Week 3.5 - Technology (Thing #7)

So if Martha Stewart became a tech geek... would she say "Technology: it's a GOOD thing!" or "Technology: it's a BAD thing!" I was looking at her October 2007 magazine and she'd split it in half with Halloween GOOD things on one side and Halloween BAD things on the other. It seems to me that one could do a very similar issue on technology.

Unlike Martha Stewart, I don't have a team of minions to direct and do my work for me so this technology exploration stuff is incredibly TIME CONSUMING! (see blog from Oct 16 - technology is my most difficult task)

However, I do have this twisted fascination with the progress of technology and listening to cyber geeks like my husband talk about predicted leaps and bounds in the near future. For me, it's like listening to anthropologists who are studying another culture on the other side of the world. I don't have a clue about most of what's being said, but its intriguing and sounds cool.

For example, the other day I listened to a discussion about how every so many years technology makes some giant leaps that occur sychronistically around the world and affect the course of humanity in some major way. So this conversation revolved around the year 2012 and how all these ancient calendars and modern predictors end at 2012. The calendars just stop. Like it's going to be the end of the world or something equally profound. Then my husband interjects that between 2012 and 2014 it is projected that three major technologies will peak and converge: artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and nano technology. In some ways I can see that this would be a GOOD thing - think of the medical science and transportation issues that could be solved! Then I think about the movie The Matrix and that episode of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits with the head in the jar hooked up to electrodes because the brain didn't need the body anymore. I'm not sure that's such a good thing. It's actually pretty freaky to think about.

The other things that are not so great about technology are the matters of time and expense. Where in heck am I supposed to find the time to do all this cool stuff?! And isn't technology becoming one of the major dividing factors between the haves and the have-nots? The uber-rich have the time and the means to entertain themselves with the latest in virtual advances. The middle class drools over the new toys and racks up more debt on their credit cards as they attempt to assuage their techno-envy. And the poor and underprivledged have zero or at best, very limited access. Makes me wonder if these ever-widening gaps between the classes... including the struggle for fair and equal access to technology... will be what pushes American society over the brink and into a mass social uprising.

Week 3.5 - Mashups (Thing #6)

Remember those vintage chi-chi-chi-Chia commercials from TV? Where you sprinkle the seeds onto a terra cotta figure, simply water, and wait for the green sprouts to grow? Well, while fooling around with Flickr's Colr Pickr I discovered a site where I can grow my own Chia Pet online! There are several photos of bald men, animals, landscapes, and more where you can use a paint function to sprinkle seeds wherever you wish onto the photo with a click of your mouse button... then wait a second or two and your seeds will germinate into bright green curly sprouts just like the real Chia Pet! At the site there's a link to submit your own photos to grow virtual Chia sprouts wherever you want. I didn't see any way to save your virtual Chia pet, but if you have a paint program you could probably do this to your own photos at home.

I spent a minute planting seeds in a mohawk and sat with hypnotic fascination watching the white spikes of hair transform into flourescent green wigglies. It made me wonder if its possible to burn out your brain cells with this kind of activity... I mean, think of the possibilities in regards to the so-called "war on drugs" and the economic ramifications of illegal drug smuggling and manufacturing. Who needs to indulge in expensive, actual controlled substances when you can trance out for free with virtual Chia Pets?! I think this mashup stuff has possibilities for changing the world as we know it and saving society from the tribulations of alcohol and drug abuse.

I have to admit though... I kinda wonder about the people who have time to create these wacky sites... are these student projects or are these lottery winners who have the luxury of time and means to afford to do whatever they want? Do grown ups have actual day jobs where they can sit around thinking up this kind of stuff? Is this a subversive tactic of the DEA (does the DEA even exist anymore?) to counterattack the hippie drug culture? Are these mashup hackers really employees of the pentagon, hired to entrench the masses and divert from the drug trade? Are there rows of cubicles in some underground Area 51 style compound with military hackers efficiently pecking away at their keyboards to reprogram society away from toxic substance addictions and toward these supposedly safe but mind numbing virtual sites? For that matter, what hidden messages are programmed into the Chia sprouts? Am I merely watching harmless green fuzz grow on the screen or are subliminal messages to drink more milk, consume more useless stuff, use my credit cards, or... heaven forbid, eat more vegetables, actually being programmed into my brain? Ack!

Faerieworlds 2007 - Jester Fairy

Faerieworlds 2007 - Jester Fairy, originally uploaded by phoenixspringwater. Here's another favorite character from Faerieworlds Festival. I can't wait to set up my Flickr pro account so I can upload more photos. Flickr is VERY COOL. I've been hearing Katie in the office next to me talk about it a lot but never actually SAW what she was talking about. Now that I'm in the know I'm completely addicted. See what you've done Library 2.0? I'm turning into a web photo geek. Ack!

Week 3 : Flickr Blog Tool Exercise (thing #5)

Faerieworlds 2007 – red faerie queen, originally uploaded by phoenixspringwater.

This is one of the photos I took at Faerieworlds Festival earlier this year. Isn't she cool?! Anyway, I took advantage of the free Flickr account (and am planning on purchasing a Pro account for less than $30 a year for unlimited service!) and uploaded several dozens of my photos from Faerieworlds 2007 onto Flickr the other night. If you're interested in seeing the other photos I've uploaded so far they are all titled with beginning words of Faerieworlds 2007 -

Book Faerie's Musings - Library 2.0 Tutorial

WEEK TWO: Online safety and privacy is a bit of a concern to me, which is why I have chosen to create a new identity with Book Faerie. The blog can act as a shield of sorts when I don't have to use my mundane name. Plus, Book Faerie gives me an opportunity to play with one of my favorite subjects - faeries! - while I learn through exploring the 2.0 exercises.

WEEK ONE: For me, the most challenging habit is Number 6 - using technology to my advantage. I don't have a lot of free personal time to really explore and learn about the new technological advances, even though I know they would greatly benefit my pursuits. So I'm actually very greatful to be able to work through these Library 2.0 exercises on work time.

The easiest habit for me is Number 4 - having confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner. I was very fortunate to have been raised by liberal parents who encouraged me to be curious and explore everything, to ask questions, form my own opinions, and excel in everything I'm involved in. It also helped that my parents are interesting, brilliant, and fun people.