I believe, overall, the class went well. I did’t rush too much (for me) and there were very few breaks where I had to go catch someone up. That is always a good sign.

The problem with the course was the hodge-podge variety of what we covered. Not enough time to teach all of Windows XP, so you give them a quick overview of the process for each bit and piece, answer any questions they have and then let them refer to the handout if they can’t pull the process from memory.

It will be interesting to read the survey results. Teaching a workshop is often like taking a test: you think you did an A (or D) job and the grade is a C (or B) and completely throws you for a loop.

1:20 p.m. Woosh. Start this blog on an up note. Going to teach a short course today. Nothing too complex. Just a quick introduction to some time-saving customizations and capabilities of Windows XP. Should be quite enjoyable. Small group, 9 so far, but could get one more in before we kick off at 2:30.

The course is basically designed around the Windows Basics: Tips and Tricks course I did for last year’s Professional Enrichment Conference here at UofR.

I wish the week hadn’t been so busy. Last year, I wrote some humerous (or at least I think so) bits into the PEC handout and kept them for this session. Wish there had been more time to add some fresh jokes. I don’t feel they take away from the experience and always seem to keep everyone relaxed. We’ll see how it goes today. I’ll have to ad-lib a bit. Maybe some soft-shoe. I know I can get a cane, but where can I get a hat?

Also, there are several people attending the class who I know pretty well. It always helps to know a few of the attendees. Gives you someone to focus on. And, it is especially good when the people you know coming will laugh at even your worst attempts at humor. Come to think of it, those people should get gold stars. They really help to break the ice and keep the intensity down.

home

Oh, ho, ho. Look at this. No longer do you need to carry an extra device, you can just click it to the camera and head out. Being able to record all of the necessary data to accurately report the location of your pictures without thinking about it will enable people to geo-tag without removing from the purity of exploring the world through the camera lens.

Free iTunes Downloads

A site which blogs the free stuff from iTunes. Includes music and videos.

DailyLit

This is an interesting idea. Read a book via email. I just put in a request for an email from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Should go well with my Doonesbury Dose.

Oh, and for the Milton Fanboys on the floor, Paradise Lost is included, so go get ‘em. Browse the collection here: http://www.dailylit.com/find.php?search=

OCZ releases super small USB key

The USB stick wars are on and this may be the winner for minimal pocket space. Nice looking design. Small and unobtrusive.

Foxit Software

Foxit is certainly a very nice product if you find the long wait associated with opening a PDF in “Acrobat anything” frustrating and rediculous. I’ve used Foxit version 1 quite a bit and will be updating all of my PCs to version 2 ASAP.

MailActOn

This looks sweet and really makes me wonder about switching to Mac Mail. Being able to tag your email with actions would be a great addition for GTD workflow.

Open Thread: Mac Mind Mapping, and how you use it | 43 Folders

This is a great article out of 43 Folders. I’ve been using a variety of Mind-mapping tools and really enjoy Vue (http://vue.tccs.tufts.edu/). Considering it is both free and has a good range of basic capabilities, it might be the best entry-level mind-mapping software available.