tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83489175464982999882010-03-10T19:59:31.971-05:00Thoughts, musings, observations and commentary on the human condition, with great latitude given in the definition of human.Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-51252656706578111952010-03-10T19:59:00.001-05:002010-03-10T19:59:27.938-05:00

This blog is now located at http://tlrr.blogspot.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://tlrr.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-83814101453597685192010-03-07T11:03:00.002-05:002010-03-07T11:05:28.369-05:00

I have seen literally hundreds of Rube Goldberg machines, aside from being an avid follower of his when I was a kid, but this is the Mother of All Rube Goldberg Machines!

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-88774126474314076172010-02-28T09:12:00.005-05:002010-02-28T14:20:15.710-05:00

Listening to the roaring winds outside our new home in New Hampshire, we settled in to watch Burn Notice. About 5 minutes into the show, the power flickered and we lost the TV signal. As the cable box reacquired the signal, we settled in for a second time, only to have the entire house go black.A quick look outside confirmed that we were not alone. Grabbing a flashlight, some candles, and a

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-16855202028977634172010-02-21T16:36:00.004-05:002010-02-21T17:12:37.800-05:00

I've made a few posts about ChatRoulette, but that's not the topic of this post. The only relationship is that when you go to ChatRoulette, the site automatically turns on your web camera. That is the topic of this post. If you have a web camera, you need to know that it is not entirely under your control. Malware or other software installed on your computer can be accessed remotely and can

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-65202215911850852732010-02-15T22:58:00.004-05:002010-02-16T08:39:55.486-05:00

One of the only places student and teachers have a problem accessing the information they need is in schools. It used to be that the filters themselves were the main problem. Then CIPA came along and the problem was compounded by people using them poorly. Today, the filters have improved, but not the people. Filters are still being used poorly, if not worse. If filtering management and

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-53954649082010924572010-02-10T15:03:00.008-05:002010-02-10T17:04:04.183-05:00

Hopefully, by now that you have all digested the initial announcement of the appearance of the new video chat stranger danger. Let's take a step or two back and put this in perspective.Many times in the past, I've said that for the most part, kids are safe and want to be safe. Indeed, the research backs up my contention. However, the research also points out that there is a small part of the

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-36911744314081513052010-02-10T09:08:00.002-05:002010-02-10T09:11:38.388-05:00

If you ever wondered about what social media is really all about, how it works, and whether one persion (or web site) can really make a difference, watch this four minute video.

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-36616333898323095722010-02-09T09:22:00.004-05:002010-02-09T09:40:21.940-05:00

When I first started giving Internet workshops in 1995, there were a few sites that I used to give people a snapshot of what the web was all about. The most popular of these sites was called WebRoulette. You would click a button and be taken to a random web site. But this post is not about WebRoulette. These sites still exist though WebRoulette has long since been bought by a casino site.

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-54309325811899056832010-02-07T13:28:00.004-05:002010-02-07T13:45:24.118-05:00

The George Lucas Foundation and Edutopia.org are great resources for educators. Watch this video before reading the rest of this post. This kind of video is one of my pet peeves. While it is a wonderful snapshot of what schools should be, it is strictly a vision piece. I'm sure many people who watch it are asking themselves, "Where are we going to find funds for this sort of technology? We

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-50788787679536298862010-01-24T11:52:00.004-05:002010-01-24T13:12:36.559-05:00

Sipping my morning coffee and looking out the bay window in the dining room, I saw these strange tracks in the snow. (Click on any image to enlarge.) I finished the coffee, grabbed my camera, bundled up and headed out to investigate. There are about thirty feet between our houses and these tracks covered about 4/5 of that distance and seemed to start a few feet from my air conditioning unit,

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-15285436432262757922010-01-19T17:55:00.004-05:002010-02-09T10:20:44.402-05:00

This is one of those posts where I have to point out that I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but it's not going to stop me from putting my opinion out there.NH House Bill 1523 seeks to expand the current Public Safety and Violence Prevention Act to include harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying, and to give schools more power to act.It adds definitions for bullying and

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-42764490674128643712010-01-18T22:30:00.001-05:002010-01-18T22:31:42.166-05:00

Here's a wonderful presentation to a Congressional committee about transforming education with technology. Watch it and tell me if you see anything wrong with the message that is being given. Yes, it was a great presentation. The Congressmen nailed the answer to her first question about how many schools had interactive whiteboards, and ending with the 70% rate in India was a nice touch but, I

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-46294284558940974422010-01-12T18:23:00.002-05:002010-01-12T18:27:23.188-05:00

The FTC has just launched Netcetera, a fee downloadable publication about Cyber Safety. It's aimed at parents and Teachers and offers good common sense information and advice. They will also send out free printed copies in English or Spanish. No scare tactics or sensationalism here. Just good solid information and advice. You can find out more at http://www2.ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/netcetera.shtm

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-17468051171913049332010-01-11T01:13:00.004-05:002010-01-11T16:51:46.782-05:00

On Saturday I had a flat forehead moment, you know, one of those moments when you want to say "DOH!" and smack yourself on the forehead head because you just had a blinding flash of the obvious.On Saturday I had a flat We were working with iGoogle and I had just given the class a tour of my page. You see it here, but without the additional half dozen gadgets you don't see at the bottom of the

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-55727114661550667652010-01-10T16:41:00.004-05:002010-01-10T16:53:16.412-05:00

Do you remember the Powers of Ten video which starts out with a picnic scene and then begins zooming out by a power of 10 every ten second? We realize very quickly that the further back we step, the more we see and each step adds new information and new insights. I had an experience today online that took me on a similar journey.The Powers of Ten video starts out with a picture of one square

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-80280897849760304762010-01-06T16:08:00.004-05:002010-01-06T16:54:44.083-05:00

If you read the, Mass. Mess post, you can skip this paragraph. If you didn't, I'll save you the trouble of reading it. Here's the synopsis. When I tried to turn in my NJ driver's license for a NH license, I found out that my diving privileges were suspended in MA. Yesterday I spent more than an hour and a half on hold with MA RMV and never got to speak to anyone. Fast forward to today... I

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-79244661016697702392010-01-05T15:33:00.005-05:002010-01-05T16:38:59.903-05:00

If you get your license suspended today for 30 days in Mass. and have a question about it, you had better call today, because it might be 30 days on hold before you can talk to a person.I went to the NH DMV to turn in my NJ license and get a NH one. People at the NH DMV were cheerful, friendly, professional, and actually used their heads for something other than a hat rack. I wish I could say

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-40884563586820162222009-12-29T23:31:00.006-05:002010-01-11T22:13:15.972-05:00

Scott McLeod posted his presentation to the NEA as a slide show and an audio file, on his Dangerously Irrelevant blog. Since he graciously licenses he work under creative commons, I took the liberty of using Adobe Presenter to sync the audio to the slides. If I might sum up his message to the NEA and education in general, I would say, WAKE UP! But then again, that has been his message, my

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-38146559321238832862009-12-10T12:23:00.003-05:002009-12-10T12:33:56.148-05:00

A marine was scheduled to travel home to be married. Unfortunately, he broke his jaw and the doctors would not allow him to travel. The wedding would have to be postponed. They were able to make all of the necessary changes with the hotel, caterer, everyone one that one end of the situation. The airline was willing to make changes, but the tickets were booked through Orbitz. They held the

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-21741484098255606772009-12-10T09:43:00.003-05:002009-12-10T10:16:14.938-05:00

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" is a movie and an action that isn't practiced enough by enough people. I will say for the most part, when the postman delivers a package to our door, the doorbell does ring once. This is great, because it alerts us to the fact that a package is sitting outside, but for some reason other delivery services fail to ring.UPS, FedEx, and other delivery services need

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-82950608847346739212009-12-06T12:58:00.004-05:002009-12-06T13:22:41.194-05:00

Food... I guess I have to be honest about this one. Without a doubt, NJ has a greater selection of places to dine, but they don't have Maryann's Diner. Maryann's, in Derry, NH, is a 50's diner complete with waitresses wearing poodle skirts or jeans and bobby socks. The food is great, the portions are huge, the prices are low and service is fast, friendly, and efficient.Jill ordered bacon and

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-54759375139441736052009-12-03T10:51:00.011-05:002009-12-03T22:39:28.790-05:00

First it was predators, then it was cyberbullying, and now it is sexting. The news media is treating us to the fear dujour. They generate reactions that are at best, narrow in focus. It's time to end this kind of narrow focus, take a step back and look at the problem differently. When you come right down to it, the problems we are seeing stem from kids being kids in an environment that has a

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-15518385287027722812009-11-30T09:05:00.000-05:002009-11-30T09:06:22.488-05:00

There has been some Tweeting recently about digital legacies, digital footprints and whether we are robbing kids of their legacies by not letting them download, save, or post work online. It got me thinking about the difference between legacies, footprints, and digital portfolios that we have been talking about for a long time, as compared with digital dossiers and digital identities as defined

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-6730773736353718092009-11-26T09:47:00.004-05:002009-11-26T10:04:05.282-05:00

I wrote this a week ago while sitting in the Manchester, NH airport where they have free wi-fi, on my way to a workshop in DE, but I'm posting it on Thanksgiving, because I am soooo thankful that this part of our lives is behind us.Our daughter lives in MA, about 25 miles from our new home in NH. My wife always said that the day she told us she was pregnant, the house would be going on the market

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8348917546498299988.post-90632757055356802722009-11-25T11:55:00.006-05:002009-11-25T13:09:31.551-05:00

Skilled artisans and technicians can be found in NJ if you look hard enough, but mediocrity is pervasive and don't try to get component level trouble shooting for your TV. While in NJ, we had a 9 year old large screen projection TV that once turned off, would not turn on again for 4-6 hours. I did some research and found that it was most likely a bad capacitor on one of the boards. I began

Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04191518215607822910awolinsky@3dwriting.com0