Things I Learned This Week – #33

Offline this week I learned not to go and see films on the basis of who’s in them, not to sit next to large cheese plants at doctors surgeries, and that listening to audiobooks before bed almost guarantees some form of lucid dreaming. :-p

Need to migrate your entire GMail account to a new one? Here’s how.
One Thing Well is a blog about simple, useful software (on any platform).
Scott Adams, he of Dilbert fame, wonders what a ‘start-up country’ would look like. We’ve got the tech to make life easier and better, it’s legacy stuff holding us back…
There’s been a lot of discussion about net neutrality this week. Here’s what Google says, a BBC Q&A on the debate, and a scary scenario if it all goes wrong. 😮
Nicholas Negroponte thinks the book will be ‘dead’ within 5 years. (I wish I could remember a film I watched years ago where an actor goes into the future and finds books hidden away, dusty and crumbling, rushing out shouting “You fools!” Anyone know?)

I only use four apps in The Ultimate Collection of Productivity and Office Software for Mac (Evernote, XMind, iWork, OpenOffice). I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing – there’s a lot of ‘to-do’ list managers in there…
Lifehack’s got some sound advice: Stop Trying To Be Creative (and start carving out possibilities!)
I found this New York Times article inspiring. A couple, not much older than my wife and I, who decided to try and life with only 100 things. Their findings? Focusing on experiences rather than possession reaps dividends!
Lifehacker’s got a roundup of the best mobile fitness apps. No Nike+ in there (which I’m currently using), and I prefer SportyPal over RunKeeper.
Want to know how your blog’s doing on social networks? Try http://twitter.labnol.org/analytics

Building on the success of #movemeon, etc. Tom Handley has created the extremely professional-looking #pgcetips. Worth a look for educators old and new!
As a (former/future/reformed?) History teacher, I found the Hands on History stuff on the BBC website – presumably as part of their series on the Normans – awesome.
BBC News – Carmarthenshire school with no pupils stays open
Vicki Davis wrote this last month, but I’ve only just come across it: 12 Healthy Habits to Grow Your Online Presence and Keep Balance in Your Life. Especially useful for educators, but also good advice for just about anyone!
Literacy through Lego? Great idea! Here’s a follow-up post as well. 🙂

I’ve redesigned my portfolio/landing page at dougbelshaw.com after coming across this free WordPress theme. It started off looking like the top image using the default images/colours, but it was trivial to modify the CSS to make it look like the bottom image, reflecting the design of this blog!

Linear presentations are so last decade. I love the Cooliris method of presenting, but if you’re stuck with PowerPoint, Mike Herrity shows how you can use pptPlex to give a ‘canvas’-like feel to presentations.
Here’s the gestures we use when we read a book. Along with swissmiss, I wonder how different things are with the Kindle/iPad?

I like the way Hugh at gapingvoid says pithy things in his own unique way. This one grabbed me recently:

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. (Ralph Marston)

Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. (Susan Ertz)

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. (José Bergamin)

Always be a little kinder than necessary. (James M. Barrie)

Energy and persistence conquer all things. (Benjamin Franklin)

Main image taken by me at Branscombe on Friday

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