Facebook Privacy

Have you ever tried Youropenbook.org? The site serves as a search engine for Facebook posts. Try searching for "I hate my boss" and you'll see a long string of people that openly degrade their boss and company while thinking what they are typing is somehow private. 

The problem originates with Facebook's attempt to complicate the privacy settings because the information is too valuable for advertisers. To help with this problem, I'm sharing a wonderful document that will show you how to avoid showing up on places like Youropenbook.org along with Google searches. In the end you should realize everything you post to the Internet should be considered public, so don't say anything that could get you in trouble.

Facebook Privacy

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My first online math class thanks to Dabbleboard

In order to help students study for their final exam I thought I would hold an online math review via Dabbleboard. The setup was simple, I just copied and pasted the whiteboard link to the email sent to my students and turn on my webcam. Soon my students showed up and I was busy explaining math problems from the practice final. One student was able to fire up her webcam as she showed up for other to see, the only problem was her mic was broken so we weren't able to have a voice chat.

I think this technology is amazing, we were able to communicate in real-time as students were able to listen to me while I wrote on this virtual whiteboard using my Bamboo tablet. I can't wait to try this again.

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Where do used electronics end up?

It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of the latest gadget like the new Power Mac or the Nexus One. The ugly side of the equation is the dangerous waste these products create when not disposed of properly. Recently I read about how our ewaste (Trash comprised of electronics) is either dumped in a landfill or simply shipped off to a third world country where the citizens of those countries are impacted at alarming rates. I created this presentation to outline the problem along with an excellent solution, Gazelle.

Recycle Your Electronics

See more presentations by tjzerrer | Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

Here are some videos I found alarming.

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Happy Father's Day to all fathers.

I was looking through some recent photos of my two kids, Brady and Bella, as I counted my blessings this Father's day. I couldn't imagine having a more perfect family, a beautiful wife and two great children makes coming home the best part of my day.

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I'm getting $83 from my unused electronics with Gazelle

I was listening to Leo Laporte when he mentioned selling your unused electronics through Gazelle. I took a look around the site and got interested in what I could get for some of the gadgets we have around the house. After a couple of minutes of digging I and looked up the bids from the site. It turns out I'm due for $83 if I send my water damaged iPhone plus a few other small things I haven't used in years. I'm even going to send them items that I can't collect money for, but will be properly recycled.

I invite you to do the same, just go to Gazelle and search for the items you have lying around the house. Gazelle will even pay for shipping.

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A marvel of technology

I really don't think this is real, though some swear it is. There have to be some heavy special effects involved which is why I'm including it in a tech blog. Enjoy.

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Roku Rocks!

The Roku box is an amazing piece of technology that streams information from the Internet to your TV. You can stream videos, movies, photos, just about anything that can be viewed on the Internet can be streamed to your TV.

I use my Roku primarily to watch Netflix movies. Netflix has it's own channel on the Roku interface that allows you to search for movies and watch them instantly... well almost instantly. Since you are accessing information from the Internet there can be some lag time from the moment you select a movie to the moment the movie starts. This time depends mostly on the quality of your Internet connection, if the signal is strong the movie will load quickly, but if the signal is weal you could be waiting a while for the movie to start.

To make sure everything is working properly, I purchased a&amp wireless N router that connects to my cable modem. The router wirelessly connects to my Roku box without any trouble. It took me about 10 minutes to be up and running.

I love this product so much I bought two, one for each TV. I have the HD-XR version because it can take advantage of the wireless N technology, giving me better quality with a longer range. The second Roku is the HD version which is placed much closer to the router.

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This is a sweet video taken with the Canon 7D

I can't believe I have the same camera this video was shot with. I marvel at today's technology. It makes me want to buy a computer to edit HD video.

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How to use a Speedlite wirelessly

I recently posted my first viewer requested video. The viewer asked me to show how to set up a flash for wireless triggering. Without further ado, here's my tutorial.

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Checking out Dabbleboard to support math students

Last night I was checking out a cool site called Dabbleboard (Dabbleboard.com). This site acts like an online whiteboard with broadcast capabilities For instance I can invite others to my session and add a webcam, now I have a virtual online class ready to go. While I was testing the site out I added myself as an invitee and now I saw myself in two instances on the right column as both teacher and student. I immediately became excited for the possibilities to support my math students remotely, further I could record the session for on-demand viewing via screen capture programs like Cam Studio Pro.

I plan to roll out this teaching tool to help my students prepare for their final exam next week, I also want to see if a few students will be interested in spending some time with me online to sharpen their skills in preparation for Algebra next year.

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Dude, I have my own show!

That's right, the world is in serious trouble now. I learned about USTREAM and now I have my own talk show. I'm calling the the Geek Dad Lab Show, it is an extension to what I'm writing about on my blog plus a few more ideas I might come up with. 

I'm planning to start the show at 9:00pm each night, sometime after the kids at asleep and I've organized myself with topics to talk about. This is going to be a blast and I can't wait to have live interaction with my audience. I even have the ability to include viewers with webcams in my show, so be ready to go live with me if you are so inclined.

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I so want the new iPhone, but...

I checked the Apple website as soon as I could to learn about the new iPhone. It turned out to be everything I wanted and more. For me the kicker was the ability to shoot HD video and edit it all inside the handset. That's more than my laptop will do! I immediately called my wife and told the news and that I was reserving my iPhone as soon as possible.

She asked me, "How much is this new phone?"

"It's not about the price, it's about the cool functionality." I answered.

"How much? It has to be a couple hundred dollars."

"Just under $500, $499 to be exact." That's because I'm not due for an upgrade for another year.

"There is no way you're spending that much on a phone when your Flip camera will also shoot that HD video, and you have a phone too".

She had a point. I guess I'm willing to spend the money on something I want instead of something I need. But I blame Steve Jobs, the guy is such a great salesman. I was watching him at the interview from D8 and he had me sold with his conviction of values shared on stage with Walt Mossberg. I bought into the whole Adobe Flash thing and emerging technologies and was ready to throw down my money, until my wife brought reason into the equation.

Now I'm willing to wait until I have the extra money lying around. Maybe I'll create an online revenue stream that will generate the money needed to buy the phone, I could always add some worthy article to eHow for some extra cash.

At any rate I feel I'm back to my senses and feel more rational about purchasing a $500 phone, plus a $15 per month data plan. For the immediate future continue to shoot video with my Flip and Canon 7D and take calls on my clunky LG Neon. While it's true the iPhone would make it easier to communicate and share photos and video, I simply can't find a real reason to make the dive just yet.

My New Concept Car

Welcome to my new Electric Concept Car. Let me point out some features:

1) A wireless electric feed. No need to fill up at the gas/electric station to fill up, from now on you can be feed electricity while on the go. I got this idea from an article I read about wireless electric transmission.

2) Solar panels on the roof. They feed to a battery located on the roof, in fact the battery is the roof. I thought this would be a better solution instead of having the battery take up storage space in the trunk.

3) Small wind turbines. I thought while the car is in motion it would be a good idea to capture the wind energy that is created. The battery power or electric feed would provide the power to get the car going at first, then the wind turbine would work to preserve  a portion of the lost power while the car is in motion.

4) A Carbon Fiber body. I saw a documentary on this technology. The materials weigh much less and are just as durable as steel, the only problem is the cost. I hope magic of technology can eventually bring that cost down.

Well that's it so far. Tell me what you think. Am I crazy? Or can this work?