New Definition of “Friend”
One of the ways that I first knew that Facebook was having a major impact on our society was that I heard my friends in the real world, many of whom…
Mad Men Mixed Media
Mad Men is one of the most interesting shows on television right now. The characters continue to reveal layers of complexity into the show's third season. The early 1960's setting…
Facebook Places
Here's the status update of one of my friends on Facebook today (August 29): "IMPORTANT!!! Facebook launched Facebook Places yesterday. Anyone can find out where you are when you are…
Barack Obama X?
I could not believe what I was hearing on NPR this afternoon. I had heard about the "Hussein" controversy when Obama was running for President of the United States, where…
Security Theater Revisited Redux (Redux Redux …)
If you've read this blog before, you know that I'm interested in (and amazed by) the security theater that pervades our airport experiences. I'm in Washington, DC as I write…
New Ways of Thinking
A year or two ago, in one of my classes at the InterLakes Senior Center, a man asked me how he could get a copy of the information he finds…
The Common Cold
I have a cold. It is a very common cold. Nothing special. Just enough to make me want to sleep at 2 in the afternoon. We can land humans on…
Toyota Software
Toyota has been much in the news lately because of questions about the performance of a variety of their cars. In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that…
Pattern Recognition and Pseudo-Security
One of my favorite shows on NPR is On The Media. Each week, the hosts examine a variety of topics related to the media, mostly in the US. I hear…
Impressive Perform
Ann said I should write a post about this latest comment to my blog. It was posted on my iPad and Education entry but I think it's spam. What do…
Conspicuous Consumption
I've commented on this blog before about my love of the status update, both on FaceBook and Twitter. I love reading about what my friends are currently doing and regularly…
The iPad and Education
David Parry recently wrote a very interesting post on ProfHacker regarding the impact that the iPad is likely to have on education. Parry is an assistant professor of emerging media…
iPad Jokes
I guess I was not the only one who thought of other types of pads when the name iPad was announced. This is very funny: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/01/ipad_apples_way_of_reaching_ou.html?sc=fb&cc=fp
TechnoHype
For weeks, we've been hearing rumors of the new Apple tablet computer. There was much speculation about what Apple would call its sure-to-be-revolutionary device--I heard suggestions like iTab and iTablet but Apple…
Influenza Epidemics
My grandmother will turn 92 this April. If you do the math, you will see that she was born in 1918, a year in which hundreds of thousands of Americans…
Google in China
Google has received lots of criticism from human rights activists since it started to do business in China in 2006. The criticism is focused on Google's willingness to comply with Chinese official…
Even More Security Theater
By now, you've probably heard about the thwarted terror attack on a flight bound for Detroit. If you haven't heard details, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to light his underwear on…
Whose Property Is It?
When I was in graduate school more than 12 years ago, a new company opened up in Tallahassee that caught the attention of many students (and probably faculty members) at…
Security Theater Revisited
I've written about the theater of airport security before. Now here is an excellent piece written by an ex-cop about why airport screening fails to keep us safe and is…
Kindle Again
I've been talking about the Kindle for over a year. I was first intrigued by the idea of the technology a year and half ago on a trip to Spain…
