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Mind Mapping, Application Design, and Stuff
I have become interested in a technique called Mind Mapping to help me flesh out some overall design and feature questions and issues on some of the projects that I am working on.
Mind mapping (or concept mapping) involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas which radiate out from the centre. By focussing on key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, you are mapping knowledge in a manner which will help you understand and remember new information.
So from my reading on the matter, and I think I have this right (if not, someone correct me): It seems that your brain stores things in a hierarchical manner while most of us work in a linear (straight line) world. Creating a plan visually helps your mind visualize the end product or the goal. Combining the visualization with a mind map, instead of just a to-do list, feature list, etc., allows the brain to more quickly assimilate the information.
Tony Buzan (creator of Mind Mapping) claims that the mind map is a vastly superior note taking method because it does not lead to the alleged "semi-hypnotic trance" state induced by the other note forms. Buzan also claims that the mind map utilizes the full range of left and right human cortical skills, balances the brain, taps into the 99% of your unused mental potential, and taps into your intuition (which he calls "superlogic"). There has been research conducted on the technique which suggests that such claims may actually be marketing hype based on misconceptions about the brain and the cerebral hemispheres.
Now I don't know about all of that, but it seemed like a pretty neat concept to me and a lot of people seem to use the technique.
There are several commercial and free tools that will help you generate mind maps. Since I have Microsoft Office loaded, I used the Visio 2003 template called "Brainstorming" that allowed me to create a mind map in fairly short order.
I'll keep you informed of my experiences with the Mind Mapping technique and if anyone has anything to share on the subject, leave a comment.
References:
Mind Maps® are the registered trade mark of the Buzan Organisation.
Development, Misc
(No Ratings Yet)2,077 views
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Atlas Control Kit ( April CTP ) Released
A new set of Atlas-enabled ASP.NET 2.0 controls was released this month. Check it out.
In the "Atlas" Control Toolkit, you'll find the following controls and extenders (click the links to see them in action!):
- CascadingDropDown: Easily link drop downs, complete with asynchronous population and no postbacks!
- CollaspiblePanel: This extender allows panels on your page to collapse and expand with no code.
- ConfirmButton: This extender adds a confirm dialog to any Button, LinkButton, or ImageButton control.
- DragPanel: Makes any panel into an object that you can drag around the page.
- HoverMenu: Allows UI to pop up next to a control when the user hovers over it.
- PopupControl: This extender turns any panel into a popup.
- ReorderList: This control is a full-featured data-bound control that allows its elements to be reordered on the client via drag and drop.
- TextBoxWatermark: This extender adds "watermark" prompt text to TextBoxes on the page.
- ToggleButton: This extender turns an ASP.NET CheckBox into an image checkbox.
Development (No Ratings Yet)1,585 views Loading ... -
ASP.NET 2.0 Starter Kits
In case you didn't know, there are several web site starter kits available for Visual Studio 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0.
At the bottom of the ASP.NET 2.0 Downloads page, you'll see additions of:
- A Job Site Starter Kit
- A Media Library starter Kit
Note: the Personal Site, Club Site, and Time Tracker starter kits have been there for quite some time.
If you dig a little further, on MSDN, you'll find:
- eBay Selling Starter Kit
Anyway, these starter kits are intended to get you going as quickly as possible with a web site and after a bit of review, I think they provide you with a pretty good foundation for various web-based applications.
Check them out.
Development (No Ratings Yet)1,473 views Loading ... -
You think I would learn
TWO chicken burrito supremes is my limit. Not three. Dumbass. I think I'm going to explode.
On the plus side, I was watching HGTV and saw one of these.
Pretty cool. Not that we get enough snow in Coppell, Texas to warrant one. But I bet it does a killer job on bullshit.
And I know we have lots of that around here. :)
Meanderings (No Ratings Yet)1,218 views Loading ... -
It's all good
Well, I received a slight disappointment today. Nothing major or life threatening or anything, but a disappointment none-the-less.
Anyway, I could reflect back on the situation and feel some sense of loss, but it's an outstandingly beautiful day here in Coppell, Texas. It's 73 degrees outside, the sun is shining and that 40 mph wind we've been dealing with for the past few days has dropped down to a gentle breeze.
Combine that with 3 chicken burrito supremes and a large Pepsi from Taco Bell, and I am thinking it is just a great freakin' day to be alive.
And that my friends, makes it all good.
Peace out.
Mitch
Meanderings (No Ratings Yet)1,311 views Loading ... -
Project Server Notes: Project Web Access controls
I learned today that when you first start PWA, it installs some ActiveX controls on the client. If the current user doesn't have Local Administrator rights, the installation fails.
This process only has to be done once, so logging on as an Administrator and accessing PWA will download the controls will allow any user on the computer to successfully access PWA from that point forward.
Misc (No Ratings Yet)1,843 views Loading ... -
My friend Bruce W. is an idiot
He doesn't think the godaddy.com chick is hot.
Though I love him like a brother, he is still an idiot.
I told him that he has been married too long and that his pee-pee and testy-cals have both shrank to the point that they are causing some sort of brain cloud that is affecting his judgement…
My cure for Bruce is, of course, is a $35 hooker.
Dumbass.
Meanderings (No Ratings Yet)1,322 views Loading ... -
It was just a matter of time…
Until the SPAM engines found my blog. Luckily, WordPress has comment moderation so it is a really simple matter to approve or disapprove comments.
Have a great week.
Mitch
Misc (No Ratings Yet)1,314 views Loading ... -
Introduction to the Lessons Learned Series
Greetings Folks,
In the next few days I shall post the first installment of my Lessons Learned series.
I am, in no way, to be considered a guru ( business or otherwise ), but I have learned a whole lot of stuff over the years that I wanted to put into writing to hopefully keep you from making some of the same mistakes that I have made, and to pass along some relevant information if you are starting your own business.
Should you listen to what I have to say? Probably not. After all, I am the creme de la poo-poo as far as business practices go. And while I am outstanding at telling people what to do, many times, I don't follow my own advice.
Give me that, and a 125 mile trip out of town, and that would make me an "Expert." ( If you don't understand that one, let me know and I'll explain it. )
But, I can say without a doubt, that I run into companies all the time that are making the same mistakes that I have made and that I am not in a position to fix them. That tells me that my "education" may be worth something to someone.
Anyway, I would like for this series to be as interactive as possible so you can leave comments to any article that you find relevant.
Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.
In fact, I only have 3 rules:
Keep it clean
At least PG-13. I will on occasion use language that is not "G" rated. Please do the same. Stronger feelings need to be emailed directly to me.
Be relevant or at least general
If you need help on a situation, make sure that your situation can apply to a broader audience. Otherwise, email me privately.
Use your real name
You can leave anonymous comments, but I don't really like to enter into long discussions with people I can't identify with.
So, that's about it. Let's keep this discussion lively, informative, educational, and valuable.
Our first lesson will be: So you have an idea
And let's see how it goes.
Mitch
Misc (No Ratings Yet)2,778 views Loading ... -
Quickly Disconnecting SQL Users from a Database
On SQLServerCentral.com tonight, I found a really neat little SQL procedure written by Brian Knight that allows you to disconnect any users currently connected to a specific database.
I needed this script so I could disconnect all of the CRM users so I could perform some maintenance on the CRM databases.
Development, Dynamics CRM (No Ratings Yet)5,169 views Loading ...
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