There is no box

thinking out loud about technology, education and life

Category: Commentary

  • I came across this Lifehacker article “How to survive the 10 grueling levels of office hell” and realized that I had experienced most of them in one way or another during my vast and varied careers. I thought I would share so here goes. 10. I don’t mind eating at my desk and my wife packs great…

  • Today was my last day at East Side. The hardest part about today was leaving my team behind. I have watched them come alive these past few months. They are moving forward in the right direction and I know they will continue being dedicated professionals in my absence. I myself did very little to get…

  • One of my favorite movies is Heartbreak Ridge. Today I was reminded of a scene at the end, after Gunny Highway and his men have saved the day, where Major Powers finally gets what’s coming to him: Highway: We’re Marines, sir. We’re paid to adapt, to improvise. Lieutenant M.R. Ring: Sir, I gave the order to take…

  • I feel a bit out of touch lately having moved my family half way across California (width wise anyway) while immediately stepping into a new job without any down time to decompress from iPad land. Even though I didn’t setup my computer for a month after we moved in to the apartment, I’m just now…

  • Tonight I responded to a question on the CETPA listerv about crazy outside the box ideas for saving money in school IT departments. Here is what I wrote: We’ved used many strategies to save money, or more precisely, do more with no money (prior to going 1:1 iPads) 1. Virtualized Servers – Used ESXi (free)…

  • I just looked at my calendar and realized I’ve only got three weeks left at Le Grand and next week is finals week. So much to do and so little time. I feel like transitioning a Lone Ranger IT shop over to a new person is so much more involved than if I had some…

  • Eight years ago I fell into the education world almost by accident. I went to work for a great little district that dared to dream big. They trusted me to see them into the 21st Century and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that over the years. The district is half way…

  • Back when I started in IT with Exodus Communications twelve years ago, it seemed like there was a priest like aura surrounding the tech departments in private industry.  They were the gate keepers and the first words out of their mouths when asked to do anything new was always NO.  Back then, in what I…

  • I like a good info graphic. Care of @robdarrow Via: Online Universities Blog

  • Recently I pledged to match up to $100 in fellow Google Certified Teacher Adam Bellow‘s Change The World campaign. I love the idea that something as small as a penny can make a difference and wanted to support it as best I could. Maybe next year I’ll be able to go all in and match 100% but…