Recently in Neat Things Category

I love Google Reader. I used to read blogs and news by actually going to a million web pages regularly, but their designs were usually heinous looking and it took way to long to load them all on my browser. When I finally switched to using Google Reader, I was relieved to see that they were stripped of their ugly design and displayed in a highly readable fashion. That, and only unread stuff would come up, so I never again had to go to a friend's blog and sigh, "No update... again."

So, thank you, Google Reader, for being so awesome.

I do, however, really wish that it included a few features that would make it even awesomer.

Ability to Mark Things as "Read Later" - Often there is an excellent article and I just don't have the time to really absorb it, so I want to read it later. Josh has some weird hack where he adds the article URL to a list (maybe on Delicious?) then subscribes to that news feed via RSS so it will show up in a "Read Later" folder on his Google Reader. ***Ha! Oh my gosh, I actually just went to Google Reader to figure this out and noticed a "Keep Unread" checkbox at the bottom of each article. And it works! I swear this wasn't there a week ago and now... have I mentioned that I love Google? It's as though they're in my head absorbing my innermost thoughts and... okay, that's creepy.***

Ability to Rank Articles with 1-5 Stars Instead of Just One - Currently I have the option to "Add Star" to an article and that's it. I have been in conversations recently with other Google Reader users and we all use this feature for different reason. I use it to mark things I may want to easily access later and think are useful (Josh uses Delicious for that). Josh uses it to mark things he likes. Truth is, I wish I could add more stars to review the quality of an article, and, after a period of time I could look at how I have been ranking articles in a blog to determine if the blog has good value to me or not... see next wish.

More Individual Statistics on My Reading and the Ability to Send Feedback to a Blogger or News Site - So, I think that people who read blogs through a reader system take in a lot of information. And the truth is, the quality of that information is constantly in flux as bloggers fall off the face of the earth or suddenly start blogging only about their new baby (who would do that???). And, I want to be able to stop reading things that aren't of value to me and continue reading things that are. So, if I could rank articles with 1-5 stars, and even add a comment to each individual entry as to why I ranked it as such, I could use that compiled information to organize and edit my reading list. And the bloggers could even access the information submitted by all of their readers to see how people are taking their posts. For example, I think I would continue reading a couple of blogs but block certain irritating authors who never have anything good to say. Currently, I have difficulty figuring out who they are because of the sheer volume of articles I read. I recognize that we could use comments within an individual's blog to review an article, but those are more used for discussion of the topic at hand (or questioning a person's sexuality or calling people douchebags or saying "wow! you're so great! i love everything about you!" or saying "are we still on for pizza friday night?"). A review, on the other hand, is feedback on the type of content you're presenting, the manner in which you are presenting it, learning what appeals to readers, improving writing style, etc. And, with Google's awesomeness, they could compile statistics for bloggers and blog readers to help both of us read and write better.

The thought of these things makes me drool and feel happy.

I've been reading the blog Soule Mama for quite some time. I so loved the writings of Amanda Blake Soule, that I also purchased and read her book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. It is fantastic and has helped me to think differently and wonderfully about how I view and use art and craft with my family.

But, now she's done it again with her new project Mama to Mama: Connecting Families Through the Gift of Handmade. She speaks in her book about a concept called craftivism, "the concept of using craft for social action." This intrigued me as I thought about what people need around the world and how there is something more connected to sending handmade goods than just flinging money (although sometimes money flinging is needed, I think handmade is also needed). And how wonderful it can be when women, families, classrooms, and other groups meet together for the purpose of creating goods for others in need. I have known of church organizations that quilt or mend for good causes, but other than that I am not aware of how craft can be used for social activism and helping the downtrodden.

In her introduction of the project Soule describes why and how her idea got started. She also describes the first project, The Caps to Cap-Haitien Project: A partnership with Konbit Sante. She describes how crafters can create newborn caps, following a pattern that you can download off the site, send them to her and they will all be donated to the project.

I'm excited by this idea and I look forward to where it could lead. Crafters unite!

Well, it worked for me anyway. I officially declared every Friday as "pizza night." A couple of weeks ago I tried a pizza dough recipe, and it was pretty good. Then I found this one, the sworn "best pizza crust ever" by a woman who has had a pizza night for a long time.

My husband was complimenting me before I even took the pizza out of the oven, then in between bites, then continuously after the pizza had been consumed. Tonight we were coming home and he said, "Oh, I can't wait for Friday pizza night!"

I was like, "Dude, this recipe is awesome." So I decided that you should know the recipe too! Kudos to Amy from The Motherload for sharing!

(Oh, two things I did different from the recipe was to use 3 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour... just to get some whole grains in there. And I didn't have onion powder, so I just doubled the garlic powder.)

A lot of the Recycle Replanet bins have been turning up in grocery store parking lots around here. Based on the name, I figured they had something to do with recycling. But, the word replanet really threw me for a loop.

I imagined mankind deciding that our planet was overused so we voted to get a nice new planet. All of civilization got shipped off to Mars for awhile while Earth got replaneted. They put earth in a crushing machine, then shredded it using some gargantuan robot with ripping teeth, then melted it in a really hot oven, then recast it into something better that we could all appreciate. Then, we came back from Mars to enjoy our replaneted Earth. Nice. It made us feel better about all the horrible things we had done to the planet. I mean, we could have just dumped this planet and moved on to a different one, but we were better than that. We replaneted.

Turns out that the replanet concept just means that the recycling center sorts your recycling for you. So, you can just bring all different kinds of cans and bottles and stuff and the machine will sort them accordingly, they'll weigh it all and pay you for bringing it in.

Which reminds me - why do I have to pay the local garbage company to pick up my recycling bin? If I brought it to these places they would pay me. Seems that the curbside recycling bins should at least be free....

Josh gave me my Christmas present early (so we could use it to take our Christmas photos!). It's a Gary Fong Lightsphere II Cloud. I tried it out today on my Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. The following are some comparison pictures to show how awesome my new Lightsphere is. I stuck Caleb in his jumperoo in his bedroom with two lamps on and took the following pictures. All of the following are done on the camera's automatic setting (I found better settings to use with the Lightsphere later).

PHOTO 1: This picture is taken using the built-in flash on my camera in automatic mode.

PHOTO 2: This picture is taken using my Vivitar 283 attached flash with the camera in automatic mode.

PHOTO 3: This picture is taken using my Vivitar 283 attached flash and the Gary Fong Lightsphere II Cloud with the camera in automatic mode.

It is pretty clear that the Lightsphere does the best at lighting the picture without harsh shadows. I'm still learning the finer points of using it, but I'm excited about what kinds of sweet pictures I can take now!

I found this neat website called How Stuff is Made. It's an online visual encyclopedia that visually documents every process in the production of goods. I found the concept to be an intriguing way for students to learn and consider all the many pieces that go into making a product. I also appreciated how it encouraged businesses and production to be more transparent so we can share ideas instead of hide them.

Here's more info about it from the site:

If you wanted to transform the industry into something more sustainable which strategy would you prefer? Would your method be characterized by secrecy and non disclosure agreements? Or would you rather promote openness and communicate where are the new ideas, the good materials? If you think of what you possess and what you wear, how much can you really account for? Do you know anything about the labor conditions? Or how these products recycle once they are dumped? We are supposed to live right into the information age, we often complain of being flooded with too much information, yet we know very little when it comes to toxic activities.

For the How Stuff Is Made visual essays, each students have to make their way inside manufactories and discuss with workers, employees, designers, etc. The students document every processes, labor conditions and environmental impacts involved in the production of the good. Afterwards they list a series of suggestions to improve the manufacturing process. Making some discoveries along the way: such as Chinese workers receiving 45 cents per hour to make the American flag or Chinese fortune cookie made mostly in Chicago by Hispanics. One of the project's aims is to redirect manufacturing practices and consumer purchasing decisions toward a transparent and legible information base.

(Link & Quote taken from We Make Money Not Art).

I wish they had Howtoons around when I was a kid. So, I think I'll just channel my inner child and read now!

From the Howtoons site, this is what it's all about:

Part comic strip and part science experiment, Howtoons shows children how to find imaginative new uses for common household items like soda bottles, duct tape, mop buckets, and more-to teach kids the Tools of Mass Construction!

Howtoons are cartoons that teach 8- to 15-year-old readers "how to" build, create, and explore things. Combining a fun, full-color cartoon format and real life science and engineering principles, Howtoons are designed to encourage kids to become active participants in the world around them.

Readers meet Tucker and Celine, a lovable brother and sister pair. Sick of watching TV and playing video games, Tucker and Celine decide to conquer every kid's nightmare: the dreaded summer o' boredom. Armed with countless ideas for fun projects, they set out to reclaim the sheer joy of playing. Fifteen practical, build-it-yourself projects are weaved into the Tucker and Celine storyline. With the narrators' help and clear step-by-step instructions, young readers will learn how to set up a workshop, create a marshmallow shooting gun, make ice cream without a freezer, play songs on a turkey baster flute, explore a homemade terrarium, launch a pressure-powered rocket, and more!

Utilizing inexpensive, kid-friendly materials, Howtoons will prove that the world at large is infinitely more exciting than anything happening on the TV or computer screen. Plus, each project will provide readers with practical skills and problem solving know-how that they can use in their everyday lives. These funny, interactive Howtoons are sure to inspire independence and creative savvy in young people everywhere.

Link via Makezine.com.

LOL. Compliments of Boing Boing.