2009-06-13

Digital Reading

Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger is considered a plan to reduce the number of educational textbooks at California continues to address it's $24.3 billion dollar deficit. As the textbooks phase out the internet-based learning materials will increase.
About time huh?
Now I love books. And pages. And bookmarks?
I love libraries and book stores.
I love smelling brand new books and finding rare, interesting copies of favorites.
When I think of a dream home the first thing that comes to my mind is built in bookshelves.
However, when thinking about our nation's education systems: textbooks are out of date. Information evolves and updates at such a rapid rate that the average textbook is out of date in no time at all.
It is only obvious that as school systems continue to battle squeezing budgets, the paperless world of the internet can dramatically free up the funds for expensive textbooks and redirect them to more significant educational concerns, like adequate funding for teachers, administrators, etc.
Yada, yada, yada.
Oh...check our BookGlutton.com for some books online, to see the developing possibilities of digitial reading.
I say all that to pass on this following quote from Clive Thompson's thoughts on the Future of the Reading in the Digital World; he says (and i think it's interesting and exciting):

The technology is here. Book nerds are now working on XML-like markup languages that would allow for really terrific linking and mashups. Imagine a world where there's a URL for every chapter and paragraph in a book—every sentence, even. Readers could point to their favorite sections in a MySpace update or instant message or respond to an argument by copiously linking to the smartest passages in a recent best seller.
This would massively improve what bibliophiles call book discovery. You're far more likely to hear about a book if a friend has highlighted a couple brilliant sentences in a Facebook update—and if you hear about it, you're far more likely to buy it in print. Yes, in print: The few authors who have experimented with giving away digital copies (mostly in sci-fi) have found that they end up selling more print copies, because their books are discovered by more people.
I'm not suggesting that books need always be social. One of the chief pleasures of a book is mental solitude, that deep, quiet focus on an author's thoughts—and your own. That's not going away. But books have been held hostage offline for far too long. Taking them digital will unlock their real hidden value: the readers.

www.facebook.com/tsharrison

Facebook now allows you to personalize your Facebook URL. I'm not exactly sure what this does for me, but I suppose it does allow me to direct people to me on Facebook easier.
Are we friends?
If not, find me here: facebook.com/tsharrison.
Revolutionary? Maybe not.
Cool? I don't know.
New? Definitely.
Nice and shiny.

Apparently if you visit my Facebook page you can meet Christian Women easily. So I guess my Facebook page is helpful in some respects.

Big Win

I'm just stoked about this win tonight. I would be thrilled if the Rangers can actually take this series from the Dodgers. I think it might legitimize the ball club this year. And I still believe that this is a team that is still going to improve once some of their prospects make their way up to the big. (Sorry Julie)