Jeffrey Dunster
Posts
It's been almost 10 months since my last post! I've immersed myself in my new job, house hunting, purchasing our first house, moving in, and preparing the home for winter. Mix in some business trips, a major vacation, a few novels read and limited internet access at home. Is it any wonder 10 months have flown by without a word?
Well, things are returning to normal. Winter is setting in. The heater is working. I've hit my stride at work. And the urge to get back to posting is really strong! I have a lot to tell you about.
I now work for the Brigham Young University - Idaho Office of University Communications, as the Web Services Coordinator!
It's a wonderful opportunity. Part of my responsibilities include: watching over the BYUI.edu web site (which, unlike most universities, is most of the web content), deploying a new web publishing platform (already in its final stages), and coordinating the online communications activities of all BYU-I entities (this last part is the most exciting). This position is all about improving online communication at BYU-Idaho!
The past five months have been a feverish blur. I have passed through some of the hardest working conditions that I've ever experienced and I've made a life-changing decision that will impact all of my family and friends. I have experienced another of those, what I call, "mountain peak moments" when you can see the path you took to this spot and all the paths before you. At such moments, you can only stop for a time, to observe and to ponder the majesty of life, before plunging forward into further challenging travels and adventures.
A recent report from research firm IDC states that shipments of mobile devices (tablets and smaller) will overtake PC shipments within 18 months. While many are speculating the end of the PC era, I see a more important shift in the making. As mobile devices come to dominate, the small form-factor of screen and input will alter how information is presented and manipulated.
I just finished repairing the magnetic end of my magsafe power adapter. My wife has been using it on her mac for a while and, well...let's just say the magnetic feature was used, a lot!
The power cord began separating soon after she adopted it (having broken her original in the same manner). I have a spare, so I didn't take quick action. Though I did watch it closely to see how the problem evolved. If it began smoking or seemed to risk a fire, I would have cut off her mac access until I could repair it.
Here are some notes and thoughts concerning computer technology and life satisfaction (which is really suffering right now).
http://ozzie.net/docs/dawn-of-a-new-day/
concerning the past 25 years of personal computing, Ozzie says,
This summer, I read a fascinating book call "The Humanure Handbook; a guide to composting human manure"
For two decades now I have imagined waste water recycling systems for domestic use.
We are planning to build a green home in a semi-arrid desert space, with a solarium and (hopefully) attached green house(s). Water conservation is very important!
This book details how human sewage can be composted to provide safe, balanced, and fertile soil fit for gardening. This promotes a direct, synergistic relationship between you, your food, and your immediate environment!
Realestate is confusing right now. Voices clamor "the bubble burst. Buy. Buy. Buy" Or, "we haven't seen the bottom yet. Rent. Rent. Rent."
In my case, I'm especially pessimistic, and here's why. We are a stupid, self-deceived, selfish people. We believe homes are assetts. We have become insane speculators on housing and property.
I believe that a home should not cost more than about 5 years of income. This isn't an unreasonable belief: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/home-shopping-where-to-rent-and-where-...
My Problem
In this digital age, we have the luxury of perfect copies. I take a photo. You love it. I attach it to an email and send you a perfect copy—indestinquishable from the original.
I just signed up for Blog Action Day 2010. The topic this year is "water" and I have been wanting to write up my thoughts on that topic for some time. Stay tuned!
Posts
It's been almost 10 months since my last post! I've immersed myself in my new job, house hunting, purchasing our first house, moving in, and preparing the home for winter. Mix in some business trips, a major vacation, a few novels read and limited internet access at home. Is it any wonder 10 months have flown by without a word?
Well, things are returning to normal. Winter is setting in. The heater is working. I've hit my stride at work. And the urge to get back to posting is really strong! I have a lot to tell you about.
I now work for the Brigham Young University - Idaho Office of University Communications, as the Web Services Coordinator!
It's a wonderful opportunity. Part of my responsibilities include: watching over the BYUI.edu web site (which, unlike most universities, is most of the web content), deploying a new web publishing platform (already in its final stages), and coordinating the online communications activities of all BYU-I entities (this last part is the most exciting). This position is all about improving online communication at BYU-Idaho!
The past five months have been a feverish blur. I have passed through some of the hardest working conditions that I've ever experienced and I've made a life-changing decision that will impact all of my family and friends. I have experienced another of those, what I call, "mountain peak moments" when you can see the path you took to this spot and all the paths before you. At such moments, you can only stop for a time, to observe and to ponder the majesty of life, before plunging forward into further challenging travels and adventures.
A recent report from research firm IDC states that shipments of mobile devices (tablets and smaller) will overtake PC shipments within 18 months. While many are speculating the end of the PC era, I see a more important shift in the making. As mobile devices come to dominate, the small form-factor of screen and input will alter how information is presented and manipulated.
I just finished repairing the magnetic end of my magsafe power adapter. My wife has been using it on her mac for a while and, well...let's just say the magnetic feature was used, a lot!
The power cord began separating soon after she adopted it (having broken her original in the same manner). I have a spare, so I didn't take quick action. Though I did watch it closely to see how the problem evolved. If it began smoking or seemed to risk a fire, I would have cut off her mac access until I could repair it.
Here are some notes and thoughts concerning computer technology and life satisfaction (which is really suffering right now).
http://ozzie.net/docs/dawn-of-a-new-day/
concerning the past 25 years of personal computing, Ozzie says,
This summer, I read a fascinating book call "The Humanure Handbook; a guide to composting human manure"
For two decades now I have imagined waste water recycling systems for domestic use.
We are planning to build a green home in a semi-arrid desert space, with a solarium and (hopefully) attached green house(s). Water conservation is very important!
This book details how human sewage can be composted to provide safe, balanced, and fertile soil fit for gardening. This promotes a direct, synergistic relationship between you, your food, and your immediate environment!
Realestate is confusing right now. Voices clamor "the bubble burst. Buy. Buy. Buy" Or, "we haven't seen the bottom yet. Rent. Rent. Rent."
In my case, I'm especially pessimistic, and here's why. We are a stupid, self-deceived, selfish people. We believe homes are assetts. We have become insane speculators on housing and property.
I believe that a home should not cost more than about 5 years of income. This isn't an unreasonable belief: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/home-shopping-where-to-rent-and-where-...
I just signed up for Blog Action Day 2010. The topic this year is "water" and I have been wanting to write up my thoughts on that topic for some time. Stay tuned!
One of my friends just pointed out that he couldn't see my most recent blog post, about becoming a writer. So I looked over my site and realized that I had posted quite a few posts with tags that caused the pages to hide from anonymous users. I had forgotten about a "security feature" that I set for these tags. That is changed now.
If you look over the following tags, you will likely see a few posts that you missed in that past few years.
Profile
Summary
Employment has included work in broadcasting, learning content publishing, editing and technical writing, systems design and programming, research and development in e-learning, and systems support.
Updates
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Just found my ideological doppelganger concerning higher ed web design and dev: http://t.co/p65mhspa Couldn't have said it better myself!
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Are Most Americans Debt Slaves? http://t.co/TD0oLOq
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Tooth "paint" re-builds enamal of teeth, obviating fillings. I've been expecting this. Now how much will it cost? http://t.co/jD4loSM
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Light-Up Bike Wheels Help Cyclists See the Road, and Help Motorists See the Bikes http://t.co/YMwFqhe
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Entering the ranks of home ownership is scary, exciting and expensive. It's been a long time coming too!
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Encouraging Drupal developments!
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As Mobile Devices Multiply, Some Colleges Turn Away From Building Campus Apps http://zite.to/lNtWrq
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Mobile First initiative at Stanford asks, "can this app/service/teaching work on mobile?" No = no go. #m3ut
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Inflexible textbook apps drove students from iPad. Community support model brought them back. Participatory innovation won them over. #m3ut
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An excellent article on testing web content (the message, not just the messenger) at http://www.alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/11 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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I’m going to #LaunchUp July 1 to see O-CODES, RawData, Pixelture, are you? http://bit.ly/launchup9 I hope it's free!
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Blogged about: The Great Divide Between Government and the Governed (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/210)
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Added to my site: About Empathy (and a cool video) (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/205)
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Blogged about: Finally, I Have Finished My Vegan Mouse Trap Project (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/204)
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Finally finished project page for: Building a Vegan Mousetrap (Live Trap) (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/188)
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Added to my site: Becoming a Manager (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/203)
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Added to my site: Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/202)
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Added to my site: Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life (http://Jeffrey.theDunsters.net/node/201)
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Finally, a very relevant and enlightening BOF for Higher Ed at #drupalcon. Sounds like we need lots of sub-communities on Drupal Ed.
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I finally registered for DrupalCon SF!23 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite