My ass hurts today. I got some of the house cleaned. I watched the new transformer movie with my son. I got gas at circle K. The movie was pretty good but it was long as hell. I was thankful I am no longer a smoker I would have been a cranky bitch by the time I got out of there. I am a little disappointed that my company isnt showing up till tomorrow. But it will be ok.

I am tired and guess I will end with that.

Went to work today. Didnt do much there.  A little slow. Went to pick up chickens today at Holmesville Ag Service. They are wonderful people. Got home put baby chicks in their temporary housing area. Havent felt well since I got out of work. Maybe the heat. –although if it would rain, it may cool down a little.– I took a nap after work, was woke up for dinner. Very foul mood when I got up. Dinner was so-so. Trying to decide whether I want to clean the house (which I should be doing or if I want to take the kids out for a drive and watch the storms brewing. We all know that driving is prolly going to win out. We’ll see.

golden comet chicks

Goat1 and mumpkin

Goat 1 is between 8-10 weeks old.

old lady chickens

The G:Standard 3.0.beta01 (2.9.80) is Released

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If it were fluid for all of us to migrate to infinitude obstreporous locations then the geese would fall in the order they were brought into being. Those damn geese. Floor stepping is the stride we chose to digress sideways in different directions to move the mockery forwards then back. Why then why then why then is it that we twitch from the high voltage shock that we get from looking to the sky for our answers? I can only say e. Yes e. The bottle top is white. White is the way we should move. If the progression is towards the white then what is one to do with the tongue? The canister is blue and blue controls my life. It is one of those things that you feel you cannot live without but do not notice the importance of it until it runs dry. When it is dry then the neurol receptors tell you you have done overlooked the financial district and it needs repaired now! Now. Now. Red however, red calms. Red kills. But red makes the stomach feels better. I do not like the socket but I still have it. I have it and it will travel with me. For when I am in need of it. For there will be a time when I am in the dark cold biosphere and will be in dire need of that socket. The wetnap dances tirelessly upon my shoulder, mocking me. Telling me of its joys and dislikes in such a way that I have to shudder as I look out its window. no more starring out that window. I desire to wander but I cannot, I am stuck, wanderlusting, pacing, and thinking of cool breezes and comfortable hammers. That numbness that only comes from the yellow cereal bowl. You know the one. The one that smiles even when it is trapped in the jaws of the penguin. Knowing its existance is at stake, still smiling.  thank you Deasie Bopenster for knowing the existance and propogating feet that we may dangle from in hopes and desires that linger in the forfront of the hippocampus. for my toes are cold and my mind is wabbly I know that this song will pass and I will step out from behind the bales.

Presenting information in an ethical format is a vital consideration for online learning. The cyclical nature of the Ethical Decision Making model provides the structure for effective ethical communications. Values, obligations and consequences cycle between the dilemma and the response. Values defined as the basic beliefs we hold that dictate our conduct and influence how we view others. Obligation to what or to whom we are responsible; further dilemmas may arise as a result of conflicting obligations. Consequences are looking at all options; considering the outcomes of our actions; looking at which choices of actions closest to our values. E-learners gain only as much as the facilitator is willing to provide. Communication is necessary for online learning. Ethical practices are also integral for successful online learning experiences. Combining these can be difficult and require a great deal of thought and consideration. If done effectively, it makes for a greater learning experience. No matter what type of learning communication there is, whether it is chat rooms, blogging, blended learning or instant messengers, it is imperative that the material be presented in an ethical manner. With internet based learning this may prove to be extremely difficult because of the cross culture and social norm differences. This is why the model of ethical decision making is such an important aspect to keep in mind while trying to teach and to learn over the internet.

Self directed learning (SDL) presents a variety of challenges and benefits for learners. Understanding different learning styles and preferences is vital for success. Various tools are available to assess individual learning preferences. Individual learning plans can be tailored for multiple learning styles. Success as a SDL is ultimate goal and a transferable skill. Understand online learning from a student perspective. Gain knowledge about learning styles. Communicate in a various on-line formats with classmates and instructor. Module contents outline required activities for the topic and further investigation and research for information on the Web and incorporating movement, practice, and physical actions into the lessons and learning increase the retention and comprehension of materials. For instance, reading as a kinesthetic learning can be easily interrupted and lack attention and comprehension but if the text is highlighted or underlined while being read the action assists in the reading and decrease distractions. Moving the bookmarker from line to line is anyway action to create physical movement for kinesthetic learners. The are many resources available to the SDL. Experimentation, mentors, friends, coworkers, are all potential resources for a kinesthetic learner. Adapting a preferred learning style to an individual can include materials from other preferred styles in that most individuals have scores in multiple areas and are able to learn in several formats. Kinesthetic SDL have challenges to address. Online learning can lack interaction and movements that are important to kinesthetic learning. Limited contact with instructor and students presents the opportunity for creative interactions and activities to enhance learning. Steps are repeated as necessary in the cycle of reading and learning throughout the course of the semester. Reading ‘activities’ such as highlighting or moving the bookmarker are actions that may occur periodically when reading or regularly depending on the content. Completion of all assignments is driven by the syllabus but the personal growth associated with being a successful online learner can be a lifelong learning endeavor.

Evaluation

Grades are assigned with a benchmark placed by the instructor. Gaining knowledge, understanding and interest is abstract and not always measurable. Therefore evaluation may be subjective. Any activity that increases interest and knowledge is an enhancement and learning process. Learning styles and personality characteristics define preferences of instruction in all teaching settings. Online learners must understand their personal styles and characteristics to optimize the learning experience. It is important for success in all class settings but vital for online learners to embrace individuality and emphasize the media and utilize the resources best suited to accommodate personal needs and preferences for learning.

I am going to discuss context and concerns I have thought about in a online learning environment. To narrow that down even further I would like to ponder external context in particular. Context being the environment in which learning takes place. An example of this could be a baseball game. The large cheering crowd, the yelling, smells of hotdogs and peanuts in the air, the hard benches that we place our rumps upon. Those things are the context in which I am speaking of.
In a online learning environment the contexts can be limited to: the desktop, the source of learning (chatroom, cbt, interactive classroom, etc), the screen size, the location of the computer that is being used or other variables that one acclimates to when the learning occurs. My concern, or question develops when recall comes into play. Is it more likely that one will be able to recall more effectively only when in front of the learning media? One could argue the same thing in a classroom environment, but I believe there is a significant difference in real life interaction of a classroom and the learning that takes place in a digital format.
In a class room setting, the context can and do change. The professor moves, the students move, there is more contextual change over the learning period. Whereas with computer based learning, I believe, there is less of a chance for contextual change and that may lead to less recall at a later point in time. Due to state dependent retention. One of the ways I have pondered to compensate for this is change of location every time one sits down to learn. This way there is always a change of context and the student may be more apt to encode and recall the information presented to them more effectively. This would be an easy task to the person who uses a laptop for their main means of learning but it may offer some difficulties to a person that is limited to a desktop computer. There are things that a person with a desktop unit can do to change the context of the learning environment, such as changing the time of day learning takes place, moving items daily on the desk, even positioning of the monitor. Laptop users would have a major advantage with this hurdle more than a stationary user. I wonder if there has been studies done to see a difference in active recall of laptop vs. desktop learners.

Billy, Dustin and Frank all know Jesus.
Jesus just left Chicago and he’s bound for New Orleans.
Well now, Jesus just left Chicago and he’s bound for New Orleans.
Yeah, yeah.
Workin’ from one end to the other and all points in between.

Took a jump through Mississippi, well, muddy water turned to wine.
Took a jump through Mississippi, muddy water turned to wine.
Yeah, yeah.
Then out to California through the forests and the pines.
Ah, take me with you, Jesus.

You might not see him in person but he’ll see you just the same.
You might not see him in person but he’ll see you just the same.
Yeah, yeah.
You don’t have to worry ’cause takin’ care of business is his name.

Switching to a Linux / Unix environmnt, for some, can be a daunting task. I presently use linux and have tinkered with it for some years. There are all kinds of gui based programs that closely resemble a Windows environment. There are others though that confuse the user to no end. The gui environment can be viewed from many different website and from Google images. What I would like to share are some of the shell commands that make linux a easier place to play. First off the shell is what most Windows users recognize as a prompt or DOS prompt. this is the most powerful part of the Linux machine. Without access to the shell, Linux may be useless.

There are a vast amount of shell commands in the Linux environment here are just a few of the basic ones:

ls = list the directory.

There are options that one can add onto the ls, and other commands,  to give them more power in their inquisitions. An example would be

ls

ls

ls -a

ls -l

ls -lR

The -a tells the machine to show the list with both the normal files one would see, as well as the hidden files in that directory. The -l added to the ls command extends the information about the files on the list. Things like when last modified, size and other useful information is added there. Adding the R to the -l shows all of the subfolders also in the directory one is hunting through.

chmod = change mode.

This option basically is just changing of permissions of the file by the owner. An example would be, if Joe made a file that Jane couldn’t access then Joe could chmod xxx filename to change the permissions so that others could access, use or change them around.

chown = owner of the file.

This command is used for changing the owndership for the file in question. Once again if Joe make a file and is the owner of it, he can transfer ownership of that file to someone other than himself. This is mainly used in cases of root (administrator) owning a file that other users cannot access or modify.

The above shell commands are just a few examples of the many hundred commands available for Linux users.