And He Blogs

Fellow Virginian and IT person David Carter-Tod wrote a post that was spot-on about setting a tone for customer service at a Comcast office. It’s the kind of post that maybe we all imagine writing while we’re standing in line thinking about how things work, or don’t. Well, as you can see, David wrote, and it doesn’t look like it took too long for Comcast to read it and respond. I had heard that Comcast has been lurking around Twitter, looking for these kinds of issues and responding. I’m going to ask David if he can follow up and report the results. That would be Comcastic!

UPDATE: Comcast gets right on it! Well done.

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So we’re nine days on in the era of Edupunk, and it appears things are perhaps calming down, but not before some rather intense discussions, conversations and kicking over some garbage cans. Let’s see there’s Jim’s original post, the comments, the definition, the critique, the defense, the “narcissism”, the Wikipedia article, the other article (and the comments), and finally the end. There have been lots of arguments about what Edupunk is, whether it’s even worth talking about, along with all of the other non-productive hand-wringing and smack-downs. In less than a fortnight we’ve gone from a made up word, to a term, to an ideology (puhleeze).

Look. See the picture at the top? It’s Jim Groom. Who on earth would take this guy seriously? This is the man, your hero, that coined the term Edupunk (or is it all caps - EDUPUNK?). Need I say more? Do you know what Jim posted about right before his seminal Edupunk meme (Jim says it’s not a meme, by the way) was born. He blogged about ME. What about me? How do I fit into Edupunk? Why didn’t I take off as a meme??? Seriously.

Hey, we kind of know what “Edu” is all about. Everybody is doing their best to make a difference, trying out things, making mistakes. You know learning. “Punk” is about anger. Sometimes misplaced. Often completely irrational. There were some very ugly people associated with punk in its early days. They were angry. Angry at authority. It wasn’t productive. They would eat their own. They would self-destruct. Think the guy in the foil hat is “punk”? Seriously?

So with punk already 30+ years on, Jim started a little revival, angry at the corporate hijacking of education. Um, in case you haven’t figured it out, Jim can be a hot head. Hyperbole flows in his veins instead of blood, but he’s a good man. Someone I am glad to have here at UMW, and proud to call a friend. Someone I take great pleasure in cutting back down to size once in a while . . . OK a lot

So here’s how it kind of happened, as portrayed in a scene from one of my all-time favorite movies Sid & Nancy.

Here are all the pretenders that think they know Edupunk.

So let’s go a little lighter with the Edu-”punk” mantras. We all know education has to change. Just let’s not be punks about it.

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I haven’t had a lot of time to watch much hockey this season. Honestly, if I can’t watch the games in high-definition, there’s even less motivation to watch. Also, the “real hockey season” (the playoffs) is fast approaching, and with the announcement of more HD channels from my local cable supplier, I will be taking in more games.

But this isn’t a post about Hi-Def TV, HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray (that fight is over!), or even hockey per se. It is about a well written post entitled Fighting words. As most of the serendipitous discoveries come from my connections to colleagues on Twitter, this is no exception. It’s another remarkable benefit of the Internet as community.

So, how I got to the post. First, a tweet from Jon Udell about finding good restaurants in his community. Next, I visited the page displaying downtown Keene N.H. dining options. Then I took a quick visit to the home page of this interesting project, and then to the photo page featuring pictures from some of the Keene residents. One picture caught my eye, a simple picture of two hockey players embroiled in fisticuffs, and it generated all kinds of complex emotions. Some of the emotions I felt were very personal. I only need to see a quarter of the Boston Bruins logo to have thousands of memories flood back of my earliest days watching hockey. Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, and Johnny Bucyk, were the gods I prayed to in the early 70’s. There were plenty of fights in those days too.

Other emotions I had were universally human, however. Two people fighting, both repulsive and thrilling. What were they fighting about? What was the cause? Was someone going to get hurt? Will there be blood? How much blood? Thankfully, the link behind the hockey photo went to Lorianne DiSabato’s blog post about a recent Bruin’s game she attended a couple days before St. Patrick’s Day.

Who needs green beer when you can watch an honest-to-goodness hockey fight?

Her post is as good an argument for keeping fighting in the game of hockey as I’ve ever seen, but that’s a minor argument. She goes on to compare the fights in hockey to the dust-up over recent controversial comments involving Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

You don’t have to agree with or even like [the] comments . . . though, you have to respect his right to make them.

People will argue whether there is any truth contained in the statements that Wright has made. No doubt that what Obama said is true, that they are divisive. So let’s go, everybody get it out of their system. Say what’s on your mind. I would argue that if Barack Obama wants to be president, he can’t defend Wright’s remarks, even if he believes even a little of what he said. He should however defend without reservation, Wright’s right to say those words. Let’s all then agree to disagree and get back to the game.

She ends her post with:

We all want to live in a society where we are judged by the content of our character rather than the color of our Zambonis, but still: without the ability to speak freely and even fight, how will we ever learn how to all get along?

How can you argue with a statement that combines the words of Martin Luther King Jr. with a reference to the machines that clean the ice surface at hockey games? That’s right, you can’t, and don’t even try or we’ll have to throw down! Thank you, Lorianne.

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Of all the crazy “LowerMyBills” advertisements, this one freaks me out the most! The girls legs and those boots (?) have a nauseating effect on me, and it has been on Weather.com for the last several days now. Please stop. Please?

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OK. In my last post, my first of 2008, I lied. It was parenthetical, but still a lie. Well at least it was an implied lie that I was in a "blogging funk" and that my post was going to cure that. Neither was true. In fact it is much closer to the truth that I have so many ideas, and things, and stuff to blog about, I just don’t know where to begin. Well, so I began the new year with a simple post with a link to a news story about a subject I enjoy following - high definition video.

Like I said, I’ve got lots of other ideas, etc., etc., to blog about, but will I? Did I just lie again, my 2nd of 2008? Such a loaded word, lie. Shannon and Gardner have pledged that they will blog every day in 2008. Are they lying, and just don’t know it yet? Jerry made the point to me in our duPont office that Gardner already failed (lied?) because he started his resolution on January 2, 2008. OK, maybe he composed it on 1/1/08, but then, Gardner, you owe us two on 12/31/08!

I don’t think Jim posted every day in 2008, but I bet he had over 365 posts (and that’s a good thing!). By the way Jim, I’m now beating you 2-0 in 2008!!! Oh, and Patrick, Martha, Jerry? I wish you would blog more. Seriously, I hope Shannon and Gardner are able to keep their pledge, because they both write such interesting stuff. And so, here is my promise to you for 2008, dear readers of my blog. I promise to blog as many times as is right for me in 2008. No more and no less (but hopefully more).

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This is short, but it’s a stunner. Done entirely with computer graphics, watch Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Falling Water come alive. Thanks Apollo Pony!

UPDATE! The good news is that there is a DivX version. The bad news is that the video has exceeded their bandwidth.

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And it’s kind of sad, ’cause I had a great time. Let me tell you, Indianapolis was a big surprise in a good way. Facilities were classy, and the city was cool in lots of ways. Oh and did I tell you we had a great time?

Lots to blog about, but I’ve had 3 1/2 hours sleep out of the last 40 hours. Soon.

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There’s an interesting article in the Times today about the “coverage” of the Virginia Tech shootings on Wikipedia. You know, Wikipedia is the one that is so easy to bash for its inaccuracies. Well, read the article and you decide, but there is a great quote in the Times article from a 22-year-old student from Finland.

As the popular joke goes, The problem with Wikipedia is that it only works in practice. In theory, it can never work.

Some of you may have seen this already, but it gave me a hearty chuckle when I saw it.

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Once again we have the quality and dedication of our students in full boom here at the University of Mary Washington. Like the cherry blossoms and the pear trees, we have some beautiful presentations happening here at Student Academy 2007.

Blogged with Flock

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For those people out there who don’t know what YouTube is, these videos won’t help. However, for those who do, these entries sum up the video sharing service nicely. The first is a serious (and at least PG-13) video exploring the inherent narcissism of YouTube called YOUTUBERS. It’s a montage of videoblogs set to slow, and somewhat somber music. The second video is a parody of the DeVry University-type schools offering degree programs in hot new careers called Viral Learning Center. Here are links to the viral videos mentioned in the spot - Exploding Whale and Alabama Leprechaun.

And, in case you want to know what the kids are watching on YouTube and MySpace, check out the Viral Video Chart.

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