A Cast of PodPersons

Well I've spent the morning visiting various podcast sites and generally tootling around to see what's there. Once again, the 'net is a great place for time to slip through your fingers and swirl around until it disappears down the great big World Wide WebDrain.

But it is interesting. Researching so many things is so easy now - even the dumbest question can be answered, because you certainly aren't the first person to wonder "How many lottery winners go bankrupt and why does it happen?"

And iGoogle. I had almost forgotten, but I've been an iGoogler for a couple of years now! I have a personalised google home page, with my gmail and GoogleGroups, plus a recipe site, parenting tips (which I never read) and random quotes - which I've repeated on this blog.

I'm more 2.0 than I thought.

A Thing of Beauty

LibriVox, you are beautiful. I don't know what aspect of it I love more.

First there's the fact that it is all about collecting old and beloved, or old and unknown stories and making them come to life. Love that.

Second there's the fact that it's being done by every day people. Just ordinary people with a passion and the will to be part of something larger. Love that.

And now Del.icio.us

Can anyone tell me why the name is deconstructed? Anyways, I like it as a tool. And I like seeing what others have found to be valuable enough to keep.

Ye scurvy dogs

Yes, I'm late in a number of ways. (Most especially considering the deadline for 23 Things!) But I'm still here.

Library Thing. Hooray for Library Thing! Finally a task I can cheer about. This is useful. This is fun. It's interactive, it's social, it's simple and I love it.

Also, the people at Library Thing completely embraced International Talk Like A Pirate Day (another thing I'm late for), and you can see their efforts archived here:

http://pir.librarything.com/

Worth a look.

For the Love of Technology

Electronics vending machine, including Ipods, Itouch, headphones, PSP's, Camera's etc

http://picasaweb.google.com/JohnHobbs003/USALasVegas#5230986788747456578

So... technology. We all love it. Don't we. Of course we do.
Ahem.

I decided to try and think hard about what aspects of technology I do love. Innovations that have really, honestly and for true, made my life easier. Sadly, it's a short list.

1. Remote controls (television and car keys)
Got to love this. My couch-potato butt does not love it, but I do. And being able to get the whole family in the car at one time - it does my head in to realize my children will never know what it's like to stand at the back doors of a car, waiting for Mum or Dad to reach around or across and open it. This one invention has completely changed family dynamics in the car park and on long trips. Amazing.

2. The microwave
I love a cup of tea. Since I had kids, I never seem to finish one. Thanks to my trusty microwave, I can reheat the same cup all day. Saving power by not reboiling the kettle, saving on washing up by not using a new mug. Cooking rice is made easy.

3. The Internet
Can't deny it. To be able to look up the news at any time... movie times (not that ever get to go, but theoretically I could find out when a movie is on for someone else to attend!) ... to see images of what is happening on the other side of the world... it's not all good but it's just so damn convenient.

4. Electronic Program Guide
And last but not least, my digital television that lets me look up what is on now, what is going to be on in a few days, and set reminders of the shows I want to watch but always forget. I know it's tragic that two of my four items are TV based, but I'm not about to pretend I'm not in the middle of a passionate love affair with my TV.

Now - the mobile phone. I know most people would include this. I seesawed back and forth about it. It's a wonderful thing when you're trying to meet up with people in a crowded or large public place... it's terrific to know that if an emergency occurs you can be informed straight away and get to your family and friends sooner...

BUT.

How many times have you sent eight texts back and forth to organise a simple dinner when one ten second phone call would have done?
How many times have you had to listen to the inner workings of other people's private lives at top volume while you waited in line at the checkout or sat behind them on a train?
How many times has your phone gone off at the most inappropriate possible moment and made you wish you could disappear into the tiny, tiny little screen?

We got by just fine before mobile phones. Sometimes I wish we could again.

Cloudporn

I'm a little stunned to find I do, indeed, have a porn fetish. Apparently there is a new category, "Cloudporn".

I guess this is up there with phonerage and Brangelina... everything can be combined now. I'm just waiting for the day when I can order swour pork with frice from my local Chinese restaurant, or maybe I'll one day be applying for jobs as a ribrarian. Honestly, are we that pressed for time now?

Anyways, I discovered the wonder of Cloudporn on Flickr. Yet another aspect of life I was completely missing out on, unaware that my life was unfulfilled. But for all the time a-wasting on Flickr and sites like it, I have found some things that might impact on my work. For instance - some beautiful images of Ptilotus, a plant which is the focus of one of my RHD students' research.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3383/3424719511_66cd35e910.jpg

Also, I'm finding myself interested in geotagging. This is the process where you assign a geographical location to your image, not just a subject based tag. The anoraks have then spent many many of their precious hours writing code that will allow your geotag to interact with a world map, so that in the end, you can search a map of the world for images of a specific spot.

Take a moment to imagine that. From your chair, you could see actual photographs of a specific location in the world. Not touristy images, not a Hollywood version, but actual images of real streets. Bus stops. Mailboxes. Cafes. Traffic lights. Gardens.

The Unbearable Shortness of Twitter

In the interests of staying true to the idea of lifelong learning, I've jumped around to the last task on the 23 Things list, Twitter. I'd heard of it, of course, but over the weekend I spent some time with a friend who, as it turns out, is a Twitter addict (or as I called her, a Twatter). And so I decided to investigate it for myself.

As it turns out, I can now receive Twits from the highly delicious Nathan Fillion. I can even pretend it's vaguely related to work (I'm learning a new technology, as instructed). But I still can't quite figure out what it's for. If I'm deluded enough I guess I could pretend I'm now Nathan's true friend, getting to know him as a person. 140 characters at a time, of course. I wonder what the math is on how long it takes before you actually know someone via Twitter?

Because It Was There, I Guess

Just couldn't resist posting this. It's making me a little nauseous, but then, isn't that what the internet is sometimes for?

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/05/14/neatoramas-guide-to-25-of-the-strangest-collections-on-the-web/