The Professor's Notes

UPDATE:  Apparently Amazon is no longer selling the original Kindle even as a refurb.  They are selling the Refurbished Kindle 2 and the Refurbished Kindle DX though, and so far everything I have read says that this is a GREAT deal.  Check it out.

I have just found on the Amazon site that they are selling the original Kindle for only $149.99. (see update above)

If you are interested, check it out.  It’s “almost” as good as the Kindle2.  I have the original, and haven’t felt the need to upgrade, since the only really new features are the ability of the Kindle 2 to read to me (with a computer generated voice) and more esthetically pleasing buttons.  In fact, I personally like the ability, with the original Kindle, to add a memory card, thereby having unlimited storage (and I can remove the card–with my books–before I ship it out if I have problems).  Also, the original Kindle has a removable/replaceable battery, so you won’t have to send the whole unit off to Amazon if your battery dies.

Anyway–just wanted to share this with you.

Yesterday, on NPR, Juan Williams presented a story entitled “Is Race A Factor In Protests Of Obama Initiatives?”

I must admit, I had somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction to that story.  I have always been resistant to people bringing up accusations of -isms when criticizing the actions of others.  That holds true for racism, sexism, and naziism to name just a few.¹

One comment of Williams’ that really stood out to me was when he said:

WILLIAMS: Well, there was an undercurrent, but in recent days the episode with Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouting out, You lie, as Obama was speaking to the joint session has really exacerbated that anxiety, and it’s led to this notion that there is disrespect, even condescension, in the way that Obama is being treated as compared to any other president of the United States.

I found myself thinking that this isn’t so much a disprespect directed at the President because he is black, but rather a further manifestation of what I believe we have been seeing ever since the “me” generation of the 70s.  Once we were told that WE were important, Read the rest of this entry »

I have entered into a new podcasting venture with Tony Pittman (@TonyPittman).  We have decided to start talking about tech from the perspective of real people, outside the “tech bubble” of Silicon Valley.  Our goal with our podcast is to talk with regular users, and focus on regular technology.

Listen, join in, and let us know how you use technology, and what you would like us to talk about each week.  We are already lining up guest speakers, so tell us who you want to hear!

If the other link doesn’t work, listen here

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