This morning I had an issue creating a new content folder using the Blackboard software we use at the college when suddenly it stopped dead on its tracks and warned me of an unidentified error. I tried to copy an existing folder to see if I could coax the system into cooperating, but still — no love.

I asked a colleague about whom I should call to clear up the problem, and after a couple of tippy-taps on the keyboard, and navigating through a maze of vaguely worded headers on the Interweb, we came upon a sole PDF file proudly displaying a phone number for faculty to use in case there were some kind of problem with the system (DON’T SHARE THIS NUMBER WITH STUDENTS, a legend blazened below the digits).

I returned to my office and sat to follow the same rigamarole path that led us to the PDF, but before doing so, I decided not to call the IT desk number provided, but rather called myself to see if I had any answers. I extended my thumb and pinky finger on my right hand and cradled a make-believe phone on my chin and dialed my number. I already knew what I was going to ask myself, so I quickly told myself that yes, I had already logged off the system and logged in again, I had quit the browser and restarted it and yes, I had even turned the computer off and then back on again.

What I did not expect was my next question: “What browser are you using?”

“I use only Chrome,” I answered, with such disdain that surely I would quit answering the phone when people called for IT advice. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

My response sent chills down my spine, because not once during the 20 to 30 minutes of having this issue had I even considered what I recommended: “Have you tried opening the page using Internet Explorer?”

No. Not at all. Not for a second.

I sat and clicked the Start button to find IE, since I don’t even have the shortcut embedded in my taskbar anymore, and upon pasting the offending URL and requesting a new folder, a shiny icon popped to inform me of the successful build on the system.

“I hate you,” I spoke into my my hand, and quickly air-slammed the receiver above my desk. “I hate all of you.”

Hello, Monday (Wednesday — actually, Friday)!

As we all get ready for the new year, and then again 90 days from now, and in yet another three months, ad nauseum — the computer system will ask you to pick a new password to access the information you so desperately need right now.

Although this may seem like a burden — and by all means, maybe it is — you should take a couple of minutes to take care of the computer’s request to change your password and pick a secure code that is hard to decipher and easy for you to remember.

There are applications available that will remember passwords for you (like LastPass or KeePass) although some of us (not me) have survived for decades writing down passwords on small pieces of paper and storing them somewhere “safe.”

When considering your new password, be sure to read the system’s requirements for new passwords, choose a strong password based on those specifications, and make sure your new entry key is not one of 2015’s worst passwords. Here’s the top 10:

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. football
8. 1234
9. 1234567
10. baseball

It’s new to me, anyway.

Starting with the Spring 2016 semester, I’ll be moving toward more open-source software options in my classes, ergo my Photoshop may include some GIMP, my Dreamweaver will have some bootstrap, etc.

Gotta get some reading done.

So Python is now in the books; by which I mean, we got it into the dual-credit curriculum, we have it on our machines, and we had a lot of fun making it work.

Next, CSS frameworks will replace Dreamweaver in Web Design II. And what better way to implement them than this?