Mark's Stream of Consciousness

Effective use of Twitter for organizations

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:44:58 -0500

Effective use of Twitter for organizations:

I just attended a workshop by an organization I’m a member of, where they rolled out Twitter with great hoopla. A few things arose which informed me that this organization still doesn’t understand…

Effective use of Twitter for organizations

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:23:18 -0500

Effective use of Twitter for organizations

Responsible Voting vs. Strategic Voting

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:19:20 -0400

Responsible Voting vs. Strategic Voting:

You do have a choice. “Strategic” voting has done nothing but backfire. In 104 ridings in the previous election, the NDP came in second place (and they won an additional 37). Strategic…

Dropped my land line...

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:46:04 -0400

Well, I’ve cut ties with Bell. I’ve got myself a LG Optimus One Android phone from Koodo, and I’m on a pretty good plan with the cell phone as my only phone. For the same price that I was paying for a landline plus $20/month for 200 minutes from Virgin, I’ve got basically an unlimited cell phone that includes some 3G Internet (the phone also has wi-fi).

Overall, I like this phone a lot. I’ve already got a 64GB iPod touch 3G, and I find that the overall user experience is generally better on iOS than Android, but it’s nice having the Android device too. Plus, with the phone, I now have a Internet connected camera/video, and GPS. So instead of waiting forever for me to transfer photos from my camera to share, I can now share them directly from my phone. GPS is great on this phone, too. With the c:Geo app, I can pull up geocaches near me (or any address), save them for offline use, and go geocaching. Of course, Google Sky Map alone has a huge wow factor.

Another essential accessory for occasional teachers

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:35:59 -0400

Another essential accessory for occasional teachers:

An MP3 player with a collection of appropriate music and podcasts can be a great tool in the classroom, whether it’s curriculum-related podcasts used to enrich a lesson, or The Lord of the…

Thoughts on the iPad

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:46:43 -0500

Thoughts on the iPad

Harper to prorogue Parliament... again!

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:01:39 -0500

Harper to prorogue Parliament... again!:

As the CBC has reported, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has again shown his disregard for our democracy by asking the Governor General to prorogue Parliament in the middle of session.

While it’s…

Ontario college teachers set to go on strike

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:29:09 -0500

Ontario college teachers set to go on strike:

Ontario’s college teachers are set to go on strike in January, and I can already hear it… students and their parents complaining (most likely to the workers who aren’t the problem, rather than to…

Budgeting for Change

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:15:09 -0500

Budgeting for Change:

As we approach the end of the year, we’re reaching the deadline to make charitable donations which can be deducted from this year’s taxes. This can be problematic, because we’re also at that time of…

The Dark Side of Privatization

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:40:05 -0500

The Dark Side of Privatization:

Across Ontario, hundreds of USW 9511 workers are striking outside their employer, Ontario’s DriveTest driver examination centres. Their strike is now entering it’s fifth month. The…

The Union Movement Online

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:20:21 -0500

The Union Movement Online:

You know that you’re part of a union, but maybe you haven’t figured out yet exactly what that means. Or maybe you’re interested in what unions are all about (or even better, interested in organizing…

Replacing a Palm with an iPod touch 64GB

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:50:48 -0400

Replacing a Palm with an iPod touch 64GB:

I’ve used Palm organizers for many years. With my Palm E2 becoming long in the tooth, I decided to switch platforms and see what all the fuss was about with the iPod touch and the…

Register your router to enable iPod touch location-awareness

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:42:13 -0400

The iPod touch, unlike the iPhone, doesn’t have a GPS to help it know where it is. Yet the iPod touch manages to know its location using its wi-fi capability. How does it do this? The…

Building yet more web presence, and possibly have found an outlet for easily and quickly monetizing...

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:33:53 -0400

Building yet more web presence, and possibly have found an outlet for easily and quickly monetizing all the bits of expertise I have… Squidoo.

First two “lenses” I’ve created:

http://www.squidoo.com/giftedness

http://www.squidoo.com/markcarter

Galileoscopes

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:48:48 -0400

Galileoscopes:

To celebrate the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, a simple, inexpensive, and well-designed telescope, called the “Galileoscope” is being produced. It costs $15 US plus shipping. I’d…

An Inconvenient Truth

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:45:52 -0400

An Inconvenient Truth:

I watched An Inconvenient Truth tonight. Very well done. Watching it, though, I was really struck by how unconscionable it is that they’ve known about this problem for decades, and they’ve just sat…

I did two tai chi sets and a sabre set in the moonlight beside the Henley Regatta course...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:01:11 -0400

I did two tai chi sets and a sabre set in the moonlight beside the Henley Regatta course (there’s a man-made moor there, unlit and connected to a park, that was created for the World Rowing Championships) tonight. Cool place to do tai chi. Very relaxing; I hadn’t done tai chi in too long. Reminded me of practicing in the dark at night in the upper practice hall at the Centre.

I’ve also resolved to resist buying dark chocolate bars any more, which is a bad habit I’ve gotten into. I suspect the health benefits of polyphenols in 86% cocoa dark chocolate are outweighed by the fat and calories… ;-)

Teach Copyright Right!

Sat, 30 May 2009 03:35:07 -0400

Teach Copyright Right!:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has just released curriculum for teachers to teach students about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to copyright.

…

I just bought a Virgin Mobile prepaid Samsung M320 phone online… should get here in a few...

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:46:56 -0400

I just bought a Virgin Mobile prepaid Samsung M320 phone online… should get here in a few days. $15(with PayCheck promotion)/month for 200 minutes is about the same as my 7-11 Speakout phone was costing me, but I’ll have double the talk time. I’m going to closely monitor my usage, and perhaps drop my landline.

Participated in my first Scrabble tournament tonight...

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:10:49 -0400

Participated in my first Scrabble tournament tonight...:

I participated in the Niagara Region Literacy Council’s Scrabble for Literacy fundraising tournament tonight, my first Scrabble tournament ever. It was a ton of fun. Great buffet dinner,…