Blog 15 - 12/15/09

Hola Internets! Thanks for logging in.

I will get back to exercise-related technology when we get back from Christmas break.

In the meantime, I'm giving you an imaginary $200 to spend on any technology-based product that you would like. You have to use all of the money . . . you can't tell me you'd spend $50 and then keep the rest. Use any website that you'd like to shop at.

Come back here and post a link to the site, tell me what you'd buy and how much it costs.

Example:

From bestbuy.com
Wireless optical mouse - $36
Logitech G15 gaming keyboard - $100
From zipzoomfly.com
Corsair Survivor Pen Drive - $34
Maxell 16x DVD+R (tower of 100) - $29
TOTAL: $199

You must do this to receive blog credit this week.

Have a wonderful Christmas break! Everybody stay safe!

Talk to me . . .

Blog 14 - 12/07/09

Hello Internets! Thanks for logging in!

In anticipation of the coming New Year when many people vow to take better care of their bodies, I want to spend the next two weeks talking about high tech fitness gear.

I have a running buddy who has Nike + shoes that talk to her Ipod. They send her Ipod information about her workout . . . how far she ran, how many calories she burned, etc. Somehow this system also allows Lance Armstrong to come through her headphones occasionally and tell her what a good job she's doing. To which I say . . . (!)

Does anybody here own those? If so, please tell us about them.

Maybe I'm missing the boat here, but I don't think I want my shoes talking to my Ipod. I think I like the relationship between my electronic possessions to stay isolated, thank you very much. What if the shoes and the Ipod start talking ABOUT me behind my back?!?

Shoes: Ya know, she skipped her run this morning . . .
Ipod: Yeah, I figured that when I didn't play her run mix.
Shoes: I think she's been slipping a bit lately with her workouts.
Ipod: I agree, she just doesn't seem as pumped as she used to.
Shoes: Hey let's ask her scale if it's seeing a weight increase lately . . .

I'm gonna have to go ahead and pass, thanks.

So let's read about this technology a bit this week. Tell me what YOU think about it. Do you use it? Would you use it? Can you see it's purpose? Where might this technology be going? What's coming next?

http://tinyurl.com/hhjp8
http://tinyurl.com/y8r684c
http://tinyurl.com/4npnl9

As always a *that's cool* will not earn you credit for this blog. Speak to me intelligently about the subject please.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 13 - 11/30/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

OMGosh it's December!

In preparation of switching topics, this week let's look at sparkly new technology again. Yall already know my favorite sites for this:

http://www.yankodesign.com/

AND
http://www.productdose.com/

Please don't stop on Page 1. Dig back a few pages and pick something cool. Preferably something that has something to do with technology.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 12 - 11/23/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!



So once more let's talk alternative energy, except this time let's specifically talk about our panel.



Thanks to Katie M. for the following pics:









Better yet, let's just walk out there and look at it . . .



Here is a link to the TXU site where they calculate how much energy that panel is capturing:



http://www.txu.com/residential/Solar_Academy4.htm



Click on TRACK YOUR SCHOOL.

Click on NACOGDOCHES ISD

Explore the site.



How much energy are we generating? How much have we generated this week? For the lifetime of the unit? How much stuff would it power right now? How many pounds of greenhouse gases have we avoided?

Answer any of these questions for credit for this blog.


And spend some time reading the comments from David C (our TXU expert) from the last two blogs. I've pasted them into our comment section.



Talk to me . . .



Oh, and P.S. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and be SAFE!

Blog 11 - 11/15/09

Hola Internets! Good to see you again!

So this week let's look a little deeper into the solar technology, since that seems to be the topic of the most questions last week.

Here is a site that tells how solar panels are made. Go take a look:

http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/solar-panels/how-are-solar-panels-made.php

and here is a page on the same site that tell about inverters, which is the spiffy technological thingamajiggy that turns the sun into electricity:

http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/solar-panels/inverters/

and here's a link to the Department of Energy page on photovoltaics:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/photovoltaics.html

Spend some time on these sites, particularly the Department of Energy site (I thought it was really thorough). Come back and give me an opinion about how this stuff is made, about how it could change our lives, about how power is converted, etc. Any answer relating to solar energy will get credit. "That's cool" OR "I really don't care" as always, will not gain you credit.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 10 - 11/9/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

This week I would like to open up a discussion about alternative energy power. This is something that has been on my mind since I saw the solar panel that TXU placed out behind our school this summer. And we'll be getting to that in the coming weeks.

Now, I'm not a tree-hugging, fossil-fuel shunning, paper-recycling environmentalist. I do, however, have a lot of respect for those who support the ecology cause and can do that in a non-contradictory manner. For instance, don't be yelling at me about not having a paper recycling bin in my room that is in the school that you drove to in your fossil-fuel burning SUV. Just don't go there. Kinda like being vegan and wearing leather shoes, ya know?

But I do believe we need to be exploring alternative energy for many reasons, and not just those reasons based on ecology. Do I think we'll run out of oil and gas soon? Not in our lifetime. Do I think we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? You bet, so that we can stop sending my students to war over it. But that's another blog for another time.

This week I want you to look at some alternative energy sites. There's some cool stuff coming in the energy arena. In West Texas they already have windmill farms with these HUGE windmills that we occasionally pass while they are being trucked down I-20. They take up an entire 18-wheeler bed and look like something from outer space.

And how about the guys who invented cold fusion in the 80's only to have all the other energy scientists say they basically must have been lying about it because it couldn't be duplicated?

So here are some sites relating to alternative energy. Go explore these websites, don't just go to the page my links point to. Come back and speak intelligently about one of the alternative energies that are available.

By the way, I hope to have a couple of guest bloggers during the next few weeks. One will be our very own Mr. Johnson and hopefully the other will be a representative from TXU. Please feel free to ask them any questions and let's have some real discussion. Check back in often.

Talk to me . . .


http://home.utah.edu/~ptt25660/tran.html
http://www.altenergy.org/new_energy/new_energy.html
http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/geothermal.html
http://www.altenergy.org/new_energy/cold_fusion.html
http://www.altenergy.org/new_energy/magnetics_and_gravitics.html
http://www.infinitepower.org/projects.htm
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html
http://www.txu.com/residential/Solar_Academy4.htm
http://www.dailysentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/10/15/solar_panel_101509.html

Blog 9 - 11/2/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

Man . . . I cannot believe it's November already! Can you?

I want to thank yall for the discussion on cell phone technology in the classroom. Many of you found some sites I haven't seen before. I will be compiling a list and sending it on to Dr. Hutto, along with a link to the blog, later in the week.

Many of you also asked some great questions that I wish I knew the answer to. Why IS it that private schools have a tendency to integrate cell phone technology use before public schools? What IF we allow the use of the cell phone in classrooms and some people can't afford them? What do we do then? Provide them for those people? As school teachers and administrators we are having these discussions all the time. We will get it figured out, that much I can guarantee. I can also pretty well bet most of you will be gone from here when we do. Decisions here have to be made on data, and that data is just now beginning to become available.

In preparation of switching topics, this week let's look at sparkly new technology again. Yall already know my favorite sites for this:

http://www.yankodesign.com/

AND

http://www.productdose.com

Please don't stop on Page 1. Dig back a few pages and pick something cool. Preferably something that has something to do with technology.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 8 - 10/26/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

So let's get down to the nitty gritty with this cell phone thing.

How can we REALLY make these things useful in a school setting? REALLY useful?

Dr. Hutto has made it clear that if we could prove the cell phone's value in the scholarly setting he would ask the board to take a look at the policy.

Me? I don't care much one way or the other. So why am I such a cell phone nazi?

Here's the thing . . . If I let one person slide by with pulling their cell phone out of their pocket to check messages every 5 minutes, I'm pretty much giving everybody in the room the same permission. And before you know it there's an epidemic of Illegal Cell Phone Usage. It's like the plague.

Not to mention the fact that if you have time to be distracted by your cell phone then I am OBVIOUSLY not working you hard enough and I need to assign more stuff to do.

So let's really talk about it this week. Go out on the internet and do some research and see if you can find instances of schools using cell phones as part of the curriculum. You will need to post the link that YOU find so that I can check it out. OR you can give me some suggestions about how we can seriously use these things for good in a scholarly setting. These are the only two things that will earn you a grade this week.

PLEASE NOTE: Once a link has been listed twice you may no longer list it as your own.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 7 - 10/18/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

This week is a video blog. On Tuesday we will watch a video from David Pogue, who is the technology reviewer for the New York Times. He spoke at this past year's TED convention (and yall know how I love me some TED videos . . .). In this video he tells us about several really cool cell phone things that I didn't know we could do. I'm betting some of yall don't know either.

As always, we will not be whipping out our cell phones in class to try these tricks!

On Thursday you can tell me what you think about his cell phone tricks. Will you use any of them? OR you can tell me about your own cell phone tricks that some of the rest of us might not know about.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 6 - 10/12/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in!

In the next few weeks I'd like to talk about cell phones. This week I'd like to take a look at some new cell phone technology coming our way. Next week we will watch a TED video from David Pogue, who is the technology reviewer for the New York Times. Then the week after that I'd like to have a discussion about how cell phones can be integrated into the classroom.

And no, this does not give anybody permission to whip out their cell phones for any reason!

Ya know, these devices are supposed to be making our lives easier. Is yours? Are you using it to it's potential?

This past year I updated my cell phone to a Samsung Epix with a full data package. I did this after Chris Brophy came in and showed me his sparkly new Epix and I immediately caught this horrible disease called Cell Phone Envy. I *had* to have that phone. It was touch screen, AND it had a stylus and touch keyboard, AND it had a touch-sensitive mouse in the middle! So I went and got myself one. I had to have it in my hands all the time at first. It was like that feeling you get when you get a new car . . . you just wanna be in it all the time.

And now . . . meh. It's just a phone, ya know? Several times I've used my phone to find directions when we're driving around the big city and that's been pretty cool. Mostly I use it to update my Facebook status and check the status of my friends. Could I live without that? Yeah. Do I want to ? Not so much.

Anyway, take a look at those links for new cell phone technology. I guarantee at least one of them won't work from the school address, but give them a try anyway. Pick a new phone and tell my why you'd spend your money on it. OR pick a new cellular technology and tell me how it would benefit you. OR respond to someone else's post regarding new cell phone technology. Either of these things will earn you a 100. "That's cool" will not.

Talk to me . . .


http://www.tuvie.com/category/cell-phone/

AND/OR

http://www.engadget.com/

AND / OR

http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/?tag=hdr;snav (look down the page and you'll find the heading "Latest Cell Phone Reviews and Advice." Spend some time clicking around in there.)

Blog 5 - 10/5/09

Hola peeps! Thanks for logging in.

This week I want to do something that we will do several times throughout the year. I want to look at *sparkly* (man, where is Emily when I need her?) new technology. I have a couple of really good sites for this. They are:

http://tinyurl.com/ztsat

and

http://www.yankodesign.com/

Techeblog is more hard-core nerdy. Yanko is ABOUT the design of technology.

Don't stop on Page 1!!! Techeblog has an "older entries" button and Yanko has more pages listed at the bottom. Take a look around. Pick a product and tell me WHY you like it or how you think it could change our lives.

ALSO: Some of you have been earning ZEROS because you are not ADVANCING the discussion. As I have made ABUNDANTLY clear, posting a "that's cool" will NOT earn you a grade. This is a DISCUSSION. I want opinions with reasons!!! If you can't give me that much effort, then I can't give you enough effort to type a 100 in your grade book!

Talk to me . . .

Blog 4 - 9/28/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in.

So sticking with the subject of medical technology, I thought I would get a little personal this week.

This year has been a tough one in the Lanham household, as we were visited by the big C word.

Cancer.

Scary just to look at isn't it? Kinda makes my skin crawl just seeing it sitting there.

Anyway, Mr. L (who I lovingly refer to as Better Half) was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. On the very first day of summer vacation he had a radical robotic prostatectomy.

That's right, ROBOTIC. Oh the technology implications . . .

His surgeon actually sat ACROSS THE ROOM as he operated on Mr. L! Just like a video game. He has these goggles he looks into and he moves his thumbs and across the room the robotic arms that were INSIDE MY HUSBAND proceeded to do all the things that surgeons used to do the old way. Except when he was done, Mr. L only had 5 small incisions instead of one great big huge one. MUCH faster recovery time.

So go take a look at the pictures of the robot. At the same time, I'm going to play a video from this year's TED conference by a woman who had a hand in designing this robot. Her video is all about how medical technology has changed.

PLEASE NOTE: This video shows a few seconds worth of ACTUAL surgery on someone's insides. It's not bloody or gory. It's kinda interesting in a detached sort of way. BUT if it oogs you out, please look away during those parts.

Please remember: you must advance the discussion in some manner to get credit. "That's cool" or "I like that" is not advancing the discussion. Not now, not in May at the end of the year. You must TELL ME WHY! You may also reply to someone else's post.

Also, if you have questions for Mr. L's surgeon please post them in the blog. I'll email them to him and see if we can get an answer.

http://tinyurl.com/2mhxoh

Talk to me . . .

Blog 3 - 9/21/09

Hello Internets! Thanks for logging in.

I thought this week we would stick with medical technology. I found this article in Readers Digest online about medical technology advances in the battlefield and how they might help us all in the future. Go read:

http://tinyurl.com/n3al24

Please do not just stop at Page 1. There are 3 pages of really amazing technological advances in battlefield medicine.

Come back on Thursday and tell us what you think about one or all of the highlighted technologies. Which ones do you think will make it into the mainstream? How do you think we will be using those in our everyday lives in the near future?

As always, you will need to advance the discussion in order to receive credit.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 2 - 9/14/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in.

So there's this article on CNN.com about these new contacts that scientists at the University of Washington are developing. They are digital! They have built-in LEDs to augment your natural eyesight.

They say that eventually a more advanced version on this contact could become available that would scroll captions across the bottom of your vision. Information about the person you're talking to, etc.

It might also be used to monitor our health. According to one researcher "The eye is our little door into the body." You could be sitting there eating lunch and have something scroll across your vision that says "More water intake please, you are getting dehydrated." Or other health-related info.

Of course, the group has to do much more safety testing before this lens will ever come in contact with any of our eyes. But the possibilities could be absolutely endless!

For me personally, it would be difficult to get used to poking something in my eyeball. I cringe every morning watching Mr. L put his contacts in. Ugh! I don't know how you folks do it.

Anyway, follow this link and read the story:

http://tinyurl.com/pbdn69

Think about it for a couple of days. Let it work on you. Then on Thursday come back and go to the comments section for THIS blog (please make sure you land in the correct comments section) and post an opinion. Do you think this is really in our future? Do you think we're still light years away from this? Do you think it will ever really be marketable to the common man, or will expense keep most of us from participating? GIVE ME AN INFORMED OPINION AND ADVANCE THE DISCUSSION.

As always, a "yes" or "no" or "I really don't care" will earn you a zero.

You may also reply to someone else's opinion to advance the discussion.

And finally, you might want to briefly check back in on Friday to see if anyone has replied to you.

Talk to me . . .

Blog 1 - 9/7/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in.

Let me 'splain how this will work:

Every Monday morning I will post a discussion question relevant to technology. You will have the entire week to post a short blog answering the question. It's very simple . . . you either advance the discussion or you don't. It's either a 100 or a 0. You can also respond to a thought posted by another user to advance the discussion. Every Sunday evening I will check off names. So you have from Monday AM to Sunday PM. Grading closes at 6pm Sunday. The first ten minutes of class on Tuesday will be devoted to reading the blog, and the first ten minutes of class Thursday will be devoted to answering the blog question.

Here are the things that this discussion is NOT:

This is not a social forum. All you guys have MySpace / Facebook / Twitter for that stuff. Holla at your friends on those sites.

This is not a place for you to ask me questions about your grade. Please remember that EVERYBODY will see all of your communication on this site. If you have questions about grading policies, etc. please see me before or after school, before class or on my conference period (8th). Barring that, please email me at rlanham@nacogdoches.k12.tx.us.

This is not a place for you to air grievances of any kind. Bad language, derogatory comments and intolerance of any kind will not be accepted. These will result in blocked usage for you, and zeros on weekly discussions for the remainder of the year.

What this discussion IS:

This is a place for us to explore how technology is affecting our daily lives. You guys are digital natives (meaning you were practically born with a cell phone in your hand) and you are not accustomed to thinking about life before this technology came along. I would also bet that most of you haven't given a lot of thought to where this technology is going either. Well, that's what I want to do here.

One more thing: To the best of my knowledge we are the first classroom in the district to use blogging as part of the classroom learning. Occasionally our Principal, Superintendent, and others from the district will be blogging with us. All eyes will be watching as this district prepares to incorporate more technology into everyday learning. Please keep that in mind. Let's have fun, but please be responsible.

OK, questions? Talk to me . . .

Discussion 35 - 5/24/09

Hello again Internets! Thanks for logging in!

WOW. It's here. I can't believe this is our last blog of the year.

I want each of you to know that this has been the funnest year I've ever taught. I've TRULY enjoyed this year, and that is not something I've been able to say of every year I've taught (last year would be a perfect example . . . it was a whippin').

I've also really enjoyed moving into the realm of the blogosphere. I've read every single one of your thoughts. I've agreed with some of you, disagreed with some of you, and laughed at loud at least once during almost every blog. I want to thank yall for that.

So here are some of my favorite memories of the year, in no particular order:

1. Me: "Ashton, what's it gonna take for you to finish this project?" Ashton: "Mrs. L. it's gonna take a prayer, an exorcism and another hour."

2. Me: "Mr. Brice, you have to leave. Three Allensworth's in one room is one too many. Really, it's two too many."

3. Me: "Jacob Falcon, you have professional photo tools at your disposal, why on EARTH are you in paint?" Jacob: "But I can make it bigger in Paint Mrs. L!"

4. Manny and his continual struggle with anything electronic. I can honestly say in all of the people I've taught I truly DO think electronics hate you. Sorry darlin'.

5. Agustin, dancing on the table and thinking that I wouldn't really write him up for it. Well, I did.

6. That Guy. 'Nuff said.

7. Thinking that Ruben H. was actually Ruben C. the first day I saw him standing in my doorway. He will forever be known as The Other Ruben to me.

8. The quiet in the room that finally resulted from April and Maria being moved apart (although I thought Blake's head would explode for a while . . . either that or he would become fluent in Spanish).

9. Quinterra: "Mrs. L! That was NOT a fall! Do NOT write that on the board!"

And possibly the funniest teaching moment ever . . .

10. Me to Third Period: "Does EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM see me walking in here with this big 'ole bag of weed? Everybody?

For this week, I want you to log in and tell me what you enjoyed about this year. It doesn't have to be about my class, it can be anything about your school year. OR you can leave advice for the next class coming after you. Either way.

And for my seniors . . . one last time . . .

It's time for the Friday Talk. Wanna hear it? Here it goes . . .
No drinkin' and drivin'.
No RIDING with anybody drinkin' and drivin'.
No doing anything illicit, illegal, unethical or immoral.
No kissin' on anybody of the opposite sex.
No kissin' on anybody of the SAME sex.
IN FACT, why don't you just stay home.
You may go to church on Sunday,
and go have lunch with your elderly grandmother,
but you must come IMMEDIATELY home and study.
That is all. Have a lovely weekend.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER EVERYBODY!!!

Discussion 34 - 5/18/09

Hola Internets! Thanks for logging in!

This blog is for all the gamers out there. You know who you are. And if you're sitting beside one, you know who they are too. It's the kid in class who has video game music on their .mp3. The one who has turned in the 5 song mix for the Music of Your Life project and it all sounds like a soundtrack to Mario Bros. *coughcoughCesarcoughcough* OR the one who turns in his Music of Your Life project and all the pictures of of him playing video games "coughcoughRyancoughcough*.

Anyway, have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually TEST video games for a living? How sweet would that be? Well, I found an article written for the Seattle News by this chick who did just that for a while. It's a VERY interesting read.

http://tinyurl.com/286zbd


I would venture to say it's not at all like you think it would be. Take some time to read this. Please don't log in and give me an uninformed opinion.

LATE BREAKING NEWS: If the seattle weekly site doesn't work here's another article:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070118/NEWS/701180607/0/BUSINESS21

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 33 - 5/11/09

Welcome! Thanks for logging in!

I hope everyone had a great prom and Mother's Day weekend. I know we did.

As we get ready to wind this year down, let's look at some sparkly new technology. Yall know my favorite site for this:

http://www.yankodesign.com/

Check it out and comment on something.

OR

Leave me a link to something and I'll comment on YOUR technology site. How 'bout that?!?

Talk to me . . .

P.S. Tyler! We miss you too! Stephen is helping with the Ag project, but he was sad not to be able to finish the DGA project. Take care of yourself.

Discussion 32 - 5/4/09

Hola Internets. Thanks for logging in!

So . . . many thanks to Monika B. for this magnificent time-wasting website:

http://tinyurl.com/3f7dvw

It's a blog about weird stuff for sale on ebay. Go check this stuff out, log in, give me an opinion on an item. Some of it is just off the wall. And don't just stop at the first page that pops up. Go back and look at some of the previous stuff too. Just . . . weird. Used gym socks for goodness sakes?

Oh and Monika . . . you go check out MY favorite time-wasting website. It's http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com. You'll be addicted just like I am. Best. Timewaster. Evah!

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 31 - 4/27/09

Hola Peeps! Thanks for logging in.

This week, because of TAKS, I want to do something different. Why don't you guys log in and give me 3 suggestions of things you'd like to blog about in the remaining weeks.

OMGosh! Can you believe we only have 3 more blogs left!?! Wow. This year has flown by.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 30 - 4/20/09

Thanks for logging in!

Can yall take one more week of car stuff? Stay with me Ashley . . . LOL

I ran across this article on flying cars. Remember George Jetson? Or is he before yall's time? Anyway, it has been predicted for a very long time that future travel would take place in the air. I'm not sure how I feel about that. What kind of specialized training will we have to have? How expensive will the cars be? Also, if you make a mistake when you're driving in the air the penalty is pretty much death. No more tiny little fender benders from which we all learn. Just BAM . . . game over.I think I'll stay on the ground, thanks.Anyway, check out this story:

http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2008/12/01/weekly14-Flying-car-almost-ready-for-takeoff.html

Give me an opinion.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 29 - 4/13/09

Thanks for logging in!

So Crystal H. found this interesting article about how there are cameras now on the Texas border that allow you to watch the border along with the border patrol agents so that you can help report suspicious activity and illegal immigration.

(!)

I don't even know what to say about this technology. Where is it taking us? Vigilante border agents? Live shots of city streets so that citizens can help city police do their jobs?

The article clearly states that the website has only been effective in 4 arrests. How much money did this technology cost?

Anywho, please read the article and give me an opinion.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/12/border.security.cameras.immigration/index.html?iref=newssearch

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 28 - 4/6/09

Thanks for logging in!

How about some more car stuff? I found this site that talks about the top 10 high-tech automobile safety features. Check it out:

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/114984/article.html

Pick one feature and tell me how you think it might change our lives when it becomes common on the cars we drive everyday.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 27 - 3/30/09

Howdy Internets! Thanks for logging in!

So I've noticed many of you (particularly those of the male persuasion) looking at some gorgeous cars lately. Continuing along the vein of last week's mobility blog, this week I want to look at some cool cars. Many thanks to Jose M. for sharing his favorite car sites.

Check these out:

http://www.diseno-art.com/

http://www.conceptcarz.com/

http://www.conceptcars.org/

http://www.futurecars.com/


Pick a car, give me an opinion.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 26 - 3/23/09

Hola Internets! Thanks for logging in!

So Toyota has developed this personal concept vehicle. I first saw it on Top Gear on BBC America (those of you in my first period know how I love this show). Toyota's idea is that we will all be driving something like this in the very near future. In fact, this concept is very near production to use in Japan. Check out these sites:


http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/tech/p_mobility/i-real/index.html

http://www.wirednextfest.com/inform/2008/exhibits/i-REAL.php

http://www.gizmag.com/go/8157/

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/10/toyota-gets-i-r.html

I hope to have some video to show from Top Gear so you can see this thing in action.

Let me know what you think about the concept of personal mobility.

Talk to me . . .

Spring Break - 3/16/09

Have a happy, wonderful (& safe!) Spring Break. Check back in next week.

Discussion 25 - 2/9/09

Thanks for logging in . . .

Let's check out Yanko Design this week. That's the cool site that shows all that new technology that is so beautifully designed.

And because, let's admit it, who doesn't need a bracelet with a detachable cell phone? I'm just sayin'.

http://www.yankodesign.com/

Pick something and give an opinion. Talk to me . . .

Discussion 24 - 3/2/09

Check this out . . .

This chick in China has sold her life on the internet for basically $3 an hour. She lets people decide for her what she does each day, and then she basically does whatever they ask (short of anything immoral, illegal or violent) for $3 an hour. She says last year was a horrible year, and every decision she made was basically wrong so why not give this a try?

I think it's an interesting concept. I would get bored of people asking me to do mundane things pretty quickly.

Read the story. Give me an opinion. Talk to me . . .

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/25/china.lifeonline/index.html

Discussion 23 - 2/23/09

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A couple of weeks ago, Google launched GoogleEarth which allows you to look at the ocean space on the earth just like you can search street addresses on land. In some cases you can even see below the surface of the water. It's pretty incredible, really. Even for those of you who aren't nerds.

This past week, someone thought they found the lost city of Atlantis on there. Below are links to the article and also to a blog about the "find."

http://tinyurl.com/akb5a4

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10168269-36.html

http://earth.google.com/tour.html

Tell me what you think about Google Earth. Will you use it? Is it just a cool toy? Tell me if you think the lost city of Atlantis will ever really be found.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 22 - 2/16/09

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Mr. L and I went this past weekend to see the King Tut exhibit in Dallas. It was crazy cool. There are all these artifacts from the 1400's that weren't discovered until 1922. The gold in the exhibit was insane. Did you know that King Tut was buried with over 150 pieces of gold jewelry on his body? Talk about bling! Anyway, these last room of the exhibit shows how they've taken CT scans of this old mummy to try and understand why he died at the young age of 19. There were huge pictures of the CT scans, and one of the projected onto this low table so you could see exactly where each piece of jewelry was found. It was cool beans.

Then I came home and found this article on CNN.com about how archaeologists are using CT scans more and more in their work. I found it interesting:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/12/mummy.mystery/index.html#cnnSTCText

For your blog post this week please share an opinion about this use of CT scans. Where can you see this going next? And what on earth will people think of our old bodies when they're scanned 1,000 years from now? Weird to think about, huh?

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 21 - 2/9/09

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As the district is cracking down on students who are streaming video (and downloading music!) it got me to thinking about the way we watch TV and how that is changing. This week I would like to discuss this emerging trend of watching television shows and movies on the web. I personally know somebody *coughcoughRAYcoughcough* who gets up early the day after his favorite TV show airs to watch it on the 'net.

So I found this CNN article that I PRAY is not blocked:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/06/internet.tv/index.html

Read this through on *Tuesday.* Wait to blog until *Thursday.* Think about it a sec. Do you think that cable providers should be scared? Do you think we will be moving towards more web content? Let me know.

And for the love of all that is sacred, PLEASE do not click on the link that says "How to watch TV on the internet"!!!!!!! LOL

Discussion 20 - 2/2/09

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This week let's look at some new tech toys. We haven't done that in a while.

http://www.gadgettastic.com/

http://www.engadget.com/

Pick something to give me an opinion about.

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 19 - 1/26/09

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This week let's look at presidential inauguration technology. The first link is to a Wired article about how technology has changed inaugurations over the years.

The second link is to a dVice article about bulletproof clothing. I'm not really sure how much I believe this one. I would need to see some video of the clothing being tested to believe it.

The third link is to an article about the presidential Cadillac limo and how it has been retro-fitted to make it the safest presidential limo ever built.

Please take a look at ALL of the articles, don't just stop at one. Give me an opinion about something on one of the articles.

Talk to me . . .


http://tinyurl.com/7tno23

http://tinyurl.com/98mdnd

http://tinyurl.com/ae94qp

Discussion 18 - 1/20/09

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Let's get deep this week.

I want to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his thoughts on technology.

In 1964 Dr. King delivered a lecture the day after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in which he told his audience at the University of Oslo that "material advancement was meaningless without an accompanying moral structure." In other words, the growing abundance of technology is undermining the human spirit. My favorite quote from the article is: "The richer we have become materially, the poorer we become morally and spiritually," he said. "We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers."

This week I'm asking you to think, REALLY THINK about Dr. King's words. He is telling us that technology advancement needs to go hand in hand with spiritual advancement, or it's all for nothing. THINK. Do you agree with Dr. King? Disagree? WHY? You will answer both of those questions to receive credit this week.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/12/dayintech_1211

Discussion 17 - 1/12/09

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So this time of year is special to gadgets geeks (like me and Ray) because it's time for the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. This is a multi-day show that HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of people go to in order to see the very newest in electronics technology for consumers. Wanna see the new games coming out this year? Guess where they're debuted? Wanna see the newest cell phones for the coming year? Yep, CES. Guess where the VCR was debuted? DVD player? Laptops? All that stuff was first shown to the world at CES. This is THE mecca for geeks.

This year has been no exception. There are new 3-D televisions! There are new Palm cell phones! Laptops that are only 8 inches (sublaptops)!

My personal favorites were the bigscreen plasma TV that's only 1 inch thick and the Polaroid digital camera that prints out instantly (replacing your parents old Polaroid Instamatics).

Check out the following stuff that's been introduced this year. Don't stop on page 1 . . . there are 4 pages. Pick something and give us an opinion.

http://ces.cnet.com/

Talk to me . . .

Discussion 16 - 1/5/09

Hello and Welcome to 2009!

Thanks for logging in . . .

As you all know, I went to Mexico for Christmas. We had a wonderful trip. As a souvenir I brought back a massive head cold that made me feel like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. It's effects are STILL lingering.

Ahhhh travel. Gotta love it.

For those of you who have never traveled internationally, it's a bit of a hassle. First you have to present your passport 3 times to board the plane in YOUR country (at the check-in counter, at the security line, and at the gate). When you get off the plane at your destination the fun REALLY begins. You find yourself in a long, long line of people who are just as eager to enter the destination country as you are. After all, you ARE on vacation right?!? Wooohoooooo! 30 minutes later when you're still in the same line your enthusiasm starts to wane a bit. An hour later as you gingerly approach the security agent with your passport and your paperwork out, the praying begins. Oh Lord, please let there not be a problem with my passport. Oh Lord, please let the security agent be having a good day. Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Lord.

Well, passports today are equipped with a radio frequency chip that allows the security agent to scan the passport, automatically pulling up your information. It's supposed to make this long, tedious process go much faster. Except for mine didn't work at the security line in Mexico. And neither did Mr. L's. In the meantime, the friends we're traveling with are through the security gate and looking back at us like "Uhhhh, see yall in a week. We're on vacation. Woooohooooo!" Our security gate agent is yelling at another security gate agent (in Spanish, and yall know how limited my Spanish is). That security agent is yelling at another guy (evidently the guy in charge) who finally comes over to type in our info manually. FINALLY we're through the checkpoint. But it's all ok, 'cause were on vacation. Wooohoooo! Right? Umm, not so much.

Now comes baggage claims and customs. You stand behind the yellow line until the guy tells you to approach as a group. He takes your passports (here we go again), looks over your paperwork and tells the first one of you in line to push the big red button. I'm not kidding when I tell you this button looks like a big ole emergency stop button. The button either lights us a green "go ahead" light, or a red "you ain't going anywhere" light. If you get the red light they take you and all of your baggage aside and go through everything with a fine tooth comb. Luckily we got the green light, and away we went. Wooohooooo! We're on vacation! Right? Right.

Oddly enough, coming back into our country the passports scanned just fine. We talked to the security agent here (who ironically was Russian) about it and he said sometimes it happens and then it never happens again.

So I've done a bit of research on passports since I got home. Turns out, they're extremely hackable. The point of the chip was to make them difficult to counterfit, which is great, but if somebody stands 20 feet away from a person carrying a passport with a reader they could scab your information. Great! Just great!

This week you have a choice for your blog. You can either read the article about passport hacking and give your opinion, or you can visit a travel site (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz) and see how much it would cost to go where you want to go. If you choose to visit the travel site you will need to tell me which one, tell me where you're going, and tell me how much a one-way ticket is.

http://tinyurl.com/3fdb33

www.travelocity.com

www.orbitz.com

www.expedia.com

Talk to me . . .