Since I graduated on April 30, I have tried my hand at freelance web design and here is a website I redesigned for a Tampa, Fla.-based athlete training company called Elite Strength and Conditioning owned by Chandler Marchman.
I am currently developing my own website that will have a more complete and comprehensive collection of all of my work in web design and in journalism so check back soon.
In the meantime you can follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook and connect with me on LinkedIn.
Also, here is my health and fitness blog that I wrote for The Independent Florida Alligator this spring.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Grad-gee-ayshon Day!
Friday will mark a momentous occasion in my life -- after five years, I will be graduating college.
I realize that it has been quite a long time since I last posted on this blog, so I'll briefly update.
For the fall semester I found my passion in journalism when I took an elective called Magazine Management. In the class, five classmates and I helped create a magazine prototype where we picked a theme, designed the pages with photos and art, wrote feature stories and briefs, came up with a masthead, a break of the book, a lineup, and also a budget. My group and I did our project on a vintage/retro style magazine called REWIND and earned a 93 percent. The magazine has been submitted to the AEJMC Magazine Competition.
This spring, I spent quite a lot of time writing for The Independent Florida Alligator about health and fitness as I wrote a weekly blog and wrote numerous health and fitness stories along with their multimedia supplements for the Thursday Avenue section.
For my last journalism class, I served as a copy editor and senior editor for UF's student magazine Orange & Blue and wrote a feature about a Gainesville lawyer who turned to running after losing his wife to brain cancer.
I've had a very hectic spring semester and will take all of the projects and skills I've acquired this past year into finding a job. Wish me luck because I'll need it in this economy.
I realize that it has been quite a long time since I last posted on this blog, so I'll briefly update.
For the fall semester I found my passion in journalism when I took an elective called Magazine Management. In the class, five classmates and I helped create a magazine prototype where we picked a theme, designed the pages with photos and art, wrote feature stories and briefs, came up with a masthead, a break of the book, a lineup, and also a budget. My group and I did our project on a vintage/retro style magazine called REWIND and earned a 93 percent. The magazine has been submitted to the AEJMC Magazine Competition.
This spring, I spent quite a lot of time writing for The Independent Florida Alligator about health and fitness as I wrote a weekly blog and wrote numerous health and fitness stories along with their multimedia supplements for the Thursday Avenue section.
For my last journalism class, I served as a copy editor and senior editor for UF's student magazine Orange & Blue and wrote a feature about a Gainesville lawyer who turned to running after losing his wife to brain cancer.
I've had a very hectic spring semester and will take all of the projects and skills I've acquired this past year into finding a job. Wish me luck because I'll need it in this economy.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Chinese Proverb
I recently introduced one of my favorite Chinese proverbs to a friend of mine and she loved it.
I am not sure how to say it in Chinese, but if roughly translates in English as: "It is better to have walked 10,000 miles than to have read 10,000 books."
I first heard this proverb when I took an anthropology class called "People and Cultures of China" in spring 2008. The professor for the class hailed from the Yunnan province in Southern China and is a cultural anthropologist with a PhD from Stanford.
I had lunch with him one day after class and upon looking at my backpack he was truly amazed at how many countries I have been privileged and fortunate to have traveled, all neatly sown like medals of achievement. In my lifetime I have traveled: The Bahamas, Canada, The UK, France three times, Ireland twice, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland and, my favorite, China for an entire summer.
We both agreed that while earning a college education can go far, traveling to other countries and experiencing other cultures can go a lot further in terms of your education.
While someone may be able to study subjects like journalism, political science, history, economics, etc, to be able to travel to different countries that are discussed in those subjects can broaden your perception and education on those subjects and the world around you.
Next up, I will post a story that has everything to do with this proverb as I wrote a feature of a friend of mine who spent his Fall 2008 semester abroad through the world-renowned study abroad program Semester at Sea. Check it out!
I am not sure how to say it in Chinese, but if roughly translates in English as: "It is better to have walked 10,000 miles than to have read 10,000 books."
I first heard this proverb when I took an anthropology class called "People and Cultures of China" in spring 2008. The professor for the class hailed from the Yunnan province in Southern China and is a cultural anthropologist with a PhD from Stanford.
I had lunch with him one day after class and upon looking at my backpack he was truly amazed at how many countries I have been privileged and fortunate to have traveled, all neatly sown like medals of achievement. In my lifetime I have traveled: The Bahamas, Canada, The UK, France three times, Ireland twice, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Switzerland and, my favorite, China for an entire summer.
We both agreed that while earning a college education can go far, traveling to other countries and experiencing other cultures can go a lot further in terms of your education.
While someone may be able to study subjects like journalism, political science, history, economics, etc, to be able to travel to different countries that are discussed in those subjects can broaden your perception and education on those subjects and the world around you.
Next up, I will post a story that has everything to do with this proverb as I wrote a feature of a friend of mine who spent his Fall 2008 semester abroad through the world-renowned study abroad program Semester at Sea. Check it out!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Helpful tips for summer lawn care
*Similar to my germ story from 2008, this story about summer lawn care was not posted online but originally ran in main edition of The Gainesville Sun on July 1, 2009.
By Lance Fuller
Correspondent
With the summer heat and rain in full swing, taking care of your lawn gets more complicated.
When the grass is wet, for instance, mowing your lawn can lead to many problems from clogging the lawnmower to pulling out the roots and leaving holes in your lawn.
Experts from lawn-care businesses and professors from UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences offer several tips to help keep your lawn green, beautiful and well-kept during the summer.
1.) Be proactive.
Scout your yard for small problems like chinch bugs and gray leaf spots before they become bigger problems that require professional help, says Tammy West-Cooper, spokeswoman for West Farms Landscaping Services.
"The earlier you can identify a small problem, the less money you will spend in trying to take care of it," she says.
2.) Know your grass.
Different styles of grass have different needs for lawn care, West-Cooper says. The most common style of grass in Florida, St. Augustinegrass, has two types that must be cut at either 2 to 2.5 inches and 3.5 to 4 inches. While St. Augustinegrass needs constant fertilization, supplemental irrigation and has issues with pests, other grasses like Centipedegrass are lower-maintainence, can be cut at 1.5 inches and require less work. Knowing what type of grass you have and what its specific needs are will extend its lifetime, West-Cooper says.
3.) Mow your lawn at least once a week.
Mowing about once every week will keep the grass at a regular height, the roots will grow and you won't have to constantly adjust blade height, Laurie Trenholm, associate professor of environmental horticulture, says. Grass should not be cut more than one-third of the blade height per mowing. For example, if St. Augustinegrass is 6 inches high, it should be cut down to 4 inches high. Cutting off one third of the grass's height will minimize damage caused by mowing, Trenholm says.
4.) Adjust your lawnmower.
If you cannot cut your grass every week, it is important to adjust the blades to a higher setting the next time it is mowed so that the mower does not cut the grass too short or "scalp" it, Trenholm says. Scalping leaves the stem tissue exposed and the lawn may dry out through drought or invite weeds to germinate, creating more problems.
5.) Use the right tools.
Taking care of your lawn mower is just as important as maintaining your lawn, says Geoffrey Denny, a commercial landscape management extension specialist for IFAS. Lawnmowers that are not well-kept pull the grass out instead of cutting it, so keeping the blades sharp along with checking the spark plugs, air filter and oil is important for lawn care.
6.) Check the irrigation system.
Nothing is more wasteful than having sprinklers go off while it is raining, Denny says. Most sprinkler systems have built-in rain sensors that shut off during a storm, and it is also important to check when the sprinklers are allowed to go off during designated irrigation times. "One thing many do not consider is irrigation from the rain itself -- you don't have to use your sprinklers for irrigation all the time, especially during the summer months," Denny says.
7.) Clean up after mowing.
After mowing, make sure to blow loose clippings back onto the lawn. The debris brings nitrogen back into the soil and can be used as fertilizer.
8.) Use the right fertilizer.
Just like how each style of grass needs to be mowed at a certain height, different types of grass use different types and amounts of fertilizer as well. Other than knowing how often and how much fertilizer a type of grass needs, fertilizing at a time when the grass can best absorb the nutrients is key, Denny says.
After it rains, wait about 45 minutes for the grass to dry. If the soil is too wet, the nutrients will either seep below the roots, like in a retention pond, or will wash away off of the grass from water runoff.
9.) If there is a problem, correctly identify it.
People who do not have much experience with lawn care will most likely do too much to correct a simple problem, Trenholm says.
The most simple problems such as brown spots are caused by poor cultural practices with over fertilization, over irrigation and mowing the grass too short. These problems can be easily corrected, and do not require more chemicals such as pesticides, she says.
10.) In worst-case scenarios, call a professional.
When lawn problems become too big to correct, it is best to call a professional lawn care service before any more damage is done, Trenholm says.
"People shouldn't be only thinking about how it looks, they also need to be aware of and recognize the environmental implications of lawn care as well. Maintaining your lawn is not always a do-it-yourself type of job, and you should call the professionals if there is a severe problem," Trenholm says.
For additional assistance and information about summer lawn care, contact the IFAS extension at www.yourfloridalawn.ifas.ufl.edu.
By Lance Fuller
Correspondent
With the summer heat and rain in full swing, taking care of your lawn gets more complicated.
When the grass is wet, for instance, mowing your lawn can lead to many problems from clogging the lawnmower to pulling out the roots and leaving holes in your lawn.
Experts from lawn-care businesses and professors from UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences offer several tips to help keep your lawn green, beautiful and well-kept during the summer.
1.) Be proactive.
Scout your yard for small problems like chinch bugs and gray leaf spots before they become bigger problems that require professional help, says Tammy West-Cooper, spokeswoman for West Farms Landscaping Services.
"The earlier you can identify a small problem, the less money you will spend in trying to take care of it," she says.
2.) Know your grass.
Different styles of grass have different needs for lawn care, West-Cooper says. The most common style of grass in Florida, St. Augustinegrass, has two types that must be cut at either 2 to 2.5 inches and 3.5 to 4 inches. While St. Augustinegrass needs constant fertilization, supplemental irrigation and has issues with pests, other grasses like Centipedegrass are lower-maintainence, can be cut at 1.5 inches and require less work. Knowing what type of grass you have and what its specific needs are will extend its lifetime, West-Cooper says.
3.) Mow your lawn at least once a week.
Mowing about once every week will keep the grass at a regular height, the roots will grow and you won't have to constantly adjust blade height, Laurie Trenholm, associate professor of environmental horticulture, says. Grass should not be cut more than one-third of the blade height per mowing. For example, if St. Augustinegrass is 6 inches high, it should be cut down to 4 inches high. Cutting off one third of the grass's height will minimize damage caused by mowing, Trenholm says.
4.) Adjust your lawnmower.
If you cannot cut your grass every week, it is important to adjust the blades to a higher setting the next time it is mowed so that the mower does not cut the grass too short or "scalp" it, Trenholm says. Scalping leaves the stem tissue exposed and the lawn may dry out through drought or invite weeds to germinate, creating more problems.
5.) Use the right tools.
Taking care of your lawn mower is just as important as maintaining your lawn, says Geoffrey Denny, a commercial landscape management extension specialist for IFAS. Lawnmowers that are not well-kept pull the grass out instead of cutting it, so keeping the blades sharp along with checking the spark plugs, air filter and oil is important for lawn care.
6.) Check the irrigation system.
Nothing is more wasteful than having sprinklers go off while it is raining, Denny says. Most sprinkler systems have built-in rain sensors that shut off during a storm, and it is also important to check when the sprinklers are allowed to go off during designated irrigation times. "One thing many do not consider is irrigation from the rain itself -- you don't have to use your sprinklers for irrigation all the time, especially during the summer months," Denny says.
7.) Clean up after mowing.
After mowing, make sure to blow loose clippings back onto the lawn. The debris brings nitrogen back into the soil and can be used as fertilizer.
8.) Use the right fertilizer.
Just like how each style of grass needs to be mowed at a certain height, different types of grass use different types and amounts of fertilizer as well. Other than knowing how often and how much fertilizer a type of grass needs, fertilizing at a time when the grass can best absorb the nutrients is key, Denny says.
After it rains, wait about 45 minutes for the grass to dry. If the soil is too wet, the nutrients will either seep below the roots, like in a retention pond, or will wash away off of the grass from water runoff.
9.) If there is a problem, correctly identify it.
People who do not have much experience with lawn care will most likely do too much to correct a simple problem, Trenholm says.
The most simple problems such as brown spots are caused by poor cultural practices with over fertilization, over irrigation and mowing the grass too short. These problems can be easily corrected, and do not require more chemicals such as pesticides, she says.
10.) In worst-case scenarios, call a professional.
When lawn problems become too big to correct, it is best to call a professional lawn care service before any more damage is done, Trenholm says.
"People shouldn't be only thinking about how it looks, they also need to be aware of and recognize the environmental implications of lawn care as well. Maintaining your lawn is not always a do-it-yourself type of job, and you should call the professionals if there is a severe problem," Trenholm says.
For additional assistance and information about summer lawn care, contact the IFAS extension at www.yourfloridalawn.ifas.ufl.edu.
I'm baack!
After almost a year-long hiatus, I have decided to transform my e-portfolio project from SDS 3340 into a full-time blog.
Seeings how more newspapers and media companies are shifting toward online and digital media, it wouldn't hurt to keep this thing up and running. I typically post about stories that I have had published for The Gainesville Sun or really anything else in the national news worth commenting on. Enjoy!
Seeings how more newspapers and media companies are shifting toward online and digital media, it wouldn't hurt to keep this thing up and running. I typically post about stories that I have had published for The Gainesville Sun or really anything else in the national news worth commenting on. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Hyperlinks
Here are the hyperlinks for all of my stories that were published online by The Gainesville Sun.
2007
1. College Life can be a real pain in the back
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20071206/NEWS/712060330
2008
2. Students, faculty reeling over cuts in Korean, Vietnamese languages
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080523/NEWS/805230311
3. UF student witnesses
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080529/NEWS/805290344
4. Students going abroad look to economize
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080610/NEWS/806100303
5. Can video games form healthy habits?
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080623/NEWS/806230316
6. Beware students: Germs are everywhere
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080826/NEWS/808260291
7. Virus protection helps computers live longer
(Hyperlink unavailable, see article below)
Virus protection helps computers live longer
By Lance Fuller
Campus Correspondent
*Note: This story about virus protection was not posted on The Gainesville Sun's Web site. The story originally ran on Sept. 2, 2008 in the campus edition of The Sun.
Marcus Keyes believes your college computer can last beyond graduation and even into graduate school.
Experts will tell you that common computer problems -- viruses, spyware, registry errors -- will slow your computer's performance or cause it to crash.
But proactive maintenance such as running anti virus software, as well as using a spyware sweeper and a registry cleaner can keep your computer young, fast and clean, experts say.
Keyes, trade coordinator at the University of Florida Bookstore, said all of these services can be downloaded for free and will extend a computer's life.
Anti-virus software such as Norton, AVG or McAfee is easy to operate and can scan your computer on a regular basis, Keyes said.
Viruses are programs written by people and programmed for any type of harm, he said. There are trillions of different viruses and new ones every day.
People activate viruses through everday actions such as surfing the Web or opening an e-mail, Keyes said.
More a threat to the user's privacy than to the computer, spyware is software installed on a computer, most often without the user's consent, and monitors the user's behavior, said Wang Weixun, University of Florida computer science graduate student.
Spyware can run itself without the user's knowledge and detects user names and passwords to send the information to the person running the spyware, Wang explained.
Spyware comes from pop-up advertisements on the Internet and from downloading music from unsecure Web sites, Wang said.
Keyes said to combat spyware, a program like Spybot -- Search & Destroy will remove spyware from a computer.
While not as well-known as viruses or spyware, registry errors occur over time when a user adds, removes or upgrades software.
Using a registy cleaner notifies the user of any erroneous programs and files that need to be removed, Wang said.
When programs are added and deleted, unusable files remain on the hard drive, and this cluster of information can slow the computer's performance, he said.
Yet despite the abundance of resources available to prevent problems, most computer users wait until serious damage has been done before doing anything about it, Wang said.
Many students do not encounter computer problems when they first use a computer, so they feel lucky and do not bother to incorporate protection like anti-virus programs, Wang said.
While running the right type of software can protect from viruses and spyware, the user must also remember not to expose a computer to extreme temperatures and avoid eating or drinking around it, Keyes said.
Campus Correspondent
*Note: This story about virus protection was not posted on The Gainesville Sun's Web site. The story originally ran on Sept. 2, 2008 in the campus edition of The Sun.
Marcus Keyes believes your college computer can last beyond graduation and even into graduate school.
Experts will tell you that common computer problems -- viruses, spyware, registry errors -- will slow your computer's performance or cause it to crash.
But proactive maintenance such as running anti virus software, as well as using a spyware sweeper and a registry cleaner can keep your computer young, fast and clean, experts say.
Keyes, trade coordinator at the University of Florida Bookstore, said all of these services can be downloaded for free and will extend a computer's life.
Anti-virus software such as Norton, AVG or McAfee is easy to operate and can scan your computer on a regular basis, Keyes said.
Viruses are programs written by people and programmed for any type of harm, he said. There are trillions of different viruses and new ones every day.
People activate viruses through everday actions such as surfing the Web or opening an e-mail, Keyes said.
More a threat to the user's privacy than to the computer, spyware is software installed on a computer, most often without the user's consent, and monitors the user's behavior, said Wang Weixun, University of Florida computer science graduate student.
Spyware can run itself without the user's knowledge and detects user names and passwords to send the information to the person running the spyware, Wang explained.
Spyware comes from pop-up advertisements on the Internet and from downloading music from unsecure Web sites, Wang said.
Keyes said to combat spyware, a program like Spybot -- Search & Destroy will remove spyware from a computer.
While not as well-known as viruses or spyware, registry errors occur over time when a user adds, removes or upgrades software.
Using a registy cleaner notifies the user of any erroneous programs and files that need to be removed, Wang said.
When programs are added and deleted, unusable files remain on the hard drive, and this cluster of information can slow the computer's performance, he said.
Yet despite the abundance of resources available to prevent problems, most computer users wait until serious damage has been done before doing anything about it, Wang said.
Many students do not encounter computer problems when they first use a computer, so they feel lucky and do not bother to incorporate protection like anti-virus programs, Wang said.
While running the right type of software can protect from viruses and spyware, the user must also remember not to expose a computer to extreme temperatures and avoid eating or drinking around it, Keyes said.
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