Archives
January 5, 2016
I know that football is America’s ‘national sport’, but why would you want to subject your kids to (highly likely,) brain damaging football?
Instead, if they learn to code, not only will they avoid brain damage, they will in fact be working out the brain, strengthening their mental capabilities overall!
Some facts:
My numbers are a little off (you can get the updated figures on Google,) but the average football player has a career that last about 3 years. The average player makes $500 000 a year. And for what? A damaged brain, and likely other lifelong (and often times painful) physical injuries.
… Kids who learn to code on the other hand, might get carpal tunnel … but nothing a good keyboard can’t fix!
How about the money?
All coders will out-earn most professional football players over their careers. It’s not even close. For this comparison, I’m taking a huge leap of faith, and assume your kid (or you,) are one of the rare people who actually win that lottery ticket, and become a pro football player.
So, how much do coders make?
With a little experience (3-4yrs) a good developer can make $100K + … and that’s for an average coder, nobody special. Since coders don’t get smashed in the head, or get their elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles ripped apart … they can go on coding happily for years, making the big money. And it’s all pain free.
Conclusion
So I would suggest training the brain with coding, instead of damaging the brain with football.
… If you really want to play football, just pick up that game EA makes, and save yourself the pain.
Full disclosure: I’ve been teaching kids and adults to code since 2003.
Stefan Mischook
Killersites.com
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January 2, 2016
Hi!
In the 1996 the book ‘Creating Killer Web Sites’ was released and soon became a bestseller. In fact, it was arguably the most important web design book in its’ time.
Much has changed about the Web and web design since then, but nearly 20 years later, Killersites is still teaching modern web design, with always an eye on what’s coming, and how to best build websites today.
I should do something special on March 28th 2016 … it would only be right!
🙂
Stefan Mischook
Killersites.com
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December 30, 2015
Hi,
So, I am about to release my new series of courses designed to teach total beginners web development. I’ve been coding since 1994, and teaching code since 2003 – these new courses are the best work I’ve ever done!
I decided that I had to do something different with these new courses; no point in doing the same old thing I’ve been doing for over ten years … basically what everyone else is doing now.
So, what I came up with is a new style of course, something that incorporates what I call Immersive Quizzing. Basically, with the Immersive Quizzing, you will learn to code much more easily, and much more quickly than you thought possible. My beta testers are all loving it, and they tell me they would not want to do video courses without the Immersive Quizzing component.
Update: available now!
Stef Mischook
Killersites.com
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December 29, 2015
Hi,
I just finished 121 quiz questions for my new Beginners PHP course. You can learn more about the course here.
Some details:
PHP is the most popular server side programming language – over 80% of web apps are powered by PHP, including Facebook.
PHP’s popularity in the real world is derived from its’ ease of use, and because it’s easy to learn. It’s a great first programming language!
– Prereqs: Beginners HTML, CSS and JavaScript
– Number of Lessons: 45
– Quiz Questions: 121 multiple choice, true/false and code challenges
Thanks,
Stef Mischook
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November 8, 2015
It had been 4-5 years since Killersites.com’s site design was updated – it was time. There are still a few tweaks to be done, but it is live.
More to come.
Stef
Killersites.com
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October 7, 2015
Hi,
About 2 months ago, my new beginners web design book hit the stores in North America and the UK. It’s been selling really well … beyond my expectations.
If you are interested in learning web design (HTML5, CSS3, Mobile design and more …) from scratch, with an easy going conversational style, buy my book!
Right now, you can buy it for $16.26 on Amazon. It’s some of the best writing I’ve ever done.
You can download the project files for the book on the book’s website.
If you have any questions, you know how to reach here, or through the books website.
Thanks!
Stefan
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July 26, 2015
Hi,
I just released my new Beginners HTML 2015 course on Studioweb.com.
Here is first of 57 video lessons – what exactly is HTML:
The video lessons are only one part of the training package. My courses include:
- Interactive gaming environment – track your progress, unlock chapters and badges.
- To reinforce the lessons, we provide hundreds of quiz and code challenge questions.
- Support material for teachers and parents.
… And more.
Studioweb has subscription options for schools and individuals. Please feel free to contact me if you any questions.
Stef
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May 8, 2015
I decided recently to dig into the Killersites website (on the directory level,) to see what I could clean up. It is one of the oldest web teaching sites in the world, it’s been online for over 19yrs now, and so it has had many changes over that time.
After 19yrs, you find yourself with a website directory structure that is deep and riddled with many nooks and crannies. So I went on the hunt and found some bugs down deep inside.
… 4-5 hrs later, I was able to clean house. I think! In the process, I gave Killersites a much needed spring-cleaning, if you will. I got rid of a bunch of pages and sections that might have some historical/sentimental value to me, but was filled with dated and irrelevant information. Besides, these are spots that hackers can leave their smelly eggs behind!
Some words of advice:
- Keep your sites clean in terms of the directory structure.
- Use a consistent naming convention for files and directories. This will make easier for you to spot malicious planted code.
- Delete your cgi-bin if you are not using it. Malicious code can be dropped into those.
- Don’t use PHP pages unless your site absolutely needs it. Each new PHP page is a potential attack point.
- Once your site is up and running where you want it to be, create a clean copy of it on your computer and zip it. This backup might come in handy if you need to wipe out an infected site. Of course, backups after each change is a must do.
Stefan
Killersites.com
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April 21, 2015
Hi,
I was recently asked this question from a student:
What do you think of Google’s new rating system to favor search results towards sites which are mobile-friendlier than other sites? Will there be a course to address this type of mobile-centric design in the future?
Yes, we have courses, both on Webmentor.org and on the killervideostore.com. Mobile friendly sites are called ‘responsive’ … because their pages respond and resize based on the device being used to view them.
Our Webmentor courses:
introduction to Twitter Bootstrap
Responsive web design
And on the killervideostore:
Responsive web design DVD
And I plan on more later this year.
I think Google’s move makes sense when you think about it. Google always wants to cater to a broader audience, and web surfing is more of a mobile thing today, than it is a desktop or laptop thing.
We ourselves are slowing making our sites responsive, so far the following have been converted:
– Studioweb.com
– Webmentor.org
– Killervideostore.com
Thanks!
Stefan Mischook
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March 25, 2015
Hi,
It’s good to try before you buy, so all our courses now have free videos you can watch. Of course, we do have a 7 day trial for any subscription … but nonetheless, you can now view dozens of free videos right away.
By the way, if you are totally new to web design, check out my Web Foundations course. And it’s completely free now!
Thanks for reading!
Stefan Mischook
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