Healthy Hobbies

Hobbies can be a healthy way to pass the time. I've enjoyed my hobbies in the past, and have adopted a new one.

I enjoy playing golf, and usually get out every weekend for a round. I also enjoy writing little tidbits to post on this blog. For my current college class, I had to build a website. Not a cheesey single page that merely demonstrates a few HTML features, but a real website with a purpose. I've discovered that I thoroughly enjoy it.

I secured web hosting for my site and registered my own domain. Nothing screams amateur like a URL of "mysite.someoneelseshost.com". Having a real host and domain presented some new challenges. Not only have I had to learn much more about HTML than I thought I would, but I've also had to learn how to use FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, to publish the content of my site. It's much easier than I anticipated.

Some FTP software allows you to edit your pages right on the host's server. I opted for a free FTP client, and it does not have that feature. I edit my pages on my laptop, and then upload the new version to the server with my FTP software. Since I've fallen in love with HTML Kit, I prefer it that way. HTML kit is an editor that allows me to edit my pages and, with a single click, preview them either in my browser, or right in HTML Kit. Pretty nifty. It also has some trouble-shooting tools that I've (thankfully) not had to use yet.

In a nutshell, building a website has been fun, and it has been a great learning experience. I fully intend to keep it going after the class ends. I recommend that others take a stab at it. Who knows what kind of things you can come up with when you let your imagination run free?