Home Page Usability Tactics

In preparing for updates to many websites I’ve been reading “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug. It’s a book on “A common sense approach to web usability.” The purpose of the book is to get out of the mode of thinking about what a website owner wants for a website; and to get into thinking about what USERS want from a website. The main elements of this are making key elements insanely easy for new users to access (hence “don’t make me think) and to employ usability testing.

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Dear China

Dear China,

Please stop lighting all those firecrackers. I realize it’s Gung Hey Fat Choy of the Ox, but I really need to sleep. And I mean c’mon, firecrackers? Doesn’t that get old? You’ll shoot yer eye out kid…

Boom – Boom – Boom. Ok, we get it…

Individual Hosting Accounts Limited to 50 Connections

Did you know that most individual  hosting accounts are limited to fifty concurrent connections? I didn’t. All these years of building hundreds of websites and running dozens and dozens of servers; well, that’s why I didn’t know it – I usually use dedicated servers for my websites.

Except my personal blog here – I have this one site on an individual hosting account so just in case everything blows up customers can still get a hold of me. But all this time my blog has been limited to fifty concurrent connections (let’s say 40 normal people a couple search engines and some spam bots).

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Is Full Sail a Scam?

Email question received:
Hi, I’m curious for your opinon about Full Sail in winter park florida. If you look online you will find that there are people that love and hate Full Sail. I want to go there and get a degree in the recording arts, and eventually become a music producer. Keep in mind that I was identified gifted in piano. I have played all my life, and make hip hop beats. Do you think this is a good choice?
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Kung Hei Fat Choy 2009 from ZAIA

macau-new-year-2009

Kung Hei Fat Choy 2009 (Happy Chinese New Year) from the cast of ZAIA. 2009 is the Year of the Ox. Macau will be a crazy one week party starting the week of January 26 2009 for the week long Chinese New Year celebrations.

Around 1996 I was in Tokyo for New Years Eve celebrations with monks ringing gigantic bells with wooden rams. But this is my first CHINESE New Years in China. Techs of Cirque’s ZAIA show were here for the 2008 Fat Choy, but this is the first one for artists of Zaia. We’ve been told “Macau will shut down” during the holiday week.

We’ve all been given red envelopes with the ZAIA embossed logo to fill with money and give to locals for good luck; another traditiion of Chinese New Years. Our work week includes 11 shows for the celebrations, along with many special mini performances around the Venetian in Macau. Anyone know where I can buy some fireworks?

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Koh Samed Thailand

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVhBDa-zeCs

Just got back from two weeks in Vietnam and Thailand. In Vietnam went to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and to the coast in Vung Tao. In Thailand started in Bangkok and went down the coast to Se Racha, Pattaya and Koh Samed.

The island of Koh Samed (Ko Samet, Ko Sahmet) was my favorite. I’m not so good at putting videos together so here’s someone else’s video of Koh Samed for the time being. Not a lot of Americans go to this island, it’s mainly Russians and Germans – so go there if you can while it’s still fairlly pristine and undeveloped.

I met many people who go there every year, or many times a year. And for good reason – it was just perfect.