Google Notebook

Google Notebook
alternate link http://www.google.com/notebook

The site says:

“Clip and collect information as you browse the web.

* Clip useful information.
You can add clippings of text, images and links from web pages to your Google Notebook without ever leaving your browser window.

* Organize your notes.
You can create multiple notebooks, divide them into sections, and drag-and-drop your notes to stay organized.

* Get access from anywhere.
You can access your Google Notebooks from any computer by using your Google Accounts login.

* Publish your notebook.
You can share your Google Notebook with the world by making it public.

To learn more about Google Notebook, please visit our overview page.”

On first blush, this is an interesting tool. While in your browser, its one click to grab a block of text and save it along with the URL. It almost feels like using the Press-It tool to blog a web page in WordPress. Google Notebook has some of the features of del.icio.us and MyStickies, but it seems to lack the social bookmarking aspect of the former and the spatial marking of the page in context of the latter. I’m wondering if there is RSS of my notebooks, which would make it even more blog like.  I’ll try living with it for awhile.

Portfolio Thinking in a Web 2.0 World

Theron and I just had another good (if confusing) talk about portfolios, CTLT documents, SharePoint (mySite and CTLT sites), CTLT Unit Portfolio, wikis and blogs.

My tentative conclusions:

1. I’m going to tag CTLTwiki with “Nils_year” to create Category pages that serve as indices to my portfolio evidence.
2. I will make a mySite teamsite “Annual review year” that contains my reflection on the year for Gary’s annual review purposes, and it will have pointers to the appropriate category page in the wiki. This will force me to make sure the category page is current and that will force me to make sure the project pages are current. It will also model how other staff could similarly create annual review documents, with the privacy that they desire for those.
3. My CTLT website staff page should just point to my mySite page, but the CTLT page, being anonymous read, is needed to manage things I want Google to find. (that’s a pain, can’t wait for the ability to publish part of my mySite.)
4. My work on timber framing will be addressed here, as blog posts, and pages, and also in Flickr, in tags, and in Flickr portfolios.
5. I’m considering using this space to reflect on PPSEL work, where the posts will point to PPSEL documents. The issue is, do I want (do they want) me thinking about that work in public? If no, where would that work go.

Liberal Moscow » Smart Growth/Dumb Growth: First Post

Liberal Moscow » Smart Growth/Dumb Growth: First Post

Why do Moscow’s “pro-growth” proponents insist that we need more retail space? The Tidyman’s building is empty; the Rodeo Center is empty; the Village Mall looks like Village of the Damned; and our two major malls are mausoleums. Looks to me like we have an excess of retail space. What we need, it seems to me, are more light industrial and mixed-use zones. Thoughts? Comments? Solid evidence?

First, of all, I’m using the “Press It” plugin for Firefox to blog a quote from a web page. Second, I’d tracking back from my blog to Lib Moscow, rather than commenting there — I think multi-blog dialogs are the furture, rather than lists like v2020 or multi-author blogs. The challenge is how to keep would be readers notified — the “push” factor.
On the substance of the question… There seems to be a lot of vacant retail space. I presume that there “should” always be some vacant space, much like there is always unemployment. The issue is, a lot of that space has been vacant a long time. I’ve heard that Sears continued to pay rent on their store in Eastside for many years — keeping it off the market?

Rodeo Center not filling, or Tidyman’s remaining empty seem to be bigger issues. There was (I don’t see it now) a photo essay of empty retaill spaces started at http://www.nosuperwalmart.com/  that showed quite a few spaces, in many places around town, of many sizes and characters. It didn’t get used in testimony and maybe disappeared.
So, why favor retail. It happens fast. It looks like growth. It happens with other people’s money on their speculation? The scale of the money involved is larger? The result increases the Chamber’s membership?
Housing takes local speculation. The money is smaller (per unit).

Light industrial that brings jobs and new wealth into the community takes time, and is complex to achieve.

Why no one is championing success at UI and partnership with them as an engine for community development baffles me.

I got spammed in Spanish

Here is a first for me.  I got the spam below. It looks like phishing. What is interesting is that the spammer thinks that there is a decent enough spanish speaking audience using an American email address and a Spanish language resource that its worth trying

Debido a los tentativas recientes de fraude Caja Madrid ha introducido un nuevo medio de seguridad. Debes conectar en tu cuenta de Caja Madrid usando tu ordenador personal o del lugar y ordenador que has utilizado en el pasado. Tu dirección IP será colocada a nuestra base de datos. Cualquier tentativa de conexión de un diverso dirección IP necesita confirmación sobre el el teléfono.   Puedes corregir su detalles personales y su dirección IP principal usando el panel de control en cualquier momento.   Por favor dar un plazo de 5 minutos a partir del momento que has llenado el formulario nuestro y darnos su dirección IP principal pulsa aquí o usando la dirección.

which Google translates

Due to the recent attempts of fraud Madrid Box it has introduced new means of security. You must connect in your account of Madrid Box using your personal computer or of the place and computer that you have used in the past. Your direction IP will be placed of our data base. Any attempt of connection of a diverse direction IP needs confirmation on the telephone.   You can at any time correct its personal details and their main direction IP using the Control Panel.   Please to give a term of 5 minutes as of the moment that you have filled to the form ours and for giving its main direction us IP presses here or using the direction.