Teach Yourself, And Let Your Children Teach You

Are you really giving your child the benefit of the best education for the future they are facing? Do you realize that the best tools might already be in your own house?
 

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I LOVE This Office

Howard's Dream Office - such a source of inspiration...

Madoff Madness

Image by Runs With Scissors via Flickr

What can you say about Bernie Madoff? That he is: greedy, a sociopath, out-of-touch, brilliantly evil, mad? A study in the addiction of conspicuous consumption?

I think he’s the perfect symbol of a system/society/class  completely out of touch. Out of touch with the world around them – the real world, that is – and the lives of the people in it. Not only did he scam the greedy and selfish you could care less are suffering, he scammed the good, the helpful, the altruistic and kind. As though they were all characters in an entertaining novel or game. Was it ever just greed, or did it cross the line into sport? You know, like a tv drama that shows a rich man who suddenly has a thirst for hunting something more challenging – like a human.

I’ve never made up my mind about the death penalty. But I sure wish there was a way we could sentence certain people to scientific study. You know, like a lab rat.

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Technorati Tags: Madoff

Is Your Glass Half Full, or Half Empty?

Lost Generation

Neighborly Watch

Image by • MAH7 via Flickr

It’s always disheartening to see problems like this, neighbors suing neighbors. You might not want to be the best of friends, and you certainly don’t need to be living next to someone who drives you nuts. But neighbors are kinda like family – you can’t pick ‘em, but you do need to deal with ‘em.

I know someone who had neighbors they didn’t get along with. It was years and years of not acknowledging the other’s presence, being the one house you didn’t visit on Halloween or Christmas, of putting the wrong mail back in the mailbox and hoping they did the same for you. You may not want someone living next door who is constantly stopping by, or asking a million questions about that car in your driveway the other day, or telling you how to raise your kids. But neighbors who can’t get along at all is another kind of hell.

Many years have passed and all the kids are grown and gone. Most of the other neighbors have moved, or died, and there are new people who don’t introduce themselves like people once did. Being the last of the old crowd, they are finally becoming friends because…well, if you drop dead in your backyard, who else is gonna see?

Something to think about.

Clowns

Image by Noël Zia Lee via Flickr

I have bird feeders right outside of my office window. More than just helping to nourish the local bird population, they provide hours of entertainment. My cats are rather entertained by them too.

Two of the feeders are squirrel-proof. It’s endlessly amusing to see how determined those furry-tailed rodents are to thwart that. They regularly tumble from the feeders into the holly bush underneath, yet determinedly leap out, scale the wall to the roof, and try again. I admire their persistence.

I think I like the squirrels as much as the birds. They don’t sing, and have no colorful plumage, but they are clever in their antics to get at the seed. They try just about anything to get what they want, from hanging upside down, or swinging wildly in the air, or leaping great distances as though determination alone will get them there. I sometimes break down and toss a handful or two of seed on the ground. Oh, alright, often. They’ve taken to sitting up and staring at me, their paws humbly clasped, their big eyes open in a silent “please?” Of course, I give in.

After all, they’ve put on quite a performance. Only fair to pay the price of admission.

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Love, For All

How the Internet Defeated the McCain Campaign

LIVEdigitally » Blog Archive » How the Internet Defeated the McCain Campaign: "I also hope our politicians take warning from these results. The era of politicians being able to say one thing while do another is at an end. We the people are tired of the negativity, the fear, and the lies that politicians have perpetrated over the years. The Internet was a major part of this election, and this is only the beginning."

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Olberman, on Fire

Mental Atmosphere

clipped from www.newyorker.com A lot has been written lately about the dishonest tactics of the two tickets, especially McCain-Palin. The problem with a campaign based on relentless message discipline, repeated falsehoods, and the habitual perversion of language is that none of it stops after election day. You can’t be indifferent to truth for months on end and then suddenly return to straight talk. If McCain should win, Steve Schmidt won’t be in charge of the new Administration, but his spirit will. Prostitutes hardly ever go straight: the mental atmosphere of a campaign becomes the mental atmosphere of a government.

The Culture War Gambit

clipped from journalism.nyu.edu John McCain’s convention gambit is a culture war strategy. It depends for its execution on conflict with journalists, and with bloggers (the “angry left,” Bush called them) along with confusion between and among the press, the blogosphere, and the Democratic party. It revives cultural memory: the resentment narrative after Chicago ‘68 but with the angry left more distributed. It dispenses with issues and seeks a trial of personalities. It bets big time on backlash.

Finally, Not For The Tech Crowd

Image via Wikipedia I was just reading Rob Diana’s post “Ubiquity Will Not Be Ubiquitous”. I get his points - and there are some good ones - but I think he’s forgetting something really important. All apps are not for the techie/nerd/early-adopter crowd. Eventually, you need to put some focus on the non-tech loving crowd, the newbies. You know, the people who will pay you for what you do. And this app is something people will pay for. Not the technie/nerd/early-adopter crowd. The 50+, money to spend, stuck in the email rut, excuse me, luddites.

Take the simplistic instructions. To nerds, a turn-off. But to your grandmother? Or your mother? Or your next-door neighbor? This is Heaven.

Imagine this: you open an email in Google. The sender is talking about a weekend in New Hope (the recipient lives in New York.) The scenario of a typical non-techie user:

So, where is this New Hope? I guess I can use Google maps. Where is that link? Where are my bookmarks again? Oh, there they are. Ok, type in New Hope PA. Hit enter. Ah, found it. Ok, not too far. Wonder what it’s like? I know, I can check Google. Or that wiki thing. Where’s that link? Ah. Looks pretty interesting. Ok, I guess I’ll go. Next, better check the calendar to make sure I’m free. How do I get back to the calendar? I think there was a link on the top of Google maps, so let’s hit the back arrow. Good, I’m back. 

And the scenario continues, with a few more wrong turns and memory jogs. But with Ubiquity? From right where I am (in the email) I can hit ctrl-spacebar. Type map and enter the place. I see the map right there. Or I type cal, see the link to Google calendar, and go right to it. Ctrl-spacebar again, type wiki, and find wikipedia. No remembering where bookmarks are stored, no remembering the shortcut to open a new tab vs. a new window. Just simple, logical, easy commands.

Yes, there needs to be more commands, and I'm sure there will be plenty, soon.To the early-adopter, the techie, the nerds, this stuff is no challenge.

To those who can surf the web in their sleep, this app may be a disappointment. B-o-r-i-n-g. But to the huddled masses?

This app is pure genius.

Cranky, yes. Accurate? No.

Steve Hodson must be a cranky old fart, as his byline says and his post supports, because he sure paints an arrogant picture of early adopters.

I’m a cranky old fart myself. And an early adopter, I guess, by his standards, as I’m quick to try out most of the tech-bling showing up. But the rest of his article doesn’t fit. It sounds more like someone wouldn’t let him into some clubhouse he perceives to exist.

I love Ubiquity. I’ve been waiting for it for a long time. I love it because it works like I want to work, like the people I know want to work. Reading an article and don’t understand a word, or want to see a picture to better understand something? Pop into Ubiquity and there’s your answer. Sure beats trying to search your bookmarks because you can’t remember the name of that site that can give you the answer you need.

I use Twitter, but I like Friendfeed more. I like Plurk. I like Utterz. I signed up right away. I’m still eagerly waiting for other beta invites. I signed up for a lot of things right way, and each new variation that comes along, I’ll sign up for them too. Because what’s here right now could be better, and I’m eager to find it. And I’m amazed that so much of it is free, so many things that can help me in my life, in my work, in my never-ending quest for knowledge about my world and the people in it.

So yes, I guess I’m passionate about new techie things. But does that make me some kind of snob? I don’t think so. I could care less about the latest, greatest new thing if it has to do with web design. I do not own an iPhone, nor am I likely to own one until the prices become far more reasonable and the service becomes far more reliable. I don’t have a Kindle. I still like the feel of a book.

Yes, early adopters are a miniscule part of the web. But isn’t that human nature? For every car enthusiast, aren’t there millions of us who just want to hop in and get where we’re going?

For every comment some passionate might make over who should and who should not use a service/object/site there’s another passionate who would jump at the chance to show a non-techie how to use it. These early-adopters are some of the most generous people I know. They can’t wait to share invites to private betas, to answer questions about how to set something up, to encourage someone who wants to try something in a new way. Those who have the talent will spend hours of personal time adapting code, making improvements, adding another dimension – then turn around and freely share it.

I know someone who recently connected with an old high school friend, took a trip to see them. A rather unpleasant and grueling trip. Things turned out all right, but it’s not likely to happen again anytime soon. Now, they could be spending a few minutes every few days chatting over the net, using a webcam. Ok, not as satisfying as a flesh and blood hug, but certainly a lot better than a plain telephone call (especially when the bill comes.) Will they do it? No. They don’t even own a computer. What kind of a connection are they missing with this friend? A big one, in my view.

I know others who own computers, even have access to a high-speed connections, and still don’t venture any further than e-mail and an occasional website someone else has directed them to. To me, that’s like going to the library and refusing to look beyond the childrens section.

I fit in the early adopter, passionate category. But don’t tell me I don’t care about the “real world users of the web”. They’ve been driving me nuts for years.

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Crocosmia

crocosmia,
originally uploaded by Lilyhill.

Planted to attracts hummingbirds. It worked, but they dart in and away so fast. Just saw the female come in - she darted around the hummingbird plant, then hovered around the goldfinch feeder as if trying to figured out what the goldfinch was eating. Off to the butterfly bushes, then away.

Heavy Industry

Bee2,
originally uploaded by Lilyhill.

Good to see the honeybees. Such hard workers, no profit, unwittingly serving our desire for sweets and beauty.

Food for Thought

clipped from blog.simplejustice.us The law is a profession.  Whether or not lawyers are professionals is a matter of personal choice.  Some lawyers conduct themselves, and address the needs of their clients, as professionals.  Other lawyers are twinkie salesmen.  Of the latter group, some sell because they see no other option, and some sell because twinkie salesman is the best they will ever be.

Will The Semantic Web Have a Gender?

One academic warns that it might and says we need to pay attention to it. As machines learn to understand what the web means, what perspective will they understand it from?

read more | digg story

The Conversation Prism

The Conversation Prism,
originally uploaded by b_d_solis.

No wonder we social media junkies are so overwhelmed...

Life With A Cat

Oh, yes. Captured perfectly. Life with a cat.




Thanks to Ronnie

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