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Thursday, March 10, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
Thinking about a new cell phone and mobile work
From a recent email exchange with someone much more informed than I am who is generous with his help:
32 gigs is pretty much going for the gold. I demand this to be internal storage. All of the previous phones had external storage capabilities, but installing apps to external storage is admittedly clunky even with the current operating systems. It’s doable, but not something that I ever look forward to doing. I guess what I’m trying to say is not to get overly enamored with the thought of external storage saving the day. It’s a nice bonus to store pictures on and it might be useful to install some apps on but it’s by no means replacement for adequate on board storage. Especially in light of our frustrations with the previous phones.
Additionally, I think it might be overly optimistic to assume that all the latest Android operating systems come to all of the phones with time. It’s just a fact that most phones get abandoned at some point or another when nobody is willing to support it. It’s the nature of capitalism. Why spend money working on software for an old phone when you can sell new phones?
What is your actual budget?
I was also formerly a fan of the old Asus zenfone 2 series. I still think that there a hell of a bang for the buck, but it is often hard to tell one model from another. Be forewarned that AT&T released an Asus zenfone 2e that is absolute garbage. It has nothing to do with the rest of the zenfone series. Don’t buy one on accident.
As far as Chinese phones go, Xiaomi just came out with a phone that sells for about $150, has a big battery, and seems practical for most. I understand that having a big battery is something that I value whereas others might not. My view is tainted.
I am out of town right now, but I can help you find a new phone when I get back. Again, if it were me and I were you I would look for a very gently used Nexus 6, presuming that is in your price range. It’s also a cool anomaly because it was too big for most people. Google has admitted this. I personally don’t mind the size. I don’t think you will either.
I hope that you and your family are well. I send my very best to you all. Be excellent to each other.
Cheers,
Mark’s Phone Guru
Hey man. I’m sorry about taking a while to respond back. I mean, I’m sorry about forgetting to reply at all. Thank you for the bump.
- You have nothing to apologize for, ever!
- This is just good advice. I need to shell out for something that has some storage and quit being such a whiner about this, or trying to find a $100 phone that will act like a $300 phone.
32 gigs is pretty much going for the gold. I demand this to be internal storage. All of the previous phones had external storage capabilities, but installing apps to external storage is admittedly clunky even with the current operating systems. It’s doable, but not something that I ever look forward to doing. I guess what I’m trying to say is not to get overly enamored with the thought of external storage saving the day. It’s a nice bonus to store pictures on and it might be useful to install some apps on but it’s by no means replacement for adequate on board storage. Especially in light of our frustrations with the previous phones.
- What I’m confused about is that I thought that Android Marshmallow, when it arrives on the relatively cheap Chinese phones around August, will allow me to read my external storage as if it were internal storage.
Additionally, I think it might be overly optimistic to assume that all the latest Android operating systems come to all of the phones with time. It’s just a fact that most phones get abandoned at some point or another when nobody is willing to support it. It’s the nature of capitalism. Why spend money working on software for an old phone when you can sell new phones?
- Agreed. I am hoping that Marshmallow will come to a new, affordable phone in the next four months.
What is your actual budget?
- That is a good question. Really, I could sell a pile of old electronics and some unplayed boardgames and probably scrape up $200. Or should I use that money to get the family a flat screen tv?
- This is very, very tempting.
I was also formerly a fan of the old Asus zenfone 2 series. I still think that there a hell of a bang for the buck, but it is often hard to tell one model from another. Be forewarned that AT&T released an Asus zenfone 2e that is absolute garbage. It has nothing to do with the rest of the zenfone series. Don’t buy one on accident.
- Formerly? I will have to look into this.
As far as Chinese phones go, Xiaomi just came out with a phone that sells for about $150, has a big battery, and seems practical for most. I understand that having a big battery is something that I value whereas others might not. My view is tainted.
- The big battery makes a difference. My glorious dream is this: I download 58 student papers onto my phone. I hop on my recumbent bike and head up the canyon with my lunch. I then read the papers, and record my responses while taking pictures of the beautiful outdoors. I then descend back into the valley while listening to something amazing on my phone, then upload my responses to the course website. Having a big battery makes this more do-able.
- My other plan is to dethrone the king of snapchat
I am out of town right now, but I can help you find a new phone when I get back. Again, if it were me and I were you I would look for a very gently used Nexus 6, presuming that is in your price range. It’s also a cool anomaly because it was too big for most people. Google has admitted this. I personally don’t mind the size. I don’t think you will either.
- I really appreciate you taking the time to write this note. I hope you’re traveling somewhere interesting and enjoying the trip. I think I’m going to talk myself into the Nexus 6. If I use it for work I won’t feel too guilty about dropping the cash.
I hope that you and your family are well. I send my very best to you all. Be excellent to each other.
Cheers,
Mark’s Phone Guru
Friday, March 4, 2016
I wrote 300 words about renaming our technical writing certificate. What is wrong with me? I can't bear to throw it away, because I'm a pathological hoarder, so here it is.
1. “Desktop publishing” is an awesome name for a certificate if it were 1980 and we were sitting around watching Top Gun and teasing our bangs to frightening heights.
2. Editing is obviously the tech comm bread and butter. I want to suggest that this is a combination of industry needs but also because we have DEB THORNTON who is doing a really good job with student publications and editing, to the point that she has been worn to a nub. Ontologically, I think that editing is a subset of Technical Communication. I’ve used a latin-derived word there, and one from philosophy, so you had darn well better take me seriously.
If we rename the certificate as “editing and desktop publishing” (which has languished) then we are essentially erasing the tech comm certificate. Let’s not forget what Kenneth Burke said about naming things.
This feels bassackwards (why is that word underlined in red?) to me. There is this ongoing tension between three audiences: Our academic colleagues (let’s call it Transmedia studies!), the employer (Let’s call it “Factory production of Grammar and nouns”), and the students (“Let’s call it “eating ice cream on roller coasters with your boy/girlfriend”).
In a perfect world, I would like a title for the certificate that reflects editing, publishing and technical communication, as well as current movements in the world of tech comm.
It seems like we should survey someone who hires our students. Please note: Jen changed the name of “technical writing” to “technical communication” at my request. It was the only thing I accomplished during my brief reign as tech comm guy. So this may just be me clinging to that idea unreasonably.
3. I’m really glad that tech comm is inside of writing studies. It feels like it is getting the attention it deserves and growing at a sustainable pace.
1. “Desktop publishing” is an awesome name for a certificate if it were 1980 and we were sitting around watching Top Gun and teasing our bangs to frightening heights.
2. Editing is obviously the tech comm bread and butter. I want to suggest that this is a combination of industry needs but also because we have DEB THORNTON who is doing a really good job with student publications and editing, to the point that she has been worn to a nub. Ontologically, I think that editing is a subset of Technical Communication. I’ve used a latin-derived word there, and one from philosophy, so you had darn well better take me seriously.
If we rename the certificate as “editing and desktop publishing” (which has languished) then we are essentially erasing the tech comm certificate. Let’s not forget what Kenneth Burke said about naming things.
This feels bassackwards (why is that word underlined in red?) to me. There is this ongoing tension between three audiences: Our academic colleagues (let’s call it Transmedia studies!), the employer (Let’s call it “Factory production of Grammar and nouns”), and the students (“Let’s call it “eating ice cream on roller coasters with your boy/girlfriend”).
In a perfect world, I would like a title for the certificate that reflects editing, publishing and technical communication, as well as current movements in the world of tech comm.
It seems like we should survey someone who hires our students. Please note: Jen changed the name of “technical writing” to “technical communication” at my request. It was the only thing I accomplished during my brief reign as tech comm guy. So this may just be me clinging to that idea unreasonably.
3. I’m really glad that tech comm is inside of writing studies. It feels like it is getting the attention it deserves and growing at a sustainable pace.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
markdown vs. multimarkdown
I’m teaching my students Markdown, mostly to encourage them to work in plain text, and because they don’t have to learn a lot of html this semester. And I like it. Anyway, we did this tutorial in class together and all helped each other when we got stuck, and it was actually fun.
http://markdowntutorial.com/
There’s also this very interesting online Markdown editor that spits out html or other formats:
https://stackedit.io/ and there are ten other ones. So while looking for a Macbook Markdown editor thing to play with today (because I just want to write natively in Markdown) I came across this—a variant of Markdown called “Multimarkdown” that will export to html, pdf, Latex, etc.
There are math academics who want to get Markdown to the point where they never have to use Word again. I think that is a noble and inspiring goal.
http://fletcherpenney.net/multimarkdown/
This was originally an email sent to a colleague. I find it easier to write to an individual than an imagined audience.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
When Nothing Is Cool | The Point Magazine
When Nothing Is Cool | The Point Magazine: The greedy institution has a stake, altogether, in impoverishing its members’ object worlds. It promotes a hollowness, which can then be compensated with the satisfactions of status and affiliation within the group. Perhaps this is a tendency of all professional life. But when, as has happened in English, the soul-sapping quality of professional collectives finds an alibi in the anti-individualist ideology of left postmodernism, we have the conditions for quite a bit of mystification and malaise.
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