Farm Bureau Insurance: Secretly Supporting Big Ag and a Right-Wing Agenda

When my family and I moved to the state of Washington a couple of years ago and bought a house, we began searching for homeowners insurance. Our realtor recommended a company called Country Financial. We had never heard of them before, but they offered a competitively priced bundle for homeowners and auto insurance, so we …

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20+ Years of Casually Developing Websites

There is a rapidly expanding list of technology-related things that make me feel old. One is the memory of writing actual letters (on PAPER!) to my high school friends during the first year or two of college. Most of them didn’t have email accounts yet and none of us had cell phones. Another is the …

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A Behavioral Scientist’s Initial Thoughts on the Tin Can API, Big Data, and Learning Analytics

Tin Can API

I attended the DevLearn 2012 Conference this week and learned a lot more about the emerging Tin Can API. What is the Tin Can API? I’m still learning about it myself and am by no means an expert, but basically it is a set of standards and specifications for handling and structuring learning data. In …

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Top 10 Things I Love About Xootr Scootering to Work

Foxy Xootr

I recently purchased a super-sweet Xootr MG Scooter to use as my primary mode of transportation to work. And I love it. It is a “kick” or “push” scooter, not one of those silly motorized ones. This is all man-power, baby. Although the Xootr was a bit expensive, it is easily one of the most worthwhile purchases I’ve …

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Pedophilemobile?

Barbie Van of Doom

I was rather alarmed to see this vehicle parked across the street from my apartment the other day. “Come see the collection of Barbies I have in this big, windowless van, my child!” Creepy.