The Professor's Notes

I was asked the other day who I support for President. When it comes to Presidential Candidates, I am looking for really two things: adherence to solid conservative neigh libertarian principles, and a sense of humor. I have supported Fred Thompson for this very reason.

With this video, I am tempted to change my mind! enjoy!

I have often talked with students about what life was like only 10 to 15 years ago. No internet? (well, not high speed!) Web pages? Try beta versions of Mosaic 0.81. Email? If you didn’t have AOL you weren’t connected!

Now I find this video showing what the TV show “24″ would have been like, in 1994. Hat tip to Christine at the Big Pink Cookie.

For those of you that actually looked at the PowerPoint presentation that I included with my Podcasting paper, I had an icon for a program called “Jing.”

But what is “Jing?”

Jing is an interesting, and as of now, free, way of sharing what you are seeing on your computer screen, with anyone over the ‘net. They don’t have to have Jing installed to receive what you send–only to

Check it out for yourself. I am including a link for you view this yourself.

http://screencast.com/t/o71lRKpYDtg

Let me know what you think!

Ahh, Lynn (over at Business Writing blog) reminded me of a recent response from the Department of Motor Vehicles.  I called to ask if the state accepted “out of state” learner’s permits (we just moved to this state.) I was told “no.”

I obviously asked what the legal basis was for that decision, since having already read through the appropriate legal documents (Title 15) I had not read anything in the law that would preclude it.  I was told it was “in the state code.”

“Oh? Could you give me a reference?”

“Hold on, sir.  Yes–go to our website and search for ‘Title 15.’”

“Thanks–could you tell me what paragraph in Title 15? I have already read through it and didn’t see anything that would preclude it.”

“Sir, we are not a legal research library.”

I started to argue, again saying I had already read through the title, and if she was going to give an answer she should be able to support it, but I gave up.  They won.

Honestly, I was not too pleased, since I was given the “it’s on the website” answer.  What really frustrated me the most though was that I was given a <B>definitive</B> answer (or is it declarative?) but they could not provide any support for their answer.

Should we push for legislation that would require government officials (especially those working answer lines, like the DMV and the IRS) to be able to support their answers?  If their answers will actually impact our behavior, our lifestyles, and perhaps our income taxes, shouldn’t we be given the source information, if requested?

Let me know your thoughts on this.

Prof

I presented my paper on Podcasting in Supply Chain Education. The paper received the “Teaching Innovation Award” for best paper in teaching innovations.

From the paper:

“Podcasting” has taken the technological and hobbyist worlds by storm, allowing for the creation of highly specialized audio (and now video) productions for delivery over the internet. This sort of capability has found its way into the classroom and into courseware, allowing professors to deliver a wide range of content to their students. (King, et al., 2006) This paper discusses the background of podcasting, the technology that enabled it, and how podcasting can be used to enhance supply chain courses with a “blended” or hybrid learning experience.

In addition to the podcast recording of the presentation, I am including the pdf of the paper, as well as the PowerPoint slides from the presentation.

Let me know what you think of it, and as always, leave comments, or send me a voice mail at the number listed in the contact section!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download