I am testing out CloudFlare with Visualgui. I run the free option and it looks promising in term of performance. So far I like the way CloudFlare optimize my site for delivery, but security is the main component that makes me interested in taking my site to CloudFlare. The set up is quite easy as well. I am going to let it run for a few weeks to see how it goes. I might make the recommendation for the Law School.

Two new podcasts added to my listening list: “Design Matters” with Debbie Millman and “Unfinished Business” with Andy Clarke and Anna Debenham.

In “Design Matters,” Ms. Millman interviews top designers including Steve Heller, Erik Spiekermann and Khoi Vinh. Ms. Millman has a raspy, sultry voice for podcast and her questions are direct and intriguing. Apparently Ms. Millman have always done her homework before an interview. The episode with Erik Spiekermann is my favorite so far even though the German typographer uses quite a bit of flowery language. Eventually I’ll get to all of the episodes on “Design Matters,” but I am going through all the names that I am familiar with. Each piece runs about half an hour to 40 minutes with no sponsor, which is a nice, uninterrupted listening experience. Podcasting is no easy task and I completely understand that sponsors help paid for the hard work, but they do get a bit annoying, especially when an episode has three sponsors.

“Unfinished Business” is a new podcast (only three episodes so far) on the business side of design. I really appreciate the honesty Andy and Anna shared on how they price their works. They help me to rethink about own business practice, which, I must admit, I am not very good at. The good thing is that it’s never too late to learn. Right now I don’t rely on freelance as my main source of income; therefore, I still have the luxury of picking and choosing the clients I would like to work with. Mad kudos to Andy and Anna.

Paul Rand, 1996:

It means integrity; it means honesty; it means the absence of sentimentality and the absence of nostalgia; it means simplicity; it means clarity. That’s what modernism means to me.

To see examples, check out Steve Heller and Gail Anderson’s New Modernist Type.

Dan spends most of his daytime with grandma and his cousin who is four months younger than him. His cousin has a very soft cry. Even when he screams the loudest, his volume is quite modest. On the other hand, Dan cries crazy loud and his tone is quite piercing like Mariah Carey reaching her high notes. It’s unbelievably uncomfortable, especially in the wee hour.

Even Dao is nothing in comparison. When Dao screams, I can tell that he uses tremendous strength. Dan’s scream is effortless. At night when he wakes up, I stick the bottle into his mouth as quick as I can to prevent his scream. One time he screamed in my ear, I almost dropped him off my arms. Just kidding. He’s still my sweet baboo.

Man, that kid is growing fast and I am starting to see see his personality. He likes to take toys from Dao and his cousin rather than picking out his own. Yesterday, Dao sneezed so I pulled a tissue and wiped his nose. Dan did the same thing that I did. Whenever I tell him to go to bed, he would head toward the stairs.

Not sure what he’s saying yet, but sounds like he either says “Wuzzup” or “What’s that?” We enrolled him into the Jewish Community Center as well in June. It’s gonna be at least $2,500 a month for both kids. If we have a third child, one of us would have to quit our job. It ain’t gonna be me though. I definitely can’t take on that challenge.

Hôm qua nói chuyện điện thoại với mẹ, “Má ghé chị Phương gởi tiền về cho ba ăn tết. Má ứng trước cho con nhé. Chừng nào về Lancaster con trả lại.” Mẹ hởi, “Mầy muốn gửi bao nhiêu?” Tôi trả lời, “Chừng 20 đô để ba mua trà uống chơi cho vui.” Má cười cười không nói vì biết tôi nói đùa. Tôi nói tiếp, “Thì má ứng trước má muốn gởi bau nhiêu thì gởi. Nhiều quá thì kể như má gởi chứ không phải con.” Má nói OK để má gửi.

Một tiếng sau má gọi lại nói, “Sẳng mày gửi cho cô ba luôn.” Tôi nói ok cũng được thì cứ gửi bằng số tiền má gửi cho ba. Má lai nói, “Nếu vậy thì mầy chia ra làm hai cho cô ba và chị Mai luôn.” Tôi cũng đồng ý.

Má nhắt đến cô ba va chị Mai làm tôi nhớ lại thuở ấu thơ. Cô ba tôi rất hiền và thương tôi rất nhiều nên tôi rất quý cô. Ngày xưa lúc hè tôi thường qua nhà cô chơi. Lúc xưa tuy nhà cô không xa nhà tôi lắm nhưng tôi ở gần siêu thì còn cô thì ở thôn quê chỉ cách nhau một con sông.

Lúc xưa anh Hiệp rủ tôi đi bắn chim sau vườn rồi về nhặc lông rô ti. Ăn cũng phê lắm. Vào buổi trưa tôi nằm trên vỏng kế chổ chi Mai đan mùng. Chị Mai bị bệnh bẳm sinh không đi lại được nên hằng ngày chị ngồi đan mùng vừa đở chán vừa kiếm thêm tiền.

Lúc ấy tôi ghét nhất là trưa vì ai cũng đi ngủ còn tôi thì không thích ngủ. Nằm vỏng mà nghe tiếng ve kêu sầu thảm làm sao đó. Tôi nhìn chị đan mà cảm thấy xót xa cho chị nhưng chị không bao giờ than phận cả ngược lại chị lúc nào cũng cười tươi và cởi mở. Bây giờ nghỉ lại tôi thấy cuộc sống đó thật nhẹ nhàng và êm ái.

A couple months ago, a new Dunkin’ Donut opened in my area and gave out medium coffee for free. I took one and converted since. I have never been a big fan of DD’s coffee, but it must be this new place with the new machines. The coffee is light, sweet and fresh, but something about its finish that gets me hooked. Now I can not go back to drink Starbucks’s bold. Now I understand why people say Starbuck coffee tastes like burnt. I am not really a coffee snob. I just need sugar and caffeine to get me through the day.

Lately Dao wears nothing but his one-piece pajamas to sleep. The good thing is that he has four identical ones to change daily.

Every time he goes pee-pee I always warn him about zipping up and down. I don’t want him to have that There’s Something About Mary‘s zipper moment. Unfortunately his mom didn’t alert him about it last night. The zipper caught his thing when he zipped up. Ouch! Poor thang. See? Only daddy pays attention of those kind of things.

Later on he asked her, “Mommy, can you make my cu feel better?” I splat out my juice when she told me that. He took the words out of my mouth. I have always wanted to ask her the same question, but I never have the audacity to.

For the second project of my Advanced Web Design class, I need to build a mobile web application. Although I have done responsive design for two years now, I have never built a web application; therefore, I picked up Kris Hadlock’s jQuery Mobile: Develop and Design to see if this is the right framework for me. To my amazement, I have learned the power of jQuery Mobile through Hadlock’s excellent, easy-to-follow writing style. jQuery Mobile is very well thought-out and it does all the heavy lifting. You could build a decent mobile web application if you get all the right hooks and Hadlock’s book is a great reference for those.

Rachel Andrew, web developer and creator of Perch, gives us a taste of the future of CSS layout techniques. Even though CSS3 Layout Modules are still too early to implement on client projects, they seem promising and exciting.

I am also digging Five Simple Steps’ A Pocket Guide series. The affordable price tag is irresistible. Definitely looking forward to Tim Brown’s Combining Typefaces.

The growth of online learning provides many exciting opportunities as well as challenges to instructional, interface and web designers. Unlike the traditional, face-to-face classroom, in which the instructors have control of their environment, online classroom depends on the learning style, experience and discipline from the students.

As witnessed in our class discussion on various online learning web sites, each student has different learning styles. While one prefers watching video, the other prefers visual animation. While one prefers hands-on learning, the other prefers reading texts. The best way for me to learn is to turn my assignment into a real-world project. For example, when I wanted to learn MODX, a content management system, I did so with a client project. Reading online tutorials and books were informative, but I learned much more when building the site. Last semester, my classmates and I created marketing materials (posters, brochure, email newsletter and a landing page) to promote the graphic design graduate program at George Mason University School of Art.

The advantages of online education are instant access to resources and information. Learning is a collaborative effort in a student-teacher relationship rather than the teacher is the center of attention in a traditional setting. In contrast, the lack of face-to-face engagement puts a huge constraint of online education. In “Curtailing Dropouts at Online Universities,” Brian Burnsed cited:

A study released [in October 2010] by professors at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga., indicates that online students that commonly used retention strategies such as friendly E-mails from professors aren’t enough to keep the students from giving up and dropping out. “Students’ expectations are misaligned with what online learning actually is,” says Elke Leeds, assistant professor of information systems at Kennesaw State and one of the study’s authors. “They come in thinking that it’s easier. While it can be more convenient, the truth is you have to be self motivated; you have to be dedicated.”

Without a doubt, effective online education depends on learning experiences. As designers, we play an important role in shaping the experience. We need to take usability, accessibility and content strategy into consideration. We need to present the information not only in a logical way, but also in an engaging way. Most important of all, we need to take ful advantage of the web’s capability to deliver our materials. For example, we should embrace the fluidity and flexibility of the web in designing our courses. Our contents should be accessibility not only on desktops and laptops, but also on mobile devices. Content strategist Karen McGrane has a great piece in A List Apart on content parity titled, “Windows on the Web.” She writes:

When people start a task on one device and then complete it on another, they don’t want different content or less content, tailored for the device. They want the same content, presented so they can find it, navigate it, and read it. They imagine that their devices are different-sized windows on the same content, not entirely different containers.

Our job as instructional designers is to provide a good experience in delivering our materials to students who want to learn or complete the assignments across multiple devices. That is the future of online higher education.