Welcome to February!

Classes for the month of February have begun, and the new month is underway.  My day started off too damn early.  Mornings are not my thing.  I am definitely more of a night owl.  So are the Big and Little Guys, it seems.  Both were less than pleased at waking up at dark o'clock so that I could get to work.  But, awaken, they did and off we went.  

My day has gone well thus far.  I am sitting at my desk on campus typing and working on my (visiting) iPad.  There is a slight catch though.  We are working with the iPads to prepare us for their introduction to the student body over the summer, but the books in my Fundamentals course are not compatible with the iPad.  The labs require the use of the program Flash... Which Apple does not allow iPads to install.  How will this affect the future of the iPad/Fundamentals integration?  I don't know, and, to be honest, those are concerns for someone higher up the pay scale than I.  

The iPad has already proven to be useful in multiple ways, and, I hate to admit, has started winning me over.  My ebook collection has grown significantly and I also downloaded some free books and apps for Little Guy, including a Lego Builder game app and a handwriting app that he can use to practice his handwriting.  Project Gutenberg has many of my favorite classics available for download, and I totally took advantage of that.  

I remember going on road trips when I was younger and taking two bags - one with the clothes I needed and the other full of books.  Something like this would have very useful to have in those days.  It certainly would have cut down on the amount of space I needed in the car!  Seeing how Little Guy interacts with this technology has also been fascinating.  

He really took to it like he was born with an iPad in hand.  He learned rapidly how to work it and get things done and he came downstairs the other night to tell me he really liked the iPad and could he please have one...  I laughed, but don't think it hasn't crossed my mind, especially with the sheer amount of educational software available.  However, there are certain things an iPad cannot do that are slightly more pressing - like cook food, since our microwave went out, or stir things really fast, since our mixer started smoking and died after we moved in.  I tell myself that someday we will get to a point where we can afford what we need AND what we want...  For now, I will make do with what we've got. 

iPractice makes iPerfect

The end of the month is nigh.  I finished the two classes for January and discovered that I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to try out the new iPad for the next month. This blog entry is, in fact, being typed out in the notepad on the iPad from my sofa while I drink tea and watch Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  It is pretty cool; I must admit.

Photo by Jeff Wilcox

I have some nice and relaxing plans for the weekend.  Practice with the iPad, fun times with friends, and then class on Monday, two in fact.  Next month will be a long month.  I have two classes next month, luckily, but they are split shift.  I'll start at 8:30 in the morning and end at 10 at night.  That is another reason I am thrilled to be able to play around with the iPad.

This month, I can use the iPad and get the practice I need in the four hour stretch between the classes.  I can already tell that I am going to love this.  I was able to get onto Project Gutenberg and download two classic favorites of mine: Phantom of the Opera and Persuasion.

Jane Austen is one of my favorite Victorian writers.  I think she gets a bad rap for being insipid and dull.  If you read her with an eye toward her actual purpose, she's absolutely hilarious.  Much like Swift's Modest Proposal, Austen wrote with an eye on satire and mockery of "polite society" and the common roles women filled in that society.  I am really looking forward to reading it again as well as checking out the possible uses of an e-reader.

The e-reader vs. book debate will be one I weigh in on later.  Right now, I still side heavily with the paper form of books.  At the risk of sounding like an old woman, these new fangled e-readers need to stay the hell off my metaphorical lawn.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Timeline

I'm going to take a break from my usual mommy talk to actually go tech for a bit.  Believe it or not, I am a bit of a techie.  I don't need the latest and greatest, but I do like playing with things to figure out how they work... (That could be taken in so many ways)  Back in high school, I taught myself HTML 4.0 and I have a tendency to poke through programs and find all their secrets.  Big Guy also has me figure out how things work for him because he's turning into an old fogey. 

So, when Facebook changed AGAIN, I was annoyed, like everyone else, but not too put out.  It would take a day or so, but I would get used to it.  However, when they announced the advent of  Facebook Timeline, I was definitely intrigued.  When I discovered that you could actually implement the timeline before it went live, I knew I had to try it. 

I hunted down the instructions and discovered something amazing. 

My Cover Pic and Profile Pic

I love it.  Seriously.  I absolutely LOVE the new Facebook Timeline.  I know people are going to totally flip out when it's officially implemented because it IS a departure from the norm.  But, and here's the thing, the timeline makes your profile more personal by giving you more control. 

You don't just have a profile pic anymore.  You also have a cover picture to help lend a slightly more personal or creative touch to your page.  And the timeline doesn't just go back to when you JOINED Facebook, it goes back to other major events as well...  Like the births of children and siblings.  You can still choose what people see, and you can also feature certain stories on your timeline. 

What Zuckerberg and his team have managed to do with the timeline (impressively enough) is actually make Facebook feel both streamlined AND more informative while avoiding a generic blocky page.  It's smooth, slick, impressive...  How did this happen?