e-bay getting wikis.

Ebay is getting into blogs and wikis.

Not sure why they would want to, but there you have it.

The Farm

I went out to the farm again, yesterday. It was a lot of fun. The last time I went we were fixing an old mower (everything out there is circa 1917), and this week they had already cut the alfalfa. They had this ancient machine that was led by two draft horses. It scooped up the hay and then plopped it down onto a wagon. I, along with two other men, would then take the hay and stack it up on the wagon. It was quite difficult to keep your balance, all the while you are in close quarters with two other men who are swinging sharp pitch forks.

Once we had the wagon full, we used a single draft horse and a pulley system to haul loads of the hay up into the barn. It was a very interesting setup. I know Dr. Sidwell (the Center's director) was taking pictures of the process, and I'll try to track some of them down.

And then of course I also gave some pony rides, chopped some wood (I've got the blood blisters to prove it), and tried to keep the boys busy.

The last thing I did before I left our van, was take off my watch (I've got to be 'in character', and a digital watch doesn't work with overalls) and leave it in the car. All afternoon I didn't know what time it was. And that was just fine with me.

Consider the Following

I've heard of some strange pets, and once met a man who kept a pot-bellied pig as an indoor pet (he called him bacon, so the family wouldn't forget why they had him in the first place). But I had never heard of this.

I came across this article while doing a bit of research for my second book... And as usual, the event in chapter 10 actually happened... In fact, I'm trying to get with my friend so that I can see if I've missed any details.

You can't vandalize this wiki...

I've been working on a literature review of wikis in education, and so I've been kind of watching new developments in the news. I found this article interesting.

One of the problems (although it's a minor problem in an active wiki community) is vandalism. Somebody comes in and deletes text, adds inaccurate text, or swaps pictures. Easily undone, but it can still can be an annoyance.

But now the idea is that every change must be ratified by users. Depending on how they set it up, it could be nice. I don't think a minor edit should have to have as many ratifications as say, changing out all of the images, but it's still an interesting idea. Although you would need an active community to make this happen, and if you have an active community to begin with, vandalism is not really a problem.

Still, interesting idea.

I've finally arrived...

I work with a wonderful group of folks, both at COSL, and at FACT. They are a lot of fun. My co-workers here at FACT nominated me to be employee of the week. I got three balloons (my kids will love them), and a king size Hershey's bar (my wife will love that).

My grant runs out at the end of the year, but I hope that I will be working with all of these people for a long time.

The Good Life

Last winter, my wife heard an announcement on the radio that the America West Heritage Center was looking for volunteers. These volunteers would dress up as 1917 folk, and hang out at the Center. The AWH Center is a 'living farm', which means they grow real crops, that they feed to real animals, that they then really kill, and serve up at their food fest.

I wasn't too enthused, when my wife told me that we were all signed up to volunteer, less enthused when I found out we had to 'dress up', and possibly even less enthused when I put on my overalls (I'm pretty sure the first time I've ever WORN overalls), but when I got to the farm, my opinion was dramatically and immediately reversed.

The farm is beautiful, located in an very scenic part of Cache Valley (you'd be hard pressed to find a part of Cache Valley that wasn't scenic. I spent the day chopping wood, fixing a mower, using cordless equipment (cordless in the sense that it's 1917 equipment), leading a pony around the yard, eating cornbread, soup, and cobbler, feeding the pigs, and there was nary a cell phone to be seen.

My kids were having fun. Running in the yard, feeding chickens, helping out with the laundry, and playing ball.

My wife had to drag me from the place. I asked when we were going back. She told me next Thursday which, in my opinion, isn't nearly soon enough.

So if you're in the area, drop on by. If you pick the right day, I'll be there. I'll be the guy grinning like an idiot, and looking for all the world like I'm having the time of my life.

Me, circa 1917

Me, circa 1917
Originally uploaded by firemeboy.