Shift Happens

After realizing just how long it had been since I had updated JAG-wire I read over my previous post and had a good laugh with myself. In the beginning of the year I had this idea of not only doing an MA paper, but doing three big papers – including data from surveys, interviews, and content analysis all while reading tomes in the kitchen sink. It would seem my youth is showing – I didn’t realize just how much work it is to research, write, teach, begin a PhD and try maintain a happy life. Beyond this it turns out I had more than enough material in my multi-year Facebook data set to push out a paper, even if it’s not a study as good as all of the ones I keep trying to find time to read. So here’s the thing: I’m losing track of my dream of an adventure in altruistic academe and really need to get it back.
All of this Facebook hubub is wonderful – I mean I even got to meet my quasi-heroes danah boyd and Fred Stutzman at the ASIS&T conference the other week (oh and turns out my STS theory might not be a load of crock!) – but what happened to my dream of getting a PhD in helping people? The first shock was finding out that Sociology here has little to do with anything domestic outreach related, the second was waking up and wondering how the crap I got so engrossed in my studies that I forgot about the basics of what I wish to do with my life. Sure I get the blessed comedic effect of saying I did my Masters on Facebook, but what I really want to do is tackle something tangible I can touch.
Studying campus climate, teaching students and helping to run the Positive Event Chain is not enough.
I can reconcile all of this with myself if I think of the Masters Paper as just a pit stop to what I intend to do with my PhD but I’m entrenched! Almost all of the connections I’ve made and material I’ve read – any small shred of expertise I’ve gained beyond Sociology isn’t having to do with the digital divide or technology-based community outreach, it’s all wrapped around social networking technologies and identity theory. In short I couldn’t be happy making a career or PhD out of studying Facebook but if I continue down my current path (starting interviews, doing increasingly intricate and informed specialized studies, teaching classes on the technologies of Social Informatics) that’s precisely what I’ll end up doing!
It’s not over yet, however. I’m going to make time to meet with Abdul Alkalimat this week (or next week if we have to) and just spill it. What he did at the University of Toledo with technology and community outreach needs to be done here. The wealth disparity in this town is greater than it is in Chicago and the amount the University is involved is atrocious. The best Library and Information Science school in the country has an amazing array of resources and talented people – my plan is to jump into that mess, set sights for the local community and see how much difference I can make. Time to get back to doing what I do.

Lulz and Secretz: lolsecretz blog

For those of you who haven’t gone online in a few years, “Lolcatz”:http://icanhascheezburger.com/ are funny pictures (like “this one”:http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/01/24/ceiling-cat-is-watching-you-masturbate/ of the sub-phenomenon Ceiling Cat) combined with pithy phrases, usually in internet shorthand, or “Leet”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leet. Combine the joy of Lolcatz with the voyeuristic and empathetic site “Postsecret”:http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ in which people anonymously confess their secrets in artistic postcard form and you get “the lolsecretz blog”:http://lolsecretz.blogspot.com/. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Funny and sad.
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Mushrooms in Space!

http://www.velutipes.com/ offers the ultimate in fungus photography against a starry night sky, and it does it all in 4 languages. You're probably most interested in the "English page":http://www.velutipes.com/english.htm but maybe you might like to see what a Black Morel, pictured above, is called in "Swedish":http://www.velutipes.com/swedish.htm to impress your favorite "Indie-pop Band":http://duenos.net/article/26/billie-the-vision-and-the-dancers. It's called 'Toppmurkla' by the way. Previously featured on Duenos: "Nutrition Data at Your Fingertips":http://duenos.net/article/65/nutrition-data-at-your-finger-tips, an easy way to find out what you're eating, even what's inside mushrooms.

Your secret is out Monty Python

http://www.blabberize.com/. The website itself is well worth a visit to be insulted by a sarcastic Alpaca, but it's fun (and relatively easy) to create your own blabbering picture. Or so they tell you. I've been trying to get through to do it myself but their website is apparently under attack from "TechCrunch":http://www.techcrunch.com/ readers who want to do the same thing I do. If anyone has any luck, let me know how it turns out.

Millionaire Mate.com

http://www.nerve.com/login/LaunchPad.asp, so do the yuppies and gold diggers. Their slightly tamer version of "Adult Friend Finder":http://adultfriendfinder.com/p/page.cgi?who=UmFuZG9tSVai63IdZ8GIIEGMvNnPL8wPnO5Fk0Gb0Kb32qk/p386HfvX6rJWzuHIsNOL44Fu5ZLHAA/bubhUKMlb6VqbTAOQhQnLvXqknn__KPUVVjjEeQzLr3n6lWCOVU64hoSEFHfDNbhAoNEcYOLp9qon_HDLNsNDk1vvdEzKxWn5XHMVqAb9rOt_ZBhvVIeI3BHQbEUYZfZmPT/wAnWYOzFW_SXBdWk_BbqXkdQ-&site=ffadult is called "MillionaireMate.com":http://millionairemate.com/p/page.cgi and pledges to appeal to those who just have too much class for the 'other dating sites.' Here are just some of the perks to listing with Millionaire Mate, taken straight from the site: * Save time searching for beautiful, sophisticated women who appreciate a man of substance. * Receive the attention you deserve as our men get many more email and invitations to meet than at other dating sites. * Meet talented and successful men who’ve achieved wealth and status and are eager to share the benefits of a fabulous lifestyle with you. * Date with confidence – our wealth verification system helps you find the right man. That last one is my personal favorite. This website filters for you, only rich guys here. Sounds tempting, but for me, I think I'll stick with Nerve. This entry was posted in Original Duenos and tagged , on by .

Pimp your G-Box

http://creativebits.org/user/ivan from "creative bits":http://creativebits.org/ has just "educated":http://creativebits.org/buy_more_space_for_your_google_account me on Google's new option to buy more space for your Google Mailbox. I've never needed that much space for my e-mail because no one really writes to me, but I could see this being really helpful for people out there who would use it. In fact, you could always pair a "mailbox upgrade":https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageStorage with "Gspace":http://www.getgspace.com/ and use your account as an off-site server. Just think, you could never lose a porn file again...

Honey Dolls Sex Dolls

There are some strange things out there in the world–furries, aibo robot dog pets–but this is almost too much. “Honey Dolls”:http://www.honeydolls.jp/en/main.html sex dolls have taken the inflatable gag gift and turned it into a highly lifelike, modern sex platform. It’s the male answer to the Rascally Rabbit and from my perspective, wtf? Aren’t there better uses for this engineering talent?
Most people would probably not actually follow link I told you to after a post like this so I’ve decided to reproduce a small portion of the “about section”:http://www.honeydolls.jp/en/about.html here.
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Sleeping in Airports

If you are a regular reader of this blog you may have noticed a pretty drastic drop-off in posts this past couple of months. That, at least for my part, has been because I’ve been doing a lot of traveling. I have lots of things to say about the experience but for now, I’d just like to share this amusing website.
http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ is a site dedicated to the practice, of, well... isn't it obvious? In the last 6 months I've slept in "Venice - Marco Polo":http://www.sleepinginairports.net/europe/venice.htm and "London Stansted":http://www.sleepinginairports.net/europe/londonluton.htm but I definitely plan on doing more of it. Most of all I want to visit all 20 of the "best and worst":http://www.sleepinginairports.net/bestof.htm airports. One thing I did learn that is not included in the "sleeping tips section":http://www.sleepinginairports.net/tips.htm is to put a sign around your neck asking fellow passengers to wake you for a flight. That saved me a couple of years ago in DC. A final tip: avoid the three receivers of the "Poopy Bathroom Awards":http://www.sleepinginairports.net/results.htm, Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Wichita, Kansas.