Happy Trails

I'm looking forward to embracing mp3 consciousness in all its potential! My own preference will be to download audiobooks. I've been using "Coffee Break Spanish" with my ipod, and am looking forward to downloading Spanish instruction in the future.

Can it be that it's time to say adios? Perish the thought! Let's just say, hasta luego! I'll continue to post blogs, and keep you updated on my progress and on the the deterioration of my hearing .

So You Want To Be Digital Rights Manager

I’m on the side of the supporters of DRM because I believe in property rights. The ability of someone to profit from their own work is primary to our fundamental rights. I’m not unsympathetic to inconvenience some folks complain about regarding sharing of music. But rights of the producers of content greatly outweighs the inconvenience.
Steve Jobs makes a very convincing case for DRM regarding itunes. The ability to share music with 5 computers and unlimited ipods seems perfectly fair to me. but of course, I could be wrong.

What I Think About Online Learning

In a word, fun!

In more than a word, I think that most of the learning that takes place is an electronic or digital version of a correspondence course. It really depends on your ability to be an autodidact.

I got my liberry degree via the Internet, and it was efficient and convenient. But being physically in the presence of an instructor and peers is better. Who hasn't been in a class in which the teacher pick up from the stony silence or the poker-faced expressions of the pupils that something isn't clicking? Online, students and teachers are unable to communicate via body language. A person can make a subtle point by speaking, controlling the tone and pace of the words, and with gestures. This is lost in the digital classroom.

On the other hand, if somebody wants to go on at length, many online classes have bulletin boards whereby a pupil can go on at length, and maybe someone will read it. Also, digital classes are able to reach students around the world - bringing education into the home as well as into the classroom. Also, the anonymity of the Internet allows students to make comments or ask questions without all that humiliation. On the other hand again, this means that you may not really know the person like you would in their physical presence. Think of the flickr video we watched. Nobody said this, but when I was attending school online it was common for someone to say that they would like to get to know the person behind the posts.

This course, again, is fun. I've enjoyed watching the videos, playing with the digital toys, etc. But it seems to be pretty self-referential. That is, you learn about blogs in order to make more blogs. Maybe these blogs have substantial importance outside of the cyber-world. We'll see.

In our location, there are only a few people who have really been able to collaborate in a side-by-side manner. Much of the interaction has been of the nature of advice and encouragement as one walks by the other on the computer. The major way we help each other is by ensuring that we have time away from the desk to pursue these opportunities.

I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Being a born again dog lover, I enjoyed Dogster most of all. Catster - well, sure I like cats well enough, but I'm more of a dog person.

I was into wine sometime back, but now not so much. I've never been much of a beer drinker.

I don't do crosswords or soduko, so as good as those sites are, they don't do much for me either.

Trivial pursuit - same thing.

I don't mean to be a spoil sport about this, but I just don't enjoy computer games. I'd rather ride my bicycle or walk my dogs. That being the case, I don't currently have a need for trainco, although it is exactly the kind of website I think should be promoted.

For my fitness, regimen, I've registered with realage.com. You can download some excellent workouts that you can use on your computer on on your ipod.

There's no reason we can't be civil.

I enjoyed the comment on Wikimapia about Lake Apopka: " The dirtiest lake in Florida. However, it is on the road to recovery." Right. That'll be the day.

What fun to find via MotorMapUSA that my dream car, an Aston Martin, awaits me only 105 miles and $179,000.00 away!

I liked the library applications, especially the comment exchanges on Shelfari. They remind me of those found on Amazon.com. All of the applications could have a useful role in one's life, but just how many different accounts does one sign up for? I know, I know...all of them.

I’m not so sure this whole Internet thing is going to catch on after all.

So now everyone can be published and broadcast over the internet. Fame and fortune await us all. Well fame anyway.

I read the article about the vanishing television audience, and found that the problem isn't as cut and dried as that. What's happening is that people are watching television differently. Instead of setting up a time, a television and a tray of tantalizing treats, we're recording the shows and watching them on our own schedule. According to the article, this prevents effective tracking of the popularity of the show.

Regarding the popularity of Video Ninja, it does seem that a relatively short video, available at any time, would get more hits that a longer show that is broadcast on a specified schedule. The same could be said for LonelyGirl15. According to the Wikipedia article, "Despite the high amount of views, many of lonleygirl15's videos are rated low." I guess people will watch anything.

Come to think of it, the current state of online video reminds me of 1950's television - the so-called "Golden Age" thereof. Some of the material is very innovative and surreal, some of it so mundane it will drive you up a tree. And lot of it consists of "Talking Heads," people doing just that - looking into the camera and talking. I'm not too interested in what Kurt Colbain or Jim Morrison would do with online video. But if Ernie Kovacs could take a shot at it, now that would be something!

Before I move on, please check out Tiki Bar TV - Forbidden Cocktails in a Swank Pad. Here's a link: http://tikibartv.com/tikibar_display.php?vid=30&pver=f8 (hope it works!).

Of all the applications available via SEOmoz, I think the most useful would be those under the category of Collaborative Writing and Word Processing. Nice to have if you don't have access to Microsoft Word.

Namaste, y'all!

Week 3

I believe I am an olfactory learner, but I could be wrong. Grokster looks fun, but I'll have to use it a while before I give up on Google as my second most preferred information source.


I looked for RSS's about the environment, politics, Spanish and librarianship, and they seem to be okay. I was disappointed to see that the top searches on Feedster.com are "Alec Baldwin" and "Bush Dancing." I guess we've all given up. Well, everyone except Jon Stewart and me.

As far as 2.0 is concerned, I think it's working very well, for my schedule, anyway.

All for now.

My First Blog

Well, I made it this far. I'm very grateful for the step-by-step instructions provided by the Blog committee.

The Future is Here! The Future is Now!

Greetings, my friends! Blogs are the thing now, of course, but they are also the thing of the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.