I am going to keep Blogging

I was asked in my class would I continue blogging, I have been thinking about it ant I think that I will continue. You see, I have always wanted my own column and even if no one reads this except me that is ok because I will read it and practice on my writing and find a channel for my wit. Blogging, if it does nothing else is a relief and a great stress buster. I observe things during the day or the week and I write about them. I cannot think of a better way to relieve tension and get my 15 minutes of fame at the same time.
So, I will keep blogging putting my thoughts and observations out there. Who know maybe someone will read this and I will soon have a following.

BLACK FRIDAY

Why would anyone want to get up at 3 am to go to a big box store and spend money? The answer, the spirit of giving or the excitment of the hunt. Whatever it is I am probably one of the few people who is out on Black Friday just to see the behavior of the people who are out there trying to get something for as little as possible.
It amazing to see otherwise calm and sedate Minnesotans and Wisconsinites trun into stark raving maniacs, snacthing and grabbing anything that comes their way. It was'nt just upper midwesterners either, I also encountered shoppers from New York, California and England. You see, Minnesota has no sales tax on clothing so it is for lack of a better term, a shoppers paridise. They also behaved with the same frivolous excitement . A family friend is one of these bargain hunters . She without fail manages to go out every Black Friday and comes home with scores of what she thinks are bargains. Another friend and co-worker, went to the Albertville, Mn. outlets at midnight to start black friday from the beginning. What neither of these people realize is that the real bargains come right before and right after Christmas , if you can wait that long. Also, if you charged it , the purchase was no bargain.

Techno Snobs The New Divide

I often hear people that I come in contact with bragging about their lack of technology or knowledge thereof. One person braggardly remarked " I don't own a cellphone." Another remarked that they do not have cable or the internet at their home. To them it was a good thing to be disconnected and uninformed. I think it a tragedy and another attempt by the elite to separate themselves from the masses and once again prove to the rest of us that they are better.
I for one, find this to be an attempt to put down the rest of us who use tech as a tool to increase our knowledge and to make information more accessable.
I find this snobbery to be the most prevailant in my profession of teaching. I was at a workshop this summer, and was informed that laptops are now banned from school district meetings. How could a profession where technology is not a luxury but essential be so resistant to technology.
Many of the teachers that I work with, find technology mof of a nusance than an inhancement. Once I mentioned that student achievement would be greatly achieved if all student had laptops . One of the older teacher remarked in a patronizing tone that laptops would be a wast of money.
This lack of knowledge and insecurity amoung teachers toward technology is disturbing and one of the reasons why public schools are so far behind technology wise and otherwise. All of us need to see technology for what it is a tool to enhance our lives and not what it is not a burden or hinderence on our lives.

Tech Find of the Week.

How many people out there hate their cellphones. Not only do you hate it, you would like to throw it out of your car while going at break-neck speed down I-94. If you are on the GSM network(t-mobile, verizon etc.) you only have to do two simple things: 1. Log on to ebay and look for unlocked cell phones. Find a really cool one and buy or bid on it. 1. Once that cool phone is in your tight little hands, take the sim card out of your old phone, put it in your new phone and that's all there is.
The great thing about this, is that if you become tired of this phone, you can switch your sim card back to the old phone. you can do this everyday if you like and it will not harm you service as long as the sim card is intact . I change my cell phone often between a Razor and a Treo.
The sim card makes all of this possible. So if your cell phone is not your cup of tea anymore, and you want to get into something new but you do not want to pay the high prices that many carriers are asking, try the old sim card switch.

Tech Find of the Week.

Hello out there,
Do you want one of those new ipods but you do not have the $300 or $400 they are asking. I you do not there is hope for at least a portion of the cost if you have an old ipod that you would like to part with. First Tech in Uptown Minneapolis is taking trade-ins on the new ipods . Anyone can participate as long as they have the ear buds, data cord and it is in good working condition. You may get up to half the original value on the ipod and you can put that towards the purchase of a new ipod touch. To my knowledge, First Tech is the only store that take trade-ins and the pricing ir fair. You could probably sell it for more on Ebay or Craig's List with more of a hassel.

My How I-94 has Changed

This weekend, I was driving down interstate 94 on my way to Chicago and I was amazed what a nice trip it was. I have been making this trip for years and over the last few years it seems to get better every year. When I left Saint Paul at 6 am, I found it to be very little traffic , the traffic that was out there was evely spaced and in the right lane.
Along the way, I found not the typical wide open spaces but a mixture of space and sprawl. Places that were quaint off the road spots are now large collections of resorts , restaurants and shopping so instead of seeing rows and rows of fields, I saw fields, fun and fauna. I usually make the trip in a bout 6.5 hours and it used to be like pulling teeth and I would be exhausted . I arrived in downtown Chicago this time feeling refreshed and relaxed. All in all , the trip was excellent. A big shout out to Paul Bunyans in the Wisconsin Dells( great limberjack breakfast) and the Norskie Nook (grrrrreat pie). Need a break, need to relax, drive to Chicago catch the blues and the bears.

see the fall colors

If you want to wee the fall colors but you don't want to drive to the north shore and you want to come back the same day or the next why not try Decorah Iowa. I the heart of Amish country, Decorah is a weekend find. You can stay at the Winnesek hotel or one of the many hotels in the area. You can also take advantage of the Amish crafts and produce that dot the area. For those who do not want a long road trip but a get away but do want to get away southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa is theplace to be.

steroids. why?

I heard today on the news that Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones admitted steroid use prior to competing in the Olympic games. My question to everyone is ,why would a world class athlete like Ms. Jones have to use performance enhancing drugs? She was already the best in the world, who was she trying to defeat herself? Maybe I am not getting it but it seems that the lust for money and victory overshadow the need for good health and long life, neither of which can be assured by steroid use.
When the issue of steroid use by athletes comes up, it is usually coupled with concerns about cheating, I think it goes beyond that. Cheating aside, many of the athletes who use steroids are taking big risks for the sake of winning not knowing or caring that early death and a painful future may await them. I hope that Ms. Jones is ok and can reverse the effects of steroids and convince others not to use them regardless of performance results.

transfer tivo programs to your laptop

I found an interesting way to take movies and tv shows that you have recorded on tivo and put them on your ipod , psp or laptop. You can download tivo to go and if you tivo has a wireless connection, you can make a wireless transfer from the tivo to your laptop and either burn it to a dvd or download it to your ipod video or psp. This is an excellent way to take your entertainment with you and get your money's worth out of tivo.

The New Ipod : Well Worth the Look

I just had the pleasure of trying out the new ipod and it was fanstasic. I went to two places to see it Best Buy and The Apple store. At Best buy I got my first view on Wednesday at that was all it was a view. Best Buy is soooo afraid that someone is goung to walk away with theri precious merchandise that they bolt it down so much that you can barely get the feel of the ipod they did the same thing with the Sony psp even to the point that they had an employee carry one around to show you if asked. Needles to say I did get to see the features. The best feature of the ipod in my opinion is ical, the calendar is large enough to view importants date and events. I do not want to downplay the other features by saying that ical is the best because the others wil serve you equally well particularly wifi. The ipod has always been great but wifi makes it superior to all other mp3 players and beyond parity . The touch feature and video features are my favorite . I did say in my last entry that the psp is an inexpensive alternative to the ipod touch and I stand by that statement but if you want it all in a small package choose the touch.

PSP Cheaper Alternative to the Ipod touch

I am one of those rare people who are what I call bi-technical. I use both macs and pcs , I have an ipod and a sony psp, I am comfortable with both. What I am leading to is that there are a great number of inexpensive alternatives . For students who cannot afford a laptop can use the psp to search the web for information necessary to complete a research paper, find their friends on face book or the current transit schedule. The psp is currently selling for around $165 at Best Buy with a 4 gb memory stick for around $79 you are well on your way to cyberwowrld for a over $200 . I love the new ipod but everyone cannot afford it .

To Wik or not to Wik

We were having a discussion on Wikipedia in a graduate class that I am taking and the subject of Wikipedia entries came up. The debate centered around whether professors should edit wikis along with the rest of the public. Some people said yes others said no. The arguments ranged from academic integrity to profs needing compensation for their endeavors. Others believed that professors should share their knowledge with the world. I consider Wikipedia a people's encyclopedia that is for the everyman and woman and does not need the tampering of academics who may be a little too stuffy for the likes of Wikipedia and may turn it into another Britannica . God forbid we have that.

For Those of You who Crave German Food

One of the best places to go in the twin cities for German food is the Glockenspiel. Located in the west seventh neighborhood of Saint Paul, the Glockenspiel is a reflection into the past when this neighborhood was a working-class immigrant and tied to the Schmidt Brewery and a variety of other micro breweries located along the west seventh corridor . The food is excellent if you like German cuisine . Upon my first visit, I had their spare ribs and sour kraut along with red cabbage and and their cheese cake for desert. The cheesecake was the best that I have had outside of New York and it is, ( like all of their deserts ) made on the premises. The food is excellent, the atmosphere quaint and the price reasonable. This combination makes the Glockenspiel my restaurant pick of the week

Tech Find of the Week.

How many of you out there want to buy a new desktop or laptop but cannot seem to fit it into your budget, I may have a solution for you. Some of the smaller computer stores take trade-in ( like First Tech in Uptown Minneapolis) and you could get up to 1/3 to half the cost deducted off the price of a new computer. Check it out you may save some money. Granted these stores do not offer the teacher/student discount that the Apple store offers but the Apple Store does not take trade-ins either . It more than evens out . Besides saving you money it also eliminates having a computer around the house that you will not use again once you purchase the new one.

The Find of the Week

I just want to tell everyone about the new find that I came accross today in barnes and noble . It is the moleskine notebook but I call it the hemmingway pda. Simply put, it is a low tech way of collecting ideas and providing a quick place to jot down the forgetable and the unforgetable. It is also a place to jot down notes about one's many travels and if you are a good enough artist you can ilustrate them too. It is quite a find with it's sleek looks, elastic strap and inside pocket it is a must for all writers, teachers, and anyone whe makes lists. I encourage all of you to run out to barnes and noble and put down $10 and get one, you will not regret it. Keep writing!!!!!

cell phones: what is too expensive

When the iphone came out this summer, droves of people went to purchase it for $499 and $599 respectively. I know where you can get a good pc laptop for $599 . I paid $50 for my razor and it seems to do the job . I had a smart phone once that did everything but I foud that I was doing nothing with it and paying through the nose for it. The mark-up must be incredible on these phones and I cannot believe that people are willing to pay the price. This just rienforces my belief that many Americans make too much money.

Ringtones

My phone either rings or vibrates. I do not have have any flashiy ringtones that are a portion of a 50 or kanye's latest hit. I do not know why any one would want a portion of a song to be their calling card. maybe someone can explain this to me . As a teacher I am subjected to many ringtones on a daily basis and the conclusion that I have drawn is it says something about the personality of the cell phone user. As a teacher maybe mine should be to sir with love or president bush should use "hail to the chief " as his . If this is what ringtones are all about.I guess that is okay. What do you think