About

More to come, but for now, briefly . . .

Besides solving problems big and small for people; Kevin Knodl has been working in technical theatre for the past 15+ years. At one time or another in one way or another he has worked on every aspect of production from company management to wardrobe maintenance. Strengths include technical direction and electrics.

Outside of theatre, Kevin has interests such as photography, sustainable living, and bowling just to name a few.

Mainly he just likes building and fixing things. The more challenging the project the better.

Contact Kevin

Webpage Updates and Notes

Look here to find out what's changed or going to change.

History

• Purchased problem-solver.net in 2003
• Mainpage created and left pretty much empty for quite some time.
  
  • Put some portfolio items on page
  • Used as a host for personal messages
• Website basically floundered for most of the last two years
• I used the site in Fall of 2005 to host info for my Stagecraft Class at the University of Pittsburgh
• When I knew I needed to find new work in the spring of 2006, I started to work on the site
  
  • I started with a new resume
  • Added a comprehensive list of productions
  • I finished the pages with the show titles
  • I rediscovered Flickr
    
    • The production team on Henry was spread across the globe
    • Flickr was used to distribute information
    • I thought it was a great idea, others didn't quite adopt it with any enthusiasm
  • Tried to get more done, but life seemed to get in the way
• After moving and having free time during my current job search I started working again
• I spent some time in a "Research" phase, maybe that was just a way to justify surfing the web instead of job hunting
• During research I discovered CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and I found the free template I based the current site on
• Created a "logo." On a personal note, I like the simplicity of the logo, but I'd like a smaller one too, so if any graphic artists out there have any suggestions and would like to barter skills, please contact me.
• Modified the template into the current home page
• Worked with CSS and HTML to perfect the menus including the Stagecraft menus
• Started to convert old pages and create new pages to current format
• Created a custom 404 page
• I spent a large chunk of time scanning pictures and slides and uploading them all to Flickr
• As of Aug 23, 2006 I had over 3,500 pictures/drawings on Flickr
• Unfortunately, everytime I work on some other page I realize some other photo that I somehow missed
• After having to change the menu on 15+ pages countless times, I investigated PHP more
  
  • I won't try and explain it since I've barely picked it up
  • I just know PHP allows you to do more than HTML would allow
  • now when I want to change the menu on the page I only have to change one file
• Then I dealt with the Pop-ups issue.
  
  • I knew (and was told) that the Flickr pages were annoying if they were direct links
  • It was slow to go to the Flickr page and then back again
  • I did a little more research and found some solutions
  • The current set-up is what I believe to be an ok solution
  • FYI, it's a Javascript Script.
  • I'm pretty sure there is a better one, but I decided to finish this one and later make it a bit cleaner
• I spent a lot of time converting all the old pages to the new format and then to PHP

August 27,2006

• I've finished converting all the old pages
• I'm almost done creating the new pages I wanted to do
• Pages left to create
  
  • Links
  • Don't Panic - problems already solved / problems solved (contact me) / etc
  • Whatever I've forgotten
• Pages to Finish/Fix
  
  • Resume - Descriptions under jobs needed
  • All Other Portfolio Pages - any suggestions?
  • Individual Production Pages, as needed - they all need work
  • Work on printable pages of Stagecraft info - either work with CSS more or create PDF files
  • I also have hours of work to do on Flickr adding descriptions and tags

Latest Updates

September 11-12, 2006

• Created Don't Panic Page
• Created Problems Solved Page
• Created Popup Windows for "Problems"
  
  • Dealt with focus shift, so clicking on logo on pop-up window changes focus back to main window
  • Created What I do page
  • Created Examples of Problems Solved Pages
    
    • Pickup Truck
    • Dresser
    • Neon Sign
    • Ice Holes
    • Robo-clog
  • Cleaned up embedded video on sign page (still needs work)