A torch passes - Tech_Space - USATODAY.com

A torch passes - Tech_Space - USATODAY.com: "The Creative Commons movement is lawyered up. Creative works with a CC license are genuinely part of the promise of user-generated content, because CC-specifying copyright owners have taken care to say exactly how their works can and cannot be remixed, reused and reproduced.
That, to me, is a strong and healthy foundation for Web 2.0, or user-generated content, or what you will."

Linked to this post from Lessig himself (the guru and founder of the Creative Commons org). Article on 'torch passing' is about new chair of CC, and a bit of comparison between hype given to MySpace and YouTube (and their inherent difficulties with respect toward intellectual property) and the soundness of Creative Commons.

Which reminds me...I really need to look into adding a CC designation for my own darn blog here. Put my money where my mouth is...metaphorically and literally I guess.

A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging

A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging: "In April of 2005, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted its How to Blog Safely About Work and Anything Else. While the guide is rich in tips to ensure you don't reveal too much personal information while blogging, it doesn't look very closely at the technical issues associated with keeping a blog private. I decided to write a quick technical guide to anonymous blogging, trying to approach the problem from the perspective of a government whistle-blower in a country with a less-than-transparent government."

I think in my previous blogging life I linked to that EFF post. Good guide, good tips-- worth reading further when I have more time.

LISNews.org | This Week in LibraryBlogLand (December 17, 2006)

LISNews.org | This Week in LibraryBlogLand (December 17, 2006)

Some great links to other blogs and web posts on digital reference, search engines, blogrolls of those doing digital ref, more about library blogs (including a tag cloud analysis), news about Google's latest attempts to digitize the world (apparently journal back runs).

Wired News: Pluggd: A Google for Podcasts

Wired News: Pluggd: A Google for Podcasts: "Pluggd has found a way to index podcasts, talk shows and other spoken-word content. The company's service then allows users to search the audio files for specific words."

Holy cow!! What a development in information retrieval if this works. Speech--to-text searching, in context (later part of article says) searching, and the use of concept mapping and other visual representations of terms and term relationships-- wow these are all pretty big. Have to follow this one and share news with others in my grad community who work on similar things.

Here's a link to the Pluggd demo.

'Digital black hole' threatens your documents | Tech News on ZDNet

'Digital black hole' threatens your documents | Tech News on ZDNet: "The European Union is funding a project involving national libraries and digital preservation groups aimed at fighting off a looming 'digital black hole.'
The black hole in question is the potential future loss of data as file formats become obsolete and inaccessible."


I think I blogged on this earlier this year and have to go find that post for a cross link. Story here is about efforts in Europe to fight growing problem (at least they're aware of it!!) of digital documents not being accessible in the future.
I've said it once, I'll say it again...just because you save something digitally doesn't mean it's been PRESERVED. Doesn't mean it won't, or can't, disappear or otherwise become unusable.

More largely accurate web memes

While wasting yet more time online, ran into another quiz/meme thing, this one on learning styles. Fairly darn accurate...more so than some of the stuff on those other 'make a quiz' sites.
I really need to stop playing around and doing silly quizes and finish my work for the term.

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Modifying

Super logical and rational, you consider every fact available to you. You don't make rash decisions and are rarely moved by emotion. You prefer what's known and proven - to the new and untested. You tend to ground those around you and add stability.

What's Your Thinking Style?

Havin' fun with stereotypes

Ha!
This little quiz wasn't so far off...good capture of the confusion and dichotomies of my youth. I'm hard to stereotype...or was. And that confusion sometimes still lingers, although now days its more humorous and good for conversation fodder.
(course some of that may be the humor that others have at even imagining me as ever being a Jock...or a wannabe Jock. For the record I did letter in 3 sports in H.S. But I also lettered in academics and theater. See? I'm a Jock and a Geek...does that make me a Jeek, or a Gock??!)

What stereotype do you belong to? Your Result: Jock plays all types of sports, has a lot of trophies, playing sports has made grades suffer, always active, has a cheerleader/football player bf/gf. bullies nerds/ geeks
No stereotype
geek/nerd
Preppy
Punk
Loner
Emo
Gamer
What stereotype do you belong to?

Endofterm-itis

It's that time of year again...nearing the end of a term and my brain is shutting down early. Why is it that my mental faculties never seem to match up to the calendar or last as long as the work of the term? And whatever will I do once out in the 'real world' of academia as a prof...having to teach and keep up for a whole semester??!! aaaaiieeee
Seriously...I do wonder somedays if this just isn't some form of adult ADD or related to what I saw mentioned in another blog about "conference ADD". And just to prove that particular point, while I'm reading the post mentioning that, it has this list of things that happen at conferences-- which I agree with way too much!-- and links to several other academic bloggers I wasn't familiar with. So off we go on a tangent... thanks so much to my pitiful attention span!
This one also has a post on things that can go 'wrong' or 'bad' at a conference. And that led to a post on academic job searches, and then another (gee, someone feels more down on themselves then I think I have been in quite some time...and if I actually read all of these posts right now I'd seriously be depressed!)-- interesting note in the post about a "dissertation seminar" and help with job searching. Gee, what's that?? Something Metro isn't going to be offering I'll bet.

I'm in one of 'those' moods re: Metro. Probably because LooseGoose (and I'm assuming Majesty) want us to fill out some form describing our impressions of our first year or so of the program, did it meet our expectations, and what we want them to do for us next. Now you're saying 'why the complaining, see how interested they are, how much they care for their students, what's the bitching about?!' Well...it's never that simple, or as clear as it looks on the surface. Academic politics are much more complicated. And this form is all about politics I think. Reports are due to our funding agency and they need to look good to them. Talk up how they're going to help us, support we'll get, and make it all look so slick and good.
sigh...I'm such a cynic.

All part of endofterm-itis...