My Blogging Activity

A quick note — I do not “blog” as actively as I used to (I started this one in 2001). Instead I tend to bookmark at Delicious ( recent link collection, full bookmark list) and/or post my photos on Flickr ( recent photos, full FLICKR photostream ). Feel free to peruse this blog, but understand that it doesn’t get updated very often. However, I am trying to blog what I feel to be significant subsets of my bookmarking activity.

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Videos by OK Go…

I’m a new fan of a group called OK GO: they do amazingly creative videos. They’re best known (now) for their recent work on a Super Bowl Ad about the new Chevy Sonic (they drove a car and “played” instruments including pianos and guitars ( see Needing/Getting video on YoutTube ). See other favorites elsewhere in the full post Continue reading

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Vocre: iPhone app provides near-Instant Universal Speech Translator

Vocre iPhone app is a pretty incredible new app for your iPhone that lets you speak in one language and hear what you said translated into another. It’s like a having a babel fish in your phone.

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Raspberry Pi: An ARM Linux box for $25. Take a byte!

Raspberry Pi: An ARM Linux box for $25. Take a byte!. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK registered charity (Registration Number 1129409) which exists to promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing.

We plan to develop, manufacture and distribute an ultra-low-cost computer, for use in teaching computer programming to children. We expect this computer to have many other applications both in the developed and the developing world.

Our first product is about the size of a credit card, and is designed to plug into a TV or be combined with a touch screen for a low cost tablet. The expected price is $25 for a fully-configured system.

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MintyBoost Kit

MintyBoost Kit: Make your own iPod/iPhone/GPS/etc… battery-pack and recharger! This project includes all the electronic parts necessary to build your own MintyBoost: a small & simple (but very powerful) USB charger for your iPod (or other mp3 player), camera, cell phone, and any other gadget you can plug into a USB port to charge.

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Project dyslexie: the font for people with dyslexia

Project dyslexie: the font for people with dyslexia. This font is especially designed for people with 
dyslexia. When they use it, they make fewer 
errors whilst they are reading. It makes reading 
easier for them and it takes less effort.
The Dyslexia font is used by several schools, 
universities, speech therapists and remedial teachers.

Independent research undertaken by the University 
of Twente, proved that the Dyslexia font improves 
reading results.

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Fuel Fix: Energy Business Blog

Fuel Fix: “Your daily must-read source for news and analysis on the energy business.” Part of the Houston Chronicle’s blogosphere.

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Garduino: Arduino-based irrigation system

Garduino: Arduino-based irrigation system. Garduino is a computer that runs your garden. Specifically, Garduino:

Waters your plants when they’re thirsty
Turns on supplemental lights when the sun’s not out long/bright enough
Alerts you when temperatures are botanically uncomfortably chilly

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Sinfull Vegan Bakery: Sin Without the Guilt

Sinfull Vegan Bakery: “Sin Without the Guilt”. We offer quality vegan baked goods that are made from scratch with all natural and mostly organic ingredients. Our baked goods are so sinfull that many of our customers ask us, “Is this vegan?” Yes! It’s 100% vegan, including our wide selection of gluten-free and sugar-free. We offer delivery, catering, and pickup. You may also find our products at coffee shops, farmers markets, specialty stores and restaurants.

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giZZle: Gizmo + Puzzle project to build electronics

giZZLE: Gizmo + Puzzle project to build electronics: Over the years we have seen and are still seeing many kits that let beginners or intermediate users assemble their own electronic devices by soldering predefined components on simple or complex PCB’s. In some cases this could be fun and educational but after you solder the PCB or add a couple of time components to a Bread-Board then the education is over, leaving you with a device that became too simple for you or useless and boring. Soldering also creates another problem especially for small children for whom this is dangerous and in some cases hazardous. We actually were amazed that no-one has ever thought or created something similar, so we decided to do it. Continue reading

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Making a car for blind drivers

Making a car for blind drivers (TED talk) : Using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, Dennis Hong is building a car for drivers who are blind. It’s not a “self-driving” car, he’s careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed, proximity and route — and drive independently.

[Note] : What’s even MORE interesting, to me, is the emerging field of NVP – Non-Visual Interfaces.

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Web Resources Depot

Web Resources Depot – Blog/aggregation/collection of free web resources – tutorials, images, software tools, etc. Platform-neutral, cross-platform, and VERY interesting.

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Eyez 720p video-recording glasses

Eyez 720p video-recording glasses. We first heard about the Eyez video recording glasses concept back in March, when those familiar black frames packed a 1080p camera, 16GB of flash memory, WiFi, and dual exawatt-class lasers (ok, we made that last part up). Named for the product’s “utopic vision,” ZionEyez now has a prototype with a more grounded spec list, including a 720p camera and 8GB of memory, along with micro-USB and Bluetooth connectivity for livecasting to Qik or LiveStream — The Truman Show style. Continue reading

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Hack A Day – A Bright Idea

Hack A Day – A Bright Idea : [Jeri Ellsworth] had a bright idea – a brain-activated light bulb that floats above your head. While out and about, she saw some guy with a video game icon attached to metal rod sticking out of his backpack. The rod made the icon appear to be floating above his head (think The Sims), which was the inspiration for this LED powered light bulb. The bulb is connected to a metal rod, as well as a metal hoop which is springy enough to keep a pair of electrodes snugly attached to your head.

Those electrodes, along with a third probe used for noise reference, are hooked up to a AD620 instrumentation amplifier. With the help of op amps, it modulates the red or green LEDs that are attached to the back side of the light bulb. The end result is an amusing way to show brain activity while being grilled on a Q/A panel, or while just wandering around taking in all the amazing sights presented at Maker Faire.

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100 Web Apps to Rule Them All

100 Web Apps to Rule Them All – There’s so many web apps today, it’s hard to keep up with them all. From the apps we’ve all used for years such as Gmail to newer apps that just came out this year such as Flow, web apps have increasingly become a part of our daily lives.

Whether you’re just getting started using web apps, or are a longtime fan of web apps and would like to find more exciting apps, you’ll be sure to find something interesting here. There’s no way to include every web app, but we’ve included the apps that we think are the very best in their categories.

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Ecomotors International: new energy-efficient engine company

Ecomotors International: new energy-efficient engine company “At EcoMotors International, we believe that advancements in technology are key to a greener world. Our engineers and designers are working to develop new engines and technologies for a wide range of propulsion and power-generation applications. Our engine and powertrain packages are designed to be 15-50% more efficient, smaller, lighter, and less expensive to manufacture than conventional internal combustion engines. We are passionate about our work and proud that our efforts contribute to a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable future.

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Typography Insight – iPad App

Typography Insight is an iPad application that introduces new methods for learning and teaching typefaces. The project stemmed from my love for typography and evolving mobile platforms. It was inspired by my own experience in typography classes whilst attending design school. Typography Insight leverages technological evolutions in tablet devices, most notably the touch interface and high resolution display of the iPad, to visualize and manipulate typefaces. With Typography Insight, students can easily experiment and inspect the detailed shapes of historical typefaces. Consequently they can acquire a deeper understanding of the type, a virtue of any competitive designer.

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PLP’s Voices from the Learning Revolution: first 30 posts

From Powerful Learning Practice Blog started in April 2011: First 30 posts. Blog started with the following statement :

We’ve titled this group blog “Voices from the Learning Revolution” not because our bloggers are necessarily revolutionary leaders — but because they are leaving behind outdated practices and mindsets and shifting toward the kind of connected, digitally infused teaching and learning that we know our 21st century students need.

Continue reading

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Learning Web Design: 82 resources to get you started

Learning Web Design – 82 resources: Web design is a big industry. Hundreds of millions are made by solo designers and agencies delivering tailored services to their clients and theme foundries selling turn-key solutions for platforms like WordPress.

As with any growing industry, where there are people smelling the money, there are people looking for a way in. This article won’t teach you how to become a great web designer, but we’ll run through the skills you’ll need to pick up and where you can learn each of those.

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260+ Free Beautiful Paper Texture Collection For Elegant Designs

260+ Free Beautiful Paper Texture Collection : The use of paper as a surface where web designers can draw some vague concept for design inspiration that comes unwittingly like a flash in their minds, is already an acknowledged fact. Whether it is some unique concept of a logo, or a header, or a wireframing idea, web designers often grab the nearest pen and paper to visualize his thoughts before they fade. During one of these creative wanderings perhaps came the use of paper, not as web designers used to know it, but as a texture or background of the design project. Since then, the use of paper texture became increasingly popular.
Continue reading

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