I upgraded my blog to the new version of Community Server this afternoon. If you encounter any problems, let me know. Also, if you’re upgrading your own CS installation from 1.0 to 1.1, and you use the MetaBlog API, here is the download. For some reason, the CS and Telligent sites still link to the old version.
Read: Community Server
Looks like Microsoft is getting serious about the Xbox 360 launch, with rumors of plans for two new Xbox 360 stores:
Looks like Microsoft is the last to get into the game with plans to open an Xbox 360 store in New York City’s Times Square. At least, rumour has it that they’re looking into prime real estate for that purpose. And by prime they may indeed truly mean prime, as in the 18,000 square-foot space that is One Times Square.
And the second store, in Tokyo:
The timing couldn’t be any better on this one — ITmedia snapped some pics of the construction shielding surrounding what they suppose is an Xbox 360 store.
I don’t know why a console needs its own store, and such a big one at that, but you have to admit it’s pretty cool 🙂
Read: Engadget
Kimmi arrived safe and sound back in Edmonton tonight. Just in time too, as she told me that it is supposed to snow in Inuvik tomorrow! A few of us are planning to go see Red Eye tomorrow night at SouthEdCommon, probably the later show (10:40 PM). If you want to come, call me!
Just a couple weeks after I got the new car,
I got nailed in the windshield by a rock thrown up from an oncoming
truck. I was pretty mad, first because it was so new, and second
because I do my best to keep the car in good shape. Just ask Megan, she’ll tell you how much I hate it when the car gets dirty. I am forever washing it.
Last night, or early this morning depending on how you look at it,
more bad news! I got back to the office around 2 or so, and everything
was fine. Then when I went outside to head home around 4, I drove a
couple of meters and realized that I had a flat tire. I could tell
immediately that something wasn’t quite right, and the car seemed to be
pulling to the right. Park the car and take a look, and BOTH my
passenger side tires were flat! I couldn’t believe it!
Anyway I called Honda Plus, the 24-hour roadside assistance to tow
my car to the dealership, as I obviously only have one spare. It took
long enough, but an AMA truck showed up, and the guy was really
helpful. He checked the tires, decided to put some air into them, and
finally decided I could probably drive home and be okay until the
dealership opens. He told me that all of my tires were actually low,
though they didn’t look or feel any lower before the two went flat. He
explained that he’s seen it happen often with aluminum wheels – anyone
else notice that?
So I am going to call Honda when they open in an hour or so, and see
if I can’t get it all fixed right away. You can hear the rear tire leak
air, not the front one though. It’s really a surprise to me, because I
haven’t driven anywhere out of the ordinary, or been street racing, or
anything.
And of course, all this less than a day before my sister arrives back in Edmonton!
UPDATE (10:20 AM): Everything is fixed now – though I still don’t
know exactly what caused it. Honda said there were two holes in the
back tire, one in the front. Thanks to Dickson for hanging around with
me early this morning in case I needed a ride. As he said to me around
5:00 am, “we’ve stayed up this late for much dumber reasons in the
past.” Sad, but true!
Interesting post by Jason Kottke on a so-called “WebOS”. Speculation about such an operating system, that is powered over the web, has always been around but seems to pick up whenever Google releases something new, like Google Desktop 2 last week. Granted, Jason does talk about having local applications too, but then I question how things are really different than what we currently have.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – it’s not going to happen! So, whenever you feel the urge to dream about an operating system powered completely over the web, just refer to this handy list of realities:
There are probably more reasons! Have any you’d like to add?
Read: Jason Kottke
The role of technology in education is growing at a blistering pace, in my opinion. Everywhere you look, the classic image of a classroom full of books is being antiquated. Take Joe Wilcox and his family for example:
Today is the first day of school in the county where I live. Middle schoolers arrived at 7:30 a.m. for the long day ahead. For my daughter, it is the first day of home school, where my wife will be the teacher. Among my wife’s growing cadre of teaching tools is a Windows Media Center PC, which role will be significant.
What place in education does a Media Center PC have?
My wife will record some TV programs from the likes of Animal Planet, Discovery and History Channel for use in some of the lessons. Rather than be bound by the broadcast time, she can play program segments at times most convenient to the lessons. The idea is to keep the curriculum lively and interactive. This morning, my daughter will get a science lesson on Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans earlier today
They also make use of Tablet PC’s (which I think no student should be without):
For art, my daughter will use a 6×8 Wacom Intuos3 tablet, which I have been testing. She may even use the tablet as part of today’s science lesson, being given a chance to draw the air flow for a developing hurricane.
That’s powerful stuff! You just can’t match that kind of education in a typical classroom. And it’s not just grade school that is using technology to its benefit – post secondary is as well, like the use of podcasting at Purdue University:
“Many universities are experimenting with podcasting, but I’m not aware of any other university that is deploying a podcasting service on the scale that we are,” says Michael Gay, manager of Broadcast Networks & Services for Information Technology at Purdue. “As far as I know, we are the only university that is offering both streaming and podcasting of lectures in this manner as a central university service.”
Another example of how technology can improve education. I have always thought that a room full of students furiously writing down notes is absurd. It’s much better to listen and let yourself be engaged by what the professor is saying, than to try and write down every word. Having a podcast of the lecture means you can easily go back and review it.
These are just two recent examples, but there’s many more. Makes me wonder what school will look like in 25 years.
I’ve been in a “try to get organized” mood for the last couple
weeks. One of the outcomes of that ongoing effort is to post a weekly
update, because it should force me to think about what has happened in
the last week, and what is upcoming for the next.
UPDATE: Yeah, I got the title wrong at first, thanks Shermie for
pointing it out. August is of course the 8th month, not the 6th!
Today the Edmonton Journal featured the Alberta Centennial Edition, a collection of stories about 100 Albertans living and working in the province today. Along with each one is a related story about Alberta’s history. If you follow the above link and navigate to page 46, you’ll find an article entitled “Breaking out of his pod”, all about Dickson Wong.
It’s a really well-written article, although it says that Dickson sings in three choirs when in fact he plays piano in three choirs. In fact, Dickson is quite the piano man! He played last night at Yi-Li’s BBQ, and he often entertains guests at the Paramagnus offices, as seen here. The article talks about a number of things including Paramagnus, the podcasting robot, and Dickson’s Chinese heritage and language. It mentions our leather couch and frequent late night trips to Denny’s! I even got quoted a few times.
The subtitle of the article is “Versatile computer engineer aims to market podcasting software in China” – perhaps more a prediction for the future than an accurate representation of present day, but intriguing nonetheless. Dickson scanned in the article, which you can find here.
Congratulations Dickson!
This is just wrong. I don’t know how else to describe it. I know it isn’t real, and that it’s just humor, but maybe it’s crossing the line (hat tip to Larry)?
RentMySon provides safe and trustworthy child-rental services in multiple metropolitan areas. Our service area is growing every year and we are on target to provide services in 50 cities by the end of 2006.
RentMyDaughter began operation in 1998 in San Diego. The initial idea was realized with our sister company, RentMySon. As word quickly spread of our services, so did our team of boys and the range of events we catered to. Not too long after, RentMyDaughter was born!
They have a place to submit feedback. I wonder how much hate mail they get!
Read: RentMyDaughter
I went to see another Fringe show on Friday night after the birthday party. Sharon wanted us to get there early so that we’d get good seats unless the show sold out. Unfortunately, we ended up having a lot of time to kill for nothing as the show was almost empty! We went to see a solo act entitled, “The Key to Violet’s Apartment“.
It was written and performed by Paul Matwychuk – a huge guy! He was extremely tall, which I suppose is good because he definitely commands your attention. In the show he tells the story of his friend Violet, and the mystery surrounding the key to her apartment (hence the title). I don’t think Dickson, or Chu or the others enjoyed the show as much as I did. I thought Paul was an excellent story teller.
At the beginning, he explains how he was talking with his friend Max one afternoon about what it would be like to be a woman for a day, just to try it out. Eventually the two men ended up describing exactly the type of woman they would be. Paul then launched into the story of Violet, describing the way she looked. The thing is, I didn’t picture Violet the way he described as the story went on – I pictured her like the woman he described he would be. He saw himself in Violet? Or maybe that’s a little too deep 🙂
In any case, I thought it was pretty entertaining! The lighting was done really well too, as was the stage. Paul sat on a stool in front of a curtain of keys that glimmered red or blue depending on how the ighting changed. It made for a great story telling environment.
Read: Edmonton Fringe Festival
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