C'mon people, times wasting!

Only 1567 days until the end of the world. We still need to find all 13 crystal skulls and the appropriate global locations in which to place them before the end arrives on December 21, 2012.

We've got 4 skulls so far. Still lots of work to do.

Hurry hurry hurry!


Michael

oh, one more thing

The Kindle does allow graphics. Of course using the eInk technology, they're greyscale but there are still easy to see and not nearly as grainy as I thought they would be. I look forward to new developments in technology that will allow color images (although that may be several years down the road).

Amazon Kindle - First Impressions

Well, I've been playing with my Kindle for about 2 hrs now and I gotta say; I love it!

I've already gotten my self updated on both of the blogs I subscribed to, read through the articles in the New York Times that I found interesting and read the first chapter in the book I downloaded. I can increase the font large enough so that I no longer need to strain my eyes to read.

I even, set up my 14 day free trial to the NYT and did a little web browsing. Wikipedia on the Kindle; cool. Having the current edition of the Oxford Dictionary installed and being able to selected a line of text and instantly look up a word; totally awesome.

As you can see, I'm having a good time. Tonight I will transfer all of the free content I downloaded from other publisher websites to my Kindle and I'm even going to try a couple MP3's, audiobooks, Word and PDF files.

Until Later.

Michael

Anxiously awaiting to kindle a new relationship

With my new Amazon Kindle that it is :)

Due to some blurry vision, I've been unable to do much reading so after reviewing several different ebook readers I settled on the Amazon Kindle. The main selling point was that the font size can be increased up to a 25pt. My eyes aren't that bad, but it's nice to know that it's possible to get it that large. The other really cool thing is WhisperNet. My Kindle is still on the delivery truck but with WhisperNet the content I purchased (one book and a couple blog subscriptions) was already downloaded to my Kindle while in transit.

Don't get me wrong, I'll never give up my paper books. I still use the non-fic like crazy, but for just plain pleasure reading or when I'm having a lot of trouble with my vision, this'll be nice to have, cause I just plain cannot stand not being able to read. Another good selling point is all the free content available. You don't have to purchase one of Amazon's 160,000 Kindle format titles even at the price of 1/2 to 1/3 of cover price. You can download for free lots of books from Project Gutenberg, Harper Collins and Baen Publishing. The Kindle also has some web accessibility so you can read blogs online and even do some shopping. Plus whatever you purchase for the Kindle is downloaded automatically in seconds.

So, I'll post again after I've played with it for a few days. If it lives up to it's description and hype, I'll be doing the Snoopy happy dance very soon.

Later.

Michael

MY TRIP TO COMIC-CON 2008……. AND TWO HOSPITALS

OK, as promised, here is the tale of my Comic-con trip. I wrote this a couple weeks ago (and forgot about it). I'd like to thank all the people I work with for covering my shifts while I was in recovery mode. I missed the library a lot and can't wait to get back.

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MY TRIP TO COMIC-CON 2008……. AND TWO HOSPITALS

The trip started out well enough. We left about 6am and made good time all the way to San Diego. At about 12:30 we got to the hotel (thanks awesome Manchester Grand Hyatt Security staff for brining the oxygen so quickly….more about that in a bit). We met up with the other two people who were sharing the room. We were now three teachers and a librarian ready for the first day of our fun-filled Con experience. As always Comic-Con did a great job moving the badge line and in less than 5 minutes we had our badges and first bag of “swag” aka freebies.

Our first stop was about 15min in the dealer room then off to the “Red Sonja” panel with Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan. It was a real hoot. Robert and Rose were great… and funny. Funniest was when an 11 yr old girl came up to the mic to ask a question. It was about The GrindHouse movie she saw in the theater with her parents. Rose had to clarify, “so your parents took you to see GrindHouse when you were what, 9?” Many in the audience were thinking the same thing. But a great panel. Go Sonja! Go Machete!

The next panel had some of the great comics men of the silver and golden age. This is where it started to go bad. Good panel but, I had to leave towards the end because I started t get dizzy and nauseous. I thought it was just low blood sugar. I skipped lunch; I’m a naughty diabetic. Got a pretzel and OJ from a vending cart (only $7.75!!) and sat down to munch. Feeling slightly better I went to my third and final panel of the convention. It was how to pitch ideas to different venues (publishers, TV, movies, etc.). There were quite a few useful tidbits in this one. Usually it contains people who did their pitch work in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Not a whole lot of use today. This panel however had people who currently pitched and sold or are in the process of contracting their ideas. There was also an agent, publisher and lawyer on the panel. Big change; and a welcome one. Hopefully, my friend will send me his notes since I was having a bit of trouble concentrating. This is one of the big ones I came to see too.

Well, after making it through that entire one, we hooked up with our other friends and proceeded to Joe’s Crab Shack for some “real” food. It was quite tasty and for a little while (about and hour) I felt somewhat better. Then about 8pm in the room, discussing our 9:30pm trek to the convention center (only 1.5 blocks away but, by this time, it seemed in my head more like 1.5 miles) I had my first attack. As I said, we were in the room hanging out when my left hand started to shake uncontrollably. This was followed by my right, then my legs and finally my jaw as I started to have a difficult time getting my breathing to slow down. Not, convulsions mind you, just really, really shaking. Finally one of the teachers who had some training got me to sloe down my breathing and the episode stopped. I was completely wiped. I checked my temp and it was 102.8.

I thought I was having a reaction to dinner as, over the last several years, I’m finding that I have started to develop and allergy to some seafood I’ve always eaten in the past. I didn’t have any of that at dinner. I decided to hang in the room and rest.

At 6am I awoke suddenly, had my first, as George Carlin called it “involuntary personal protein spill” (I’ll call them IPPS from here) and proceeded to have another of the “shake attacks”. Somehow I was able to take my temp without the thermometer going through the back of my neck in the process and it read 103.8. By this time my friends were awake and I said “hospital”. As one friend tries in vain to get me to calm down my breathing the Security people mentioned earlier show up with an oxygen tank and to let me know an ambulance is on the way. Now I gotta say, they were really cool. They even gave us a cab voucher so we would have a free ride back from the hospital. So, the ambulance shows up in about 7 minutes and it takes about 15 minutes to get to the hospital a few miles away. This may seem like a long time however, with Comic-Con’s 120,000+ visitors traffic, even at 6am, sucks; as do drivers who do not get the hell out of the way. Fortunately, it wasn’t in the later morning or afternoon because I was told it can sometimes take almost half an hour to get an ambulance and another half hour to get to a hospital. The paramedics, also totally awesome, are very friendly…. even the one who shaved the three patches out of my chest hair so it now looks like aliens made some crop circles there.

The emergency room was not yet bustling and after answering the same line of medical questioning to the paramedics, nurse and doctor (with the high fever, 104.7, I was also confused and delirious) I got treated for a food allergy. The ER nurse said she didn’t think it was an allergy and was more like an infection. She was right.

I got back to the room about noon-ish and sent the friend who came with me off to the con. I didn’t want my friends to miss any of their experience because I was sick. There was nothing they could do anyway, two of them had never been to Comic-con before and we all paid a crap load of money to be there. The hospital gave me some instructions to keep cool (temperature) and it will pass. Wrongo. At about 4:30pm my friends came back from “lunch” at Dick’s Last Resort. One of the best restaurants ever created. People have real attitudes there. If you want napkins they will literally throw a huge handful at you. The floor is littered with them. The “rude tude”, part of the act, it what gives it that uniqueness. Don’t complain or be stupid or there may be an announcement over the loud speaker and/or you will be required to wear one of the paper hats they will make for you with whatever comment that want.

Anyway, back to my story. Another attack of IPPS, shakes, delirium and friend helping me get my breathing under control and that ended my Con-Friday. Con-Saturday was pretty much the same; two episodes of IPPS’s, shakes, delirium, breath calming and temps ranging from 102-104 degrees. Unfortunately, two of our party (the couple) had an emergency of their own and had to leave Sat afternoon. They got to see most of the con, though so I’m glad they made it. Plus, my friend was able to sleep in a bed the final night instead of on the floor which supposed to be my place.

So, through the night I shivered (had to stay in shorts and t-shirt with room set to 65 degrees just to keep my temp in the 101-102 range). Fortunately, during the night and that morning there were no more attacks. Since I was still weak aching and feverish, we decided it would be best to skip the panels and final look at the dealer room and just head back. Now begins the next “ordeal”.

We left for AZ at around 6am. Everything was going smoothly, I had my IPPS bag in my lap “just in case” and my friend agreed to keep the radio off so I could concentrate on my breathing and hopefully prevent another attack. Several hours in and 30 miles outside Yuma (aka middle of nowhere) there is this huge bump and we thought the tire blew or we hit something. It turns out the entire tread came off one of my tires, ripped up a bunch of plastic covering from the undercarriage and dented the fender and door. Damn! Damn! Damn! I paid over $900 in repairs on the car the week before and had them specifically check that tire since it had just gotten 2 nails pulled out of it. So, we slapped on the crappy donut spares because many cars don’t come with full size ones anymore and proceeded to the little town about 10 miles away at about 50mph. It turns out, there are no garages or tire stores open on Sunday. They direct us back to Yuma, now 40 miles away, which may have a place open. Even though the donut is apparently mostly flat and the car is loaded down I’m getting worse again, so we proceed at 60mph for our 45min drive in back to Yuma (going in the opposite direction of Phoenix) and with AAA’s help we eventually find a Wal-Mart Super Store with an open garage and after $75 more, another 30min to get the tire changed and the hanging plastic removed, one IPPS and a dose of nausea medication later we’re back on the road. We eventually make it home after a total drive time of San Diego to Phoenix in just under 10 ½ hours. My friend helps me with my bags and then has to leave to go home to his wife up north.

Thus ends Comic-Con Sunday, my 6^th annual trip to the con and the reason I have no pictures of the event to post. However, this doesn’t end my sad little tale.

On long, sleepless night later and after four days I’m still running a high fever so, On Monday, I head to my Doctor’s office, where he looks at me, does a bit of poking and tells me to get my butt to the ER down the street. He thinks it’s either Appendicitis or Diverticulitis. After a short while in the ER with a couple chest x-rays and a cat scan they decide on Diverticulitis. Now, this is a fairly common affliction that occurs in about 50% of adults who mostly only suffer mild symptoms and needs only some antibiotics. That’s not dramatic enough for me though. I need a “full on” case which can lead to a ruptured colon, but mine didn’t progress that far. One more day and it may have. If the San Diego ER had caught it, it may not have been any way near as bad and I may have gotten a few hours of con time in. Don’t know if there’s a fault in their system. I’ll have to look into it later. Anyway, the ER promptly admits me to the hospital and begins with the IV antibiotic treatments as well as ones to fix my dehydration. Of course since I didn’t go all the way and perforate the colon I had to do something else to worsen it so, while they did an ultrasound, they found what is either a cyst or a tumor on my kidney; we’re not sure about that yet and some fatty tissue around the liver. Neither is life threatening unless untreated and had this not happened neither may have caught.

So, 3 days later I’m out of the hospital (Scottsdale Shea is great) have my flower arrangement the people at my Library dept sent me while I was there (really brightened the room and my mood) and I’m home recovering. Of course I’m totally wiped out but, I’m anxious to get back to the Library on Monday. I really miss it. I have four follow-up Dr appointments and two tests (I hope they turn out well). But just to add to the suck factor just a bit more, I had a vacation scheduled in Las Vegas for late August that I can no longer go on due to follow-ups. Of course because I got some good deals, neither the hotel nor airfare is refundable.

So ends my sad little story of the past week. Another brush with the grim reaper. I’m tired and need to rest. I am on the mends though.

Talk to you all later.

Michael (2.1)

It sure has been a long time

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since I blogged. Lots of things have been happening. I passed my one year anniversary at the Library. Woo hoo! It's still going great! I'm always excited to go into work because it fun (usually) and at the end of the day I really feel like I've accomplished something and made a positive contribution to the community. Most of the kids, teens and adults are great.

We've got new furniture in the youth room; tables, chairs, computer corrals, Early Literacy devices. I still miss the old chess set. I may have to visit the Horizon Teen Center soon to visit it.

Last month was supposed to be my 6th annual road trip to the San Diego Comic-Con. We actually did make it, but things didn't go as planned. My next blog post will contain the whole story. Suffice it to say, I've been out sick for most of the last three weeks and can't wait to get back to work this Sunday.

Well, back to resting. More later.

Michael

Second Life

Well, this is my first but definitely not my last post regarding the virtual world Second Life.
I've spending quite a lot of time there lately (thank you insomnia) and I now have a Virtual Reality Room all set up, I'm on the Stargate network and have had many visitors from other "worlds" and just finished decorating my new home!

In fact, my Virtual Reality Room caught the attention of Dulcie Mills, a staff reporter for the Metaverse Manager (SL's weekly magazine). The story, in which I have been quoted, is in the January 29, 2008 edition on page 12. The article is titled "Free Virtual Rooms for SL educators and non-profits". The current edition can be found here: http://www.metaversemessenger.com/pdf/2008/01/MM20080129.pdf

If you happen to be in the neighborhood send me an IM or friend request. My SL name is Corwyn Dryke.

Look for another post coming soon in which I review the various virtual worlds that are available.

Thanks for reading.

Michael

Phoenix Cactus Comicon

What a treat this convention was! Thanks to Candace for coveringmy shift so I could attend. I met some cool people Noel Neill (the original Lois Lane), Jon Lewis and Derek Benz (creators of the Grey Griffins Series - thanks for the sketches guys; can't wait for the card game), James Owen (author of Here There Be Dragons) Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), PJ Haarsma (author of The Softwire), Mike Bullock (author/artist Lions, Tigers and Bears) and many, many more.

The turnout was huge. It seems like attendance doubles almost every year. The convention center was bursting at the seams. As much as I would dislike driving further to attend, I think a new venue location might be on the horizon.

I also attended a couple of good writing/creativity panel and a fun voice actors panel. The voice panels are fun because the real faces never look like you thought they would.

Good job again guys and gals for putting on a great convention.

Learning 2.0 - Thing #23

I had a lot of fun in the program (although I may be a bit biased).

There was quite a bit I had experienced previously in my MLS classes (podcasts, wikis, blogs, etc.) but there were some items I hadn't tried before. I think a couple if my favorites were the trading card maker and Facebook which reuinted me, at least electronically, with relatives in Canada, Boston and Seattle.

I plan to continue to play with some of the items I didn't have a chance to try and look forward to continuing this blog.

I hope everyone has as much fun as I did and learns some new things.

Michael

Learning 2.0 - Thing #22

Well, it took a while but I finally found a book I wanted to download. Actually, I found several I would have liked to listen to but there were only one or two copies available.

I also could not find a way (at least not yet) to have the overdrive software installed on both my home PC and flash drive.

All things considered, this is a nice alternative for those who cannot get out to the library or are looking for some other options to Braille, etc. The fact that you can burn some of the downloads to CD also make it a good option for travellers.

Learning 2.0 - Thing #21

I like bloglines because I can keep all of my feeds in one place. Before RSS feeds I had to constantly go through several differnent sites and wade through all the material to find something I thought was interesting. Now I just subscribe and go to one site (bloglines) and read what I want from all my different locations.

Learning 2.0 - Thing #20

Personally, I think YouTube is great. The people who created it took on a huge responsibility that includes monitoring for content and rights violations.

Here's one of my favorites. It's a library clip from Mr Bean:

Learning 2.0 - Thing #19

It's been a while since I IM'd. I used to do this a lot as community leader for AOL but since most of my buds migrated away from there we've lost touch. Some use AIM, some use Yahoo Messenger. I thought I'd give Meebo a try since I've begun to see it more often on various web pages sucha as MySpace.

Learning 2.0 - Thing #18

Google Docs is nice. It's a good alternative to passing around multiple Word docs for updating and/or collaboration. This makes it similar to wikis.

Learning 2.0 - Thing #17

PBwiki is a great tool.

I used this quite a bit while in school for collaborating on research papers with other members of my project group. Many of us were in very distant cities and some in other states. Sending a Word document from person to person can be dangerous and someone may edit the wrong version of the paper resulting in hours of work fixing the mistake. Using a Wiki, the paper can be updated in real-time, there is usually only one version (as long as the group agrees on this) and the final paper can easily be copied to a Word document when it's time to submit.

Any time collaboration at a distance is required, this can be an invaluable tool.

The best part; you can use PBwiki for free!!!

Michael