Tech Tips & Timely Tidbits

Odds & Ends is back! I took a little time off and my RSS Reader is slam full of articles for me to read. I’m slowly getting through them. I’m not ready to declare RSS bankruptcy as I would hate to miss something good! Anyhoo, here are some nuggets of information, technology, or news I’ve found so far…

Pat Hensley over at the Successful Teaching Blog posted “Just Doing What’s Right” that brought me to tears over the compassion of those teens! Boy, I’m sure getting emotional in my old age. Be sure to read the comments and follow the link to another example of kids doing what’s right! Now if news reports had more of these types of stories to share, I might just watch the news again!

Edutopia: “Young Minds, Fast Times: The Twenty-First-Century Digital Learner” by Mark Prensky

A little math humor “I Will Derive” video from College Humor brought to my attention by FrancyLibrarian at the Gargoyles Loose in the Library blog. Too funny!

CNN.com: “School defends drunken driving hoax” - Okay, I find this disturbing. I can see where the authorities were coming from to want to “scare kids straight,” but I think this went overboard. This probably did more damage to the kids than deterred teens from driving drunk.

And lastly, a few news articles I found interesting from BBC.com:

• “Spain treats child phone addicts” - Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I figured it would start with computer games before phones! My question, what do 12 & 13 year olds need with cell phones? Shouldn’t the parents have been monitoring their usage BEFORE things got so out of hand?
• “‘Non-planet’ Pluto gets new class” - “Sorry, Pluto, you’ve been demoted, but to sooth your feelings, we’re going to call all masses like you “plutoids,” what do you think?” Come on, couldn’t they come up with a better name than that?
• “The changing face of Africa” - visual proof that man is destroying the planet faster than nature ever could.
• “Sudoku-playing jurors halt trial” - What! How could the jurors be so rude! This is life and future you’re going to be deciding! I realize lawyers tend to love the sound of their own voice, and you may have been a bit bored, but please, show some respect!

BBC News: “Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil” - It is hard to imagine in this day and age that there are still parts of this world unexplored.

CNN.com: “How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space” - I found this alternative energy source idea very appealing.

CNN.com: “Stonehenge was a place of burial, researchers say” - I so would love to visit this site. Maybe one of these days!?

New York Times: “Billboards That Look Back” - Creepy. I’m against this. Security cameras are one thing, but billboards that are “watching” me is going too far in my opinion.

New York Times: “The Miracle Fruit, a Tease for the Taste Buds” - I think this would be interesting to try…wonder if it would make “health” foods taste better? Maybe I’d be able to eat Brussels sprouts and other good for you foods I can’t stand. Of course, at $2 - $2.50 a berry, I don’t think it’s something I’ll be trying anytime soon.

MyRocketbook.com - I haven’t had a chance to explore completely and I’ve only looked at the free access stuff for the Scarlet Letter, but looks good! When I have time (ha, ha) I’ll see what it takes to register to access the rest of their offerings.