Category: 3) Funnies

Web2.0 (BTW: This is a “comment” rather than a criti-scism)

| February 1, 2007 | 1 Comment 

I keep chunnering on about Samuel Pepys, but, when the old boy was writing his diaries, he did not suspect that ANYBODY else was going to read his lascivious ramblings. I admire the man for sitting quietly in his private chambers of an evening and recording his impressions of life as it was for him. Who would have thought that anyone would Pepy at THIS blog when it first started, but now it receives hundreds of (manual) searches a day and scores more via RSS feeds.

NOW… why are YOU reading this and haven’t thought about responding to this post, or others, with a comment?

That is something that people are bringing up with me a lot: Blogs are still mainly written and read by folk rather than actively contributed to. Still…

The web is moving from black and white to colour – from text alone, to video and rich images – now it is our chance to join in – and visibly.

I get many e-mails a day from all around the world. I actually think that is better than leaving a comment in MANY ways, (personal, thoughtful and quietly encouraging) but … go on don’t be shy… if you are here, (or any other of the many edu-blogs) jot your thoughts down in comments as well, hey?

To those of you you who send me such kind, encouraging e-mails… please don’t stop either…

http://edu.blogs.com/

Mr McIntosh always picks out a few gems and is worth a comment.

Hang on! Rylands, you hypocrite! How many times have you read Ewan‘s fine witterings and left without a murmer??!!

“You’re a fine one to comment!”

“It’s not rocket science!” No.36

| January 31, 2007 | 0 Comments 

The first “not rocket science!” of 2007 but, if you missed the old ones:
Simply: I am often caught saying it…
All your “It’s not rocket science!” spottings always relished.

Thank you to Alex from Edinburgh for this one.

Courage Award

| January 21, 2007 | 0 Comments 
A Winscombe man has been honoured in the People’s Courage Awards for 2006 for showing ‘outstanding bravery and strength of character’in throwing out a number of old computer cables, even though he could not remember where they came from and could not be certain that one of them might not come in handy again at some point in the future!

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Power cables

Richard Cureton, 26, had apparently been complaining for some time that he was no longer able to close the bottom drawer of his home work-station as it was so jam-packed with old power leads, redundant chargers, USB links, iPod speakers, power cables, redundant modem cables and the printer wire from an Amstrad 8256.

‘We suggested stuffing the lot into a Tesco’s bag and chucking it on top of the wardrobe,’ said neighbour, Rita Hinton, 32. ‘Or storing them all in the loft with the vague intention of maybe trying to flog them as a job lot on eBay one day. But none of us could have guessed for a moment what Richard was actually going to do.’

‘We were stunned’ said Hinton. ‘There was a curly off-white cable with like, a round five pronged little plug on one end and a square blue plastic bit on the other. That must have been essential for something. And the redundant phone chargers might have worked as a back-up charger for another mobile phone that he might purchase in the future. It was madness.’

But when Cureton’s courage came to the notice of the organisers of the People’s Courage Awards, they knew there could only be one winner:

‘We are fed up of giving out these awards to blokes who have rescued people out of the sea, or kids that have kept smiling through terrible diseases,’ said a spokesman. ‘Chucking out mystery computer cables; that’s what I call courage.’ Cureton said he was going to spend the prize money on computer peripherals, specifically connecting his universal card reader to his lap-top, adding ‘I’m sure I used to have a cable for that somewhere.’
According to eye-witnesses, the normally cautious local computer programer simply took the packed wooden drawer out of the workstation, walked out of the front door and tipped the entire contents into a wheelie-bin.

iCan’t iWait!!

| January 20, 2007 | 0 Comments 

ichatter

I am not normally a technobloke but the announcement of the new iPhone has really caught a lot of people’s attention… mine included!

Whether or not it stands a chance of becoming cheap enough to be used as a teaching tool is another matter, but it has got me thinking already!

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

BETT Buzz Too

| January 12, 2007 | 1 Comment 

BETT thursday was busy but, as I sit writing this, Friday looks like it is going to be packed.As anybody who has worked BETT will confess though, the working day is great, but the after-doors-have-closed events are an event in their own rights. Steljes, 2Simple and GigaJam may be some of the most innovative companies in the world of education technology but they also know how to entertain in style.

On more serious matters, I promised I would mention some of the things that have caught my eye so far. Shakespeare Works may be a small company but their stand alone was a gem, all decked out in theatrical spangle. I was impressed by their polished films, but also by the way they link their CD-Roms with, what looks like, inspiring training days.

Shoo-fly continue to surprise, this time with whiteboard pop-up books! A unique visual effect that deserves a lot more attention.

I did a particularly dramatic fall somewhere between both stands but was wearing my T-shirt with “I do all my own stunts!” so got away with a laugh from the stands around. My best finds of the fall were Spiny Software and Crazy talk4. (Both soft landings!) Crazy Talk 4 is the most effective and simple way of creating animated avatars and faces. Has so much potential with children of all abilities. I hope that they make contact with Pete Wells, the Johnny Vegas of education, who already uses this program with his usual wit and flair.

No links for these few days as I am writing online.

Onwards!

PC LoveMan marries computer
Recent amendments to the civil partnership laws have resulted in Britain’s first ever legal marriage between a man and his computer. Steve Wibburn, 27, from Brighton yesterday married his Hewlett Packard Pavilion (Media Centre Edition) desktop computer and has opted to take the name of his PC.‘We’ve been together for just over a year now, but even from the earliest moment I knew I’d finally found complete happiness. I just didn’t want to be with anyone or anything else for the rest of my life,’ said Wibburn. ‘She entertains me, she keeps me well-informed, we listen to our favourite music together,’ he added, ‘and as for the sex, well it’s constant. I could never turn on a woman as easily as I turn on my computer.’ Mr Wibburn says their only argument was when he became jealous of a technician tweaking one of her USB ports but the couple have apparently put that behind them and are hoping to have a little laptop together.Wibburn’s friends suspected that Steve must be in love, when they realised that they were seeing less and less of him. He had given up tennis club, his evening classes, and his trips to the local library, so they knew something special must have come into his life. He claims he still ventures out of his room for trips to PC World to buy little trinkets and add-on’s for his new partner and it’s always with a look of joy that he hands his purchases to the cashier and says, “She’s just going to love this.”Steve’s friends did point out that one day, like all computers, Mr Wibburn’s Pavilion may become a bit erratic and slow down and start losing things. However Steve is adamant that that he won’t let that come between them. ‘Well that’s going to happen to me too, so hopefully we can grow old together with lots of happy memories.’ said Steve glancing at a brand new Sony Vaio that was a guest at the reception.
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