3.49 for a six pack!

I almost wanted to pick up a six pack to add a new low to my personal beer continuum. Right now the lowest rating is at "warm natural lite". The High is undetermined.  

So, I think my neighbors may think I'm a serial killer. Well serial killer is a little intense. Perhaps they just think I'm a psychopath.

So, I think my neighbors may think I'm a serial killer. Well serial killer is a little intense. Perhaps they just think I'm a psychopath.

You see, I have recently been using our fire place alot. Not only is it romantic but it has really kept my electric bill low. I do have to fuel the fires. This is not a problem except that over estimated the size of my fire place.

Most of the wood I cut and split at my grandparents is far too large. And I cut way too much wood. My entire back porch was relegated to storing fire wood.
Also, The large, plentiful wood needs dry bramble so I have to go in the woods and find stuff to use.

Now the psychopathic killer image comes from my hacking at wood with my hatchet. (It is really fun splitting wood) That and going in and out of the woods with a hatchet. Kinda creepy.

But man is my house warm. And I'm getting good at using a hatchet...

Kasey King, via iPhone.

Over 100,000 bottles filled

This is a water fountain just for bottles located in the Auburn Student center. There is a sensor that detects when a bottle is under the water fountain so it automatically cuts on and off. Also the water is filtered. The city water is a little funky tasting so the filtered water from this fountain beats the other non filtered water fountains.

I use this thing every morning to fill up my SIGG water bottle. I have probably saved at least 10 dollars a week using this water fountain. What is even cooler, there is a counter keeping up with the number of bottles this thing has refilled. So far the count is at 110000 bottles. That's a ton of money and a huge step towards reducing waste.

I have looked around campus and this is the only fountain for bottles I have found. I really wish there was one in the library. That would be super convenient.
Kasey King, via iPhone.

Hey blog, I wish I could say more. Sadly I am at work and must text posts to your electric wall.

Spell Check

I have become Incredibly addicted to Spell Check which is a cliche' thing to say. Seems like every one I talk to about writing papers has the same lament. Sell Check has infiltrated every facet of my digital life except when I'm on face book at the library. The RDB Library here in Auburn uses Internet Explorer which for some reason lack spell check for typing on the Internet. Combined with my clumsy typing, grammatical and vocabulary disaster.

But is it so bad that I depend on spell check? I like to think my Brain power is spent on more important things now that spell check has eased the burden of actually having to know how to spell words such as "socioeconomic" or Electrification". Both being words I do know how to spell because they are fun to say.

Back to whatever point I think I was going to make... Spell check is just one way machines, devices, Technology, have made it easier for us to work and process information. The problem lies in the mental laziness we have allowed seep into our society.

Just look at the impact calculators have had on society. It seems like people born before the microprocessor are mathematical genesis. I think it is not that society is less intelligent (which in mass, society is far from intelligent, more like an amoeba searching for food) society has just come to rely on tech because it is fast, and widespread. And what is wrong with allowing technology to do for man what it is best at, computation and memory. This allows man to focus on creation and Idea synthesis, two things computers cannot do.

So, Spell Check is good as long as you don't allow it to make you mentally lazy.

The Right App For The Job.

Much like how a carpenter needs the right tool for the right job, each app is best suited for a specific job.
Here is a list of apps and how I have been using them.

• Dropbox I have been using this as a way to access and read Pdf files. I can access Dropbox files from my iPhone, my home computer or from the web. One drawback is that I cannot highlight text or make notes within text. I use this over the iBook Pdf veiwer becasue it's more mobile. If i really need to make notes I load the pdf into iBooks.
• Evernote  I have used this more for personal things. This is really useful on the iPhone as a way to log ideas or images for latter use. For instance, I have used this to take pictures of endnotes in order to track down primary sources. The big drawback is that you can only acces what you capture on your computer. This is where Dropbox comes in handy.
• Siri This app is not really useful to me personally. Basically Siri acts like a personally assistant. You can give the app voice commands and it will look up local restaurants and movie times. I use it to make reminders about things I need to do. It kinda lacks in this function but it was free! and I feel like Ender Wiggin talking to Jane.
• Calender is of course an essential but the interface is limited. I really like Google Calender for imputing due dates with recurring reminders. Depending on the size of the project I set reminders to repeat every week so I don't slack off. Google Calender allows you to set up more complicated events the the the iPhone's calender.

I am needing to round out my workflow and will be updating the blog on how my research methods are evolving.

Using my IPhone for Scholastic Work.

Research and Writing in the digital age. 

I am starting a new experiment in my academic life. I am going to try and use only digital resources to research, catalogue sources and write my research paper. Also, I am going to try and center my research process around my iPhone. It will be my research journal and primary word processor.  I am also going to use digital source card software to keep track of sources. When I finally put everything together I will try to use Google Documents or open office. 

The inspiration for this experiment was first sparked when I took digital history and new media in the spring of 08. Since then I have become very interested in how technology is shaping our society. Right now we are In the throws of societal shift where old ways of thinking about the role of personal electronics as primarily entertainment is being replaced with modern notions connectivity and efficiency. I like to think of this new usage as super productivity, the ability to use one device for every aspect of work and leisure.  I am wanting to show how smartphones are more then a fast way to relieve a social networking fix by doing serious work with mine. 

I began this experiment by accident the second week of September. I was running behind as usual on a paper that was due the next day. My time was further shortened because I had to work that night. Desperate to make head way on my paper I decided to use my phone at work to text my ideas to my email address. With most jobs iv had, this one included, texting on the job is a big no-no. I find this immensely hypocritical because every jobs makes out like multitasking is an essential skill. This rule is also part of the notion that smart-phones are primarily entertainment devices and distractions. 

So I began to text myself notes and then whole paragraphs while still effectively doing my job. At some point I realize that I can actually text faster then I type. Also as I type I often loose track of ideas because I have to think about typing. Because of this I often write out what I am wanting to type in legal pads first, creating double the work. This is a problem I will address in a minute. I text far more fluidly then I type. This got me thinking about the possibilities of writing my paper primarily on my phone. 

Now, back to the problem of retyping what I write in legal pads. I love legal pads. Partly because of their utility but mostly because they make me feel important. The problem I face with legal pads is that I fill them up and have to sink time into typing and rephrasing. The paper I worked on in secret at work was half done on legal pads before i had to leave the library. 

A few months back I downloaded dragon dictation to my iPhone. I like trying out different apps to see what utility I can squeeze from them. Dragon dictation was one such download. I played with it when I downloaded it and thought it was really accurate which impressed me, but I really found little actual personal use. Fast forward to my my legal pad issue. I decided to try to use dragon dictation to digitize the words written in my legal pad. The process took a little time to work out effectively.  Once I got going I was dictating my words and rapidly rephrasing sentences. 

After dictating my legal pad notes to dragon dictation and texting ideas from my phone to my gmail account I used open office to piece everything together in a final draft. I successfully wrote a paper in very new way, personally speaking. 

What I want to do is continue this process and refine using my iPhone for research and writing.

I will be posting more on this blog about what I an learning and how I am developing my mobile skills. 

Kasey King, via iPhone.