back in the saddle

Welcome back! Coursework, moving to a new house, and beginning my work with Internet Archive (IA) are the suspects of the foul play angle concerning the missing blogger report file on me. Given the lack of audience, it will be sometime before they bother with a follow-up.

I was thrilled to hear about the public domain reprints project. It was doubly exciting to see IA as one of two primary resources for public access to open source books. Google Books is the other source, not sure if that should be considered as good company, but it can't be argued that we are grouped in with successful company.

See you in a couple of days.

The unconference

this one is interesting; don't you think?


THAT Camp!
May 31 - June 1, 2008
The Center for History and New Media
George Mason University

The Humanities And Technology Camp is a BarCamp-style, user-generated “unconference” on digital humanities. THATCamp is organized and hosted by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.

An unconference is a conference where the content of the sessions is created and managed by the participants (generally day-by-day during the course of the event) rather than by one or more organizers in advance of the event. The term is primarily used in the geek community. Open Space Technology, however, is an unconference process that has been around since 1985 and is now in widespread use. Open Space Technology is an energizing and emergent way to organize an agenda for a conference. Those coming to the event can post on a wiki ahead of time topics they want to present about or hope others will present about. The wiki can also be used as an attendee list.

There are parallels with science-fiction fandom, in which a low-key convention with less structure is called a Relaxacon.

By any other name the recent rise of unstructured learning and occupational socializing is a sign of the times. There appears to be rise in Educational Techno-Anarchism in America. My instinct tells me it's the equal and opposite reaction to No Child Left Behind. I once heard it referred to as No Bureaucrat Left Behind; made me chuckle and want to cry at the same time. Paulo Freire has been trying to tells us for decades to release our grip on the teacher-student dichotomy and begin to understand the how we learn in all environments. It's tough being ahead of your time; the results of your work become apparent to the following generations rather than your own.



that's my sense

scooby snacks

The dangers inherit in sharing a domicile with a hippy are numerous.
Some daze they are a little scary.

Tuesday evening I returned to the house, where my landlord/roommate's brother (Nathan) is staying with us for a couple of weeks until he returns to Lewis & Clark College in Portland.

There was a frantic aspect about him.

When I walked in the door,

Nathan, "Something is wrong with Sweetie."
(Sweetie's the 10lb dog in the house.)
"What do you mean?"
"She's falling down and acting strange."

I checked her out and she had little, if any, muscle control and kept falling over, whenever she tried to move. My roommate was out of touch, so we took her to the emergency room. After my roommate, Fern, arrived, I went home.

Next day, she informs me that Sweetie got into a box of chocolate truffles. Oh yeah, they happen to be medicinal truffles too.

Medicinal - A term coined in California to indicate the presence of large quantities of THC in your food.

Nothing like getting your dog baked!

Ahh, the literary opportunities provided by living in Fairfax, California.

Mayberry on Acid

Peace Out