I came across this breif interview with Paul Nelson, who is an advocate for Linux in K-12 schools. I’m not sure how long the interview will be posted there, but I’ve visited a couple of his other related sites (K12Linux.org). A friend and I have talked about consulting gigs that might focus on Linux installations in schools, but we haven’t gotten very far other than talking about it at this point. Its great to see it happening though.
[Slashdot] Apparently warchalking is being seen by some as theft. I would agree that it is, but I also agree that he/she is not completely at fault if they piggyback on someone else’s network since its been made wide open. Here’s the BBC article: Wireless hitchhikers branded as thieves
I came across this article this morning around running Linux on an iBook. A friend of mine deals in used Mac hardware from time to time. One of these days I’m going to have to hit him up for one.
I found a skill listing page that talks about characteristics related to conducting research.
Stephen Downes, on his web site, makes an interesting case for the reasons why paying for *extra* content from a blog or other online resource won’t work. Its brought to mind recently an issue that came up from kuro5hin which has become a popular blog/posting site. The maintainer of the site was having $$ problems (after quitting his day job I think) trying to keep the site running and ended up turning to the community to help. He was able to get donations and subscribers for a premium service to solve the problem, but it makes me wonder how long it will last out given Stephen’s argument.
One interesting quote however that I wanted to bring out:
The fact is, online content production doesn’t pay the bills. But it can act as a loss-leader for the provision of other services. By reaching a wide audience with your free online content you are able to display - almost without cost - your unique expertise or skills. You may be able to obtain employment based on these credentials. Or secure consulting gigs or speaking fees. Or you may do some writing for hire for a firm that could use your easy touch with a typewriter. If you have sufficient expertise and credentials, teach an online class.
I heard the phrase “work the web” a while ago. I’ve heard it many times before but its meaning didn’t strike me until that point. Rather than just being an observer, an aborber, of the Web, what does is take to use it for your own gain?
Stephen’s article brings this to light again for me. Morale is low at work, depending on who I talk to. But since the job market is so crappy, and I’m getting well paid, I have to concede to grinning and bearing it. However, the idea of establishing a demonstrated skill set and ability through online efforts….and then getting some contract work based off of it, might help make things more bearable.
Our church, through the efforts of several members of the congregation, has decided to run an advertisement in this Sunday’s Wisconsin State Journal. Along with it, we’re also providing a small web site to provide additional information. Admittedly many from the congregation are a little nervous in some respects around how the ad will be received. Most of the response so far has been positive as we’ve had to raise some of the funds to afford publishing the advertisement, but one never knows. Its perhaps significant that the deadline to submit the advertisement is today (September 9, 2002).
Looks like Debian is planning on having a subgroup focus on Debian based development speciffically geared.toward academic usage.
I think I’ve found this before….can’t remember. Either way its curious to find a state institution with such an interest in metatagging.