To educate, inform, inspire

National web design contest – time lapse videos

July 6, 2016 - Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I used my GoPro camera throughout our recent national web design contest in Louisville, KY. For fun this week, I thought readers might enjoy watching a few of the time lapse videos I put together. I have included videos detailing the contest setup (many thanks to the SkillsUSA Courtesy Corps […]

National Web Design Contest

June 22, 2016 - Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

As you are reading this, our national web design contest is happening in Louisville, KY. This will be the 13th consecutive year we have held this competition. We hold this in conjunction with the SkillsUSA national competitions. We provide a contest for secondary students and a separate contest for post-secondary […]

Kentucky caves

June 15, 2016 - Travel - by Mark - No Comments

My wife and I took our grandsons on a tour of selected caves in Kentucky (and a natural history stop near Louisville). I thought readers might be interested in some of these spots. I used my GoPro camera and created a series of time lapse videos for various aspects of […]

Natchez Trace

April 6, 2016 - Travel - by Mark - No Comments

During spring break this year, my wife and I spent a fair amount of time in the state of Mississippi. Last week, I reviewed the Mississippi petrified forest. After leaving the petrified forest, we decided to drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway (from Jackson, MS to Tupelo, MS). Yes, Tupelo […]

Mississippi Petrified Forest

March 30, 2016 - Fossils , Travel - by Mark - 4 Comments

During the week of spring break (March 21 – 25, 2016), my wife and I visited various areas in Mississippi and Missouri. I thought it might be interesting to review some of the places we visited instead of focusing on technology for the next couple of entries. Since the main […]

Internationalization

September 2, 2015 - Technology , Travel , Web - by Mark - No Comments

I was asked to cover two topics at our next Web Professionals meeting on September 8, 2015. The first dealt with a continued discussion of security. The second dealt with the issue of internationalization. Since I don’t know if there will be sufficient time to cover both topics, I thought […]

WorldSkills Insights

August 19, 2015 - ICC , Technology , Travel , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

All told, my trip to São Paulo, Brasil was a very interesting and informative trip. I learned a lot about the processes involved with WorldSkills. I received my Expert pin (there was a small ceremony among the experts at the conclusion of the competition where each received a special pin […]

WorldSkills Closing Ceremony

August 16, 2015 - Technology , Travel , Web - by Mark - No Comments

The closing ceremony for WorldSkills was held on the day after competitions ended (C+1). This event was broadcast throughout the world. Overall, Brasil scored the most medals. The U.S. got a Bronze medal in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. Lauryn Erickson received the “Best of Nation” medal – she received the […]

WorldSkills C4

August 16, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Last day of the competition (C4). It was a very long day so I am posting this the following day. Actually, I did not get back to the hotel until 12:45 a.m. so I could not have posted yesterday even if I wanted to. For those who would like to […]

WorldSkills C3

August 14, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Another day in paradise. Hard to believe it is day 3 of the WorldSkills web design competition. The final day is tomorrow. There were new modules presented to competitors today. If you are up to the challenge, one is 2 hours; the other is 3 hours. Remember, no Internet access, […]

WorldSkills C2

August 13, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today was the second day of our 4 day competition (day C2). As before, breakfast at 6 a.m., catch the bus at 7 a.m., and arrive at Anhembi Park between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. (depending on traffic). The bus ride this morning was incredibly quick. We held an introductory meeting […]

WorldSkills C1

August 12, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is day C1 (first day of competition). We have been counting down to this start for some time. The actual competition runs 4 days. Numerous aspects of web design and development are tested. As promised, I am providing the challenges all WorldSkills competitors are asked to complete today. Obviously, […]

WorldSkills C-1

August 11, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is C-1 (1 day before competitions begin). Tonight is the opening ceremony. I spent most of the morning trying to debug small problems with some of the application plugins. Without going into great detail, competitors need to have their software automatically upload their files to the server (so they […]

WorldSkills C-2

August 10, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is C-2 (Familiarization day for competitors). This is the day where each person spends up to 5 hours reviewing the provided infrastructure. Competitors are provided with access to a server and have individual workstations with a fair amount of software (ranging from Adobe products to open source products) that […]

WorldSkills C-3

August 9, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today was C-3 (3 days until start of competition). It was also Sunday. Hard to believe it is winter here in the southern hemisphere. Temperature is very warm (of course, we are in the tropics). Today was a day of working and walking. As always, breakfast at 6 a.m. and […]