Plan3t T3ch

Now that the school year is in full swing, and my daughter is becoming a bundle of energy that is hard to keep up with, I intend to just focus my blogging time on helping teachers using technology. So please link to my newish blog @Friendly Neighborhood Tech Guy for further info and fun.

Wow…a reason to go to YouTube…The Defenders of Stan! A new friend noticed I was a fanboy and comic fan and she turned me on to this. I am also a huge fan of the Superhero Parodies. This is the best Superhero Parody I have seen on the net. Talents from THE BiG HONKIN’ - three guys, two computers, one camera and no decency - create this show that focuses on the the life of Stan, a normal guy surrounded by people with Superpowers. I love how annoyed he is with the situation. This is one Internet series that is out to be something more…feature film?!?!?! I would see it.

What planet are you from?

Many search engines try to provide an alternative to Google…cuil would like to be there and claims users will say “If I can’t find what I want on Google, I can find it on Cuil.” This search engine provides results in a three columned layout that provides descriptions and images while suggesting other categories and tabs with other search suggestions. Cuil also claims to have 3 times as many indexed web sites than Google.

What planet are you from?

Okay…I know that I am not the only fan boy that misses the genius of Joss Whedon on the small screen. I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. I have also loved to read his Astonishing X-Men run, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 comics and look forward to the trade of featuring this Runaways run.

Whedon is embracing the internet to share with his fans Dr. Horrible the Sing Along Blog. These web episodes are a fun way of seeing the world through the eyes of a lovesick villain (or at least he tries to be). These episodes can be downloaded from iTunes or watched on Hulu. Whedon is also taking advantage of Twitter. It is a must see!

What planet are you from?

One of my favorite sites, Geeksugar, has given me another way to get addicted to searching for images. Choose a color from the pallet and the Multicolr Search Lab finds pictures with the color shared on Flickr. Of course it gets way more addicting and interesting as you pick more colors from the pallet.

What planet are you from?

Okay…we don’t really need another reason for FireFox to be the best browser out there, although Flock is becoming a close second for me, but now we have another reason with a new Add on, FireNes. The add on provides a link to over 2500 Classic  Nintendo games. From the left navigation bar one can quickly jump to java-based emulator sites of Classic NES games. Ahhh…the good old days of wasting time playing thses 8 bit wonders is no long in the old days…and new day of wasting time has arrived.

What planet are you from?

Okay…the Eye-Fi is something I used to impress my SOON TO BE Principal. It’s such a great concept and could make taking pictures an easier experince. Only draw back I see is that you need to use a digital camera that uses a SD card…I am a XD fan, so I will need to buy a few more camera. I think it would be worth it. To learn check out this link http://tinyurl.com/2g6f2w. Can’t get any easier.

What planet are you from?

It is amazes me that we are doing so much to explore Mars. Recently the Mars Phoenix Lander touched down on Mars on May 26th and the Twitter Followers were the first to know. “With liquid water comes the possibility of life. On the Phoenix, a robotic arm with a scoop will dig into the ice layer. Instruments on the spacecraft included a small oven that will heat the scooped-up dirt and ice to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Analyzing the vapors will provide information on the minerals, and that will, in turn, provide clues about whether the ice ever melted and whether this region was habitable. The mission is to last three months” (from NYTIMES article).

The lander is ready to begin digging for ICE, the main objective for the lander. Above is a picture from the landing that seems to have exposed ice below the soil.

To find out more about the Phoenix Mission, The University of Arizona (with the help of NASA) has a great website (and very teacher/kid friendly…lots of images, videos) http://fawkes3.lpl.arizona.edu/index.php

What planet are you from?

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a Starbucks cup in my hand for the most of the day. I am currently in Cincinnati and the first site I visit is a Starbucks. Of course, I think this is guided by fate…in the middle of OHIO (somewhere around Columbus) I take a random exit to take a break from driving and get gas…and there it was…a Starbucks in the middle of farm county Ohio.

Did I start out as a coffee junkie? Nope! My parents grew up during the first instant & automatic drip coffee pot era. It was not uncommon that their parents drank coffee all day, because it was so easy to make. I did not grow up with coffee drinking parents, so I never looked for it.

I didn’t start drinking Coffee until my 5th year of teaching…prior to this I survived on heavy doses of Mountain Dew. I had a close friend that escaped from school each day to grab a Starbucks during our planning time. I of course went…but didn’t like coffee, so I got Hot Chocolate. Who would have ever thought as Hot Chocolate as a transition to coffee??? Well it began with Mochas…to triple ventes…to quad ventes…more caffeine the better.

Why did I decided to blog about Starbucks and coffee, as I drink one? I was reminded of a friend who twittered the other day about how he loved a good cup of coffee. Well I began to wonder if I really liked coffee or victim of consumerism. This also reminds me of a conversation I had with a high school-er about how he described Starbucks as “being the Microsoft of coffee”…Wow he hit a nerve, I am a APPLE Guy.

I defended Starbucks and argued that Starbucks did not come into towns like a WAL-Mart and force smaller companies to close…Starbucks created the market for coffee (made it okay to spend $5 for a cup of joe) and if anything the company has promoted the growth of coffee shops around the country. Case in point…New Wilmington, PA…the small college town that I went to college in…a town surrounded by PA Amish. Not much business is done in the small downtown…Except a Coffee House that thrives even if College is not in session.

Could this happen without the Microsoft of Coffee?

I am not the only one who addicted to Starbucks…check out this website with very familiar Starbucks images. [http://www.sirensongdc.com/news/]

What Planet are you from?