100 Words Can Make a Huge Difference!

Maharishi School creative writing teacher Lucinda Hall’s essay for the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope contest is now in the top three out of thousands of entries. Thanks in part to the many online votes, Maharishi School has a one in three chance of winning the grand prize of $200,000 of hardware and software from Samsung and Microsoft, plus $10,000 of cash and gift awards from Direct TV and Best Buy. The School will receive at least a first prize of $50,000 hardware and software.

The final announcement will be made on March 31, at the Time Warner Center in New York. Lucinda, and Nick, Springli, and Essa Johnson are being flown to New York as the author of the essay, and a representative, parent, and student of Maharishi School.

Lucinda, a language arts teacher at Maharishi School, said that she’s “a bit on overwhelm” from the experience, but is happy to have the chance to give something significant to the School. She looks forward to New York. Her essay is below:

O-o-h-h-m-m-m. The sound of meditating at Maharishi School? No. The whirring of the hard drives from students at work.

Jonina is using Google Earth on a biography of Thornton Wilder. Jay is making a book poster in Quark. Pasha is using blending options for digital art in Photoshop, while Dodie is reading Track Changes in Word to perfect her writing. Eric is creating graphs in Excel, but Angela is presenting a PowerPoint on Edgar Allen Poe.

Why so quiet? Switched to solid state drives? No they’re meditating. The pure state of intelligence–getting ready to go back to their computers!

[Tech Tips is a new column I am introducing on Fairfield Voice. Please let me know if there are any specific tech topics you'd like to see covered.]

The problem: dozens of websites manage calendars listing Fairfield Iowa related events. There is a lot of duplication of efforts between these calendars, and an event organizer that needs to get an event published/updated needs to work with all this duplication of efforts in order to promote the event to the widest audience.

The solution: Google Calendar, a free service (requires a free gmail account) allows multiple websites to share a single calendar of events.

Let me give an example. Glen Keenan, owner of Chickadee, a local consignment store for women and kids, publishes a calendar of family activities using Google Calendar. He manages the calendar from his Google account by adding the time, location and description of family friendly activities in the Fairfield area. Nothing new here – he’s doing what dozens of other businesses and organizations in town are doing – creating and publishing events to a calendar.

However the difference here is that the calendar Glen created:

• Can be easily shared on any website.
• Users can add this calendar to their own calendars (Google, Outlook, iCal).
• Glenn can give permissions to other users to help manage (publish/edit) events on his calendar.
• Users can add reminders, so that they are emailed or text messaged as the event nears.
• Events can be assigned to a location in Google Maps – directions anyone?
• Attach files/documents to events.

Glen published his calendar to his store’s website, by simply copying a bit of html code, and pasting it into a page on Chickadee’s website. Visitors to his site can go to that calendar, browse family oriented events, add reminders for specific events they like, and/or click a button to add the entire calendar to their own online Calender. So for those using Gmail, they would have their Google Calendar updated in real time with all the events listed in Glen’s Family Activities Calendar.

Additionally, other website admins, like myself, can copy the same bit of html, and paste it into our websites, like I did here on FairfieldVoice. Each time Glen updates the Family Event Calendar in his Google account (publishing new, or editing existing events), the calendars on FairfieldVoice, Chickadee, and my personal Google Calendar (I am subscribing to the Family Activities Calendar) are all simultaneously updated with those new events. Publish once – update everywhere!

Imagine if the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center published their events in a Google Calendar. The Fairfield Voice, The Fairfield Ledger, The Iowa Source, and of course the FACC’s website, could all display a current version of the same event listing for the FACC. The creator of the FACC events calendar could promote others, like people who run organizations that run events at the FACC, to manage their events on the FACC calendar, and therefore spreading the workload of managing calendar updates. That calendar could then be easily added to any website interested in providing real time event listings for the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center.

In edition to a full event description, each event could include links to ticketing, files and documents, contact number and emails, show times, and directions (for those driving from out of town) powered by Google Maps.

What I would love to see is a ring of Fairfield calendars powered by Google and shared across websites and subscribed to by residents. Anyone can start a Google Calendar, just pick a theme – Chamber of Commerce, City Council, Music, FACC, Public Schools, Yoga, Sports, Workshops – and invite other people to help manage and promote, publish your events and ask to have the Calendar “hosted” on Fairfield Voice and other sites.

Got questions to help get you started? I’m happy to help, just post your question below.

Several weeks ago Twitter released their list feature which allows users to create lists of Twitter accounts which anyone can follow.  By following the list, you can follow an entire category of Twitter users at once.   I thought I’d put this feature to good use and create a list of Fairfield Tweeps (Tweeps = people who use Twitter).  Now you can follow all of Fairfield simply by following the Twitter list Fairfield Voices.

Currently there are 84 accounts in the list, but I know there are more Tweeps than that here in Fairfield.  If you’re a Fairfield Tweep and are not on the list, simply follow the list and then reply to Fairfield Voice requesting an add, like so:

“@FairfieldVoice please add me to Fairfield Voices! #fairfieldia”

We’ll add you as soon as we receive your Tweet.

The list is a great way to track your fellow residents as well as stay up to date on local businesses.  For example some stores like Chickadee tweet their special offers and sales.   No need to wait for the newspaper to know what’s going on.   Twitter might actually be the first technology to even beat the local grapevine!

Are you new to Twitter or want to learn more?  Check out these articles on Mashable to get up to speed:

• The Twitter Guide Book - an excellent and comprehensive guide for beginners and advanced users alike.
• How To Use Twitter Lists
• 10 Ways You Can Use Twitter Lists

Or post a comment below with your question.

The blogosphere and major media networks have been full of debate stirred by stories of accidents caused by motorists texting while driving. States and communities are imposing bans on using cell phones while driving in the wake of new data coming out that shows startling rates for cell phone related fatalities.

A recent study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that teens are aware of the dangers of texting while driving, but they choose to do it anyway.

Some of the data:

• 26% of all American teens 16-17 have texted while driving, and 43% have talked on a cell phone while driving.
• 40% of American teens 16-17 say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.
• A truck driver texting while driving is 23.2 times more likely to get into an accident than a trucker paying full attention to the road.
• Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
• Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.

Note: Photo Taken While Parked, For Dramatization Purposes Only.

While the list of countries that ban the use of cell phones while driving is fairly extensive, the USA is still catching up to addressing this issue. Currently only the states of California, Connecticut, DC, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington have hand held bans for all drivers. Most states have a ban on cell phone usage for bus drivers and text message bans for novice/teenage drivers.

And then there’s Iowa. Iowa does not have a single law regulating the use of cell phones while driving. Several attempts have been made recently, but all were rejected under fierce resistance.

It’s a shame that common sense, in this case being responsible and safe while driving, is something you have to regulate, but even more surprising is the resistance from my fellow citizens to legislation that has everyone’s safety in mind. What are the arguments against creating motor vehicle rules to prohibit the use of a device that is an obvious distraction while driving?

The message here in Iowa is quite different from say the UK, which has several ad campaigns addressing the public safety issue of driving while using a cell phone.

The other day a co-worker of mine was pulled over for having tinted windows. He was pulled over and ticketed right on the Square because his windshield exceeded the standard for light transmission. A total of three Fairfield police officers were involved in the ticketing, enforcing a law which I assume exists for public safety reasons.

I’m not going to argue the merits of the law against tinted windows – it sounds reasonable to me. However, I’ve been a passenger in this vehicle and never perceived that the windows were too dark or caused any safety issues.

Now let’s compare the efforts of the police involved in enforcing the law in this instance to the accepted practice of driving while texting or talking on a cell phone all around this town. Anyone that commutes daily in Fairfield has certainly experienced what I have: routine interactions with other motorists who are clearly distracted while driving due to cell phones. Not staying in their lane, blowing through or braking late at a stop sign, not stopping in front of crosswalks, driving in an erratic manner while trying to negotiate their next turn while also deeply involved in a text or phone conversation.

When I heard about the three police officers pulling over a co-worker for tinted windows, I could not but be annoyed with the absurdity in the level of effort to enforce THAT law, while so much distracted driving is being ignored all around town.

You’re probably thinking, “hang on Will, you cannot expect the police to pull over drivers who are texting while driving because those drivers aren’t breaking the law. You say yourself that there are no laws in Iowa regulating the use of cell phones while driving!”

It is true that there is no law on the books specifically targeting cell phones. However, there is a law against reckless driving.

321.277 Reckless driving.
Any person who drives any vehicle in such manner as to indicate either a willful or a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.

So my argument is this: why wait for the legislative process to catch up with current technologies and mandate common sense? The data shows that driving while texting or using a cell phone is dangerous and therefore a disregard for public safety. Our local law enforcement has the resources to enforce seat belt laws and window tinting violations (for example); but isn’t the real public safety issue the escalating use of cell phones while driving?

I drive a manual transmission. If I was pulled over for using a cell phone, and ticketed with Reckless Driving, how could I convince a judge that driving a stick shift with only one free hand is NOT a willful disregard for the safety of persons and property?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a modern day Luddite! I love technology and have owned an iPhone since the day they were first released – technology is my profession and my passion. But I also understand that how we as a society adopt and integrate technology into our daily lives often out-paces the development of laws and regulation around those technologies, that we require to maintain our social contract.

What are your thoughts on legislating and enforcing the use of cell phones while driving? Do you have any personal experiences with reckless driving due to the use of cell phones or other gadgets?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Stop sign ahead for texting while driving? (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Nationwide Insurance: 80 percent of Americans want legislation ‘to restrict’ driving while using mobile phone (mobilecrunch.com)
• How to Stop Teens Texting While Driving (usnews.com)
• Obama Bans Texting While Driving for Guv Workers – And There’s More (streetsblog.org)

Right here in my basement actually.  Thanks to Lisco fiber, YouTube and U2 I’m sitting here enjoying a live U2 concert taking place at the Rose Bowl in California.  It’s pretty amazing.

The video is smooth and the audio hasn’t skipped yet (I’m ten songs in so far).  And the way Bono keeps singing to the camera is making me feel like I’ve got the best seats in the house, along with everyone else on the Internet.

You may be thinking that a YouTube stream cannot come close to the concert experience, but it’s absolutely moving me.  The once “indie” rock band who played the soundtrack through most of my teenage years is now using the Internet to create the world’s largest rock/pop concert, connecting years of fans and demographics into one shared experience.

And if connecting everyone on the planet wasn’t big enough, they connected to a russian astronaut orbiting the earth on the international space station to sing along on the big screen.  Only Bono could pull this off right?

Related articles by Zemanta

• U2 Broadcasting Concert Live From Pasadena (manolith.com)
• U2 on YouTube, LIVE from the Rose Bowl (mashable.com)
• U2-tube: Watch tonight’s U2 concert live via Youtube (seattlepi.com)

The amount of data published to the web on a daily basis is mind boggling. Ten years ago you’d need to be a certified computer geek to update a web page. Now all you need is a Twitter account and you can start spamming the Internet with every moment of your life. Blogging is now the norm: we Twitter the mundane, we post rants and stories, we publish photos and videos from our phones and so we report on the world around us. As the amount of content grows so does the need to filter and search out the interesting and relevant, as well as group various perspectives on the same event into one story.

In order to publish your content into relevant search terms and meta blogs, you content needs context. And the most effective way to give your content context is with tagging.

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