NorthStarNerd.Org

JiaYou!!

I don't have much time, or a fast web connection ... but I visited JiaYou this morning. Actually, I ran into JiaLou along the mountain road. Wow!  This was one of the most moving experiences of my life.  Education is the key to happiness. Here are some photos:
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Happy Sweet Autumn Festival

Molly and I are spending a few days in Guangzhou before leaving for JiaYou. Some highlights include a 2,000 year old emperor's tomb, and visiting a Buddhist temple while a service was being sung. In addition, this evening everyone is outside carrying paper lanterns to celebrate Sweet Autumn Festival.
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We're Off to JiaYou

Actually, Molly and I have just arrived in Guangzhou, China after 23 hours of travel.  We're collapsed in an airport hotel to recover a bit.  Our daughter Karen, who is a newly minted 1st grade teacher, surprised us with a packet of letters ... from the children on Grainwood Elementary in Prior Lake, Minnesota to the kids of JiaYou.  Time for bed ... finally!
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Linux Action Show

I mentioned earlier this week that my Fall project will be to install Linux on an old laptop using Ubuntu. This is another great LINUX resource:

• The Linux Action Show (podcast)

Linux or Google?

This is not an option one faces, but it does represent technology I am exploring these days. I am down in Nashville attending a technical conference, and with each presentation I become increasingly intrigued with only evaluating content that incorporates Google One Box. During one presentation today, the speaker said it's not about search, it's about "Find".  I couldn't agree more. If you're not familiar with one box, it allows proprietary databases to be indexed by an internal Google search appliance.

Why is this important? If you spend your time trying to convince your users to visit your preferred tool, you've already missed the boat. Find out where your users spend their virtual time, and then try to be present in those domains. I know my users are on Google ... thus I want my internal content to come up via their searches.

Oh yes ... Linux. My Fall project is to install Ubuntu on an old laptop and create a basic email / word processing computer. Thankfully, Ubuntu has created a month of screencasts (one per day) to help me navigate through the process. Ubuntu allows one to either download or have a free Linux installation cd sent to them. I'll let everyone know how the experiment turns out.