Father's Day Fun

I had fun on Father's Day.
We went to Out Of Africa Wildlife Park in Cottonwood, AZ.  Needless to say it was awesome.
Below are some pictures that I'd like to share with you.  I even have some video.
Please let me know if they don't show up or work.

Twitter+Delicious=?

In my quest to make my life easier, I found this posting by @tombarrett:
How to Bookmark Twitter Links.
I have signed up for the service. Linked the two accounts and now just waiting to see what is going to happen with it.
I would tell you what it is about but Tom does a better job of it. No need for me to rehash what he has already said.
But I will give you my opinion of Packrati.us when I have one.
So in the meantime, get yourself signed up and we can compare notes on how it is working for us.  You can find my delicious account information in the right banner. Add me to your network.
Please?!

No idea how to do that!

I don't know how to start this post but I know it will come to something. It is hard to write this, hear the ocean, feel its cool breeze, smell the salty air, and see the sunshine through the window.
Here goes...

I've created this blog to post things I know and want to share with the rest of you who read this.  Now, I know I don't post often or even make sense all the time, but HEY! it is what's in my head at the time.

I post pictures, videos, collaborations, reviews, links, and generally my opinion of something.

I've changed the name to more accurately reflect the intent of this blog and to give myself more wiggle room to post more personal things.

I'm not going to rant about how federal education policies are not looking too good because of a lack of buy in from the very people it affects.

Nor am I going to discuss how I feel our president has his hand in or comments on seemingly everything going on in the USA or around the world. (Reminds me of a micro-manager boss I had!)

I want to develop my interests in such a way as to help those need help.  To create, link, share, discuss, prove, write, collect, give away the cool things I find.

With that said, I need serious help.  I will be helping myself, too, but I know many hands and heads make light work.

Here is my proposal:  I want to post, in this very place, the many things that I find helpful to me quickly and easily.  I bookmark many resources a week and want to share them.  I know I have a gadget that lists the ones I bookmark, but is there more to it?
I want to post the tweets I find interesting, useful, thought-provoking, and shareable.  How can I do that quickly and easily?

I really need your help.  I will post the help I get and the ways that I have found to make my life easier.

Thanks for your help and support.

Why I Twitter

This morning I read a post by Steve Wheeler, Why Twitter is so powerful.
He begins with a joke that I believe is more true than is comfortable for us Twitterers.
I have many co-workers who do laugh (inside or not in my face) when I talk about my tweeps, but when I share a link or an idea that I received, they are amazed and very thankful for it.

Steve goes on and talks about...

Just go and read it yourself. I'll wait...
Please make sure you leave a comment for him
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Did you leave a comment?  If not, please do even if it is a simple Thank you.
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I was thinking about why I twitter and I came up with this poem/freestyle/rhyme/stanza/statement or whatever you want to call it.
As I finished it, I realized that I do have a great PLN and a line of work that others may criticize but is essential to ALL other jobs.
Critique in the comments as you wish, just be kind to me.
Special thanks to RhymeZone.com and Thesaurus.com.

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I check the tweets from my peeps

From the time I wake to the time I sleep.

I can't wait til I see all the wonderful links

Even though I have to say some do stink.

Not because they are bad or substandard

But because I want to Re-Tweet the Gold standard.

I look, peruse, and amuse at all the good and bad news

I love to find people who share my own personal views.

I follow some of them like a little lamb

But others I mark as awful spam.

But "Why?" you ask, "do I do all this time consuming work 

If it were me I were go absolutely berserk!"

I do it because I love technology

And the ways it makes life easier

By the way this is not an apology

Nor trying to make this more cheesier.

The tools I glean from my PLN teams

Are ones I can use outside of my dreams.

To make others come true

I must brew, chew, stew, and construe

Before I make a final debut.

Not of what I can do or what I've gone through

But of what I can give to all those who need.

This is what I want to really imbue,

Positive power, a loud voice, and a strong will to succeed.

New Look (Why?)

Well, I finally did it.
I changed the layout and design of my blog.
Why?
Well, I was inspired to to it.  I haven't posted anything because of various reasons (family, job, stress, pre-mid-life crisis, unsure about topics, blogger's block...) But along came this post from Blogger describing their new templates.  I like new beginnings to get old things restarted so I looked through the templates.  I liked what I saw and decided on this template.
It looks much cleaner and appeased my eye more than my customization of a previous template.
I hope you like it and will continue to come back a read.
No promises here on what I will post, but I will post.

There is something therapeutic about writing.

Let me know if you like the new design by leaving a comment.
Thanks.

Remote Control

I love the Remote App for iphone.  I had too much fun this morning quizzing my wife with our music selection.  I can do everything that is advertised on Apple's website. 
I did have an issue with my network not recognizing it and communicating with my computers, but I figured them out and got it working. (AVG wasn't allowing the IP address and I had to restart iTunes after making the change.)
To me that is refreshing because lately many things are not want they appear to be. I could go on but won't.

If you have a sound system connected to your computer and love to play music loud and do housework get the Remote App.

You'll love it. I guarantee it.

What's new with you?

So what's new with you?
I have been inundated with so many things academic that I have not been able to post blogs about what I have found in technology.  I have taken photos of my iPod touch's screens. I hope to inspire someone who wants to find new (free) applications to download for their students.
Here are the pictures:



Here is another source for rated iPhone/iPod applications. I agree with Natalie. I prefer free apps because I don't have enough money for all the paid apps I want.

The iPod Touch

Since we last talked, I bought the iPod Touch.  I actually bought it on the 1st. I got it on the 6th. That was the longest 5 days in a long time.  I have learned a lot about Apple and its products. This iPod is great.
I can surf online, view web pages as normal. They are a bit small for my eyes so I just pinch and spread my fingers and zoom in smoothly!   The only thing I have found annoying is that it frequently switches to landscape when tilted. I tend to tilt it so it changes, so I have to tilt it back to portrait view. I have learned how to hold it steady.
Another thing I love about the iPod touch is all the FREE applications in the iTunes store. I have only free apps on my iPod touch and love every one of them.
My favorites are Unblock MeFree, Twittelator, Facebook, Scramble 2, Dropbox, TanZen Lite, and Bible Reader Free. Currently, I have over 80 apps loaded onto my iPod and hope to find more that will help me in various ways.  I know this post seems a bit boring, but I'll ramp it up soon with pictures and better descriptions of what I do with each app.

So, do you have an iPod Touch? If so, what are your favorite applications, tasks to do with it?