Steve Burt’s Blog

A handful of links and resources:

• Creative Commons Add-in for Microsoft Office
  
•  Google Knol
• Engineer Your Life

Back on the 25th of June, Rob Walker wrote an interesting article for the New York Times title, "Tinkerer's Toy"  about a novel little connected device call the Chumby. In describing the curious little device Walker writes,

The Chumby is a fairly innocent-looking object resembling a clock radio, with a small touch screen and a leather-covered, padded exterior that feels like a beanbag. It costs $180, and it turns out that "alpha geeks,"

A couple of very interesting links:

• Better Writing with Web 2.0
• Improve your Productivity with RSS and To-Do Lists

Over the years I feel like I've met many a person who has told me that one of the things they most like about vacationing in someplace different is to be able to "people watch." And, I must confess, the idea of being in a sunny, foreign local alongside a busy avenue gazing out at passersby appeals to me, as well. Whether watching a young couple in love or a vendor haggling over a sale with a potential customer, it is always "strangely captivating" to observe others. Some of my fondest travel memories are of just that. For instance, some years ago in Rome, I recall seeing a young priest sitting on a bench (happily smoking a cigar) in a rather heated discourse, as a particularly memorable moment. Language barriers aside (I like to imagine he was speaking Esperanto) I was not close enough (nor creepy enough) to overhear what he was saying. Regardless, it was indeed captivating.

A few links that are interesting, perhaps helpful, and maybe even intertaining:

• Choosing the right format for Web images (PNG, JPG, GIF)
• Globex Re-design for Gmail - if you use Gmail, this is a must-have extension for Firefox
• Google Gears - for digital equity