Upon hearing that summer school classess were cancelled for lower and middle school students in Los Angeles public schools because of the State’s budget crisis, students in an advanced writing class at USC created an online alternative that could serve affected students.

The project is called SOS Classroom. The project gathers and organizes educational web resources that K-8 grade students can use to enhance their learning over the summer.

I kept my first generation iPhone until the 3rd generation was released. I did ok with the original phone, although I missed having GPS and 3G. So I was primed for the 3rd generation phone.

I pre-ordered a phone from Apple.com and had it delivered to my home yesterday. It was fairly straightforward. I went to the office and worked a few hours and came home about 11. The phone arrived by Federal Express about noon. I hooked the new phone up to iTunes, which synchronized the settings on my new phone with a backup from my old phone, and it installed the applications I had purchased on my old phone. That went smoothly. However, I got the message that it could take up to 48 hours for the phone to become active. That was a slight problem.

Fortunately I had read about that problem online, and I had a plan. I went down to the AT&T store a few blocks away and asked them to activate my phone. Although the AT&T had had an early morning rush, the store was operating normally when I arrived, with only one customer ahead of me. The clerk was able to activate my phone. Activation wasn’t immediate. I left the store with my old phone active. About five minutes later, the old phone stopped working, but the new phone wasn’t activated. I was in limbo without service for about 25 minutes before the new phone activated.

There are a host of improvements on the third generation iPhone and in the 3.0 software update. Here are a few that I’ve noticed and really like:
1) Bluetooth stereo headphone support: I’ve had a bluetooth stereo headset for some time, but it only worked in mono on my old iPhone, and it didn’t work with iTunes, only on phone calls. My headphones work great with the new iPhone. Truthfully, I rarely used the iTunes function of my old iPhone because I didn’t want to bother with the cord! That was particularly the case when doing activities.

2) Landscape mode. It’s everywhere in the new software update. I prefer typing e-mails in landscape mode.

3) The camera is improved, and the video works well.

4) I’m often in the out-of-doors, so I like the compass.

5) Voice memo is cool, as is the voice control function. If you’ve not done so, just hold down the mode button and see voice control pop up. Very nice.

My favorite applications:
1) Yelp. I’m new to Yelping – but the app shows great promise, and is more specific than UrbanSpoon.
2) TweetDeck
3) Fring (My most favorite application and the one I use most)
4) Google App. I like this because I use Google for my domain. This app makes it easy to connect to my personal files and information.
5) Loopt. I don’t use this much, but I can see how it could be helpful when trying to meet up with friends, particularly in a busy location.

Austin Whitney posted a link to the talk he gave at De la Salle High School in Concord, CA. This is the shorter of the three links.

Austin and I met for coffee this past Sunday. Similarly, we met for coffee just a couple of days prior to the accident two years ago.

This Boston Globe article gives suggestions on summer activities in and around Boston.

Since I previously had a Grand Central account, I’ve been upgraded to Google Voice. I used Grand Central as a number for voice messages, which I could access online. It was nice to have a number like that, particularly when I traveled internationally, and it saved me from having to purchase a temporary SkypeIn phone number.

I liked having a Grand Central number because it’s permanent, and I was able to pick the area code. I chose one that matched my relatives in Los Angeles.

Google acquired Grand Central and has transformed it to Google Voice. Here are a few advantages it brings over Skype:

1. An incoming voicemessage phone number is free
2. There is no charge to call telephones in the US from the user’s computer
3. A sample of international calling rates I would make, are cheaper on Google Voice
4. There isn’t a charge to send a SMS message to a cell phone from Google Voice

Check out this Sean Kovacs video on the (hopefully) soon-to-be-released Google Voice app for iPhone.

I’m at LAX. My spring break trip is to The Netherlands and Belgium. Since I’m using frequent flier miles, the routing is not direct. I’m flying Los Angeles to Seattle, then on to Amsterdam. The return is through Portland, Oregon. Interesting, leaving Seattle at noon gets me into Amsterdam early Monday morning, which isn’t an ideal arrival, in terms of checking into my hotel (Renaissance, near Centraal Station), but, it does give a full first day, which is cool.

I got to LAX early. In fact, really early. My flight doesn’t board for two hours. I wanted to avoid last minute stresses. Usually I pack for trips in about fifteen minutes. Yesterday, however, it took the entire day to get things together: multiple loads of laundry, deciding which bag to bring: carryon only or check a bag. (I decided to check – which is probably another reason why I came to LAX so early.) I pretty much remembered everything EXCEPT the battery charger for my Canon camera. That’s a big forget. Although, I did pack three extra batteries, which should keep me powered beyond this week. I have a second camera with me, and I have a charger for it.

I did something that I’ve not done before. I subscribed to AT&T’s wi-fi service. I found out that the hotel chargers 29 Euros a day for Internet, which is about $40.00/day. My understanding is that I can use my AT&T credentials to “roam” on the network at the hotel. That will be a huge savings since I find it necessary to have Internet service.

A school group just came to the gate for my flight. That reminds me that a group of students form my school are on their way to tour colleges on the east coast. They’re leaving out of this airport, but from a different gate.

I hope to make frequent updates to my blog on this trip.

http://playingforchange.com – From the award-winning documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music”, comes the first of many “songs around the world” being released independently. Featured…

I spend more time on my photoblog than on this blog. This is not neglect, merely, the reality of the growing dedication I have to photography as a hobby. Dollar for dollar, photography is the most serious hobby I have.

I posted a photo of a building in Denver that has gotten a few comments that lead me to think about photography as art. While I have tools at my disposal that allow for photo manipulation, I edit with caution. I use tools to straighten photographs and remove distracting “spots” – like dust, or, in some photos, a distant bird that looks like a spot. And, of course, since I shoot in RAW, I adjust white balance to match the temperature of the scene.

I like hearing that my photos please those who view them. However, I want to maintain comfort with the integrity of my photos.

I find that photographers are a strongly critical group. I like criticism. I tell students in my philosophy class that criticism is to be used to advance and clarify the conversation. That’s a good thing in conversation and in art.

NYTimes fitness article on stair climbing.

Some say love it is a river that drowns a tender reed. Some say love it is a razor that leaves your soul to bleed. When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long and you t…