The Open Author

Interesting article. I’ve often wondered if you could have an ‘open’ search engine. Jimmy Wales, the really, really cool guy who started wikipedia, is heading up the project. Should at least be interesting…

Or rather, pay no attention to those ads. I’ve signed up for adsense, not because I want to make a lot of money, but because I’ve been curious as to what kind of ads would appear on this site. I’ll probably keep them up for a few weeks, and then shut them off.

An interesting side note about this blog is that if you do a search for exploding coconuts, my blog is the first one on the list. I wrote an article about it years ago, and it’s number one. When people have a coconut explode, and they turn to the web for detailed, informative information. They don’t find it, instead they find my blog. Imagining their bitter disappointment keeps me up at night, but what can a blogger do?

So anyway, my own personalized ads should be showing up soon, and the world will soon know the answer to this burning question: what kind of ads will appear on a blog posting about exploding coconuts?

This is almost as exciting as waiting for the last book in the Harry Potter series.

So I write for a small blog that is owned by a guy who is the brother of a person I work for. I wrote a post the other day, and thought little of it (by the way, the title isn’t mine). It is just some of my thoughts about tying information to location. I always post the same stuff here, just a few days later. Again, it’s just a little blog post. Nothing fancy.

The next thing I know the article is on the front page of slashdot. Then it hits Digg’s front page. Then it gets techmeme’d and is on the front page of del.icio.us. It’s been read about 30,000 times.

I’d be feeling good if it wasn’t for all the negative comments about my spelling prowess. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no editor. Which is too bad. But I think it does show that the idea is a keen one, and people are interested in the concept.

My only regret is that I should have written this article after we had built some kind of prototype that allows people to do exactly what I was describing. I think if it done so that it’s easy for the end user, a lot of really cool applications will be ‘thunk up’ up by the internet community at large.

I’m sorry if I misspelled thunk up.

I don’t know if it’s been in the news more lately, or if I’ve just happened to hear about it, but bottled water is under attack. And as far as I can see, for good reason. Here is probably the most succinct of the articles I’ve read.

So, buy a water bottle, hit the drinking fountain, and call it good.

Good article over at the Open University blog. The author asks a question we all struggle with at times, I think. From the article:

“At the OU, we like to think (rightly) that we have a good understanding of how to construct print based, distance learning educational materials – tutorials in print – supported by a network of personal tutors and online forums.

“But I’m not so sure that we – or anyone else for that matter – has really got to grips with developing pedagogically sound, compelling and engaging online delivery models.

“So here’s where I’m stuck at at the moment:

1. “Training” people how to add data to maps, create timelines, etc etc is important and something we should be doing. Why? I don’t know – maybe because it’s a useful online communication skill?
2. Using interactive maps etc. is a way of encouraging learners to explore…. errr… explore what, I’m not exactly sure.
3. Embedding audio and video in online material breaks up the text and makes use of the medium. It allows learners to hear real voices, see real people. But is that important. Do I need to see Professor XYZ talking about whatever, when I can just read their paper? Or does rich media content break the flow of study (i.e. break the flow of reading print on-screen… Or maybe I printed everyhting off and I’m reading it on paper?)”

Some really good points. There are now so many tools, and so many ways to use those tools, and even more ways to mash those tools up, that it can be overwhelming at times. As the Insane Devil Woman pointed out, you can now report online that you are sick, and google maps will post all of that information online. So you can see where other people are sick, on a cool, little interactive map. Great. So…

But I really don’t see an alternative. Our best bet is to get a whole bunch of tools out there, let people use, reuse, and mash them together, and see what bubbles to the top. Sometimes we create a tool for one purpose, only to find out it is perfectly suited to something else. To me, that is where things get exciting.

So, we went to the store today, and I thought it would be fun to get a few fireworks. They had a big pack of fireworks called the ‘Big Bubba’ for $232, or there were some snaps and those flower thingies.

So I bought each of the kids a whole box of snaps (when I was little, we just got 2 individual snaps, and we had to share one with a brother). And then I got a pack of flower spinny things. The total came to $.72.

That’s right. Seventy two cents.

So my wife is making fun of how cheap I am. But, we had at least 20 minutes of fun. The kids snapped for a while, threw them at each other, dropped them from high places, broke them between their fingers. Good times.

Then came the flowers. We lit one and went “wow”. Then, call us crazy, WE LIT TWO AT THE SAME TIME! All we could say was “wow wow!” We would have lit three in a row, but there were only four in the pack so we lit the last one and all cheered.

Then, since we had matches, and it’s the 4th, we lit the last few snaps on fire. We started a little match/snap bonfire, and I let all the kids light matches (they were out of sparklers). They would light the match, blow it out, and come back for more. My three year old almost lit my shirt on fire, but other than that, it was a roaring success.

All for 72 pennies. Tell me, how could Big Bubba had given us any more entertainment?

These are the Daves I know, I know
These are the Daves I know
One of them is Justin,
But most of them are Daves

Ok, I guess not too many folks will get that little reference, but there you have it, sometimes humor is exclusive…

These are a few of the folks I work with standing in line to buy an iPhone. They could wait for two weeks and just buy one then, but where is the fun in that? This is like an event. I went down and talked to them, and it’s quite the party. Anytime there are Popsicles, you know good times are to be had.

Went out with some friends yesterday for a mountain bike ride up Green Canyon. It was a 10.6 mile ride, round trip. It was a lot of fun to ride with other folks. The benefit is that you kind of have to keep up. When I go myself I think, “I’m kind of tired, maybe I’ll stop.” When you’re riding with others you just have to keep going.

I’m impressed with how good these guys are. I was wheezing, huffing, puffing, gasping the entire way, and almost everybody else was just chatting like they were sitting around a BBQ, sharing some drinks. I was pleased that I was able to keep up. For the most part I was never more than 10-15 seconds behind whoever was leading, although toward the end I was really feeling the fact that I hadn’t eaten since 2:00. In fact, all that day I ate kind of poorly. Nothing for breakfast, a piece of cake and a couple of breadsticks for lunch, and then a Creamie at 2:00. I need to listen to the more experienced riders, and do what they do, eat as they eat, and drink as they drink.

All in all, a fun little ride.

So color me unimpressed with Twitter. I believe their functionality has changed, because there is no way that in their current state they would get more than 8 users, and those users would only be involved because their masochists.

It’s a great idea, and kind of fun, but holy cow their web site has problems. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t think so.

First of all, there is currently no way to search for other users using twitter. So I found out that I have two friends using twitter, but guess what? Can’t do anything about that. The only way to search Twitter is to use a third party program. The problem? That third party program doesn’t have access to let you add them as a friend. So you can see them, but you can’t actually add them to your list.

The only way I can see that you can add a friend is if you happen to be on the web site when they add something. There is a ‘public timeline’ that shows EVERYBODY who is twittering. So if you call your friend, tell them to twitt, and the hit refresh until you see their message, you can then and only then, add them as a friend.

I’ve checked the FAQ and the help and it’s useless. They point you to the third party API that again, doesn’t allow you to add them. I submitted an e-mail to their help, but it froze up their server. When I tried to go back I got an error message.

Anyway, as I mentioned, I’m not impressed. I hope they turn their user search back on, because I can see how this would be a fun little app.

But that is a good thing.

I have an interesting commute to work. I have three options.

Option 1) I can walk three blocks and catch the bus that drops me off about 50 feet from the door to my building.

Options 2) I can drive my car and park about 5 blocks from my building.

Option 3) I can ride my bike to work, and lock it up about 30 feet from the door to my building.

Option 1 takes 10 minutes. Option 2 takes 10 minutes. And option 3 takes 10 minutes when I’m not in shape, and 8.5 minutes when I am. So it’s summer, it’s beautiful weather, I’m out of shape, so clearly option 3 is the best answer.

But I just round a different route that takes me 35 minutes (I’m hoping to cut it down to 30 after I get in shape). This route takes me down to a dam, up the side of a mountain, and then across and back down. You can see both the old and new route here.

Anyway, I’m hoping that if I stick to this commute, and work my tail off, by the end of the year I will be able to keep up with the COSL racing team for 8 minutes, instead of my customary 85 seconds.

If you’re ever in the area, my commute is also a lovely hike. You can start right at the trail head and enjoy a lovely view of the entire valley. Enjoy it now before the encroaching development takes it all over.