Choices

I caught this TED talk by Barry Schwartz on the "Paradox of Choice." Fascinating. Although created in 2005, I believe the content is still important (and, I am holding out for the Creme Brulee torch!). We have so may choices, and the paralysis of choice is very true.

Here is his advice: "The secret to happiness is low expectations." and "We all need a fish bowl."

He is a great speaker:

The Book Club

I needed to feed my brain. It was starting to dry rot. Well, maybe it was always a bit touched with soggy wood, but I felt the need to read something other than a blog.

The beauty of New England (besides the leaves in fall) is that everyone belongs to at least one book club. I joined the one for female faculty at Hotchkiss, and I was so excited and motivated at the first meeting.

Instead of the traditional format, this month they did a "share" session where you bring in books you have recently read and loved and share them. At the end, you toss them into a circle and pick out a few to take along to read.

I selected three books, and have started the first one: La Tour Dreams of the Wolf Girl by David Huddle. So far, the book is an excellent read (even though I HATE the main character, Suzanne). But, truly, to get me to hate a character so well is a gift of genius. The opening story about Suzanne on the school bus sets the tone for her character, and I dislike her already. If La Tour is indeed an "old fart,"Suzanne is his modern prodigy (an old "fartress"?).

For our next meeting, we are all reading Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Ms. Brooks spoke at Hotchkiss earlier this term, and I am eager to read another book by her.

People have asked if I have given up on Second Life. The answer is no. I am not teaching right now, and so I am using my free time to explore some other things, but I will be back again once I am teaching. Plus, my best friends are in SL (Eloise and Dal), so I will be back very soon.

Is Blogging Dead?

I just read a fascinating article over at the Economist about the "death" of blogging. My knee jerk reaction was that, NO! BLOGGING IS ALIVE!

Is it?

True Confessions of a Social Media Slacker!

Lordy...I updated my MySpace page today. Jeebus; the pics were like 2 years old! Then I got a Plurk thingy that said I had to update my Plurk. And, I hadn't been there for a majillion moons! I Twitter every time I Diigo, so that seems like I am on 40000 times a day, but, well, not so much. There seems so much to keep track of out there!

I took a break from SL for a bit. Since I am not teaching this semester, there isn't an urgency to be there, so I tried out some other things. I start coaching diving next week, so I may still be a little scarce until I start teaching in January.

In any case, I thought that I should "try" to be more useful to the online community and post useful things here again. So....

My presentation for NMC is located here. The cool A-Z tools wiki is here. But, to make life a wee bit easier - here is the list!

A = Amazee, Animoto, A.viary and AwesomeHighlighter

B = Broth and BlockPosters and Brush Video

C = CoSketch and Campfire

D = Discipline Specific Tools and Diigo

E = Encyclopedia of Educational Technology and EgoBoxes

F = FURL

G = Google Suite and Group Table and Go2Web2.0 Directory

H = Huddle and Hulu

I = Indezine

J = Joodo

K = KEEP Toolkit and Kwout

L = LectureFox

M = Mixbook and Merlot

N = Ning

O = OneTrueMedia

P = Penzu, Project Gutenberg and Preezo and Picitup

Q = Qlubb and Qollage

R = RTM, Rememble and Review Basics

S = Slideshare and SpringNote and SlideRocket and Storytlr and scrnshots and Scrapblog

T = Technology Dictionary and Teacher Training Videos and Teacher Tube and TimeRime

U = Udutu

V = VoiceThread

W = Wikispaces and WeGameand Web2Rights

X = Xtimeline

Y = YouTube and Yudu

Z = Zotero

A New Day Has Arrived

My children will never know what it was like to only have rich white men in the highest office in the US. This is a good thing. I hope, in my life time, that the words "Madam President" will also be a reality.

No matter what side we were on last night, today we must all work together. This was the message that both McCain and Obama stressed in their speeches (and, why, oh WHY, couldn't ALL of the speeches have been that good???). As a member of neither of the two major parties, I watched with interest as the polidoofi (my term, not theirs) talked little about issues and more about the costs of dresses and someone's great aunt Annie. But, all that is behind us...today is a new day.

Working together is never easy, but working apart is so much harder.

Today, I had the excellent fortune to present at NMC's Fall 2008 Virtual Symposium. The number of new faces was refreshing. NMC does an amzing job of getting new people hooked into the newest technologies.

So, today, educators started our day together...finding ways to teach and learn together. And, outside of the conference, others spent their new day doing the same.

Scientists like Jean-Claude Bradley are finding ways to do research together - breaking down the barriers of patents and antiquated publishing methods. Teachers like Eloise Pasteur are technology to help learning disabled students harness intellectual freedom. Lawyers like Charlie Nesson are challenging the music industry to stop abusing their power. There is a lot more sharing and less competition...and this is an amazing time to live.

But, we still have work to do. 52% of Californians voted down the right of marriage equity. My concern here isn't the number or even the final vote, but that there are literally two nearly even sides of that issue in CA and both sides need to listen to the other. Where can they find compromise? Where can they talk without feeling bashed (and, truly, I mean that for either side)? There seems to be a need for a discussion - not just name calling and veiled threats?

We have lost the art of conversation. Whilst the computer might be part of the demise, I suspect it has a lot more to do with not wanting to anger anyone...or not wanting to "cause a problem."

Teaching Naked requires one to think about life as both being dressed and being open. It is very easy to try new clothes on all the time...it is easy to buy a new outfit when things get rough or go south...it is easiest to layer up the clothes so that the layers can peel off easily in any situation. It is much harder to teach naked...everyone sees all of your everything every minute of every day. But, it is real, and they can expect it always to be real even sometimes imperfect.

I hope that President-Elect Obama will "Govern Naked" as much as he can without selling our national soul; I hope that Charlie Nesson will continue to work toward changing our outdated copyright system; I hope that we will all try to work together to save our planet, our children, and our future. This is a GREAT new day...let change begin with me.

(side note...here is a clip someone took of me and put on YouTube):

Catching up!

I can now see. Really. Had the second cataract removed on Thursday (yes, yes, I am too young, but tell that to the eyes). Since I can't really see, I am not going to type much, but, rather, leave you with a great artist to listen to :-)

That John Denver Song

Many thanks to the anonymous poster who sent me a link to this:

Good Gravy! The Blog is Back!

As I have settled in to my new life, I have really let posting fall by the side of the info super highway. It has been like TWO MONTHS! Does anyone still subscribe?

Fear not faithful readers (if there are, indeed, any of you left), I am back!

Life in Lakeville, CT is MUCH MUCH different than in PA. For one, the scenery is simply incredible here. Our house overlooks the golf course and distant mountains. The clouds are spectacular here; it is almost as if they are closer to the ground than the ones in PA. Maybe they are smore swirly or swishy - I donno - they are just cooler.

We are adjusting to life at Hotchkiss, and I am daily amazed by the talent of the students and teachers. In one week, we heard a GREAT lecture about historical travels to Antarctica in preparation for a school trip to the Antarctic donated by Mr. Forrest Mars (think M and Ms); the faculty met with Sir Michael Barber, formerly of the Tony Blair administration, on change in education; listened to the unique music performed by Alturas Duo; perused paintings by artist Steven Romm, and, oh, did I mention that we had the honor of meeting and listening to a lecture by President Enkhbayar of Mongolia? Imagine - this was just ONE WEEK.

I am incredibly impressed with the faculty here; they are talented, engaging, smart, opinionated, diverse, and resourceful. They don't follow one another blindly; they carefully consider opinions, positions, and, truly, discuss matters. Previously, I would have winced at the conversation about the VP candidates in the hallway near my office; after this one, I was actually excited to hear everyone's take on it.

Who knew that there could even be a group of such diverse people that can laugh and debate and still trust each other at the end of the day? Amazing. I am blessed to be surrounded by such great and inspiring people!

The students are equally diverse, but also equally passionate. There is no apathy here; they are engaged. This stems from having great teachers (ones that want more than spitting back MLA formatting). But, it also illustrates the culture fostered in an awesome place like this.

It is great fun to play board games with the boys on my floor, but we also have great conversations about sports and politics, too. They are informed, and make strong arguments to support their positions. We just won our home football game (really, like 5 minutes ago), and the kids are in the hall having fun, laughing, and just being teenagers. It is a great place to be.

The Whirlwind

Picture: Mustache Man takes a break from being a cowboy...

Patient blog readers! Methinks you need a raise. I have not posted in a long while, as I have been moving and starting life in a new state.

Our move to Connecticut was fairly smooth. While a fair amount of china was crushed, all of the humans, pets, and fish have arrived safely.

New Faculty Orientation started Sunday evening, and, dare I say, I am actually enjoying it. Hotchkiss is an amazing place for a number of reasons, but it is most refreshing to be surrounded by bright and engaged faculty members. They do not agree on everything, but they celebrate diversity of thought, and it is simply a rich intellectual environment.
Picture: Sharpie Boy takes a break from drawing number and letter machines (um, Talking Word Factory thingers).

Training lasts from sunrise to sunset, so I am generally too tired to do anything else, but I am up early today because my Dad is having surgery on his stomache cancer. So, the worrier in me is up with him (though the distance is hard at a time like this). If you are of the praying sort, his name is Paul Ritter, Jr., and I appreciate any prayers you can send his way.





The kids are adjusting fairly well. Julian cried every single day last week, but is getting a bit better this week. DD is finally meeting some of the other kids around here, and is loving his newest Star Wars addiction.

The Boss starts EMT training tomorrow night. He is happy to get off campus :-)

I am happy but truly exhausted; I am looking forward to some kick back time in SL!

Favorite Diving YouTube Videos

Here are some of my favorite diving videos from YouTube (yes, yes, I should be packing).

Highlights from Athens (and a welcome for sync diving! WOOOOOT!):



2004 men's 3M Diving

The Olympics Vs Packing

As much as I NEED to be packing the kitchen, I am sitting on my butt watching the Olympics.

The sport I am most interested in is Diving, but I also wanted to catch swimming, fencing, and archery. When I got my certification to teach archery, my instructor was a retired Olympic coach.

Anywho.

Here is my recap...although I TOTALLY recommend NBC's website.

The opening ceremonies were GORGEOUS! Many kudos to Beijing for putting together the BEST opening I have ever seen. I get very emotional during the parade of nations, but usually calm down during the speeches and the lighting of the torch. But, this time, I had Kleenex by my side for the whole thing, and I needed almost a whole box for the torch lighting. I know it is dorky, but I always think about those athletes from small countries like Sierra Leone. And I think about those countries that are allowing female athletes for the first time. And, I think about those countries that have just ONE athlete...imagine how proud that person's mother must be! Even as a kid, I always rooted for the Moms!

I am just incredibly touched by the idea that there are these athletes that have beat the odds of poverty and are now standing in the center field surrounded by the most incredible fireworks display EVER. Even though we know those folks have no shot at a medal, still they stand proud representing the thousands of people who can not even watch them on TV. Ack. Where are the tissues!

Of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Mike Phelps (US Swimmer), and I love his Mom. In Athens, I cried as his Mom watched the race. And, of course, I cried this time because not only did Mike set a new world record and capture the gold, but he couldn't find his Mom in the crowd. The kid has a bajillion things going through his mind, and he wanted to find his Mom!!! If you missed the race, here is NBC's video of it!

I watched fencing with great interest, and was rooting for Sada Jacobson. But, I was happy to see Mariel Zagunis win the gold. Mariel was the first US woman to win the gold and she defended her medal well.

Sadly, I missed most of archery. I caught a piece of it live, but the coverage wasn't all that great (hint: focus the camera on the ARCHER and then the TARGET).

I did catch the gold medal ceremony for Judo, as I was proud as pie of the Romanian athlete, Alina Dumitru. She came out of the blue, wasn't the favorite, and won the gold. When they raised her flag, she cried, and I cried, too.

Okay...the dishes won't pack themselves. I am off to an Olympic sprint in the kitchen!

Cooties

In lieu of an actual post, seeing as I am knee deep in moving boxes...here is something that makes me laugh every time I see it!

Pandora's Box and Other Tales

One of my favorite memories from my teenage years involves a Chevy Nova, a John Denver tape, and my friend Tracey.

Tracey's Mom drove us everywhere in her blue 1970something blue Chevy Nova. She was a nurse at the State Mental Hospital, and she often told us stories of the men on her floor thinking they were Jesus. But, when she wasn't telling us stories, we listened to this old John Denver tape with the poem "Pandora's Box" or something like that on it. It's funny, after all these years, I don't remember the words or the tune, but I remember that I sat in the front seat because Tracey would never, ever, ever sit in the front seat of any car. I remember singing all the other songs but hoping that the Box song would come around before I got dropped off.

I am surrounded by memories.

Packing and cleaning my childhood home is therapeutic and, sometimes, a little sad. I am looking soooo forward to our new life in CT, but, for the next 14 days, I am surrounded by voices and images and, sometimes, tears.

Today I packed my library. I donated EIGHT LARGE boxes to the library. As I packed the books, I could remember little details about them. Some were ones I read as an undergrad; some were from graduate school. I am fairly certain I have the largest collection of Jung and Archetype resources in Bethlehem. Inside many of the books were notes tucked here and there. Some were reminders to "pick up cat food" and some were doodles with phrases like "Matthew Lewis was a twisted X!#!" Only true nerds can understand, lol.

Parting with books was hard.

Cleaning the boys room was harder.

As I packed away all the little itty bitty clothes, I can remember where and when or who or why we got most pieces. The baby clothes were packed in a sealed container and, honestly, smelled just like I remember (not poopy - um, fresh like little daisies). As I packed up the Noah's Ark items for Good Will, I just remember the excitement of being pregnant and the anticipation of a new baby...then the instant jolt of finding out we were having a second one! But, the cute matching clothes, the little stuffed toys, the rattles....they are all in boxes ready to go to another baby....to another Mom with the same hopes and fears...

Ack.

The hardest part, by far, has been seeing pictures of my parents. At one time they were happy and smiling...but, today, those smiles, that joy, is only a very distant memory. Today we tossed out a furniture thingy from the basement; it was covered in crayon. But, those crayon marks were not from my children; they were from my brother, Timmy, who died when he was 8 - nearly 35 years ago. As they carried it to the corner, I felt like they had raised the Titanic in front of my eyes. Those crayon marks sat silent all these years - peppered in dust - but seeing them now, in the sunlight, in the open...

I think about that John Denver song, and it reminds me a little of what I have to do here in the next two weeks. I have to open the boxes of time and sort through the memories...and decide which of them are going with me to CT, which will cause damage, and which ones need to be let go.

Thoughts About Moving

At the moment, my life is random. I pack a little, spend a LOT of time sorting out the antics of the neighborhood kids, clean up wikis and blogs, yadda yadda yadda.

So, in the spirit of the moment, here are some random thoughts.

In my spare time (har), I like to read through decorating magazines to get ideas for our new pad. But, here is the thing. I really don't think people LIVE in places like that. It can NOT be possible. These are supposedly "kid friendly" houses. But, um, MY KIDS would wreck those delicate vases and soil any couch not made of teflon or rubber.

I love how the magazines talk about having "fun totes" all over the place. What tote is fun? What will my six year old do that is FUN with a tote that doesn't fall under the "please don't kill your brother by suffocation" category? Truly, it is a lot full of rubbish.

I am convinced that I am both a terrible mother and a horrid wife. My house has never been spic or span, my kids don't eat broccoli flourets whipped up in a snappy second, they don't do arts and crafts in the family painting lounge, and, jeebus, they don't say things like "Please, Moustache Man, I feel that it would be super swell of you to pass me that crayon. Oh, I can totally understand why you don't want to share it, but really, I feel it is my turn to use it. Oh, thank you for being such a wonderful brother. I admire you for giving me that crayon."

Here is the real deal around here...

Sharpie Boy eats food he hides. This is a gross thing. I understand it is gross. But, I CAN'T FIND HIS HIDING SPOTS. The doctor says he will survive.

Not only do I not whip things or souffle them in my kitchen, I don't think the word flouret is in any cook book I own (unless there are brownies decorated with them). Even if I could whip a flouret, I am fairly certain that Moustache Man would still demand a waffle or a hot dog, and Sharpie Boy would ignore it and find his stash of goldfish crackers.

Arts and crafts happen on the floor, on the porch, and in the tub. The floor and porch are sanctioned; the tub creations are rarely approved. The best art, at least to my crew, is clogging the toilet and yelling "Run! We have a FLOOD!"

And, at no time, does sharing of toys happen unless there is a negotiation on the table. This is the real dialogue:

MM: Gimme that crayon.
SB: No
MM: (Hits SB)
SB: (Kicks MM)
MM: Cries
SB: Cries louder
Mom: Yells

So, you see, I need these magazines, but their advice is truly crappy. If I HAD A MAGAZINE, it would have articles like "How to Get Sharpie Marker Off The Antique Piano" and "The Best Hot Dogs for Kids" and "12 Ways to Unclog a Toilet." I would have layouts of REAL kid rooms where the clothes are all stuffed under the bed and dirty underoos are hanging from the crooked train lamp. I would have marriage columns called "My Marriage Survival Tip: Always Sleep when Husband Drives" and "How to Guilt Trip Husband into Washing His 4-Day Old Coffee Cup that HE Hid"

I would only accept ads from places where I can actually fit into the clothing. And, all of the models would be well fed and robust, so that we can SEE what would look like crap on us BEFORE we dream of looking like Genie. There are NO "carefree pants" and "brilliant hues" for Moms. We wear what doesn't smell, and we find the least stained item to go to PTA.

Anywho. Those are my random thoughts for today. Tomorrow, I might talk about cleaning out all my wikis and blogs. That was a CHORE! But, I needed to change all the references of my former employer to my current one, and I also cleaned up some odd looking stuff. It wasn't as fun, nearly, as unclogging the toilet.

Bye Bye L C C C

Yesterday, I had my exit interview at LCCC. I am officially done on August 15th because of the contract year, but, for all practical purposes, we have parted ways.

My friend asked how it felt to be "done." And, I couldn't answer her. I am not sure I can even now. I loved most of the students at LCCC, and I will miss them. Students like Daliah and Nada made everything very much worthwhile.

Even though there are people at LCCC passing rumors about WHY I left, I can assure you that I didn't leave because I was unduly unhappy. In fact, I wasn't even looking for a new job. Because of Second Life, I met a guy who told me about this new position at a great boarding school, and the rest is history. I fell in love with Hotchkiss the minute I landed there, but not because I was trying to escape LCCC. I love it because it is a beautiful place to live and work, the people are amazingly smart, the students are bright, and the facilities are out of this world. The job is something new and challenging, and I am looking forward to a new chapter.

But, truly, I could have stayed at LCCC until retirement. I was eager to annoy my critics for at least another 30 years. But, now that I left/am leaving/transitioning/whatever, I can really see with a clear eye what is great about LCCC and what sucks about it.

The great part is easy - the students (for the most part) are great, and the support staff (secretaries, maintenance, security) ROCK! My goodness, they really should get the better pay cuz' they do all the work. The library staff also rocks. In fact, I am not sure I have ever met a librarian I didn't instantly love.

The sucky part is more complicated. For one, the leadership wastes money out the wazzzzzooooo. Case in point: Yesterday, when I was returning my laptop, I couldn't walk through the Student Union Building. Why? Well, apparently, the flooring (which is only about 8-10 years old) was not pretty enough for someone at the top, and, thus, the maintenance staff (who are working on a bajillion other projects) are BUFFING IT and REPAINTING it. That money SHOULD be going into positions, technology, and staff.

Laptops and iPods are locked in cabinets...never even opened or used. WHY?

Now, these just grace the tip of the tip of the TIP of the iceberg. Don't even get me started on the crotchety old farts that need to retire already....teaching outdated crap and calling it "the right way." Pretending to be all Harvard (and CLEARLY they aren't up on what Harvard is doing because Harvard is doing LOTS of wicked awesome stuff)....Training up the junior faculty to be as bitter as they are...whining and complaining and demanding more money to do mediocre work. Ya know...they always say "We just don't get paid enough to do X and Y" Well, I got a raise every year just along with everyone else, and more money didn't change their apathy. I wonder what price it is to get people off their butts?

Of course that doesn't apply to all the faculty; it really only applies to many of the ones I dealt with daily. I have seen many of them belittle students, belittle adjuncts, and then chant about how they are upholding some imaginary standard (which, interestingly enough, they don't even agree on).

Ack.

So, I could have stayed and been a click in the wheel of apathy. But, then again....brilliant kids, brilliant and diverse colleagues, gorgeous facilities, awesome benefits, amazing place for our family to live and grow.... Hmmmm.....

To answer the question posed by my friend: I am not sure how I feel about leaving, but I know that I am really happy about where I am going.

Moving on Up

And the packing process is a pain.

We are three weeks till moving day, and life couldn't be any more chaotic. So, my conviction for blog writing has been swallowed by the process of "we have not used this, um, EVER, but it is a blender, and, ye gads, at some point in life I will have to grow up and use one, and better to use this one that we have right here than to try to find one in Lakeville (where there are no stores), so maybe we ought to keep it? Put it next to the other wedding presents we never opened, namely the iron, breadmakers (3), and ice cream churn."

On top of moving, we are cleaning out the house - which was owned by two parents that collected everything under the sun. And, sheesh, we EVEN had a yard sale this past Saturday, and we only made a dollar. Ok, so I forgot to avertise it. Oh, and it was at least 105 out at 7AM. Ok, so we will try again next week.

I have lots of thoughts about moving - some are perky and oh-so-Desi like. The others are melancholic and are way more Beth-like. I just have to thank my army of friends for A) listening to me whine (that would be Eloise), B) cheering me up when I am gloomy (Eloise, Daliah, and Liz), and C) understanding that my mind is mush from packing the attic (um, that might inlcude everyone I have ever known, but my mind is mush, so I can't remember).

The process is sprinkled with having to be a cheery Mom. So, I sing silly songs pretty much all day, and, of course, had to take Moustache man to see The Dark Knight (you must stop reading RIGHT NOW and go see it...even if it means hopping a plane to get to the states. Go. Now.).

Sharpie Boy has figured out that markers ALSO work on Mommy's VERY EXPENSIVE quilts. I am so glad that I do not understand the Chinese lady that does my dry cleaning. She said something to me in Chinese, and I am pretty sure I didn't want to know what it was based on the look on her face. She always says the same thing to me "You just give it. Pick up Friday." I will miss her...cranky, old, tired, and very amusing. I pity that guy in the back (I think it is her husband, as no other guy would listen to all that yelling she does). But, she does excellent work all the way around, and I like that she is cranky. By simple comparison, I can always say that I am not the CRANKIEST person alive. The Boss says she reminds me of the Mom on that MASH episode when Sun Lee's mother chases Klinger with a stick. Yeah, she does act a bit like that. But, thankfully, I haven't pushed her to the stick stage, just the swearing in Chinese phase.

Anywho.

You might wonder what I am doing writing at 4:54 AM. Other than ramblin on about the dry cleaner, I am waiting (for the past 5 hours) for my zip file to speed off to the server...as my most daunting task this past week is not ranting and raving about LCCC.

There is a whole subtext here that I can't talk about. But, corruption, greed, stupidity, and insanity are all words that describe SOMETHING, and for some of us writing this blog post, that SOMETHING has been up our collective butt this last week. I can only say that I am thankful for change.

I am at 80% so I can blabber on for at least three more hours.

I was really nervous about the Big Move of 2008. But, I spent some time with my new colleagues last week, and can honestly say, they are truly awesome. I am excited now, and sooooooooooooooooooo ready to be done packing. I am even more ready to be at more than 81%.

I am DORKY NERD

Yup; 'tis true. I always knew it, and now I know it.

Dumpster Diving and Web 2.0

All I need to know can be learned from dumpster diving.

You think I speak with tongue in cheek...

You see, we are cleaning out 40 years of my parents crap and sorting through ten years of our own crap in our Big Move to the great state of Connecticut. In an effort to save the nice Garbage Man from back problems, we rented the largest dumpster money can buy (well, at least the largest they allow on our suburban street).

Every day, the Boss takes all sorts of crap out to the dumpster. 14 TV sets from BEFORE 1990...a mini fridge that was my Moms (that she forgot to take crab meat and butter out of before it was stored in dry storage....a coffin of stink...gag)...broken fishing poles...you name it.

Now, mind you, the NICE stuff (and even not so nice but still usable) goes on the corner with a little post to Craig's List for a curb alert. All paper and cardboard to recycling...all books to the library book sale...all clothes to the Good Will.

I can verify that THERE IS NOTHING NICE IN THAT DUMPSTER.

Still.

At 3 AM I am woken up (or I haven't yet fallen to sleep) by the Dumpster Diver. There are many, some I now know my first name. Though I tell them to come back during the day, they still prowl about at night..hunting for treasures that I would gladly just give them.

Then there are the DUMPERS..who I want to KICK...who go forth and dump their undumpables in our dumpster (things like tires). They wait till my light goes out. I imagine there is a parade of pick up trucks lined up around the corner just WAITING for me to turn off the light...

Anywho.

This dumpster, and all the antics that go with it, remind me a bit of Web 2.0 and all the sharing tools I am using right now (Twitter/Plurk/Diigo). Some people share great stuff (woot for Diigo!). Some people blabber on and on and on and on via Twitter. Plurk is cool if I can remember it is there and to go grab my posts from the corner.

But, the basics are there. Some people share, use what they can, and then pass it along. Some people hoard. Some people steal. Some people take advantage. But, stuff is spread. By golly, SOMEONE is using that stinky fridge!

Jeebus! SearchMe!

Lordy, this was fun, but, truly, we could use it for other things like authors and writers.

Searchme

Maximize stack view

I am an EduPunker!

Finally! A Category for ME! Edupunks are those people irritating the curmudgeons at colleges and schools all over the nation. We are the ones who don't live and die by the status quo. We are the ones that truly believe that STUDENTS are at the heart of teaching (and not our trumped up egos!). Are you an Edupunker?

In addition to LOVING this song, this is me: