Life is Easier with Shorter URLs

I want to share an article from Businessweek that describes the best releases from the recent Consumer Electronics Show.

This is easy, right?

Just find the article on the web and then copy the URL to an email or blog post for you to use.

Here's one we can use . . .
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/01/0111_ces/source/1.htm?technology+slideshows&technology+slideshows

HUH? What is this address? It's as long as my arm and twice as hairy. It's running off the page. How many times have you pasted a long URL into an email to send to your friend and the end was cut off? Lots, eh

What's a guy to do?

Enter the URL ECONOMIZERS!!!!! Imagine a magical website that will take that mammoth URL and chop it down to a URL Mini-me . These websites are actually huge databases that generate a string of characters that they connect with your inserted URL.


http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/01/0111_ces/source/1.htm?technology+slideshows&technology+slideshows

Turns into

http://tinyurl.com/ypva6q

I would imagine that if that address is already in their database, that it will economize their work by just providing you with the link they created earlier.

Who are the URL Economizers?

TinyURL is the first one I ever found. It is easy to use. You can simply copy the URL, go to TinyURL.com and paste the link into the URL box on their page. It will create a TinyURL that you can use. BUT the REAL benefit of TinyURL.com is when you place the TinyURL link in your browser's tool bar. THEN, all that you have to do is go to your desired website and then click on the new link in your toolbar. It will immediately take you to their website with the TinyURL link already waiting for you to use.

SnipURL (or SNURL) is another one that I have found. It does the economizes URLs BUT it also copies the new address directly to your clipboard. This cuts out the copy and paste process that you need with TinyURL. It means that you just copy the huge URL into the URL box, snipit, and then paste it directly into your email or blog or ?? where you need it. The best part is that if you place a SNURL link in your browser's tool bar, it will automatically create the URL and place it into your clipboard without you even going to the SnipURL website. I love the feature but I don't understand the business model because these companies make their money on the Google Ads they have on their websites. The more times you visit the website, the more money they make.

I would assume that there are a number of other URL economizers on the web. If you know of one, leave a comment so that I can share it with our readers.

VERY INTERESTING NOTE!!!!!! I just realized something about URL economizers and Twittering. I just sent out a long URL on Twitterrific (the interface software for Twitter that I use on my Mac) and it came back as a TinyURL address. That means that the software is smart enough to run long URLs through the economizer to save on space. SOO SMART!!!!

Have a great day and remember - Economize!

Dr. Z

Governor Richardson Ends His Campaign

Well, it happened.

Governor Bill Richardson has decided that he is no longer a viable candidate in the democratic race for president. Having received 2% in Iowa and 5% in New Hampshire, the governor didn't have the money to continue through to Tsunami Tuesday in early February.

I know that this is not a post about educational technology, but I still believe that Governor Richardson is the best qualified candidate for running our country and his decision to end his campaign is important to me.

The shining light in this decision is that Governor Richardson will be able to return to New Mexico to continue improving his state through his vision and innovations. While I will support whatever decisions he makes about his political future, I hope that he doesn't pursue vice president. The vice president doesn't do much and the Gov. will be able to affect many more lives as the New Mexico governor.

Governor Richardson was a catalyst for bringing forth important issues like an immediate end to the Iraq war. He has advocated immediate withdrawal from the beginning but his opponents wouldn't even commit to withdrawal in 5 years. Because of his untiring advocacy for this position, all of the democratic candidates are now advancing withdrawal in 18 months or less. Thank you, Gov.

It has just been announced but some journalists have already posted their articles covering this change in the presidential race. Guess they had it already written because of the governor's low returns.

Richardson Leaves the Personality Contest (Yahoo)

I must admit that I learned a great deal about elections through the Richardson race. As you may have noticed on my earlier postings, I assumed the role of Precinct Captain for Richardson and actually the first work I have ever done on a campaign. It was exiting.

I guess the next question is whether or not I will work as hard on the Obama campaign after he receives the Democratic nomination.

In closing, let me say "You're FIRED, Gov. Richardson!!!"

(This is a joke that only Gov. Richardson and campaign employees will understand. I know about this because my son, Jeff, worked on Richardson's campaign in Des Moines.

Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part II

Continuation of Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part I

Thursday night came and it was time to visit Schindler Education Center at the University of Northern Iowa to assume my role as a Richardson precinct captain. Three different democratic caucuses were begin held in this building in three different lecture halls.

We arrived at 6:00 for the 6:30 caucus and I was amazed by the number of people who were there already. Signs were posted for all of the candidates in each of the halls. Some of the campaigns even had sandwiches and goodies to eat.

Everybody was there. This was as much a social happening as it was a political event. We checked in at the front table. Would you believe that we were even given a survey where we could note which candidate we were going to support. Unlike balloting, the caucus process is completely public so it is OK to ask who you are supporting. You weren't required to complete the survey, but if you did, it will probably be added to your voting record somewhere.

An interesting aspect of the evening is that if you were not registered on the list out front, you could actually register to vote inside. This is handy for the first time voters. This also means that if you were a republican and wanted to vote for Hillary, you could register that night as a democrat and then change it the next day. While this may seem a little fishy, since the doors were locked at 7:00 and you were not allowed to leave or reenter, there was no chance of people running over to another caucus and voting twice.

Each of the support groups were sitting in a specific section in the hall. The Obama group was huge. Edwards was well-represented as well as Hillary. Our Richardson group had about 15 people in it. The question was whether or not this was going to be enough to make Richardson a viable candidate for the caucus.

Viability is the crux of a democratic caucus. A candidate is required to have at least 15% of the total attendance to be considered viable. We were anticipating about 210 attendees so we would need 31 supporters for Richardson to be considered viable. Things were not looking good for the Richardson camp.

The activities actually began at 7:00. The doors were locked and the number of attendees were counted. The number that was given as the total number of registered attendees was identified as 233. Whether this number came from the registration list or a head count is not certain. The caucus leaders took care of some administrative activities like nominating and electing the permanent precinct chair and secretary.

Next it was time to identify the viability for each candidate. The Richardson campaign had a spreadsheet to calcuate the caucus math. Our son, Chris, ran it for me. Fifteen percent of 233 computed to 35 people. Our precinct had a total of 7 delegates to share between the candidates and it was time to begin the process of splitting them up. The captains were to group their supporters together and provide a headcount. Turned out that Hillary, Edwards, and Obama were viable. Richardson, Kucinich, and Biden did not have enough people. There was even a group of uncommitted voters.

Having identified the viability levels, we now had 30 minutes to drum up enough supporters to make our candidates viable. The representatives from the viable camps were allowed to give a short speech to "sell" their candidates. Having completed those, the non-viable candidate supporters were allowed to make their speeches. I took the podium and made a pretty good speech to support Governor Richardson. I emphasized his experience and proven policies. We were really hoping to convince the uncommitted to join us.

Now it was time to get people on our side. We had more supporters than Kucinich so we tried to bring them into our fold. We got a couple of uncommitted voters but it only reached 25. Finally, we decided that we were not going to be viable so we released the supporters to go to the camp of their choice. Some members of our group decided that if they couldn't support Richardson, they would remain uncommitted. The rest of the group moved to the Clinton, Edwards or Obama groups. I joined the Obama crew. Obama had been my second choice.
Now it was time to present another head count for the viable candiates. Ultimately, it turned out that Obama earned 4 delegates, Edwards earned 2 and Clinton earned 1.

After the delegates were divided, it was time to elect who would actually attend the Iowa Democratic Convention on Saturday, March 15. I decided to get involved in the convention. You won't believe it, but I am now a democratic delegate for Obama!
This elected group of delegates was then ratified by the precinct as a whole. It was answered with a resounding "Aye!"

Finally, it was time to discuss resolutions that would be added to the Democratic platform. These planks had been submitted on paper in the back of the room before the caucus and this was the time where voters could discuss these issues. Unfortunately, we had been at this for almost an hour and a half already and everyone just voted to accept the resolutions without even discussing them.

The group voted to adjourn and the primary elections had begun . . .

The democratic caucus process is by no means scientific or even consistent between precincts. The structure is there, but the public aspect of the democratic caucus adds a variety of dimensions that don't exist in private polling. The 3-hour process during a designated time eliminates interested voters who have to work during that period. This is not a problem with the typical primary polling situation where voters can cast their votes from 7 AM - 8 PM.
It should be noted that the Republican caucus is not public like this. Voters come together in a caucus the same as the democrats, but they hold private election where ballots are submitted and then counted.

Here are some other bloggers' comments on the Iowa Caucus:

• Is This Really Democracy in Action? - John Fund
• Celebrity Politics - Rob Galloway
• Democrats, Republicans take differing approaches for polling on caucus night
• Caucuses '08: Dazed and confused in Black Hawk County

Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part I

The Iowa caucus experience is different than anything in the country. I just learned that Wyoming just had their caucus but it isn't anything that anyone noticed. (Will Anyone Notice Wyoming's Caucuses) Besides, it is only for Republicans. Romney won 8 of the 12 delegates. Interestingly enough, the Democrats won't have their caucuses until March 8.

In search of victory in these early January caucuses, candidates have been visiting us since March of 2007. I haven't spent too much time visiting with all of the candidates (I have met and spoken with Richardson twice and Obama once.) The picture up there includes Me (Dr. Z), Gov. Richardson, and our son, Jeff. Some of my friends have been making a point of seeing as many candidates as possible (Clinton, Biden).

We LOVE all the attention that Iowans receive from the candidates and the nation . . . at least we enjoy it for the first 8 months. The last few months are utter chaos. The cities are invaded by politicians and their entourages and their campaign workers. There is another reason "Why Iowa Wants to Be First." The New York Times says that they spent over $13 million dollars in the state while trying to win us over.

The campaign workers are an important part of the campaigns. Our son, Jeffrey Zeitz, worked as a fields operative in Des Moines since June. He was in charge of organizing the campaign in Dallas County (yes, we DO have a Dallas in Iowa.) I was able to meet the Gov at a salsa-tasting party outside of Des Moines. Here you can see that he knows something about grilling chilies. Of course he does, he's from New Mexico.

As we looked closer at Gov. Richardson and what he could bring to the presidency, both my wife, Kathy, and I became Richardson supporters. We contributed to his campaign and housed 3 "road runners" from New Mexico during the final week of the campaign. Road runners are volunteers who came to Iowa to provide the added people power for the final onslaught of the campaign assault. They were wonderful people. One of our visitors, Terry, blogged on his experiences from Dec. 25 - Jan. 5 in his blog, Ennui - Personal & Political. His writings provide a deep understanding of the inner workings of caucuses.

I also volunteered as a precinct captain. In this role, I will organize and lead the Richardson contingent for our precinct at the caucus. The caucus rules require each candidate to have at least 15% of the total number of voters attending to be viable. (I will explain this in more depth in Part II of this series. ;-) Based upon previous turnout, we were expecting to have about 210 attendees which would mean that we would need 31 voters. We only had 18 registered voters in our precinct who had identified themselves as Richardson supporters so we had some work to do to build support.

I decided to become one of those annoying phone callers who call you to ask you to support our candidates. The Richardson campaign had a web-based system that allowed me to phone from home. It provided me with names phone numbers and caucusing locations. I used Skype Out to make the phone calls. This service enables me to call any landline phone in the US or Canada from my computer for only $3/month. Therefore, I was able to call potential supporters all over Iowa. It was pretty cool to sit at my computer wearing my headphones and mic. I really got into the groove and made about 130 calls. Talked with a number of interesting people. Iowans are amazingly cordial. I only had about 3 or 4 people hang up on me.

I also helped Don and Terry (our New Mexican Road Runners) in distributing door hangers around Cedar Falls. These were cards telling them about the location of their caucusing location. Interestingly, we didn't place them on all of the houses. In the interest of conservation, we hung them on the doors of specific houses. These were the houses of supporters and those who indicated that they were "leaning towards Richardson" or indicated that the Governor was their second choice. It wasn't difficult work, but it was about 2 degrees (-15 degrees when considering the wind chill.) It was REALLY cold and our New Mexican guests had quite an experience.

Well, this all led up to the actual caucus night on Wednesday, January 3. I will discuss this further in the next episode.

Map of OLPC Schools Around the World

GUESS WHAT? I found a map of the schools that are using the OLPC XO computers. I have embedded the map into this posting (pretty cool, eh?) but you can find the map along with the listing of schools on the OLPC wiki at this Google Map site. It's unusual that there are three schools in Vermont who are using the XOs. I thought that they were limited to developing nations. Maybe those Vermontians are as far along as I have thought. ;-)

Google, UNICEF, and OLPC Team Up for "Our Stories" Oral History Project

The XO computer is being used to create oral histories. I just read about this program where Google, UNICEF and OLPC are going to support an oral history program called Our Stories.
UNICEF launched this program on December 7. They launched a website www.ourstories.org where children are sharing their perceptions of their world. There are stories from Brazil, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Pakistan. They say that it will soon feature children's stories from Argentina, Ethiopia and Nigeria, and translations of the site into eight languages.

This is a miraculous project. It appears that the original stories were created in booths that were set up as part of an international trip to a children's conference at the UN. This is a powerful opening for this project, but Google, UNICE and OLPC are trying to expand the project so that children will be able to use their XO computers record their stories and then submit them to the Ourstories project.

There is great potential for this project. I was involved in an oral history project here in Iowa back in 1995 and it changed those students' lives. Those 5th and 6th graders interviewed their grandparents and community members about their experiences living during the period of 1920-1945. This opened their eyes (and their hearts) to the stories of their elders when they were younger. It added a whole new perspective to history. I believe that these recorded childrens' stories will be able to provide a whole new perspective on the world. It can give the children of developing countries a voice that they never had before.

Photo: www.unicef.org

OLPC computer in Action in Peru

I have an OLPC XO computer in my house here in Iowa, but it wasn't designed for me. The XO was designed for children in developing countries. I just received a link to a posting in the Generation YES blog where Sylvia Martinez is discussing using XO computers in Peru.

In October of 2007, it was announced that Peru had decided to be the second country to commit to purchasing XO computers for their children. They committed to purchasing 40,000 then and another 250,000 in 2008. This is a country of 28 million people where the per capita income is $3,375, and 51.6 of its population is identified as poor (Wikipedia, 2008).

Now, I have read articles from authors like John Dvorak (PC Magazine) who say that it makes more sense to spend money on feeding the children than buying them computers. I will spend some time discussing this in a future post but for now, I want to say that people will ALWAYS be hungry and just feeding them is not the way to bring about change. It sounds heartless, but unless national officials look for new ways to change the status and knowledgebase of their children, they will always be poor. Bringing the Peruvian educational system up to the 21st century can be the beginning of a significant change for Peru. Computers won't cause the change by themselves (as we have seen in 2.5 decades of computer use in our schools) but they can be a start.

Now I know that the video at the top of this posting is in Spanish. Just in case "No hablas Espanol," here is the link to the article which contains a transcript of the video. The beauty of having the transcript is that I have run it though the Google translator to give you a crude translation. Now don't make lots of nasty comments about the inaccuracies of the translation (no, go ahead and make some comments so that I know that I am not just talking with myself here). I KNOW that a machine doesn't translate as well as a human, but "Yo hablo un pocito de Espanol, pero no mucho."

Reportaje NAPA 26: OLPC, laptops en Arahuay
Report NAPA 26: OLPC, Laptops in Arahuay (Google Translated)