company
• I've taken a database design class at Lexington Community College
• I am building a dynamic application that will appear on this site
• I have taken SQL Server 2005 and Oracle 10 development classes at San Antonio College
• For the past two years most of my development work has been with SQL Server 2000 and 2005.

Do I Use Tables or CSS for Layout?

Ideally tables should only be used for tabular data --- showing relationships among content.  (E.G. a table with a column for names and another column for corresponding telephone numbers.  Relationship like that are best represented in tables.)

But in practice, I have used tables for layout   (IE. dividing a web page into seperate visual areas: logo on top, navigation menu along the side, etc.,)  I admit that I find it is easier to layout a web page using tables than purely with CSS.

I know how to layout a web page entirely with CSS instead of tables as demonstrated on my Snoop Deputy Dawg Pet Grooming site and on my eValentine page.

That said, I will follow what ever layout guidelines are the policy where I work.

(BTW, I have an example of a fixed navigation bar using CSS in my Supernatural Horror in Literature site.)

What is the Extent of my JavaScript Skills?

Please see Silly JavaScript Tricks

Do I Know XHTML?

I have been handcoding my HTML for nearly ten years. Recently I have been writing in XHTML.

While the great minds at the W3C consider XHTML as a new language, as a developer I see it as an extension of HTML. It's true that requirements are stricter but the transition from HTML to XHTML is very short.

Most of the web pages on this site are written in XHTML. At the bottom of most of them are buttons that validate the pages as valid XHTML through the W3C.

What Do I Know About Accessibility?

While working as a consultant to the Kentucky Department of Education, I co-authored the QA Accessibility Guidelines later adopted by Kentucky's Commonwealth Office of Technology.   It was a practical guide explaining to QA Testers how a review web sites and web applications for Section 508 compliance.

Where am I From?

I was an "army brat" as a small child so I've lived in Kansas, Germany, Virginia, and Texas. Currently I live in Texas in the Austin / San Antonio area.

Would I be Interested in Relocating?

In the long term, I wish to stay close to my family in the San Antonio / Austin, TX area. However, for short term projects I would like to see other parts of the USA and Canada. In particular, I wouldn't mind assignments in ...

• Houston, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Las Vegas, NV
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• Virginia (in the Washington, D.C. area)
• Baltimore, MD
• St. Louis, MO
• Los Angles, CA
• Chicago, IL
• Toronto, Canada

What Do I Do In My Free Time?

My hobbies include ...

• Visiting museums
• Going to the movies
• Reading books
• Acting in community theatre
• Practicing Yoga
• Dancing (Ballroom, Tango, etc.,)
• Traveling
• Visiting family