Author: Jeff Milner

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Open Source Online University Coming Soon

Israeli entrepreneur, Shai Reshef, plans to combine the world’s open source educational material and create the world’s first free global university*.

“The open-source courseware is there, from universities that have put their courses online, available to the public, free,” Mr. Reshef said. “We know that online peer-to-peer teaching works. Putting it all together, we can make a free university for students all over the world, anyone who speaks English and has an Internet connection.”

Reshef plans on starting things small. Starting this fall, 300 students will enroll in bachelor’s degrees in business administration and computer science.

*Free as in open source, not free as in beer. However, it doesn’t look like it will be particularly expensive. From the article: “students would pay only nominal fees for enrollment ($15 to $50) and exams ($10 to $100), with students from poorer countries paying the lower fees and those from richer countries paying the higher ones.”

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Who was General Tso?

Q. What do you get when you mix Chinese Food with German food?
A. I don’t know, but an hour later you’re hungry for power.

What do you get when you mix Chinese food with other cultures? In this video, New York Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her quest to find the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes—and some of the interesting consequences of mixing Chinese food with other countries’ cuisine. The results are humorous, fascinating, and mouth watering.

Click to play or watch Jennifer 8. Lee talk about Chinese Food at TED.

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Would You Remarry

WIFE: “What would you do if I died? Would you get married again?”
HUSBAND: “Definitely not!”
WIFE: “Why not — don’t you like being married?”
HUSBAND: “Of course I do.”
WIFE: “Then why wouldn’t you remarry?”
HUSBAND: “Okay, I’d get married again.”
WIFE: “You would? (with a hurtful look on her face).”
HUSBAND: (makes audible groan).
WIFE: “Would you sleep with her in our bed?”
HUSBAND: “Where else would we sleep?”
WIFE: “Would you replace my pictures with hers?”
HUSBAND: “That would seem like the proper thing to do.”
WIFE: “Would you let her use my golf clubs?”
HUSBAND: “Nope, she’s left-handed.” (via)

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NFB Online!

The National Film Board finally went online today. Canadian classics like The Log Driver’s Waltz, The Cat Came Back, and Neighbours are now in reach of the people they were created for, Canadians! (you other folks from around the world are welcome too).

They’ve included links to various social networking bookmark sites and enabled embedding. Here’s a 2008 movie by Murray Siple, Cart of Darkness, about “a group of homeless men in North Vancouver who’ve married their love of shopping-cart racing with their business of bottle picking.” (NSFW for language).

They still have some kinks to work out, like the embed code linked to the wrong video and it isn’t standards compliant by default (nobody else does that yet either) — but in general it looks like they’re on the right track.

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Stomp

Last night I attended Stomp in Calgary at the Jubilee Auditorium with Kelli and her parents. It was pretty amazing to see and hear the variety of rhythm and music composed from the sounds of brooms, chairs, PVC piping, and match boxes, just to name a few. The biggest surprise came when I began to realize it’s as much a visual narrative as it is about the sound.

Stomp in Calgary

Here is my sneaky snap shot that I took at the end of the show (photographs are discouraged). I assume it’s because flashes and LCD screens are distracting, so I made sure to turn both off.

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Why Men Don’t Write Advice Columns

(Another joke I received via email)
Dear Larry,

I hope you can help me here. The other day I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn’t gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband’s help. When I got home I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with a woman, our next door neighbour.

I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years.

When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago, and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won’t go to counselling and I’m afraid I can’t get through to him any more.

Can you please help?

Sincerely, Jane

Response

Dear Jane:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber.

I hope this helps.

Larry