Tech day Wednesdays....

Tech day Wednesdays. Spent the day today doing check, helping people fix some interesting problems and repeating things to people that I have repeated over and over about how to work with their computers. Over all, fairly successful day. I do have a fourth grade class that's creating their own web page about the history of the Tampa Bay area. listen

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Eagle Scout Banquet....

Eagle Scout Banquet. Tonight we went to my son Austins Eagle Scout Bankwood and along with, well over 200 other Eagle Scouts had a very nice dinner and he even won a subscription for the National Eagle Societies and he will get a membership for the rest of his life so we are very proud of him. listen

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We're getting ready...

We're getting ready to to a movie and we're watching Forgetting somebody. listen

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MixBook

I've been playing around this evening with MixBooks. This tool allows you to create virtual books using images and writing. This evening I made a book using artwork made by one of my first grade classes.

View this book full size or get a printed copy at Mixbook


This book only took a little time to create and distribute via this blog and a wiki I created.
To start I used a digital camera to photograph the students art as soon as it was finished in class. these files were uploaded in mass to the MixBook site. Once there I placed the images on the pages as well as wrote the story. Total time was under an hour.

The Previous Post

This is pretty cool I have been messing around with some new to me web 2.0 tools. Jott, Sandy, and Blogger. Ok Blogger is not so new but the other two are. Jott allows you to sent a text message or e-mail by speaking into your cell phone. I use it to send e-mails to myself with ideas, thoughts, and to do items. I can also use it to respond to my sons text messages, much easer that trying to type in on my phone.
As the previous post shows I have also discovered how to use Jott to add posts to my blog with my phone. The first few words spoken are used as the title and then the rest is transcribed into the body of the post. Jott has a 30 second limit so the post will be brief but then most of mine are.
Sandy takes an e-mail and converts it to a daily calender entry. All you have to do is include the phrase remember or remind me in the e-mail and Sandy figures out the rest from the text of your e-mail.

I think I got this figured...

I think I got this figured out. The ID is the number at the end of the link when you are trying to sign on to a post. So, this should allow me to blog from my phone. listen

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Granny get your gun

Often when I read about the workings of our political system and the laws that are passed by our elected officials I question their collective intelligence. Then I heard about the “Take your gun to work” bill that is soon to be signed into law by the Gov. of Fla. Wow I thought that's the craziest thing to come out of Tallahassee yet.

But upon closer inspection the law does exempt a few places of work. Schools, hospitals, and nuclear power plants ok maybe they are not so crazy. Places that deal with Home Land Security on first blush that is also a good one to keep guns away from but wait…. That would include everywhere elected officials work so without saying so our “Protectors of the Constitution” just took themselves out of the mix. I guess they aren't as crazy as I thought.

And while I am pontificating I’m really peeved about the IRS. Yes I just finished my taxes and imagine my delight when I discovered that I qualified for the Economic Stimulus Package. WooHoo $1200 free money! Oh but wait I have to send with my tax return a little more that that. So I send the IRS a check and then a few months later I get a little less back. Gee thanks! I think that the Government got the idea from those “mail in rebates” you have to do at Best Buy. I just hope I sent in all the forms, receipts, and little bar codes off the box.