Saturday, October 24, 2009

How to arrange my website... and how not to!

At last! I have the house all to myself, so I can type to my heart's content!

A few days ago, I think I solved my whole 'organization dilemma.' My plan is to write about a general critical thinking topic and give examples - except that those examples may belong to a science topic or some such. The question has been plaguing me, for a couple years now; How To Arrange Them?

My general plan is to demonstrate How To vs. How Not To. I expect I may be able to do well enough to advertise my site like hell and see if I can get some traffic.

So, How To Arrange My Website, and How Not To? My first instinct was to create a site that was a bit like a wiki of all the research I've done, just sorting it by topic, but that clearly won't do in this case. My angle is specifically, 'How To Think' and 'How Not To Think'.

So, instead, I'm going to start off with critical thinking basics and show how they apply to everyday examples, even if many of those examples are large enough to need their own entry. So, the facts concerning that entry will be placed under their own topic.

For example, one thing I wrote long ago mentioned how the Coriolis effect has nothing to do with water spiraling around drains, yet I didn't have enough room to explain, so I intended to do a separate article explaining why this is in detail. But then I had the problem of where to put that article. In the part about how the Earth's systems work, right?

Wait a minute! Wouldn't I first have to explain some basic stuff about the currents of our planet?

Figuring out how to proceed from that point has been a huge stumbling block for the past two years, besides all the scary stuff happening and constant stress and noise I've just barely been able to live through without losing my mind. Not to mention, all the people who told me I'm an arrogant loser for thinking I can make a difference in the world.

It's true that I'm still struggling to get my brain working after a lifetime of severe abuse (and then being told that I'm not capable of getting my brain working again) but I really believe that if I work on this project, my brain will be helped. I have the talent, but the question is, do I have the diligence?

Here's my solution; focus on the critical 'How To' bits and various examples, and THEN put the examples in a larger context of their own subject matter at a later time.

It's the only way I can think of that can move this project forward. What did trying to think of alternate solutions get me? Zilch! There apparently is no better idea!

Here I go again, and I'm going to start with a different entry that also has to do with the myth about the Coriolis effect, and other subjects. I have finished the outline for the main article and am now working on the examples.

Check out the changes I've made to the site, and stay tuned for my next article!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Corrigendopedia: The Website Written On Paper!

So far, most of the material that is already on this site has been written ahead of time on plain white paper. That's because my internet access is very limited, as it has been for some years. The only computer I have to work with is downstairs, in the same room that my housemates are currently watching a movie in surround-sound.

For the past two days, every time I have gone down there to check my email, I haven't been able to because someone has either been watching TV next to the computer or using the computer themselves.

It seems no matter how early I wake up or how late I stay up solely in order to check my email, this is usually the case. The same goes for any public place with internet access, like a library - my earplugs do nothing to dull the roar of constant chatter of other internet-users.

Originally I had been planning to re-use material from my other blogs, including reams of unpublished notes I've been saving for future articles. However, there is no way for me to access, search and read them if I'm endlessly waiting 'in line' for the computer.

* Later... I've discussed the matter with Lucas (my beloved, and generally the 'man-in-charge' around here). He says we'll have to get a laptop so I can go to whatever place is quiet and have my own private computer to use.

My roommates have since stopped watching the movie, but as usual I have to leave for an appointment.

* Next day... The roommates are done with their movie right now and I have some free time to type this in! That's three days I had to wait to use the internet. There's so way it can be a daily habit until I have a laptop.

I've made note of this fact on the Corrigendopedia.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

By Jove, I think I've got it!

Besides having an emotional roller-coaster of a time -- including the very good news that both my fiancé and one of our roommates are soon-to-be hosts of their own local TV shows (Max Deluge Show and The Angry Chef), plus I finally got my Financial Aid check from Summer Quarter a few days ago (!) -- I've been otherwise hampered in my plans for this website.

Meanwhile, I've accumulated so many bits of material for this site that I hardly know how to start adding them.

Until now.

It's obvious that the Corrigendopedia site cannot consist of a list of (eventually) hundreds of articles, all in a line. Rather, I need some way to organize my pages via categories so they are easy to explore.

So I did. (I hope the move from Google Pages to Google Sites doesn't screw it all up!) Look at this and tell me it's not a bad scheme. Do it!