Oh, now I have something to shoot. Gawker automatically builds movies by timing shots on your webcam. Examples here: http://gawker.sourceforge.net/Examples.html
An online monitor calibration site. I’ve used a similar site before, on a monitor sales specialty site which went under. It worked really well. Haven’t tried this one yet, but it looks like it could do the job.
Presentation Zen: Where can you find good images?
A nice article which, including the comments, is a great collection of locations to find free/inexpensive images.
Watch online news, entertainment, music and sports TV-channels for free.
Online TV. It’s about friggin’ time.
Pod CityGuides: Download for FREE
Pod cityguides are notes for cities around the globe loaded on your iPod for easy access. There is one for Richmond, Va (my current home) so I should probably check it out for new things to see. But, I’m off to Toronto next weekend, so I will drop that on my iPod to see how it works.
The Google book search is cool, but just logical conclusion to information searching. As such, I’m proud Google is doing it (and taking one on the chin for humanity), but the Literacy Project is a nice portal to help locate topical items.
Well, the survey results will tell, but it wasn’t one of my more energetic outings. That said, I do think the instruction went well and was received well. Also, it was the first session I’ve instructed which included such a wide range of departments. I had a faculty member, a few administrative assistants, someone from facilities and someone from the dining hall. That is pretty significant.
Learned a few new bits. You can format paint anything. Wasn’t aware that feature had such wide applications. Also, I was reminded of an issue with zip codes starting with the number 0. Certainly something to add to my mail merge classes. So, we’ll call that 1.5 new things since one was something I had forgot from years past.
The funny thing I will add about the class was how it flowed together for me. I had a plan, but didn’t really follow it once we got into the meat of things. I started realizing bits and pieces and there were questions which built a better flow than I had on paper. Ah, sometimes good things do happen. Who knows, if 999 more good things happen I might have to stop being a cynic.
Signing off and going home…
Another week, another workshop. Awesome. Always something to look forward to. And, if you read my earlier post, you will notice I ‘m a bit under the weather. Well, today is certainly my comfort zone. Teaching Excel is always fun and always pulls out some new bits I didn’t know about since there is usually at least one attendee who uses the program more or has used the program for longer than I.
I think everything is prepped and I certainly don’t have any nervous energy today. In face, quite the opposite. I’m rather drained. It will be an effort, but teaching is one of my strengths and I always seem to find it in me to put on the show.
It dawns on me, as I write this and still have my earlier post buzzing in the back of my mind, that this is why I’m here today. I feel horrible, but give up the chance to teach something? No, way.
Time to set up the laptops. Will report on the session when the opportunity appears.
Heh, heh. Yeah, I’m still reading the title that popped into my head as I sit here listening to the rather distracting sounds of the Scissor Sisters (their song Laura came free with an iTunes sampler and I’m rather enjoying it) and enjoying the fact that I have, according to my clock, 30 minutes to relax before starting a 2-hour long afternoon teaching session.
Hmmm…hold on.
Ah, there we go. More water boiling means more tea means more caffeine means I might make it through the session. I’m a bit under the weather and sinking deeper by the hour.
Mind you, this time I’m taking is the broken remnants of a lunch I didn’t take in order to get prepped for my afternoon session. The morning meeting was very beneficial, but came at a cost for me.
Which brings us to Fate, that miserable…okay, we’ll keep this rated G. I’ll be good and avoid the comment police. But, I was originally thinking on an entry based on opportunity cost. In this case, the cost of illness. It has been, by an reasonable metric, a rather harsh back-to-school effort. The pace has been both relentless and unending. Normally, I would have started shifting back into a normal load by the end of September. It is now October 5 and I am just feeling like I am coming abreast of my responsibilities. In fact, I am getting ahead of them. Starting to feel the stress slough off and a return to a pace which allows proper reflection both before and after an effort. A good and rare place to be.
And then illness begins to poke in. It starts as a tickle in the back of the throat and then some body aches and then who knows where we go from there. And, of course, the ongoing need to just lay down. Just for ten minutes. Just for five. But you push on.
It is, in times like these, I find it becomes difficult to make objective opinions. Being at a point where I can get ahead of the game. The kind of lead which can make the next month so much easier to cope with. The kind of lead that allows you ten minutes to write a blog entry like this.
But, at what cost? If I don’t rest and go under. Really sick, I can miss days of work or, even worst, pass it on to my peers and make them sick. Who knows what I have? If it is a cold or flu, it might stay light on me and drop someone on the hall for several days.
But, if I take time off, I might fall behind again. Back into the realm of this is done, move to that, that is done, move to these. A hectic, gut-wrenching place to be and the reason why you organize, track, plan ahead and always, always look up from time to time, just to make certain the lions, tigers and bears aren’t about to pounce. And they do pounce. All at once as if Fate, evil harbinger of rampant chaos, was just around the corner snickering at you.
What is the point of this? I don’t know. Another half-baked idea or half-fired neuron. Whichever. Take from it what you will and feel free to leave any thoughts (or laugh at any thoughts) about how you make these calls for yourself.
Doh. There goes Fate, laughing at me again. Oh…no…false alarm. Its just Sue laughing in her office. But, I just know Fate is hiding out there somewhere, waiting for me to slip on that banana peel.