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A good place to start a website is on your own personal computer. So why not set up a local host on our own Ubuntu box and get moving? Open up the terminal and follow these three steps:

1. Install the MySQL server and client: $ sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client


2. Install php5: $ sudo apt-get install php5-mysql


3. Install phpMyAdmin: $ sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin


Okay, now you''ll need to create a directory where you can build websites within the server directory and give it permissions. Follow these steps:


4. $ sudo mkdir /var/www/directoryname


Okay, now you need to give permissions so that you may work freely in your new directory. As follows:


5. $ sudo chown yourUserName /var/www/directoryname



Test your local web server by entering the following into your web browser:


6. http://localhost

You should now see in large bold font, "It works!". Now you are ready to create websites from scratch, or perhaps you'd like to install a content management system into your newly born directory! Have fun!

I have been mind mapping for years! Mind mapping is a great tool for brainstorming, problem solving, project management, and much more. The mind mapping application made for Google's Android Thinking Space is one of my favorites! Before I get into details, here are some bullets on why I think it's so cool:

• It's free!


• it's files are "mm" format, which is the same format that the open source software Freemind uses.


• it's mobile! When else is a better time wherever you happen to be when the ideas begin to flow!!

The Sunny 16 Rule provides a great starting point for outdoor photography on a sunny day, and cloudy days too. The rule is simple; set your f-stop to 16, and your ISO should be a reciprocal of the shutter speed. Thus, if the ISO is set to 100, the shutter speed should be set to 1/100 (or something close to 1/100, 1/125).

Here is a cheat sheet:

	Sunny Distinct Shadows	Hazy Sun Soft Shadows	Cloudy Barely Visible Shadows	Overcast No Shadows
F-Stop	f / 16	f / 11	f / 8	f / 5.6
ISO 100	1/125	1/125	1/125	1/125
ISO 200	1/250	1/250	1/250	1/250
ISO 400	1/500	1/500	1/500	1/500
ISO 800	1/1000	1/1000	1/1000	1/1000

The aperture of a camera is the opening in which light travels through when shooting images. The diameter of this opening is controlled by an iris. The larger the opening, the more light is aloud to pass through. This aperture setting is commonly referred to as the F-stop setting.


In Aperture Priority Mode the Nikon D40X internal processor will choose shutter speed automatically.

The aperture may be used to adjust the depth of field of an image. The largest aperture setting on the Nikon D40X camera is F4.8, and the smallest aperture setting is F22. The larger the aperture the lower the depth of field. Conversely, a smaller aperture will increase the depth of field.

Rotating the command dial clockwise:

• larger aperture


• decrease depth of field


• decrease F-stop value

Rotating the command dial counter clockwise:

• smaller aperture


• increase depth of field


• increase F-stop value

The following images were taken using the minimum and maximum aperture settings, respectively:

In Shutter Priority Mode, you choose the shutter speed, and the Nikon D40X internal processor will choose aperture automatically. To use the Shutter Priority Mode, set the Mode Dial to "S", as shown below.



The shutter speed adjustment is used to control exposure time. High shutter times produce high exposure, and low shutter times produce low exposure. The D40X has a maximum shutter time of 30 seconds and a minimum of 250 microseconds (1/4,0000 seconds).