Monday February 13, 2006 6:30 am Ballina NSW

A. Morning Musings

6:30 am I will begin with a coffee. It is already light outside with only some light cloud, but the forecast was for showers and possible thunderstorms.

The loose sheets of notes that I was examining yesterday are my remnants of a previous world. For that reason, I will continue to scan another few pages. But their existence helps bring into focus a few differences between that approach and this web approach. Perhaps the most glaring feature is simply that they exist. Some were written over 5 years ago yet they are still in perfect condition. I have doubts I will be able to say the same about these web pages. Certainly the computer that is producing them will no longer be around. And the software and authoring support will also be totally different in 5 years if the last 5 years is any indication. On the other side of the ledger is the malleability to modify an electronic form of these notes at any time (unless this is viewed as another weakness!).

6:50 am

Chores: cappuccino at Pelican 181, check bookstore.

Exercise: Exercise & Beach walk.

Mathematics: Continue reading "Everything and More".

History: Scan old paper notes, remake them using Mind Genius.

C. Actual

7:00 am Begin scanning and remaking History notes on Japan. Done. 8:15 am

The comparison between this web site and my sheets of paper is fascinating. Both media have strengths and weaknesses.

Paper:

• easy to use
• portable
• permanent

Web

• requires a computer and software
• easily modifiable
• easy use of color and imagery
• requires clear idea of file structure
• involves use of different software packages (Dreamweaver, Mind Genuis, Inspiration, Mathematica, FileMaker Pro).

I also have three 5 x 7 cards with notes on them. These cards are much like a data base. Although I only have three, I can easily imagine having a couple of hundred and being able to easily sort through them and form piles by some topic or pull out a few related to something of current interest. Now consider each web page as a card. At the moment these pages are tightly organized by topic. How easy is it to find a particular page? Actually, quite easy. Within each topic there are a series of monthly chronology pages that can be quickly accessed and skimmed for relevance.

One of the weaknesses of the 5 x 7 cards is the lack of context of when and why the card was originally created. The use of a daily Journal page for this web site truly solves this problem. It is easy to think that you will not forget this type of information, but I certainly do.

Here is one of the cards:

Mention of the book failed to jog my memory. But I did a search of my data base of books, found the book, and noted that I bought it at McGill three years ago. I now have a sense of the book and will make a point of looking at it when we return to Lethbridge. I have added it to my TODOs list.

Here is the second card:

I have always liked Leontev's approach to psychology. This card reminds me of it. Will this happen with this web page in a couple of year's time? Not likely if I rely on chance. But if I look at my Psychology web site I would (if I place a copy there). Done.

The third card is not worth keeping. 9:00 am

9:45 am Now to remake a page of notes about China based on another sheet of notes that I made a few years ago. I am definitely getting rid of these artifacts. 10:20 am

10:30 am A review of the remaining paper pages (7) indicates that they are all about Education. I now need to create a new website for 2006 Education. 11:30 am

4:00 PM I have made a few rough notes about the book "Vincent by Himself", edited by Bruce Bernard. I will also have to make a new website for 2006 Art. 5:00 PM

8:15PM Now to prepare my first web page for my Education web site. Done. 8:45 PM

D. Reflection

9:00 PM I am pleased with my efforts to capture the essence of a few notes that I made a few years ago and have left in a pile "to look at later". Later is now. It is a good feeling to set up another web site, this time for Education. I genuinely enjoyed thinking about, and making a few notes on, the role of critical analysis in the study of literature. I still have to create a web site for Art, but that should only take an hour. 9:20 PM