31 days of cycling

My friend Jason wanted to learn how to play the guitar. He decided that if he practiced every day for one year (on a cheap or borrowed guitar???) he would know he was dedicated to the craft and could justify buying a sweet guitar. He made it, and now he plays well and has a sweet guitar.

Since we moved into our house at Sandee Palisades over two years ago, I have been getting the urge now and then to ride a bike around the neighborhood. Problem; I don't really have a bike.

I have purchased two $10 bikes in this time and have learned that you can't get a bike for $10 unless it has issues. I have in turn sold both of these bikes for $5.

I have decided to start riding with the one bike that is left in the garage. This bike is a huffy mountain bike that I believe was given to my wife by a friend. Judging by the paint, I'd say it is from the mid nineties. Judging by the frame, I'd say it is a woman's bike. It's too small for me and the low gears slip. However, it has tires and I can ride it.

Long story Short, I am going to start riding this bicycle every day until I can justify buying a new bicycle. I don't think I can ride THIS bike every day for a year, but I can start with one month. That is my current goal; to ride at least 4 miles each day for the entire month of August. I am two days in and all is well.

Keep an eye out!

Technology Standards Review

We live in a digital world. On a physical globe constrained to limited space and unbreakable time, our digital world continues to grow larger and faster. As the cutting edge becomes dull within weeks, days or minutes while new generations of technology continually emerge, so is each generation of human beings at a technological disadvantage to the ones that follow them. Educators will continue to have to push the envelope just to keep up with their students, let alone teach them effectively. The International Society for Technology in Education has developed standards intended to guide us in this endeavor.

The standards written for students have great strengths. The goal outlined by the standards is not to simply teach students how to use technology, but to know how to make the best use of technology. By following these standards, we can foster in students a deep understanding of how to use technology to become fully participating citizens of this digital world. Students will be able to communicate and collaborate with others both near and far as well as perform effective research, think critically, and express themselves artistically.

I believe that it will be increasingly important for teachers to implement the standards written for them. These standards require teachers to not just teach technology to their students but to use it to its full potential. Teachers will be unable to help their students meet their standards if they do not immerse themselves in the use of educational technology. Teachers must continue to explore new ways of implementing technology and media in their instruction and, I believe, will need to make serious effort to remain ahead (or even close behind) the curve.

The standards written for administrators may arguably be the most important. If teachers are not provided with the resources and equipment necessary, they will be unable to make any real difference with technology. I believe that it will be primarily the job of the administrators to push for the adoption of new technologies. Most of the technologies being used in our schools were not developed for schools specifically. I believe that we will need to think outside of the box and push for support to develop technologies that the us of today cannot yet imagine.

Old things

I collect Batmobiles. I don't have any terribly old,
rare, or expensive batmobiles, but I can safely say that I have more batmobiles than the average person. I nearly freaked out this week when I found out that one of the current happy meal toys at McDonals is, in fact, a batmobile. I promptly forked over the $1.69 for the toy.

The Batmobile pictured in this blog is the only batmobile I own that was not given to me as a gift or purchased by me. This Batmobile was built by my dad and I in the early nineties for a Cub Scout pinewood derby race. My dad cut out the pieces. I sanded, painted, and glued the pieces together. I must have been 9 or 10 years old. This particular Batmobile reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of my dad. It reminds me of all of the things we acomplished together, and the feeling he helped instill in me to think I can acomplsih anything I put effort into.

Danni and I have been thinking a lot lately about the things that we accumulate in life. People don't stay here forever, and they leave behind everything that they can't take with them... which just happens to be everything.

One of my closest friends has donated all of his clothes, save two shirts and two pairs of pants. You can literally set all of his belongings on a couch. In a way, he makes me feel like a schmuck, with my house, cars, cell phones, Nintendo Wii, etc. but I know he doesn't mean to make me feel like a schmuck. He won't condemn me either, saying that though we have different approaches to money and possessions, neither of us are wrong.

Exchanges like these (not to mention our trips to developing nations) help me think twice before spending money on anything that I want. Not to say that I never purchase things that I want, because I do, but I think about it more than I used to. Parhaps that thought changes my actions to some degree.

I probably won't stop slowly making additions to my batmobile collection, but if I had to sell them all, the pinewood Batmobile is the only one I couldn't part with. Keep an eye out.

Treble Band

The other day I was at work setting up some computers for a new pseudo-lab for employees to use when taking trainings or completing clinical documents. The whole time I was pulling rubber bands off of wrapped up ethernet cables, power cables, and mice. I had rubberbands coming out of my ears and I left them carelessly about as I haphazardly transformed a break room into a break room/computer lab.

Later that afternoon I made my way around my workspaces cleaning up after myself. When I retuned to my desk I noticed this rubber band lying there by itself, curled up in a configuration that was strikingly reminiscent of that of the treble clef. I thought it was worth taking a picture of, and anything worth taking a picture of has the potential of being worth blogging about.

It may not measure up to the face of the virgin Mary on the surface of a cinnamon bun, but I think that the fact that I noticed this in the rubber band might just say something about me. Maybe it says something about you too! Keep an eye out.

Craig and His Fantastic List

So a couple weeks ago my little red Ford Escort stopped running, or, I guess it didn't so much stop running as it just didn't start back up after work one day. It sat at work for a whole week while we were moving into our new house and had bigger fish to fry. Then, when my buddy needed his van back, we towed the little Escort down the hill to the nearest auto shop.

They informed me that the head gasket had blown and and the Ignition Control Module was toast. It would cost $1200 to get her back on the road. I loved that car, but I didn't love her $1200 worth, and she wasn't worth $1200. So I decided to sell her for much, much less.

If you leave my blog remembering nothing else, remember this; if you have a car that doesn't run and you just want to unload it, put it on Craigslist! I posted my car with the picture above at 6:48 pm and by 7:50 pm it was being towed away as I clutched five crisp Jacksons in my south paw - infinately better than paying to have it taken away!

For those of you who knew my first car, the back Celebrity Wagon, you'll know that I'm becoming an expert on getting rid of my not-so-trusty cars after they've decided there is nothing left for which to live. Perhaps you'll see a new ride for Boone on this blog shortly! Keep your eye out.

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek: Another Batman Begins?

I've drawn some loose comparisons today between the on-screen incarnations of Batman and Star Trek over the last four decades. In the mid 1960's they both began as brightly colored, campy expressions of two different fantasy worlds. They made dramatic strides in the years between the small screen and the large, and both came back as something that can at least be called professionally cinematic by current standards; a generalization, of course. But inevitably, though the time lines looked a bit different, they both entered into a rapid decline into what-was-that?-ness.

Even the most loyal bat-fans (or perhaps especially the most loyal bat-fans) were let down by Batman And Robin (1997) and may have lost hope that the batman franchise would ever return to its previous on-screen greatness.

But low! In the summer of 2005 the heavens rejoiced, with not a continuation of the Batman film saga, nor even a prequel, but a full fledged start-over. They even had the audacity to title the Film Batman Begins, as if all the other films didn not matter at all. And if you weren't there, let me tell you, it was magnificent! Christopher Noland's portrayal of the story of Bruce Wayne and his transformation into the dark night was realistic and riveting. It really took me back to my childhood.

I digress...

When I was the teaser Trailer for Star Trek under the direction of J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Cloverfield) I got nearly the same feeling. With Abrams at the helm and cast including Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as Spock, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Run Fatboy Run) as Scotty, and John Cho (Harold & Kumar) as Sulu, this film is sure to not only revive the Star Trek franchise for Trekkies, but transport a whole new fan base to the table.

Check out the teaser trailer at the top of this post and perhaps you will see what I mean. Keep an eye out!