From softwares, scripting languages to CMS’s, every web designer has his own set of tools. With so many choices out there, I find that focusing on a certain skill set is more valuable than trying to learn everything. With that said, I would like to share some of my preferred tools in designing and developing web sites.

Graphic software: Photoshop is still my choice even though I am still not sure how much I know about the software. All I know is that Photoshop helps me accomplish the tasks I want to do when creating photos for the web or making mock-ups. Even when I have the opportunity to create print materials such as business cards, flyers and book covers, I never even bothered to use InDesign. I just ask the print designers for the specs and I do everything in Photoshop. Firework is probably a better choice for making web graphics, but I never spend enough time to get to know the software.

Web editor: Yes, I am still using Dreamweaver and I am not ashamed to admit it. Many hardcore programmers seem to look down on Dreamweaver, but I find it to be quick and easy to use, especially when I have to maintain many pages. The copy-and-paste into the design view has improved tremendously in CS5. Dreamweaver no longer pulls in crazy codes from Words like it used to. Before CS5, I had to use an HTML cleaner my friend and former colleague had made to strip out tags and replaces quotes with unicode characters. It’s a great tool and I still use it from time to time.

Web technologies: I used to be a Flash fanatic, but I moved away from it and concentrated on HTML and CSS. I am glad I did. Flash is still a fantastic tool and I am still using it to create simple motion graphic projects, but I cringe whenever I come across a full Flash web site.

Scripting languages: I am not a hardcore programmer and PHP doesn’t seem so daunting to me. I can write simple codes and modify existing scripts to get what I need. Whatever I need to accomplish something using PHP chances are I can find something similar out there.

CMS: WordPress is the system I am most comfortable with. In addition, its flexibility and ease of use, specially the admin interface, are perfect for running small web sites. I experimented with Drupal in the past, but didn’t get into it far enough to see how easy I could create a theme. I will revisit version 7 in the near future, but for now, WordPress could handle most of the things I would like to do.

Valentine’s Day is coming and if you’re still looking for the gift that speaks from the heart, take a quick glance at Simplexpression. We offer two-day shipping so you still have a bit of time left. We also would like to thank our loyal customers for making the latest purchases. To show our appreciation, we will send along something special from us and we hope you will enjoy it.

In addition to my main responsibility, which is maintaining GWSB web sites, I actively update the GWSB homepage with new banners and videos. Keeping the homepage fresh with new contents make my job more engaging. I also work closely with the associate director of media relations to make the GWSB News, which powered by the rock-solid WordPress system, updated constantly.

One of my contributions to the GWSB News is posting videos. Whenever I get video from the Dean or faculty, I edit the clips using QuickTime Pro and post them on YouTube. One of my favorite projects right now is filming and editing the clips for the Student Voices. The Flip is the perfect tool for this project because of its ease of use. The FlipShare, its organizing, editing and publishing software, is so straightforward and intuitive. Within half an hour, I can make a 3-minute decent clip.

I just received a bunch of clips from the students using the Flip and I am very exciting to edit them to be used on the GWSB News. Since I am not doing anything fancy, the Flip allows me to cut to the point of the video.

Dana’s brother gave me Roger Kamien’s Music: An Appreciation. I find the first part of the book to be valuable in helping readers understand the fundamental elements of music such as pitch, dynamics, tone color, rhythm, melody and harmony.

My co-worker gave me The Penguin Guide to Jazz by Richard Cook and Brain Morton. The book is about 1600 page; therefore, I won’t read it from cover to over but keep it for reference on jazz albums.

The GW Hatchet reports:

The University is scrapping its current website management system – part of a $1 million website revamp started nearly two years ago – claiming it no longer suits GW’s online needs.

As a web developer for The School of Business who had been involved with the project, I applaud the University for making the change. Although Vignette is a very powerful system and I am getting a handle of its complexity from a user perspective, it is not the right CMS for GW. The University is in the process of selecting a replacement. The choices look promising.

Simplexpression opens its door on Etsy. Come and check us out. We will add more items as time permits.

Kathryn Schulz, author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, gave an inspiring talk at the GW School of Business about the merits of being wrong, admitting mistakes and how these lessons can apply in our personal and professional lives.

We just released 12 new necklaces on Simplexpression for Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for her, come check them out.

After taking the recommendation from a reader, Ravensworth Automotive has been my choice of auto repair service. After the Wednesday incident, I immediately took my Acura to the shop for a thorough tune up and they took care of it for me from flushing the fluids to changing the battery and spark plugs to my windshield wiper. The service was exceptional and the price was reasonable. The guys are very nice too, especially Paul. The shop, which runs by a Vietnamese family, is doing a great job of taking care of its customers. Highly recommended if you live in Fairfax county.

Due to inclement weather, I left work at 4pm yesterday. My wife and my sister-in-law picked me up at the Metro and headed home. We stuck in traffic a bit so I put on Hong Nhung’s Khu Vuon Yen Tinh (The Quiet Garden) to calm my mind. The vibe was beautiful inside the car despite the sleeting rain outside and the cars weren’t moving along. Suddenly the quiet garden became chaotic. The audio went in and out. The wiper blaze was working with the grandma speed. The lights became dimmer. We pulled to the side to check out my good ole Acura. Nothing seemed to be wrong except we couldn’t start the car again. I knew we were screwed.

I called our insurance for road side assistance. After detecting our location through my cellphone, the representative informed me that we were in a high-alert-winter-storm zone. All the tow trucks only worked on emergency cases. She told me the only thing I could do was called 911. I got out of the car and walked around to see if we could find a gas station or something, but luckily a very nice gentleman offered to give us a ride. We all hopped and he was very generous to dropped us off about half a mile away from my sister-in-law house. I had to pushed his car a couple of times when we got up the hill, but we was quite a good snow driver.

We didn’t get home until 10 something, but we felt very fortunate that someone helped us. I was also glad that my wife decided to left Cong Dao home with grandma instead of going to school. I can’t even imagine what it was like with him out there.

This morning, my wife and I went to to pick up our car. We jumped the battery and the car worked fine. It was my fault for not checking the battery. We got a fine for abandoning our car and two cops came by as I tried to dig the car out. I thought we were going to get another ticket, but the two young cops were actually helped us shoveling and pushing our car out. Cops aren’t so bad after all.

It was definitely not a pleasurable experience, but I felt very fortunate. Thanks to the man who helped us.