Thanks Frank!

Click here to make your own.

U2 Rehearses for 1997 MTV Music Awards

U2's performance at the 1997 MTV Music Awards is my favorite live U2 performance. (That part where Bono just goes nuts and the Edge playing his guitar ... *chills*!) As I was doing random U2 You-Tube searches, I came across a three-part set of U2 rehearsing for that actual performance. Very cool! It's interesting listening to Bono try different sounds and the Edge testing out different moods and guitar tricks. I challenge you to watch the third part and not at least hum along. It's like U2 karaoke!







If you want to see the live performance, click here.

I can't believe I missed this

I have this bad habit. It starts with me really wanting something (i.e. the new U218 dvd), but when I finally get it, it sits unopened (in this case on top of the tv) for a long time before I decide to pay attention to it. As a result, I just did a search on YouTube and found this new-to-me video by U2 called "Window in the Skies".

Roy and I are headin' for New Orleans!

Roy and I are taking a week off this year and heading to New Orleans for vacation!! We decided earlier this week. Woohoo!! And we're staying a week! A full 7-day week! (I'm just a bit excited. Can you tell?)
We're staying at the Dauphine Orleans, which is in the French Quarter and apparently (as I just found) it is haunted! I just did a google search and one of the pages that popped up was a 'haunted hotels' page that lists the hotel. Here's the scoop:

• 415 Dauphine St. Much of the hotel dates from the 19th Century. A dark-haired male spirit wearing a military uniform prefers the courtyard, and there you might be able to also catch a lightening-fast glimpse of a dancing woman. Someone likes to lock empty rooms from the inside, and many people report a sense of being watched.

Now that I have it in my head, I'm sure I'll have that in the back of my mind and think I see/hear/whatever something. :P

Anyway, the pictures on the website are *beautiful*!

Raising my Whedon IQ

My friend Tracy got me interested in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As you must already know, I was totally blown away by Joss's most recent (and tragic) tv endeavor - Firefly - and so I decided that I wanted to check out what else Mr. Whedon has to offer.

So, I pulled up Netflix in my browser and added every single Buffy and Angel dvd to my queue. All 6783 of them. I watched the first season and liked it but wasn't incredibly impressed. I mentioned this to Tracy, and she insisted that Season 2 was much, much better, so I gave it a go. And I like it! So, I'm working through them. Season 2 Disc 4 should be in my mailbox right now. Four down, 6779 to go. :P

My favorite character is Zander. I think b/c he reminds me so much of Wash from Firefly. (*sniff* You're a leaf on the wind!) Very sarcastic and very funny! Hopefully he won't get killed.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the show. Just thought I'd share.

I love it when I have to go to the coast for work...

... not that work regularly sends me to the coast. Actually this is the first time. But anyway...

I had two proposals accepted into the TxDLA conference this year down in Galveston! My coworkers and I will be forced to mingle/socialize/network/hang-out with fellow edtech geeks while having some fun on the beach. *sigh*

Darren, Erin, and I will be presenting on (shock! shock!) Second Life:

• Virtual Environments: The Evolution of Online Learning?
  Virtual environments offer students the ability to interact with their class in a 3-D setting. Realistic learning environments can be created where students can explore and manipulate learning materials, and collaborate with other students via avatars. This presentation will demonstrate some educational uses of the virtual world “Second Life”.
  

And Qin and I will be conducting a hands-on session on an assessment tool we use extensively:

• Using Respondus Tool to Create and Manage Online Quizzes
  Respondus is a handy tool for creating, publishing and managing online quizzes and surveys. This session will provide faculty and supporting staff a hands-on experience to get to know about this tool and learn how to actually create and publish a quiz to an online course site using the tool.
  

Geeky? Yes. But interesting!

Why is your computer so slow??

Found this through digg. Not sure if this has been verified, but it's interesting, nonetheless. Below is a chart that shows what programs really slow down your computer.

Click the image to see a larger version of the chart.



Click the image to see a larger version of the chart.

My Comments:

• Norton. Whoa! But I figured as much.
• Interestingly, Photoshop falls down around GAIM.
• Where does Google Desktop fall? When it starts indexing, my ... computer ... just ... crawls.
• Umm... Second Life? (Yeah, I'm a geek. Get over it.)
  

Snow Day!

Woohoo! School is *closed*!

Ironically, Roy says that when I heard the news, I woke up faster today than any other work day. I very quickly got dressed and went downstairs to walk Roy out ... and to try to throw some snowballs at him. But alas, it's actually ice on the ground, not snow, so when you try and make a snowball, it just falls apart. (Which didn't stop Roy from throwing it at me.)

Below are some pictures from Monday (when it was icy and I was off for MLK day) and today.

Monday, January 15














Today

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Update: In searching for this video, I also found a very interesting alternative video for U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

Catching you up on my second life

Yes, it's been quite some time since I've posted. Various excuses apply -- holidays, out of town, getting caught up at work, preparing for the spring semester, etc. Sorry. Moving on...

Still waiting on our Second Life island for UTD

As some of you know, I and a few of my co-workers have been working in Second Life to create a demo for the powers-that-be with the hopes of getting funding for our own island. The great news is that we got the funding (!!!), but the not-so-great news is that we're still waiting on that island to be created. Apparently, with the influx of over a million new subscribers in the past few months into Second Life, there seems to be a much longer than normal wait period in the creation of islands. No problem, though. We're patient folks. (Just hurry up, please, Mr. Linden! I miss our virtual building we created!)

Virtual Morocco

My coworker Qin and I were discussing not too long ago about how powerful Second Life can be in recreating historical/cultural sites. (Someone had mentioned, and I have not yet found it, that somewhere inworld there is a virtual Forbidden City, which is what sparked the conversation and got us all excited.) Think of how much more interesting a project would be if instead of writing a term paper on Egypt, you could instead build a pyramid inworld and include pictures of art from that period and links to more information. Just an example. Anyway...

Not too long afterward, we heard about the island of Casablanca in SL. The talented folks at Johnson & Wales University created (in conjunction with the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism) a sim that allows you to walk through a traditional marketplace, neighborhood, home, cafe, hookah bar, and mosque. This sim is absolutely stunning! One very cool element to the sim is the Info Fez. You can get one for free from the dispenser, and when you wear it, as you walk through various area, it will give you more information.

As expected, I went crazy and took tons of pictures. Below are a few of my favorites. Click on each for a larger view.

































Update: (Thanks Matt for reminding me...) I completely forgot to tell you guys how to get to this Virtual Morocco. This is all located on the island called Casablanca. Just click on the Map button in SL and type in Casablanca, then click 'Teleport'. Enjoy! (1/9/2006)

LindenWorld

An interesting look at an early version of Second Life from 2001, then known as LindenWorld.