That's Mr. Computer Guy To You

Kids in elementary school are funny. Being the new guy there means I get quizzical looks from some, having no idea who I am. Others see me in the lab and are calling me over with calls of "Mr. Computer Guy" and "Mr. Computer Expert". Then I help them press Control-Alt-Delete to log on. It's not exactly the easiest key combination out there, especially if you can't read and haven't used a computer before. Sometimes the kid kinda gets it, and has one hand on Control, another on Alt...and searching for a way to reach Delete with their latent telekenetic powers. So, there's still a ways to go with making computers easy to access for all ages. Let's not even get started with using the mouse.

Onto some sites littering my Firefox tab bar:

Here's Harrison Ford on Conan the other night. He always looks depressed whenever he's on any of these kind of shows, and this time Conan breaks out a classic clip of the "Star Wars Christmas Special". Hilarity in motion.

I've been getting into these productivity sites as of late, like Lifehacker and 43 Folders. Even though they have a lot of good advice on how to get things organized and in order, I still fail miserably. But that's not their fault. A few of their stores that have caught my eye as of late:

The "30 Boxes" calendar beta has gone live. An interesting calendar you can share with others for networking.

Cleaning out that dusty PC.

Using Windows Scheduled Tasks. Something I should look into, having windows do those jobs for me so I don't have to.

I also came across this site called Listible, which attempts to cluster sites together under similar headings, like this one for "The Best GTD Resources". GTD, or Getting Things Done, are lots of different programs, ideas, and other organization tips that people use to, well, Get Things Done. At times, I like to think that I'll eventually get all of my files in order, on the computer and around the house.

A classic post from 43 Folders, Building a Smarter To-Do List, Part I.

In an effort to keep up with all the sites out there, news feeds were born. RSS, XML, that weird orange logo - all the same. But how do you get it all in order? I'm still working on that. There are feed-reading applications out there, some free, some pay. Of course, I'd rather get the free one. There's sites that can keep track of them, or dedicated applications. Pluck offers a reader that runs inside your browser. Heck, even Google's Gmail now lets you add in feeds. A service like that sounds like a good idea since then your links are all stored online, and you can access it from any place. But for those who like a program you can install, I came across FeedReader.

I sure have typed a lot...that's enough for now. Don't miss the Woot-Off!