Hello dear readers, help me think things through, would ya?

I’m going to be getting a new Mac soon, and now that the Stevenote is done and no new computer products were announced, I feel it’s a pretty good time to buy. Here are my two options.

Right now I have an early summer 2006 20 inch iMac. I have a 19″ Dell 1905FPS Monitor next to it providing extra screen real estate. Since the Dell monitor has two inputs, it also serves as a monitor for my Ubuntu server which is running some scripts for me in perpetuitity.

My dad will be getting a new machine so that means I’ll inherit another Dell monitor. Twins!

My thinking is that having two 19″ LCD Screens next to each other both hooked up to a brand new Mac Pro (2 processors) would be the ideal thing. It would fit nicely on my desk and I’d have room to spare.

However, the 3.06Ghz 24″ iMac is also tempting. That means I’d have to move the Dell monitor and make some space and maybe take the other Dell monitor to school.

So, which is it?

Option 1: Two 19″ LCD Screens with dual inputs side by side displaying 2 x 2.8Ghz Mac Pro goodness, or?

Option 2: a 24″ iMac clocking in at 3.06 Ghz with an awkwardly placed Dell monitor off to the side?

It seems the way I’ve written that that my decision is made, but I figure there’s some perspective I’m not seeing, any thoughts?

Chris

Tagged with: apple • imac • mac • mac pro
3 Comments »

So I guess I’m going to NECC. I’m still up in the air about it, although I was accepted to present in the Open Source Lab. I’ll have to go into debt to go, since there’s no funding help, so it’s a question of whether I should.

Either way, I got this email and I have a bit of an ethical problem with it. I recognize that the publishers want to get their books out there, but this seems sketchy. My inclination is to politely decline, but I wondered if you didn’t have an alternate viewpoint? Is there something I’m missing? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

Here’s the email in its entirety, published with explicit permission from the publishing company and the author of the email.

Dear Chris,

I noticed that you are presenting on Moodle at the upcoming NECC in San Antonio.  I am with FTC Publishing and we publish the book Moodle Magic: Make it Happen, by Laurie Korte.  If you are not familiar with this book, it is a great resource for educators looking to begin using Moodle or educators who are looking for tips and tricks for using Moodle in the classroom.  I was wondering if you would be interested in receiving a few of these books to use as giveaways during your session.

We would supply you a copy of the book for your own personal use as well as the giveaways.  We would also include a few coupons and catalogs for attendees of your session that are interested in learning more about the books.

If you are interested in receiving these materials please email me back with the number of people you are expecting to attend your session as well as the address of the location you would like for us to ship the items.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

I think part of my issue is that I’ve not read the book. If I were a fan of the book to begin with, this would be easy, since it would be a genuine, voluntary endorsement. I haven’t read it, though, so it makes me feel like a bit of a puppet if I were to give these out.

Once before, PbWiki gave me some premium wikis to give out but I was ok with that since I was already a bit of a PbWiki evangelist. I use that software regularly and like it a bunch, so there’s my difference there.

Also, I approached PbWiki. They have a presenter pack (or did, it’s been a few years) that I emailed to get. They did not approach me.

The publisher probably searched for Moodle in the NECC planner and found me. Is that bad? Not necessarily.

I’m just not sure how to respond. What do you think?

Chris

11 Comments »

A special thanks to Lisa Parisi who had kids make hand-drawn postcards for my daughter’s kindergarten class!

One is tough to see, but it’s of Long Island Beach, NY and the second os from Manhattan.

As some of you know, I’ll have my first ever visit to NY in March for AERA. I’ve flown into JFK but that doesn’t count.

Thanks, South Paris Collaborative!

Tagged with: kindergarten • postcardsformydaughter
1 Comment »

Here are two more postcards that I received recently. Thanks so much for sending them!

This one came from the incomparable Brian Grenier in El Paso, Texas!

and this one came all the way from Mt. Vernon, Washington and the wonderul Martha Thornburgh!

Woo hoo! Lots of postcards! Thanks, you all!

Chris

Tagged with: kindergarten • postcardsformydaughter
No Comments »

Thanks so much to the A. Vare Elementary folks in Philadelphia! They sent us THREE postcards about Philadelphia! I’ll take these to my daughter’s class tomorrow morning! They will be so excited!

Here are scans, the front of one and the front and back of the second two (the first one had teacher’s names on it and I didn’t want to publically broadcast it without permission…)

Aren’t they awesome! Thanks so much!!

Tagged with: kindergarten • postcardsformydaughter
No Comments »

The postcards for my daughter’s kindergarten class have begun to arrive!

Exactly a week ago today I posted a request to the network asking for postcards. I also sent it out via Twitter and immediately I got a few responses.

Well, the fruits of that request are flowing in, as I received two postcards today!

One is from the incomparable Chrissy H from New Zealand…

The other is from the wonderful Kat Saton from Virginia!

Thank you to both these wonderful folks for sending my little girl’s class these postcards! I’ll deliver them this afternoon to the school.

Tagged with: kindergarten • postcardsformydaughter
No Comments »

Would you be willing to send me a postcard?

My daughter’s kindergarten class started a little project where they made a gingerbread man and were asked to send it to someone far away and ask that person to send back a postcard.

That got me to thinking, what if I digitally “sent” the gingerbread man and asked folks in my network to send a postcard my way? That could be interesting…

So, here is my 5 year-old daughter’s gingerbread man!

Would you consider sending us a postcard? Yes, it needs to be received through US mail…

It’s funny because they were only intending for folks in the USA to respond, and that is evidenced from the fact that their wall map is only of the US! Interesting how US-centric our classrooms are, isn’t it?!

So, anyone willing to send my little girl a postcard for her class? Here are the only requirements..

1. It needs to be a photo postcard reflecting where you live.

2. It needs to be sent through the mail.

That’s it! These kindergartners would love to hear from you all! Will you help? Leave a comment with a valid email address and I will send you the address…

Tagged with: gingerbread • kindergarten • postcard
15 Comments »

I finally upgraded this blog to 2.3.1. I guess I was scared to because I worried the theme wouldn’t handle the upgrade, since the tagging taxonomy changed a bit. It seems to have handled it ok, at least it appears no worse for the wear.

Back to regularly scheduled whatever you were doing!

Chris

Tagged with: wordpress 2.3.1
No Comments »

Got this in my email this morning, it’s only an excerpt but a good one nonetheless:

Thanks to your early action, your XO laptop is scheduled to be delivered between December 14 and December 24. Our “first day” donors are our highest priority and we are making every effort to deliver your XO laptop(s) as soon as possible. We will send you an update upon shipment.

Since this is a Christmas present for my daughter, I am very pleased to hear this! I’ll keep you posted on how well it goes over.

2 Comments »

Jen Wagner pens a poignant post about friendship and Twitter. What caught me really off guard was David Jakes’ comment.

Whoa, wake up call.

I understand the power of the network, but I also understand keeping one’s distance and not breaking the barrier between the appropriate and inappropriate in that kind of environment. Well, let’s say I understand that better now.

2 Comments »