Finished Portfolio :-)

I finished my portfolio and overall I am pleased with the result. I wish we had more formal instruction on style sheets. It took me about 4 hours to figure out how to make my page heading larger and brick read.

My portfolio

On the way to a completed portfolio…

Well, I figured out what the problem was with my file name and my portfolio page not appearing on the web as it should. I mistakenly named the file “portfolio_slade.html.html” and that is why it wasn’t showing up. It’s always the simplest things that seem to gum up the works. However, when you only have an inkling of what you’re doing and figuring out part takes ten times longer than the actual task-completing part…and little mistakes cause major delays in moving forward with the project and major headaches.

This afternoon I am going to try and figure out how to format headings and margins with my external style sheet. I’m not having a problem with the syntax of the actual style sheet. Additionally, my style sheet communicates the background color and the body text formatting perfectly. But the other formatting for the headings and margins the gets lost somewhere. Now comes the process of trial and error to pull a very simple solution out of thin air. I think learning Japanese would be less frustrating.

Incognito Portfolio

My portfolio page does not want to be called “portfolio_slade.html.” A webpage by that filename gave me an error message. I checked the permissions and the file’s location and those checked out. After trying several more things I changed the file name to “slade.html” on a whim and now my portfolio is visible. I really don’t get it.

Webpage 2

Fragment of American Notes, by Charles Dickens with links.

Jargon Generators

There are two jargon generators that I would like to recommend.

John's Jargon Generator for Information & Library Scientists
This jargon generator is on the server of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This generator is just for fun.

AND

A CS Research Topic Generator
This generator is published through the Computer Science Department at Purdue University. The interesting aspect of this generator is that in addition to creating a random computer topic…there is also the option to select “Perform Literature Review,” which searches Google Scholar for your topic. Very cool!

Jargon—friend or enemy?

Throughout the Dickens Fragment assignment I became aware of how much computer jargon is out there. Some of it is straightforward and understandable and some of the computer jargon I came across really sounds outlandish and it makes me wonder why would we even use it instead of standard English. Jargon does indeed serve its purpose. It eliminates the need for extensive explanation of processes and concepts (both simple and complex) within the conversational framework between peers.

But you can’t use jargon with someone who doesn’t understand it. Take knitting instructions, for example. If you are a non-knitter, then knitting instructions sound like mumbo-jumbo. The following is an introductory paragraph on how to complete a “long tail cast-on.”

“This cast-on is the favorite of many knitters. It creates a discreet edge that looks good with stockinette stitch and is stretchy enough to accommodate ribbing. It's easier to knit from than the simpler Backward Loop cast-on, and it's easy to execute once you get the hang of it. Recommended for beginners, or anyone.”

As information professionals we mostly likely will not be giving kitting instructions but we do need to be keenly aware of the words we choose when we are working with someone to meet his information need. Shop talk may feel comfortable for those in the field but it is confusing and frustrating for those who don’t understand it.

How I managed to put “the fragment” on the Internet

First, I downloaded PuTTY, Kompozer, and FileZilla onto my computer. Next, I logged into PuTTY. I found “public” but I couldn’t find “html” or “index.html.” I ended my PuTTY session. I decided to check out FileZilla and confirmed that “html” or “index.html” didn’t exist. Then when I went to log back into PuTTY denied me access. I would type my username and then the system would prompt me for a password and then wouldn’t accept my password. I did try this several times—no caps lock and I typed my password very carefully. I called the Helpdesk to find out why my access was denied. The IT person I talked to didn’t know what the problem was and very adamantly refused to find out. He told me to install WinSCP, which is a free SFTP and FTP client for Windows. I installed WinSCP and discovered the “html” file had appeared in “public.” The “html” file was also now visible when I logged into FileZilla. I used Kompozer and FileZilla to post my webpage. This was very easy barring a minor freak-out monument on the road to figuring out the URL of my page.