I was just chatting with Joshua Archer and we tried out Skype. It looks really promising, but we didn't get to have an actual conversation over it because I didn't have headphones, and the feedback from my powerbook's internal microphone was pretty nasty.

Assuming the addition of headphones clears that up, this should be a great addition to our suite of collaboration tools (and would wind up getting a spot in our potential NMC 2005 session in June...)

I've just updated our Teaching Resources database to use a copy of the lightweight asset management system I built for the Pachyderm project.

Previously, the TR database had been developed as a WebObjects application, connecting to an XStreamDB XML database. That performed really well, and made for nice reliable queries, but meant an editing interface was more difficult to develop.

Now that it's just a simple MySQL database, and a simple PHP script running the queries and interface, it's easy to manage, and performs quite well.

The Learning Commons is looking to find a good flash designer (able to work on existing flash projects with a lot of actionscript code, and to create new projects based on them). This person would be filling a dual role, also providing graphic design expertise for online projects (websites, more flash stuff, some interactive/CD-ROM stuff).

We've got some really cool projects going on, so you 'd get to play with some great stuff, and work with some great people.

Normally, it's just annoying. This time, I missed my bus because of it. My menubar clock was blissfully telling me it was "Tue 1:18:42 PM" - I just thought it was a particularly long day, since it felt later (it was a particularly long day, but that's another story).

So, I keep plugging away.

Eventually, I glance at the menu bar on my other computer. "Tue 4:24:15 PM" WHA? Crap. Missed my bus. But, my laptop still says "Tue 1:18:42 PM" Thanks, crashing menu bar clock. I'll be catching the next bus home...

I've been making some time to think seriously about some of the assumptions and preconceptions I have regarding metadata, in light of my quick and dirty asset management tool.

I had committed 100% to the "rich, deep metadata is beautiful" mantra, drinking the IMS/IEEE LOM Kool-Aid™. I've built Large Applications that have been designed entirely around handling the complexity of this rich/deep metadata, and trying to abstract that enough to let me build actual functionality on top of it.

The folks at EDUCAUSE are doing something interesting this year at NLII - they are releasing the audio from many sessions via audio attachments to their EDUCAUSE Community Blogs. Podcasting the conference. That's freaking awesome! I'd expect that from something like BloggerCon, but for a "mainstream educational conference" to be doing this... I'm impressed.

I've downloaded every session they've released thus far. The audio quality ain't great (levels waaay too low, so I risk blowing an eardrum at the end of the track when my iPod switches to the next one... ouch), and the bandwidth doesn't seem to be quite there, but they are doing some cool stuff. And the production value of the intro bodes well (if they can get a microphone closer to the presenter... :-) )

I've just worked up a drop-dead simple asset metadata database for the Pachyderm project. It's just a MySQL database, with a single table that has 10 fields (including primary key). This simple database will serve basic metadata needs for the Pachyderm beta.

I also built a simple asset management system to test out the database. I decided to do a lightweight PHP "application" to stretch my legs in a non-WebObjects non-Java environment. This is about as far from the elegant Model View Controller design pattern as it gets. Raw SQL is littered throughout the PHP code. But, you know what? It works. And is unbelievably simple to debug.

An interesting idea... Web technologies: a first step towards biomimetism? The idea that enterprise-class, "hardened" applications are flawed by nature, and that web technologies that mimic biology in the ability to adapt and respond are more successful and appropriate.

It's another telling of the small pieces loosely joined story. One that's been going through my head very loudly lately (as it has before).

Things like the new Technorati Tags system really showcase what can be done with the loosely bound small pieces, rather than trying to build the entire widget (or series of widgets, or framework of widgets) yourself.

I listened to Doug Rushkoff - Renaissance Prospects (via ITConversations) this morning on the commute. It was an eye-opening presentation, framing a bunch of concepts that have been bubbling beneath the surface, in the context of a "new renaissance".

He describes a renaissance as an era where we learn to deal with additional dimensions. In the Renaissance, artists learned to create perspective to provide the appearance of a third dimension. Explorers circumnavigated the globe, showing it was round and not flat. Contrast this with VR and navigable creations, and placing objects into orbit around the Earth (and sending people and probes away from it).

I've been thinking about that whole "internet permanence" thing, and decided to put my money where my mouth is. I've moved a copy of this weblog to my new online home at darcynorman.net.

This new home should be as close to a permanent spot on the internet as I'll have.

No, I'm not leaving the Learning Commons. No, I don't have any plans to do so. It just makes sense for me to take responsibility for the resource that basically makes up my online identity, rather than tying it to any particular institution or organization.

I just found an awesome plugin for iPhoto: Keyword Assistant makes using keywords as easy as del.icio.us, so you're more likely to enter useful metadata about your most valuable digital resources - the stuff that comes from your camera.

I found it odd when I spent more time tagging web pages that I might look at possibly once or twice in the future, than on the photos I take of my family that I hope will remain valuable forever. It sounds odd, but Keyword Assistant actually made me go in and add keywords to the hundreds of photos I'd taken in the last few months. These were photos that I'd been neglectful in tagging, so there was a high risk that I'd lose some context over the years.

I had a bad meal on campus on Thursday, and it hit me rather hard. Turns out it was food poisoning. All I ordered was a veggie burger, thinking it was safe and relatively healthy. OK, I ordered fries with it, too, but that was to balance out the healthy side of things...

I was so dizzy that I didn't even get to enjoy the ambulance ride. And why does ER make it seem so much more exciting than it really is? There weren't any neurotic one-armed surgeons or anything...