tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33771180409838575142024-03-07T23:22:03.406-06:00What I learned this weekWelcome to the What I Learned This Week learning community of the Liberal Studies program at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Each week, our members will post something they've learned in the past week. Maybe it will be something they learned in the classroom, or at work, or on the news, or maybe it will be words of wisdom spoken by a five year-old.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-33638341132000389172009-04-22T16:27:00.002-05:002009-04-22T16:32:35.022-05:00Coming this fall? (Most likely.)Once again, it’s been far too long since I’ve posted so I want to begin with an excuse. I, for one, rarely believe someone who tells me they’ve been too busy to do something. I’m sure that some people are actually that busy but it’s a relatively small group. I’ve not had a lack of time, I’ve had a lack of thoughts. I think that’s probably what those too-busy folks mean. When they do have free time, their brains need a rest so my excuse is that my brain has been tired.<br /><br />Now that I’ve dispensed an excuse, I did attend a really interesting meeting this week. For the past few years, UIS has been developing a student portal. This is one of those times that being part of a university system works against you since UIS could have done this much quicker if it would have just been us and not a system wide project. While I’ve heard this before, it seems to be true now – we will see the portal beginning this fall!<br /><br />So what is a portal? If you don’t know, you might actually use portals already and not realize it. If you are a Yahoo user, for example, you may use the My Yahoo feature which allows you to customize your Yahoo page so that you have access to exactly the sort of content and services you want. The same will be true of the UIS portal – it might even be called MyUIS when it launches.<br /><br />I’ve seen the demo environment and it looks really great. It is a tabbed environment (think of your tabbed browser window) in which some tabs are locked in place and others will be open to customization. The development team has been creating modules that users may select for their customizable space. Some of these are university specific and some are not – I noticed a module for CNN headlines and for top ESPN stories. <br /><br />So how will this change your experience as a student?<br /><br />In a significant way, the portal will act as a front door to UIS. You will log-in to the portal and everything else will be open to you – BlackBoard, the student registration system, financial information, DARS, email, etc. In addition, all of the services will be portal modules so you’ll have them all available to you in one place.<br /><br />I think you’ll see an end to campus announcements clogging up your UIS email account (I’m not sure how many exclamation points this deserves so I’ll just use one!) We will have an RSS feed for announcements so you’ll get this information in a dedicated portal module. While it hasn’t been done yet, I intend to start a Liberal Studies feed as well so that I can continue to provide program specific data without relying upon email. <br /><br />We are still waiting for complete details but we are expecting a fee increase next year some of which will go to funding this project. One planned idea for this funding will be to provide access to software. So, just as you might have a portal module with the name MyEmail you might also have a portal module named MySoftware. It would be as if any computer you might use is a part of our campus computer labs. Rather than trying to describe this, since it’s over my head, here’s a video <a href="http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/feature.asp?contentID=1684340">explanation</a>. (I’ve seen a demonstration of this technology and it was a jaw-dropper.)Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-33340116014095315362009-03-26T20:16:00.002-05:002009-03-26T20:19:37.906-05:00Brother, can you spare a dime (or 100,000,000,000,000 of them.)I’ve not been a very good blogger lately but I suppose works does come first. Sorry.<br /><br />When I was a kid, I watched The Beverly Hillbillies. As you may recall, Jed went out hunting and struck oil. Jed and family were able to move into an opulent Beverly Hills mansion because they were millionaires. This is one of my childhood understandings of the world: millionaires were rich beyond my wildest dreams.<br /><br />Now I’m all grown up and my wife and I make a nice living and maintain a nice lifestyle but nothing like the Clampets. We live in a pretty normal house, we have modest cars etc - the American dream. But, as odd as it seems to me, we will make as much money in our lives as Jed Clampet made from his oil well. A millionaire? Sure, I’d take a million if you offered it to me but I wouldn’t even quit my job for that kind of money. I’d just feel like I had a comfortable retirement nest egg.<br /><br />About ten years ago, Dr. Evil came into the future and tried to hold the Earth ransom for a million dollars and the governments of the world laughed at him. Billionaires were the new millionaires. A billion dollars. I could live the Clampet life with that kind of money.<br /><br />Then we went to war in Iraq. If you recall, the initiate budget request was in the neighborhood of $80 billion. That seemed like a flabbergasting amount of money. Did that sort of money even exist? Maybe that’s the point that we started losing track of how big these dollar amounts were getting. I don’t mean that to be a political statement about the war. It’s just that we argued about this staggering amount of money and then just kept coming back for more money time and time again: $54.4 billion, $70.6 billion, $21.5 billion, $58 billion, $40 billion, $60 billion, $70 billion, $100 billion. These are the actual estimates I’m finding online for the appropriations between 2003 and 2007.<br /><br />Now, just a few years after we’ve come to terms with a billion being a lot of money its beginning to seem like little more than a down payment - hello trillions.<br />In an attempt to understand a trillion, I offer this<a href=" http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html"> website</a> I found on Twitter.<br /><br />That’s some Texas T.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-77529594304236080572009-02-26T09:45:00.000-06:002009-02-26T09:47:06.771-06:00Interesting ways to waste timeOkay, I’ve come clean, I’m a blogger. The unanswered question is whether I’m a blog reader. <br /><br />As I developed my addiction over the past year, I was, for the most part, a blogger who did not read anyone else’s blog (with the exception of the student blogs listed here.) In time, I began to consider what this meant and I came to two conclusions. First, since I was not reading anyone else’s blog, they were not reading mine, and second, writing a blog without reading other blogs sort of means that you’re a jerk. <br /><br />I was nothing more than some guy roaming around the Internet mumbling to myself. I was the guy at the party who gives you the stink eye and walks away when you introduce yourself. I was that neighbor who is always asking you to help him move a dresser but never answers the door when you knock. <br /><br />I don’t want to be a jerk, although I can’t always help it, so I made a point of looking for blogs that I would read regularly. This is easier said than done. Let’s be frank. Most blogs are simply not worth reading. I’m not really interested in reading someone’s personal journal since most interesting people don’t have time to blog. I’m also not interested in someone’s creative writing since it’s rare to find much creativity in their efforts. Still, if you look hard enough, you will find blogs with which you can make a connection so if you are interested in blogging it’s really important that you read blogs as well – don’t be a jerk like me.<br /><br />Here are some recommendations. I’m choosing mostly popular blogs and I’m avoiding those that might be the most offensive. Do you have any suggestions for the rest of us?<br /><br /><a href="http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/">This Is Why You’re Fat</a> This blog makes me hungry although I can’t eat these things at my advanced age (meaning I want my age to continue advancing so these things are off limits.) This is one to review regularly since it is frequently updated.<br /><br /><a href="http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/">Stuff White People Like</a> If you’re easily offended, this is one to avoid. If you’re not easily offended this is a really funny blog that lampoons pretentiousness like no other blog. The comments are MUCH more offensive and often the best part of the posts. You never really know if the comments are angry or satirical.<br /><br /><a href="http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/">FailBlog</a> I’m linking you to the G-rated version of this site since you never know what you’ll find here (if you prefer the full blog, just click on the logo.) This is a collection of pictures and videos of things that have failed at something. You will find an occasional win thrown in for good measure. There are 4 or 5 posts a day so this is one you can check regularly.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.strongly-worded.com/">Strongly Worded</a> I stumbled across this blog as I was looking for something interesting to read and I am glad that I did. Strongly worded letters to things like snow, chickens, and the Nabisco Corp.is a really good idea and John Strongly will surely get a book deal if he keeps it up. Based upon the fact that he has only a few followers and no ads on his site he is new to blogging so if you start reading him now you will eventually be able to say that you followed him before he was famous.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-45813882694110690372009-02-11T19:04:00.000-06:002009-02-11T19:05:01.395-06:00A monkey on my backMy name is Andy and I am a blogger. Like most personal problems, I was unaware of this fact until it was too late. A year ago this week, I turned to blogging as a form of mental exercise but I never thought it would become a habit. “I’ll just try it,” I thought. That was 360 posts ago – one a day without fail.<br /><br />If you read this blog regularly, you realize that I haven’t written that many posts here. I’m not referring to this blog. It’s my other blog that’s nearly a year old. <br /><br />One of the difficult aspects of working for an online degree program is that there’s always a chance that a student, or a potential student, will type my name into Google. Go ahead, give it a try. I promise, the results aren’t exciting. And that’s the point – I’ve crafted a purposefully boring online persona, at least under the name my parents gave me.<br /><br />There is, however, another ‘me’ who blogs every day. He doesn’t have to worry that he’ll offend someone and cast a negative shadow on UIS. He’s free to have an opinion or free to complain about a bad day. That ‘me’ has 4 blogs, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and an email address. That other ‘me’ isn’t that exciting either but he’s the unguarded part of my personality.<br /><br />I wonder how younger people will deal with this sort of multiple personality disorder? They’re growing up on the Internet and it is recording every horrible, awkward moment of their young lives. My generation has had to deal with embarrassing high school yearbook photos but their entire adolescent suffering is being recorded and archived just waiting for them to enter a career path. Are we going to see a trend of people legally changing their names so that they can reboot their identities?Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-38315499123485213512009-01-30T11:29:00.003-06:002009-01-30T11:32:11.812-06:00A code to live byI have to admit an ongoing fascination with all things hobo. I know this comes from my love of 1930’s era movies and that my vision of the hobo lifestyle is highly romanticized so I have determined to learn more about the topic and to see hoboes in the harsh light of day. (I just read that sentence and it sounds as if I might be joking but I’m completely serious.)<br /><br />I’m currently reading <em>"The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man"</em> by Nels Anderson. It is a very odd book in that Anderson must have spent a good amount of time hanging out on the “main stem” in Chicago. His text is a simple reporting of what he found there in early 1920s but he creates a very vivid image. I suspect I may post some of the more entertaining ideas in the future.<br /><br />For now, here is the Hobo Code. I’m pulling this content from www.hobo.com . It is attributed to the 1894 Annual Convention Congress of Hoboes which was held at the Hotel Alden on Market St. in Chicago. Market St. is the “main stem” that Anderson mentions. The “main stem” is the main street for hoboes in any given town. <br /><br />You’ll see the phrase “jungle” used as a verb. A hobo jungle is when hoboes collect in one place to compare stories and to learn from each other’s experience. “Boil up” means to literally boil your clothes so that you kill whatever might be on them.<br /><br />1.-Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you. <br /><br />2.-When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times. <br /><br />3.-Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos. <br /><br />4.-Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but insure employment should you return to that town again. <br /><br />5.-When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts. <br /><br />6.-Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hobos. <br /><br />7.-When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.<br /> <br />8.-Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling. <br /><br />9.-If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help. <br /><br />10.-Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible. <br /><br />11.-When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member. <br /><br />12.-Do not cause problems in a train yard, Another hobo will be coming along who will need passage thru that yard. <br /><br />13.-Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose to authorities all molesters, they are the worst garbage to infest any society. <br /><br />14.-Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home. <br /><br />15.-Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday. <br /><br />16.-If present at a hobo court and you have testimony, give it, whether for or against the accused, your voice counts! <br /><br />I don’t think I have the internal fortitude to ever tramp. I like my couch and television way too much. Still, I have to say that I think the world might be a better place if we all followed the Hobo Code.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-19539567514589905712009-01-23T10:33:00.000-06:002009-01-23T12:00:53.066-06:00Some blogging options you might want to explore.I’m trying to get back in the habit of posting so I’m hoping these posts will get me brain active again<br /><br />I just posted a comment to an older post on someone’s blog and it occurred to me that it may not be obvious how to know when someone has commented on your blogs, particularly if they comment on an older post.<br /><br />If you go into the Settings tab of your blog and click on the Comment’s link you’ll find an option Comment Notification Email down at the bottom of the page. If you put your email address here and click Save Settings, you’ll always get an email when someone posts a comment.<br /><br />One other idea that you might like to consider. If you find yourself using a camera phone and you have an email/texting package, you can send photo directly from your phone to your blog. Under the Settings tab, look for the Email link and you’ll see two options.<br /><br />The first option is similar to having an email sent to you when someone comments but in this case, you can list your friends email address and it will send them an email whenever you publish a new post.<br /><br />The second option has a blank that you need to fill in to create a mail-to-Blogger email address. Whatever you send to this email account, whether it’s a post, or photo, or both, will publish to your blog. This is a fun option when you take a trip since you can let others know what your seeing without having to take time to update your blog at a computer. Again, don’t forget to scroll down to the Save Settings button – it doesn’t always appear without scrolling down so it’s easy to think you’ve updated the settings.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-24777077121193295892009-01-21T20:49:00.001-06:002009-01-21T20:50:38.399-06:00Do you ever wonder who's reading your blog?It’s been so long since I’ve posted to this blog – sorry. Welcome back to the spring semester and welcome to ScottM blogging under the name Random Zealotry. If you get a chance, visit his blog and say hi.<br /><br />I mentioned last semester that I have a number of blogs and I post to one of them every day. I’ve been trying to build an audience for this blog. I’m not sure exactly why, probably just for the challenge. As I write this, I’ve managed to get 503 hits on my blog since the year began. That’s chicken feed in the big picture but to give you some perspective I had only 2000 hits in 2008 so I’m off to a big start this year.<br /><br />How, you may ask, do I know these stats? I use a service called Stat Counter <a href="http://www.statcounter.com/">http://www.statcounter.com/</a> There are a number of web-counters but I’m pleased with the information that Stat Counter provides. It’s pretty easy to use.<br /><br />First, you have to register an account which is quick and easy. Once you’ve done this you need to add a project (you can track multiple projects from a single account.) You’ll answer a few questions to add a project. If you don’t understand a question, I’d say just leave the default answer and move forward to the configure and install code screen. You’ll have a few options – I chose the invisible counter. On the next page, you’ll pick what sort of webpage you want to track – Blogger is the default for me but if not you’ll find it on the list. This will generate the Javascript code you need to add to your blog as well as instructions for how to do this. This probably sounds difficult but it’s easier than you’d imagine and the Stat Counter will guide you through. It even sends an email to you with the Javascript and instructions.<br /><br />Once you’ve done this, look at the menu bar right below the Stat Counter logo for the My Projects link. Click there and you’ll see your blog and any other projects you might add to this account. Of course, you might have to wait a while for someone to visit your blog so that you can track them but you’ll be surprised at what you can learn about your visitors. For example, today I see that 11 people have visited this blog including someone in Beijing, in the Netherlands, in San Paolo, Brazil, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as well as our friend Jessica (<a href="http://everythingifnotthesun.blogspot.com/">http://everythingifnotthesun.blogspot.com/</a>)<br /><br />One thing I would recommend doing is adding a blocking cookie to any computer that you use regularly so that you won’t end up counting yourself whenever you visit your own blog. Look for the Blocking Cookie link right above your projects list.<br /><br />Sorry for the boring post. Hopefully I’ll learn something more interesting for next time but I thought this might be interesting.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-89735557926982382572008-12-07T10:09:00.007-06:002008-12-08T09:34:32.598-06:00My newest contender for coolest car ever.I was watching an old movie this week-end - “The Young In Heart” from 1938. It is a rarely seen movie even for those who seek out of movies. Even with three Oscar nominations, I think you’d have to really like old movies to find any fun in it. It does have a excellent cast, in particular Roland Young who the year prior had played the title role in “Topper.” (There was a point in my life when even those who didn’t like old movies might know “Topper” since it starred Cary Grant and, I believe, was the first movie Ted Turner had colorized. The color version played on cable television constantly.)<br /><br />The opening credits consisted of silhouetted images that show the passage of time: waltzing couples, ladies with parasols, gentlemen with those old fashioned bicycles with the big wheel, and eventually people standing beside a remarkable sleek car. It was just a silhouette but it looked like something that you’d see in those old rotoscoped Superman cartoons. (If you’ve never seen one of these cartoons, they are public domain and easy to find online. This is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2FG4tNiyak">one</a> was nominated for an Oscar but lost to a Mickey Mouse cartoon. Rotoscoping involves tracing live-action footage frame-by-frame which results in amazingly life-like character motion. You can sort of see this fluidity on You-Tube but you should see a DVD version if you think you’d like these cartoons.)<br /><br />So, anyway, where was I . . . a silhouette of a really cool car. I thought ‘wouldn’t it be cool if they really made cars like that and not just as part of an art deco set design.’ About 30 minutes into this movie Roland Young gets a job selling cars for the Flying Wombat auto company – so that’s why they used that silhouette. It was a very cool-looking prop and something that I could imagine being created by William Cameron Menzies, the production designer, but as the movie progressed they <em><strong>drove </strong></em>the prop car. David O. Selznick may have hired 800 extras for one crane shot in “Gone with the Wind” but I can’t imagine anyone wasting money in 1938 to develop an operational prop car.<br /><br />It turns out that the Flying Wombat is actually the coolest car ever designed – the Phantom Corsair. The Corsair was the dream of Rust Heinz, grandson of the ketchup mogul. (Rust was his mother’s maiden name and not an awkward nickname for a car designer.) It was pretty innovative for its time and doesn’t look like any of the other really cool cars from the 30s. It had no running boards and the wheels were brought into the design of the body rather than being concealed in fenders, where they would remain far into the 50s. There were electric buttons rather than door handles. The interior was padded with cork and rubber as a safety feature. There was air conditioning and a radio with concealed antennae – I didn’t have a car with concealed antennae until 2000. The instrument cluster included an altimeter, presumably to reinforce its aircraft-like design, as well as indicator lights for the headlights, radio or if the door was ajar. <br /><br />The body was designed in a wind tunnel which was not the norm for cars and which resulted in an incredible 19 foot wedge shape which seated 4 in the front and 2 in the back. The front seat was so wide, 5 feet, that passengers sat on either side of the driver and the back seat was even more cramped by the inclusion of liquor cabinets.<br /><br />The Corsair was set to sell for $12,500 – that would be around $184,000 in today’s dollars based upon the Consumer Price Index. Unfortunately, only the prototype seen in the movie was ever produced. Rust Heinz died in a car crash in 1939 at the age of 25.<br /><br />The Corsair is on display at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. Here are all of the Phantom Corsair scenes "Young in the Heart." And yes, the Wombat's horn is "The Ride of the Valkyries" which Coppola used during the helicopter attack in "Apocalypse Now" and which Jones used in "What's Opera Doc" <br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CpUHvXIXFQY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CpUHvXIXFQY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/08/17/is-this-the-motor-car-of-tomorrow/">An article from Popular Mechanics, November 1940</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blog.uncovering.org/en/archives/2007/10/forte.html">The Phantom Corsair of the future?</a>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-69739011229834127872008-11-26T16:31:00.006-06:002008-11-27T07:41:18.862-06:00Merci, Do jeh, Danke, Mahalo, Grazie, Arigato, GraciasSo far, I'm thankful for all of the things that have been mentioned so rather than just writing “ditto” I thought I’d try to think of new things. <br /><br />I am thankful that I’m able to appreciate little things. Sure, I’d like to win the Lottery but as long as the sun shines just right after days of cloudy, chilly weather I’ll have a happy life.<br /><br />I am thankful that I tend to assume it’s my fault. Of course this is a result of a Catholic school education but the up side is that I don't waste time blaming others.<br /><br />I am thankful that I'm not motivated by money. Again, yes, please, give me a Lottery win but there are more important motivations in life. <br /><br />I am thankful that I out-grew drama long ago. Life is to short to go out of your way to make it difficult.<br /><br />I'm thankful that I have no one to forgive (because no one has wronged me lately and those who have in the past have already been forgiven.) <br /><br />I'm thankful that I have things to be thankful for and the sense to be thankful.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-30862272560844093772008-11-21T11:46:00.005-06:002008-11-22T22:35:04.917-06:00It's not just leftovers, it's GenEd science.Wow, three weeks have passed since my last post. It may seem that I haven't learned anything in that time which may be correct. Spring registration has been particularly busy so I haven't had time to post let alone to learn much.<br /><br />I am enjoying my conversations with Bill Bloemer who is teaching CHE 137 Chemistry Cooks. Bill is the Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts and Science and, like so many other retired UIS faculty, continues to teach. He was also the person who hired me so we've had a lot of cooking conversations over the years - something we both enjoy.<br /><br />A couple weeks ago, his class was covering the Maillard reaction. This is chemical reaction involving an amino acid and a sugar (Bill would give you a better and more correct answer.) Maillard results in hundreds of different flavor compounds and is the basis for many artificial flavors. If you've ever made a pan gravy by scraping the brown bits off the bottom on the pan, you've tasted some of these flavor compounds. <br /><br />I did the lab assignment for his class (at least the fun part that resulted in dinner) by making gumbo. I've made many a roux in my life (flour and fat used as a thickener) but I've never had the courage to make a chocolate roux, which is required for gumbo. If you know how to make a roux, imagine continuing to cook it until it goes from white to blonde to tan to chocolate. Those color changes are a sign of the Maillard reaction. It was not as difficult as I thought. By the time it got dark brown, it started smelling like burnt popcorn, but it didn't taste like it.<br /><br />Last week, they were studying brining ('tis the season with Thanksgiving turkeys on the menu soon.) Common knowledge is that brining is an osmotic process in which salt, which is in higher concentration in the brine, moves through the cell walls of the turkey to create equilibrium. If you watch Alton Brown, he says this every year and has cute demonstrations of how it works. Bill likes to watch Alton, but he tells me Alton is out of his mind when it comes to brining. He says osmosis would move water from out of the turkey in an attempt to dilute the brine. Equilibrium might be the result but it would be at the cost of a shriveled up turkey that had lost its moisture. <br /><br />Of course, this isn’t what happens when your brine. Your turkey gets heavier and juicier and the salt and other seasoning do get into the turkey. So if not osmosis, as Alton says, then what? Bill says it’s not a cellular process. Muscle tissue is made up of bundles of cells, muscle fibers. He thinks that the muscle tissue is simply acting like a sponge and holding water among the fibers rather than within the cells themselves. <br /><br />He did an experiment with some porkchops. He weighed two porkchops. One was soaked in plain water and the other was brined. After an equal soaking time, he weighed the two porkchops again. The brined chop had absorbed more liquid than the unbrined chop. His theory is that the salty brine breaks down the connective tissues that hold the muscle fibers tightly together. This means that there is more potential space between the fiber which allows them to absorb more water.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-49892398409627960592008-10-31T20:21:00.002-05:002008-10-31T22:35:24.472-05:00Ramblings of a movie nerdI’m not writing about something I’ve learned this week but about something I recall learning a few years back. As I’ve said before, I’m a student of Depression-era movies and, being Halloween, my studies apply to scary movies as well. Two of my favorite scary movies from this era (and recall that this is the era with a lot of great scary movies with the likes of Bela Lugosi and Boris Kahloff) are “Doctor X” (1932) and “Mystery in the Wax Museum” (1933.) Both movies were directed by Michael Curtiz who directed a number of other great movies including “Casablanca” and both star Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray, of “King Kong” fame.<br /><br />They are both really good movies which hold up more than 70 years later but what fascinates me is that they are both good examples of Technicolor, specifically two-strip Technicolor. The two-strip process was first used in 1922 – so yes, there are a few full-color silent films out there for you to enjoy. The images produced by the two-strip process are composed of red and green and the result is odd to the eye. The color is unnatural and bold which creates an effectively eerie mood at the end of “Doctor X”.<br /><br />The Technicolor that most people know followed this process and was known as three-strip Technicolor. If you’ve ever seen “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, “The Wizard of Oz” or “Gone With The Wind” you’ve seen a Depression-era example of the three-strip process. What is fascinating to me, and what I learned only a few years ago as I studied the two-strip process after watching my favorite scary movies, is that Technicolor movies were shot on black and white film – it’s an optical process rather than a film stock.<br /><br />A Technicolor camera simultaneously films an image on three different rolls of B/W film. In very simple terms (simple is the best I can offer with my level of knowledge), light bounces off the object being filmed and into the camera lens. As the light enters the camera, it passes through a prism array which splits it into the three primary colors of light – red, blue, and green. Each color of light exposes a single roll of B/W film. <br /><br />Again, in really simple terms, this means the image of the blue sky was exposed on the blue roll, the grass was exposed on the green roll and the sun was exposed on the red roll. Of course, most images are a combination of colors so each roll would have the specific color aspects of an object, for example a purple horse would be on both the red and blue rolls (I couldn’t come up with anything purple so let’s assume it might be a horse.)<br /><br />These three rolls of film were developed and then dyed their complementary color (red was dyed cyan, blue was dyed yellow and green was dyed magenta.) The three dyed strips could then be stacked together to produce a high-quality color image. This color theory is used in the three-color off-set printing process to produce the color images for magazines and newspapers.<br /><br />Fortunately, for people like me, the Technicolor dye is really stable so, unlike your Polaroids from 30 years ago, a Technicolor film strip is practically unchanged even 70 years later. Unfortunately, for people like me, it cost a lot to create a Technicolor movie print so, if the processor created a less than perfect print, it still went into circulation to a smaller market. This means that even though classic film is still in good condition, it is not necessarily easy to find a clear, well-produced print.<br /><br />If you’ve never watched “The Wizard of Oz” or “Gone With The Wind” on DVD, it is worth doing so. Remember that the images of these movies are made up of three strips of film being stacked on top of one another. This requires registration (the process of lining up the three images) but this was done by hand in a processing booth. So, even the clearest, most pristine dyed strips might appear blurry in the final print if it weren’t perfectly registered (it required an accuracy of at least 8/10,000 of an inch.) We've grown up with these iconic images that are actually second-rate blurry prints. Today, computers can perfectly line up the three color strips so DVDs present a perfect image. You will see the burlap texture on the Scarecrows face and when the Tinman says “oil can” you will see that he is rusty. It's like seeing the movies for the first time. <br /><br />One final tidbit of local trivia to end this overly long post. The first three-strip camera was built by William Young who was born and lived in Springfield, Illinois until he was 48 years-old.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-83679506097540788102008-10-20T17:27:00.001-05:002008-10-20T17:30:08.899-05:00I'm not sure why I found this so interesting but . . .(I don’t really have a point to make with this post. I just found it interesting and spent some time researching the matter.)<br /><br />If you have an active sense of sight or hearing, it’s hard to avoid election news this month. (Notice I excluded an active sense of smell, but that might be true to some extent as well.) <br /><br />Today, I noticed a news story which suggests that convicted felons may be this week’s soccer-moms/Wal-Mart-moms/hockey-moms/NASCAR-dads, etc (the one voting block which will tip the scales.) Apparently, nearly 100% of the felon vote goes to one party. (I’m not sure how they know this. I thought votes were confidential.) The article suggested that, if felons were open to spreading their votes more equally between the parties, it wouldn’t be an issue but being so single-minded in their voting presents an unfair situation.<br /><br />But wait, felons can’t vote, right? My understanding was that convicted felons lost certain civil rights, including the right to vote. There are no voting booths in prison so they’re not voting there. And, once they’re released from prison, they regain their right to vote, right? Actually, not always.<br /><br />Each state sets its own standard for restoring civil rights. From what I’ve been able to discover 33 states automatically restore voting rights when a felon has completed their sentencing. Some states automatically restore voting rights for the first felony but have more severe requirements for additional convictions. 3 states require an Executive Order from the Governor. (1 of these 3 allows a 2/3 majority in the state legislature as well.) 2 states require a pardon even if the sentence is fully served. 2 states do not suspend voting rights in the first place. Some states deem specific crimes to be so serious that voting rights are permanently suspended, the most common crime being buying/selling votes or preventing other from exercising their right to vote.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-23354791375745543542008-10-10T16:12:00.002-05:002008-10-10T16:13:20.467-05:00Life is a cabaretBill Bloemer, who is teaching the Chemistry Cooks course, has been sharing his lectures with me so I had originally intended to write about vinaigrettes and mayonnaise, specifically how the same basic ingredients result in two very different products. (In a nutshell, different techniques results in either oil suspended in water or water suspended in oil.) Instead, I thought I’d brag on my wife who was the topic of a cover story in our local newspaper’s magazine insert.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sj-r.com/features/x282366648/A-backstage-pass-to-local-theater ">http://www.sj-r.com/features/x282366648/A-backstage-pass-to-local-theater </a><br /><br />She’s a pretty good actress and I say that without bias – I can recognize when she’s on or not and she’d prefer to know the truth (I think:) As the article notes, I know her to be quiet and reserved but she is uninhibited on stage. On stage, she’ll do things she wouldn’t do in public, which suggests to me that the stage is a private place that others just happen to be looking in on. At least this might be the case for those who enjoy acting. <br /><br />Once, she recruited me to play two parts in the play “Jeffery” <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_(film) ">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_(film) </a> I’m not sure what happened to the person who was supposed to play those parts but I came in on the rehearsal before the first performance and I recall still memorizing lines between my first and second appearance on stage – I might have had 4 lines altogether but you actually have to say them at the right time and in the right order. I’m comfortable speaking in front of crowds so it wasn’t scary, but it was REALLY stressful. In my experience, it was me on stage speaking lines, and not a character, so the stage was a very public place.<br /><br />All of this may have had an impact on how I advise campus-based LIS majors. Whenever a young, traditionally aged student sits at my desk to discuss course options, I always say, “I’ve got the perfect course for you” and then I show them the Intro to Acting course. I’m not exaggerating when I say “always”, I do this without fail, even if it’s not on the current schedule. In almost every case, their faces register the same emotional cocktail: a combination of ego and fear. Some quickly shift to the fear side and we move on to other class options but some get this subtle smile on their face, as if they’re imagining themselves on stage. When I see the smile, I try to sell them on the class. What better skill for a young, inexperienced student to learn? Better that they learn to define their public personae than to allow the world to define it for them. After all, aren’t we all actors?Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-388337178179483892008-10-02T14:41:00.001-05:002008-10-02T14:45:51.491-05:00More from the FBI Citizen's AcademyLast night, I attended week three of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and had the chance to observe two demonstrations.<br /><br />Polygraph – This was the first time I’ve seen a polygraph demonstration and, while it was interesting, the demo was not as interesting as the briefing. Like most, I equate polygraph with lie detector but the goal isn’t to prove someone a liar (except on Maury Povich.) Rather, the test is a resource management tool. The example used in the briefing was money missing from a bank with three employees having access. A polygraph cannot definitely prove who took the money, but it can tell you who is nervous when questioned so that the agents can focus their time on that person.<br /><br />It was also interesting to learn about the testing process. I would assume that you’d walk in, get hooked up to the system, and answer predetermined questions but this isn’t the case at all. The examiner discusses the process with the person being tested and develops the questions with their input. This seems to defy logic since having pretest knowledge of the questions should give a good liar a chance to prepare, shouldn’t it? (No.) The test is performed three times, with the questions asked in different orders, so a good liar would have the chance to practice – if it was possible to control breathing, galvanic skin response (sweating), and blood pressure.<br /><br />The examiner is trained to observe the test subject during the pretest and, based upon observation, hone the questioning so that the test is as accurate as possible. For example, if the question is “have you ever committed a robbery,” a victim of an armed robbery might have the same physical response as someone who is lying. To be accurate, the examiner would need to ask the question in such a way that acknowledges that experience. <br /><br />F.A.T.S. Firearm Training System – This is that cool video game system with which agents role play stressful situations and it was cool but, again, the briefing was most interesting. <br /><br />The briefing was given by the division counsel and it was clear that firearms training is legal training. A cynic might suggest that this training is an effort to teach law enforcement how far they can go without getting in trouble (and I can be cynical from time to time) but I don’t think that’s the case. It’s clear that the many agents I’ve had the chance to meet have a sincere respect for law and order. This legal training is an effort to work within the laws that they’ve committed to protecting since not doing so would destroy the public trust they need to accomplish their goals. In other words, I think this training is done with a sincere respect for law and not with a fear of being held accountable. It welcomes accountability.<br /><br />I was also fascinated by the fact that the use of deadly force is a search and seizure issue. The Fourth Amendment protects us from unreasonable search and seizure. The use of deadly force is the ultimate seizure and the concept of “reasonable” is central to the legal issues surround it.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-76120469556363425472008-09-25T21:04:00.000-05:002008-09-25T21:05:20.161-05:00Another example of how little I knowI'm an old movie buff (preferably Depression-era movies) so this past week-end I watched a double-feature of Abe Lincoln in Illinois and Tennessee Johnson (Andrew Johnson.) <br /><br />I was just starting to pay attention to the world in the Watergate era so I grew up knowing that Andrew Johnson was the only president to be impeached but I never actually paid attention to why he was impeached. I just assumed he got caught doing something wrong, like Nixon. After watching the movie, I did some reading.<br /><br />One of Lincoln's wisest political beliefs was that the southern states should be welcomed back into the Union when the war ended and not punished as traitors. This was at least a factor in his decision to press for Johnson as vice-president in his second term. Johnson was a former Governor of Tennessee and was the only southern Senator who did not resign his office when the south seceded. A vice-president from a Confederate state presented hope for unity and forgiveness.<br /><br />Radical Republicans (a phrase used to describe a group within the Republican party which came into power in the 1866 election cycle) weren't so forgiving. They were strong supporters of freed slaves and they wanted harsh punishment for the Confederacy. Among them, were cabinet members Johnson inherited from Lincoln, including Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. (Stanton may be best known for saying "now he belongs to the ages" at Lincoln's deathbed.)<br /><br />In an effort to prevent Johnson from removing Radical Republicans from his cabinet, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act which required the President to get Senate approval before firing any of his appointees whose appointment had been approved by the Senate. The act, effectively, made it impossible to Johnson to appoint his own cabinet members who might share his belief in reconciliation. Johnson vetoed the bill but it was over-ridden and became law.<br /><br />Johnson suspended Stanton, in keeping with the act, but when the Senate did not approve the suspension, he defied the law and fired him anyway. <br />So Johnson was not the scoundrel I always believed him to be. I only have a slight understanding of Johnson's impeachment but he seemed to be a bold leader who was willing to sacrifice himself for the betterment of our country.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-55422805943430668642008-09-18T16:28:00.000-05:002008-09-18T16:29:18.202-05:00And now for something completely differentLast night, I attended the first session of the <a href="http://www.fbi.gov/hq/ood/opca/outreach/academy.htm ">FBI Citizens Academy</a>. This is an 8 week program designed to give community members an inside look at the FBI. <br /><br />This week, we covered Civil Rights and White Collar/Public Corruption crimes. <br /><br />Civil Rights crimes include hate crimes and abuse of power crimes involving law enforcement, what the agent called Color of Law. (Law enforcement personnel are given powers by federal, state and local authorities to enforce laws and to provide justice. When they employ these powers, they are acting under the color of law.) <br /><br />Clearly, a discussion of these types of crimes is sobering, but what surprised me was that the number of Civil Rights cases investigated last year seemed to be small – less than a 1000. The agent was clear to note that Civil Rights crime, particularly hate crimes, may be small in number they have a large impact on society and, as such, are a substantial priority.<br /><br />For me, the discussion of white collar and public corruption crimes was most enjoyable. Maybe this is because I work in a white collar world and these crimes offend me on a personal level. <br /><br />In my own way, I’m an expert. I’ve worked in education long enough to know the ropes and I can use this experience to help students (at least that’s always my goal.) To have expertise and to have the ability to help others is a great gift. To corrupt this gift and to misguide those who count on you, or society as a whole, is particularly deserving of punishment. It’s good to know that there are agents working to ferret out these crimes.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-74770344299442735362008-09-08T12:25:00.000-05:002008-09-08T12:27:14.618-05:00The first step is to admit I have a problemI’m not one for making excuses but I haven’t learned anything this week and I have an excuse. I’ve spent 90% of the past two weeks watching, listening, and reading convention coverage and I have nothing to show for it but indigestion. I am placing myself on a news fast.<br /><br />Rather than watching the morning news as I get ready for work, I’ll watch Sponge Bob Square Pants – is that odd for someone who doesn’t have children?<br /><br />When I might normally watch the evening news, I’ll do some chores around the house.<br /><br />In the car, I’ve switched from the POTUS channel on XM to the comedy channel (at least I think I have, it’s hard to tell.)<br /><br />And whenever I’m tempted to pick up my laptop just to see if there’s anything new on my news feed, I’ll play a game of solitaire.<br /><br />I can’t say that I’ll regain the parts of my brain that have withered from convention-related trauma, but at least I’ll be a little less cranky and able to sleep.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-24046971002562127562008-09-01T17:29:00.004-05:002008-09-03T10:17:18.472-05:00The other white meat - it's what's for dessert.Those of us who work at schools don’t have much opportunity to learn new things during the first week of the fall semester. It’s so busy, the best we can hope for is getting through each day. So, I can’t say I learned anything new but I did reaffirm a strongly held belief this week-end. Bacon makes everything taste better.<br /><br />I hosted a family picnic, which in my family does involve a small amount of showing off. We all like to cook and to eat so you’d better show some effort. The meal turned out well. I was mostly pleased with my mise en place which allowed me to take the meat off the grill to rest while while I brought together three side dishes in about five minutes. Yes, bacon did make a minor appearance in two of these side-dishes but it was the dessert that reaffirmed my faith in bacon – a buttered-rum ice cream with candied bacon.<br /><br />I can’t take credit for the idea so please visit <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/03/candied_bacon_i_1.html">David Lebovitz site</a> for details.Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-71127075223954022792008-08-23T20:40:00.002-05:002008-08-23T22:09:15.772-05:00Did you see me on CNN? I was the guy with the hat.Once again, this is intended as observational and not political commentary.<br /><br />I am not one to enjoy large crowds so it is not in my nature to attend an event like Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s first official appearance as running mates. Had it not happened here, where I live, I probably wouldn’t have been all that interested. I’m a pragmatic sort so knowing he selected Biden is all I really need to know before I move on to the more important matters of my personal life, like mowing the lawn. Still, it’s not every day that you get the chance to attend an event like this, let alone have it come to your hometown. So just for you, students of Liberal Studies, I set out to document this event. (That, and my wife really wanted to go so I didn’t really have a choice.)<br /><br />The event gates opened at noon for the 2 pm speech so, of course, we were in line at a little past 10 am. The line was verrrrrry long – we may have been numbers 2000 and 2001 – but the line proved to be the most enjoyable time. We chatted. We watched as the line grew even longer (it’s always more fun when you’re not at the end.) I even bought an Obama campaign button from a vendor. It depicts Obama flying over a cityscape dressed as Superman with the caption SUPER OBAMA. I wasn’t sure if it was pro-Obama or anti-Obama but it was the most interesting option.<br /><br />Once the line started moving, it moved quickly. As we moved closer to the gates, we were told dozens of times that we could not bring in water or umbrellas and that we should turn on all electronics. I was actually surprised at how easy it was to pass through security. When I stepped through the metal detectors, I paused and waited. What, no frisking? Don’t you want to at least look at me suspiciously? I deserve a little stink-eye, yes? I’ve had a more difficult time getting into the court house for jury duty.<br /><br />We were able to get onto the lawn of the Old State Capital. We were about 200 feet stage left of the podium but we were only 15 feet or so away from, what we suspected, would be the entrance point (we were correct.) Above us, on roof-tops, were men in jump-suits surveying the crowd with high powered binoculars. What a high-pressure job: scanning the crowd for potential trouble. Then, they brought out their sniper rifles so I stopped feeling sorry for them and starting giving them a bit of the stink-eye I thought I’d deserved.<br /><br />We started the two hour wait in 90 degree heat – me, my wife, and 35,000 of our closest friends. As time passed, people started wilting, then out-right sweating, then smelling badly, and then, in a few cases, collapsing. The news reported that 25 people were taken to hospitals and that ambulances had to be called in from surrounding counties. The Red Cross was allowed in and they began passing water to crowd. (A security note: if you attend an event like this, bottled water is not allowed since it presents a throwable object. The Red Cross had to pour bottled water into paper cups, doubling the time it took to bring relief.)<br /><br />Finally, the candidates took the stage. It was exciting. It was interesting to be present at something that might be remembered . Did I learn anything? Yes.<br /><br /><ul><li>If you are going to stand in the sun for hours, don’t forget sunblock. (I did.)<br /></li><li>There is no reason to show up early. Simply come at your leisure and push to the front. (I didn’t, but hundreds of others did.)<br /></li><li>When, after hours of sweating, you discover that you are no longer able to sweat, stop passing the water to others and drink it yourself.<br /></li><li>It’s kind of fun to say the Pledge of Allegiance with 35,000 people while facing a building-sized old glory.<br /></li></ul><p>One final bit of wisdom. As we were listening to Barack Obama’s speech an African American women pushed up next to us. She was too short to see past the crowd. She wanted a picture but was having trouble with her cell phone. I helped her activate the camera on her phone and a remarkably tall man standing near us held it up in the air and snapped the picture. She ended up with a grainy picture in which Barack Obama might have been represented by 3 or 4 pixels but she inspected it and was happy. She turned to her friend and said, “Now we can say we were here and we saw this.”</p><p><br />I would have been just as happy watching local television news coverage, but she was right. Sometimes it is good to be able to say you were there and saw it.</p><p><br />See my photos at: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29848272@N06/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/29848272@N06/</a> </p>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-65095042623011123332008-08-19T21:04:00.003-05:002008-08-20T07:29:02.251-05:00It's easier to learn history if it happens around youThis post isn't intended to be political, just observational.<br /><br />Springfield is steeped in history, thanks in large part to Abraham Lincoln. We townies don't really bat an eye at what's around us. I mean, don't all of you have presidential tombs and libraries in your towns too? <br /><br />There was a cold day in 2007 that Barack Obama came to Springfield to try to make a connection with our Lincoln legacy. If you weren't aware, he announced his candidacy here in our town - you can see his speech here <a href="http://tinyurl.com/5hx2jb">http://tinyurl.com/5hx2jb</a> At the time, he was just another person throwing his hat in the ring. He had some heat but this was back when Hillary Clinton was considered the likely Democratic candidate.<div><br /></div><div>This evening, we're hearing that he's returning to Springfield to announce his pick for Vice-President. Springfield usually needs to be hit by a tornado or have a former Governor sentenced to prison to make the national news so we're happy to have some positive press and to be associated with, what may prove to be, historically significant moments. If you have never been to Springfield and want to catch a glimpse, tune into your favorite new network this Saturday at 1 pm.</div>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-49763356052971891162008-08-13T15:13:00.002-05:002008-08-13T15:17:28.810-05:00A Vision of Students TodayI just stumbled across this youtube video and found it very interesting. It's from the Digital Ethnography working group at Kansas State University <a href="http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/">http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/</a><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-40390636548392715762008-08-12T09:29:00.005-05:002008-08-12T12:07:53.853-05:00What's up with ths social networking thing?I've been spending a lot of time researching and trying out new web tools in preparation for the podcasts I'm planning for this year. It is absolultely mind-boggling to see how many companies are out there trying to be the next big thing. It's also amazing to see how many of these technologies are free - I'm assuming their goal is to become mainstream and then to be bought by Google or Microsoft or Yahoo.<br /><br />One large component of these new tools are social networking sites. I have to admit, I'm a pretty private person and I don't do a lot of social networking beyond my friends and family, so these sites are a real mystery to me. For example, there is a VERY popular site call Twitter. (You know a tool has hit the big time when dozens of other developers are creating plug-ins to expand the tool.)<br /><br />In a nutshell, Twitter is a microblog (I believe that's the correct lingo) which allows you to tell your followers every boring detail of your life. So I have two questions: 1) Are the mundanes details of my life interesting? Most Twitterers are like me and sit at a desk working at a computer. Do I need to broadcast when I go to lunch or whether I'm going to meet friends after work (can't I just do those things and not publish it to the world?) 2) Does anyone really care about these things? The goal of Twitter is to get others to follow your life. How many of us lead exciting enough lives that others would wait breathlessly for our next tweat (Twitter lingo for post)?<br /><br />So, is there anyone out there who's into social networking? What sites do you use? Can you explain the allure?Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-87565353189452121052008-08-05T11:39:00.001-05:002008-08-05T11:39:44.778-05:00Blogger How-to Part 1<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gjbx_t0z1ZU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gjbx_t0z1ZU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3377118040983857514.post-11641655963706236782008-08-05T10:38:00.000-05:002008-08-05T11:38:23.006-05:00Blogger How-to Part 2<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WcWUBp5QOAA&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WcWUBp5QOAA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Andy Egizi, Program Coordinatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16037864852115826757noreply@blogger.com0