Abandon Nest

In this post, I’d like to detail some changes that are going on here at Abandon Nest.  There’s nothing major, but I thought I would point them out so that my loyal readers can understand what’s going on.

First, if you’re even reading this, thanks! I appreciate each and every one of the readers that I have. I hope that I’ve been a source of insight for many people as I’ve written on a broad array of subjects. Also, if you’re just stopping by, welcome and take a look around.

Second, let’s go through the changes. If you’re a regular reader you’ve no doubt noticed that I post to this blog normally 3 times per weekday and 2 times every weekend day. Well, it’s getting to be summer and I’m becoming active in more and more things that require me to go outside. As such, I need to cut down on my writing so I can maintain my level of physical activity. So there will only be 2 posts every weekday from now on until it gets cold again.

Another reason for this change is that I have a few website ideas that I want to play around with and get started. When they go live, I’ll announce them on this blog so that I can hopefully throw some traffic their way and you can admire my (hopefully) sweet designs.

Also, if you’ve noticed I’ve been fairly heavily concentrating on “On the Job” type posts here at Abandon Nest over the last week. Another favorite topic was “Money Management/Finance.” I hope to rediversify the posts on Abandon Nest so that they cover everything that a person just starting out could encounter. If you have any ideas, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email at nick [at] abandonnest [dot] com (obviously you’ll need to fiddle with the address, but you can do it.

Finally, I just want a little time to play with my new software that I got the other day and teach myself to be a better web designer. The first couple of steps will be tough, but once I get through them, I’m hoping to do things that are truly great. Wish me luck. (And thanks for reading this really long meandering post)

So for the last two days I’ve been playing with the new software I just bought.  The Adobe Web Bundle is a fantastic collection of software comprising Creative Suite 2 and Macromedia (now Adobe) Studio 8.  It combines all the great image editing programs like Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, Fireworks, and Flash together with web and print publishing software like Indesign CS2, GoLive CS2, Dreamweaver 8, and Acrobat Professional 7.

Frankly, I’ve just been going through Adobe Photoshop CS2 One-on-One for now, but I have dabbled in the other programs a little bit.  Last night I bought Adobe Illustrator CS2 Classroom in a Book because of the high ratings that it received on many illustration
web sites.

I really made a tough decision to buy this package of software because it cost so much, but now I’m really glad I did. It’ll make me more productive in my hobbiest web development and the tools will allow me to learn new skills that I couldn’t have otherwise. I can treat this purchase as an investment in my future. Plus, it’ll help me make this site more attractive and usable for my readers. Now, how about that?

If you have the money and you’re interested in web or print publishing and graphic design (and you’re a student) then I would highly recommend picking up the Adobe Web Bundle. I ordered mine from the Academic Superstore and it arrived in 4 days, including academic eligibility verification.

For those of you who are currently using this software, does anyone know any good Flash Professional 8 books? I couldn’t find any at the Borders that looked worthwhile, and I’m quite fascinated by the possibilities of Flash animation. Any other learning suggestions would be much appreciated also.

So I just received the Adobe Web Bundle that I ordered earlier this week.  I’m about to install it, and can’t promise that after I’ll be able to find the time to post anything until Saturday nightweekend.

Wish me luck, however, in learning to play with my new tools (toys).