All those topics that i wish i had time to pursue more earnestly.

ultraportable notebooks

[From Liliputing: Comprehensive list of low-cost ultraportables]

—–

well… here’s a nice little list of all the tiny computers coming out soon. very hand to have.

Restrictions sprout creativity. And so I gave five people this morning the following task: Tell me a story that starts with “Whether” and ends with “pudding” and has 27 words.

Can you do any better?
[From A tale of pudding]

Bill Bryson Against Litter

Call for Papers/Participation

Please join us in a workshop on learning and research in Second
Life(R) on October 16, 2008 in Copenhagen at Internet Research 9.0 (http://wiki.aoir.org/index.php?title=About_IR9.0
)

Paper Deadline June 15th.

Second Life is a 3d virtual environment created by Linden Lab (R)
which has captured the attention of researchers and teachers from
around the world from a variety of disciplines.

This workshop aims to improve the understanding of Second Life as a
Learning and Research environment. It will bring 35 researchers
together to collaborate, discuss and workshop diverse topics related
to research and learning in Second Life. We will pursue a full-day
schedule in which participants will discuss their work and interests
on four different topics: learning in Second Life, integrated
learning, the contributions of research to the community and ethical
research methods. How can we better enable learning in this sphere?
How can we better enable research?

Our honored keynote will be Pathfinder Linden

Researchers are requested to submit papers and short biography to slworkshop08@gmail.com
, which will be selected and distributed amongst participants before
the workshop. First invitations will be offered to those who provide
full papers for consideration.

These papers have two purposes: first is to provide a common platform
for understanding our research and teaching and second submitted
papers may be considered for publication in an edited volume being
produced in relation to the workshop, or possibly in peer reviewed
publication derived from the workshop (these are currently under
discussion).

Subsequent invitations will be made based upon research/teaching
statement and biography with priority given to people submitting full
papers. If you are interested in participating, please send an email
containing your information to slworkshop08@gmail.com.

Decisions will be made by August 1st, barring incident. There is a
limit of 35 participants at the physical meeting; the event will be
simulcast into Second Life which will be organized by Jason Nolan.

We welcome professionals, faculty and graduate students to participate.

This workshop is sponsored by Linden Lab, creators of Second Life, and
is organized by Jeremy Hunsinger, Rochelle Mazar, Aleks Krotoski and
Jason Nolan. Lunch, coffee breaks and the room is included in
participation. (And you’ll probably get a t-shirt!)

*We are also seeking additional sponsors, please contact jhuns@vt.edu
if you would like to sponsor this workshop.

Students want chance to defend themselves

[From Students want chance to defend themselves - CNN.com]

—–

in recent times, the chance for students to defend themselves is not in the classroom. that is too late. if these students want to defend themselves they need to care for their fellow students and take responsibility for the people around them. Both NIU and VT may have been avoided had the students, friends, and family of the individual ensured through their direct action that they got mental health support. If you need guns in the classroom, you are already too late to defend yourself. Be socially pro-active, and live a good life.

I just noticed that in Dictionary.app (at least in Leopard), under to “Go” menu, there is an option labeled “Front/Back Matter.” Clicking this brings up a whole slew of useful reference material, including a language guide (complete with a list of clichés to avoid), a list of the chemical elements, and the text of the Constitution. Next time I’m on a place, I think I’m going to brush up on the Bill of Rights.

It’s true: the Ready Reference area of Dictionary.app’s Front/Back Matter is a treasure trove of good stuff for writers or anyone who wants to see if they can name the capital of all fifty states in the U.S. Thanks, Ben!

[From Get to More Than Definitions in Dictionary.app [Mac Tip]]

——–

this is great! tons of secondary and funly esoteric knowledge to peruse at leisure.

So, how did the librarian get the word out? By regularly reporting to the library board that no NSL had been issued to any of the city’s 10 branches, which was perfectly legal. Everyone knew that if the chief librarian failed to report that nothing had happened, then indeed an NSL had been served.
[From Privacy Work-Around]

———

Sometimes the brilliance of the common sense of librarians is amazing. Given tight legal restrictions, they read the law, and found a solution that was compatible and in the end worked for their library

—

this is cool

Mini reviews of 19 Ruby template engines

[From Mini reviews of 19 Ruby template engines]

——

handy reference to some of the possible template engines.

—-

They forgot to mention the cat’s use of recreational drugs and reliance on fibrous grass.