Slow learning for my brain, mind, and head.
First ever GIF here for Western106 assignment and I went ultra complex using two whole images making the results worth two thousand words. Although lots of those words are the same so if you cross reference, eliminate remainders and carry the zero, it’s worth about 1150.
I fear I did not quite capture the essence of this scene, but this visual from Trainspotting always stuck with me. From Holy S%^t to S%^t-eating grin in 100 milliseconds. GIF is a hell of a drug.
Full Disclosure: As an Open Participant with full-time work and a lovin’ family, I ain’t got a lot of time to ruminate on this here course. So what I got to give (and get), I got to give and get it quick. Enjoy it, but quick.
Today I watched the lecture and read the article about our Personal Cyberinfrastrcuture. And let me tell you, I dig this stuff. And the Wild West motif fits so well. Progress is messy and we don’t know where to start without a little help. Give me an idea of the equipment I can use and which stuff works and I’ll get started. Without the equipment, I’m just going to lie down in the sun here. Get some rest. Then get some more. With this stuff I’m gonna saddle up and go looking for gold in exciting places.
This course/not course has given us that equipment by suggesting to us what to go out and get. Now I got a bunch of stuff, some idea how to use some of it, and most importantly, a drive and excitement to see what comes of it. I have a Soundcloud app on my phone. Still don’t know what it’s for exactly but I look at it with fun anticipation rather than thinking of a future chore. That’s because the other things I got and have used for this (like WordPress, Twitter, Digital Comic Museum etc) have been fun, useful and productive. Building a Personal Cyberinfrastrucutre could be a lonesome, overwhelming chore, but with a guide and some pardners, it’s exciting personal progress. I reckon I’m gonna gonna do some panning for gold. Maybe make some myself (probably the fool’s kind, but it’s shiny, too).
Here’s some gold for ya to brighten your day
The term ‘Western’ draws to my mind dusty, sandy land with craggy mesas in the back ground. Small towns in the middle of nowhere thrown together in no time at all. Men usually look dirty and smelly. Women often wear outfits so complex you’d think they would get in it just the one time and stay in it forever, yet they somehow always look crisp and clean. Approximately 30% of people are wearing ponchos. Holsters are everywhere. When you live in a place where the law is not quite in control, you’d probably want to be able to shoot your way out of trouble. This may still be a problematic attitude today.
Where is ‘The West’? Well the obvious answer is it’s over there to the west. Somewhat south, too because it usually seems hot. Maybe it’s Mexico. Mexico is probably close by anyway. I remember seeing Unforgiven when I was quite young and thinking it was a weird Western because it didn’t seem so hot all the time. So am I wrong or is Clint Eastwood? It might be me. I’m just describing to you how I have ‘Western’ stored in my brain. I haven’t seen a new Western since maybe Django Unchained, but that was kind of a Southern wasn’t it? Was that a ‘Southern’? Being from Canada, I think we should start a new genre called ‘Northerns’ where we just re-shoot classic westerns in snowy locales where we can see our breath and we have a tough time shooting with mittens on. The trailers for Hateful Eight show snow everywhere all the time. What are you doing to my understanding of ‘Westerns’, Quentin? You’re messing it up.
In my dusty, hot Western world imagine how uncomfy it would be after a big rain? Mud everywhere, can’t just throw your stuff in the laundry. You probably have to hike to the top of the mountain to find a creek to rinse off and beat your clothes with rocks while you freeze nearly to death in your birthday suit.
Anyway, this important piece of literature you just read was to let you know what a Western means to me right now. Let’s see if that changes as I continue to sit around this #Western106 campfire. See y’all next time!
Mornin’ ladies and gents, I’ll be coming along this caravan ride through the wild west of the Internet. I hang my hat in Central Ontario, Canada where we have a Wild West ethos, with a little bit of North East thrown in. I passed my younger days in Western Canada where no one remembers which laws to follow and blames the guvmint for the milk going sour. Anyhow, I make my living at the local college as a learning technologist which I don’t think was a job back in the old west.
I’m taking this dusty westernDS106 road with you to learn me a few more tricks to put in my saddle bags. More ways to lasso the learners into learnings. To add some story, some yarns to tell around the virtual campfire. What do I know about this stuff already? I’ve given it a go in the past embedding story into online courses. A little Wild West approach might be just the ticket to break out of the corral and make online learning more of a good time. I want to learn how to create in all them categories we added to our blog on the left hand side there, in all kinds of different programs and software.
If I’m going to stay on this path, I’ll have to hunker down and do it everyday, but also, I’ll have to kill two birds with one stone and create things I can use for this here school house I’m working at. It should be quite a quest. Saddle up and see you out there!
TG
